Postnoon E-Paper for 28 December 2012 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012 HYDERABAD

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WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 21°C

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

FLASH

DECISION ON TELANGANA IN ONE MONTH, BANDH CALL TOMORROW

Union Home Minister SK Shinde announced after the all-party meeting today that a decision on Telangana statehood would be taken in one month. This was the general desire of all parties that participated, he said. Meanwhile, TRS chief KCR has called for a Telangana bandh on Saturday.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKE

KIRAN

SHARPER! Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is all set to usher in the New Year with more work as he has no immediate plans to take a day off. But doctors warn…

REPORT ON P5

BEST APPS OF

2012

Google has listed some of the best apps available in its store this year. Some launched in 2012 while others issued updates that achieved a great combination of utility, beauty and accessibility.

P13

The world didn’t end, Christmas bells brought us all the usual joy and now it’s time to list our resolutions for the New Year. As we plan on kicking those bad habits post the New Year bash, Postnoon took the liberty of listing a few resolutions our celebrities should make for 2013.

P16&17

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

city events

RHYMESTEW

There is a poetry workshop for children at Treasure House, Banjara Hills, from December 28-29. Games and activities will be used to teach children how to form fun lyrics. It is for children from the age group of seven to nine.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

21°C

16°C

21°C

30°C

A mix of cloudy and clear skies.

A mix of cloud and sun.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 20 Max 31 Min 9 Min 21 Clear, sunny skies.

Mix of sun and cloud.

Chennai Max 29 Min 25

Bangalore Max 26 Min 20

Scattered thunderstorms.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Lona Lohan till December 31. Where: Rajiv Gandhi Airport, Shamshabad When: Up to December 31 11am to 7pm Contact: (040) 6625 0000

NEW YEAR SPECIAL Pirates of the Caribbean Hotel Green Park will be set to Pirates of the Caribbean theme this New Year. The package also includes exciting games like lucky draw and treasure hunt, dance performances , stand-up comedy and delicious food. Where: Gardenia, Hotel Green Park, Greenlands, Begumpet, When: December 31, 8pm onwards Contact: (040) 6651 5151

Art exhibition Artist M Narayan’s work is on display. Narayan graduated from the Ken School of Art. He started work in 1991. He has participated in over 30 solo exhibitions and several group art shows. He is known for his rural depictions. Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Road no. 15, Jubilee Hills When: Up to January 2 Contact: (040) 2354 0023

3 Cheers to 2013! Aditya Sarovar has three different packages for you this New Year, from a candle light oriental dinner to live music and buffet. Where: Aditya Sarovar Premiere Hitec city, Gachibowli When: December 31, 7:30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6769 6769

Chai wallah art show This is an upcoming exhibition at Iconart gallery.There is an exhibition of paintings by Vijay Gille at the gallery on Chai wallah and other stories. The preview is on December 27 at 6.30pm. Where: Iconart Gallery, Banjara Hills When: Up to January 12 11.30am to 7pm Contact: www.iconart.in

Fuse 2013 Aditya Park is has a special late night buffet and three packages, inclusive of food and dance, to choose from. Where: Aditya Park, Aditya Trade Centre, Ameerpet When: December 31, 7:30pm onwards Contact: (040) 6678 8888

Bulls art exhibition A group exhibition by Avijit Roy, HR Das, Laxman Aelay, Nagesh Goud and Sreekanth Kurva on the animal bull, its nature, characteristics and what it represents.. Where: Aalankritha Art Gallery When: Up to January 2 11am to 7pm Contact: www.alankritha.in

X’mas, New Year treat Barbeque Nation is converted into a Christmas village to resemble the AT WORK: A boy waters plants at Gun park, Hyderabad birthplace of Jesus. An exotic variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will be served. Where: Barbeque Nation, Banjara Hills & Jubilee Hills When: December 21-January 1 7pm onwards

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

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

ART Inertia Photography Photography exhibition on India by

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

MISCELLANEOUS Photo competition Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad, is conducting a photo competition. The theme for the contest is Professions of the world. The winning entries will be sent to Paris. Where: http://hyderabad.afindia.org When: December 3 to January 6 Pochampally IKAT mela Pochampally Handloom Park is organising IKAT Mela, exhibiting handloom products like hand made bed and home linen, dress materials, sarees, and dupattas, among others. Where: The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Exhibition Center Radhika Theater Road, Kamalanagar, Kushaiguda When: December 21 to 31 from 10am to 9:30pm Contact: 95429 76567

Court Martial Court martial is a play written by Swadesh Deepak, a popular India playwright and novelist, that was published in 1991. The play is directed by Nagaraju Pejjai. Where: NIFT Campus, Madhapur

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

Alexander Jaya Prakash Reddy is performing a 100 minute solo. He plays a retired army officer who wants to help people with their problems by starting a helpline. Where: Ravindra Bharathi, Public Gardens, Nampally, H-01, Abids When: January 6, 7pm to 9pm Contact: (040) 2324 9045

SHOWS

N SHIVA KUMAR

Contact: (040) 6456 6693 (040) 6429 2237

When: December 30. from 7:30pm Contact: (040) 2311 4537

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

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL MIM’S OPPOSITION TO T-STATE AFFECT ITS FORMATION? 63% 37%

ast year, we had reported how the City was slow to respond to Anna Hazare’s latest fast, his third that year. Though Hyderabadis had turned up in large numbers for the earlier anti-corruption protests, the response was lukewarm this time around. Examinations and it being the holiday season were the reasons for the poor turn-out, said organisers. The students and the IT crowd, the most vocal supporters of Anna Hazare’s campaign, were mostly missing from the dharna sites this time around. The organisers, however, were conﬁdent that more people would join the movement.

YES B)

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE Waning support

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE CURRENT INDO-PAK CRICKET TOURNAMENT BETTER TIES BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES?

Banner ban hits roadblock Despite the State government’s resolution banning hoardings in public spaces, the City remains festooned with plastic banners. FILE PHOTO

History of action n 1996: G.O. Rt. No. 1163, under the MA&UD, bans display of banners and posters in public spaces. n PCB follows Plastic Waste Management and Handling Rules of 2011, but denies any responsibility for PVC banners (more commonly referred to as flex banners). n August 1, 2012: 151 unauthorised hoardings found in GHMC limits. Investigations reveal officials hand in glove with ad agencies. n December 2, 2012: GHMC files 81 cases over display of banners in public spaces. `1.10 lakh collected from the offenders.

DECEMBER 28, 2011 It only helped the malls. Bits of concrete structures in front of commercial complexes will again turn themselves into parking spaces or hawker zones. NR Reddy, Ameerpet local See page 9

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

Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, it seems. The GHMC’s grand plans to set up a pedestrian cell and make the City safer for walkers has come to nought. Despite a workshop with experts, GHMC engineers continue to work in the same old way.

The chief minister is too busy to take a break. Unlike most politicians who take time off during their term to go for a vacation or a trip abroad, the CM is too busy to even think of taking a holiday. How’s that for dedication?

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

he problem of plastic banners and hoardings in the City is a long standing one. Despite the State government passing a resolution banning all hoardings or posters from public spaces, this rule is flouted fearlessly. In places like Ameerpet and Kukatpally, plastic banners and posters of various educational institutions and private companies are present in hundreds. Yet, the GHMC takes no action. When ITMD’s RTI activist

Mahender filed an RTI regarding this issue, the GHMC presented a few details about the corporation’s policy of managing plastic banners. According to GHMC statistics, there are 2,552 hoardings and 4,676 pole ads within GHMC limits. Also, the GHMC collects about 500kg of plastic flex banners every month and dumps them in the GHMC godown at Begumpet. Mahender said, “It is absolutely impossible that the GHMC records only 500kg of plastic flex banner collection. Any big banner, above 20X7ft size, easily weighs above 60kg. That way, the total collection of

PVC flex banners in this City must be over two lakh kg.” Keeping aside their incomplete records, GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu said 81 cases were registered against people with illegal hoardings on December 2 and a total amount of `1.10 lakh was collected from them. However, there was no clarity on how much fine or imprisonment those accused would face. No such details have surfaced, despite repeated RTIs being filed. Added to this, the Pollution Control Board (PCB) denies all responsibility of handling PVC flex banners. According to the

PCB’s reply in the same RTI filed by Mahender, the PCB follows the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules of 2011, in which there is no mention of PVC. Therefore, they deny all responsibility for PVC banners. Furthermore, according to G.O. 1163, the police department (law and order) is the competent authority to take action against individuals or groups who break the ban on plastic banners. No such records exist with the police department either. When approached, additional commissioner for advertising wing Jayaraj Kennedy was unavailable for comment but other officials said that the department is yet to recruit the staff necessary to take down plastic hoardings in the City.

NEWS BRIEFS

Fighting crime, with some four-legged help. The City police boasts of the largest canine force in India, and the four-legged law enforcers are a valuable asset, say ofﬁcers.

Constable killed in hit-and-run accident

Newlywed found dead at Reveller falls off in-laws’ house cliff, dies

Krishna Phase III gets State funds

No one is above the law. Unless you have cop friends. Cops screening devotees got a earful for stopping a pujari who was a ‘guru’ to a top police ofﬁcial.

Banner ban has no effect on advertisers. Banning plastic hoardings in public areas does not mean that they will disappear overnight.

constable, G Sridhar, from the Market police station, died in a road accident yesterday. The 27year-old was returning home on a bike after duty when a speeding vehicle rammed into his bike at Srinagar Crossroads. He was shifted to hospital with serious injuries and died last night. Police are searching for the errant driver.

newlywed, Sayeeda Jahan, has allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday at her in-laws’ house situated at Siddique Nagar in Tallab Kaata. She was rushed to hospital but died on Thursday. She was married to an auto driver, Mohd Ali, just 10 months ago. Though her in-laws’ claim it was suicide, a dowry-related crime is suspected.

reveller, Santosh Singh, died when he slipped from a cliff while ﬂying a kite in Dilawargunj of Mangalhatt on the eve of Christmas. In his excitement, the 35-year-old is reported to have lost his footing on the cliff and fell several feet down the mountainside, sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed to a hospital, but died the day after.

he Andhra Pradesh State government has granted permission to the Water Board to award seven out of a total of 10 packages of the `1,670-crore Krishna Phase III drinking water project to the lowest bidders. This ambitious project will help the City get an additional 90 million gallons of water per day.

city FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

POSTNOON YEAR-END SPECIAL

All work makes Kiran sharper! Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is all set to usher in the New Year with more work as he has no immediate plans to take a day off. But doctors warn….

INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has set a record of sorts as the year comes to a close. He is called upon for fire-fighting exercises so often that he has not taken a day off for two years. Reddy was sworn in as the CM on November 25, 2010. He has, ever since, been busy defending his gaddi and also fighting by-elections. Unlike his predecessors, Kiran has not shown a keen interest in vacations or foreign jaunts. Former chief ministers, like YS Rajasekhara Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu, had made it a point to go on a foreign tour or to some domestic tourist destinations like Goa and Mauritius along with their family members during their term. The chief minister’s office knows of no immediate plan for even a short vacation. “His days are packed,” remarked an aide. Kiran, who successfully completed two years in office, did not have any such plan this year end also. “Currently, he is too

Workaholics beware!

preoccupied with the President’s visit and the Telugu conference to think of a day off,” the aide said. Does this mean he does not care for spending time with family? “ No,” said the aide. “He is a complete family man and loves to spend quality time with his family members. But he has been facing one issue after another and has no heart to take a vacation.” APPCC secretary and colleague Abid Rasool Khan said that the CM had indeed tried to spend some time with his relatives and childhood friends, but in vain. “After becoming the CM, he tried to relax at his native village as part of his constituency visit. But he hardly got any time as he was inundated with issues and visitors.” A personal assistant to Kiran said his family understands the nature of his job and has no complaints. Another factor is the loss of his siesta. The CM has stopped taking a post-lunch nap. As Speaker, he used to enjoy a post-lunch sleep. It’s all gone. But he is as alert and sharp, nevertheless, his aides swear.

CRIME

mphasising on the need to take a break from work, Dr Arshad Punjani, physician (MD) and diabetologist at Apollo Hospital, said stress can lead to high blood pressure and even diabetes. As is now well known, lack of sleep and lack of physical exercise can lead to obesity. “A lot of youngsters work night shifts these days. Important hormonal changes take place during the night time. “The brain can only take so much,” he said, adding that overworking can also lead to stressrelated anxiety disorder, depression, cardiac problems, and a decrease in work efficiency. The monotony can cause mental imbalance. Some people, mostly workaholics, feel restless during holidays and cannot handle free time. “People can get addicted to working. They can’t take a break. They can’t sit at home or go out. They become workaholics,” Dr Punjani said, stressing on the need to spend time with family and friends. (With inputs from Deepashri V)

AGRICULTURE

Husband suspected Govt asked to help small farmers in wife’s murder L The highly decomposed body of a 35-year-old woman was found in a locked house in Dundigal.

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highly decomposed body of a woman, identified now as G Annusuyamma alias Anitha, was found in a house near the Dundigal police station on Wednesday. She is suspected to have been murdered some 10 days ago, Dundigal police said. The murder came to light after passersby and neighbours noticed a rotting smell from the house. The house was locked from outside, indicating that the murderer had gone out through the main door. When police forced their way in, they found the body in an advanced state of decay. Anitha, 35, was a resident of Qutbullahpur. She was married to one G Narasimha from Kawadipally of Medak district some eight years ago. For the last two years, the two had an estranged relationship, police found out. Consequently,

the two started living separately. Their two children have been living with their father. Anitha was living alone in a rented room. She reportedly worked as a labourer. According to the details, Anitha was last seen alive a week ago by local residents. Police suspect the role of her husband in the murder. She might also have been raped before being murdered, the police said.

eaders of farmers’ associations demanded that the government take more steps to save medium and small farmers. Vissa Kiran Kumar, of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, demanded that the government introduce a special budget for agriculture for 2013-14. He suggested that the government should focus on agriculture and allied fields, and create an ‘agriculture cabinet’ with ministries and departments concerned with the farm sector. He also suggested the creation of a ‘price stability fund’ with `1,000 crore. Sarampally Mallareddy, of Andhra Pradesh Raithu Sangam, said that the government should buy all the foodgrain from farmers, and the same should be marketed at affordable prices that would benefit the farmers as well as consumers. He demanded that the government should announce ex-gratia to the family members of farmers who committed suicide. Pashya Padma, of the Sangam, alleged that market committees failed

to arrange proper mechanism to check quality of cotton. She said that cotton farmers were facing huge losses because of lower prices and higher input costs. She suggested that the government should prepare plans to benefit 80 per cent of small and tiny farmers. She blamed that government for failing to give loans to tenant farmers, and said that as of now, only 10 per cent tenant farmers were given loans. K Sai Reddy, Bharitheya Kisan Sangh, demanded that the government should initiate steps for a strong co-operative movement. Arambadi Prasada Rao, Raithu Vittana Hakkula Vedika, blamed the agriculture ministry for failing to utilise the funds meant for Gramena Vittana Utpatti Pathakam. Dr GV Ramanjaneyulu, Sustira Vyavasaya Kendram, asked the government to take steps for strengthening agriculture extension system and to recruit Agriculture Extension Officers on a permanent basis. NSS

city FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

SECURITY

City gets some canine comfort Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

hey are the quadruped converts. All of them boast of a European pedigree but having come to the City, many of them got ethnic names. So there are Spurthi, Pooja, Ramya, Julie, Arjun, Rajesh, Rambo. The City police pride themselves of having the largest platoon of sniffer dogs for any city in India — 34. And, they are all leading a royal canine life as they are invaluable in detecting chemicals, narcotics and such other things law breakers and terrorists use these days. Fondling a German shepherd, the ispector of City Security Wing, Ch Naga Sai said, “He is an expert in sniffing out narcotics. He is used only for that purpose.” Naga Sai explains the department depends a lot on these dogs as they have far more sharp faculty and a better sixth sense than humans, “and of course are more

They are the pride of the constabulary and being animal pure and simple, are neutral and duty-bound. The City’s dog squad does a marvellous job. N SHIVA KUMAR

dependable than man.” The sniffer dogs are believed to have 40 times extra power of feeling, 20 times more power of hearing than man and 10 times extra power of seeing. They are given energy food, training and a proper health check up. Most of them are German shepherds and Labradors. These dogs had worked with the City police since 1999. The first batch was only six dogs; later the strength increased to reach the current tally of 34.

SEXIST TONE

‘Girls’ are smarter in sniffing out explosives, explains the inspector. Pooja and Julie had detected bombs at Mecca Masjid and then they detected more explosives after six months in the same place and at Lumbini Park, Gokul Chat centre, Dilsukhnagar bridge. The girls again detected explosives in Imax theatre. And for the smart works, the government had rewarded Pooja and Julie with special category food and care.

Separate ministry for Telugu mooted

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hief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy who presided over the inaugural programme of the World Telugu Conference announced that a separate ministry would be created for development of Telugu language. Kiran also assured the Telugus all over the world that he would implement Telugu as the medium of instruction as well as administration. He has announced revival of music, dance and fine arts academies. He has recalled how PV Narasimha Rao, Nilam Sanjiva Reddy and Bala Yogi brought pride to Telugus by reaching top positions in

Indian politics. Reminding people that the great emperor Krishna Deva Raya called Telugu as the sweetest of Indian languages and that the great poet Gurajada had said that a country meant not the earth but its people, Kiran Kumar Reddy said, “It was our duty to tell our children the greatness of our language.” He said he would make study of Telugu compulsory from the primary stage to class X. He said boycotting the conference was equal to disrespect to the language. He said Telugu language has a great future. AGENCIES

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

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classifieds FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012 CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ CLINIC

EXHIBITION

A taste of different cultures Numaish, Hyderabad’s most awaited exhibition, is all set to wow the City once again. And this time there are stalls from Pakistan and Iran as well. N SHIVA KUMAR

ANUBHA K SINGH anubha.k@postnoon.com

un, food and shopping yes Numaish is back again with new additions for the City shopper. Preparations for the 73rd Industrial Exhibition are on in full swing. Like every year this year too the All India Industrial exhibition will be thrown open on January 1 and will go on till February 15. However, this year the entry fee has been hiked to `20 from the previous `10. Workers can be seen cleaning the 20 acre area and giving final touches to the stalls and structures. Volunteers are being trained at the training camp for the security of visitors. This year the society has beefed up the security to three levels with volunteers, watch and warn team and private security team with the help of City police. An added attraction for shoppers this time will be the 15 stalls from Pakistan, which are being set up at Numaish after a gap of five years. It may be recalled that after the Mumbai terror attack there had been no participation from Pakistan. The exhibition organisers are tapping solar energy and are also using LED lamps to light up the venue during the duration of the exhibition. “We have increased the entry

goods and traditional jewellery at these stalls. n Stalls from Pakistan and Iran: This year there are nearly 15 to 20 stalls from Iran. So if you missed out on shopping for your Pakistani salwar kameez or sherwani or the beautiful Irani chandeliers then this year you might as well head to Numaish. Chandeliers from Iran are back again in Numaish. Artefacts from Pakistan and Iran will also be put on display. Apart from these ethnic items and handmades from these countries are expected to grab attention.

There are more than 200 stalls only from Kashmir selling silk sarees, scarves and pashmina shawls among a range of goods from the valley.

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fee as everything is more expensive and we need to generate funds. The solar and LED lights have been installed to conserve energy. This year we are expecting a footfall of at least 22 lakh and have beefed up security,” said Sukesh Reddy, honorary secretary. “We are also working on parking issues and are trying to implement uniform parking for both two and four wheelers. We have also requested the police to consider making the Nampally-Moazzam Jahi Market road a one-way stretch on weekends to ease traffic issues,” he added.

FIVE REASONS TO VISIT NUMAISH n Amusement Park: The colourful amusement park is the main attraction of the exhibition, especially for

the youngsters. The fair is incomplete without entertainment. A mini-train, a giant wheel, dragon, columbus and roller coaster add to the thrills. There is also the Maut ka kuwan where a group of youngsters ride motorbikes and also a car driving at break-neck speed in a wellshaped structure, almost touching the outer edges. n Stalls by prisoners and other organisations: There are stalls put up by organisations such as the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA), Development for Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) as well as products made by prisoners. Make sure to visit the MEPMA stores to buy pickles and other household items and the Prisoners stall to purchase some fresh vegetables cultivated in Cherlapally jail.

The stall also has on display various products manufactured by both men and women prisoners from central jails across the State. You can shop for anything here from bed-sheets, doormats, tables, biscuits, cakes, sarees, dresses to candles and many more household products. These products are named as ‘Sudhaar’ products. n Kashmiri stalls: You can see a majority of the visitors making a beeline for the Kashmiri stalls to buy dry fruits. Every year there are more than 200 stalls only from Kashmir selling silk sarees, scarves and pashmina shawls among a range of goods from the valley. You can purchase anything from traditional wooden home decors to hand embroidered clothing, dry fruits, furnishing, leather

n Weaves from Bengal: Ask any woman her all-time favourite fabric and she is sure to tell you that it is cotton. The stalls from West Bengal offer you a large variety of Bengali cotton and natural dye clothes. The material of these clothes stand out for their exemplary needlework. Lightweight sarees made out of Egyptian yarn, the bhuta work and shantiniketan block prints are more in demand every year at these stalls. If you enter from the Ajanta gate, the left will take you to a whole lot of stalls from Gujarat and Rajasthan. From traditional Gujarati outfits to footwears and Rajasthani bangles you can have your pick here. The dazzling colours and the beautiful mirror work is bound to grab your attention. A three-hour-long movie with your favorite hero might disappoint you, but not Numaish. There are joyrides, shopping, food and much more.

city FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

REPORTERS’ DIARY

(Mis)information commissioner

SRINIVAS SETTY

uring the recent faceto-face meeting organised by RTI activists, the State RTI Chief Information Commissioner Jannat Hussain (pictured below) was seen busily taking down notes and remarks from the audience. But a sceptical RTI activist who looked over Jannat’s shoulders was tickled to death."Notes? Nonsense! He was merely doodling and circling on the paper while listening!” After the meeting, a news reporter asked him for his comments on the meeting (Right to Information empowers people to ask questions of awkward nature). The commissioner mumbled something and left saying he has another important meeting to attend. So much for your promises commissioner! (RR)

IT’S DIARY TIME

This time of the year is not just about Christmas and New Year, it is diary time too! With the year 2013 at the doorsteps, everyone is busy compiling diaries; from politicians to officials, from union leaders to journalists. This is the best time for displaying influence and garnering support from the cadres. While some of the organisations have already started gifting diaries to important officials, diaries from the State government are yet to arrive. These books, though not used by most, serve a purpose of self publicity as diaries would have the pictures of the leaders and their short sketch, among other things. This is true for unions and associations whose leaders believe it is an advertisement that lasts one year.

Another aspect is generating some money under the name of compiling information. “It’s time for leaders to make some quick bucks by collecting money in the name of diary,” says an observer. What is ironical is the fact that some of the diaries are inaugurated right in the middle of the year. (MN)

The poojari was later let in but not before the law and order incharge got an earful from the big boss. The next thing the mid-level officers knew was the wrath from the headquarters. It is said that the top cop upbraided the police officers responsible for the barricading and screening and told them the poojari was like a guru for him. The poojari was later let in but not before the law and order in-charge got an earful from the big boss. Talk of everyone being equal before law! (MS)

WAH, GURU!

Here is a bit more police bulletin gleamed through the khakhi grapevine. During the temple trouble in Charminar area, officers in-charge of law and order had barricaded the area to prevent anybody from entering into the temple without police permission. While cops dutifully performed their task of screening visitors and devotees, a poojari from Kakinada who came to offer prayers too got caught in the police screening process. The aggrieved poojari happened to be close to DGP Dinesh Reddy.

MONEY BOLTA HAI

In no other city is the municipal corporation reduced to such a piteous scarecrow status as the GHMC in Hyderabad. First of all, those ruling the GHMC fail to

understand that it’s the local government, not just a municipal authority and it should show maturity, sagacity, authority and pride. Not the GHMC, though. If it had any self respect, it would not have allowed the kind of violent misuse of roads by building contractors in the Jubilee Hills area, which is supposedly inhabited by the crème de la crème of the society. Mountains of construction debris (pictured above) dumped along the roadside and uninterrupted night work would make a law-abiding citizen bow his head in shame. What will visitors to the City think? Reporters had pointed this out many times in these columns, but it is obvious that corruption is at the root of things. When money speaks all others are silent, you know. (PK) (contributed by Mohd Subhan, Md Nizamuddin, Rahul Ramakrishna and PK Surendran)

POLITICS

T countdown begins, anxiety mounts A

s the count down for the crucial and much-awaited all-party meeting convened by the Union Home Minister in New Delhi on Friday in an attempt to evolve a solution to the contentious separate Telangana issue commenced, the political atmosphere in the State is mired with anxiety and suspense over the outcome of the deliberations. Amidst mounting pressure from Congress MPs from Telganana on the eve of voting on the FDI issue in parliament, Shinde had agreed to convene

TDP to present ‘one view’ at all-party meet

he main opposition TDP will be presenting a single view on the contentious Telangana issue at the all-party meet. This was stated by leaders of the party from the two regions — Seemandhra and Telangana, here today. Politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, who is represent-

the meeting. Accordingly, eight political parties from the State — Congress, Telugu Desam, BJP, CPI, CPM, TRS, MIM and YSR Congress — were invited. Among these parties, the

ing the party, along with Kadiam Srihari from Telangana region, at the all-party meet, said that they would convey the party’s opinion on the Telangana issue in a sealed cover to be handed over to the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Later, the letter would be placed before the media, he said.

TRS, CPI and BJP have made their stand clear in endorsing the creation of a separate Telangana state. The CPM is opposed to bifurcation of the State, while the MIM, which also stood for a unit-

ed State, made it clear that Hyderabad should be made a union territory if bifurcation was inevitable. The other option espoused by the Majilis is for creating a Rayala-Telangana, with Hyderabad as capital. YSR Congress is continuing to walk a tight rope on the issue, though as per convenience the party leadership has been asserting that they respect the sentiments of the people of the Telangana region. It is pertinent to note here that the late Chief Minister YSR tried his level best to prevent the bifurcation of the

state. His son Jaganmohan Reddy, who had floated the political party after severing connections with the Congress, had even opposed division of the State in the Lok Sabha. However, after Jagan’s imprisonment, his mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila have been trying to placate sentiments of the people of the Telangana region during the latter’s walkathon. The two main political parties, the Congress and the TDP, have not come out with a firm stance on the issue as both have diverse views. NSS

city FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

ADMINISTRATION

Pedestrian cell still a dream

‘Commissioner proposes, engineer disposes’ may be the apt way to describe the working style of the GHMC. All talks of a pedestrian-friendly footpath, a cell for pedestrians, and the commissioner’s efforts to infuse a new work culture into engineers have failed. S BALAKRISHNA

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

early a month ago, MT Krishna Babu, the GHMC commissioner, had held a workshop for civic engineers on the ideal way to make footpaths, wherein experts from Delhi were brought in. The commissioner had also suggested sending engineers abroad to ‘study’ footpaths and pedestrian ways. While engineers are eager to go abroad, they refuse to change their old ways as is evident from the recent footpath being made between SR Nagar and Srinagar. At Big Bazaar complex near Ameerpet, the road was widened and footpath was constructed, wide enough for several people to walk freely. But the one side ends nowhere. With one of the biggest bottlenecks in the area, this footpath is serving none but for securing the complex owner space for parking. Not all engineers are insensitive. In the words of a senior engineer himself, “Nothing was being implemented from the much hyped training workshop conducted by experts from Delhi.”

The engineer, critical of his fraternity’s lack of sensitivity points out that the road should be at least 80 feet wide on both sides, while one can minimise the size of footpath depending on the road width. But the way

the footpath at Big Bazaar is constructed only obstructs traffic. “In spite of clear guidelines of how footpaths should be kerbed, most of us continue to construct footpaths the age old way,” he said, adding that the

road widening taken up at Big Bazaar has not helped anyone, save the mall. The footpath appears to be encroaching the road rather than helping pedestrians. “It only helped the malls. Bits of concrete structures in front of

the commercial complexes will again turn themselves into parking spaces or hawker zones,” said N Rajashekhara Reddy, a resident of Ameerpet. A pedestrian cell, meanwhile, remains a pipe dream.

POLITICS

MIM, Congress do business as usual Either political compulsions are keeping the MIM and Congress parties united, or the recent spat between the two parties was nothing more than a domestic tiff. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

hen it comes to the standing committee meetings, all is well between the MIM and the Congress. While Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy frowned at the former ally, party corporators continued to be chummy at the standing committee meeting. Thursday’s committee meeting was delayed by almost an hour, raising speculations of misunderstandings between the two parties. But this proved false. Most of the items were approved. The filling up of the superintendent post was rejected,

BJP corporators held a dharna in front of the mayor’s chamber, demanding a general body meeting. while one other item was adjourned. The important decisions taken by the standing committee included the mayor’s directive to the chief City planner to submit the circlewise list of cases pending in the courts within two weeks. He also directed the additional commissioner (health

& sanitation) to initiate strict action on assistant medical officers of health (AMOHs) for their negligence in maintaining sanitation in their respective circles.

BJP PROTESTS OUTSIDE

With their demand for convening a general body meeting, BJP corporators held a dharna in front of the mayor’s chamber (pictured). They reiterated their demand to let C Uday Kumar take oath as the corporator of Langar House division and to implement the orders of the High Court. Later, the police had to arrest the corporators and take them to the Nampally police station.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Business

VOLVO PLANS PLANT IN INDIA

Volvo said on Thursday it was studying the possibility of setting up a car manufacturing plant in India as part of a drive to nearly double global sales. The company aims to increase worldwide sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020, from a current 440,000 a year.

FINANCE

Greece banks need $36 bn to recapitalise

RBI keeps us guessing

Greece's four biggest banks need $36.4 billion in recapitalisation funds, the national central bank said in a report. "The resulting capital needs for all Greek commercial banks were estimated in May 2012 at 40.5 billion euros, of which the 27.5 billion euros corresponded to the four core banks: the National Bank of Greece, Alpha, Eurobank, and Piraeus," it said.

When the repo rate goes down, banks get funds at a lower rate, which in turn allows them to provide cheaper loans. NUPUR PAVAN BANG AND PURVEE HETAMSARIA Prof. Nicky was strolling in the park when she heard a familiar voice calling out her name. She turned around to face a gasping Mr. Mukherjee. The face had a question mark. Prof: Hello Mr. Mukherjee. What's troubling you? Mukherjee (trying to regain his breath): You got me! I was wondering if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will lower the interest rates in their upcoming policy review. The general view is that there is a strong possibility of a 75 basis points cut next year. With 50 bps being cut during the last quarter of the current fiscal year.

The markets are looking forward to the Central bank lowering the lending rates. This would infuse liquidity into the economy and provide funds for further investments. Prof. Nicky: Well. I cannot predict what RBI is going to do. But yes, it might be welcome by many sections of the industries and the common man. Mukherjee: That is what I am not able to understand. How does it help the common

man? Why should he worry about the matters of monetary policy? I am personally indifferent to it. Nicky: So you feel! But it's not true. Remember the time when you took a loan to buy that car of yours and you were complaining to me about the high interest rates? Mukherjee: Yes. But what does that have to do with RBI and rate cuts? Nicky: How do banks determine at what rate to lend? How are auto loan, home loan, personal loan, etc, their interest rates determined? It depends on the interest rates set by the RBI. The rate at which banks can borrow funds from the RBI is known as the Repo rate. When the repo rate goes down, banks get funds at a lower rate, which they can pass on to their customers in the form of cheaper loans. Mukherjee: Hmmm...but since I have already taken the loan, it's not going to help me. Nicky: Its not going to help you if your loan has a fixed interest rate. If the loan has a floating interest rate, that is, it changes with the changes in the Prime Lending Rate (PLR), then your Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs) will come down. Mukherjee: PLR? Nicky: It's the rate at which banks lend to their most credit worthy customers. So for most of us, after taking our credit worthiness into account, the banks decide on an x percent to be added to the PLR, to determine the interest rate. For those who have floating rate loans, the banks generally quote the interest rate as PLR plus x percent. So when PLR comes down, EMI also comes down. Mukherjee: Got it. But what about my deposits? Will the banks continue to pay me the same interest rates on them? Nicky: For your existing Fixed Deposits, the answer is yes. For new fixed deposits, the banks may reduce the rates. Mukherjee: Understood. Thank you.

BSE 5,903.45 `54.87 5,209.05 DOLLAR`55.14 17,179.95DOLLAR NSEPOUND `86.60 `88.43 POUND BSE NSE GOLD`31,000 10g SILVER `58,300 1kg

24C

for

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

for

98.90

33.65

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

19,425.73 101.93

ANAND SHARMA, 33.75 COMMERCE MINISTER

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

nation HALL OF SHAME Manmohan, Sonia assure quick justice New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday assured quick justice to the culprits behind the gang-rape of a trainee physiotherapist, now battling for life in a Singapore hospital. “You have my assurance that our government is committed to bringing the guilty to justice as soon as possible,” the prime minister told reporters here. The best possible medical care was being provided to the gang-rape victim, he added. Wishing the woman speedy recovery, Gandhi said no time should be lost in punishing those responsible for the crime. “Our wish is that she recovers and comes back to us... and no time is lost in bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice,” Gandhi told reporters in her first public statement on the young physiotherapist who was brutally tortured and raped by a gang of men in a moving bus in the national capital Dec 16. The two leaders were addressing media at the Congress headquarters here after Gandhi hoisted the party flag on the occasion of its foundation day. IANS

BADAL SEEKS DISMISSAL OF US COURT CASE Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has sought dismissal of a human rights violation case filed against him in a US court on the ground that he was not served the court summons. A New York based Sikh group has filed a case against Badal for commanding a police force that allegedly tortured Sikhs in Punjab.

CRIME

Victim still extremely critical: Hospital

Kanpur’s ‘Ocean’s 11’ arrested after heist

She has significant brain injury and infection in lungs and abdomen.

SINGAPORE: The 23-year-old Delhi gang-rape victim has significant brain injury, infection in lungs and abdomen and she is currently struggling against all odds at Mount Elizabeth Hospital where her condition continues to be “extremely critical”, the hospital said today. “Our medical team’s investigations upon her arrival at the

hospital yesterday showed that in addition to her prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury,” said Dr Kelvin Loh, CEO, Mount Elizabeth Hospital. In a statement, Dr Loh said, “The patient is currently struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life.”

Briefing reporters, Loh said, “As at 28 December, 8:30 IST the patient continues to remain in an extremely critical condition.” “A multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working tirelessly to treat her since her arrival, and is doing everything possible to stabilise her condition over the next few days,” he added. PTI

KANPUR: Four people, including two students, who carried out a sophisticated robbery inspired by Hollywood film Ocean’s 11 — at a bank here last month, have been arrested and most of the stolen `23 lakh recovered, police said. Announcing the solving of the case, Kanpur SSP Yashaswi Yadav said that out of the `23 lakh looted from the Bank of

The robbers had put tape on their fingers so as not to leave any finger prints, they were wearing helmets and goggles to prevent identification.

Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture of Delhi gang rape victim at Puri beach of Odisha, on Thursday.

PTI

NEWS BRIEFS Seven killed as car collides with bus

Toll in cracker godown fire mishap rises to 9

Haryana cops hunt for man who tortured wife

KOLLAM: Seven persons, including four women, were killed when their car collided with a Kerala State Transport Corporation bus at Nilamel in the district this morning. The victims were related and belonged to Bharathannur in Thiruvananthapuram district. Twelve people, most of them passengers of the bus, were injured in the mishap and admitted to hospital. The bodies of the victims were extricated from the mangled car by police and local people.

SALEM (TN): With one more person succumbing to injuries, the death toll in Tuesday’s fire mishap at a fireworks unit godown near here rose to nine, police said today. Satish (19), who was undergoing treatment at a government hospital, succumbed to injuries last night. Four more persons were still undergoing treatment in the hospital, they said. The victims were involved in making fireworks when the mishap occurred at the unit at Parakallur, 42 km from here.

KARNAL: A man in Karnal town has been booked for domestic violence and assault after his wife complained that he inserted chillies in her genitals, police said here. Police is conducting raids at various places to nab the accused, Chandershekhar. The victim complained that her husband tortured her on December 23 night. “The victim was taken for medical examination at the civil hospital and a case was registered against the husband,” a police spokesman said.

Pick

at the

Baroda branch in Nirala Nagar here, `19 lakh had been recovered from the three persons Anshul, Shailendra and Jitendra, who were arrested earlier in the day. Their accomplice Atif was picked up by a team of Kanpur police from New Delhi. Yadav told IANS that what had even stunned the cops was the robbers’ modus operandi use of technology and social networking sites in the crime. “The robbers had put tape on their fingers so as not to leave any finger prints, they were wearing helmets and goggles to prevent identification and talked to each other on ear phones,” he said, and said that soon after the bank robbery, they broke and threw away their SIM cards. During interrogation, the trio told cops that they had taken inspiration from Hollywood flick Ocean’s 11, a film on robberies in Las Vegas casinos. One of the bank robbers is a computer science engineer and other an IT engineering student. One of them had also used some of the looted money to pay his fees.

airport,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

World TECHNOLOGY

China comes out with Beidou — rival to GPS BEIJING: China has launched commercial and public services across the Asia-Pacific region on its domestic satellite navigation network built to rival the US global positioning system. The Beidou system started providing services to civilians in the region on Thursday and is expected to provide global coverage by 2020, state media reported. Ran Chengqi, spokesman for the China Satellite Navigation Office said the system’s performance was “comparable” to GPS, the China Daily said. It is the latest accomplishment in space technology for China, which aims to build a space station by the end of the decade and eventually send a manned mission to the moon. The Beidou system comprises 16 navigation satellites and four experimental satellites, the paper said. Ran added that the system would ultimately provide global navigation, positioning and timing services. The start of commercial services comes a year after Beidou began a limited positioning service for China and adjacent areas. China began building the network in 2000 to avoid relying on GPS. Sun Jiadong, the system’s chief engineer, told the 21st century Business Herald newspaper that as Beidou matures it will erode GPS’s current 95 percent market share in China, the Global Times said. AFP

MUBARAK MOVED TO HOSPITAL Egypt’s Prosecutor-General on Thursday ordered to transfer former president Hosni Mubarak who is serving life imprisonment in a Cairo prison to a nearby military hospital, Xinhua reported. The former Egyptian president was recently injured after slipping and falling down in a bathroom of the prison hospital.

FISCAL CLIFF

‘STORMIN’ NORMAN DIES

Obama to meet GOP bosses today Grim picture

he nation will reach its $16.39 trillion debt limit on December 31, forcing the Treasury to take “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default. Experts say a failure to strike a compromise by New Year’s Eve could plunge the world’s biggest economy into recession, and wrangling over the debt ceiling will only exacerbate fiscal uncertainty.

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will host top congressional leaders including his bitter Republican rivals on Friday in a last-ditch bid to halt America’s slide over the “fiscal cliff.” The White House said he will meet his Republican foes House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic allies. McConnell and Boehner’s offices also confirmed the 3pm meeting, which comes amid bitter partisan exchanges and mounting pessimism over whether a budget deal can be struck before the year-end deadline. “We’ll see what the president has to propose. Members on both sides of the aisle will review it, and then

we’ll decide how best to proceed,” McConnell said. “Hopefully there is still time for an agreement of some kind that saves the taxpayers from a wholly preventable economic crisis,” he said, referring to the massive tax hikes and spending cuts that will occur in the absence of a deal. Reid and McConnell spent Thursday’s public appearances blaming one another for the looming failure, with Reid warning that the US economy would likely slide off the cliff at the start of 2013. On Wednesday, the president called each of the four congressional leaders hoping to inch forward on a deal, but lawmakers and their aides stressed there was little to no progress over the holidays. Obama cut short his Christmas vacation in Hawaii only to return to a bitterly

divided Washington unable to avert the more than half a trillion dollars in tax hikes and mandated spending cuts set to kick in on January 1. McConnell told the Senate he was “happy” to look at any Obama proposal, but warned: “the truth is we’re coming up against a hard deadline here.” Despite reports from some quarters that Obama had drawn up his own plan to offer lawmakers, there was no sign that the White House was ready to intervene. Lawmakers have refused to compromise and Reid blamed Republicans for the breakdown. Boehner’s office shot back with a curt message. “Senator Reid should talk less and legislate more,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said House leaders eventually ordered members to return to Washington on Sunday, warning that the House “may be in session through January 2.” AFP

NEWS BRIEFS France to take in Afghan ‘friends’

N Korea is nuclear testready: US think-tank

Clinton, still recovering, to be back on Monday

Man injured in east Australia shark attack

PARIS: France will take in Afghans whose security is at risk after having worked with its troops in the war-ravaged country, joining other Western nations facing a similar quandary. The defence ministry conﬁrmed that France would accept “a few dozen” Afghans who had served as translators with their forces.

SEOUL: North Korea could conduct a detonation on two weeks notice, a US think-tank said. There has been widespread speculation that Pyongyang may carry out its third nuclear test. Satellite photos as recent as December 13 show that Pyongyang is determined to maintain a state of readiness at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

WASHINGTON: Outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who fell ill in early December and hasn’t been seen in public since, will be back at her desk on Monday, her closest aide said Thursday. “She’s recuperating at home,” and will take up her ofﬁcial duties again “next week” Philippe Reines wrote in brief email to AFP.

SYDNEY: A man survived an attack by a shark off Australia’s east coast Friday, but lost a ﬁnger and suffered a serious bite to the thigh, ambulance ofﬁcials said. The 29year-old was on a paddle board at Diamond Head near Port Macquarie, 390 kilometres (242 miles) north of Sydney, when he was mauled, reportedly by a bull shark.

Norman Schwarzkopf, the US general who led Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein in 1991, died on Thursday at the age of 78. Schwarzkopf, known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman,” died in Tampa, where he retired after his last posting as head of US Central Command, which controls US operations in the Middle East and South Asia. After the war, Schwarzkopf turned down the position of army chief of staff and retired from active service in August 1991.

NUMEROLOGY

million

Russians are drug users, according to the country’s Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov.

ABBAS SOUNDS WARNING Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned he would disband his Palestinian Authority if there was no Israeli movement toward renewing peace talks after Israel’s elections on January 22. Abbas said that if such a situation arose he would hand full responsibility for the occupied West Bank to the Israeli government. “If there is no progress even after the election I will take the phone and call (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu,” Abbas said. “I’ll tell him... Sit in the chair here instead of me, take the keys, and you will be responsible for the Palestinian Authority.”

Tehran supports any well-intentioned move aimed at putting an end to the ongoing aggressions in Syria and restoration of peace and security in that country. Ali-Akbar Salehi Iran foreign minister

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Technology HAPPENING APPS EVERNOTE

GRIMM’S SNOW WHITE

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ANCESTRY

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Price: Free unique and full-featured genealogy app that delivered a stunning design overhaul which also delivered new functionality.

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BEST APPS OF 2012

Price: Free beautiful and welldesigned app that sets the bar for globally relevant travel tools with a rich and detailed tablet experience.

SUPER SMARTPHONE

HTC HD2 is one phone that refuses to die. It launched with Windows 6.5, then was spotted running hacked version of Windows Phone 7 OS, various ﬂavours of Android and now someone managed to get it to run Windows 8 RT! So if you own this device it is possible for you to run Microsoft’s latest OS on the device, but you’ll have to run through quite a few hoops to get It to work. However, knowing the quality of t hackers in the space there will be simpler ways to get it to work in a couple of months.

Google has listed some of the best apps available in its store this year. Some launched in 2012 while others issued updates that achieved a great combination of utility, beauty and accessibility.

EXPEDIA HOTELS & FLIGHTS

SHIPPING NOW Mini-gaming console Ouya, running Android OS, will start shipping today after several delays. The project shot to spotlight after it raised money via Kickstarter. The initial models are for game developers. The software development kit for the gaming console will be available as a standalone download for those that don’t want to purchase a hardware kit as well; it is scheduled to be released tomorrow. A lot of people consider the cheap Ouya to be the future of console gaming, but it is underpowered and may not be able to deliver the quality of games one finds in current generation consoles such as Xbox 360 and PS3.

Deathmatch is dead

FANCY

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TED

Price: Free njoy talks and lectures from some of the world’s most fascinating mavericks, gurus and legends.

Diablo 3’s planned Team Deathmatch update has been canceled because it lacks depth, balance and quality, according to a post by director Jay Wilson. According to Wilson, after developing and play-testing the addition, the developers found challenges in balancing matches with Diablo 3’s loot system’s augmentations, and play-testers didn’t seem to want to spend more than a few hours with Team Deathmatch. Blizzard will still bring PvP dueling to Diablo 3 with patch 1.0.7, which is expected to arrive “sometime after the new year,” but the multiplayer arena is shelved in favour of developing something that works better.

SERIESGUIDE SHOW MANAGER

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PIXLR EXPRESS

Price: Free relatively new photography app that provides an amazing array of editing and photo-correction tools for both phones and tablets.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Comment A young man fills out an application for a job and does well until he gets to the last question, “Who Should we notify in case of an accident?” He mulls it over and then writes, “Anybody in sight!” Milton Berle Comedian

Time for Venus to rise THE HUMAN CONDITION Dean Williams

o much has been made of Abhijeet Mukherjee’s moronic “painted and dented” remark, that to say any more about it would be to validate the stratospheric levels of idiocy man can sometimes rise to. So I will not. Some people have also told me that they’re sick of hearing about the victim of the heinous sex crime, currently battling for her life in a Singapore hospital. Tough! Not only are you going to hear about it but you’re going to let her terror seep into your very bones and rattle every neuron in your being. You are going to make the pathetic attempt to scratch the surface of what she’s going through, and will go through for the rest of her life. You are going to look at your sisters, mothers, and friends and wonder if behind their smiling eyes lies the soul of a sex that has been ostracised, stigmatised and traumatised for generations in this country. And if you can see the tears of a shackled being then you would be right. Tomorrow we begin our series of stories, under the Rising Venus campaign, that will aim to delve into the root of the problem…the family unit. We will also try to bring forth the moral sword of Damocles held over the heads of women in this country by doctors, the police and politicians. We may not succeed in shining a light in all the dark recesses, but we must try. And if we fail, we must try again, harder. You may not like what you read, all you need to do is open your eyes and realise the onus of solving this problem lies on every one of us. We’re ready, are you?

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS President’s visit to the City has left a bitter aftertaste for the commuters as cops went overboard in bringing everything to a standstill — even for the First Lady’s convoy. Hyderabadis should consider themselves lucky that Pranab did not bring children and grandchildren along.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

EDUCATE OURSELVES ANONYMOUS ALIEN

he gang-rape of a 23year old woman in Delhi has provoked mass protests and extraordinary internet chatter. While I remain supportive of due process — even for the pigs who attacked this woman – and hope that these protests don’t result in a lynching, it is nice to see Indians rising up against the systemic sexual exploitation of women. Unfortunately, I don’t think these protests or even a lynching of these attackers will change a thing. So what will? What concrete steps could India and Indians take that would actually reduce the number of rapes (which some studies suggest happen every 20 minutes in India) and amount of sexual abuse of women (which some studies suggest involved 70 per cent of all women) in India? Here are some: Set-up rape victim centers in ALL police stations, run by trained females. Right now, when a woman in India is raped, she frequently doesn’t report the crime because she fears verbal and even physical exploitation by the very police to whom she is expected to report. If female cops and female doctors were trained to handle these situations, sensitively and professionally, then, over time, more women would

report rape and sexual abuse, and more attackers would end up in jail. Require sensitivity training of all male police officers and judges. Teach them that there is NOTHING a woman can do that makes assaulting a woman or raping her acceptable. It doesn’t matter what she is wearing, where she is, what time of day it is, whom she is with, if she’s alone, what she says, or what she does… if a man assaults or rapes her, the fault is 100 per cent with the man. Introduce sexual education in all elementary, junior and senior high schools in India. As part of this education, include training for males that NO means NO — that a woman has the right to say no to a man’s sexual advances at ANY time, and that if the man doesn’t stop at that point, it is rape, pure and simple. Also teach women that being raped is NEVER their fault — that there is NOTHING they can do that justifies rape or sexual abuse of any kind, and

that such attacks and abuse are ALWAYS the fault of the attacker. Mandate sexual abuse and sensitivity training at India’s government-run medical, nursing, and chemist schools. Right now, when women seek medical help for reproductive issues, they are often treated more like prostitutes. And all that does is stop them from ever returning to their doctors and nurses and chemists in the future when they need help most. You, you personally, take the time to teach your friends, your family and your children that NO from a woman means NO. Physical contact with a woman who has said no is assault or rape, and the assailant deserves jail. No exceptions. You personally, teach your children about sexual abuse. Studies show that perhaps as many as 70 per cent of female children in India are sexually assaulted and 50 per cent of male children. Teach them that if anyone tries to touch them in

inappropriate places, they should scream and fight and tell you… teach them that even if the attacker tells them bad things will happen to them or you if they tell anyone, that that’s not true, and that by telling you your children will never be touched again, and that the attacker will be thrown in jail. And most of all, teach them that if this happens it is NOT their fault, that these attackers are sick and that the fault is entirely with the attacker. Let those you care about know that if they are ever sexually assaulted, you are there for them, to help them, to love them, to care for them, without judgment, without accusations. You would be shocked to know how many sexual assault victims NEVER TELL ANYONE, because they fear those that love them — including their parents — will banish them forever. And most of all, if you ever see a woman being assault, DO NOT BE AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER. Intervene. Fight. Call for help. Make a scene. But most of all, protect her. That is your duty as a human being. Change has to start somewhere. For me, it starts with talking to every medical professional I meet about the abysmal treatment I continually hear women get when they seek reproductive health care. For me, it’s writing this article. For me, it’s teaching my children and employees to respect women. What’s it going to be for you?

EDITORIALS Jayalalithaa, snobbery isn’t taking you anywhere

MG! The ‘Amma’ of Tamil Nadu stomped out of the National Development Council meeting because the bell rang before she could ﬁnish her speech — after the 10minute limit was over. Her Excellency is used to party cadre bathing her giant cut-outs with milk and honey and occasional self-immolations when her decisions breaks their hearts. However, she fails to realise that she is among equals from 28 states and in the company of higher ranking national ofﬁcials such as the prime minister and president. Throwing tantrums over not getting enough speech time when there are more than three dozen speakers listed doesn’t augur well for someone who considers herself in the reckoning for a national leadership role. The country should be lucky that she did not walk out complaining that coffee wasn’t strong enough. And thanks to her antics, the focus will now be on her whims and fancies rather than the problems of Tamil Nadu which she had come to highlight.

READERS’ VIEWS

Morsi is not the monster

ohamed Morsi, the Islamist president of Egypt, may not be the poster boy for democracy. However, he has shown that the country, the ruler and the ruled stand to gain by being pragmatic.He has shown enough sense to convince people, at least for now, that he is no Hosni Mubarak. While Uncle Sam is ‘concerned’ about Islamist support to anti-US and anti-Israel forces, it is conveniently forgetting that most dictatorships in the region are powered by Western guns and support.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Music

SINGER ODELL FIRST MALE TO WIN BRIT NEWCOMER AWARD Singer-songwriter Tom Odell was named the Brit Awards' tip for the top in 2013, the first male artist to receive the honour previously won by chart queens including Adele and Jessie J.

FOR THE PLAYLIST COMPILED BY NIDHI BHUSHAN nidhi.b@postnoon.com

1 2

3 4 5 6

Mashallah (Ek Tha Tiger): Sung by Wajid and Shreya Ghoshal, the song that featured in the end credits of the movie was one of this year’s biggest hits. And, residents of Hyderabad will certainly agree as Mashallah played in almost every car and autorickshaw before and much after the movie’s release. Chikni Chameli (Agneepath): Though this raunchy number was not really required in the movie, it made an impact on the audience and we all saw Katrina Kaif exercise her facial expressions for the very first time. Sung by Shreya Ghoshal, Chikni Chameli is easily the hottest item number of 2012. Womaniya (Gangs of Wasseypur): Sung by Rekha Jha and Khusboo Raaj, this folksy track set a new benchmark for music directors as Sneha Khanwalkar and Piyush Mishra had finally arrived. With catchy beats and creative lyrics, Womaniya is definitely worth your iPods. Pani Da Rang (Vicky Donor): The four-minute something Pani Da Rang, sung by the 2012 heartthrob Ayushmann Khurrana, made the entire country groove this year. After Gur Nal Ishq Mitha, this Punjabi song is also here to stay. Muskaanein Jhooti Hai (Talaash): This jazz number, sung by Suman Sridhar, brought the ‘70s cabaret charm back to Bollywood. The promotional video and the song successfully capture the mood of the movie with the choreography and suspense-filled lyrics. We wish to hear more from Suman Sridhar, don’t we? Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita (Rowdy Rathore): Though the movie was an epic fail, this song performed by Mika Singh and Wajid made us all dance to its tune. Featuring Akki in colourful pants, Kareena Kapoor and Prabhudeva, Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita may not be a lyrical delight, but it will surely get you hooked.

RHYTHMS that got you!

As we all prepare to ring in the New Year, Postnoon gives you a list of Bollywood songs that kept our spirits high in 2012. From item numbers to love ballads, we were all pleasantly surprised.

Katy

Taylor Swift Ke$ha

2 LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN 7 HO HEY Bruno Mars The Lumineers

3 GANGNAM STYLE 8 WE ARE NEVER EVER Psy GETTING BACK TOGETHER 4 BEAUTY AND A BEAT Taylor Swift (FEAT. NICKI MINAJ) 9 HOME Justin Bieber Phillip Phillips

5 DIAMONDS 10 ONE MORE NIGHT Rihanna Maroon 5

Already sick of Ding Dong Merrily on High? You can download a refreshing album of contemporary carols from this classy Oxford choir, packed with world premiere recordings, including Haflidi Hallgrímsson's delightful Joseph and the Angel, written specially for this digital release. Malcolm Williamson's This Christmas Night is like soothing balm for any family tensions amid the tinsel.

Perry is hoping for an Oscar nomination next month. The singer's hit single Wide Awake is on the shortlist of tracks eligible for a nomination in the best original song category. The 28year-old hitmaker penned the track for her concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me. She told USA Today the idea of a nomination is 'like a dream's dream'.

1 I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE 6 DIE YOUNG

This Christmas Night

DID YOU KNOW...

TRENDING...

Epic fails

iTUNES Top 10 songs

CAROL MUSIC

Jab Tak Hai Jaan soundtrack: What was AR Rahman thinking? It’s a relief he won’t be working with Yash Chopra ever again. Son of Sardar soundtrack: Though it garnered reasonable commercial success, we at Postnoon

3 4

couldn’t bear the songs. It’s definitely not on our lists. Ekk Main Aur Ek Tu soundtrack: Yes, there was a movie such as this. No story, no acting and definitely no tune barring the title song. Heroine soundtrack: Our sincere request

Top 10 albums 1 RED Taylor Swift

2 UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX Bruno Mars

Bollywood Top 10 The Game

8.CHEERS, ITS CHRISTMAS Blake Shelton

9 GIRL ON FIRE

3 CHRISTMAS

Phillip Phillips

Michael Buble

9 THE WORLD FROM THE SIDE OF THE MOON

4 TAKE ME HOME One Direction

5 MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY Rod Stewart

6 JESUS PIECE

to Madhur Bhandarkar is that he quits making films. At least that way, we won’t be tortured with tunes like Main Heroine Hoon. Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi soundtrack: Remember any song from the movie? No? Neither do we.

Phillip Phillips

10 HERE'S TO THE GOOD TIMES Florida Georgia Line

1. JE LE ZARA 6. BALMA Talaash Khiladi 786

2. HOOKAH BAR 7. THE DISCO SONG Khiladi 786 Student of the Year

3. FEVICOL SE 8. LONELY

Dabanng 2 Khiladi 786

4 DAGABAAZ RE 9. MUSKAANEIN Dabanng 2 JHOOTI HAI 5. ISHQ WALA Talaash LOVE 10. VELE

Student of the Year Student of the Year

He has the mostwatched video in Youtube history, become a pop sensation with a horse-riding dance craze that has swept the world and now Korean singer Psy may cement his place in popular culture with recognition from a British dictionary." Gangnam Style," Psy's signature song, has been chosen along with "ﬁscal cliff" and "Romneyshambles " as some of Collins Dictionary's words of the year.

New Lana Del Rey music has surfaced with two unreleased Lana Del Rey songs appearing online plus a cover written by Lana and sung by Cheryl Crow getting a release. When you listen to both of the Lana songs Noir and Dynamite it is not hard to understand why they were never released. Dynamite is painful and Noir sounds like an experiment gone wrong.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

spotlight S BALAKRISHNA

DESI TADKA

Get ready to party with DJ Manish at Spoil Pub. Get there early for a comfortable spot. The Bollywood desi night begins at 8pm.

WORTH A LOOK

Visitors at the State Art Gallery admire a series of paintings on Lord Shiva. The artist Sita Sudhakar is presenting these paintings from December 27 to 31.

WINTER COLLECTION

The national silk expo, a handloom exhibition-cum-sale has launched its new winter collection. Weavers from all over India are showcasing their work. The exhibition, with its wide range of kurtis, sarees and embroidery work, will go on till January 6 at Sri Satya Sai Nigamagamam, Srinagar Colony.

LIVING THE NIGHT

S BALAKRISHNA 1

JUMPIN’ & JIVING 5

It’s the last few days of the week and the party lovers are on the dance floor with a vengeance. Kismet pub on Thursday night was teeming with youngsters as they boogied away.

1 Bindu, Lavanya

8 Shweta

2 Keerthana,

9 Roopali, Reshmi,

3 4 5 6 7

Rishi,Shruthi, Harsh Praveena, Sneha Sarju Nishita, Prathima Shruthi, Keerthana Sheetal

Richa 10 Payal, Preethi, Amandi 11 Sunita, Neetu, Khushi 12 Sabrina

12 10

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

health

‘DOLPHIN THERAPY’ FOR CHINESE KIDS

Dolphin therapy, a technique that helps treat children with mental disabilities, is gaining ground in China. Fifteen sessions with a pair of bottlenosed dolphins at Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park have helped a five-year-old autistic boy become “aware” and “alert”, China Daily reported.

HOLIDAY DIET

Beat the holiday bulge It’s the holidays and your social calendar is chock-ablock with parties. Expectedly, the pounds will be piled on and the bulge will make an ugly appearance. However, you can easily beat the holiday bulge. Read on… RANJANI RAJENDRA

ranjani.r@postnoon.com

he holidays are here and so are the parties and socialising. If there’s a lunch that you simply cannot skip with that long-lost pal, there’s that lavish dinner buffet that you have to go to and not to forget that happening party with your friends. Expectedly, you’ve been fighting to stay in shape — after all this is the time to dress to the nine’s and impress people. But at the end of all this hectic socialising, your weighing scale is probably going to tip — but not in your favour. However, this holiday season

you can have your cake and eat it too. You just need to party smart and that should help keep off that unsightly bulge. For starters you could try modifying your breakfast. Try opting for a breakfast that is a good balance of proteins, fat and phytonutrients. This will ensure that you are well filled up and won’t binge during lunch. If a full fledged breakfast isn’t possible then at least a wholesome smoothie is a must. Just don’t skip breakfast. Try sipping on some green tea through the day — it helps flush out the toxins. You should also try and eat every three hours, it boosts your metabolism and will prevent overeating during meals. But when we say eat every three hours, we mean a fresh fruit, a handful of sprouts,

Do it yourself

a glass of buttermilk or a couple of high fibre biscuits — not chocolates and chips. You must try and cut down on colas and fried foods. They really do you no good and if you’re planning on knocking down a few pegs in the evening, you can definitely do without these extra calories because cocktails do count. As much as you’d like to ignore it, cocktails and mocktails do carry calories and simply skipping meals to cut down on calories is not an option. It is actually counter-productive as the alcohol can mess up your system. If you have a party to attend, we suggest eating a light snack before you head out. This way, you will not be ravenous by dinner time and your food intake will be curbed automatically. So

you could probably munch on an apple or eat a bowl of salad before you go to a party. Remember to drink plenty of water — it has no calories. If you are hosting a party then why not try some healthy snacks? Steamed dimsums for instance, are delicious and yet not as calorie-rich as say nuggets. Most importantly don’t deprive yourself of anything. Eat everything in moderation. If you stay off something for too long, chances are you will binge on it the first chance you get. Desserts are probably everybody’s weakness. So go ahead and eat some, just not truck loads of it. A bite won’t hurt. Don’t forget to exercise. An extra 10-15 minutes on the treadmill along with your regular regime will help stave off the fat.

ere are a few exercises you could do at home to beat the holiday bulge. n Spot sprint: Jog really fast on your toes for one full minute. n Jumping Jacks: Stand with feet together and hands by your side. Now jump and spread your feet apart while simultaneously raising your hands. Repeat for one minute. n Squat Jumps: Squat with your legs apart and then jump up. Repeat for one minute. n Abs: Lie flat on a mat. Fold your hands behind your head and raise your upper body so the tension is on your upper abdomen. Do 25 reps. n Side-to-Side Hops: Keeping your knees slightly bent and feet together, imagine you’re jumping back and forth over a line on the floor.

HOUSECALL

DID YOU KNOW?

Fitbit

Lynch syndrome

Thank your omentum!

Jacques Marescaux

The Fitbit iPhone App allows you to track food, activity, weight, water, sleep and see the big picture of how your daily choices affect your health. You can See your latest steps and calories burned when your tracker syncs and keep a tab on your latest weight and body fat. Notiﬁcations nudge you to achieve your

Lynch syndrome, or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), is an inherited genetic mutation that causes of cancer of the bowel. The genes affected are known as repair genes. However, when they develop mutations this allows faulty DNA to persist, hence increasing the risk of cancer. 90 per cent of men with the faulty gene and 70 per cent of women will have developed bowel cancer by the time they reach 70.

You have an omentum. An omentum is a wonderful organ that lives in your belly where it hangs like an apron of tissue. It sweeps your belly constantly, looking for problems. If there is an infection, or something even worse, your omentum sweeps in and wraps itself around the mess until it can be ﬁxed.

Jacques Marescaux is a French doctor of international renown. He is believed to be the ﬁrst in the world to operate a person without leaving a scar, removing the gallbladder of a patient older than 30 years without making incision of the skin and through a natural oriﬁce . He is the head of digestive and endocrine surgery University Hospitals of Strasbourg and the founding director of the IRCAD and the EITS.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

PIONEERS

health FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012 STUDY

WINTER BLUES

Kind tweens are happier

ULTRAVIOLET light therapy for winter blues Winter blues or winter depression is a seasonal affective disorder that millions of people experience, spending a gloomy winter.

WASHINGTON: Researchers have invented a light therapy that may help you combat winter blues. A Swedish company is working to provide light 'boxes' in the country to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD during the dark winter. The company has already installed ultraviolet lights at 30 bus stops to combat the effects of SAD, 'ABC News' reported. The standard treatment for SAD is 30 minutes of 10,000-lux, diffused, white fluorescent light, used early in the morning. About half the patients are helped quickly - and when treatment is tailored to a person's individual wake-sleep cycle, remission can climb to 80 per cent, Michael Terman, director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University and a leader in the field said.

"We wanted to celebrate the fact that all our electricity comes from green sources and we wanted to do this in a way that contributed to the citizens in one way or another," said Umea Energi marketing chief Anna Norrgard. SAD affects 62 million Americans, according to Terman. About 5 per cent of the population experiences the most severe symptoms of SAD-depression and hopelessness-while another 15 per cent have the so-called " winter blues" or "winter doldrums". The vast majority never fall into full depression, according to Terman, but "plod through winters with slowness and gloominess that takes effort to hide from others". Two decades ago, the National Institute of Mental Health identified SAD as a legitimate disorder. Since then, the treatment of choice has been light therapy. PTI

WASHINGTON: Nine to twelve-year-olds who perform kind acts are happier and find greater acceptance in their peer groups, according to researchers from the University of California, Riverside. Researchers randomly assigned over 400 students aged 9-12 to two groups: One group performed 'acts of kindness' and the other kept track of pleasant places they visited each week. Examples of kind acts include descriptions like "gave someone some of my lunch" or "gave my mom a hug when she was stressed by her job", and places visited included the baseball diamond, shopping center or a grandparent's house. Children were asked to report on their levels of happiness after 4 weeks. To assess peer acceptance, students were given a list of classmates and asked to circle those they would like to work with for school activities. Researchers found that the group that had performed kind acts fared significantly better. "Increasing peer acceptance is a critical goal related to a variety of important academic and social outcomes, including reduced likelihood of being bullied," researchers said. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. PTI

RESEARCH

Asparagus may prevent a hangover

SEOUL: Asparagus, a common vegetable, may alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins, researchers claim. Amino acids and minerals found in asparagus may prevent a hangover, according to researchers at the Institute of Medical Science and Jeju National University in South Korea.

They analysed the components of young asparagus shoots and leaves to compare their biochemical effects on human and rat liver cells. "The amino acid and mineral contents were found to be much higher in the leaves than the shoots," said lead researcher BY Kim. Chronic alcohol use causes oxidative stress on the

liver as well as unpleasant physical effects associated with a hangover. "Cellular toxicities were significantly alleviated in response to treatment with the extracts of asparagus leaves and shoots," Kim said in a statement. "These results provide evidence of how the biological functions of asparagus can help

alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells," Kim added. Asparagus officinalis is widely consumed worldwide and has long been used as an herbal medicine due to its anticancer effects. It also has antifungal, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. The study was published in the Journal of Food Science. PTI

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Entertainment CINE BYTES

GJG’s first look launched

he first look of Nithin, Nithya T Menen starrer Gunde Jaari A Gallanthayindhe was launched recently in Hyderabad. Nikitha Reddy is producing the film and Vijay Kumar Konda is directing this romantic entertainer. Isha Talwar will be seen in an important role in this romantic entertainer. Anup Rubens has composed the music and I Andrew is the cinematographer.

ce cinematographer Ravi K Chandran is making his directorial debut with a bilingual film titled Bari. Jiiva and Thulasi Nair are playing the lead roles, while Srihari and Thanikella Bharani are playing important roles in the Telugu version. The film is currently being shot near Golconda, Hyderabad.

FRIDAY CHARTS

KAK, GENIUS

to slug it out at the box office

he final weekend of the year is here and we have two new films slugging it out at the box-office today. Sharvanand, Priya Anand starrer Ko Antey Koti and popular anchor turned director Omkar’s Genius are slated for release across the state this weekend. The producers of both the films have been doing everything they can to grab the eyeballs before the onslaught of big budget films like Naayak and Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu begins at the box office early next month.

Ram Charan is not injured

Jiiva, Thulasi’s film titled Bari

Ko Antey Koti is said to be the story of an orphan named Vamshi who believes in living his life by hook or crook. Directed by Anish Kuruvilla, the film is being touted as a crime comedy and most part of the film has been shot in Hyderabad and Rajahmundry. Already, the songs, composed by Shakti Kanth, have become popular and the film’s visuals have got people talking. Erukulla Rakesh and Naveen Yadav are the cinematographers of the film. On the other hand, Genius starring Havish and Sanoosha is making

waves already. Chinni Krishna, who has written the script, has claimed that this is one of the films he has ever written and also stated that the film’s screenplay is one of the best in recent times. Meanwhile, the film’s producer Dasari Kiran has gone step ahead and said, “Apart from director Shankar, no one could have pulled off a film with Genius, but Omkar has done it with great style.” The film is being released in almost 300 theatres across the state tomorrow and it has been made with a budget of almost `12 crore.

ontrary to the rumours that Ram Charan has injured his nose while shooting for Naayak recently, the actor is said to be hale and healthy. Currently, he is dubbing for Naayak which is slated for release on January 9. He’ll soon join the sets of Vamshi Paidipally’s Yevadu.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

fashion

KARDASHIAN KOLLECTION IF YOU’RE a fan of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, you’ll like their new fashion collaboration with Dorothy Perkins. With British brand Dorothy Perkins being the exclusive retail partner for the Kollection, the line strongly features the sisters’ fondness for leopard print, shiny sequins and of course, figure-enhancing pieces!

Raf Simons leaves Jil Sander

af Simons after giving accolade worthy collections at Jil Sander label announced in February he would be leaving the brand. The king of minimal was a great fit at Jil Sander who’s own sensibility was very similar to Raf’s. Jil Sander replaced Simons with an unprecedented re-hire of its founder Jil Sander to take over the reigns again. Raf Simons was later announced as the high profile successor to the French couture LVMH brand Christian Dior Couture and ready to wear.

Nicholas Ghesquiere leaves Balenciaga

nother departure from a high profile job was of designer Nicolas Ghesquiere from the French label Balenciaga. Ghesquiere had been the creative director at Balenciaga since 1997 and was touted to be fashion’s biggest talents. Ghesquire was credited to reinvent the Balenciaga style made popular for its founder Christobal Balenciage with a futuristic touch. Ghesquiere’s future is unknown still but he has hinted in the media to start his own label soon.

A year in As the year-end approaches, we take a look at the newsmakers of the fashion world.

Manish Arora leaves Paco Rabanne

fter only two seasons as the Artistic Director at French house Paco Rabanne, Manish Arora announced his departure. His first collection for the brand had injected media attention and even persuaded Lady Gaga to wear this collection for the 2011 MTV European Music Awards. Though some argued that Manish’s designs caused media attention but not enough retail sales, the cause of his sudden departure is a mystery. Nonetheless, it was a landmark achievement for an Indian designer to make news while heading a recognised European label.

Choupette

houpette is designer Karl Lagerfeld’s cat. A cat made the list because it got adopted by Karl Lagerfeld and got introduced to the world in a tactful way like no other cat has been. Karl Lagerfeld who has no children of his own surprised us by showing extremely caring and loving behaviour towards Choupette. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar he said “She goes in the kitchen and sits in front of the food. She doesn’t like to eat on the floor, so I have to put the food on the table. Her dishes are by Goyard. She has one for water, one for her little croquette, and one for her pâté. You have to serve everything, and she makes a choice.” Hinting at the princess like treatment offered to the pet. Choupette also has 24 hours medical attention, two maids who maintain a diary at all times for the cat so that Karl could keep tabs on his beloved feline. Choupette today is much talked about and even has a twitter account dedicated under ‘@ChoupettesDiary”.

22&23

DIGITAL FASHION BURBERRY IS interacting directly with consumers in the digital sphere too, launching projects like artofthetrench.com. The website invites users to upload pictures of themselves wearing BURBERRY trench coats.

Emma Stone

Elle Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen

012 marked as an important year for the queen as it was the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A multinational celebration throughout 2012 marked the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries upon the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952. The queen managed to position herself on the fashion list because of anticipating and delivering to the high expectations of the people from her wardrobe. What’s more a book Dressing The Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe, was also published this year, containing every little detail about Queen Elizabeth II’s fashion.

oung beauty Emma Stone didn’t just win the film critics’ hearts this year. The funny girl starred in the summer blockbuster Spiderman this year and made memorable red carpet appearances while promoting the film world over. Her fashion choices are as much to credit her for this likeness as her vivacious personality. She is a rare combination of comical, sexy and girl-next-door look, which the industry hadn’t seen for some time now. While she is seen in jeans and simple blouse off duty, she manages to pull off couture gowns and dresses in vivacious tones on the red carpet. Her penchant to carry of anything and not taking fashion too seriously has got her pleasant attention in the fashion circles.

ashion’s new tinsel town stars are also celebrity siblings. 14 years old Elle Fanning is the younger sister of actor Dakota Fanning and won the hearts of the audience because of her brilliant acting and distinct look. Dakota’s fashion choices do not go unnoticed on and off the red carpet and is a darling of American young designers Rodarte. Another sibling to have made her mark is Elizabeth Olsen, the Olsen twins’ younger sister. Elizabeth’s rise in fashion was credited to the refined taste similar to her sisters’ but at a much younger age. She wears indie labels but in a mature more lady like manner giving her a distinct look about herself.

fashion Alexander Wang joins Balenciaga

he unexpected fashion role model was crowned to Michelle Obama in Obama’s first term in the office. This year Obama won the second term and Michele fan base grew even more. Michelle’s stance on fashion is very distinct and approachable. She shops the brands available to the public in malls and online for important occasions while managing to look dressed up. She also wears American designer especially the young ones who could use a global ambassador like her to promote their business.

Alexander Wang creation

Michelle Obama for four more years

young American designer to head a French brand is something that doesn’t go unnoticed. After iconic designer Nicolas Ghesquiere left his place in Balenciaga after more than ten years, his succession was anticipated by the whole fashion world. Young designer Alexander Wang was appointed at the creative director of the PPR owned brand Balenciaga in early December 2012. Wang had triumphed the youth with his own label based out of New York by giving designs that were high fashion and effortless.

The writer is a fashion blogger (www.lovestruckcow.blo gspot.com) who attempts to bridge the gap between creator and consumer. As a fashion writer, she hopes to promote Indian fashion among Indians and on a global level too.

feedback@postnoon.com

SURABHI CHAUHAN

Queen Elizabeth II

YSL becomes Saint Laurent

tefano Pilati exits the French fashion house and Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane is hired in his place. The great fashion shuffle of 2012 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the hire of Hedi Slimane. Hedi hire will be remembered in the history as he managed to changed the logo and name of the brand from ‘YSL’ to ‘Saint Laurent’. The new shops bear his signature style of stark black gloss and shine. Hedi who also gained popularity because of his black and white photographs of the young and restless was seen in the advertisements of the newly names Saint Laurent brand. While Stefano also made a distinct look for the brand during his reign, such major changes came as a shock for the public to happen to such an iconic French brand.

Entertainment FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

Chai Time

Play & Win

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

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

QUICK CROSSWORD enced by the number. Within each collection of cells — called a run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once.Let’s have an example to explain this concept more clearly: In the image above, which shows a section of a kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. This means that the total of the three cells underneath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could be the answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so

on... So, how do you work out the actual combination? Well, this is done through elimination and cross-referencing. For instance, as you work out the answers for other kakuro clues, this will naturally limit the valid combinations, and hence the answer for this particular run. Note the second cell in row two — it contains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers to the vertical run underneath the number 30 and the 11 refers to the two cells to the right, horizontally, of the number 11.

Play & Win

voucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally

ACROSS

SCRIBBLING PAD

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

SUDOKU

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

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

1 Producer of sweat and tears, but not blood 6 Turn in many a kids’ game 10 First lady before Mamie 14 Another way to spell 52-Down 15 Introduction to art? 16 Need a scratch 17 Like an inmate’s dislocated shoulder? 19 Hawaiian shindig 20 ‘___ you for real?’ 21 Small brook 22 Speak evil of 24 Frog-to-be 26 Grand piano trio 27 Superlative suffix 28 Penitentiary, in slang 32 High in IQ 35 ‘Mad ___’ (AMC series) 36 Attach, as postage 37 Actress Celeste 38 Classification or type 39 Golfer’s alert 40 They’re not pro 42 Negative responses 43 First, second, third and home 44 Slammer or pokey

46 ‘ ___ the ramparts ...’ 47 Burn slightly 48 Watch closely 52 Keep from forgetting 55 ‘We want ___!’ (chant from the bleachers) 56 Poetically always 57 Many a Saudi 58 Con’s writing implement? 61 Routinely filed item 62 Jacob’s first wife 63 Brings up 64 ___ of Capri 65 Way-back-when time 66 Speak, to Shakespeare

DOWN 1 Old four-pence coin 2 One of the Bushes 3 Chipped in to get a hand 4 Prefix meaning ‘new’ 5 Microwave setting 6 Took illegally 7 Punxsutawney groundhog 8 Tiny charged particle 9 Eggnog flavorer 10 Cartes du jour 11 Needle and thimble case

12 Heroin, slangily 13 Deliberately avoid 18 Abruptly dump, as a lover 23 Turkish general 25 Allowable 26 Sausage servings 28 Where to look out? 29 Sci-fi ships 30 Father, as a mudder 31 Husband and wife no more 32 Ayatollah’s predecessor 33 It’s less than stereo 34 Chorus girl 35 15-year-old, legally 41 Witnessed 43 Rouses oneself 45 Persistent, irritating critic 46 Life sentences? 48 ‘___ humanity’ 49 Make good on a loan 50 Makes a sharp turn 51 Young’s partner in accounting 52 Rajah’s wife 53 They make history 54 Drop in a letter box 55 Fruit-tree spray 59 Abbr. in help-wanted ads 60 Small vegetable

Chai Time FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 29-12-2012

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You will discuss with family members regarding renovation of the house. Peaceful atmosphere will prevail at home. Plan the work properly. Politicians will be in the forefront in public meetings and any agitations announced by party.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Real estate deals will end successfully. You will look cheerful. Though income will be steady, more expenses will upset you. Stomach pain, throat infection likely. Take care of health. You might doubt someone who behaves differently with you.

Attend to important personal works on your own. Avoid delaying payment of govt related payments like taxes etc, without any delay, else you might face penal action. Father's health may be a cause for concern. Politicians beware.

Health problems will be over. You will put in your best efforts to solve old problems. Some of you will get an opportunity to go abroad and formalities like visa also will be easily obtained. Politicians are advised not to criticise partymen.

Those planning to marry will get a good match and marriage will take place without hurdles. Vehicle owners don't park in no parking area. Employees will face more work, and increase in expenses. Spouse will have health problem.

Your administrative capacity will increase and your decisions will be favoured in most issues by family. Amounts due to you will come by after a long delay. VIP friends will get introduced. Marriage talks will end favourably.

House construction held up, will resume. Relationship with relatives will be more cordial. Govt sops likey to be received. Court verdict will be in your favour. Avoid anger and arguments. Politicians focus on development of constituency.

Bank loan applied will get sanctioned. You will perform daughter's marriage in a grand manner. Son will be awarded with a new and prosperous job opportunity. Employees will have increased work load and blames likely; be alert.

Some people will interfere in your family affairs and try to create confusion. Keep such people at bay. Inflow of money will be satisafctory. You will select a suitable bride for your son and perform the marriage in a grand manner.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Two of Wands – This is the waiting period. Don’t get carried away by the desire to get up and do something right away for your situation to change. Wait!

LEO:

The Hermit – You need to be alone and this is not making you depressed. You’re happy in your own company and in search of answers to deeper questions.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

The World – There is some fear that you cannot do this anymore. Your own inhibitions may be holding you back. Don’t think. Just jump in and do what’s needed.

SAGITTARIUS:

The High Priest –Use your intuition to guide you into making decisions. It may be a difficult decision time. But listen to your heart and it sorts out many troubles.

TAURUS:

Ace of Pentacles – Take stock of your finances and plan for the future. There are times when you feel cheated. Communicate clearly with your tax consultant.

CANCER:

Ace of Wands – You’re in a creative phase where you get ideas from the unlikeliest of places. Jot them all down in a notebook and refer to them later.

VIRGO:

Five of Pentacles – Avoid conflict and confrontation. A face-off in the professional setup leaves you with many doubts about your own ability to manage a team.

SCORPIO:

The Fool – When replying to email or a seemingly inane comment online, think twice before you hit the ‘Enter’ button. You don’t want to step on toes.

CAPRICORN:

Page of Wands – Are you over-spending? Review your monthly budget and take stock of your finances. It’s needed now more than ever.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Pisces – The Star – It may seem a bit gloomy now but it’ll get better. Think of ways to improve the mood of family members, who may be down and out.

NUMBER GAME

– You’re in the mood to live a lavish lifestyle — splurging on diamonds, big ticket items that show off to the world that you’ve arrived.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Seven of Cups

POOCH CAFE

Wedding bell to ring for some who are anxious about the same.Close relatives visiting will make you and the family cheerful. Avoid any misunderstanding with the spouse. Breathing trouble and sprain likely, take care.

for 29-12-2012

Ten of Wands – You’re tired and need a break. Plan a weekend party or get into planning an event that will lift your spirits and make you feel energetic again.

NON SEQUITUR

You will face and win all the challenges that come your way. You will also gain upperhand in debates. Some will undertake pilgrimmage. Wanderings will be more and inevitable. Politicians will get the help of opposition partymen.

SUDUKO

Avoid entrusting important work to others to avoid any disappointment. You will speak practically which will attract everyone. You will renovate your house and build an annex. Income will increase and financial position will be very strong.

Boggle HAIL MIST RAIN SNOW SLEET Vol: 2, No 162 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

Entertainment FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Shah Rukh makes me feel specialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

eepika Padukone, who made a dream debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 2007 movie Om Shanti Om, reunites with the superstar on screen for Chennai Express and says the two are closer now. "I feel Shah Rukh is still the same. He is as talented as he was (then). Now I have got even closer to him than before. He always makes me feel special," Deepika says. IANS

Imran follows the footsteps of uncle Aamir

ctor Imran Khan is pasting posters of his new film Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola on taxis. "Twenty four years ago Aamir uncle pasted the posters of his film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak," the 29-year-old said. IANS

BRINGING BACK TO LIFE

HONOUR TO DO BIOPIC ON SMITA PATIL:

Chitrangda Singh A

ctress Chitrangda Singh, who many believe resembles Smita Patil, says it would be an honour to do a biopic on the late actress. "I would love to do a biopic. They work very well these days," Chitrangda said. Asked if she would be open to one on Smita Patil, she said: "I think it will be a big honour to play Smita in reel life. I would love to do a biopic on Smita Patil. I have never given it a thought, but now I feel it would be great to do so." Smita Patil was known for her work in films like Bhumika, Shakti and Arth. The actress died in 1986 following childbirth complications. She was 31. Chitrangda says she considers it a compliment when people compare her with Smita Patil. "It is an added advantage for me. Many feel that my face resembles hers. It feels really great when people are reminded of a person, who is not there, through me," she said. IANS

Adnan Sami's new album to be launched in January

inger Adnan Sami, who became famous for non-film songs like Bheegi bhegi raaton mein and Kabhi to nazar milao, will be back with another album next year. "I am very excited because first half of January, 2013 my new album will release titled Press Play," he said. IANS

Entertainment FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

THIRD TIME LUCKY

alk about a Titanic secret. Kate Winslet has tied the knot with Richard Branson’s nephew, Ned Rocknroll. “I can confirm that Kate Winslet married Ned Rock’nRoll in NY earlier this month in a private ceremony attended by her two children and a very few friends and family,” the rep says. “The couple had been engaged since the summer.” According to British media reports, Leonardo DiCaprio gave away the bride in a ceremony so secret that the bride and groom’s parents didn’t know about it. The Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress, 37, has been dating Rocknroll, 34, (his legal name) since fall of 2011. In August 2011, she and Rocknroll were on the same Caribbean island owned by Branson when a fire broke out and Winslet rescued Branson’s 90-year-old mother. Winslet previously was married to Sam Mendes and Jim Threapleton.

KATE WINSLET

marries in secret

CINE BYTES Jennifer Lopez extortion suit dismissed

ennifer Lopez isn’t feeling so good after this ruling. A California judge has dismissed a $20 million extortion countersuit the singeractress filed against her former driver Hakob Manoukian who sued her last spring for wrongful termination claiming his contract was breached.

Demi shocked ex filed divorce papers

Natalie Portman, Forbes’ most bankable

n a list composed mostly of tentpole franchise stars, emi Moore was reportedly shocked Portman leads the pack due to when Ashton Kutcher ﬁnally ﬁled her Oscar-winning turn in the divorce papers last week — more than a indie Black Swan. Kristen Stewart year after the couple split. The negotiations got too bogged down and came in a close second because of Kutcher — who is the highest paid TV Twilight movies that she starred actor, pulling in $24 million last year for in. The Oscar-winning actress his role on Two And A Half Men — tops Forbes’ list of Hollywood’s Best Actors for the Buck. couldn’t wait any longer.

sports

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL

ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Williams looks to dominate American superstar Serena Williams has played down concerns about her surgery as she looks to continue her dominance of the women’s game.

ANDREW DENT Agence France-Presse BRISBANE: American superstar Serena Williams (in pic) has played down concerns about recent foot surgery as she looks to continue her dominance of the women’s game at next week’s Brisbane International. The opening tournament of the Australian summer features eight of the world’s top 10 women, with reigning US Open champion Andy Murray headlining the men’s draw. Williams won seven titles in 2012, including Wimbledon, the US Open,

the WTA Championship and the Olympics, and finished the year ranked number three in the world. She goes into Sunday’s Brisbane

International as the firm favourite despite the presence of the two women ranked above her, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Williams arrived in Brisbane on Friday and immediately played down any worries over the minor foot surgery which forced her to withdraw from an exhibition match in Thailand this week. “It feels great to be back in Brisbane,” Williams said. “The foot is better. It is really good — it’s come through fine.” Sharapova is also battling injury worries and was forced to pull out of an exhibition in South Korea this week with neck pain.

Pakistan defeat India

DOHA: India ended the year on a sordid note as they failed to defend their title, losing 4-5 to arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-soring final of the second Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Thursday. A young Indian outfit put up a brave fight before surrendering before their much-experienced opponents, whom they had defeated 2-1 in the round robin stages of the tournament. It was a neck-and-neck battle between the two sub-continent hockey giants as both the teams scored goals at will before Pakistan used their experience to good effect to emerge as the winners. By virtue of this win, Pakistan have avenged upon their loss at the hands of India in the title clash of the inaugural edition of the event last year in Ordos, China. Muhammad Waqas and Mohammad Imran scored a brace each for Pakistan while Shafqat Rasool sounded the board once. PTI

HYDERABAD TRACK WORK

Kallu Mama, Vijays Triumph impress

HYDERABAD: Kallu Mama, Vijays Triumph, Vijays Best, Vijaykeerti, Vijays Champ and Jabel Queen impressed when the horses were excercised here this morning. Euphonic (rb) 1-3, 600/46 Easy. Arabian Dancer (N.Rawal) Golden Flash (Sai Kumar) 58.5, 600/42.5 They finished together. Camacho Speed (rb) Royal Glory (rb) 1-0, 600/43.5 They moved freely. Anangalekha (rb) 1-3, 600/47 Easy. Vijaykeerti (Togrollu) 55, 600/42 Retains form. Emerald Reef (K.Alam) 58, 600/44 Moved well. Alexander Square (rb) 1-2, 600/46 Easy. Walnut Creek (Kuldeep Singh) Scubarioo (rb) 58.5, 600/42 They finished together. White Wind (Nitin Singh) 57.5, 600/44 Easy. Max Baby (rb) 59 600/43 Moved freely. Illustrator (rb) 1-

0.5, 600/45 Easy. Aegis (Togrollu) 57, 600/41.5 Pleased. Elora (rb) Shear Luck (app) 11.5, 600/46 They moved together. Golden Arrow (Joshi) 56, 600/41 Pleased. Fairy Emperor (M.Mark) Emerald Touch (rb) 56.5, 600/42.5 Former finished a length in front. Chocolate Soldier (Henrique) Roma Rouge (app) 58.5, 600/42 Former finished well in front. Commanding Heights (app) 57.5, 600/44 Easy. Classic Wish (N.Rawal) Midnight Beauty (Sai Vamshi) 56.5, 600/42 They moved together. Young Soldier (Togrollu) 56, 600/42 Speedy. Graceland (rb) Globe Trotter (app) 1-0, 600/44 Former finished in front. Trustful (Anil) Colorful Trip (Deep Shanker) 11, 600/45 They moved together. Striking Gold (app) Lovely

Angel (M.Mark) 1-0, 600/43.5 They moved freely. Shimmering Ice (Anil) So Be It (rb) 58.5, 600/42 Former finished a length in front. Star Prospect (N.Rawal) Indian Epic (Sai Vamshi) 58, 600/41.5 Former finished in front. The Leader (rb) 57, 600/42 Moved well. Green Bay (M.Mark) 57, 600/41 Moved attractively. Anares (rb) 1-1.5, 600/45 Easy. Vijays Champ (Joshi) 52, 600/38 Excelled. Ashwa Shakti (Togrollu) 56, 600/42 Pleased. Speed Striker (rb) Aventus (K.Alam) 58, 600/44 Former finished in front. All Pepper (Kiran Naidu) 55, 600/41 Moved well. Flip Side (Deep Shanker) Deal Maker (Anil) 1-2.5, 600/47 They moved together. Jabel Queen (Joshi) 56, 600/42 Slightly pushed.

Vijays Best (app) Kallu Mama (Joshi) 1-9, 800/55.5, 600/42 Former finished 2 lengths in front. Vijays Triumph (Joshi) 112, 800/56, 600/42 Moved well. Equalizer (Chary) 1-15, 800/58.5, 600/43.5 Moved freely. Eloquence (rb) 1-18, 800/1-2.5, 600/47 Easy. Flying Spur (Chary) 1-12.5, 800/56, 600/42.5 Moved well. Aerosmith (N.Rawal) 1-11, 800/56, 600/41 In rousing form.

SAND TRACK 1200 METRES:

Decathlon (Joshi) 1-32, 1000/112.5, 800/56.5, 600/42 Pleased. Nano Belle (Henrique) 1-30, 1000/1-15, 800/57.5, 600/43 Slightly pushed. Snow Fall (Chary) 1-30, 1000/1-15, 800/56.5, 600/42 Pushed in the last part.

MONSOON OUTER RACE GRASS 1400 METRES: Onti Onti Onti (app) 1-36, 1200/1-20, 1000/1-5, 800/51, 600/39 Pleased.

GATE PRACTICE 1000 METRES: (MONSOON OUTER RACE GRASS): Robust (P.Venkat) Policy Maker (Harinder Singh) Wendy Girl (Deep Shanker) Mystical Knight (Joshi) 1-4.5, 800/50.5, 600/37.5 They jumped out well and Robust finished distance in front and the rest were very easy. Caladium (app) Energetic Lass (Nitin Singh) Airborne Magic (Henrique) 1-2, 800/48, 600/35 They took a good jump and Caladium finished well in front.

LOOKING FORWARD

LEAGUE CRICKET

Brother John Of God HCA U-14

Quarters (Round 3) Royal High School 107 (Md Aqueel Ahmed 39, Siddarth Reddy 3/17) lost to Karimnagar 109/5 (Akash 30, MAR Arshad 3/26). Khammam 45 (Syed Hashim 6/24, K.S. Sam Sushanth 4/16) lost to Mahboobnagar 46/2. All Saints High School 68 (Vamshi Srivastav 34 n.o., V. Abhinav Kumar 6/18, Shravan 3/14) lost to Cal Public School 72/3 (N Surya Teja 32 n.o.). St Andrews High School 239/4 (Mohul Bhowmick 66, Sohail 114 n.o., Sanketh 32) bt St Patricks High School 108 (Arun Kumar 34 n.o., Alankrit 4/37, Tapsi 3/5). St Marks Boys Town 214/6 (Abdul Khaled Bin Adil Al Qureshi 129 n.o., Shiva Datta 3/51) bt St Peters High School 65 (Yousuf Zubaidi 3/19, Abood Baffana 5/13). Gowtham Model School 368/5 (A.

SAND TRACK 1000 METRES:

Varun Goud 108 n.o., T Bharathwaj 100, B. Revanth 63, Sagar Chaurasia 36 n.o.) bt HPS B 121 (M Samith Reddy 3/23). St Joseph Public School 287/9 (Santosh Goud 103, Durgesh 68, Ashish Srivastav 4/63 bt Mahesh Vidya Bhavan 120 (Duresh 3/16 ). A Division one-day Col K Acrylic 216/8 (Md Kaleemuddin 32, Zeeshan 32, Abdul Yousuf 42, Affan Azam 53, Chaitanya 3/62) lost to CK Blues 219/6 (Vijay Saradhi 75, Udaya Kiran 36 n.o., Md Kaleemuddin 3/66). Future Stars 101 (Md Ibrahim 6/44) lost to Youngmasters 102/6 (Abbas Baig 30, Rajnikanth 4/36). AVCC 182/8 (Bharadwaj 36, Revanth 41, Ganesh 4/44) lost to Shalimar 183/7 (Jai Nag 42, Rohit Reddy 89).

Djoker targets Grand Slams DAVE JAMES Agence France-Presse PARIS: Novak Djokovic (in pic) believes he can become only the third man in history to hold all four majors at the same time in 2013 having come so agonisingly close last season. The world number one missed out on joining Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) as just the third man to simultaneously possess the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Having finished number

one in the world for the second successive season, the 26-year-old Serb goes into the new campaign, which gets underway officially next week, with his confidence high. “I won the last big tournament of the year in London (the ATP World Tour Finals) and I am hop-

ing that I can continue playing well,” said Djokovic. “So my ambitions are always high. I want to win every Grand Slam that I play.” The five-time major winner added: “Roland Garros is always at the top of my priority list and ambitions. It’s the only slam I haven’t won. I played in the final, which is a step further than ever before.” Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2012, was runner-up to Nadal at the French while also losing a five-set US Open final to Andy Murray. He was a semi-final loser to Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

sports

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

SRI LANKA’S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

Battered Sri Lanka succumb to Oz

Australia battered and humiliated Sri Lanka by an innings and 201 runs to win the series in the second Melbourne Test midway through the third day. MELBOURNE: Australia battered and humiliated Sri Lanka by an innings and 201 runs to win the series in the second Melbourne Test midway through the third day on Friday. Sri Lanka, trailing by 304 runs on the first innings, surrendered for just 103 for seven off 24.2 overs with Kumar Sangakkara retiring hurt and Prasanna Jayawardene and Chanaka Welegedara unable to bat because of injuries. Mitchell Johnson was the dominant player with six wickets and an unbeaten 92 to be named man-of-the-match. Sri Lanka somehow have to regroup amid their casualty ward of injured players for the third and final dead rubber Test starting in Sydney next Thursday. Their remote hopes went out the door when star batsman Sangakkara retired on 27 after he was struck on the glove by a menacing lifter from Johnson. Sangakkara immediately sought treatment from the

Australia’s Mitchell Johnson (L) celebrates with Matthew Wade (R) after dismissing Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan on the third day of the second cricket Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. AFP/WILLIAM WEST

physio and left the ground with noticeable swelling around his left index finger, indicating a possible fracture. He was the second Sri

Lankan player to suffer a hand injury in the Boxing Day Test with wicketkeeper Jayawardene receiving a hairline thumb fracture when also struck by Johnson

MUBADALA WORLD TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Tipsarevic cruises past Murray

Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic returns the ball to Britain’s Andy Murray during their Mubadala World Tennis Championship match on Thursday. AFP/MARWAN NAAMANI

ABU DHABI: Olympic Games and US Open champion Andy Murray saw his Mubadala World Tennis Championship campaign last just 84 minutes on Thursday when he slumped to a 63, 6-4 defeat to Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic, the world number nine, will now face Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, who replaced Rafael Nadal in the three-day exhibition tournament, in Friday’s semi-finals.

“I hit the ball pretty well, it was just the execution of some of my shots wasn’t perfect, but that’s pretty normal when you have not played a match for a while,” said world number three Murray. Tipsarevic added: “I am happy with my game. I know it is an exhibition game but to play a Grand Slam champion and an Olympic Games gold medal winner and win, I am just delighted. AFP

NBA

Lakers’ Howard fined $35,000

NEW YORK: Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard has been fined $35,000 for a flagrant foul against Kenneth Faried of Denver, the NBA said Thursday. Howard was ejected in the third quarter of the Lakers’ loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday after making contact with the head of a driving Faried. Howard clearly felt the ejec-

tion was an over-reaction. “It was a hard foul, that’s all I know,” Howard said after the game. “I’ve been fouled harder than that before and nobody ever got kicked out of the game for it, but I get penalized for fouling people hard.” NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson announced the fine in a statement saying Howard “made excessive contact with

Faried above the shoulders”. Howard avoided a suspension, good news for a Lakers team that revealed on Thursday that Spain’s Pau Gasol has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The team said Gasol, who recently missed eight games with tendinitis in his knees, will play despite the often painful inflammatory condition. AFP

in the first innings. With Chanaka Welegedara already ruled out of further involvement in the Test with a hamstring injury, the Sri Lankan second innings ended at seven wickets down to complete a wretched Test for the tourists. Facing a 304-run innings deficit after the Australians were dismissed for 460 with Johnson left stranded on 92, Sri Lanka virtually hoisted the white flag with the loss of four wickets in the first six overs. Sangakkara was the last remaining hope along with vicecaptain Angelo Mathews at lunch. But it all unravelled in the middle session with Sangakkara’s unfortunate exit and Mathews chopping the firebreathing Johnson on to his stumps for 35. Dhammika Prasad clubbed Nathan Lyon for successive sixes and went after a third before miscuing up in the air for an easy catch to Phil Hughes for 17. AFP

Scoreboard Sri Lanka 1st Innings 156 Australia 1st Innings (440/8 overnight) M. Johnson not out 92 Lyon c Chandimal (sub) b Mathews 1 J. Bird b Eranga 0 Extras: (b9, lb5, w6, nb2) 22 Total: (all out; 134.4 overs) 460 Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2-117, 3-117, 4311, 5-313, 6-315, 7-376, 8-434, 9-451 Bowling: Welegedara 14.4-6-38-0, Eranga 27-2-109-3, Prasad 26-2-106-3 Mathews 16-3-60-2, Herath 39-7-950, Dilshan 12-1-38-1 Sri Lanka 2nd Innings Karunaratne run out 1 T. Dilshan c Cowan b Johnson 0 K. Sangakkara retired injured 27 M. Jayawardene b Bird 0 T. Samaraweera lbw b Bird 1 A. Mathews b Johnson 35 D. Prasad c Hughes b Lyon 17 R. Herath not out 11 S. Eranga c Cowan b Siddle 0 P. Jayawardene absent hurt 0 C. Welegedara absent hurt 0 Extras: (10lb, 1nb) 11 Total: (7 wkts; 24.2 overs) 103 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-3, 4-13, 574, 6-102, 7-103 Bowling: Johnson 8-0-16-2, Bird 9-1-29-2, Siddle 5.2-0-32-1, Lyon 2-0-16-1

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Lee faces hearing for criticising NSW SYDNEY: Veteran Brett Lee faces a disciplinary hearing after criticising the New South Wales cricket administration and its chief executive David Gilbert, Cricket Australia said on Friday. Lee is in trouble over comments he made that Anthony Stuart had lost his job as New South Wales coach because he was made the scapegoat for the alleged deficiencies of Gilbert and the Cricket NSW hierarchy. “I think the blame for a lot of things has been unfairly dumped on Anthony Stuart,” Lee, told the Sydney Morning Herald last week. “It should have been at the top, Dave Gilbert. He should’ve been made to go in my opinion. “Cricket NSW is all about leadership, and while that comes from the coach, it comes from the top, too, and I believe for the last five or six years NSW has seriously dropped the ball.” Cricket Australia (CA) said the former Test fast bowler, who still plays in the

domestic Big Bash League, was reported by Cricket NSW for allegedly breaching the CA code of behaviour. Under the code, players must not bring the game into disrepute or engage in behaviour harmful to the interests of cricket. Lee on Friday said he stood by his comments. “What I said I meant. I did it in the best interests of NSW cricket. There’s a lot of people who have thought it but didn’t want to say it so I took the decision that I should stand up,” he said. AFP

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2012

sports

FEELING FIT, KEEN TO PLAY, SAYS ERIC ABIDAL

Barcelona’s Eric Abidal says he feels fit and is keen to play again, eight months after he underwent a liver transplant. "I feel good," he said. "The truth is that it's been a long time since they operated on me. It has been eight months and I have fought a lot and I carry on fighting," he added.

PREMIER LEAGUE

‘Don’t dwell on loss’

Joe Hart has told his Manchester City team-mates to forget about their defeat to Sunderland and focus on getting their ambitions back on track. ALEC KENNEDY Agence France-Presse NORWICH, UNITED KINGDOM: Joe Hart (L in pic) has told his Manchester City team-mates to forget about their defeat to Sunderland and focus on getting their title ambitions back on track at Norwich on Saturday. The Premier League champions trail seven points behind leaders Manchester United after the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Wednesday and now face a tricky trip to take on giant-killers Norwich at Carrow Road. Norwich have already beaten Arsenal and Manchester United this season and another surprise win could deal a hammer blow to City’s title hopes. But England goalkeeper Hart insists it is still possible to win the title, as City clawed back a similar lead last term and eventually overhauled United on the final day of the season. “We’ve had leads, United have had the lead, it’s to-ing and fro-ing at the moment,” he said. “We’re a team of winners, it’s hard and it hurts but we’ve got to move on. It is hard to lead and it is hard to chase too. We’ve clawed points back before, we proved it at the end of last year. We’ve just got to believe. We are halfway through the

LONDON: Santi Cazorla has warned Arsenal’s rivals that his midfield partnership with Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere is developing rapidly, ahead of Saturday’s home

Javier hopes for United reward CHRIS MCKENNA Agence France-Presse MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM: Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez is hoping his goal-scoring heroics in mid-week will earn him a place in Alex Ferguson’s side for

Javier Hernandez is hoping his goalscoring heroics in mid-week will earn him a place in Alex Ferguson’s side for the match against West Bromwich Albion.

season and there is still a very long way to go to the end. We have to go into the next game and give it our best as always.” “You will get setbacks over the season but you have to overcome them and get on with the next match, which we will do.

“It’s a very long campaign and there are still a lot of matches and a lot of points to be played for.” Hart shrugged off criticism after the Sunderland defeat that City have taken their foot off the pedal this season, but admits it is tougher as champions.

‘Arsenal artisans will only improve’

ED AARONS Agence France-Presse

game with Newcastle United. The Gunners have strung together three successive Premier League wins, with the midfield trio starting together against West Bromwich Albion, Reading and Wigan Athletic, and contributing a total of six goals. Those results helped Arsenal

briefly climb up to third in the table, although they now find themselves in seventh place after their fixture against West Ham United on Wednesday was postponed because of a transport strike in London. But with Newcastle next to visit the Emirates Stadium, Spanish midfield star Cazorla believes the best is yet to come from his compatriot and 20-year-old Wilshere, who signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2018 earlier this month after 17 months out with injuries. “Every day that goes by, we understand each other better,” said Cazorla. “It is very easy for me to play with them. Mikel is more of a tactical player, a very important player in any side. “He always has to be well positioned, to cover the open spaces that we leave further up the field. And Jack is an amazing football player.”

Saturday’s meeting with West Bromwich Albion. He scored his sixth league goal of the campaign in just his fourth Premier League start this season to earn United three points in the dramatic 4-3 win over Newcastle United on Wednesday. Wayne Rooney will miss the home clash with West Brom and could be out for three weeks because of a knee injury, while Danny Welbeck missed the Newcastle game with illness and it is not known if he will have recovered in time. But even if Welbeck is

fit, Hernandez feels he has done enough to prove he should start alongside Robin van Persie. Hernandez said: “You can ask all the players in the world and they will tell you they want to start every game. But when you are at the biggest club in the world, you have competition. You have to be aware as well, there are five strikers here who want to be part of the game. The only thing I need to do is prove I am ready.” Rio Ferdinand thinks Hernandez is a threat because he never gives up.