Postnoon E-Paper for April 12th 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 HYDERABAD

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32 PAGES

WEATHER: CLEAR. WINDY AT TIMES; 34°C

SPACE RIDES Gadgets, suits and other paraphernalia in sci-fi movies are cool, but the rides are the coolest. A lot is being said about the bubblecraft in Tom Cruise’s Oblivion. This is not the first time such crafts of fantasy have ignited similar talk. Let’s check out the rest that did.

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HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

HYDERABAD HOSTS

PINK PANTHER VEXED AT FACEBOOK ATTACK

WORLD PARTY M ANIL KUMAR

After playing host to the big-ticket world biodiversity conference last year, Hyderabad is once again the centre of attention. The UNWTO began its three-day deliberations on a roadmap to sustainable tourism in the City today.

Travel wise Before you make your travel plans this summer, let’s get some dos and don’ts of travelling right.

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REPORT ON P5

WILL PSY REPEAT THE GANGNAM MAGIC?

Mischievous elements created a Facebook account of TRS leader K Chandrasekar Rao and posted a list of candidates for the 2014 elections, creating panic among leaders and cadres of the party. A formal complaint with the cyber crime department is being lodged.

Even Kim Jong-Un’s threats of nuclear war can’t divert world attention from the main event on the Korean peninsula this week — the launch of Psy’s hugely anticipated follow-up to his global hit Gangnam Style.

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FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

city events

THREE NIGHT STAY FOR THE PRICE OF TWO

Taj Safaris offers guests the option of extending their two-day trip. It gives you a third day complementary stay. There are four exquisite lodges in the national parks of Madhya Pradesh. The offer is valid from April 15 to June 30. The contact number is (022) 660 1 1825.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

34°C

26°C

Clear with cloudy periods.

Clear.

Morning

Afternoon

32°C

41°C

Mostly sunny.

Cloudy periods. Chance of storm.

New Delhi Mumbai Max 37 Max 35 Min 25 Min 26 Partly cloudy.

Chennai Max 33 Min 28

Clear.

Bangalore Max 37 Min 21

Partly cloudy.

Clear.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES When: Till April 25 Contact: (040) 6652 3939

WORKSHOPS Vaishali Bisht’s theatre workshop Vaishali Bisht is conducting special Summer Holidays theatre workshops for children between the ages of six and 12. The course consists of 20 classes held Monday to Saturday. Using theatre games and exercises, the workshop helps children use their imagination and get creative. Where: Road no 7, Banjara Hills When: From April 15, Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm Contact: 94904 40986 Filmmaking workshops for children Yavanika Films is conducting a unique filmmaking workshops this summer vacation for children in Hyderabad. Each participant will make their own short film as part of the workshop. Even a parent and child can register as one student pair to make a short film together. Where: Begumpet When: From April 24, 2pm to 7pm, Daily classes except on weekends Contact: 94901 00404

DINING Punjabiyaan Di Shaan With Baisakhi ushering in, mas-

SHOWS Rhythm Dhol Bass World famous Punjabi music band RDB will perform live during the Baikashi mela. Dancer Shweta Sharma will also be performing live. Where: LB Stadium When: April 14, 7pm onwards Contact: 89778 99777 Piano recital Alliance Française presents piano recital by Daniel Gomez. Where: Alliance Française, Banjara Hills (invites also available here) When: April 12, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4485

SIZZLING SUMMER: A rickshaw puller in Basheerbagh takes a breather from the unrelenting summer heat. Temperatures in the city soared upto 40 degree celsius on Thursday. M ANIL KUMAR terchefs from Punjab, along with the skilled team of Radisson Blu Hyderabad, recreate the lip smacking authentic Punjabi delicacies and an array of cultural festivities. Where: Chill Restaurant & Terrace, Radisson Blu Hyderabad, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 14 Contact: (040) 6733 1133 Baisakhi Celebrations! This Baisakhi, Marriott Hyderabad Hotel and Convention Center brings you a celebration with all the pomp and fare of Punjab. There are special treats for children. Where: Okra, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre When: April 14, 12.30pm to 3.30pm Contact: (040) 2752 2567

Commissioner & Spl Officer

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

198 155313

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

155333 23431178 23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

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

Baisakhi Food Festival Carrying forward the festive mood and spirit, GreenPark introduces Baisakhi Food Festival, bringing in the authentic flavours of Punjab. Where: Once Upon a Time Green Park Hotel, Greenlands, Begumpet When: April 11-15, 7:30pm to 11pm. Contact: (040) 6651 5151 Malvani cuisine Taj Deccan is hosting Malvani Food Festival at Spice Junxion. Enjoy a scrumptious spread of classic dishes like pandhara kombdiche saar, kale vatana ni gawarchi bhajji and puran poli. Where: Spice Junxion, Taj Deccan, Road No 1, Banjara Hills

WATER SUPPLY Complaint Cell Sewerage Complaint Hyd. Water Supply HOSPITAL General Hospital, Sec-bad Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills NIMS, Director, Punjagutta Osmania General Hospital Railway Hospital, Lalaguda Apollo, Jubilee Hills Care Hospital, Banjara Hills Care Hospital, Nampally Care Hospital, Musheerabad Care Hospital, Sec-bad Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar

155313 23307328 23313163

27505566 23314095 23390933 24600146 27001134 23607777 30418888 30417777 30419000 30416666 39879999

BLOOD BANKS Blood Bank,Narayanguda Chiranjeevi Blood Bank Blood Bank Mediton Goal Red Cross, Vidyanagar ADRM Blood Bank Mythri Charitable Trust NTR Memorial Trust Care Banjara Hills

27567892 23559555 23226624 27633087 27035588 27550238 30799999 30418296 30417445

AMBULANCES Apollo 23548888, 23607777 Kamineni 24022222 Medwin 23202902, 23204616 Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979 Red Cross 27627973 Niloufer Hospital 23314095 Gandhi 23320332 AIRLINES

typical Sunday brunch can be a little confusing — it’s hard to stick to one cuisine. Taj Krishna in the City has decided to go off the beaten track by launching its Sparkling Yumcha brunch this Sunday at the Golden Dragon. The brunch, which includes sparkling wine, will focus only on delicacies from the heart of China. It lures you with dimsums, soup, spring rolls, noodles, rice and a variety of seafood to choose from. Visit once, you’ll definitely indulge again! City’s #1 spot

French animated film Alliance Française of Hyderabad presents Le chat du Rabbin, directed by Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar. Where: Alliance Française, Banjara Hills When: April 18, 6.30pm onwards Contact: (040) 2355 4485 Hindi play performance A Hindi play, To Be Or Not To Be, will be performed. Where: Lamakaan, Banjara Hills When: April 12, 8pm onwards Contact: 9642731329

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

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

24523211 232431300/7641 24521029

Readers’ views

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

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

City

TODAY’S QUESTION

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE ARRAIGNING OF SIX MINISTER DESTABILISE KIRAN GOVERNMENT?

IS PUBLIC SAFETY STILL NOT A PRIME CONCERN IN THE CITY? 56% 44%

YES (A) NO (B)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

Pink Panther vexed at FB attack Mischievous elements created a Facebook account of TRS leader K Chandrasekhara Rao and posted a list of candidates for the 2014 elections, creating panic among leaders and cadres of the party. A formal complaint with the cyber crime department is being lodged.

Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

a l v a k u n t l a Chandrasekar Rao, the founder of Telangana Rashtra Samithi party, knows rough and tumble politics, not the software type of war. Imagine his consternation when some tech hands created a fake Facebook account and posted obnoxious things on the wall. The party was in turmoil. Many called up KCR and other leaders and found they are as troubled as the cadres are. In the website, a list of 36 candidates for Assembly and four for Lok Sabha were posted, in which Vijayashanti was not a candidate from Medak constituency. Sravan Das Dasoju, TRS

spokesperson, said the matter came to the party’s notice threefour days ago. “It is a criminal act by someone who despises

our party. KCR is a leader of stature and he has no time for this kind of fun and dark humour,” he said. Dasoju said

action was being taken to trace the source. The TRS leader said it was a deliberate ploy of anti-Telangana forces that want to ‘blacken the face’ of the leader and the Tcause. Additional commissioner of police Sandeep Shandilya said they were awaiting a formal complaint from KCR or TRS. Interestingly, while KCR does not have an FB account (nor does he believe in this type of media), there already are a dozen or so facebook accounts in the name of TRS and KCR which, however, do not have objectionable materials. This is the reason the party did not complain about it. Sources said the aggrieved party has to report abuse to the Facebook authorities to get it blocked.

CRIME

Man dupes several with job offer, bolts with funds

POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

ssuring jobs in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam and government departments, a man identified as JV Chalma,

a resident of Regimental Bazaar, allegedly duped a dozen people and escaped with a sizeable sum. Gopalpuram police, investigating the cheating case, continue to get complaints against Chalma. It is

said that he, a small-time employee of a private firm, had come in contact with a man named Sunil Kumar and impressed him with his talks and demeanour. Chalma claimed to be close to TTD and its leaders and promised jobs. Kumar said he had trusted this man and gave him some money with the hope of getting a job. Meanwhile, Chalma allegedly made Kumar rope in more people and the latter admits he played sucker in the hands of Chalma. Accordingly, Kumar brought some friends, and through them, more were inducted to the scheme. Kumar and the others told the police that they were asked to wait for a few months, and meanwhile, enlist more unemployed people so that he could get the bunch approved at one go. Chalma claimed to have close contacts with secretaries in

government departments and the complainants believed him. At least 20 people have come forward to complain of getting cheated. According to one estimate, the man has collected cash of `10 lakh, but police believe it would be

Chalma duped over a dozen people, collecting money from them in the pretext of finding them jobs. He then fled with the money. Police are trying to trace him. much more after all the people who contacted Chalma reported to the police. The man, after collecting a huge sum, vanished. The police tried his mobile, which was switched off.

Ban criminal politicos, says INSAF POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

NSAF, an organisation for good governance and social welfare, has extended its support to the proposal of imposing a ban on criminal politicians moved by the former chief election commissioner. Meer Ahmed Ali, Syed Ameer Mohammed Amjad, and other leaders of INSAF regretted that leading political parties like Congress and BJP do no seem to be serious about this issue because the criminal politicians are their backbone. The voters have apprehensions about using their votes. They are afraid of these politicians. INSAF noted that these politicians spent black money in the elections. In every election, the role of mafia becomes important. It is necessary to check this system of elections. It is important on the part of the leaders to remove anxiety from the minds and hearts of the voters.

city FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 LAST YEAR... HERE Metro rakes up water issues

ast year we had reported how the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project (HMR), which had already received a lot of ﬂak from commuters, was creating problems for the HMWS&SB as well. The Metro rail project recently submitted a proposal to the water board and asked them to remove pipelines that had been laid along the Metro rail routes.

CIVIC

Khilwat parking stirs schism The multi-level parking lot is a classic case of civic callousness to a public utility. It now kick-starts a controversy. M ANIL KUMAR

APRIL 12, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

‘candidates’ for the 2014 General Elections were posted on KCR’s fake Facebook profile, creating panic among party members.

During my childhood, we had all the fun, running around and creating nuisance everywhere. But career ambition has taken away all the childhood sheen. T Cherian, senior executive

See page 6

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

Who do you trust with your money? A man duped several citizens, promising them jobs. He collected some amount from each of them and bolted with the money.

Is it cyber-war now for State politics? A fake Facebook account of TRS leader KCR was created and a list of candidates for the 2014 elections was posted, creating panic in the party.

Yet another project to waste public money? The Khilwat parking, which could have provided some respite for the choked City, remains in limbo.

All talk and no action in sustainability?. According to a Worldwatch report, sustainability needs to be deﬁned and quantiﬁed so that there is some yardstick to measure progress.

All work and no play for children in City. With peer and parental pressure mounting, children have hardly any time for extra-curricular activities or to pursue their hobbies.

estimated to cost `29.56 crore in 2006. The period of construction was to be 15 months. This multilevel parking complex plan had 14,168 sq m of parking area in six levels with 3,620 sq m service area and commercial space of 8,090 sq m. Some 504 fourwheelers and 70 two-wheelers could be parked. It had a lease period of 32 years.

LAPSED BUT RESUMED

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

f pushed and completed as planned within 15 months, the Khilwat multi-level parking lot would have been a parking prototype for the choked City. But for mysterious reasons, it remained in limbo and now has become a point of discord between local MPs and civic officials. It also has the dubious distinction of developing a schism among officials that threatens to extend to the chief secretary level. The issue came up at the District Review Committee (DRC) on Wednesday when Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi asked GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu whether it was true that the project did not come up because the additional commissioner (estates) had written in her ‘note file’ that it would hamper the Telangana aspirations. Babu did not give a direct reply, nor did he allow the additional commissioner (estates),

GD Priyadarshini, to answer the query. “I shall hand over the note file to you later,” was the only reply the commissioner gave to the MP. Priyadarshini, who took offence to the query, clarified later that she had never mentioned anything about the Telangana issue in her ‘note file’. “I am being victimised. Nowhere have I mentioned a single word about Telangana in my observation,” she said.

called in 2006. India Wireless Technology Ltd (IWTL), lead member of the consortium, under public private partnership (PPP) mode on built operate transfer (BOT) basis, was entrusted with the work in August 2007. The composition of the consortium was 37 per cent IWTL, who is the lead member; 37 per cent Future Infrastructure India Ltd, a member; 26 per cent DBR Projects Private Ltd, a technical member.

TENDER PROCESS FROM 2006

PROJECT DETAILS

Tenders for the project were

With 4,943 sq m, the project was

As the project did not take off, after three-years’ lapse, Future Infrastructure India Ltd (FIIL), a subsidiary partner, changed its name to Global Parking Plaza Ltd (GPPL) and requested the GHMC in September 2010 to change the lead and technical members of the original consortium. The new substitute proposed ITNL (ILFS Transportation Network Ltd) as the lead partner. The composition of the new consortium was then 74 per cent ITNL, the lead member; and 26 per cent GPPL. This was signed by K Rao, the then additional commissioner (estates), and the project was authorised.

OBSERVATIONS IN NOTE FILE In her note file, Priyadarshini pointed out that the PPP tender rules and Clause 6.3 of RFP (request for proposal) do not permit change in the lead partner. She demanded the involvement of AP Infrastructure Authority (APIA) for approval. Among the lapses, there is no correspondence between the GHMC and the changed lead partner, ILFS. “The method adopted was not transparent and is based on inadequate documents. Furthermore, the legal opinion obtained is not in accordance with tender conditions and rules in force,” she noted. “Calling for fresh tenders would solve the matter,” is the only solution she offered.

NEWS BRIEFS Dial 100 for quick help, AP launches project

Congress: Law should take its course

Open Book system introduced for CBSE

PCI forms committee to look into complaints

centralised system on the lines of an emergency response agency like '911' in the United States was launched in AP on Ugadi to enable the police to reach the complainant within minutes. Under the 'Dial 100' project, the AP police department has partnered with GVK EMRI to build and operate a uniﬁed command and control centre.

nconﬁrmed reports said the Congress leadership has veered round to the view that law should be allowed to take its course. The party high command considered the predicament of home minister Sabita Indra Reddy, named in the Jagan assets case, and believes a common yardstick is advisable to save the party image.

BSE plans to introduce an “open book” section in the ﬁnal examination for classes IX-XI, starting this academic year, and for Class XII from the next academic year. Students will not be allowed to take the books inside the exam hall, but will be given case studies in each subject in advance from which 20 per cent of a section will be asked.

ress Council of India (PCI) has appointed Uppala Lakshman, a PCI member and former journalist, as a single man committee to investigate complaints of paid news and violation of press freedom in the forthcoming Karnataka state elections. In an order issued by Markandey Katju, all authorities were requested to co-operate.

city FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

TOURISM CONFERENCE

City hosts world party again World tourism gets a big boost from Hyderabad as the UNWTO began its three-day deliberations on a roadmap to world sustainable tourism. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

The conference will etch the name of the City in the pages of history as it will come up with a blueprint to boost the growth of the tourism sector across the world.

fter playing host to the big-ticket world biodiversity council meeting last year, Hyderabad again hosted a world gathering to give a big boost to world tourism today. Leaders of over 24 countries comprising 300 delegates have begun deliberations with the avowed aim of coming out with a blueprint for world sustainable tourism. United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary general Taleb Refai rubbed shoulders with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Union minister of state for tourism K Chiranjeevi at the Park Hyatt, lauding the efforts of Andhra Pradesh and India in promoting travel and tourism. “Hyderabad, the city of pearls, has been etched into the pages of history as it is coming up with a blueprint to boost the growth travel and tourism sector across the world,” said Refai in his inaugural address. "There is a greater need to adopt a holistic approach to promote the concept of sustainable tourism across the world as the tourism sector is recording a tremendous growth. In a matter of six years time alone, the num-

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Union minister Chiranjeevi and UNWTO secretary general Taleb Refai at the M ANILKUMAR joint meeting of the World Tourism Organization at the Park Hyatt on Friday.

ber of tourists crossing the borders recorded a phenomenal growth from a mere 25 million to over one billion,” said the UNWTO secretary general.

The concept of sustainable tourism is likely to catapult the image of India, and particularly Andhra Pradesh, as the major tourist destination in days to

come if the deliberations of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)' Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STD) are

POLITICS

Kiran on roll, wants hat-trick The chief minister has been launching several welfare programmes, giving sleepless nights to his rivals. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

hief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is on a roll after winning the second consecutive no confidence motion in his present stint, seems to be giving sleepless nights to his rivals by launching one welfare programme after the other in the State. At a time when political parties are doing everything they can to drill holes in his style of functioning, an unperturbed Kiran goes on distributing largesse. On the occasion on Ugadi day yesterday, the CM kicked off two special mass contact programmes in the State. The first one is to hold public meetings in all districts to create awareness about the SC and ST sub-plan among the people of the two communities.

The second mass contact programme will begin on April 15 to promote the Ugadi special Amma Hastham programme, which has been conceived to distribute nine essential commodities at subsidised rates across the State. The chief minister had chalked out a 11-day-long schedule to visit various districts of the State and address public meetings. The public meeting will also see the Kiran launching this programme in the respective districts. The programme will go on till April 25. An aide of the chief minister told Postnoon that he is confident of winning the trust of the people after winning the confidence of the House.

INDIRAMMA KALALU A HIT

The first mass contact programme organised by the chief minister seems to be gaining momentum.

The meetings, organised by State government authorities, are witnessing huge of turnout of SC and ST people. According to Congress sources, the meetings being held by Kiran are not only helping the party and the CM to consolidate his position, but are also acting as a platform to attack rival political parties and defend his government policies. The chief minister is perfectly utilising the State-wide campaigns to put his government's compulsions which led to hike in electricity charges and denying the charges levelled by the Opposition. "He (CM) is on a roll now. The chief minister wants to ensure that Congress’ gets a hat-trick term in the 2014 polls. All his acts are aimed towards achieving this goal," a close associate of the chief minister said.

anything to go by. The blue print will come up with strategies which will help the development travel and tourism sectors of various countries across the world by widely promoting the concept of sustainable tourism development. The concept has assumed importance in the wake of a Research Report by International Air Transport Authority (IATA) which said that by 2050, the number of tourists crossing the borders of their nation on tours would increase from the existing one billion to 16 billion. The UN conference deliberations will primarily focus its attention on how to cash in on growing market. The three-day international conference kicked off in the City this morning in the presence of an array of ministers, bureaucrats, world media and delegates.

GHMC announces summer camps POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he GHMC will begin its summer camps for children from April 25. Inauguration of the camps will start from the central zone on April 25 at Victory Play Ground. On April 26, south zone camps will be inaugurated at Quli Qutb Shah Stadium, then east zone at Uppal Stadium on April 27; north zone at Marredpally Play Ground on April 29 and on west zone at PJR Sports Complex, Chandanagar, on April 30. Zonal-wise sports quiz competitions will begin on May 6. It will first be conducted in the north zone at the Swimming Pool Complex on May 6; west zone at Chandanagar Stadium on May 7; central zone at Victory Play Ground on May 8; south zone at Gowlipura Play Ground on May 9 and finally the east zone at Uppal Stadium on May 10. The grand finale will be held at Victory Play Ground on May 11. At the closing ceremonies — beginning from May 27 at QQS Stadium (south zone) — the GHMC will wind up the summer camps at the Victory Play Ground (central zone) on May 31.

city FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

GET UP, GET MOVING

All work makes summer dull

Parents these days seem to forget that summer holidays are a time for their children to relax. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

one are the days when summer vacations meant fun and frolic. The holidays are here but children hardly seem excited about it. With peer pressure mounting, summer vacations have unfortunately come to mean more classes and coaching. With more parents selecting various courses or classes for their wards, the whole concept of the holidays has changed. Children deserve a vacation after a whole year of taxing syllabi and routine, but they are not given this time off. Twelve-year-old Prakash (name changed) loves nature, reading and historical places. But all that is available to him are books and his computer to get to know about them. Even before he was done with his exams, Prakash planned to visit all historical sites in Hyderabad this summer along with his cousins. However, a disappointed Prakash says he now has to attend a robotics workshop. Most children these days have similar stories to tell.

NO EXCITEMENT

For children with both working parents, summer holidays are not a time of excitement. “I stay at home with my grandparents all day. The only time I get to go out is on weekends when my parents are free. I like going to school because I get to meet my friends and don’t get bored like how I do when I stay at home,” says 10-year-old Rohan. For him, school days are far more fun than vacations. The stories that children share with their friends after vacations are over are very different these days. They are

Holiday in the City

ven between classes and coaching, one can squeeze in some time and afford their children a nice time in Hyderabad. Postnoon gives you a list of places where you can take your child. n Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park. This national deer park is located in Vanasthalipuram. n AP State Archaeological Museum located in the public gardens in Nampally. n Salarjung Museum in Afzal Gunj. n Theme parks like the Jalavayuvihar and Durgam Cheruvu. n Nehru Zoological Park.

made to juggle between various coaching classes, imposed not only by the education system but also their parents who want to ensure that their child is not left behind in any field. Thomas Cherian, a senior executive with a transport firm, looks wistfully at his son, Solomon, 7, who wishes to see houseboats and lakes in Kerala. But neither Thomas nor his wife can take leave from office.

PEER PRESSURE

Parents must give their children a break from the constant pressure they are made to feel at school. “I come across many parents who want to make sure their child is attending more classes than other children in the colony. In some cases, because parents are so busy with work, they enrol their wards for classes simply so that the child does not have to stay at home alone,” says psychologist Dr P Naina. Parents, meanwhile, say that they send their children to classes only in their best interest. “Last summer, my son ended up spending his entire vaca-

tion in front of the TV and computer. So to ensure the same doesn’t happen this year I enrolled him in a summer camp,” says Renuka Nair, a homemaker. Other reasons why parents say they are uncomfortable with their children running around is due to the rise in crime in the City. Many feel that it is better for their children to be within the safety of four walls of coaching classes than out in public places. “With the City being under constant threat, I don’t find it safe to take my child to any public place. These days, public places are so crowded that anything can happen anywhere, so I prefer signing up my child for a summer camp,” says Geeta Prasad, a parent.

NO TIME TO RELAX

Due to all these reasons, summer vacations have become more structured. Summer holidays are meant for relaxation and rejuvenation. Those born in the ‘80s and ‘90s have fond memories of their vacation. It’s high time that parents start understanding what is really in the interest of their kids. Every child deserves a break, but the parents fail to understand that ultimately, with the lack of activities, it is the child who suffers. “School vacations are the only time they can spend in leisure. It is not that children these days have fewer options when it comes to places to play, it is just that they lack any time to explore them,” says Dr Naina.

CITY FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

REPORTERS’ DIARY

A surefire remedy to lose weight T M ANIL KUMAR

he Opposition leaders in the State vied with one another to go on hunger strikes against the power tariff hike. Everyone was jumping on the ‘fast’-wagon and many venues were seen filled with grave leaders sacrificing self for a public cause. Well, if their idea was to bring the government to its knees, they hardly succeeded. In fact, CM Kiran Kumar Reddy gave some sops to small consumers and moved on, wondering ‘why are all these people fasting on the roadside?’ While the leaders failed to achieve their aim of jolting Kiran, they got an unexpected gain. Many heavyweights lost several kilogrammes and rose from the pandal feeling lighter than before. Need we say how happy their families and doctors were? IA

How serious officials are about the public problems can be seen from the fact that heads of two important departments — HMDA (Hyderabad Municipal Development Authority) and HMR (Hyderabad Metro Rail) — failed to turn up at the district review meeting (DRC). It was only after chairperson and minister Geeta Reddy’s summons that NVS Reddy, MD (HMR), visited Jubilee Hall. While the hall was jam-packed with officials, only a few higher officials had direct interaction with ministers and MLAs. The officials who had no chance of direct interaction with the public or officials found the affair so boring that they resorted to something to relieve their ennui: Some took a beauty nap (see picture) while others read their fiction books, trying to catch up with the heroes where they had left them when the summons came. MN

EMERGENCY WAS ‘COLLECTOR’S’ DREAM’ Wikileaks brings the following AP news of the Emergency days. “The district collector in Warangal said that he and his colleagues elsewhere considered the Emergency ‘a collector’s dream’. He said previously his major problem was interference by politicos of the Congress, and now he is largely free of that. He explained how a Congress MLA had tried to obtain the transfer of a tehsildar who had uncovered tampering with land records to escape the Land Ceiling Act. (The then) Chief Minister Vengala Rao finally intervened to support the district collector and prevented the transfer of the official. The district collector for Warangal explained that 19,000 declarations of land holdings had been filed in the district, of which 17,000 had been processed. However, the remaining 2,000 were the returns of big landlords whom the collector appeared somewhat reluctant to confront. December 1976 was the target for completion of the review of confidential reports.” What a revelation! It only confirms that except for police excesses, Emergency was what the doctor ordered for India. PK

(DIS)INFORMATION COMMISSIONER’S WISDOM An information commissioner, Vijaya Babu, whose direction that RTI petitions need to be questioned about purpose had a hilarious protest from a local RTI activist. Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist from Hyderabad, tweeted, “Pearls of wisdom from information com-

FACT AND FICTION

THE MORAL IN UNIFORM

The grapevine in uniform has it that two assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) had a huge quarrel over getting the post of ACP (traffic), Sultan Bazaar division, due to the big ‘mamool’ (bribe) system prevalent in the area. It is said the mamool comes to `2 lakh a month. One of them naturally succeeded and the other, who lost, made it known how lucrative Sultan Bazaar circle is. The loser was put in law and order of Old City, which is all sweat and blood. To spite his rival, he crowed about the whole thing. The rumour reached the higherups and the winner found himself booted out. Moral of the story: There ought to be solidarity among birds of the same feather. MS

While they failed to achieve their aim of jolting Kiran, they got an unexpected gain. Many lost several kgs and rose from the pandal feeling lighter. missioner Vijaya Babu to an applicant: ‘Why are you bothered about information on farmers? There are many farmer organisations that will give you the required information. Why are you habitually using RTI (Act) with the agriculture department?’ Given an opportunity, I am sure Vijaya Babu would send people like me to ‘RTI de-addiction centres!’” RR

IF ONLY MANTRIS WERE FOR THE PEOPLE! Minister for finance Anam Ramnarayan Reddy had, the other day, graced the inauguration of a shop that displayed a novel aircooler that worked on solar power. This reporter pondered that if the government had taken a determined direction in this regard and set up a large solar research and production unit, the whole State would have benefited. When will our mantris realise that they are put there to work for the whole State, not for a few shops? SS (Contributed by Srinivas Setty, Inkeshaf Ahmed, Md Nizamuddin, Rahul Ramakrishna, Mohd Subhan and PK Surendran)

city FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

ENVIRONMENT

Is sustainability still possible? Instead of throwing a loose term around, sustainability needs to be defined and quantified as a metric so that any progress can be measured, says a new Worldwatch report. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

s far as the Earth and its resources are concerned, man has crossed the Rubicon. But even today, many hope to do a turn-back if the collective will of humanity desires so. In today’s society, the word ‘sustainable’ has become practically meaningless, with most sustainable products just a shade better than conventional alternatives. Because of the power of ‘sustainababble’, the world has largely ignored the rich spectrum of political, cultural, and technological changes that would set us on the path to a truly sustainable future. Although the science of sustainability is clearer than ever, we still face the question of whether transforming our society into one guided by sustainability is even possible. The new volume of State of the World 2013 — which features contributions from experts at the Worldwatch Institute as well as from environmental thought leader David Orr; freshwater expert Sandra Postel; ecological economics pioneers Herman Daly and Annie Leonard; science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson; and others — sets out to answer the question, is

sustainability still possible? In the book, these voices strive to define clear sustainability metrics and examine various policies and perspectives, including geo-engineering, cultural engineering, corporate transformation, and energy solutions that could put the world on a path to prosperity without diminishing the well-being of future generations. They then go on to explore ways that governments and communities might cope with the likely consequences of failing to make those necessary changes before reaching planetary tipping points. While the increasingly popular use of the term ‘sustainable’ reflects a greater public awareness of the environmental predicament we face, the reality is that the actions taken to confront this problem are still far from ideal. Instead of throwing a loose term around haphazardly, sustainability needs to be defined and quantified as a metric so that any progress can be measured. “Simply doing ‘better’ environmentally will not stop the unravelling of ecological relationships that we depend on for food and health,” says Worldwatch president Robert Engelman. “Vastly larger changes are needed than we

Nub of sustainable development

orld Commission on Environment and Development, presented in 1987, states that sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Sustainable development promotes the idea that social, environmental, and economic progress are all attainable within the limits of our earth’s natural resources. Sustainable development approaches everything in the world as being connected through space, time and quality of life. In terms of the world being connected by space, consider the following: Pesticides sprayed in Chile have the potential to harm fish stocks off the coast of Japan. The air pollution that is emitted in Los Angeles affects the quality of air in Asia. On the flip side, clean air practices on one continent will positively impact air quality across the ocean.

have seen so far. It is essential that we take stock, soberly and in scientifically measureable ways, of where we are headed. The information detailed in State of the World 2013 report does that.” Development and economic growth have long been tied to increases in greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource use. In the book, the authors discuss the urgency of reconciling economic and population growth within the tenets of sustainability in order to facilitate less, rather than more, harm to our planet. “Clearly, trouble is coming — but there are better responses to it than stockpiling canned goods and weaponry,” says State of the World 2013 codirector Tom Prugh. “In view of humanity’s failures of foresight and political will to address the array of sustainability problems ahead, we asked some notable thinkers to ponder what we might do to make the best of it.” State of the World 2013 is divided into three sections that address how the term ‘sustainability’ should be measured, how we can attain it, and how we can prepare for the possibility of falling short. In ‘The Sustainability Metric’, authors offer ways to track global

progress to sustainable living. In ‘Getting to True Sustainability’, chapters examine policies and perspectives that could build a truly sustainable society if implemented. And in ‘Open in Case of Emergency’, authors tackle whether and how to prepare for a disruptive global environmental transition that looks increasingly likely. “Environmentalism, first and foremost, continues to be a game of defence — working to reduce overall carbon emissions, chemical releases, and forest loss — rather than a battle to transform the dominant growth-centric economic and cultural paradigm into an ecocentric one that respects planetary boundaries,” says Worldwatch senior fellow and State of the World 2013 codirector, Erik Assadourian. “The environmental movement will require a dramatic reboot if it is going to reverse Earth’s rapid transformation and help create a truly sustainable future.” The State of the World 2013 project’s findings are being disseminated to a wide range of stakeholders, including government ministries, community networks, business leaders, and the non-governmental environmental and development communities.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

nation

FOUR KILLED IN GAS CYLINDER BLAST Four members of a family, including two minors, have died in an accidential cylinder blast at a home in Paschim Tola in Bihar's Sitamarhi district, official sources said today. The house owner was not at home at the time of mishap.

POWER PLAY

SP pulls the plug on Raebareli, Amethi Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited has withdrawn the 'VIP' status of Raebareli and Amethi with regard to 24x7 power supply. LUCKNOW: In a move suggesting growing differences between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has withdrawn the 'VIP' status of Raebareli and Amethi with regard to 24x7 power supply. The two districts are parliamentary constituencies of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. The nine-month-old decision to provide round-the-clock electricity to these two districts was revoked late Thursday, after which power went off for more than four hours, officials said. The Akhilesh Yadav government had run into rough weather when the power regulatory authority had sought a reply from it on the logic behind 24x7 power supply to nine districts, including Raebareli and Amethi, when other parts of the state faced acute power shortage. While officials preferred to keep mum on the matter, owing to its "sensitivities and political overtones", officials privy to the decision told IANS that from

Uninterrupted power supply, however, will continue to the constituencies of SP’s top leaders. now on, the unbridled power supply to these VIP districts would be "normal" — at par with other districts of the state. "I would not like to draw any political inference. The fact is

that the two districts have lost their VIP status with regard to power supply," a senior UPPCL official said. Officials justified the move, saying there was growing demand for power and stagnant supply. "With the onset of summer, power demand is at its peak. We have to devise ways to accommodate every district," an official said. Uninterrupted power supply, however, continues to other VIP zones like Mainpuri (SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's constituency), Kannauj (Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple's parliamentary constituency), Etawah (home district of the ‘first family' of UP), Sambhal (constituency of Mulayam's nephew Dharmendra Singh Yadav) and Rampur (home turf of UP cabinet minister Mohd Azam Khan). Congress spokesman Amarnath Agarwal said the move smacked of politics. He sought to know why some districts continued to get uninterrupted power supply, if power shortage was really the reason behind the move. IANS

Supreme Court rejects Bhullar's mercy plea NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a plea by 1993 Delhi bomb blast accused Devendea Pal Singh Bhullar challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by the president. An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice SJ Mukhopadyay said the petitioner had failed to make a case for commuting death sentence to life imprisonment, on grounds of the

delay by the president in deciding his mercy plea. Bhullar was given capital punishment for the 1993 blast at the Youth Congress office in Delhi which left nine dead. The attack was targeted against then Youth Congress leader M.S. Bitta. Bhullar had filed a mercy petition on January 14, 2003, which was rejected by the president May 25, 2011. IANS

FIREFIGHTING

Rajnath calls Sidhu, assures justice NEW DELHI: BJP President Rajnath Singh today stepped in to pacify sulking party MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who is said to be upset with the party leadership for "sidelining" and "ignoring" him. Singh spoke to Sidhu in the morning and assured him of looking into his grievances, sources close to the BJP president said. The Amristar MP will meet Singh in the capital after the ongoing IPL cricket tournament gets over, they said. Sidhu was not available for comments as he is busy with his commitments in the IPL season. The cricketer-turned-politi-

cian has been sulking for quite some time and the matter precipitated after he was recently dropped from Singh's new list of BJP office-bearers. He was Secretary in BJP during Nitin Gadkari's tenure as president. Sidhu is also keen to change his constituency following his differences with top Akali leaders in the area, including Punjab Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia. Majithia, brother-in-law of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, is the incharge of Akali in the area. Sidhu has won from the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency thrice. PTI

NEWS BRIEFS Four arrested for raping Dalit girl in Odisha

WB proposes multi-billion programme to reduce poverty

Retail inflation declines to 10.39% in March

Infosys Q4 net at `2,394 cr, shares plunges 18%

BHUBANESWAR: Four men were arrested in Odisha's Jajpur district for the rape of a 15-year-old Dalit girl two days ago, police said Friday. The incident occurred when she had gone to a nearby area to attend the call of nature Wednesday night, the inspector in charge of the local police station, Ashwini Sahu, said. The men dragged her to a secluded place and one of them raped her while the others watched, he said.

WASHINGTON: The World Bank has come out with $12-20 billion four-year plan aimed at bringing down poverty levels in seven low-income Indian states, where majority of India's poor live, to just 5.5 per cent in 2030 against 29.8 per cent in 2010. The seven low-income states are Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

NEW DELHI: Retail inflation declined to 10.39 per cent in March, snapping the five month rising trend, as prices of vegetables and protein based items eased. The Consumer Price Index based inflation was at 10.91 per cent in February. The inflation, however, continued to remain in the double digit terrain for the fourth consecutive month in March. The prices in the vegetables basket eased to 12.16 per cent from 21.29 per cent.

MUMBAI: IT major Infosys today reported a 3.3 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to `2,394 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013. The revenues for the reported quarter were up 18.09 per cent to `10,454 crore from `8,852 crore in the yearago period, Infosys said in a BSE filing. The company said it expects revenue to grow by 6-10 per cent in the current fiscal, which is lower than Nasscom's estimate.

GOLD `29,500 10g SILVER `51,900 1kg

24C

for

DOLLAR `54.51 POUND `83.32

BSE NSE

18,490.87 76.42

5,577.05 18.35

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Living spaces FACTS ABOUT MIYAPUR-BACHUPALLY ROAD

SCHOOLS Sentia the Global School, Miyapur Silver Oaks, Kennedy Bachupally

COLLEGES BVRIT, Nizampet, Bachupally JNTU College Of Engineering, Kukatpally VNRVJIET, Nizampet Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute Of Engineering and Technology, Nizampet road

AFFORDABILITY: USP OF

Infrastructure

Located 13 km from Hitec City, this well-connected neighbourhood offers plenty that will suit your wallet... and more are on their way. ROAD Connected to Patancheru (30 min) Connected to KPHB Colony (20-25 min) Connected to Hitec City (25-35 min)

RAIL Hafeezpet (MMTS) Lingampally Railway station

AIR Shamshabad Airport (40 km)

ENTERTAINMENT AND SHOPPING Talkie Town, Miyapur Cinepolis, KPHB colony (under construction) Rythu Bazar, Miyapur KPHB Colony

PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

ant to live in or buy a property in the area, which is not only affordable but also well connected with the City? Are you looking for an uncrowded place and peaceful locality, which is not very far from Hitec City? MiyapurBachupally road is definitely worth visiting before finalising buying decision. Employment opportunities in Cyberabad have made the surrounding areas crowded and also pushed the property values

high. A recent Artha Yantra report says Miyapur is the most affordable place either to rent or buy a house in the closest proximity to the IT hub. The place is well-connected to Patancheru, Hitec City, Kukatpally and Bachupally and it’s located adjacent to Mumbai National Highway (NH9). “One of the great strengths of Miyapur is its proximity to Hitec City. It is around 10-13 km, with a travel time of 20-25 min. You can find places of similar development all around the City but it takes hours for an employee to reach his workplace. Upcoming Metro station and

bus station (Asia’s largest intercity bus terminal with around 200 bays) will strengthen interand intra-city connectivity for the residents of Miyapur. It is also well connected with Bachupally, an educational hub with premier educational institutes,” says Sunil Kumar, head (marketing and sales), Sunway Opus International. Sunil also strongly advocates that Miyapur is one of the finest places for shopping and entertainment. “For instance, if you reside around Hitec City, the nearest and major shopping hub is Inorbit Mall but it is difficult to find shops or Rythu Bazars

that cater wide variety of products and commodities in a nearby locality. A Miyapur resident can go shopping throughout the stretch of the road — Miyapur, BHEL, KPHB, Kukatpally, and even to Balanagar,” he points out. On appreciation of the property values, he says, “The property values around Gachibowli are already high and there is not much room for growth. A property that is valued at `4,500 per sft range can go up to `5,000 per sft in near future. In contrast, a property that costs `2,000-`3,500 per sft has higher chances of growth. One can expect a

EMPIRE MEADOWS

SUNWAY OPUS GRAND NEVILLE n Flexi Villas developed on 4.7 acres. n 60 units of three-storey villas with the convenience of a lift. Option to choose triplex, duplex or single-floor villa. n 2 BHK: 1,101sft, 1,161 sft (each floor) n 3 BHK: 1,579 sft (each floor) n 8,000 sft club house for 330 families n 4 outdoor amenities: Cricket net, badminton, volley ball and basket ball courts & manjeera water n 7 play areas for children n 100 sq yard and 144 sq yard undivided land share for 2 BHK and 3 BHK respectively n International standards from Sunway Malaysia `3,300 per sft.

n Self-contained gated community with 11 towers in 7.5 acres n 60 apartments in 1 tower (Ground + 5 floors) n Flat size: 875-1,460 sft n Clubhouse, Manjeera water n Gym and Banquet Hall n Shopping area: pharmacy, ATM centre n Price: `2,500 per sft

YOUR WEEKLY GUIDE TO HYDERABAD REAL ESTATE

10&11

Short-term pain, long-term gain P DASHARATH REDDY

feedback@postnoon.com

MIYAPUR-BACHUPALLY growth of 10-15 per cent every year for the properties here. “However, there can be 2-5 per cent growth if the property prices are already at peak as affordability becomes an issue for buyers. For instance, our property values at Sunway Opus have increased by 50 per cent in last 18 months.” Nagender Rao of Empire Meadows believes that there would be a steep rise in property price once the Metro, along with inter-city bus terminal, nears completion. On other advantages, Sunil says, “Concrete jungle culture is evolving in the City, which you cannot find in Miyapur. Apart from one or two, there are hardly any large multi-storeyed buildings in this locality. Since

Miyapur-Bachupally Road

Property values `2,000-`3,500 per sft Rental values `5,000-`6,000 (1,000 sft 2BHK apartment) Villa price range `70 lakh-`1.3 crore. Plot value `19,000-`20,000 per sq yard (land value)

the buildings are comparatively small, groundwater levels in Miyapur aren’t overexploited. These levels are reasonably high as compared to other surrounding areas like Nizampet and Bachupally. “In other areas, most of the developers construct 5-6 storey buildings, and at the maximum, go up to 10 storeys. These kind of concrete jungles have adverse

effect on resources and infrastructure of that particular area, effecting water availability and life of roads.” Realtors say the only thing they are awaiting to be sorted is the smell, which comes from the gas that is released occasionally by the pharma factories around Miyapur- Bachupally stretch. They say that the government has already issued an order to factories to relocate to far-off locations. “In next two years, these pharma factories will move out from surrounding areas. GHMC has declared this as a residential zone as part of the City planning and expansion and soon there will be a day when no factory will be functioning in this zone,” says Nagender Rao.

NAMAHA RHYTHM n 100 villas in 10 acres of land. n Venture has 3 variants, i.e. 1,885 sft in 167 sqyds, 2,020 sft in 210 sqyds and 2,400 sft in 267 sqyds. n Manjeera water, R.O. water softner plant, n Surveillance cameras n Club house, Gym , Swimming pool, UPS power back-up for individual villas. n Price: `4,100/- per sft.

builders and bring changes around the transactions involved especially in offering houses to lower income groups. It should offer nominal registration charges without any income tax for the buyer. The government should also provide loans at very low interest rates (around four per cent). It can also reduce the service tax and VAT so that the developer can pass on this benefit to the customer. We realtors are working hard to make this a reality at a national level. As it involves and affects the revenues of the government, it is quite cautious.

ncreasing the property values is definitely a positive move by the government. It may be hard on realtors or buyers’ pockets for time being but there are definite advantages in the long term. It boosts overall value of assets in terms of financial transactions like getting loans and also reduces black money. The rotation of money will also be easy and smooth. In addition, government reducing the stamp duty from 8.5 per cent to six per cent in villages and 7.5 per cent to six per cent in urban areas will help to reduce the costs involved in the process of registrations. However, the stamp duty should be further reduced to two per cent for benefit of the industry and society.

The government needs to work in tandem with the industry by reducing taxes so that housing becomes affordable for lower income sections.

According to JNNURM scheme, the stamp duty has to be five per cent but that did not materialise. One of the major challenges the industry is facing today is heavy taxation; either it is NALA, VAT or service tax, which came into existence two years ago. There is a lot of ambiguity on this service tax and it all depends on the collecting office and its interpretation. With all these taxes, the government is reducing the affordability for the buyer. According to JNNRUM scheme, the lower income and other weaker sections require 19 million houses. To make this a reality, the government should work with

After many requests, the government has reduced NALA tax by one per cent, which is still very high. It is charging nine per cent in HMDA area and five per cent in GHMC area. As we all know, there are hardly any agriculture land conversions in the GHMC where the charges are low. In contrast, there are a lot of conversions in HMDA, where one has to undergo the burden of paying nine per cent charges. The government should decrease this NALA tax, stamp duty and bring clarity on service tax for the growth of the industry and other dependent sectors. The writer is the president of APREDA.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

World EGYPT

Protesters operated on without anaesthetic

LONDON: The Egyptian military ordered senior doctors to operate without anaesthetic on protesters injured during demonstrations against military rule, according to extracts of a leaked report published in the Guardian. The report into military and police malpractice since 2011, commissioned by President Mohamed Morsi, also found evidence that medical staff and soldiers attacked demonstrators inside the same Cairo hospital. Earlier, leaks of the report accused the military of torture and forced disappearances during the uprising against the rule of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The latest chapter deals with the treatment of protesters at the Kobri elQoba military hospital in Cairo in May 2012. According to the Guardian, the investigation revealed that a senior military doctor told doctors to operate without anaesthetic or sterilisation. Another witness described how military doctors, soldiers and medics “assaulted protesters by severely beating them and verbally assaulting them”. “This report is the first to show any official condemnation of the military’s responsibility for torture, killing or disappearances,” said Heba Morayef, director of Human Rights Watch in Egypt.

PSY BACK IN SADDLE WITH NEW SINGLE ‘GENTLEMAN’ Gangnam Style star Psy unveiled on Friday the follow-up to his global hit with another catchy dance tune infused with his signature self-mocking humour. Even threats of nuclear war couldn’t divert attention from the main event on the Korean peninsula as Gentleman hit online music stores.

US SLAMS NORTH KOREA

SENATE TO DEBATE GUN LAW

Stop belligerent approach: Obama US officials downplay chilling spy agency report that Pyongyang has a nuclear-armed missile.

he United States slammed North Korea’s belligerence Thursday and pressed China to rein in its ally, as US officials downplayed a chilling spy agency report that Pyongyang has a nuclear-armed missile. The alarming assessment of the North’s nuclear capabilities, revealed by a US lawmaker at a congressional hearing, came as tensions on the Korean peninsula mounted over an expected missile launch by Pyongyang. A senior official traveling with US Secretary of State John Kerry to Seoul, where he was due on Friday, again pressed China to encourage its wayward ally to stop its destabilising nuclear activities and threats to the region. The North’s February nuclear test and its fury over subsequent UN sanctions, are at the core of the current crisis that has seen Pyongyang threaten nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea. US President Barack Obama said “nobody wants to see a conflict,” but emphasised that the US was ready to take “all necessary steps to protect its people” and defend its allies in the region. “We both agree that now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they’ve been taking,” Obama said after talks in the Oval Office with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “It’s important for North Korea, like every other country

in the world, to observe basic rules and norms.” The top US official traveling with Kerry, who will also visit Beijing and Tokyo during his trip to Asia, said China had a key role to play in the crisis. “China has a huge stake in stability and the continued North Korean pursuit of a nuclear-armed missile capability is the enemy of stability,” the official said. In Washington, Congressman Doug Lamborn, reading from an unclassified portion of a Defense Intelligence Agency report, said Pyongyang could be capable of launching a nuclear warhead, albeit an unpredictable one. “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North

2 PIOs jailed in US for call centre fraud

Obama clears $10 m in aid to Syria rebels

Whaling: Aus to tackle Japan at UN court

Turkish airliner makes emergency landing

NEW YORK: Two Indian-origin persons have been sentenced to jail in the US for conspiring to commit wire fraud under which they used a call centre in India to defraud hundreds of individuals. According to court documents, they owned and operated several companies based in California for the sole purpose of defrauding at least 180 customers.

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama authorised the release of up to $10 million in food and medicine for rebels in Syria, saying the war there had reached a “critical” point. The aid, which will take the form of medical kits and military food rations, had been announced by Secretary of State John Kerry during on February 28.

THE HAGUE: Australia is to ﬁre the opening salvoes in a legal battle before the International Court of Justice in June aimed at stopping Japan’s whaling research programme in Antarctica. “The ICJ will hold public hearings in the case concerning whaling, Australia versus Japan, from Wednesday 26 June,” the ICJ said in a statement.

BUCHAREST: A Turkish plane had to make an emergency landing Thursday near Romania’s capital city of Bucharest, following a conﬂict among passengers on board. The plane, with 196 passengers on board, was enroute to Copenhagen from Antalya, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey, Xinhua reported.

AFP

The US Senate voted on Thursday to debate the nation’s most ambitious gun safety legislation in almost two decades, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed on expanding background checks. Some 16 Republicans joined the Democrats, setting up crucial votes next week on amendments to a bill that would tighten checks for ﬁrearms buyers, stiffen penalties for gun trafﬁcking and boost school safety measures.

NUMEROLOGY

senior officer have been suspended by the army of Democratic Republic of Congo over mass rapes by their units in the strif-torn eastern region of the country. South Korean army tanks move at a shooting range in the border city of Paju on Thursday. AFP/JUNG YEON-JE

South in doubt South Korea’s defence ministry said Friday it doubted North Korea had the ability to launch a nuclear-armed ballistic missile as claimed in a report by the US. “North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests, but it is still doubtful that North Korea has made a small, light warhead that can be mounted on a missile,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters. currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles,” said the report, according to him. AFP

NEWS BRIEFS

EU MEET ON CYPRUS Eurozone and EU finance ministers meet in Dublin from Friday to finalise the Cyprus bailout and consider extending debt repayment dates for Portugal and Ireland, while also tackling how to stamp out tax fraud. Their meeting comes a day after Cyprus made the shock announcement that the cost of its EU-IMF bailout had surged to 30 billion, putting the teetering economy in danger of collapse and further endangering big bank deposits. Ministers gather first on Friday morning, to be joined later by their 10 non-euro, European Union peers.

The chief bookmakers who are running bets on the election have my chances at greater than that of the Australian government. Juliam Assange Wikileaks founder, on Australia elections

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Technology OUT WITH THE OLD?

TWITTER’S MUSIC APP

The microblogging service Twitter plans to launch its new, standalone music application on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The app suggests artists and tracks to users based on a number of personalized signals, including the Twitter accounts a user follows on the microblogging service. Users will be able to listen to clips of music from inside the app, using third-party services like iTunes, Soundcloud; they will also be able to watch music videos provided by Vevo, the music video service owned by Universal Music and Sony. Twitter did not confirm or deny the report.

PC dead?

SOPHIE ESTIENNE feedback@postnoon.com

NEW YORK: Worldwide sales of personal computers slid 13.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, research firm IDC said Wednesday, the worst contraction since it began tracking the market in 1994. IDC said global PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year declines. The group said sales were down “significantly across all regions” of the world. The research firm said tablets and smartphones “continue to divert consumer spending” and efforts by PC makers to come up with touchscreens and capabilities and ultra-slim systems have fallen flat. While surveys have shown consumers shifting away from traditional PCs to tablets and other devices, the survey highlighted a grimmer-than-expected market. The survey found a result far worse than IDC’s project-

PC sales have seen the worst-ever drop ever in Q1

ed 7.7 per cent year-on-year drop despite what the firm called “some mild improvement in the economic environment and some new PC models” with the Windows 8 operating system. “At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market,” said IDC analyst Bob O’Donnell. “While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI (user interface), removal of the familiar ‘Start’ button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices. “Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market.” IDC said Hewlett-Packard remained the top vendor despite a 23 per cent year

Global PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year declines.

on year drop in first-quarter shipments. China’s Lenovo remained second in global shipments and nearly closed the gap with HP, based on IDC estimates. According to IDC, HP sold 11.997 million PCs for a 15.7 per cent market share to 11.7 million for Lenovo, for a 15.3 per cent share. Dell was third at 11.8 per cent followed by Taiwan firms Acer (8.1 per cent) and Asus (5.7 per cent). A separate report by Gartner painted an equally bleak picture. Gartner said global shipments fell 11.2 per cent from a year earlier to 79.2 million, dropping below 80 million units for the first time since the second quarter of 2009.

Mikako Kitagawa, analyst at Gartner, said: “Consumers are migrating content consumption from PCs to other connected devices, such as tablets and smartphones. Even emerging markets, where PC penetration is low, are not expected to be a strong growth area for PC vendors. Gartner data showed HP and Lenovo “in a virtual tie” for the top vendor spot, with HP barely ahead at 14.8 per cent to 14.7 per cent for Lenovo. In the US, HP is in the middle of a wrenching restructuring to cope with the market shift, while Dell is mulling a private buyout led by founder Michael Dell in an effort to revive growth. The US market for PCs slumped 12.7 per cent in the first quarter, according to IDC. Gartner data showed a 9.6 per cent drop. Apple outperformed most of its peers by grabbing more market share in the US, but faced pressure “as its own PCs also face competition from iPads,” according to IDC.

LINKEDIN BUYS PULSE

LinkedIn said it bought news reading app-maker Pulse, boosting the content offerings of the career-focused social network. Pulse applications for Apple and Android powered smartphones or tablets were designed as a “fast, fun and beautiful way to read your favourite blogs, magazines and newspapers.” The startup claims more than 20 million Pulse app users and said it is adding more than two million monthly. The move by LinkedIn suggests it is broadening its focus to more than just career connections.

IPhone outpaced Apple Inc. and Samsung are being beaten in the fast-growing Indian smartphone market by a couple of aggressive local competitors. Sales growth at Bangalore-based Karbonn Mobiles India Pvt. and Micromax Informatics Ltd. is being fueled by Indians buying their ﬁrst smartphone to surf the Internet, which will be accessed by more than 300 million people by 2017. Their secret: the price. Packaged Karbonn Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd. smartphones are displayed on the shelves of a multi-brand smartphone store in New Delhi. Karbonn handsets start from `3,599 and Micromax’s from `3,999, less than the cheapest Apple and Samsung smartphones.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Comment To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater. Bono Singer

China demand sweeps world shelves clean of baby formula

lamed for empty shop shelves from Europe to Australia, networks of baby formula traffickers are shipping milk powder to Chinese parents fearful of local products, and working ever harder to meet demand. Chinese parents, haunted by scandals involving poisoned baby milk, will pay premium prices — three or four times as much as domestic brands — for formula from Europe, where stores are limiting sales in the wake of the shortages. “Its getting harder to find milk powder, for each box I have to walk further,” said a woman surnamed Shao, who lives in Germany and advertises baby formula online. She is one of a small army of vendors working from homes across Europe, emptying shelves and causing shops to impose limits on purchases. China’s equivalent of eBay, Taobao, has more than 4,000 listings for milk powder products from Germany, with a similar number from Britain and nearly 3,000 from France. Demand is driven by memories of a 2008 scandal over Chinese baby formula tainted with the industrial chemical melamine which killed six children and affected more than 3,00,000 others. Distrust was fortified last year when another domestic manufacturer’s formula was found to be contaminated with carcinogens, despite official pledges to clean up the industry. Breastfeeding rates in China are low— only 28 percent according to a 2012 UNICEF report — due to time limits on maternity leave and aggressive marketing of formula.

AFP

HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTS Nitin Gadkari is back in the news with his revelations about an attempt by an ‘influential leader’ to bring the Central government down. Finally some limelight for the leader who had to exit in disgrace. Keep talking buddy... lest the media forget you.

RETURN OF PRAGMATISM?

The Congress bonhomie MICHAEL MATHES

Agence France-Presse

herry blossoms aren’t the only things in bloom in the US capital these days. Progress and bipartisanship are, if not in full flower, at least pushing through cracks in longstanding political gridlock. By most accounts, the recent accomplishments on Capitol Hill have been anything but ordinary, as lawmakers appear eager to erase their reputation as the ‘do-nothing Congress’. Last month, they agreed on how to fund government through 2013. The Senate passed a budget for the first time in four years, US President Barack Obama broke bread twice in the past month with Republican rivals and the United States could see transformative new immigration reform unveiled next week. After Obama released his 2014 budget blueprint, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, last year’s failed Republican vice presidential nominee, said Obama’s effort to address the cost of entitlements gives him a “glimmer of hope” that a fiscal deal is possible. The 100-member Senate, known in recent years more for its snail’s pace and the political loggerheads of its members than for rushing through legislation, has been acutely active. This week, the chamber confirmed the 10th judicial nomina-

tion of Obama’s second term, while the president’s recent cabinet nominees have been getting the nod as well. And in a startling development, the Senate voted 68-31 Thursday to begin debate on the most significant gun legislation in nearly two decades, after a Democrat and Republican put aside their differences and forged a deal on background checks. “Is the Senate finally getting to work? The answer is yes,” Republican Johnny Isakson said after the vote. “We’ve put off doing a lot of things we needed to do for far too long, and a lot of people have finally realised it.” Some say it was less of a eureka moment and more of a calculated effort, particularly by Republicans, to ingratiate themselves to voters. “I think some of our Republican colleagues have learned in the 2012 election that blocking everything and confrontation is not a path to political success,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, a veteran Democrat. “But most of all, there’s a desire of both Democrats and Republicans to actually legislate and do some good things.” Observers were casting a cautious eye. “Is it leadership or pragmatism? It’s probably a bit of both,” mused Dick Keil of Purple Strategies, which works on messaging for Democrats and Republicans. For months, Republicans have been huddling as they mull the party’s future, and Keil

said many in the party concluded they would “have to break from the past and make tough choices to show they could appeal to a broader swathe of the electorate.” They can do that, he said, through their actions on the two key issues facing the Senate today: immigration and guns. A bipartisan ‘Gang of Eight’, including potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, is on the cusp of unveiling historic immigration reform. Doing so would go far to show the country’s Hispanics that the Democratic Party does not have a lock on the minority vote. Gun legislation is seen as toxic by many Republican lawmakers, but after the December school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, the appearance of obstructing every effort by Obama and Democrats to reduce gun violence could be overwhelmingly rejected by

voters at the polls. Republican Senator Pat Toomey said new gun safety legislation was inevitable. So he partnered with a Democrat, Joe Manchin, to craft the strongest background check compromise he could. “This is the right thing to do,” said Toomey. But like the pink petals on Washington’s cherry blossom trees, the cross-party political warmth is not likely to last. With the cyclical nature of American politics, rest assured that the claws and daggers will be out and on display come summer, when the fiscal battle over the US borrowing limit and spending policy will reach a fever pitch. Still, Isakson said he hopes the current whiff of bipartisanship “has legs.” “We’re going to be working on deficit, debt and entitlement reform,” he said. “It’s going to be a busy summer.”

EDITORIALS Need to clamp down on social media abuse The Masters: the true essence of golf

ith the national elections less than a year away, all sorts of gimmicks have begun at the State and Central level. Paid news, unpaid rumours, unsolicited comments are all part of the big circus. To this is now added the social media war that is new to Indian electoral turf. Having played a huge role in the US elections, social media is being levered with impunity by political gamers. Reports say that almost all parties have begun employing individuals and ﬁrms to cook up ‘surveys’ to predict electoral fortunes. Poor Indian voters. They are not privy to this conspiracy. It seems that the law has to step in and put some restrictions on these surveys that seek to promote vested interests. Though in a democracy expression of opinion is a fundamental right, its abuse is nowhere allowed. The latest Facebook ‘account’ of TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao is a case in point. Instead of being the aggressor, he is now the aggrieved as some tech-savvy rival has put up a fake account of him and attributed reports which are all poppycock.

READERS’ VIEWS

ou need to read PG Wodehouse to know the fun that can be had from golf. For many it’s a boring game. But only a minority know what the game’s about. Here’s how Wodehouse wrote about it: “Golf, my dear fellow, is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well. The man who can smile bravely when his putt is diverted by one of those beastly wormcasts is pure gold right through. But the man who is hasty, unbalanced, and violent on the links will display the same qualities in the wider ﬁeld of everyday life. When the Masters get done, we will know who this year’s master is.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Music

FAN CONNECTION

Singer Leona Lewis has started an online blog along with a close friend. The 28year-old has opened the site with friend Maloy by the name of Lee-loy to connect with fans better, reports contactmusic.com.

NEW SINGLE JUNG HA-WON feedback@postnoon.com

he new single Gentleman will hit online music stores worldwide Friday and finally answer the question of whether Gangnam Style and its invisible horse-riding dance was more than just a one-hit wonder. The 35-year-old rapper will follow up the release with a promotional concert in Seoul for 50,000 fans. Little is known about the new single, which will be released in 119 nations, or the crucial music video that will accompany it. It was the video of Gangnam Style, and in particular Psy’s signature horse-riding dance, that pushed him to global stardom last year after it was posted on YouTube and turned into a viral sensation. A satire on the luxury lifestyle of Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, it has become the most-watched YouTube video of all time, registering more than 1.5 billion views since it debuted last July. Psy has promised a “Psy style” take on a traditional Korean dance for the new Gentleman video. “I’ve been working and reworking on it continuously and I think the latest version will be the final one,” Psy told a South Korean TV news programme earlier this month. “This is another very rousing song... The dance is one known to all Koreans but new to foreigners. This will be presented in Psy style,” he said. Psy’s agency in South Korea, YG Entertainment, said it was not clear when the video —featuring several big-name South Korean comedians and another

NEW ALBUM female singer — will be unveiled. “0nights-3dayz of video shooting... still gotta shoot a lot more & it’s 5am now...but happy and fun!!!” Psy told his nearly 2.5 million Twitter fol-

Will PSY repeat the

GANGNAM MAGIC?

iTUNES Top 10 songs 1 JUST GIVE ME A Hunter Hayes REASON 6 HIGHWAY DON’T CARE P!nk Tim McGraw

2 CRASH MY PARTY 7 CRUISE

Luke Bryan Florida Georgia Line

3 CAN’T HOLD US 8 MIRRORS

Mackelmore & Ryan Justin Timberlake Lewis 9 HERE’S TO NEVER

4 WHEN I WAS YOUR GROWING UP Avril Lavigne MAN Bruno Mars 10 SUIT & TIE 5 I WANT CRAZY

lowers on Monday.The big release comes at a delicate time, with military tensions soaring on the Korean peninsula, and North Korea expected to carry out a provocative missile launch at any moment.

Justin Timberlake

Top 10 albums 1 THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE Justin Timberlake

Alan Jackson

6 DELTA MACHINE

2 I AM NOT A HUMAN Depeche Mode BEING II 7 THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE Lil Wayne P!nk

3 BASED ON A TRUE 8 NIGHT VISIONS STORY Imagine Dragons Blake Shelton 9. UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX 4 NATIVE Bruno Mars One Republic 10. COMEDOWN 5 PRECIOUS MEMORIES MACHINES VOLUME II The Strokes

South Koreans who have lived with the North’s hostile rhetoric for decades have remained largely unfazed by the crisis, and discussion of Psy’s new single completely overshadowed Pyongyang’s threats on news portals and chat rooms. “What a crazy guy (Kim Jong-Un) is... you should shake the world in a good way like Psy did, instead of shaking the world with threats of a nuclear war,” tweeted one fan, @saenuli. Some referenced a growing volume of remarks on Psy’s passing resemblance to the young, chubby-faced leader of North Korea. “Is South Korea remaining calm as usual? All my foreign friends say the North Korean President who looks like Psy is crazy,” tweeted one British fan. Gangnam Style was always going to be a hard act to follow, and many have forecast that the new single will inevitably fall flat. But Psy is no novice, and Gu Ja-Hyoung, a Seoul music critic, said the singer was capable of sustaining his global appeal. Already an established artist in South Korea with six albums under his belt, Psy has been building and polishing his own style of quirky, explosive music and flamboyant stage persona since his debut in 2001. “He wasn’t just some lucky guy who happened to win accidental stardom,” Gu said. “It will be hard to match the kind of success achieved by Gangnam Style but the new song will let the world know again that he remains the brilliant showman he always was and always will be,” he added. AFP

Bollywood Top 10 1. SAPNA MERA TOOTA

I love New Year

6. AAKE TERE KAREEB 2. MERA MANN KEHNE Amma ki Boli LAGA 7. KAALI KAALI Nautanki Saala

Nautanki Saala Ek thi Daayan

3. TAAKI TAAKI 8. MEETHI BOLIYAN Himmatwala Kai Po Che

4.AAJA MERI JAAN 9. YAARAM I love New Year

5 JUDAAI UNPLUGGED

Ek Thi Daayan

10. MANJHA Kai Po Che

Daft Punk Daft Punk are heading Down Under to reveal their hotly anticipated Random Access Memories album, taking over the tiny town of Wee Waa, Australia (population: 2,000) on May 17 to play the album in its entirety. Yes, according to local paper The Narrabri Courier — and conﬁrmed to MTV News by Daft Punk’s publicist — the dynamic duo have selected Wee Waa, which is located in the state of New South Wales, as the host for the global premiere of their new album.

DID YOU KNOW...

Memphis Soul was paid tribute to by Barack and Michelle Obama in the latest iteration of “In Performance at the White House,” celebrating the Tennessee city that brought blacks and whites together through music despite segregation and racism in the 1960s. “These songs get us on the dance floor,” Obama said. “They get stuck in our heads. We go back over them again and again. And they’ve played an important part in our history.”

TRENDING...

Rihanna apparently wants people to know that Chris Brown is a part of her life, whatever that may mean to them at this time. The Stay singer posted a photo of herself and Breezy going for a ride in the California sun, cruising with the top down. “This s—t look like a toupee,” Ri-Ri wrote, quoting the lyrics of Brown’s Look At Me Now.

Katy Perry once sang This is the part of me that you’re never gonna ever take away from me, no! Well, apparently, her lyrics don’t apply to real estate. She just listed the Hollywood Hills home she was supposed to live in with Russell Brand. Unfortunately, the couple split before they moved in and now she’s unloading it.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

spotlight

WEEKEND FUN

Welcome the weekend with DJs Ajay and Abhi who will spin the best of club mixes from their collection to get the crowd dancing at Liquids tonight.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The much-awaited Nandi Awards function was held at the Lalithakala Thoranam on Thursday. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was presented with the NTR National Award, Kaikala Satyanarayana was given the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for acting. The NagireddyChakrapani Award was given to Adisheshagiri Rao. In other highlyanticipated awards Mahesh Babu was given the best actor award for Dookudu while Nayanthara received the female equivalent for Sri Ramarajayam. Nagarjuna and Charmee both were awarded with the Special Jury Award, while Allu Arvind bagged a Nandi Award for best home viewing film with 100% love.

Awards gala

BATH PLEASURE

Delta Faucet Company on Thursday unveiled its ﬁrst showroom in India – ‘Dream Kitchens’ in Jubilee Hills. The new showroom houses an array of faucets and showering products for the bathroom and kitchen space.

MAKING A WISH COME TRUE

Zach Warner, a TGI Friday’s team member from UK, is on a mission called “The Rickshaw Run” from Kochi to Shillong to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and Make a Wish Foundation. He made a transit stop at Hyderabad.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

health

33 INFECTED WITH BIRD FLU, SAYS CHINA The number of people infected with the new H7N9 strain of bird flu in China stands at 33 with the detection of five more cases, while a four-yearold boy who had experienced slight symptoms made a complete recovery. Nine people have died of the virus. IANS

MYTH: BED BUGS TRANSMIT DISEASES.

Fact: Almost all of us carry hand sanitizers, especially in places where it’s hard to have access to water and soap. Though alcoholbased sanitizers are effective against a wide range of pathogens, it cannot completely replace washing your hands. According to hopkinsmedicine.org, they are less effective than soap against certain organisms.

Fact: Bed bug infestation is a major concern for travellers. What makes it worse is that they are hard to detect and kill. The itching, swelling and rashes can take a couple of days to subside. According to a frommers.com report on bed bugs, unlike ticks and mosquitoes, bed bugs do not transmit diseases, and no such cases have been reported so far.

L W E V A

DEEPASHRI VARADHARAJAN

MYTH: HAND SANITIZERS KILL ALL ORGANISMS.

Before you make your travel plans this summer, let’s get some dos and don’ts of travelling right.

ISE

deepashri.v@postnoon.com

OFF WE GO!

MYTH: AIR THAT CIRCULATES IN AEROPLANES MAKES YOU SICK.

MYTH: TRAVELLING BY CRUISE MAKES YOU FAT.

Fact: People think the air that is circulated during flights carry germs and bacteria which can make them sick. Most aeroplanes have high efficiency particulate air filters to filter out infectious particles, according to executivetravelmagazine.com. However, you can still fall sick if you are sitting next to an infected person.

Fact: It is surprising how popular this myth is. Binge-eating will lead you to put on weight, no matter where you are. According to independenttraveler.com, many cruises offer low calorie menus, apart from other slimming options like gymnasiums. It all boils down to what you choose to put on your plate at the buffets.

MYTH: YOU WILL GET SEA SICK ON A CRUISE. Fact: Sea sickness, when severe, can be incapacitating. But not everyone experiences motion sickness. According to cruisemates.com, modern cruises are made to minimise rolling (side to side) and pitching (up and down) motions. If you do feel nauseous, a cabin in the middle of the boat would be a better choice. Try and get some fresh air. Anti-nausea pills and ginger are some simple remedies mentioned in thecruiseexpert.ca.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

HOUSECALL

My Special K™

Ovarian cancer

pecial K Plans™ are customisable weight management plans designed by our nutritionists to help you meet the goals that are most important to you. Now staying on track gets even easier! With the new My Special K™ mobile app you can access your meal plan wherever and whenever you want and so much more. itunes.apple.com

Ovarian cancer can be difﬁcult to spot and as a result it is often advanced by the time diagnosis is made. Ovarian cancer can occur at any age, but is most common after the menopause. Diagnosis at an early stage greatly improves your chances of recovery. There are several different types of ovarian cancer, but the most common — accounting for 90 per cent of cases — is epithelial ovarian cancer. bbc.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW? Finger nails grow faster than toe nails Fingernails grow about three to four times faster than toenails, health.howstuffworks .com cites Binghamton University as saying. Scientists aren't sure why, but one theory is that nails that are used more often and exposed to the elements grow faster.

PIONEERS Nikolay Pirogov Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov was a prominent Russian scientist, doctor, pedagogue and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847). He is considered to be the founder of field surgery and was one of the first surgeons in Europe to use ether as an anaesthetic. He was the first surgeon to use anaesthesia in a field operation (1847) and developed his own technique of using plaster casts. en.wikipedia.org

health FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

RESEARCH

BREAKTHROUGH

Next gen Alzheimer’s mouse model created

‘Space travel may up colon cancer risk’ These findings have implications for the health of astronauts undertaking exploratory missions into outer space and for future space tourists, experts say. WASHINGTON: Space travel may increase the risk of colon cancer, a new study led by Indian-origin scientists has warned. Researchers, from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that cosmic radiation impairs the ability of cells in the intestines of mice to eliminate oncogenic proteins, thus substantially increasing development of colorectal tumours. The study funded by NASA is important because it might provide a direction for researchers in designing strategies to protect space travellers against increased cancer risk, said the scientists, Shubhankar Suman and Kamal Datta. “While there is no reliable estimate of colorectal cancer risk from space radiation exposure, we have shown that exposure to cosmic radiation causes markedly increased intestinal tumours in mice,” said Datta, an assistant professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology. “These findings have implications for the health of astronauts undertaking exploratory missions into outer space and for future space tourists,” he said in a statement. “Our objective is to develop a risk estimate based on mouse model studies and to identify molecular mechanisms contributing to it, so that we can develop strategies to protect astronauts during long duration space missions, such as one to Mars,” said Lombardi Fornace, director of the NASA programme at Georgetown.

Researchers used specialised mutant mice to study the effects of 56Fe radiation, a highly ionising radiation prevalent in space that can cause DNA damage. Both researchers used specialised mutant mice to study the effects of 56Fe radiation, a highly ionising radiation prevalent in space.

“This radiation is considered the greatest challenge for space exploration. It deposits higher amount of energy in the body than does the gamma-/xrays causing relatively higher DNA damage. This is believed to increase carcinogenic risk in astronauts, although accurate risk estimates are not yet available,” said Datta. Researchers also report that 56Fe radiation significantly increased colorectal cancer risk in mouse models of colorectal cancer through enhanced activity of beta-catenin, an oncogene that activates expression of pro-

growth genes in the colon. In his study, Datta reports that tumour formation in mouse intestines after exposure to cosmic radiation, unlike after exposure to gamma radiation, was dose dependent. “Sustained exposure during prolonged space missions such as a mission to Mars and lengthy stays at the International Space Station may cause significant cosmic radiation dose accumulation in astronauts and thus remains a long-term health concern of space exploration,” said Datta. PTI

LOS ANGELES: Scientists have developed a new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The new mouse model supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease, according to the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. “We believe the rats will be an excellent, stringent pre-clinical model for testing experimental Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics,” said Terrence Town, the study’s senior author from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles. Alzheimer’s is an age-related brain disorder. Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s brains include abnormal levels of betaamyloid protein that form amyloid plaques; tau proteins that clump together inside neurons and form neurofibrillary tangles; and neuron loss. Additionally, glial cells, which normally support, protect, or nourish nerve cells , are overactivated in Alzheimer’s. Plaque-forming beta-amyloid molecules are derived from a larger protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP). One hypothesis states that increases in beta-amyloid initiate brain degeneration. Town and his colleagues decided to work with a certain strain of rats. “We focused on Fischer 344 rats because their brains develop many of the age-related features seen in humans,” said Town in a statement by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the US. The researchers performed a variety of experiments confirming the presence of neurofibrillary tangles in brain regions most affected by Alzheimer’s. PTI

STUDY

Men more distant in relationships LONDON: Women immerse themselves in their romantic relationships, while men place their romantic partners and best friends on an equal but distant footing, a new Oxford study has found. The research by Dr Anna Machin and Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of

Oxford studied a total of 341 people.,The participants took part in online psychological research forum, where they answered questions regarding the maintenance, role and value of their best friend and romantic partnerships. Women saw the maintenance of their romantic partner-

ships as a team sport, involving equal input from both partners with shared goals and beliefs being the key to success. Further, their happiness and contentment were intimately bound up in both their best friendships and romantic partnerships. In contrast, men were found

to exist at a greater distance from both of their closest relationships. Women preferred cooperation not competition with their best friends. They also scored their partner consistently higher than themselves, seemingly placing their partner on a pedestal. PTI

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Entertainment CINE BYTES

Vishnu’s film titled Doosukeltha

ishnu Manchu’s upcoming film under Veeru Potla’s direction has been named as Doosukeltha. Lavanya Tripathi is playing the lead role opposite Vishnu and currently, the film is being shot in Hyderabad. Vishnu is producing the film under the 24 Frames Factory banner. Vishnu’s previous film Dhenikaina Reddy was the biggest hit in his career so far.

K Vishwanath joins an elite league

Vishwanath has been named among ‘People of the Year 2013’ list by the Limca Book of Records which issued a special edition to celebrate 100 Years of Indian cinema. Vishwanath is the only Telugu cinema icon to find a place in this list which also has names like Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam on it.

AMAT to release in May

fter a brief hiatus, Indraganti Mohankrishna is back with a romantic entertainer titled Anthaka Mundhu Aa Tharuvatha. Sumanth Ashwin and Eesha are playing the lead roles in this film and it’s expected to hit the screens in the last week of May. KL Damodhar Prasad has produced the film.

WRONG DIRECTION

KONA VENKAT lands in trouble

Following his controversial remarks on directors in a recent interview, the Director’s Union has demanded an explanation from Kona Venkat.

opular writer Kona Venkat’s remarks about directors have rubbed the Director’s Union the wrong way. In an unprecedented move, Sagar, the Chairman of Telugu Director’s Union, addressed the media and vented his ire on Kona Venkat. “We have received a lot of phone calls to make a statement on Kona Venkat’s remarks on the directors. In the interview, he seemed quite upset that directors haven’t been giving him the kind of respect which was given to writers like Parachuri Brothers, Jandhyala, Aathreya and Sathyanand. There’s no rule which says that directors have to take everything which a writer writes. Moreover, a director needs to co-ordinate with members from the 24 crafts to get the desired output. I don’t care if Kona Venkat feels bad about what I am going to say. I would really like to know if he has written a full script for any film. If he’s really so talented, then why does he have to work in association with Gopi Mohan? Why his

film with Madhavan was stalled mid-way? We have asked a lot of directors with whom Kona Venkat has worked with and I am sorry to say that his credentials as a writer are questionable. If he thinks he’s really capable of writing a script, then I am ready to get him an offer for a Bollywood film and pay him even `3-4 crore. Even in Bollywood, great writers like Salim-Javed don’t expect a penny from producers before delivering the script,”Sagar said. Although this isn’t the first time that the director’s union has addressed the media about an internal issue, it’s not common to see the entire union venting out its ire on one of its own members. Meanwhile, another member of the Director’s Union, Srinath said, “We have been trying to reach Kona Venkat; however, he seems to have switched off his phone. He has told one of our colleagues that he’ll explain his words in a couple of days. We’ll discuss about the issue in our general body meeting.” On the other hand, Maddineni Ramesh said, “Kona Venkat’s remarks on directors have hurt our feelings. He may have had differences with one or two directors, but it’s unacceptable if he accuses the entire fraternity of directors of not giving writers enough credit.”For the past few days, there have been rumours that all’s not well between Kona Venkat and Sreenu Vaitla. Although the duo had worked on numerous films in the past, the two seem to have been at loggerheads during Baadshah’s shoot. In few posters released before the film’s release, Kona Venkat’s name was missing and he didn’t attend any of the ‘success meets’ of the film. It still remains to be seen what Kona Venkat’s explanation is.

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

fashion

MIRANDA KERR NOT LEAVING VICTORIA’S SECRET

MIRANDA KERR will not part ways with Victoria's Secret, despite reports to the contrary. Speculation emerged in the US press, suggesting that the Australian model had not had her $1 million (£652,000), contract with the lingerie label renewed.

Celebration of colour Two-day long Fashion Week Pakistan had the industry’s leading designer brands showcasing their creations.

DIANA VREELAND DOCUMENTARY WINS FASHION DESIGN OF THE YEAR

A DOCUMENTARY about Diana Vreeland has been named Fashion Design of the Year by the Design Museum. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel documents the impressive career of the former US Vogue editor, and was directed by the wife of Vreeland's grandson, Lisa Immordino Vreeland.

he fifth edition of Fashion Week Pakistan garnered mixed reviews. While some of the country's designers had fashion followers at the edge of their seats, marvelling at their creativity, most of the other collections were dull and boring. And moreover, international buyers were a no show at the event. House of Maheen Khan kickstarted the show with its collection titled Flight. The collection was a tribute to the IUCN RED list. The endangered species of birds in particular were a source of inspiration for the collection. Therefore, chiffons and silks were used in most of the dresses along with pigeon hats that gave a feminine touch to the appearance. The highlight of the event was Ayesha Hasan's collection Zilji that was inspired by Islamic Moroccan architecture. Prints in autumn hues of burnt orange, pale green and red were used by the designer. Another designer who made a mark during the show was Mona Imran. Her safari collection used animal prints in dresses, jumpsuits, capri pants, palazzos and jackets. All in all, the event had leading designer brands in the country showcasing their collections and provided a platform for smaller industry players to prove themselves.

22&23 AFP

Entertainment FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions. Dorothy Day

KAKURO

QUICK CROSSWORD

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

ACROSS

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

SCRIBBLING PAD

1 Light brown shade 5 Varieties or sorts 9 In a frigid manner 14 Give temporarily 15 Like the dead of night 16 Hindu noblewoman (Var) 17 Ilsa's ‘Casablanca’ surname 18 Waikiki wingding 19 At great speed, at sea 20 As a rule 22 The Simpsons' neighbor Flanders 23 Cubic cordwood measure 24 Wings of buildings 26 An egg, to Caesar 29 Aim 31 Cow's mouthful 33 Santa ___, Calif 34 Baltimore ballplayer 37 Skating champ Lipinski 38 Not a whit 39 Skillet 40 Comprehensive, as a report 42 Portable bed 43 Muckraker Tarbell 44 ___ off (started a golf hole) 45 Roswell visitors, supposedly 47 Catch 48 Lush's sound 49 Leaf-to-branch angle 50 Stonestreet of TV 52 Unable to hear 54 Ego type 58 Go aimlessly 60 On ice 62 Fabric softener made by Procter & Gamble 64 Blood sample container 65 Windy Scot? 66 Roundish 67 Oscar-winning Thompson

68 Adolescent facial affliction 69 ‘Key to the City’ presenter 70 Spotted 71 ‘___ we forget ’

DOWN

1 Immigrant's island 2 Get to a figure 3 Mountain chain 4 Be involved in, as treatment 5 Sitting on one's hands 6 Hardy partner 7 South African pen 8 Brimless head cover 9 Present-day Persia 10 Small featured role 11 When you might pay 12 Hawaiian accessory 13 Japanese monetary unit 21 Erstwhile stone tool 25 Additional charge 27 Confederacy's opponent 28 Grains used in distilling 30 Twelve-book Trojan tale 32 Showy flowers 34 Have one's say 35 Clerk of the 4077th 36 With a ton of ceremony 37 CNN founder Turner 41 Fools 46 Not licit 49 Peaked house 51 Division of a long poem 53 Japanese cartoon style 55 Cheat at drawing 56 Makes equal 57 Get a new tenant for 59 One who tints fabrics 61 Great flair 62 Perignon's title 63 Plural of 26-Across

Chai Time FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 13-4-2013

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Some have a bright chance to buy a new vehicle or immovable property. Delayed work will resume and end successfully. Misunderstanding between couples will be over and a happy atmosphere prevails. Do not give up despite the hurdles.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Peaceful situation is likely to prevail at home. You emerge a sure shot winner with your efforts and unrelenting hard work. Your decisions will yield desired results. Continue to take bold and wise decisions that keep you cheerful.

You need to work with patience; adopt the slow-and-steady policy. Politicians advised to stay way from internal issues and avoid expressing opinions in the open on controversial issues. You show maturity in your talk and execution of work.

An expense towards vehicle maintenance is likely to increase upsetting you. You will be more conscious about self-respect, hence hesitate to interfere in others’ issues. Minor accident likely while driving; be alert. Also, take care of valuables.

Your positive and polite approach will bring you a good future and things will go smoothly. Avoid giving false commitments to anyone. Health problem is likely; take care. Avoid harsh talks as it might hurt those whom you are likely to need.

Money will come from all the expected sources, which keep you comfortable. Responsibilities likely to increase for employees. Your creativity is well accepted by all and you achieve recognition for the same. You complete all assignments.

Blood relatives will extend financial support and help in the time of your need. Try and forgive those who commit mistakes and take right decisions, which will bring you desired results. Plan to buy a house or land will end successfully.

Children will make you happy and proud by their achievements. You will sideline enemies with your smart actions. Your stubbornness and bold decisions will yield good results. Newlyweds can get ready to welcome their offspring.

Sudden trips are likely to be undertaken officially; some will go on a pilgrimage. Do not compromise on anything while getting your work done with govt officials. Avoid worrying about the future as your plans will materialise without fail.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Knight of Pentacles – You’re in the mood for adventure. You must give in. These opportunities are rare and you must discover your carefree side when you can.

LEO:

Queen of Cups – You may come across as too emotional and this is not a good thing, especially in an official setup. Learn to hide your true emotions.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Seven of Cups – Material possessions will take up attention. Paying property tax, organising your inheritance, etc. , are all time consuming and you do it today.

SAGITTARIUS:

Two of Swords – Balance is important. By steering towards one side of an argument you are coming across as immature. Taking sides is not good. Stay neutral.

TAURUS:

Judgement – A review by seniors at the work place will make you feel relieved. Feedback is important to you. This is also an opportunity to change game plan.

CANCER:

Ten of Cups – Family life is in focus. You may be spending a lot of time with your family members and you’re actually enjoying it. Singles meet someone interesting.

VIRGO:

The High Priestess – intuition plays an important role in the decisions you make today. You go with someone/something only because you feel strongly about it.

SCORPIO:

Three of Pentacles – You are feeling volatile and want to be part of many groups and do much. Relax. Organise your social calendar and do what you enjoy.

CAPRICORN:

The Magician – Everything works wonderfully today. If there are important pending jobs, try and finish them today as your good luck is on your side.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

King of Cups – Control and emotions are a lethal combination. Those around you may be trying hard to keep pace. You need to calm down.

NUMBER GAME

Fortune – Bad times are giving way to better times. Without the ebb and flow of good and bad life would be uninteresting. Be open to change.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: The Wheel of

POOCH CAFE

Be stubborn in your decisions and try to push hard so that everyone will accept them. Never give up while implementing your plans as you are likely to face minor setbacks. Persons benefitted by you might not support at your time of need.

for 13-4-2013

Page of Swords – Use your practicality and intellect to make career decisions. You may even have to go it alone, in an entrepreneurial venture to make ends meet.

NON SEQUITUR

Those trying for a new job will get favourable news. You look cheerful and involve in new and innovative efforts that bring success to you. Real estate deals will go smoothly and bring gain. Delayed marriage talks will resume and progress well.

SUDUKO

Misunderstanding with father is likely; avoid this. You will complete all undertaken tasks without any difficulty. Financial position looks strong and sudden trips likely to be undertaken. Misunderstanding between couples will come to an end.

Boggle KING PAWN QUEEN KNIGHT BISHOP Vol: 2, No 266 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033 and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. For feedback, please write to: feedback@postnoon. com and for subscription, please call 040-4067 2222, Fax: 040-4067 2211

Entertainment FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

A KING’S DREAM

CINE BYTES

My achievement will be my film’s remake: Shabana Azmi receive ‘People of the Year’ award

o mark the centenary year of Indian cinema, the 24th edition of Limca Book of Records has honoured cine stars — Shabana Azmi, Jahnu Barua, Prabhu Deva, Mike Pandey, Ranbir Kapoor among others, with the ‘People of the Year’ award. PTI

Sajid shoots of his mouth again

eems like Sajid Khan has a lot of problems with Khiladi Akshay Kumar. Sajid has now gone and ticked off the industry wallahs by calling Akshay a ﬂop. As a result he has been shown the door from the Housefull franchise, which had Akshay as the lead.

When Nawazuddin shot in Maoist-affected area

ctor Shah Rukh Khan, who was part of two remake films — Devdas and Don — said the proud moment for him would be when somebody would remake his original films. “I did two iconic films — is Dilip Kumar’s Devdas and the other one is Amitabh Bachchan’s Don. I never chose my films. Films

and directors chose me. Sanjay Leela Bhansali told me ‘there is something in your eyes’ and then he asked me to do Devdas. “Farhan Akhtar thought I could play the character of Don. But I am not thinking about remaking any film now,” Shah Rukh Khan said. ”Hopefully, a time will come when somebody will remake one of my original

films and that will be a great achievement and proud moment for me,” he added. The actor, who got an opportunity to share screen space with Bollywood icons like Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan on the cover page of a film magazine, said his life was now “complete”. “I had a marvellous time shooting for the photo shoot with Dilip

Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. I feel my life is complete now. When I was shooting with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, Saira ji came to me and said if she had a son he would have looked like me. They have seen so much in life and you can see that in their eyes. It’s a wonderful moment that they have given me,” he added. IANS

t was a close shave for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who was shooting for Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa in the Maoist-affected area of Shimultala in Bihar. Nawaz and his unit braved the dangers as the ﬁlm demanded the location. However, last Friday the crew had to hastily leave Shimultala to avoid a confrontation with the Maoists. IANS

sports

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

NBA

SPORTS BRIEFS

Bulls conquer Knicks The Bulls completed a 4-game sweep of the Knicks this season, and have now won 12 of their last 16 contests. CHICAGO: Nate Robinson (dunking in pic) led the way with 35 points as the Chicago Bulls used a balanced attack to beat New York 118-111 in overtime late Thursday, snapping the Knicks’ 13-game win streak. Robinson also drained five three pointers for the Bulls who spoiled another superb scoring performance by Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony. A half dozen Bulls reached double figures in scoring, including Jimmy Butler and Carlos Boozer, who each recorded double-doubles with 22 points and 14 rebounds and 13 points and 15 boards respectively. Luol Deng chipped in with

16 points for the Bulls who became the second team in league history to halt two 13plus win streaks in the same season, joining the 1990-91 Phoenix Suns. On March 27, Chicago snapped the Miami Heat’s dynamic 27-game winning streak. Deng, who had missed the previous two games due to injury, also had eight rebounds, while Richard Hamilton and Kirk Hinrich had 14 and 11 points, respectively. Anthony scored 36 points and extends his 36-point plus scoring streak to six games. The last player to achieve that was future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, of the Lakers, who had

nine straight games of 36-plus in 2003. J.R. Smith finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Anthony grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds for the Knicks, who defeated Washington on Tuesday to clinch the Atlantic Division title for the first time since 1994. New York was hoping for its longest winning streak since a 15-game run from March 1 to April 2, 1994. The Knicks quickly opened up a big lead on a 23-6 run before the Bulls chipped their way back into the contest by closing the first quarter on a 177 run of its own to slash the deficit to 30-23.

Afridi eyes World Cup

Button keeping the faith

KARACHI: Veteran allrounder Shahid Afridi said Thursday he is targeting the 2015 World Cup after returning to the Pakistan side, but vowed to quit if he became a burden on the team. The 33-year-old was left out of the squad for the one-day series against India in December before staging a comeback for the tour of South Africa, but his woeful run of form has continued. Afridi’s 88 in the third onedayer in Johannesburg was his first half-century in the past 12 months and he has also struggled with his leg-breaks, failing to take a single wicket in his last six matches. Despite the slide in performance, Afridi, who has scored 7,201 runs and taken 348 wickets in 354 ODIs, said he was still hopeful he could make the World Cup.

SHANGHAI: Former world champion Jenson Button refused on Thursday to rule out another title bid this year, despite a dreadful start to the season, and said that he was keeping faith with his muchcriticised McLaren. The Briton was down in ninth at the season-opening race in Melbourne and retired in the closing stages of Malaysia. His new team-mate Sergio Perez has fared little better. McLaren made wholesale changes to their car for this season, the only team on the grid to do so, but the MP4-28 has been widely panned. “It’s so easy after Melbourne for people to say,’let’s go back to last year’s car’ and I think easy even from my point of view because the last few races of last year we were quickest,” Button said.

Donaire looks to extend 30-fight win streak

NEW YORK: Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire (in pic) will put his 12-year, 30-fight win streak on the line when he faces undefeated Guillermo Rigondeaux in a WBA world junior featherweight title bout Saturday. The 30-year-old Donaire will be trying to add the WBA title to his WBO crown when the two face off at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall venue. In his last bout in December, Donaire was dominant, successfully retaining his title against Jorge Arce, of Mexico,

with a third round knockout. He floored the Mexican 2:59 into the round, having already knocked Arce down earlier in the third and also in the second round. Donaire comes into the fight with 31 wins, one loss and 20 knockouts. The 32-year-old Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs) is making the third defence of his WBA title but this will be the biggest fight of his pro career. While his professional career has been brief, the Cuban has impressed with his eight knockouts. AFP

ROAD TO RIO

India’s return into IOC fold under threat

KULDIP LAL Agence France-Presse

NEW DELHI: A stand-off between the government and an 81-year-old archery administrator is threatening to pierce India’s hopes of a swift return to the ranks of the International Olympic Committee. The Indian Olympic Association’s membership of the IOC was suspended in December after Lalit Bhanot, who is facing corruption charges over the scandal-tainted 2010 Commonwealth Games, was elected its secretary general. Indian government and sports officials have been invited to two days of talks from Monday at the IOC’s Swiss headquarters with all sides apparently keen to bring India back into the fold. But now Vijay Kumar

Malhotra, who became the Indian association’s acting president as a result of the crisis, is trying to scupper the get-together in Lausanne in a battle against new legislation that would force him to retire. The sports ministry is putting finishing touches to a long-delayed bill that would

make it mandatory for sports officials to retire at 70 as well as limit their tenures in office to 12 years. But Malhotra, who has headed the country’s archery association since 1973, is arguing that such a move amounts to political interference by the

governing Congress party and has asked for the meeting to be cancelled. “We are rather constrained to say that the sports ministry is bent on destroying the autonomy of the IOA and the national sports federations,” Malhotra wrote in an open letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge.

Malhotra, a former lawmaker for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), added that the planned legislation constituted a “total breach of the Olympic Charter”, which prohibits government interference. The government has been infuriated by Malhotra’s tactics while sports stars have also lashed out at him, worried about the impact on funding and their chances of competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Suspension of the IOC membership means India does not receive funding from the world body, its officials are banned from Olympic events and its athletes are barred from competing in the Olympics under the national flag. “I am deeply shocked and upset by the contents of the letter,” Sports minister Jitendra Singh told reporters.

sports

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

AUGUSTA MASTERS

Garcia and Leishman in lead Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia shared the lead at the 77th Masters after both shot six-under 66s. ALLAN KELLY Agence France-Presse AUGUSTA, GEORGIA Australia’s Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia of Spain shared the lead at the 77th Masters on Thursday after both shot sixunder 66s in the first round at Augusta National. Leishman had set the early pace, sparked by four birdies in a row from the 13th, but Garcia matched him late in the day with a bogey-free round that matched his best ever at the Masters, where he debuted in 1999. Dustin Johnson of the United States was a stroke further back at 67 with six players — Rickie Fowler, Fred Couples and Matt Kuchar of the United States, David Lynn of England, 2008 champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain — g r o u p e d together on 68.

Tournament favorite Tiger Woods was tucked in with a batch of players on two-under 70 while world number two Rory McIlroy shot level par and three-time winner Phil Mickelson had a 71. China’s 14-year-old prodigy Guan Tianlang, who became the youngest player ever in Masters history, came in with a 73 to preserve his chances of playing at the weekend. Reigning champion Bubba Watson struggled to a threeover 75. By the end of a day of intense action, 45 players in the 93-strong field were at or under par and within six shots of the lead. Garcia, the former boy wonder of world golf, disparaged Augusta National last year after a poor final round and doubted his own chances of ever winning a major. He was four under by the turn and showing off some of the superb shot-making that was his

Sergio Garcia of Spain watches on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday in Augusta, Georgia. AFP/JEWEL SAMAD

trademark before he lost some of his verve and swagger. Two more birdies down the back nine brought him in nicely for a 66, which equalled his best-ever round at the Masters, set in the final round in 2004.

Queried about his downbeat comments at last year’s Masters, Garcia said that they had been made in the frustration of the moment, although he admitted he still had reservations about the famed Georgia layout.

“I mean, it’s obviously not my favorite, my most favorite place, but you know, we try to enjoy it as much as we can each time we come here,” he said. “Sometimes it comes out better than others, but today it was one of those good days. And you know, let’s enjoy it while it lasts.” Leishman, the 2009 PGA Rookie of the Year, said that he had learned his lesson from his only previous appearance at Augusta in 2010 when he missed the cut after a second round of 79. “You just put all your mistakes in the memory bank and try and not make them again, try and learn from them. And I hit it in a lot of bad spots my first year,” he said. “I managed to avoid those spots today. Hopefully I can avoid them for the rest of the week.” Woods opened his 19th Masters campaign looking to crown a remarkable return to the top with a long-overdue 15th major title.

Marc Leishman of Australia looks on from the 17th hole during the first round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday in Augusta, Georgia. AFP/MIKE EHRMANN

SURGING FORWARD

Tiger Woods of the United States lines up a putt on the 17th green during the first round of AFP/HARRY HOW the 2013 Masters Tournament on Thursday in Augusta, Georgia.

Guan fires 73 on debut JIM SLATER Agence France-Presse

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: Chinese 14year-old schoolboy Guan Tianlang turned his historic first round at the 77th Masters on Thursday into one for the ages, firing a one-over par 73 to stand as the low amateur player. When he nervously teed off straight up the middle of the first fairway, Guan became the youngest player in Masters history, breaking the previous youth age mark set by Italy’s Matteo Manassero at 16 in 2010. “I was a little bit nervous on the first tee,” Guan said. “I had to hit a great tee shot and I did. And then I was just confident. “It’s like a dream come true. I played good golf. It just feels great.” When he finished by sinking a 20foot birdie putt to claim a share of 46th place after 18 holes in his major debut, spectators cheered and applauded as they had all day. “Today was pretty special for me,”

Guan said. “I did a pretty good job. People were nice, cheering for me, and I felt comfortable on the course.” Many accomplished rivals watched his poise and skill at the 18th hole in stunned amazement. “There are no words to describe that. It’s an incredible achievement,” said South African Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion. “To hit a hybrid in there 20 feet for birdie and make it, that’s amazing.” Guan, showing a poise and focus beyond his years, was the secondyoungest starter in major golf history, only a month older than “Young” Tom Morris when the Scot made his British Open debut at age 14 in 1865. “I want to win a major and hopefully I can win the four majors in one year,” Guan said. Guan, whose mother packed him a snack for his round as she does most every time he plays, qualified for the Masters by winning last year’s AsiaPacific Amateur Championship in Thailand.

IPL 6

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 102

FLASH

RCB’s Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir of KKR received an official warning for breaching the Pepsi IPL Code of Conduct during the match in Bengaluru on Thursday. Both admitted to Level 1 offence (Article 2.1.4) of using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during the match. Virat Kohli (RCB) 198 runs

Vinay Kumar (RCB) 7 wickets

Gayle took game away: Gambhir T

hell-shocked by Chris Gayle's brutal unbeaten 85, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said the West Indian took the game away from his side's reach as none of their plans worked against him in their IPL match. "We will have plans and we need to stick to those. If plan A doesn't work then Plan B will work. But sometimes none of your plans works because Gayle is a quality player. I think all the bowlers did a good job at the start," he said. "The plan was to bowl in the good areas but later I think Gayle took the game away from us," he added. Gambhir said he was not worried about the batting collapse because there were still plenty of matches left and KKR were in the same position last year. PTI P

T PT

RCB

6 +0.575

4 +0.850

4 +0.186

SRH

4 +0.083

KXIP

2 +0.986

CSK

2 +0.296

KKR

2 -0.524

2 -1.106

0 -1.024

P-played; W-win; L-lost; T-tie; NR-net run rate; PT-points

Chris Gayle (RCB)

14 4S 345

Virat Kohli (RCB)

HIGHEST SCORE

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

93*

Virat Kohli (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

4-13

Sunil Narine (KKR)

Delhi still in the dark G. APARNA SAI

aparna.s@postnoon.com

elhi Daredevils have failed to show any daredevilry acts in the sixth edition of the Indian Premer League. They have played three matches in this edition and have failed to create an impact in any of the clashes, having faced defeat on all instances. Delhi are set to play against the Sunrisers Hyderabad today at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. The Sunrisers have fared well this season having won two of their three encounters, so far. The Sunrisers from Hyderabad have had a decent run till now. They have played three matches off which, they were successful on two occasions. The only match they lost was against RCB, in a rematch, where Kohli wreaked havoc.

DD VS SRH AT 8PM ON SET MAX

SCORECARD RCB VS KKR Kolkata Knight Riders innings (20 overs maximum) MS Bisla† c Rahul b Henriques 1 (5) G Gambhir* c & b Vinay Kumar 59 (46) JH Kallis c Henriques b Vinay 16 (19) YK Pathan c Vinay b Henriques 27 (17) MK Tiwary c de Villiers b Singh 23 (16) Morgan c sub (DT Christian) b Singh 2 (5) R Bhatia b Singh 13 (7) R McLaren run out (Singh) 2 (3) PJ Sangwan not out 4 (2) SP Narine not out 1 (1) Extras (lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 6 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 154 Bowling O M R W Econ MC Henriques 4 0 24 2 6.00 RP Singh 4 0 27 3 6.75 JD Unadkat 4 0 34 0 8.50 M Muralitharan 4 0 30 0 7.50 R Vinay Kumar 4 0 36 2 9.00 RC Bangalore innings (target: 155 runs from 20 overs) CH Gayle not out 85 (50) MA Agarwal c †Bisla b McLaren 6 (8) V Kohli* c Morgan b Balaji 35 (27) AB de Villiers not out 22 (22) Extras (w 8, nb 2) 10 Total (2 wickets; 17.3 overs) 158 Bowling O M R W Econ R McLaren 3 0 34 1 11.33 JH Kallis 4 1 30 0 7.50 SP Narine 4 0 17 0 4.25 L Balaji 3.3 0 33 1 9.42 PJ Sangwan 2 0 34 0 17.00 R Bhatia 1 0 10 0 10.00

RC Bangalore won by 8 wickets

While the Hyderabad side does not posses the strongest batting line up of the tournament, yet they managed to still chase as well as defend scores they have posted. Their faults in their batting have been compensated by their bowling which boasts of the likes of Dale Steyn, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma. Delhi on the other hand have a team which looks threatening on paper but their shoddy display in all the three departments of the game, has reflected the fact that, on match-day, the performance is the only thing that matters. The Daredevils are currently placed at the bottom rung of the points table and the absence of players like Virendra Sewage, Kevin Pieterson and Jesse Ryder, has certainly dented their game. Delhi is most likely going to change a few players from their previous playing XI and this move is likely to see former Indian player, Ajit Agrapha get a chance for the first time this season.

FITTING VICTORY

PWI VS RR Rajasthan Royals innings (20 overs maximum) MDKJ Perera† lbw b Kumar 0 (1) Rahane c Mathews b Sharma 30 (27) R Dravid* c Taylor b Yuvraj 54 (48) STR Binny c Marsh b Yuvraj 1 (4) BJ Hodgenot out 22 (19) DH Yagnik c Suman b Sharma 12 (8) JP Faulkner not out 19 (14) Extras (lb 3, w 3, nb 1) 7 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 145 Bowling O M R W Econ B Kumar 4 0 41 1 10.25 AB Dinda 3 0 21 0 7.00 AD Mathews 4 0 27 0 6.75 R Sharma 4 0 16 2 4.00 Yuvraj Singh 4 0 27 2 6.75 MR Marsh 1 0 10 0 10.00 Pune Warriors innings Uthappa† c Dravid b Faulkner 32 (16) AJ Finch b Faulkner 64 (53) Taylor c Hodge b Harmeet Singh17 (20) Yuvraj Singh not out 28 (23) AD Mathews* not out 1 (1) Extras (lb 2, w 3, nb 1) 6 Total (3 wickets; 18.4 overs) 148 Bowling O M R W Econ Harmeet Singh 4 0 34 1 8.50 S Sreesanth 2.4 0 38 0 14.25 JP Faulkner 4 0 17 2 4.25 K Cooper 4 0 26 0 6.50 SK Trivedi 4 0 31 0 7.75

Pune Warriors won by 7 wickets

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli and Kolkata Knight Riders Gautam Gambhir exchange heated words during their IPL match at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. PTI/SHAILENDRA BHOJAK

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

sports

SAINTS SKIPPER LALLANA PENS FIVE-YEAR DEAL Southampton captain Adam Lallana on Thursday signed a new five-year deal which will keep him at the Premier League outfit until 2018. The midfielder has been at the club since he was 12, helping them rise to the top flight from third-tier League One.

EUROPA LEAGUE

Chelsea make it to semis

FA CUP SF PREVIEW

Chelsea reached the semi-finals despite losing 3-2 to Rubin Kazan in the second leg of their quarter-final while Spurs and Newcastle crashed out. PARIS: Ten-man Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday, losing a quarter-final penalty shoot-out to Basel, leaving Chelsea as England’s sole survivors after Newcastle also exited. Basel won the shoot-out 4-1 after the second leg in Switzerland had ended 2-2 following extra-time for a 4-4 scoreline on aggregate. Clint Dempsey gave Spurs a 23rd minute lead before Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah levelled four minutes later. Basel, who will be playing in their first European semi-final, went ahead thanks to Aleksandar Dragovic in the 49th minute after goalkeeper Brad Friedel parried. With seven minutes left, Dempsey sent the tie into extratime, where Spurs played with 10 men following a 90th-minute red card for Jan Vertonghen.

Chelsea’s forward Fernando Torres (L) fights for the ball with Rubin’s defender Cesar Navas during their match in Moscow on Thursday.

AFP

In the shoot-out, Tom Huddlestone and Emmanuel Adebyaor both missed before Marcelo Diaz buried the winning kick for Basel. “My first thoughts are for the players, they set a great example. The way they approached the competition, playing every Thursday and Sunday,” Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas told ITV. “We made the country feel different about the competition.” Chelsea reached the semifinals despite losing 3-2 to Rubin Kazan. The London club went through 5-4 on aggregate after winning 3-1 in the first leg and remain on course to win the Europa League a year after triumphing in the Champions League. Thursday’s match was played on the artificial surface at the Luzhniki stadium. AFP

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS

At 19, Brazil slump to their lowest ever

PARIS: Brazil have slumped to their lowest ever position in world football, according to FIFA’s latest world rankings published on Thursday. The 2014 World Cup hosts — automatic qualifiers for the tournament — dropped one place to 19th in the list, which also saw

Croatia jump five places and break into the top five. The top three were unchanged with world champions Spain at number one followed by Germany and Brazil’s arch South American foes, Argentina. Croatia, who owe their sharp climb to fourth largely to

their recent 2-0 “derby” win over Serbia, sit above Portugal (+2), Colombia, England, Italy (3), Holland (-1) and Ecuador (+1), who complete the top 10. Brazil, who are on a diet of friendlies ahead of their staging of next year’s World Cup, registered a brace of draws in March

— 1-1 against Russia and 2-2 with Italy — before seeing off Bolivia 4-0. The South Americans — five-time winners of football’s biggest prize — have dropped in the rankings because FIFA’s list awards more points for qualifying matches than friendlies. AFP

Latest FIFA Top Twenty 1 Spain 2 Germany 3 Argentina 4 Croatia (+5) 5 Portugal (+2) 6 Colombia 7 England (-3) 8 Italy (-3) 9 Holland (-1) 10 Ecuador (+1) 11 Russia (-1) 12 Ivory Coast (+1) 13 Greece (-1) 14 Mexico (+1) 15 Switzerland (-1) 16 Belgium (+3) 17 Uruguay (-1) 18 France (-1) 19 Brazil (-1) 20 Denmark (+5)

FOOTBALL BRIEFS Bayern tackle old boys Nuremberg

Indonesia mulls cup pullout after HK chaos

Celtic out to end Hampden hoodoo

Galatasaray coach banned for 9 matches

BERLIN: Fresh from their midweek European exploits, newlycrowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich face a resurgent Nuremberg team coached by a former player on Saturday. Bayern’s 2-0 win at Juventus on Wednesday put them into the last four of the Champions League with a 4-0 quarter-ﬁnal win on aggregate.

JAKARTA: Cash-strapped Indonesian football club Persibo was Thursday deciding whether to withdraw from the AFC Cup after a “shameful” performance in Hong Kong when they ran out of players, forcing the match to be abandoned. The game against Sunray Cave JS Sun Hei on Tuesday was called off in the 65th minute.

GLASGOW: Emilio Izaguirre admits Celtic are determined to end their Hampden hoodoo when they face Dundee United in their Scottish Cup semi-ﬁnal on Sunday. The Hoops have suffered heartbreak in their past three trips to the national stadium and the Celtic defender says his team-mates have all the motivation they need.

ISTANBUL: Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim was banned for nine matches on Thursday for criticising the referee during a league game against Mersin Idmanyurdu. Turkey’s Football Federation said Terim was guilty of insulting the referee and “unsporting behaviour” during the game while his two assistants received 1- and 2-game suspensions.

Millwall, Wigan relish Cup spotlight STEVEN GRIFFITHS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Millwall and Wigan will take a welcome break from the harsh realities of struggling to avoid relegation when the two surprise FA Cup semi-finalists clash at Wembley on Saturday. Most neutrals will view Sunday’s showdown between Chelsea and Manchester City as the more attractive of the two semi-finals, and Wembley is unlikely to be full to capacity as Wigan were unable to sell their ticket allocation. Roberto Martinez’s (above) Wigan head into their first ever FA Cup semi-final in the Premier League relegation zone despite a recent impressive run. Millwall are in a similar situation, hovering precariously just five points above the secondtier Championship’s bottom three. But, while surviving at their current level remains the priority, Martinez and Millwall manager Kenny Jackett are keen to take advantage of their moment in the spotlight. “It’s a great feeling,” Jackett said. “We have got through all types of ties to get here, we’ve beaten a Premier League club, a non-league side away and then won a replay at Blackburn.”

It’s a great feeling. We have got through all types of ties to get here, we’ve beaten a EPL club, a non-league side away and then won a replay at Blackburn. Kenny Jackett Millwall manager