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

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 22°C

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

INFORMATION

TO DIE FOR Rangareddy district’s RTI activists are becoming fatalities of ‘family feuds’ — soon after they start digging for information that will indict some unscrupulous officials. Whistleblowers cry foul play.

REPORT ON P6

FLASH

HIGH COURT DISMISSES JAGAN’S BAIL PETITION

Andhra Pradesh High Court today dismissed the bail petition of YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy in connection with the case of alleged disproportionate assets involving him. Jagan earlier moved the High Court contending that he is entitled to bail as a matter of right in view of the fact that the CBI had not filed a chargesheet within the prescribed time. However, opposing Jagan's bail plea, the CBI had contended that the issue of statutory bail was argued at length in Supreme Court and the accused now cannot raise this issue once again.

32 PAGES

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

city events

BULLS ART EXHIBITION

A group exhibition by Avijit Roy, HR Das, Laxman Aelay, Nagesh Goud and Sreekanth Kurva on the animal bull and its characteristics is on display at Aalankritha Art Gallery. The preview was on December 22. The exhibition is on till January 2 from 11am to 7pm.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

24°C

21°C

25°C

28°C

A mix of clear and cloudy skies.

A mix of cloud and sun.

Sunny with cloudy periods

New Delhi Mumbai Max 20 Max 33 Min 10 Min 24 Scattered thunderstorms

Chennai Max 29 Min 25

Mostly sunny.

Mix of sun and cloud.

Bangalore Max 28 Min 17 Partly cloudy.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES writer Pusala. Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Public Gardens, Nampally, H-01, Abids When: January 6, 7pm to 9pm Contact: (040) 2324 9045

DINING Christmas Eve buffet Traditional turkey buffet and unlimited beverages will be served at Deccan Pavilion. There will also be live entertainment. Where: Deccan Pavilion, Begumpet When: December 24 Contact: (040) 2340 0132

MISCELLANEOUS Photo competition Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad, is conducting a photo competition. The theme is Professions of the world. The winning entries will be sent to Paris. Where: http://hyderabad.afindia.org When: December 3 to January 6

Christmas brunch There is a Christmas Day Turkey Brunch at Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Europeaninspired Ginger Bread House started from December 15. Where: Okra, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel and Convention Center When: December 25, 12.30pm to 4pm X’mas, New Year treat Barbeque Nation is converted into a Christmas village to resemble the birthplace of Jesus. An exotic variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will be served. Where: Barbeque Nation, Banjara Hills & Jubilee Hills When: December 21-January 1 7pm onwards Contact: (040) 6456 6693 (040) 6429 2237

ART Inertia Photography Photography exhibition on India by Lona Lohan till December 31. Where: Rajiv Gandhi Airport,

MUKKOTI EKADASHI: Devotees offer prayers at Venkateshwara Temple on the occasion of Mukkoti Ekadashi at N SHIVA KUMAR Banajara Hills on Sunday. Banjara Hills When: Up to December 25 from 11:30am Contact: (040) 3241 1554

Shamshabad When: Up to December 31 11am to 7pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000 Art exhibition Artist M Narayan’s work is on display. Narayan graduated from the Ken School of Art. He has participated in over 30 solo exhibitions and is known for his rural depictions. Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Road no. 15, Jubilee Hills When: Up to January 2 Contact: (040) 2354 0023 Painting exhibition Memories Of Another Day is an exhibition of paintings by artist Konda Srinivas. He works with acrylic and oils on canvas, specialising in semiabstract landscapes. Where: Icon Art Gallery,

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

SHOWS Christmas carols Christmas carols will be sung by Global Edge school till the end of December at The Lobby. Where: Novotel & HICC Complex, PO Bag No 1101, Cyberabad Post Ofﬁce, Near Hitec City When: December 3-31 Contact: (040) 6682 4422 Concert for a Cause Apna watan, MS Foundation & Hyderapals are presenting Sounds from England. The money collected will go to the MS school for under-

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

privileged children. The passes are available at Goethe-Zentrum. Where: Vidyaranya High School When: January 5, 6pm onwards Contact: (040) 2335 0473 A-Bong Live A-Bong is a group of music enthusiast Bengalis from Hyderabad. Where: La Makaan, Lane Adjacent To C-Bay , Banjara Hills. When: January 6 5pm onwards Contact: 93965 55888

Christmas hampers Taj Krishna is giving out Luxury Santa Hampers and Deluxe Santa Hampers, which include Remy Martin Xo, Lagavulin 16, luxury Canali tie, and Rose petal jam to name a few. Where: Taj Krishna When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 6666 2323

Alexander Jaya Prakash Reddy is performing a 100 minute solo. He plays a retired army officer who wants to help people with their problems by starting a helpline. It is scripted by

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

Pochampally IKAT mela Pochampally Handloom Park is organising IKAT Mela, exhibiting handloom products like hand made bed & home linen, dress materials, home textiles, stoles , scarves, sarees, and dupattas, among others. Where: The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Exhibition Center Radhika Theater Road, Kamalanagar, Kushaiguda When: December 21 to 31 from 10am to 9:30pm Contact: 95429 76567

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

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL GUJARAT POLL RESULTS REFLECT ON RAHUL GANDHI’S LEADERSHIP? 64% 36%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL SACHIN’S EXIT AFFECT INDIA’S ODI PERFORMANCE? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

‘Communal victims’ held Fake Genie bottle Here is how rumours and false stories lead to communal flare-ups. Police did a quick job, exposed the lie and saved the situation. Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

n a swift move, the police discredited two men who claimed that they were attacked by unknown people when communal tension was at its peak in the Old City. The cock-and-bull story concocted by Majeed Khan, 18, and Mohd Azaam, 19, had a communal overtone. The two claimed that they were going home after work by an RTC bus and got down at Nayapul. They were waiting for another bus and Zaheer had gone to answer nature’s call when four men on bikes appeared and asked Maj-

Realising that both of them would be in trouble if a police complaint was lodged about their fight, the two youngsters made up the story of a communal attack. eed his name. The four, claimed Majeed, slapped and attacked him after hearing his name. Mirchowk police found out that the duo worked at a carpet shop and were returning by an

RTC bus when some argument took place and the two swore at each other. When they got down from the bus, a scuffle took place and Zaheer attacked Majeed with a blade. Realising that both will be in trouble if a police complaint was lodged, the two made up the story of a communal attack as the templeCharminar issue was at its peak and the City was under prohibitory orders. Police officers who made extra efforts to find out the truth were shocked at the light manner in which the young men cooked up stories. It could have led to a major communal flareup if not verified, police said.

sellers arrested

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

n a new game of trickery, some people were found to be conning connoisseurs of antiques with fake old articles. Task force of Central zone arrested four of them recently. The police found that the gang used to target people who walked into curio shops or antique shops and would offer them articles they would say are centuries old. ‘Used by this Rajah or that Sultan,’ used to be part of their spiel. Recently, they conned some customers with some black-coloured bottles with ‘East India Company 1818’ engraved on them. What is more, they claimed the bottles have spiritual values. They claimed that holders of these bottles would come

The accused with the ‘antique’

to riches and would not be harmed by evil spirits, said additional DCP T Rameshaiah. The police said one of the accused was himself a victim of this conning and had purchased such objects for high prices hoping that they would fetch huge profits. But reality was different and it was a hard job, the arrested confessed.

city MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012 LAST YEAR... HERE Motorists battle ads

ast year, Postnoon reported how the billboards along the City roads, most of which were illegal, glorifying leaders from various political parties, congratulating them or wishing them, caused problems to drivers. The trafﬁc police had been discarding several such banners regularly, while senior politicians were saying this was the best way to get public attention.

DECEMBER 24, 2011

NUMEROLOGY

1818

Black coloured bottles with East India Company 1818 engraved on them were sold to customers by frauds, who claimed these bottles had spiritual values.

Another time, the Chandanagar police had locked up activist Nagendar in the police station when he filed an RTI on the number of accidents in that area. P Ramakrishna, RTI activist See page 6

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

Some add to communal tensions for personal gain. Two people in the City were caught for blaming their mutual disputes on the Charminar-temple communal violence.

We need stricter laws to protect RTI activists. There have been reports of RTI activists in the State being arrested, murdered and threatened and complaints that RTI replies are unsatisfactory.

Playing on emotions to win elections? Government bodies are witnessing separatist sentiments regarding the T-issue, which played a crucial role in the success of GHMEU at the GHMC elections held recently.

What better way to build community spirit? The T-10 cricket match between Tollywood and Bollywood aided in collecting 3,000 units of blood by way of donation.

Question what is sold to you. Don’t blindly buy. Some people were found to be conning connoisseurs of antiques with fake old articles.

RIGHTS VIOLATION

Citizens face a nightmare Building contractors are free to create nuisance in the City. Debris is dumped along the roads and the noise of machines tortures the people in the locality at night. RMd NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

s contractors are not culpable for taking up construction activity during the night, it has become a nightmare for the residents in the locality. The licensing authority, the GHMC puts the onus on residents to initiate action by taking the help of the police. But there are instances where police officials have diverted complaints to the GHMC. Road No 18 and 19 in Jubilee Hills are areas where construction activity is going on at several sites round-the-clock. Even though the residents are disturbed, they do not object knowing that the building inspectors and police are handin-glove with contractors. According to officials at the GHMC, there is no special provision under the act regarding

non-stop work at sites. It comes under the ambit of ‘causing nuisance at night.’ The neighbourhood has a right to complain to the police, which must take action. But it appears that money and muscle power rule. A few months ago, PSR Swami, a senior citizen residing in Khairatabad, went through a similar disturbance and complained to the police about a construction work nearby that went on till late in the night. After he made a complaint, though the patrolling officer ascertained the details of location by 11.45pm, he was asked to visit the police station. Being a senior citizen, he could only send an SMS complaining about the activity. Since he did not feel the necessity to go to the police station, he skipped it. The police then advised him to contact the GHMC. “The case was finally looked into but we lost several days of sleep,” he recalled.

Contempt proceedings

he Karnataka High Court initiated contempt proceedings against the builder working on a bank’s new premises on MG Road for violating the ban on night construction, reported a Bangalore daily in October.

“Senior citizens, the ill and children suffer the most,” remarked RK Swamy, a legal advisor to Care Hospital. “What for is there police patrolling?” he wondered. Representatives of the United Federation of Resident Welfare Association point out that lack of definite provisions for controlling this nuisance has led to this situation. Syed Badshah, assistant general secretary, said, “It is a universal law that no heavy labour should be

undertaken at night as the night is for repose. Supreme Court ruling is also there in this regard. But our people are not vigilant. And officials are either lazy or under the obligation of contractors.” The trouble is not limited to GHMC but also to the Cantonment area. “Recently, a complete structure was raised, while taking up work only during the night in Alwal area. Later this was declared a hospital,” said Dr KRK Murthy, convener, Consumer’s Forum of India. When this issue was brought to the notice of the GHMC commissioner, he said until and unless it is a problem for the neighbours, the activity cannot be stopped. “Residents should not have a problem with the activity,” said GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu, when world-over, night construction activity is declared illegal.

NEWS BRIEFS Energy award for APTRANSCO

Auto drivers, owners harassed by financiers

Mopidevi embarks on Sabarimala pilgrimage

Prez to inaugurate Telugu conference

ransmission corporation of Andhra Pradesh has bagged the Bureau of Energy Efﬁciency (BEE) award on energy conservation in the category of government buildings for the year 2011-12, for achieving the best results for its headquarter building, Vidyut Soudha, in energy conservation and energy efﬁciency.

he Greater City Auto Owner's Welfare Association requested the State government to issue guidelines to stop harassment by private auto ﬁnanciers on auto drivers and owners. They demanded a jail term of at least three years for those convicted for harassment. They also want an investigation of these ﬁnancial sharks.

ongress party leader and former cabinet minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao was released from Chanchalguda jail this morning. Rao embarks on his pilgrimage to Sabarimala tomorrow. An accused in the disproportionate assets case, he was given a 10-day interim bail by a special CBI court to visit the temple.

resident Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the World Telugu Conference to be held in Tirupathi on December 28. He will reach Tirupathi at 11am on December 27. After a brief rest at Padmavathi guest house, he will head to the conference. After the inauguration, he will offer prayers at the world famous Tirumala temple.

city MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

EMPLOYEE UNIONS

Rising T spirit gives Cong jitters

The ruling party and other political parties in the State are a worried lot. Two major victories of T-employees unions hve sent warning signals to Congress, TDP and YSRC. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postoon.com

on-T parties have begun to worry about a new development. Telangana sentiment is fast catching up with government employees rather than the masses. The strong Telangana sentiment played a crucial role in the success of GHMEU at the GHMC election recently. The fresh employees union elections held in state run AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) also stood witness to the consolidation of the separatist sentiments when the TRS-backed Telangana-National Mazdoor (TNMU) Union created history by defeating the incumbent National Mazdoor Union, which was occupying the position of recognised union for several years. Out of the 1.2 lakh employees

of the corporation, majority of the voters cast their votes for the pro-Telangana union in an attempt to express their desire to see the creation of separate state. Two victories in quick succession have sent alarm bells sound-

ing along the corridors of power. This includes YSRC which does not have much hold on government employees. And, the most worried is the BJP which used to have a good hold on the public sector employees and

POLITICS

CM gets high command nod to fill nominated posts POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he long pending issue of filling up scores of nominated posts by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy seems to have got the nod of the Congress high command. During his day-long tour of New Delhi on Saturday, the CM sought the permission of the party high command to undertake the drive and got immediate approval. The news of the approval led to a flurry of activity in the State on Sunday, with aspirants making the rounds of the homes of the party top brass. According to preliminary information, the CM received permission to fill up nominated posts such as the chairpersons of BC, Women, SC, ST and Minorities commissions, as the High Court had already asked the State government to fill these posts immediately. According to highly

placed sources in the government, the name of APCC general secretary Abid Rasool Khan (below) is doing the rounds in political circles for the post of minorities commission chairman. Being a classmate of the CM and a known loyalist, Khan has been serving the party

for a long time and was instrumental in bringing to fore many crucial issues. Speaking to Postnoon on the issue, Khan said that he was not aware of any such news and added that he would serve the community to the optimum level if he

was made the minorities commission chairman. “I have been fighting the rights of minorities for a long time by raising various issues. If I get the opportunity to become the minorities commission chairman, I will tour the entire State and do my best to solve the problems of the minority community,” he said. Competition seems to be high for the posts of chairpersons of BC, SC and ST commissions. Many aspirants are doing their best to drum up support for their candidature. Among the aspirants for women’s commission chairman’s post is former minister Dr N Rajya Lakshmi, the wife of former CM N Janardhan Reddy. According to party sources, the CM is planning to fill 1,000 nominated posts in the initial stage. It may be emphasised here that the CM promised to fill up these posts before Sankranti festival next month.

government servants. Commenting on the victories of pro-Telangana employees unions, TRS leader T Hareesh Rao (left) told Postnoon that it was a slap in the face of Congress, TDP and YSRC, which are yet to make their stance clear on Telangana. JAC chairman Prof Kodandaram also expressed similar views. He appealed to all major political parties in the State that they should immediately take a decision on T ahead of the all party meeting. True, the ruling Congress leaders from the region stressed on the need for party high command to take a hasty decision on the T-issue. “The situation for our party is getting worse with each passing day in the T-region. The fresh results of employees union is a strong indication that our party should take an immediate decision. Otherwise, we will lose

The situation for our party is getting worse with each passing day in the T-region. Our party should take an immediate decision or we will lose more ground. P Ramesh Congress senior leader more ground in coming days,” party senior leader P Ramesh said. On the other hand, TDP and YSRC leaders blamed the Congress for dragging the T issue while distancing themselves from spelling out their specific stand on the issue.

FOR THE CONSUMERS

Minister Sridhar Babu at the National Consumer Day celebration at Jubilee hall on Monday. N SHIVA KUMAR

LAW AND ORDER

Kodela faints at lathi-charge

enior TDP leader and former home minister Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao on Sunday fell down unconscious when the police resorted to indiscriminate lathi-charge on TDP activists, who were agitating against the irregu-

larities being perpetrated by cooperation minister Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy and his son during the polling for cooperatives in Guntur. When the protesting TDP activists attempted to surge towards the minister’s house repeat-

edly, the police personnel resisted them and dispersed them by swinging lathis. Protesting the unwarranted lathi-charge, a large number of party activists squatted before the police station and staged a dharna. NSS

city MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

RTI

A treacherous battle

RTI activists can rake up some serious issues, but there’s a way to silence them — murder! What makes things worse is that even cops try to brush the matter under the carpet, making the whole process a farce.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

eing an RTI activist comes with its own set of dangers, and some can even be lifethreatening. According to a few active and senior RTI activists from cities across the State, there have been a spate of murders and acts of violence against RTI activists in AP although they have never seen light because of the police trying to hush up the matter, they allege. The gory murders of two RTI activists, one from Duvvuru near Cuddapah and another from Guntur have been hushed up, say activists. “It is surprising how Sagar and P Suryanarayana, both RTI activists pursuing issues related to corruption in Gram Panchayats and Central government funded schemes, were killed in “family feuds.” My question is, why were the details registered in the FIR not made public in the court during their hearings? Isn’t it too much of a coincidence that both of them were killed in broad daylight and had family feuds? If this was the truth, why were these

details from the FIR not made public in the court?” asks TV Bhaskar. Sagar was allegedly killed a month ago, where as Suryanarayana was murdered in August, 2012. In April 2010 another two RTI activists from Krishna district, Sola Ranga Rao and Dhanunjay were killed while working on issues related to corruption and

Activists’ representation on this issue to the State RTI commissioner was met with only a reassurance. discrepancies in the local administration. Their representation on this issue to the State RTI commissioner Jannat Hussain was met with only a reassurance to look into this matter. While that may be the case, Citybased RTI activists say that it is a dangerous business and quite a few cases of violence have been registered in the City as well. “The postmaster of Chandanagar post office had assaulted one of our team members Dileep

when he raised objections about information not being available to the public about their officers. Another time, the Chandanagar police had locked up activist Nagendar when he filed an RTI on the number of accidents in that area,” says Panasa Ramakrishna, activist from ITMD. Though these incidents are minor compared to the happenings in other districts, these activists say that this is after all a part of their job. “We have always been careful about our safety and have fought on policy-based issues in the City, so we have had a few threatening calls and emails. But we have always avoided trouble, perhaps because we have dealt with mild issues, I think,” says Panasa Ramakrishna. In the wake of these attacks, some activists have obtained licenses to bear arms. Subba Reddy, divisional head of an RTI forum from Proddutur, Cuddapah District says, “When I have personally seen such things happen, it is only fair that I defend myself. I have acquired a license to bear arms only because I have received quite a few threats and warnings during my course as an RTI activist.” And after repeated complaints and more RTIs filed, the only response given by Jannat Hussain regarding this issue was a mere, “This issue will be looked into personally by me and we will try to solve this problem through amicable means.” So while the numbers of activists being killed keeps rising, we will just have to wait for the top brass to find their ‘amicable means’ to solve these problems.

POWER

Intensify energy saving

The government has directed power utilities to expedite awareness programmes on energy conservation.

he State government has directed the power utilities to expedite awareness programmes on energy conservation by intensifying the campaigning throughout the State to avoid wastage of precious power and to overcome the shortage of power to some extent, which is caused mainly due to unprecedented scarcity of fuel such as short supply of Natural Gas and inadequate coal stocks apart from reduced inflows into hydel reservoirs. M Sahoo, principal secretary, Energy Department and member of SECM discussed the communication strategies on Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency (EC&EE) programmes at an informal meeting on Saturday with B Sam Bob, principal secretary, MA&UD & chairman of sub-group on

Communications, MT Krishna Babu, GHMC commissioner, G Anantha Ramu, CMD, APCPDCL, Munindra, special secretary, Energy Department,

The effective campaigning on energy conservation with hoardings and posters have created a positive impact. Kamalakar Babu and vicechairman and MD, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Ltd here on Sunday. Sahoo said the success of energy conservation and energy efficiency programmes will depend on the extent of awareness that can be created among the public. Top officials of the

Energy, MA&UD, Agriculture and Industry have already briefed Minnie Mathew, chief secretary and chairperson of SECM on the steps initiated by the concerned departments to achieve the goals set by SECM for EC&EE. The chief secretary appreciated the involvement of GHMC commissioner in spreading the message of energy conservation through hoardings at strategic locations, an official release has stated. The effective campaigning on Energy Conservation with hoardings and posters having slogans have created positive impact among the public in the twin cities and the SECM is going to extend such campaign at district headquarters, towns and municipalities. NSS

classifieds MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

WHO IS THE BEST COOK?

Counting down to the finale S BALAKRISHNA

Two more join the race to become Hyderabad’s best cook. The fourth round of the cooking competition literally kicked off with a bang.

Priya Mathur’s veg horns INGREDIENTS n For horns: White flour, salt to taste, water and oil — measurement as per the quantity of dough you wish to prepare. n For stuffing: Boiled potatoes – 4-5; Boiled vegetables – carrots, peas and corn; rosemary, oil, salt to taste, pepper and chilli flakes and lime.

CLASSIFIEDS

n For crispy mushrooms: mushrooms, cornﬂour, salt to taste, rosemary, oil and chilli ﬂakes.

HEALTH/ CLINIC

METHOD

NIDHI BHUSHAN nidhi.b@postnoon.com

n a lazy Sunday yet again, women at My Home Glory apartments in Banjara Hills were prepared to battle it out with their ladles and frying pans. From the winter’s sweet indulgence gajar ka halwa to a snacky chicken dish with tomato ketchup, the plans were promising as usual. Participants and their supporters all gathered in the parking lot of the building to impress the judges with their cooking talents. While there was the typical grey-haired experienced home-maker ready to cook what she had been known for, there

The two women, Priya and Samina, will be among the 10 finalists who would compete on December 31 to win a hamper worth `25,000. was 20-year-old Afraah who was tempted to participate after watching the Masterchef series. However, the day’s events were interrupted by a small explosion in the building. Turns out it was a leftover Diwali cracker. After the obvious panic, things returned to normal and the air was once again fragrant with spices from mommy’s kitchen.

‘Who Is The Best Cook?’, a competition organised by www.studentmug.com, completed its fourth week of short listing. While Priya Mathur and her husband (above) won the lunch round at My Home Glory apartments with their unique dish — veg horns and crispy mushroom, Samina Shadan (bottom left) tickled everyone’s appetite with her delicious dum ke kebab and won the dinner round. The two women will be among the 10 finalists who will compete on December 31 to win a hamper worth `25,000. What a way to ring in the New Year, right? The finale will also see award hampers worth `15,000 for the 1st runner up and `10,000 for the 2nd runner up.

Samina Shadan’s dum ka kebab Ingredients

To advertise on this page, contact: 9866074747 For Secunderabad 9290204030 For H y d e r a b a d 9866663212

For Cyberabad 9866698879

Kheema - 1/2 kg; 2 tbsp curd; 10 cashewnuts & 10 almonds (powered); 1 tbsp garam masala; 2 large onions, fried crispy brown; 1 tbsp hara masala paste (mint+coriander+green chillies); salt; chilli powder; turmeric; pepper (as per taste); roasted chana dal powder - 50gm; coconut powder - 25gm; ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp; 1 tbsp oil (to mix in mixture); 4-6 tbsp oil (to fry kebabs)

Method Mix all ingredients. Roll the paste on a stick and shallow fry in a non-stick pan. Cover the pan with a lid. Garnish with onions and lemons and serve hot.

n Mix the ingredients of the horns to make a soft dough. Heat oil in a pan and roll the dough into conical shapes and deep fry it. Keep aside when done. To prepare the stufﬁng, sauté all vegetables, including potato, in a dash of oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and little lime if you want. For the crispy mushrooms, make a mixture of the remaining ingredients and marinate the mushrooms in that mix. Toast the mushrooms in a little oil till they turn brown and crispy.

Priya Mathur and Samina Shadan will join Fatima and Haritha from the first week, Hima Bindu and Samriti Agarwal from the second, and Brahamaramba from last week in the race to the final on New Year’s Eve. Let’s wait and find out what flavours 2013 will bring for these amateur chefs.

city MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

TOLLYWOOD VS BOLLYWOOD

SRINIVAS SETTY

As cinema and cricket rocked Hyderabad, 3,000 units of blood were collected in exchange for tickets.

Cine stars have fans drooling

SYED SHOAIB shoaib.s@postnoon.com

he mood at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in the City on Sunday is best surmised in the statement of 13-year-old Aniru-dh, a student of Vibgyor School, when asked who he favoured in the T10 cricket match between Tollywood and Bollywood. “It is good if the match ends in a tie, because I like both Tollywood and also Sonu Sood.” Even if the question on everyone’s mind was who would emerge winner in the battle of stars, no one was too keen on the answer. Everyone, from the players to spectators to even the organisers were here to have fun. And what greater fun can one ask for than the entertainment provided by a concoction of cricket and cinema in India? The players had a point to prove: Projecting them as supermen in movies was not all fiction, and they did have a heart of gold, for they were willing to do their bit towards a

noble cause. Team Bollywood captain shouting over the microphoneenhanced voice of the compère to highlight the cause and not the tussle between two of the country’s much-loved teams stood testimony to their commitment. “Tell the audience to support the cause we are here for,” he boomed. The organisers had a clear agenda: They had collected 3,000 units of blood by way of donation in this, the first year of Crescent Cricket Club’s innovative drive, and wanted the outcome of the match help increase that number in subsequent events. Moreover, when you have Munni badnaam hui, Sakkubai garam chai and Gangnam style reverberating through the stadium from 3,000RMX speakers, you are not following the game so intensely, are you? Like a Tollywood actor said when asked to pick a winner before the match, “Neither Tollywood nor Bollywood; let cricket win.” It did, and very entertainingly at that.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

focus

SIMPLY REMARKABLE

What is remarkable about this the new kid on the block is the fact that it has got backing from start up accelerators like 500 Startups and has raised nearly $300,000 within a short span of time. Some of the other investors are Sizhao Yang, co-creator of Farmville, angel investors like Naval Ravikant, and former Google executives.

RECIPE SHARING ONLINE

Welcome to Cucumber Town A start up founded by four people in three continents, who haven’t seen each other, dishes out recipes to spread the joy of cooking this Christmas season.

ARUNIMA RAJAN arunima.r@postnoon.com

was eager to join the team. Next to come on board was Dan Hauk, from Mount Penn, a lead designer at No Thirst and creator of major themes on Tumblr, a popular blog creation site. The final member is 24-year-old Arun Prabhakar, Cherian’s junior at college. Currently, the start up does not have an office, and the plan is to move to Mountain View California and meet in February, next year. Cucumber Town helps a user find recipes based on ingredients, cooking time and even the type of meal, and it also gives users the ability to network with each other as well as rate each other recipes, something which is unique to the site. Based on the rating of the contributor, they can even edit the recipes of other users. Members can also compile recipes and also create their own cookbooks, for future use. Members can upload recipes, comments, tips, as well as pictures of the food on the site. A student of Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara, Kerala, Cherian shares

new start-up business is betting big on this Christmas season. Cucumber Town, an online recipe sharing site, is targeting the festival season to widen their tribe of chefs. The site has launched a week-long campaign for Christmas season for amateur, as well as seasoned, chefs. The portal gives recipe bloggers a platform to showcase their work, interact with the community and build their own recipe network. The Christmas menu offered by the website includes luscious White Chocolate Cream with Blueberries, Stuffed French Toast, White Chocolate Mud Cake, and Rock Candies. The chefs in the online community have also churned out recipes of multiple cuisines like Italian, European, French, Chinese, and Indian. What is remarkable about this the new kid on the block is the fact that it has got backing from start up accelerators like 500 Startups and has raised nearly $300,000 within a short span of time. Some of the other investors are Sizhao Yang, co-creator of Farmville, angel investors like Naval Ravikant, and former Google executives.

GENESIS

The project began three years ago when Cherian Thomas who worked for Zynga, the company that created Farmville, had trouble while trying to add content on some blogging sites. Cherian aka Cherry, who has played Ratatouille since he was seven years old, found the process of writing recipes on blogging sites really cumbersome. He wanted to find an easier way; however, he could not pursue that idea because of the day to day pressures of work. Finally, the ambitious engineer, who hails from a family of entrepreneurs, took the plunge. Along with three other food loving geeks, and he created Cucumber Town recently. The site was officially launched on October 27. For the 28-year-old CEO of Cucumber Town, the name of

Cucumber Town helps a user find recipes based on ingredients, cooking time and even the type of meal and even the type of meal. website stands for the experience that takes you back to an imaginary perfect world, makes you forget about the troubles of your daily life. Cucumber Town is the literal translation of a Malayalam word, Vellarika Pattanam, which stands for a mythical blissful world. "From grannies sharing

their age-old recipes to bloggers switching over to a bigger platform, there are contributors from different parts of the world including the United States, Germany, Philippines, and India," says Cherian Thomas. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the online platform is that team members have not met each other, except virtually, until a planned meeting next year. The founders of the portal live in three different countries. When Cherian was looking for partners in the new venture, he first contacted Chris Luscher, the founder of Information Architects, an internationally recognized design firm. Chris

the story of a 72-year-old contributor of the site. "I received a mail from an NRI based in the US recently about how his elderly mother has started sharing recipe on the sites. The septuagenarian used to send recipes through SMS to her son, as she found it difficult to use other platforms. She is a storehouse of unique Konkani recipes and shares it on our site," says Cherian. In order to avoid plagiarism, the team also uses tools, so that the contributors don’t replicate popular recipes which are available in the online medium. The team is aware of the fact that in the world of e-commerce site mortality rates are really high and the strengths often erode quickly. Some of the expansion plans of the website are value add-ons like mobile apps as well as calorie specific recipes. At the moment, the geeky chefs are scurrying around to launch similar campaigns during Valentine’s Day, New Year's, and also finding recipes for cutting the festival flab.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

Business

SPAIN WILL BOUNCE BACK BY 2014: RAJOY

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said that Spain's economy will improve next year and start growing again in 2014. The unemployment rate in Spain stands at 25.02 per cent overall and more than 50 per cent among young people.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

Iran has oil reserves for 150 years

Cushion your setbacks

ran has enough petroleum to last for 150 years, allowing it to be one of the world's main exporters of crude, Petroleum Minister Rostam Ghasemi told the Fars news agency on Sunday. "The country has petroleum reserves for about 150 years and during that time ... it can be one of the principal exporters of hydrocarbon resources," Ghasemi said. "Iran has reserves of nearly 600 billion barrels of petroleum," Ghasemi said.

About 78 per cent of the claims from AP are due to medical expenses, followed by trip cancellation and interruption.

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

ravel insurance industry, which is at a nascent stage, is set for positive growth with increase in insurance penetration. Only 15 per cent of the 1.25 crore people who travel abroad are taking travel insurance. According to the recent estimates, the people, who are traveling abroad will reach 5 crore by 2020, which will increase the overall size of the market. If the industry could tap 50 per cent of the overall international traveling market, the size of the industry would grow to at least around `1200 crore, said Amit Bhandari, vice president (health underwriting and Claims), ICICI Lombard. He further added, “The trends of spending are changing in the country. India is considered as the country, where people save money after their monthly expenditure. However, the new research shows that 34 per cent people of would like to go on a holiday of if they have spare cash, which is undoubtedly a positive sign for travel industry,” About the reasons for less travel insurance penetration, he said, “Many people assume that nothing will happen to them and will only happens to others. They would only understand the importance of insurance when they face such situation by themselves. “For instance, it is not impossible for a customer to spend `1,000 on

insurance when he could spend on `1 lakh on travel and accommodation. Travel insurance is definitely value addition to the customer pertaining the risks that involved like health care, baggage loss or a political situation. “The industry was concentrating on the national travel agents and could not actually reach the larger section of people. There is need to make distribution networks strong by having tie-ups with local and city based travel agents,” When asked about the slowed down in travel industry and its effects on travel insurance, he said, “ This would have impacted if the insurance penetration is high. Only 15 travelers out of every 100 international travelers are

taking insurance. Even if the number of travelers have come down to 90. “There is still a large chunk of the market, which can be tapped by increasing the penetration,” he said. On claiming trends, he said, “Almost 78 per cent of the claims from Andhra Pradesh are largely due to medical expenses, which are followed by trip cancellation and interruption. Around 80 per cent claims are from western markets such as US and Canada where there are family relations.” “People are also increasingly travelling to exotic locations such as South Africa, Morocco and Spain where there is chance for unknown risks,” he adds.

Enhanced insurance

CICI Lombard has launched enhanced version of its travel insurance product ‘International Travel Insurance’. This product will target the customers who are looking for comprehensive overseas travel insurance. “We have introduced several first time benefits including no heath check up till 85 years of age, cover for pre-existing diseases during emergencies, political risk and catastrophic evacuation, value added services like hand baggage cover,” said Amit Bhandari. The insurance also provides assistance for dependents in India for medical concierge, automotive and life style services.

BSE 5,849.85 `55.14 5,209.05 DOLLAR`55.14 17,179.95DOLLAR NSEPOUND `86.60 `89.14 POUND BSE NSE GOLD`31,100 10g SILVER `58,300 1kg

24C

for

GOLD `29,500 10g SILVER `53,000 1kg for

for

98.90

33.65

Since our country is a union of states, we abide by its federal character and, therefore, are bound by the consensus on the issue, ANAND SHARMA, COMMERCE MINISTER

19,266.17 24.17

ANAND SHARMA, 2.15 COMMERCE MINISTER

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

nation

TIGER POPULATION INCREASES IN SATHYAMANGALAM Population of tigers in Sathyamangalam reserve forest areas has risen to 25 in 2012 as against 18 last year, a census by forest officials stated. The reserve used to be the base of operations for forest brigand Veerappan.

DELHI BUS RAPE FALLOUT

27 FISHERMEN ARRESTED

PM appeals for peace

Manmohan Singh addresses the nation. Urges calm and promises to look into delay in response. NEW DELHI: Issuing a fresh appeal for peace, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said government will look into delay in response in the gangrape case as also all aspects concerning the security of women while asking people to desist from violence.

As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you. My wife, my family and I are all joined in our concern for the young woman who was the victim of this heinous crime." Manmohan Singh Prime Minister In a televised address, Singh said he and his family join in the concern for the 23-year-old victim, who was gangraped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in south Delhi on December

16 night. "As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you. My wife, my family and I are all joined in our concern for the young woman who was the victim of this heinous crime." He said the government was constantly monitoring her medical condition. is statement came as protests, which turned violent yesterday, continued for the seventh day today. Emphasising that anger at this crime is "justified", Singh said, "but violence will serve no purpose." Singh noted that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde

has already spoken about the steps being taken to address issues regarding safety of women in the country. "We will examine into delay not only the responses to this terrible crime but also all aspects concerning the safety and security of women," he said. Singh broke his silence on the issue last night when he issued a similar statement saying public anger is "genuine" and "justified". Singh had also expressed sadness over the turn of events that led to clashes between the angry protesters and the police and appealed for peace and calm. PTI

Venue of Putin-PM meeting shifted NEW DELHI: The heart of the national capital today turned into a fortress with heavy deployment of police who blocked roads leading to India Gate and Raisina Hill to ensure that no protests took place there but the arrangements put commuters at severe hardship. Office goers and students were the most affected due to blockade of roads and closure of nine metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hill. The venue of the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimar Putin has been shifted to the Race Course residence of the Prime Minister. Usually, such meetings are held in Hyderabad House which is close to India Gate. Employees had a tough time reaching their offices in Krishi Bhavan, Shastri Bhavan, Rail Bhavan and Nirman Bhavan as police did not allow crossing Rajpath. There were heavy barricading on Rafi Marg and Raisina Road and employees heading to South Block and North Block had to argue with policemen and show their identity cards. Media persons were also not allowed near India Gate or Raisina Hill and were asked to go to Pragati Maidan. PTI

NEWS BRIEFS Parrikar seeks Chavan's help on Tillari issue

2 Marathi actors die in accident

Man detained over Class XII girl's suicide

2 injured as guards of private firm open fire

PANAJI: A fortnight after canals of Tillari irrigation projects went dry due to protests by villagers from Maharashtra, Goa CM Manohar Parrikar has sought help from the neighbouring state in resolving the issue. He spoke to Chavan pointing out that there is an agreement signed between both the states to share water from the project.

NEW DELHI: Two eminent Marathi ﬁlm and television actors were killed when their car met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, police said. The car of actors — Anand Abhyankar and Akshay Pendse — collided with a Pune- bound tempo which lost control and crashed into the lane divider, they said.

JAIPUR: A man was detained in Kota following the suicide by a 17year-old girl who was depressed over harassment and stalking by him, police said. According to police, Puja Mehra, a Class XII student, killed herself at her house. Her neighbour Kartik Goyal, 20, was detained on a complaint by her father.

JAMSHEDPUR: ATwo persons, including a press photographer, were injured when security guards of a private company opened ﬁre here today, police sources said. The security guards posted at the company gate ﬁred after heated arguments with the labourers over a new rule of the company, the sources said.

Pick

at the

Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 27 Indian ﬁshermen and seized their four trawlers after accusing them of ﬁshing inside the country's maritime area. Navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya said that the Indians were arrested last night for "poaching inside Sri Lanka international maritime border limits (IMBL) off the eastern coast". The boats and the trawlers would be handed over to the police in the harbour town of Trincomalee today for further action, the Navy said.

COLD KILLS 26 IN UP Even as the fog receded in most parts of UP on Monday, 26 people have died in the last 24 hours because of the extreme cold, officials said. Fog also disrupted train schedules, and more than 50 trains were running late. All major trains from the union capital Delhi to Lucknow were running late by several hours. Dense fog badly hit operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi today affecting the schedule of over 50 domestic and international flights. About 35 flights were delayed while 15 were cancelled as the dense fog enveloped the airport this morning.

The journalists were only covering the events, which it is their fundamental right under the Constitution to do, and in fact that is their duty to the public. Justice Markandey Katju PCI chief about violence against mediapersons.

airport,

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

World

SON OF KENNEDY MAY RUN FOR HIS FATHER’S SEAT Edward Kennedy Jr, 51, commonly referred to as Teddy, son of late political icon Edward Kennedy, is considering a run for the US senate seat in Massachusetts — the same state his late father represented as a popular US lawmaker for nearly five decades, US media reported Sunday.

SYRIAN CRISIS

GREAT GUNS!

Gun advocates want Morgan deported

OZ TOP CLERIC SAYS SORRY

Air strike on bakery kills 60, wounds 50 Brahimi embarks on new bid to end 21-month conflict.

WASHINGTON: US gun rights advocates have signed a White House petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported for allegedly attacking the Second Amendment rights of ordinary Americans. Just two days after the petition calling for Morgan's deportation was posted, it had already garnered more than 28,500 signatures late Sunday, far and beyond the 25,000 required to get a response from the White House. The outspoken former British tabloid editor has launched something of a personal crusade for greater gun control measures in the wake of the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. On Tuesday, Morgan held an especially contentious interview with Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt, appearing to become incensed and incredulous when Pratt suggested more, not fewer, weapons as the solution. "You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?" Morgan asked during the heated debate. "You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don't actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America." AFP

DAMASCUS: More than 60 people were killed in a regime air strike on a bakery in a rebel-held town on Sunday, monitors said, as peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi launched a new bid to resolve Syria's brutal 21-month conflict. In one of the deadliest incidents of the conflict, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike hit a bakery in Halfaya in the central province of Hama, killing more than 60 people and wounding at least 50. Many of the wounded were in critical condition, it said. "In Halfaya, regime forces bombarded a bakery and committed a massacre that killed dozens of people, including women and children, and wounded many others," said the Local Coordination Committees, a grassroots network of activists. "A MiG (jet) has attacked! Look at (President Bashar al-) Assad's weapons. Look, world, look at the Halfaya massacre," says an unidentified cameraman shooting an amateur video distributed by the Observatory. The footage showed a bombed one-storey block and a crater in the road. Bloodied bodies lay on the road, while others could be seen in the rubble. Men carried victims out on their backs, among them at least one woman, the video showed. On Monday, rebels launched an all-out assault on army positions across Hama, which is home to strong anti-

regime sentiment. During the summer, rights groups accused government forces of committing war crimes by dropping bombs and using artillery on or near several bakeries in the northern province of Aleppo. Another of the bloodiest attacks in the Syrian conflict was on a bread line in the Qadi Askar district of Aleppo city on August 16 that left 60 people dead, according to local

been fighting between government forces and rebels on the road to Damascus airport. During his October visit he met Assad and other officials to clinch a temporary ceasefire for the Muslim feast of Eid alAdha. Despite pledges, the truce did not hold. At least 44,000 people have been killed in violence across Syria since the outbreak of the anti-regime revolt in March 2011, according to the Britain-

Australia's most senior Catholic cleric on Monday apologised to those who "suffered at the hands" of priests and religious teachers, in a Christmas message issued after a turbulent year for the Church. In the video message broadcast on television, Sydney Archbishop George Pell said he was shocked and ashamed, following a series of paedophile allegations against priests and claims they were hushed up.

NUMEROLOGY

700

have been killed in Syria since the conflict there erupted more than 21 months ago, a Palestine Liberation Organisation official in charge of refugees said on Sunday.

ADOPTION ROW HEATS UP Rebel fighters aim their weapons at regime forces on the front line in the Old City of Aleppo. Battles between forces loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad and rebels in the northern city have raged since July, and now many rebel-held areas of Aleppo have been cut off from old supply lines for flour and fuel. AFP/STR

hospital records. International envoy Brahimi, meanwhile, travelled to Damascus overland from neighbouring Lebanon on a previously unannounced visit, officials said. The UN-Arab League envoy last visited on October 19, but since then there has

based Syrian Observatory. Shortly before Sunday's air strike, Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi reiterated calls for national dialogue. "We tell those who do not want dialogue to engage in talks, because time is running out," he told reporters. AFP

NEWS BRIEFS Islamists destroy more Timbuktu mausoleums

Scottish boy dies in Australian Outback

Thatcher doing just fine, Opposition to appeal says her spokesman Egypt referendum

BAMAKO: Armed groups occupying Timbuktu in northern Mali used pickaxes on Sunday to smash up any remaining mausoleums in the ancient city, an Islamist leader said. The rebels' ruthless implementation of their version of Islamic law comes just days after the United Nations approved a military force to wrest back control of the area.

SYDNEY: A 14-year-old Scottish boy has died in searing heat in the harsh Australian Outback while hiking with his father, police said. Ewan Williamson, who arrived in Australia in mid-December, collapsed four hours into the walk in the Cape Range National Park on Friday with little water or shade as temperatures soared above 40 degrees.

LONDON: Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was "in good spirits" in hospital Sunday, her spokesman said, as she continues her recovery from a bladder operation. Thatcher, 87, was admitted to hospital on Thursday for a minor operation to remove a growth in her bladder after suffering pain earlier in the week.

CAIRO: Egypt's opposition said on Sunday it will appeal a referendum seen as voting in a new constitution backed by ruling Islamists, and vowed to keep up a struggle that has spawned weeks of protests and instability. Polling "fraud and violations" skewed the results of the two-stage referendum, the ﬁnal leg of which was held on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of petitioners are calling for US President Barack Obama to escalate the diplomatic feud that led Moscow to propose a law barring Americans from adopting Russian children. Some Russian lawmakers denounced the initiative Sunday, but a senior member of the Duma, Russia's lower parliamentary chamber, suggested there might still be a way for the measures to be softened. Two petitions on the White House website are asking for US sanctions against Russian lawmakers who backed a bill that harms “thousands of Russian orphans."

We're here out of curiosity, to see the size of the scam this country suffered from. Mehdi a Tunisian citizen. The ill-gotten gains of the Ben Ali clan were among those drawn to a sale of the deposed Tunisian despot's assets that began on Sunday.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

Technology GAME OVER

BUY ‘EM CHEAP Inspired by the astounding success of the Humble THQ Bundle back in November, the Humble Bundle team have launched yet another series of 6 games and a movie which chronicles the life of an indie game developer in his quest to bring out the games-Fez and Super Meat Boy. Known for their pay-what-youwant approach, the Humble Indie Bundle 7 also supports charity. Whatever revenue is generated is split between Child's Play charity, the developers and Humble Bundle. The interesting thing is the buyer gets to decide how the proceeds are divided.

PRICING ISSUES

THE END FOR THQ? Saints Row developer THQ files for bankruptcy SAN FRANCISCO: The US videogame company behind popular titles "Saints Row" and "Red Faction" said on Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy while wrangling to sell its assets to "a stalking horse bidder." California-based THQ Inc. planned to continue operating its business while positioning itself to be taken over.

"We are pleased to have attracted a strong financial partner for our business, and we hope to complete the sale swiftly to make the process as seamless as possible," THQ chairman Brian Farrell said in a release. "The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ's transformation and position the company for the future,

as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios and THQ's deep bench of talent." The company's operations outside of the United States were not included in the filing in US federal bankruptcy court. THQ's moves came as the traditional console videogame industry grapples to adapt to the

booming popularity of games played on smartphones, tablet computers, or at online social networks. People are increasingly opting for inexpensive fun in "freeto-play" games which base revenues on optional in-game purchases such as added powers or virtual gear for on-screen characters. THQ franchises include urban gang themed adventure "Saints Row" and shooter "Red Faction." The company has also published videogames based on Pixar films, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. "We look forward to partnering with experienced investors for a new start," said THQ president Jason Rubin. The company said that it planned no employee layoffs and that studios will continue to work on a "pipeline of games" including a Company of Heroes sequel. Clearlake Capital Group acting as a "stalking horse bidder" allows THQ to accept competing offers, according to the company. AFP

Research in Motion, no longer commanding the Enterprise market as it once did, is switching from a onesize-fits-all approach to enterprise services to tiered services offerings. For consumers — enterprise consumers, at least — that means they'll have additional flexibility to choose from a menu of service offerings that better reflects their business needs. Some customers might keep on paying the same services fees they currently do for these features; others, both enterprise and consumer, might pay much less.

Poke is back There is one interesting fact about the newly launched Facebook Poke app that we think you all should know. According to TechCrunch, the voice that enounces 'Poke', whenever a user receives a push notiﬁcation, is actually Zuckerberg's voice. In other words, whenever you listen to the brief "poke" audio alert, you are actually hearing Zuckerberg's voice. The report states, "Facebook's CEO recorded the sound snippet on his phone as a joke. But he was convinced to run the sample through some audio ﬁlters and let it become the soundtrack to the modern Poke."

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

Comment Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

TUNISIA

hina's high-ranking military officers will no longer be treated to receptions featuring liquor and luxury banquets, state media reported Saturday, as the country's new leaders stress austerity to fight corruption. The state-run China Daily newspaper, quoting a dispatch from the official Xinhua news agency, said the Central Military Commission announced the new regulations on Friday. Similar rules were passed down earlier this month aimed at Communist Party officials, as China's new leadership tries to send a clear signal that it is serious about reigning in corruption. The report said that "receptions for high-ranking officers will no longer feature liquor or luxury banquets", with "welcome banners, red carpets, floral arrangements, formations of soldiers, performances and souvenirs" also to be abandoned. The Central Military Commission is chaired by new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping, who took over the party and the commission at a key party meeting last month. "Commission officials are also required to discipline their spouses, children and subordinates and make sure they do not take bribes," the report said, adding that commission officials were banned from staying in civilian or luxury military hotels while on inspection tours. Xi, who is slated to become China's president in March, has repeatedly pledged to fight graft amid rising social discontent over government corruption and political scandals that have engulfed the Communist Party. AFP

THE ILL-GOTTEN TREASURES OF BEN ALI LETTERS FROM TUNISIA

Franz Kafka German author

Banquets off menu for Chinese army

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Lovers of great guns want Piers Morgan deported for allegedly attacking the Second Amendment rights of ordinary Americans. What for? For saying something that’s true: even a duffer knows the second amendment allows only militias charged with protecting people may bear arms.

Hamida Ben Salah

gents of rich Gulf collectors, lovers of luxury and those simply curious to see the ill-gotten gains of the Ben Ali clan were among those drawn to a sale of the deposed Tunisian despot's assets that began on Sunday. "We're here out of curiosity, to see the size of the scam this country suffered from," said Mehdi, 25, visiting the exhibition with his uncle, a car enthusiast. "It feels like voyeurism," he added, saying that he felt "uneasy in front of all this luxury that is insulting to ordinary Tunisians struggling to get by." A bright red Ferrari owned by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's spoilt nephew Imed, and a brand new Porsche destined for his youngest child, were among the items on show in the pharaonic decor of the Cleopatra exhibition space amid tight security. The former belongings of Ben Ali and 114 of his relatives are going under the hammer in the chic Tunisian resort of Gammarth, in an auction due to last one month and from which the cash-strapped government

hopes to raise millions of euros. Suits belonging to the toppled despot are expected to go for 3,000 euros each, while coats acquired by his wife Leila Trabelsi, who was notorious for her expensive tastes, could rack up as much as 4,000 euros. The collection of 39 luxury cars, only half of which were on display, was of particular interest to an agent acting on behalf of a Saudi prince. "We have made the (purchase) request three times since February, but we had to wait for this exhibition. Today we're ready," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Highlights from the car collection include a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 460, a Bentley Continental sports car, an armoured Cadillac and a Maybach 62. Limited edition Mercedes and BMWs also feature. "No comment!" was all that one rich young couple had to say to reporters as they eyed up the Maybach, a present from Libya's Moamer Kadhafi, another north African dictator who amassed wealth before being ousted in last year's Arab Spring uprisings. "Around 100 people attended the opening, pretty busy for a Sunday. It's a good crowd," said Affef Douss, in charge of organising the event for the finance ministry.

A decorative olive tree bearing branches made of gold and that once belonged to ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is displayed at an auction in the Tunis suburb of Gammarth on December 22, 2012. AFP/ FETHI BELAID

Corruption and nepotism were rife under the regime of Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia with his wife after the first Arab Spring uprising swept the country. Mehdi Ben Garbia, a Tunisian MP, said he had come "to get an idea about the way in which the taxpayers' money was squandered." Like all members of the government, parliamentarians are barred from buying. Most of the works of art, ornaments, furniture, and some of the carpets on offer will be sold to the highest bidder, with no item thought to be worth less than 5,000 euros. Animal statues of solid gold, crystal horses and an 80-centimetre-high (32-inch) silver olive tree feature among the

lots. There is a constant hum of excitement in the last viewing room, where clothing and accessories formerly owned by the disgraced first lady are on display — including luxury shoes and handbags worth many times the minimum monthly wage. Of the 400 jewels and ornaments confiscated by the state, only around 20 are shown, among them a made-to-measure choker that once adorned the neck of Ben Ali's wife, sparkling with some 1,000 diamonds. A doctor who lives in France discussed the jewellery with a diamond specialist, but his wife stepped away. "My husband wants to buy, but I'm actually disgusted. These are fabulous jewels, but they tell a harrowing story."

EDITORIALS Telangana is not an event management issue Nemesis of bowlers

he all-party meeting on December 28 on the issue of Telangana seems an orchestrated charade with the reported move of the government to buy more time and come out with an announcement before the general elections. The Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is learnt to have asked for a State Reorientation Committee-II to decide the vexed problem raging for over 60 years. Loss of life and property had been huge owing to periodic uprising of T-spirits. Many students have lost their academic career. It’s all the result of a government that resorts to ad hoc solutions. Look at how the UPA treats the rape of a girl in Delhi — as a routine matter of crime. Instead of ﬁnding lasting solutions to deep problems, the Congress government tends to treat each protest as a law and order matter or an event management where a prohibitory order or lathi-charge are called for. If the government would not treat each event with a political glove, much good results can come out. It’s better for AP the government takes a stand on the T issue; this way or that.

READERS’ VIEWS

“Y

ou have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. He's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway,” said once Shane Warne. “Kasprowicz has a superior story. During the Bangalore Test, frustrated, he went to Dennis Lillee and asked, ‘Mate, do you see any weaknesses?’ Lillee replied, ‘No, Michael, as long as you walk off with your pride that's all you can do’.” The man these ﬁne men are talking about you all know as all do, who. Let’s put it this way: Sachin has been the nemesis of bowlers: a righteous inﬂiction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

campus

MOVIE TALK

Rang De Hyderabad Chapter will be screening Dharavi, Slum for Sale at Lamakaan on December 29 from 7pm. The aim of Rang De Hyderabad Chapter is to screen documentaries that deal with social issues that India faces today.

FESTIVE CHEER

COLLEGE FEST

Home for the holidays

Christmas is around the corner and no aspect of our lives is left untouched by the spirit of the season. Even studies on campus seem to be a chore now. We give you a list of what to do this vacation. FLEME VARKEY fleme.v@postnoon.com

n TAKE SOME TIME OUT

Time to be good for Santa. Bring out the good side in you and share the joy of the season. Those suffering in hospitals and nursing homes faintly remember the joy of Christmas. Illness, pain and loneliness overwhelm them as they spend their days. You can cheer up someone forgotten in a hospital or at the old folks home.

n SPREAD THE WARMTH

Hyderabad is not very famous for having winters. Yet the nights and the mornings do get a little bit chilly. Thousands languish in the streets, at the railway station, at bus stops or on pavements huddled near a fire or curled up. Get along with some friends and pool in some money to buy a couple of shawls and blankets and be a good Samaritan.

n BAKE BY THE DOZEN

Christmas season is the time when one forgives and forgets and also the time when your parents tend to practice what they preach. Burning a dish and breaking a few utensils will not create much havoc as it might do otherwise. So, gather your friends and try your hand at cooking some tasty delicacies for the occasion.

Christmas party, just remember three things: The more the merrier, everyone is not comfortable with the same things, and awkward silences make for awkward parties. But that said, keep the decibel level under control, you would not want to spoil the festival spirit for your neighbours. It will be a good opportunity to let go, bond with friends, make new ones.

To make it more fun, select a theme as well. Have that masquerade party you have always dreamed of.

n HYDERABAD DARSHAN

This one’s for those who have been buried in books all the year around or busy with college events. Time to take those cameras out, dust off those walking shoes, take a

map of the City and head to the places you have always heard of. And for those of you new to the City, this is the perfect holiday gift you can give yourself. Studies figure nowhere on this list, so it might not go down very well with your folks, but do tell them it is all in the Christmas spirit.

MONTAGE During the two-day event, the college hosts numerous students from institutions all over Delhi and the NCR region. Numerous competitions and events such as beatboxing, radio show, western dance, and debating are organized by the different college societies.

COLLEGE OF THE WEEK

Gargi

College, established in 1967, is a leading South Campus college of the University of Delhi. It is a college for women and offers courses in Arts and Humanities, Commerce, Science and Education. Gargi's NSO, Extension Service, and NCC programmes are intended to channelise the students' youthful energy and vigour.

STYLE ALERT... It’s that time of the year again when you vie to look your best and make an entrance for the last party you will ever attend this year. So, why not stay clear of the boring Little Black Dress and try on something that gives you an achingly cool edge. We bring you fashion tips that will help you grab the spotlight.

n DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY There is nothing more fun than sitting around with friends and decorating your college walls, which you would never have given a second thought to in the entire year. The festive season changes everything — you talk to people you had hardly spoken to, you become selfless and buy gifts and then you spend hours on end decorating hostels and classrooms. And the best part is that you end up enjoying every minute of this.

n PARTY LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW When throwing a great college

One-shoulder: This look will help a woman make an appearance at any party since it is loaded with sex appeal. Pull up your hair and show off your oh-so-sexy shoulders. Team your dress with long, dangling earrings to complete the look.

Turtleneck: Ladies love it. And there is no reason why men shouldn’t. It can be your not-sodressy-yet-not-so -casual look to a party and a perfect alternative to a collared shirt. Keep a note not to tuck it in. Pair it with a blazer and you will make ladies swoon over you.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

spotlight

CHRISTMAS IS HERE

Start your celebrations early. Participate in the Christmas Carnival being organised at Melange, Masab Tank. Tuck into a scrumptious dinner that starts at 8pm.

N SHIVA KUMAR

VINTAGE BEAUTY

S BALAKRISHNA

A ROYAL

NIGHT

Day 2 of the fashion extravaganza —Blenders Pride Hyderabad International Fashion Week 2012, was well attended. The creations showcased at Vivanta by Taj, Begumpet. were appreciated by the guests. 6

TEE OFF TIME 8

1 Suman,HM Nahat 2 Shriram,Aishwarya 3 Alok,Sashi Nahata 4 Amitam,Nupur 5 Sachin,Shruthi 6 Khushbu 7 Keerthi,Naha,Ridhima,Karishma 8 Sarala,Santosh 9 Ritushree,Dayavathi 10 Zeenat Aman

GAME FACE

Actors Rajeev Khandelwal and Tena Desae were in the City, at the Park Hotel to promote their ﬁlm Table no 21. An important part of the ﬁlm is a game of Tell the truth which the two actors have to complete in order to survive. Paresh Rawal is also one of the stars.

YOUNG PERFORMERS

Students of the Meridian School Madhapur celebrated their Sports Day on Saturday. The theme of the day “Echo for Eco” was followed with a green relay by the national level sports champions of the school, a cultural display on the Chipko Movement and a sapling adoption drive — Each One, Plant One where children gave away 700 saplings.

More than 80 CXO golfers participated in the third edition of the TiE Hyderabad Annual golf tournament that was held on Sunday.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

health

BATS OFFER CLUES TO IMMUNITY, LONGEVITY

Bats offer vital clues to immunity and human longevity, according to an Australian study. Bats are a natural reservoir for several lethal viruses like SARS, but they often don't succumb to disease from these viruses, according to a post-doctoral fellow at the Australian Animal Health Lab.

CONGENITAL DEFECTS

A threatening leak

Amniotic band syndrome is known to affect one in 10,000 babies, but is hard to detect during pregnancy. However, there is hope yet thanks to paediatric plastic surgery. RANJANI RAJENDRA

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

hen Anita and Aditya welcomed their baby boy into this world they were full of hopes and dreams. But when they first saw their infant, they were shocked. The baby had been affected by amniotic band syndrome and as a result his hands and feet had not fully developed. While the couple loved their son all the same they could not help but worry about his future and also wonder how this could have happened as Anita had taken all the possible precautions and nutrition care during pregnancy. Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) is known to affect approximately one in 10,000 babies, but is hard to put an exact number since diagnosis is usually rare. According to experts, the condition is hard to detect during pregnancy, unless there is a distinct deformity in the foetus. “The exact reasons for amniotic band syndrome are not yet known. It is a congenital defect, but it is definitely not hereditary. It usually occurs when there is a leak in the amniotic sac that surrounds the foetus, but the reasons for this happening are not known,” explains Dr Kiran Krishnamurti, paediatrician at Andromeda Centre, Somajiguda. According to scientific reports amniotic band syndrome occurs due to a partial rupture of the amniotic sac. This rupture

involves only the amnion while the chorion remains intact. When this happens fibrous bands float in the amniotic fluid and encircle the body parts of the foetus. This in turn hampers the growth and development of the foetus as it constricts blood circulation. In some cases, this could result in the ‘natural amputation’ of the limbs like the fingers or toes or a cleft lip, club-

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

foot and other congenital abnormalities. “Adam’s complex and cleft lip are the most commonly seen results of ABS. While I did see such cases during my training, it is rare in private practice. An occasional cleft lip or digital abnormality (missing fingers or toes) may be common but not severe cases. In very severe cases the baby may be born without a

HOUSECALL

limb,” says Dr Kiran. She goes on to add that a deformity may be detected using a 3-D ultrasound, but minor abnormalities are hard to see in scans. Also since most of these abnormalities manifest at a more advanced stage, it is too late to terminate the pregnancy. “The condition does not threaten the child’s life. Plastic surgery is a great way to min-

DID YOU KNOW?

imise the abnormalities,” she says. In rare cases, if ABS is diagnosed in utero then foetal surgery may be considered to save a limb which is in danger of amputation or other deformity. However, for infants born with ABS, plastic surgery helps. Since the condition is not hereditary, chances of it occurring in another pregnancy are minimal.

PIONEERS

Endomondo Tracker

Lupus

Erections every hour?

Galen

Endomondo sports tracker lets you choose from three programs or create your own and let the audio coach guide you. You can View graphs with your lap times, heart rate, speed and altitude throughout the workout. You can also set a calorie goal for your workout and the audio coach will guide you through it.

Lupus is a chronic inﬂammatory disease that affects the blood vessels and connective tissues of the skin and various parts of the body. There is also a simple form called discoid lupus that affects just the skin. Many symptoms are possible. It often begins with a skin rash over the nose and cheeks that is shaped like a butterﬂy, made worse by exposure to the sun. This may be accompanied by tiredness and joint pains.

Most men have erections every hour to hour and a half during sleep. Most people’s bodies and minds are much more active when they’re sleeping than they think. The combination of blood circulation and testosterone production can cause erections during sleep and they’re often a normal and necessary part of REM sleep.

Rustem Igor Gamow, son of physicist George Gamow, is a microbiology professor and inventor. His ﬁrst important invention, patented in 1990 was the Gamow bag, enabling mountain climbers to avoid altitude sickness by raising the surrounding pressure. Another was the Shallow Underwater Breathing Apparatus, permitting swimmers to breathe easily as deep as ten feet under water.

health MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

SKIN CARE

STUDY

For that winter skin glow: Hydrate, moisturise Dermatologists say a combination of the right vitamins, nutrients, hydrating, cleansing and moisturising agents can help the skin during winters. NEW DELHI: Fed up of dull, dry and flaky skin this winter? Give your skin that extra care by keeping it hydrated from within and moisturised from outside, suggest experts. "The winter season can be brutal on your skin. Cold temperatures often mean low humidity, and that dries out the skin. Dry skin looks dull and lacks lustre. The mainstay of winters is to hydrate the skin and replenish the lost moisture," Mumbai-based cosmetologist Jamuna Pai told IANS. Hydration is important as it makes for a healthy functioning of the system and gives a boost to youthful-looking skin. "Skin can be hydrated in two ways internally by drinking an adequate amount of water and taking oil supplements, and externally, by using products that hydrate and moisturise," added Pai. R.S. Mishra, consultant of dermatology at capital-based Moolchand Medcity, insists people must follow the three-step skincare formula of cleansing, toning and moisturising. "This daily skin care routine is very important. Cleanser should be chosen according to skin type. Toning with nonalcohol based toner is essential, and the moisturiser should also be chosen according to skin type. Moisturisers containing honey and cocoa butter are good for skin (in winter)," Mishra told IANS. "If the skin is oily, lotion-based moisturisers can be used. And if the skin is dry, cream-based moisturisers should be used. It is a myth that oily skin should not be moisturised because if skin is not moisturised, oil glands start producing more oil," added Mishra. Tanning can also be an issue during the winter season as people tend to step out to soak in the sunshine. Keep a good sunscreen handy, advises Sangeeta Amladi, head of medical services at the Kaya Skin Clinic. "Do not forget to apply sunscreen daily, when you are exposed to the sun. Sunglasses are also a must," said Amladi. She has other winter skincare tips too. "For instant brightening, one should use a

Vitamin C facial, or else try an instant hydrating mask. For lips, use a balm that has moisturising features and SPF (Sun Protection Factor) 15. “Avoid antibacterial soaps, alcoholbased toners, wipes or colognes. Avoid stepping into the hot and strong sun as it evaporates the trans-epidermal water and makes skin dry. Also avoid stepping out in extremely cool and windy weather," she added. Pai adds consumption of right nutrients

is also key for healthy skin. "Due attention should be paid to consuming supplements of vitamins A, C and E, and minerals such as selenium and zinc. They have antioxidant properties, which repair the skin and promote skin healing. Essential fatty acids also have a beneficial effect on skin as they help combat moisture loss that would otherwise cause dryness, fine lines, and wrinkles." IANS

BREAKTHROUGH

New nerve cell identified

STOCKHOLM: European scientists have identified a previously unknown group of nerve cells in the brain, which regulates heart rhythm and blood pressure. Scientists have managed to identify in mice a previously totally unknown group of nerve cells in the brain. "This discovery opens the possibility

of a completely new way of combating cardiovascular disease", says Jens Mittag, group leader at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, who led the study. "If we learn how to control these neurons, we will be able to treat certain cardiovascular problems like hypertension

through the brain," adds Mittag, the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports. These nerve cells, called neurons, develop in the brain with the aid of thyroid hormone, produced in the thyroid gland, according to a Karolinska statement. Patients in whom the function of the thyroid gland is disturbed are

at a risk of developing problems with these nerve cells. This leads to cardiovascular disease. A more immediate conclusion is that it is of utmost importance to identify and treat pregnant women with hypothyroidism, since it may harm the production of these neurons in the foetus. IANS

Dark chocolate for health! WASHINGTON: Eating dark chocolate can protect against heart disease and stroke, scientists claim, adding that men derive more health benefits from it than women. The benefits include anticlotting effects which are activated within two hours in both sexes, and with greater impact in men. Having a piece of chocolate a day could be the secret to staying heart healthy, according to scientists at the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, the Daily Mail reported. "It's an acute effect in the body that men and women both benefit from, but it's more diluted in women. These findings are not a carte blanche to eat chocolates as they are extremely rich in fat and sugar," lead researcher Dr Baukje de Roos, from the Rowett Institute, said. Researchers from the Rowett joined Institute of Food Research in Norwich to study what happened in the blood of 42 healthy volunteers, 26 women and 16 men, after they ate dark chocolate specially boosted with cocoa extract. They were investigating the effect on blood clotting, the result of over-activity of platelets that stick together blocking blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Compounds called flavanols which are found in cocoa, tea and apples, appear to have a beneficial effect on platelet function and they are higher in cocoa-rich chocolate. The platelet function of people eating the enriched dark chocolate was compared with platelet function in those who had eaten dark chocolate — with a lower cocoa and flavanol content — and white chocolate. Blood and urine samples were taken and then analysed two hours and six hours. They discovered the specially enriched dark chocolate significantly decreased both platelet activation and aggregation in men, but only cut platelet aggregation in women. The strongest effects were seen two hours after the chocolate had been eaten, said the report published in Molecular Nutrition Food Research. PTI

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

Entertainment CINE BYTES

NTR’s next film set to roll from Jan 3

TR’s upcoming film in Harish Shankar’s direction is set to go on floors from January 3 and the first schedule will go on till January 14. Samantha is playing the lead role in this romantic and action entertainer and another prominent heroine is going to be finalized soon. Dil Raju is producing the film. Thaman is composing the music.

I am playing myself in RUM : Trisha

risha’s upcoming film titled RUM (Rambha Urvashi Menaka) is going to be a female centric film in which she’s teaming up with her mentor M S Raju. The film’s shooting will begin in January. Talking about the role, Trisha said, “I am not a feminist or a cop or a princess in the film. I am playing myself.”

Yamudiki Mogudu gears up for release

llari Naresh, Richa Panai starrer Yamudiki Mogudu is going to hit the screens on December 27. The film has been given a U/A certificate. E Sattibabu has directed this socio-fantasy film. Ramya Krishna and Sayaji Shinde have played vital roles in this film which narrates the story of a commoner who falls in love with Lord Yama’s daughter.

MAKING A MARK

I’m not in a

RAT RACE

Allu Sirish, who’s all set to make his debut in Radhamohan’s Gauravam, talks about why he jumped onto the acting bandwagon and the transformation he has gone through to prepare for the mammoth task ahead.

HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com

our years ago, Allu Sirish, the youngest son of ace producer Allu Arvind, seemed to be following his father’s footsteps. He worked as an executive producer for Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini and soon he became quite a rage among Telugu movie buffs through his blogs on the economics of Telugu film industry. Eventually, he founded a film magazine named Southscope which started off with a bang in late 2009. Considering everything that he has done so far, his decision to take up acting comes as a big surprise even for those who have closely followed his work so far. Ask him why the change in plans, he says, “It might seem like a sudden change, but I did quite a lot of acting when I was a kid. I did a cameo in Pratibandh and acted in a Tamil TV serial with veteran actress Bhanumathi which was her last assignment on TV. I knew that I would act someday in future, but I wasn’t sure if I could carry off a lead role. Having said that, there was never a dearth of opportunity, but I didn’t want to take up acting because a lot of people expected me to do so. I have seen what it takes from close quarters, so I wasn’t in a rush. Then someone who’s really close to me advised me to jump onto the bandwagon before it’s too late.” He joined an acting school in Mumbai and underwent training in stunts under the aegis of Pandian, a popular action choreographer in Chennai. “ The most important thing I did was to talk to actors about their experiences and I also read a lot of biographies of popular actors. Becoming an actor is not merely about the craft, it needs a tectonic shift in your personality. You need to evolve into another person. In that sense, the transformation was more internal than external,” Allu Sirish says. His debut film, Gauravam is a social drama which, he says, gives an interesting insight into the rural life through the eyes of a city boy. Being one of the youngest members from the family to be making his onscreen debut, Allu Sirish does have some perks. One among them is not being bothered about the pressure. No wonder he’s content about making his debut with a film like Gauravam rather than a mass entertainer like almost everyone else in his family. “When my brother Allu Arjun made his debut, he was in a rat race and he had to solidify his position in the industry. My cousin, Ram Charan had no choice other than living up to the expectations of being Chiranjeevi’s son. I don’t have any of these pressures and I’m not in a rat race. I just want to do different stuff and learn along the way,” he signs off.

Entertainment MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

MARRIAGE BANS

uperstar Salman Khan has finally put to rest questions pertaining to his marriage, saying he will think about tying the knot only after the verdicts of

WILL MARRY AFTER JODHPUR AND MUMBAI COURT VERDICTS: SALMAN

Jodhpur and Mumbai courts in the blackbuck and vehicle mishap cases against him. The 46-yearold actor, who is always hounded with questions about his never ending

bachelorhood, has been linked to a number of women in his career but is said to be single post his alleged split with actress Katrina Kaif. “I will think about marrying only after

the courts give their verdicts. If the verdicts go against me, I will marry only after coming out of jail,” the actor told Rajat Sharma during a television show. PTI

CINE BYTES 'Madras Cafe' not a take on Indo-Sri Lankan relations

Ashish’s NY resolutions

irector Shoojit Sircar has denied the buzz that his upcoming film Madras Cafe is a story based on the political relations between India and Sri Lanka, insisting the flick is simply a spy thriller set in the backdrop of the two countries. Shoojit has earlier named the film Jaffna, the Civil Wartorn city in Sri Lanka populated by Sri Lankan Tamils. PTI

Shekhar praises 'fiery' Indian youth

ctor Ashish Chowdhry, last seen in Double Dhamaal, says his wish list for 2013 includes doing some movies. "Got to start planning for my New Year's resolutions from today. Too much in the list. But getting back in front of camera is deﬁnitely one of them," he tweeted. IANS

ndian youth is a fiery political force of change, said filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, impressed with the way youngsters have been protesting for a Delhi gang-rape victim. "Indian youth have proved they are not just demographic statistics in economic models. They are a potent and fiery political force of change," Kapur tweeted Sunday. IANS

Entertainment MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

NOT MUCH OF SPICE?

he s s ith e y sa e w on m am me and V a f kh d so us IT e ec un ere of on ll b o B o h ne d i t i w d ia t f or firs ge w e o a sa ich nte ush t ic e ta o b ri h a br t's r V sh a s d t icto r, w ne w st ha w e e o ju T n n s te ig he wa an s," V rev ny ke us. t ho sh s w i e de te er n w f u a Fo at a f l of bou Po at o a h n a o h v t t ne g a led th e r io d "T m e i t sh lf a ls. wo on y: V No o so to o kin cal and her a -f se ir y te or . " t te a as s, T ch ed her e G ver o da ' St ve ted ela Spe I w the ys. cat d, n r d ic e t ls s E n r . " o da I o -tu fin Sp ow ted Gir ma wa uld ded id: e cl se mes y G rr a e 't d h n e t e o d sa ic o i ng n an ce a ic ris on y c a e n th et m m Si uld r b on n w l Sp Ch ery od she , sh nd in om 'Oh a is IANS co he ote ma ia on ev ryb l," ice ts a en . 'S ke, ori . c v e i t m r w ery spe ast ink eve ssfu Sp ran e, e ag m l Vic ha c l h h v ' u m t e i ck " t i I . d e u c s a oa e. I r. B suc Po rest t sm ng nd on' Be r d a b m ai o ed e n' tro r rs i te y h as s am nic did y s irro t pe Dav a r n a d m w k ed 'I e m h ce it nic ik er. is v he o t r a hy as e I l ract th in t int cce w w s a as f d o e au ch w sel rne to s sh bec y y u m m e t ried as I'v w

No one wanted to date

VICTORIA BECKHAM CINE BYTES

Rihanna remembers her grandma

ihanna is getting into the holiday spirit by donating $1.75 million dollars to a Barbados hospital in memory of her dear Gran Gran Dolly. The singer visited the hospital Saturday with her mother Monica Fenty and Dolly's husband Lionel alongside her.

Rita Ora cheated with Jonah Hill?

James supports NRA

n the aftermath of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, countless celebrities have joined in a plea for gun control but Jesse James is not one of them. He expressed support for the NRA, the day after it finally broke its silence on the shooting and called for armed officers in every school.

inger Rita Ora reportedly cheated on Robert Kardashian with Jonah Hill. The 22-year-old, who split from Rob earlier this month, allegedly spent a night with Hill while she was still dating the reality TV star. "Rita spent the night with Jonah during a trip to New York," contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying. IANS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

Chai Time

Play & Win

Please send in your filled-in entries to Postnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033. The winners will be announced on this page in Sunday’s edition.

KAKURO How to play kakuro Kakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku in some ways. But is also suitably different. The key question: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well here are the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers. However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column refer-

QUICK CROSSWORD enced 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.

Play & Win

voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

ACROSS

SCRIBBLING PAD

Play & Win voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

SUDOKU

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

Play & Win voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

1 Molten rock 6 It can be half-baked 10 Banco de Mexico coin 14 Fielder’s blunder 15 Have-___ (downand-outers) 16 Wrestler’s workplace 17 ‘Back’ three ways 20 Eats or owns 21 Steak or veal, eg 22 Assert without proof 23 Hiccup’s cause 25 Makes public 26 Presque ___, Maine 28 Thesaurus offering 32 Doctor’s reference 34 Cincinnati’s state 35 Lamb’s lament 38 ‘Back’ four ways 42 ‘Squad’ of old TV 43 Composition for two 44 Sheet of paper folded to make four pages 45 He brings the heat when he gets the finger 48 Aerialists’ insurance 49 Syllabus 51 Taco chip dip 53 Mud-sucking machine 55 Peak in Sicily

56 Baby’s word 59 ‘Back’ three ways 62 ‘Green Gables’ girl 63 Food thickener 64 Delivered a low blow? 65 Words from pros 66 Young men 67 Gilbert and Teasdale

DOWN 1 Fishnet stocking pattern 2 Geographical datum 3 Savanna 4 Bon ___ (clever remark) 5 Bakery emanation 6 ‘... a date which will live in ___’ (FDR) 7 ___-yourself kit 8 Space-saving abbreviation 9 Sailing the bounding main 10 Bout before the biggie 11 One bearing down? 12 Progress impeders 13 Give the once-over 18 Parker of old TV 19 Post-season game 24 French papa 26 Minuteman III or

Peacekeeper, eg 27 Cry to a fly 29 Toward the pole where Santa works 30 Cry of discovery 31 Tuck’s partner 33 ‘I bring you ___ of great joy’ 35 Vex 36 Made a landing 37 Commotions 39 Bolt’s adjunct 40 Mo when bookstores have a lot of calendars 41 Charged particles 45 Some California baseball players 46 Banana oil and others 47 Sounded, as a doorbell 49 Facing downward 50 Hotelier Helmsley 52 Small songbirds 53 WWII turning point 54 Abbr after a list of names 55 ‘Good heavens!’ 57 Most draft-eligible 58 3:1 or 4:1, eg 60 Ottoman officer 61 Words with ‘roll’ or ‘whim’

Chai Time MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 25-12-2012

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Peaceful atmosphere will prevail at home. You will perform sister's marriage in a grand manner and earn appreciation all around. Your administrative capabilities will be sharpened. House construction plan will get approval.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Those in love will get married soon. Your charisma will increase. Those planning to enter cine field will realise their dreams. Try and get rid of bad habits and take care of your health. Foreign job applicants will get a favourable result.

All your wishes will get fulfilled. You will be invited by VIPs to take part in celebrations. Good events will happen at home, which will keep the family cheerful. Those deprived of children for a long time will receive favourable news.

Politicians are advised to be cautious in their talks. Avoid friendship with characterless persons as they might land you in trouble. Mother’s health may be affected. Politicians will gain importance and be entrusted with important assignments.

Good attitude at home will keep family members happy. Employees will be happy as situation at the workplace will change. Strained relationships will resume and meeting with close relatives will make you cheerful.

Unwanted apprehension needs to be driven out of your mind as you will be successful if you proceed with a clear mind. Hurdles will disappear. Employees can expect their pay hike and choice transfer with promotion.

Financially, a very comfortable position likely. Realtors will have a very good and prosperous time. Businessmen can plan for expansion as the time is ripe for the same. Money will come by in speculative deals. You will attend get-togethers.

Highly esteemed people will extend their whole-hearted help and financial support to complete important tasks undertaken by you. A turning point is likely for businessmen as their innovative techniques will be adopted.

Those seeking a job will get good news. With wise steps, you will complete tasks without any problem. You will buy a new vehicle in exchange of the old one. Unexpected tensions likely, but keep your cool as the situation will change.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Queen of Pentacles – A dramatic increase in income is in the offing. This may mean giving up peace and the lovely work surroundings you had created.

LEO:

Eight of Wands – Lady Luck is smiling down on you. House renovation work will keep you busy. Long pending tasks will finally get your attention.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Nine of Cups – Wish carefully. For, it is about to come true. This card is a caution to be careful what you wish for. Do you know this is exactly what you want?

SAGITTARIUS:

Six of Pentacles – An elderly person, from the extended family or at work, will guide you in the right direction and tell you what your move should be.

TAURUS:

Page of Cups – You’re being impulsive. Stop, step back, and take a good look at the big picture. Do you really want to go down that road?

CANCER:

King of Pentacles – You’re in control of situations at the work place. Clients love you for your practicality. You’re likely to make more money through a raise.

VIRGO:

Three of Cups – Celebrate your success. It’s important to celebrate when the times are good. You release the right vibes into the cosmos.

SCORPIO:

Ace of Cups – Great ideas come your way and you feel empowered to make them work as well. You’re on a roll! Maintain the tempo but also don’t push yourself.

CAPRICORN:

Ten of Cups – This is the season to spend more time with family. They may have felt ignored by you in the past months. Perfect time to make up for it.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Four of Swords – Work is stalling and you’re feeling exhausted and frustrated. Things will take their own time to move ahead. Your pushing it will not help.

NUMBER GAME

Five of Cups – Don’t cry over spilt milk. There’s nothing much you can do about what’s gone. But you can certainly control how you react to it. Think positive.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS:

POOCH CAFE

Those disturbed about not having a job will receive favourable news. Several happy events will take place at home. Businessmen will be inundated with orders. Those in export-import business will do well.

for 25-12-2012

Knight of Cups – You’re being emotional but may not necessarily be sensitive to other people’s emotions. Take care to respect other people’s time.

NON SEQUITUR

Some will undertake pilgrimage. Debt issues will come to an end as you will clear major portion of the same. Delayed loan application will get sanctioned now but you need to handle it carefully or there are chances of future problems.

SUDOKU

Your influence is set to increase. Marriage talks will progress well and finalisation will take place soon. Real estate deals will end in your favour and decent gains are likely. Children will make you happy. Politicians will get support.

Boggle MOLE MOOSE MOUSE MONKEY MONGOOSE Vol: 2, No 158 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

Entertainment MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

REHAB STINT AGAIN ?

Is Demi heading towards relapse?

ctress Demi Moore has sparked fears that she is heading towards relapse and will need treatment for substance abuse and an eating disorder for the second time. Moore's estranged husband Ashton Kutcher filed for divorce Friday, more than a year after their split in November 2011. After they split, Moore had checked into rehab for an eating disorder and substance abuse issues. The actress is reportedly plunging into depression after her three daughters — Rumer, 24, Scout, 21, and Tallulah, 18 — cut contact with her because of her

hard partying. "The girls want Demi to pull herself together, act her age and stop carrying on like some teenage party girl. But Demi just refuses to give up the lifestyle that once made her happy," a source told radaronline.com. “She's determined to find young love again and is at a loss as to why she is still single. On top of having no love life, her daughters have once again turned their backs on her — she just feels so alone, and that feeling is made all the worse as Christmas approaches,” the source added. Moore's friends are wor-

ried that she is depressed again. “Demi feels so alone in the world. Her mum and step dad are both dead... and although she has three step-siblings — she hasn't spoken to them in 30 years! And her half brother James is in jail for 10 years for assaulting his girlfriend so there is no one for her to spend the holidays with. It's going to be another sad and lonely time for Demi," said an insider. "Demi's friends are worried she will be so down over the holidays that she may relapse, and they no longer know what to do to help her," he said. IANS

CINE BYTES Kristen Stewart returning to 'Snow White...' sequel

ctress Kristen Stewart has confirmed news that she will be returning to Snow White and the Huntsman sequel. The Twilight Saga beauty said she is super excited to come back to the twisted fairy tale film franchise, though it is still unconfirmed who will direct the follow-up movie, reported Aceshowbiz. PTI

Barrymore’s dogs love Baby Olive

he may have been a nervous wreck after baby Olive arrived this fall, but the Drew Barrymore could have rested easy because her dogs had everything under control. "They're so protective of her. They're so sweet," she tells People of her pups, Douglas and shepherd mix Oliver.

Bieber praises another ‘drummer boy’

nother YouTube star is born, thanks to Justin Bieber. He tweeted about 10year-old Jayden Anderson's recent performance of his version of The Little Drummer Boy at St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School’s Christmas concert, Ont., putting the spotlight on the young rapper.

Entertainment MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

JASON SEGEL IS BACK

HIMYM

BACK FOR NINTH SEASON eadline's Nikki Finke reports that the CBS stalwart will be back for a ninth season (which may or may not include the big motherly reveal) after nearly six months' worth of negotiations between Himym's cast, producers, and the network. Finke says Jason Segel delayed the show's greenlight this time around, and had actually decided to bail on season nine, "but he just got turned around [yesterday] at the last second. The show was literally dead [otherwise]."

CINE BYTES The Hobbit clobbers Tom Cruise film

he Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was heading for an easy second week victory at the box ofﬁce, on pace for a $32 million weekend after rolling up an estimated $10 million Friday. That's way ahead of the Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher, which debuted with $5 million Friday and is looking at around $15 million for the weekend.

Mayer creates guitar for Perry

usician John Mayer has designed a guitar for Katy Perry to gift her on Christmas. The 35-year-old musician had the guitar covered in intricate designs, including Katy's initials and the date they ﬁrst met. IANS

Hemsworth to celebrate Christmas with Cyrus

ctor Liam Hemsworth wants to take Miley Cyrus to Australia for Christmas. The 22-year-old would love to spend the festive season in his native country with his family and ﬁance."I hope to take Miley to Australia for Christmas, that would be very nice. I stopped ﬁlming in early December so it's possible," contactmusic.com quoted Hemsworth.

sports

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

INDIA TO HOST NEIGHBOURS

India-Pak series will help tide over Tendulkar’s retirement TWELFTH MAN

Babu Kalyanpur

he old rivals will be fired up once again as they face each other in two Twenty20s and three one-dayers in India. Both India and Pakistan will forget their indifferent form in the shorter version in recent times. This will be an all-out war. Players will rise above themselves for these encounters, whether in form or otherwise. The only sad factor will be that India’s greatest player will be missing. Sachin Tendulkar has called time on an illustrious oneday career. Now nearing 40 and struggling with form, Tendulkar has done the right thing. A full retirement won’t be far away. At least this will stop all the cries from the critics that he should bow out of cricket. Sadly, India’s legend has been facing so much flak recently that the real emotion of his exit will only make an impact later. A career which spanned 463 matches, 18,426 runs with 49 centuries and a highest score of 200 not out underlines how well he dominated bowlers over the years. This record will be very difficult to break. And gone will be those wonderful lofted shots, the wristy leg side play and the paddle sweep. All that is left now is to Salute the Master. And don’t put additional

pressure on him in Test cricket. He is a jewel in India’s crown. Appreciate him while he is still around. One won’t see extraordinary cricketers like him in a hurry. It will be a strange feeling not to see Tendulkar as India take the field for the first T20 at Bangalore on Christmas day. India have a tough task ahead of them. They will be taking on some of the best spinners in the business against Pakistan. Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammed Hafeez are clever bowlers. Hopefully the madness of spinning wickets is

now forgotten as a bad dream. India have repeatedly shown against England that they just can’t play quality spin. They better change strategy to counter the spinners. The squared T20 series against England revealed a couple of major weaknesses. India seem to lose the plot in the death overs. The batsmen just don’t get enough runs despite being in good positions. The bowlers also forget that pitching the ball up reduces the chances of batsmen going for big strokes. At this juncture they often bowl short and wide.

Luckily many of India’s top order batsmen are in good touch. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back at his best and Yuvraj Singh is thriving with both bat and ball. The bowling worries continue as some of the newcomers are inconsistent. Hopefully playing against Pakistan may lift their game up. As usual, the Pakistan selectors have played Russian roulette in team matters. There are a few new players of unknown quality in the side. Recalling Younis Khan is a wise decision but dropping the

popular Shahid Afridi for the one-day section is shocking. And chief selector Iqbal Qasim’s assertions that Afridi must prove himself and that Pakistan was looking for his replacement stinks of the usual politics which besots Pakistan cricket. Admittedly, Afridi is going through a drop in form. His batting has fallen away badly. But his bowling is still good because he can still restrict when not taking wickets. There is still hope though for Afridi as Pakistan’s sensible captain Misbah-ul-Haq has asked for his inclusion in the team if he performs in the T20. India’s big chance for success will to be to target Pakistan’s slightly shaky middle order. There are bound to be some newcomers there and the job can be made easier. Ajmal will be the man who will play the leading role on which way the series goes. He is among the best off spinners in the world and has the uncanny knack of seizing situations. The India-Pakistan series will a great relief for many disappointed fans who have seen India being just washed away by England. This could also be a turning point for Indian cricket if they manage to win the series. With England coming back early next year to complete the one-day version of their series follow by Australia, India need a major dose of confidence. Beating Pakistan will be just the thing to get them back on track again.

LEAGUE CRICKET

City gains upper hand in keen tussle

RANJI TROPHY

Hyderabad 337 all out in 122 overs. Brief scores: Ashish Reddy 82, Akash Bhandari 56no, Murali Karthik 4 for 88, KV Sharma 3 for 103 Railway 145 for 2 in 59 overs, Brief scores: AG Paunikar 41, NS Bille Batting 31, Sanjay Bangar batting 43, Pragjan Ojha 2 for 17

COOCH BEHAR TROPHY

Hyderabad Vs Karnataka Karnataka 629 for 5 dec in 171 overs. Brief scores: Abhinav Manohar 209, Bharath KN 95, Kranti Kumar 112no

Hyderabad 47 for 1 in 13 overs.

A4- 11 ONE DAY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

MP Sporting 203 for 7 (Kushal 39, Tript 82 no, Srinand 4 for 53) bt Cheerful Chums 81(Sameer 6 for 30) Sagar XI 211 (Sachit 73, Kamal 37, Shivram 3 for 28) bt Sportive 139 (Rohan 33, Deepak 40, Ramraj 3 for 25) HUCC 115 (Syed Manivuddin 72, Abdul Azeem 5 for 19) lost to Apex 116 for 3 (Syed Anwar Ali 37, Mir Javed Ali 38 no) DB CC 114 (Shashi 6 for 25,

Samaikya 3 for 20) lost to Victor 117 for 3 (K Sahitya 56, K Samaikya 70no, M Kumar 3 for 8 ) Vijayanand 126 (Mustafa 49, Vijayendra 5 for 22) lost to Reliance 127 for 3 (Preetam 54no) Saint Sai 224 for 8 (Rajsekhar 44, CV Sridhar 39, Jitendra 34, Manas 4 for 40) bt Mahaveer 120 (Chandra 5 for 35) Bharath CC 284 for 9 (Ambati Sai Varun 51, K Vikas Rao 34, M Mahender 77, Amit Singh 34, Chandu 3 for 92) bt RR Districts 41 (Shiva Dattha 8 for 22) Raju C A 117 (Prasanna 4 for 22, Hamid 3 for 30) lost to

Consult 123 for 1 (Praveen 50, Naresh 51no) MP Blues 286 for 7 (J Swamy 59, TP Varun 53, Prabhu Kiran 69, Devrath 5 for 89) bt Lal Bahadur PG 163 (Devrath 50, Siddharth 3 for 57, TP Varun 3 for 44) Vijay Bharthi 245 for 6 (Md Altaf Younus 81, Mohammed Mohsin 30, Harish K 58, Shaheen 3 for 60) bt Hyd Patriots 126 (Mahmood 30, Abu Bhaker 3 for 30, Surya 3 for 15, Munaf 3 for 4) Safilguda 167 for 6 (Harish 68, Chandu 36, Vicky 3 for 56) bt Elegant 123 (Indrajith 4 for 24) Agawal Seniors 181 (Farooq

44, Diwesh Thakur 3 for 40, Sumeet Joshi 5 for 36) lost to PKCC 182 for 7 (D Thakur 41no, Vijay K Konda 51no, Sohail 6 for 36) Green Turf 221 for 9 (Mauz 38, Farhan 43, Avinash 3 for 35) Lost to HGC 222 for 6 (Charan 103no, Farhan Ahmed 4 for 47) RK Puram 235 (M Vijay Kumar 33, B Dinesh Goud 64, Khaja Nizamuddin 4 for 57, Zubair 3 for 49) bt Southern Star 210 (Naveed 41, Ghulam Amair 3 for 52, Vijay Kumar 5 for 43) Imperial 145 (Prakash 33, Randhir 7 for 58) bt Kishoresons 127 (Srikanth 5 for 37).

sports

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

NEW ZEALAND IN SOUTH AFRICA

Guptill steers NZ home

ENGLAND’S TOUR OF NZ

The result enabled New Zealand to level the three-match series with the decider to be played in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

EAST LONDON, SA: Martin Guptill (right) hit a thrilling century to clinch a last-ball, eightwicket victory for New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international against South Africa at Buffalo Park on Sunday. Guptill finished with 101 not out off 69 balls, hitting the last ball of the match from Rory Kleinveldt over cover for four to enable New Zealand to reach a target of 169 in a match reduced to 19 overs a side because of a floodlight failure.

SCOREBOARD South Africa R Levi c N McCullum b Hira 5 Davids c Ne’sham b McCl’ghan 55 Plessis c And’son b Bracewell 63 D Miller c Hira b Bracewell 33 F Behardien not out 5 Peterson c Ne’sham b Bracewell 0 Q de Kock not out 0 Extras (lb2, nb1, w1) 4 Total (5 wkts, 19 overs) 165 Bowling: McClenaghan 4-0-32-1, Bracewell 3-0-33-0, Hira 4-0-37-1, Anderson 2-0-21-0, N McCullum 4-023-0, Franklin 1-0-10-0, Nicol 1-0-7-0

He became the second New Zealander — after captain Brendon McCullum — to hit a century in a Twenty20 international. Guptill missed his side’s eight-wicket defeat in the first match in Durban on Friday because of a stomach ailment. But the opening batsman showed his value to the team by slamming six sixes and eight fours. He became the second New Zealander — after captain Brendon McCullum — to hit a century in a Twenty20 international. He had some good fortune in a frantic finish. He was caught off McLaren when he was on 87 but gained a reprieve when the delivery was noballed because it was too high. Two runs later he hit a ball from Morne Morkel high in the air towards point but Robin Peterson put down the chance. South Africa scored 165 for

New Zealand M Guptill not out 101 R Nicol c Miller b Peterson 25 McCullum c Miller b McLaren 17 C Munro not out 8 Extras (lb9, nb1, w8) 18 Total (2 wkts, 19 overs) 169 Bowling: Peterson 3-0-28-1, Morkel 40-29-0, Kleinveldt 4-0-35-0, McLaren 4-0-26-1, Phangiso 4-0-42-0

five after a floodlight failure caused a 50-minute delay. The home side were 128 for two after 16.1 overs when the lights on one of four floodlight towers went out. Henry Davids hit 55 and captain Faf du Plessis made 63 for South Africa. New Zealand seam bowler Doug Bracewell took three wickets in four balls in the final over, all from catches in the deep, to finish with three for 33. Du Plessis, who made his runs off 43 balls, shared partnerships of 68 for the second wicket with Davids and 79 for the third wicket with David Miller. AFP

Guptill praises Taylor-made last-ball victory COLIN BRYDEN EAST LONDON, SA: Advice from former captain Ross Taylor helped Martin Guptill to hit a thrilling century and clinch a last-ball, eight-wicket victory for New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international against South Africa at Buffalo Park on Sunday. “Ross Taylor was in touch from back home and he told me just to relax and play each ball as it came,” said Guptill of a call from Taylor, who was unavailable for the tour after

losing the captaincy in controversial circumstances. Guptill ﬁnished with 101 not out off 69 balls, hitting the last ball of the match from Rory Kleinveldt over cover for four to enable New Zealand to reach a target of 169 in a match reduced to 19 overs a side because of a ﬂoodlight failure. The result enabled New Zealand to level the threematch series with the decider to be played in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

Pietersen rested for Kiwi tour in February LONDON: Kevin Pietersen has been rested for England’s oneday and Twenty20 squads announced on Sunday for February’s tour of New Zealand. James Anderson, Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann have returned to the 14-man one-day squad while Stuart Broad is back from a heel injury to captain the 14-man T20 squad. National selector Geoff Miller said: “There are a number of players who we have decided not to select for parts of the competitive programme this winter as we look to manage their workloads effectively while ensuring we remain competitive across all formats. “We feel this is the best way of keeping players as physically and mentally fresh as possible during a demanding 2013 and beyond. “Kevin Pietersen will miss the limited overs tour of New Zealand with Graeme Swann missing the T20 leg of the tour. “This approach also provides an opportunity for talented young players to gain more international experience which will help in the future.” AFP

CONTROVERSY OVER BOWLING ACTION

Lehmann charged for Samuels comments Lehmann, who coaches Brisbane Heat, called for an examination of Samuels' action after a Twenty20 match. SYDNEY: Cricket Australia has charged Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann with breaching its behaviour code after he questioned the bowling action of West Indian Marlon Samuels (right). Lehmann made the remarks after the Heat’s loss to the Melbourne Renegades in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League on Saturday night. “He couldn’t bowl in the IPL (Indian Premier League) last year, yet he can bowl in the BBL,” he said post-match. “We have got to seriously

look at what we’re doing. Are we here to play cricket properly or what? “If he is deemed legal, I’m totally understanding of that. But from my point of view, from 20 years’ cricket, I have got a problem with 120km/h off no steps.” Samuels has endured a turbulent career in which his bowling has often come under scrutiny and he was banned from bowling in the IPL this year when reported for a suspect action.

Samuels has often come under scrutiny and was banned from bowling in the IPL this year when reported for a suspect action. Cricket Australia said that under its rules a player or official must not “denigrate or criticise another player or denigrate or criticise an official, umpire, referee or team against which they

have played or will play”. “As the matter is now before the commissioner, CA will not be making any comment on the charge. The date and time of the hearing is yet to be determined,” the governing body said in a statement Monday. Under CA’s doubtful bowling action policy, any bowler mentioned by three different umpires in the same season is reported, while umpires also have the option to bypass the mentions process and lodge a report directly.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2012

sports

CHINA CUP HOLDERS GUANGZHOU SIGN ELKESON Chinese cup holders Guangzhou Evergrande said Monday they have signed Brazilian midfielder Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso to a 4-year deal with the transfer fee topping 5.7 million euros. Elkeson, 23, will arrive at Guangzhou in January for the upcoming season, the club’s website announced.

PREMIERE LEAGUE

Chelsea humiliate Villa

The Blues blew away Paul Lambert’s men to move into third place in the Premier League — and Benitez refused to rule out a title challenge. IAN WINROW Agence France-Presse

Chelsea’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres (L) vies with Aston Villa’s Englishborn Irish defender Ciaran Clark during their match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London, on Sunday. AFP/ GLYN KIRK

LONDON: Rafael Benitez took a big step in his efforts to win over doubting Chelsea fans by overseeing a stunning 8-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday that moved the Spaniard’s side back up to third spot. Fernando Torres kick-started the win with his seventh goal in six appearances, while Frank Lampard marked his 500th Premier League start with a goal that made him the club’s leading scorer in the top flight. Ramires scored twice, with David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, Eden Hazard and Oscar also on target in a victory that emphatically drew a line under the club’s recent slump. There was much for Benitez to be pleased about, particularly the continuing good form of Torres. But for Aston Villa, this result — their heaviest topflight defeat — will come as a crushing blow after the improvement they have shown in recent weeks. One of the first questions asked of Benitez when he took charge at Stamford Bridge was whether he could revive Torres. The interim manager insist-

Swansea frustrate Utd GRAHAM CLUTTON SWANSEA, UK: anchester United’s lead over Manchester City is down to four points from six after the Premier League leaders were held 1-1 at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium on Sunday. Patrice Evra struck with a first-half header to put United on their way but a Michu equaliser before half-time was enough to give Swansea a richly deserved point. Having seen neighbours City cut their lead at the top of the league to three points with Saturday’s last-gasp 1-0 victory over Reading, United were keen to restore their healthy advantage going into the busy festive period.

ed he could and the striker’s recent strike rate suggests Benitez has been good to his word, as the sharpness of Torres’s third-minute header demonstrated. Picked out by Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross from deep, the Spain international connected with a powerful header, twisting his body to direct the ball beyond Brad Guzan from 16 yards out. It was the perfect start for the Blues, who came into the game on the back of an impressive 5-1 League Cup quarterfinal victory at Leeds United.

‘Robin could have been killed’

GRAHAM CLUTTON Agence France-Presse

SWANSEA, UK: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson claimed Robin van Persie could have been killed after the Dutch striker was hit on the back of the head with the ball in the 1-1 draw against Swansea. Ferguson vented his fury at the 75th-minute incident at the Liberty Stadium that led to Ashley Williams and van Persie being booked. Having been upended on the edge of the penalty area, van Persie flew at Williams and had to be restrained by his teammates after the Wales defender

Manchester United’s Dutch player Robin van Persie (C) is tackled during their match against Swansea City at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales on Sunday. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. AFP

hit him flush on the back of the head with the ball. Ferguson later claimed that Williams could have killed his player and demanded that the Football Association take action. As for the game itself, Michu’s 13th goal of the season, after 29 minutes, cancelled out Patrice Evra’s 16th-minute header from van Persie’s corner. “Van Persie could have been killed. The FA has got to look into it,” said Ferguson. “Irrespective of him having a yellow card, he should be banned for a long time because that was the most dangerous thing I’ve seen on a football field for many years,” he added.

Lampard says frankly: Blues future not so bright LONDON: Frank Lampard (above) admits his Chelsea future remains uncertain despite the midfielder establishing himself as the club’s leading top-flight scorer in the 8-0 rout of Aston Villa. Lampard marked his 500th Premier League start with his side’s fourth, his 130th Chelsea goal in the Premier League, taking him past the previous mark set by Bobby Tambling. However, the midfielder, 34, is out of contract at the end of this season and has so far not received the offer of a new deal from the club. “I’m not concentrating that far as I’m under contract and I love playing here so I’m going to continue game by game and just be pleased to be fit. I really enjoyed this match and just want to keep enjoying my football. I believe I have a lot in me to go,” he said. “The club’s position is its position, I don’t want to get too deep into that. I’m here to play football and show people what I can do.” he said.

Woman found dead at Reading football ground LONDON: A woman was found dead at Reading’s Madejski Stadium, having suffered serious head injuries, police said Sunday. The 22-year-old was found at the bottom of a stairwell at 12:50 am on Saturday, Thames Valley Police said. She was discovered in the Millennium Madejski Hotel, which forms part of the English Premier League side’s ground. Reading lies 40 miles (60 kilometres) west of London. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. “The woman had been attending a Christmas party at the time of the incident,” said Detective Inspector Phil O’Neil. “We are treating her death as unexplained and there are a number of inquiries taking place to establish the full circumstances of what happened.” No arrests had been made, he added. Reading played away from home against champions Manchester City on Saturday.