Postnoon E-Paper for April 17th 2013 by Scribble Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013 HYDERABAD

WWW.POSTNOON.COM

WEATHER: CLEAR; 34°C

32 PAGES

P16&17 Last week, Nasa confirmed that a group of amateur Russian space enthusiasts have discovered the remnants of Mars 3, a Soviet spacecraft which had vanished more than 40 years ago. Over the past few centuries, there have been plenty of ‘missing’ mysteries.

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

FLASH

SANJAY DUTT

MISCREANTS

BEWARE! REPORT ON P3

Trying to make public places safe, police use CCTV cameras to nab antisocial elements. Hundreds of prostitutes, eve-teasers and boozers have been nabbed since the operation began.

TOLD TO SURRENDER IN FOUR WEEKS

SC grants four weeks’ time to Sanjay Dutt to surrender to undergo his remaining jail term in 1993 Mumbai blasts case. It said the relief to Dutt was purely on humanitarian grounds. The four weeks will begin from tomorrow and no further extension will be granted after its expiry.

BLAST OUTSIDE BJP OFFICE IN BANGALORE LEAVES 2 DEAD An explosion outside the BJP office in Bangalore this morning is reported to have claimed two lives. The blast occurred at 10.30am. Police claim it was a cylinder that burst.

FLASH

DREW BARRYMORE HAS CRUSH ON

BALE

Actress-director Drew Barrymore is happily married to Will Kopelman, but she admits she has a crush on actor Christian Bale. The actress said she knows Bale since her childhood days and even though they haven't seen each other in years, she admits he makes her blush.

P28

It’s common during summer to get red eyes, swollen eyes or even that feeling of seeing flashes of light. While you take care of your skin and hair, don’t forget to take care of your eyes.

P19

IT’S ALL IN THE

EYES

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

city events

LE CHAT DU RABBIN

There is a screening of Le chat du Rabbin (The Rabbi’s cat), a French film directed by Antoine Delesvaux / Joann Sfar, at Alliance Française of Hyderabad. The adventure-animation film, based on the best-selling graphic novel by Joann Sfar, will be screened on April 18 at 6.30pm.

Weather for Hyderabad

Evening

Overnight

Morning

New Delhi Mumbai Max 36 Max 29 Min 24 Min 23

Afternoon

34°C

25°C

32°C

40°C

Clear.

Sunny.

Clear.

Chennai Max 36 Min 29

Partly cloudy.

Bangalore Max 35 Min 25 Partly cloudy.

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES Arvind Kolapkar, Datta Bansode, Devyani Parikh, and Kaushik Raha. Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery 468, Road No 10, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 30 Contact: kalakriti.in

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: Ongoing, Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm Contact: 94904 40986 All about cycling A half day interactive workshop on cycling, the technical considerations, fitness, nutrition, common problems, how to plan a training programme, planning for competition and prevention of injuries. Where: Alliance Franchise, Road no 3, Banjara Hills When: : Registration: Ongoing Event: May 4 Contact: (040) 2335 0008 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

Kumbh Kumbh: Native Realm, a search of the true self is a photography show by Joydeep Mitra. Where: ICONART Gallery, Road No 12, Sri Ram Nagar Colony, Banjara Hills When: Up to April 18 Contact: 98499 68797

MISCELLANEOUS

BLOCK THE SUN: As temperatures rise in the City, people protect themselves from the blazing heat. 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 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,

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

Banjara Hills When: Till April 25 Contact: (040) 6652 3939 Corporate express lunch Testa Rossa has added a new on-thego corporate express lunch service for its customers. The lunch is economically prices at `199 for veg and `249 for non-veg. Where: Testa Rossa, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing, noon to 4pm Contact: (040) 6555 6519 IPL Fervor You can order any four or six items from the menu and get the chaat of the day for free. Where: Kailash Parbat, Above Ebony Gautier,

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

2nd ﬂoor, Road No 36, Jubilee Hills When: Ongoing Contact: (040) 2355 8856

SHOWS 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

Three for 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 MP. Where: Taj Safaris When: Offer is valid from April 15 to June 30 Contact: (022) 6601 1825

ART Reflections and Images An exhibition of paintings by artists including Agacharya, Anand Panchal,

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

SRINIVAS SETTY

Story-telling session Deepa Kiran is an education consultant and professional story-teller. She combines music and dance with story telling. Where: Just Books, Jubilee Hills When: April20, Contact: 98497 48117

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

City

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE BOSTON BLASTS SPARK OFF A POST 9/11-LIKE PARANOIA? 29% 71%

YES (A) NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTION

WILL THE OPEN BOOK EXAMS TAKE PRESSURE OFF STUDENTS? A)

YES

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

CRIME

WATCHFUL EYE

Clampdown on booze, sex

Trying to make public places safe, police use CCTV cameras to nab antisocial elements. Hundreds of prostitutes, eve-teasers and boozers have been nabbed. REHABILITATION EFFORTS

Mohd SUBHAN mohd.s@postnoon.com

he central zone police has made a massive shift in its efforts to contain nuisance caused by eve teasers and sex workers in busy public places like parks, markets, malls and bus stops. Some 14 teams in mufti have been deployed in areas where footloose characters are likely to create trouble. CCTV cameras are mopping up movements of people from Lumbini Park, NTR Park, Sanjeevaiah Park, Necklace Road and Indira Park, among others. Some 50 metal detector doorframes have been installed at various places. Nearly 600 CCTV cameras are working round-the-clock in commercial spots and shops. Deputy commissioner of police VB Kamalasan Reddy explained that the special efforts to improve law and order

have had some salutary efforts as families and women have reported feeling safer since the drive began a few days ago. He admitted that all this is part of post-blast plans that impelled the police to tighten security. “We focus on women and families who are troubled by drunkards and eve-teasers. Sex workers soliciting freely on streets especially during day too are on scanner,” he said.

DCP Reddy said that the police have not simply been rounding up flesh traders and locking them up. “Every effort is being made to counsel them on the need to find a legitimate alternative living. We also try to rehabilitate them wherever possible.” Reddy said numerous people from outside the City come here and create nuisance. The police are also making efforts to keep in touch with community leaders to help forge communal harmony so that the nefarious activities of terror links are not aided. Reddy has solicited the help of the public in nabbing culprits. For this purpose he has made his mobile number available to duty-conscious citizens. Those who see suspicious persons or doubtful activities can report this on 9490616301. But, he warns, pranksters will be traced and punished.

Man kills father’s lover, arrested POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he Shamshabad police have taken into custody Ashok Yadav, 24, a resident of Shahpur village, who slit a young woman’s throat. His father is said to have had an extramarital affair with the victim. Ashok’s father, Mallesh Yadav, owns a mango garden in Shahpur where a young couple, K Mamata and her husband Shantappa, worked. It is alleged that Mallesh was enamoured with Mamata and she also reciprocated. Ashok was angry when he came to know of his father’s realtionship with Mamata. He warned her and her husband to break ties with Mallesh. When Mamata still hadn’t called it off with Mallesh, Ashok fired them and the couple shifted to a house a little distance away. This did not put an end to the relationship. On April 5, Ashok went to Mamata’s house and picked a quarrel with her and her husband. This led to fisticuffs and Ashok allegedly slashed Mamata’s throat. Shantappa suffered some injuries and Mamata died in the hospital. Ashok has been arrested.

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

CIVIC

LAST YEAR... HERE Safe city

Study tour in trouble

ast year we had reported how women constitute 45 per cent of those who use public transport in the City. And it was refreshing to ﬁnd that most reported feeling safe using MMTS trains, buses and shared autorickshaws. Many women said that even though public transport got very crowded and uncomfortable at peak hours, they still felt safe.

APRIL 17, 2012

NUMEROLOGY

`4591cr is the estimated revenue to be collected from GHMC limits for Urban Transport Development Fund (UMTA). The fund will ensure cash flow for major infra projects.

It has been six months since the court ruled that private hospitals have been overcharging CGHS. But still, no steps have been taken to recover the amount.

The annual ‘study tour’ of corporators remains a non-starter with the ruling MIM rejecting the tour and the TDP not going as leader Chandrababu Naidu’s padayatra concludes on April 27. Only Congress corporators seem zealous about it.

The column that teaches everyone something new about the way the City functions.

New exam system to reduce stress on CBSE students? CBSE students will now rely less on rote learning, if the board has its way. The new exam system is supposed to encourage creative thinking, but students hope it doesn’t increase the pressure on them.

Politicians tread carefully around the CBI. With more ministers being trapped in the CBI net, several State Cabinet ministers have stopped going to the Secretariat and have been clearing ﬁles from home after a detailed study.

Cops crack down on eve teasers, sex workers. The police have taken it upon themselves to make public spaces free of any unsavoury characters and prostitutes.

Private hospitals overcharge CGHS. Central Government Health Scheme is allegedly being ﬂeeced by private hospitals by 90-300 per cent.

Use our taxes to build infrastructure, please. Vehicle taxes are still not being used to improve our roads.

Meanwhile, the Congress leadership at the GHMC is busy guiding its corporators for the planned tour of Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

ven as Congress corporators ready themselves for the planned study tour of major cities of West India, TDP corporators are in a quandary as party chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s padayatra concludes on April 27. Meanwhile, the MIM high command has put its foot down on the tour programme. According to sources, the Darussalam, headquarters of the MIM, has summarily rejected the application of the corporators who were planning to go on a study tour. “There is no need for a tour,” was the reply of party president Asaduddin Owaisi. The Congress leadership at the GHMC is busy guiding its corporators for the planned tour of Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. “Earlier, we planned

to go on April 22, but now the date has changed to April 24,” said M Prabhakar Reddy, corporator of Bagh Lingampally. Deputy mayor G Raj Kumar will be accompanying the group of corporators. According to him, some of the women corporators will take their spouses and children along. But they will have to bear expenses for any extra person on the trip. “Men are not allowed to bring spouses along, as this is a study tour,” he quips.

While Congress leaders believe that TDP and MIM are planning a trip to Kerala, TDP floor leader Singireddy Srinivas Reddy has refuted this. “I myself would not be going on this tour as I have to concentrate on conducting the general body meeting. The meeting should have been conducted this month, but unfortunately this could not happen. I will make sure that it takes place in the first week of the

next month,” he says. With Singireddy making clear his intentions, the other TDP corporators who were planning to go on the tour are likely to back out. According to Singireddy, if anyone is interested, they can only leave after Chandrababu concludes his padayatra on April 27. “They can plan a visit from April 29, but must return before the council meeting,” the floor leader says.

CIVIC

Prajavani proves to be a hit

S Rajashekharan, activist See page 6

THINGS WE LEARNT TODAY

FILE PHOTO

Md NIZAMUDDIN nizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

GHMC’s pro-people measure has evoked popular response as citizens can now overcome red-tapism and take matters up directly with authorities. Most number of grievances have been about the town planning and engineering wing. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he GHMC has received 756 grievances and applications through the Prajavani programme since it started on February 11. Prajavani is held every Monday at its headquarters, zonal offices and circle offices. The town planning and engineering wings are the ones that received the maximum number

Prajavani, which started on February 11, is held every Monday at GHMC HQ, zonal offices and circle offices. of grievances. Town planning received 252 grievances, where 169 were disposed off with an efficiency of 67.06 per cent. The

engineering wing received 223 and disposed off 180, with an efficiency of 80.72 per cent. Health and sanitation and property tax are the other two wings that received most number of grievances after town planning and engineering. The health wing received 69 grievances and property tax division received 56, civic officials said. Health and sanitation recorded an efficiency rate of 94.2 per cent and property tax recorded 66.07 per cent effi-

ciency. From all wings, 590 grievances were disposed off, with an overall efficiency of 78.04 per cent. Other wings that received grievances are advertisement (two), elections (four), electrical (35), entomology (14), estates (12), general administration (12), IT (32), land acquisition (one), sports (five), unknown (three), urban biodiversity (12), urban community development (10) and veterinary (14).

NEWS BRIEFS CID busts Nigerian lottery gang

18 convicted for drunk driving

Pushpak services CM to meet Rahul extended to pass holders Gandhi in Delhi

10-member gang of Nigerians was arrested by CID (AP) for online lottery fraud. The gang lured victims through emails, saying they had won a huge international lottery. The gang made victims deposit `27 lakh towards processing charges on different occasions in different bank accounts, which were opened using fake documents.

ighteen people were convicted of drunk driving and sent to prison for a three-day term by the third metropolitan magistrate B Chengalaraya Nayudu on Tuesday. The enforcement drive on drunk driving was carried out on April 12 and 13. A total of 307 cases were registered. The police said the drive will be intensiﬁed.

PSRTC is giving a special privilege to general bus pass holders (`750 to `850). It has extended a free facility to travel in Pushpak a/c metro buses bound to Shamshabad Airport. Till date, special bus pass (`950) holders were permitted to travel free in Metro Deluxe and Metro Express buses to Shamshabad.

hief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy left for New Delhi this morning. He will hold meetings with AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. The CM is also scheduled to meet AICC AP in-charge and Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to discuss the issue of tainted ministers and seek nod of high command for his Cabinet expansion.

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

GOVERNANCE

Mantris in mortal fear of CBI

The Jagan case has made ministers alert about what they sign on. Many of them have ceased going to the Secretariat, and are instead clearing files from home after clarifying each point. INKESHAF AHMED ahmed.m@postnoon.com

for fear of angering the powerful CM. “Yes, during YSR’s rule, we had become mere puppets. Wherever he wanted us to sign, we signed without even batting an eyelid. Not just fear, we also had a lot of respect for YSR, as we thought he would not do us any harm,” a senior Cabinet minister admitted while talking to Postnoon.

sense of fear prevails among State cabinet ministers following the recent inclusion of home minister Sabitha Indira Reddy in YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets (DA) case. The home minister is the third State cabinet minister, who has been charge- sheeted by the CBI. The remaining two ministers are former excise minister M Venkata Ramana Rao, who is now lodged in Chanchalguda prison, and roads and buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao. Three more Cabinet ministers are still facing CBI inquiry in the same disproportionate assets case and the threat of being charge-sheeted by the apex investigation agency haunts them. Political observers point out that as a consequence of the fear,

HOME IS THE BEST PLACE

the Cabinet ministers have become vigilant and trudge a cautious path while discharging their duties now. The ministers are thoroughly going through the contents of the files being sent to them by their respective

POLITICS

TDP plans show of strength in City

department officials for their approval and signing the files only after verifying each point. Most of these ministers are making sure they clear their doubts, if any, with their officials. Interestingly, this was not the

case during the rule of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Most ministers followed the directions given to them by the former CM and his office. They would not even dare to look into the contents of the files

Interestingly, for most Cabinet ministers, their homes are the best places for them to go through departmental files and discharge their duties. “My officials send files pertaining to my department to my house. I go through these files during my leisure time, mostly at nights, and clear them,” a twotime Cabinet minister said. Many of the ministers are also making sure that the files are cleared in time for fear of attracting criticism from Opposition leaders.

GOLD RUSH

Naidu to hold massive meeting to send a message to TRS, YSRC and Congress. POSTNOON NEWS feedback@postnoon.com

he main opposition Telugu Desam Party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who had decided to conclude his padayatra with a grand meeting on April 27, is planning to hold another massive public meeting in Hyderabad. The idea of holding the meeting is being mooted by Telugu Desam Party leaders from Telangana region. The main objective behind mooting the idea of organising the huge meeting in Hyderabad is to show the strength of Telugu Desam Party in Telangana region. The idea assumes importance in the wake of TRS’s strategy to encourage defections of leaders from the Telugu Desam Party to its fold. According to senior TDP leaders from the region, TRS’s move is likely to have a huge impact on the party cadres in Telangana region and force them

to leave the TDP to join TRS. "Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has hit us at the right time. We never expected this kind from the TRS and are floored by it,” a TDP senior leader and politburo member from Telangana region told Postnoon on Tuesday. “To tackle the effect of TRS’s move, we are planning to hold a huge public meeting in Hyderabad in order to send out a strong signal to the TRS and rival Congress and YSR Congress parties,” he added. “We want to prove to these three political parties that we are still a reckoning and dominant force in the State,” said the TDP senior leader from Telangana region. TDP had earlier planned to hold a massive public meeting in Visakapatnam on April 27 to mark the conclusion of over 200 days of marathon 'Vastunna Mee Kosam' padayatra. The padayatra was launched on October 2 last year on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi.

With gold rates decreasing, people queue outside Sri Krishna Jewellers in Siddiamberbazaar to purchase gold. N SHIVA KUMAR

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

HEALTHCARE

CGHS fleeced by pvt hospitals? Private hospitals are in the eye of a storm with Right To Health activists alleging that private hospitals are grossly overcharging patients from Central Government Health Scheme.

PADMINI C padmini.c@postnoon.com

fter the NIMS debacle, now the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) is courting controversy as it is allegedly being grossly misused by private hospitals in the City. If a not-for-profit organisation called Right to Health is to be believed, private hospitals have been overcharging CGHS to the tune of `540 crore, which the health ministry is yet to recover, alleged Right To Health founder R Shankar Rajashekharan. The CGHS is intended to provide healthcare facilities for Central government employees (and State government employees who work in Central government institutions). Pensioners and their dependents have an agreement with several private hospitals across

the country for providing, among other things, intensive healthcare and emergency services. Under the MoU, hospitals are obligated to offer and charge CGHS on par with non-CGHS patients, which should also be the least possible

prices available in the market, failing which the hospital could be liable for de-recognition and prosecution. The controversy that’s now surfacing dates back to 2009, when it was found by a Central

ENVIRONMENT

Here’s a ruthless act that City amateur photographer ST Kiran captured with his camera at Nagarjuna Nagar colony, Kushaiguda. Around 50 trees that were the lungs to lakhs around the area were axed without compunction for “road development”. The anomaly of this is that these trees were planted by the GHMC 15 years ago. What planning! In most cities today, keeping trees intact is the trend and engineers are asked to plan roads without destroying trees.

Vigilance Committee and later ruled in court, that private hospitals were still charging the CGHS according to the 2002 rates, though the prices of healthcare had fallen drastically since then. It implied that the private hospitals had been violating and flouting the norms agreed upon in the undertaking, overcharging the CGHS anywhere between 90 and 300 per cent. There are an estimated 2,30,776 CGHS beneficiaries (as of 2009) in Hyderabad and it is estimated the government spent `36 crore per annum on the OP and IP treatment of pensioners and dependants, which amounts to around `144 crore in four years. For its own part, the CGHS says it does recognise the issue. “There was a complaint of overcharging, so the CVC conducted an inquiry. Private hospitals were following the 2002 tender even in 2007. So pending further

investigation, the government then decided to withhold 30 per cent and release 70 per cent of the funds. But that was challenged by private hospitals. So CGHS had to release those funds as well. But that has been rectified in 2011 and there’s no overcharging happening now. We are also waiting for instructions to proceed for recovery of the amount from 2002-2007,” says Dr P Parthasarathy, additional director, CGHS, Hyderabad. The RTI activists are not convinced. “We want to expose the fraud that took place. It has been six months since the court has ruled that these private hospitals have indeed been overcharging the CGHS. But still, no steps have been taken to recover the amount. The MoFW and private hospitals continue to collude in the perpetuation of this fraud,” says Shankar Rajashekharan.

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

EDUCATION

Opening up to change

CBSE’s new pattern of examination has got mixed reactions from educationalists and students. While most agreed it will reduce rote learning, many expressed concern over implementation. ALEENA ALICE aleena.t@postnoon.com

Educationalists feel that unless the pattern is planned, implementation could create confusion. Students are worried that it will just add to their stress.

aking a leaf out of western education, the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) recently announced an ‘open book exam’ system for students from Class IX to XII. This announcement generated a lot of excitement among students who assumed that they could literally take books into the examination halls. The CBSE, however, clarifies that this pattern of exam will be referred to as the ‘preannounced test’ (PAT). The CBSE has introduced this pattern of examination with the intention to discourage students from rote learning and increase their creativity. In this system, students will not be allowed to take their books inside, but four months before the final examination, case studies will be given to them and they will be questioned from those case studies itself. For instance, if students are being taught about seed germination under the PAT, they will be given

case studies on the subject four months prior to the exam, where they will be given practical experiments. Students will also have to analyse the various kinds of relevant questions that could be asked. This section will hold 20 per cent weightage of marks in the paper. Though Class IX and X will have the benefit of PAT in all sub-

jects, for Class XI and XII, selected subjects like biology, economics, geography and a language will come under PAT. Though this pattern of examination is welcomed by the principals of City schools affiliated to CBSE, they feel that unless the pattern is planned, the implementation could create confusion. Students, on the other hand, are

apprehensive that it would just add to the pressure. “A case study will certainly discourage rote learning and ensure that the child’s ability to apply this information to questions is demonstrated. It will reduce the need to memorise information. It will give greater confidence to students when writing the exam and therefore produce a more accurate account of their achievements. Students can use revision time constructively, focusing on reinforcing their understanding rather than memorising. We will start building case studies and ensure that students have plenty of practice,” said Iffat Ibrahim, principal of Chirec Public School.

Adding that case studies will only ensure that students are given a chance to refer to various books, principal of Orchids International School Mona Mehdi said, “PAT will ensure that students get more creative. Students will not just stick to information given in textbooks, but will discover more because of their practical experiments. This pattern should be planned and teachers should be trained to ensure that there is no confusion with either the teachers or the students.” Though majority of students are hoping that PAT will improve scores, some are apprehensive. “Every year the exam papers are getting tougher and students are not able to score well. Now since we will be taught four months prior to the exam, we are hoping to score more marks and that it does not just add to the pressure,” said Rahul, a student from Bharati Vidya Bhavan. “I think it is going to be challenging and every student will get to exercise their analytical skills,” says Ritika, a student from Delhi Public School.

TRANSPORT

Taxes still not reaching public infra system

CM agreed to release 10 per cent of the motor vehicle tax collected towards the project. This was in 2011. RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA rahul.r@postnoon.com

Projects slated under the UMTA

ostnoon raised this issue a while back: Road users in the City are being short changed and despite the massive amounts of tax collected by the RTA, these funds never reach the public infrastructure system. The Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) was formed four years ago under the leadership of the chief secretary. This forum was created to provide a modern traffic signalling system and a comprehensive transport study, the latter being one of HMDA’s key projects. The flaw, however, was this — a required Urban Transport Development Fund (UTDF) was missing, which would facilitate cash flow towards these projects. Among the 13 departments under the UMTA, the key ones are APSRTC, HMDA, GHMC and the police. “The UMTA had recommended that UTDF be immedi-

n Intelligent Transport System being implemented on ORR by HGCL with JICA’s loan assistance. n Passenger and freight terminal development plans with South Central Railway in Medak, RR, Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda districts. n 11 bus depots and 20 bus stations in Hyderabad under Hyderabad Metropolitan Area plan.

Funds expected in motor vehicle taxes

Hyderabad RTA Quarterly Life Fee User Detection Total GHMC limits tax tax charges Grand total 5300.48 34654.64 3727.10 829.34 1400.68 45912.24 Estimated revenue to be collected from GHMC limits for UMTA: 4591.224 crore. (All figures in `crore)

ately put in place as this would help channelise funds into the many projects listed under modern traffic signalling and com-

prehensive transport study. For this to happen, the National Urban Transport Policy’s guidelines suggested that taxes must

n Bus bays and bus shelters on radial roads including Ring Road and Outer Ring Road. n Integrated Commuter Terminal Complex at Old Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad.

be raised directly on fuel as a surcharge to raise money for the project,” said B Rami Reddy from the regional director’s

office of the APSRTC. This suggestion was however dismissed by the chief minister in light of the severe political backlash and public pressure over FSAs in the past few months. It has been learnt that the CM has agreed to release 10 per cent of the motor vehicle tax collected under GHMC limits towards this project. This happened in 2011. However, no funds ever materialised.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Sources from the municipal administration and urban development wing reveal that the decision to donate 10 per cent of the motor vehicle taxes towards the UMTA project has begun picking up steam. In the last meeting chaired by chief secretary Minnie Matthew on April 4, 2011, various heads of departments involved in bringing this project under one umbrella were repeatedly pressing for the creation of the UTDF. A decision is expected before the next UMTA meeting in four months’ time.

city WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

COOLING OFF

SUMMER SPLASH As temperatures soar, children on their summer break take a dip to cool themselves at a camp organised at a swimming pool in Secunderabad on Tuesday.

N SHIVA KUMAR

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

focus

TIGHT GRIP

China keeps a tight grip on the Internet, censoring content it deems politically sensitive and keeping a close watch even on euphemisms that citizens use to evade scrutiny.

BIRD FLU IN CHINA

SHANGHAI: China has won international praise for its transparency on the H7N9 strain, which has killed 14 people so far, in sharp contrast to criticism for trying to conceal the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic. But analysts say the government has little choice, as technological change over the past decade and the proliferation of Twitter-like “weibo” microblogs help drive greater official openness. Mao Xiaojiong’s images, shot beneath a magnolia tree near her home in the city of Nanjing — which banned live poultry trading and culled birds after confirming H7N9 in people — were a case in point. When she posted them on her weibo account earlier this month, asking authorities to investigate, they were reposted 20,000 times, racked up hundreds of thousands of views, and became a top topic on Internet portal Sina. Police whisked away one of the dead birds the same night to test for H7N9, and within two days authorities publicly ruled out the virus as a cause of death. Mao, who like many Chinese Internet users uses a pseudonym to try to retain anonymity, said the spread of her post “showed this matter received great attention from the public”. “It made it easier to attract attention of the government,” she told AFP. But she also deleted her original post and changed her account name because of worries over the uproar she caused. “Really nervous seeing so many reposts... As it hasn’t been confirmed by officials, I deleted the post so as not to cause panic,” she explained at the time. China keeps a tight grip on the Internet, censoring content it deems politically sensitive and keeping a close watch even on euphemisms that citizens use to evade scrutiny. In the face of H7N9, it has also used a more old-fashioned tool of control, detaining at least a dozen people for spreading false information online about outbreaks where they lived, saying their actions had heightened public fears. Censorship on the new outbreak appears limited compared to past political and health scandals, but whatever authorities’ intentions, the number and speed of postings on microblogs has made it far more difficult to control information. “The weibo has put a lot more scrutiny (on the government),” said David Bandurski of the

Hard times for cover-ups

Photos of 10 dead sparrows on a Chinese pavement which went viral on social media and drew a swift official response show how hard covering up a bird flu outbreak would be in the Internet age.

A man wears a face mask as the city’s commuters protect themselves against the H7N9 bird flu virus in downtown Shanghai. Chinese state media has urged people to keep eating chicken and help revive the poultry industry, which has suffered losses of $1.6billion.

University of Hong Kong’s China Media Project, which researches Chinese journalism. “Weibo is working as this big kind of steam machine — it lets everyone let off steam about a very generalised frustration.” But the new medium faces limitations in bringing real political change, he added, as the oneparty state still exercises control over the Internet and traditional media. Rumours about SARS, which later proved true, eventually forced China to be more forth-

In the face of H7N9, it has also used a more old-fashioned tool of control, detaining at least a dozen people for spreading false information online. coming about that disease, which originated in the country and went on to kill about 800 people around the world. The World Health

This picture taken on April 5, 2013, and received from Weibo user ‘Mao Lanlanlan’, shows dead sparrows lying on the ground in a residential area in Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu province. Mobile phone pictures of 10 dead sparrows on a Chinese pavement, and the reaction when they went viral on social media, show how hard it would be for authorities to cover up a bird flu outbreak in the Internet age. AFP

Organization said it was pleased with China’s information sharing on H7N9, while US public health experts said it had quickly released the genome sequences needed to develop a vaccine and research the virus. “We are very satisfied and pleased with the level of information shared and we believe we have been kept fully updated on the situation,” the WHO’s representative in China, Michael O’Leary, said last week. Chinese Internet users have questioned a three-week gap

between the first deaths from the H7N9 outbreak and the official announcement on March 31. Chinese officials say time was needed to confirm the virus in people for the first time, but one poster drew a parallel with SARS, writing: “Delayed action 10 years ago, delayed action 10 years later... Only the virus has changed.” According to the overseasbased China Digital Times, which tracks Chinese censorship, searches for the post have been blocked. AFP

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Business

NEW THEME PARK TARGETS MIDDLE CLASS

Adlabs Imagica, India’s most elaborate theme park that will open between Mumbai and Pune, opens this week with special-effect Hindu gods and Bollywood-themed rides, aiming to tap a thirst for family entertainment among the rising middle-class.

E-COMMERCE

Shopping on the move More and more e-commerce players are joining the bandwagon by launching applications and mobile versions of their websites. PRUDHVI RAJU K prudhvi.k@postnoon.com

The breakdown Myntra Tier 2 and Tier 3 city revenue share- 50 % Top cities buying from Myntra: Bangalore Delhi Mumbai Hyderabad (15 % share) Revenues: `500 crore (2012-2013) Target: `1,000 core (2013-2014)

he growth of smart phones and the tablet market in the country is pushing e-commerce players to offer mobile versions of their e-commerce sites. These versions enable the customer to buy the product from his/her mobile phone or tablet while they are on the move. Mobile e-commerce transactions have already peaked in countries like USA and China. According to a BI Intelligence report, 29 per cent of mobile users have made purchases with their phones. This trend is likely to hit India soon with more ecommerce players joining the bandwagon of launching mobile versions and applications. Myntra, an online seller of fashion and lifestyle products, recently launched a mobile version of their site in the City. “The idea is to bring the entire power of a website into a small interface. We even got rid of a few features to make navigation easy on phones. We want the site to facilitate easier and hassle-free transactions. People who do not have accesses to computers or a laptop can also shop using a tablet or mobile,” Sunjay Guleria, vice-president (marketing), Myntra. With Indian mobile companies launching smart phones and tablets in sub `10,000 categories, mobile commerce is set to grow in the country. As of now, six per cent of Myntra’s ecommerce transaction takes place from mobile phones, which is expected to reach 26 per by the end of the fiscal. Talking about the industry, Guleria says, “The lifestyle and fashion industry is worth around $50 million. As of now, online lifestyle and fashion accounts to just one per cent of

With Indian mobile companies launching smart phones and tablets in sub `10,000 categories, mobile commerce is set to grow in the country. all transactions. We expect the overall industry to grow to $100 million in next three to four years. The online share of the industry should grow to five to eight per cent, which boost the industry size to $5-8 million. We want to continue to be the market leaders and have a sizable chunk in this growth.” Myntra ships around 10,00015,000 products every month and is growing at 15-20 per cent

(month on month). Only eight million people shopped on ecommerce sites among the 70 million people who visited different e-commerce sites in the last one year. The industry is working towards building the confidence of its customers and will try to convert offline buyers to online. With various hasslefree processes like 30-day returns, doorstep delivery, vast product category, mobile versions for easier buying and cash-on-delivery options, Myntra is trying to remove the barriers of online buying. “For instance, we acquired San Francisco-based technology platform provider FITIQUETTE. With the help of this technology, shoppers can see exactly how the dress looks on them without actually buying the product. This aims at solving size and fit

issues for online shoppers. This technology helps develop a 3D model of each customer according to his/her body shape. Customer can save their online models and try clothes before they buy them online. This will be integrated to style studio and will be available to customers in the next two months,” Guleria says. Asked about challenges of ecommerce start-ups, Guleria says they should first understand the reality of the industry. Supply chain, logistics and customer service are key for e-commerce growth. Getting logistics in place is a huge challenging in India. The cost of acquisition of a customer is also very high, which requires high capital flow. Some players have tried to acquire customers with huge discounts, but this ate into their margins and resulted in the death of the start-ups. Any business can be sustainable only with decent margins. Myntra has built its own logistics and delivery system in 20 cities where its partner companies exclusively take care of delivery. This will be a value addition to customer and will also help cut down costs by eliminating the need to source delivery to a courier company.

GOLD `25,800 10g SILVER `43,900 1kg

24C

for

DOLLAR `54.03 POUND `82.94

CHIDAMBARAM WOOS US

On the second leg of his North American tour to woo investors, ﬁnance minister P Chidambaram said that India has all the qualities to guarantee that foreign investment is protected. Chidambaram, while addressing students and faculty of Harvard University on ‘The Rise of the East Implications for the Global Economy’, said, India has all the qualities that provide guarantee to investors that their investment will be protected. Chidambaram said foreign investors should be assured by emerging economies that their capital will be protected and not affected by “whims” of governments.

NUMEROLOGY

$1.14 bn

is the revenue of Yahoo! in the quarter that ended March 31. Yahoo! shares fell more than four per cent to $22.80 after the company reported that revenue fell 6.6 per cent.

HCL TECH NET UP Software services major HCL Technologies today reported a 72.59 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at `1,039.9 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, driven by growth in infrastructure and enterprise application services. The company’s net profit stood at `602.5 crore in the January-March quarter of 2012, HCL Technologies said in a statement. It follows July-June fiscal year. HCL Tech’s revenues stood at `6,424.6 crore during the reported quarter, up 23.2 per cent from `5,215.6 crore in the same quarter HCL’s net margins improved for six straight quarters and are up by 51.5 per cent, the company said.

THUS SPAKE “At a time when many countries are facing challenges on the fiscal consolidation front, India, with its favourable interest rate growth differential, has an advantage in addressing deficit concerns this year. There is an improved picture across most of the world in terms of countries getting a handle on their deficits.” INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

BSE NSE

18,798.23 52.28

5,710.15 20.05

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

nation WORK PERMITS

Changes in H1B visas to affect IT firms WASHINGTON: The proposed changes in the issuing of H-1B visas, the highly sought after US work permits, will badly affect the Indian IT firms which depend heavily on these work visas. The changes under the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) put a curb on use of H-1B visa for those companies which have a higher ratio of work force under this category. Most of the Indian companies will fall under this classification. The companies will also have to shell out more fee to get a H-1B visa. The US, according to the 17-page outline of the 'Border Security, Economic Oppor-tunity and Immigration Modernisation Act of 2013', will crack down on abusers of the H1B system by requiring the dependent employers to pay significantly higher wages and fees than normal users of the programme. If the employer has 50 or more employees, and more than 30 per cent but less than 50 per cent are H-1B or L-1 employees (who do not have a green card petition pending), the employer will need to pay a USD 5,000 fee per additional worker in either of these two statuses, the outline of the bill said.

‘POORAM’ FACE JUMBO HURDLES With just three days left for start of the famous 'Pooram' whose main attraction is a parade by caparisoned elephants, o ganisers are in a fix over its successful conduct due to a ban on parading them in daytime to protect them from heatwave.

2002 NARODA PATIYA RIOT CASE

SC RULES OUT RELIEF

Guj govt to seek death penalty for Kodnani The government will contest the Special Court's order in the High Court. AHMEDABA:Gujarat Government has decided to seek death penalty for Maya Kodnani, a former minister in the Narendra Modi government, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and eight others in connection with the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case. The state government will soon file an appeal in the High Court against the Special Court's judgement in the case. "The legal department has formed a panel of three advocates who have been asked to prepare an appeal to be filed in the High Court and seek death sentence for 10 convicts in the case, including Kodnani and Bajrangi, who were awarded life sentence by the trial court," Assistant Public Prosecutor Gaurang Vyas told PTI. Government will be filing appeal after a gap of seven months, whereas stipulated time for challenging a lower court's order is three months. The state will have to seek approval from the High Court to file the appeal due to lapse of time. Vyas has been appointed Assistant Public Prosecutor along with advocate Alpesh Kogje, while senior counsel Prashant Desai will represent the State Government as Special Public Prosecutor in the high-profile post-Godhra riot case. Apart from seeking death sentence for 10 convicts, the appeal, likely to be filed next week, will press for enhancement of 24-year jail term to 30 years for 22 convicts given life sentence by the trial court, Vyas said. The prosecution will also challenge designated court's order to acquit 29 accused.

The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the pleas of three 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts convicts that they not be forced to surrender and serve the remaining part of their respective sentences till the president decides on their clemency petitions. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, while ruling on the plea of Zaibunnisa Anwar Kazi, Ishaq Mohammed and Sharif Abdul, said that if such a prayer was allowed, the President's Ofﬁce will be ﬂooded with clemency petitions. Unimpressed by the plea of senior counsel Fali Nariman that a conviction brings an offence to an end but liberty is not taken away, the court said that thousands of people are out on bail and when asked to surrender, they do so.

NUMEROLOGY

Maya Kodnani

In August last year, trial court Judge Jyostna Yagnik sentenced Kodnani to 28 years jail, while Bajrangi was ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison. Eight others were awarded 31-year imprisonment, while 22 convicts got 24 years prison term. As many as 97 people were killed in Naroda Patiya locality of the city by a violent mob on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train carnage triggered communal riots in Gujarat. PTI

NEWS BRIEFS Teen falls to death in Lucknow shopping mall

Verdict on Sajjan Kumar, others April 30

Minor drugged, raped in Goa, five held

SC stays own order on working of info panels

LUCKNOW: A 17-year-old class Xth student fell to his death from the second ﬂoor of a shopping mall here on Tuesday, police said. The incident happened at the Saharganj mall in the heart of the city in the evening when Pranjal, who was with some friends and relatives at the mall, tripped near the railing and fell.

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Tuesday ﬁxed April 30 for pronouncing judgment in a 1984 antiSikh riots case in which Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and ﬁve others are accused. District Judge J.R. Aryan would deliver the verdict. The Congress leader is facing trial for allegedly conspiring and inciting a mob against the Sikh community.

PANAJI: Five people were arrested in Goa Tuesday for drugging and raping a 15-year girl who is suspected to be known to some of the accused, police said. The incident took place in Mapusa town, a short distance from here, police said, refusing to give any more details about when it took place or the identity and age of those arrested.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday stayed a part of its judgment which had said that the information commissions would comprise benches of two members with one of the two being a judicial member and the other being an expert member. The court also permitted the ﬁlling up the vacant position of the information commissioners.

Pick

at the

10,000mv India will add 10,000 MW of solar energy capacity by 2017, says PM.

RAMAMURTHY DIES Noted music composer of yesteryear, TK Ramamurthy, 91, died here today following brief illness. The veteran composer, also a violinist, breathed his last this morning at a hospital, sources close to his family said. The M S Viswanathan-Ramamurthy duo had composed music for a number of ﬁlms including Karnan, the story of the warrior king which starred a galaxy of actors including South Indian thespians Sivaji Ganesan and NT Ramarao. Later, Ramamurthy parted ways with Viswanathan in the mid-60s and composed music for a few ﬁlms.

airport,

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

World

VENEZUELA OPPOSITION CALL OFF RALLY Venezuela’s opposition leader Henrique Capriles has called off a rally to demand a recount of Sunday’s disputed presidential election. Rival Nicolas Maduro was declared to have won the poll, and earlier said he would not allow the opposition rally.

US BLEEDS AGAIN

NAVALNY IN DOCK

Boston bombs made from pressure cookers Police said the area had been swept twice before the race and no explosives were found. WASHINGTON: The deadly explosives detonated at the Boston Marathon were homemade devices full of nails and metal fragments, possibly packed into kitchen pressure cookers, US officials said. A day after an attack that left three dead and more than 180 wounded, the FBI said the crude bombs may have employed pressure cookers, a common tactic seen in attacks from Afghanistan to France since the 1990s. “Among items partially recovered are pieces of black nylon, which could be from a backpack, and what appear to be fragments of BBs and nails, possibly contained in a pressure cooker device,” Rick DesLauriers, head of the FBI’s Boston office, told reporters. Both of the bombs had been placed in a dark colored nylon bag or backpack, DesLauriers said. Bomb specialists and dog teams combed the scene at Boylston Street, the finish line of the city’s renown marathon, while authorities sent blast evidence to the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia for a thorough analysis. “The scene is going to take several days to process,” said Gene Marquez, acting special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Boston. Police, who were still unsure if the attack had domestic or foreign roots, said the area had been swept twice before the race

Charismatic Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny on Wednesday went on trial on charges that he says were ordered by President Vladimir Putin in revenge for him daring to oppose the Kremlin. Navalny, who risks up to 10 years in prison in the embezzlement case, has predicted he will be convicted and possibly jailed but warned it is only a matter of time before Putin falls from power. Dressed in a tie-less white shirt, jeans and looking relaxed, Navalny sat with his lawyers while supporters thronged the courthouse.

NUMEROLOGY

A young girl cries with her mother during the vigil for eight-year-old Martin Richard, from Dorchester, who was killed by an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

and no explosives were found. Emergency workers and doctors who treated the victims said the bombs appeared to have sent nails, ball bearings and metal fragments flying, causing injuries mostly to the lower part of the body, and forcing amputations for some patients. “There are a variety of sharp objects that we found in their bodies,” said George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Probably these bombs had multiple metallic fragments in them and we removed pellets and nails,” he said.

The remnants of a pressure cooker and a black backpack that the FBI says were part of one of the bombs used during the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.

Deadly ricin in letter to Senator Wicker WASHINGTON: US authorities intercepted a letter that contained the deadly poison ricin and was bound for Senator Roger Wicker’s ofﬁce, ofﬁcials said Tuesday, triggering new security concerns a day after the terror attack in Boston. The tainted letter was detected during a routine mail inspection at an off-site facility and did not reach the US

Capitol or Wicker’s Washington ofﬁce, a Senate aide said, citing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer broke the news to the chamber’s members, saying in a statement that “the Senate mail handling facility that services members’ DC ofﬁces has received mail that tested positive for ricin.”

NEWS BRIEFS US drone destroys Taliban base in Pakistan

Journalist murdered in Mexico

Robot to explore Mexico Security tightened for archaeological site Thatcher funeral

WANA: A US drone fired two missiles into a Taliban base in Pakistan on Wednesday, destroying the compound and killing at least five militants, local officials said. The attack in the Baber Ghar area of the South Waziristan tribal district on the Afghan border, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

PUEBLA: A journalist was murdered as he left a bank in Puebla, a city in central Mexico, ofﬁcials said. Alonso de la Colina Sordo, who was the host of a television show in the southern state of Guerrero until February, was gunned down Monday. Guerrero is one of the state’s most affected by drug-related violence in Mexico.

MEXICO CITY: A robot will soon begin exploring the last stretch of a tunnel found at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, the third time anywhere in the world that it is used to design excavation strategies. The tunnel is believed to lead to a chamber almost 2,000 years old.

SYDNEY: A security operation involving more than 4,000 police ofﬁcers is getting under way for the funeral of former UK Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher. Lady Thatcher’s cofﬁn will travel from Westminster and be taken in procession through central London for the funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral at 11:00 BST.

The epicentre of Tuesday’s 7.8 magnitude quake lay in southeast Iran but all 40 deaths reported so far have been across the border in Pakistan’s dirt-poor province of Baluchistan.

GRAMMY GATECRASHER A Ukrainian television prankster who gatecrashed this year’s Grammy Awards show has been charged and could face up to six months in jail, US ofﬁcials said Tuesday. Vitalii Sediuk managed to get into a VIP seating area at the music industry’s biggest awards show on February 10 and walked up on stage just as British singer Adele stepped up to receive her award. The 24-year-old — a known prankster, who kissed Will Smith at a red carpet event in Moscow last year — was noticed by Jennifer Lopez and quickly escorted off stage.

There’s going to be parties everywhere. Joseph Habgood LegaliseLove Wellington co-ordinator. New Zealand’s gay community was gearing up Wednesday to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage, which would make the country the ﬁrst in the Asia-Paciﬁc region to approve the measure.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Technology GADGETOLOGY

he touted arrival this year of wearable gadgets such as computer displays strapped to wrists and in wrap-around glasses is just a step towards a bigger revolution in screens those that can be bent, folded and rolled up. Once freed from today’s relatively heavy, breakable and fixed glass displays, tomorrow’s devices may look very different, with screens that can be rolled out, attached to uneven surfaces, or even stretched. But there’s still some way to go. “It becomes a product designer’s paradise once the technology is sorted out," says Jonathan Melnick, who analyses display technology for Lux Research. There is no shortage of prototypes - South Korea’s Samsung Electronics this year showed off a display screen that extends from the side of a device - but obstacles remain: overcoming technical issues, figuring out how to mass produce parts cheaply, and coming up with devices compelling enough for gadget buyers. Screen technology - and the global small display market is seen more than doubling to around $72 billion by 2016, according to DisplaySearch - is still dominated by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which require a backlight and sit between two sheets of glass, making the screen a major contributor to the weight of a device, from laptops to tablets. “Most of the weight in a tablet is the glass struc-

ture in the display and the support structure around it to prevent it from cracking," said Kevin Morishige, a former engineer at Cisco Systems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Palm. LCD’s dominance is already under threat from lighter Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) that don’t need backlighting, are brighter, offer a wider viewing angle and better color contrast - and can be printed onto a few layers.

FROM GORILLA TO WILLOW

Glass, however, is getting lighter and more flexible. Corning Inc, whose toughened Gorilla glass became the screen of choice for many smartphones, will provide phones with curved glass edges as soon as this year. It is also now promoting Willow Glass, which can be as thin as a sheet of paper and is flexible enough to be wrapped around a device or structure. Initially, Willow will be used as a coating for products like solar panels, but it is eventually expected to create curved

Ahead of the

R V U E C Bendable displays are definitely the future, but how soon before it becomes commonplace?

products. A key selling point for Willow is more efficient production which involves socalled roll-to-roll manufacturing, like a printing press, rather than today’s more costly batch manufacturing. But the commercialization of Willow as a flexible product is some way off, James Clappin, who heads Corning’s glass technology group, told Reuters. And glass has its limits. “You can bend it, but you can’t keep flexing it," said Adrian Burden, a UK consultant who has worked on several start-ups related to display technology, and holds patents in the field. This means that while glass is likely to continue to play a leading role in devices with curved displays, screens that users can bend, fold and roll will likely be plastic. But plastic is not as robust as glass. “As soon as you introduce plastic substrates you have all kinds of issues with sensitivity to the environment," says Burden.

BARRIER FILMS, NANOPARTICLES So while OLED and plastic would seem to be companion technologies they create an extra problem when laid together: they need so-called barrier films to prevent the various layers from leaking oxygen and moisture. “There are barrier films in all sorts of products, for example food packaging, but the challenge is that OLED is one of the most sensitive materials we follow, and so creates huge challenges," says Lux Research’s Melnick.

ON A ROLL This is gradually changing, some in the industry say, as production shifts from making parts in batches of sheets to the more efficient roll-to-roll process. “Batch is more expensive and slower than roll-to-roll, which needs new equipment and design - and takes time," said Ramadas at Tera-Barrier. All this requires money, and manufacturers have to be convinced to invest in the new equipment. Even after the success of Gorilla Glass, popularized by the Apple Inc iPhone, Corning is having to work hard to prepare customers for Willow displays. Clappin said customers want thinner devices and easier to produce glass, but Willow requires a completely different manufacturing set-up. “When we talk about commercializing Willow a big part of our development activity is enabling the ecosystem to handle what is essentially a brand new material," Clappin added. “Nobody’s accustomed to working with glass that bends and moves. It’s a new material. The ecosystem needs to be trained to handle it."

HEAD-ED TOWARDS IPHONE You can’t get Facebook Home on your iPhone. But very soon you’ll be able to get one of the most buzzed-about features from Facebook’s new mobile software: “Chat Heads” are coming to iOS devices, via a Facebook app update. Chat Heads are a clever update on the notification system most smartphone users are already familiar with — instead of getting a text update when a pal wants to talk to you, you’ll see a circular picture of your pal’s … head. You should be able to download the new version of the app later today, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer and mobile head Cory Ondrejka announced at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference.

SIZE IT JUST RIGHT Motorola might be building my dream phone. Jim Wicks, Motorola’s design chief, said the company’s ﬁrst round of products designed after Google’s purchase of the company will follow a philosophy of “better is better” rather than “bigger is better," and that’s music to my ears. Last fall, Motorola came out with a well-reviewed new line of Razr smartphones, but Google execs emphasized that those were built without their input - and even said they lacked “wow."

START IS BACK?

Microsoft is rumored to be building a new version of Windows 8 that will have an option to boot to the traditional Windows interface instead of the “Metro"-style Start Screen used in the current edition of the PC and tablet operating system. The change, which users will have to switch on, is coming in Windows 8.1, also known as Windows Blue, according The Verge. Blue is the follow-up to Windows 8, which was released last October, and will reportedly be released this year. Microsoft has publicly stated that it is tightening the release cycles for new versions of its ﬂagship operating system.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Comment Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

BOSTON BLASTS

DANIEL BOSQUE HOMS Agence France-Presse

ong seen as the foremost champion of Catalan nationalism and a symbol of opposition to the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Jordi Pujol now finds the image of his family tarnished in Spain by financial scandals involving two of his sons. Pujol pushed for — and won — greater powers for Catalonia when he served as president of the wealthy northeastern region of Spain between 1981 and 2003, winning him the nickname of ‘Spain’s viceroy’. He spent two years in jail for having helped organise the singing of a banned Catalan anthem at Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica concert hall in front of Franco, cementing his image as one of the leading opponents to the dictatorship which suppressed Catalan autonomy, culture and language. But 10 years after he left office, his image as the patriarch of Catalan identity is overshadowed by allegations of wrongdoing involving his sons at a time when Catalonia is experiencing a resurgence in its independence movement. Oriol Pujol, the fifth of his seven sons, appeared before a judge in Barcelona on Tuesday after he was charged last month with influence peddling. Spanish authorities suspect the 46-year-old of using political prominence over the assignment of vehicle inspection centre contracts for personal gain. Oriol, the only one of Jordi’s sons to enter politics, says the charges are politically motivated to discredit the independence movement. “I have always acted strictly within the law. I have never cooperated with any corruption network,” he said when he was charged.

US MUSLIMS FEAR BACKLASH

LETTER FROM BOSTON

Maya Angelou US poet

Pujol kin’s legal woes

LEAVING ENDS OPEN

The CBSE is now looking to the West in an effort to spruce up its exam style. It raised the hopes of many students by announcing ‘open book’ exams. Trying to bring about a revolution of sorts, all the central board has managed to do is create confusion.

Michael Thurston

S Muslims are watching closely as the probe into the Boston bombings unfolds, fearing a backlash like after 9/11 if an Islamist link is confirmed to the deadly attack. Several Muslim groups issued statements within hours of Monday’s double bombing at the Boston Marathon, strenuously condemning the attacks which killed three and injured more than 100 people. Investigators said Tuesday the range of possible culprits remains “wide open”, as speculation ranges from home-grown right-wing or white supremacist extremists to foreign Islamist groups or an Al-Qaeda type cell. A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Ibrahim Hooper, said the Muslim group had already received “the usual hate calls”, but nothing major as yet — and underlined its main message was condemnation. “You don’t want to create the impression that you’re more concerned about vandalism at a mosque, or something like that, than you are about a violent attack that takes the lives of indi-

viduals and injures many more,” he said. “In any of these cases that’s something that’s in the back of our mind, that there’s a possibility of a backlash. We’ll just have to see how the investigation develops.” The number of FBI-designated hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs in America shot up dramatically after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which were quickly attributed to Al-Qaeda and a team of mostly Saudi hijackers. Amid the torrent of accurate and not-so-accurate reporting as the Boston bombing story broke Monday, at least two news outlets inaccurately reported that a Saudi national was being held as a suspect. CNN reported the two bombs may have used ‘pressure cookers’ — a type of device referred to in a 2010 magazine article by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), entitled ‘Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom’. No Islamist or other link has yet been confirmed. But Sahar Aziz of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) thinktank, said Muslims should be wary. “Because the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists and disloyal has become entrenched within American culture, there is a strong likelihood that Muslims in America will face backlash if the suspect is a Muslim.

“Such backlash could take the form of hate crimes, mosque vandalisation, evictions off of airplanes, school bullying, and scapegoating in certain media outlets,” she told AFP. The Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) posted a link on its Facebook page to a Washington Post story headlined: ‘Please don’t be a Muslim’: Boston marathon blasts draw condemnation and dread in Muslim world.” “Was this thought crossing your mind today? Seems like it was for many Muslims,” MPAC commented, referring to the link. MPAC head Salam AlMarayati said: “Terrorism has no faith so it is irrelevant what the

culprit.. will claim as his affiliation. What is relevant is the crime of terrorism, which we as Muslims have been speaking out against. “We have confidence in our country, the United States of America, to maintain its tradition of protecting minorities and all people subjected to hate or persecution.” America’s estimated 3.5 million Muslims make up fewer than one percent of the country’s population, according to a study by the Pew research group published in December. A Pew poll published before the 10th anniversary of 9/11 found that “Muslims in the United States continue to reject extremism by much larger margins than most other Muslim publics.”

EDITORIALS That’s the way

he initiatives announced to cut the nation’s dependency on fossil-fuel generated energy by the Prime Minister is laudable. We are a nation perfectly positioned on the globe so that we may turn to the eye of the heaven for our energy needs. However, skepticism about the effectiveness and expenses that may be incurred have been the bane on efforts to popularise the use of solar energy. But we must understand how important it is that we cut our carbon footprint. It is only too tangible the effects of global warming, which is directly linked to the fumes and exhaust from our efforts to produce energy for our daily needs. And India, being a country that is heavily dependent on coal,is on the right track about turning to solar energy. But that it’s expensive should not be a deterrent. We and China have been blamed for long for being carbon footprint defaulters. If we stick to our plan and achieve what we set out to, we can show the world the way.

READERS’ VIEWS

Get us a clean team

he Kiran Cabinet is in for major reshufﬂe. The chief minister will be getting his list ready for the team which is expected to induct fresh faces, especially from the youth brigade, in reverence to Rahul Gandhi’s desire to give more leverage to the youngsters in the party. The question is not if the team will prove young or old but whether it proves effective or not. AP is too important for Congress to lose and the team that comes in will lead the state in the 2014 polls. The having faced T trouble and many others need a ﬁrm and clean governance now.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Cinema

MATCH MADE BY SPECULATION Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is grateful for the speculation about her dating Chris Martin because it brought them together

WEEKEND FARE GUNDE JAARI GALLANTHAYINDE

ithin and Nithya make a great onscreen couple and they are all set to repeat the feat in Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe. Nithin plays a software engineer who thinks he’s the smartest guy on earth, but his intelligence goes bonkers when he meets Nithya and Isha Talwar. Watch out for all those witty lines in the film.

NH 4

fter a string of romantic and family entertainers, Siddharth has gotten his hands dirty, quite literally, in Manimaran’s latest film NH4. The action thriller has been primarily shot on the Bangalore-Chenni Highway and critically acclaimed director Vetrimaaran, who has written the script, is all praises for Siddharth. Ashrita Shetty is making her debut with this film.

SCREEN POOPERS CHINNA CINEMA

he life of the lead character, who works at a grocery store, changes dramatically when he comes face to face with the villain. Yes, it does sound like any other film except the fact that the promos have got us hooked big time. Arjun Kalyan, Sumona Chanda and Komal Jha are playing the lead roles and Ajay has directed it.

EK THI DAAYAN

mraan Hashmi stars as Bobo, a popular magician, who finds out that a sinister power has been wrecking havoc in his life and Bobo must muster his strength and magic to protect his loved ones. The film promises to be a spooky thriller and the cast also includes Konkona Sen Sharma, Kalki Koechlin and Huma Qureshi.

SPOILT FOR CHOICE It’s one of the busiest weekends of the year so far with as many as 10 films, including six Telugu films, vying for our attention at theatres. Here’s a lowdown on some of those HEMANTH KUMAR hemanth.k@postnoon.com films.

One-time wonders So, Nautanki Saala didn’t do well at the BO even though it starred two of the most promising actors – Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunal Roy Kapoor. Why is Bollywood notorious for one hit wonders? Remember Vivek Oberoi? Coming back to this film, it has no storyline as such, one wonders why the duo, who kickstarted their careers with great films, settled for something as frivolous as this? Hopefully, the two will spring back with a decent film and not go down the Vivek way.

Dead and gone If a corporate employee goes on a work trip abroad on behalf of his company, who should be held responsible in the event of his unexpected death? A quick and obvious response would be — the company he works for. Then why is Priyanka Chopra or her ‘office’ finding it so hard to repatriate her dead assistant Jiban Patra’s body? Why is the Bollywood diva finding it so hard to wrap her head around the most obvious solution? According to reports, the cost of repatriation of Patra’s body from Los Angeles would be approximately $15,000 and the actress’s office staff is in talks with the Indian Embassy there to provide a solution.

TRENDING...

GOURAVAM

ery few mainstream directors move out of their comfort zone and it is all the more rare in Telugu. Radha Mohan’s Gouravam is based on honour killings and how a young man inspires others to fight against the social evil. Sirish is making his debut in Telugu cinema and the film also stars Yami Gautam. We are placing all our bets on Prakash Raj, who’s playing a village headman’s role in this social drama.

Indo-Canadian porn actress Sunny Leone is elated that people in India have accepted her and want to see more of her. She says she is content as long as people watch her ﬁlms .

Dharmendra, who will be next seen with his two sons in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2’, says Deols don’t like to blow their trumpet and are ignorant about the tricks of the trade.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

spotlight

PARTY PEOPLE

Tease, Begumpet is hosting Wicked Wednesday tonight. DJ Piyush will be belting out the latest chartbusters at the pub.

S BALAKRISHNA

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL

Time to unwind Members of Gorgeous Girls club turned up in droves at Ashton Pierra salon for a self pampering session. Spotted were Sweety, Preeti and others. 3

1 Preeti 2 Sonia 3 Neeta

4 Diya 5 Sweety

7 Swetha 8 Rashmeet

10 Gazal 11 Shikha

6 Ritu

9 Shikha

12 Pooja

AN ARTY AFFAIR

Sandip Sarkar's book Jamini Roy His Life in Art was launched with much fanfare at State Art Gallery of Fine Arts on Tuesday. IAS Chandana Khan was present at the do.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

Badminton player Jwala Gutta inaugurated city’s ﬁrst branch of UK-based cosmetic clinic NU at Beams Hospitals, Jubilee Hills.

18 7

SUN BLOCK

It’s common during summer to get red eyes, swollen eyes or even that feeling of seeing flashes of light. While you take care of your skin and hair, don’t forget to take care of your eyes.

19 FLEME VARKEY

health

MUMBAI TO HOST PHARMA CONVENTION The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India will host a threeday pharma convention from April 24. Titled iPHEX 2013, the convention is being organised with the support of the commerce and industry ministry, department of commerce, and the central government. IANS

fleme.v@postnoon.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

It’s all in the

WHAT YOU NEED TO BE WARY OF n FOREIGN OBJECTS IN THE EYE A foreign object in the eye, such as dirt, an eyelash, contact lens, or make-up, can cause irritation. Objects may scratch the surface of the eye (cornea) or get stuck. n EXPOSURE TO STRONG SUNLIGHT Opthalmologist Rajesh Chandra warns that eyes can get sunburnt too. “UV radiation, whether from natural sunlight or indoor artificial rays, can damage the eye's surface tissues as well as the cornea and lens. I have at least two cases a day, usually of children, complaining of itching eyes or redness in the corners of the eye.” n CONJUNCTIVITIS: Chances of eye infection are more in summer and monsoon, specially if you have been to public places, swimming or have interacted with someone who has conjunctivitis. n EYE ALLERGIES: They increase during summer due to the release of pollen into the air, increased temperature, fallen leaves from trees and pollution. Theis leads to itching and redness of eyes along with a burning sensation. n DRY EYES: The problem becomes worse in summer due to increased temperature and rapid tear film evaporation. People prone to dry eyes face more problems when they are in air-conditioned rooms.

ANEWS PP-LYBRIEFS YOURSELF

EYES

hile you are rushing to put sunscreen to keep off the tan and the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, do keep in mind that there is another part of your body that needs protection as well — your eyes. With summer entering in full force, doctors are seeing a rise in cases related to eyes. The most common culprits being dust, pollution, irritants entering the eye, dry eyes and even conjunctivitis. Summer time means more time spent outdoors, and studies show that exposure to bright sunlight may increase the risk of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and growths on the eye, including cancer.

HOUSECALL

Nike+ Training

Palpitations

The Nike+ Training application is designed to work exclusively with Nike shoes containing the latest Nike+ Sport technology. Sensors in your shoes track every jump, step and rep as you take on pro athlete drill packs. Your Nike+ shoes sync wirelessly with your mobile device via Bluetooth Smart. itunes.apple.com

People with palpitations become aware of irregular or rapid heartbeats. They may describe their heart as 'racing', 'thumping' or 'pounding'. Palpitations, especially in older people, are often generated by a heart problem such as abnormal rhythms of the heart, although some people have a sensation of palpitations just when their healthy heart is beating especially fast, during exercise or in anxiety. bbc.co.uk

TIPS TO KEEP YOUR EYES HEALTHY

1.To avoid eye infections, wear sunglasses when outdoors; avoid touching or rubbing your eyes; frequently wash your eyes with cold water; wear swimming goggles and make sure the pool you are using is being maintained well. 2.For eye allergies, frequent washing of eyes, cold compress, wearing protective eye glasses and using eye drops under supervision of an eye specialist will help control the situation. Over-the-counter medicines should not be used as they may contain steroids and can be harmful in such situations. 3.For protection from sunlight, wear wrap-around sunglasses as they prevent lateral exposure. Poor quality eyewear is harmful; so invest in good quality eyewear. 4.Contact lens users need to take extra care in summer months as chances of infections are higher. Daily cleaning of contact lenses should be followed religiously. Do not wear the lens for more than the recommended time and discard it within the schedule time limit. One should not wear contact lens while swimming. 5.Rest you eyes regularly by looking away from the book you are reading or the screen you are looking at. Wash your eyes in regular intervals. Get good sleep as well. 6.Follow a healthy diet. Source: www.eyecaregurgaon.com

DID YOU KNOW? You must keep tablets with the linen If medication is constantly exposed to light, heat or humidity it could degrade faster than it should, thus reducing its potency and efﬁcacy. Neal Patel, from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, says, "A cool, dry, dark area such as the linen closet is ideal for storing medications.” bodyandsoul.com

PIONEERS Svyatoslav Fyodorov Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Fyodorov was a Russian ophthalmologist, politician, professor, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. He is considered to be the father of the ophthalmic microsurgery. . In 1988 he founded the Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Complex. Fyodorov was a member of the Congress of People's Deputies in 1989-1991. en.wikipedia.org

health WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

DECISION DUE IN JUNE

JUNK FOOD

US court debates breast cancer gene patents

Western diet linked to lower chances of ideal ageing

Critics accuse Myriad Genetics of barring research by other institutions on BRCA genes and making the test too expensive for many. KERRY SHERIDAN & CHANTAL VALERY AFP

he US Supreme Court heard the most high-profile genetics case in history on Monday, as justices considered whether private firms should be allowed to patent human genes linked to breast cancer. The court’s decision could have broad implications for research, patient health and the pharmaceutical industry, with nearly 20 per cent of the approximately 24,000 human genes currently under patent, some linked to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. At issue are the actions of Myriad Genetics, a company which holds patents on genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, both associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The firm says patents for the two genes, awarded in 1998, have helped it raise the money “necessary to decode the genes, design and deliver the tests, interpret the results, and help patients,” to the benefit of a million people. Critics accuse Myriad of barring research by other institutions on BRCA genes and making the test too expensive for many, with a cost of $3,000 to $4,000. Justice Elena Kagan asked if a plant in the Amazon could be patented because it was hard to find, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor likened the matter to patenting elements of a favourite recipe. “I create my chocolate cookies, I can get a patent on that but I cannot imagine a patent for salt,

flour and eggs,” she said. Dozens of breast cancer survivors and women’s health advocates assembled on the Supreme Court steps as the arguments were heard inside. Some hoisted signs, including one that read: “Corporate Greed is Killing My Friends.” One of the plaintiffs, Lisbeth Ceriani, said her doctors recommended the test after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she was initially unable to get it because Myriad did not contract with her health insurance to cover the cost. She later found the means to pay for it with the help of a grant. “It’s important to me because there are so many other women who have not been able to access the test. I have a daughter who

will one day need to be tested,” she said. “Competition is what leads to innovation and improvement," said Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist and another plaintiff in the case. If Myriad did not own the patents, “I would start offering testing to my poor patients in the Bronx,” he added. Opponents of gene patenting in this case, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, include more than 1,50,000 geneticists, pathologists and laboratory professionals. The ACLU argued that patents on human genes “violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are ‘products of nature’ and therefore can’t be patented.” Countering that point,

Myriad attorney Gregory Castanias told the nine justices that “genes are themselves a human construction”. James Watson, Nobel laureate and co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953, filed an amicus brief that argued human genes are a product of nature and cannot be monopolised by any entity. “Knowledge per se cannot be patented. Myriad should not own breast cancer genes,” Watson said outside the Supreme Court. A decision by the US SC is expected in June. Scott Elmer, director, Office of Technology Licensing at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said he wanted the court to establish what can and cannot be the subject of a patent.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ollowing a Western style diet based on fried, sweet, processed and high-fat food products can reduce a person’s chances of achieving older ages in good health and with higher functionality, says a new study. “The impact of diet on specific age-related diseases has been studied extensively, but few investigations have adopted a more holistic approach to determine the association of diet with overall health at older ages,” said lead author Tasnime Akbaraly, researcher at Inserm, Montpellier, France. The study was conducted on British adults and its findings were published in the May issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Those who followed a “Western-type diet” consisting of fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products lowered their chances for ideal aging, reports Science Daily. “We examined whether diet, assessed in midlife, using dietary patterns and adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), is associated with aging phenotypes, identified after a mean 16-year follow-up,” Akbaraly added. The study found that participants with low adherence to the AHEI increased their risk of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death. IANS

Beetroot juice may help lower blood pressure

glass of beetroot juice daily may help reduce blood pressure, according to a study led by an Indian-origin researcher. The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, found that people with high blood pressure who drank 227 gm of beetroot juice experienced a decrease in blood

pressure of about 10 mm Hg. But the preliminary findings don’t suggest that supplementing your diet with beetroot juice benefits health, researchers said. “Our hope is that increasing one’s intake of vegetables with a high dietary nitrate content, such as green leafy vegetables or beetroot, might be a lifestyle approach that one could easily

employ to improve cardiovascular health,” said Amrita Ahluwalia, lead author of the study and a professor of vascular pharmacology at The Barts and The London Medical School. Beetroot juice contains about 0.2g of dietary nitrate, levels one might find in a large bowl of lettuce or perhaps two beetroots. In the body, nitrate is con-

verted to nitrite and then to nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide is a gas that widens blood vessels and aids blood flow. “We were surprised by how little nitrate was needed to see such a large effect,” Ahluwalia said. The effect was most pronounced three to six hours after drinking the juice but still present even 24 hours later. PTI

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Entertainment UP AHEAD

CINE BYTES

aapsee is on cloud nine these days and why not. After all, her debut film in Hindi, Chashme Buddoor has been declared as a box-office hit and she has got fairly good reviews for her performance in the film. Directed by David Dhawan, the film also had Ali Zafar, Siddharth and Divyendu Sharma in lead roles. “I waited for a long time because I wanted to make my debut in Bollywood with a top director and a good script. When I was offered the lead role in Chashme Buddoor, I simply lapped it up without even thinking twice and I am a big fan of both

David Dhawan and the original film. I am thrilled that Chashme Buddoor has turned out to be a hit. I’m on cloud nine both literally and figuratively,” Taapsee gushes, as she talks about her entry in Bollywood. Prior to the film’s release, she had confessed that she was indeed in talks with few other filmmakers in Bollywood. “I didn’t want to sign any film as I wanted to see how Chashme Buddoor does at the box office,” she says. Now that the film is a hit, when is she going to announce her next film? “I am not in a hurry to sign films just because my debut film is a hit. Moreover, I have to complete my current assignments and I can’t commit to any new project till June this year,” she clarifies. Currently, Taapsee is shooting for Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s upcoming film Sahasam near Athirapally waterfalls in Kerala and after this the film unit will head to New Delhi to shoot another song. Taapsee is paired up with Gopichand in this action adventure film. Apart from this film, she’ll soon be seen in Shadow, Vishnuvardhan’s upcoming Tamil film and Muni 3.

Swati bags a biggie

fter the success of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Amen, Swati has bagged yet another big project in Malayalam. We hear that she’s going to play the lead role opposite Prithviraj in Anil Menon’s upcoming ﬁlm titled London Bridge. The ﬁlm’s principal shooting will begin from June 5 and it’ll be entirely shot in UK. In Telugu, Swati will soon be seen in Bangaru Kodipetta.

Action 3D’s audio on April 20

he audio of Allari Naresh, Vaibhav Reddy, Shaam and Raju Sundaram starrer Action 3D is going to be launched on April 20. Anil Sunkara has directed the ﬁlm and the music has been scored by Bappa Lahiri and Bappi Lahiri. The ﬁlm also stars Neelam Upadhyaya, Sneha Ullal and Kamna Jethmalani.

Krishnam Raju joins Chandi’s cast

I’M ON CLOUD NINE :

TAAPSEE

rishnam Raju is going to be seen in a crucial role in V Samudra’s upcoming film titled Chandi. The film’s co-producer Satya Mummidi said, “Krishnam Raju’s role in Chandi has shades of great characters he had done in films like Bobbili Brahmanna and Palnati Pourusham.” Priyamani is playing the lead role in this film.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

MORE LANGUAGES TO LEARN

Don’t divide films based on region:

on’t divide cinema region-wise, says actor Kay Kay Menon, who is moving from Hindi cinema and theatre to the south with the Tamil film Udhayam NH4. “There is absolutely no need to divide cinema regionwise. Except for the language, I don’t see any difference in cinema made in any part of the world. By dividing cinema based on its region, we are only taking that language for granted,” Kay Kay said.”We have catered enough to the masses with stupid films. Time has come to make films with certain calibre. I can understand Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Bengali. I’m ready to do films in these languages if I find something off the beaten path,” he added. He admits language is a barrier when you do not understand it and adds: “One of the reasons I chose to work in Udhayam NH4 is because I can understand the language. I hate to mouth dialogues in a language I don’t understand.” Why didn’t you do a Tamil film all these years?”Honestly, I haven’t been approached. Moreover, I have been extremely busy with Hindi films. I have finally decided to diversify because I’m bored of being part of films that are made only to churn profits,” said Kay Kay. The 45-year-old, who’s a management graduate, worked in Bollywood ventures like Black Friday, Sarkar, Silsiilay, Gulaal, Life...In A Metro and Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. IANS

CINE BYTES I am such a rotten actor: Big B on mistake in film egastar Amitabh Bachchan M doesn’t seem to be as impressed with his acting skills and calls himself a “rotten actor”. The comment has come after he has realised his mistake in one of the sequences in 2005 Black, in which he played a teacher called Debraj Sahay. The scene involved him looking for his pair of glasses when he was just being diagnosed for alzheimers. IANS

Dutt needs more time to complete shooting

ctor Sanjay Dutt, who was working in double shifts to wrap up his projects before surrendering himself, needs about a week’s time to finish the shooting of PK. Aamir Khan is taking time out to be part of the shoot with Dutt as few portions are yet to be shot with Sanjay Dutt. IANS

Dharmendra’s son was never bullied

ctor Bobby Deol says he was never bullied as he was veteran star Dharmendra’s son. Having starred in numerous action films, Dharmendra was often referred to as “He-Man”. “He was like a superman. I felt like he was the strongest man on earth. I was never bullied because I was Dharmendra’s son,” Bobby said. IANS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013 CINE BYTES

NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM

Sly claims Snipes is ‘officially’ an Expendable

hat better way could there be for Wesley Snipes to celebrate his release from federal prison than signing up to co-star in The Expendables 3? And what better way could there be to learn the news than from a tweet by Sylvester Stallone himself? Wesley Snipes has been out of circulation for a while, of course, and any time someone comes out of prison, it’s a gamble, and for Snipers it seems like it’s more.

Ozzy O denies divorce, admits to drug relapse

hristopher Nolan is known for keeping his family of collaborators tight by using the same names time and time again. It makes sense, too. After all, if you’ve had success working with an actor or crew member before, why not try it again? One of the most frequent names attached to Nolan projects is that of Cillian Murphy, and now Murphy, Nolan, and Wally Pfister are set to work together again on Pfister’s Transcendence, which is being produced by Nolan and his wife. Murphy is the second of the Nolan club to join the film in the last week, as Morgan Freeman signed on a few days ago. Along with Freeman and Murphy, the film will also star Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara and Rebecca Hall. Pretty impressive, eh?

midst rumours that his 31-year marriage was on the rocks, rocker Ozzy Osbourne came to the defence of his relationship with wife Sharon dropping the bombshell that for more than a year, he has been “in a dark place” due to a relapse with alcohol and drugs. He let fans know of this on Facebook and also let them know rumours regarding his divorce were untrue.

Pulitzer Prize for drama awarded to Disgraced

his year’s Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, announced Monday along with other winners for the highly prestigious writing awards, is the play Disgraced, which opened at Chicago’s American Theater Company in January 2012. The Pulitzer for drama honors “a distinguished play by an American author, preferably in original in its source and dealing with American life.” Disgraced, which centers on a dinner party gone wrong, moved to New York’s Lincoln Center Theater after its initial run in Chicago.

CILLIAN MURPHY

JOINS WALLY PFISTER’S

TRANSCENDENCE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

Chai Time

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. Robert Fritz

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 Breaks into tears 5 Pale purple 10 Bet equaliser 14 Fleshy seed covering 15 Waste away 16 Stem-to-stern part 17 Not finalised, legally 18 At full speed, on the water 19 Count (on) 20 Fragrant cleaner 23 New wing 24 Have a light repast 25 Gullible one 28 Capt’s inferiors 29 Speed reducer 33 Position on issues 35 Full of holes 37 ‘Where the heart is’ 38 Quit 43 Steps on it 44 Like a big grin 45 Mindless behavior 48 Come closer to 49 Something to jump for 52 Monetary unit of Indonesia 53 Fathers and sons 55 Highbrow musical entertainment 57 Outpour of many fountains 62 Mental inspiration 64 Big cat hybrid 65 Atlas dot 66 Song for two 67 Coffee’s allure 68 Subtracted by 69 Shrek is one 70 Scatter about 71 Leave-as-it-was notation

DOWN

1 Piece of summer wear

2 Prepare, as incoming students 3 Buffalo’s aptly named minorleague team 4 Trombone feature 5 Shakespeare’s ‘King ___’ 6 ‘ ___ la Douce’ 7 Bit of bank business 8 Excavators’ entrances 9 Population count 10 Gumbo ingredient 11 Heavy winter fall 12 Costa ___ Sol 13 Full of trickery 21 U-shaped curve in a stream 22 Make a choice 26 Topmost position 27 Orange part 30 Controversial mentalist Geller 31 ___ Blanc (highest peak in the Alps) 32 Stage, as a show 34 Sailor’s summons 35 South-of-the-border currency 36 Cobbler’s concern 38 The object at hand 39 Hole up 40 Dancer’s partners? 41 LAX landing approximation 42 Intentionally lose 46 X, to Greeks 47 Nosy Parkers 49 High-rolling crowd 50 End of a threat 51 Most dexterous 54 Mini, midi or maxi 56 Sand holders at the beach 58 Hotel’s price 59 Frankenstein flunky 60 Alaskan cape 61 Chew like mice do 62 Promise at the altar 63 Excavated (with ‘out’)

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013 Thiruvaikumar

STAR POWER for 18-4-2013

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Politicians advised to be cordial with all. Those in love will be happy as support from both families is likely. Businessmen might face hurdles and minor tension but they will come out of them with wise actions. Your influence is set to increase.

STRIP TEASE AGNES

Govt officials likely to be punished for their irregularities; be careful. Deficit financial situation likely to put you under pressure. Working women might face internal issues at office and quit. Professionals like doctors and lawyers prosper.

Debt issues will be managed wisely. Women keep their spouses happy by fulfilling their wishes. Avoid making friends blindly as you might land in trouble. Success is certain in all work you undertake. Unexpected fortune is likely for some.

Those in search of job will get favourable news. Promotion and pay hike on cards for employees. Unexpected fortune likely, which will let you relax. Businessmen likely to get new opportunities. Marriage of son/ daughter will be performed.

Expenses will increase but good flow of income will take care of the same. You complete all difficult tasks that were not completed by others. You are straightforward and loved by all for this. Self-confidence levels are set to increase this week.

Benefits through spouse and purchase of new electronic gadgets likely. Those jobless will get a job soon. Children co-operate with you and make you happy. You attend celebrations at a relatives’ and enjoy meeting friends and relatives.

Misunderstanding with family members needs to be avoided under all circumstances. Businessmen likely to grow steadily and profits will jump beyond expectation due to their hard work. Avoid carrying work from office to home.

With determination, you will be able to complete challenging undertaken tasks successfully. Court verdicts will go in your favour. A foreign trip you have been planning since long will now materialise; you will also shop there. Take care of health.

Businessmen smash the competition and march ahead. Those awaiting marriage have good news on offer. Employees might be entrusted with new responsibilities and get recognised if they do them as per managements’ expectations.

TAROT READ

Sumaa Tekur

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

ARIES:

GEMINI:

Queen of Wands – An important meeting will go well. You will feel relieved that it’s over because you have been tense about it. Meditate before the meeting, if you can.

LEO:

King of Swords – Evenings are when you’re feeling energetic these days. Make use of this time to jot down new ideas and work on fresh plans. You get good energy.

LIBRA:

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Eight of Pentacles – Not everything will go as per your plan. So don’t be upset that your ideas did not work out. Use this as a learning time and get on to the next ideas.

SAGITTARIUS:

Knight of Wands – Get out of clichéd ways of thinking. Do something different. You have one life to live, and you need to be confident in everything you do.

TAURUS:

Four of Wands – The day will go very fast and there will be little time to reflect on anything. This is one of those days when nothing’s in your control. Go with the flow.

CANCER:

The Chariot – You need to focus on yourself in order to get the negativity out of your system. Make sure to exercise and meditate to keep the energy flow intact.

VIRGO:

Page of Cups – You are likely to be the one with the heartiest laughter in your group of friends. For it to stay that way, don’t bother about what other people tell you.

SCORPIO:

Ten of Swords – There is someone from the past who is not allowing you to move on. This is a dangerous nostalgia, which upsets you and makes you uncomfortable.

CAPRICORN:

Two of Wands – You and your partner may be going through a rough patch but there is visible love. Re-visit the reasons you got together before deciding.

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

PISCES:

The Sun – Learn to be grateful for all your blessings. There are many people around you who support you and work with you to make things happen for you.

NUMBER GAME

If you believe in keeping your fingers crossed for something to work out, you better cross your fingers (and your toes). The ride is not going to be easy.

SCRABBLE

AQUARIUS: The Emperor –

POOCH CAFE

Problems faced by employees at workplace will come to an end. Journeys will have to be undertaken within short notice. Newlyweds will feel happy as they are likely to get their offspring soon. Father’s health could be a cause for concern.

for 18-4-2013

The Hermit – It seems as though you have only been running from pillar to post these days. You need to take a break and ruminate on your needs and self, too.

NON SEQUITUR

Avoid interfering in others’ personal issues and mediation of a third person in your personal issue. Anger and emotional outbursts might spell trouble. Be careful while driving as a minor accident is likely. Newlyweds to be blessed with an offspring.

SUDUKO

Relatives might seek your help in certain critical issues, which might irk you. Businessmen will face increased competition and succeed. They will attract customers with attractive and wise schemes. Employees will complete all their challenging tasks.

Boggle RAIN SNOW HAIL SLEET Vol: 2, No 271 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 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013 CINE BYTES

Ninja Turtles finds its Master Splinter

fter landing Will Arnett for an undisclosed role a couple weeks ago, Ninja Turtles has tapped Danny Woodburn (Seinfeld, Death to Smoochy, Mirror Mirror) to play Master Splinter. The ﬁlm is part CGI, part live-action, so Woodburn's appearance could end up being a completely motion-capture deal. Jonathan Liebesman is directing and Michael Bay is producing it.

Tom Cruise to act in another sci-fi movie

om Cruise is set to star in Yukikaze, based on a Japanese novel series by Chohel Kamayashi. The action takes place "three decades after the alien force Jam invaded earth through a dimensional porthole over Antarctica. While humans beat back the attack, they form a special combat force to eradicate the alien threat on its home planet."

The Evil Dead is horror film of all horror films

ollywood actress Jane Levy, who is ready to star in the remake of the 1981 classic The Evil Dead, says it is "the horror film of all horror films". The actress plays lead role in the film, directed by Fede Alvarez. Levy said she was left distressed while filming the remake, titled Evil Dead, because of all of the horrible things that happen to her character. IANS

A TINY CONFESSION

W E E DR R O M Y R BARas crush on h E L BA

ctress-director Drew Barrymore is happily married to Will Kopelman, but she admits she has a crush on actor Christian Bale. The actress said she knows Bale since her childhood days and even though they don't see each other in years, she admits he makes her blush. "Christian is so cute. I knew him when he was a kid. But if he walked into the room now I would totally clam up or I might go overboard and embarrass myself," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Barrymore as saying. Despite her crush on Bale, Barrymore is happiest when she goes on dates with her husband.The 38year-old actress married Kopelman last year, before giving birth to the couple's daughter Olive. IANS

sports

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

NBA

Raptors play playoff spoilers DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and Rudy Gay finished with 22 as the Toronto Raptors easily defeated the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks 113-96 at Philips Arena. ATLANTA, GEORGIA: DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and Rudy Gay finished with 22 as the Toronto Raptors easily defeated the playoffbound Atlanta Hawks 113-96 at Philips Arena on Tuesday. Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points, Amir Johnson and John Lucas chipped in with 11 apiece while Kyle Lowry handed out 11 assists for the Raptors who have won four consecutive games all against teams that are headed to the NBA postseason. “(Our team) did a good job having the rhythm offensively, taking what the game gave them,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. Kyle Korver put up 13 points to lead the Hawks, who dropped into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls with one game remaining in the regular season. The loss dealt a blow to the Hawks’ attempt to secure the fifth seed in the Eastern

DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors glides the rim against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP/NBAE SCOTT CUNNINGHAM

Conference playoffs. Both the Hawks and Chicago have 44-37 records. The Hawks travel to

Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday in their final game of the regular season. The Bulls

finish the season with a home game against the Washington Wizards. Mike Scott came off the bench to finish with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Ivan Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. “Shots will fall or not fall, but (we have to) play better defensively and with more energy,” Scott said. Shelvin Mack added 11 points and Jeff Teague had nine assists in less than 19 minutes of action in the loss. The Raptors will miss the postseason for the fifth straight season but they have been playing the role of playoff spoiler of late by winning six of their last seven. They finish out the season with a home game Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics, who had their Tuesday home game against Indiana cancelled due to the twin blasts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday that killed three and injured over 100. AFP

RESIGNATION

Jalabert resigns as team coach BINCHE, BELGIUM: Former France cycling great Laurent Jalabert resigned as coach of the national road cycling team on Tuesday, the French Cycling Federation (FFC) announced on Tuesday. The 44-year-old Laurent Jalabert - world time-trial champion in 1997 - told the federation that he was not fit enough to fulfil his obligations after he suffered a broken left leg and an injured shoulder last month when he was hit by a car while out bicycling. “Laurent Jalabert informed the president of the FFC that he will not be available enough so as to perform his duties as he

should do,” read a statement from the federation. “It is therefore with regret and great sadness that he has

Jalabert tsaid that he was not fit enough to fulfil his obligations after he suffered a broken left leg and an injured shoulder. taken the decision as he is so attached to the French shirt and to the riders that he has selected since he has been in the job (he took over in 2009),” the statement read. AFP

Spurs sign McGrady SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, The San Antonio Spurs gave their playoff push an added boost Tuesday by signing twotime league scoring champ Tracy McGrady for the rest of the NBA season. McGrady recently finished playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, with the Qingdao Eagles where he averaged 25.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists. McGrady last played in the NBA in 2011-12, averaging 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds over 52 games with Atlanta. In 982 NBA games, the veteran McGrady averaged 19.6 points and 5.6 rebounds with the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Hawks.

LOCAL SPORT

Chess tourney from Saturday HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Chess Association is organizing the A.P. State (Inter District) under-7 and under-17 boys and girls chess tournament on 20 and 21 April at A.V. College, Domalaguda. This tournament will be the basis for the selection for the national level competitions to be held later this year. The eligibility criteria are thatt he players should have been born on or after after 1 Januray 1996 for the under-17 event while they should have been born on or after 1 January 2006 for the under-7 event. The top two players in each category will represent the State at the National level competitions at Assam (1-10 May) and Pune (1-9 May). For further details, contact Anand Naik on 9247979886, J.Subramanyam on 9247399717 or Subba Raju on 9866702431.

SPORTS BRIEFS Armstrong buys another Texas home

‘No support from Pak cricket fraternity’

Brazil official: WC, Olympics will be safe

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong

KARACHI: Pakistan’s disgraced leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has

has purchased an Austin-area home just days after he sold his luxury Spanish-style estate he has lived in since 2006, it was reported Tuesday. The Austin American-Statesman described the home as being located in an exclusive sub-division. The newspaper did not reveal the purchase price but Austin real estate agents said it was valued at about $4.3 million. There was also no record of whether Armstrong took out a bank loan to pay for the house, the American-Statesman said. Last week, Armstrong sold his central Austin home for an undisclosed price. He bought the 7,850-square-foot home in 2004 and spent two years ﬁxing it up. AFP

complained that he had not received any support from anyone, including the Cricket Board, in his fight to prove his innocence in the spot fixing case in England. Kaneria, who will leave later tonight for London to attend his appeal hearing on April 22, said it had been a tough last few years for him. “It has been tough time emotionally as my family has suffered and financially as well. It has cost a lot in both ways to fight this case to prove my innocence,” Kaneria said. Kaneria, 33, has a final chance to get the life ban imposed on him by England and Wales Cricket Board overturned at the appeal hearing. PTI

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian officials said they were closely following the investigation into the explosions at the Boston Marathon as they consider whether to change security measures for next year’s World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But a top official with FIFA said his organisation was already planning tougher security for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in light of the Boston attack. FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke said during a visit to Haiti yesterday that the measures would include secret service agents, police officers, military and Interpol. Valcke also said a perimeter adding a second layer of security protection would be set up around Brazil’s stadiums, with inspections of everyone passing through. AFP

sports

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

MONTE CARLO MASTERS

Rafa up against Marinko

BOSTON MARATHON

Rafael Nadal lines up against Marinko Matosevic at Monte Carlo as he begins his campaign for a record ninth straight trophy at the iconic venue. MONTE CARLO, MONACO: Rafael Nadal lines up on Wednesday against Australian Marinko Matosevic at the Monte Carlo Masters as the Spaniard begins his campaign for a record ninth straight trophy at the iconic venue. Nadal's opponent Matosevic faces the toughest ask in tennis after winning his first match on clay in almost a year to open Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 success over Fernando Verdasco. Top seed Novak Djokovic meanwhile informed tournament director Zeljko Franulovic that he would be fit to make his start in the second round after a bye. Djokovic has been putting in training and tests on his injured right ankle over the past few days. He will begin against Mikhail Youzhny, who stands a respectable 3-4 in their career series. Wednesday's line-up features Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray, whose profile has been the quietest of the

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal poses in front of a picture of the 2012 final of the Monte-Carlo tournament in Monaco. AFP/VALERY HACHE

major contenders so far. Matosevic, the number 54 in the world, won't have time to celebrate his upset of Spain's former ace Verdasco. Instead, he will become just the first obstacle placed in the path of Nadal, winner of his last 42 matches here at the Country Club overlooking the Mediterranean. Matosevic sprang a sur-

prise on Verdasco, the onetime clay powerhouse and 2010 runner-up here to Nadal, going through to the second round in a struggle as his Spanish opponent fought back at the end in the onehour, 51-minute contest. Matosevic saved nine of the dozen break points he faced while breaking the 31st-ranked Verdasco on five

occasions. The Australian last won a clay match in the first round of French Open qualifying last May after earning his last ATP win on the surface in Munich a few weeks earlier. In other first-round matches on a perfect, sunny day, Spain's 10th seed Nicolas Almagro came back against Belgian David Goffin 2-6, 61, 6-3, while Swiss 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 63, 7-5. Argentine 14th seed Juan Monaco defeated Slovak Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-0, but French showman Gael Monfils lost to Albert Montanes 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. In the second round, wild card and fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro survived an early scare from Alexandr Dolgopolov, with the South American finally posting a 16, 6-4, 6-3 win and securing his first career victory in Monte Carlo after last playing in 2009. AFP

LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

Ai aims to defend crown KAPOLEI, HAWAII: Japan's Ai Miyazato (right) is back to defend her crown at the LPGA Tour's LOTTE Championship after beating Azahara Munoz and Meena Lee by four strokes to claim the inaugural title in 2012. Miyazato birdied three of the final six holes to close with a two-under 70 and capture her eighth career LPGA Tour title. South Korea's Lee and Spain's Munoz shared second place at the Ko Olina Golf Club. The 144 players in the field this week will compete for $1.7 million in prize money with the winner collecting $225,000. The LOTTE Championship was

one of two titles for Miyazato in 2012. This year she has three top-25 finishes, including second place at the Founders Cup last month. Also in the field is newlycrowned world number one Park

Inbee, of South Korea, who recently captured her second major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Park had to overtake Stacy Lewis, who is also competing this week as the Tour returns to the Aloha State for the event which runs from Wednesday to Saturday. Lewis, who held No. 1 for four-consecutive weeks, is currently second and could reclaim the top ranking. Park has been one of the most consistent players on the Tour the past year. Last summer she went through a 10-week stretch of top-10 finishes and this year she kicked off the season with a win. AFP

Organizers vow to have marathon next year too BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Marathon organizers said Tuesday that next year's race would go ahead as planned and that they are co-operating with law enforcement officials to find those responsible for the deadly blasts. "We are committed to continuing that tradition with the running of the 118th Boston Marathon in 2014," said Thomas Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association on Tuesday. Grilk, who is a long-time Boston area lawyer, said they have been in contact with civic, state and federal law enforcement officers, who are probing the twin blasts that caused chaos in the city, killing at least three and injuring over 170, some critically. "We are co-operating with the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all federal law enforcement officials in the investigation and the effort to bring those responsible for this tragedy to justice, so we are limited in what information we can provide," Grilk said. Grilk vowed the city and the world famous marathon would bounce back from this. "Boston is strong. Boston is resilient. Boston is our home. And Boston has made us enormously proud in the past 24 hours," Grilk said. "The Boston Marathon is a deeply held tradition, an integral part of the fabric and history of our community." Grilk said they had 8,500 volunteers and 1,000 medical personnel working the event who saved lives and helped get the wounded emergency treatment. AFP

UTECH CLASSIC

Blake could be out for six weeks after injury KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Reigning world 100m champion Yohan Blake (right) could be out up to six weeks after suffering a right hamstring injury during the UTech Classic track and field meet in Kingston on the weekend. Blake, who won gold in the

100 metres at the 2011 Worlds Championships in Daegu, could miss the Jamaica International Invitational on May 4 and the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, China two weeks later, his coach Glen Mills told the Jamaican media. Midway throu-

gh his opening 100m race of the season, Blake grabbed his right hamstring before slowing down. He walked off the track and was met by attendants. He originally thought it might be a cramp. About 30 minutes after the race, Blake tweeted "am good my twitter

family just a cramp." Mills though said it was much worse. "An MRI done Monday afternoon revealed the hamstring injury sustained was more serious than first thought and Blake could be out for several weeks as he recuperates," Mills was quoted as saying.

IPL 6

BATTLE OF THE TITANS

METRE

6 S 156

Me and Morgan should have finished the game. It's a great leveller. We need to think, whoever is there needs to finish the game. Gautam Gambhir KKR skipper

Virat Kohli (RCB) 321 runs

Sunil Narine (KKR) 10 wickets

Focus is on home games: Jayawardene D

elhi Daredevils might have slumped to five successive defeats but skipper Mahela Jayawardene is confidence of his team getting into the knockout stage of IPL-6 by winning all their home games. "We will give ourselves a chance to get into the 'Final Four' if we can win the home games. That is something we really have to focus on," he said. RCB pulled off a nail-biting victory over DD via the Super Over in a thrilling Pepsi IPL match here last night. But Sehwag did not come out to bat in the crucial Super Over and Jayawardene clarified that the Delhi batsman was not on the field for last three overs and hence he wasn't eligible to bat in the Super Over. PTI P

T PT

RCB

8 +0.362

6 +1.150

6 +0.230

SRH

6 -0.380

KXIP

4 +0.432

KKR

4 +0.136

CSK

4 -0.122

PWI

4 -0.854

0 -0.667

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

Chris Gayle (RCB),

16 4S 599

Virat Kohli (RCB)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

93*

HIGHEST SCORE

Virat Kohli (RCB)

BEST BOWLER

4-13

Sunil Narine (KKR)

PWI hungry for more

SYED SHOAIB

shoaib.s@postnoon.com

oles of two teams contesting in the IPL today have recently reversed to add fire to the speculation of its outcome. It is the audience and admen who will benefit from this for the net result is going to be a keener competition. After riding high for a while with victories that included a super-over win over RCB, and sharing the lead in the points’ table, Sunrisers Hyderabad were jolted with a loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in an away match. Pune Warriors India, on the other hand, have come back strongly with a win against the powerful Chennai Super Kings after lying last-but-one in the table for so long that they were considered out of the contest. While SRH will want to red-

PWI VS SRH AT 4PM ON SET MAX

SCORECARD KINGS XI PUNJAB VS KKR Kings XI Punjab innings (20 overs maximum) AC Gilchrist*† lbw b Senanayake 7 M Singh c †Bisla b Kallis 41 M Vohra c & b Balaji 17 DJ Hussey c †Bisla b Narine 12 DA Miller b Senanayake 20 Azhar Mahmood c & b Narine 0 Gurkeerat Singh b Narine 0 MS Gony b Kallis 42 PP Chawla not out 11 P Kumar c Pathan b Kallis 1 P Awana not out 0 Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 3) 6 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs; 93 mins) 157 Bowling O M R W Econ L Balaji 4 0 39 1 9.75 JH Kallis 4 0 24 3 6.00 Senanayake 4 0 28 2 7.00 SP Narine 4 0 33 3 8.25 R Bhatia 4 0 30 0 7.50 Kolkata Knight Riders innings (target: 158 runs from 20 overs) MS Bisla† c †Gilchrist b Kumar 0 G Gambhir* c †Gilchrist b Gony 60 JH Kallis c M Singh b Az Mahmood 1 Morgan c Hussey b Az Mahmood 47 MK Tiwary b Awana 1 YK Pathan c Miller b Kumar 13 DB Das lbw Azhar Mahmood 1 R Bhatia b Awana 16 Senanayake run out (†Gilchrist/Kumar) 1 SP Narine not out 1 L Balaji not out 0 Extras (lb 7, w 5) 12 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 153 Bowling O M R W Econ P Kumar 4 0 26 2 6.50 Az Mahmood 4 0 21 3 5.25 MS Gony 4 0 18 1 4.50 DJ Hussey 1 0 14 0 14.00 P Awana 4 0 39 2 9.75 3 0 28 0 9.33 PP Chawla

Kings XI Punjab won by 8 wickets

eem themselves, and may see that opportunity in this match against hitherto minnows PWI, the Warriors will want to consolidate their position to prove, if anything, that the win over CSK was no flash in the pan. Though in the earlier clash between the two, SRH prevailed in a low-scoring match, that is a thing of the past. It also was a match played in Hyderabad, with the favour of home conditions. What is heart warming for SRH though, is that they have been doing pretty good for themselves without their ace, Shikhar Dhawan. When he does become available to play, which he is keen to, according to reports, SRH will become a force to reckon with. The normally packed MA Chidambaram stadium did not have many spectators for the match between CSK and PWI on Monday, which could be because of it being a week day or because PWI were not considered a force to bother over. That certainly is going to change henceforth... the Warriors have announced their arrival.

Royals take on Mumbai

RCB VS DELHI DAREDEVILS Delhi Daredevils innings (20 overs maximum) DA Warner c & b Vinay Kumar 15 V Sehwag c Kohli b McDonald 25 MC Juneja c Vinay b Unadkat 17 Jayawardene* run out (Vinay) 28 BJ Rohrer c Kohli b Unadkat 14 KM Jadhav† not out 29 IK Pathan not out 19 Extras (lb 1, w 3, nb 1) 5 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 152 Bowling O M R W Econ R Rampaul 4 1 28 0 7.00 RP Singh 4 0 48 0 12.00 JD Unadkat 4 0 24 2 6.00 R Vinay Kumar 4 0 21 1 5.25 AB McDonald 2 0 17 1 8.50 J S Mohammad 2 0 13 0 6.50 R Challengers Bangalore innings (target: 153 runs from 20 overs) CH Gayle c Yadav b Morkel 13 KL Rahul c Jayawardene b Nehra 12 V Kohli* c Jayawardene b Yadav 65 AB de Villiers run out (Morkel) 39 AB McDonald c & b Nadeem 0 A Karthik† run out (Pathan/Morkel) 5 Syed Mohammad c Warner b Yadav 1 R Vinay Kumar not out 1 R Rampaul not out 12 Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 2) 4 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 152 Bowling O M R W Econ A Nehra 4 0 31 1 7.75 M Morkel 4 0 32 1 8.00 IK Pathan 4 0 39 0 9.75 UT Yadav 4 0 22 2 5.50 S Nadeem 4 0 26 1 6.50

Match tied (Royal Challengers Bangalore won the one-over eliminator)

RR VS MI AT 8PM ON SET MAX APARNA G SAI aparna.s@postnoon.com

ajasthan Royals are set to clash with Mumbai Indians today at the former’s home turf. Both Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians have the same number of points having won three of their four matches. But Mumbai are placed second on the points table, a rung about their opponents, by virtue of their net run rate. Mumbai, have been going very strong as not only have they defeated their opponents by have managed to claim victory by huge margins. They have defeated Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors earlier and

would look to create a similar impact against the Royals from Rajasthan today. But the Rahul Dravid led Rajasthan Royals team, have performed exceptionally well in all the departments of the game. Kevon Cooper, who has been among the wickets, could possibly win the purple cap if he continues to perform as he has been doing throughout the season. This clash would also bring Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh in front of each other for the first time after the former racked up the slapgate incident a few days ago on the social networking site, Twitter. While many would vouch for the Mumbai side to win, none can belittle the Royals, who seem to be at their peak.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

sports

HOENESS WANTS FAIRPLAY CONSISTENCY FROM UEFA

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that UEFA President Michel Platini has to make sure there is consistency with the Financial Fair Play regulations.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Arsene Wenger’s side would have moved four points clear of fifth placed Tottenham with a win at the Emirates Stadium.

EPL PREVIEW

Arsenal squander top-4 chance STEVEN GRIFFITHS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Arsenal wasted a chance to cement their place in the Premier League’s top four as the Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton on Tuesday. Arsene Wenger’s side would have moved four points clear of fifth placed Tottenham with a win at the Emirates Stadium. But they were forced to settle for a point as obdurate Everton’s physical approach succeeded in frustrating the hosts. Third placed Arsenal are now two points clear of Chelsea and Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League. However Arsenal still have plenty of work to do as Chelsea have two games in hand on Wenger’s team, while Tottenham have played a game less than their north London rivals. “The game was basically down to physical intensity, it was unbelievable from the first to the last minute,” Wenger said. “The referee let a lot go unpunished. I think Darron Gibson could have been sent off. He got away with a few tonight.” Everton remain in sixth

place, two points behind Chelsea having played two games more, and a spot in the Europa League now looks their best bet. “We weren’t going to let Arsenal stroke the ball around with 500 passes, we were committed and made some tackles,” Moyes said. “Believe it or not that’s allowed in football. Some of our defending was topclass.” Moyes’ men should have taken the lead in the opening moments when Steven Pienaar eluded the statuesque Bacary Sagna and raced onto Seamus Coleman’s pass. But with just Wojciech Szczesny to beat, the South African midfielder lifted his shot high over the crossbar. Despite admitting he had rushed Jack Wilshere back from an ankle injury too quickly, Wenger gave the England midfielder his second appearance in four days. And the Frenchman was wincing as Wilshere came in for some rough treatment in the early stages. Crunching challenges from Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas left Wilshere writhing on the turf while Wenger leapt to his feet to berate referee Neil Swarbrick for failing to afford his player more protection. Everton’s aggressive approach had knocked Arsenal out of their rhythm and it took a mistake from Marouane Fellaini to gift the Gunners their first sight of goal.

Cardiff makes it to the EPL Cardiff will join fellow Welsh side, and sworn rivals, Swansea City in the Premier League next season. TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse LONDON: Tears flowed as Cardiff City reached the English top flight for the first time in the Premier League era following a 0-0 draw at home to Charlton Athletic in the Championship on Tuesday. The result guaranteed their return to the elite after a 51-year absence and prompted delirious fans to spill onto the pitch in celebration at the Cardiff City Stadium. Cardiff will join fellow Welsh side, and sworn rivals, Swansea City in the Premier League next season, when there will be two teams from Wales in the English top flight for the first time. Cardiff forward Craig Bellamy, formerly of Liverpool and Manchester City, burst into tears at the final whistle, having returned to his home-town club last year to lead their push for promotion. “It’s nice to be over the finish line. We deserve to go up, there’s no doubt about it,” the Wales international striker told Sky Sports. “Let’s enjoy tonight and see where the next two weeks take us, try and finish as champions. This city’s been craving it for a number of years now.”

GERMAN CUP

Bayern on track for treble season Having already won the Bundesliga, Bayern are bidding to become the first German side to win the European Cup, cup and league titles.

BERLIN: High-flying Bayern Munich kept alive their dreams of becoming Germany’s first team to win the treble by booking their German Cup final berth with a 6-1 win at home to VfL Wolfsburg in Tuesday’s semi-final. Having already won this season’s Bundesliga crown, Bayern are bidding to become the first German side to win the European Cup, cup and league titles as they face Barcelona at home in the Champions League semifinal next Tuesday, Bayern will discover their oppo-

nents for the cup final, which takes place on June 1 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, when Stuttgart host Freiburg in Wednesday’s other allBundesliga semi-final. Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, in for suspended France winger Franck Ribery, impressed as he set up three of Bayern’s goals for Mario Mandzukic, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez, then scored one of his own. “We definitely wanted to reach the final. It was hard to concentrate when all the talk has only been about

Barcelona, but we had the game under control,” said Shaqiri. But Gomez was the star of the night as he warmed up for Barcelona by coming off the bench to score three goals in six minutes to double Bayern’s tally in the last 10 minutes. “You could see that we have three top strikers, I’m really pleased for Mario that he managed a hat-trick,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, who would have been pleased to see his other strikers Mandzukic and Pizarro also in goal-scoring form.