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FLASH
SC UPHOLDS SANJAY DUTT’SCONVICTION IN 1993 SERIAL BLASTS CASE
The Supreme Court upholds the conviction of Sanjay Dutt under ArmsAct in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. The apex court, however reduced
Dutt's six-year jail term given by the TADA court to five years. The SCThursday confirmed the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon in
the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and commuted the death sentence of 10 others. An anti-terror TADA court had in 1993 awarded death sentence to
12 people, including Memon. One of them has passed away. The deathsentence of 10 has been commuted to life imprisonment.
HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 HYDERABAD WWW.POSTNOON.COM WEATHER: MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES; 31°C 32 PAGES `3
OVER 40 VEHICLES DAMAGEDAS SADAK BANDH HITS
A City underplastic siege Mineral watermillionaires run amokas regulatory authori-ties snooze. We arebeing buried undertonnes of plastic bot-tles legally and illegal-ly made to pack ‘miner-al water’ which, for allwe know, is tap-waterpacked in plastic bagsand bottles with fakelabels. They fleece usfinancially, risk ourhealth and smotherour environment withgrowing mounds ofplastic waste.
P7
REPORT ON P5N SHIVA KUMAR
city eventsTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
2
AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Full moon dineDine with your loved ones under thefull moon. A special thali will beserved every full moon. Where: La CantinaWhen: from March 27,
7.30pm onwardsContact: (040) 6682 4422
Shaam-e-DeccanGreenPark is hosting RoyalHyderabadi Food Festival – Shaam-e-Deccan. There will be a spread ofvegetarian and non vegetariandelights, especially the nawabikebabs and a wide choice of biriyanis.Where: Once Upon a Time,
GreenPark, Greenlands, Begumpet
When: March 15-24,7.30pm to 11pm
Contact: (040) 6651 5151
Daily treatsOrange is the fruit of the month atThe Westin Hyderabad Mindspace.Dishes include orange blossomcheesecake, orange creme brule anddark chocolate orange tart.Where: Daily Treats, The Westin
Hyderabad MindspaceWhen: Up to March 31Contact: (040) 6767 6818
Holi SpecialAam panna, thandai, assorted pako-das and special chat platters aresome of the items on the menu.There will also be tattoo and mehen-di artistes, musician and bangle sell-
er at the venue.Where: Kailash Parbat
Above Ebony Gautier, 2nd floor, Road no. 36, Jubilee Hills
When: March 23-31Lunch: noon to 3.30pmSnacks: noon to 11.30pmDinner: 7pm to 11pm
Contact: (040) 2355 8856
It’s Easter!There is a special Easter brunch.Where: : Seasonal Tastes,The Westin Hyderabad MindspaceWhen: March 31,
noon to 4pmContact: (040) 6767 6888
DocuSplash!Barf, 1997 & Sita’s Family, 2002,
Delhi Mumbai Delhi, 2006 andNaach, 2008, will be screened.Where: Goethe-Zentrum, Hyderabad
20 Journalist Colony,Road no. 3,Banjara Hills
When: March 24,11am onwards
Contact: gothe.de/hyderabad
Film screeningsShifting Prophecy by MerajurRehman Baruah, a film on the strug-gle of rural Muslim women, andFragments of a Past by UmaChakravarti, on the life and work of awoman political activist in her every-day existence, will be screened.Where: Lamakaan,
Opposite GVKOne, Road No 1, Banjara Hills
When: March 21,7pm onwards
Contact: 96427 31329
Thinking form and contentAn exhibition of art work by GopalNayak.Where: ICONART Gallery,
Road no. 12, Sri Ram Nagar Colony, Banjara Hills
When: Up to March 30, from 11.30 am to 7pm
Contact: 98499 68797
Women in Public SpacesGoethe-Zentrum Hyderabad hadcalled for applications for a groupphotography exhibition on ‘Womenin Public Spaces.’ This is an exhibitionof selected entries. Where: Goethe-Zentrum, Hyderabad
When: March 15-24,9.30am to 5.30pm
Contact: (040) 2335 0443
French heritageA photographic voyage of Frenchheritage in India with Anay Mann,Gigi Scaria, Rishi Singhal, SerenaChopra, Isabel Saij along with Jean-Pierre Dubois.Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery,
Banjara Hills When: March 16-21
11am to 7pmContact: (040) 6656 4466
The great Oxford saleDiscounts on books, magazines, sta-tionery and gift items.Where: Oxford Bookstore,
Tresorie, The Park, 22 Raj Bhavan Road
When: Up to March 31,Contact: (040) 31002959
Spring Treasure SaleThere is a sale of up to 50 per centoff at Taj Khazana.Where: Taj Khazana
Taj Falaknuma PalaceWhen: March 15-25Contact: (040) 6629 8600
DSLR workshop Nikon India is organising its first everbasic DSLR workshop in Hyderabad.Registrations start at 10.30am.Where: Hotel Basera, 1-9-167/168,
SD Road, SecunderabadWhen: March 24,
noon to 4pm
GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456Indane 9848824365
BSNL Complaints 198HMWS & SB Complaints 155313
POLICE CONTROL ROOMHyderabad 27852435Traffic Control Room 27852482DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499FPollution Control Board 23887500
ELECTRICITYGeneral Complaints 155333Breakdown Section 23431178
23431179
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
Commissioner & Spl Officer 2326226624166666R
ENC 23225267Engineering 23220418MCH Tankbund 23225397Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842MCH Circle III 24736912MCH Circle IV 23326975MCH Circle V 23326976MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100Head Office 23225397
IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRYPHONE NUMBERS(TRAIN & RESERVATION)RAILWAYSRail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216Railway Information 131Reservations 135Recorded Information 1345Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333
WATER SUPPLYComplaint Cell 155313Sewerage Complaint 23307328Hyd. Water Supply 23313163
HOSPITALGeneral Hospital, Sec-bad 27505566Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills 23314095NIMS, Director, Punjagutta 23390933Osmania General Hospital 24600146Railway Hospital, Lalaguda 27001134Apollo, Jubilee Hills 23607777Care Hospital, Banjara Hills 30418888Care Hospital, Nampally 30417777Care Hospital, Musheerabad 30419000Care Hospital, Sec-bad 30416666Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar 39879999
BLOOD BANKSBlood Bank,Narayanguda 27567892Chiranjeevi Blood Bank 23559555Blood Bank Mediton Goal 23226624Red Cross, Vidyanagar 27633087ADRM Blood Bank 27035588Mythri Charitable Trust 27550238NTR Memorial Trust 30799999Care Banjara Hills 30418296
30417445
AMBULANCESApollo 23548888, 23607777Kamineni 24022222Medwin 23202902, 23204616Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979Red Cross 27627973Niloufer Hospital 23314095Gandhi 23320332
AIRLINES
Airport Director 27903785, 27906001For Air India Flight Information Toll free(from any network) for IC Flights
18001801407And for All Flights: 1800227722Air India has revised its flight timings.For more information call (Toll free)18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from otherlines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in
TOURISM OFFICESAP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54Sec-bad 27893100Dept of Tourism 23453110India Tourism 23261360AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999
UK VISA OFFICEVFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A,Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7
Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills-34. Working hours are from 8 AM to1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM.
MUSEUMSSalar Jung Museum 24523211AP State Museum 232431300/7641Nizams Museum 24521029
Helpline
Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to
us comments, suggestions,viewpoint or just about
anything [email protected]
or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,
Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033
or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222
HOMAGE TO LEGENDARY ARTIST GANESH PYNEThere is an exhibition of mixed media and jottings by Ganesh Pyne. The
preview is at Kalakriti Art Gallery on March 22, at 6.30pm. This will befollowed by a talk and presentation at 7pm by Pranab Ranjan Ray,
art historian and activist of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
BangaloreMax 34Min 22Cloudy with chances
of thunderstorms.
ChennaiMax 33Min 25
Clear.
MumbaiMax 32Min 21Clear with chances
of rain.
New DelhiMax 33Min 20
Partly cloudy.
31°CClear with cloudy
periods.
23°CA mix of cloudyand clear skies.
29°CA mix of cloud
and sun.
37°CA mix of cloud
and sun.
Weather for HyderabadEvening Overnight Morning Afternoon
PROTEST: Handicraftsmen's Association members stage a dharna at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park. N SHIVA KUMAR
DINING
SHOWS
ART
MISCELLANEOUS
CRIME
CRIME CIVIC
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
3City YESTERDAY’S QUESTIONIS THE COUNTRY HEADING FOR A MID-TERM POLL?
YES (A)
NO (B)
TODAY’S QUESTIONIS THE CENTRE USING CBI TO SETTLE SCORES WITH POLITICALOPPONENTS?A) YES B) NO
To vote visit www.postnoon.com
54%
46%
Mohd [email protected]
While the NIA hasdrawn a blank onthe City blasts, thecounter intelligence
police have interrogated WakfBoard chairman and HajCommittee officials about a mannamed Noor Ul Bashr, who theysaid had worked with Wakfboard 20 years ago but later dis-appeared. He was a resident ofRed Hills but became a Paknational later, it is said.
Chairman of Wakf boardMoulana Khusroo Pasha andother officials stuck to their gunsthat no man by that nameworked with the board but, theintelligence police are positiveabout this. Police now believethat the man has mysteriouslydisappeared and must be a Pakspy. It is also believed that he hadmanaged to take his family toPakistan for safety. This wouldalso give him an excuse to make
phone calls to Pakistan.After quizzing the Wakf Board
functionaries, the police laterdashed to the Haj CommitteeHouse and asked the chairmanSyed Khaleel Ahmed about Bashr.The police are learnt to havesought the help of the minoritycommission and are asking ques-tions to Qazis about him.
All this was not the achieve-ment of the NationalInvestigation Agency; it is theefforts of the State counter-intel-ligence wing, under the leader-ship of DSP R Ramana andMohd Ismail. They dug up thisinformation which is believed toprovide direction to the terrorworks in the City.
The police now say it is estab-lished beyond doubt that theoriginal target was the Sai Babatemple, but a sudden turn ofevents forced a shift and terror-ists pushed the bomb-laden bicy-cles to the market nearby.
Intelligence had time andagain pointed out no terror from aforeign country could do damage
in the City without local help,which police are unable to probebecause of political pressure.When attempts are made to pickup local hands, allegations of per-secution are raised, that kill theenthusiasm of earnest policemen.
Bashr, now with terror mod-ules, is said to have been here afew months ago and there arerecords of him having calledpeople in Pakistan several times.The phone numbers of those hecalled are not of his relatives,which gives rise to suspicionabout his intention. It is again agovernmental drawback to allowsuch people back into the coun-try several times.
City- born Pakistani behindDilsukhnagar blasts?
POSTNOON [email protected]
Cricket is known to be agentlemen’s game,right? Yes, but it is nolonger so. Around 10
people were injured when twogroups playing cricket onMonday attacked each otherwith bats and balls, leading totension in the area for two days.
It happened at SunderaihSun colony of Hayatnagar man-dal. Police said that two teams,one led by a Babu and another by
Nani, had played. Babu’s teamwon and they took out a ‘victoryrally,’ which provoked the Nanigroup, who then confronted theformer.
One led to another and soonit resulted in a free-for-all. Threesustained injuries and wereadmitted to the hospital. Tensiongripped the colony. Someonesummoned the police, whoresorted to a lathi charge thatended up injuring a few others.
A day of tension passed butthe anger rankled the minds ofmany in the colony. On Tuesday,
some elders called for a peacemeeting, but in the meeting thetwo cricket captains came toblows. Nani slapped Babu andBabu’s supporters thrashed Naniand his supporters, while the ter-rified elders escaped through awindow. This resulted in severalinjuries.
At least 10 in all have soughthospital admissions.
Both the captains, who haveinjury marks, are now asked bypolice to maintain peace or faceaction. Cases have been regis-tered against both teams.
This day lastmonth terror took
the lives of 17 andmaimed 120 in theCity. People are yet
to know who thedark forces
behind it are.Postnoon enquires.
Bashr is said to havebeen here a few monthsago and there arerecords of him havingcalled people inPakistan several times.
Some cricket,
this!Victory procession nearlyalways leads to trouble. Hereis one example.
N SHIVA KUMAR
The people living in 12 cir-cles in the peripheral ofthe GHMC are being
supplied with more than 200tankers, while 392 additionalpower borewells will help sur-vive the summer.
The circles — Kukatpally,S e r i l i n g a m p a l l y - 1 ,Serilingampally-2, Patancheruand RC Puram, Kapra,Rajendranagar, LB Nagar,Gaddiannaram, Uppal,Malkajgiri, Qutbullapur andAlwal — will receive freewater from 50 additionaltankers, apart from the 155that already engaged. AsHyderabad Metropolitan
Water Supply and SewerageBoard (HMWS&SB) does nothave a proper distribution net-work, the GHMC is filling thegap.
“Of 392 borewells, 99 werealready drilled and theremaining will be completedby the beginning of April”,said GHMC commissioner, MTKrishna Babu, at a press con-ference. The additional 50tankers’ tenders are finalised.
The RR District collectorwas also told to release `5.46crore under adverse seasonalconditions for spending ontankers.
Denizens living in theseareas can dail 155313 for call-ing the tanker services fromthe GHMC.
Over 200 tankershelp survive summer
The column that teaches everyonesomething new about the way theCity functions.
1 Counselling takes a backseat in colleges.
Education institutions don’t seemto be paying attention to the pres-sure students face today’s compet-itive world. Since 2011, 30 City stu-dents have ended their lives, butthat is still not a wake-up call.
2 A gentleman’s game turnsugly in City.
Nearly 10 people were injuredwhen local cricket players endedup in a brawl after the team thatlost was provoked by a victoryrally by the wining team.
3 T-leaders pay no heed topolice warnings.
The sadak bandh was held suc-cessfully, completely cutting offtransportation between Telanganaand Rayalaseema-Seemandhra.
4 Where do all those plasticbottles go?
Hundreds of legal and illegal waterbottles choke Hyderabad and posehealth risks.
5Unwilling to spend for City’sdevelopment?
It seems like the GHMC is unwill-ing to release the `1 crore fund,using elections as an excuse.
city THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 4
Sorcerer claims girl’s lifeLast year we had reported how, in a
tragic incident, a 21-year-old tribalgirl died after a black magician ‘treat-ed’ her for epilepsy in Kishanbagh.ACP Charminar said the tragedy seemsto have been invited by the girl’s fami-ly itself. Her mother had been cured bythe sorcerer three months ago whenshe of some illness and hence the par-ents entrusted the girl to him.
MARCH 21, 2012
All-party meet on Babliproject issueChief Minister N Kiran Kumar
Reddy has said an all-partymeeting will be convened on Babliproject issue on March 26. Speakingto the media in his Assembly cham-ber on Wednesday, he said the irri-gation minister was writing lettersto all the opposition parties invitingthem to attend the all-party meeting.
‘No danger to UPAgovernment’Union minister of state for
tourism, Chiranjeevi, sees nodanger to the UPA government.He said on Wednesday the DMKparty’s withdrawal of its support tothe government would not lead tothe fall of the government. The government is firmly in the saddleand would complete its term, heinsisted.
Man smokes nearpetrol, dies of burnsAlabourer, C Ramesh, 35, a resi-
dent of Rahmathnagar ofYousufguda, was pouring petrol intohis bike’s tank on March 18. He wassmoking while doing this. A confla-gration erupted that brunt himbadly. He was admitted to OsmaniaGeneral Hospital where he diedtoday. Police have booked a caseagainst the deceased.
`35.86 crore forscholarshipsThe State government has released
`35.86 crore towards pre and postmetric scholarship for minority stu-dents. Principal secretary, minoritywelfare, Rani Kumudini issued a gov-ernment order, as per which thisamount has been released for schol-arships under centrally sponsorscheme and MSS towards plannedbudget of 2012-13.
LAST YEAR... HERE CIVIC
NEWS BRIEFS
3,800 MTof garbage is generated in the City
every day, out of which plastic alonecontributes 7.33 to 9.74 per cent
(mean average taken at 8.36 per centin GHMC reports).
5THINGS WELEARNT TODAY
NUMEROLOGY
We wereunaware that a
counselor was comingto our college everyweek. Never did themanagement informus that there is acounselling cellor counselor...
Srinivas, HCU studentSee page 6
Corporators areanguished and puz-zled. The `1 croredevelopment fund the
GHMC pledged to give themfrom this year has not come yet.The administration pleads thatthe corporation is under themodel code of conduct as theMLC election is scheduled forApril 12.
“This is a lame excuse forthem (administration) not torelease the money. Time is run-ning out,” said a disturbed floorleader of TDP, SangireddySrinivas Reddy.
Opposition leaders plan tomeet the commissioner todayand ask him to release funds orfind an amicable solution. Inthis matter, all the parties are united.
On Wednesday, the worriedleaders of Congress, MIM, andTDP met the commissioner, butthe issue was not resolved.
Earlier it was Borabandacivic by-poll that put a stop toall fund releases. Now it is theMLC election. One MLCwould be elected by 100 divi-sions of the GHMC. By the timeall elections are over, the finan-cial year would be gone.
Corporators are suggestingthat the GHMC write to the elec-tion commission, seeking itspermission to carry out devel-opment works that have alreadybeen sanctioned. Another solu-tion could be providing permis-sion for the works immediatelyafter the election code is lifted(which would be April 18), butit would leave very little timefor execution and the result maybe shoddy works.
As the election code for theMLC elections will affect 100divisions, the floor leadersdemanded that the commission-er grant permission for theperipheral wards, where thecode is not implemented. “Atleast in this way, some wardswill get their works completed,”points out an MIM floor leader.
`1 cr to each corporatormay prove a mirage
Sources say MLC elections are a lame excuse for the administration not torelease money for carrying out development work.
Corporators suggestthat the GHMC writeto the election com-mission, seeking per-mission to carry outdevelopment worksthat have already beensanctioned.
S BALAKRISHNA
city THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 5POLITICS
ASSEMBLY
Md INKESHAF AHMED &Md [email protected]
The resurgent Telanganamovement that organ-ised a sadak bandh alongNational Highway 44,
defying police orders prohibitingit, resulted in a complete break-down of traffic to and from theCity and Rayalaseema. Theentire 170-km route was affected.Around 40 vehicles, includingone police vehicle, were dam-aged when violent mobs peltedthem with stones.
Heavy police turnout wasseen in Shamshabad, Shadnagar,Jadecherla, Boothpur, Kothapetaand Alampur areas. This proba-bly helped prevent the situationfrom slipping into chaos. But theroad traffic came to a halt.
Police and the protesters, ledby TJAC, played a cat and mousegame. Every time the policeremoved a crowd, another tookits place. All front-ranking lead-ers of the TJAC and the TRS,
including TJAC chairmanKodandram, TRS leaders KTRama Rao, Hareesh Rao, andMLA Kavitha Rao were arrested.KTR and Hareesh Rao werepicked up from a sit-in dharna inAnnaram in Mehbubnagar dis-trict. The main flashpoint wasthe Alampur toll plaza, where
vehicles accumulated, resultingin a huge jam. The stir had thesupport of the leftist parties andthe BJP.
Reacting immediately afterthe arrests of these leaders, TRSpresident K Chandrasekara Rao,in a press statement, condemnedthe undemocratic arrest of the
TJAC and TRS leaders anddemanded their immediaterelease.
MASSIVE POLICE FORCESTo avoid any toward incident,the police department hadpressed into action hundreds ofpolice personnel, deployed them
at various strategic points andimposed Section 144. InShamshabad, which houses theinternational airport, the policepressed into action more than1,200 security personnel. Thebandh call had its impact on State-run APSRTC services. The corpo-ration had to choose alternativeroutes to ply passengers betweenvarious districts of Rayalaseemaand Telangana. The bandh is like-ly to continue till 7 pm.
TREMORS IN ASSEMBLYThe sadak bandh had its impact onAP Assembly's proceedingstoday. TDP MLAs fromTelangana region met Assemblyspeaker N Manohar and request-ed him to ensure the release ofMLAs. They alleged that theState is arresting pro-Telanganaactivists in an arbitrary manner.BJP State wing chief G KishanReddy also made a similardemand. Meanwhile, students inOsmania University made a vainbid to take out a rally in supportof the sadak bandh.
‘T’ cut off from RayalaseemaTelangana protesters defied the police and organised a sadak bandh today, resulting in complete cut off of transportation between Telangana and Rayalaseema-Seemandhra.
TDP shines in the absence of TRSPOSTNOON [email protected]
The sixth day of the APAssembly's budget ses-sion gave an opportunity
for TDP to dominate the Houseproceedings in the absence ofthe rival TRS MLAs,who arebusy with the sadak bandh.
The TDP MLAs, who gave anadjournment motion on powercuts, came to the House withempty pots and lanterns, protest-ing against the power cuts and
drinking water problems acrossthe State. The security personneldeployed at the entry point ofthe House did not allow themembers to take the pots andlanterns inside the House andtook away them. When theHouse began as per schedule,TDP members rushed to thespeaker's podium and demand-ed the chair to allowing themotion. But the speaker rejectedthe request.As the Desam MLAscreated a ruckus and persistedon their demand, the House was
adjourned for half hour. YSRCP, CPI and BJP also had
given adjournment motions .
MAIDEN ZERO HOUR HELDWhen the House met after theadjournment, the Speaker, forthe first in the ongoing budgetsession, allowed zero hour dis-cussion on the sadak bandh pro-gramme as per the request ofopposition political parties.Before undertaking this discus-sion, he gave his ruling on thecontroversy created by the pre-
sentation of Agriculture ActionPlan. He said that the govern-ment had accepted its mistakeand expressed its regrets.
CM KEEPS PROMISE, GIVESJOB TO BLAST VICTIMThe State government, keepingits promise of providing gov-ernment employment to thefamily members of victims ofthe Dilsukhnagar twin bombblast that took 17 lives exactlyone month ago, gave the first
government job to the depen-dents of one of the victims.Sujatha, wife of Venkatesh, wholost his life in the blast, wasappointed as junior assistant inanimal husbandry department.The CM, keeping his promise,gave away the appointment let-ter to Sujatha in the Assemblythis morning.
The orders pertaining to theappointment of Sujatha andother beneficiaries werereleased by the State govern-ment few days ago.
N SHIVA KUMAR
city THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 6EDUCATION
ALEENA ALICEaleena.tpostnoon.com
It is that time of the yearwhen most education insti-tutes are gearing up foradmissions for the next aca-
demic year. However, as usualthese educational hubs are moreconcerned about boasting oftheir academic achievementsthan welfare of their students.None of them seems to be con-cerned about the various pres-sures a student has to cope withwhile studying at their institutions.
Since 2011, 30 students haveended their lives in the City andthe reason for all of them havingtaken this extreme step seems tobe similar to 24-year-old Raju’s,who ended his life two days agoin his hostel room at theHyderabad Central University.Ironically, none of the education-al institutions seems to be con-cerned about the mental state of
their students.The various universities in
the City have students comingfrom diverse socio-economicbackgrounds, studies haveshown that under such circum-
stances, the pressure on studentsincreases and there are highchances for students to go intoacute depression. Though theState government has passed anorder for the need of a coun-
selling cell in every educationalinstitution and the UniversityGrants Commission has recom-mended every University tohave a counselling centre, in real-ity most of them are existent onlyfor namesake in the universitiesand colleges.
Students, who are almost onthe verge of a breakdown, do notknow where to go and insteadend up committing suicide. “Wewere unaware that a counselorwas coming to out college everyweek. Never did the manage-ment inform us that there was acounselling cell or there was acounselor coming to our campusfor counselling programmes,”says Srinivas, a final year Sciencestudent at the HyderabadCentral University.
The University managementhowever say that they are mak-ing efforts to have counsellingcells where students canapproach for help. “With therecent incidents that have been
taking place, we realise theimportance of a counsellor andwill very soon be hiring a fulltime counsellor for ourUniversity,” says VC at EFLUProf Sunaina Singh.
Experts feel that with thealarming increase in the numberof suicide cases amongst stu-dents, it is the need of the hourfor every educational institutionto have a dedicated counsellorand have at least a weekly coun-selling sessions for students.
Special secretary for HigherEducation, Prof RM Dobriyalspeaking to Postnoon said,“According to the governmentorder and the UGC regulationsevery college must have a dedi-cated place for a counselling cen-tre. Only by having a centre willnot help what should be madecompulsory to implement acounselling session every week,so that the students can come outwith their problems and discussit with the counsellor.”
POSTNOON [email protected]
If you thought Thai food was mainlyred curry, yellow curry and lemongrass, you should definitely indulge
in the diverse dishes offered by Thaichef Som Wang at Deccan Pavilion. Thishumble looking master chef, who greet-ed us with a “Sawadikha”, has 30 yearsof experience in oriental cuisine.
We started our culinary journeywith Som Tam, a raw papaya saladwhich had a burst of sour and the per-fect balance of green chilies. To accom-pany this, the chef presented Yam-Woon-Sen, a glass noodle salad andLab–kai, a tangy minced chicken salad.Not to miss out are the two soups TheTom Kha Hed, a spicy mushroom soup
in coconut milk broth and the Tom YamKung, a spicy and sour prawn soup.The flavours were authentically Thai.
The starters in this festival are to diefor. The Thod mun Khow pood, whichare fried corn cakes are unmistakablyany vegetarian’s delight, for the non-vegetarians there was Kai Phad MedMa-moung-stir fried chicken withcashews and red chilies.
For main course we savoured somedelicious Zugini Pad hed ka Taem(sautéed zucchini and mushroom ingarlic sauce) and Phad Phak roum Mid(mix veggies in soy sauce). The prawnsin yellow curry called the Keang LeungKung was the best for a sea food loverand is a must try. Sadly there was noyellow or green gravy for the vegetari-ans. The Kea Phad King, the lamb sautéwith shitake had a perfect blend ofspices and herbs. However, the stir friedfish with black pepper was disappoint-ing because of the pungent fishy smell.
Khon Phad ka pow(spicy fried ricewith basil) is an excellent choice for theveggies along with the Pad Thai noo-dles. The only hitch was that there is nodedicated Thai deserved served on themenu.
Place: Deccan Pavilion, ITC KakatiyaPrice: `1,1 99 +Taxes Lunch
`1,299 +Taxes Dinner
Students succumb to pressureDespite a government ruling that each educational institute have a counselling centre, most universities
and colleges don’t seem to be paying much heed to this. Result — an increasing number of student suicides.
A taste of royalThailand
FOOD REVIEW
classifieds THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 7
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RAHUL [email protected]
Forget the possible waterwar in the City this sum-mer. We are being buriedunder tonnes of plastic bot-tles legally and illegally
made to pack ‘mineral water’ which,for all we know, is tap-water packedin plastic bags and bottles withfancy-sounding labels. They fleeceus financially, risk our health andsmother our environment with thegrowing mounds of plastic waste.
This summer, plastic pollution isonly going to choke the City’s dumpyards further. Given the soaring tem-peratures, water bottles and plasticwater packets are flying off theshelves. Keep aside the discussionon the quality of the water we arebeing served, the more burning issueat hand is that of the immenseamount of plastic being generatedthrough consumption ofbottled/packaged water. Postnooninvestigates.
According to the GHMC’s esti-mates from the Health andSanitation wing, the City generates3,800 MT of garbage daily out ofwhich plastic alone occupies 7.33 to9.74 per cent share (the mean aver-age is taken at 8.36 per cent accord-ing to GHMC’s solid waste manage-ment report) which is, 317.68 MT ofplastic garbage generated every day.Out of this, experts say that waterbottles, plastic covers/packets/cansoccupy over 40 per cent ie; 127.072MT of waste from plastic packetsand bottles alone.
PRODUCTIONSreenivas Phanish, manager of theAP Drinking Water ManufacturersAssociation gives us a blow-by-blowaccount of how water packets/bot-tles manufactured in the City is a fastspreading business that has manyshady sides to it. “Going by our sur-vey, there are at least 90 registered ISIapproved water bottling units andover a 1,000 illegal units operating inthe City. The legally operating unitshave to pay `93,000 annually for anISI license, which needs to berenewed every year. This is inspect-ed by BIS.”
For a majority of these illegallyoperating units, making plasticpackets is a cheap, profitable ven-ture. These packets are made out of a40 micron film, available freely onthe wholesale plastic manufacturersmarket. “One 40 micron film strip
can make five water packets. A 100water packets, which is sold as ‘onebag’, needs 20 films. Any businessselling water packets makes an aver-age sale of at least five bags which is500 packets. The trash from five bagsalone can give you three kilos ofplastic.”
DISTRIBUTION Raju, a private water packet distrib-utor says, at least 150 bags of waterpackets are sold every day in theCentral Zone (Lakdikapul,Khairatabad and Masab Tank areas )alone. This is 450 kilos of plastic isgenerated solely through waterpackets, in just three areas. “The
shelf life of these packets is two daysnormally. Most of them are sold byevening,” Raju says.
The majority of these illegallyoperating units are present in theOld City, where they are far from thepurview of the Food StandardsSafety Authority or the BIS officials.“Areas like Falaknuma are the hubsof this trade. Not just water packets,they have moved into bottled waterunits also,” says Sreenivas Phaneesh.
Bottling machinery (blow bot-tling machines, filling and seal-crimping machinery) is brought infrom Chennai and each unit getssold for `70,000 plus an additional`20,000 for transport, power andmaintenance.
“So apart from the investmentcost of machinery, the illegal units donot have to worry about payinglicense fees or lab tests for theirwater. Which is why they havethrown all the legalised water unitsout of business by short selling.Recently, when BIS officials hadraided a locality in Old City after
they found tap water being sold inwater packets, they were scaredaway by an MLA and his men. Thelaws against manufacturing arestrong, but the government does nothave the numbers to enforce it,”Phaneesh says.
The war on plastic water packetsand bottles is not so much on theenvironmental effect as it is on thehealth-safety impact of the waterbeing sold. Gayathri, an environ-mental activist and former studentof Environmental Protection andTraining Institute, says, “Even if theauthorities succeed in shuttingdown illegal units, will they be ableto beat back the bigger companiesjoining into this business? And it isnot just water alone. Plastic bottlesand packets are the most commonlysold carriers for any commodityitem. If plastic is used, our solidwaste management policy andinfrastructure should be given asmuch importance.”
In April 2011, the then additionalcommissioner Aleem Basha hadraided a private water manufactur-ing unit selling contaminated waterin packets and bottles. To their dis-may, later investigations revealedthat the city had 200 such units func-tioning. The number has now gonebeyond 1,000. Officials from theFSSA department said that thedepartment is planning on a thor-ough raid and check of legal and ille-gal bottling units in the City begin-ning from June 2013.
WATER WOESPOLITICSProbe BrAnil, say TDP leaders
TDP hasdemanded a
thorough investiga-tion into the irregu-larities committedby Br Anil Kumar,Christian preacherand son-in-law oflate chief ministerYS RajasekharaReddy. In a letter tothe CM TDP lead-ers demanded aCBI probe into thedeath of BenettaCompany employ-ee VeerabhadraReddy saying sev-eral irregularitiesby Br Anil Kumarwould come out.
NSS
A CITY UNDER PLASTIC SIEGE
Mineral water millionaires run free as regulatory authorities snooze.
We’re endangering our
children’s future.They will curse us.
Bottling machinery isbrought from Chennaiand each unit gets soldfor `70,000 plus an addi-tional `20,000 for trans-port, power and mainte-nance.
S Faizi,environmental scientist
city THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 8WORLD WATER DAY
POSTNOON [email protected]
Some 1.2 billion people —almost a fifth of theworld — live in areas ofwater scarcity, while ano -
th er 1.6 billion face what can becalled economic water shortage.The situation is only expected toworsen with population growth,climate change, investment andmanagement shortfalls, and inef-ficient use of existing resourcesrestrict the amount of water ava -il a ble to people, according to Wo -r ldwatch Institute. It is estimatedthat by 2025, 1.8 billion peoplewill live in countries or regionswith absolute water scarcity,with almost half of the world liv-ing in conditions of water stress.
Water scarcity has severaldefinitions. Physical scarcity occ -u rs when there is not enoughwater to meet demand; its symp-toms include severe environme -n tal degradation, declining gro -undwater, and unequal waterdistribution. Economic water sc -a rcity occurs when there is a lackof investment and proper man-agement to meet the demand of
people who do not have thefinancial means to use existingwater sources; the symptoms inthis case normally include poorinfrastructure. Large parts ofAfrica suffer from economicwater scarcity.
World population is predict-ed to grow from 7 billion to 9.1billion by 2050, putting a strainon water resources to meet incre -as ed food, energy, and industrialdemands. But there are manyother pressures, including incr -ea sed urbanisation and overcon-sumption, lack of proper man-agement, and the looming threatof climate change. According tothe United Nations Food andAgriculture Organization andUN Water, global water use hasbeen growing at more than twicethe rate of population increase inthe last century.
INDIA SCENEPrime Minister ManmohanSingh has struck a warning noteon India’s water situation. Hetold a gathering of scholarsrecently in the capital that with17 per cent of the world’s popu-lation, India only possesses four
per cent of the world’s watersupply.
Singh made the remark dur-ing the opening address at IndiaWater Week, a four-day eventbringing together water resear -chers and policymakers fromaround the world. He stressed theneed to conserve groundwater, onwhich more than two-thirds ofthe country depends for its water.
GLOBAL SCENEAt the global level, 70 per cent ofwater withdrawals are for theagricultural sector, 11 per centare to meet municipal demands,and 19 per cent are for industrialneeds. These numbers, however,are distorted by the few coun-tries that have very high waterwithdrawals, such as China,India, and the United States.
Agricultural water with-drawal accounts for 44 per centof total water withdrawal amongmembers of the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD), but thisrises to more than 60 per centwithin the eight OECD countriesthat rely heavily on irrigatedagriculture. In the four transi-tional economies of Brazil,Russia, India, and China, agricul-ture accounts for 74 per cent ofwater withdrawals, but thisranges from 20 per cent in Russia
to 87 per cent in India.Policymakers must introduce
a variety of measures to addressglobal water scarcity. One impor-tant initiative is to support small-scale farmers. Much of the publicinvestment in agricultural watermanagement has focused onlarge-scale irrigation systems.Farmers can also use water moreefficiently by taking a number ofsteps, including growing adiverse array of crops suited tolocal conditions and adoptingirrigation systems like “drip”lines that deliver water directlyto plants’ roots.
Climate change will affectglobal water resources.Reduction in river runoff areexpected in the Mediterraneanbasin and in the semi-arid areasof the Americas, Australia, andsouthern Africa, affecting wateravailability in regions that arealready water-stressed. In Asia,the large areas of irrigated landthat rely on snowmelt and highmountain glaciers for water willbe affected by changes in runoffpatterns, while highly populateddeltas are at risk from a combina-tion of reduced inflows,increased salinity, and rising sealevels. And rising temperatureswill translate into increased cropwater demand everywhere.
To combat the effects of cli-mate change, efforts must bemade to follow an integratedwater resource managementapproach on a global scale. Thisinvolves water management thatrecognises the holistic nature ofthe water cycle and the impor-tance of managing trade-offswithin it, that emphasises theimportance of effective institu-tions, and that is inherentlyadaptive.
Compiled by PK Surendran
The dropof life is
drying outIt’s time humanity paid a price. Thegreed man has shown in amassing
resources without regard for theenvironment is leading to a situation
where we will be fighting the nextworld war for water.
Here is the warning.
Highlights
n A region is said to facewater scarcity when sup-plies fall below 1,000cubic meters per person,and absolute waterscarcity is when suppliesdrop below 500 cubicmeters a year.
n About 66 per cent ofAfrica is arid or semiarid,and more than 300 mil-lion people in sub-Saharan Africa currentlylive on less than 1,000cubic meters of waterresources per person.
n According to UN Water,each person in NorthAmerica and Europe(excluding former SovietUnion countries) con-sumes at least 3 cubicmeters per day of virtualwater in imported food,compared with 1.4 cubicmeters per day in Asiaand 1.1 cubic meters perday in Africa.
Cooperative measures
Each year, World WaterDay, held on March 22,
highlights an aspect offreshwater. In 2013, inreflection of theInternational Year of WaterCooperation, the day is alsodedicated to the theme ofcooperation around waterand is coordinated byUNESCO in collaborationwith UNECE and UNDESA.
Along time ago, wethought that a showlike Shaktiman was thebest thing that could
happen on TV. Chandrakanthaand Mahabharat had ruled theroost for years together in the 90sand towards the end of the lastmillenium, the TV industry inIndia grew by leaps and boundswhich left us spoilt with choice.Except for a few programs onStar World, there was no way wecould watch an American TVshow. It's not the same anymore.Youngsters today are moreabreast with TV shows beingmade in US and UK and some ofthem even watch the episodes onthe same day they are aired inUS. It's a similar story withrespect to movies and music too.So what exactly has broughtabout this change? It's true thatseveral foreign TV channels haveentered Indian market post 2000,but the real gamechanger wasthe advent of internet and socialnetworking websites.
"Almost everyone in my classspends more time on Facebookthan in class. It's natural that
they are influenced by what theirfriends recommend when itcomes to movies and TV shows.Although I cannot pinpoint ifthere's something which worksfor everyone, action and roman-tic films are a big hit with the stu-dents today," Akhil, an engineer-ing student says. Big ticketHollywood films have madeinroads into the Indian marketand comic book heroes likeBatman and Iron Man have a ded-icated fanbase among the young-sters today. Shreya Annam, anaspiring architect, says, "Before I
joined college, some of my alltime favourite films wereTransformers, Night At theMuseum. Thankfully, that haschanged now and I love comicbook adaptations like DarkKnight, Iron Man and Avengers.Most of my friends like chickflicks, rom-coms and guys watchalmost everything." Does socialmedia play a major role in decid-ing what she wants to watch? "Ofcourse. I rely on what my friendsrecommend and if I notice that alot of my friends watch a particu-lar show, I do too," Shreya adds.
Twitter and Facebook havebeen quite influential. No won-der, every now and then, a bigstar's film in India becomes atrending topic on Twitter.Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan,Hrithik Roshan, PriyankaChopra and Akshay Kumar arein particular a major hit amongthe netizens. Since almost every-one is hooked to social media,the TV and movie industriesacross India have been activelypromoting on such platforms.Somnath Kadari, an engineeringstudent, says, "We hardly knew
about American shows before wejoined college. I started watchingTV shows like Entourage depend-ing on what my friends recom-mended, but of late, I get most ofmy information from Twitter andFacebook. I came to know aboutNewsroom only after few journostalked about it on Twitter."
It's not just the choicesyoungsters make, but also howthey consume such content haswitnessed a lot of change. TV isnot the only means of entertain-ment these days. With the adventof broadband and smartphones,a lot of content is consumedaway from a TV set, which is agood thing considering how thelanguage and amount of nudityin a TV show has changed of late.Moreover, films have had liberaldose of violence, gore and nudityfor years now. "Being a student ata residential college my prefer-ences have changed a lot. I havemore privacy and I can watchany movie or TV show. A TVshow like Californication can't bewatched at home," he adds.
It's not only movies and TVshows, even music has changedfor Gen Z today. Gone are thedays of Backstreet Boys. It's theage of Adele and Taylor Swift."Lady Gaga used to be quite pop-ular until recently, but now a lotof my friends are hooked on toTaylor Swift and Adele. I lovesome good soft rock and poprock stuff like The Fray, TheScript, Jesse McCartney," Shreyaconfesses. On the other hand,heavy metal rock bands likeMettalica and Iron Maiden arestill popular among engineeringstudents. "I usually stick toIndian music, but majority ofstudents in my college listen toheavy metal and pop. They aredie hard fans of the bands likeMetallica, Iron Maiden and DarkTranquility," Somnath says.
The meaning of entertain-ment is a lot different for peoplethese days compared to a genera-tion which didn't have so manyoptions. Leave aside WWE,Talespin, Duck Tales, Swat Katsand Small Wonder, which wereonce popular with youngsters,Gen Z talks about Dexter, BigBang Theory, Vampire Diaries, HowI Met Your Mother and big actionfilms. "My mother is shockedwhen she sees me watching allthese TV shows and Hollywoodfilms. She says that I should havebeen born in US or something,"Shreya quips.
AGE OF A PAGE DEDICATED TO THE TRIUMPHS AND TRIBULATIONS OF GEN Z
9THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
Changing face of entertainmentYoungsters no longer watch the kind of shows or movies that people did 10 years ago. The advent of internet
and social media has brought Gen Z closer to what's happening in the world of entertainment.
HEMANTH [email protected]
BusinessTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
10BlackBerry co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin reunited onWednesday to fund advances in quantum computing. They announcedthe creation of a $98 million fund to provide financial and intellectualcapital for development and commercialisation of quantum computing.
BB FOUNDERS START QUANTUM COMPUTING FUND
More than a billion people useYouTube each month, with viewing onsmartphones helping drive growth,the Google-owned online video shar-ing venue said Wednesday. In a blogpost, the YouTube team noted thatnearly one out of every two people onthe Internet visits the website, whichhas grown into a global hit sincelaunching in 2005. "If YouTube were acountry, we'd be the third largest inthe world after China and India," theteam said. Google bought YouTube in2006 for $1.65 billion and has yet todisclose whether the service hasturned a profit. YouTube has graduallyadded professional content, such asfull-length television shows andmovies to its vast trove of amateurvideo offerings in a bid to attractadvertisers.
YouTube is billionaire
Britain will stick firmly to a barrage ofausterity measures, finance ministerGeorge Osborne insisted Wednesdayin a budget that also slashed eco-nomic growth forecasts, while offeringplans to boost the weak economy asthe eurozone crisis reignites. Osborne,who is facing calls from within hisown Conservative party to reducedeep cuts to state spending in a bidto fuel growth, told parliament thatBritain "must hold to the right track.""We are slowly but surely fixing ourcountry's economic problems,"Osborne said, as he unveiled a seriesof measure aimed at boosting growth,including infrastructure projects, whileinsisting that Britain is set to escape anew recession. Osborne's insistenceon reducing state borrowing comesdespite the chancellor announcingthat the government was halving itseconomic growth forecast for 2013.GDP is expected to grow by just 0.6per cent this year compared with aprevious forecast of 1.2 per cent,according to estimates issued by theOffice for Budget Responsibility.
Osborne walks talk
NUMEROLOGY
$8.1 bnis the trade deficit Japan logged in
February, reversing surplus trend forsame time last year and underscor-
ing the uncertain state of the world'sthird-largest economy.
BSENSEPOUND `85.15
DOLLAR `53.79
SILVER `60,100 for 1kg24CGOLD`31,100 for 10g 20,025.67
44.10
9.206,057.70
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DOLLAR `54.28
SILVER `54,600 for 1kg24CGOLD `30,000 for 10g 19,003.74
119.55
38.80 5,733.20
PRUDHVI RAJU [email protected]
Growth of e-commercenot only providedbuying opportunitiesfrom nook and corner
of the country, but also helpedhousewives, small and microbusinesses and traders to sellonline. The idea of open mar-ketplace is trending in the coun-try and is having better growththan overall e-commerce.
“Many big e-tailors areplanning to jump into the band-wagon as it is highly scalableand doesn’t need much ofinvestments over time in man-aging the inventory, warehous-ing and shipment. E-commerceplayers confine themselves tomanage and facilitate sellingand take reasonable marginsfrom the seller when the prod-ucts are being sold,” saysVidmay Naini, head (retentionmarketing, payments andimports), eBay India.
“A marketplace is nothingbut an electronic mandi, whereyou have thousands of sellersselling different products at dif-ferent price points and compet-ing with each other. The cus-tomer can buy what he wantsfrom the seller who offers thelowest price,” he says.
“Unless individual sellerssell, the marketplace doesn’tmake money. Open market-places like eBay provide levelplaying field and let any one to
sell online as long as they com-ply with rules and regulationsof the platform.
“However, there are evenclosed or restricted market-places where the sellers arepicked according to the needs ofthe marketplace,” he explains.
On flip side, the seller mayget lost in the huge crowd.However, Vidmay begs to dif-fer, and says, “There is a feed-back mechanism by which each
transaction is rated in terms ofdelivery time and product rat-ings. The sellers adhere to themarketplace rules and regulatethemselves to make it to the topby enticing customers,”
Strong search, analytics anduser rating play a key role forthe customer in getting a prod-uct from the right seller.Thesemarketplaces provide cost effec-tive way to sell online for acommon man without huge
investments on e-commerceportal development and pay-ment gateways.
“There is an opportunity tosell these goods for worldwidecustomers. For instance, Indiansare selling to about 201 coun-tries and are complying withregulations there. Opting formarket place model has enabledeBay to have over two millionproducts in 2,000 categories.For instance, a customer can sellin different countries’ eBay plat-forms with a single user ID,” hesays.
“Marketplaces will continueto grow and is an opportunityfor a common to sell all over theworld. It can viable and profitable as long as the sellerunderstands the dynamics of e-commerce like getting prod-uct description, images andpricing right,” he concludes.
Attention to detail countsThese marketplaces provide cost-effective ways to sell online without
huge investments on portal development and payment gateways.
TOP 5 ITEMS SOLD FROM HYDERABAD
n Umbrellas
n Men’s Watches
n Lighting Accessories
n Anti-aging Products
n Peelers and slicers
TOP 5 EXPORTEDFROM HYDERABAD
n Movie DVDs
n Crystal Bangles
n Women's Swimwear
n Lightening Creams
n Comics
Strong search, analyt-ics and user ratingplay a key role for thecustomer in getting aproduct from the rightseller in the crowdedmarketplace.
E-COMMERCE
nationTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
11ODISHA HIGHT COURT REJECTS MOHANTY’S PLEAThe Odisha High Court has dismissed the petition of former Odisha lawminister Raghunath Mohanty seeking quashing of the first informationreport (FIR) registered against him and his family, alleging torture of hisdaughter-in-law for dowry.
Pick at the airport, -
Trianmool supporterkilled in clashKOLKATA: A Trinamool Congress supporter was killed during a clash by a group ofassailants allegedly led by a partymunicipal councillor over a land dis-pute on the eastern fringes ofKolkata Wednesday, police said.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeeordered the arrest of the partycouncillor
Suryanelli case accusedgets bail from HCKOCHI: Kerala High Court todaygranted bail to the 31 accused inthe 1996 Suryanelli gangrape case.The court rejected the governmentcounsel’s argument that the accusedshould first surrender before thetrial court. The Supreme Court hadstayed the 2005 HC judgementacquitting the accused threemonths ago.
Man arrested for raping7-year-old girlSITAPUR: A seven-year-old girlwas allegedly raped by a man inTaalgaon area, police said today.The victim was raped by accusedMohd Ameen in the fields yesterday,they said. The girl was found in thefields by the villagers, who alsonabbed the accused. A complainthas been lodged by the victim’sfather in this regard.
Smuggler arrested with710 g of cannabisSRINAGAR: A narcotics smug-gler has been arrested and 710 g ofcannabis recovered from him inReasi district of Jammu and Kashmir,police said today. Acting on specificinformation, police interceptedPartap Singh at Kadwal in Katra beltof Reasi district around 7pm yester-day, Station House Officer (Katra)Sanjeev Gupta said.
NEWS BRIEFS
Three BSF jawans were injured,one of them critically, in a militantattack today on their convoy inthe outskirts of the city, policesaid. The ultras opened firing onthe convoy of 8th Battalion BSFnear Chanapora bridge in theoutskirts of city this morning,resulting in injuries to three con-stables, the police said. All thethree injured personnel havebeen admitted to 92 BaseHospital of the Army atBadamibagh cantonment, thepolice said. Condition of one per-son is stated to be critical as hehas been hit by a bullet in the ear.Two empty cartridges of AKammunition have been recoveredfrom the scene of the incident.This is second attack on securityforces in as many weeks. OnMarch 13, five CRPF personnelwere killed and several othersinjured in a suicide attack byLashkar-e-Toiba militants inBemina area of the city. Two mili-tants were killed in the retaliatoryaction, while police has arrestedfour persons including a Pakistaninational in the course of investi-gations into the attack.
BSF CONVOY ATTACKED
MULAYAM SOFTENS STAND
NEW DELHI: Parliamentwas adjourned till noontoday following uproar trig-gered by members over ahost of issues including theIndia's vote on a UN resolu-tion against Sri Lanka anddemand for separateTelangana. DMK, AIADMKand CPI members troopedinto the Well of the Lok Sabhaand the Rajya Sabha raisingslogans over the plight of eth-nic Tamils in Sri Lanka.
DMK members were alsoheard raising the issue of CBIraids on party leader M KStalin's residence in TamilNadu this morning.Trinamool Congress mem-bers were also in the Wellraising slogans againstFinance Minister PChidambaram.
Congress members fromTelangana region were rais-ing slogans for a separatestate. Speaker Meira Kumartried to continue with theQuestion Hour but as mem-bers were unrelenting sheadjourned the House. PTI
PARLIAMENT POLITICAL DRAMA
CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: CBItoday carried out raids at theresidence of DMK chief MKarunanidhi’s son MK Stalin,two days after the party pulledout of UPA, triggering a politi-cal controversy over its timingwith even top Central ministersstrongly disapproving of theaction. Searches were carriedout at 19 places across TamilNadu, including at Stalin’shome in Chennai, this morningin a case of alleged tax evasionof imported cars.
The Congress ministers inthe UPA including PChidambaram and Kamal Nathstrongly disapproved of the CBIsearches, as the Centre dis-tanced itself from the action say-ing it was not aware of the raids.
DMK, which pulled out ofUPA on Tuesday and withdrewits ministers yesterday, said theaction was a “political vendet-ta” amid reports that the agencyconcluded its searches after theuproar broke out.
“I strongly disapprove ofCBI action. It is bound to bemisunderstood,” Chidambaramtold PTI in New Delhi.
Chidambaram, a Lok SabhaMP from Sivaganga in TamilNadu, said normally he doesnot comment on the working ofanother department but in this
case he had to react.“Whatever be the reason, I
am afraid, it is bound to be mis-understood. I have conveyedmy views to Minister incharge,”the finance minister said. VNarayanasamy, who is theMinister of State in the PMOand DoPT, is the minister in-charge of CBI.
The Finance Minister said hecame to know about the CBIaction around 8.30 a.m.
Endorsing Chidambaram’sviews, Parliamentary AffairsMinister Kamal Nath said,” Istrongly disapproved the actionagainst Stalin.” “This onlydemonstrates that Governmentis not dictating the CBI andit(action)is a very foolish thing.Certainly Governmentwouldn’t do such a thing. I am
very very disappointed at CBI’saction,” he said in Delhi.
Union minister Rajiv Shuklaclaimed there is no governmenthand in the CBI raids. “We con-demn it and appropriate actionshould be taken how these raidshave been conducted and weare completely against suchthings,” he said.
Stalin, 60, considered a polit-ical heir to 88-year-oldKarunanidhi, dubbed the CBIraid as a ‘political vendetta’ andsaid he would face the caselegally.
The BJP accused theCongress-led UPA of misusingthe CBI to threaten its allies intoforcibly supporting them.
“It is a proven fact that thegovernment (UPA), to stay inpower, has been using the CBIto continue their strength in thegovernment,” BJP’s RajivPratap Rudy tsaid. PTI
In an apparent softening of standon the remarks made by BeniPrasad Verma against MulayamSingh Yadav, SP ParliamentaryParty today slammed the UnionMinister but decided to go slowon the issue following interven-tion of Congress President SoniaGandhi. But, at the same time, SPcontinued to keep the govern-ment on tenterhooks on its out-side support by authorising Yadavto “take any decision on any issueat an appropriate time in theinterest of the party”. The govern-ment requires the crucial supportof SP, which has 22 MPs in LokSabha, in the backdrop of DMKpulling out of UPA.
CBI raids Stalin, triggers uproar
Searches conducted in relation to tax evasion on imported cars.Sri Lanka,Telanganastalls House
Stalin, 60, considereda political heir toKarunanidhi, dubbedthe CBI raid as a‘political vendetta’and said he wouldface the case legally.
WorldTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
12HORROR WRITER HERBERT DIES AGED 69British author James Herbert, best known for penning classic horror novelThe Rats, has died aged 69, his publisher said Wednesday. Pan Macmillan,confirmed that the best-selling writer, who was honoured by the Queen in2010, had died at his home in Sussex.
US HOSTS CUBA DISSIDENTThe White House hosted award-winning dissident Cuban bloggerYoani Sanchez, on her first interna-tional trip in years, Wednesday aftershe met lawmakers on Capitol Hill.Sanchez met with White House staff,including Special Assistant to thePresident and Senior Director forWestern Hemisphere Affairs RicardoZuniga. Throughout the day,Sanchez stayed true to form andtweeted about her meetings inCongress, where she also picked upthe State Department's InternationalWomen of Courage award, whichshe received in 2011.
Gillard calls leadership ballot The Australian governmentplunged into crisis with PrimeMinister Julia Gillard caving in tobuilding pressure and calling aleadership ballot of her rulingLabor party for later Thursday.Her decision follows senior cabi-net minister Simon Crean openlycalling for the move with Gillardlagging badly in opinion polls justsix months out from nationalelections and rampant leadershipspeculation.
WEIWEI LOSES APPEAL
NUMEROLOGY
$5 mneach is the bounty the US has
announced for the arrest of twoAmericans, Omar Shafik Hammamiand Jehad Serwan Mostafa, who are
members of the Somalia-based terrorist organisation Al-Shebab.
Anyone whoknows the facts
of the chemicalweapons stockpilesinside of Syria, as wellas the governmentcapabilities,Iwould questionthose claims.
Barack Obamaon Syrian claims
Australia says sorry forforced adoptionsSYDNEY: Australia on Thursdayapologised for the brutal and oftenillegal forced adoption of tens ofthousands of babies born mostly tounmarried mothers between the1950s and 1970s. The adoptions,driven largely by religious groups inthe post-war period, "created a life-long legacy of pain and suffering",the apology said.
Cyprus to decide onnew plan for bailoutNICOSIA: Cypriot leaders are todecide Thursday on a newly drawnup plan aimed at securing a bailoutfor the near-bankrupt eurozonemember, after parliament rejected acontroversial tax on savings.President Nicos Anastasiades is to"present a Plan B package to partyleaders tomorrow at the presidentialpalace," state television reported.
Mali sovereignty in afew days, says HollandePARIS: Mali's sovereignty overalmost all of its territory will berestored within "a few days", FrenchPresident Francois Hollandepromised. The announcement cameas Paris scrambled Wednesday toverify a claim by Al-Qaeda's northAfrican branch that it had executeda French hostage in retaliation forFrance's military intervention.
2 dead in Myanmarviolence: PoliceYANGON: Two people died andseveral mosques were destroyed incentral Myanmar, police saidThursday, in the worst riots sinceBuddhist-Muslim clashes rockedwestern Rakhine state last year. The two victims, who included aBuddhist monk, died after sufferingsevere burns, it said. A curfew hasbeen imposed.
NEWS BRIEFS
DIPLOMACY
JERUSALEM: US PresidentBarack Obama will travel to theWest Bank Thursday to meetPalestinian leaders dismayedby his failure to make good onsoaring expectations that hecould help deliver Middle Eastpeace.
Obama was to meetPalestinian president MahmudAbbas and then Prime MinisterSalam Fayyad, on the secondday of his visit to Israel, theWest Bank and Jordan, domi-nated by the growing regionalchallenges of Iran and Syria.
The president, on the firstforeign trip of his second term,says he has came to the HolyLand simply to listen to leaderson both sides of the peace talks,which have been frozen for two-
and-a-half years. He said hedecided against coming armedwith a comprehensive peaceplan that might not be fit forcurrent political conditions.
"Ultimately, this is a reallyhard problem," Obama saidduring a press conference withIsraeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu."It's been lingeringfor over six decades. And theparties involved have, you
know, some profound intereststhat you can't spin, you can'tsmooth over. And it is a hardslog to work through all of theseissues."
Obama's new approach wasa stark contrast to early in hisfirst term, when he declaredthat Israeli settlement buildingthat ultimately scuppered hispeace efforts was illegitimateand promised to dedicate him-self to peace.
"I hope I'm a better presi-dent now than when I first cameinto office," Obama said. "I'mabsolutely sure that there are ahost of things that I could havedone that would have beenmore deft and, you know,would have created betteroptics." AFP
Obama to facePalestinian dismay
US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference inJerusalem, on Wednesday. AFP/SAUL LOEB
Palestinians are upsetthat the US presidentis showing no signs offollowing up on hislofty speeches duringhis first term at office.
SEOUL: South Korea saidThursday it had sourced adamaging cyber attack onits broadcasters and banksto an IP address in China,fuelling suspicions thatNorth Korea may havebeen responsible.
Previous cyber attacksblamed on North Korea --including one last year onthe computer network ofthe conservative JoongAngnewspaper in Seoul -- havealso been tracked back toChinese sources.
Internet security ana-lysts in South Koreabelieve official NorthKorean hackers learnedmany of their skills inChina and operate fromthere. AFP
Seoul trackscyber attackto China
DRAGON TROUBLE
US ECONOMY
WASHINGTON: A divided USSenate came together onWednesday to approve legisla-tion that avoids a governmentshutdown, with the compromisestopgap likely headed to thepresident's desk this week.
The continuing resolutionwhich funds day-to-day govern-ment operations through theremainder of the fiscal year thatends September 30, passed 73-26after Senate leaders cut a deal onamendments. It allows senatorsto turn to the all-importantdebate over the 2014 budget
AFP
Senateapprovesfunding bill
It’s been sometime since we’veheard anything from Motorolaabout their new products. Yes,there’s the mythic ‘X-Phone’ that’stouted to be the first offspring ofthe Google-Motorola partnership,but even that phone just exists asnothing more than speculation andrumours right now. However, thisweek, details of three new Motoroladevices have made their way to thesurface thanks to some benchmarkfigures spotted by Droid Life. Thesedevices carry the code names‘Ghost’, ‘Yeti’ and ‘Sasquatch’ andcould just be a fresh lineup ofAndroid phones from the company.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
Google on Wednesdayannounced Google Keep, a note-taking service similar to Evernote,for both the Web and Android4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich andJelly Bean) devices. You can trythe service out now for yourselfat Drive.Google.com/Keep ordownload the Android app fromthe Google Play Store. Googledescribes Keep as a service thatlets you “save ideas and organizeto-dos the moment they happenby creating notes, lists, photosand voice recordings right fromyour phone” (don’t worry, it alsoworks on tablets). You can access,edit, and create new notes on theWeb from the above website, andfurthermore.
WHAT’S COOKING MOTO?
KEEP IT TEXTY
A security researcher has revealeda method for accessing applica-tions running on a lockedSamsung handset. The flaw issomewhat similar to one that wasrevealed by another researcherearlier this year on iPhones. On aSamsung handset, users can,from the lock screen, pretend todial an emergency services num-ber, quickly dismiss it, and withsome sleight of hand, quicklygain access to any app or widget,or the settings menu in thedevice. The dialer can also belaunched, allowing the "hacker"to place a call. The technique isonly possible on Samsung'sAndroid version, and not on thestock Android option that Googlelaunches.
SAMSUNG HACK THREAT
Technology 13GADGETS
MORE THE
BETTER
The average person carries 2.9 devices.
Devices by popularity
The smartphone isby far the mostpopular devicecarried...
Smartphone 85%
Laptop 65%
0 20 6040 80 100
Tablet 48%
MP3 Player 40%
e Reader 29%... and the eReader is the least popular
USA 3.0
Canada 2.7
Germany 3.1
Australia 2.6
UK 2.7
Windows is the leading lap-top OS carried - twice aspopular as Mac and sixtimes more than Linux.
AVERAGE NUMBER OF DEVICES PER PERSON BY COUNTRY
Mac users
They prefer tocarry the iPhone(62%) and theiPad (45%)
But 24% picked anAndroid smart-phone and 28%picked a tablet running Android.
Windows andLinux users
This smartphoneof choice is theAndroid - 44%and 56% respectively.
Android tabletsproved mostpopular with36% with 41%picking them.
Germans are more likely to carry a laptop, while the device of choice for Americans,
Australians, Brits and Canadians is the smartphone.
Android beat iPhone by only a whisker, outstrippingWindows and the old business favours Blackberry.
Smartphone, tablet, laptop, portable console,eReaders; people are carrying more and moregadgets with them and Germans lead the pack.
PROMISING NOTHING
CommentTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
14HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTSThe CBI raids on Stalin has absolutely nothing to do with pressure tacticson his father and DMK chief M Karunanidhi. It is nothing but pure coincidence that anyone who falls foul of the Centre suddenly finds themselves in the thick of the (legal) action.
Order, Order, Order!The Court of ManLaw is currently insession. On theagenda today is the
enforceability, legality and thevalidity of a contract/promise.It has been called to our atten-tion that there are a growingnumber of cases against menbrought forth by their girl-f r i e n d ( s ) / w i f e / f r i e n d s -with-benefits and/or one timepleasure partners. The patternof chief complaint in these casesis the breach of promisesmade by men (no surprisesthere). However, it must beaddressed before this plaguespreads further.
First, it must be noted thataccording to the Court of ManLaw, a promise is the equivalentof a verbal contract. Therefore,an oral promise (no pun intend-ed) can be held against a man asa binding contract or agreement.However, it must be duly notedthat just because the man ver-bally made a promise, it doesnot immediately validate thesaid promise. It must be provenbeyond a reasonable doubt thatthe promise was made withoutthe fear of repercussion ordenial of some form of loving.Statements such as “you get thesofa tonight”, “don’t come closeto me for a week” or “you sureyou want to do this” will bemandated as coercion andduress therefore sufficient to
revoke such contract. Here are articles extracted
from Man Law — Contracts,which should help clarify thesituation.
A man shall be held account-able to fulfill any promise madeto his partner, regardless if thesaid promise was verbal, writ-ten, or acted out during a gameof charades. Implied, speculatedor expected promises are notsufficient enough to warrantbeing fulfilled. With that said,here are the following rules inwhich a man will not and can-not be held accountable for hispromises irrelevant of themethod of delivery of suchpromise even if it was writtenon bond paper, notarised andunder seal (and I do say promis-es because the male species isnot the brightest and is guaran-teed to repeat the mistake sever-al times):a) Promises made in an attempt
to impress a girl, woman,women or anyone of theopposite sex (sex changeoperations count too).
b) Promises made half an hourprior to and/or after a mini-mum of a “make-out” ses-sion. Make-out session isdefined as any form of touch-ing with the lips anywhere.
c) Promises made while underthe influence of alcohol or anyother mind-altering chemicalcompound which includesguilt trips, tears or emotionalblackmail (a medical report isnot necessary)
d) Promises made in the pres-ence of your in-laws.
e) Promises made to get rid ofyour in-laws.
f) Promises made while his part-ner has more than 50 per centof their body exposed unlessthe partner is a stripper andthe body exposure must be 75per cent in such cases.
g) Promises made via electronicmeans i.e. text messages,email, facebook wall post.
h) Promises made to get herfriends to leave your house.
i) Promises made in exchangefor food.
j) Promises made while watch-ing television.
k) Promises made to minimizesleep disturbance.
l) Promises made while she isyelling at him. Yelling isdefined as a man’s ability tohear her voice over the televi-sion.
m) Promises made after aneight-hour work day.Napping is included in theeight-hour work day. The burden of proof lies on
the female partner to prove that
none of the above stated articleswere violated when the so-called promises were made.
Furthermore, before anycomplaints can be brought forthin a Court of Man Law, thefemale partner must get two ofher male friends to sign off onthe legal documents being sub-mitted verifying such allega-tions. It shall be noted that thetwo male friends will bebrought up on charges ofTreason in a Court of Man Law(without the need of anyattaching affidavits and will bejudged by a panel of juryformed from his peers, yes, thatmeans other men).
With that said, if there isanyone who feels that they areready to file a case, please sendme an email with all the perti-nent information and the namesof the two male friends who val-idate your claim. Emails will beaddressed in an expeditiousmanner. I promise!
Palestine calls for justice. Will Obama act?
Alot is expected from the world community from US President Barack Obama’s visit toIsrael. For public consumption, Washington and Tel Aviv might be having differences
over a host of issues, Palestine and Iran’s nuclear programme. Though the US presidentdoes his bit of statemanly posturing of talking (I repeat... talking) in favour of Palestinianautonomy, his administration does everything in its power to prevent formal Palestinian
statehood. With the US aid to Israel estimated at about $3 billion annually, there is nodoubts who is paying for the bullets that are fired at Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and his hawk allies are pushing for more settlements in Palestinianlands – pushing the desperate youths of the besieged population into the embrace of mili-tant groups like Hamas. The heavy-handed treatment of Palestinian protesters and policiesof ‘disproportionate retaliation’ that hurts innocent civilians have resulted is alienation of apopulation that has been imprisoned in its homeland by West-backed invaders for the last
65 years. Palestine cries for justice. Will Obama listen?
Cine blitz must not take lives
The AP chief minister’s reported directiveto the police chief to disallow massive
show of film release shows may be justifiedfrom the viewpoint of maintaining a lawand order but it stunts the show biz thatthrives on hype. Film industry believes thatthe government and police should maintainlaw whatever the size of the crowd is. Well,both sides are right in their own way butone thing that nobody disputes is that nofunction for whatever reason should lead toloss of lives. The issue should be resolvedon this pivotal point.
EDITORIALS
READERS’ VIEWSWe invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to [email protected] or#1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222. Editor: Dean Williams
I have a verystrict gun
control policy: ifthere's a gunaround, I want tobe in controlof it.
Clint EastwoodActor
COURT OF MAN LAW
South Africaodd BRIC out?
The meeting of BRICS lead-ers in Durban next week
could uncharitably bedescribed as a summit of theworld's emerging economic
powers, plus South Africa. OnMarch 26-27 the African nation
will — for the first time sincejoining the Brazil, Russia, Indiaand China grouping in 2011 —
host the annual BRICS summit.President Jacob Zuma will lead
discussions on the establishmentof a BRICS development bank
and a range of other issues. Butsome question whether Zuma
should even be at the table,never mind sitting at its head.
South Africa has the continent'slargest economy, but is strug-
gling amid crippling joblessnessand growth that lags well
behind its African and emergingmarket peers. It is the world's
29th largest economy, accordingto the IMF. By contrast, China isthe world's second largest econ-omy, Brazil the seventh, Russia
the ninth and India the tenth.South Africa's economic flag
bearers pale in comparison togiants like Gazprom, Vale,
Sinopec or Reliance Industries.But though South Africa
accounts for just 2.5 per cent ofBRICS GDP, it is responsible for
11 per cent of BRIC-Africa trade.There are a signs South Africa
may need to leverage BRICSmembership if it wants to be
competitive. China and India inparticular have often bypassedthe country in favour of faster
growing economies in west andnorth Africa. The trajectory of
the summit and the BRICS bankmay make it clearer if South
Africa is also important for itsfellow BRICS.
AFRICAN SPOTLIGHTAndrew Beatty
BUT... SERIOUSLYAjay Hotchandani
DID YOU KNOW...
Game ofThrones
creator George RR Martin will bemaking an onscreen appearance inthe upcoming season of the HBOflagship show, executive producer
David Benioff revealed.
Gurbani to BaaniThe title of the TV show Gurbanihas been changed to Baani — IshqKa Kalma and the series is set toshowcase the plight of new bridesin Punjab who are left behind bytheir NRI husbands. The show wenton air on Monday on Colors chan-nel. The title of the show waschanged after the objections fromthe organisations like ShiromaniGurudwara Parbandhak Committeeand Jathedar Akal Takhat Sahib. Theshow sees Navni Parihar making acomeback to TV after four years.She was seen in films like TanuWeds Manu and Page 3.
Discovery’s first-ever scripted
miniseries,Klondike, contin-
ues to dig upmore talent —today adding
Game of Thrones‘star Richard
Madden. Maddenwill fill one of
two lead roles,Bill Haskell, who
with his bestfriend Epstein
braves the nextgold rush in theuntamed Yukon
Territory.
NBC comedy pilotGirlfriend In AComa will berecasting its leadfollowing thedeparture ofChristina Ricci.Ricci left the pro-ject after the tableread. Girlfriend InA Coma centerson Karen, awoman who wasin a coma formany years andunexpectedlywakes up to findshe has a 17-year-old daughter.
NEW SERIES
TRENDING...
AN ENTERTAINING WATCH
tELEVISIONTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
RAPHAEL SBARGE IN CASTLERaphael Sbarge, who played Archie/Jiminy Cricket on Once Upon aTime, will make a guest-starring appearance on Castle. The news firstcame from Sbarge himself, who tweeted photos from the show's set. 15
INSIDE THE MINDof a serial killer
The Following is an interesting drama about a former FBI agent's pursuit to stop a mastermind serial killer from unleashing mayhem.
HEMANTH [email protected]
Poetry never seemedthis sinister onscreen, until now.The works of
American author EdgarAllan Poe are filled with ref-erences to equating deathwith beauty and he believedthat nothing was morebeautiful than the death of abeautiful woman. That isthe framework withinwhich The Following, a TVshow created by KevinWilliamson, has been set.The antagonist is a formercollege professor turnedserial killer who is obsessedwith the works of Poe andas an ode to the author, hecreates great works of art,which in Poe's words wouldmean killing young andbeautiful woman. Eyes, inparticular, are the main tar-get because Poe professedthe idea that eyes are ouridentity and that they arethe window to our soul. Itcouldn't get any creepierthan this, at least when youhave a serial killer whotakes inspiration from poet-ry.
The series begins withDr. Joe Carroll (James
Purefoy) escaping fromprison after killing theguards on duty. We are toldthat he was sent to prisonfor killing 14 young womenand that former FBI agentRyan Hardy (Kevin Bacon)was instrumental in nab-bing Joe Carroll. When thenews spreads like wildfire,Ryan Hardy is asked toinvestigate the case andhelp FBI to catch Joe Carroll,but there's a catch. RyanHardy has a weak heart andhe's an alcoholic. Due to thiscondition, he's only broughtin as a consultant becauseonly he knows how to inter-pret the clues left behind byJoe Carroll. Like Carroll,Ryan Hardy is well versedwith the works of EdgarAllen Poe and he becomesthe driving force of the FBIunit which is on the pursuit.
One of the interestingthings about The Following isthat each character has apast of its own and we arejust shown glimpses fromtime to time. In the firstepisode, we are introducedto Sarah Fuller (MaggieGrace), the only victim ofJoe Carroll's killing
spree who survived. Sarah'stryst with Joe Carroll atWinslow University wherehe taught literature is thefirst instance where welearn about Carroll's obses-sion with romanticisingdeath and works of EdgarPoe. Sarah's neighbours,Jacob and Paul seem veryconcerned about her afterJoe Carroll escapes fromprison, but little do weunderstand their true inten-tions. On the other hand, JoeCarroll's ex-wife ClarieMatthews (Natalia Zea)refuses to talk to anyone elseexcept Ryan Hardy. The twohave a history and thatbecomes a focal point for JoeCarroll to unleash his furythrough his followers whichincludes Emma Hill (ValorieCurry), who happens to livein Clarie's house as a nannyto her son.
The pilot episode, how-ever, leaves few questionsunanswered and it beginswith the basic premise thatJoe Carroll has built a vastnetwork of followerst h r o u g hI n t e r n e t .Except for a
reference that he picks easytargets and brainwashesthem, we don't know any-thing else about his modusoperandi, especially whenhe's in prison. Since the truecolours of each of the centralcharacters is revealedthrough intermittent flash-backs, it seems quite puz-zling at times, but one canbe assured that this concernwill be addressed in subse-quent episodes. Moreover,unless you are well versedwith philosophy of EdgarPoe's works, the reasonsbehind the killing spreewould seem rather over thetop and frivolous.
Kevin Bacon fits into hisrole quite well, but thestandout character of theseries so far is JamesPurefoy, who played acharismatic ex-professorturned serial killer. The wayin which his characterunfolds, especially towardsthe end of the first episode,is stunning and if the initialscenes of confrontationbetween Joe and Ryan areanything to go by, TheFollowing promises to be agruesome thriller wherenothing is what it seems. Agreat start to what could bea promising TV series.
If you wantto dancetill you’refeet can’tfeel theground,then Kismet’sthe place tobe. Theseparty loversshowed offsome niftydanceworkonWednesday.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
LADIES NIGHTUnderdeck has long been popular for its drinks - specially its Long IslandIced Teas and shooters, its tasty light eats and live music. Ladies can enjoyfree drinks from the select bar. Be there at 8.
Anotherpitch takenNovotel Hyderabad Convention
Centre & Hyderabad InternationalConvention Centre won the HRAAP(Hotels and Restaurants Association
of Andhra Pradesh) CricketTournament on Wednesday. TheHRAAP tournament was a greatsuccess with all the top hotels in
the City including Avasa, Vivanta byTaj,Minerva Grand, Marriott, etc tak-
ing part in the event.
KISMET NIGHTS
spotlight
Tina
Deepika
Aishwarya
Monika
Anita
Shifali
Pallavi, Rumani
Fathima
Nikita, Puja
Vibhuti, Swati
Aisha
Nikitha
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
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S BALAKRISHNA
1 2 3 4 5 6
7
8 9
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S BA
LAKR
ISHN
A
TEENAGE KICKS
CAFFEINE HELPS PREVENT ROAD CRASH RISK Research among long-distance commercial drivers in Australia has given weightto those who say coffee, tea or caffeine energy drinks or tablets help preventdangerous drowsiness at the wheel. Researchers compared 530 drivers who hadcrashed while on a long trip with 517 drivers who had not had an accident.health
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
19
When it comes tobabies, there is aconstant need forparents to keep
watch — to look out for signs ofdiscomfort, to analyse whatcould have gone wrong, and toget help in times of emergency.
Having a first aid kit forsimple day-to-day emergenciesis crucial. These are some imme-diate remedies you can do athome to bring relief to the babybefore rushing to a doctor.
COMMON EMERGENCIESIt is not rare for children to noturinate for more than eight to 12hours, said Dr KiranKrishnamurti, paediatrician atAndromeda Centre, listing outsome of the common emergencycases she attends to. “It can betreated with a spoonful of boiledand cooled water,” she said.“Don’t overclothe the baby. Keep(him/her) in a cool room. If thereis still no urination, consult apaediatrician.”
Mild dehydration in new-borns can result in high fever,she said, and boiled and cooledwater will work for this too,along with paracetamol drops,if necessary.
Another common cause ofpanic for parents is diarrhoea inthe newborn. Frequent stools,
which is often mistaken fordiarrhoea, is quite normal, DrKrishnamurti says. “Infectivediarrhoeas are uncommon innewborns, especially if they arebreastfed. As such breastfedbabies pass very frequent stools,often mistaken for diarrhoea,but which are actually normal.”
“Apart from thirst, hungerand wet diapers, a commoncause for excessive crying issleep. Many newborns need to beaided to fall asleep because theyare unable to do so on their own.Colic and earache are other com-mon causes,” she said.
Older babies usually tend toput foreign particles in theirmouth, which could choke
them. According to www.baby-center.com, the first thing to dowould be to assess the situationquickly; sometimes an allergicreaction can cause the throat toswell, and the baby needs to berushed to the hospital. It alsooutlines the procedure to dis-lodge a foreign object with backblows and chestthrusts.
Dr Krishnamurti says thatnewborns tend to choke onexcess saliva. “Some communi-ties, it is common to give honey(to a newborn). I have seen itand it is a known fact that chil-dren can choke on it. Honeyproduces lots of saliva whichthe baby can’t swallow.”
“Nine out of 10 babies haveatopy (allergic tendencies),”said Dr Sunitha SekharReddy, dermatologist atADI clinics. “In case ofrashes, a moisturiserwould do, or (whenrequired), a topical antibiotic.
She said washingbaby’s clothes withexcess antiseptics, mas-
sages with differentoils, and keeping a
heater near thebaby should be
avoided.
DEEPASHRIVARADHARAJAN
SitUps to Six PackSitUps to Six Pack is anamazing 0 to 200+ sit-ups training programmethat will lead you to getperfectly toned andshaped abs. It was specif-
ically designed to help you get the absof your dreams by assisting you toaccomplish 200+ sit-ups at one shotfrom zero in 9 weeks. This is your bestcoach to develop great looking abs.
PertussisPertussis, also known as whoopingcough, is a disease that kills about300,000 people in the world every year,out of 30–50 million cases per year.There is a vaccine that can prevent it, somost cases of it are in places where peo-ple cannot afford, or cannot get, thevaccine. However, this vaccine does notwork forever. The disease lasts about sixweeks, and symptoms include vomiting,violent coughing.
Newborns have 20/50visionNewborn babies arenot blind but haveapproximately 20/50vision and can easilydiscriminate between degrees of bright-ness. The daughters of a mother who iscolourblind and a father who has normalvision will have normal vision, howeverthe sons will be colourblind.
James McCune SmithDr Smith was the first African Americanto earn a medical degree and practicemedicine in the United States. He wasalso the first to own and operate a phar-macy, in New York City. At the age of 25,just returned from medical school inScotland, Dr Smith rose at the annualmeeting of the American Anti-SlaverySociety and spoke out against slavery,telling the crowd of abolitionist supportin Europe.
NEWS BRIEFSAPP-LY YOURSELF HOUSECALL DID YOU KNOW? PIONEERS
NEW PARENTSPostnoonlists thethings youneed to havehandy whenyou have anewborn athome, andsome simpleremedies forminorinjuries.
BABY FIRST AID:
n Baby thermometer n Liquid paracetamol or
ibuprofen (with a feedingsyringe without needle ora measuring spoon)
n Calamine lotion for sunburn and rashes
n Antiseptic cream(minor cuts andburns)
n Sterile gauze,scissors, adhe-sive tape,bandages
n Antisepticwipes (toclean wounds)
SOURCE: WWW.BABYCENTRE.CO.UK
BE PREPARED
MAKE YOUR OWN KIT
health THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 20
Pathogen exposure linked to Type 1 diabetes
BEIJING: Stressing the need tosleep for moderate durations, aChinese study has urged peopleto avoid overuse of networkingdevices and turn to soothingmusic, massage, and naps for abetter sleep.
The Chinese sleep for anaverage of eight hours and 50minutes everyday, but nearlyhalf feel sluggish when awake,found the study.
The report is based on a sur-vey conducted in November andDecember through randomhousehold visits in 20 cities, 20towns and 20 villages.
It found that around 55 percent of the respondents admit-ting to their work pressure affect-ing their sleep patterns, makingthem resort to various methodsto improve their sleep quality.
While observing modern-daymedia or mode of communica-tion’s influence over sleep, thesurvey found 67.1 per cent ofpeople chat on mobile phones orcomputers before going to sleep,and 43.2 per cent of those goingto bed after midnight do so dueto online gaming and messaging.
The survey noticed a trend inwhich people in south and westChina tend to sleep better thanthose in the north and east. Itfound bachelors sleep better thanthose who are married, said QinXiaoming, vice head of theChinese Medical DoctorAssociation.
It also found that the mensleep better than women, andpeople in rural regions have bet-ter sleep quality than their urbancounterparts. IANS
Music, massage,naps key tosound sleep
STUDYRESEARCHResearchers linked intake of
sugar-sweetened beverages to133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000
deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 6,000 cancer deaths.
WASHINGTON:Consumption of sugar-sweet-ened beverages is linked to180,000 deaths in the worldeach year, scientists, includingone of Indian-origin, haveclaimed.
According to the studypresented at the AmericanHeart Association’s meetingin New Orleans, researchersfound that sugar-sweetenedsodas, sports drinks and fruitdrinks may be associated withabout 180,000 deaths aroundthe world each year.
Sugar-sweetened bever-ages contribute to excess bodyweight, which increases therisk of developing diabetes,cardiovascular diseases andsome cancers.
Using data collected aspart of the 2010 GlobalBurden of Diseases Study, theresearchers linked intake ofsugar-sweetened beverages to133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000deaths from cardiovasculardiseases and 6,000 cancerdeaths.
Seventy-eight per cent ofthese deaths due to over-con-suming sugary drinks were in
low and middle-income coun-tries, rather than high-incomecountries.
“In the US, our researchshows that about 25,000deaths in 2010 were linked todrinking sugar-sweetened
beverages,” said Gitanjali MSingh, co-author of the studyfrom the Harvard School ofPublic Health in Boston.
Researchers calculated thequantities of sugar-sweetenedbeverage intake around theworld by age and sex; theeffects of this consumption onobesity and diabetes; and theimpact of obesity and dia-betes-related deaths.
Of nine world regions,Latin America/Caribbean hadthe most diabetes deaths(38,000) related to the con-
sumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in2010.
East/Central Eurasia hadthe largest numbers of car-diovascular deaths (11,000)related to sugary beverageconsumption in 2010.
Among the world’s 15most populous countries,Mexico — one of the coun-tries with the highest per-capita consumption of sugarybeverages in the world — hadthe highest death rate due tothese beverages, with 318deaths per million adultslinked to sugar-sweetenedbeverage intake.
Japan, one of the countrieswith lowest per-capita con-sumption of sugary beveragesin the world, had the lowestdeath rate associated with theconsumption of sugary bever-ages, at about 10 deaths due toper million adults.
“Because we were focusedon deaths due to chronic dis-eases, our study focused onadults. Future research shouldassess the amount of sugarybeverage consumption in chil-dren across the world and how
this affects their current andfuture health," Singh said.
Commenting on the study,the American BeverageAssociation said in a state-ment, “It does not show thatconsuming sugar-sweetenedbeverages causes chronic dis-eases such as diabetes, cardio-vascular disease or cancer –the real causes of deathamong the studied subjects."
“The researchers make ahuge leap when they takebeverage intake calculationsfrom around the globe andallege that those beveragesare the cause of deaths whichthe authors themselvesacknowledge are due tochronic disease," the state-ment said.
PTI
Researchers calculated the quan-tities of sugar-sweet-ened beverage intakearound the world byage and sex.
Sugary drinks tied to
180,000deaths worldwide
BREAKTHROUGH
VALETTA: Scientists have linkedlack of exposure to pathogens toinreasing rates of Type 1 diabetes,said a study.
Countries with lower mortalityfrom infectious disease exhibithigher rates of Type 1 diabetes,according to a new study by Dr AAbela and Professor S Fava of theUniversity of Malta.
The study collated data fromthree major international studiesand presented it at the Society forEndocrinology annual conferencein Harrogate, Britain.
It suggests that the unex-plained global rise in Type 1 dia-betes may be linked to reducedexposure to pathogens in early life.
Type 1 diabetes is caused whenthe immune system destroys thecells of the pancreas that releaseinsulin, leaving the patient unableto control his blood sugar. It is esti-mated to affect around half a million children worldwide,increasing in incidence by an esti-mated three per cent every year,reports Science Daily. IANS
EntertainmentTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
21
Swamy Ra Ra is readyfor release
Nikhil, Swati starrerSwamy Ra Ra is all set
to release on March 23. Thefilm was recently censoredand it has been given anU/A certificate. SudheerVarma has directed the filmwhich is based on thetheme of theft of a Ganeshidol and how it effects thelead characters. Sunny hasscored the music.
DK Bose’s first look to belaunched today
The first look of SundeepKishan, Nisha Aggarwal starrer
DK Bose is going to be launchedlater today by Sania Mirza andSiddharth. AN Bose has directedthe film and Anand Ranga andSeshu Reddy have jointly pro-duced the film. Achu has scoredthe music. The film is going torelease later this summer.
Vishnu elected asMAA’s VPVishnu Manchu has been elect-
ed as the Vice-President ofMovie Artists Association.Incidentally, he's the youngestever vice-president of MAA tohave been elected unopposed.After the success of DhenikainaReady, Vishnu Manchu hasteamed up with Veeru Potla for afamily entertainer. LavanyaTripathi is playing the lead oppo-site Vishnu.
CINE BYTESBIRTHDAY GIFT
TOOFANTRAILER TO BE
LAUNCHED ON RAMCHARAN'S B'DAY
The trailer of Toofan, the Telugu version of the remakeof 1973 cult Hindi film Zanjeer, is likely to be
launched on the occasion of its lead actor RamCharan Teja's birthday March 27.The film is titled
Zanjeer itself in Hindi."Planning a big launch for theteaser and trailer of Toofan on Charan's birthday in
Hyderabad. Cutting, snipping backgroundscore, grading. Full power," director
Apoorva Lakhia posted on his Twitterpage.The film is being simultaneously
shot in Hindi and Telugu. It fea-tures Ram Charan along with
Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj,Srihari and Sanjay Dutt in
lead roles."Hindi trailer/teaser ofZanjeer will follow two
days after the releaseof (the trailer) of
Toofan," addedLakhia. IANS
fashionTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
DIANA’S DRESSES AUCTIONEDTEN DRESSES worn by the late Princess Diana, including a velvet, midnight blue gown she famously danced in with
John Travolta at the White House in 1985, fetched more than $1.2 million at a London auction on Tuesday.Theselection of mainly evening gowns charted the former royal's style evolution from ingénue to global fashion icon.
22&23H&M TO LAUNCH NEW PARTYWEAR COLLECTIONH&M will launch a new collection of partywear this spring - an extension on their existing successful
Conscious collection. Entitled Conscious Exclusive, the debut range features an array of evening-appropriateclothing and accessories for both men and women.
Brazil fashion brandsAnimale, Cori, TufiDuek and Cavalerakicked off the show's
35th edition, which runsthrough till Friday in the cav-ernous Biennial pavilion of thecity's Ibirapuera Park.
US top model Karlie Kloss,a Victoria's Secret "Angel," willbe on hand to strutAnimale designs while
her compatriot Lindsey Wilsonis to grace the catwalk for SaoPaulo-based fashion labelEllus. Among other leadingfashion houses represented areAdriana Degreas, AlexandreHerchcovitch, Osklen, Colcci,Joao Pimenta and Fause Haten.
Organisers have altered theshow's dates to match the
international calendar, withthe summer edition in
March-April instead of Juneand the winter collection setfor October-November insteadof January.
SPFW creative directorPaulo Borges said the new cal-endar, which prevented somedesigners, such as GloriaCoelho, from attending forlack of time, aimed to extendthe interval between the
launch and delivery
to retailers. "Any changerequires additional efforts," hesaid. The Biennial pavilionwas decorated for the occasionby leading Brazilian designersFernando and HumbertoCampana, two brothers whohave showcased their creationsin Paris, New York, Rome andLondon. Their idea was toreflect the wealth of Sao Paulo,a bustling metropolitan area of
20 million people which is theeconomic and industrial capi-tal of the world's sixth largesteconomy.
Organisers said they expect100,000 visitors, includingfashion professionals, businesspeople, and members of thepublic. According to TexBrasil,Brazil is the fifth-largest textileand fourth-biggest apparelproducer in the world. AFP
Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Latin America's premier style event, started Monday, with 25designers set to showcase their summer collections.
PICS
: AFP
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Entertainment THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 24
Entertainment THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 25
ACROSS1 Soap site5 Voting coalition9 Cocoon residents14 Infinitesimal amount15 Turn over and over16 Palate dangler17 On the road, in sports18 Triple-decker cookie19 A "Cosby" episode, today20 Quit fighting23 Sister24 The water you drink in Paris25 Ending with "spy" or "web"28 Lake Tahoe lift31 Puget Sound seaport36 Scandinavian royal name38 King of the comedians40 "The Dark Knight" director
Christopher41 Exaggerating greatly44 Certain Arabian Peninsula native45 Get bushed46 Egg-shaped47 Reds used by painters49 Remember to forget51 Ram's mate52 Margarine portion54 Sticky, yucky stuff56 Emotionally presented one's
case65 Sanskrit's language group66 Paint crudely67 6/6/44 remembrance68 Baby deliverer of legend69 Pulpit of yore70 It can come after "no one" or
"someone"71 Chip arrangements72 Number on many an
almanac73 Not distant
DOWN1 Part of an old phone2 Davenport's state3 Inn time4 "The Clock" composer Franz Joseph5 Common lunch holder6 Sad ending for "love"7 Muffin spread8 Dead ringer9 According (to)10 Eye layer containing the iris11 Contented cat's sound12 Styptic pencil stuff13 Without, in France21 In the open22 Absorb, as a loss25 Laser printer option26 Texas shrine to remember27 Ancient pyramid builders29 Came down and settled30 Pi, for instance32 Small salmon33 Antipasto goodie34 Bird with a harsh voice35 Electronic bracelet site37 Grape place39 Societal standard42 Overdoes the criticism43 The guy next door48 Wasn't left standing50 Winning X or O53 "Without delay," facetiously55 Bygone, like days56 Cindy Brady's impediment57 Prefix with "bacterial"58 Someone who's looked up to59 Like some circumstances60 Luggage tag datum61 Part of a military band62 Out of work63 Space shuttle agcy.64 Peeping Tom
KAKURO QUICK CROSSWORD
SUDOKU
Chai TimeTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
26THOUGHT OF THE DAYIt's a funny thing that when a man hasn't anything on earth to worryabout, he goes off and gets married. Robert Frost
SCRIBBLING PAD
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
How to play kakuroKakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku insome ways. But is also suitably different. The keyquestion: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well hereare the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakurogrid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It hasrows and columns, and dark cells like in a cross-word. And, just like in a crossword, some of thedark cells will contain numbers. Some cells willcontain two numbers.
However, in a crossword the numbersreference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are allyou get! They denote the total of the digits in therow or column referenced by the number.
Within each collection of cells — calleda run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be usedbut, like sudoku, each number may only be usedonce.
Let’s have an example to explain this conceptmore clearly:
In the image above, which shows a section ofa kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. Thismeans that the total of the three cells under-neath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could bethe answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on...
So, how do you work out the actual combi-nation? Well, this is done through eliminationand cross-referencing. For instance, as you workout the answers for other kakuro clues, this willnaturally limit the valid combinations, and hencethe answer for this particular run.
Note the second cell in row two — it con-tains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers tothe vertical run underneath the number 30 andthe 11 refers to the two cells to the right, hori-zontally, of the number 11.
TAROT READ
Chai Time THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 27
STAR POWER
STRIP TEASE
Vol: 2, No 244 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 – 500033and 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.
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Thiruvaikumar
Sumaa Tekur
thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118
tarotreadhyd@gmail. com
for 22-3-2013 As per Hindu panchang
for 22-3-2013
ARIESThose recently married will beblessed with an offspring soon.Some have bright chances tobuy a new house by selling theold one at a good price. Joyfuljourney with family members islikely. Chance of unexpectedfinancial fortune is likely.
ARIES: The Chariot - Travelis on the cards. This will be an impor-tant journey when you meet interest-ing people who make an impact onyour future life course.
GEMINI: Ace of Pentacles -This is the meeting of the left andright brains. You’re able to use yourcreativity and make it work in alargely structured format.
LEO: Three of Cups -Celebration time! Bring out the bub-bly and celebrate your success. It’simportant to do so to attract morepositive energy into your life.
LIBRA: The Magician -Intuition is heightened. Romance isin the air and you feel a special con-nection with someone. You hesitateto open your heart because of fear.
TAURUS: Eight of Swords- You feel restless and on the edge.You haven’t been sleeping well andit’s showing on your health. Taketime off and rest well.
CANCER: Nine of Swords -Marriage needs attention. You andyour partner might want to take aholiday together and spend somealone-with-each-other time.
VIRGO: The Empress -This is the card of love, romance andfertility. Women looking to get preg-nant have a good chance now. Thosein love will have a great phase.
SCORPIO: Page of Swords- You need to demand for theresources in order to be able to dofull justice to your work. Ask for abigger team or a larger budget.
CAPRICORN: The Sun -You’re bright and cheerful and thishappy disposition wins you friends.People come to you for advicebecause you seem so practical.
SAGITTARIUS: Justice - Ahike or a promotion is in the offing.Your bosses recognize your goodwork and make an offer. It sets youthinking about your future course.
AQUARIUS: Judgement -An international trip is possible in thenext few weeks. Don’t get your hopesup too high. It may be a short tripwith little down time.
PISCES: Ten of Wands -You’re anxious, depressed, stressedout and feel as though you’re closeto a burnout. Take a break and reju-venate yourself. Meet new people.
TAURUSFinancially a strong position isseen. Relatives and friends willbe of good support and help.All your wishes will get fulfilled. Businessmen willachieve expected growth andgood profits. Some are likely tochange their residence.
GEMINIExpected good news will arrive.You will show keen interest inlearning new things. Childrenare likely to score high markswhich will help them to join acollege of their own choice.Expenses might increasetowards happy events.
CANCERBusinessmen need not hesitateto make fresh investments.Mother’s health will be a causefor concern. Though income isgood expenses will beat theincome. You will be frustrateddue to frequent but unavoidable journey.
LEOBusinessmen will get promisingopportunities and a phenome-nal growth is certain. They canalso contemplate new invest-ments. You will be able to pro-ceed successfully according toyour plans and complete theimportant works successfully.
VIRGOBlood relatives might put youin an embarrassing situation.Chances of disappointments orloss likely, be alert. Be carefulwhile driving. Those planningto go abroad for higher studieswill get favorable news.Parents’ health needs attention.
LIBRACouple looks cordial and affec-tionate towards each other.Businessmen will earn goodprofitst. Blood relatives mightface problems like unexpectedtransfer or debt issues. Writtenoff dues will get collected andkeep you happy.
SCORPIOEmployees will be cheerful asthey get transfer to the desireddestination with promotion.Money will come from expectedsources. Those trying for a newjob will get a good opportunity.Debt issues are likely to surfacebut you will manage them well.
SAGITTARIUSBrothers and sisters will bemore affectionate towards you.Good news is on the cards.Comforts are in for a rise.Employees will get good recog-nition from the management.Health needs good attention.Deficit situation will disappear.
CAPRICORNMinor obstacles likely in theimportant works undertakenbut you will succeed.Pilgrimage is likely to beundertaken with family. Someare likely to change their joband job location. Money willcome from expected sources.
AQUARIUSGovernment officials areadvised to be straightforward.Try not to interfere in others’family issues. Tensions andembarrassing situation arelikely because of blood relatives. Our approach is in fora drastic change.
PISCESEmployees will be happy astheir expected transfer andpromotion are likely to begiven. Official trips will be fre-quent. Influx of close friendsand relatives is likely. New job,if tried will be achieved without fail.
AGNES
NON SEQUITUR
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
POOCH CAFE
BoggleCUBA CHILE CYPRUS CANADA
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PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS
Entertainment THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013 28
Sofia confirms plansfor second child
Sofia Vergara confirmedto Vogue that she is
preparing to have a secondchild through a processthat involves freezing hereggs. "They want to get asmany good eggs as theycan because usually youproduce them but they'renot good. They have to beperfect, perfect, perfectones," Vergara told themagazine. IANS
Jane Got a Gun isdown a director
It isn't every day the likes of NataliePortman and Jude Law get stood
up. Lynne Ramsay, who was sup-posed to direct the pair's latestmovie, the Western drama Jane Gota Gun, was a no-show, which wasscheduled to be their first day ofproduction in Santa Fe, accordingto producer Scott Steindorff. "I'mshocked and so disappointedsomeone would do this to 150 crewmembers,” he said.
Naomi Watts on PlasticSurgery: Never say never
Naomi Watts is flawless, buteven The Impossible star
admits you can't knock cosmeticsurgery right off the bat. Theactress graces the April 2013cover of Australia's Good Healthmagazine and candidly shares herviews on plastic surgery. "Neversay never — and I certainly don'tjudge anyone who does it," shesaid. "But most of the characters Iplay are going through some kindof emotional turmoil, so my jobrequires me to have expression."
CINE BYTES PARTING WAYS
Katy Perry, John Mayer S P L I T F O R S E C O N D T I M E
Katy Perry and JohnMayer have onceagain said goodbye —
for now. The pop songstress,28, and singer-songwriter, 35,have split for the secondtime, multiple sources con-firm to Us Weekly. The high-profile pair began casuallydating during summer 2012,and briefly called it quitsback in August before recon-ciling the next month.
"It's sad," one pal tells,but cautions that it might notbe a permanent break. "It'snot over until it's over. Youhave to see how things playout." Adds another source:"She's leaving the windowopen. They have both beenso focused on work."
Perry, who finalised herdivorce from Russell Brandin February 2012, was tweet-ing happily about her man as
recently as March 2. "Myboyfriend is taking me to akitten shelter in his truck,"she wrote to her nearly 34million followers. "I can'tthink of a more perfectSaturday." But on Monday,March 18, she suggestedshe's been dealing with tur-moil. "ATTENTION:Mercury is OUT of retro-grade today. Thank GOD,"Perry wrote.
Ray Allen #34 Dwyane Wade #3 Chris Andersen #11 Norris Cole #30 andShane Battier #31 of the Miami Heat talk during a time out against theCleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. AFP
sports 29TOUR OF CATALONIA NBA
AMBIGUITY
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
A3 DIVISION ONE DAY
Visaka 146 (Satish 38, Shakeel33) lost to Crown 147/5 (Yaseen 75 no)National 218 (Pranay 36, Shiva
48, Akshay Kumar 3/30, SauravKumar 3/35) bt Ours 163(Sreekanth 38, Venkatesh 3/25)Zinda 224 (Shabaaz 49, SdShabaazuddin 40, Sravan 32,Kunal 3/23, Sameer 4/30) btBalaji Colts 122 (Ehtesham 5/24)
Crown beat Visaka
KULDIP LALAgence France-Presse
NEW DELHI: While his sweat-drenched charges lock limbs inthe open-air ring, kitted out innothing more than a loin cloth,Raj Singh shudders as he con-templates how their Olympicdream could be shattered.
“It is unthinkable that wrest -
ling will not be part of the Oly -mpics," says Singh, secretarygeneral of the Wrestling Federa -tion of India. “I don’t see what t -he problem is. Wrestling drawsbig crowds wherever it is pl -ayed. It can’t be allowed to die."
The sport’s future looksbleak after the InternationalOlympic Committee’s (IOC)executive board decided last
month that it should bedropped from the 2020 Games.
Since then, many of thesports biggest names havejoined in a campaign to try andget the decision reversed.
India’s overall Olympicsrecord may not be much toshout about but its wrestlershave won four of the country’s13 individual medals since it
gained independence fromBritain in 1947, includingbronze for Khashaba Jadhav inHelsinki in 1952.
Many aspiring wrestlers seethe sport as not only offering thechance of Olympics glory butalso a way out of poverty.
Sushil Kumar is a nationalhero in an otherwise cricket-obsessed country. AFP
CLEVELAND, OHIO:Defending champion Miami’sepic win streak, the second-longest in league history, rose to24 games Wednesday but sur-vived a scare from NBA weak-ling Cleveland in a homecomingfor LeBron James.
Down by 27 points in thethird quarter, the Heat rallied todefeat Cleveland 98-95 thanks toa stunning effort from James,who scored 25 points, grabbed 12rebounds, made 10 assists andhit two key-free throws with 4.7seconds to play.
“We had to dig deep for thisone," James said. “We knowevery team is going to give us a
good shot. We know they aregoing to be trying to take usdown. We should enjoy that. Weshould embrace that. We have tobe ready for that."
The game was the first forJames at the home of his formerclub since he won an NBA titlewith the Miami team he joinedafter spurning the Cavaliers — atrue homecoming since he grewup and was a high school star innearby Akron.
“This is a gut performancefor our team," James said. “I’mhappy my teammates were ableto come through for me tonight.This was a big one."
AFP
MADRID: Colombia’s NairoQuintana won the 180kmthird stage of the Tour ofCatalonia from Vidreres tothe Vallter 2000 ski resort onWednesday.
Quintana pippedSpaniards Alejandro Valverdeand Joaquim Rodriguez in atough uphill finish to claimthe win.
The Colombian’sMovistar team-mate Valverdetook over the leader’s jerseyfrom Belgium’s GianniMeersman and sits four sec-onds ahead of both JoaquimRodriguez and BradleyWiggins.
Last year’s Tour de Francewinner Wiggins had attempt-ed to break clear and win the
stage with one kilometreremaining, but was quicklypegged back by Quintana.
Thursday’s fourth stage isthe longest of the race, a217.7km ride from Llanars toPort-Aine which will againconclude with a mountaintopfinish.
The seven-stage race con-cludes on Sunday.
Wrestlersgrapplewith 2020lockout
League Cricket
Heat’s win streakextends to 24
Quintana wins Tour of Catalonia third stage
Quintanapipped Valverdeand Rodriguezin a toughuphill finish toclaim the win.
Tight battle expectedST. PETERSBURG,FLORIDA: IndyCar’s champi-onship begins Sunday when the19-race campaign opens at St.Petersburg as a host of topdrivers from around the worldtry to dethrone American RyanHunter-Reay.
“This is going to be the tigh-est competition we’ve seen inIndyCar in a very, very longtime," Hunter-Reay saidWednesday. “It’s going to be areally tough season."
Hunter-Reay took lastyear’s crown in dramatic styleat the season-ending oval raceat Fontana, California, after
Australian Will Power enteredwith the points lead but crashedearly, allowing the American toovercome the deficit.
This time, Hunter-Reayleads an Andretti Autosportlineup that also featuresCanada’s James Hinchcliffe,
American Marco Andretti andVenezuelan E.J. Viso.
Four-time series championDario Franchitti, the Scotsmanwho won last year’sIndianapolis 500, and NewZealand’s Scott Dixon leadGanassi Racing.
Power and Brazil’s HelioCastroneves, defending cham-pion at St. Petersburg, will con-tend for Penske Racing.
“I hope I’m in contention inthe end again and have a chanceat it really," Power said. “Thereare 19 races and they all count.You will have your good onesand bad ones. AFP
INDYCAR
sports 30THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
ORLANDO: Tiger Woods (inpic), who can overtake RoryMcIlroy for World No. 1 bydefending his title this week atBay Hill, says he and ski starLindsey Vonn went public as acouple to combat “stalker-azzi.”
A day after Woods and Vonn
told the world they were datingand shared photos on theirFacebook pages, Woodsexplained why they made thatdecision at a news conference onthe eve of the $6.2 million USPGA Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“We’re very happy where
we’re at, but also we wanted tolimit the ‘stalker-azzi’ and allthose sleazy websites out there,paparazzi following us,” Woodssaid. Photographers seeking avaluable picture of the couplehad put at risk the health ofWoods’ two children with ex-wife Elin Nordegren — five-year-old daughter Sam Alexisand four-year-old son Charlie.
“I’ve had situations where ithas been very dangerous for mykids, the lengths paparazzi willgo to,” Woods said. “We basical-ly devalued the first photos.Unfortunately that’s just the wayit is in our society right now. Wefelt it was the best thing to doand I’m very happy about it.”
Woods, a 14-time majorchampion who will try to closethe gap on the record 18 majorswon by Jack Nicklaus when heplays at next month’s Masters,has spent a record 623 weeksatop the world rankings. AFP
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA:Coming off LPGA victories atSingapore and Phoenix, Ameri -can Stacy Lewis plays her firstevent as the World No. 1 ofwomen’s golf startingThursday at the $1.7 millionKia Classic.
By winning her seventhcareer title at last week’s LPGAFounders Cup, 2012 LPGAPlayer of the Year Lewis over-
took Taiwan’s Yani Tseng forthe top spot in the new rank-ings last Monday.
“It was a little strange defi-nitely to see myself there,”Lewis said. “I don’t think it’sreally kind of hit me over thelast two days. I didn’t realize itwas such a big deal at the time,but it has kind of hit me themore I’ve talked about it and
the more people that have saidcongratulations.” Lewis willtry to continue her success stre -ak at Aviara Golf Club in questof a $255,000 top prize in an ev -ent that serves as the final tune-up for the first women’s majorof the season, the $2 millionKraft Nabisco Championship.
“I don’t know what I’mlooking forward to. I just knowthat I’m going to have fun,”
Lewis said. “I know there’s a lotof people that would love to bein my position right now andthat’s why I just want to havefun and enjoy it.”
Tseng, the defending KiaClassic champion seeking a16th career crown this week, setthe rankings pace for 109 weeksand sent Lewis a congratula-tions message that was special.
MIAMI: Novak Djokovic is lo -oking to bounce back in theATP Miami Masters after his22-match win streak endedlast week at Indian Wells andthe absence of Rafael Nadaland Roger Federer is no prob-lem.
Nadal wants to rest hisweary knees after a comebackthat has seen him win three
titles, including lastSunday’s Indian Wells
final, and 17-timeGrand Slam cham-
pion Federer iss k i p p i n g
Miami as
well as the clay court seasonlooms.
“It’s the same for me,”World No. 1 Djokovic said.“I’m sure that even withoutthem we will have a greattournament.” Djokovic will tryto claim his fourth Miami titlewhile Serena Williamsattempts to take her sixthcareer crown at the $8.5 mil-lion ATP and WTA event thatbegan on Tuesday and pro-vides first-round byes to seed-ed players.
“I look forward to thistournament and I’ve had plen-ty of success,” Djokovic said.
“That gives me a reason tobelieve I can do well again.”
Djokovic opens on Fridayagainst Czech Lukas Rosol -who stunned Nadal atWimbledon last year - whileWilliams will open onThursday against Italy’s FlaviaPennetta in the American’sfirst event since reclaiming theWorld No. 1 ranking. “It feelsgood to be on top, especiallyafter everything, working sohard and just really not expect-ing much, especially this far inmy career,” she said. “It’sexciting to be there again.”
Argentina’s Juan Martin
del Potro ended the Serb’s winstreak 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an IndianWells semi-final last Saturday.Djokovic had not lost a matchsince falling to American SamQuerrey at the Paris Masterson October 31.
His 17 match victories thisyear included a fourthAustralian Open title run andan ATP triumph in Dubai.
“It’s not an easy thing, it’seasier said than done really, togo out there and keep thefocus going and try to staygrounded and fight for everypoint regardless who is acrossthe net,” Djokovic said. AFP
MIAMI MASTERS
LOVE BYTE KIA CLASSIC PREVIEW
No Rafa, no Roger, no worriesDjokovic is lo oking to bounce back in Miami after his 22-match win streak endedlast week and the absence of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, he says, is no problem.
Vonn’s Tiger eyes top spot Lewis ready to enjoyranking supremacy
Doc willing to provide list of clientsMADRID: Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes,who is on trial for allegedly masterminding oneof sports most notorious doping rings, saidWednesday he would be willing to give thenames of his former sports clients to the WorldAnti-Doping Agency and the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency if asked to do so. “If they felt Iwas useful and they asked me, I would consider itand would be willing. What I don’t know is ifwhat I would give them would be worthwhile tothem or not,” he said at his trial. AFP
Digvijay confident of retaining titleNEW DELHI: Defending champion Digvijayeyes another magical run at his title defence ofthe Panasonic Open India from April 4. The Indianended a 12-year barren run when he claimed hismaiden Asian Tour victory by producing a grand-stand finish to pip Bangladesh’s Siddikur andcompatriot, Gaganjeet Bhullar to the title by twoshots. Memories of his career breakthrough arestill etched firmly in Singh’s mind and he is hop-ing he can revive them as he chases his secondAsian Tour win at the Delhi Golf Club. PTI
SPORTS BRIEFS
sports 31AUSTRALIA’S TOUR OF INDIA
INJURY WORRIES
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
It is the rats that first scurryaway from a sinking ship, sothat is acceptable; MahenderSingh Dhoni is the captain of
the ship called Team India, andwill be the last one to leave theship in its difficult times.
In between the rats and thecaptain are the various other lay-ers that make for the entire sys-tem. Most in this majority sectiontilt towards negativity, sadly. TheIndian cricket captain has alwayshad to face the brunt of this nega-tivity – the subtly exuberant MSDhoni is no exception. The factthat he has been the country’s
most successful captain, and hasmany a time been the difference inIndia’s many successes during hisstint has not insulated him fromcriticism. Criticism does not fol-low statistics, rationality or logic.
It took just one unsuccessfulseries for the detractors to startgunning for him. That it was aseries against the world numberone team England, even if it werea home series, did not deterthem. Criticising began in theform of the captain orderingpitches to be doctored to suitspin bowling, since that wasIndia’s strength. This was theirammunition to pull the rug fromunder his feet. When India goestouring the world over, they aregreeted by seaming or fast andbouncy wickets, mind you.
Anyway, let’s see how much
genuineness there is in thischarge. Of the six innings playedso far in the series, there has beenonly one batting collapse, in the
Australian second innings atMohali. Mind you, the pitch atMohali was the truest of thethree pitches played on so far.
Centuries of all kinds havebeen scored by batsmen at will inthe series: match-saving, match-winning, vigilant ones or flam-boyant stuff have all been gar-nered. If the Indians have scoredmore centuries than theAustralians, it speaks of the dif-ferent abilities, different caliberand different application… for allwere played on the same pitches.
The fourth and final Testbeginning tomorrow at the FerozShah Kotla in Delhi gives Indiathe chance of swamping theAusies 4-0 not because it is goingto assist spin bowling, butbecause the home team hasplayed superior cricket.
AUCKLAND: England bats-man Kevin Pietersen willmiss the last Test against NewZealand and the IndianPremier League due to a kneeinjury which may sidelinehim for up to eight weeks,officials said Wednesday.
“The injury is likely torequire ongoing assessmentsand a likely 6-8 week periodof rest and rehabilitation,”the England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) said in astatement, two days beforethe start of the series-decid-ing game.
The ECB said the 32-year-old suffered pain in his rightknee while fielding earlierthis month in preparation fora warm-up game in New
Zealand, before the Testseries began.
“This has failed to resolvesatisfactorily,” it said.
Recent scans confirmedbone bruising and possiblecartilage damage to thekneecap, and Pietersen wouldreturn to Britain “for furtherinvestigations and specialist
review”.He had been withdrawn
from all cricket including theIndian Premier League, itsaid.
New Zealand will eye arare series win and Englandwill try to cement their posi-tion as the number-two Testnation in the third and finalTest starting Friday inAuckland, following rain-affected draws in the first twogames.
Pietersen made 0 and 12 inthe first Test at Dunedin butcame back with 73 in Welling -ton. The estimated recoveryperiod makes him a doubtfulstarter for the return series inEngland against New Zeala -nd beginning on May 16. PTI
NEW DELHI: Senior batsmanYuvraj Singh has set his sights onthe upcoming edition of theIndian Premier League (IPL) andhas started preparing for theTwenty20 League starting fromApril 3 in Kolkata.
“I have started preparing forthe IPL season 6,” said Yuvraj,who plays for Sahara PuneWarriors in the IPL.
Yuvraj’s comments came onthe sidelines of the launch of thelimited edition ‘YouWeCan SwissArmy Knife’ in the capital today.
The Yuvraj SinghFoundation, which is the initia-
tive of the champion cricketer tospread awareness about cancer,has partnered with Victorinox,the legendary Swiss Army knifemanufacturer since 1894, to comeup with the special edition ofSwiss knifes.
“The Victorinox YouWeCanknife conveys a spirit of reliabili-ty and versatility and I feel it is afitting tribute to the cause of YuviFoundation. All that I would liketo say is if Yuvi Can, YOU CAN,”said the 31-year-old fromChandigarh.
Yuvraj, who fought thedreaded disease himself before
successfully returning to interna-tional cricket, said, “Havingfaced a testing time against can-cer, I believe that no matter howhard the battle is, one can over-come it through self-determina-tion.”
We (the foundation) has part-nered with ISC (Indian CancerSociety). YouWeCan is spreadingits wings and we are makingefforts to aware people about thecancer,” he added.
Asked about the fourthIndia-Australia Test beginninghere tomorrow, Yuvraj refused tocomment on it. PTI
Pup backsWatson as
skipper
NEW DELHI: Australianskipper Michael Clarke (inpic) has backed his deputyShane Watson to step up an -d lead the side in case he mi -sses out the fourth Test aga -inst India with a back injury.
“He (Watson) has myvote to take over the cap-taincy if I’m ruled out. If Idon’t pull up 100 per cent toperform at my best, I won’tbe putting my hand up forselection. And if that’s thecase, I am confident Watsonwould be embraced by theteam in my place if the CAboard appointed him ascaptain,” Clarke wrote inhis column for Courier Mail.
Watson is with the teamahe ad of the fourth Teststarting to morrow after hewas dropped fr om the play-ing XI of the third Test fornot completing a presenta-tion on team performance.
Watson went back homeas his wife was due to givebirth to their first child butreturned back to join theteam for the final Test.
“He understands whythe decision was made tostand down four players,himself included, after ourloss in Hyderabad and isdetermined to hit top form,”the skipper said. PTI
Kevin out of Test, IPLWI VS ZIM
Let’s give the devil its dueThe skipper is always blamed when anything goes wrong with the team, but
MS Dhoni has taken his side to heights which no other Indian captian has.
ROSEAU, DOMINICA:Zimbabwe crumbled yetagain to the spin of ShaneShillingford as the WestIndies reached a command-ing position at the close ofthe first day of the secondand final test at WindsorPark here on Wednesday.
Playing in front of hishome fans, Shillingford fol-lowed up his nine-wicketmatch haul from the firsttest in Barbados the previ-ous week with a haul offive for 59.
Marlon Samuels, whoclaimed his best testinnings figures of four for13 on the opening day atKensington Oval, snaredthree for 15 to bundle outZimbabwe for just 175.
AFP
Yuvraj Singh gets ready for IPL-6
SYED SHOAIBIn Delhi
ShillingfordtormentsZim again
sportsTHURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
32KLINSMANN FACES ‘MUST WIN’ US coach Jurgen Klinsmann dubbed Friday’s World Cup 2014 home quali-fying match against Costa Rica a “must-win”. Now the former Germanstriker and national team coach, could have his job on the line when theUS try to rebound from a 2-1 defeat by Honduras.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse
SERRAVALLE, SANMARINO: England managerRoy Hodgson faces a dilem-ma in central defence aheadof his side’s 2014 World Cupqualifying match away to
Group H minnows SanMarino on Friday. SinceHodgson named his squadlast week, TottenhamHotspur’s Michael Dawsonand Gary Cahill of Chelseahave both withdrawn throughinjury, while ManchesterUnited’s Rio Ferdinand ruled
himself out, citing fitnessconcerns. With Phil Jagielkaof Everton already sidelinedby injury, it leaves Hodgsondesperately short of experi-ence in the centre of defence.
It may matter littleagainst perennial underdogsSan Marino.
Defensiveissueshaunt
Hodgson
ANDY SCOTT Agence France-Presse
PARIS: With just over ayear to go until the WorldCup, some of Europe’s lead-ing nations are hoping totake a major step towardssealing their places in thefinals in Brazil in a busyweek of qualifying.
The outstanding gameof this month is the clashbetween France and reign-ing European and worldchampions Spain in Parisnext Tuesday, with bothsides tied on seven points atthe top of Group I.
But both countries mustfirst see off unfancied oppo-sition on Friday evening, asSpain entertain Finland inthe northern city of Gijonwhile France host Georgia.
Vicente del Bosque’sSpain side must do withoutcaptain Iker Casillas andBarcelona skipper CarlesPuyol as both recover frominjury, and Xavi Hernandezis also struggling for fitness.
Nevertheless, they
should still see off the chal-lenge of a Finnish side thatcurrently props up Group I.
“We are all aware thatboth matches againstFinland and France will befinals for us,” said Chelseaand Spain winger JuanMata.
“It would be an error forus to think about Francebecause we have to win thefirst match.”
His thoughts echoedthose of France coach DidierDeschamps, whose sideplay their first competitivematch since a creditable 1-1draw in Madrid in October.
“In our qualifying cam-paign, for the match againstSpain to mean anything, weneed first of all to winagainst Georgia,” he saidlast week, trying to focus histeam’s attention on the taskin hand.
Elsewhere, Germanywill be hoping to maintaintheir formidable record inqualifying when they makethe long trip to Kazakhstanin Group C.
France,Spainbrace forclashBoth countries must first seeoff unfancied opposition onFriday evening.
