Postnoon E-Paper for 25 july 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 HYDERABAD

MARIAH CAREY JOINS AMERICAN IDOL

PG 9

PRANAB MUKHERJEE SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT

Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez and now… Mariah Carey. Fox just made it official: Carey is the latest successful pop diva to join American Idol.

32 PAGES

WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 25°C

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

Pranab Mukherjee was today sworn in as the country's 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament. Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia administered the oath of office in the presence of Vice-President Hamid Ansari, PM Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

NO ‘PLAN B’ FOR DROUGHT

With the possibility of a drought-scenario, alerts have been sounded against farmer suicide. In AP, 109 farmers committed suicide till last April.

P25

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

G0LD RUSH LONDON 2012

What the hell is that?!

If you’re wondering what the London 2012 mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, are supposed to be, you’re not alone. But in Olympics past, mascots have been far cuter. Here are the best.

P16&17

Students’ lives at risk as City schools flout fire safety rules

Absence of fire extinguishers and lack of other safety measures don’t seem to bother schools.

STRANDED! Hundreds of Telugus have been stranded at Cooch Behar railway station for the last two days following violence in Assam. The trains were stopped by authorities at the railway station in West Bengal.

REPORT ON P3

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

city events

DUCK, DEATH AND TULIP

A fun activity for adults and children alike, Duck, Death and Tulip is a puppetry show for adults and children alike. The show features puppets, an actress as well as a museum and will be held on June 26 at Goethe Zentrum, Banjara Hills from 7pm onwards.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

overnight

Morning

Afternoon

27°C

22°C

26°C

30°C

A mix of cloud and sun

A mix of cloudy and clear

A mix of cloud and sun

New Delhi Mumbai Max 33 Max 36 Min 25 Min 25 Scattered thunderstorms

Chennai Max 35 Min 27

Scattered thunderstorms

Cloudy

Bangalore Max 29 Min 30

Cloudy with chances of thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES The fest is open only for dinner. Where: Kangan, Westinn Mindspace, Madhapur When: Ongoing, 7pm-11pm (weekdays) 7pm-12pm (weekends) Contact: (040) 6767 6838

ART Artistic display Works by Laxma Goud, Vaikuntam Thota and Ramesh Gorjala is on display at Gallery Space. Where: Gallery Space, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6554 1836

Parantha festival Haldi at Novotel Airport is hosting a parantha festival titled Parantha Overload. The parantha festival that will be on till August 15, promises to offer a variety of paranthas in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian combinations. Where: Novotel Airport, Shamshabad When: Ongoing, 6.30pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000

The dancing coffee An exhibition titled Dancing Coffee by Koeli Mukherjee Ghose is being held at Truffles Cafe. The exhibition is on till August 4. Where: Trufﬂes Cafe, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 10 When: Ongoing, 11am onwards Contact: (040) (2355 0105 Painting exhibition A painting exhibition by by Srikanth Babu is being held. Where: Deccan Art Foundation, Chapel Road, Abids When: Ongoing 11am onwards Contact: (040) 6661 4504

SHOWS Kingfisher Comedy Nights The world famous comedian Shazia Mirza will be performing as a part of Kingfisher Comedy Nights this week.The cost per ticket is `1,000. Where: Kismet,

The Park, Somajiguda When: July 26 Contact: (040) 2345 6789 Thirst for theatre Eugene O’Neil’s play Thirst deals with two men and a woman who find themselves on a life-raft, with little hope of rescue after a shipwreck leaves them stranded.This play is being held at Lamakaan on July 29. The play stars Naren Yadav, Ravi Raj and Preksha Joseph, Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills, Rd No 1 When: July 29, 7.30pm onwards Contact: 96427 31329 Interactive workshops Oakridge International School

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

GENTLE PUSH: A traffic policeman is seen assisting a man carrying iron columns on his cycle-rickshaw on a busy SRINIVAS SETTY road in Nampally on Monday.

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

launches weekend voyager. This is an exciting weekend activity for children. It includes workshops on a variety of topics such as film making, theater, photography, robotics etc. Where: Oakridge International School, Gachibowli and Bachupally When: July 28 onwards 9am-12pm Contact: 1800-200-8171

DINING Lift you spirits TGI Friday brings to Infia the tallest high spirits glass ( 22 inches) called Tall Boy. Three different cocktails are being offered with these Tall Boy glasses. Where: TGIF, Banjara Hills,

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

Rd No 2 When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 4015 1925 Ice Age festival Celebrate the Ice Age Festival at McDonalds, to celebrate the latest Ice Age film Ice Age: Continental Drift. The happy meals for this occasion offer 8 exciting touys based on characters from the movie. This offer is on till August 17. Where: TGIF, Banjara Hills, Rd No 2 When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 4015 1925 Kebab fest This fest is something that will surely appeal to the kebab lovers in town. Kangan at Westinn Mindspace, Madhapur is hosting a Kebab fest.

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

Festival of pasta TGIF is offering its new festival of pasta menu which includes a new selection of pastas. The menu also includes a special signature beverage called Pink Punk Cosmopolitan which matches with these pastas. Where: TGIF, Banjara Hills, Rd No 2 When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 4015 1925

MISCELLANEOUS Angry Birds app Samsung announces Angry Birds app for Samsung Smart TV. The new technology allows customers to enjoy the game on the large screen This will be available on Samsung smart interaction enabled models.

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

City

LORRY RAMS INTO AUTO, THREE KILLED

Three persons were killed on the spot and seven injured when a speeding lorry rammed into an autorickshaw at Addakula village on Wednesday morning. The local police shifted the injured persons to the nearest hospital. The condition of three injured is said to be critical.

CRIME

POLITICAL UNREST

Love’s labour lost: Teen, youth end life Mother's fierce opposition to young love resulted in a double tragedy in RR district MOHD SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

he lives of a teenaged girl and her 20-year-old lover were cut short on Sunday after the boy's mother forbade them from meeting. The girl was so depressed that she reportedly set herself ablaze. When told of her death, the youth consumed poison and died. Sub-inspector of Karankote police station M Pawan said that 17-year-old Surabhi (name changed) of Kota Baspally in Tandur Mandal of RR district was an intermediate student. She fell in love with A Naresh of the same village. Naresh had just begun his career as a priest in Hyderabad city. She detailed the tragic saga in her suicide note, said Pawan. She wrote that the two had developed an inseparable bond

and vowed to marry. But Naresh’s mother, A Rachamma, was reportedly dead against the alliance. His father, G Shekhar, remained neutral in the matter. Naresh’s mother forbade her son from meeting the teen. However, the two kept in touch through cellphones. The boy's mother then called Surabhi and asked her to forget Naresh or

PROTEST

Dharna against corruption held POSTNOON NEWS feedback@ postnoon.com

he anti-graft group, India Against Corruption, held a dharna at Indira Park Dharna Chowk from 10am on Wednesday. The dharna is part of the struggle to expose corruption at the helm of affairs in the country as declared by Team Anna and in response to the call for a nation-wide protest from Thursday, said group members. “This is mainly to bring to focus the cases of 15 ministers at the Centre and 163 MPs who are involved in various corruption-related cases. The delay in bringing in a strong Jan Lokpal Bill is also included in the same. We have asked for the setting up of fast-track courts to hold trials of the accused ministers and that the cases be referred to a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will pronounce judgment in six months,” stated the press release. NSS

face the consequences. The frightened teenager reportedly stopped talking to Naresh, who wasn’t aware of his mother’s warning to Surabhi. On Sunday, Naresh waylaid Surabhi and took her to a room, where they quarrelled. He accused her of breach of trust and reportedly outraged her modesty. However, she was too afraid to tell him about his mother’s threat. She returned home and unable to cope with the situation, took the extreme step. When he heard the news of her death, the contrite youth consumed poison at Tandur railway station. The youth was spotted by passengers who took him to a hospital where he was declared dead. The Karankote police registered a case against Naresh, and his mother has been booked for abetting the suicides.

Hundreds of Telugus stuck in Cooch Behar PTI

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

undreds of Telugus are stranded at Cooch Behar railway station since two days following ethnic violence in Assam. The stranded were travelling by Howrah, Rajdhani and Guwahati trains. The trains were stopped by authorities at Cooch Behar railway station in West Bengal. Speaking to Postnoon, a stranded passenger, Chakradhar Reddy, said, “The railways did not provide any basic facility like drinking water, food, toilets.” Reddy requested the State and Central governments to rescue them. A large number of Telugu people found themselves in a precarious situation. A passenger from Warangal said, “We have been put into a humiliating condition. We don’t have facilities like drinking water and food. No official is bothered about us. We don’t know what to do.” At least 26 trains were cancelled and 31 stopped at different stations, prompting railway minister Mukul Roy to seek enhanced security for the safety of over

Rajdhani Express passengers were stranded at Guwahati station.

30,000 passengers stranded midway. Miscreants pelted stones and attacked the Guwahatibound Rajdhani Express in Kokrajhar damaging four coaches. On Monday, shoot-at-sight orders were issued in Kokrajhar district and indefinite curfew clamped.

STATE GOVT UNAWARE

The State government is yet to get information about this incident. When Postnoon contacted the principal secretary of general administration department (political), Ajoy Misra, and transport commissioner Sanjay Kumar, their staff said the offices did not have any information on the issue.

city WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

DROUGHT FEARS RISE

LAST YEAR... HERE Is your child safe?

or parents the world over schools are that one place where they feel comfortable in leaving their children as they feel they are well protected and wil learn. But a shocking revelation was made in our report last year which revealed how cases of children being sexually abused was on the rise. A year later, the incidents continue with no solution in sight.

JULY 25, 2011

NUMEROLOGY

109

farmers committed suicide till April last year in various drought affected areas of the State. With the monsoons failing yet again fears of this situation repeating have arisen.

Ours is a kindergarten school and we have wide corridors. We don’t need additional fire safety measures. We have two fire hydrants and this should be enough. K Venkat Rao, principal See page 8

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

Farmer suicides because of drought, yet again. The failing monsoons and absence of a back-up plan brings up the gloomy picture we have to see every year — drought and its related deaths.

City school principals will never learn. Fire accidents in the City are on the rise, yet City school principals seem to be so ignorant. All we get is “that’s for other schools, not us.”

When it comes to facilities, quality doesn’t matter. This is what the ofﬁcials seem to follow. The Hafeezpet RoB is the perfect example.

Love fails youngsters yet again. Another shocking incident of two people in love committing in suicide comes to haunt us. When will we able to ﬁnd a solution and prevent more young lives from ending in the name of love.

Political dharna drama for power of a different kind. Opposition parties have decided to ﬁght the power shortage in the State with yet another dharna.

No ‘Plan B’ for drought With the possibility of a drought-scenario, alerts have been sounded against farmer suicides. In AP, 109 farmers committed suicide till last April. SRINIVAS SETTY

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

oth the meteorological department and scientists have admitted that they are at their wit’s end. Weather predictions are going awry and drought in some and flood in some other situation is making relief measures difficult. All of this is due to the climatic shift induced by

Chronically affected drought-hit areas n Anantapur n Chittoor n Cuddapah n Hyderabad n Kurnool n Mehbubnagar n Nalgonda n Prakasam

Source: Infochange, Pune With the rains failing this year again, many areas in the State are at the risk of drought in the coming days.

unbridled carbon emissions and human intervention, leading to global warming. Admitting the failure is none other than eminent agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan. With several states reeling under a drought-like situation as they await the monsoon, experts have pointed out that not enough is being done to deal with the situation arising out of scanty rainfall. “We are not prepared to handle the effects of climate change on agriculture. It is reflected through our management of drought situation in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,” Swaminathan said. “As the effects of climate change manifest, there will be

unprecedented droughts and some areas will receive more rain,” said Swaminathan. On the other hand are the weather pundits who despite having the most advanced technology make wild predictions. For 2012, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has downgraded the monsoon forecast to 96 per cent from the April forecast of 99 per cent. Rainfall below 90 per cent of the average is considered to result in a drought. Meanwhile, the agriculture department with the benefit of hindsight has apprehended a spurt in farmer- suicide. States are being alerted to avert the tragedy in acute drought-hit areas.

In the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, a cotton-growing region worst-hit by drought, 332 farmers have committed suicide till May this year, according to figures by farmer’s organisation Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti. As per data from the central government, some 109 farmers committed suicide in AP till February-end in the 2011-12 fiscal year. Suicides were also reported from Odisha, West Bengal and other states, mostly due to crop failure following low rainfall and inability to pay off debts. The experts, however, point out that the government indulges only in “post-mortem action”, instead of planning in advance. “Instead of indulging in post-

mortem action every time, we need to plan in advance. For example, the rain-surplus years should be utilised by storing the extra produce; doing rainwater harvesting to charge the natural water bodies and ground water.” GV Ramanjaneyulu, executive director of Hyderabad’s Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, pointed out that the problem is lack of planning for rain-fed areas overall. “There are areas which are hit by drought every year, but still there is no contingency plan,” Ramanjaneyulu regretted. “The plan should be, say, if rain is delayed for 15 days, what is plan B? If it is delayed for 30 days, what is plan C?” he said.

NEWS BRIEFS Two Karnataka MLAs bolt before ACB arrives

Patient’s gold stolen from hospital

Hospital cleaner held for Depressed youth molestation commits suicide

P anti-corruption bureau’s sleuths drew a blank when they went to interrogate two Karnataka MLAs in Bellary on Tuesday in connection with the cash for bail scam involving Gali. MLAs, Somasekhara Reddy and TH Suresh Babu were not at home. Summons were served asking them to appear before the ACB by tomorrow.

ospitalised women patients too are not spared by thieves. In a shocking incident, Andalu, who was suffering from a kidney ailment was admitted to a private hospital at Chaderghat. After getting admitted into the hospital she realised that her gold chain was missing . The Police are interrogating the hospital staff and her kin.

cleaner, Triputhi, at Osmania General Hospital, Tirupati, was arrested on Monday. He has been accused of attempting to molest a nurse on night duty at the hospital. The Afzalgunj police said the man, in an intoxicated condition, caught hold of the nurse but she screamed and people came to help her. He was then handed over to the police.

aju, 22, of Medchal in the City outskirts committed suicide. It is alleged that Raju had committed suicide after his parents refused to lrt him marry a girl that he loved. The youth it is said was unhappy with his parents refusal and in a depressed state, hanged himself to death in his home last night, the police said.

city WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

POLITICS

Govt powerless: Left

Erratic power supply and three-day power holiday imposed on industrial sector has robbed nearly 20 lakh contract and casual workers of their jobs N SHIVA KUMAR

INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

eft Parties in AP, CPI and CPM, held a ‘Chalo Secretariat’ today demanding that the State government should immediately roll back electricity and Fuel Surcharge Adjustment (FSA) charges and prevent frequent power breakdown that had paralysed industries across the State. CPI leader and AITUC State president PJ Chandrasekhar Rao told Postnoon that lakhs of employees across the State had lost their jobs due to power cuts. “The government is imposing a three-day power holiday for industrial sector due to shortage of power. This has led to loss of employment for about 20 lakh employees who are working in various industries as contractual, casual workers.

This apart, thousands of domestic and commercial category customers are also facing numerous problems because of

these frequent power cuts,” he said. State should immediately purchase power from the North Eastern states and prevent the

power crisis. “The State has many alternatives to prevent this crisis. The government must take it seriously and provide uninterrupted power to both industrial and domestic sectors. It can be done by purchasing power from other states,” Rao added. Coming down heavily on the State government on execution of agreements to operate Merchant Power Projects in the State, the leader alleged that the agreements were designed to help private companies. He said that these agreements are also one of the contributors of present power crisis. The MLAs and MLCs of both left parties participated in the agitation programme. In 2000, during the rule of Telugu Desam Party, a huge agitation programme organised by both the left parties led to police firing and resulted in loss of life.

POLITICS

Vijayamma didn’t utter a word about weavers T

elangana Rashtra Samiti leader and Siddipet MLA T Harirsh Rao has said that YSR Congress honorary president YS Vijayalakshmi concluded her ‘Deeksha’ at Sircilla within one hour on Monday. Harish Rao said Vijayamma did not speak about weavers’ problems during her so-called deeksha. On the other hand, Telangana activists were rounded up during her programme across the region. He also slammed Vijayamma for not demanding that the government solve weavers’ problems. Her visit to Sircilla was purely political. He also condemned the police raid on Telangana Bhavan. He said that Vijayamma took along Rayalaseema goons with her to Sircilla and made them thrash the women, students and Telangana activists. NSS

classifieds WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 DENTAL

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city WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 CLASSIFIEDS

CIVIC

EDUCATION

A disaster in waiting

COMPUTERS

Hafeezpet flyover is in shambles just a few years after construction MD NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

TRAVEL EDUCATION

Ponguleti hails Botsa’s remarks on Telangana

ICC secretary and MLC P o n g u l e t i Sudhakar Reddy has asked Congress leaders to take PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana’s remarks on the Telangana issue in a positive manner. Speaking to the media, Ponguleti condemned the “over action” of the police on July 23 duringYSRC honorary president Vijayamma’s visit to Sircilla town. He said that it was atrocious on the part of police to gatecrash into the TRS Bhavan. He said that he met the DGP today and complained about the incident. NSS

SRINIVAS SETTY

“T

his flyover is an important link to Hitec City, but look how poorly it is maintained,” laments Jagadish Kumar, a software employee who works at Gachibowli. Jagadish is a regular commuter taking the Hafeezpet RoB, but loathes the daily ride. Even as the government boasts of undertaking several new projects in Serilingampally constituency, the dilapidated condition of the Railway over Bridge (RoB) between Miyapur and Hitec City, risks thousands of motorists travelling everyday. Considered to be one of the dream projects at Hafeezpet eight years ago, this RoB was never officially inaugurated. Though wide enough to provide free flow of traffic, the vehicles have to take a bumpy ride. Most of the joints need urgent repairs, as the rubber portions that provide a smoother drive have completely worn out from the joints. Residents around the RoB think that it was made with poor quality materials. “When flyovers of several decades have not weathered out what could be the reason for this flyover which is just eight years old to decay?” asks Umar Taher, a resident of Kondapur. Umer points out that the divider of the flyover too is of poor quality as is evident from the peeling of the cement coating. Median lights have worn off. “If

An electric pole leans dangerously as the surrounding support has been dug up

heavy rains like that of Friday’s continue for a few more days not only lights but a part of the structure can also come crashing down. It’s probably the poor quality that kept officials and politicians away from inaugurating it,” he hazarded a guess. During the rainy season, traffic on both sides of the RoB go haywire as there is no proper engineering mechanism to avoid water-clogging. Vehicles have to wait for hours for the water to recede, whenever it rains. Besides, this the flyover has lost

most of the frames holding huge cables. “You can see several cables hanging down from above, making it risky,” points out Rajalaxmi, a vendor. Unmindful of the risks several avail the space below, while thousands speed on the RoB. Several mild accidents have also occurred, particularly with bikers skidding due to the uneven surface. The local MLA, M Bikshapathi Yadav assured that he would pay a visit to the RoB and inform the GHMC. “I will try to ensure that the problem is solved at the earliest,” he said.

CIVIC

‘Remove nallah encroachment to avert any further monsoon disasters’ PIC FOR REPRESENTATION

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

n its first high-level meeting on nallah after the recent flooding, the minister for municipal administration, M Maheedhar Reddy made a strong pitch against the encroachment of nallahs in various parts of the City. In a review meeting held in his chambers on Tuesday, he expressed anxiety about some more mishaps that could happen, if necessary steps were not taken to prevent encroachment and improve drainage system in the City. “Nallah encroachement should be removed immediately by making necessary markings and taking up land acquisitions if required with the cooperation of revenue department,” he reiterated. He informed that revenue department will be paying `1.5 lakh per person irrespective of age under natural calamities ex gratia and GHMC will be paying `1 lakh per person from the mayor’s discretionary funds.

As there was a likelihood of heavy rains in the first week of August, the minister ordered the commissioner to make all the arrangements to face the next downpour. He ensured to convince the public representatives opposing the widening of Nagamaiah Kunta Nala.

The minister emphasised the lake protection as an urgent measure to be taken up. He also advised the officials to write a letter for the funds of natural calamities under NDMA and under NLCP (National Lake Conservation Programme).

city WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

FIRE SAFETY AND SCHOOLS

Students’ lives at risk as City schools flout fire safety rules Absence of fire extinguishers and lack of other safety measures don’t seem to bother schools

PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY

Children in many City schools are at constant risk of fire accidents. Many schools are ignorant about these requirements that could prevent the loss of life in case of an emergency.

SUDESHNA KOKA sudeshna.k@postnoon.com

ire mishaps have become a common affair for Hyderabadis. In the last three months alone more than nine major fire accidents have taken place. Postnoon takes a look at schools in Hyderabad that are located in narrow lanes and do not have any fire safety precautions.

‘FIRE SAFETY? NOT FOR US’

“Ours is a kindergarten school and we have wide corridors. We don’t need additional fire safety measures. We have two fire hydrants and this should be enough,” said Kokila Venkat Rao, principal of Kenedy Vidya Bhavan High School, unaware about the fire safety stipulations schools should abide by. According to the GHMC rules, a school with just a ground and one floor should have a fire extinguisher on each floor. Schools with more than two floors should have a fire extinguisher, an overhead tank and pumping tube with 30 meters on

each floor. But most schools in Hyderabad are located in narrow lanes, in tall buildings, without any such facilities. Of the 10 schools Postnoon visited, seven did not fulfill any of these requirements. Most didn’t even have the basic requirement — an extinguisher. “We have a big staircase and a huge ground. Hence, we don’t really need any fire safety measures. Schools which are cramp

ed need this not us,” said Sowmya, principal, Daffodil Public School. Not just fire extinguishers but fire safety drills also need to be conducted. Ironically, schools which have the requirements have not educated their children about them. “There is something like that in my school but we have never been taught how to use them,” said Varshit K, HiTech Public School.

The GHMC fire prevention services formed a team which keeps a check on schools and sends notices to schools that do not follow the rules. A special team was made in 2009, which has been in effect since 2010. C Lakshmi Prasad, additional director, GHMC’s Fire Prevention Wing believes that most schools in the City do not adhere to the fire safety rules. “We need to give an NOC only then can the education department give licenses to run the school. But most schools have taken licenses for the next 10 years. Hence, they ignore the fire department’s NOC. “Now the education department needs to cancel licenses. In the last two years we have inspected approximately 1,800 schools of which we have given notices to 480 schools. The education department is the controlling authority. They needs to do something.” This is the status of Hyderabad boasts of having some of the country’s best educational institutes, but are ignorant about basic fire safety rules.

SRINIVAS SETTY

Number of schools inspected by the GHMC’s Fire Prevention Wing:

1,800 schools Notices issued:

480 schools Fire safety requirements laid down for schools by the GHMC n There need to be at least two separate exits on every floor. n Every room with capacity of 45 students should have at least two doors. n The height of the corridors and passage shall be not be less than 2m. n No exit doorway shall be less 1m in width. n All internal staircases, lifts, lobbies and corridors should be ventilated and illuminated.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

nation

MILD QUAKE IN KASHMIR A 4.2 quake shook Kashmir Valley in the wee hours today but there was no report of any damage due to it.Kashmir Valley lies in highly active Seismic Zone V and has been experiencing slight to moderate earthquakes at regular intervals.

TRANSITION

TEAM ANNA GEARS UP

Pranab sworn in as India’s 13th President

Holding tricolours and raising anti-government slogans, supporters of Team Anna gathered at Jantar Mantar in the national capital Wednesday for an indeﬁnite fast against corruption and in support of a stringent Jan Lokpal bill. Hundreds of people, including school children and retired government ofﬁcials, assembled at Jantar Mantar to pledge their support for Anna Hazare and his cause.

NEW DELHI: Pranab Mukherjee was today sworn in as the country’s 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament. Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia administered the oath of office to Mukherjee in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers, Governors and a host of dignitaries. Dressed in a black achkan (longcoat) and white churidar (trousers), Mukherjee took the oath of office in the name of God in English to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”.

NUMEROLOGY

483

is the number of pilgrims in the latest batch that has begun its journey to Amarnath Shrine.

GREEN LOOS

Rashtrapati Bhavan n Number of rooms: 340 n Architect: Edwin L. Lutyens n Year of completion: 1929 n Time for construction: 17

years

n Spread: 2,00,000 square

metres

n Material: 700 million

bricks, 3 million cubic feet of stone

n Cost: Rs 1.2 crore (in 1929) n Previous Occupant:

Pratibha Devisingh Patil

n New Occupant: Pranab

Kumar Mukherjee

President Pratibha Patil with President-elect Pranab Mukherjee , Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Hamid Ansari during a dinner hosted for President-elect at President House in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Mukherjee was then given a 21-gun salute after which he signed the oath register amid a thunderous applause and thumping of desks. President Pranab Mukherjee in his first speech after his swearing-in said he would in keeping with his high office strive to rise above partisan interests in the service of the people. Saying he was deeply moved by the high honour bestowed on him, President

Mukherjee said that as president he would strive to preserve, protect and guard the constitution “not just in spirit but all across the divide of party and region”. The oath taking ceremony, marked by pomp and grandeur, began with the arrival of outgoing President Pratibha Patil and President-elect Mukherjee in a procession from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to the Parliament Building. They were greeted by Kapadia, Ansari

NEWS BRIEFS Not aware of any sale of F-22 to India: Pentagon

Three Maoists arrested from Champaran village

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has said that it is not aware of any potential sale of F-22 ﬁghter jets to India. “I’m not aware of a potential F-22 sale to India,” the Pentagon Press Secretary, George Little, told reporters at a news conference. “I’ll let you know if I hear differently,” Little said when asked about the possibility of sale of F-22 to India. Export of F-22 is barred by American federal law. Several US allies including Australia and Singapore have expressed interest in buying the ﬁghters.

MOTIHARI: Three Maoists were arrested from Pipra village of Bihar’s East Champaran district late last night, Additional SP (Operation) Sanjay Singh said. Acting on tip-off, police raided the village and arrested the ultras identiﬁed as Shivpujan Rai, Ramkishore Ram and Munchun Sah, Singh said.Three countrymade pistols and 17 cartridges were seized from them, Singh said. The arrested Maoists, who were wanted in connection with several cases, were in an injured condition.

PTI

and Kumar who escorted them to the Central Hall. After the short ceremony, Mukherjee and Patil were escorted out of the Central Hall amid the roll of drums and blowing of trumpets. Earlier in the day, Pranab paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and other top leaders at their memorials here before heading to Parliament. PTI

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has offered to equip all new railways coaches with bio-toilets built by DRDO and share half the cost of retroﬁtting all existing coaches with green toilets.

nation WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

INFRASTRUCTURE

UP: ‘Powerless’ and outraged Several incidents of violence have broken out across the state over power-cuts that often last as long as 12 hours. Officials admit that the poor management and inadequate infrastructure adds to the shortfall. LUCKNOW: A minister booed at a public meeting, a legislator being held hostage, power stations being attacked, electricity department men being beaten up — the power crisis in Uttar Pradesh, a state of 200 milllion people, has turned into a law and order scare for the Akhilesh Yadav government. Though there was a brief breather in some parts of the state following monsoon showers last week, the state has been facing an unprecedented power crisis with unscheduled power cuts ranging between 10 and 12 hours in villages and around two-four hours in major cities. Paddy growers are waiting for irrigation to resume as the rains have failed them. But with no or erratic power supply, they are a miserable lot. While the CM and his officials contend they are doing all they can to overcome a large 2,000 MW shortfall, the people say they will accept nothing short of improved supplies. On Sunday a young man climbed up a mobile phone tower at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow demanding that the government immediately address the power problems of his village of Mastipur in Kanshiramnagar district. After an eight-hour-long drama during which he often threatened to jump off, he repeatedly asserted that “we are humans and not animals and hence want proper light (electricity).” On the same day, hundreds of irate people broke into the power sub-station at Lucknow University as the electricity, which had got cut off since early Sunday, “did not return even

Hundreds of transformes have broken down in many parts of the state and the CM himself recently hinted at a huge scam in the transformer supplies. Aluminium wiring was used instead of copper. There is a power shortfall of 2,000 MW. And,the state owes a whopping `10,000 crore in outstandings to suppliers. The BSP government had in 2011 purchased power worth `2,000 crore to handle the power crisis. But the bills were not cleared, leading to an additional burden for the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. The state power corporation is yet to realise a whopping `17,000 crore from defaulters. The peak demand in UP during the summer season is about 12,000 MW, while the supply is just around 10,000 MW. The state produces over 4,000 MW of power and the rest is procured from the Centre.

after 12 long and gruelling hours. There have been many other power “riots” in different parts of the state, where angry villagers have stormed sub-stations and beaten up employees for either not restoring electricity or prolonging power cuts.

Violence has been reported from areas like Babuganj, Dubagga and Fatehganj too where officials have been chased and power employees beaten up. In Muzaffarnagar, violent clashes between villagers and powermen at the Gadhi power station

has left over a dozen people injured. Women from the villages at Behat in Saharanpur blocked traffic on the Delhi-Yamunotri highway for several hours. Angered over outages and poor water supply, protesters clashed with police, vandalised

property and torched vehicles last week in Amroha town, around 370 km from here. The trouble had begun in the Hasanpur area of the Jyotiba Phule Nagar district headquarters when irate residents blocked traffic and staged a sit-in on the road. Two trucks, a state roadways bus and a car belonging to a senior police officer were among the vehicles charred by the protesters, police said. In a first, angry villagers in Aligarh held RLD legislator Trilokiram Diwakar hostage for the poor electricty supply in Gonda village. He was released after two hours of effort by the local police, but not before an assurance that he would take up the matter with senior power department officials. Informed sources told IANS that the situation “does not look good and is going to stay like this, at least this summer”. UP Power Corporation Ltd chairman and MD Avanish Awasthi said that the corporation was working towards “setting things right” but conceded that it was a “long haul”. Ten major transformer manufacturing firms have been blacklisted for sub-standard supplies but several transformers continue to trip due to overloading and poor fabrication. UPPCL director (distribution) Jawahar Lal admits that there is a huge gap between demand and supply of power in UP and says attempts were on to streamline power supply by acquiring extra power from grids and power exchanges. The peak demand during the summer is about 12,000 MW, while the supply is just around 10,000 MW.

EYE IN THE SKY

Drones to keep watch over Kaziranga The pilotless aircraft will allow for monitoring of natural calamities and human intrusions. JORHAT (ASSAM): A pilotless aircraft will keep a vigil on the Kaziranga National Park where animals are in disarray after a large part of the world famous sanctuary was flooded, and also to help deal with poaching. Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Rajesh Gopal, said here today the step has been taken after a team of the authority, which would fund the project, conducted an

Seizure A rhino horn, tiger claws and teeth have been recovered from a hotel room in Jorhat following a tip-off, police said. Two occupants, who were staying there for the last two days fled, leaving behind a bag from which the animal parts were recovered.

aerial survey last week and found that the situation was critical with nearly the entire park flooded. NTCA will fund the project with the help of Forest Department and it will be executed by Wild Life Institute of India. The remote-controlled aircraft, which can fly over the park continuously for four hours, is sound-less, pollution free and will carry sophisticated, high

power and high range cameras. The aircraft will be pressed into service during any emergency or for any requirement of the park and it will click photos within the forest area and outside. During the floods, the animals usually move to the highlands in neighbouring Karbi Anglong district and the aircraft will also help the park authorities in tracking and monitoring the animals, Gopal said. PTI

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

World

SUU KYI URGES FOR EQUAL RIGHTS FOR MINORITIES Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for laws to protect the rights of ethnic minorities in her first ever speech to the country's fledgling parliament on Wednesday. “I urge all members of parliament to discuss the enactment of the laws needed to protect equal rights of ethnicities," she said.

SYRIAN CRISIS

BATMAN IN AURORA

al-Qaeda tries to hijack revolution While leaders of the Syrian opposition continue to deny any role for the extremists, al Qaeda has helped to change the nature of the conflict. DAMASCUS: Citing a video posted on YouTube as evidence, the New York Times reported that al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution, with a growing although still limited success that has American intelligence officials publicly concerned, and Iraqi officials next door openly alarmed. The video shows masked men calling themselves the Free Syrian Army and brandishing AK-47s and in the background hang two flags of al-Qaeda, white Arabic writing on a black field. “We are now forming suicide cells to make jihad in the name of God,” said a speaker in the video using the classical Arabic

Syrian rebels break their fast with the "iftar" meal during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday.

favored by al-Qaeda. While leaders of the Syrian political and military opposition continue to deny any role for the

extremists, al-Qaeda has helped to change the nature of the conflict, injecting the weapon it perfected in Iraq — suicide bomb-

SPY GAMES

Canadian leaked US, US info Spy is accused of selling secrets to Russia SYDNEY: A Canadian naval officer arrested this year for allegedly leaking secrets may also have compromised top level Australian, British and American intelligence, a report said Wednesday. Jeffrey Delisle, a naval intelligence officer, was

charged by a Canadian court in January with communicating over the past five years "with a foreign entity, information that the government of Canada is taking measures to safeguard". Canadian reports said Ottawa expelled four

ings — into the battle against President Bashar al-Assad with growing frequency. The evidence is mounting that Syria has become a magnet for Sunni extremists, including those operating under the banner of al-Qaeda. An important border crossing with Turkey that fell into Syrian rebels’ hands last week, Bab al-Hawa, has quickly become a jihadist congregating point. The presence of jihadists in Syria has accelerated in recent days in part because of a convergence with the sectarian tensions across the country’s long border in Iraq. al-Qaeda, through an audio statement, has just made an undisguised bid to link its insurgency in Iraq with the revolution in Syria.

Batman star Christian Bale visited victims of the Aurora shooting at a Colorado hospital on Tuesday, reported the Guardian. The 38year-old actor, who plays the lead role in The Dark Knight Rises, spent more than two hours talking to victims and staff members. The visit follows a statement issued by the actor on Saturday, in which he said: "Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them." The third instalment of the Batman trilogy was playing in the Aurora cinema when 12 people died and at least were injured 58 in a mass shooting last Thursday.

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Russian diplomats in the aftermath of Delisle's arrest, although Moscow denied this. On Wednesday the Sydney Morning Herald said Delisle also allegedly sold to Moscow data gathered by the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

NEWS BRIEFS Man serves time for Obama mourns death of his biting off wife’s nose Ghanian counterpart LONDON: A man who is serving ﬁveyear jail term for biting off his wife's nose in Britain is now passing his time to marry his new ﬁancee whom he found through internet dating site. Nicholas Gough, 59, was employed as a science teacher in a school before being put behind bars in March after admitting having assaulted his wife of 24 years Lynne during a quarrel.

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has mourned the death of his Ghanaian counterpart John Evans Atta Mills at the age of 68. Mills had undergone a nine-day medical check-up in the US last month but died Tuesday. "It was with great regret that I learned of the passing of President John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana," Obama said in a statement Tuesday.

/095 Rs.1 9/: e c 4 r Pri Rs.5 Cove r Price: : 50% g e f n f i O l Sav Tota

Mugabe ready to accept Ex-Philippine leader Arroyo Zimbabwe poll result: PM wins bail in vote fraud case WELLINGTON: Zimbabwe's President

Robert Mugabe is ready to cede power if polls planned for the troubled African nation do not go his way, PM Morgan Tsvangirai said. Tsvangirai said he did not believe Mugabe, who disputed election results in 2008 and retained the presidency under a power-sharing deal, would risk another spate of violence.

MANILA: A Philippine court on Wednesday granted ex-president Gloria Arroyo bail, saying the charge of vote fraud for which she has been detained for eight months is weak. The Pasay City regional trial court said Arroyo could be released from the military hospital where she is being detained as soon as she posted bail of one million pesos ($23,800).

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world WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

PAY-UP TIME

LIVE AND KICKING

Joyride costs dear Three teens face seven years in jail for stealing school buses.

hree Singaporean teenagers are facing the prospect of up to seven years behind bars for allegedly stealing school buses to go on joyrides, the Straits Times reported Wednesday. A police statement said the three boys, aged 15 to 17, were arrested Monday after investigations showed they were the behind the theft of two school buses on an industrial estate. “In both cases, the doors of the buses were forced open and the keys which were left in the ignition were used to start the buses,” said police in a statement on their website. The newspaper reported that the boys had taken the buses to go joyriding, although police

refused to confirm the reason. Both vehicles were later recovered. All three teenagers were charged with theft of a motor vehicle, which carries a maximum term of seven years in prison. Police said investigations had revealed that the three teenagers were also involved in other attempts to steal vehicles. Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world to buy a car due to high taxes and a vehicle quota system. The minimum driving age in the affluent city-state is 18 years. An entry-level Toyota Vios sedan has a list price of Sg$119,488 ($95,000).

Philippine policemen look at Teakwondo instructors as they demonstrate their skills during a Combat Sports Program at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Transformation Oval in Manila on Tuesday. The Program promotes physical fitness among policemen. AFP

AFP

SOUND THE ALARM

Aussie feral camel population drops The count of the camels, first introduced as pack animals to help early settlers in the 19th century, has dropped by an alarming 250,000. SYDNEY: Australia’s feral camel population has dropped by an estimated 250,000 in recent years, but the arid outback is still home to the world’s largest wild herd, officials said Tuesday. The Australian Feral Camel Management Project said about

750,000 camels were thought to roam the country’s desert heartland. “Between 2001 and 2008, it was estimated that there could have been as many as a million feral camels in the outback,” said Jan Ferguson, the managing director of Ninti One, which

manages the project. “Since then, however, there has been a major drought, the feral camel management programme has come into effect and population survey techniques have been improved.” Camels, first introduced as pack animals to help early settlers in the 19th century, roam wild in the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland in the east, as well as the Northern Territory. About 85,000 were culled under a plan to reduce their impact on sensitive areas and native animals but Ferguson said some populations were still too dense. Wildlife scientist Glenn Edwards said the latest monitoring, under which about 50 camels fitted with special collars were tracked using satellites, provided a clearer picture of the extensive damage they caused. “Feral camels can travel 70 kilometres (43 miles) in one day, and hundreds of kilometres within a week, over incredibly harsh terrain,” he said. “We know that when they herd, they can converge on a natural waterhole used by native animals, and drink it dry within days.

MIND GAMES

Brain training can curb your snacking Snack consumption and weight are linked to both brain activity.

ind your food! ‘Brain training’ may help you fight the urge to snack, scientists say. Researchers believe that ‘brain training’ exercises by handheld computer games could dramatically improve your health, adding that snack consumption and weight are linked to both brain activity and self-control. The team from the universities of Exeter, Cardiff, Bristol and Bangor discovered that an individual’s brain “reward centre” response has more of an effect on the amount they ate than their feelings of hunger, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported. According to experts, the study “adds to mounting evidence that over-eating and increased weight are linked, in part, to a region of the brain associated with motivation and reward.”

Academics at Exeter and Cardiff have already begun testing ‘brain training’ techniques to reduce the lure of food on individuals with low levels of self-control. Similar tests are used to assist those with gambling or alcohol addiction. “Our study has important implications for our understanding of how people become obese and how they might also lose weight, issues that are really important to health.” Dr John Parkinson, senior lecturer at Bangor University said. “Nobody chooses to become obese and what this research suggests is that our conscious minds are not actually driving over-eating,” said Parkinson. “Instead, enticing high-fat and high-sugar food images are getting direct access to our brain motivation systems and triggering over-eating behaviour.”

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Business

MOODY’S LOWERS OUTLOOK ON EFSF

Ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday lowered the outlook on the EU’s bailout fund from stable to negative, after threatening the triple-A credit ratings of three of the eurozone’s major guarantors.

HEALTHY LIVING

Green realty set to get bigger There are plants to choose from `3-30,000, depending on the budget. Maintenance is very important to sustain the greenery — one has to spend at least half-an-hour for the garden. SRINIVAS SETTY

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

Indoor plants n Money plant

he greenery has become integral part of real estate development. Realtors taking the help of landscape architects to design landscapes, club houses, avenue plantations (growing plants on the side of roads) and areas like Play Garden. It is not only increasing the aesthetic appeal of their project but also increasing the saleability. People are drawn to green way of living and want more greenery around them for environmental and health benefits, said Geetha Prasad, founder, Callos Hortus landscape designers. Greenery has to be planned right from the lay out design stage. If it is small garden, it takes 4-5 months to grow and get the beautiful view. If needed, fully grown trees like palm are readily are available in the market which can be planted straight away. Size of plot or price cannot be a restriction towards greenery. If

REVIVAL China’s economy to rebound in second half: IMF BEIJING: China’s economy will rebound in the second half of 2012 to achieve annual growth of eight percent as government policies to spur growth take effect, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The annual report on China’s economy predicted China’s economy would expand by 8.5 percent in 2013. The Fund noted that Chinese authorities, whose views are included in the report, said they had been pursuing policies to achieve a more sustainable pace of economic growth. “Measures to support growth are now being given more prominence and the authorities are confident that growth will be at least 7.5 percent this year,” the report said.

n Aglaonema n Dracaena n Rhapis palm (semi-shade)

Outdoor plants n Cycus n Fern n Bougainvillea n Syngonium

there is no space, builders or individual house owners can grow the potted plants and side plantations and can go for lawns in huge spaces. Even with the price, there are plants to choose from `3-30,000

depending on budget. However, maintenance is very important to sustain the greenery. A person has to spend at least half-an-hour for the garden, she said. Greenery need not be limited to the exteriors. Many people are

growing shade plants in the interiors of the houses. It is aesthetically pleasing and the resident can have ample amount of oxygen in the living space. If it is difficult to water regularly, wooden shavings can be used which can

TECHNOLOGY

Apple profit $8.8 bn Revenues rose 22.5 per cent to $35 billion, but below the expected $37 billion. SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Tuesday reported a rise in its quarterly profit to $8.8 billion on hot iPad sales but missed lofty Wall Street expectations due, in part, to iPhone lovers waiting for a rumored new model. The profit in the fiscal quarter to June was up 20.5 per cent from a year earlier, but short of analyst forecasts. Revenues rose 22.5 per cent to $35 billion, also below expectations of more than $37 billion. In a conference call, Apple chief

GOLD `30,000 10g SILVER `53,300 1kg

financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said that revenue in the quarter was hampered by weak sales in Europe, a strengthened US dollar, and rumor of a new iPhone poised for release. Apple said it was pleased with the results, including sales of 17 million iPads, a year-over-year rise of 84 percent. Apple factored a “product transition” in September into financial guidance for the current quarter, fueling wild talk of a next-generation iPhone on the horizon. AFP

for

NSE

5,088.135 39.75

BSE

16,772.68 145.40

DOLLAR`56.38 POUND `87.43

retains some water on the top of the soil. Many precautions have to be taken while growing plants. People who want to grow vegetables on roof tops have to check if they are perfectly water proofed or not otherwise it may result in structure getting spoiled. The residents should take an advice from nursery while choosing plants as some plants can be appealing but are poisonous.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Comment When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

ATROCITIES AGAINST WOMEN

imi Lipis reflects the resurgence of Jewish life here. One of Germany’s 200,000 Jews, the 38-year-old lives in what used to be called West Berlin with her American husband Leo and three children. But she’s worried about a recent development that has generated headlines around the world, along with consternation among the country’s leaders: last month, a court in her home city of Cologne in the west of the country ruled circumcision to be a crime. Getting her children, including two circumcised boys, ready for school on a sunny morning, Lipis said she’s disturbed by what she believes to be the state’s interference in religious practices, in this case one that is followed by Muslims as well as Jews. “I think it reflects Islamophobia,” she said. Leo agreed. “Some judge made a very legalistic ruling based on a very narrow set of facts,” he said, “and he didn’t stop to think about the political consequences of that.” The regional court ruled that circumcision, even with parents’ consent, amounts to criminal bodily harm after the circumcision of a 4-year-old Muslim boy caused bleeding that required medical treatment. The ruling prompted a firestorm of criticism from Muslim and Jewish groups in a country highly sensitive to its Nazi past and with ongoing, often tense debates about integrating its Muslim population. Germany is home to some 4 million Muslims, including the largest population of Turks outside Turkey. GLOBAL POST

VIOLATORS OF WOMEN DESERVE NO MERCY FUSILLADE

John F. Kennedy Former US President

Circumcision ban cuts deep in Germany

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS France's comments that Basher al-Assad won't get away with his actions is uncalled for. It's just jumping the gun. Not that he deserves to be spared. But if the Arab nations' promise of a safe exit had any chance of moving the embattled ruler to stop the strife, France's comments have jeopardised it.

Arun Koshy Philip

quick glance at the news spectrum gives a sorry picture of the state of women in this country. The fairer sex which constitutes more than a majority in the population are being handed out an unfair deal — so much for the concept of democracy. From the Guwahati molestation where a 50-strong drunk mob literally raped a teen in full media glare to the remote village in UP where a woman was force-fed alcohol and gang-raped by policemen in a police station, safety and dignity of women is virtually non-existent. When it comes to glorification of women in culture and philosophy, no one can beat us. From goddesses to warrior princesses, women have been worshipped in one way or the other. Religious texts to literature, pages extolling women's virtues are countless. However, nothing guarantees the safety of women in the street. Dowry-related harassment is a major cause of harassment against women. Though outlawed, the practice is rampant

across the country; and contrary to expectation, education, social status or urbanity does not deter this social evil. If a man has even a grain of self-respect he wouldn't ask for dowry. A demand for dowry is an open proclamation that “for all my machismo, I am an incapable loser who can't provide for my better half and I am desperately dependent on the charity handouts of my in-laws”. A majority of dowry-related cases go unreported due to fear of social stigma, threat of violence or pressure from families, the few that are reported are gory and appalling enough to question one's belief in humanity.

Sexual violence against women is a different ballgame altogether. Though myriad laws are in existense to safeguard the safety of women, and to provide justice to victims, few translate into real support. The people and institutions who are supposed to enforce these laws are themselves supporters of sexually charged animals who prey on women with impunity. The frequent statements from top police officials, ministers, clerics, and, in the latest case, from a member of National Commission for Women, put the victims' moral credentials under scrutiny. Those who bark that it is the

dress of the woman that 'provokes' sexual assault must remember that miniskirts don't get women raped in most cases. The 'moral police' who patrol the streets to ward off 'corrupting' Western influences such as Valentine's Day is nowhere to be seen or heard when the women are torn to bits by savages across the country. Their silence, combined with the 'endorsement' from the powerful, encourage the sexual predators. Sexual crimes do not deserve any mercy. For all the psychological and social reasons that may be lined up, it is the lack of fear of punishment that powers these beasts. I personally favour physical castration as the most potent punishment for sexual crimes. The criminals, rendered incapable of similar crimes, must be incarcerated for life with hard labour. Hurt them where is hurts, and results will naturally show in statistics. Barely a month back, an international study had ranked India as one of the worst places to be a woman — only next to Saudi Arabia. Something is fundamentally flawed with our system if we are in the same bracket with primitive societies where rape victims are executed on charges of adultery. We don't need Obama, but change we definitely need.

EDITORIALS Let’s not push Assad into using chemical weapons India played T20, Lankans one-dayers

ver since the ﬁghting in Syria escalated lately with signs of rebels gaining ground, the whole world is worried whether Syrian strongman Basher alAssad will use chemical weapons against the rebels and his people. The world has registered concerns over such a possibility with the US, France and even Russia issuing statements urging or warning Syria against doing that. Not much is known about Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, only that it’s the largest in the region and its decades old. Rebels reported that the arsenal has been moved to borders, that perhaps, as Assad says, to use it against foreign powers if they attack Syria. Assad though assures he will not use it against his own people. However, Assad cannot be counted upon to keep his word. The ever-rising death toll in Syria is more than enough proof of that. The need of the hour is to strike a deal with Assad to end the strife immediately by going by the Arab nations’ proposal of offering safe exit to him. If Assad used chemical weapons, the game changes for ever.

READERS’ VIEWS

s a Postnoon reader pointed out, in the second ODI of the India-Sri Lanka series, the Men in Blues played T20 while the Sri Lankans’ game was beﬁtting a one-day game. An encore was expected from the Indian batsmen following the tall score in the ﬁrst ODI by virtue of which they won it: 314/6. However, despite getting a good start, that too 31 in three overs for no loss, our men fell like a pack of cards before the Sri Lankan bowlers led by Thisara Perera who pursued their prey unrelentingly when they smelt blood after Virender Sehwag’s cheap dismissal. Though they were beat, our men did give some thrills, in a twisted manner though.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Cinema Paradiso

charity buzz

Warner Bros., the studio behind The Dark Knight Rises, is making a donation to charities supporting victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting rampage.

THE ILL-FATED MOVIES SUPERMAN

Christopher Reeve who played Superman in all the Superman movies was left paralyzed after a horse-riding accident in 1995. Margot Kidder who starred opposite Reeve as his lover still suffers from a mental disorder. In 1996, she went missing after which the police caught her in a paranoid, delusional state. Richard Pryor, who was in Superman III, as the villain was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years after the movie and died in 2005 because of a cardiac arrest.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK THE EXORCIST

Considered the scariest movie of all time, The Exorcist is a William Friedkin’s horror film made in 1973. Inspired by the third sequel, a Wisconsin-based serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 people. Linda Blair who plays the possessed child Regan, fractured her lower back during the movie’s production. Jack McGowen had just wrapped up filming his small part for the film when he died of a heart attack. Another rumour states that the man who Regan said would die up there was accidently killed.

The curse that lingers With the Colorado shootings, the bad luck plaguing The Dark Knight movie series returns. Neha Alluri revisits some other movies which have boded ill for its cast and crew. POLTERGEIST

Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist is an American horror movie that was made in the 1980s. The Poltergeist curse is a famous one. Four of the lead actors starring in the movie died within a span of six years. And that’s no coincidence. Dominique Dunne, who stars in the first movie, was strangled by her former boyfriend and died in 1982. Julian Beck, another actor in the sequel of the first movie, died due to stomach cancer in 1985. Will Sampson, a 53year-old who also debuted in the second movie died of kidney failure in 1987. Heather O’ Rourke, a 12- year- old, who acted in the third movie died of influenza which turned to septic shock in 1988. Thank God it didn’t have a sequel!

THE DARK KNIGHT 2008

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), which was a sequel to Batman Begins, was followed by bizarre incidents. Heath Ledger, who played the role of Joker in the movie, died of a drug overdose. Conway Wickliffe, the movie’s stuntman, was killed in a car accident before the movie released. Lead actor Christian Bale was also accused of assaulting his mother and three sisters, at the same time when the movie was out in theatres, but the allegations were proved false.

Total Recall A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led. Even though he’s got a beautiful wife who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man as he ﬁnds himself on the run from the police.

DID YOU KNOW...

`202 cr Is the net gross Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor starrer 3 Idiots raked in at the Indian box office. The film has been termed a blockbuster and holds the current record for the highest grossing Bollywood film in history.

ICONIC QUOTES

THE OMEN

Actor Gregory Peck, executive producer Mace Neufeld and producer Harvey Bernhard’s flights were all struck by lightning and they were on three separate flights! Definitely not a coincidence now is it? A restaurant, that Peck and Neufeld were planning to eat at, was bombed by the IRA. Special effect artist John Richardson was in a car crash in the year the movie released. It is rumoured that he stumbled out of his car and saw a road sign which said it was 67 kilometers away from the town of Ommen.

Listen to me, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor. Don’t you forget it. You’re going to get back on that horse, and I’m going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we’re gonna go, go, go!

Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, he hates you. This is not the worst thing that can happen.

Ethel Thayer, On Golden Pond, 1981

Tyler Durden, Fight Club, 1999

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

spotlight 1

REVELLERS

LIVE IT UP 2

Firangi Pani was abuzz with youngsters on Tuesday night who were out to let their hair down and dance the night away.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

ROCKING NIGHTS

JUST FOR LADIES

Kismet is dedicating a night to the ladies in the house. So, girls dress up in your glamourous best and head to Kismet tonight for a rollicking party.

THE STORY OF EEGA

The team behind the movie Eega that captured hearts of many shared their experience at a press conference recently. Director SS Rajamouli and Pete Draper co-founder of Makuta VFX and Suresh Babu were present at the do. DEEPAK DESHPANDE

CELEBRATION TIME

The 14th anniversary celebrations of Arena Animation was a gala event with TV commercial-maker Vaibhav Kumaresh gracing the occasion. Students put together an array of cultural programmes to entertain the guests. DEEPAK DESHPANDE

1 Sangeetha 2 Afsha 3 Diani and Megan 4 Abhishek and Ruchika 5 Pavani and Bharath

SING ALONG

6 Anjali and Michael 7 Tanu

The music premiere of Sekhar Kammulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Life is Beautiful was organised in style at Radio Mirchi with the director and music director Mickey J Meyer turning up at the music station and interacting with the fans.

DEEPAK DESHPANDE

PLANNING AHEAD

Heads of Bajaj Lighting laid out their policies and plans for the future at a meet held at Golkonda Hotel recently.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

health

TOO MUCH LIGHT IN THE NIGHT CAUSES DEPRESSION Even just the glow from leaving the television on while you sleep can be enough to trigger the effect, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday. Lack of darkness during sleeping hours can cause changes to the brain and depressive symptoms, according to animal studies.

GEARING UP FOR THE OLYMPICS

A balance is important

She’s all set to represent the country at the London Olympics, but for badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa the focus is on the training and a healthy lifestyle N SHIVA KUMAR

RANJANI RAJENDRA

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

hen Bangalorebased Ahswini Ponnappa first moved to Hyderabad to play badminton doubles with Jwala Gutta, a more senior player, she wasn’t too sure how things would pan out, simply because she wasn’t as confident. But today, the duo has to their credit several wins, including a gold at the Commonwealth Games. Now as she gears up to represent the country at the Olympics, Ashwini is both excited and nervous. The last two months have been filled with rigorous training and practice sessions for this 22year-old, who will be playing at the Olympics for the first time. “Since we were busy with tournaments most of the time, I could really focus on training for the Olympics for the last two months. And it’s been intense. A typical day for me would entail nearly four hours of on court badminton practice and another two hours of physical training,” says Ashwini, who left for the Games on Monday night. The badminton player had her time table chalked out for her as she followed a fixed schedule, with on court practice sessions with partner Jwala Gutta under the guidance of coaches Syed Mohammed Arif and Edwin Iriawan taking up most of her mornings; followed by a rigorous physical training session with Gavin Holt in the evenings.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

HOUSECALL

iStethescope Pro

Costochondritis

Have you ever suddenly wanted to hear your heart beat at a particular moment or are generally intrigued by how it would sound then this app is for you. The app also lets you see a spectrogram of the audio and also email this spectrogram to anyone you want. It costs $0.99 and is suitable for iPhone and android users.

Costochondritis refers to a condition that causes a pain in the ribs. It is an inﬂammation of the cartilage of the ribs at the front of the chest bone. It is said that costochondritis as an ailment develops gradually. The pain is noticed and felt worse when anything moves the ribs that in turn pulls the cartilage. Such movements include breathing which moves the ribs, coughing as well as sneezing.

“Apart from these practice sessions and physical training, I would do some submaximal running by myself. Normally we don’t get two whole months to practice for a match. But this time, we had more time,” she says. While the focus of her physical training was mostly on building strength, stamina and getting her footwork right, Ashwini believes, it is one’s personal satisfaction with the kind of training they receive and practice they do that helps on court. “My work out sessions with Gavin sir made a difference and I noticed it when I was on court,” she says. Considering this is the first time Ashwini is set to play at such a huge tournament, isn’t it nervewracking? “Well, I am nervous. But once I am on court, my entire focus is on the match. Besides, there are a few mental exercises I do that help me as well. It is important for any sportsperson to be confident and satisfied about the amount of training they’ve had and also believe in themselves,” she smiles. Although a diet is important for every sportsperson, Ashwini did not follow a strict regime. “My mother is very particular about giving me healthy food. So I ate a lot of greens, dry fruits. As long as one eats healthy and trains well, it is good enough,” she believes. As of now, Ashwini is all set to take on her opponents on court and waiting to get to the venue of the Games, where her parents will soon be joining her. “I’ll start getting into tournament mode automatically once I am there. Until then, I’m just very excited,” she signs off.

DID YOU KNOW? Vitamins are grouped according to their solubility Vitamins are grouped according to their solubility in water or fat. So vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble so they need fat to be absorbed into the body and can be stored in the body. Vitamin B complexes and Vitamin C are water soluble and thus require water.

Ashwini believes in... n Staying focussed on the game. n Practice helps. n Footwork is important for her game. n There is no need to follow any strict diet. A balanced and nutritious one helps. n Physical training is just as important as practice sessions.

PIONEERS Marie Curie Marie Curie popularly known as Mme Curie was a French-Polish physicist and chemist. She was famous for her research on radioactivity. She was the ﬁrst person honoured with two Nobel Prizes. Throughout her life, she actively promoted the use of radium to alleviate suffering. She continued her research and even was repsonsible for setting up a radioactivity laboratory in her native city.

health WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

RESEARCH

BREAKTHROUGH

Researchers unveil promising TB drug PARIS: Researchers reported progress on Monday with an experimental drug cocktail that killed a record 99 per cent of TB bacteria in two weeks and costs a fraction of existing treatments. While TB claims a life every 20 seconds, more people are developing resistance to the existing arsenal of drugs that can take two years to work and often interacts badly with HIV antiretrovirals. “The new drug combination killed more than 99 per cent of the TB bacteria within two weeks of starting to take the drug,” said Mel Spigelman, president of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development. The sputum test is an early indicator of how quickly a drug works, but further clinical tests are required to confirm that it does in fact cure TB. Spigelman and the research team said they were confident that further trials would confirm early, encouraging results for the three-drug combination called PaMZ. The first tests with 85 patients suggested the drug could potentially cure people with ordinary TB and some forms of multi-drug resistance (MDR) “in as little as four months”, Spigelman told jou “A new regimen like this could be reducing their treatment by up to two years or even more,” he said, and “promises to be in the order of 90 per cent cheaper.” Existing treatments can take anything from six months for “ordinary” TB, to 30 months for those with resistant strains which in some cases are becoming untreatable. The PaMZ cocktail is in Phase II of clinical trials — the

Scientists reported progress on an experimental drug that killed a record 99 per cent of TB bacteria in two weeks and cheaper than existing treatments

first stage of human testing. Early results were published Monday in The Lancet medical journal and presented at the International AIDS Conference in Washington. The treatment was “well-tolerated and appeared safe”, said the study, and seemed to be compatible with AIDS drugs. The cocktail comprises a candidate TB drug called PA824, the antibiotic moxifloxacin not yet approved for TB therapy, and an existing TB drug, pyrazinamide — none of which patients have yet built up resistance to. Patients can develop drug resistance when they fail to take their medicine as prescribed, but drug-resistant strains can also be directly transmitted from person to person. PaMZ is being tested in twomonth trials with 230 people in South Africa, Tanzania and Brazil.The researchers hope to start Phase III next year, but a lack of money may stand in their way. “We do not have the financial resources to commence that (phase III) trial,” said Spigelman. “We are trying to drum up those resources from various donors.” Andreas Diacon, the trial’s principal investigator from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, said that if the testing went according to plan, the drug combination could be commercially available “within four to five years”. The number of MDR cases reported to the World Health Organisation have increased from 29,000 to 53,000 between 2008 and 2010, but the real number could be closer to 300,000, on some estimates. GLOBAL POST

TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTH

YouTube to help ease vertigo symptoms? R

esearchers at the University of Michigan found that YouTube videos teaching a manoeuvre to cure a certain form of vertigo was as helpful and accurate as going to a doctor. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is an inner ear disorder that causes dizziness due to free-floating calcium

particles in the inner ear. Curing it requires a special technique called the Epley manoeuvre in which the patient rolls their head and body while laying down. The study reviewed 3000 Youtube videos on relieving vertigo with 33 concerning the Epley manoeuvre. The doctors found that 64

per cent taught the move correctly and could be useful for those with the problem. “This type of vertigo can be treated easily and quickly with a simple manoeuvre called the Epley, but too often, the manoeuvre isn’t used,” said author Kevin Kerber of the University of Michigan Health System. GLOBAL POST

Permanent implants for toothless available

People can now look forward to permanent dental implants which they do not have to rinse or take out before sleeping KOLKATA:Patients suffering from edentulism, on rise in India due to lack of hygiene and tobacco use, can now look forward to permanent dental implants which they do not have to rinse or take out before sleeping, said a renowned dentist on Monday. Conventional dentures still remain the most preferred option for patients, but they only restore ten percent of chewing ability and lead to jaw bone degradation, said dentist Suchetan Pradhan, who is also mentor to Nobel Biocare — a world leader in innovative restorative and aesthetic dental solutions. “But implants can restore from 60 to 80 per cent of chewing ability and patients do not experience any bone shrinkage. Additionally it lasts for life, if proper oral care is taken,” he told a media conference. Pradhan said a pan Indian survey conducted by the company revealed that edentulism is on the rise in Indians due to improper oral hygiene and tobacco chewing habits. It usually strikes post-45 and is classified as a physical handicap by the World Health Organisation. Patients of edentulism experienced speech problems, reduced chewing ability and loss of normal facial structure. The permanent implants and prosthetics are made of titanium and bio-compatible materials. “The surgical procedure is done in one sitting. So you can go to the dentist with a toothless facial expression, but come back with a full set of pearly whites flashing a million dollar smile,” he said. Such titanium implants are popular in US and Switzerland. IANS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Entertainment

NTR HEADS TO SWITZERLAND NTR’s upcoming film Baadshah will soon be shot in Switzerland. Recently, a song and few scenes were shot with NTR and Kajal in Milan, Italy. Sreenu Vaitla is directing this action entertainer.

DESTINATION BOLLYWOOD

CINE BYTES

PAWAN KALYAN’S Bollywood debut on the cards?

awan Kalyan might make his debut in Hindi, if all goes well. Konda Krishnam Raju is going to produce this film which will be shot in both Hindi and Telugu. "Many producers from Telugu and Hindi film industries are trying to make a movie with Pawan Kalyan but I am lucky to get this great opportunity,” he said. However, the spokesperson of Pawan Kalyan said that Pawan Kalyan hasn’t given his nod for the Hindi version of any of his upcoming films. More details about the cast and crew will be announced soon.This film is likely to go on floors in October after Pawan Kalyan wraps up shooting for Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu.

Sudigaadu is the new talking point

llari Naresh, Monal Gajjar starrer Sudigaadu is the new talk of the town. Directed by Bheemineni Srinivasa Rao, the film’s trailer has gone viral sparking debate over the list of films which have been spoofed. Sri Vasanth has composed the music. The film is likely to release in the third week of August.

Ram Charan set to fly to Europe

am Charan’s upcoming film under VV Vinayak’s direction will soon be shot in Greece and Iceland. Currently, the film’s shooting is going on in Kolkata and sources say that Ram Charan will fly to Europe in August along with rest of the team. Kajal and Amala Paul are playing the lead roles in this action drama.

Work in progress on 3D version of Eega

he 3D version of Eega, which was announced recently, is still under a cloud. “The Hindi distributors want us to release the film right away, whereas it’ll take at least four months to get a great quality 3D conversion of the film. We haven’t decided anything as of now and it’s release in Hindi depends on the economic viability if we convert the film to 3D,” Suresh Babu said.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

ONLY EYES FOR RAJNIKANTH

CINE BITES

DEEPIKA PADUKONE not doing Shankar’s film

Ekta knows tricks of the trade: Tusshar Kapoor

ctor Tusshar Kapoor is impressed with his sister Ekta Kapoor’s business sense, and says she has understood the tactics of survival in the industry after years of hard work."Ekta has learnt the tricks of the trade, but there is a lot of hard work too which she put in all these years. She has come to a stage where now she knows she has got a good team and now she can go ahead.” IANS

Double-meaning not my style

ollywood actress Deepika Padukone says she is not part of southern filmmaker Shankar's next film. Denying rumours that she might star in the director’s movie opposite southern actor Vikram, Deepika said: “I got a Google alert about it, but they are all rumours. I am not doing Shankar’s film." Produced by Aascar Ravichandran, Shankar’s film features Amy Jackson opposite Vikram, who was seen with Aishwarya Rai in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. The music of the film is beingcomposedbyAR Rahman.Nevertheless, Deepika will be doing another southern film Kochadaiyaan with legendary actor Rajinikanth. IANS

I got a Google alert about it, but they are all rumours. I am not doing Shankar’s film. Deepika Padukone

ilmmaker Pooja Bhatt believes in showing boldness as it is, with no double-meaning and no toilet humour. She is waiting for the release of Jism 2. “An average ﬁlm is made from a male perspective and designed for a male audience, but I am going to show pure, unadulterated sensuality, designed by adults and for adults," Pooja said. IANS

Richa Chadda not part of Bhansali’s Ram Leela

ctress Richa Chadda, who was seen in Gangs of Wasseypur, has denied being a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela. The ﬁlm stars Ranveer Singh in the male lead. It was heard that Richa Chadha has been apparently approached to play the second female lead. “I have not been approached for this ﬁlm (Ram Leela). It is all speculation that is happening," Richa said. PTI

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

WE’RE THE MILLERS

Jennifer Aniston shows off her guns

CINE BITES

ennifer Aniston joined her friend Jason Sudeikis on the set of their latest project together, We're the Millers, in Wilmington, Nc, on Monday. Jennifer touched down in North Carolina over the weekend and got to work alongside Jason and the rest of their costars, including Emma Roberts, Kathryn Hahn, and Will Poulter. Jennifer's latest edgy comedy is about a pot dealer who invents a fake family to help smuggle a large shipment of drugs across the border from Mexico to the States. Jennifer's wardrobe for this part is a bit different than her usual t-shirts, tank tops, and jeans. We're the Millers is the first feature film Jennifer has shot since Wanderlust, the movie that brought her and boyfriend Justin Theroux together.

Crowe 'to make directorial debut on Bill Hicks biopic'

ussell Crowe is reportedly planning to make his directorial debut on an upcoming Bill Hicks biopic. Rumours emerged in 2008 that Crowe was attached to play the late comedian in a ﬁlm, though the project never moved foward at the time. Indiewire now reports that the project has been revitalised, with Crowe now attached to work behind the camera.

Renner eyeing role of Julian Assange

eremy Renner is reportedly eyeing a role in an upcoming ﬁlm about WikiLeaks, it has been reported. The Avengers actor is interested in playing founder Julian Assange in the upcoming DreamWorks-produced ﬁlm, according to Deadline. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon is also said to be in talks for the project, though no concrete deals have been made.

Mariah Carey joins 'American Idol'

aula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez and now … Mariah Carey. Fox just made it official: Carey is the latest successful pop diva to join American Idol. The 42-year-old will join the judges table for season 12. As reported EW, Carey has been the leading contender to join the panel this summer, which has seen a flurry of celebrity names floated in the press as possible candidates.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently. Agnes de Mille

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 ___ throat (painful ailment) 6 Short commoner? 10 Big name in small construction 14 Airport in ‘Home Alone’ 15 Showgirl Manilow sang about 16 Bizet's ‘Habanera,’ for one 17 Exciting adventure 19 Old-fashioned pen points 20 Paul's brand, Newman's ___ 21 Word with ‘grown’ and ‘follow’ 22 ‘Pinocchio’ insect 24 Snail-mail system (Abbr) 25 ‘Don't use that ___ of voice with me!’ 26 A company picnic could be one 31 Mess with someone's hair 32 Activate, as a bomb 33 Boy, as an adult 35 Tiny quantities 36 Snaky character? 37 Egypt's capital 39 Also mention 40 Longtime Hawaiian staple 41 Hair-setting item 42 A-list wannabe 46 Kachina doll carvers 47 1st and 2nd in NYC 48 Military newbie 51 Bachelor's digs 52 Lineman farthest from the centre 55 Sound that's coming back? 56 One needing a fence? 59 Calla lily family 60 Small part of a fork 61 Caribbean cruise stop 62 Unsophisticated one 63 Citizen of Edinburgh 64 Like a car without a muffler

DOWN

1 Area of London or New York 2 Winter-ending event 3 Some precipitation 4 Go down the wrong path 5 Careful examinations 6 Crinkledcotton 7 ‘El’ pluralised 8 Certain college voters 9 ‘Cheers’ setting 10 Surgeon's blade 11 ‘CHiPs’ co-star Estrada 12 Mocking remark 13 Brewer's oven 18 Present for the teacher 23 Outs' counterparts 24 ___ Major (Big Dipper locale) 26 Imperative and subjunctive, eg 27 Achieve a personal best 28 101, in a course name 29 Nellie's ‘South Pacific’ love 30 Harder to find 31 ___ Maria (coffee liqueur) 34 Easter starter? 36 Related to the earliest period of human culture 37 Stand-up kind of guy? 38 Altar attire 40 Ardent supporters of the Vatican 41 Be in competition with 43 Harley-Davidson trim 44 Letters from a short person? 45 Small flap on a garment 48 Something to fall back on 49 Beige-like shade 50 Minnow cousin 52 Case for pins and needles 53 Birds' beaks 54 Farmer's cart 57 Yoko who married Lennon 58 Away, idiomatically

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 26-7-2012

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Employees are advised to be obedient rather than taking decisions in haste and get a bad name. Avoid blaming others to keep your position safe. Happy events are likely to take place at home. Make fresh investment only after consulting famile.

You need to take right steps and drive away difficulties that surrounded you. Employees need to work with involvement and focus. Avoid interfering in anybody's personal issues. Happy events are likely to take place at home.

New efforts to be planned well so that they get implemented successfully. Never allow laziness to dominate you so that you can progress. Your approach needs to be soft and sweet to retain the happy atmosphere at home.

QUICK CROSSWORD FRED BASSET

Employees need to plan work and execute them within the scheduled time frame. Avoid handing over important work to others as they might spoil the show. Your direct involvement will bring you success in all work undertaken.

Employees need to avoid negligence and disobedience at workplace. Completing entrusted work within the given time can earn you appreciation and recognition. Avoid friends who try to mislead you and talk bad about your family members.

Drive away laziness so that success will be within reach. Disturbed situation at workplace will change and you will feel relaxed. Differences with superior will be over and good co-operation is likely. A happy situation will prevail at home.

All new efforts will yield desired results. Expected benefits at workplace will be given to employees, which will make them happy. Enemies are very much active, hence stay cautious about that and be serious in dealing with them.

Avoid unwanted arguments with anyone at workplace. Happy atmosphere to prevail but reduce your headstrongness to enjoy it. Children will be happy as they achieve their goals. Businessmen will earn steady profits.

Slow-and-steady policy needs to be adopted. Employees need to complete entrusted work in time to avoid a bad name at workplace. Your mistakes might be magnified and in case you want to blame others; hence stay focused.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail.com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Nine of Cups – It might be a good idea to stay away from the limelight and let someone else take credit. Being the focus of attention is not good for you.

LEO:

Four of Pentacles – Don’t get on the offensive with someone you need to do your job. With your harsh words and behaviour, you may be putting off this person.

LIBRA:

STONE SOUP

Eight of Swords – This is an odd time when nothing is going to plan. Mercury is going retrograde and you feel frustrated because there is communication breakdown.

SAGITTARIUS:

Five of Swords – You have a tendency to repeat the same things and, in doing so, you may be blowing it out of proportion and making it bigger than it is.

TAURUS:

Four of Swords – You are the backbone of your family. They may or may not talk about it openly or even accept it but this is the truth. You should be proud.

CANCER:

Ten of Cups – This is a day for rest and relaxation. Spend a lot of time with yourself and do things you enjoy. There will always be time to catch up on work.

VIRGO:

King of Cups – Yield to temptation only if you know how to handle the after-effects. You come across situations where your decisions determine how others feel.

SCORPIO:

Queen of Swords – This is a good time to do something on your own. You will have the resources and energy to start a consultancy. It’s a fortunate time.

CAPRICORN:

Six of Cups – Time to brush aside old fights with friends and move on. It’s not necessary to extend the olive branch if you don’t want to but clear the air.

SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Ten of Cups – You will attend a show that will open up your mind to all kinds of new possibilities. You will see life differently and want to experience more.

NUMBER GAME

Nine of Cups – Your concentration is high and your wishes are about to come true. Take a good look at your options and know what you’re getting into.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS:

INK PEN

Observing patience is the need of the hour. Do not share secrets with anyone except your spouse and that too with precaution. Ensure that you don't hurt anyone else's feelings. Happy atmosphere will prevail at home.

for 26-7-2012

The World – Someone is not telling you directly what you need to know. He/she is only giving you clues and expects you to figure out on your own the real story.

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Avoid overconfidence as you are bound to make mistakes. Planning properly and direct involvement alone can bring success. Avoid clashes with spouse to be happy at home. As income will increase considerably, savings is possible.

SUDUKO

Self-confidence and courage will increase with which you take certain important and perfect decisions. Unwanted apprehensions will go. Money will come from expected sources. Employees will be happy due to promotion and pay hike.

Boggle MOUSE HYENA TIGER HORSE ZEBRA Vol: 1, No 373 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

G0LD RUSH

FIGURE MATTERS

London 2012 in numbers LONDON: From the 10,490 athletes heading to London, to the flock of 70 sheep taking part in the opening ceremony on July 27, AFP takes a look at the 2012 Olympic Games in numbers. n 11 MILLION TICKETS for Olympic and Paralympics events, of which 75 per cent will be sold to spectators in Britain. Sponsors, officials and broadcasters can buy 13 per cent of the tickets, while the remaining 12 are for purchase through National Olympic Committees in other countries. n £9.3 BILLION ($14.5 billion dollars) has been spent on staging the games; almost four times the estimated cost at the time of London's bid in 2005. The original budgets for security and for the opening and closing ceremonies have both been doubled. Security will

LONDON OLYMPICS RUTH HOLMES Agence France-Presse

ALondon's RCHERY iconic cricket ground, Lord's, will host the archery.

BCanOLTUsain Bolt reproduce his history-making performance of Beijing when the Jamaican sprinter produced two of the most memorable performances of the Games to complete a sprint double?

n n

N OBLE ART SECURITY HOlympic YDE PARK Women's boxing features for the Britain's biggest ever peacetime tickets may be hard to first time on the Olympic sched- security operation has been

ern pentathlon.

come by, but visitors to Hyde Park can get a glimpse of the action. The triathlon and 10km swimming will be held in the park and are free to watch.

best of British innovation and design through venues like the Aquatic Centre. The sweeping, wave-like roof forms the gateway to the Olympic Park. There's a special mission for agent 007, alias Daniel Craig.

COPPER BOX

Handball will take place in the Copper Box — one of eight sporting venues in the Olympic Park, with 88 natural light pipes illuminating the interior.

north London will carry out more tests than at any other Games. The centre will operate around the clock, employing a team of 150 scientists and more than 1,000 Olympic officials.

ETheNNIS, JESSICA face of many an Olympic

billboard, Britain's athletics hopes are pinned firmly on hep-

FNotESTIVAL a fan of sport? The London 2012 festival aims to ensure there's something for everyone, with 12,000 cultural events and performances across Britain in celebration of the Games.

GLocated REENWICH on the

Greenwich peninsula on the banks of the River Thames in east London, the North Greenwich Arena will host artistic and trampoline gymnastics, as well as the basketball finals. Nearby Greenwich Park will host equestrian events, including the mod-

beset by last-minute headaches. An extra 3,500 soldiers have been drafted in to join the 13,500 military personnel already on duty after a private contractor failed to provide the required number of guards.

TRANSPORT OThePENING Olympic Stadium will be transformed into a rural British idyll for the $42 million opening ceremony on July 27, created by

The big unknown of London 2012. Around $10 billion has been spent improving London's tranport network. But it remains to be seen whether the system will buckle under the pressure.

The Games from A to Z

UNIFORM

From archery to Zara Phillips, here are the London Olympics from A to Z

VHosting ELODROME track cycling and BMX

Bond has been summoned to Buckingham Palace where he was tasked with launching the Games. But's just a film — the BBC will show it ahead of the opening ceremony.

KIt'sITEBOARDING not in the line-up for Lon-

don, but this high-adrenaline sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2016 Games. tathlete Jessica Ennis.

ule, more than 100 years after it appeared in a demonstration bout in the 1902 Athens Games.

ILondon NNOVATION hopes to showcase the JAMES BOND

DA OPING new anti-doping centre in now cost an estimated £553 million, while the ceremonies have a budget of £81 million. 10,490 ATHLETES will compete in 26 Olympic sports in a total of 302 medal events. They will be subject to 5,000 anti-doping tests. Some 4,200 Paralympics athletes are taking part in 503 medal events, in 20 different sports. 1 MILLION PIECES of sports equipment: Some 26,400 tennis balls, 600 basketballs and 6,000 archery targets have been bought for the Olympics. 150,000 CONDOMS will be provided to competitors in the athletes' village. 34 VENUES across Britain, including nine inside the Olympic Park. The Olympic Stadium, at the heart of the park, took three years to build and uses 10,000 tonnes of steel. The venues are home to 10,000 temporary toilets — "enough to service the entire population of Malta", organisers claim. TWO MILLION PEOPLE will visit London for the Games, according to Olympics minister Hugh Robertson.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

LTheONDON British capital is making

Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle.

director

PHELPS, MICHAEL

The US swimmer, who scooped eight gold medals in Beijing, could become the most prolific medal winner in Games history. With 16 medals, the ‘Baltimore Bullet’ is not far off the 18-medal record haul held by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.

The Olympic Park will house the world's largest McDonald's, seating 1,500 people and serving up around 50,000 Big Macs during the 17-day event.

events, the 6,000-seat velodrome in Olympic Park could become the focus of British medal hopes.

W ENLOCK The Olympic mascot is named after the English village which in 1850 established the Wenlock Olympian Games, the precursor to the modern Olympics.

XChina’s IANG, LIU Liu Xiang, 2004 Olym-

pic champion in the 110 metre hurdles, hopes for gold after dramatically limping out of Beijing with a hamstring injury.

YAnOGA Olympic discipline? Seems

Olympic history by being the first in modern times to host the Games three times: previously it was in 1908 and 1948.

MCDONALD'S

With 70,000 (approx) volunteers helping out at the Games, it shouldn't be hard to track one down one of the purple or blue uniforms bearing the Olympic logo.

like a bit of a stretch. But that's what the International Federation of Yoga Sports is aiming for.

ZTheARAqueen's PHILLIPS Q UEEN granddaughter will Britain's 86-year old monarch, make the royal family proud Queen Elizabeth II, will have the honour of declaring the Games open in her 60th year on the throne.

ROWING

Rowing events will take place outside London at Eton Dorney, near Windsor Castle, an official residence of the queen.

when she competes in Britain's equestrian squad.

LONDON 2012 NAME GAMES

Aussies unleash Rocket...

Inspiring nicknames and team bonding can spur them on, they hope TALEK HARRIS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Australia's James Magnussen admits he was transfixed by the United States' comefrom-behind 4x100m relay win at the last Olympics — and he's determined not to let it happen again in London. The sprinter describes the race, when Jason Lezak overhauled leaders France in the final leg, as one of his favourite Olympic moments. But he said Australia were confident of adding the Olympic title to their world crown. "I love that race — one of my favourite Olympic moments," he said.

Magnussen led Australia to an upset victory over the United States at last year's world championships. "That anchor leg by Jason Lezak was something I could only ever dream to emulate. It was such an exciting moment in Olympic sport. It's definitely a moment I will remember forever and something that if we as a team could emulate, then that would be amazing. "But I feel like this team is in a position to forge their own path. But obviously we are aware of the Americans' ability to come from behind and cause an upset." Magnussen led Australia to an upset victory over the United States at last year's world championships, halting the Americans' run of three world titles and the Olympic win in Beijing. And the 21-year-old, who also won the individual 100m freestyle at his first world championships, said a growing bond between Australia's team could maintain their edge in London. "There are a couple of nicknames going around, obviously people call James Roberts 'The Rocket', young Cameron McEvoy 'Dr Pepper' — long story."

29 2

DAYS TO GO

SPIRITUAL EFFECTS

Olympians can put off Ramzan fast for later Malaysians can do this since victory at Games brings glory to the country. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Islamic and Olympic officials said athletes from the predominantly Muslim country are excused from fasting for Ramzan while competing at the London Games. The London Olympics which open Friday mark the first time the Summer Games will be held during the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan since the 1980 Moscow Olympics. During Ramzan, which began last weekend, Muslims are expected to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break their fast with a meal known as Iftar. But a senior member of the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's top religious authority, said athletes can postpone their fast until after the Games as they are competing at an international event for the nation's honour. "They are going to the Olympics to bring fame for the country. They can fast when they return to Malaysia," Mufti Harussani Zakaria, the top religious official for the Malaysian state of Perak, told AFP on Monday. "The Quran says if you have a mission to complete, you can postpone the fasting but you must replace the number of days you did not fast." Eleven out of the 30

Islam is lenient. It is not a religion that forces people. Actually when we go to London we are termed as travellers. Islam allows us to postpone our fasting. Nur S Mohamad Taibi Shooter

Saudi Arabia, Algeria permit postponement British tabloid The Daily Mail reported in 2006 that the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission said the Olympics timing was insensitive while Turkey, Egypt and Morocco lobbied for it to be rescheduled. The International Olympic Committee, however, declined the requests, saying the Games were a secular event. Islamic authorities in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Morocco have recently allowed their athletes to postpone their fasts despite disagreement from some Muslims.

Malaysian athletes going to London are Muslim. One of Malaysia's top medal prospects, cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, who won silver at the 2009 track cycling world championships, is among the athletes who will put off fasting, Malaysian media reported this week. Sieh Kok Chi, secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, also said Olympic athletes should not fast while competing. "It is a once in their lifetime chance to participate in the Olympics. They should opt out from fasting for one or two days so that they stand a chance of winning a medal," he told AFP.

Malaysia will compete in nine sports in London, with Muslims taking part in archery, cycling, shooting, sailing and track and field. Shooter Nur Suryani Mohamad Taibi, who will compete in London despite being eight months pregnant, is excused from fasting since she is expecting, but said all Muslims should be excused from fasting during competition. "Islam is lenient. It is not a religion that forces people. Actually when we go to London we are termed as travellers. Islam allows us to postpone our fasting," she said.

VALUABLE DECORATION

Games boast most expensive medals The recent gold and silver booms have seen prices double since the 2008 Games. JULIEN GIRAULT Agence France-Presse LONDON: The eight tons of gold, silver and copper unearthed from mines in Mongolia and Utah and now under guard at the Tower of London is the largest ever haul used to make Olympic medals.

"The medals arrived at the tower on July 2, and we will keep them under tight security" Tracey Sands, spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, told AFP. The 4,700 Olympic and Paralympics medals will be guarded alongside Britain's crown jewels until they are presented on the podium.

The winners' medals are certainly precious, even though gold only makes up a tiny portion of their alloy. A gold medal weighing about 410 grams contains only six grams of gold — 1.34 per cent of its weight — the remainder being silver compound (92.5 per cent) and copper.

sports WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 MALISSE WINS AT LA

INDIA IN SRI LANKA

LOS ANGELES: Xavier Malisse snapped a racquet over his knee in a fit of anger but eventually got his game under control to end a four-match, first-round losing streak at the Los Angeles Open on Tuesday. The fifth-seeded Belgian levelled his record at the ATP Tour event at 8-8 as he beat recent UCLA graduate Nicolas Meister, of the US, 6-4, 61 to advance to the second round. It marked the first match win for Malisse here since 2005.

NUMEROLOGY

Olympic gold medals are what Carl Lewis, now 51, won from 1984 to 1996. He won them in four different events — the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay.

THUS SPAKE

Dhoni blames pitch

‘The pitch was next to the wicket we played on last time but it behaved in a completely different way,’ the captain said. HAMBANTOTA (SRI LANKA): Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the unpredictable pitch for his team’s abysmal batting performance in the lost second ODI against Sri Lanka, rejecting suggestions that rash shots led to the stunning collapse. India were last night bowled out for 138 in 33.3 overs — their fourth-lowest ODI total in the past five years — by the host team, which chased down the target in under 20 overs.

The five-match series is currently tied 1-1. “The pitch was next to the wicket we played on last time but it behaved in a completely different way,” Dhoni said referring to the track used for the opening ODI in which India posted a 300-plus score. “Initially the wicket was slightly on the slower side. Once Virat (Kohli) got out we lost a couple of more wickets very quickly. “Before the batsmen could assess the wicket, we lost two

wickets played on. I thought after that it was too much for batsmen like Irfan and Ashwin to come in and take us out of trouble,” he added. But Mahela Jayawardene disagreed with Dhoni saying that the wicket was not that bad. “Probably a touch slower, there were quite a few good balls as well. We bowled in good areas, created pressure, maybe couple of bad shots as well but I will take that any day,” he said. PTI

Afghanistan look forward to Aus ODI SHARJAH: Afghan cricket chiefs on Tuesday said the team was “anxiously waiting” for the country’s first international against Australia in the Middle East next month, as they focus on becoming an established side. The emerging cricketing nation will play Australia in a one-day match in the desert venue of Sharjah on August 25, their second contest against a major cricketing country after playing Pakistan at the same venue in February. “The value of the match in terms of increased experience as well as confidence and skill building will be immeasurable,” Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Hamid Shinwari said. “Our players and supporters greatly admire and love cricketers from Australia and the opportunity to play them has created widespread interest and excitement and they are anxiously waiting for the day to come.” Waleed Bukhatir, vice-chairman of Sharjah Cricket Club, said it will be great to watch the fledgling Afghan team play Australia. “Afghanistan has a national team that is definitely on the rise and we can put our hand out,” he said. AFP

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Bhopal victims organise ‘protest games’ Yeah, 100 per cent I miss it. If I had known in 2004 that the Olympics would be in England, I’m still 25, I could have waited to turn professional. Amir Khan Professional boxer

Contests will include football, an ‘assisted walk’ and a ‘crab walk’, in which participants race on hands. ADAM PLOWRIGHT Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI: Disabled children suffering the effects of the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India are to take part in a ‘Special Olympics’ on Thursday to protest against London 2012 sponsor Dow Chemical. The event is aimed at raising awareness about the legacy of birth defects and pollution from the accident at a factory owned by US chemical company Union

Carbide, which was bought by Dow in 1999, organisers said on Tuesday. The plant leaked poisonous gas into neighbouring slums in Bhopal, killing thousands instantly and tens of thousands more over the following years in the world’s worst industrial accident. The ‘Bhopal Special Olympics’ will see at least 100 physically and mentally disabled children compete on a sports field in the shadow of the defunct factory.

File photograph taken on December 2, 2011 of activists and survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster demonstrating during the 27th anniversary of the tragedy. Disabled children are to take part in a ‘Special Olympics’ on Thursday to protest against Olympics sponsor Dow Chemical. AFP/ STR

sports WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

BRAZIL VS EGYPT WARMUP

DROGBA MAY MISS CLASH

Spiritual guardians prepare for assault

ROB WOOLLARD LONDON: Brazil kick off their latest attempt to win their Holy Grail of Olympic footballing gold on Thursday as their starstudded side take on Egypt in Cardiff. The most successful nation in football history, Brazil have won an unrivalled five World Cups and no fewer than eight South American continental championships since 1916. But despite repeated attempts at Olympic glory, the gold medal has remained stubbornly elusive for a nation, which is often regarded as spiritual guardians of the Beautiful Game. Most gallingly, the Brazilians have had to endure the sight of bitter South American rivals Argentina winning gold at the last two Summer Olympics, triumphing in Beijing four years ago after beating Brazil in the last four. However Brazil’s chances of landing the Olympic crown have been boosted by Argen-

Goalkeeper injury blow for Brazil

old medal favourites Brazil suffered their first Olympic Games setback on Tuesday when first-choice goalkeeper Rafael Cabral was ruled out of the tournament with an elbow injury. The 22-year-old Santos player picked up the injury to his right elbow during a training session at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground on Monday and has flown home to receive treatment. Brazil’s football players (from L-R) Thiago Silva, Juan Jesus and Alex AFP/ KHALED D Sandro shop at the Olympic Village in London on Sunday.

tina’s failure to qualify, an absence which removes a major barrier from their path to the August 11 final at Wembley. A squad bristling with star names

REAL IN MADRID

including the highly soughtafter Neymar, Oscar and Lucas, and bolstered by established overage players Thiago Silva, Hulk and Marcelo, looks like the

team to beat on paper. Coach Menezes attempted to play down the expectations of his side while acknowledging what a gold medal would mean for the country, saying. “It’s huge for Brazilian fans.”

SHANGHAI: Shanghai Shenhua signing Didier Drogba may not play in his side’s high-proﬁle friendly against Manchester United on Wednesday due to a back injury, team manager Sergio Batista said. The former Chelsea star missed a public training session on Tuesday, and Batista said he would make a ﬁnal decision on Drogba’s inclusion in the squad nearer to the game. “Right now we can’t say for sure,” said the Argentinian.

NUMEROLOGY

£40mn

Is the amount Paris St-Germain is reported to have offered Tottenham Hotspur for Luka Modric. This could possibly thwart Modric’s desire to force a transfer to Real Madrid.

THUS SPAKE

FRIENDLY WIN

Real rout Oviedo in pre-season match MADRID: Real Madrid drubbed Spanish third-division side Real Oviedo 5-1 on Tuesday in a preseason warm-up match, despite Jose Mourinho fielding a secondstring team. Mourinho started just three members of his regular first-team squad: Alvaro Morata, Esteban Granero and Antonio Adan. But Real Madrid came out guns blazing as Lucas Vazquez (in pic) scored in the ninth minute, Denis Tcheryshev 30 minutes later and Esteban Granero two minutes after that. Matar Diop Martins scored the only goal for Oviedo.

AC Milan ride on Emanuelson goal GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY: A second-half goal from Urby Emanuelson gave AC Milan a 1-0 friendly win over Schalke 04 on Tuesday in a pre-season warm-up match played in Gelsenkirchen. The Italian visitors, who were missing several players who had been called up for Euro 2012, came closest to scoring in the first half through Stephan El Shaarawy, while Lewis Holtby threatened for the Germans. Schalke sent on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and summer signing Tranquillo Barnetta after

the restart but Milan’s pressure proved too much as Emanuelson (in pic) scored the decisive goal in the 64th minute. The Dutchman rounded ‘keeper Timo Hildebrand to slot home after being played in by Brazilian Robinho.

Which club would not want a player like him? He is an outstanding footballer and had a great tournament [Euro 2012]. It is clear that he would fit in Madrid. Aitor Karanka Madrid’s assistant coach on Luka Modric