Bangalore Beat Evening Newspaper - 15.07.2011

BangaloreBeat Vol. 1, Issue 320 n Friday n July 15, 2011

No. of pages: 8 n Price: Rs 2

Evening daily Shivajinagar OPH road in a mess P 3

SC raps Delhi police for shabby probe in cash‑for‑vote New Delhi: The “callous” approach of Delhi Police in probing the 2008 ‘cash-for-vote scam’ came under severe criticism today from the Supreme Court which asked it why no custodial interrogation has been conducted in the case so far.

“We are not happy at all with probe done by the Delhi Police. This is not the way to prove the offence of such serious nature,” a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam said.

FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4

Foreign student found semi‑nude Manjunath Sharma Bangalore Beat Bureau Bangalore: A student from abroad who is studying at a city college was found in a seminaked state at Padmanabhanagar Rajkatte area on Sunday.

The passersby and a social worker, Ganesh, shifted her to Victoria Hospital for treatment.

The doctors found out that the victim, Suraya (26), was not in her senses and treated her.

FULL REPORT ON PAGE 3

FBI inquiry on into News Corp.

9/11 tap claim Washington: America’s FBI has started inquiry into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. tried to hack into the phones of 9/11 terror attack victims, media reports have said.

FBI’s decision to investigate came after its Director Robert Mueller received many request in this regard from several lawmakers. The FBI routinely makes preliminary inquiries into issues raised by lawmakers to determine whether a full-blown investigation is needed.

FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4

Osama was planning US attack: report Washington: Slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his operations head were plotting to attack the US on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 strikes, a media report has said.

Bin Laden was shot dead by US commandos during a surprise raid at his safe house in Pakistan’s garrison town of Abbottabad where he lived for the last five years.

FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4

Kelly was mobbed as Gaga P8

Basha files OUR TARGET 150

ASSEMBLY SEATS: CM BJP executive committee meet begins at Hubli Bangalore Beat Bureau

children, Sandhya Suraksha, old age, disabled and widow pensions, Suvarna Bhoomi, loan at 1 perHubli: The BJP should win at least 150 seats in cent interest to farmers and many others.” the next assembly elections scheduled for 2013 and He said, “I will not react to the statements made we are ready to give all kind of support to our workby opposition parties outside Vidhana Soudha. If ers, said chief minister B S Yeddyurappa at the BJP they want any answer from me they should hold executive committee meeting here today. the discussion on the floor of the assembly and I He said, “The BJP that came to power in 2008 will answer them.” has won all the by-elections since then, be it gram Party state president K S Eshwarappa said, “The and zilla pacnchayat, parliamentary and assemexecutive committee meeting should prepare bly with the help of party workers. The party workers from booth level up. They should be ready should win the next elections too convincingly.” to work any time. Even today, the principles of The two-day meeting is being held at Gokul GarBaburao Deshpande are relevant. They should den here.

“Despite all these development programmes, adopt his principles and works towards betterment The BJP has taken up a lot development works opposition parties are making baseless allegations. of the party. The BJP government that has a in the state since it came to power. It has an- They have not been able to stomach the popularity strength of 121 MLAs in the assembly should innounced a lot popular programmes for the ben- of our government. Party workers should educate crease it to 150.” efit of the poor, downtrodden, women, elderly and voters about the various development works tak“Party workers should give wide publicity to the children. Lakhs of people have benefited through en up by our government. The schemes include, programmes taken up by the government so that our programmes.”

Bhagyalakshmi bonds, free bicycle to school- they citizens are aware of them,” he added.

CM: NO POSCO PLANT IN GADAG AT ANY COST Bangalore Beat Bureau

Hubli: The state government will not allow Posco steel plant to come up in Gadag district at any cost, said chief minister B S Yeddyurappa here this morning.

Talking to reporters after taking a guard of honour at the district police grounds, he said, “The matter is closed. Even if farmers come forward to give up their lands for the project, the government will not consider it.”

“I have already directed the Gulbarga deputy commissioner to hand over a letter on withdrawing allotment of land to Posco to Dr Siddalinga swamiji of Tontadarya Math,” he said.

“Apart from Gadag we will consider setting up the Posco unit wher-

ever the land is available and wherever farmers are willing to let go of their lands,” he said.

“Opposition parties are against development and are instigating farmers to rebel against the govern-

against their will. I have valued the words of seers, farmers and the people and then taken the decision to put off the Posco project at Gadag.”

Farmers of Halligudi and other villages in Mundargi district oppose setting up of the Posco steel plant.

More than 7,000 acres were supposed to be acquired, but it was opposed by math heads and farmers, who said the lands were fertile and that they would lose their livelihood if the lands were taken away from them. Some farmer leaders had alleged that the chief minister and major industries minister Murugesh ment. Even though farmers were Nirani have received kickbacks from willing to give up their lands, these Posco to clear the project. They also parties are turning the issue into a po- alleged that the state government is litical game. I, as a farmer’s son, giving space to a company that has know the problems being faced by been blacklisted by other states. the farming community. I will not go Continued on page 4

The day of the guru

S Radhakrishna

caveat in CMʼs case against guv Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: A caveat has been filed in the Karnataka High Court in a case related to the prosecution of chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in alleged land scandals.

Sirajin Basha, who has initiated the prosecution proceedings against the chief minister, today filed the caveat in the high court. The caveat asks the court to hear the pleas of his and fellow advocate K N Balaraj’s whenever it takes up chief minister’s case that was filed yesterday, questioning the authority of governor H R Bhardwaj to sanction prosecution proceedings.

The two advocates had sought permission from the governor to prosecute Yeddyurappa for his alleged involvement in illegal land deals. The governor gave them the approval, which led to filing of cases against the chief minister in the Lokayukta special court. But the proceedings were stayed after Yeddyurappa’s sonin-law Sohan Kumar filed a petition before the high court.

The high court which was hearing the case to vacate the stay admitted the petition filed by the chief minister, who alleged that the governor’s move allowing prosecution is against the Constitution. Yeddyurappa has said it is a conspiracy to pull down his government.

The high court was supposed to take up the chief minister’s case for hearing today. But had to postpone it following the caveat filed by Basha.

DGP Guruprasad has narrow escape Bangalore Beat Bureau Bangalore: DGP Dr D V Guruprasad had a narrow escape when his car hit another vehicle coming from the opposite direction today.

Guruprasad, who is fire and emergency services DGP, was heading towards Dharmasthala along with his family when the incident occurred. He and his family were heading to the temple town for the darshan of Lord Manjunatheshwara.

The police officer suffered minor injuries. The accident took place near Kanyadi.

The DGP was immediately

rushed to a nearby hospital. The doctors who attended on the family said they had all received minor injuries and were out of danger.

Guruprasad was in news recently after he filed a case against the state government at the CAT to consider him for the top post of DG and IGP as he was the senior most police official. The UPSC too had stated that the top post should go only to one of the three officers it had shortlisted.

The state government picked up Neelam Achuta Rao from among the list and appointed him the DG&IGP. Guruprasad is retiring on July 31.

Hostage rescued,

gunfight starts in J&K

Beyond Beat

Bikers, youʼve reached destination

Devotees offer puja on the occasion of Guru Poornima at Thyagarajanagar Sai Baba temple today. Celebrations were held across the city.

Srinagar: A woman held hostage by four Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in Jammu and Kashmir was rescued today, police said.

A gunfight has now started between the security forces and the militants, they said.

“The exchange of gunfire between the holed up terrorists and the security forces has now started in the area,” Lt Col J S Brar, spokesman of the army’s 15th corps, said here.

The guerrillas held the woman hostage in the morning in her house in Maidanpora village of Kupwara district in north Kashmir, 84 km from here.

“The hostaged woman was rescued by the security forces in a daring operation. The operation against the terrorists had to be delayed in order to rescue the woman,” said Brar.

Troops of 18 Rashtriya Rifles

and special operations group of the local police had surrounded the house.

A top LeT commander is believed to be one among these four militants, a police officer said.

IANS

PSLV carrying GSAT all set for blast‑off If you are a biker, you would have reached your destination here. The Legends Motorcycling Café and Museum that is opening on Sunday in Frazer Town is full of vintage motorbikes and other biking related Page 5 tidbits, says Aknisree Karthik.

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): Ferrying the country’s latest communication satellite GSAT-12A, a fully fuelled up rocket is all set to blast off from the space port here today evening.

“All the four stages/engines have been fuelled up. The countdown for the evening launch is progressing well. Over the next few hours all the mandatory checks on all the rocket systems will be carried out,” Indian space agency director S. Satish told IANS in Sriharikota, about 80 km from Chennai.

The director in charge of publications and public relations said fuelling of the rocket’s second stage that began Thursday night was completed Friday morning.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials told IANS that the propellant and helium gas chambers are in the process of being adequately pressurised.

The sky is clear and the weather good for the launch of Rs.90 crore rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C17 (PSLV-C17), scheduled at 4.48 p.m., officials said.

Around 20 minutes into the flight the rocket is expected to place GSAT-12 in the intended sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit (sub GTO).

The Rs 80 crore GSAT-12 satellite has 12 extended C-band transponders - automatic receivers and transmitters for communication and broadcast of signals.

The satellite is expected to serve the Very Small Aperture Terminal (V-SAT) sector.

VSATs are used to transmit data like point of sale transactions or to provide satellite internet access.

It will also be useful for various communication services like tele-education, tele-medicine and for village resource centres.

The satellite will augment transponder capacity of Indian National Satellite (Insat) system that presently comprises eight satellites - Insat-2E, Insat-3A, Insat-3C, Insat-3E, Insat-4A, Insat-4B, Insat-4CR and GSAT-8 providing 175 transponders in the S, C, extend C and Ku bands.

On Thursday, the rocket’s fourth stage/engine was fuelled with liquid pro-

pellants. The gas and propellant chambers were pressurised.

The PSLV-C17 rocket standing 44 metres tall and weighing around 320 tonnes is a four-stage rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively.

The first and third stage engines are fired by a solid propellant and the second and fourth stages by a liquid propellant.

The solid fuel stages are cast ready while the liquid propellant are filled only hours before the blast-off.

Continued on page 4

CITY 2

Friday, July 15, 2011

CM: GIM 2012 WILL GET ` 5 LAKH CR INVESTMENT Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Global Investors’ Meet next year will attract Rs 5 lakh crore investment which will create nearly 10 lakh jobs in the state, said chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

On the occasion of curtain-raiser for GIM 2012, he said the premier event will be held on June 7 and 8. Next year’s GIM will be a catalyst to double the gross state domestic product by 2020, he added.

The GIM held last year was a great success which got investment to the tune of Rs 3.92 lakh crore. Nearly 2,000 companies, 8,000 delegates and 389 MoUs were signed. Twenty projects were implemented with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore.

In all, 235 projects are under progress involving Rs 2.95 lakh crore. Nodal officers have been nominated to monitor the projects and report on their progress, he said.

The state government has got confidence with the response it received during the last GIM and will invite more during the next meet. Karnataka is the first state in the country to have the semiconductor, mining, tourism, textile and energy policies, he said.

The Integrated Agri Business Development Policy has allowed the state government to hold the first Agri GIM in November this year. “Through this, we expect an investment of Rs 55,000 crore in agri-related businesses, which will help farmers,”

“India has the largest cultivable land, largest industrial lands and there is no shortage of water.

We have got a lot of natural resources. But we have to make use of these. Global rebalancing is making India strong enough. We have to market ourselves,” he said.

“Till 1991, we were importing product. After liberalisation we are competing with other industrialized nations. Opportunities are greater in India. Mere presence of opportunities is not a success. We should work out and maintain the spirit to tackle this in world economic order,” he said.

“Karnataka has good natural resources, educational institutions, medical and engineering colleges. The government has to make the best use of these for GIM 2012. More than 50 percent of the jobs should be routed out of Banglaore,” he added.

At the curtain-raiser ceremony, the government CII chairman B Muthuraman, higher education and IT-BT minister V S Acharya, Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, major industries minister Murugesh Nirani and energy minister signed MoUs with six companies.

Major industries minister Murugesh Nirani, Shobha Karandlaje and Toyota Kirloskar vice-chairman Hiroshi Nagasaka (left to right higher education minister V S Acharya, energy sitting) with various industry body reprenstatives in the city. minister Shobha Karandlaje, Bangalore Central he said. management and other graduates,” said CII chair- MP P C Mohan, chief secretary S V Ranganath, The Vision Group is advising the state govern- man B Muthuraman. principal secretary industries and commerce de“India, China and Singapore are continuously partment Jyothiramalingam, and members of asment and also helping it hold the Global Investors’ Meets. “I thank CII, FKCCI, FICCI and other in- growing, while the US, Japan and South Korea, sociations like CII, FKCCI, FICCI, BCIC, KASSAIA, dustrial bodies for their support to the GIM 2012,” which played a part in the economic growth are Assocham, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and he added. “India has tremendous growth potential. slowing down. We have to make use of this op- Industries Federation of Indian Export Organisation We have generated millions of engineers, doctors, portunity,” he added. and FIEO were present on the occasion.

State promoting drip irrigation: Minister Bangalore: Karnataka agriculture minister Umesh Katti has said the state government had taken initiatives to promote the practice of drip irrigation in cultivation of sugarcane.

As part of the initiatives, the government had on a pilot basis asked over 58 sugarcane factories to develop around 250 hectares of land each using drip irrigation to demonstrate the advantages of the method to farmers, he said.

The BJP government had allocated over Rs 67 crore for the

IIBS signs MoU with Mysore varsity to offer MBA Chennai: International Institute of Business Studies (IIBS) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with University of Mysore to offer Master of Business Administration from this academic year.

The two year course would be offered out of the business school’s Bangalore campus, a press release here said.

After signing the MoU, IIBS Chairman Dr Jay Prakash said: “The MBA course is formulated keeping in mind the requirements of the corporate world and would be supplemented with overall skill development through IIBS’s finishing school.

Also to give global exposure, students admitted in this course would have the opportunity in an international seminar in an overseas university”.

IIBS today offers MBA, BBM, BCA and B COM courses at its campuses in Bangalore, Kolkata and Noida. PTI

Sonata Q1 net profit down by 51% Mumbai: Bangalore based IT company Sonata Software has reported a 51 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 8.84 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2011.

During the same period a year ago, the company’s net profit stood at Rs 18.23 crore.

Total income of the company for the first quarter of the ongoing financial year was marginally up at Rs 338.77 crore from Rs 332.76 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

Shares of company today closed at Rs 40.60 apiece, down by 5.36 per cent compared to its previous close, at BSE. PTI

Bangalore Beat

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purpose in the current year, Katti said.

Advocating drip irrigation, the minister said the procedure could help in saving the quantum of water used and energy, apart from ensuring better yields.

Currently only 28 per cent of the total crop area was covered under the drip method, which could be augmented to 50 per cent to ensure the said savings in water and power, he said.

Replying to a question, he denied irregularities in purchase of drip irrigation equipment. PTI

Three‑day state‑level training on sample survey being held Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: A three-day state-level training for the 68th National Sample Survey on house “household expenditure” and “employment and unemployment” with a special emphasis on ayurveda, siddha, unani and homeopathy is being held in the city since yesterday.

Enumerators attached to deputy commissioner’s office and National Sample Survey Organisation from all districts are taking part in the training on various aspects of enumeration and sample collection. The workshop has technical sessions where the survey and its concepts by the NSSO would be introduced to the trainees.

They will be trained on collecting data on

consumer spending, entering the data and its validation.

The workshop was inaugurated by K P Unnikrishna, deputy director-general, zonal office, NSSO. U R Subramanya, joint director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, H E Rajashekarappa director, irectorate of Economics and Statistics and Ahmed Ayub, deputy director general, NSSO, were present on the occasion.

Unnikrishna said, “The basis of conducting this workshop is to train enumerators, officials at NSSO and sample survey officers on the apects of enumeration and methods.”

The 68th round that started from July 1 will continue till June 30 next year.

“The training for each round differs from

the other. Normally, NSSO surveys are conducted every five years. This one is being conducted on the directions of the economics ministry,” Unnikrishna said.

What has been found from the survey is that there is not detailed exhaustive data on the periodic labourers, who move from one place to another.

A pilot survey was conducted in Orissa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, he said.

Once a model of survey is found, it is developed upon and introduced all over the country, he added.

The sample surveys are important for the Reserve Bank of India to formulate policies, for whole sale industries and to moderate the industrial output. Overall, 512 samples are collected for the survey.

391 autos fined

Govt buiding inaugurated

A newly constructed building for the Government Model Primary School at Chikkabidarikallu on the outskirts of the city was inaugurated yesterday. Bangalore Round Table 7 constructed the building with all amenities free of cost. Bangalore Round Table 7 president Prashanth and member Shah Sunil Bhatia were present.

Bangalore: The police carried out a drive against autorickshaws that were carrying more than the specified number of schoolchildren in them and fined 391 three-wheelers. They collected Rs 39,100 in fines from the autorickshaw drivers. The police conducted the raids following complaints that many accidents were taking place because of overloading of students in these vehicles, said a press note from Bangalore traffic police (west).

The police asked the parents to know as to how many students are carried in their children’s autorickshaws.

State gives nod to 28 new industrial projects Bangalore: Notwithstanding opposition from farmers in parts of the state over land acquisition, the Karnataka government today approved 28 mega industrial projects with an investment of Rs 8,622.41 crore. The state high level committee for industrial projects clearance, chaired by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, accorded in-principle approval for the projects, which included the Honda Motorcycle

and Scooters India Ltd, to be set up at a cost of Rs 1,350 crore in Narsapur Industrial area in Kolar district.

Giving details of the projects that got the committee’s approval, major industries minister Murugesh Nirani said these projects had the potential to generate 22,799 jobs. The projects which got approval are: automobile (2), ceramics (1), chemicals (2), education (1), engineering (2),

food processing (2), infrastructure (2), steel (3), IT park (1), petrochemicals (1), sugar (8), textile (1) and others two.

Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers will manufacture urea, basic organic chemicals and other specialty fertilisers in Panabur village of Mangalore district with an investment of Rs 483 Crore, he said. Sugar factories with a total investment of Rs 1,900 crore will be established

in Bijapur, Mysore, Bagalkote and Belgaum districts, Nirani said.

The meeting also approved change of ownership of the proposed Rs 36,000crore steel plant in Bellary, which was transferred by Brahmini Steels promoted by tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy, to Delhi-based company Uttam Galwa.Reddy has sold his company’s rights in favour of Galwa. PTI

TRAIN SCHEDULE Train No.

638 637 6228 6227 6222 6221 6517 2657 2658 2607 2608 6021 6022 101S 102SR 2008 2008 2639 2640 6523 6524 5626 5625 2429 2430 2627 2628 6217 6218 2647 2648 1013 1014 6529 6530 6507 6508 1017 1018 6509 6510 6501

Train Name

ERS SBC SPL SBC ERS SPL BANGALORE EXP SHIMOGA EXP MYSORE EXPRESS CHENNAI EXPRESS BANGALORE MAIL BANGALORE MAIL CHENNAI MAIL LALBAGH EXPRESS LALBAGH EXPRESS BANGALORE EXPRESS CHENNAI EXPRESS RMAS SBC PASSENGER SBC MAS PASSENGER SHATABDI EXPRESS SHATABDI EXPRESS BRINDAVAN EXPRESS BRINDAVAN EXPRESS BANGALORE EXPRESS CHENNAI EXPRESS GUWAHATI-BANGALORE BANGALORE - GUWAHATI RAJDHANI EXPRESS RAJDHANI EXPRESS KARNATAKA EXPRESS KARNATAKA EXPRESS SWARNA JAYANTHI EXP SWARNA JAYANTHI EXP KONGU EXPRESS KONGU EXPRESS COIMBATORE EXPRESS LOKMANYA TILAK EXP UDYAN EXPRESS UDYAN EXPRESS JU BANGALORE EXPRESS JODHPUR EXPRESS CHALUKYA EXPRESS CHALUKYA EXPRESS AII SBC EXPRESS AJMER EXPRESS AHMEDABAD EXPRESS

Station Ernakulam Jn Bangalore City Shimoga Town Bangalore City Chennai Central Mysore Jn Chennai Central Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City Bangalore City Hazrat Nizamuddin Bangalore City Hazrat Nizamuddin Bangalore City Hazrat Nizamuddin Bangalore City Hazrat Nizamuddin Mumbai Coimbatore Mumbai Central Bangalore City Jodhpur Jn Bangalore City Dadar Mumbai Bangalore City Ajmer Jn Bangalore City Ahmedabad

Arrival B’lore 0430 000 0430 000 0500 2300 0525 0535 000 2125 000 0735 (Sunday) 000 1900 000 1050 and2230 000 1320 000 2005 000 1840 (Tue, Thu) 000 000 0725(Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat) 000 1340 000 0830(Wed) 000 0200 (Fri) 2215 1225 0905 00000 0400(Sat, Mon) 000 2225(Except Wed) 000 0400 (Sun, Tue) 000 0800 (Thu)

Departure B’lore 000 1715 000 2330 0530 2345 000 000 2245 000 0630 000 2130 (Sunday) 000 0915 000 1615 and 0600 000 1430 000 0800 000 2330 (Wed, Fri) 1835 (Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu) 000 1830 000 1925 (Fri) 000 2315 (Sun) 000 2300 1245 000 2000 000 2125 (Mon, Wed) 000 0620 (Except Thu) 000 2125 (Tue, Thu) 000

Train No.

6502 6831 6832 7086 7085 790 789SC 9775 9776 7209 7210 6525 6526 8563 8564 6732 6731 0621 6321 6322 2079 2080 6591 6592 6593 6589 6590 2725 2726 213 214 6205 6205 6215 6216 6519 6520 0235 0236 571SR 572SR 584SW

Train Name

AHMEDABAD EXPRESS MYSORE EXPRESS THANJAVUR EXPRESS SECUNDERABAD EXP BANGALORE EXPRESS KACHEGUDA EXPRESS MYS JAIPUR EXPRESS JP BANGALORE EXPRESS SESHADRI EXPRESS SESHADRI EXPRESS KANYAKUMARI EXPRESS BANGALORE EXPRESS PRASHANTHI EXPRESS PRASHANTHI EXPRESS TUTICORIN EXPRESS BANGALORE EXPRESS SBC TVC EXPRESS TRIVANDRUM EXPRESS BANGALORE EXPRESS JAN SHATABDI EXP JAN SHATABDI EXP HAMPI EXPRESS HAMPI EXPRESS HAMPI LINK EXPRESS RANI CHENAMMA EXP RANI CHENAMMA EXP HUBLI EXPRESS INTERCITY EXPRESS TIPUPATI PASSENGER SCMYSORE PASSENGER TIPPU EXPRESS TIPPU EXPRESS CHAMUNDI EXPRESS CHAMUNDI EXPRESS JTJ SBC EXPRESS SBC JOLARPET EXPRESS BANGALORE PASSENGER MYSORE PASSENGER SA SBC PASSENGER SBC SA PASSENGER SBC FAST PASSENGER

Station Bangalore City Thanjavur Mysore Bangalore City Secunderabad Bangalore City Secunderabad Bangalore City Jaipur Bangalore City Kakinada Town Bangalore City Kanyakumari Vishakapatnam Bangalore City Mysore City Tuticorin City Bangalore City Bangalore City Trivandrum Bangalore City Hubli City Hubli City Bangalore City Nanded Bangalore City Kolhapur Bangalore City Hubli City Mysore Jn Tipupathi Mysore Jn Bangalore City Mysore Jn Bangalore City Jolarpettai Bangalore City Mysore Jn Bangalore City Salem Jn Bangalore City Hospet Jn

Arrival B’lore 000 0555 1845 000 0715 000 1030 (Sun) 000 1630 (Wed, Fri) 000 1235 000 0655 1000 000 2100 0635 000 000 0940 (Thu) 000 2030 (Except Tue) 0630 000 0630 000 740 000 1350 2015 0725 1325 000 0950 000 0815 000 0400 000 1850 000 0610

Departure B’lore 1330 (Sun) 0630 1900 1700 000 1800 (Sat) 1020 (Sun) 1100 (Thu, Sat) 000 1315 000 2145 000 000 1400 2115 0650 2215 (Sun) 1845 (Thu) 000 0600 (Except Tue) 000 000 2205 000 2100 000 1430 000 2030 0810 000 1415 000 1815 000 1730 000 2355 000 0730 000

Movie Listings KANNADA

KRISHNA N MARRIAGE STORY (U) Ganesh, Yami Gautham Balaji (Tavarekre) (11 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Ganesh (11 am, 2, 6, 9 pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (4 pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (12.50 pm, 6.30 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (10.15 am, 3.55, 6.40, 9.25 pm) Krishna (KR Puram) (11 am, 2, 6, 9 pm) Manasa (2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Maruthi (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Nandini (11 am, 2, 5, 8 pm) Sagar (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Siddheshwara (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Srinvasa (Gowdanapalya) (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Ullas (10.45 am, 1.45, 5.45, 8.45 pm) Vijayalakshmi (Garudacharpalya) (11 am, 2.30 pm) Veeresh (10.15 am,1.15 pm) Vajreshwari (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm)

VINAYAKA GELEYARA BALAGA Vijay Raghavendra, Naveen Krishna, Meghana Gaonkar Anupama (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Kamakya (10.45 am, 1.45, 5.45, 8.45 pm)

POLICE STORY 3 (U/A) Sudeep Bhumika (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Gopal (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Nalanda (11 am, 2, 5.30, 8.30 pm) Siddheshwara (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Srilakshmi

(Rammorthinagar) (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm)

SHRIMATHI (A) Upendra, Priyanka Upendra Adarsh (11.30 am, 2.30, 6, 9 pm) Bharathi (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm) Eshwari (11.00 am) Inox (Malleswaram) (12.30 pm) Manasa (11.30 am) Mohan (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm) Nartaki (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Prasanna (10.15 am, 1.15, 4.15, 7.15 pm) Uma (10.15 am, 1, 4, 7 pm) Veerabhadreshwara (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Vaibhav (11.30 am)

CHENNAMMA IPS ½ Ayesha Menaka (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Siddhalingeshwara (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm)

KIRATAKA (U/A) ½ Yash, Oviya Helen, T S Nagabharana Goverdhan (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Kapali (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm)

DHAN DHANA DHAN (U) ½ Prem Kumar, Sharmila Mandre Banashankari (Hongasandra) (11 am, 2.15, 6.15, 9.15 pm) Gurusidheshwara (11 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm).

ENGLISH Navrang (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Lakshmi (Tavarekere) (10.15 am, 1.15, 5.15, 8.15 pm) Rex (12 pm, 5.05, 7.30 pm) Tribhuvan (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Urvashi (11 am, 3, 6 pm)

LARRY CROWNE (U/A) Tom Hanks, Julia Robert Fame Lido (12.35 pm, 7.35 pm) PVR Cinemas (10 am, 2.40, 7.20, 10 pm)

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (U/A) ½

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (U/A) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint “3D” Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 5, 7.30, 10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (10 am, 5.30, 7.50, 10 pm) Innovative Multiplex (12.15 pm, 2.30, 7.30, 10 pm) Mukunda (5.30 pm, 8.30 pm)

Shia LaBeouf, Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley “3D” Cinemax (2.15 pm, 7.15, 10 pm) Fame Lido (10.15 am, 3.25, 6.20, 9.15 pm) Fun Cinemas (12.45 pm, 3.50, 6.55, 10 pm pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 4.30, 7.15, 10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (11 am, 1.45, 9.30 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (4.30 pm) Laxmi (Tavarkere) (11 am, 1.45, 5, 8.30 pm) PVR Cinemas (10 am, 1, 6, 9 pm) Rex (12.25 pm, 3.10 pm)

HINDI ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA (U/A) Katrina, Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin

Cauvery (11.30 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm) Cinepolis (10 am, 12.15, 1.50, 3.55, 6.45, 10 pm) Everest (10.30 am, 2.30, 6.15, 9.30 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 1, 2.45, 6.45 pm) HMT Cinemas (1.30 pm, 7.15 pm) Innovative Multiplex (11 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.15,

MURDER 2 (A) ½ Emraan Hashmi, Jacqueline Fernandez Apsara (11.30 am, 2.15, 5.30, 8.30 pm) Abhinay (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Abhiman (Goripalya) (11 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Anand (3.30 pm, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Fame Forum Value Mall (10.30 am, 2.50, 4, 7, 9.30 pm) Fame Lido (10 am, 2.35, 5, 9.35 pm) Fame (Shankarnag) (2 pm) Fun Cinemas (10.10 am, 4.30, 7.30 pm) HMT Cinemas (Jalahalli) (10.45 am, 9.45 pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (10.30 pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10 am, 7.30 pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (10 am, 4.55, 9.40 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (10 am, 2.55, 9.35 pm) Manasa (2.30 am, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Radhakrishna (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.15, 9.30 pm)

CHILLAR PARTY (U) Irrfan Khan, Divvji Handa, Vedant Desai Cinemax (1.15 pm, 6.15 pm) Cinepolis (12.45 pm) Fun Cinemas (12.30 pm) Fame Forum Value Mall (10.10 am) Fame Lido (10.45 am, 6.30 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 2, 7.10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (10, 2.25, 6 pm) Innovative Multiplex (10.15 am, 12.30, 7.45 pm) Inox (Magrath

10 pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (10 am, 12.25, 3.20, 6.15, 9 pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10 am, 12, 3, 4.35, 6, 9 pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (10 am, 11, 12, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (10 am, 12, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 pm) Rex (2.25 pm, 9.50 pm) Urvashi (9.30 pm).

Road) (1.10 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (10.25 am) Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 2, 7.10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (10, 2.25, 6 pm) PVR Cinemas (12.30 pm, 7.30 pm) Vision Cinemas (12.30 pm, 5 pm)

BBUDDAH HOGA TERA BAAP (U/A) Big B, Prakash Raj, Hema Malini Aruna (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.30 pm) Innovative Multiplex (5.45 pm) PVR Cinemas (10.10 am, 5.10 pm) Shobha (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm)

DELHI BELLY (A) Imran Khan, Shehnaz Cauvery (11.30 am, 2.30 pm) Cinemax (10.15 am, 12.30, 3, 7, 10 pm) Cinepolis (10 am, 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 pm) Eshwari (11.15 am, 2.30, 6.15, 9.15 pm) Fame Forum Value Mall (10 am, 1, 3.40, 4.50, 7.55, 10 pm) Fame Lido (10 am, 12.50, 5, 10 pm) Innovative Multiplex (10.30 am, 1.15, 5.40, 10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Bannerghatta Road) (10 am, 12.45, 2.35, 10 pm) Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (5.30 pm, 7.50 pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (12.25 pm, 5.20, 10 pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10 am, 12.25, 2.30, 10 pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (10.15 am, 12.30, 2.45, 7.30, 10 pm) Inox (Malleswaram) (10 am, 12.55, 5.25, 7.30, 10 pm).

MALAYALAM SALT N PEPPER (U) Lal, Asif Ali, Swetha Menon Gopalan Cinmeas (Bannerghatta Road) (5 pm) HMT Cinemas (9.45 pm) Innovative Multiplex (10 pm) PVR Cinemas (9.30 pm) Sangeet (11.30 am, 2.45, 9.30 pm).

RATHI NIRVEDAM (U/A) ½ Shweta Menon, Sreejith Vijay Galaxy Paradise (Hongasandra) (11 am, 2.15, 6.15, 9.15 pm

CITY 3

Friday, July 15, 2011

CITY EVENTS General Bishop Cotton Boys’ School: Prize distribution ceremony, Margaret Mc Cann of St Edmund’s College UK to participate, Boys’ School 4.30 pm.

Sunlux Technologies Limited: Inauguration of its premises by minister Murugesh Nirani, 158, 9th Main, HSR Layout, 6th Sector, 5.30 pm.

Cultural Department of Kannada and Culture: Sugama Sangeetha

by Vimala Srinivasamurthy, Yavanika, Nrupathunga Road, 6.30 pm.

Sri Samartha Sadguru Shirdi Saibaba Sharanalaya: Vocal

by N R Harini and Sharada sisters, Nagarbhavi Road, 2nd Main, Sanjivini Nagar, Moodalpalya, 6.30 pm.

Karnataka Nataka Academy: Play ‘Kondavararu’ directed

by Prathiba Raghuvendra by Spandana Sagara troupe, Ravindra Kalakshetra, J C Road, 7 pm.

South India Garment Association: 16th South India Garment fair, Capitol Hotel, Rajbhavan Road, 11 am.

Bangalore International Centre: Kuchipudi by Prateeksha Kashi, Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabhak Purandara Bhavan, 8th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, 6.30 pm.

Bangalore Lalithakala Parishat: Bhavageetha by Husain Saab and party, H N Kalakshetra, Jayanagar, 6.30 pm.

Rangashree Kala Samasthe and Department of Kannada and Culture: Dayananda Memorial state-level cultural rangotsava, nruthya programme

by G Nandini, presentation of Rangashree award, Tushar Girinath, Department of Public Education Commissioner and social worker K Bagegowda to participate, Nayana, J C Road, 5.30 pm.

Religious Samskara Bharathi: Guruvandana to R A Ramamani musician, MLA C N Ashwathnarayan to participate, R P Ravishankar Auditorium, Sri Kanyakaparameshwari temple premises, 8th Cross, Malleswaram, 6.30 pm Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mandir: Gurpoornima celebrations, Talavadya and Ghatam Tarang by ladies artists, 129/A, 13th Cross, 6th Main Road, J P Nagar 3rd Phase, 6.30 pm.

Srimadananda Theertha Pravachana Samithi: Discourse on ‘Skanda Purana’ by Chaturvedi Vedavyasacharya Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt, 6th Cross, Amarjyothinagar, 7 pm.

Sri Shankara Jayanthi Mandala: Discourse on ‘Bruhadarnya Upanishad’ by Ramachandra Sharma Thyagali, Sri Shankara Krupa 45, Sri Shankara Krupa Road, 16th Cross, Jayanagar, 3rd Block, 6.30 pm.

Adhyatma Prakasha Karyalaya: Discourse on ‘Chandogya Upanishad’ by Sudarshan Sharma, 68, New No.6, APK Road, 2nd Block, Thyagarajanagar, 8.30 am.

Sri Mahayagakshetra Sri Gayathri Devasthana Trust: Gayathri Brahma Rathotsava, 10 am; Sahasra Kalashabhisheka and Gayathri Brahmarathotsava, Temple premises, Yeshwanthpur Circle, 6 pm.

Kaadu Malleshwara Gelayara Balaga: Sugama sangeetha by Nithin Rajaram Shastry, Temple premises 596/2, Sampige Road, 15th Cross, Malleswaram 6.30 pm.

Exhibitions Cultural Connections: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gallerie Third Eye, No A1 Epsilon Office Block, Yemalur Main Road, Yemalur An exhibition of contemporary Indian paintings by Parmesh.

The Art Mix @ Caperberry: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Caperberry, No 48/1 Ground Floor, The Estate, Dickenson Road, Caperberry and Art Chutney present 'The Art Mix', a group show featuring artwork by artists such as HR Das, Nagesh Goud, Amol Pawar and others.

Recorder of Life, Beauty and Truth: Friday, July 15th, 2011.

10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tasveer, No 26/1, Kasturba Cross Road, Tasveer presents an exhibition of photographs by TS Satyan, one of India's first photojournalists.

Tête-à-tête @ Apparao: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 8

p.m. Apparao Galleries, No 82 The Presidency, St Marks Road, Apparao Galleries presents 'Tête-à-tête', an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by eleven artists including Altaf, Anjolie Ela Menon, FN Souza, George K, K Muralidhar, Laxma Goud, Shipra Bhattacharya and Sunil Padwal.

Cartoon Exhibition: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Indian Cartoon Gallery, Midford House, Midford Garden, MG Road, An exhibition of cartoon illustrations by American cartoonist Melvin Mathew.

SHIVAJINAGAR OPH

ROAD IN A MESS BBMP contractor botches up drain works; engineer says notices served

Photos: Gangadhar Pujar

Manjula (20) who fell from the compound wall of the child rescue centre on Hosur road. She was trying to flee from the facility when the incident occurred.

March Of The Elephants @ Eka: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eka, No 19, St Johns Road, Eka showcases elephant forms, ranging from the classic and ornate to the modern and abstract.

Girl tries to flee rescue centre, falls off wall

Solo Show @ Renaissance: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Renaissance Gallerie, No 13 Westminster, Cunningham Road, A solo show by artist Apet Pramod Mahadev from Pune.

Manjunath Sharma Bangalore Beat Bureau

Shopping

Bangalore: It was a story of life from hell to hell for this girl, who wanted to escape from the clutches of a government-run institution. But it was not to be.

Manjula (22), who was working as a housemaid at a doctor’s house in Hebbal, was rescued and lodged at the government children’s hostel on Hosur road.

But the condition at the hostel was pathetic enough for her to flee.

She hatched a plan along with her friend, fellow inmate and another rescued house maid Monica (16) to escape from the facility by jumping over the compound wall.

On Tuesday, the two wanted to climb onto the second floor ledge, leap onto the compound

Crimson's Annual Monsoon Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Crimson Art Gallery, The Hatworks Boulevards, No 32, Cunningham Road, Vasanthnagar Paintings at discount rates, along with an additional offer where patrons get 50% off every second purchase.

Crocs Candy Collection: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Crocs India Retail Limited, Mantri Square, No 1, Sampige Road, Malleshwaram A collection of lightweight, stylish footwear in bright, candy colours.

Celio End of Season Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celio, Brigade Road, Discounts up to 70% on all apparel and accessories.

The half-finished work on OPH road. The choked drains force residents to wade through sewage water whenever it rains.

Lifestyle presents Watch Fest: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lifestyle, Adarsh Opus, Campbell Road, Austin Town Offers and discounts on a wide range of watches.

The Big Wrangler Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wrangler, No 777, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar Wrangler kickstarts its end of season sale, with discounts of up to 50%.

Pepe Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pepe, No 2, Brigade Road, Discounts of up to 60% on all merchandise.

Sale @ Esprit: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Esprit, No 10 Ananda Bhavan, Vittal Mallya Road, Esprit announces a sale where patrons can avail discounts of up to 50% on apparel and accessories, and a flat 25% off watches.

Lee Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lee, Royal Meenakshi Mall, No E1/16, Syndicate Bank Colony, 1st Cross, Bennerghatta Road Lee merchandise at discounts of up to 50%.

Reebok Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Reebok, Royal Meenakshi Mall, No E1/16, Syndicate Bank Colony, 1st Cross, Bennerghatta Road Reebok announces a sale across all its outlets, where shoppers can get merchandise at flat 40% off.

3 for 2 offer: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Landmark, The Forum Mall, No 21, Hosur Road, Koramangala Landmark presents the 3 for 2 offer, where readers can choose from a collection of over 200 best sellers and new releases and get three books with the offer sticker for the price for two.

Sale @ French Connection: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. French Connection, Adarsh Opus, Campbell Road, Austin Town Men get a flat 30% off, while women are entitled to discounts up to 50% on all merchandise at French Connection’s end of season sale across all outlets.

Bangalore Beat Bureau Bangalore: The street vendors, shop keepers and residents around Old Poor House (OPH) road are being taken for a ride by their elected representatives and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials.

Here is a reality check by Bangalore Beat.

Open drains with accumulated drainage, sewage water gushing from all sides, mosquitoes breeding over it posing a serious health threat and the terrible stench emanating is what the people on this road are experiencing.

And when it rains, it is pure hell with water gushing into shops and houses.

Around 100-150 street vendors were vacated from OPH Road in January this year with a promise that they would be given new shops in the same area after concrete slabs were laid on the drainage pipes.

But nothing has happened since then.

The works with a cost of Rs 9 crore were supposed to start in February this year.

But there is no sign of any development in the project of laying drain pipes and building concrete bed on it facilitating the vendors to sell their goods on it as they were doing earlier.

“We vacated our shops only because we were promised new places on the concrete bed after the completion of the project.

But what has happened now? I see hardly any labourer working on the project. There is hardly anyone walking on this stretch as the stench is unbearable,” said a vendor.

When Bangalore Beat spoke to chief engineer Sriprakash, he said, “As per the work order, the project was started on February 28 and was scheduled to end on August 27. The contract which was given to Hyderabad-

based Sri Sairam Constructions has sublet it to another contractor”.

“They are just killing time without taking any measures to complete it and we have already issued three notices. The coming week we will issue a final notice and cancel the tender.

Further measures will be taken after seeking the orders from BBMP Commissioner. Even I have personally witnessed the difficulties faced by the residents due to the stagnant drain water. We will ensure that the work continues by making arrangements for the free flow of drainage water” Sriprakash said.

Bharatinagar corportor (ward number 91) Shakil Ahmed said, “We are also laying the drain pipes from Russel market. We are facing problems near OPH Road as the drain is flowing all the time. It becomes really difficult when it rains. Since it is a busy road, the police have asked the contractor to carry out the works only in the night.

He works from 10.30 pm till 6 am. Hopefully the works should be completed within a month.”

He said, “Some shop owners are still selling their ware on this road, though we have given them notices to vacate the area so that we can carry out the works. The pipelines in the area are very old and we are laying 9 inch pipes here. I agree that there has been a delay, but that is due to various factors.”

A vendor, Syed Javed, said, “It has been more than six months since the project has been going on here. The BBMP should take steps to finish it off at least now.

“At the time of starting the project, they had promised that it would be completed before the monsoon sets in. We are already well into the rainy season, but there does not seem to be any end to this.”

Theatre Mimmi and Brumm are Having a Party: July 15th, 2011.

7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Ranga Shankara, No 36/1 2nd Phase, 8th Cross, JP Nagar Margrit Gysin, the Grande Dame of Swiss puppeteers, tells and performs a story based on the picture book by Gabrielle Vincent. The story follows the adventures of a mouse.

Bangalore: Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Vatal Paksha and hundreds of his supporters today held a black flag protest in front of Raja Bhavan against the UPA government at the Centre for not preventing terrorist attacks.

The protesters said that the latest attacks on Mumbai are proof that the country lacked in security. “Since governor H R Bhardwaj is the representative of the President in the state, we are protesting here asking him to convey our concerns to Union home minister P Chidambaram and President Pratibha Patil,” said Vatal Nagaraj.

He said the central leaders should take a decision on pro-

Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Vatal Paksha and his supporters protest in front of Raj Bhavan today.

wall and then escape to freedom.

But as they approached the wall, Monica got cold feet and refused to move.

Manjula who was holding her hand tried her jump, but fell between the ledge and the compound wall.

She started crying in pain and was immediately rushed to a private hospital by the Siddapura police.

Luckily for her, she had escaped with minor injuries, the doctors who attended on her said. She was later discharged with minor treatment.

Manjula complained to the doctors that she and Monica wanted to escape as the food at the hostel was pathetic, they were deprived of blankets in the cold season and were being scolded by the hostel authorities.

Foreign student found semi‑nude at Rajakatte

Manjunath Shrama

Suraya (26), a student from Uganda studying at a private college in Yelahanka, was found in a semi-naked state at Rajakatte area in Padmanabhanagar on Sunday. She was later shifted to Victoria Hospial, where the doctors found out that she was addicted to drugs and transferred her to Nimhans yesterday for psychiatric treatment and de-addiction procedures.

Manjunath Sharma Bangalore Beat Bureau Bangalore: A student from abroad who is studying at a city college was found in a seminaked state at Padmanabhanagar Rajkatte area on Sunday.

The passersby and a social worker, Ganesh, shifted her to Victoria Hospital for treatment.

The doctors found out that the victim, Suraya (26), was not in her senses and treated her.

Medical investigations revealed that she had been addicted to drugs.

When questioned, Suraya alleged that she had gone to a party at a friend’s house and

Vatal, supporters hold black flag protest at Raj Bhavan Bangalore Beat Bureau

Van Heusen Sale: Friday, July 15th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Van Heusen, No 194, Brigade Road, Discounts of up to 40% on all apparel. The sale is on across all outlets.

Manjunath Shrama

viding better security to the country’s people.

“We should have learnt our lessons from previous attacks, but obviously we have not. The central government should have done a lot more to prevent such attacks. At least now the vigil in the country should be stepped up,” he added. “Best security measures could have been lined up. Mumbai has been a frequent target of terrorists, and the Congress government could have learnt lessons from previous attacks and could have done much in keeping vigil.

“Our black flag protest in front of Raj Bhavan is only to ask and make governor take note of the responsibilities of the central government,” he said.

she was given juice laced with some drug that made her fall asleep immediately.

And the next thing she knew was that she was in the hospital.

The doctors said that she was incoherent and only one of the phone numbers that she gave worked. It was that of her cousin in Uganda. When they contacted that person, she said her cousin was studying at a private college near Yelahanka.

She gave the details of her residential address and other details.

Victoria Hospital doctors shifted her to Nimhans for psychiatric treatment and de-addiction procedures yesterday.

NEWS 4

Friday, July 15, 2011

2G: BJP demands probe into PCʼs role, meets CBI chief

New Delhi: In an unusual move, CBI director A P Singh today had a meeting with a BJP delegation which demanded a probe into alleged role of the then finance minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam.

It is not a normal practice that the CBI Director meets members of political parties but today he gave time to the five-member delegation led by party MP Prakash Javdekar.

Javdekar, accompanied with fellow MPs Maya Singh, Shivakumar Udasi and BJP office bearers Bhupendra Yadav and Jagat Prasad Nadda, presented to him records received through

RTI replies and other evidences which allegedly indicate that Chidambaram had sanctioned the policy for sale of spectrum.

The delegation also demanded that the CBI should quantify the entire loss caused through the telecom spectrum allocation scam which CAG has put to be at around Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

“A Raja, the then Telcommunications Minister, is in jail and has been formally chargesheeted for conspiracy behind the loot and corruption of thousands of crore in the award of 2G licence and allocation of precious spectrum. “However, it seems surprising that the CBI for reasons

unknown has not investigated the role of P Chidambaram who was the then Finance Minister,” the delegation said in its representation.

When asked whether they will approach the Supreme Court, Javdekar told reporters that they will see the action taken by the CBI on their representation and then take a call on future course of action. The BJP said the Cabinet, in 2003, had decided that Finance Ministry and Telecom Ministry “would settle” pricing and allocation of spectrum and both the ministries are “equally responsible” for any decision taken. PTI

Euro zone leaders postpone Greece bail‑out meet

Berlin: Euro zone leaders have postponed an emergency summit planned for this weekend on a second bail-out of debt-laden Greece in the hopes that a much bigger crisis unfolding in the US will preoccupy financial markets and give them more time to sort out their differences on the proposal.

A summit of the 17-nation euro group was proposed by European Council president Herman van Rompuy in Brussels to prevent larger euro zone economies such as Italy and Spain from being sucked into the crisis by demonstrating their determination to help keep Greece from defaulting on its debts. However, the differences over involving the private sector in the proposed sec-

ond bailout package of up to 120 billion euros were so great that they decided to delay their meeting until next week.

The euro zone’s largest economy, Germany, which has been pressing for involvement of the private sector to share the costs of a future financial rescue of Greece, saw no urgency in convening a summit of the heads of state and government as long as they are not in a position to take a decision.

If they continued to squabble over the terms of a second financial rescue of Greece a year after it received a bailout of 110 billion euros (159 billion dollars), they will be sending a wrong signal to financial markets, Germany argued. A prerequisite for

Protest against attack

an emergency summit is that “we can agree on a complete, new programme for Greece”, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday in Nigeria, where she concluded a three-nation African tour.

Some of Germany’s partners as well as the European Central Bank have been opposing any solution that will be seen by financial markets as a partial default by Greece.

Italy and Spain have been demanding speedy action by their euro zone partners on a new rescue package for Greece because they are already being targeted by speculators as the next candidates for a bail-out after Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Gangadhar Pujar

Osama planned 9/11 anniversary attack: report Washington: Slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his operations head were plotting to attack the US on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 strikes, a media report has said.

Bin Laden was shot dead by US commandos during a surprise raid at his safe house in Pakistan’s garrison town of Abbottabad where he lived for the last five years. “Bin Laden and his operations chief Attiyah Abd alRahman swapped views about the composition of the attack team, with bin Laden repeatedly rejecting names that Rahman suggested,” the Wall Street Journal reported quoting officials familiar with the intelligence taken from bin Laden’s house.

It said the plan, according to US officials, were only in the discussion phase. According to the Journal, in the days following the US raid, American officials said the materials seized from the compound showed enthusiasm for carrying out attacks on dates of symbolic significance, prompting them to worry about July 4 and September 11. But officials didn’t disclose at that time that there had been specific planning for another attack.

ʻNo need for Gitaʼ

Gangadhar Pujar

Washington: America’s FBI has started inquiry into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. tried to hack into the phones of 9/11 terror attack victims, media reports have said.

FBI’s decision to investigate came after its Director Robert Mueller received many request in this regard from several lawmakers. The FBI routinely makes preliminary inquiries into issues raised by lawmakers to determine whether a full-blown investigation is needed.

“The (US) law says that any US corporation that bribes a foreign official is subject to severe penalties, not only fines but even criminal penalties. We want to make sure that this company, with all of its influence and the information that it passes to our region, isn’t doing that,” said New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, who was among the first to demand an investigation.

“They’d be doing the same thing here and filtering out the news that they want to hear or that they want to steal, in this case, and use it. And we don’t want that to happen,” Lautenberg told the CNN, referring to the phone-hacking scandal in Britain where the News of the World had hacked into the phone of a teenage murder victim in 2002.

Justice department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said that it has received letters from several members of Congress regarding allegations related to News Corp, the US

Washington: The United States has offered assistance to India in the investigations of the July 13 Mumbai blasts that left 18 people dead and over 100 injured. Washington stands ready to help India in its investigations of the Mumbai terrorist attack, the White House said yesterday, a day after multiple blasts rocked India’s financial capital.

“Obviously, the Indian government is investigating that (Mumbai attack).

And we have offered to assist in any way we can. But I don’t have any information regarding who might be responsible (for the bomb blasts),” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

At another news conference,

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to concede the demand for according special state status to Bihar to help ensure all-round growth of the state.

“We know if the Prime Minister and the Centre desire, the people’s long-cherished dream for a special state category to Bihar will be fulfilled... the PM should concede the demand”, Kumar told reporters. “If Bihar develops, the country too will develop”.

He thanked the Prime Minister for assuring a JD(U) delegation of discussing the demand for giving special state status to Bihar during the National Development Council (NDC) meeting. PTI

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Indian government is conducting its own investigation on this terrorist attack.

“We’ll wait and see how that develops,” he said when asked if the United States has any indication of possible Pakistani involvement or support for the Mumbai bombings.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to India next week for the second India-US Strategic Dialogue.

Counter-terrorism, he said, would be one of the main focus of the talks which is now taking place in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai blast.

“She continues with her plans to visit India next week. But you

Comed‑k counselling begins

S Radhakrishna

Continued from page 1 ISRO will be using its third PSLV rocket variant - PSLV-XL - with longer strap-on motors with higher fuel capacity.

The other two rocket variants are the PSLV standard version with 11.3 metres six strap-on motors and the PSLV Core Alone (CA) rocket without the six strapon motors. The rocket to be launched Friday evening will have 13.5 metres long strap-on motors to carry 12 tonnes of solid fuel than the normal strap-on motors measuring 11.3 metres with nine-tonne fuel capacity.

within minutes of the terror strikes Wednesday evening, the chief minister said.

“I could not contact chief of police, DGP for 15 minutes. That is very serious,” Chavan told NDTV in an interview.

He said lacunae needed to be plugged and the government was thinking of having satellite phones or dedicated mobile network. Chavan also disclosed that I could not contact 12 task groups have been formed police chief for 15 to probe the terror attack that minutes: Chavan killed 17 people and injured 131.

The chief minister said the Mumbai: Maharashtra chief min- possibility of the involvement ister Prithviraj Chavan said Fri- of the underworld and Left-wing day that he could not reach top extremists was also being looked police officers for almost 15 min- at. Hinting at the Bharatiya Janautes after the triple bombings. ta Party (BJP), he said: “I was Mobile communication collapsed very upset that one of the political know, certainly, counter-terrorism is always an issue on the table when we talk to India. But it’s conceivable that given yesterday’s attacks, that it’s going to perhaps be more at the forefront.

But we enjoy good counterterrorism cooperation with India,” Toner said. PTI

parties tried to politicise the issue. They have a right to criticse but there is a time and a place.” PTI

India praised for not pointing finger at Pak Toronto: Praising New Delhi for exercising caution in not pointing a finger at Islamabad for the Mumbai bombings, the Canadian media Thursday said India realises that Pakistan is already so unstable that any confrontation could push it over the brink.

India’s politicians are “uncharacteristically exercising restraint and refusing to speculate over who was behind the fourth major terrorist attack on Mumbai in eight years”, wrote the daily.

SC raps Delhi police for callous probe in cash‑for‑vote scam

New Delhi: The “callous” approach of Delhi Police in probing the 2008 ‘cash-for-vote scam’ came under severe criticism today from the Supreme Court which asked it why no custodial interrogation has been conducted in the case so far.

“We are not happy at all with probe done by the Delhi Police.

This is not the way to prove the offence of such serious nature,” a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam said.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the probe, the bench said no progress has been made by the police in more than two years.

“No substantial progress has been made in two years. We are really concerned. Investigation must move fast and it must be brought to its logical conclusion,”

PSLV carrying GSAT all set for blast‑off Members of the student wing of the Samatha Sainika Dala protest against compulsory teaching of Bhagwad Gita in schools. The protest was held at SBM circle in the city today.

Murdoch in or other senior people in his operation,” he said.

Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley of Iowa asked the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to get involved in this case.

“Our committee has a jurisdiction to look into these very troubling allegations against News Corp and find out whether any federal laws were violated, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits US companies from bribing foreign officials or other types of criminal violations,” he said.

“One of the reasons this is so important Director Robert Mueller is because Congress has important oversight responsibilities to make sure that these laws Company held by Murdoch. are being followed,” Braley told the CNN. “We are reviewing those,” the spokes“It appears that News Corp is getting into woman said without providing any further the field of political espionage or personal detail. The suggestion that September 11, espionage, and that’s one thing that we 2001 victims also may have been were tar- need to be very concerned about,” he alleged. geted surfaced in the Mirror, a British rival The Los Angeles Times reported that the of News Corp.’s The Sun. US officials said the FBI is trying to determine Referring to the developments in Britain if a full investigation is warranted, and no where Murdoch is expected to appear before evidence has yet emerged to confirm that the British parliament, Lautenberg said he News Corp. employees sought to hack phones would be watching this event with interest. in the US. “The FBI probe also raises the “Right now I’m not calling on our com- politically delicate possibility that the Obama mittee to bring in Rupert Murdoch. What I administration – which has questioned the want to do is get to the truth of the matter. objectivity of News Corp.’s Fox News – When we find that out from the Justice De- could bring criminal charges against empartment’s review, then we’ll make decisions ployees of the network’s parent company,” about whether or not it’s necessary to bring The Washington Post said.

US ready to help India in probe

Nitish asks PM to grant Spl Status to Bihar Members of the BJP Yuva Morcha protest against the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, at SBM Circle in the city today.

FBI inquiry into News Corp 9/11 tap claim

This will be the second time ISRO will be launching a rocket with this specification. The earlier one was for the Chandrayaan moon mission.

This will also be only the second time that ISRO will be using a PSLV rocket for launching a satellite to be finally placed in geostationary orbit. The first was Kalpana-1 satellite (originally named as Metsat), a meteorological satellite launched in 2002.

The GSAT-12 satellite will be co-located with Inst-2E and Insat-4A satellites and will have a life of eight years. IANS

it said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh seeking its directions to the government to take action against politicians involved in the scam which relates the trust vote faced by the UPA government in July 2008.

As soon as the matter came up for hearing, the bench expressed surprise over the contents of the status report filed by the Delhi police in the case.

“This is not investigation. You are telling a story to the court on the basis of statement made by some people.

There is no inference drawn up by you,” the bench said, asking the police why no custodial interrogation has been done so far in the case.

The court expressed concern, saying “Investigation has been done with callousness on the complaint filed by Lok Sabha Secretary.”

The court asked the police to file a fresh status report within two weeks.

Lyngdoh had alleged in the petition that though the entire nation was shocked by the spectacle of three BJP MPs displaying wads of currency notes in Parliament as bribe money to vote in favour of the UPA during the 2008 trust vote, no action has so far been taken against those guilty.

According to the petition, though the incident had occurred on July 22, 2008, neither the Delhi Police Crime Branch which registered an FIR nor the chair-

man of the Joint Parliamentary Committee had so far taken any tangible step.

Lyngdoh, in his petition, has urged the apex court to direct the government to set up an independent SIT to probe the allegations in a speedy manner.

On July 22, 2008, three BJP members had placed one crore rupee cash in Lok Sabha alleging they were given to them by floor managers of the UPA government to secure their support during the no-confidence motion after Left parties withdrew their support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The allegation was levelled

by BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora. PTI

CM: No Posco plant in Gadag at any cost Continued from page 1

sion to the steel major.

Chief minister B S Yedyurappa had stated that the government has withdrawn its permission for the project. But farmers and religious leaders asked the government to give the decision in writing otherwise they would continue with the protest.

The chief minister today directed the deputy commissioner to give the order in writing which was delivered by the additional deputy commissioner.

Letter given to seer Gadag: The additional deputy commissioner of Gadag today handed over a letter by the state government on its decision to withdraw land acquisition for Posco steel plant in Gadag district to Siddalinga Swamiji of Tontadharya math. Officer Rudre Gowda met the seer and handed over the letter denying permis-

Canara Bank brings IT Top officials training to Berhampore transferred in TN

Students take part in the COMED-K counselling at NMKRV college today. The counselling for medical and dental seats up to 1,500 CET ranks were scheduled to be held today and tomorrow.

Bangalore: Canara Bank Institute of Information Technology was inaugurated at Berhampore on Wednesday.

Canara Bank executive director Archana S Bhargava dedicated the institute to the people of Murshidabad, West Bengal.

Inaugurating the institute, Berhampore MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it is a much needed gift to the people of Murshidabad, which has very less opportunities for youth to hone

was started to fulfill this need. The institute exclusively caters to the training needs of the IT sector. The bank’s institutes have trained more than 3,85,000 youth in their skills to compete in the job the country.” market.

Besides the training, training Archana Bhargava said, material and entire infrastruc“Though India has seen growth tural cost is born by the Bank. in the IT industry. Though a very Trainees are provided with free good demand has been created, boarding facilities. The trainees it is restricted to metropolitan are also assisted in getting a suitareas and has not extended to able placement or helped in estier 2 and 3 cities. The institute tablishing their own ventures.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government today effected a minor reshuffle of IAS officials, transferring Erode Collector Dr R Anandakumar, who was in the news recently for admitting his child in a government-run school, and another officer.

K Sellamuthu IAS, commissioner of fisheries and MD, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd has been transferred and posted as Commissioner of Horticulture and Plantation Crops in the place of Dr B Chandramo-

han.

“The orders regarding postings to Dr Chandramohan and Dr Anandakumar will be issued seperately,” chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi said in a release, adding, C Kamaraj, deputy secretary in the transport department will be the new Erode collector.

Anandakumar had been in the limelight recently for admitting his daughter in a Panchayat Union Primary school at Erode. PTI

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The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Bangalore only.

Beyond Beat BIKERS, YOUʼVE Friday, July 15, 2011

REACHED DESTINATION Bangalore Beat Bureau

t is an ideal setting for vintage motorcycles that have found a cozy and caring home for themselves. A stone building on No. 15, Wheeler Road, Frazer Town houses Legends Motorcycling Café and Museum. The unique café cum museum would open tomorrow.

Ponytailed hardcore biker S K Prabhu emerged out of the museum to greet us into his unique offering to Bangaloreans. Prabhu, who has travelled the length and breadth of the country, has a passion for motorbikes that is evident once you enter the premises that were still being done up for the final day.

“I always had a feeling that I was born to ride bikes. I have visited several palces abroad and have realised that ours is the only country that does not have enough museums for vintage bikes. That is when I was stumbled upon the idea of opening one with a café built around it,” said Prabhu.

Prabhu has 25 rare vintage bikes. What is surprising is that most of these bikes still flaunt their original colour and are in absolute running condition.

“I have travelled all around the country on my motorbikes. I had this habit of collecting something memorable from each place. In my own quirky way, I started collecting motorbikes. I started lining them up one by one at my home. Then I was struck upon an idea to open a café along with a museum,” he added.

Visitors here can savour their occidental delicacies and drool over the magnificent motorbikes. As expected, the place is loaded with books and magazines on motorbikes and biking.

The museum has 1924 BSA 250cc, 1928 BSA 500cc, 1960 Innocenti, 1960 Fantabulous Scooter 125 cc, 1960 Florettee 60cc, Jawa Colt, 1962 Czeta and Military bikes like 1942 BSA 500 cc, 1942 Norton 500cc, 1942 Matchless 350cc etc. That is not all… Prabhu offers to load his café with many more bikes in the future.

For his next biking expedition, he plans to take his 1928 BSA. You could see that this motorbike has a hoary tradition.

But what you may not expect is the fact that the headlight of this motorbike has to be lit with a matchstick as it emits light by burning carbide.

Prabhu has ensured that you will have your biking experience to the brim. One example is: The door handles are, in fact, motorbike handles. Not just bikes, the entire café is a treasure trove of vintage artefacts.

Wooden blade fans, the wall clock, the refrigerator and weighing and toasting machines transport back you in time.

The antique LP turntable would play only jazz. The museum too has a huge collection of ashtrays which were picked by Prabhu during his journey to various countries. The wall of the museum is filled with charcoal prints and Jawa calendars.

There are oil tins, monograms, biscuit and chocolate tins and other tidbits tastefully strewn all over the café.

“I have plans of serving wine inside the museum. I would love a setting where all bike lovers would sit, sip wine and share their biking experiences. There is no such bike club exclusively for bike lovers in the city. I am sure that bike lovers will find likeminded people here,” he says.

The café will be open from 6 am to 11.30 pm, serving scrambled eggs, cheese omelet, Danish open, mutton biryani, chicken biryani, prawn biryani, seer fish, cakes and ice creams, he adds.

The museum will officially be inaugurated tomorrow and will be open for public from Sunday.

I

Out‑of‑body experiences linked to brain glitch London: Out-of-body experiences are often linked to mental or physical illness. Now, a new study has found that such events are nothing more than vivid hallucinations – and some of us are predisposed to them.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that such out-of-body experiences (OBEs) occur when “instabilities in the brain” cause people to become disorientated and lose all sense of where their body is.

Far from being “funky, hippie, spiritual” events, they are “real neurophysiological occurrences”, they said.

Their study claimed that people with irregularities in the temporal lobes – which control memory and object recognition – are much more likely to “transform their own body position”, the Daily Mail reported.

Dr Jason Braithwaite, who led the latest study, said: “We studied 65 psychology students and we found OBEs had biases in body distortion and transformation.”

Volunteers who frequently experienced “deja vu”, felt a limb did not belong to them or sometimes felt their body move while they were still much more likely to feel out of body experiences. Previous research has also pointed to practical causes.

In April, Kevin Nelson, Professor of Neurology at the University of Kentucky, argued that the condition could be attributed to disturbed dreams.

He found that those who had OBEs were more prone to suffering rapid eye movement (REM) intrusion, where people become paralysed before they are fully asleep.

The new study is published in this month’s issue of Elsevier’s Cortex journal. PTI

Molasses extract helps in reducing obesity Sydney: Supplementing your diet with a molasses extract could help you shed weight or reduce obesity, say researchers The study, conducted on mice by Richard Weisinger at the La Trobe University, Australia, investigated the impact of adding molasses extract to a high fat diet.

Mice were given either an unaltered high fat diet, or the same diet supplemented with two percent or four percent molasses extract, according to a statement by the university.

After 12 weeks on these diets, mice that consumed the diet containing four percent molasses extract had lower body weight, reduced body fat, and decreased blood levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells.

“The addition of molasses extract to a high fat diet appears to reduce body weight and body fat levels primarily through reduced caloric absorption,” said Weisinger.

“Clinical trials scheduled next year will provide the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of molasses extract for weight control in humans,” he added.

Molasses extract is rich in polyphenols, a group of chemical compounds found in plants that are known for their antioxidant properties, believed to play a role in the prevention of cancer, coronary heart disease and even altitude sickness.

These findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) which started Tuesday at Florida, US. IANS

If you are a biker, you would have reached your destination here. The Legends Motor‑ cycling Café and Museum that is opening on Sunday in Frazer Town is full of vintage motorbikes and other biking related tidbits, says Aknisree Karthik Photos: Gangadhar Pujar

Bike buff S K Prabhu sits on a CZeta at his Legends Motorcycling Café and Museum in Frazer Town. The cafe will be inaururated tomorrow, but will be thrown open to public on Sunday.

Friday, July 15, 2011

world briefs AP-PTI

Pentagon unveils cybersecurity strategy

Elena Gagarina, director of the Kremlin Museums in Moscow, and daughter of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, poses in front of a newly-unveiled statue of her father, outside the headquarters of the British Council, in central London, yesterday. A gift from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) to the British Council, the statue shows Gagarin standing on a globe in his space suit, and it will be installed at this location for a period of 12 months to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight.

China releases report on human rights Beijing: China yesterday released a report that said the country has fulfilled all targets of its national human rights action plan.

“All targets and tasks set by the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (20092010) have been fulfilled as scheduled,” Xinhua reported citing the report released by the state council information office.

The report said all the goals were achieved in due time by the end of 2010.

The state council office published the action plan in April 2009 - China’s first on the theme of human rights.

Various governmental, legislative and judiciary organs, as well as social groups and non-governmental organisations assessed the implementation of the action plan. The government adjusted the economic structure and maintained economic growth with improving people’s livelihood, and took prompt measures “with an investment of over four trillion yuan (around $615 billion)”, said the report.

It also accelerated infrastructure construction, and sped up ecological and environmental construction, and raised citizens’ incomes, especially that of low-income groups. With the government’s efforts in human rights education and publicity, the public’s awareness of human rights has been greatly enhanced over the past two years, according to the report.

The report, however, admitted that the cause of human rights in China was still facing many challenges. IANS

South Sudan becomes 193rd UN member United Nations: The UN General Assembly yesterday unanimously approved a resolution admitting the newly independent Republic of South Sudan as its 193rd member, Xinhua reported.

The African country declared independence July 9 after a January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South.

The UN Security Council had earlier recommended to the General Assembly that South Sudan be added to the UN. The top UN body’s decision was contained in a resolution that it adopted without a vote following an application for membership submitted by the president of South Sudan.

The 15-member Security Council noted “with great satisfaction” South Sudan’s solemn commitment to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and to fulfil all the obligations contained therein.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that “like any newborn”, South Sudan, which on the day of its birth ranked at the bottom of almost all human development indicators, needs help. IANS

Russia to slash US adoption agencies Moscow: The number of US adoption agencies operating in Russia will be slashed under new guidelines agreed between the two countries, Russia’s children rights ombudsman has said.

Pavel Astakhov said the current number of 67 agencies will drop threefold.

Under the accord signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington Thursday, adoption agencies will have to be approved by Moscow, and will also be required to provide more information about a child’s background to prospective parents.

There was an outrage in 2010 when an adoptive US mother sent a seven-year-old Russian boy back to Moscow unaccompanied, carrying a note that said she did not want him as he was “psychotic”.

Russian authorities say at least 17 adopted Russian children have died in their adoptive US families since the early 1990s. IANS

Washington: The Pentagon yesterday unveiled its first cybersecurity strategy, recognizing cyberspace as “an operational domain to organise, train, and equip”, Xinhua reported.

“It is the first DoD (department of defence) unified strategy for cyberspace and officially encapsulates a new way forward for DoD’s military, intelligence and business operations,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The document, entitled Department of Defence Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (DSOC), was unveiled by deputy secretary of defence William J Lynn at the National Defence University in Washington. An unclassified version of the document was posted on the Pentagon’s website.

“This (strategy) allows DoD to organize, train, and equip for cyberspace as we do in air, land, maritime, and space to support national security in-

Volcano erupts in Indonesia Jakarta: An Indonesian volcano spit lava and smoke thousands of feet into the air last night, sending panicked residents fleeing down its slopes. There were no reports of causalities.

The first eruption at Mount Lokon occurred at 10.46 pm, said Brian Rulrone, a disaster management agency official. It was followed by a second powerful blast just after midnight and a third at 1.10 am. Darwis Sitinjak, another disaster official, told El Shinta radio that soldiers and police were helping rescuers evacuate about 500 people who live along the mountain. PTI

“synchronized, real-time capability to discover, detect, analyze, and mitigate threats and vulnerabilities”.

As part of its active defences, the Pentagon would introduce new operating concepts and capabilities on its networks, such as sensors, software and signatures to detect and stop malicious code before it affects US operations.

The long-expected strategy is likely to cause concerns, both within the US and aboard, over possible US attempt to militarize cyberspace and gain dominance in the new warzone, analysts said. “Our strategy’s overriding emphasis William J Lynn is on denying the benefit of an attack,” Lynn said. “Far from militarizing cyterests,” the document says. berspace, our strategy of securing The blueprint also features a signifi- networks to deny the benefit of an attack cant shift from “passive” to “active” de- will help dissuade military actors fence against potential cyber threats. It from using cyberspace for hostile purdefines active defence as the Pentagon’s poses.” IANS

Getting ʻhotʼ for hot water

AP-PTI

Ukrainian women’s rights group Femen, painted in colours of the European Union countries, protest against the regular summer switch off of public utility supply of hot water in central Kiev, Ukraine, yesterday. Women symbolically wash themselves in the city fountain to protest the need for hot water all year round, and to highlight the need for the hot water utility during the upcoming EURO 2012 soccer competition.

Murdoch may shut down all UK newspapers

Rupert Murdoch London: Rupert Murdoch is reportedly considering the option of dispensing with the News International, the group that owns his British newspapers – The Sun, The Times and the Sunday Times, a media report said.

The media mogul discussed this possibility when he met his “inner circle” on Wednesday, the Daily Express reported.

Sources said Murdoch was “locked in a series of meetings” to specifically consider the option, following the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World.

They said Murdoch was concerned to protect the reputation of the parent News Corporation from further damage after the value of its shares went down.

While one said “Murdoch has the ruthlessness to amputate the arm that is threatening the rest of News Corporation,” another said a sale was now a “live possibility”. Murdoch’s American newspaper The Wall Street Journal also reported he was now examining selling News International. “News Corp has informally explored whether there were any potential buyers for its UK newspaper unit,” it said. Selling News International could fetch about £300 million. IANS

NEWS & FEATURES 6 US Senate India caucus condemns Mumbai blasts Washington: Strongly condemning the bomb blasts in Mumbai,the 38-member US Senate India Caucus has said that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indian people and the government as Mumbaikars recover from the senseless act.

“We strongly condemn the recent atrocity in Mumbai that deliberately targeted innocent and peaceful civilians. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” said senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn, co-chair of the Senate India Caucus for the 112th Congress.

“On behalf of the US Senate India Caucus, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indian people and their government as they recover from this senseless act,” they said.

On Wednesday, three serial blasts in Mumbai claimed 18 lives and left over 100 injured.

Warner and Cornyn said these attacks highlight the growing importance of US cooperation with India on security issues, particularly counterterrorism and homeland security, but also point to the need to continue their close collaboration on common interests.

“Our democratic systems are resilient, the enduring friendship between the people of India and the US is strong, and this important relationship must continue to grow,” they said.

Senate India Caucus is a bipartisan group created in 2004, which serves as a forum to discuss bilateral issues, strengthen US-India commercial ties, and advocate on behalf of the IndiaAmerican community.

Deeply saddened by the Mumbai bomb blasts, Congressman Joe Wilson said there is no place in this world for senseless acts of violence like those experienced in India.

“The American people stand firmly behind the people of India in support of the fight against global terrorism,” he said.

“My heart and prayers go out to the people of India, and the victims and families devastated by today’s senseless attacks in Mumbai,” said Congressman Adam Schiff, ranking member of the technical and tactical subcommittee on intelligence.

“As a close ally and the world’s largest democracy, India will recover, and we will work sideby-side with its government to bring those responsible for today’s tragedy to justice,” he said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their loved ones in the three deadly attacks in Mumbai today,” said Republican Congressman Ted Poe, member of the house foreign affairs committee.

“India is a loyal ally of the United States, and they must know that we stand with them in the fight against our common enemy of global terrorism. The loss of innocent life in the name of hatred is intolerable and those who are responsible for these massacres must be found and brought to justice for their crimes against humanity,” he said.

New York Congressman Gregory, senior member of house foreign affairs committee and financial services committee said the bombings in Mumbai, sadden and enrage the civilised world.

Hooked on shopping?

Speech gene Japan aims to totally Blame it on your mom! clean Fukushima

regulates brain connections

Melbourne: A gene which is known for its role in enabling speech and language also helps regulate the wiring of neurons in the brain, scientists have discovered.

The finding, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, could help scientists understand the unusual aspects of the brain function better, the researchers said.

The study, led by Dr Sonja Vernes and Dr Simon Fisher of the University of Oxford in England, found that the gene Foxp2 acts as a genetic dimmer switch, turning up or down the amount of protein product made by nerve cells.

The team analysed brain tissue from mouse embryos and found that Foxp2 modulates several hundred genes, many of which influence connections between nerve cells.

They were also able to demonstrate in vivo that the loss of Foxp2 affects certain genes central to brain development and that the levels of the gene vary in different parts of the brain, the ABC news reported.

To further explore the function of Foxp2, the team studied cultured nerve cells from embryonic mice that contain a genetic mutation in the gene.

The cells, they found, had fewer and shorter neuritis, spike-like projections that extend from the nerve cell.

The Foxp2 gene codes for a regulatory protein called a transcription factor. The genetic sequence present in all animal species, which reflects its importance.

In humans, Foxp2 is implicated in speech and language disorders; in birds it influences their ability to learn songs; and in mice it affects learning of movement sequences.

Dr Fisher said: “Studies like this are crucial for building bridges between genes and complex aspects of brain function.”

Calling it a landmark study, Kirrie Ballard of Sydney University said: “It will assist in understanding, from a behavioural perspective, the potential extent of the affect of Foxp2 mutations on speech and language systems.” PTI

London: The Japanese city of Fukushima, whose nuclear power plant was badly damaged by a magnitude-9 earthquake, has now revealed a plan to clean every building and road of radiation, a British newspaper reported.

The local government said the plan to scrub every building and road clean of radioactivity may take up to 20 years, the Daily Telegraph reported from Tokyo.

“We are drawing up a plan to clean our city and the first phase of the project will be announced early next month,” said Akane Saito, a spokeswoman for the city government.

The cost of the two-decade clean-up operatioon is likely to run into billions of yen.

Authorities are hoping to receive funding from the national government and the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of

the crippled nuclear plant.

An 18-mile exclusion zone has been declared around the plant, where emergency teams are working around the clock to keep the plant reactors cool and contain further radioactive leaks.

But radioactivity has gone well beyond the no-go zone. At least 10 children from Fukushima had urine samples tested for radioactivity and came back positive.

“Of course I am worried about the radiation and we have no idea how it will affect us, but I’m not thinking about leaving as this is my home town and this is my job,” Saito said. “It is my responsibility to work for the people of the city.”

The decontamination plan proposes using high-power hoses to wash the exteriors of buildings and then collect and dispose the radioactive debris and contaminated water.

London: Hooked on shopping?

Blame it on your mom. It’s in the genes after all, says a researcher.

“Human society puts a great deal of emphasis on female appearance and this will inevitably result in more clothes being purchased for girls than boys.

Parents encourage the importance of clothes through leisure activities such as shopping and play that involves dressing up.

“While dads are taking their sons out for football matches, women are taking their little girls shopping and encouraging them to take an interest in fashion,” Dr Karen J Pine of the University of Hertfordshire said.

The Professor of Developmental Psychology says that sales levels indicate that shopping is a behaviour which is learned, so it may be down to women’s mothers that they like to shop

suggests that they instinctively instill a much greater need for clothes in their daughters from a very young age.

As a result, it’s likely women are brought up to love shopping through years of intense exposure to fashion and purchases. PTI

Poisonous Jatropha acts Dinosaurs might have all died as natural pain killer in single blow

Cape Town: An extract of the poisonous shrub Jatropha curcas acts as a strong painkiller and may function in a different way than morphine and other pharmaceuticals.

Jatropha curcas, also known as the “physic nut”, is a perennial shrub that grows to five meters in height. It is native to Central America but grows widely in Africa and Asia.

The plant fruit is combined with the stem bark of Cochlospermum planchonii for treating diabetes and is also used traditionally as a painkiller, says Omeh Yusuf and Ezeja Maxwell of University of Agriculture in Umudike, Nigeria.

The plant’s seeds have been used for making soap, candles, detergents, lubricants and dyes and the seed oil is used in

biodiesel, the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology reports.

The researchers extracted what they believed to be the physiologically active compo-

nents of the leaves of Jatropha curcas using methanol as solvent, according to Umudike statement.

They compared the effects of this extract at 100, 200 and 400 milligrams per kg (mg/kg) of body mass, against 400 mg/kg of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) in standard lab animal tests for assessing the strength of painkillers.

They found that 100 mg/kg was an inadequate dose, however, 200 and 400 mg/kg doses produced analgesia (relief from pain)comparable to aspirin, affirming the use of the plant for pain relief.

Yusuf and Maxwell are now carrying out more work on isolating and characterizing the active ingredient in the extract and in determining the precise mode of action. IANS

Men more likely to die from cancer Washington: Men are more likely than women to die from cancer because of higher initial risk and later detection, a US study has claimed.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) study, which looked at a database of 36 types of cancer from 1977 to 2006, found that the highest male-to-female death rate ratios were 5.51 men for every woman for lip cancer, 5.37 to one for larynx cancer, and 4.47 to one for cancer of the hypopharynx – a type of throat cancer.

The male-female death rate ratio for cancer of the oesophagus was be 4.08 to 1, and 3.36 to 1 for urinary bladder cancer, according to the study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

“Our research suggests that the main factor driving greater frequency of cancer deaths in men is the greater frequency of cancer diagnosis, rather

so much. Figures have revealed that clothes for baby girls outsell those for boys by a fifth.

It emerged that by the age of four, girls have 20 per cent more clothes than boys of that age, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

As mothers buy most of the clothes for their children, this

than poorer survival once the cancer occurs,” study author Michael Cook was quoted as saying by online health journal WebMD. If investigators “can identify the causes of these gender differences in cancer incidence, then we can take preventative actions to reduce the cancer burden in both men and women,” he said.

Many cancers with the highest overall death rates also showed greater death risk for men than women. The male-female ratios for lung cancer – which is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women – were 2.31 to one, while the figure was 1.42 to one for colorectal cancer, and 1.37 to one for pancreatic cancer.

For leukaemia, the male-female ratio was 1.75 to one, and for liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer the ratio was 2.23 to one.

Only three cancers were found to have a higher death rate in women than men. They included gallbladder cancer, anal cancer and cancer of the peritoneum.

According to Cook, the reason for the difference in mortality rates is “not clear cut.”

“For many cancer sites, male and female incidence rates have changed disproportionately over time, and this implies that the root cause of sex differences in cancer incidence rates, and by extension cancer mortality rates, are sex differences in tobacco smoking and viral infections, antioxidative capacity and hormones and metal toxicity.”

The researchers, however, said that more studies are needed to find out the factors responsible for greater rates of diagnosis of cancer among men. PTI

Washington: Palaeontologists have found a piece of dinosaur horn which they say is pointing to a catastrophic end for the “Age of Dinosaurs”, not a gradual one as some experts have suggested.

It’s been believed that dinosaurs were killed when a huge asteroid smashed into the Earth off the coast of Mexico some 65 million years ago.

Although it is now accepted that a cosmic impact took place at that time, known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary, or K-T boundary, it was unclear if the mass extinctions started gradually before the hit due to volcanoes or other factors. The reason behind this controversy was a 10-feet zone in the earth right below the K-T boundary that purportedly lacked dinosaur fossils.

Some experts have claimed this gap, seen in the western interior of North America, was evidence that dinosaurs might have died off well before any impact.

Now, researchers have found

a fossil in this zone – a dinosaur horn no more than five inches below the impact layer, making it the specimen closest to the end of the Age of Dinosaurs found yet.

The 45 cm-long horn, possibly from a triceratops, was found in the Hell Creek formation in Montana.

Just because “we have one dinosaur in the gap doesn’t necessarily falsify the idea that dinosaurs were gradually declining in numbers,” said lead researcher Tyler Lyson, a vertebrate paleontologist at Yale University.

He said: “However, this find indicates that at least some dinosaurs were doing fine right up to the K-T boundary.

“We need to do more field work to find more dinosaurs within the 3-meter gap. I am confident that with more field work, we will find more dinosaurs within this interval.”

The new findings were published in the journal Biology Letters. PTI

LIFESTYLE 7

Friday, July 15, 2011

S

panish singer Enrique Iglesias says he admires ace footballer David Beckham for his style.

“I would personally like to be someone like David Beckham. His style is 100 percent. He always looks so good,” he said.

Iglesias is also a fan of actor Johnny Depp’s fashion sense.

“Johnny Depp also has great style and the thing about Johnny is that he is in his forties and looks like he’s 30,” okmagazine.com quoted him as saying.

The singer, who has been dating former tennis star Anna Kournikova for almost ten years, claims he has no sense of the latest trends and relies on experts to help him dress for video shoots.

“I have a stylist who is great. I get to pick out the clothes I wear from a selection she picks for me on video shoots. I am bad at fashion and don’t keep up with trends - I’m known for it among my friends. I am just a jeans and Tshirt kind of guy,” he added.

B

ritish actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who rose to fame as a model after featuring in a 2008 ad campaign for Burberry, has teamed up with the luxury fashion brand once again. She is endorsing its latest fragrance ‘Body’ and features in a sensuous ad.

“It’s a huge honour to be working with Burberry again, a brand that put my career on the map and helped launch me. To be asked to be the first ‘Burberry Body’ is an amazing compliment,” the 24-year-old, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” actress said in a statement.

Voted the hottest woman of the year by Maxim magazine recently, Huntington-Whiteley has worn only a rose gold satin trench coat and the scent for the latest Burberry campaign.

“Burberry Body is the most exciting launch that we have ever created and captures the iconic spirit of the brand today in a striking and sensual way. Rosie’s effortless style and her staggering beauty made her the natural choice as the first Burberry Body,” said Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer - Burberry.

The brand hopes to create a unique portfolio of ‘Burberry Bodies’ shot by Mario Testino, to iconise the fragrance for future.

The latest fragrance will be launched in over 150 countries starting Sep 1.

Iglesias loves Beckhamʼs style Former beauty queen Sushmita Sen, who did item numbers in movies like “Fiza” and Nayak”, wants to get back into the dancing mode and is keen on doing a raunchy item number.

Sushmita was last seen in Anees Bazmee’s comedy “No Problem” last year.

“I like winning but I don’t like rat races as I can’t deal with Friday to Friday fluctuations. I do a ‘Main Hoon Na’ and people think I’ve arrived - with the saris, the glamour. And then I do a ‘Chingari’ and people hate it. But I experiment.

Now I am taking a break and reading scripts.

“I do want to do an item number, to get back to dancing soon. Want to do a really raunchy item number,” she said in an interview on “The Date Season 2”, which will be aired on Bloomberg UTV Saturady.

During the show, she also reminisced about her first big success in 1994 when she was crowned Miss Universe and said that there were people who didn’t even know her name when she won the crown, but they were happy with the fact that an Indian had won.

“Everything in my life has been a cosmic accident. I was found at a nightclub and somebody suggested I go for Miss India.

The entire experience (Miss India) opened up my eyes. Around the world people celebrated. They didn’t even know my name, but they knew India had won.

That’s when it hit me that I had put India on the map,” said the 35-year-old.

Now a budding entrepreneur, who selects model from India to participate in the Miss Universe pageant through her company I Am She - Miss Universe India, Sushmita feels that beauty contests need attention.

I want to do a raunchy item number: Sush

Huntington‑Whiteley

bares for new Burberry ad

Amber Rose gets boyfriend name tattooed

M

odel Amber Rose has permanently declared her love for rapper boyfriend Wiz Khalifa by having his name tattooed on her finger.

Rose, who previously romanced Kanye West, has been dating Khalifa since last year,

E

nglish glamour model Danielle Lloyd has given birth to her second son, 10 weeks before the due date.

Lloyd, 27, and fiance Jamie O’Hara welcomed a boy, this Wednesday.

“Lloyd has delivered our baby this morning 4lb 4oz, 10 weeks early. Baby and dan are ok just letting the hospital look after him (sic)”Jamie posted on micro-bloggin site Twitter.

The couple already have a son, Archie.

DANIELLE LLOYD

pregnant with 2nd child

reports contactmusic.com.

The 28-year-old shown off the inking of the word ‘Cam’ on micro-blogging site Twitter, “I want his name tatted (sic) on me a million times. He’s a dream come true... He’s my Angel,” she posted alongwith picture.

Filmmaker Karan Johar is all set to direct “Student of The Year” from Aug 16 and says he’s more excited than nervous because this is his first movie with newcomers.

“More excited than nervous.

This is the first time I’m working with newcomers. I hope all three of them Siddharth, Varun and Aliya turn out well.

I feel they’ve humongous talent. But that could just be a proud parent’s opinion. Next summer I hope the audience discovers them to be as talented as I did,” he said.

“Aliya being the only girl between the two boys is being fully pampered. In any case, our production house Dharma Productions has a track-record of pampering heroines. Aliya is getting the full-on Dharma treatment. Our production house is like a spa for actors,” he added.

Do you feel a sense of trepidation working with newcomers?

“Working with stars thrills me. This challenges me. After the experimental ‘My Name Is Khan’, making a masala film with newcomers poses a challenge of its own,” said Karan.

KJo excited about making films with newcomers

S

he is already a name to reckon with down south, but “Singham” is actress Kajal Aggarwal’s first full-fledged Hindi movie. Comparing Bollywood and the southern Indian film industry, the 26-year-old says both are equally professional and regional barriers are slowly disappearing.

“The reach of Hindi cinema is larger, but the south is equally professional. In the south, they have very talented technicians like in Bollywood. Both industries have equally good artists, good scripts and good professionals,” Kajal told IANS in an interview.

“I feel, just like Bollywood, southern films are also reaching a lot of places...the movies are going beyond boundaries. Regional barriers are slowly and steadily disappearing which is a very good thing,” she added.

“Singham”, a remake of the successful 2010 Tamil film by the same name, is scheduled for a July 22 release.

After the exchange of actors and directors between the two industries, the technicians have also started looking for work in both the worlds of cinema, which are very prolific.

“One more very good trend that I have noticed lately is that a lot of technicians are being shared pan-India. A lot of technicians from the south are working in Bollywood and vice versa. Directors of photography, choreographers, etc - all are working in both the industries,” she added.

Kajal, who did a cameo role in the 2004 Hindi film “Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na”, has featured in 21 southern movies in four years. She majorly worked in Telugu movies and did a couple of Tamil films as well. Some of her hits are “Chandamama” “Magadheera”, “Darling”, “Brindaavanam” and “Mr. Perfect”.

Regional barriers disappearing: Kajal

LIFESTYLE 8

Friday, July 15, 2011

Itʼs Hashmi all the way

A

ctress Jessica Alba thinks she will never get her pre-mummy body back unlike model Gisele Bundchen.

Alba, who gave birth to baby girl Honor in 2008, is expecting a second child later this summer.

“I can’t ever get down to the weight I was before I had Honor... My body’s just different. The jeans just sort of zip up differently, and things hang differently. It’s a miracle what happens, but you definitely are different afterward. Unless you’re Gisele,” dailystar.co.uk quoted the 30-year-old as saying.

for Vishal Bhardwaj

I

JESSICA JEALOUS

of Bundchenʼs post‑baby body

S

upermodel Miranda Kerr has named her son Flynn Christopher Blanchard Copeland Bloom after her late boyfriend Christopher Middlebrook, who died in an car accident as a teenager.

“Chris and I had been dating for two years. After he died, I wrote him a letter that said I hoped to name my first child after him in some way. I told Orlando (Bloom), and he was the one who said he’d be happy to do that. Orlando’s a good guy,” she told Australia’s the Daily Telegraph.

Kerr also says that her son has inherited his good looks from his actor-dad Bloom, reports people.com.

“He looks exactly like Orlando did when he was a baby.

His character is developing every day. He’s content and, even though he’s teething, you can see he’s calm,” she said.

t seems it’s Emraan Hashmi or nothing for Vishal Bhardwaj’s film “Daayan”!

After some actresses said no to working with the actor in the supernatural thriller, the filmmaker made it very clear that Emraan was his top priority.

Said a source: “Both Vishal and (producer) Ekta Kapoor believe Emraan is the fulcrum of the script and the only non-negotiable member of the cast.”

“Vishal thinks Emraan has huge potential.

He wanted to cast Emraan in ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ in the role that Irrfan Khan eventually did but it didn’t work out.

“Emraan is in demand with several topnotch filmmakers. Rohan Sippy who wanted to cast him in ‘Dum Maro Dum’ is casting the actor in his next. Dibakar Banerjee chose Emraan at the cost of losing Katrina Kaif in his new film ‘Shanghai’,” the source added.

Vishal will shoot “Daayan” in the next couple of months.

The hunt for the three leading ladies is almost over.

Said a source close to the project: “The minute it was made known that all the three leading ladies’ parts were equally important, a queue of girls showed up at Vishal’s doorstep.”

The last we heard, Jacqueline Fernandez, Chitrangda Singh and Mahie Gill had been shortlisted for the three parts.

When Kelly Osbourne was mobbed as Gaga

S

inger Kelly Osbourne was a victim of mistaken identity when she was “accosted” by fans who thought she was Lady Gaga.

The 26-year-old star was forced to leave the Dolce and Gabbana showroom, where she was having a dress fitting, after being mobbed by people who believed she was Gaga, reports contactmusic.com.

Kelly revealed on her Twitter account: “Just had a fitting at Dolce & Gabbana and they have to be the nicest press office ever thank you so much ladies!” “I had to leave this place everyone thought I was @ladygaga and accosted me. I truly mean no disrespect, I love @ladygaga but it’s too much for me to handle.

I have a hole new respect!!!!! (sic),” she added.

MIRANDA KERR NAMES son after late boyfriend

A

ctress Katrina Kaif, who usually remains tight-lipped about her relationship status, told a fan that she is currently enjoying her time with family and that Salman Khan is her good friend.

During a chat with her fans on Airtel’s “Talk2Me” platform, when the 26-year-old was quizzed about her relationship, she said: “At the moment I am just with my family and nothing going on like that.”

When a fan said that people feel she looks good with Salman Khan, the British-born actress said: “Ya, he is a good friend of mine.”

The two were reportedly seeing each other but broke off last year.

The actress is currently busy promoting her upcoming film “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, also starring Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin. The film directed by Zoya Akhtar will hit the screens Friday.

Salman is a good friend of mine: Kat

A

ctor Ryan Reynolds is believed to have moved on from his divorce from actress Scarlett Johansson. He is reportedly dating Charlize Theron.

According to sources, Reynolds and Theron “have been dating -- for months!

They’re exclusive, and it’s very hush-hush,” reports usmagazine.com.

Although both of them haven’t been photographed together, a witness noticed Reynolds’ motorcycle at Theron’s home all morning June 5, and then saw the actor exit her house in the afternoon.

Ryan Reynolds dating Charlize Theron?

“Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson partied at a pole dancing club to celebrate the end of the popular film franchise.

Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the movie, went to the club after the final premiere for “Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, which is the last of the “Harry Potter” films, reports thesun.co.uk.

“She was really enjoying herself.

There were a few scantily-clad girls around but Emma didn’t bat an eyelid. There are a few poles in the club but she didn’t have a go. After such a big night, it’s no wonder she wanted to let her hair down,” said a source.

She danced the night away with friends.

“She had a smile on her face the whole time before calling it a night around 2 a.m.,” added the source.

The actress was just 11 when she starred in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and was 12 when she featured in the “Chamber of Secrets”.

WATSON PARTIES AT POLE DANCING CLUB