Postnoon E-Paper for 24 August 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012 HYDERABAD

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

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THE DECLINE AND FALL OF LANCE ARMSTRONG

American cyclist Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life, US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart said. The decision came after Armstrong announced he was dropping his fight against USADA’s charges that he used performanceenhancing drugs to win the most prestigious event in the sport from 1999 to 2005. Tygart told AFP that Armstrong would be stripped of all his results dating back to August 1, 1998.

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

FAMILY GRIEVES ‘THE KIND SON’

M ANIL KUMAR

N SHIVA KUMAR

Twenty-fouryear-old Imran Khan did what few of us have the courage to do. He went to the rescue of a girl being harassed on the street by three men. The trio killed him, and now his family bemoans this ‘thankless world’.

LET’S GO!

INDIA

SECURE POSITION India were 371-5 in their first innings at lunch on the second day of the opening Test against New Zealand in the City on Friday. Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 151 at the break with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (61 not out). Though slowly, the runs came at regular intervals, which included a few boundaries.

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REPORT ON P3 The first step’s the hardest. It’s never more true in running. One small step followed by the next... First the sweat, then the pain, and voices that tell you, “Stop! Stop! No more!” But when you shut your mind to these, and focus on the road ahead, you have embarked on a journey to a new you, a ‘you’ you thought never existed. This Sunday it’s the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon and there’s no better occasion for a fresh start. And for those who are intent on it, we lay bare the what-whyhow-where-and-when of running.

SING FOR THE MOMENT

P16&17

Shed your inhibitions and get on that stage. The Karaoke World Championship is calling, and tomorrow is your last chance to participate in the City.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

city events

THE 39 STEP

Play lovers, keep your dates free for September 1 as the award winninfplay The 39 Step will be presented at Ravindra Bharati, Saifabad. The play directed by Bhargav Ramakrishnan will begin at 7.30pm. The play is a presentation of the entire film on stage.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

overnight

27°C

22°C

A mix of cloudy and clear

Morning

Afternoon

26°C

28°C

A mix of cloudy and clear

A mix of cloud and sun

New Delhi Mumbai Max 32 Max 31 Min 24 Min 26 Scattered thunderstorms

Scattered thunderstorms

Chennai Max 34 Min 25 Scattered thunderstorms

Bangalore Max 26 Min 20

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Blindflyers The German movie Die Blindgagner (Blindflyers). The movie is a tale of two girls Marie and Inga.The movie will be screened at Goethe Zentrum. Where: Goethe Zentrum, Banjara Hills, Rd No 3 When: August 24, 6pm onwards Contact: (040) 2335 0443

DINING World Cuisine fest The food festival brings together various specialty cuisines from across the world. The Festival includes a live kitchen where one can see dishes being prepared and plated. In addition to this, a live dessert counter will be open for Dinner only. Where: Saffron Soul, Hotel Marigold, Greenlands When: Ongoing, 12.30am onwards Contact: (040) 6736 3611 Punjabi food festival Head to Taj Deccan for a Punjabi Food festival. The food festival offers a variety of Punjabi delicacies such as saag and makke ki roti. It is also offering various specialities. Where: Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: August 24 onwards Contact: (040) 66663939

SHOWS Satellite City The play is the kaleidoscopic world of a motley bunch of characters and their struggle to make their lives about something. Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Saifabad When: September 2 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2323 1245

ART Image and imagination A painting exhibition by various artists titled Image and Imagination. Where: Kalakrithi Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 10 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6656 4466

CREATING A PATH: A traffic policeman helps a handicapped man cross a busy road infront of the Andhra Pradesh State Museum located in Nampally. SRINIVAS SETTY Onam special Bring in the various Onam festivities with author Leni Varkey with a reading of her book Kuttan’s Dilemma. Also savour a variety of delicacies. Where: Little People Tree, Vikrampuri When: August 25, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 4020 8397 Baghdad Wedding The play Baghdad Wedding dealing with weddings in Iraq will be presented at Ravindra Bharati. Where: Ravindra Bharati, Saifabad When: August 31, 7.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2323 1245 National Silk Expo The Gramin Hastkala Vikas Samiti is

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

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

organising the ”National Silk Expo” from August 18 to 26. The expo will feature various silk products. Where: Sri Sathya Sai Nigamagamam, Srinagar Colony When: Ongoing, 11am to 9pm Play time The play Birjees Qadar ka Kunbaa will be held at Nift Auditorium on August 24. The play is in Urdu. Where: Nift Campus, Madhapur When: August 24, 7.30pm Contact: (040) 2311 4537 Ethical hacking Oakridge International School is organising a 2-day ‘Workshop on ethical hacking and online security’

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

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

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

by ethical hacker and computer security expert, Ankit Fadia. Where: Oakridge International School, Gachibowli When: August 25 and 26, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 1800 200 8171 Taj Khazana Sale For six days, there will be a special offer on magnificent collection of sarees, western ensembles, pashminas, hand-picked costume jewellery, men’s garments and more.. Where: Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills Taj Falaknuma, Falaknuma When: August 20-29, 10am – 9pm Contact: Taj Krishna (040) 6629 3248 Faluknama (040) 6629 8600

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

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

Painting exhibitions Two painting exhibitions, dealing with cities and sustainability will be displayed at Vidyaranya High School. Where: Vidyaranya High School, Saifabad When: Ongoing, 10am onwards Contact: (040) 2323 7789 Deep in the wood The exhibition displays woodcut art prints by 22 artists.These art works are from the woodcut workshop conducted by Earth Art Gallery. Where: Earth Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Rd No 12 When: September 2 onwards

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001 For Air India Flight Information Toll free (from any network) for IC Flights 18001801407 And for All Flights: 1800227722 Air India has revised its flight timings. For more information call (Toll free) 18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from other lines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in TOURISM OFFICES AP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54 Sec-bad 27893100 Dept of Tourism 23453110 India Tourism 23261360 AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999 UK VISA OFFICE VFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A, Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

IS VVS LAXMAN’S RETIREMENT BEHIND THE LOW TURNOUT? 56% 44%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

ARE WE BECOMING A MORE SUPERSTITIOUS CITY THAN EVER BEFORE? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

A forlorn family awaits justice A youth who tried to save a damsel in distress in the street, where she was being harassed by three men, was killed by them. The hapless family is left to fend for itself Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

“W

e are devastated. The world does not care for us. The girl whom he tried to save is safe and would not even think of us. My boy lost his life. We are the only losers,” says an inconsolable Sadiq Ali Khan, father of Imran Khan who was killed by eve-teasers a few days ago. Imran’s family, that includes his aged parents, two sisters and a brother, have not observed EidUl-Fitr. It was on last Sunday, Imran, 24, who earned for his whole family by making and repairing sofas, was cruelly done to death by three hoodlums for his objecting to teasing a girl (Postnoon Aug 15). On Sunday, Imran and his friend Asif, were returning home from Golconda Qila after work. At Langerhouse, Imran, a conscientious youth, was outraged at seeing a hapless girl being so brazenly harassed in public by three men on a scooter. Imran asked the trio to stop it and go their way. The three turned their ire on the youth and closed in on him. Seeing the scene turning

Imran khan

violent, locals gathered and separated the two. Imran and his friend resumed their journey. When they reached Karwan Panch Bhai Alawa, a vehicle hit their bike from behind. The impact of this sent the two flying. While Ashif was getting up, he saw the same trio hitting Imran with a blunt weapon. He raised an alarm and used his mobile phone to inform his parents and

Imran, a conscientious youth, was outraged at seeing a hapless girl being so brazenly harassed in public. the police. The attackers escaped. Imran, in a serious condition,

GHMC

New fogging machines draw ‘unwarranted’ attention GHMC has procured and inaugurated new fogging machines. Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

n contradiction to what the officials of entomology department maintained this year, that fogging was not an effective method to control mosquitoes, the GHMC has procured and officially inaugurated 20 new machines, in addition to 91 which were already distributed to various circle offices. Proven to be unscientific, this rather bizarre technique,

which may attract diseases has been availed for several years. But with the recent statements by senior officials of the entomology department, it was

widely believed that the GHMC would not procure more of these machines and control mosquitoes using other procedures. However, with the mayor, deputy mayor and the commissioner formally inaugurating them, several questions are being raised. The new machines were procured at the cost of `58,000 each. According to some officials, even though these might be ineffective, people believe that fogging is helpful for controlling mosquitoes.

was shifted to Nims but the doctor attending him said the boy had little chance of surviving since his liver was badly damaged. After struggling for life, he died by evening. “He was our bread winner,” said Zahida Begum, his mother. “Look at him,” she points at her husband, “He was a tailor but is now in ill health and unable to work. Our son was a kind boy.

He had only studied upto high school but was a responsible person. Who will care for us?” she dabs her eyes with her shawl. Imran’s sister is married and his brother, who is 12 years old, is in school. Their hutment is just in front of the Toli Masjid. “No,” his mother said when asked if they knew anything about the girl her son had saved. “Nobody contacted us. Not even a word of sympathy. This thankless world!” Later, the police arrested the three attackers — Chennaih, Jagdish and Mohit — Langerhouse inspector, NG Ratnam said. Chennaih and Jagdish belong to Ziaguda and Mohit to Nalgonda District. Police inquiries revealed that the three are part of a bootlegging gang. Except for a cursory visit by the MLA, nobody, not even the community members, extended any help to the hapless family. As this reporter comes out, Imran’s 12-year-old brother runs up to him and say he will take revenge on those who killed his brother. An elderly in the neighbourhood asked, “who will bother to intervene when helpless people, may they be girls or boys, get attacked on the road? Our society does not deserve such heroes.”

city FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE A perpetual dump yard

ast year we had reported how the once pristine Gunrock area had turned into a dump yard, with people dumping garbage on street corners without a care. The GHMC closing a dump yard in the area only led to more problems. A year later, the situation has barely improved as people still covering their nose everytime they pass the makeshift dumping ground.

AUGUST 24, 2011

NUMEROLOGY

Is it financial stability or non-release of funds?

While the GHMC seems to be raking in the moolah and its coffers show a positive balance, corporators allege that this is because funds are not released for work.

`350 cr was the overdraft the GHMC ran up in June 2011. This year the Corporation’s finances have improved and the trend has reversed.

We are devastated. The world does not care for us. The girl whom my son tried to save is safe and would not even think of us. My boy lost his life. We are the losers. Sadiq Ali Khan See page 3

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

Being a Good Samaritan can prove to be fatal. When 24-year-old Imran tried to help a girl who was being eve teased, he was killed by the men. Now his family weeps silent tears.

You want to save money? Don’t spend on essentials. This is what the GHMC seems to believe as its balance sheets show a favourable balance this year. Corporators allege though that this is because works are not being done.

Zilla Parishad school students can now rejoice. With two private entities working towards improving the Zilla Parishad school, students can now heave a sigh of relief.

Cosmetic changes are good enough before the CBD. Authorities believe a cosmetic facelift is good enough ahead of the upcoming CBD.

Fogging areas to placate irate public. Fumigation does more harm than good. But with the public demanding it the GHMC has little choice in the matter.

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

he GHMC is now in the black (under draft). With `70 crore under drawn, the corporators at the helm take credit for this as proof of performance, while the opposition term it as ‘unspent money’ on works. Even as the officials are mum lest this starts a new controversy. Until June last year, the

How GHMC’s finances improved n Efficiency in property tax collection. n Tax rates almost doubled. n Cost cutting in terms of wasteful spending. n Effective fund flow management, field collections and constant monitoring.

GHMC was running an overdraft of `350 crore and in 2012 the trend has suddenly reversed. Unlike last year, this year’s financial assessment revealed that the Corporation was working on a positive note in terms of balance in the coffers. The positive change mostly attributes this to efficiency in property tax collection this year. With almost doubling of the tax rates recently after property tax was revised, the Corporation is

poised to be termed as a self sustainable entity, depending less on the State government for its funding. However, rumour is ripe that the GHMC does not wish reveal that it has prospered, as the funds supported by the State government would stop. Some officials point out that the GHMC has also resorted to ‘cost cutting’ in terms of wasteful spending. While some in the department of finance say that effective fund flow management, field collections, constant monitoring with efficient methods of IT and good day-to-day operations are behind the success story. A senior official however doesn’t find this surprising, as once the GHMC once engages itself in projects there will be a shift in the balance sheet again. Although the juniors attribute this to the ‘efforts of the commissioner’, MT Krishna Babu does not want to speak on the issue, as it may kick start a row. When Postnoon tried to seek an answer on this subject, the GHMC commissioner averted the query. While mayor Md Majid Hussain is taking credit for the current ‘financial stability’, the corporators from the Opposition parties directly point out that this was only because of ‘non release of funds’. “When work is not being done and there is a complete halt, what can be expected?” questions, a floor leader. According to him, the GHMC has not released a single penny for work. “Several works are pending and the Corporation is not releasing funds, how can one expect development, when this is the scenario?” he asks.

NEWS BRIEFS Burglars leave empty-handed

Step-father molests girl while wife was away

Girl riding bike knocked down by school bus

Eight injured in group clash in Vizianagaram

urglars made a vain bid to loot an Indian Bank branch in Medipally Yacharam last night. The marauders managed to break open the main door and entered the bank but they failed to open the locker. Probably after hours of efforts to break the lock, they gave up and left, police said. The bank was unguarded at night.

minor girl was allegedly raped by her step-father Gukam Khaja Khan on Thursday in Bandlaguda. Gukam, 32, reportedly pounced on his 13-year-old step-daughter when her mother was away. When the girl’s mother learnt of the incident she lodged a complaint with the Chandrayangutta police. The girl has been sent for a medical check.

girl riding her bike was fatally knocked down by a speeding bus belonging to a private school at Mehdipatnam this morning. The Humayunnagar police have arrested the driver, conﬁscated the school bus and have begun investigation. The girl’s body has been sent to the Osmania General Hospital for a postmortem.

ight people were injured when two groups clashed in BJ Palem under Garividi mandal of the Vizianagaram district on Thursday. According to sources, the two groups, belonging to Congress and TDP hurled stones at each other and clashed with sticks. The injured were rushed to hospital. The police has registered a case.

city FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

POLITICS

GHMC

Will Coalgate bail out Dharmana and others?

Demolition mission on

With the Opposition NDA demanding the PM’s resignation in the coalgate scam, focus has shifted away from those accused in the disproportionate assets case.

he ongoing coalgate scandal at the Centre, which stalled the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament with a determined BJP-led NDA demanding nothing less than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation, is likely to further delay the decision on the State Roads and Building minister Dharmana Prasada Rao’s resignation. The Congress high command, which has summoned Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to Delhi may advise him to hold on for some more time to take a final call; at least till the dust over the coalgate settles down. Thus far, the coalgate scam seems to have come as a blessing in disguise to Dharmana Prasada Rao, accused by the CBI in its fourth chargesheet filed in the disproportionate assets (DA) case. Added to the delay in taking a decision by the CM, there is also a stiff resistance from as many as 22 of his Cabinet colleagues demanding to challenge the CBI, which named two ministers so far, including Dharmana Prasada Rao, besides a number of bureaucrats, for the issuance of the 26 GOs during

POLITICS

Kanna denies Pawar was angry S

tate agriculture minister Kanna Lakshminarayana has denied media reports that Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had expressed anger at him and other members of a delegation he led, to draw the minister’s attention to problems faced by the State. Talking to the media after his meeting with Pawar, Kanna said that they had explained the problems of AP farmers and the Union minister had positively responded. According to the media reports, Kanna met the Union minister leading a delegation comprising MPs Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, Nandi Yellaiah, V Hanumantha Rao, Killi Krupa Rani, KVP Ramachandra Rao, Undavalli Arun Kumar, some agriculture scientists and leaders of farmers’ unions. NSS

the late YSR’s regime as a collective decision of the Cabinet. It was Vatti Vasanth Kumar, minister for Tourism, who argued the other day that under Article 163, none can challenge the decisions taken by the Cabinet. He had also referred to past Supreme Court directions in this regard. Many of Kiran Kumar Reddy’s cabinet colleagues, who were also members of erstwhile YS Rajasekhara Reddy government, were of the firm opinion that all the 26 GOs were a collective decision of the then Cabinet, and if the government allows to prosecute Dharmana Prasada Rao, it would be opening a ‘can of worms’ putting

many of them in a dangerous situation. They argued that the government had already made the mistake for not ‘saving’ Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, who is already cooling his heels in the Chanchalguda jail. As if this was not enough, the Supreme Court, responding to a PIL in regard to the 26 controversial GOs had also slapped notices on as many as six ministers and eight IAS officers. And the Kiran Kumar government had agreed to provide legal aid, barring to jailed minister Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, leading him to face the flak from members of the BC community, to which the minister belongs. Pushed onto the back-foot,

the chief minister chose to delay taking a decision on Dharmana’s resignation, fearing a possible fall-out among his Cabinet colleagues. As a result, the chief minister and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana, decided to leave Dharmana’s resignation issue to the party high command. The PCC chief is already camping in New Delhi apprising the senior party leaders as well the State incharge core group appointed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, of possible repercussions that would follow if Dharmana’s resignation is accepted. Dharmana is not only a senior Congress leader, but also influential in north coastal Andhra and also belongs to powerful community, which is pre-dominant in that region. Already, the party had lost its grip in the Telangana region due to the separate State agitation spearheaded by the TRS and did not won even a single seat in the by-elections that were held after 2009. However, the party could manage to win two Assembly seats of 18 for which by-elections were held recently on each in East and West Godavari districts. NSS

POLITICS

CM awaits Delhi nod for cabinet reshuffle

The CM wants to expand his Cabinet massively after removing tainted ministers from their posts.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is currently camping in the nation's capital, will formally meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today and hold discussions on various

issues especially the ongoing power crisis that has crippled the normal life very badly. Apart from this, according to the officials at the chief minister’s office, the CM will also extend an invitation to attend the prestigious COP11 being held in the City in October. The chief minister is also likely to meet party president Sonia Gandhi to appraise her of the present political situation in the State and status of the party in the wake of inclusion of Roads and Buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao’s name in CBI chargesheet. Sources close to the chief minister told Postnoon that the CM would strongly pitch for massive expansion of his cabinet after removing tainted ministers during his meeting with the party supremo.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he town planning staff of GHMC has removed 251 encroachments in Circles 9 and 10 which include sugarcane juice machines, tea stalls, bunks, sign boards, temporary sheds, push carts, vendors, cross walls and ramps which were constructed on road margins and foot paths. The demolition drive was taken up from Musheerabad ‘X’ roads to Marriott Hotel via Kawadiguda and Musheerabad ‘X’ roads to RTC ‘X’ Roads.

Demolition data Cross walls 10, ramps 5. Sugarcane machines: 14 Tea stalls: 9 Bunks: 21 Signboards over footpaths: 23 Temporary sheds: 21 Push carts: 29 Petty vendors over the footpath: 10 Pails: 4

city FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012 LEGAL

Parthasarathy files petition in High Court

EDUCATION

CLASSIFIEDS

Zilla Parishad school all set to get a facelift

EDUCATION

Two private companies have joined hands to provide a comfortable and clean environment for the schoolchildren. FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

econdary education minister K Parthasarathy filed a petition in the High Court on Thursday, challenging the verdict of the Economic Offences Court sentencing him to two months’ simple imprisonment and a fine of `5.25 lakh. The minister contended that the situation arose because his company had incurred losses and as there was no bank guarantee. He claimed that he had nothing to do with the case. However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has argued that the minister had filed the petition only to save his cabinet post. Stating that the lower court had already fined him `3 lakh for violation of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) regulations, the Enforcement Directorate has argued that the minister, who had not challenged the verdict earlier, was doing so now because of political reasons. Justice Raja Ilango, who heard both sides, posted the case for further hearing to Friday. NSS

illa Parishad High School in Khajaguda is all set to get a facelift soon. Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation, along with Infotech Enterprises, is going to develop and upgrade the infrastructure in this school. The school, located near Bombardier’s Engineering Centre India (BTECI), educates around 600 children aged between three and 15 from underprivileged backgrounds. Bombardier also plans to upgrade the basic infrastructure, such as sanitation and furniture, at the school. This initiative aims to provide a comfortable and clean environment to help young students learn and thrive. “Our goal at Bombardier is to create meaningful economic, social and environmental benefits for the communities in which we operate,” said Josef Doppelbauer, chief technical officer, Bombardier Transportation. He adds, “By providing a better learning environment for these pupils, we are helping them to get a foot on the ladder

to better education. We are pleased to invest in these young people to improve their career prospects and in doing so, support the communities in which we work.” A special event was organised, which was attended by Doppelbauer; Jan Radtke, senior director, group engineering, Bombardier Transportation; Venkata Ramayanam, director, engineering centre (India), Bombardier Transportation; and Ashok Reddy, president, global HR and corporate affairs, Infotech Enterprise, along with employees from both companies. Teachers,

students and staffers of the school also took part in the event. Speaking at the function, Reddy said: “Started in 2002, an important part of Infotech Enterprises Charitable Trust’s vision has been to improve the quality of education imparted to underprivileged children in schools which lack basic amenities. We have been seeking support from our esteemed customers, the local community and the government. Today, the Infotech Enterprises trust supports 10 schools around Hyderabad, educating a total of 5,400 underprivileged children.”

MUSIC

Bards of rock set to enthral City Alternative rock band Poets of The Fall will be performing in Hyderabad on Sunday as part of their Temple of Thought tour. RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

oets of The Fall, a Finnish rock band, will be playing in Hyderabad on Sunday as part of their Temple of Thought tour. The band is famous for its alternative, melodic rock sound and is hailed as one of the best bands from Finland till date. These Poets started out with various associated acts but after being featured on the cult video game classic Max Payne 2, the band bit stardust. They were thrust into international limelight for their poem-song-ballad Late Goodbye, which was used as the ending theme for the video game in 2003. After the runaway success with

their first single, the band remained a tight group of three with Markus Kaarlonen, Maarko Saresto and Olli Tukiainen being accompanied by session and tour musi-

cians through their many albums and international tours so far. Their debut album, Signs Of Life, was a rage in 2005 and they were slated as the best newcomers in the

lot. The album is in itself a tribute and a reference to Pink Floyd’s instrumental. After the debut album, their independently released single Carnival of Rust kept them soaring through international music charts. Both the album and the song were released separately, followed by their ‘cinematic rock’ albums Revolution Roulette, Twilight Theater and Alchemy. The music enjoys a great fanbase and status on par with Apocalyptica, a sensational Finnish instrumental band. Poets of the Fall has, since its inception, carried its melancholic tone and high-end production values preserved through each album but Temple of Thought is worth exceptional praise. It would be a sin to miss them on Sunday at Leonia Resorts.

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city FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

REPORTER’S DIARY

Butcher boys of electricity dept D PK SURENDRAN

police officials believe that country’s enemies are devising new psychological troubles to harass the people. After the false SMS led to a massive exodus of NE natives, this rumour gives rise to such a suspicion. In this technological era where all kinds of information is readily available, why do people behave like this? Here we recall what Frederick Nietzsche said about mob mentality: individuals are rarely insane but crowds are. Let us debunk this kinds of irrational behaviour. MS

o you know that butchers and not pruners, are employed by the electricity department who know how to kill greenery in the name of pruning to prevent plants entangling with live wires. It’s a sad sight that these labourers come with crude implements and cruelly slash trees and plants with no compunction. Have they planted and reared a tree in their lifetime? They have neither training nor patience and often aggrieved residents have to pick up quarrels with them. The company ought to know that the City is getting denuded and our efforts should be not be to destroy or damage the greenery that gives us oxygen and shade. Postnoon suggests engaging the services of nature lovers to guide the pruners. PK

PHONY LEADERS

Each minister in our State has at least two phone connections. But the irony is that not once do they answer calls on their phones. It’s either his/her minion or family member who conveniently say that the corporator, MLA or minister is away. There have been instances when the minister himself answers the call and says that “he is not at home.” Even a grassroot leader like a corporator does not come on line for fear of solving some problems. And, there are the relatives who speak on behalf of the leader! One wonders why they have phones in the first place if they don’t want to use them? SK

CM, THE MOST HARASSED MAN?

METRO ‘BEAUTY’

What is the use of cosmetic changes to the City for the sake of world leaders? This question was posed to the metro commissioner and his reply was thought-provoking. “When a guest visits our house, we go to a great length to beautify our living rooms even if the kitchens and the bathrooms are dirty. The City beautification project is on similar lines.” RR

RTI STANDS FOR RIGHT TO IRK!

It is a fact that RTI is a weapon in the hands of common man. If Hyderabadis are using this most freely against any one particular authority, it is the GHMC. Senior

officials are secretly regretting this provision. There was a time when they were beyond public eye, but alas! An additional commissioner at GHMC responded to a query regarding bus shelters. “Oh, this is that RTI guy, isn’t he?” The official rued at this provision as he believes this is poison in the hands of the unscrupulous who uses it to spite authorities. Another senior official complaints that this was proving to be a big ‘headache’ as the data sought are not readily available. While yet another scowls and sneers, “We are haunted by these RTI guys.” This is nothing less than a nightmare for the officials.

He also coined a new phrase for RTI (Right to Irk). True, some will always misuse any provision but the Babus have all along been used to idling away time or indulge in malpractices. Now they are made to work, and therefore, the complaints. s

SILLY RUMOUR, SILLIER JANATA

What can one say of a City that responds to atrocious rumours like the recent incident where a baby born has warned people to remain awake or else they would die? What can police or military do about this? Wednesday night, witnessed such a silly incident across many parts of the Old City. Some

Everyone must be envying a chief minister, but wait. Kiran Kumar Reddy, you should know, is the most harassed man in AP today. Besides being called upon to deal with T, J and CBI, he also has to quell the internal war and fierce battle raging among prospective to get into the Cabinet bus. Then another problem that he has is the benefit of a past experience in handling such situations. The situation is all right for wily old warhorses like Karunakaran or Sharad Pawar but Kiran lacks the experience in this department. Now, with local body elections approaching and quota politics in full swing, he is often seen tearing at his hair in private but smiles when someone looks at him. PK Contributed by Md Nizamuddin, Mohd Subhan, Sudeshna Koka, Rahul Ramakrishna and P K Surendran

KNOW YOUR LEADER

Whatever I speak, is from the heart: Pithani The minister for social welfare says that he has nothing to lose in politics, hence isn’t scared to speak from his heart. The fee reimbursement scheme controversy has made him the most talked about man these days. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

here is an old concept: Andhra Pradesh minister for social welfare Pithani Satyanarayana knows more about the texture of fabrics than tricky politicking. This has put him in difficulty many times because he believes in what people say without a second thought. Pithani at the threshold of his golden age came to politics by accident. He is the first person in his family to enter politics. He

had no god father. His ability to deal with any situation endeared him to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues. Satyanarayana has become the most talked about man these days in the wake of the fee reimbursement controversy. He is heading the cabinet sub-committee created for the purpose. “Whatever I speak, it comes straight from my heart. I speak forthright because I have nothing to lose in politics,” says the minister.

PERSONAL LIFE

Education:

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Family business: Spouse:

Textiles

P Anantha Lakshmi

No. of Children: Three sons and one daughter Phone number :(040) 2345 3425

He tells Postnoon that he had never wanted to become a politician. It was MP Vijay Kumar Raju who roped him into politics. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Pithani never had any wants. He loves to travel and he has already visited 45 countries. He says the kind of infrastructure they have is really amazing. Pithani says that his children have no enthusiasm for politics. The CM often depends on him to do the fire fighting. How does he manage to handle people? Here is something for

the MBA (HR) students. “Whenever I meet a new person, I study him from all angles: his manners, his gestures, his style of presenting a topic. Then I adapt a style that is comfortable for the visitor, be it jovial, serious or even solemn.” He himself marks his negative trait. “I trust people easily which many say is not a good quality in politics,” he says. An early riser, Pithani has never complained of the lack of time. The secret is to sleep late night and get up early. You will have enough time on your hands.”

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

Business

FB UNVEILS SPEEDIER APP FOR iPHONE, iPAD

Facebook unveiled a new mobile app on Thursday for its users on Apple iPhone and iPad, saying it would speed up the performance of people accessing the world's biggest social network.

TECH EDGE

APPLE, SAMSUNG FINED

Algorithmic Trading Critics say ordinary investors are at a heavy disadvantage. MONEY MATTERS Nupur Pavan Bang

rom time to time, Algorithmic Trading (AT) or High Frequency Trading hits the headlines, mainly due to regulatory concerns. The main concerns of the regulators being transparency, fairness and systemic stability. A couple of days back, they were back in the news as the Delhi High Court issued notices to the regulator, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the exchanges: NSE and BSE, the finance ministry and the RBI. The notices were sent as a result of the plea of Intermediaries and Investor Welfare Association, which has alleged that AT "discriminates between rich and influential brokers and common investors/retail investors and creates inequality and finally casts a deceptive data to common investors and retail investors while trading in shares and securities on online trading platforms of BSE and NSE".

black-box trading, or algo trading, is the use of electronic platforms for entering trading orders with an algorithm deciding on aspects of the order such as the timing, price, or quantity of the order, or in many cases initiating the order without human intervention. A special class of algorithmic trading is (HFT), in which computers make elaborate decisions to initiate orders based on information that is received electronically, before human traders are capable of processing the information they observe.

CHARACTERISTICS

DEFINITION

n High speed of trading due to the use of high-speed computers

According to wikipedia, AT, also called automated trading,

n Use of algorithms to process data feeds and take decisions to buy and sell automatically n Use of co-location services

CONCERNS

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), reported in July 2011 that AT also contributed to the flash crash of May 6, 2010 in the US when the benchmark index, Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed and then quickly recovered. In India too, in the last couple of years, there have been instances where the markets have lost a large amount of money in a very short span of time and then recovered quickly. Once such instance hap-

pened during the Muhurat Trading on Diwali day of 2011. These events brought to light the highly correlated nature of trading strategies using AT. This means that the markets can quickly become one-sided. AT also results in high short-term volatility which could be detrimental to retail, non-algorithmic traders. AT enhances the speed of information dissemination and its supporters claim that it helps in making the markets more efficient. Large and multiple trades can be processed and carried out quickly. omplicated strategies can be implemented through algorithms. 75% to 80% of total trades in the US and UK can be attributed to AT. These are also the very reasons why the Intermediaries and Investor Welfare Association has accused the regulators of being "silent spectators". AT gives unfair advantages to institutions or brokers who have of co-location facilities and high-speed computer prowess which are not available to the common man or ordinary retail investors. SEBI, exchanges and the Ministry clearly need to put some thought into the advantages of speed over fairness to all. The writer is a senior researcher, Centre for Investment, ISB, Hyderabad

INNOVATION

Peer-to-peer lending is in POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

networking to create a platform where borrowers and lenders interact and transact. In fact in the age of virtual world, it is a unique lending and borrowing platform, which may soon kickstart a new way of lending and borrowing small loans. The personal loan market in India is `84,000 crore in 2012 and is expected to grow at 30 per cent CAGR. The total market for informal lending in India currently is at `4-5 lakh crore — 35 per cent of this man-

yderabad based Dipamkara Web Ventures has launched – www.i-lend.in, an online Peerto-peer (P2P) lending platform that works as an exchange bringing borrowers and lenders and facilitates a financial transaction between them through a transparent and organised process. i-lend combines traditional lending practices with social

GOLD `31,100 10g SILVER `56,800 1kg for

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aged by friends and family i.e. about `1.75 lakh crore. P2P lending model offers low cost loans to borrowers while giving higher returns to lenders when compared to savings bank and fixed deposits. ilend is an alternate way of getting loans for borrowers while it offers a new asset class to lenders that gives high returns with medium risk. While banks offer personal loans to individuals, the cost of borrowing is quite high in terms of interest

17,793.09 57.62

NUMEROLOGY

$1.82

is Australian supermarket giant Woolworths full-year net profit.

AIG NETS FED $17.7 bn The US Federal Reserve said Thursday it had sold the last of its investment in insurer AIG, turning a $17.7 billion profit for the public from its 2008 bailout. The New York Fed's final sale of its American International Grouprelated assets made a net gain of about $6.6 billion, the central bank announced. AIG, once the world's largest insurance company, was closely involved in the risky derivatives at the center of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The Fed and the US Treasury rescued it from bankruptcy with a record $182 billion bailout. The Treasury still holds a 53 per cent stake in AIG's capital and plans to gradually sell its shares in an effort to recover the $24.2 billion remaining.

THUS SPAKE

cost and also the hidden costs. What makes the model unique is the opportunity for lenders and borrowers to interact with each other to reach an “agreement point” for a loan transaction. In case of banks, the borrowers have no opportunity to negotiate their interest rate and lenders returns are also fixed. Borrowers can apply for loans anywhere between `25,000 and `3,00,000 and lenders can lend as low as `5,000.

NSE

A South Korean court ruled on Friday that US tech giant Apple and Samsung Electronics had infringed on each other's patents, ordering damage payments from both firms. The court ruled that Apple breached two Samsung technology patents, and ordered it to pay 40 million won ($35,242) in damages, court officials said. It also separately ordered Samsung to pay 25 million won for violating one of Apple's patents, Yonhap news agency said. Samsung filed a lawsuit against Apple in Seoul in April last year regarding infringement of patents related to telecommunications standards.

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It is important for me that we all stick to our commitments ... but I will encourage Greece to continue along its path of reforms ANGELA MERKEL GERMAN CHANCELLOR

DOLLAR`55.39 POUND `87.83

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

nation

PALIAMENT DISRUPTION CONTINUES Parliament was disrupted for the fourth consecutive day today as the Opposition triggered uproar in both Houses demanding resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over coal block allocations, which, according to a CAG report, caused a loss of `1.8 lakh crore to the exchequer.

2G SCAM

SC throws out Swamy plea on PC The apex court dismissed the petition to making him a co-accused in the 2G spectrum case, saying there was no prima facie material against him of any criminal conspiracy or procuring of any pecuniary gain. NEW DELHI: In a huge relief to Union finance minister P Chidambaram, the SC dismissed a plea for making him a coaccused in the 2G case, saying there was no prima facie material against him of criminal conspiracy of any pecuniary gain. “No case is made out against P Chidambaram and the special leave petition filed against the judgment of the special CBI court is not liable to be entertained,” a bench said. The petition was filed by Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy seeking a direction for a probe against Chidambaram and for making him a co-accused along with former telecom minister A Raja. Dismissing his plea, the

Swamy to appeal

anata Party president Subramanian Swamy today said he will seek a review of the judgement dismissing his petition in the 2G spectrum case against Finance Minister P Chidambaram. “It is a bad judgement. The Court never allowed me to complete my submissions,” he told reporters.

bench said, criminal conspiracy cannot be inferred merely on the suspicion that there was a meeting for taking decision between the officials of department of

telecom and two ministers — Raja and Chidambaram, who was then also finance minister. The bench said there was “no prima facie material” that

NEWS BRIEFS

TERROR LINK

NIA arrests four in Maharashtra

13 killed as train hits vehicle carrying labourers

BEED: Four persons, including a Unani doctor, were detained by the National Investigation Agency in Beed district of Maharashtra for interrogation, police said today. A team of NIA and Maharashtra ATS officials has been conducting searches at various places in the city since Wednesday night, following which it detained four persons, including Dr Rehan Shaikh (unani medicine practitioner), Wasim Chishti and Zakiuddin Nizamoddin, yesterday, police said. The identity of the fourth person was not available. Four computers, a printer, some CDs and maps were seized from Rehan Shaikh’s house in Kazi Nagar area of city. The investigating teams also found `26 lakh cash and about 250 photographs of youths along with their biodatas from Shaikh’s house and have been questioning him about it, police sources said. During the last two days, NIA officials raided four houses in different areas of the city and seized some passports and other documents, police sources said. PTI

BHUBANESWAR: Thirteen people were killed and six others critically injured when a train rammed into a vehicle at an unmanned railway crossing in Sambalpur district today. The vehicle was hit by Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Inter-City Express while it was trying to cross the track at an unmanned level crossing, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

Chidambaram got any pecuniary benefit nor was there any material on record to prove that he, as the then finance minister, abused his official position. The judges said that the poor management in allocation of spectrum cannot be said to be a product of criminal conspiracy. This is the second time a judicial relief has come for Chidambaram after a Delhi court on February 4 this year had dismissed a plea of a co-accused in the 2G case. Special CBI Judge OP Saini had held that Chidambaram had not indulged in any criminal conspiracy or derived any pecuniary advantage in the decisions. Saini had said Chidambaram was party to only two decisions

Deadline extension?

he Supreme Court today said it will consider extending its August 31 deadline given to complete the process of fresh auctioning of 2G spectrum cancelled licences only if the Telecom Secretary gives an undertaking that its judgement would be implemented.

— keeping spectrum prices at 2001 level and dilution of equity by two companies — which “are not per se criminal”.

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Minor gang-raped in moving car NASHIK: A 14-year-old girl was gangraped by three persons in a moving car in the city, police said today. The Class IX student was forcibly taken into a car by the three men in Chetna Nagar area on Wednesday evening, who gang-raped her in the moving vehicle and later dropped her at the spot from where she was picked, police said. They threatened her against telling about the incident to anybody. However, the girl mustered courage and informed her younger sister about the incident yesterday, who informed their parents.

PTI

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Gadkari lashes out at Bangladeshi migrants IMPHAL: Illegal immigrants were to be blamed for triggering the mass exodus of northeastern people from southern states, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has said. “It is not a Hindu-Muslim issue, but an issue of illegal immigration and external threat. It is a shame that Indians were forced to leave their places of stay and studies under threat from anti-national elements,” he said.

A FRESH NEW POINT OF VIEW You can also call or email us at:

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nation FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

ENVIRONMENT

SMUGGLING

Singh readies to climb another tree, this time for big cats He will climb down only on Oct 1, when the biodiversity meet begins in Hyderabad. MUMBAI: Brikesh Singh (right) is getting ready to climb another tree, this time inside a tiger reserve, and stay there for a month — not for fun or to avoid the big cats but to draw the young generation’s attention to saving the environment. On September 1, the 32-yearold Greenpeace campaigner, born and brought up in the slums of Mumbai, will climb a tree on the site of a proposed power plant inside the buffer zone of the Tadoba tiger reserve in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district. Singh, a cyclist and climber, has already built a tree house and equipped it with a solar charger and a laptop — his window to the outside world. He will be perched atop the tree throughout September and will climb down only October 1 — the day the Convention on Biological Diversity takes off in Hyderabad. The convention brings together countries for the development of national strategies for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. “I will be in the tree house around 20 feet above the ground in the buffer zone of Tadoba tiger reserve and I will spread awareness about the issues through Facebook, Twitter and

CRIME

Youth beheads sister for honour MUZAFFARNAGAR: A youth opposed to his sister’s relationship with a boy allegedly beheaded her and threw the head in her lover’s house. Kala, 23, beheaded his 19-year-old sister yesterday and threw her head in her 20-year-old boyfriend’s house in Bihari village, SP (city) Raj Kamal Yadav said. The girl’s family was opposed to the relationship. Kala yesterday entered into a heated argument with his sister and later beheaded her. Police has registered a case against Kala, who is absconding along with his other family members. Tension prevailed in the area after the incident and security has been tightened in the village. PTI

I will be in the tree house around 20 feet above the ground and I will spread awareness through Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Brikesh Singh Greenpeace activist blogs,” Singh said. Climbing is child’s play for Singh. On October 11 2009, just before the climate summit in Copenhagen, Singh scaled the roof of the British Parliament. “While parliamentarians were continuing with their business, I unfurled a banner which read ‘Change the Politics - Save the Climate’. It is high time the developed world started leading the way in cutting carbon emissions instead of playing dirty politics,” he said. In 2007, he had climbed a 260-foot smokestack of a thermal plant in Kolaghat in West Bengal and painted ‘Smoking

Kills’ on it. “I was arrested with five other activists and jailed for raising an alarm against climate change. Our case still drags on in the Calcutta High Court,” he said. Last month, he and another activist tried to “wake up” the people of Bangalore about axing of trees - by - what else? — climbing a tree. “We spent 24 hours on the tree to raise awareness and gather support.” About his other projects, Singh said: “I just travelled across the country to find out what the true cost of electricity is. I also came across a lot of heart-breaking stories where

tribals and farmers are getting displaced, forests getting destroyed and animals losing habitats. All this because of our greed for coal,” he said. On to his upcoming endeavour in Chandrapur, Singh is yet to figure out the logistics of staying on a tree for a month. “Earlier, I planned to stay on the tree 24X7. But since this is a month-long project, I’m yet to figure out details such as building a washroom in the tree house or climbing down the tree daily,” he said. So well known is Singh for his efforts that MTV has made a series of short films on him. IANS

PENITENCE WITH A PURPOSE

Mohammad Salim Bhurakhan Pathan, an inmate of Sabarmati Central Jail, paints an environmentally-friendly idol of Lord Ganesha from natural clay in Ahmedabad. These idols of Lord Ganesha will be put on sale and the profits from the sales will be credited to the Prisoner’s Welfare Fund. AFP/SAM PANTHAKY

Row over rare Shiva statue in Auz gallery A

n ancient bronze statue of Nataraja bought by the National Gallery of Australia from Indian-American artefact dealer Subhash Kapoor, who is in custody in Tamil Nadu for his alleged role in idol thefts, has come under scrutiny. 63-year-old Kapoor had sold the Lord Shiva statue, which is now being suspected to be one of the works alleged to have been stolen, to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in 2008. The 128.5 centimetre-high bronze idol depicting Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, is said to be dated from the 11th to 12th centuries. Commenting on the statue, NGA Director Ron Radford said “the gallery had done all the required provenance checks before acquiring the piece from Kapoor, owner of the Art of the Past gallery on Madison Avenue.” “As with all leading art institutions around the world, the gallery is committed to strict due diligence when acquiring works of art, particularly with regard to determining provenance,” Radford said in a statement recently. NGA officials had also met officials from the Indian High Commission this month. However, they had been unable to obtain any official comment from police in India. “The gallery has commenced plans to undertake a comprehensive re-examination by a panel of internal and external art experts of the supplied documentation as well as the provenance of work acquired from Kapoor, as many international galleries are also doing,” the statement said. Kapoor was arrested in Germany last October for smuggling antique idols allegedly stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He had been extradited to India and was in custody in Chennai. PTI

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

World JUDICIAL REPRIEVE

Jayant Patel’s conviction dismissed SYDNEY: An Australian court on Friday quashed an Indianborn surgeon’s manslaughter convictions over the deaths of three patients, saying there had been a miscarriage of justice in his trial. Jayant Patel, dubbed “Dr Death” by the Australian media, was jailed for seven years in July 2010 after a jury found him guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the deaths of three patients and permanent injury to a fourth. But the High Court on Friday dismissed the convictions and ordered a retrial, saying prosecutors radically changed their case on the 43rd day of the 58-day trial in a way which rendered much of the evidence irrelevant.

Dubbed “Dr Death” by the Australian media, he was jailed for seven years in July 2010 after a jury found him guilty of criminal negligence. “The prejudicial effect on the jury was not overcome by the directions given by the trial judge,” the High Court said. “A substantial miscarriage of justice occurred.” Patel was convicted in Queensland’s Supreme Court of three counts of manslaughter and one of unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm over surgeries he conducted at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2004. At the time, prosecutors successfully argued the operations were either unnecessary or inappropriate. AFP

SUN RESPONSE TO GAG ON HARRY PICS: HEIR IT IS The Sun, Rupert Murdoch’s popular British tabloid, on Friday published nude photographs of Prince Harry despite being asked not to by the royal family. A picture of the nude Prince appeared on the front of Friday’s edition next to the headline “Heir it is”.

SYRIAN CRISIS

MICHELLE REACHES OUT

WMD stock key to US strategy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, including tonnes of sarin and VX, is the biggest in West-Asia. WASHINGTON: US military planners are studying contingency plans for a potential mission in Syria without precedent — securing the regime’s chemical weapons in the midst of a raging civil war, officials and experts said. No military action is imminent at the moment, according to officials, but the Pentagon is grappling with an array of hellish scenarios that could emerge as the conflict escalates, with the Damascus regime possibly losing control of its chemical arsenal. While US military planning in the past has focused on searching out weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a hostile government, the situation in Syria raises the possibility of stockpiles falling into the hands of militant groups or desperate members of a threatened regime. “This is totally new territory historically. Never in history has a WMD-armed country fallen into civil war,” said Charles Blair of the Federation of American Scientists. “This has never happened,” he told AFP. The US experience in Iraq, in which an American-led force failed to secure some sensitive conventional weapons sites after the 2003 invasion, serves as a cautionary tale given the complexities in Syria, where reliable intelligence is even harder to come by, Blair said.

Reaching out to the Sikh community, US ﬁrst lady Michelle Obama met with families of those killed in the Aug 5 massacre at the gurdwara in Wisconsin to offer her support. “It’s my honour to be here with you. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances, but I am anxious to meet with the families and lend whatever support I can,” she told them as in a private meeting on Thursday evening. She spent about 30 minutes with them, moving from family to family to offer her condolences.

NUMEROLOGY

$123

is the estimated cost of holding the Republican convention in Tampa, where Mitt Romney will formally accept the GOP nomination as its presidential candidate. A young girl, surrounded by destruction, caused by fighting in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood, plays with her bicycle in the Lebanese northern port city of Tripoli. AFP

IRAN-IAEA TALKS TODAY

sites, the official added. “It’s possible it would not be SOF, depending on what the situation is.” As the US monitors the chemical arsenal with the help of spy satellites, officials have to take into account “whether the regime intends to use it, whether it falls into the wrong hands and whether there’s a collapse of security around the sites,” according to the official. Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile is the biggest in the Middle East. Syria has hundreds of tonnes of chemical agents, including sarin and VX nerve agents. AFP

Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog were due in talks Friday to make a fresh push to patch up relations as Tehran feels the heat from sanctions and amid fevered speculation of imminent Israeli military action. But with the International Atomic Energy Agency having this year failed in a string of other meetings, including in Tehran, to get Iran to grant access to nuclear scientists, documents and sites, hopes were not high. “I cannot say at this time that I am optimistic about the outcome of the coming meeting,” IAEA head Yukiya Amano said in Finland on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama has suggested the use of chemical or biological weapons could trigger US military intervention. But for the moment, the administration says President Bashar al-Assad’s regime retains control of the chemical arsenal and that there are no indications it is about to use the lethal weapons. US special operations forces would likely play a central role in any plan to secure chemical weapons, though a larger conventional force could be required to provide enough manpower to safeguard the

NEWS BRIEFS China bridge collapse kills three

Police probe threat against Todd Akin

New Zealand ‘runaway millionaire’ jailed

Priest warns of risk in pope’s Lebanon visit

BEIJING: Three people were killed and ﬁve injured when an eight-lane suspension bridge in northeast China collapsed early on Friday, only nine months after it opened, state media said. The bridge, part of an airport expressway in Harbin city, only opened last November after two years of construction that cost 1.9 billion yuan.

WASHINGTON: The US Capitol Police were investigating a possible threat against Todd Akin, the congressman who triggered an uproar when he said a woman’s body can prevent pregnancy in cases of rape. “The US Capitol Police are currently working with the FBI on a reported threat against Congressman Akin,” a spokeswoman conﬁrmed.

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand man who ﬂed to China after a bank mistakenly deposited millions of dollars into his account was jailed for four years and seven months Friday. Hui “Leo” Gao and his thenpartner Kara Hurring skipped the country when Westpac bank accidentally put NZ$10 million into Gao’s account in April 2009.

ROME: The pope’s safety could be at risk during a planned visit to Lebanon next month, a Jesuit priest who was recently forced to leave Syria warned on Wednesday. Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Lebanon from September 14-16 to bring a message of peace and call for greater respect for religious pluralism.

It is completely without foundation to suggest that this process ... represented an attempt at a ‘cover up’ by anyone in the Reserve Bank Glenn Stevens, Australian central bank governor

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

Comment Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill Former British PM

Business bloom in an unlikely Mexico city

artha Messina, an economic development specialist, waits at the security gate of an India-style call centre in this city across the border from Texas. She says that the company, Genpact, and others like it are thriving in northern Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez — the same place that at one time seemed to be ground zero for Mexico’s brutal cartel war. “There’s a lot of life in the businesses here, but [people] only talk about the negative,” Messina says. More than 10,500 killings since 2008 in Juarez — a city of about 1.3 million people — made it one of the deadliest cities in the world. The murder rate has fallen substantially since 2010, but the bad reputation is not likely to fade fast. Juarez, however, is not an economic ghost town. Multinationals Johnson & Johnson, Delphi, Siemens and Foxconn all have major manufacturing operations here. McDonald’s, Chili’s, Arby’s and other chains have opened up restaurants, catering to the working population. Even as Mexico’s cartels smuggle drugs across the US border and local turf-battling gangs prey on small business owners, big companies and factories continue to expand their operations. Major businesses, including multinationals and outsourcing offices, appear unthreatened by the drug war violence. It’s an uncomfortable coexistence. Now as the killings have slowed in recent months, local executives hope the city’s economy will have a chance to flourish. That’s part of a complex story in Mexico, Latin America’s secondlargest economy, after Brazil. GLOBAL POST

PART II

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Even with an international convention on biodiversity round the corner, the City continues to neglect the most basic public amenities. While the routes the VIPs are expected to take are being spruced up, the rest of the City is ignored. A denizens’ conference... Someone?

JUDGING BOOKS

ANONYMOUS ALIEN

Maybe, just maybe, your next investment should also be in your driver, or cook or nanny. The returns are astronomical.

wo weeks ago, I wrote about an extraordinary woman who had been beaten and abused her entire life, ended up a housekeeper and then, with a bit of external nurturing, blossomed into a successful marketing executive in a local company. I wrote then that often, sadly, we don’t want to help a cook or driver to rise in life. We justify our unwillingness to help them assuming there is nothing we could do for them anyway, that there is no way to change the status quo, as the person in question lacks the education, the desire, the ambition, maybe even the intelligence to do so. I also said that if you are one of those who make these assumptions, I’m here to prove you wrong. I made a strong case for this two weeks ago. This week, I make it again. Meet Rajesh. When I met him, some six years ago, he was perhaps 30 years old and was my driver in Mumbai — a good safe driver. But he had lots of flaws: coming late to work, using the car for personal use without permission, etc. and I started to feel he wasn’t the right man for the job. Yet he was so deferential — so shy, so scared of my authority; it was hard to tell if there was anything else in him but the ability to drive. One day he was driving me to work and I asked how my kids behaved towards him

when he was driving them somewhere when my wife nor I would not be in the car (I try to teach my kids to treat everyone with respect and wanted to make sure that those courtesies extended to our driver, too). Rajesh said they treated him politely. Then I asked him about his kids. He confessed his kids weren’t doing so well: his eldest son was drifting, not getting good grades. His daughter was a bit distant from him. He asked me for advice, and I gave some, and a week or two later he said the advice had helped him, and his kids were doing better. From that point, we started to talk more. It turned out Rajesh hadn’t always been a driver, but a series of events had pushed him into it years earlier, and he saw no way out. But I did see a way out for him. Rajesh, it was becoming clear, was a man of high intelligence and exceptional ethics. He was just lost: he had no one to men-

tor him, and hadn’t a clue how to behave professionally, or how to treat his wife or kids. I asked him if he was interested in becoming something more than a driver, and he said yes. I told him I was willing to help him if he agreed to stick to four things, and that if he did, I would, after my three-year employment contract was up, help him get a job outside of driving where he could move up and build a real career. The four things were read and discuss a series of books I would buy him; spend an hour every night learning to use a computer I would get him; discuss on our drive home business issues I had at work, and how I resolved them; and, spend all his free time with his wife and kids, instead of his friends. He agreed. I asked him what kind of book he would like for his first read: “a love story”, he said. I got him Charlotte’s Web, a love

story between a pig and a spider. He read it, and his insights into it were spot on. Next was Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. He consumed it in a week. Over the years, the books got more sophisticated; our talks about business more indepth; his computer proficiency excellent; his command of English stronger; his relationship with his family better. When I left the company, I got Rajesh a job in a company. Unfortunately, the company folded and I was 10,000 miles away and unable to help him get a new job. But when I returned to India two years later, and tried to locate Rajesh, I was sure I would find him in a driver’s job. I guess I ended up guilty about making silly assumptions about people: Rajesh hadn’t just gotten himself a new job, he had moved up... and up... and up. Today, he manages some 40 people, and makes six times what I used to pay him. He is no longer poor: he is middle class. And his kids are excelling, and will not, I assure you, be among India’s impoverished when they grow up. This weekend, I am meeting Rajesh to discuss investing in a company he now plans to start. And I think he’s going to make me a lot of money. Maybe, just maybe, your next investment should also be in your driver, or cook. The returns are astronomical. You can reach the Anonymous Alien at AnonymousAlieninIndia@gmail.com

EDITORIALS Disruption of Parliament, a fruitless waste of public money

The fall of Lance Armstrong

he business of the Parliament has been stalled as the government and the Opposition are at odds about how the ‘coalgate’ should be dealt with. Crucial Bills and hundreds of amendments are stuck in the stalemate. Crores are spent every day on the logistics and security to ensure the exalted representatives show up at their respective houses, only to see them trooping out after going through the procedural charade of making their ‘presence felt’ in the chaos. Several government departments are tied up doing research and analysis work for their ministries so that House queries can be answered — all to go waste. Other than wasting time and resources, what purpose does disruption of Parliament serve? For all the might the MPs assume, they are nothing but employees of public who are paid from exchequer to safeguard public interests. In their cheap scramble to claim moral high ground and hog limelight, it is this fundamental duty that is being neglected.

READERS’ VIEWS

esterday, the legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong decided not to fight a case brought against him for doping. He decided that “enough was enough” and after years of fending off probes he would give up the fight to concentrate on bringing up his kids. That’s all very admirable, but Lance is also being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, and is leaving the battered sport of cycling in tatters. Whether the sport will survive the loss of its most iconic figure remains to be seen.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

mUSIC

GOT WHAT I DESERVED: RONAN KEATING Ronan Keating admits he "deserved" what happened to him after his wife left him following a seven-month affair. The Boyzone singer had secretly romanced 27-year-old dancer Francine Cornell behind the back of his then wife Yvonne in 2009, and was unable to make their marriage work, something Ronan blames himself for.

GET INTO THE GROOVE

BACK AGAIN

Shed your inhibitions and get on that stage. The Karaoke World Championship is calling, and tomorrow is your last chance to participate in Hyderabad.

98 Degrees

SING FOR THE MOMENT

JYOTSNA NAMBIAR jyotsna.n@postnoon.com

athroom singers of the world, unite! The finale of the Hyderabad leg of the Karaoke World Championships (KWC) trials is on at Ohri’s 1857 on Saturday, and they’re looking for you. Karaoke has always been a popular way to unwind after a long day at work, but the trend has caught on in India only in the past eight to ten years. Now, almost every pub dedicates a day of the week to karaoke, and people are just lapping it up. V Surender, franchisee head for 10D (pan-India operations) says, “We were the first pub in Hyderabad to start karaoke night some 10 years ago. Every week, we have a huge crowd participating, including a lot of celebrities.” Indeed, it has gained such a

following that when India entered the Karaoke World Championship last year for the first time, the response was tremendous. Lalit Kewalramani of KWC India said, “Last year, we held trials in nine venues in nine cities. It was mostly regular patrons who participated.” This year, it has only gotten bigger. “Our outreach is better than last year. We are holding 150 venue trials in 15 cities this time round. Participants get certificates, freebies and trophies. So far, about 75 per cent of the venue trials are over. Around 1,700 people have already participated across the country. By the end of the trials, we are expecting about 2,000-odd people to have participated,” he added. Around 30 countries will participate in the Karaoke World Championship finals, which will be held in Finland. Megha Girish from Hyderabad,

iTUNES Top 10 songs 1 WE ARE NEVER EVER Justin Bieber 6 GOOD TIME GETTING BACK Owl City & Carly Rae TOGETHER Taylor Swift

Jepsen

2 WHISTLE

7 HOME

Flo Rida

Phillip Phillips

3 ONE MORE NIGHT

8 CALL ME MAYBE

Maroon 5

Carly Rae Jepsen

4 SOME NIGHTS

9 WANT U BACK

Fun

Cher Lloyd

5 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME (ft Big Sean)

10 EVERYBODY TALKS Neon Trees

who had reached the top 10 in the girls’ category last year, said of her experience, “I had just moved to Hyderabad the day before the city finals, when some friends convinced me to participate. I won, went on to zonals and the finals. Getting there was a definite surprise. The scale of the competition was amazing. The stage, the participants…it was like - whoa! this is incredible!” And if you think that English songs were the only way to go, think again. “There are fewer people who sing in regional languages and Hindi in metros. But in places like Patna, Chandigarh and even Delhi, Hindi songs are very popular.” Karaoke jockey (KJ) Anand, who has been hosting karaoke nights in several cities for years now, chimes in, “Regional singers are few, but Hindi songs are popular in Hyderabad.”

Top 10 albums 1 NOW 43 6 UNCAGED Various Artists Zac Brown Band

2 GOD FORGIVES, I DON’T 7 BELIEVE Rick Ross Justin Bieber

3 NOTHING BUT THE BEST 8 UP ALL NIGHT Frank Sinatra One Direction

4 PERFECTLY IMPERFECT 9. 21

Elle Varner Adele

5 DECLARATION OF 10. KIDZ BOP 22 INDEPENDENCE Kidz bop Kids Colt Ford

In his experience, love songs, like Adele’s Rolling In The Deep and Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours, are always the most popular. “The new generation is also fond of rock. There are also some good rappers out there. In fact, one of the finalists from a venue trial in Hyderabad is a rapper,” says Anand. So, what are classic karaoke numbers? “To be honest, every time I go for a karaoke night, I am amazed at the range of songs people choose to sing. There aren’t really any standard songs as such,”opines Megha. Even if you’re not confident about your solo singing skills, consider going with a group of friends. McDowells has what they call a “Frenzy Round”, and the winning group of friends get to accompany the finalists to Finland to cheer them on. So give it a shot or cheer the singers on.

Bollywood Top 10 1. BARFI 6. PHIR LE AYA DIL Barfi! Barfi!

2. MASHALLAH 7. TUM HI HO BANDHU Ek tha Tiger Cocktail

3. CHHI-CHA LEDAR 8. SAAWALI SI RAAT Gangs of Wasseypur Barfi!

4.MAIN KYA KAROON 9. YEH JISM HAI TOH KYA Barfi! Jism 2

5 KAALA RE 10. ABHI ABHI Gangs of Wasseypur Jism 2

It's been more than a decade since 98 Degrees shared a stage together, and a lot has happened to its members since. Nick Lachey got married again to Vanessa Minnillo. Lachey's brother Drew, won the second season of Dancing with the Stars, while Justin Jeffre made a career switch to politics, running for (but losing) the Mayor of Cincinnati. And Jeff Timmons released a solo album.The group is ﬁnally back together. 98 Degrees reunited last week on the "Today" show and played their ﬁrst full concert at the MixTape Festival at Hershey Stadium.

DID YOU KNOW...

623,000 is the number of downloads Taylor Swift has got for her latest single We are never ever getting back together . It is a new mark for a female artist, besting the 448,000 downloads Lady Gaga sold in a week with Born This Way — the song will take over the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 (leaping all the way from #72), giving Swift her first-ever Hot 100 chart-topper.

TRENDING...

The Grammys are heading to Nashville, the capital of country music, for the ﬁrst time to announce nominations for the biggest awards in the music industry. The Recording Academy said the show, which intersperses the naming of nominees with performances from leading musicians, will air live on the CBS on Dec 5.

For anyone heading over to Zayn Malik's Twitter page, they won't see any updates from the One Direction singer. Malik unplugged from Twitter citing online hate as the main cause behind the breakup. Zayn's departure spawned tearful missives fans, sparked trends like #ComeBackZayn.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

spotlight 1

1 Sarita & Kishan

5 Cindy 6 Michel 7 Iesha

4 Sunny & Kasish

8 Ritu

Haute & heavy

2 Sangeetha & Swathi 3 Tarmeen & Dimple

DESIGNED FOR THE CITY

Fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani was in the city on Thursday to inaugurate his boutique at Banjara Hills. He then hosted a cocktail party which was attended by friends and accquaintances in the city. 7

A whole lot of fun

1 Heena 2 Upasana K 3 Tina 4 Shilpa Reddy 5 Madhavi

City-based designer Zubin Vakil was the brain behind the night out at Kismet on Thursday. There was a fashion show as well to keep the guests entertained.

6 Manjula Narsa 7 Pinky Reddy 8 Tarun Tahiliani

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

FAD NIGHT OUT

SMOOTH OPERATORS NIGHT

Since ladies have a dedicated night so why leave the men behind. This night is dedicated to men. Offer one complimentary drink from a special menu on every drink that the accompanying lady orders. Enjoy Fridays with DJ Mohit at Tease, Begumpet.

9 Simran 10 Karen Bhatia 11 Rummy Azad,

Shruthi 12 Sana, Maria 13 Vineeta &

Navneet Pittie

14 Asmita &

Chaitanya

15 Anand Kabra

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

health

STRESSED MICE SIRE ANXIOUS DAUGHTERS Researchers at the Tufts University School of Medicine have evidence from experiments on mice to support that some traits pass to daughters and escape sons altogether. Adolescent mice exposed to chronic social stress, exhibit anxiety and poor social interactions through adulthood.

TO EUTHANISE OR NOT

Locked in for life When Tony Nicklinson’s plea for euthanasia was turned down, the locked-in syndrome patient gave up on life. We speak to City experts on whether euthanasia should be granted in extreme cases like Tony’s.

RANJANI RAJENDRA

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

magine a life where you had no power or control to do anything. Not even speak, let alone move about. All you could probably do is move your eyeballs. You can’t run, you can’t walk, you can’t voice your anger, cry out in pain or even say “I love you” to your wife and kids. Sounds terrible, right? That is exactly what Tony Nicklinson had to deal with since 2005. A once successful businessman who led an active life and loved spending time with his wife and two daughters, Tony suffered a stroke on a business trip to Athens, which left him with the locked-in syndrome. For the last seven years the British citizen was forced to lead life in a vegetative state with him being completely incapable of performing even basic tasks. All he could do was communicate with his family using a computer that he could control with his eye movements. Unwilling to lead life any longer in such a state of indignity, Tony requested the court to grant him the right to euthanasia (mercy killing). However, he lost his legal battle and expectedly was devastated at being forced to continue a life of misery.

When the court ruled against Tony it was like he gave up on life itself. He stopped eating and even refused treatment for the pneumonia he had contracted which ultimately led to his death on Wednesday evening. His life might have had a tragic end, but there are several

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

other people out there who are dealing with a similar situation. Another British man ‘Martin’ too lost his legal battle for euthanasia for the same reasons on the same day as Tony. Life with the locked-in syndrome is tough, to say the least. “The locked-in syndrome occurs when there is a

HOUSECALL

WiScale

Fabry disease

This application allows you to monitor essential health and ﬁtness data. It provides graphic displays so that you can check changes in health trends with just a glance. All the data is automatically recorded and available at all times. This app is available free-of-cost for iPhone and iPad users.

Fabry disease is a rare condition that affects the body’s ability to break down lipids. The genetic disorder results in symptoms burning sensation in the hands and feet, heart problems and skin lesions. This disease is causes by the defect in a gene that controls the alpha-galactosidase A enzyme. It is this enzyme that helps in the breakdown of lipids. The disease is more common in men than in women.

A patient with locked-in syndrome has no control over his body and can only manage to move his/her eyeballs.

DID YOU KNOW? Sleep is essential for living I need to sleep now! I am dying to sleep. Many of us have repeated this statement time and again. Studies have proven that one could go without eating for weeks without any problem but not sleeping for more than 11 days at a stretch can prove to be quite fatal.

stroke to the pons area of the brain. This is a crucial area and when blood supply to this part of the brain is reduced it results in locked-in syndrome. A patient typically will find that he cannot move his limbs, can’t breathe on his own initially and will need ventilator support for a while and can’t talk but can understand what is being said. His brain will be functioning normally but he will only be able to move his eyeballs,” says Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant neurologist at Apollo Hospital. In the event of brain death it is permitted to take a patient off life support as it is accepted as death. “But in the case of lockedin syndrome with the brain functioning normally the patient is completely conscious. Many people who are independent and have a lot of self-respect hate being dependent and prefer death. However, I don’t think euthanasia is right. It is like suicide. Locked-in syndrome might be a severe ailment but the person is still alive. If we allow paralysed people to choose death, then where are we heading? It’s like saying that the world is only for healthy people,” opines Dr Sudhir. He goes on to add, “In Tony Nicklinson’s case he might have been depressed. Such patients should be provided emotional and physical support. People might feel euthanasia is alright, but I don’t agree.”

PIONEERS Giacomo Pylarini Giacomo Pylarini was one of the people responsible for reducing the spread of smallpox. Giacomo Pylarini created the variolation which was a form of vaccine. Therefore, Pylarini is considered the “Father of Immunology”. He was born in Cefalonia, Greece in 1659 and died in Padua, Italy in 1718. He was the ﬁrst to use the smallpox vaccine outside Europe.

health FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

WINE FOR HEALTH

BRAIN WIRING

Red wine helps old people stay agile The chemical compound resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, can now claim to help improve balance in old people. ALEXANDER BESANT n another score for wine afficionados, a new study now suggests that a compound in red wine may prevent seniors from taking falls. The chemical compound resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine and linked to many health benefits including anti-aging, can now claim to help improve balance. While this statement may bring a cheer to many. There is just one catch to this study. It is said that in order to achieve the same effect as the study, someone would have to drink 700 bottles of wine. That said, the study basically suggests that the compound could be concentrated and made into a supplement form which in the correct dosage can be used in the future. “Our study suggests a natural compound like resveratrol, which can be obtained either through dietary supplementation or diet itself, could actually decrease some of the motor deficiencies seen in our aging population,” said Jane Cavanaugh, an assistant professor of pharmacology at Duquesne University, told the

Telegraph. “And that would, therefore, increase an aging person’s quality of life and decrease their risk of hospitalisation due to slips and falls.” The study was conducted on two groups of mice, one younger, the other older. Researchers had both groups walk a tight balance beam. At first, the old mice were seen struggling to cross but after receiving mega doses of reveratrol, the older mice were just as nimble as their younger counterparts, said UPI. The researchers also said that the antioxidant would be likely blocking compounds that produce cell death. “We believe that resveratrol is either removing the byproducts of dopamine metabolism, which are harmful to neural cells, or increasing resistance in the cells themselves,” Cavanaugh told Wine Spectator. This discovery has been presented at the American Chemical Society national meeting that was held in Philadelphia.

Brain wiring gave humans edge over chimps WASHINGTON: It wasn’t a bigger brain but a more sophisticated wiring that gave humans the edge to evolve beyond their closest cousins, the chimps, says a new study. A University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) study pinpoints the unique human patterns of gene activity in the brain that could shed light on how we evolved differently than our closest relative, the journal Neuron reports. These genes’ identification could improve understanding of human brain diseases such as autism and schizophrenia, as well as learning disorders and addictions, according to a California statement.

Using post-mortem brain tissue, scientists applied nextgeneration sequencing and other modern methods “Scientists usually describe evolution in terms of the human brain growing bigger and adding new regions,” said principal investigator Daniel Geschwind, professor of human genetics and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Our research suggests that it’s not only size but the rising complexity within brain centres that led humans to evolve into their own species,” he said. Using post-mortem brain tissue, Geschwind and colleagues applied next-generation sequencing and other modern methods to study gene activity in humans, chimps and rhesus macaques, a common ancestor for both chimps and humans that allowed researchers to see where changes emerged. IANS

GLOBAL POST

GENETICS

Older fathers linked to child’s health ALLISON JACKSON or years, older mothers have been blamed for the health problems of their children. But a study published in Nature today points the finger at older fathers. An Icelandic company has found that men who father chil-

dren later in life pass on more new genetic mutations to their offspring than younger dads, possibly increasing their child’s risk of mental disorders such autism and schizophrenia, the Los Angeles Times reported. Researchers studied the genomes of 78 families in Iceland and found that the num-

ber of mutations in a child was related to the age of the father, according to US News. “Society has been very focused on the age of the mother. But apart from (Down’s Syndrome) it seems that disorders such as schizophrenia and autism are influenced by the age of the father and not the moth-

er,” Dr Kari Stefansson, of Decode Genetics, who led the research, was quoted by the BBC as saying. According to Bloomberg, a 20-year-old man hands about 25 mutations to their offspring, while a 40-year-old man passes on about 65. Mothers always transmit

about 15 new mutations no matter their age, it said. “The father is an incredibly important contributor to mutations, and even if de novo (new) mutations happen randomly, the more mutations you have, the more likely you will have one in a gene that matters,” Stefansson said. GLOBAL POST

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

Entertainment COMEDY CENTRAL

THE MOTHER OF ALL SPOOFS

Allari Naresh dazzles in this laugh riot which takes a dig at every cliché associated with Telugu cinema. HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

uite rarely do films live up to the prerelease hype and it is even tougher when someone claims to have made a full length spoof. Allari Naresh’s Sudigadu is not just a full spoof film, it is ‘the mother of all spoofs’ ever made in Telugu cinema. It’s been years since someone has attempted anything like this and Bheemineni Srinivasa Rao, the director of the film, does a terrific job in filling the film with so many spoofs that one will lose track of the numbers of references in the film. The best part about it is that nothing feels awkward. Allari Naresh stars as Shiva, the quintessential Telugu cinema hero, who’s both brave and lucky right from his birth. When he ‘suddenly’ grows old enough to save Hyderabad from several atrocities, he goes on an undercover mission to eliminate the gang of a don named ‘D’. In this process, he meets Priya (Monal Gajjar) and ends up going on a long adventure in search of his parents. How he manages to do it forms the rest of the story. Sudigadu is a worthy remake of C S Amudhan’s Tamil Padam and kudos to Bheemineni Srinivasa Rao for coming up with innumerable whacky lines which take potshots at clichés in Telugu cinema and even television. One such instance is a scene where we are transported to the sets of a MOVIE Sudigaadu CAST Allari Naresh, Monal Gajjar

DIRECTOR Bheemineni Srinivasa Rao RATING 3.5

popular TV show Challenge. Those five minutes are worth whatever you are going to spend on the film. The film’s first half is a laugh riot and it sets the bar so high that the second half falls just short of sending you on a laughter-crazed trip as much as the first half does. Nevertheless, the film is a breezy entertainer and a complete paisa vasool film. Allari Naresh does a terrific job with his role which gives him the license to go berserk. The confidence with which he delivers even the most hilarious lines with a poker face is noteworthy and he carries the entire film on his shoulders. Music by Sri Vasanth is alright and Vijay Ulaganath’s cinematography is good. This is not the film where you should raise questions about the logic behind a scene. It’s a spoof. All you need to do is sit back and tell yourself ‘OMG! That’s so true’. Two thumbs up for the film.

CINE BYTES Allu Arjun goes to Kerala

llu Arjun flew to Ernakulam yesterday to interact with his fans. This is his first visit to Kerala after his recent film Julayi was dubbed in Malayalam as Gaja Pokkiri. The actor has a huge fan base in Kerala and he has promised his fans that he’ll act in a straight Malayalam film soon.

YVM’s audio release on Sept 2

ani, Samantha starrer Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu is in the last stage of production. Gautham Menon has revealed that the ﬁlm’s audio is going to be launched on September 2. Ilayaraja has composed the music.

Rana is all praises for Ajith

jith has a new fan in Rana, if the latter’s tweets are anything to go by. “Wrapped the sched of the #AjithKumar/ Vishnuvardhan tamil ﬁlm. An extreme pleasure and honor working with #Ajithsir. Really had a great time (sic),” he posted on Twitter after shooting for his cameo in Mumbai. Rana is in Hyderabad where he’s shooting for Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

fashion

H&M CHOOSES ITS FACE FOR FALL 2012

HIGH STREET retailer H&M has chosen Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman as the face of its Fall 2012 ad campaign, directed by Jonas Akerlund. The 30-year-old Easy Money will reportedly be shown wearing pieces including a varsity jacket layered over a navy crewneck and denim shirt.

Five Beauty Trends SURABHI CHAUHAN

feedback@postnoon.com

2. Bold eyes

t is not the time to be shy in fashion. Wear royal bold colours on clothes and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop just there. Eye make-up is elaborate for the season. That doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean the trend should only be saved for the expert hands of fashion shows. Wearing one bold colour eye shadow with a mascara and eyeliner will get the runway look at home. If that is too risky, you can channel Stella McCartney show by applying a electric blue mascara on a clean face.

1. Hair Accessories

dorn your hair with clips, jewels, barrettes and bands to define the shape of the hair this season. Match the colour of metal to the outfits. Fashion aside, this trend conveniently keeps your hair neat and in shape. No flyaway, or incontrollable messiness for the festive season.

22&23 for Fall Winter 2012 ASHLEY GREENE FOR DKNY

TWILIGHT ACTRESS Ashley Greene is starring in a new DKNY Jeans campaign shot by German photographer and director Peter Lindbergh. Fans can turn to Pinterest to discover all the images from the Fall/Winter 2012-2013 campaign, also featuring German model Johannes Huebl.

When designers display a collection on the runway, it is not just the garments that are to set the trends for the forthcoming season. The styling is of equal importance. These are the hair and make-up trends that made a statement on the runway and can easily be tried at home.

5. Sparkle

aving too much sparkle on garments might be passé lately, but that doesn’t mean sparkle doesn’t appear in make-up this season. A clever dusty effect shimmer on the eyelids or nail enamel in glitter were a popular trend at the couture shows in Paris. At Chanel couture show, the nails were applied with silver shade wit a half covered top layer of baby pink. Sparkle is treated in a gentle feminine manner as opposed to the Disco era bold manner.

3. Red Lips

classic make-up trend that keeps making its way in and out of fashion is back again. Matte red lip colour can neatly be applied with a simple lip brush and tried by all skin tones and face shapes. Keep the rest of the make-up pretty basic to maintain an understated look. At Gucci, the lips were in the deepest shade of red that made for a deep and mysterious yet sexy look.

4. Pink Cheeks That natural tone of flush pink cheeks made a comeback on the runway. Models showcased a natural look on lips and hair and matched that with a pair blushing cheeks. A very feminine nod to the winter season, pink cheeks can be worn for a day or a night look. Wear this make-up with a simple wool print dress and boots during daytime or with a floor length gown in the evening. Expert’s tip to apply the blush is directly on the cheek bones – neither under the eye nor on the cheeks.

Entertainment FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office. Robert Frost

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

SUDOKU How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once. Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Very thin soup 6 Lambs’ ma’ams 10 A human arm bone 14 Bald eagle nest 15 Army outpost 16 Playwright Simon 17 Food prep pun (Part 1) 20 Linden and Roach 21 Guard, tackle or center 22 Squiggly letter 23 Emptied, as a brake line 24 Country just south of Sicily 28 ‘The View’ co-host Shepherd 30 Golden Triangle flowers 32 Heavy drinker 35 Animal with a white rump 36 Food prep pun (Part 2) 40 Bathroom, in Brighton 41 Features of O. Henry stories 42 All at once 45 Flamethrower substance 49 Hard to get a reaction out of 50 Wearing apparel 52 Edinburgh ‘Uh-uh’ 53 ‘Tahitian Women on the Beach’ artist 56 Bible book after John 57 Food prep pun (Part 3) 61 Worshiped object 62 Secluded valley 63 Africa’s Sierra ___ 64 Love to excess (with ‘on’) 65 Pairs with drums 66 Go-___ (mini racers)

DOWN

1 Uses the tub 2 Go over and over and over 3 ‘... if you want to avoid trouble’ 4 Involuntary twitches 5 ‘I’m so clever’ sound 6 Sam’s secretary in ‘The Maltese

Falcon’ 7 Cause for stitches 8 Emerald Isle language 9 Apple attachment 10 Open, as a change purse 11 ‘Anna Karenina’ author Tolstoy 12 Game with matchsticks 13 Hearty mugful 18 Three dots 19 A bit moist 23 Fancy cracker topper 25 Bent the truth 26 ‘Cast’ lead-in 27 Seek a response from 29 1 or 66 (Abbr.) 30 Actor Sean 31 Man of the cloth 33 Parisian pop 34 ‘7 Faces of Dr. ___’ 36 Didi of ‘Grease’ and ‘Grease 2’ 37 Where you hang your hat 38 ‘Coming of Age in Samoa’ author Margaret 39 Deadly snake 40 Honolulu necklace 43 Diamond-shaped sock pattern 44 Adult male deer 46 Heavy thing on a ship 47 Like some fingerprints 48 Complicated situations 50 Likelier to win a baby contest 51 Bank claims 54 Attempt to persuade 55 Splashy party 56 Where sailors go 57 ‘Way’ or ‘wife’ beginning 58 ‘And now, without further ___ ...’ 59 ‘Death Be ___ Proud’ 60 Of the same ___ (similar)

Chai Time FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 25-8-2012

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Though faced with lot of difficulties, you don't give up. You will struggle hard and register success at any cost. Though faced with work burden, employees manage and discharge duties successfully. Expected promotion will be yours soon.

Health will be fine. Confusion and tension will be over and clearcut a decision will be taken. Unwanted arguments may be curtailed so that couples live cordially. You will clear all hand loans taken as financial position will be strong.

You will get negative thoughts sometime; also your work will not be successful in the first attempt. Do not worry as this is only a temporary problem. Things will soon change. Opposition will reduce. You get a lot of suitable opportunities.

QUICK CROSSWORD FRED BASSET

All tensions will be over. Financially a satisfactory position is seen. Your charisma will improve, which will do the magic; wherever you go, you will be respected. New VIPs will get introduced to you, which will prove beneficial in the future.

You will feel cheerful as laziness and tiredness will go. Financial situation too will be comfortable, which will keep you happy. Spouse might be dissatisfied with some of your actions. Spend some time with her to keep her happy.

You will plan a better future and the base work will be done at present. Friends and wellwishers will help you. Govt sops likely. Court verdicts will go in your favour. Those planning to go abroad will get their visa in time. Blood relatives will help.

You will be successful in all tasks undertaken. VIP friends will extend help and support to ensure your success. Some have bright chances to buy a house or land. Misunderstanding with father will be over but not with other relatives.

You will work with foresight. Unexpected financial fortune likely. Some are likely to get govt posts. Politicians will be in limelight. Avoid being too close to friends who had joined your list recently. Marriage talks will end favourably.

New and innovative thoughts will come to mind, take shape and get implemented, which will ensure desired results. Expected money will come as per target. Adamant attitude of children will change. Increased travel and minor accident likely.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Knight of Wands – Keep a check on your erratic behaviour, which may be confusing people. By being unpredictable, you have built quite a reputation for yourself.

LEO:

The High Priestess – In a relationship, both husband and wife must come halfway. Otherwise, it is not going to work out. Do little things for each other.

LIBRA:

STONE SOUP

Nine of Wands – You have gained new confidence by some recent successes. This is spurring you on in the right direction. This is a great time to start a new venture.

SAGITTARIUS:

Ten of Wands – You are extremely tired with your work and want to take a break. You are seeing the world in new light by doing things differently.

TAURUS:

Knight of Pentacles – Your arrogance is not doing you any good. You are feeling let down by someone close. But how can you be arrogant and expect them to help?

CANCER:

The Tower – You may have overheard some spicy gossip at the office. The choice is yours, whether to pass on that information to others or not.

VIRGO:

Judgment – You are a believer and this has brought you a long way. You must not let go of the faith, and continue to believe in yourself.

SCORPIO:

Queen of Swords – You are a hard worker and are about to be appreciated for all your efforts. You will be given a bonus or some kind of appreciation.

CAPRICORN:

Queen of Wands – You are in the mood to cook something nice for your family and yourself. Get into the habit of healthy cooking and you will see the results.

SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Two of Swords – Someone is upsetting you by giving you a hard time at work. It’s nothing you cannot handle. You just become very agitated when he/she is around.

NUMBER GAME

There are many layers to changes that have happened in the recent past. While this is not the best time for change, you haven’t had a choice in the matter.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Four of Cups –

INK PEN

Your self-confidence and boldness will make you take strong and correct decisions that will yield desired result. You get introduced to VIP friends who will be of great help in future. Loan will get sanctioned. Court verdicts go in your favour.

for 25-8-2012

The Wheel of Fortune – You have the upper hand in an argument. Don’t take it too far, though. Learn to let go of minor irritants and move on with your life.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Health needs to be given proper attention. Negligence might put you in major trouble. Avoid talking emotionally, which might go against you with chances of you getting blamed too. Financial position will improve considerably.

SUDUKO

You will perform son or daughter's marriage in a grandly. Long-pending wishes will be fulfilled. Money will come from all expected sources. Kid will do well and help in improving your image in the society. Those deprived of kids will have one.

Boggle MONKEY DONKEY WALRUS GOPHER Vol: 2, No 38 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon.com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

Sport

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF LANCE ARMSTRONG ‘There comes a time when enough is enough’ Armstrong’s statement on abandoning his battle against the US Anti-Doping Agency.

here comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today finished with this nonsense. I refuse to participate in a process that is so onesided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year-old on the planet.

Lance gives up fight Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life, the US Anti-Doping Agency said.

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said Thursday he has decided not to continue his fight against the US AntiDoping Agency’s claims that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong, while maintaining his innocence, made his decision after a US federal court dismissed his lawsuit against USADA, paving the way for the agency to continue its probe into the retired American cyclist. Armstrong accused USADA of launching a “witch hunt” against him and said they were playing with a loaded deck. “Today I turn the page,” Armstrong said in a statement on his

Twitter website Thursday evening. “I will no longer address the issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title.” The 40-year-old said he was growing weary of the fight and the strain it had put on his personal and professional life. “There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say ‘enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now,” Armstrong said. “The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today —

Armstrong, who retired from cycling last year, sued in federal court to try and halt USADA’s probe but lost. finished with this nonsense.” Armstrong’s decision to stop fighting USADA means he could be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999-2005. His decision could also lead to a lifetime ban from cycling. USADA says Armstrong used banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood trans-

A ‘sad day’ for sports

fusions dating back to 1986. Armstrong, who retired from cycling last year, sued in federal court to try and halt USADA’s probe but lost. “The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced,” Armstrong wrote. “The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO: American cyclist Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life, US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart said Thursday. The decision came after Armstrong announced he was dropping his fight against USADA’s charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the most prestigious event in the sport from 1999 to 2005. Tygart told AFP that Armstrong would be stripped of all his results dating back to August 1, 1998. He called the move a “sad day” for the sporting world but expressed hope that it would help create a “level playing field” for future athletes. “It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes,” Tygart said in a separate written statement. “This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition, but for clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs.” Tygart said USADA planned to hold a news conference on Friday to provide more details on the case.

This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition. Travis Tygart US ADA chief

sports

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

PARALYMPICS 2012

ATHLETICS

‘ID’ makes comeback at Paralympic Games Intellectual Disability category was dropped after members of the Spanish basketball team were told to hand back their gold medals. JULIE CHARPENTRAT Agencie France-presse PARIS: Athletes with intellectual disabilities are competing at the Paralympics for the first time in 12 years, after an embarrassing scandal involving Spain’s basketball team. Three sports at the Games in the British capital are open to intellectual disability (ID) athletes — athletics, swimming and table tennis — following the introduction of stricter criteria for participation. The categories were dropped for the last two Games in Athens and Beijing after 10 members of the gold-winning Spanish basketball team in Sydney in 2000 were told to hand back their medals because several players had no intellectual disability. A journalist who played for the side claimed afterwards that “at least 15 of the 200strong Spanish [Paralympics] team had no physical or mental handicap” and that many participating countries had also selected non-disabled athletes. The president of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Green, said he was satisfied with new eligi-

bility criteria drawn up by the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) to prevent a repeat. “It’s already been used in a number of competitions and I have confidence in that system,” he told AFP in a recent interview.

The re-introduction is a boost for ID athletes and the federations that represent them, who have struggled to gain as much recognition — and funding — as other parasports. Of the 4,200 athletes expected at the Games, there will be some 200 ID athletes.

Despite the return of the categories, the director-general of the French Paralympic and Sporting Committee (CPSF) Gilles Johannet is disappointed that there are only 200 places for ID athletes. “It’s not really serious to just have six competitors per sport,” he added.

THE BARCLAYS

Harrington seizes lead at The Barclays

American Tiger Woods is part of a group tied for 14th. FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK: Irishman Padraig Harrington (right) seized the first-round lead with a seven-under 64 on Thursday at The Barclays, the first tournament of the PGA Tour playoffs. Harrington has a onestroke lead over Nick Watney and Brian Harman, who both fired six-under 65s on the Bethpage course. Harrington is hoping a strong showing at the event will convince European Ryder Cup cap-

tain Jose Maria Olazabal to make him one of his two captain’s picks. American Tiger Woods is part of a group tied for 14th after carding a three-under 68. Defending champion Dustin Johnson is one stroke ahead of FedEx Cup points leader Woods in eighth. While The Barclays is the first of four PGA Tour playoff events, a more immediate concern for Harrington is the Ryder Cup.

Yohan Blake is secondfastest man Usain Bolt, fresh from his triple gold haul at the Olympics, took the 200m in 19.58sec. LAUSANNE: Usain Bolt eased to victory in the 200m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Thursday as Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake became the second fastest 100m performer of all time. Bolt, fresh from his second successive triple gold haul at the Olympics, took victory in 19.58sec, ahead of Dutch runner Churandy Martina and compatriot Nickel Ashmeade. “I am definitely very pleased. It was a good run for the end of the season. I just wanted to have fun,” said Bolt. Earlier, Blake became the second fastest man over 100m when he clocked 9.69sec. World champion Blake, who was silver medallist behind Bolt at the London Olympics, finished ahead of America’s Tyson Gay in 9.83sec with Nesta Carter of Jamaica in 9.95sec. Blake, 22, improved his previous personal best of 9.75sec to move into second place on the all-time performers list which he now shares with Gay who has also run 9.69sec.

Blake improved his previous personal best of 9.75sec to move into second place on the all-time performers’ list. Only Bolt — with 9.58sec and 9.63sec — has run faster. Bolt said he always knew Blake would dominate Thursday’s 100m. “I saw him in training and I could tell he was going to run fast,” said Bolt America’s Carmelita Jeter edged the women’s 100m, thrillingly turning the tables on Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica. Fraser-Pryce had defeated Jeter in the final at the Games earlier this month, but she took victory on Thursday, dipping just at the right time at the line with both runners clocking 10.86sec. America’s Jason Richardson won the 110m hurdles in 13.08sec. Qatar’s Moutaz Essa Barshim Ahmed, a bronze medallist at the Olympics, won the high jump, getting the better of Ivan Ukhov.

sports

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

WINSTON-SALEM OPEN

US OPEN PREVIEW

Berdych, Tsonga move comfortably into semis

Venus-Serena US Open semis is possible

Berdych had it easy against Darcis (who ousted Roddick) after losing the first set. WINSTON-SALEM: Czech second seed Tomas Berdych and US seventh seed Sam Querrey advanced to a semi-final matchup at the ATP WinstonSalem Open with three-set victories on Thursday. Former Wimbledon runnerup Berdych ousted Belgian Steve Darcis 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 while Querrey outlasted Ukraine fourth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 75, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), firing 20 aces in the match to win after two hours and 11 minutes. Berdych had to come from behind to beat Darcis on the hardcourts at Wake Forest University. Querrey, who won a title last month in Los Angeles, has won 13 of his last 16 matches and leads the US Open Series standings. Berdych is the sixth seed at the US Open and will begin play next week in the year’s final Grand Slam tournament against Belgian David Goffin. Querrey, seeded 27th at Flushing Meadows, will open against Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun next week and could see Berdych in the third round.

Quarterfinals Tomas Berdych (CZE x2) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 Sam Querrey (USA x7) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR x4) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x1) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP x6) 6-1, 6-2 John Isner (USA x3) bt David Gofﬁn (BEL) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France serves to Marcel Granollers of Spain during the quarterfinals at Wake Forest University on Thursday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. AFP/ GETTY IMAGES/ STREETER LECKA

Dolgopolov, the US Open’s 14th seed, will open against American Jesse Levine and could face defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic in the round of 16. In the other side of the draw, French top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga cruised past sixth seed-

ed Marcel Granollers of Spain 61, 6-2. Tsonga hammered five aces and won 77 percent of his first-serve points in a 53-minute match. “I’m very happy because I played a bit less than the two (previous) matches and also because I played very good ten-

nis. For me, it’s good. It’s good for the rest of the tournament,” said Tsonga. Tsonga’s victory booked him a berth in the semis against third-seeded John Isner who defeated Goffin 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 on Thursday. Tsonga won the first five games of the match and broke Granollers two more times in the second set, going four for five on break point chances. This will be his first semi-final since Wimbledon where he lost to Andy Murray. Defending champion Isner overpowered Goffin with 21 aces, winning 33 of 38 points on his first serve.

NEW HAVEN OPEN

Wozniacki suffers injury in win The Danish third seed, who is set to be the eighth seed in next week’s US Open, defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Wozniacki receives treatment from WTA trainer Kerri Whitehead during her match on Thursday. AFP PHOTO

NEW HAVEN: Four-time defending champion Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA New Haven Open on Thursday but a slight right knee injury put a damper on the celebration. “I decided straight away after I felt it,” she said. “I played one more point and decided I needed to see the trainer because I felt a sharp pain in there. I needed to treat it.” Wozniacki felt a twinge in her right knee during the first

Quarterfinals Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x3) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x6) 6-2, 6-1 Maria Kirilenko (RUS x7) bt Olga Govortsova (BLR) 6-1, 6-2

game of the second set and called for a trainer. After a Cibulkova double fault on the next point, Wozniacki walked to the chair umpire and pointed to her knee. She sat down and got a bag of

ice from a cooler. She continued with the knee wrapped and won with ease but planned to have the knee examined before deciding if she would play on Friday. Wozniacki is scheduled to face Russian seventh seed Maria Kirilenko, who beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-2 in another quarter-final Thursday. Wozniacki is looking to become just the fourth woman to win the same WTA event in five consecutive years. AFP

NEW YORK: The Williams sisters could meet in the semi-finals as a result of the US Open draws made on Thursday. Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams lurked as a dangerous unseeded floater and ended up in the same quarter of the draw as Polish second seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Venus also was slotted into the same half of the draw as her sister Serena, meaning they could only meet in a semi-final with third seed Maria Sharapova and Belarus top seed Victoria Azarenka in the opposite half.

DJOKOVIC TO AVOID ANDY, FEDERER UNTIL FINAL On the men’s side, where Spanish star Rafael Nadal is absent because of continuing knee trouble, the draw set up a possible rematch of the Wimbledon and Olympic finals in the semi-finals with Murray and Federer in the same half of the draw. World No 1 Federer, who won his 17th Grand Slam title by beating Murray in last month’s Wimbledon final, won five US Open titles in a row from 2004 through 2008. Second seed Djokovic could face Argentina’s seventh-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter-finals and Serb eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic or Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer in the semi-finals. AFP

sports

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

NEW ZEALAND IN INDIA: FIRST TEST

India secure position With the kind approach that suits the longer version of the game perfectly, Pujara and Dhoni place hosts in the driver’s seat. M ANIL KUMAR

G APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

Pujara raises his bat after reaching 150 runs, while Dhoni congratulates him; (below) New Zealand’s TA Boult walks up to his position near the boundary at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal.

HYDERABAD: India was comfortably placed at 371/5, adding 64 runs to their overnight total of 307/5, at the end of the morning session’s play today, the second day of the first Test match against New Zealand. Though slow, runs flowed in at regular intervals, which included a few boundaries. The outfield continued to be on the slower side making it a little difficult for the batsmen to see the ball unable to escape the hands of the fielders. Thursday’s centurion, Pujara added 32 runs to take his score to an unconquered 151. The 24-year-old batsman brought his 150th run in style when he chipped a ball from Dough Bracewell to the boundary. The youngster showed immense maturity with his batting, playing sensibly all through. He is being well supported by Captain Cool, Mahender Singh Dhoni, who was unbeaten on 58. The skipper seemed in no hurry, taking his time to play the strokes, which at times included his, now famous, ‘helicopter shot’. Dhoni was lucky to have escaped being caught when he edged one shot to the slips when on 35. The two Indian batsmen

seemed to frustrate the New Zealand bowlers as the Kiwis failed to take any wicket in the morning session. Though Trent Boult did go for a few extra runs, the other bowlers bowled a decent line. They would hope to see a different result when they come back on the field in the post-lunch session. Earlier, rain delayed the start of play. Though not torrential, everyone — from the grounds staff to the media; from the spectators to the players — looked up to the skies hoping that there would be no reason for the duration of the match to be reduced in any manner. The match that was scheduled to have started at half past nine could not begin until ten to ten. The covers on the field saw upset faces among the spectators. The crowds waited with batted breath hoping to see the players take their positions on the field while it was a near same reaction in both the dressing rooms. The players moved around wondering if the rain gods would play spoil sport and would there be a chance of some undesired result. Fortunately for all, it was not a long wait. The covers were slowly taken off and this was greeted by loud cheers from the crowd. With the match having seen the first session go through with no other interruption, everyone would hope for the same throughout the day.

India vs New Zealand India 371/5 (109 overs) India 1st innings Pujara not out 151 Tendulkar b Boult 19 V Kohli c Guptill b Martin 58 SK Raina c †van Wyk b Patel 3 MS Dhoni*† not out 61 Extras 10 Total 371/5 Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-77, 3-125, 4-250, 5-260 Bowling O M R W CS Martin 23 3 66 1 TA Boult 21 3 77 2 DAJ Bracewell 15.4 1 81 1 JEC Franklin 13.2 0 40 0 JS Patel

KS Williamson

LEAGUE CRICKET SBH wins A division three day league against BDL BDL 260 & 224 (Ashwin 93, Daniel Manohar 3 for 51, Vishal Sharma 3 for 73, T Pavan 3 for 6) lost to SBH 216 & 270 for 5 (Rohit Rayudu 30, Daniel Manohar 87no, Kushal Zilla 86, Vishal Sharma 36no) Ensconse 334 & 73 (Amol Shinde 5 for 52, Kiran Kumar 3 for 0) lost to Andhra Bank 468 for 8 (Arjun Yadav 170, Amol Shinde 48, Kiran Kumar 45, Abdul Khader 30no, Mehdi Hasan 5 for 182, Maazuddin 3 for 82) Emcc 187 & 36 for 1 vs Falkhnuma 188 (Vinay Goud 78, K Chandrakanth 6 for 44) Hyd Bottling 233 & 46 for 2 vs SCRSA 192 (Solomon Raj 61, Rakesh 34, Razi 3 for 45, Sujeet Partabani 4 for 59) A 2 & 3 divisions two days league championship MCC 237 bt Mega City 202 (Shravan 34, Enosh K 35, Prince Ojha 5 or 36, Yash Puri 3 for 50)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

sports SPANISH SUPER CUP

Valdes howler can’t stop Barça Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova, in charge of his first 'Clasico', was happy with his side's performance after they beat Real Madrid 3-2.

DERMOT LEDWITH Agencie France-Presse MADRID: An embarrassing blunder by Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes handed Real Madrid a Spanish Super Cup lifeline Thursday despite slumping to a 3-2 first leg defeat at their Catalan rivals' Camp Nou home. With Barca 3-1 ahead, and pressing for a fourth goal, Valdes was caught out inside his own penalty area as he tried to dribble the ball clear only to be dispossessed by a stunned Angel Di Maria who scored into an empty goal. Pedro Rodriguez, Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez had earlier scored second-half goals to

give Barca a convincing lead after Cristiano Ronaldo had put Madrid ahead on 55 minutes. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho questioned the legality of Barca's first goal. "Barca played well, especially in the first-half when they did not allow us to play, but in the second we were able to change our game a little. It was a good game but their first goal was an error by the linesman and was offside," he said. Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova, in charge of his first 'Clasico', was happy with his side's performance. "We controlled the game and we had the chance to go 4-1 ahead at the end, but that's football.“

CHINA'S LIN EYES OLYMPIC HAT-TRICK

Chinese badminton star Lin Dan has denied any plans to quit the game — and even said he would consider going for a third straight Olympic title in 2016. ‘Super Dan’, 28, was thought to be eyeing retirement after he became the first man to clinch back-to-back Olympic gold medals.

EUROPA LEAGUE ‘Own goal’ spares Liverpool the blushes

ALISTAIR WATSON Agencie France-Presse EDINBURGH: A makeshift Liverpool side needed a late own goal to secure a narrow 1-0 win over Scottish Premier League

Hearts in their Europa League play-off round first leg match at Tynecastle on Thursday. Liverpool rested several first team stars for the match with the weekend's clash against English champions Manchester City.