Postnoon E-Paper for Jan 15, 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 HYDERABAD

NEW YORK VOTES FOR TOUGHER GUN LAWS

WEATHER: CLEAR; 32°C

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WHITE WILDERNESS Fiennes and Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Ranulph As As Sir As Sir Ranulph Ranulph Fiennes Fiennes and and Fiennes and trudge across his team trudge across his team his team trudge across his team trudge trudge across across an attempt to Antarctica in an attempt to Antarctica Antarctica in Antarctica in in an an attempt attempt to to an attempt to cross the in the dead cross the continent in the dead cross the continent in the dead continent cross the the continent in in the the dead dead cross of looks at of winter, Postnoon looks at of winter, Postnoon of winter, winter, Postnoon Postnoon looks looks at at of looks at the slab of ice and the majestic slab of ice and the majestic slab of ice and majestic the majestic slab slab of of ice ice and and the rock always drawn rock that has always drawn rock that has rock that that has has always always drawn drawn rock always drawn adventure-seekers. adventure-seekers. adventure-seekers. adventure-seekers.

P12

REPORT ON P16&17

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

KITE FEST STEALS LIVES OF TWO BOYS, 10 INJURED

GIRL BURGLES TO

PAY DOWRY! REPORT ON P25

Retailers are selling basic commodities at higher prices though there has been no hike in wholesale prices for the last few months.

THE

CHECK

REPORT ON P3

PRICE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

city events

NUMAISH

Numaish,the 73rd all India industrial exhibition is an ongoing event in the City. It is being held at Exhibition Ground, Mukarramjahi Road, Nampally. It will go on Up to February 15, from 4pm to 11pm. Stalls from different states will be put up.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

24°C

16°C

22°C

31°C

Clear.

Sunny. Windy at times.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 19 Max 30 Min 9 Min 19 Mostly sunny.

Partly sunny.

Chennai Max 30 Min 23

Bangalore Max 28 Min 14

Partly cloudy. Clear at night.

Clear skies.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES who has choreographed national and international performances. Where: Lalitha Kala Thoranam, Public gardens, Hyderabad When: January 27 6pm to 9:30pm Contact: 93965 55888

ART Visual Poetry Drawing and paintings by Siddhartha, Kappari Kishan & Shivanand Basavanthappa. Where: Shrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills When: Up to January 15 Contact: (040) 2354 0023

MISCELLANEOUS Big Hyper Sale HyperCITY, is having its Hyper Sale at all its stores across India. Customers can get discounts and deals across categories, including fresh produce, home & furniture, electronics, toys and apparels. Where: Inorbit mall, Madhapur When: Up to January 31

Code Red Countdown Code Red Countdown is an art collection revolving around ecology, by New York based artist Asher Jay. The theme is endangered wildlife. Where: Lalitha Kala Thoranam, Public gardens When: January 27 6pm to 9:30pm Contact: 93965 55888

DINING Makar Sankranti There’s an exquisite signature thali with sweets made of rice, jaggery, green gram and sesame on the occasion of Sankranti. Where: Dakshin, Begumpet When: January 15 Contact: (040) 2340 0132 Business Lunch A three course menu with Italian cuisine prepared by chef Matteo Gradi at Park Hyatt. Where: Tre-Forni Bar & Restaurant When: Weekdays only 12pm to 3:30pm Contact: (040) 4949 1234

Punjabi Food Festival There will be a bonfire and Punjabi delicacies like Murgh Tikka Anari, Gosht Ka Saag, Sarson Da Saag, Makki Da Roti and Doodhi Halwa will be served. Where: The Square, Hitec City When: Up to January 20 Contact: (040) 6682 4422 Foie Gras & Asparagus Taj Falaknuma Palace is offering foie gras & asparagus on the menu. Pan seared foie gras with mandarin oranges, dill brioche drizzled with truffle oil and pate de foie gras with asparagus cream mousse are some of the items on the menu. Where: Celeste, Taj Falaknuma Palace When: Up to January 20 Contact: (040) 6629 8525

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

EMULATING OUR LEADERS: Children dress up as various political leaders at the third National Convention against M ANIL KUMAR Politics of Terror Targetting Muslim Youth held at Image Garden recently.

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

Gloria Jean’s coffee Gloria Jean’s, an international coffee chain, has introduced two new flavours for this season: Creamy Christmas Chocolate and Snowy Christmas Chiller. Customers get a chance to win exotic holidays in India and Thailand. Where: Lifestyle, first floor, Begumpet and Unit No.G 49 A, Inorbit Mall, When: Up to January 15 Contact: (040) 4221 9376

SHOWS Hyderabad Lit festival As part of the Bonjour India festival, a celebration of Indo-French cultural exchange, there will be a literature festival, with panel discussion by French author Kenizé Mourad and the Hindu correspondent in France

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

Vaiju Naravane. Where: Maulana Azad University, Gachibowli, Hyderabad When: January 18-20 Contact: (040) 2770 0734 The Monsoon Oracle The Monsoon Oracle is a factual film based on ritualistic practices that take places in the country. It revolves around the rituals performed, predicting the arrival of monsoon. Where: NIFT, Madhapur When: January 25, Contact: (040) 2311 4537

The Republic Ride The biggest corporate cycling event at Hyderabad is being organized by The Atlanta Foundation on republic day. The aim is to promote educational programs for underprivileged children. Where: Gachibowli Stadium When: January 26, 6:15am onwards Contact: atlantafoundation.org

Tribute to Rajesh Khanna There will be dance performances on Rajesh Khanna’s songs to pay tribute to the superstar. The dance will be choreographed by Mahesh L Munde,

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

Shoppers Stop sale Sale up to 51 per cent off on international and Indian brands across categories at Shoppers Stop, HomeStop and Mothercare outlets with Shoppers Stop. Where: Shoppers Stop outlets When: from January 12 Contact: www.shoppersstop.com

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

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE KILLING OF SOLDIERS LEAD TO A KARGIL-LIKE SITUATION? 54%

YES (A) NO (B)

46%

Woman burgles to pay her dowry

The young woman and her fiance stole 70 tolas of gold from her neighbour so that they could get married. Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

and the two needed money to set up home. Sudheer has a small job, which is not sufficient to run

CRIME Swamy arrested on hate-speech charge

a family. The two hatched a plan to get quick rich. Jayasree, it is said, had given the house key to Vani, her next door neighbour. The key gave Vani ideas on how to raise some quick funds. The woman and her lover found piles of gold jewellery and took away 70 tolas. Afterwards, they made it look like a house-break and lodged a complaint with the Chikalguda police. Initially, Vani denied that she had any role in the burglary. However, police verified her fingerprints and other evidences and confronted her. She admitted to the crime. Sensing trouble, Sudheer gave police the slip and escaped with 50 tolas she had given him in the form of dowry.

YES

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

CRIME

Kite fest steals lives of two, injures 10 Despite warnings, people allow kids to fly kites from terraces and roads that result in heavy casualty.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

boy, who was lost in the enthralling game of flying a kite on rail tracks, was run over by a speeding train between Uppuguda and Yakutpura. Basheer Khan, 12, working in a vehicle workshop,

A 12-year-old boy had got on to the railway tracks while flying a kite and was run over by a speeding train. had got on to the track as he was busy cutting the neighbour’s kite during the kite-flying festival on Monday. By the time he noticed the train, it was

too late, police said. The other incident was reported from Kanchanbag. The victim was a 12-year-old boy, V Pradeep Kumar, who lived at Lab quarters, Kanchanbag. It is said the boy was flying a kite on the third-floor terrace. He was excited at his soaring kite and was leading it higher and higher in the sky when he slipped and fell. Though he was taken to hospital immediately, he died today. In all, 10 cases of injuries of varied intensities were reported from different parts of the City in connection with the kite flying festival. Syed Shakir, 4, who fell from a height, suffered injuries. Other injuries were reported from Saidabad, different parts of Old City and outskirts. Nobody is in a critical condition.

CRIME

2 youngsters caught on attempt to rape

He had gone into hiding and was nabbed at Srisailam on Monday.

The woman managed to scream and alert the neighbours, but the two accused escaped. They were arrested two days later.

he special investigation team arrested Swamy Kamlanand Bharathi on charges of making a hate speech on January 9 at Indira Park. The 54-year-old swamy is the convenor of Hindu Devalaya Parirakshna Samithi. His arrest provoked agitations by several right-wing party workers and religious leaders. The swamy’s speech was a reaction to a series of alleged hate speeches delivered by MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi. The swamy is said to have made threats to another community for its perceived belligerence. After the police tried to book him, the swamy went underground, police said. He was arrested from Srisailam on Monday. He

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

or a change, the Chilkalguda police solved a burglary within three days. They have arrested the alleged culprit — a young woman, RJ Vani — and seized 20 tolas of gold ornaments from her possession. The sensational break-in had ended up in the loss of 70 tolas of gold from the locked house of one Jayasree at Padmarao Nagar. The owner, a senior citizen, had gone to Mumbai to visit relatives. Crime inspector Chilkalguda Khaja Mohiuddin said Vani had fallen in love with one D Sudheer, a resident of Begumpet,

TODAY’S QUESTION

DO WE NEED STRICTER TRAINING FOR DRIVERS IN AP?

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

T was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and has been lodged in Charlapally prison. “We have seized the CD containing his provocative hate speech and are investigating,” said additional commissioner crime, Sandeep Shandilya.

he Amberpet police have arrested two youths, Ilyas Ahmed, 25, a tailor residing at Durganagar and his friend Mohd Afaq Ahmed, 24, a welding worker who lives at Shalivahana Nagar of Malakpet, for attempting to rape a 26-yearold woman on the night of January 12 in Durganagar. Police case stated that the duo was sitting near the house of the victim. When she had come out to answer nature’s call, the two caught hold of her and took her into the house, where they disrobed her and took photographs on their mobile phones. Holding the threat of showing the world her naked postures, they tried to rape her but she

The duo disrobed her, took photographs of her on their mobile phones and threatened to make the photos public unless she complied. screamed at the top of her voice that woke up the neighbours. Afraid that they would be caught, the two fled the scene. The woman and her family informed the Amberpet police who booked a case of attempt to rape and caught them. The victim’s husband is working as a private employee who was on night duty when the incident took place. She was alone at home when it happened.

city TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE A long bridge to nowhere

ast year we had reported how the three-lane Punjagutta road had turned into a nightmare thanks to it being dug up by the APCPDCL. The road, which had previously been an easy stretch negotiate, had begun posing several problems to motorists and pedestrians alike leading to several trafﬁc snarls. The situation hasn’t changed much one year later.

CRIME

No sidewalks here Despite claims that they would make wolrd-class footpaths, the GHMC has forgotten all about it.

JANUARY 14, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

`32

lakh

is how much the State-run APSRTC owes the Hyderabad traffic police in challans. However, the transport corporation continues to ignore the traffic department’s notices.

There was no increase in the price of commodities from the last three months. In fact, there has been no change in price of many commodities for the last one year. Laxman Rao, dealer See page 6

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

Getting your son married? Don’t demand dowry. A young woman was recently held for burgling a house and stealing 70 tolas of gold. During investigation, she confessed that she had burgled the house to get money to pay her dowry and get married.

People turn deaf ear to warnings, get injured. Despite warnings to avoid ﬂying kites from rooftops, people went ahead resulting in two deaths and several injuries on Sankranti day.

GHMC has an extremely poor memory. GHMC seems to have forgotten its proposal to make world-class footpaths. And hawkers exploit the situation by encroaching sidewalks.

APSRTC turns defaulter as well. The APSRTC owes the trafﬁc police as much as `32 lakh in challans for various trafﬁc violations.

While we complain of price hikes, there is none actually. Wholesalers claim that there have been no rise in prices of commodities, yet retailers continue to charge much above the MRP!

J&K women hockey team coach arrested

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

t was only less than two months ago that GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu had conducted an ambitious workshop with the aim of transforming the footpaths in the City. He wanted to make them as good as those in other countries and to this effect had even brought down a team of experts from Delhi to study the situation and make suggestions. They had even wanted to send their engineers abroad to study civic conditions. However, with the dawn of the new year the corporation seems to have forgotten all about this civic dream. What else will explain the blatant violation of rules when it comes to sidewalks across the City? Pessimism about the project is clear when one interacts with senior engineers of the corporation, who are now busy with other works. Take the Begumpet bus

stop for instance. Located near the old airport, the bus stop is now hard to spot, thanks to the large number of hawkers who have chosen to set shop on the footpath adjoining it. Incidentally, the Secunderabad-Ameerpet stretch is one of the busiest arterial roads in the City. However, despite the international airport being moved to Shamshabad it has done little to ease the footfall of passengers using the bus stop in the vicinity, several of them being new visitors. And hawkers occupying a major portion of the footpath does not help. Several months ago the GHMC had taken action against hawkers at various locations, but they reappeared within no time. Also commuters misuse the designated bus bay by parking their vehicles there. “The problem is not just the encroachment of the sidewalk, it is the people who park in front of these hawkers. They hinder the flow of traffic here,” says P Anjaneyulu, a

resident of Prakashnagar. Ironically, according to locals even policemen are patrons of these kiosks that violate rules. “They take freebies from hawkers and hence don’t take any action against them,” says P Ramamurthy, a hotel employee. While organisations like Right to Walk advocate clearing all the hindrances for people, the experts from Delhi, who visited the City earlier, had different take on the situation. “Hawkers set shop at places frequented by people. Therefore authorities must take them into consideration while constructing footpaths,” said Anjlee Agarwal, an expert from Delhi. However, going by the current scenario, construction of footpaths as per the workshop suggestions seems like a distant dream. Senior engineers also shrug when asked about the proposed special cell. “For now, I do not think it is feasible,” is the response from not one but two engineers.

he coach of an under-20 women hockey team from Jammu and Kashmir, Angad Singh, was arrested on charges of molestation and harassment, police said today. Cyberabad police arrested Angad Singh after a complaint by Punjab players, assistant commissioner of police (Madhapur division) Goverdhan told PTI. Angadh Singh, who was travelling in the New Delhibound AP Express train, was taken into custody yesterday at Ramagundam railway station, about 230 kms from here, in Karimnagar district, the ACP said adding that he would be produced in a court. A total of 28 teams participated in the National Women's Hockey championship (under20) which concluded yesterday, he said. Additional director general of police Tejdeep Kaur Menon, who is also vice president of Hyderabad Hockey Association, said that Punjab players, all minors, complained to her that the coach, who travelled along with them in the same train while coming to Hyderabad, had harassed and attempted to molest them. After registering a case against Angad Singh under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC, we sent a special police team which scanned various trains bound for New Delhi, she said. Finally Cyberabad police nabbed him in the AP Express at Ramagundam and brought him here, the Additional DGP said. Hyderabad Hockey Association had organised a week-long National Women's Hockey Championship (under20) at Gachibowli sports stadium which concluded yesterday.

NEWS BRIEFS 5 killed, 20 injured in Vijayawada

OUJAC rally demanding revenge on Pak

Balayya takes on Congress

Air customs books passenger with bullets

ive passengers were killed and 20 others suffered injuries in a major road accident involving private tour agency in Vijayawada this morning. Initial police report blames the driver for the accident. The vehicle overturned without any apparent reason. The bus was carrying 45 people who were going to Srisalem. The Injured are in government hospital.

n protest of the two soldiers killed by Pakistani insurgents, the students of OUJAC took out a bike rally from Lingampally to Parade Grounds. M Krishank, spokesperson, OUJAC said India must take revenge as it involved the pride of the country. It is not the skirmishes but the inhuman treatment of the dead jawan that must be avenged, he said.

ollywood star Balakrishna charged the State government of misrule. He said due to Congress misrule the State had gone backward by at least three decades. He was speaking after unveiling the statue of NTR in Chittoor district. Balayya alleged that the State government has completely ignored people’s welfare.

ustoms ofﬁcials at RGI airport arrested a man with two bullets of his licensed revolver from his baggage. Mukherjee, 30, was going to Lucknow. His baggage emitted warning sounds and on close inspection they found the bullets. He pleaded that it happened by oversight. Customs have however booked a case.

city TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

POLITICS

T-Cong ministers hold T-party Leaks in bits and pieces from Delhi Durbar indicate that the T-State may be a reality soon. Hyderabad would be a joint capital for a decade or so.

PK SURENDRAN surendran.pk@postnoon.com

s the D-day for the Centre to announce its decision on Telangana nears, many theories are surfacing. Meanwhile, two Andhra Pradesh ministers from Telangana region yesterday claimed that they received indications of the Central government finally resolving to divide the State. The ministers hoped that the central government would take a decision by month-end to carve out a separate Telangana state. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had said after the December 28 all-party meet on Telangana that the government would take a decision within a month. One of the ministers hinted that Hyderabad could be a joint capital for the two states for 10 to 12 years. Civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu told reporters on Monday that the long-cherished dream of Telangana people would soon become a reality. “We will celebrate the next Sankranti in Telangana state,” he

POLITICS

said. On leaders from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) opposing the demand for Telangana state, he appealed to them to respect the sentiments of the people of Telangana. On what would be status of Hyderabad, Babu said it would definitely be on the map of Telangana. “Hyderabad is an important part of

Pro-Telangana groups have already made it clear that they want Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. Telangana,” he said. Another minister Danam Nagender, who had never been a strong supporter of Telangana, also claimed that division of the State has become inevitable. Nagender, who hails from Hyderabad, claimed that the City could be a joint capital of the

two states for 10 to 12 years. He said the Central government was not likely to make Hyderabad a union territory. As indications are getting stronger on division, leaders of Rayalaseema and Andhra have become super active. They would meet in Hyderabad on Thursday to decide what strategy should there be in the event of T state becoming a reality. Many in Rayalaseema argue they would go in for massive development funds which would be required to make a new capital eventually. “We will not allow the T state to walk away so easily,” remarked an Andhra Congress leader. Another minister Mukesh Goud, also from Hyderabad, had recently demanded that in case of formation of Telangana, Hyderabad should be given greater autonomy to protect the interests of people from other regions who have settled here. Pro-Telangana groups have already made it clear that they want Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. Telangana comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

POLITICS

Andhra-Rayala leaders to meet on Thursday Congress leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema have upped their ante with regard to Telangana state. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

ith Congress leaders from Telangana region claiming that bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was round the corner, leaders from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions began a counter offensive announcing that they would quit their posts to keep the state united. Following claims by civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu and Labour Minister Danam Nagender that they received “signals” from the Centre on creation of Telangana state, infrastructure and investments minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao announced in Visakhapatnam the other day that they would resign from their posts and launch an agitation to keep the state united. “We have no signals about bifurcation of the State. If at all there are such indications, we will quit our posts and launch an agitation for the cause of unified Andhra Pradesh,” Ganta said. Leaders from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions, setting aside their party affiliation, would meet in Hyderabad on January 17 to discuss the statehood issue and a plan of action to keep the state united, he added. Already Congress MP from Anantapur Ananta Venktarami Reddy announced they would resign from their posts if at all the Centre took a decision in favour of T. Vijayawada

Not my voice, says Owaisi

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

A MP Lagadapati Rajagopal (pictured) said he would quit politics if the State was bifurcated. Despite central leaders’ warning to the State leaders to refrain from making provocative stance on Telangana, most Congress leaders from the other two regions have decided that time had come to take a clear stance before people.

ll India Muslim Law Board denounces Owaisis and says this kind of talks is harmful for the growth of Muslim youth. The jailed MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi is said to have claimed that the voice on the CD produced by the petitioner as evidence was not his but a doctored one. The CD is with the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. Owaisi is under investigation and is currently in police custody

on the hate-speech charge. Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Law Board member Maulana Yasub Abbas today condemned the provocative statements of Hyderabad legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi and called him anti-Muslim. Owaisi is not a Muslim hero but denigrating the religion and Muslim youth are taking to militancy due to this kind of talks and he warned the youth against taking violent path. The community’s wellbeing should be the focus, nor perceived religious complaints, he opined. AGENCIES

city TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

TRANSPORT The transport body owes traffic police a penalty sum of `32 lakh. It continues to accumulate arrears with a glee that infuriates the cops.

APSRTC evades traffic cops RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

mong many of the traffic police’s defaulters, the APSRTC occupies top position. According to statistics released by the Hyderabad traffic police, APSRTC owes them a total of `32,08,280 by way of penalties for traffic violations. Among the 28 depots, Midhani, Ranigunj and Uppal have accumulated the highest amount of dues. According to additional commissioner of traffic police, CV Anand, “We have made several representations to APSRTC. But we are yet to receive a response or payment from them.

RETAIL

Check the price

Among the 28 depots, Midhani, Ranigunj and Uppal accumulated the highest amount of dues. According to them, these dues run well into the last two years and digging records of the bus, bus driver and the bus depot is a task impossible right now.” Apart from this wanton apathy, APSRTC is also mired in union problems of its own. “We have called them to several meetings, but rarely does any representative from APSRTC turn up,” said Anand. So what then is the way

out for recovery of arrears? “We made a few special drives to keep RTC bus drivers in line. Last year in 2012, we penalised over 600 bus drivers for not stopping in the bus bay and also recovered challan amounts from them. However, we are still searching for a way to recover the dues from the APSRTC,” he said. Going by the challans fined, Midhani, Ranigunj, Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, Cantonment seem to have the most unruly set of drivers operating from their depots. “We suffer the heat, dust and fumes and try to make their (APSRTC) lives easier and they mock us, dumping all the challans in their attic,” moaned a traffic inspector.

Black List DEPOT

ARREARS (in `)

Barkatpura

83,800

BHEL

85,525

Cantonment

1,30,670

DSNR

1,77,360

Falaknuma Hayathnagar Hakimpet HCU

hile customers are grumbling about having to pay more for basic commodities, retailers are having the last laugh. Why? Wholesale retailers say there has been no increase in the prices of staples in the past few months. Retailers usually purchase basic commodities from wholesalers for about half the actual price. Now, they are blatantly charging the customers much more than the market price, making a tidy profit for themselves. The worst hit are daily wage labourers, whose `150-`200 per day does not even cover basic food items like rice, pulses and vegetables. “Nowadays, charging more than the actual rate has become a trend. I agree that every businessman needs to earn some profit but that doesn’t mean you start looting the customers. Many shopkeepers attribute the rise in price due to price rise in transport fees but they need to understand that they are not the only sufferers,” said Vyjayanthi Rao, a customer at a general kirana store. Wholesale dealers in the City claim that the prices of basic commodities like

64,195 5,585

Hyd-2

15,290

Ibrahimpatnam

36,355

Jeedimetla

86,770

KPHB

12,895

Kushaiguda

34,220

Medchal

69,370

64,025

Midhani Miyapur

2,08,715 39,355

Miyapur 2

16,160

MSRD

98,060

Parigi

5,155

Picket

13,720

Rajendrangar Ranigunj Ranigunj-2

18,960 1,99,760 88,195

Tandur

1,615

Uppal

1,34,605

Vikarabad

2,425

Other bus depots 11,36,785

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The legal metrology department has been getting many complaints recently and is now taking action against fraud retailers, said an official. rice, pulses and wheat have not been increased or decreased from last year. “There was no increase in the price of any of the commodities from the last three months. In fact, there has been no change in price of many commodities from the last one year. The consumer needs to be careful. It’s better to purchase from wholesale dealers as they have price charts,” said Laxman Rao of Jayshree Dealers, Gowliguda. “We have been getting complaints from the past month. We are taking action against fraud retailers,” said RP Thakur, controller, legal metrology department. “If retailers are charging more than MRP, consumers can complain to the legal metrology department. We have not received any such complaints,” said Babulal Panwar, vice-president, Hyderabad Kirana Merchants’ Association.

74,240 2,06,805

Hyd-1

Retailers are selling basic commodities at higher prices even though there has been no hike in prices for the past few months. ANUBHA K SINGH anubha.k@postnoon.com

97,665

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CIVIC

‘Probe lake encroachment’ The Lokayukta court recently ordered an investigation into encroachment of a lake and a nullah in the City, slamming the authorities for inaction. SRINIVAS SETTY

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

T HEALTH/ CLINIC

wo issues were highlighted in the Lokayukta court recently. Justice Subhash Reddy issued warnings and orders of investigation while dealing with two cases of lake and nullah encroachment filed by RTI activists. He commissioned a team to investigate and the same would be considered before the court in its next session on January 23. Two complaints, filed by a group of RTI activists from Chandanagar, were about encroachments of Medi Kunta lake (also known as Wipro lake) in Nanakramguda and encroachments of a nullah in Eerla Cheruvu in Madinaguda by private builders. In the case of Medi Kunta lake, two private builders had fenced off “weir and surplus course” of the lake, thus causing the lake to flood in September 2010. Another encroachment too had appeared on the buffer zone of the lake, which is considered directly within ‘full tank level’ of the lake and no permissions are to be sanctioned for any construction there. In the Medi Kunta lake issue, activists produced a letter written

by the executive engineer of the irrigation department, warning the GHMC when the encroachments started coming up. This was in January 2011; however, the GHMC did not bother to look into this issue. RTI activists believe this is a plain case of corruption and nothing else.

An executive engineer of the irrigation department had warned the GHMC when construction began; it did not probe the issue.

Elsewhere, on the Eerla Cheruvu’s naturally formed ‘nullah’, encroachments have shrunk the size of the nullah from 15ft to 3ft. This was done by a private builder, who dumped mud and boulders to reduce the width and size of the nullah for construction activity. This has caused the nullah’s water to be diverted, which has caused flooding in a few apartments in the locality. Two other encroachments have shrunk the size of the nullah, one of which was sanctioned by the GHMC itself. The corporation paid no heed to the nullah while issuing permissions or survey numbers, say RTI activists. According to an activist, “When we filed the complaint in Lokayukta, the first encroachment was still in its construction phase. Now, the builder has finished construction and has raised four floors in that building.” The complaint was registered on July 26, 2012. Justice Subhash Reddy directed officials from the GHMC and the HMDA to investigate this matter with the complainants and issued strict warnings to the authorities in both the cases. The hearing will be taken up again after the inquiry is done in January.

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Engineer-turned-cyclist Raman Garimella is giving away free pepper spray bottles to women in Hyderabad in a bid to do his bit for society. AMY ROSE THOMAS amyrose.t@postnoon.com

Raman’s offer on a social networking site had people knocking on his door, asking how they could get themselves some pepper spray bottles.

or Raman Garimella, the answer to women’s safety issues is not taking part in candlelight vigils or airing views about the injustice faced by the women, but arming them with pepper spray. This solution, he believes, will change the way men think about women. To this end, Raman is supplying pepper spray for free to one and all who cares to contact him. His Facebook status reads, “Pervs aren’t going to stop as long as consequences are not scary enough. What does scare men is the idea of being pepper sprayed their heads off. Ladies, if you are in Hyderabad and need it, message me for a free bottle of pepper spray and a whistle.” After this, he has had many a

woman knocking on his door for a can of pepper spray. “I used to give pepper spray to my sister and friends but after the Delhi incident, I decided to give away these cans to women who needed them. I think

that every woman should carry one. They are not heavy and it can ward off a man for at least 20 minutes. I was surprised to see the impact the status created after I put that up on Facebook. I got many calls from girls who wanted these sprays. And some of my male friends too got pepper sprays for their sisters and relatives as New Year gifts,” he said. An engineer by qualification, Raman had given up his work to

pursue his dream of becoming a professional cyclist. As this new profession he has chosen doesn’t bring him money yet, he has two part-time jobs that keep him going. “Only about 15 to 20 girls asked for free pepper spray bottles. The rest asked me how they can get one for themselves. However, I am ready to give away free bottles to anyone who comes forward and asks me,” he added. He says through this, he doesn’t intend to start a campaign or a movement but wishes to do his bit for society and thus safeguard at least a few girls’ lives. “I am not here to give advice to men or women. I just want to do my bit so that if caught in such a situation, women can stand up for themselves and protect their lives rather than depending on someone else,” he said.

city TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

FESTIVITIES

8 PHOTOS BY SRINIVAS SETTY, N ANIL KUMAR, S BALAKRISHNA

FLYING HIGH

Kites soared over Necklace Road, Gymkhana grounds and Shilparamam on Sankranti as families enjoyed their sunny day out.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

focus

JUST ONE CONVICTION

Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal has so far achieved just one conviction, sentencing former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to life in jail for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people.

CAMBODIA

DIGGING FOR JUSTICE

Nearly four decades later, the episode is the focus of legal proceedings against former regime leaders that could be the last hope for justice over the the deaths of up to two million people. SUY SE feedback@postnoon.com PHNOM PENH: When the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia’s capital, hundreds of thousands of people, including children, pregnant women and hospital patients, were sent on a journey that many would not survive. Nearly four decades later, the episode is the focus of legal proceedings against former regime leaders that could be the last hope for justice over the the deaths of up to two million — a quarter of the population.

I was afraid that if we did not follow their instructions, we would be killed. I am still suffering. Lay Bony Bony, one of almost 1,000 plaintiffs in the evacuation trial, is hoping for a harsh verdict against the former regime leaders.

The evacuation of oncebustling Phnom Penh in April 1975 reduced the city to a ghost town in a matter of days. It was one of the largest forced migrations in modern history. More than two million people were expelled from the capital at gunpoint and made to march to labour camps in the countryside as part of the Khmer Rouge plan to forge an agrarian utopia. No mercy was shown to the those too weak to make the journey. Patients walked carrying their IV drips, pregnant women gave birth at the roadside and evacuees — harried by soldiers — dared not stop to help them. The bodies of the dead littered the way. “It was an unbelievable event," Lay Bony, who lost 11 relatives including her husband and children under the hardline communist regime, told AFP. When the evacuation began, black-clad troops burst into Bony’s home, forcing her to leave with her husband, five-year-old daughter and four-year-old son. “I was afraid that if we did not follow their instructions, we would be killed,” said Bony, who had lost a baby during childbirth just weeks before and is even now brought to tears by the

Cambodian Lay Bony, who lost 11 relatives including her husband and children under the hardline Khmer Rouge communist regime, crying during an interview at her house in Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia’s capital, hundreds of thousands of people, including children, pregnant women and hospital patients, were sent on a journey that many would not survive. AFP/ TANG CHHIN SOTHY

memory of the ordeal. After weeks of walking, the family was first installed at a camp in southern Kandal province and forced into back-breaking work in the paddy fields. Bony’s daughter died within days of their arrival and the harsh living conditions led to her son’s death just months later. Her husband, a soldier from the previous regime, was later arrested and killed, while Bony spent several years in detention where she saw hundreds of inmates taken away for execution. The 62-year-old recently testified as a witness at Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court, which is focusing the first stage of a highly complex case against senior regime cadres on the evacuation of Phnom Penh and other cities. Ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary, “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea and one-time head of state Khieu Samphan deny charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial has been split to deal with events chronologically, but most observers believe the first “mini-trial” will also be the last due to the worsening health of the octogenarian defendants as well as funding problems. “We realise that given the advanced age of the accused it is

THE PARADOX:

Cambodia’s president of the senate and president of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Chea Sim ( above 2nd L) walks with assistants as he greets supporters during a CPP ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime at the CPP headquarters in Phnom Penh on January 7, 2013. Some Cambodians criticise the January 7 anniversary, saying it represents the start of a decade-long occupation by Vietnam rather than a day of liberation while Hun Sen (below), a former Khmer Rouge cadre before he fled to Vietnam in 1977 and joined the resistance, has been Cambodia’s prime minister since 1985.

unlikely that they will stand trial for all the alleged mass crimes," said prosecutor Tarik Abdulhak. Crowds greeted the communist guerrilla group when they first rolled into Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, hailing the end of a bitter civil war. But the mood quickly darkened as soldiers fanned out across the city, evicting people from their houses. “Within a day, the whole nation was turned upside-down by the Khmer Rouge," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-CAM), which researches atrocities committed by the regime. It was not until 1979 that the Khmer Rouge, led by the late “Brother Number One” Pol Pot, was prised from power by a Vietnamese invasion. Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal has so far achieved just one conviction, sentencing former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to life in jail for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people. Bony, one of almost 1,000 plaintiffs in the evacuation trial, is hoping for a harsh verdict against the former regime leaders. “I am still suffering,” she said. “I miss my husband.” AFP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

Business

INFLATION FALLS TO 3-YEAR LOW

India's wholesale price-based inflation moderated to a three-year low of 7.18 per cent in December on the softening in the price rise of fuel and manufactured goods, raising expectations of an interest rate cut by the central bank later this month.

AGRICULTURE

Change to reap profits

ORACLE PATCH FOR JAVA

Indian seed companies have to invest in research for increasing the productivity and also have to emerge as complete solution providers. Oracle has distributed a patch for Java software ﬂaws deemed so dangerous that the US Department of Homeland Security said that people should stop using it. "Oracle recommends that this Security Alert be applied as soon as possible because these issues may be exploited 'in the wild' and some exploits are available in various hacking tools," Oracle's Eric Maurice said in a blog post yesterday. The patch was crafted to ﬁx two holes that hackers could slip through in Java 7 software used by web browsers to interact with websites. "To be successfully exploited, an attacker needs to trick an unsuspecting user into browsing a malicious website," Maurice said.

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he Indian seed industry emerged as world’s third largest in terms of domestic market value, after the United States (US) and China. Currently, 70-75 per cent of the total seed requirement is met through farm-saved seeds and the remaining requirement is met through organised seed production. However, the Indian government as well as private companies are gearing up to shifting farmers towards using seeds from the organised seed market in order to improve productivity at a national level, according to a recent report, ‘Diverse strategies for seed players in India’ by Rabobank. “The business model of seed companies around the world is changing as they integrate both vertically and horizontally to position themselves as complete solutions providers. In India, seed companies are still classified in various categories based on their R&D capabilities, marketing/distribution strengths and ownership patterns,” says the report. The report talks about diverse set of issues those are prevalent in the industry. “At present, companies make foundation seeds available to the farmers for further commercial seed production. Hybrid seed production is a very labour intensive activity and as seed production (especially for vegetables and rice) in India is largely concentrated in a few states, namely Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, there is a need to expand seed production to newer areas so as to ensure adequate labour availability. “Currently, seed production is less lucrative than commer-

NUMEROLOGY

Seed power n n n n

The global seed industry: $34.5 billion India’s seed industry is around $2.5 billion Hybrid seeds sold in the field crops sector: Around 62 per cent India’s total area under cotton production has been planted with GM cotton seed: Around 85 per cent

cial production and so is not extensively taken up by seed players in India. Since the farmers have started growing hybrids of various field crops, fruits and cash crops they are finding commercial crops to be more remunerative than the hybrid seed production,” states the report. It recommends the companies need to focus their R&D efforts towards increasing productivity in hybrid seed production through taking up focused production research and diversifying seed produc-

Crop

Share of hybrid seeds (%)

Cotton

90-95

Corn

Rice

Pearl millet

Sunflower

95-100

tion through their geographical base. According to the report, “Indian companies are still not on par with the MNCs regarding investing in the research of seeds, and access to finance is one of the major bottlenecks faced by the industry. Seed companies need to invest in a onetime cost for setting up capacity for processing and seed drying facilities. They also need to continuously invest in the collection and maintenance of a germplasm base along with nurturing an in-house breeder team and investing in research

farms on an ongoing basis. Another major issue faced by the seed companies is working capital requirements, which are recurring costs for all seed companies. Seed companies in India need to make advance payments to farmers for buying back the commercial seed produced by the farmer, which makes it a working-capitalintensive exercise,” “Providing seed companies an infrastructure status and treating their income as agriculture income, will actively promote investments by private seed companies. The seed industry will also benefit if the government directs banks to consider financing seed companies under priority sector for lending. This will allow Indian seed companies to access financing at cheaper interest rates than what they are currently getting, which will help in boosting investments in R&D and capital expansion, and will also enable companies to access bank financing for working capital requirements,” it adds.

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BSE BREACHES 20K MARK The BSE benchmark Sensex today breached the 20,000-mark in the opening trade after two years on sustained buying by funds, driven by better-than-expected third quarter earnings by Tata Consultancy Services amid mixed Asian cues. The 30-share index, however, immediately slipped to 19,938.01 on proﬁt-booking, still up by 31.60 points, or 0.16 per cent, from yesterday's close. It touched a high of 20,007.09 by gaining over 100 points in opening trade, led by gains in IT, tech and consumer durables sector stocks. Brokers said sustained buying by funds and retail investors after TCS posted 26.7 per cent jump in net proﬁt for the October- December quarter buoyed the trading sentiment.

THUS SPAKE We need to usher in a culture of social responsibility in the governance of Indian companies, PRANAB MUKHERJEE, PRESIDENT

BSE NSE

19,923.79 17.38

6,030.70 6.65

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

nation CROSS-BORDER RAID

NSA briefs Sushma, Jaitley NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Tuesday met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to brief them on developments along the Line of Control. On Monday evening, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called Sushma Swaraj, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Jaitley, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, to discuss the situation along the LoC. The government today cautioned against "jingoism" after the BJP upped the ante on the issue. "Professional Armies respect rules of engagement. Transgressions are surmounted through tactical responses and not driven by jingoism," information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said. Meanwhile, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh said that Army is always prepared for securing boundaries of the nation and foil designs of enemy and is maintaining operational readiness for any eventuality. PTI/IANS

‘Pak to build lighter n-tips for missiles’ WASHINGTON: Expanding its nuclear arsenal at a rapid pace, Pakistan is now aiming to develop smaller and lighter atomic warheads more suitable for use on missiles, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has said. Pakistan is expected to surpass Britain's nuclear stockpiles in a decade, the journal said, referring to the rapid development of nuclear warheads by Islamabad. "Pakistan has shown clear signs of its intention to grow its nuclear arsenal. Most recently, the country has begun to increase its plutonium production capabilities, with two new plutonium production reactors under construction, as well as a new chemical reprocessing facility," it said. "The country's increased interest in plutonium demonstrates its likely goal to develop smaller, lighter warheads more suitable for use on missiles. PTI

MAN SETS WIFE’S PARAMOUR ON FIRE A 28-year-old youth was set on fire allegedly by a man who suspected that he was involved in a relationship with his wife, the Etah police said today. He sustained around 90 per cent burn injuries and was admitted to the district hospital.

HALL OF SHAME

Girl raped in school toilet The seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted during recess at the CISF-guarded school. PANAJI: A seven-year-old girl was raped at her school in the port town of Vasco, resulting in huge protests here last night. Police have detained the headmistress of the school on charges of negligence. The second grade student was sexually abused in the school toilet next to the office of the headmistress during recess yesterday, by an unidentified person, police said today. The incident came to light after the minor complained of pain and was referred for medical examination. Several parents and locals protested outside the school last night question-

NHRC sends notice to Chhattisgarh NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday issued notice to the Chhattisgarh government and its police chief on the alleged rape of 11 minor tribal girls by a teacher and security guard of a government hostel in Kankar. "The commission has directed them to inform it about medical care to the victims as well as steps being taken to protect the inmates of the hostel," said a statement from IANS NHRC.

ing the negligence on the part of the school management. As the situation turned tense, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the spot late last night assuring stern action against the accused. "We will not spare the accused and anyone involved in this crime," Parrikar said, following which police detained the headmistress. Police said the culprit is yet to be arrested. A sketch has been prepared based on the description provided by the victim. Incidentally, the school has been one of the well guarded institute with CISF personnel posted at the gate. PTI

Woman sold for `1 lakh, raped by buyer NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old married woman from Karnataka was sold here for `1 lakh a week ago by a human trafficking gang and raped by her buyer who kept her at his house, said the police. The incident was reported to Ghazipur police station in East Delhi on January 9 when the victim managed to flee

from the clutches of the accused, identified as Zakir, who bought her from a man with whom she had come to Delhi from Karnataka on January 6 after being promised to provide a job here. A police officer said that Zakir raped the woman many times. "Zakir had also beaten her up. He along with his

woman associate, Geeta, was contacting some clients in Mumbai and Pune to sell the victim. Meanwhile, the victim managed to give them a slip and reported the matter to police," said the officer. The case was registered and both the accused were arrested. "The victim is married and belongs to Bangalore.

Following an altercation with her husband, she left her home Jan 1 and came in contact with a human trafficking gang. The accused revealed that a few days ago they had sold a 23-year-old woman at Delhi's GB Road brothel No 57. This woman was also rescued and the brothel owner was arrested, the police said. IANS

26/11 TRIAL IN US

US to seek 30-year jail for LeT scout Rana CHICAGO: US federal prosecutors are seeking the maximum 30-year sentence for Pakistan-born Tahawwur Rana for providing support to Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba that staged the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Although Chicago businessman Rana, a boyhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was acquitted of supporting the Mumbai attacks, he was convicted of supporting LeT and its aborted plot to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. Headley, son of a Pakistani father

and an American mother, who changed his given name of Dawood Gilani to scout targets in Mumbai without arousing suspicion, pleaded guilty in both the Mumbai and Danish terrorism plots, and was the star prosecution witness at Rana's trial. A Chicago jury convicted Rana in June 2011 on the charges of providing Headley cover as an employee of his immigration business to scout targets in Mumbai and the newspaper office in Copenhagen. Rana, 52, is to be sentenced in Chicago on Thursday. Headley would be sentenced a week later on Jan 24. PT

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

World NEWS DOWN UNDER

Dingo! Indians landed in Oz first SYDNEY: People from the Indian subcontinent migrated to Australia and mixed with Aborigines 4,000 years ago, bringing the dingo dog with them, according to a study published Tuesday. The continent was thought to have been isolated from other populations until Europeans landed at the end of the 1700s. But researchers reported “evidence of substantial gene flow between Indian populations and Australia about 4,000 years ago”.

‘Oz heatwave part of global trend’ Australia’s extreme summer heatwave, which caused devastating bushfires, is part of a global warming trend, the UN’s climate panel chief said on Tuesday. Rajendra Pachauri said earth’s temperature would rise from 1.1°C to 6.4 °C by the end of this century.

Telescope escape searing bushfires Smoke damaged some buildings housing telescopes at Australia’s top astronomy research observatory, the Siding Spring Observatory, but fireproofing work prevented “catastrophic” damage from a weekend inferno. About 33 homes nearby were razed in bushfires.

HEAVY SNOWFALL IN JAPAN; ONE DEAD, 900 INJURED Heavy snow that blanketed eastern Japan over the holiday weekend left one man dead and injured 900 others, as Tokyo commuters Tuesday took to the slippery streets. A low-pressure system, dubbed a “bomb cyclone” by local press, dumped eight centimetres (three inches) of snow in nine hours.

LANDMARK MOMENT

CAMERON’S EU SPEECH

New York votes for tougher gun laws

WASHINGTON: New York has taken a big step toward becoming the first US state to enact tough new restrictions on assault weapons in the wake of the elementary school massacre in Connecticut exactly a month ago. Lawmakers in the state Senate voted by a 43-18 margin on Monday in favor of what were billed as the toughest such measures in the United States, the upper house said on Twitter just before midnight. The lower house, the State Assembly, was expected to vote on Tuesday. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who rushed through the legislation, welcomed the state senate’s “bold statement, coming together in a bipartisan, collaborative manner to meet the challenges that face our state and our nation, as we have seen far too many senseless acts of gun violence.” Earlier, he told lawmakers: “The people of this state now are crying out for help on the issue of gun violence, and I

‘Sensible gun laws’ WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama pledged to vigorously pursue “sensible” gun control but, a month after a school massacre traumatized America, questioned whether tough new laws could pass Congress. Grieving relatives of some of the 20 children gunned down in their classes in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, meanwhile vowed there should never be a “next time”. think this does that.” Put to a vote on the state legislature’s first full day of the

new session, the legislation just came hours after President Barack Obama spoke in favor of a federal ban on military-style rifles and curbs on high-capacity magazines. The NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, or NY SAFE, closes several loopholes in an existing state ban on assault weapons. It reduces the maximum magazine size from 10 rounds to seven and extends the requirement for background checks to all sales, including private deals. A notable aspect of the new rules is emphasis on preventing the mentally ill from getting access to weapons. An existing law allowing judges to order mentally ill people to receive treatment was strengthened. The measures were linked directly to the national horror at the December 14 massacre of 20 elementary school students and six staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. AFP

Trouble brews in Pakistan

anadian-Pakistani cleric Tahir-ul Qadri, gestures in front of a bullet proof glass upon his arrival at a protest march in Islamabad on early Tuesday. Pakistani police fired tear gas and gunshots could be heard as a growing crowd of protesters converged on parliament Tuesday, throwing stones at security forces, an AFP reporter said.A large number of security forces have been deployed, and shipment containers and barbed wire installed to stop protesters coming closer to Parliament House. AFP/FAROOQ NAEEM

NEWS BRIEFS Sri Lanka replaces impeached chief justice

Five killed as Egypt train Islamists flee Timbuktu carrying troops derails after French air strikes

26 children die in Syria amid calls for probe

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse has nominated the government’s senior legal advisor Mohan Peiris as a replacement for the impeached chief justice, his spokesman said Tuesday. Peiris is scheduled to take his oath of ofﬁce shortly after a parliamentary panel conﬁrms his appointment around midday.

CAIRO: Five people were killed and at least 43 injured on Tuesday when a train carrying military conscripts derailed southwest of Cairo, the health ministry said. The train carrying conscripts from south Egypt to Cairo derailed in the Giza neighbourhood of Badrasheen, the latest in a string of transport disasters plaguing the country.

DAMASCUS: International calls for a war crimes probe into the 22month Syrian conﬂict are growing after a watchdog reported at least 26 children have been killed in the latest violence. Reports of the child deaths came as NY-based Human Rights Watch accused President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of expanding its use of banned cluster bombs.

BAMAKO: French air strikes forced Islamist guerrillas to ﬂee towns in northern Mali and Paris secured new international support for military action as the militants struck back, seizing a small western town. The leaders of Islamists claimed they had made a “tactical retreat” from Timbuktu and other key towns.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will give a long-awaited speech on his country’s future relationship with the European Union in the Netherlands on Friday, his Downing Street ofﬁce said. The speech had previously been expected on January 22, but reports suggested it was brought forward because it would have clashed with the 50th anniversary of France and Germany’s post-war reconciliation on that day.

NUMEROLOGY

152,000 kids in New York will have to look for new ways to get to school on time, as Drivers of New York’s yellow school buses have planned to go on strike on Wednesday.

CHRISTMAS BOMB PLOT FBI tactics in investigating a SomaliAmerican accused of plotting to blow up a US Christmas tree lighting ceremony took center stage Monday, as undercover agents began testifying. Giving evidence in disguise and visible only to jurors, one agent maintained that Mohamed Mohamud was prone to violence from the beginning and spoke of plans to “wage war” on the United States. When the agent met him pretending to be an al-Qaeda operative and offered options how he could be a good Muslim, Mohamud chose violence over praying ﬁve times a day.

We were peaceful, we want to be peaceful, police fired tear gas and gun shots without any reason. This was the government’s conspiracy, we are not violent people.” Muzamal Ahmed Khan Pak protester

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

Technology BATTLING THE FLAMES MADELEINE COOREY

s dozens of wild and unpredictable bushfires break out in Australia’s extreme heat military-style operations are in full swing at a state-ofthe-art “nerve centre” in populous New South Wales state. Already equipped with the world’s largest firefighting service, with more than 70,000 unpaid volunteers at their disposal, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) deploys information as a key resource in battling the elements. At the state operations room at the western Sydney headquarters of the RFS, fire officials sit alongside representatives from the police, the Department of Defence, utilities and state bodies to coordinate the fire response. Before them is a giant digital video wall, the largest in the southern hemisphere, displaying information about all fires burning in the state, including maps, number of firefighters at the front and weather forecasts. “This is the nerve centre for all the fires that are going on in New South Wales at the moment," media spokeswoman Bridie O’Connor told AFP. All information — including fire behaviour analysis, air resources, number of fire trucks available, streets and homes that might come under threat — is plugged into an online system and is immediately available to all who need it. The centre itself is disasterproofed, with custom designs ensuring “if there is a major power outage or some sort of catastrophic event in NSW that electricity would still run in this building," O’Connor said. Combined with the expert analysis and information to track fires, the RFS uses social media to engage with those who need it most: people in the path of danger. Using its website, a new smartphone app and social media sites, the RFS works on multiple fronts to get the message out, alerting citizens to the nearest blazes and providing timely updates.

All information — including fire behaviour analysis, air resources, number of fire trucks available, streets and homes that might come under threat — is plugged into an online system and is immediately available to all who need it.

FIREFIGHTING’S NERVE CENTRE

TOO LATE The Justice Department dropped its charges against Internet activist Aaron Swartz on Monday, citing his death. Swartz, who was facing computer hacking charges, hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment on Friday. He was 26. The filing is standard when the defendant in a case has died. Federal prosecutors indicted Swartz in 2011, accusing him of breaking into a computer network at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and downloading 4.8 million documents from JSTOR, a subscription service of academic articles. He faced up to 35 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

GOING PRIVATE

Dell Inc, the personal-computer maker that lost almost a third of its value last year, is in buyout talks with private-equity firms, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The company is discussing going private with TPG Capital and Silver Lake, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified. Several large banks have been contacted about financing an offer,. Taking the company private could help Dell, the third-largest PC maker, accelerate efforts to revive growth and cope with competition.

Like hotcakes “Social media is proving a really effective way to get the message out to the community," explained O’Connor. “On Tuesday (when temperatures in Sydney hit 42 degrees Celsius (108 F) and the fire rating in the state was catastrophic) we saw more than 80,000 people using our ‘Fires Near Me’ iPhone app per hour. That is a huge number. “And with our New South Wales Rural Fire Service website

On Tuesday (when temperatures in Sydney hit 42 degrees Celsius) we saw more than 80,000 people using our ‘Fires Near Me’ iPhone app per hour. Bridie O’Connor Media spokesperson

where we publish our major fire updates... we saw a million people on that website on Tuesday and given the population of New South Wales (7.3 million) it’s a staggering number." The ‘Fires Near Me’ app is designed to alert people to bush fire activity in real time, informing them of any bushfire within a 50 kilometre radius of their phone’s GPS location and providing data on its size and seriousness. At RFS headquarters, where the operations room runs around the clock while bushfires are burning, a team constantly updates the service’s Facebook page, Twitter feeds and website. At the same time, they are taking information from the public. O’Connor said as the state

sweltered under a summer scorcher last week, with more than 150 fires burning, one person was able to use social media site Facebook to check whether his property had been fire affected. The man, who was away from home, had heard there was a bushfire near his house and posted a message on Facebook to ask about it. “Their neighbour saw that post, went around checked their home and fed that information back to them via social media that their house was still standing and they would be safe to come back when the fire threat had eased," she said. The government’s Climate Commission has warned that such extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change, exacerbating the risk of fires.

Samsung has announced that they have sold 100 million Galaxy S phones to date and Galaxy S III alone sold 40 million units since its introduction. Samsung launched Galaxy series of phones in 2010 and released an updated version every year since. There were rumours of the company launching Galaxy S IV at CES this year, but they have refrained from such a step. By comparison (though it's a bit of an apples to oranges one), Apple hit the same landmark number in March, 2011, nearly four years after the original iPhone's launch. Of course, it was arguably the iPhone that enabled the huge sales of the Galaxy S series and other smartphones.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

Comment

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS

He denied it for 10 years, Lance Armstrong finally blurted the whole truth before Oprah Winfrey during an interview on Monday. What made him do that, one wonders. Was he just sick of being in denial as there was no point since he had already been proven guilty or was it to garner public sympathy (you know how we love the ‘honest’ figures) or was it the Oprah effect? We really don’t know.

POWER CORRUPTION

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.

THE ACTON SYNDROME HARD TALK

PK Surendran

Albert Einstein Nobel winner

The Mali malady M.J. SMITH feedback@postnoon.com

he conflict in Mali that has led to French air strikes and plans to deploy African troops poses a web of high-stakes risks for the continent, from an Islamist backlash to a potential humanitarian disaster. West African countries in particular face the stark reality that failing to act could lead to an expanding presence of extremists and criminal gangs capable of wreaking further havoc, but military force also carries complex dangers. Some nations participating in the planned 3,300-strong African force aimed at helping Mali retake its Islamist-controlled north could suffer reprisals from like-minded extremists in their home countries, analysts say. At the same time, success for the military operation in Mali's vast desert north is by no means guaranteed. It could also cause a flood of more refugees into neighbouring nations already struggling to provide for their own populations. The region has so far overwhelmingly opted for intervention, praising France, which waged a fourth day of air strikes on Monday, and rushing to ready troops for the force. Countries such as Nigeria, which will command the African force despite battling its own insurgency by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram at home, cannot however ignore domestic threats. Members of Boko Haram, still a shadowy group with unclear aims, are believed to have gone to northern Mali for training. Some Islamist extremists in Nigeria are also thought to have loose links with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AFP

his piece is dedicated to Lord Acton who said one of the truest things in our times: All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. But you will grasp the magnitude of this aphorism only when you realise that power is not solely born of governance. Money is the biggest power. As you become rich unless you are philosophical you start acquiring arrogance and arrogance is fuelled by sycophancy. When riches accumulate this human trait of grandiose grows correspondingly and along with it comes the greatest danger to the person: the coterie of sycophants. This tendency you will see in any centre of power whether it is industry or politics or religious priesthood or show biz or sports. No area of human activity is free of this malaise. This is what pulls a potentially good man down. And, nowhere it’s more evident than in Indian politics which has now totally been taken over by the neo-rich, some of them from business, who have begun to don the double role of politiciancum-capitalist. It’s because in our situation today, an urban grass-root leader needs anything between `2 Crore to `5 Crore to ‘fight’ a civic election. An MLA contestant needs an `10Crore kitty and a

Parliament seat needs `50 Crore. Once you buy political power the sycophants form a ring and the entity gets little leeway to move. Many greats were led astray by their coterie. Many of the state and national ‘leaders’ suffer from the Acton Syndrome. With the benefits of hindsight I could say with conviction that this has been a panIndian trauma which alienates them from the common man on the street. You will get the idea without research. Just watch these leaders at close quarters, you will see them through. The first symptom of this syndrome is their acting busy, so busy that they can’t meet appointments and those seeking their time must wait. Secondly, when finally they present themselves, they are surrounded by sycophants like puppy to its master. Thirdly, they will tend to belittle the visitor who, never mind if he’s a gentleman who earned wisdom

All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

erings murmured a dissent. Because all those present know the privileges they get from him and the party are too important to be forsaken by pricking the balloon of the superego. They all nodded in assent.

Lord Acton Historian and moralist

Tailend: Exception to rule is Nature’s norm. There is this businessman, a big hotelier, who’d hired a sycophant as his ‘adviser’ knowing too well that the fellow would ‘advice’ based on the boss’ likes and dislikes. The boss knows it well, so acted on his advice in a reverse fashion. If he advised buying a property the boss will shelve the project immediately. Consternation hit the advisor. Mustering courage one day he asked, “Sir, you don’t follow my advice, so what use of me?” Boss said smilingly, “I will not let you go for the world because I do exactly opposite of what you advice and I always hit the bull’s eye!”

through his life, will be aghast at the ‘leader’s’ shocking behaviour of not listening, only talking. Fourthly, he would sneer at anyone honestly trying to put a word of caution. Take this instance of an AP leader who belongs to an Opposition party and who sits over an industrial empire. He addressed a meeting of his ‘supporters’ (read sycophants) and told them the Congress was dead and it would lose badly in the next elections. Therefore, take on such-and-such (an upstart party). None in the gath-

EDITORIALS A ‘capital’ issue

ith the Telangana state becoming a distinct possibility, much turmoil awaits the State. If it happens as many leaders claim, it would keep the state engaged for over a year and politics would not be the same again. If Hyderabad remains a joint capital for some time, the “capital” issue may not rock the State but the difﬁculty would then be how to create a new capital for the remaining part of the State and who will foot the bill. There is also a school of thought that says a liberal development package, not a separate state, was the answer, as Telangana’s economy would be in tatters if separated. Besides, they say extremists will overrun the region, as the new State would not have the wherewithal to go in for containing the virulent Naxal-Maoist movement. Whatever, the State will witness political and social turmoil for quite some time to come. It would be the responsibility of Centre to ensure that a smooth transition, even if it would not make everybody happy, is worked out. It can’t blame the State if the situation gets out of hand.

READERS’ VIEWS

Act now

ear grand old dads of the Grand Old Party with the grand old ideas, if you do not want to be blamed for pushing your grand old country into fresh ﬁnancial turmoil, if you do not want to be pinned for many a government ofﬁcial missing their pay checks, if you do not want to be held responsible for America not paying its bills, which your President says is “irresponsible and absurd”, listen to the voice of wisdom, and raise the debt ceiling.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

workplace

AMAZON OFFERS FREE DIGITAL COPY OF PURCHASED CDS

American online retail giant, Amazon has announced the launch of a new service under which it will offer free digital versions of the CDs that are purchased by the customers through its store.

9-TO-5 NIGHTMARE DEEPASHRI V deepashri.v@postnoon.com

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY

Having someone constantly breathe down your neck is the best way to stifle your creativity. You might have the most valid point put forward, and it’ll be shot down with the dumbest argument imaginable. You’ll try to bring in your individuality and opinion to the table, once, twice, and then you’ll just stop giving a damn. It’ll make you wonder why they even bother employing other people with a thinking capacity. The big ego and one man show are a big no, if you’re looking to be a good leader.

IGNORANCE — A POINT OF VIEW

If your boss’s learning curve has reached saturation and he is not open to new ideas, prepare for stagnation. Some people are not open to change. They’ve been doing things a certain way for 50 years, and prefer staying in that era even if the rest of the world has raced ahead. “New” sounds like an abuse to them. If you’re wondering, like Scott Adams did, “When did ignorance become a point of view?” just swallow your doubts.

‘WHAT’S YOUR NAME AGAIN?’

As much as no individual in indispensable to an organisation, it is important to make employees feel they’re a part of your organisation; that their contribution means something, and their efforts are valued. You would have worked you ass off for this person all your life and he doesn’t even know you exist.

KNOW YOUR COMPANY

HORRIBLE BOSSES Choosing a job is like choosing a life partner. You spend a major part of your daily life at work. Your office is like a second home. Your work environment is majorly influenced by your boss. Your satisfaction level, motivation, creative flow, everything is influenced by this one person. Postnoon lists some traits of a horrible boss, who makes you say, “Oh no! It’s Monday!” and who makes you feel like a character right out of a Dilbert comic strip.

Or maybe you just joined, and you’re giving this job your very best, expecting nothing in return but a word of appreciation (and your salary, of course). But nobody seems to care! Every day is just the same: You come, you work and you go. And if you don’t come, doesn’t really matter.

THE BLUE-EYED BOY

No, it’s is not school all over again. Some people just bear the brunt of partiality all their lives. Imagine when your boss dotes on your colleague for every word he utters, and you, sitting right beside him, are conveniently sidelined. And even if you do achieve something commendably, it’s probably because Mr Y rubbed on to you. It can really get on to your nerves. Some bosses just like being flattered. If you cannot sweet talk (an art not everyone can resort to with ease), consider yourself out of the game.

IT’S YOUR FAULT!

You do their dirty work, carry out all the stupid instructions to the point, and get blasted by your boss’s boss. But when things go well, you’re nowhere in the picture. That’s as bad as it gets. A boss who cannot stand up for you and passes the buck every time something goes wrong loses all respect among his employees. And then there are those who just cannot compartmentalise their personal and professional lives. If something went wrong at your boss’s home, it’s your fault. Work is not done? It’s your fault. Minor error (that does not warrant a panic attack at all), you get yelled at. It’s entirely your fault!

Mahindra & Mahindra Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is an Indian multinational automobile manufacturing corporation headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers by production in the Republic of India. It is a part of Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate. The company was founded in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed.

DID YOU KNOW...

Nagarjuna

Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (NFCL) has indicated that it is aiming to double its capacity at its unit in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh with an investment of about Rs 4,500 crore. The company said that it plans to double the capacity at the unit to 2.9 million tonne (mt) from 1.3 mt at present. A company official expressed that the company expects the new capacity will be operational by the year 2015-16.

TIPS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES

Always be clear of your supervisor’s expectations. Whether your supervisor is detail oriented or does he like to see only the big picture, it is relevant to know if your supervisor wants you to send him documents for validation before you send them out. Keep in mind that your supervisor has been in this job more than you have and he knows what pleases the customers.

Try and look for a mentor who is experienced in his role. He or she need not be from the same department or function, however, his experience will help gain some positive tips on how to communicate within the organization. It is very essential that feedback is asked for. Be cautious - ask for feedback from people who know about the subject. Also, be speciﬁc while requesting for feedback.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

spotlight

VISUAL POETRY

Head to an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Siddhartha, Kappari Kishan & Shivanand Basavanthappa at the Shrishti Art Gallery, today. Timings 11am-pm.

S BALAKRISHNA

WINTER AFFAIR

18 S BALAKRISHNA

1 DK Aruna, Manisha Kapoor 2 Dr Tanuja, Mani Sarna, Sammy 3 Manpreet, Harshat 4 Jasmeet, Pavan 5 Rheya 6 Ruchi 7

Sunny, Kashish 8 Palak, Sania 9 Neetika 10 Ruchi 11 Amrit 12 Triparna, Mallika

Festive Fun

Members of the Punjabi community took part in the Lohri celebrations organised at Chiran Fort Club. DK Aruna, minister for information and public relations was the chief guest at the event. 4

Safe than sorry The Junior Jaycee wing of the JCI Hyderbad Deccan organised a free workshop on self defence for women of all ages. The session took place at Mahila Mandal Hall, Erramanzil, Sunday.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

health

CERVICAL CANCER MOST COMMON IN INDIA

Cervical cancer can be fully prevented if there is the required awareness. Due to lack of knowledge, it is the most common kind of cancer in India. According to AK Anand, director, radiation oncology at Max Hospital, 20-25 women of every 100,000 suffer from cervical cancer in India.

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER

Treat epilepsy with care

It is estimated by the Epilepsy Foundation of India that, at the present time, 50-100 lakh people in India may have epilepsy. patient during fits stops it. It will anyway stop in five minutes even if you do nothing,” Dr Kumar said. He said water or liquids, given at that time when they’re unconscious, could enter into their lungs. But there is another kind of epilepsy, called status epilepticus, where a series of fits occur for 15-20 minutes and could be fatal. “Recently, a long term study published by a doctor, who studied his patients for 20-25 years, showed that some of his patients got seizures again. So a sub group of patients (20-25 per cent) may have to take lifelong medications,” Dr Kumar said. If the seizures are controlled over the years, medicines can be slowly withdrawn, Dr Ranjan said. Though it is uncommon to die due to epilepsy, where the person is when he gets a seizure could prove fatal (while driving, for example).

DEEPASHRI VARADHARAJAN deepashri.v@postnoon.com

pilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the brain and is characterised by repeated seizures. There are around 50 million people with epilepsy in the world, according to Epilepsy Society, UK. There is one kind of seizure, where the patient is conscious and knows he is having it, and one in which he is unconscious, said Dr Alok Ranjan, senior consultant neurosurgeon at Apollo Hospitals. “Epilepsy has a very broad spectrum. It is abnormal electrical discharge in the brain and there are sub classes depending on which part of the brain is affected.” In primary epilepsy, there is no abnormality in the brain at the gross level, he said, whereas, in structural epilepsy, there is either a tumour or infection in the brain. A person may have fits or seizures only once, and may not have a second attack in his life. In that case, it is not treated as epilepsy. “Nearly 50 per cent of people may not get seizures the second time. Many medications (used to treat epilepsy) have side effects. (So) Europe and the United States have strict guidelines (about when to start treatment for epilepsy),” said Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad. “After second fit, treatment is mandatory for all

Fact file n Epilepsy is a neurological disorder caused to abnormal electrical discharge in the brain.

patients.” The side effects of epilepsy medications include common allergic reactions like rashes on the skin, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (entire skin can peel off), dizziness, sleepiness and imbalance, Dr Kumar said. Medicines can also affect the liver. Since it could cause weight gain, hair loss, shivering of hands, irregular periods and affect the baby during pregnancy, young

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

A person may have seizures only once, and may not have a second attack in his life. Then, it is not treated as epilepsy. women should not unnecessarily be given epilepsy treatment, he said.

HOUSECALL

n You could have ﬁts only once in your life, in which case it is not considered epilepsy. Treatment is given only if you have recurrent seizures.

Overdose of medicines can also lead to intellectual deterioration and dullness of brain, Dr Ranjan said.

MYTHS AND MEDICATION

Patients tend to vomit and aspirate during seizures, Dr Ranjan said. “It is important to turn them to one side (for immediate first aid).” “The misconception is that giving keys or dirty socks to the

DID YOU KNOW?

n For immediate ﬁrst aid, the patient should be turned to one side so that he doesn’t aspirate. Mostly, seizures stop on their own in about ﬁve minutes. n If patients respond well to treatment, medication can slowly be withdrawn. Very few people require lifelong treatment.

PIONEERS

Fertility Friend Mobile

Melioidosis

Incredibly resilient

Alfred Blalock

This is a menstrual calendar, a period tracker, an ovulation chart and an advanced fertility chart interpretation tool. Once pregnant, you can follow your pregnancy on the integrated Pregnancy Tracker. Its features include colour coded fertility calendar and full data entry including temperature, cervical ﬂuid, daily notes and symptoms.

It is an infectious disease caused by a Gram-negative bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, found in soil and water. It exists in acute and chronic forms. Symptoms may include pain in chest, bones, or joints; cough; skin infections, lung nodules and pneumonia. The name Melioidosis is derived from the Greek melis meaning "a distemper of asses" with the sufﬁxes -oid meaning "similar to" and -osis meaning "a condition."

If the worst happens, studies show people can make their peace with it. Studies of people who said they would want to die if they, for example, went blind, or lost a limb, show that they tend to re-assess once they stabilise. We are a resilient species, physically and emotionally. “Resilience” is the new buzzword in research.

Alfred Blalock was born on April 5, 1899 in Culloden, Ga and received an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He is remembered for his research on blood loss and traumatic shock, that led to volume-replacement treatment, which came as a boon and saved countless lives during World War II. He is also known for co-developing a surgical treatment for heart malformations in newborns. He died in 1964.

health TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

BREAKTHROUGH

STUDY

New technique spots how far cancer has spread Surgeons say molecular-targeted imaging can be used to avoid unnecessary removal of healthy lymph nodes in cancer patients. WASHINGTON: Researchers have developed a new technique that will allow surgeons to identify how far the tumour has spread and help them decide which tissue to remove in order to save healthy cells in cancer patients. “With molecular-targeted imaging, surgeons can avoid unnecessary removal of healthy lymph nodes which is better long-term for patients,” said Quyen T Nguyen, associate professor at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “The range of the surgeon’s visual field is greatly enhanced by a molecular tool that can help achieve accurate surgical margins and detection of metastases so that no tumour is left behind,”

Nguyen said in a statement. Lymph nodes, located throughout the body, serve as filters that contain immune cells to fight infection and clean the blood. When cancer cells break away from a tumour, the cells can travel through the lymph system and hide in these tiny organs. Surgeons remove the nodes to determine if a cancer has spread. However, human nodes, only half a centimetre in size, are difficult to discern among the surrounding tissue during surgery. Furthermore, even when surgeons are able to map the location of the nodes, there is no current technique that indicates whether or not the lymph nodes contain cancer, requiring removal of more lymph nodes than necessary.

Doctors’ Corner

n 18-month-old baby was brought to the clinic. He appeared quite active and healthy. The only complaint the parents had was that though he was able to walk with support, he found it difficult to stand on his own. The child was putting on good weight. On examination, he was quiet alert and obeyed commands by parents and had no abnormalities of head and spine. He had slightly outward turned legs but had full move-

There is no current technique to indicate whether or not lymph nodes contain cancer, requiring more nodes to be removed than necessary. “This research is significant because it shows real-time intraoperative detection of cancer metastases in mice. In the future, surgeons will be better able to detect and stage cancer that has spread to the patient’s lymph nodes using molecules that were designed and developed at UC San Diego,” Nguyen said.

The fluorescently labelled molecules, known as ratio-metric activatable cell-penetrating peptides (RACPP), are injectable. When used in mouse models, surgeons could see where the cancer had spread with high sensitivity and specificity even when the metastatic sites were only a few millimetres in size. This form of instant pathology is an improvement over traditional sentinel node mapping, whereby only the location of the lymph node is detected without gleaning any information on actual cancer involvement. Current methods for managing prostate cancer and neck squamous cell carcinoma only reveal the extent of cancer involvement after the patient has undergone surgery. PTI

Breastfeed to cut risk of cancer: Study LONDON:Breastfeeding can help mothers reduce their risk of ovarian cancer by nearly twothirds, a new study has claimed. And the longer a mother continues to breastfeed, the greater the protection against the illness, Australian scientists found. Ovarian cancer is known as the ‘silent killer’ because symptoms for many sufferers, such as feeling bloated, are non-specific and the illness may not be diagnosed until it is fairly advanced. In the new study, researchers studied 493 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer and compared them with 472 healthy volunteers of similar age, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported. Each was asked how many children they had and for how long they breastfed each one. The results showed those who breastfed a child for at least 13 months were 63 per cent less likely to develop a tumour than those who did so for less than seven months. The more children they had, the greater the effect, said the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Mothers who had three children and breastfed for a total of 31 months or more were found to cut their chances of ovarian tumours by 91 per cent. This was compared to those feeding naturally for a total of under ten months. Breastfeeding is thought to help as it delays ovulation, when eggs are released and the ovaries are exposed to high levels of oestrogen-rich fluid. “It is proven that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. It does this because it reduces ovulation for the nursing mother,” Gilda Witte, chief executive of Ovarian Cancer Action UK, said. “The risk is further reduced by each child that a woman bears,” Witte added. PTI

Dr Ganesh Chunduri

BEYOND THE OBVIOUS ments of all the joints. He was seen by three paediatricians before and all of them had reassured the parents that nothing is unusual. I myself could not find anything useful in the case. As the child was about to leave, I realised that there is something helping the child to walk with support but not allowing him to stand. I got up

from my chair and questioned myself as to what is making me stand? I realised it is my thigh

muscles. I concluded that the child’s thigh muscles are working well but something beyond it is not. Then the question arose as to what it is. In all probability, it could be that the nerves supplying his leg muscles below the thigh muscles, was the answer. I ordered for an urgent MRI Scan of his spine, which

showed a large tumour in the spine at the lumbar level, just below the level which supplies the thigh muscles. The child was operated by a neurosurgeon and within a week, he started standing without support. The writer is a consultant orthopaedist at Oxygen Hospitals, Vikrampuri. You can contact him on 7702446000.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

Entertainment

KALYAN RAM’S OM SOON IN OFFING Kalayan Ram, Kriti Kharbanda and Sana Khan starrer Om is set to release later this year. The film is being touted as India’s first action movie to be shot in 3D. Suneel has directed the film.

BACK WITH A BANG

CINE BYTES

BAADSHAH

SET TO RELEASE

ON APRIL

SVSC sets a new record in US

enkatesh and Mahesh Babu starrer Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu has become the first Telugu film to gross more than $1.5 million in its opening weekend in US. It’s already the second highest grosser and it’s within striking distance to cross Dookudu’s astounding run at the box office in US. Sreekanth Addala has directed the film.

TR’s upcoming film Baadshah is going to hit the screens on April 5. Sreenu Vaitla is directing the film and Bandla Ganesh is producing it. Kajal is playing the lead role opposite NTR and Navdeep has been cast in an important role. Most part of the film has already been wrapped up and the entire talkie part is going to be wrapped up in the next schedule which will begin later this week. NTR is sporting two different looks in the film and one of them is going to be an extremely stylish avatar as a don. Bandla Ganesh is confident that the film is going to be a blockbuster and the usual suspects from Sreenu Vaitla’s earlier films like Brahmanandam and M S Narayana, who brought the roof down in Dookudu, are expected to repeat the magic once again. SS Thaman has scored the music and the audio will be launched on March 10. Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan have written the script.

Kamal Haasan blinks first

he controversy over the DTH premiere of Vishwaroopam has finally come to an end. The Tamil Nadu theatre owners association promised to screen the film in over 500 theatres on January 25 and in turn Kamal Haasan decided to push the DTH premiere on February 2. The film also stars Pooja Kumar, Andrea.

Regina to team up with Sai Dharam Tej

egina Cassandra is going to team up Sai Dharam Tej in an upcoming film which is being directed by AS Ravikumar. She had earlier acted in films like Routine Love Story and SMS. Already, two schedules of the film have been wrapped up. Bunny Vas and Harshid are producing the film and Anup Rubens is scoring the music.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

Zanjeer crew's Rs.500 bet on RC, PC

he crew of Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer is said to have placed a Rs.500 bet on actors Ram Charan Teja and Priyanka Chopra, who are busy brushing up their Hindi and Telugu diction respectively. Zanjeer, the remake of the 1973 film of the same name, is being simultaneously shot in Hindi and Telugu.

Shabana pleased with response

he's done some meaty and critically acclaimed roles in her eventful film career, but Shabana Azmi is happy with the response her latest effort in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is receiving. “I am thankful to Vishal Bhardwaj for giving me such a wonderful role,” says the actress, who plays a crooked politician.

IS KALKI THE DAAYAN?

KALKI moves from shades of grey to outright horror K

alki Koechlin is familiar with roles with shades of grey - be it Shaitan or That Girl In Yellow Boots - but it is for the first time that she will be seen in an out-and-out horror flick. Ek Thi Daayan, which the actress describes as "a scary film", also stars Konkona Sen and Huma Qureshi, and Kalki believes the audience will have a tough time figuring out which of the three is the 'daayan' (witch). “Ek Thi Daayan is …about a witch and a magician. The mystery is that there are three possible 'daayans' and you guys will probably have lots of competition trying to guess which of us is the daayan." Kalki, who debuted in Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, calls Ek Thi Daayan a "special and completely original film". "I have not done a horror film before. The promotions start in two days, so prepare to be scared," says Kalki, who won critical acclaim for performances in Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan and husband Kashyap's That Girl in Yellow Boots, which she co-wrote. Produced by Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj, Ek Thi Daayan, which stars Emraan Hashmi in the male lead, is expected to come out in April. IANS

Interior design tempts one more

uniel Shetty's wife Mana Shetty is the latest to enter the interiors business with the launch of her home interiors store - R House. She follows Suzanne Roshan, Hrithik Roshan's wife and Akshay Kumar’s wife Twinkle Khanna who have both launched interior design outfits.

Entertainment TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

A L0NG AWAITED WIN

CINE BYTES

Bradley Cooper in talks for ‘Dark Invasion’

radley Cooper is currently in talks to star in a Warner Bros thriller called Dark Invasion, based on an upcoming book by Howard Blum. The book, set in 1915, tells the story of the clandestine war waged by German Secret Service against the US, then still neutral in the ongoing First World War. Cooper is set to play NYPD Captain Tom Tunney, who led the task force in charge of bringing the spies to justice.

Spears wanted $3 mn more for ‘X Factor’

Argo and Les Miserables win top honours at Golden Globes

en Affleck’s Iran hostage drama Argo and musical Les Miserables were the big winners Sunday at the Golden Globes, while Steven Spielberg’s presidential drama Lincoln won only one major award. Affleck won the top prizes of best dramatic film and director for his movie about a CIA mission to rescue diplomats caught in Tehran in 1979, while Les Miserables won best film, actor and supporting actress in the musical/comedy category. Daniel Day-Lewis won best drama actor for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln at the 70th annual Globe awards, but that was the only top award for Spielberg’s film, which had topped the nominations tally

with seven. Jessica Chastain meanwhile won best actress in a drama for her role as a relentless CIA agent tracking down Osama bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, while Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained won two key prizes. Les Miserables, a musical adapted from the book by Victor Hugo, won best musical/comedy movie, while Australian actor Hugh Jackman won best actor for his all-singing role, and co-star Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress. Day-Lewis, who had been widely expected to win for his turn in Lincoln, had to make do with being the only big winner for Spielberg’s movie — which has also topped nominations for

next month’s Oscars. Tarantino’s blood-soaked spaghetti Western tribute Django Unchained meanwhile won two Globes: best supporting actor for Austrian Christoph Waltz, and best screenplay for the Pulp Fiction director himself. British songstress Adele, making her first red carpet appearance since giving birth in October, won best song for the theme tune from James Bond blockbuster Skyfall. Best foreign language film went to Austrian Michael Haneke’s Amour, which won the Cannes Palme d’Or last year. Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence won best musical/comedy actress for rom-com Silver Linings Playbook, while best original score went to

Taiwanese-born Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Scottish-themed Brave won best animated feature. On the small screen meanwhile, terrorism-themed thriller Homeland and the quirky Brooklyn hipster comedy Girls took top television honours. Homeland, which wrapped its second season on the Showtime cable channel last month, won for best dramatic series, as well as best actress and best actor for its two stars, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Other TV winners included the HBO television movie Game Change and its star Julianne Moore, who took best actress in a dramatic series for her role as renegade Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

inger Britney Spears reportedly asked for a $3 million hike in salary to judge the third season of American singing reality show The X Factor. When her demand was turned down, Spears stayed away from the show. Britney’s representatives said she would only come back if she was offered $18 million,” radaronline.com quoted a source.

Jodie Foster ‘comes out’ during award speech

ctress Jodie Foster, who received the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille trophy at the 70th Golden Globe award ceremony, used the platform to clear air about her sexuality, her love and also made a plea to spare her personal life. After teasing the crowd that she was going to make an announcement “that I’m a little bit nervous about”, Foster said: “I’m just gonna put it out there... I’m single.”

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

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

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ACROSS

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SUDOKU

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1 Drawn fawn 6 Like roasted marshmallows 11 Scottish cap 14 Once more 15 Popeye's sweetie 16 Memorable time for historians 17 What dead men do 19 She played Cleo 20 Setting for many a joke 21 Tug-of-war position 22 Sixties drug 23 Causes to condense on a surface 27 Like some divers 29 ___-di-dah 30 Party platter items 32 Chip's chum, in cartoons 33 Nuptial agreement? 34 Metro-station entrance 36 Sports wrap-up 39 Cereal serving 41 Oozes 43 Ship in search of the Golden Fleece 44 "Love Boat" bartender 46 Turn the trip meter to 000 48 "Me, me, me" attitude 49 It may show a lot

51 Bike basket escapee of film 52 Up to, briefly 53 Constant, as a liar 56 Some rich desserts 58 Jerry's uncle on "Seinfeld" 59 Volcanic spew 60 TV regulatory grp. 61 Yuletide worker 62 It may be requested in a vote 68 "The Mouth That Roared" of the ring 69 Experimented with 70 Skip a sound 71 "___ an option" 72 Made public 73 Triangular river formation

DOWN

1 Dracula's alter ego 2 Gray naturally 3 Prefix meaning "bad" 4 "The Hobbit" hero 5 Organs, guts and such 6 Received 7 "Pay" extension 8 No longer squeaky 9 Tied, as a score 10 Husband's reply to "Honey?" 11 Have loose lips 12 Spring up 13 Nissan rival 18 Circles Earth, e.g.

23 Excuse in a whodunit 24 Woodworking grooves 25 Make money in business 26 Secretive watcher 28 "Not guilty" is one 31 Winter driving hazard 35 Salts used medicinally 37 College Station student 38 Combines, as resources 40 "Mission: Impossible" theme composer's first name 42 Ignited 45 Rummy variety 47 Emotionally affected 50 Yom Kippur's Hebrew month 53 Unarmed, in police lingo 54 Phone answerer's greeting 55 Mormon Tabernacle, for one 57 Richter or Beaufort 63 Itty-bitty 64 Not divisible by two 65 Zilch 66 Banned bug-killer 67 Something fishy

Chai Time TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 16-1-2013

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 reach expected heights by planning the works perfectly and approach with a slow and steady approach. never be in a hurry or act in haste which will spoil all your efforts and make you upset. Bad-mouthing friends should be shunned.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Your approach should be nice and never use any harsh words to get things done as expected. Employees need to maintain punctuality at workplace. Try and complete the works as per schedule so as to avoid any unwanted problems.

Your talks need to be flexible to march ahead with your plans.Arguing with others might bring you a lot of hurdles. Avoid standing guarantee for anyone.Employees need to be polite and flexible at workplace to earn a good name.

You have to work with extra caution to achieve success and avoid any hurdles. Avoid interfering in anyone's personal matter. If you have no proper plans to execute the works they may not be done successfully.

Transer to desired destination and promotion are on the cards for employees. Avoid arguments with family members. Avoid rash driving and be alert while traveling. Businessmen can expect good opportunities to grow.

Ups and downs are likely to take place. Your correct and bold decisions at this time alone will bring desired results. These decisions will also be suitable and help in your future life, hence think carefully.

Self confidence level and courage will be at their highest level. Employees will be recognised as per their calibre and problems faced will disappear. Spouse will be very co-operative with you and keep you happy.

All the tensions and disappointments you faced all these days will disappear and you will feel cheerful. Your skills will be recognised suitably at the workplace.Superiors will be in favour of you and support you very well.

A careful and cautious approach will make you taste success without facing any hurdles. Employees will be happy to receive a good support and favour from their superiors. Don't hurt your colleagues' feelings.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Four of Pentacles – The focus is on money. You feel secure and stable only when you know that there is enough in the bank for a rainy day.

LEO:

Eight of Wands – This is the card of good fortune. If you have prepared well for this day, a really good opportunity will fall in your lap.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Six of Wands – Projects are moving ahead successfully to your satisfaction. Take comfort in knowing that your planning is good and is being appreciated.

SAGITTARIUS:

Ten of Cups – Family is in focus. Emotions run high and you’re getting a lot of energy from family members. Spend time with them and take them out on a weekend.

TAURUS:

Four of Wands – Home life needs more attention. You may be too caught up in career to focus on the home and loved ones. You can change it if you want.

CANCER:

King of Swords – You’re working hard on something and you’re using more of the head and less of the heart. Loose up and go with the flow.

VIRGO:

Queen of Cups – Emotions are in focus. You’re wearing your heart on your sleeve and those around you may or may not see this the right way.

SCORPIO:

Nine of Cups – This is the wish card. It, however, cautions you to be careful of asking for the wrong things, which may end up seeming frivolous.

CAPRICORN:

Temperance – You’re on a short fuse with too many things to do and too little time. Beware of getting impatient and upsetting someone very important.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

Nine of Swords – You’re anxious about a new beginning or something unfamiliar in your life. This may be affecting your sleep. Learn to relax and let go.

NUMBER GAME

Swords – It always get lonely when your focus is only work, work and work all the time. Try to take time out to socialize more often.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: Queen of

POOCH CAFE

You have to adopt slow and steady approach to achieve success. At the same time don't be negligent in office works and never believe others who promise to complete works on your behalf. Punctuality is a must.

for 16-1-2013

Eight of Swords – Nightmares may be disturbing your days. Bonds are being severed and new ones are being made. The only way to deal with it is to accept it.

NON SEQUITUR

A patient approach will earn you good name and success in all the tasks that are undertaken by you. Your importance is set to increase at the workplace. Colleagues will be most co-operative and help you in the time of need.

SUDUKO

All the challenges you undertake will be successful. Employees will be relieved from the problems they had faced at workplace all along. Expected transfers and pay hike will become a reality. Management will favour you.

Boggle DAM BED BEND FLOW BANK MOUTH Vol: 2, No 179 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 TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 CINE BYTES Call for Oscar boycott of Zero Dark Thirty

avid Clennon has urged others to snub Kathryn Bigelow ﬁlm at awards for 'promoting acceptance of the crime of torture'. Hollywood studio Sony has been forced into a fresh defence of the controversial ﬁlm Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, after a member of the body that organises the Oscars called for a boycott.

Hathaway to star in a Shakespeare adaptation

nne Hathaway will star in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap. Abi Morgan, who scripted The Iron Lady, will handle the adaptation, a modernday retelling of the play set in mid-20th century Italy.

Carmen denies dating Simon Cowell

f Carmen Electra brought a date to the Weinstein Company Golden Globes afterparty, it deﬁnitely was not Simon Cowell. "We're friends," the 40-year-old told E! News when asked about the ongoing rumours she's dating the 53-year-old X Factor bigwig. "I think he's on vacation right now," she added.

PIRATES TAKE NOTE

Pirates of the Caribbean 5

and JOHNNY DEPP setting sail for 2015

hoy, me hearties! You haven't seen the last of Captain Jack Sparrow yet. Batten down the hatches, moviegoers, because Johnny Depp is reprising his iconic role as the mischievous buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which Disney announced it's targeting for a July 10, 2015, release. The Mouse House and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have hired veteran scribe Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, Tower Heist) to pen the screenplay. No word what the latest tale will be about. But previous sequels have revolved around Aztec Gold (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), the villainous Davy Jones and the mythical Kraken (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), the Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones' Locker (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) and the fabled Fountain of Youth (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). All told, the four Pirates of the Caribbean flicks have grossed a massive $3.7 billion in booty at the worldwide box office. As Depp is still working on The Lone Ranger for Disney and the Pirates script has yet to be delivered, filming on the fifth installment is not expected to start rolling until 2014.

sports

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

DOPING TROUBLE

BRIEFS

Lance in the firing line Speed Striker pleases Lance's reported admission to doping means he will go down in history as the most brazen drug cheat the sport has ever seen.

peed Striker, Sporting Star and Regal Groom pleased when the horses were exercised here this morning Sand Track 800 Metres; Greek Star (Sai Vamshi) Field Smasher (rb) 58, 600/44 Former finished a length in front. Audacious (Imran Khan) 1-1, 600/45 Easy. Corvette (rb) 56.5, 600/43 Moved well. Askioz (rb) 57.5, 600/43 Unextended. Iaz Elle (Imran Khan) 55, 600/40 Moved well. So Be It (app) Trustful (Anil) 55.5, 600/42 Former finished 2 lengths in front. Speed Striker (K.Alam) 54, 600/40 Pleased. Noble Honour (K. Alam) 1200/400 in 59 Eased. Sand Track 1000 Metres: Emerald Reef (Alikhan) 1-13,

A file picture shows yellow jersey Lance Armstrong, climbing the Mont Ventoux next to a banner against doping during the 14th stage of the 89th Tour de France between Lodeve and the Mont Ventoux, 21 July 2002. Armstrong could lose much more than his already ravaged reputation if he confesses to doping during a television interview with Oprah Winfrey -- he could end up in jail. AFP/JOEL SAGET

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Lance Armstrong's reported admission to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs means he will go down in history as the most brazen drug cheat the sport has ever seen. The disgraced American cyclist's admission, reported Monday by USA Today, rewrites 14 years of deception and repeated denials that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win scores of international races, including the Tour de France seven times. His years of dominance in the sport's greatest race raised cycling's profile in the United States to new heights and gave

Armstrong a platform to promote cancer awareness and research. But the Texan's world caved in further after his admission and he must now face the legal and financial consequences as well as the backlash from the cancer community and his own Livestrong charity, to which he apologized prior to the interview with talkshow diva Oprah Winfrey. Richard Pound, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said he would have liked to see Armstrong face a proper interrogation panel and that the confession could backfire if critics aren't satisfied with

LEAGUE CRICKET South Zone inter-state U-14 Round 2 Day 2 Tamil Nadu 285/9 bt Goa 101 all out (Tunish Swakar 39, Aditya Rishi 5/23, S. Ajit Ram 3/28) Hyderabad 174 all out lost to Andhra 176 for no loss (T Vamshi Krishna 77 n.o., K. Maheep Kumar 92 n.o.). A 2-3 two-days Galaxy 280 (Lharan 36, Sekhar 64, Ramesh 4/42) bt Telangana 212 (Sohail 46, Sai Kumar 36, Raju 3/72, Kritesh Soni 6/54). A 4-11 two-days

Abhinav Colts 146 (Praveen 46, Nagaraj 35, Parmesh Singh 3/37, Surjeetha Rana 4/19) lost to Lal Bahadur PG 147/8 (Om Praskash Mishra 57, Praveen 4/46). CK Blues 268/4 (Vijaya Saradhi 66, Samuel Raj 67, Venkat 30 n.o.) bt Chums XI 81/8 (S. Venkat 3/32, Raghuveer 3/20). Team Kun 142 (Niranjan 37, Srikanth 3/34, Prakash 4/64) lost to Imperial 145/3 (Srinath 59 n.o.). Mahaveer 215/8 (Srikanth 42, Manna 34, Vijender 32, Raghavender 3/44) bt Sutton 146 (Bhuvandera 37, Yeshwanth Reddy 51, Jitender Shah 3/32, Deepak Kumar 3/4).

the platform he chose. "I would have preferred he did it in front of 'Face The Nation' or 'Meet the Press' and get some hard questions from people," Pound told AFP from his home in Montreal, referring to prominent US Sunday television talkshows. "What he risks if he gets a softball outcome is people will be even more put off. His effort to redeem himself will have fallen on the rocks." Once a symbol of perseverance in the face of incredible odds, cancer survivor Armstrong sensationally conceded defeat in his fight to contest the doping charges against him in August.

800/59, 600/45 Moved freely. Cascading Glory (Sai Vamshi) Lona Dona (rb) 1-16.5, 800/1-0, 600/45 Former finished in front. Queen Necklace (Imran Khan) 1-16.5, 800/1-0, 600/45 Moved freely. Lady Luck (app) 1-18.5, 800/1-2.5, 600/47.5 Easy. Sand Track 1200 Metres: Sporting Star (app) Ice Barrier (Anil) 1-30, 1000/1-12, 800/55.5, 600/40 Former finished 2 lengths in front. Regal Groom (K.Alam) 1-27.5, 1000/1-13, 800/58, 600/43.5 Moved on the bit. Noted on 14/01/2013. Sand Track 1200 Metres: The Leader (Kiran Naidu) 1-33, 1000/1-18, 800/1-2,, 600/47 Easy.

Atluri, Sai take honours Hyderabad: Atluri Prateek of D.A.V Public School, Safilguda and Sai Arun tied for first place with 5.5 points out of 6 rounds in the Chess Junior category of 80th Brilliant trophy. Prateek was declared as the winner after a tie-breaker while Shanmukha Teja got third place with 5 points. M.Chakravarthy Reddy won the open category of 80th Brilliant trophy by scoring 6 points out of 6 rounds, while K.Vijaykanth and M.Y Raju came second and third respectively with 5 points each. Top ten places: (open category): M. Chakravarthy Reddy, K.Vijaykanth, M.Y Raju,

V.Varun, S.Subbaraju, JRC Prasad, J.K Raju, S.Khan, J.Subrahmanyam, Raja Rithvik. Age group winners: Juniors Category Boys: Under 14: Sai Arun, Shanmukha Teja; Under 12: 1. R.Jayanth 2. Phani.M, Under 10: 1. K. Pranav Sharma, 2. K. Sarath Chandra; Under 8: 1. Harshith.Pokala, 2. S.Koushik Girls: Under 14: 1. M. Aishwarya 2. Mahalakshmi; Under 12: 1. Lakshmi Sravani, 2. Apoorva, 1. Nanditha, 2. Mohaimeen, Under 10: 1.Varshitha, 2. Aiswarya Reddy, Under 6: 1. Anitha Reddy, 2. Rachitha. Best Woman: Natura Bethi Best Veteran: DSSN Raju.

ZINDA TILISMATH CUP

Pete Transformers in quarters HYDERABAD: Pete Transformers walk into the Quarterfinals, being the only unbeaten cricket team in the league stages and are known as the "South Africa" of the tournament since they seem to choke in crucial games. Will the Zinda Tilismath cup be the one when they remove that tag and continue their winning streak or will they continue to choke under pressure? Also Phoenix shocked everyone by registering a huge win against former champions Hyderabad House. The tourna-

ment is wide open at the moment with the top 3 teams in group A also having registered huge wins in their last league game. Brief Scores: Mane India (60/10 in 13.1) lost to Worldview (62/3 in 10.5) Vikas Reddy (MoM) 4 overs 14/3, Kodanda Ramu B 28(28) HCCL (196/6 in 20) beat Monarch Infotech (99/9 in 20) Omkar Avhad (MoM) 101(58), Yaqub Maqsusi 46(33) & 4 over 1 mdn 3/1 TATA ADVANCED SYSTEMS (163/8) beat Value Labs (81/10

in 14.1) Chetan Sharma (MoM) 106(55), Vikash Singh 3.2 overs 1 mdn 17/4 Phoenix (169/8 in 20) beat Hyderabad House (99/9 in 17) Jameel Iqbal (MoM) 4 overs 1 mdn 20/5, Uzair Siddiqui 54(47), Pete Transformers (122/6 in 20) beat Deccan Rangers (90/9 in 20) - Santosh (MoM) 4 overs 14/3, Nani 22(19) Avengers (124 all out in 19.2) beat Zonah (121 all out in 18.3) Ammar Ayub (MoM) 4 overs 18/5, Himanshu Kaushik 4 overs 14/2, Zain Azam 32(33).

sports TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Djokovic fires as Hewitt bows out

Azarenka in second round

Novak made a commanding start to his Australian Open quest as local hero Lleyton Hewitt became the first high-profile casualty. MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic made a commanding start to his quest for a hat-trick of Australian Open titles Monday, as local hero Lleyton Hewitt became the first highprofile casualty. The Serbian world number one was in imperious form as he tossed aside Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 in just 1hr 42min on Rod Laver Arena to waltz into the second round of the year’s first Grand Slam event. Djokovic is bidding to become the first player in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian Opens, and he brushed aside the 60th-ranked Mathieu for his 15th straight match win in Melbourne. “It was a good performance for a first round,” he said. “It’s expected in the first match you’re still not 100 percent on the court. “You’re trying to, but it’s going to get better with matches that I play.

Novak Djokovic gestures as he celebrates victory after his men’s singles match against Paul-Henri Mathieu during the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. AFP PHOTO/GREG WOOD

Defiant Serena vows to hobble on despite injury MARTIN PARRY Agence France-Presse MELBOURNE: A defiant Serena Williams vowed to battle through the pain barrier after a big injury scare when she rolled her right ankle before reaching the Australian Open second round. Serena, gunning for a sixth Australian title, landed heavily and went to ground in the first set before gingerly going through the motions to beat hapless Romanian Edina Gallovits-

Hall 6-0, 6-0. “Oh, I’ll be out there,” she said when asked if she would be playing her next match on Thursday, against either Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova or Garbine Muguruza of Spain. “I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there’s no way I’m not going to be competing. I’m alive. My heart’s beating. I’ll be fine. I’ve been injured before,” she added. “I’ve played this tournament with so many injuries and was able to come off pretty on top.”

Hopefully I can continue on with the same rhythm.” The top seed sent out a clear message that he has the appetite to go after his fourth Australian crown, and his sixth major title overall, at the venue where he broke through for his first Grand Slam win in 2008. But Hewitt, unseeded but playing in his record 17th consecutive home Open, was knocked out by Serbian eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 6-3 over three hours of high-class tennis. “Against quality players, you’ve got to take your chances, but to his credit Janko raised his level and played some great points,” Hewitt said. Elsewhere, Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer eased past Belgian Olivier Rochus, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 1hr 50min and Czech two-time quarter-finalist Tomas Berdych accounted for Michael Russell 6-3, 7-5, 6-3. AFP

MELBOURNE: World number one Victoria Azarenka kicked off her Australian Open title defence with a hard-fought straight sets win against Romania’s Monica Niculescu on Tuesday. The Belarusian top seed, who beat Maria Sharapova in the final last year, is defending a Grand Slam title for the first time and overcame some second set defiance from Niculescu to ease through 6-1, 6-4 minutes. The 23-year-old won six WTA titles in 2012 but she was forced to withdrew from this month’s Brisbane International with an infected big toe, hampering her Grand Slam build-up, but she showed little effect on Rod Laver Arena. She quickly raced

to a 3-0 first set lead, showcasing a sparkling array of shots, closing it out in just 31 minutes. But the 49th ranked Romanian found her feet in the second set and pulled into a 3-0 lead before Azarenka battled back, drawing level at 4-4 then wrapping up the match when Niculescu sent a forehand long. Standing in her way of back-to-back Australian titles is 15-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, with the pair pitted in the same half of the draw. That sets up a potential blockbuster semi-final between the two, but first Azarenka must get past her second round opponent, either Eleni Daniilidou of Greece or Czech Karolina Pliskova. AFP

Ice-cool Murray crushes Haase Murray was authoritative, tearing apart the erratic Haase. MELBOURNE: Andy Murray said he would draw on the experience of his breakthrough US Open win in the later stages of big tournaments after a trouble-free start to his Australian Open campaign Tuesday. In warming on-court temperatures on Rod Laver Arena, the third seed clinically disposed of Dutchman Robin Haase, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 to progress safely to the second round. Much has changed in Murray’s life since his careertransforming victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in last year’s US Open

Andy Murray plays a return to Robin Haase during their men’s singles match on the second day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday. AFP/PETER PARKS

final, and he is among the favourites at the year’s opening major tournament.

Murray was authoritative in his first match in Melbourne, taking just 1hr 37min to take apart the erratic Haase with eight service breaks and making just 20 unforced errors in the 25 games. Murray said he didn’t notice anything significantly different in his first Grand Slam match since his US Open triumph last September, but that it would steel him should he make the final rounds of the Australian Open. “It didn’t feel much difference to me. I was still nervous before I went on to play the match,” Murray said. AFP

BRIEFS Federer unlikely for Swiss Davis Wozniacki manages to survive Cup opener big scare

Date-Krumm, 42, breaks Open age record

Somdev - India’s rebel player proves a point

LAUSANNE: Switzerland can count on Stanislas Wawrinka but probably not Roger Federer when it meets the Czech Republic for the first round of the Davis Cup in Geneva next month, the Swiss tennis federation said Monday. Swiss captain Severin Luethi picked Wawrinka (ranked 17th best player in the world), Marco Chiundinelli (148th), Henri Laaksonen (291st), Michael Lammer (360th) and Sandro Ehrat (353rd) to help the central European country win the elusive cup. Switzerland has never won the Davis Cup, although was runner up in 1992. AFP

MELBOURNE: Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm on Tuesday became the oldest woman to win a main draw match at the Australian Open, upsetting 12th seed Nadia Pedrova. The Japanese number one, aged 42, crushed her opponent, who is 12 years younger, 6-2, 6-0 in just over one hour in hot conditions on an outside court at Melbourne Park. In doing so, she surpassed Britain’s Virginia Wade as the oldest main draw winner. Wimbledon winner Wade won in 1985 when 40 years, 138 days. AFP

MELBOURNE: A defiant Somdev Devvarman proved Monday the Indian Davis Cup team will be poorer for his absence as he surged into the second round of the Australian Open. Devvarman is one of 11 rebel players to make themselves unavailable for India’s Asia/Oceania Group I tie against South Korea next month. He ignored a bitter dispute with the Indian governing body to defeat Germany’s world number 78 Bjorn Phau 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a commanding performance. AFP

MELBOURNE: Caroline Wozniacki was pushed hard by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki at the Australian Open on Tuesday before rallying in the third set to move into the second round. The Dane, who finished 2010 and 2011 as the world’s top-ranked player, has been struggling this year and was bundled out of the Brisbane International in the first round before falling at the second hurdle in Sydney. Her lacklustre form appeared to be continuing on the Hisense Arena at Melbourne Park before she reeled off six third set games in a row to go through 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. AFP

sports TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

DAKAR RALLY

Peterhansel nears 11th win Stephane Peterhansel neared his 11th Dakar Rally win as Nasser Al-Attiyah struggled.

CORDOBA: France’s defending champion Stephane Peterhansel took a huge step towards his 11th Dakar Rally win on Monday as his main rival Nasser Al-Attiyah struggled during the ninth stage, the longest of the race. Spaniard Nani Roma won the stage - his second of this year’s edition and 13th of his career leading in a Mini 1-2 with 47year-old Peterhansel - six times champion on a motorbike and four times in a car - second and Argentinian Orlando Terranova third in a BMW. Al-Attiyah - the 2011 champi-

on - had to stop several times during the stage in his Red Bull Buggy including just 4km from the finish line and saw his dreams of a second Dakar title dashed. Peterhansel now has a comfortable lead of almost 50 minutes over his nearest rival South African Giniel de Villiers. “We could have gained even more time, but we would have had to take risks,” said Peterhansel. “It’s (the title) getting closer, but there are still a few long stages left which favour the buggies. We need to take

Mini driver Stephane Perterhansel passes by Martin Amengual (L) and Paco Martinez (R) during the Dakar Rally 2013. AFP/FRANCK FIFE

NEW ZEALAND VS SOUTH AFRICA

Kiwis capitulate on ‘Hell tour’ Kiwis’ humiliation on their SA tour shows the team is rudderless and have been outclassed, according to New Zealand media. WELLINGTON: The Black Caps’ latest humiliation on their “tour from Hell” to South Africa shows the team is rudderless and has been woefully outclassed, New Zealand media said on Tuesday. “A mismatch of epic proportions” was the Christchurch Press’s take on New Zealand’s capitulation in the second and final Test in Port Elizabeth, where the hosts enjoyed a thumping innings victory. Former national coach David Trist said New Zealand’s players “will need counselling in some cases” after a similarly lopsided score in the opening Test, where the Black Caps managed only 45 runs in their first innings. “It’s been the tour from Hell, in more ways than one,” Trist told Radio New Zealand. “Nothing has gone right really. It’s been a wake-up call for New Zealand cricket.” Trist said the tourists had been unsettled by coach Mike

South African players acknowledge the crowd after winning the second crickAFP/ANESH DEBIKY et test against New Zealand on Monday in Port Elizabeth.

Hesson’s controversial decision to sack Ross Taylor as captain before the tour and replace him with Brendon McCullum. “They were rudderless at the top, in terms of a new coach who looks out of his depth to some degree, management around him

that probably needs to be questioned and a captain (McCullum) who was caught in the perfect storm,” he said. Trist called for an independent review, saying the Black Caps went to South Africa without adequate preparation. AFP

time whenever we can, because we can always make mistakes in Fiambala or on the dunes of Copiapo.” Earlier defending motorbike champion Cyril Despres stormed back into contention for this year’s title as the Frenchman won his first stage of this year’s renewal. The 38-year-old KTM star started the day over 24 minutes off the pace but finished the stage in second place overall as he came in 4min 03sec ahead of Spanish rider Joan Barreda on a Husqvarna. AFP

HOCKEY INDIA LEAGUE Delhi Waveriders pip Punjab Warriors NEW DELHI: Delhi Waveriders started their campaign on a positive note defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors 2-1 in the opening match of the inaugural Hockey India league, at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here on Monday. Delhi rode on goals from Oscar Deecke and Gurvinder Singh Chandi to pocket the win, while Kieran Govers scored the lone goal for Punjab in the HIL opener which was marred by a pitch intrusion by supporters of Hindu Yuwak Sabha. Shouting anti-Pakistan slogans, two supporters from Hindu Yuwak Sabha attempted to invade the turf in the 27th minute of the match protesting the participation of nine Pakistani players in the league in the wake of mounting tension over Pakistan army’s alleged brutal killing of two Indian soldiers recently at the Line of Control.

The two activists of youth wing of Hindu Sena were overpowered by the security officials and dragged out of the venue. In the game, Delhi were by far the better side on display as they scored a goal each in the first two quarters (17-andhalf minutes) of the opening half. Punjab, on the other hand, looked out of sorts in the opening half as Australian Jamie Dwyer, Shivendra Singh and SV Sunil failed to combine and lacked coordination upfront. Deecke broke the deadlock in the 14th minute when his flick rolled inside the net after getting a deflection from a Delhi defender. Even though it was a self-goal by Delhi, but as per rules Deecke will be awarded the goal. Nine minutes later Chandi pulled off a stunner as Delhi went into the breather with a 2-0 lead. PTI

SPORTS BRIEFS Rory backs McGinley as Ryder Cup captain

McIlroy, Woods set for first clash

Pakistan ready for SA challenege: Hafeez

ABU DHABI: The Ryder Cup captaincy debate heated up on the eve of Tuesday night’s decision process in Abu Dhabi with World No.1 Rory McIlroy backing Paul McGinley as the captain in 2014. The Tournament Players Committee will meet in the UAE capital to decide a successor to Jose Maria Olazabal and with McGinley now favourite to become the first-ever Irish born captain in the 85-year history of the Ryder Cup. With Darren Clarke now likely not to contest the vote, McGinley’s only other rival is victorious 2010 captain, Colin Montgomerie but with many in Abu Dhabi believing the Scot is now selfishly standing in McGinley’s road to the captaincy given a non-written Tour policy of not appointing former captains.

ABU DHABI: The new golf season kick starts in Abu Dhabi this week with the top two ranking players — Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods — opening their accounts. It is the second straight year that they have opted to get things going in the Gulf emirate, but the situation has evolved distinctly since 12 months ago. Then, McIlroy was the fast-rising star of the game, while Woods was still mired in a slump brought on by injury and the sex scandal that wrecked his marriage. Now, McIlroy is the undisputed world No.1, while Woods has proved that, although not back to his imperious best, he can still win tournaments and contend in the majors. The potential rivalry between the two in 2013 has been hotly anticipated and they are likely to be paired together Thursday and Friday in the first two rounds of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

KARACHI: Mohammed Hafeez was confident Monday that Pakistan’s lack of Test cricket will not be a problem when the team meet world number one South Africa next month. Pakistan play three Tests in South Africa with the first match starting in Johannesburg from February 1 — their first Test series in seven months. Pakistan routed England, then the world’s number one Test team, 3-0 last January before losing 1-0 against Sri Lanka in June. “Again after a big gap we will play in South Africa but we have adjusted well in the past,” Hafeez told reporters on the sidelines of a five-day domestic tournament final. “It’s tough but all the players have played four-day game and are well prepared.”

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

sports

HOLTBY RELISHING ‘DREAM MOVE’ TO SPURS

Tottenham Hotspur-bound Lewis Holtby will quit the Bundesliga to fulfil his dream of playing in England, but he insists the move will not harm his Germany prospects. Holtby will join Spurs in July, despite reported interest from their Premier League rivals, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Ferguson set to ring changes Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson plans to rest a number of key players for Wednesday’s FA Cup replay with West Ham United as the English giants eye a treble success. NEIL JOHNSTON Agence France-Presse MANCHESTER (UNITED KINGDOM): Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson (in pic) plans to rest a number of key players for Wednesday’s FA Cup replay with West Ham United as the English giants eye a treble success. Seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and with an eagerly-awaited last 16 Champions League encounter with Real Madrid on the horizon, United will book a fourth round home tie with Fulham or Blackpool if they overcome the Hammers at Old Trafford. Although Ferguson is unlikely to admit it, West Ham’s visit is a game United could do without. Not only is it his team’s 32nd game of the campaign, it is United’s sixth match in little over three weeks. The schedule does

not get any easier for the foreseeable future. Should they overcome West Ham, United face five league and cup games before they travel to Spain to take on Real Madrid on February 13.

“I shall continue to juggle my squad because although December was a busy month, there is still no let-up,” said Ferguson. “The replay with West Ham is quickly followed by an away

trip to Spurs. Then we will hopefully have a fourth round tie against Fulham or Blackpool to give us another two-game week before another busy week of fixtures against Southampton and Fulham.” Ferguson will be mindful that resting too many players for this week’s replay could lead to trouble. Midfielder Michael Carrick, defender Patrice Evra and winger Ashley Young were all absent for the original tie which ended 2-2 at Upton Park. United came within minutes of exiting the FA Cup before Robin van Persie, who had started on the substitutes bench, forced a replay. Van Persie, who has scored 17 goals in 22 league games since signing from Arsenal in August, is set to be rested as Wayne Rooney looks to make his comeback after missing the last five games with a knee ligament injury.

Javier Hernandez could also make an appearance after the Mexico international did not feature in the 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday, United’s ninth win in 10 league games. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce made no attempt to disguise his anger at his side’s performance after their 3-0 defeat at Sunderland last weekend and admits he cannot allow the prospect of a trip to Old Trafford to distract the Hammers from their league campaign. “While Manchester United is the glory of the cup competition and it will be fantastic to go to Old Trafford, QPR next Saturday is our bread and butter and we must make sure we secure three points against them,” said Allardyce. They are in the bottom two of the league and we have already lost to Reading, who were in the bottom two when we played them.”

Lampard wants end to Vermaelen expects Stamford Bridge blues Gunners to fire

IAN WINROW Agence France-Presse LONDON: Frank Lampard believes Chelsea must translate their away form into home success if they are to challenge at the head of the Premier League table. Lampard and his teammates provided an impressive

response to their League Cup semi-final first leg loss to Swansea at Stamford Bridge by beating Stoke 4-0 in the Premier League at the Britannia Stadium last weekend. Chelsea are back on home ground at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday when struggling Southampton visit in a game

that could see Rafael Benitez’s side close the gap on top two Manchester United and Manchester City. The match marks Chelsea’s game in hand on the Manchester duo, and should they win the west London club will move to within four points of City, with United a further seven points clear. In recent seasons, victory would almost be seen as a formality but successive home reverses -- Chelsea lost to bottom club Queens Park Rangers before the Swansea defeat -together with continuing antagonism shown by home supporters to interim manager Benitez mean a home win cannot be guaranteed. But Lampard, who became the club’s second highest scorer after netting against Stoke, is adamant the side must get back on track at the Bridge. The 34year-old, said: “At the minute we are a better away team obviously but that has to change starting with Southampton.”

LONDON:Thomas Vermaelen (above in pic) has backed his Arsenal team-mates to respond positively after a defeat to Manchester City and overcome Swansea City in their FA Cup third round replay. Swansea will visit the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday hoping to repeat their December league victory against the Gunners and set up a fourth round trip to face Brighton. They will arrive in north London to play an Arsenal side still smarting from a 2-0 defeat by City that left Arsene Wenger’s side sixth place in the table and a huge 21 points adrift of leaders Manchester United. Wenger made no attempt to disguise his frustration at a performance he called “timid” although he did commend his side’s spirit after being forced to play 80 minutes with 10 men after Laurent Koscielny was sent off. Koscielny’s red card means he will miss the cup clash, with Per Mertesacker stepping in to partner club captain Vermaelen

at the heart of Arsenal’s defence. With the title already beyond them and Bayern Munich looming in the first knockout round of the Champions League, the FA Cup remains Arsenal’s best hope of success this season and so ending a now eight-year wait for a major trophy since they last lifted the Cup. AFP