postnoon e-paper for 13 december 2012

JAGANSTRIKES ATCIVIC BODY

Congress Floor leaderKaleru Venkatesh,

sent ripples across hisparty leadership onWednesday, which

might have hit like ahigh tide, by saying

goodbye to the partyand the prestigiouspost as floor leaderof the biggest party

in GHMC.

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 HYDERABAD WWW.POSTNOON.COM WEATHER: CLEAR WITH CLOUDY PERIODS; 24°C 32 PAGES `3

P7

REPORT ON P6

The NationalHuman RightsCommission hasissued noticesto AP and MPon corporalpunishmentmeted out toschool students.

Technology never fails to excite: 2012was a mixed bag for tech enthusiasts

and here are the top stories of the year.

P16&17

TECHNICALLYSOUND

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

2

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES

Moplah MagicMoplan cuisine, form Kerala, will beserved with Arabic and Samarkanditouches. It will be served for a weekat Dakshin. Where: Dakshin,

BegumpetWhen: December 10-16 Contact: (040) 2340 0132

Christmas brunchThere is a Christmas Day TurkeyBrunch at Marriott Hotel andConvention Center. Europeaninspired Ginger Bread House willstart from December 15. Where: Okra, Hyderabad Marriott

Hotel and Convention CenterWhen: December 25,

12:30pm to 4pm

RuhaniyatRuhaniyat is a national film festival inits 12th consecutive year. It is a sufiand mystic music festival. It is knownfor its soulful songs. Where: Ravindara Bharathi,

SaifabadWhen: December 16

6:30 pm onwards

Theatre festivalThe fourth annual SamahaaraHyderabad Theatre Festival is goingon in the City, where artists will per-form plays from various genres. Where: Nift Auditorium,

MadhapurWhen: December 8-16,

7:30pm onwardsContact: [email protected]

Christmas carolsChristmas carols will be sung byGlobal Edge school till the end ofDecember at The Lobby. Where: Novotel & HICC Complex,

PO Bag No.1101, Cyberabad Post Office, Near Hitech City

When: December 3-31Contact: (040) 6682 4422

Tales of an idyllic worldAlliance Française, Hyderabad, ishosting an exhibition of paintings:Tales of an Idyllic World by BalaAbhiram. Where: Alliance Francaise,

Banjara Hills,

Rd No 3When: Upto December 14

from 9amContact: (040) 2355 4485

Eclectic iridescenceAn exhibition of Dhiren Shasmal’s artwork, based on various themes andstyles of painting.Where: Residence Inn,

Amar Coop Soc.,Lane Opp. Madhapur PS, Kavuri Hills

When: Upto December 19,11am onwards

Contact: (040)2311 3709

Treasure HuntAmar Chitra Katha is organizing atreasure hunt for kids.Where: Landmark,

KMC Retail Mall,Somajiguda

When: December 152pm onwards

Contact: 88855 10382

Photo competitionAlliance Francaise, Hyderabad, isconducting a photo competition. Thetheme is Professions of the world.The winning entries will be sent toParis.Where: http://hyderabad.afindia.orgWhen: December 3-January 6

Handloom exhibitionPochampally Handloom Park is orga-nizing IKAT Mela, exhibiting hand-loom linen, dress material and saris.Where: State Gallery of fine Arts ,

Department of Culture,Kavuri Hills, Madhapur

When: 13-16 December

from 6-9:30pmContact: 98488 42471

Public speaking workshopThere is a four-day workshop oneffective public speaking at MediaJunction.Where: Media Junction,

Parthani Towers, , Golconda Cross Roads, Musheerabad

When: 13-16 Decemberfrom 6-9:30pm

Contact: 98488 42471

Music workshopThere is a 3-day workshop onHindustani classical music and ghaz-al singing by Ustad Rajkumar RizviSutradhar and Naadbrahm. Thosewith a basic knowledge ofHindustani music can register.Where: 3-6-145/9/1/1,

Himayatnagar When: December 12-14

6:30pm-10pmContact: 77990 00792

Hyderabad RockathonThe Great Hyderabad AdventureClub and the Society to Save Rocksare conducting HyderabadRockathon 2012, to spread aware-ness about preserving the rockscapeof the City. It is a one day eventwhich will include rock walk, rockphotography, rappelling and quiz,among other activities. Where: University of Hyderabad,

Gachibowli When: December 16

7:30am to 1pmContact: 98850 39230

DINING

GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456Indane 9848824365

BSNL Complaints 198HMWS & SB Complaints 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOMHyderabad 27852435Traffic Control Room 27852482DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499FPollution Control Board 23887500

ELECTRICITYGeneral Complaints 155333Breakdown Section 23431178

23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

Commissioner & Spl Officer 2326226624166666R

ENC 23225267Engineering 23220418MCH Tankbund 23225397Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842MCH Circle III 24736912MCH Circle IV 23326975MCH Circle V 23326976MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100Head Office 23225397

IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRYPHONE NUMBERS(TRAIN & RESERVATION)RAILWAYSRail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216Railway Information 131Reservations 135Recorded Information 1345Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

WATER SUPPLYComplaint Cell 155313Sewerage Complaint 23307328Hyd. Water Supply 23313163

HOSPITALGeneral Hospital, Sec-bad 27505566Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills 23314095NIMS, Director, Punjagutta 23390933Osmania General Hospital 24600146Railway Hospital, Lalaguda 27001134Apollo, Jubilee Hills 23607777Care Hospital, Banjara Hills 30418888Care Hospital, Nampally 30417777Care Hospital, Musheerabad 30419000Care Hospital, Sec-bad 30416666Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar 39879999

BLOOD BANKSBlood Bank,Narayanguda 27567892Chiranjeevi Blood Bank 23559555Blood Bank Mediton Goal 23226624Red Cross, Vidyanagar 27633087ADRM Blood Bank 27035588Mythri Charitable Trust 27550238NTR Memorial Trust 30799999Care Banjara Hills 30418296

30417445

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

AIRLINES

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001For Air India Flight Information Toll free(from any network) for IC Flights

18001801407And for All Flights: 1800227722Air India has revised its flight timings.For more information call (Toll free)18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from otherlines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in

TOURISM OFFICESAP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54Sec-bad 27893100Dept of Tourism 23453110India Tourism 23261360AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999

UK VISA OFFICEVFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A,Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills-34. Working hours are from 8 AM to1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM.

MUSEUMSSalar Jung Museum 24523211AP State Museum 232431300/7641Nizams Museum 24521029

Helpline

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to

us comments, suggestions,viewpoint or just about

anything [email protected]

or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,

Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033

or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222

BHOPALThis play tells the story of Bhopal on the night of December 3, 1984, when the

Bhopal gas tragedy occurred. It tells the story of people whose voices are seldomheard, the forces that tried to bury the truth and those who struggled to expose

it. It is on December 16, at NIFT.

BangaloreMax 27Min 16Partly cloudy, mostly

clear at night

ChennaiMax 30Min 24

Partly cloudy

MumbaiMax 29Min 20Mostly sunny, clear

skies

New DelhiMax 21Min 14Mostly sunny, clear

skies

24°CA mix of clear and

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18°CClear with cloudy

periods

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Weather for HyderabadEvening Overnight Morning Afternoon

WARMING UP: Outside Charminar at Old City. SRINIVAS SETTY

ART

SHOWS

MISCELLANEOUS

city events

CRIME


3City YESTERDAY’S QUESTIONSHOULD THERE BE STRICTER DOWRY LAWS IN THE COUNTRY?

YES (A)

NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTIONCOULD THE AP POWER CRISIS HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?A) YES B) NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

89%

11%

Mohd [email protected]

In a continuing saga of ill-treatment of wives by theirdowry-hungry in-laws,three women were thrown

out of their homes in separateincidents in different parts of theCity.

G Sridevi, 31, wife of G Kiran,a resident of Gowlipura in theOld City was asked to leave herin-laws’ home on Tuesday. Thetwo were married in 2010 andaccording to her complaint withthe women police station atBegumpet, her parents had givenher 20 tolas of gold and `6 lakhbesides some household articles.And yet her husband and his

parents continued to harass herfor more. On Tuesday night shewas forcibly evicted from herhusband’s home. Having noplace to go, she returned to herparents in Lalaguda.

Another incident was report-ed from Addaguta Tukaram Gatein Secunderabad. M Manohari,22, lodged a complaint againsther husband, M Karthik, and hisparents. Manohari said the cou-ple had a love marriage in 2010.Life was normal till six monthsago, though their marriage wasnot approved by his parents. Butlately, her husband and his fami-ly began demanding `5 lakhfrom her parents. Her parentswere in no position to meet thedemand. On Monday, after a

bout of quarrel, she was lockedout of her home.

In yet another incident ofsimilar nature, K Malathi ofNamalagundu Chilkalguda,Secunderabad, lodged a com-plaint with the Begumpetwomen police station against herhusband K Srinivas and his par-ents for dowry harassment.

Malathi’s too was a love mar-riage. She, however, faced regu-lar harassment and abuse fromboth her husband and in-lawsfor dowry. She was allegedlybeaten up for dowry and finallybooted out of her in-laws’ home.The Begumpet AssistantCommissioner of Police,Suryanarayana, has ordered aninvestigation.

Wives harassed for dowryThree women have lodged complaints against their

husbands and in-laws for dowry harassment.

The column that teaches everyonesomething new about the way theCity functions.

1 Dowry demands? Turn downthe alliance.

The minute the groom’s familyasks for dowry alarm bells shouldring. After all there is never anyend to demands. Moreover, whypay to get your daughter married?

2 Have more than two chil-dren? Forget political aims.

The High Court recently disquali-fied two corporators for havingmore than two children. Guess thisis one effective way to drive homethe family planning policy.

3 AP loves to earn laurelsevery single year.

Sometimes it bags top honourswhen it comes to passion crimesand this time it has earned itself anotice by the NHRC for rising inci-dence of corporal punishment.

4 The world is gaga over 12-12-12, but we’re not.

While world over people rushed tohave their babies on this specialdate, the City remained practical.

5Want to be an astronomer?Move to another City.

Because Hyderabad really has noopportunities or the conditionsrequired for the hobby.

city THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 4

Remedy or malady?Last year we had reported how

NIMS, the premier medical institu-tion posed a long list of problems forpatients’ families. From forcing themto pay for parking to having only onepharmacy catering to the largecrowds, the hospital visits were turninginto a nightmare for some. Their policyof patients having to buy their ownmedicines only made matters worse.

DECEMBER 13, 2011

RTC driver attackscolleague, injures himAn APSRTC driver by name

Ravinder was allegedly attackedat his home by another APSRTC driv-er, Manoj on Wednesday at Boyyabasti in Madanapet of Old City.Personal enmity is said to be the rea-son behind the attack. Ravinder, whowas severely injured in the attack,was shifted to the hospital. He is outof danger, police said.

Burglars flee with 12tolas of goldNearly 12 tolas of gold and 20

tolas of silver were stolen froma house belonging to a businessman on Wednesday night at Nagolevillage of LB Nagar Mandal. Burglarsgained access in to the home afterbreaking the locks while the familywas away. LB Nagar police haveobtained some finger prints and areinvestigating.

Miscreants setautorickshaw on fireAn autorickshaw, parked on the

roadside, was set on fire onWednesday nigt at GandhinagarRoad in Marredpally area ofSecunderabad. Police suspect that itcould be the handiwork of someone who has a grudge against thevehicle owner Sandip Kumar. TheMarredpally police are investigatingthe case.

JNTU examinationscam, 13 heldSleuths of the City Task Force

team today nabbed a 13-mem-ber gang that had been allegedlyinvolved in the examination scam ofJNTU. The accused had reportedlydelivered blank answer sheets tostudents’ homes in return for hugeamounts of money. Students wouldthen answer them and return thepapers to the University.

LAST YEAR... HERE INDUSTRY

NEWS BRIEFS

`50Lto `2 crore was the burden posed on

the steel industry as a result ofincreased power tariffs and thenewly introduced FSA on bills.

5THINGS WELEARNT TODAY

NUMEROLOGY

The City had afair visibility fac-

tor about seven yearsago but now, if onewere to learn how tomap the stars, then atrip to the out-skirts of the Cityis necessary.

K RaghuramSee page 8

PRUDHVI RAJU [email protected]

It was like the man who washit by lightening was bittenby a snake immediatelyafter, says a corporate hon-

cho at the meeting at FAPCCI.The industry, currently strug-gling hard to survive with their50 per cent power capacity utili-sation, got another blow in theform of Fuel SurchargeAdjustment (FSA). This alongwith increase in electricitycharges in the April this yearhas pushed hike in electricitycharges by 100 per cent for theindustry in over a month.However, the industry realisedthis only with recent bills ofNovember, which included FSAfor electricity consumed inApril.

Talking to media, DevendraSurana, president, FAPCCI said,“The FSA charges in Novemberelectricity bill constitute 30-50

per cent. It is adding another`1.32 unit, which is resulting ina burden of `50 lakh to `2 crorea month for the steel industry.Adding to this, there is a hugedelay in collecting FSA. Forinstance, the electricity boardsare collecting FSA for the monthof April in November. Thegoods produced in April will besold in that specific month. Howcan the industry, that is alreadystruggling pay these bills?”

He added, “Although theindustry wants to pay this FSA,their financial condition is notsupporting for any payme nt.Under the directive of FAP CCI,the state government hasrequested RBI not to considerany bank defaulters during thisperiod as NPAs. However, thishas showed a reverse effect onthe industry. Rather than givinghelping hand to the industry,the bankers have become con-scious while providing loans tothe industry to control their

NPAs. If any one who wants toset up an industry in the Stateapproaches the bank, thebankers are asking, ‘How canyou invest in the State and getreturns when there is no power

supply?’ The bankers are notproviding any loans and thereare even cases where they didnot disbursed the-sanctionedloans. Today, the steel industryis uncertain about their debtrepayment of `7,500 crore, fromthe banks out of their total`10,000 crore investment.”

On additional charges thatare being added FSA, he said,

“The increase in raw materialcosts for producing powershould be only collected in theform of FSA. However, only 20per cent of the FSA is fuel sur-charge. Under FSA, the electrici-ty boards have added capitalcosts, arrears, pre-period coststhat constitute the remaining 80per cent. In addition, the indus-try is only consuming 30 percent of the over all producedelectricity but paying 50 percent of the over all FSA collect-ed. The government has put theburden of FSA on subsidy elec-tricity given to farmers onindustry and domestic con-sumers rather than paying it.

The steel industry, whichdid not pay any electricity billsfor the month of November,requests the government not todemand FSA in this troubledtimes. It wants the governmentto restructure the FSA withrational approach and collect itfrom the industry.

A blow in the darkIndustries in AP, already in the ICU

after suffering from debilitating powerholidays, got another surprising hit on

the head in the form of FSA.

FSA and increase inelectricity charges haspushed hike in elec-tricity charges by 100per cent for the indus-try in over a month.

Md NIZAMUDDIN [email protected]

The High Court recentlypronouncing two cor-proators ineligible forhaving more than two

children has set fire to a legalprovision that has been in limbofor quite some time. This has thepotential to unseat many politi-cal leaders who retain their seatsbecause their rivals had not chal-lenge it.

To make leaders role models,the GHMC Act, 2009 stipulatedthat a candidate should not havemore than two children.Accordingly, the Court disquali-fied two corporators: G Vanaja(pictured), Borabanda divisioncorporator, and Ravi Yadav, cor-porator of Langar House.

It is presumed that followingthe success story of C UdayKumar, whose contention wasupheld by High Court andimplemented by GHMC’s elec-tion Authority & Commissiner,M T Krishna Babu, several othersmay knock the doors of Courts.Ravi Yadav, who was elected toGHMC as corporator fromLangar House, was disqualifiedfor having three children.

Within a period of a fewweeks this is second time that aCourt has disqualified a corpora-tor over the issue. Earlier, a TheHigh Court passed orders underSection – 21 B of the GHMC Act,2009. The Act maintains that if acandidate has more than twochildren, he or she is ineligible to

contest elections as per the 1995Act of civic body polls.

How would the corporationsolve the query of the Muslimcandidates who, by virtue oftheir personal law, can havemore than one wife, and there-fore more children? Officials andCorporators across the political

spectrum are surprised at thedoubt. “There is no specificclause holding special status onthe basis of caste or religion,”pointed out a BJP corporator, MVaikuntam.

“Yes, two children norm issame to everyone,” said the MIMfloor leader, Md Nazeeruddin.

Officials too are in agree-ment. “How can there be two dif-ferent sets of norms in democra-cy ? Nowhere I came across sucha notion in my decades of attach-ment with the corporation,” saida senior official of GHMC. Whileclarifying on the issue of morewives, the official said, “If it is sothen the rival may first have toprove the corporator has morethan one wife. It may becomemore tedious a legal process.”

Some observers are of theopinion that even if a corporatorhas more than one wife, the chil-dren born to both women wouldbe counted as his own, as all ofthem are heir to father’s estate.

The Election Commissionofficials, who faced the uniqueproblem of answering the “legalopinion” after the Court held thecase in favour of Uday Kumar,do not want to comment on dif-ferent set of norms forCorporators and MLAs & MPs.“We are enforcers, not the lawmakers,” said Jai Simha, JointDirector, Election Commission.“When the court held the order,the GHMC should have imple-mented it. The legal opinion onthis case was unwarranted,”saidthe official.

city THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 5

POLITICS

STATE POLITICS

A well-meaning law to make a political candidate ineligible for contesting if he/she has morethan two kids remains a grey area. Why it is not extended to Assembly and Parliament

remains a moot question.

INKESHAF [email protected]

The party has decided tohold a meeting in allassembly constituencies of

the State to take its achievementto the people of the state. Theparty views the SC/ST Sub-Planlegislation as its master weaponwhich can which can turn thetables of rival political partiesupside down and give a land-slide win to the ruling congressduring the next general elections.

It may be emphasised herethat the combined total popula-tion of the SC and STs in the Statestands at about 24 per cent oftotal population of 8.24 crores(Census-2012).

“The entire credit for suc-cessfully passing the bill in boththe houses of State goes to our

party. We see it as a greatachievement of the Congressparty. The party will utilize thisachievement to the hilt,” saidAndhra Pradesh CongressCommittee spokesperson KMrityunjayam told Postnoon.“We strongly feel that the enact-ment of new law for the develop-

ment of SCs and STs will help usretain their confidence forever.”

The most important objectiveof the party for undertaking a

massive publicity campaign is totorpedo the plans of rival politi-cal parties like TDP and YSRCongess, to weaken them in the

State and decimate their votebank.

“We feel that since the incep-tion of YSR Congress party in the

State, a major section of SC/STcommunities shifted their loyal-ties to it from the Congress party.It was clearly seen during therecent by-elections held in thestate as the YSRC emerged victo-rious in 15 assembly seats out ofthe 18 it contested,”Mrityunjayam said. “The promo-tion of the sub-plan as congressparty’s success will help us inwooing back those unhappy sec-tions from the two backwardcommunities.”

The assembly level meetingsbeing held by the party will havea turnout of about 5,000 peoplebelonging to SC and ST commu-nities. The day long meetingswill focus on creating awarenessamong the people of these com-munities about the benefits of thenew law and its usage, followedby delicious feasts.

Kids a scope for legal battle

To make leaders rolemodels, the GHMCAct, 2009 stipulatedthat a candidateshould not have morethan two children.

Congress law to woo SC/ST votersAfter successfully making the crucial SC/ST Sub-Plan into a law, the ruling Congress government has

decided to completely leverage the benefits of its success.

“The promotion of thesub-plan as Congressparty’s success willhelp us in wooing backthose unhappy sec-tions.”

FOR REPRESENTATIVE PURPOSE ONLY

city THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 6CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SUPERSTITION

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NHRC notifies AP, MP

POSTNOON [email protected]

National Human RightsCommission onTuesday issuednotices to Madhya

Pradesh and Andhra Pradeshgovernments in separate cases ofcorporal punishment and askedthem to submit reports withinfour weeks.

The issuance of notices camefollowing NHRC taking cogni-sance of media reports about"brutal treatment" meted toschool going boys by their teach-ers in the two states.

In one of the cases, a nine-year-old student of UshodayaMerit School in Kakinada (AP)suffered injuries when his teach-er beat him with a cane on his lefthand for not covering his booksproperly.

Doctors pronounced theboy's hand fractured at the samespot where he had sustained afracture three years ago.

A 10-year-old student of a

government primary school inMP's Betul district was beaten upby his two teachers when he

failed to satisfy them that he hadnot broken a bucket in theschool.

The boy succumbed to seri-ous injuries caused to his back-bone and neck, an NHRC state-ment quoting media reports said.

"The Commission hasobserved that the contents of thepress reports, if true, raise theserious issue of violation ofhuman rights of the students," itsaid.

No takers for 12.12.12 in HyderabadThere were no special delivery requests in hospitals and maternity homes for Wednesday.

The National Human Rights Commissions has issued notices toAP and MP on corporal punishments given to school students.

M [email protected]

Hype generated by theWestern media on thegreatness of December

12, 2012 had failed to bait peo-ple of Hyderabad. Reports thatmaternity wards of the cityhospitals will be packed withpregnant women demandingdelivery on 12.12.12 provedfalse.

A reality check by Postnoonin several leading hospitals ofboth corporate and govern-ment sectors proved there hadbeen no takers for the particu-lar date. Everywhere it wasbusiness as usual, and nothingmore.

Talking to the paper, DrJaya Chati, a senior gynaecolo-gist practising in a city hospitalsaid, “No parent hasapproached us and for deliveryon 12.12.12.

Enquiries with 10 maternity

hospitals in the twin citiesrevealed the same story. Peoplemay be interested in the exoticdate but are not over eager togo in for a surgery to achievethe end. Medical staff in Apollohospital too concurred that ithad received no special requestfor a delivery on Wednesday.

Radheshya Goswami, anastrologer in the city saidmanipulating a delivery willnot help change the fate chartof a baby because such shortcuts hardly help. It has to benatural to be of any impact. Ifin a natural course one is bornon this date, it is fine, he said.

Not one request wasrecorded in maternity hospitalsin Mehdipatnam, Muslimmaternity and Zanana hospital,Chadarghat, Nazamia GeneralHospital, Charminar, Modernmaternity hospital, Patlaburj,Seemas Aries maternity hospi-tal, Asif Nagar, CradleHospital, Basheer Bagh.

POLITICST-Cong leaders sore

Expressing concern over the UnionHome Minsitry inviting two rep-resentatives from each political

party to the all-party meeting onTelangana issue on December 28, theTelangana Congress leaders have saidthe issue would not be solved if twoleaders from each party participated inthe meeting.

Speaking to the media at the CLPoffice here on Wednesday, MLCs Yadava

Reddy and Bhanu Prasad said thatinviting two leaders from each partyindicated that Union Home MinisterSusheel Kumar Shinde himself was giv-ing a chance to leaders to express twoopinions on the Telangana issue.

They demanded that the UnionMinister withdraw the decision. Theysaid the T-Congress leaders will go toDelhi and urge the party high commandto stick to its earlier stand. NSS

NHRC has said ifmedia reports aretrue, it is a seriousissue of violationhuman rights ofschool students.

MAGICIAN’S CORNER

Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah at the inauguration of Magicians Academy at the Choo Mantar2012 International Magicians Convention being held at Ravindra Bharathi. N SHIVA KUMAR

classifieds THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 7

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INTERIOR

CLASSIFIEDS

Md [email protected]

The Congress floorleader KaleruVenkatesh sent rip-

ples across to his party lead-ership on Wednesday,which might have hit like ahigh tide, by saying good-bye to the party and theprestigious post as floorleader of biggest party inGHMC.

The decision to jump thefence now follows an assur-ance that he would become

an MLA under Jagan’s lead-ership. After presenting hisresignation to DanamNagender, City president,he revealed his proximity tothe YSRCP in his statement.“After the death of YSRajasekhara Reddy, theCongress party is facingleadership vacuum and lostthe credibility it hadamongst the public. Sincethe YSRCP has the respectof people, I would be join-ing the party to bolster itscause,” he said.

The effect of the resigna-

tion of Venkatesh, who hadserved the party for 15years, can already be seen.Those in the political circlesbelieve that at least five to10 corporators may followhim in the coming days.

The Congress strengthin the Civic body is current-ly 53. With Kaleru leaving,it comes down to 52, but ifrumours are to become real-ity, Congress may bereduced to the secondlargest party, as YSRC isreportedly trying to lurefive to seven corporators.

Md [email protected]

In spite of the high court giv-ing a charitable boost to thecity bus service by stayingadditional licensing of

20,000 auto-rikshaws, theAPSRTC has no methodical wayto improve the passenger com-forts. The court had expressedthe view that City bus servicewas enough to cater to the travel-ling public.

The APSRTC, which is plan-ning to introduce 500 new busesfor the City, does not have a sys-tem of regular passenger surveyto assess people’s need. Theexecutive director, transport ofHyderabad zones, KoteshwarRao, said in the twin cities’ lim-its, 3,800 buses have been plying.

However, he said the only inputit received was from the com-plaints of bus passengers andconductors. The RTC has no sys-tem of engaging professionalexperts to survey the spread ofnew residential areas. Nor does ithave any idea if the bus employ-

ees deal with the commutersproperly. The SRTC claims to doits survey by its employees atmajor bus stands such asAmeerpet, koti, Secunderabad,Mahdipatnam, Uppal andCharminar.

But commuters are outraged..

“Wayward is the way they oper-ate,” said a retired governmentofficial, Rajat Patel, who had ear-lier tried city buses for his travelneeds, but quit after findingthem unreliable and boorish.“How many passengers havetime to write a complaint toSRTC? Are they trying to fool thepublic? There is absolutely noeffort to infuse a sense of servicein the drivers and conductors.The officials do not bother to findout if buses cater to the growingpopulation in different areas.”

Mohd Ismailuddin, an MCAgraduate said, “I travel by busfor hunting jobs. I hardly ever geta seat. If I give a `10, note theconductor would tell me to col-lect the balance after reaching thedestination.”

K Ramesh, a student said,”I

have to wait for hours to get abus. In spite of having studentpass, I have to opt for auto rick-shaw often.”

Commuters say the bus ser-vice could make more revenue ifthey had run the service sensibly.“If they have any dedication theywould have found out that circu-lar service is the best way to caterto the needs of off-centre popula-tion,” complained Binish Rao, asales official of motor parts.

City travel woes unaddressedThe APSRTC plans to introduce 500 new buses, but it has no means to assess people’s needs.

Madina Degree College, in collaboration withNational Service Scheme, OU, is organizing aCommunity Awareness Program on “Combat

Dengue” on December 13 and 14 on the college premis-es at Himayatnagar.

Head of Department of Microbiology Safia Begumhas stated that Dengue fever, also known as breakfever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by thedengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, mus-cle and joint pains and a characteristic skin rash that issimilar to measles. In a small proportion of cases, thedisease develops into the life-threatening dengue hem-orrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels ofblood platelets and blood plasma leakage or intodengue shock syndrome, where dangerously lowblood pressure occurs.

Dengue is transmitted by several species ofmosquito within the genus aedes, principally A. aegyp-ti. Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, suingeither oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or mod-erate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood trans-fusion for more severe cases.

KM Arifuddin, secretary, Madina Education andWelfare Society and Arifa Sultana, principal and chair-man, NSS, extended support to the event.

On December 13, a rally will be taken out fromMadina Degree College, Himayathnagar, toAvanthinagar Slum via bylanes to avoid vehicular traf-fic congestions. At 10.30 am, the NSS volunteers hold-ing placards and banners will explain the people aboutthe importance of cleanliness and prevention ofmosquito breeding. The rally will be flagged off by KMArifuddin, Secretary Madina Group of institutions.

S Rama Narayana Reddy, additional commissioner(Admn) GHMC will be the chief guest. Prof K.Ramakrishna, Program Co-ordinator, National ServiceScheme, OU, will be the guest of honour. NSS

‘Combat dengue’awareness programme at Madina College

TRANSPORT

POLITICS

New airport busesFinding out how private cabservices have been reapingthe benefits of swelling air-port passengers, the APSRTChas decided to introduce 30new luxury buses linkingcore city to airport.

Jagan strikes at civic bodyThe Congress floor leader Kaleru Venkatesh has quit

the party, stating that he would join YSRC as theCongress has lost credibility among the public.

HEALTH

city THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 8ASTRONOMY

RAHUL [email protected]

Astronomers in the Cityhave a tough timedealing with theirhobby. The reasons

behind this are many, it could bethe City lights at night, the pol-luted City air or the very expen-sive machinery required forwatching and mapping the stars.Following Patrick Moore’s death,Postnoon takes a look at theastronomy following in the City.

While Hyderabad’s buddingand amateur astronomers havemany communities on the inter-net, the same cannot be saidoffline. It is almost as if they are areclusive sect of stargazers whoseem to remain aloof from theworld, because it is so difficult totrace them. K Raghuram, a selftaught astronomer and astropho-tographer says, “Hyderabadunlike Bombay has very fewastronomers. There are hardlyany clubs or associations here,and even if they do exist, theyexist only on the internet.”

Abhishek Ranganathan, anamateur astronomer says, “After

the subject is taught rhetoricallyin schools the interest in astrono-my is lost. People do not knowthat a simple binocular and aclear sky can teach us a lot aboutthe craters on the moon. I hadspotted artificial satellites mov-ing from the West to East andthis way over a period of sixmonths, I learnt the many mapsof star movements.”

Raghuram says the manyaspects of astronomy like stargazing and mapping the move-ment of the cosmic bodies isimpossible in the cities. “TheCity had a fair visibility factorabout seven years ago but now, ifone were to actually devote sometime and learn how to map thestars, then a short trip to the out-skirts of the City like Gandipet isnecessary.” The reasons are ris-ing pollution levels and the gar-ish City lights.

Raghuram however, saysastronomy need not alwaysbegin with an expensive tele-scope. “A good pair of binocularsand star mapping software canhelp one understand the paths ofthe stars.” He uses Sky Night, astar locating and mapping soft-

ware, a DSLR to click pictures, a6-inch Bombay manufacturedrefracting telescope and DeepSky Stacker, a photograph stack-ing software.

Hyderabad has had a richhistory with astronomy. In theheart of the City lies the nowdefunct Nizamia observatorywhich was built by the NawabZafar Yar Jung Bahadur.However, post independence thetelescopes from these observato-ries were shifted to the ruralareas of Ibrahimpatnam. There,the grand 46-inch refracting tele-scopes met a quiet burial. “Wehad gone to Rangapur a fewyears ago when we noticed thatthe telescope was not function-ing. It is a 46-inch telescope, fromthe Nizam’s era. However, thereare smaller telescopes which arebeing put to use by OsmaniaUniversity research scholars,”Raghuram says. Officials at theAstronomy Department tell usthat there is no funding to repairor replace the telescope.

ABOUT PATRICK MOOREThe City’s astronomy crowd wassad that the famous Patrick

Moore had passed away. SaysRaghuram, “I used to watch hisshow on TV Sky at Night, the pro-gram he’d been doing for 50years. He used to present the skywith its various events everymonth like a meteor, a comet andeclipses. His presentation andimages from outer space areunlike anything we can get herein India.”

Director of Birla ScienceCenter and Planetarium andastronomer, BG Siddharth says,“I would call Patrick Moore avery good amateur astronomerbecause he was not trained inastronomy. But he had donesome great work. It was a plea-sure meeting him and speakingto him a long time ago, but it issad that he has passed away.”

Garish lights mar joy of night skyAmateur astronomers have a feeble presence in Hyderabad and City administration does nothing to

encourage this great educational experience.

Planetarium empty ofvisitors

The last two months of the yearhappen to be the best times for

star gazing. That said, the City’sonly planetarium and science cen-tre wears a deserted look on week-days. According to amateurastronomers in Hyderabad, onlyweekends bring a decent turnout atthe BM Birla Planetarium andScience Museum. “Unlike Mumbaiwhere there are a lot of astronomyclubs and regular gatherings,Hyderabad is yet to show interest inthis hobby. There are barely anyclubs or associations here that meetregularly to watch the beauty of thestars and the many happenings inthe cosmos,” says K Raghuram, anamateur astronomer. The directorof BM Birla Science Center andastronomer BG Siddharth says thatthere is a huge turnout on week-ends and also on some weekdaysat the planetarium and the sciencecentre. The planetarium wore adeserted look on Wednesday.Despite the optimism shown byhead of the science centre, therewas not a single soul around at theBM Birla Science Center. Passers-byand residents of the area say thatthe planetarium does not attractthe same amount of visitors andtourists as it did 10 years back.

Hyderabad has had arich history withastronomy. In theheart of the City liesthe now defunctNizamia observatory.

focusTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

9LATITUDES AND LONGITUDESLatitude and longitude are angles that uniquely define points on asphere. Together, the angles comprise a coordinate scheme that canlocate or identify geographic positions on the surfaces of planetssuch as the earth.

QALAAT MUZEIBLEH,IRAQ: At the end of aresearch trip to an oil field ineast Iraq, Ruba Husari took adetour to visit a site she hadwanted to see for some time.When she arrived it was bar-ren... but still she wasdelighted.

Less than 10 kilometres(six miles) from the Iranianborder, Husari’s destinationwas nondescript and unre-markable — a 20 minutewalk from a pothole-filledroad and several kilometres(miles) from the tiny villageof Qalaat Muzeibleh, withthe Badra oil field barely visi-ble in the distance.

But the spot marked theexact geographic intersectionof a latitude and longitudepoint — 33 degrees northand 46 degrees east — one ofseveral in Iraq and aroundthe world that adventuroustravellers are looking to doc-ument as part of an Internet-based project.

“It’s a fantastic way ofexploring the country,” saidHusari, whose day jobinvolves running the iraqoilfo-rum.com website.

After successfully manag-ing to locate and stand on theprecise spot where the twolines intersected, she tri-umphantly raised a clenchedfist and jokingly declared, “Ifthey ever discover oil here,I’m claiming it!”

“It’s a risky adventure,but at the same time for me,

it’s very rewarding,” sheadded, after taking a photoof her GPS receiver with theprecise coordinates to showshe was standing on theexact intersection.

The visit to the “conflu-ence point” was her sixth inIraq in the past three years,having first been told aboutthe Degree ConfluenceProject by Dubai-basedfriends who spent weekendscamping in the Emiratidesert and driving off-roadvehicles, often in search ofthe points themselves.

Due to Iraq’s chronicinstability in recent years,few of the country’s conflu-ence points have been docu-mented. Tourism in Iraqremains in its infancy; manyprospective travellers arewary of violence and poorinfrastructure.

And so despite the coun-

try’s historic attractions, thevast majority of Iraq’stourists are Shiite pilgrimsvisiting the many shrines tokey figures in Shiite Islam.

Of Iraq’s 40 confluencepoints, just 14 have been“discovered”, many byHusari but also by others inthe oil industry, and someAmerican and British sol-diers who were stationednear confluence points afterthe 2003 US-led invasion thatousted Saddam Hussein.

The Degree ConfluenceProject began in 1996, thebrainchild of Alex Jarrett,who visited the intersectionof 43 degrees north and 72degrees west with a friend inthe American state of NewHampshire after buying aGPS receiver.

It was the first of 15 suchvisits he made to variousconfluence points in the

United States.“It was a fun journey (to

the first confluence point),”Jarrett, no longer active in theproject. “And I came up withthe ridiculous idea that weshould just randomly post awebsite and let’s visit allthese points in the world andsee what happens. I had noinkling that there would bevery much interest.”

Since the project wasfounded, more than 6,000confluence points fromaround the world have beendocumented on www.conflu-ence.org, a volunteer-runwebsite, but around 10,000are still to be found, evenafter discounting intersectionpoints in the oceans and nearthe Earth’s poles.

Husari’s own efforts havetaken her on a multitude ofadventures in Iraq — she hasrowed a tiny canoe throughthe southern marshes anddriven through the desert ofNajaf province south ofBaghdad, all armed with herGarmin GPS system and anarray of Google Maps print-outs.

She even had to abandonone attempt because thoseaccompanying her refused togo further, warning she wasstraying into territory west ofBaghdad where Al-Qaeda-linked militants still held sig-nificant sway.

Sometimes, though, whilethe trip can be an adventure,the destination itself yields

little in the way of pho-tographs or novelty.

“One time in Algeria, Ihad to cross beautiful bigrolling sand dunes, I passedold antique Arab wells ofwater,” said Rod Maher, a 54-year-old seismology expertnow living in the northernIraqi city of Arbil.

“But then when I hit theconfluence point, it was allflat. There was nothingaround. Getting to it was fun,though, and I saw things Iwouldn’t have otherwise.”

According to one formerAmerican soldier who man-aged to visit two Iraqi conflu-ence points, part of theappeal of making it to one isthe fact that “everybodywants to be ChristopherColumbus.”

“Some of my relativesand friends don’t get it,” saidthe ex-intelligence officer.Among the most difficultconversations many conflu-ence-hunters face are thosewith perplexed locals. “It’sdifficult to tell them I’m try-ing to find a place that’s onlyrecognisable on a map, on apiece of paper, or on myGPS,” said Husari, a Britishcitizen of Palestinian descent.

“Some of the drivers andguys I take with me think I’mjust mad, to go to the middleof the desert to look for, whatis to them nothing.”

“Actually,” she added, “Iam looking for nothing.”

AFP

‘COINCIDE’NCE

Looking for nothing, reallyThe Degree Confluence Project involves visiting the integer degree intersections of

latitude and longitude on the Earth. Volunteers say “it’s risky, but rewarding”.

BusinessTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

10CARNEY TO GO HOMEThe incoming governor of the Bank of England, Canadian MarkCarney, who has said he plans to seek British citizenship, insistedin an interview published Wednesday that he will return toCanada once his term of office ends.

Oil prices fell in Asia on Thursdayafter the Organisation of PetroleumExporting Countries (OPEC) warned ofan oversupply as uncertainty sur-rounds the outlook for the globaleconomy, analysts said.New York’s main contract, light sweetcrude for delivery in January fell 19cents to $86.58 a barrel and BrentNorth Sea crude for January deliveryshed 15 cents to $109.35.Crude prices were down following“preliminary warnings from the cartelthat downside demand risk wasincreasing”, said Sanjeev Gupta, whoheads the Asia-Pacific oil and gaspractice at Ernst and Young.“Markets continue to be overshad-owed by concerns of looming over-supply next year with limited demandgrowth.” The Organisation ofPetroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)— which produces more than a thirdof the world’s oil — said Wednesdayin Vienna that it was holding its oiloutput ceiling at 30 million barrels perday (mbpd) due to demand uncer-tainties.

OIL PRICES FALL

European Union finance ministersbrokered a hard-fought deal Thursdayto create a single bank supervisorwith powers to close down lendersright across the eurozone, several offi-cials said. The “historic” agreementcame after 14 hours of talks and lessthan 12 hours ahead of a summit ofEU leaders who ordered the marathonpreparations.The “overall aim is torestore confidence in the banking sec-tor” and compared the deal to a“Christmas present for the whole ofEurope,” said the meeting’s chair,Cypriot Finance Minister VassosShiarly, announcing the deal to thepress in the early hours of Thursdaymorning.

HISTORIC DEAL

NUMEROLOGY

$8.6mnis the fine that has been imposed onMitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s biggest bank,

for flouting US sanctions on Iran.

SALES

PHOTO-SHARING SERVICES

Since our country is a union of states, weabide by its federal character and, there-fore, are bound by the consensus on theissue,

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PRUDHVI RAJU [email protected]

The slump in the realestate industry in theState has affected theancillary industries.

Tiles industry, which is growingat 15 per cent in the country, hasto limit itself to the growtharound 5-10 per cent in theState. However, the industryleaders foresee the increase ingrowth with real estate industrypicking up in the City.

“The buyers have gainedconfidence in the market andthey are not really botheredabout political agitation andrecession. There is also increasein sales of villas, which is givingpush to the retail tiles sales. Thedecrease in availability of mar-ble is also helping the tiles mar-ket to grow in the future.Vitrified tiles, which are replac-ing marble, had taken around 70per cent of the overall flooringmarket. Low price with easylaying and maintenance is alsopushing their market. Forinstance, H&R Johnson has inte-

grated the look and finish ofItalian Marble in vitrified tiles.Providing these tiles at a much

lower price is also making theaesthetics and style affordable tothe customer,” said NarsingRao, senior general manager forAP and Karnataka, H&RJohnson Tiles.

On the tiles that are import-ed to the country from China, hesaid, “Although, they are offer-ing these products at a competi-tive price, there is no consisten-cy in the availability of the prod-uct. For instance, one cannotwait for 45-60 days for the con-

tainer to arrive in the country.”Talking about the potential

of the market, he said, “Around130 crore population of thecountry will bring out hugeopportunities for the tiles mar-ket. There is rapid urbanisationin the country. The flat culture,which is seen in the City mar-kets, had slowly passed to Tier-2and Tier 3 cities. The per capitaconsumption of the country is at0.5 sq ft, which is much lowerthan developing countries likeBrazil and China. The potentialof the tile market is huge withsignificant growth in flat cultureand urbanisation.”

Tiles industry remains hopeful The industry leaders foresee increase in growth with real estate

industry picking up in the City.

Industry size : `17,000 crore

Organised sector: `8,000 crore

Unorganised sector: `9,000 crore

Per capita consumption: 0.5 sq ft

Fact file

Disney Bathroomconcepts Disney consumer products hastied-up with H&R Johnson Indiato launch the Disney brandedceramic tiles collection. As part ofthis tie up, H&R Johnson will rollout Disney bathroom concepts inthe country. Branded, as JohnsonTiles’ Disney concepts will bringbest Disney love stories in newand fun styles inspired by theDisney characters.

Yahoo! joined the fray oversmartphone photo-sharing

Wednesday by making it moreenticing for iPhone users to useits Flickr service amid a riftbetween Twitter and the popu-lar photo app Instagram.

Improvements to Flickr soft-ware tailored for iPhones andiPod touch devices included theaddition of Instagram-style “fil-

ters” that let people imbue pho-tos with artistic effects.

“We know that some of yourbest photo moments happen onthe fly, so we’ve made it easierto get the perfect shot wheninspiration hits,” said a Flickrblog post by Markus Spiering.

“Once you get the shot,there’s a built-in editor to quick-ly correct, crop, or enhance it

with one of the new (high-reso-lution) filters.”

Pictures taken with iPhones

or iPods can be shared atFacebook, Twitter, Tumblr andFlickr, or by email, the Yahoo-owned photo service said with apromise that photos will “lookgorgeous no matter where theyare viewed.”

“We built the app with shar-ing in mind,” Flickr vice presi-dent Brett Wayn said at theYahoo! blog.

Yahoo! makes Flickr more enticingImprovements to Flickr software tailored for iPhones and iPod touch devices included the

addition of Instagram-style “filters” that let people imbue photos with artistic effects.

AHMEDABAD: Voting on 87constituencies for the first ph aseof Gujarat Assembly electi onsbegan today amidst tight se -curity where Gujarat Chief Mi -nister Narendra Modi is se ekinga fourth term. The constituen-cies where polling startedinclude 48 in seven districts ofSaurashtra, 35 seats in five dis-tricts of south Gujarat and fourseats in Ahmedabad district.

A total of 846 candidatesare in fray. For this phase, BJPhas fielded candidates on all 87seats going to the poll, whereasCongress is contesting on 84and Gujarat Parivartan Party(GPP) on 83 seats. The EC hasmade robust security arrange-ments to ensure that voting iscarried out peacefully bydeploying security forces inthe areas going to polls in first

phase. Out of total 1,81,77,953voters, there are 95,75,278males, 86,02,557 females and118 other voters who are likelyto use their franchise. EC hasset up 21,261 polling stationsand will use the same numberof electronic voting machines(EVMs) in the first phase elec-

tions. Forty-eight seats inSurendranagar, Rajkot,Jamnagar, Porbandar, Jam -nagar, Amreli and Bhavngarare considered very crucial aspolitical observers are watch-ing very keenly on how formerCM and Keshubhai Patel fac-tor plays. PTI

nationTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

11

SHIV SENA BENDS

Under pressure from the govern-ment, Shiv Sena today indicated itswillingness to shift Bal Thackeray'smemorial to the margins of ShivajiPark in the city. "Shiv Sainiks will withtheir own hands shift the 'samadhisthal' a little," Sena executive presi-dent Uddhav Thackeray said in astatement in party mouthpiece'Saamna', of which he is the neweditor. "The stance of Shiv Sena onthe 'samadhi sthal' has always beenthat of restraint. A permanent'samadhi sthal' will come up at the'Shiv Teerth' by shifting the presentsamadhi sthal a little," Uddhav said.

Parliamentarians led by RajyaSabha Chairman Hamid Ansari,Prime Minister Manmohan Singhand Lok Sabha Speaker MeiraKumar today paid homage tomartyrs on the 11th anniversaryof the attack on Parliament. UPAChairperson Sonia Gandhi, BJPleader LK Advani, Leaders ofOpposition in the Lok Sabha anthe Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swarajand Arun Jaitley respectively andother members attended asolemn ceremony held in thepremises of Parliament.

LIGHTNING KILLS SEVENAt least seven people, including a child, were killed by lightning in Odisha'scoastal belt, an official said Thursday. Thunderstorms and lightning accom-panied by strong winds hit parts of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districtsWednesday, killing a total of four people, the official said.

NUMEROLOGY

LEADERS PAY HOMAGE

40Indian fishermen returned home

after they were released by the SriLankan Navy.

Pick at the airport, -

CHENNAI: Controversy-embroiled KudankulamNuclear Power Project will onceagain miss the target as the timeframe of commissioning of thefirst unit has now been revisedto the new year.

Commercial operation of the1,000 MW first unit, where 99.65per cent of the physical progresshas been completed, is expectedto take place in January next,Nuclear Power Corporation ofIndia Limited (NPCIL) said.

Minister of State in the PMOV Narayanasamy, who has beenmonitoring the progress of theIndo-Russian project, hit byprotests over safetyconcerns,had informed LokSabha last week that Unit-I waslikely to be commissioned bythis month end.

Similarly, commercial opera-tion of the second unit has beenfixed for August next year."Preparatory works are on. Eachand every step of ours is beingmonitored by the AtomicEnergy Regulatory Board. Weare doing our best to commis-sion it soon," sources in thePlant said. M Pushparayan, aleader of the People'sMovement Against NuclearEnergy, spearheading the stir,said though it has been said thecommissioning would takeplace some time this month"now, we heard that they havegiven a date on Jan 15".

After resorting to a series ofprotests including "sea siege" ofthe plant, PMANE now wants anational debate on the Centre'sprogramme. PTI

Racked by protests, KNPPput-off to New Year

WASHINGTON: Indianmusic legend Pandit RaviShankar has been named aLifetime AchievementGrammy Award recipient, aday after his death at 92 in aUS hospital.

The sitar maestro will behonoured along with six otherartists at an invitation-onlyceremony in Los Angeles Feb9, just one day before the 55thannual Grammy Awards areto be telecast live from theStaples Centre in Los Angeles.

Ravi Shankar last weekwas named as one of theGrammy nominees for BestWorld Music Album. It is acategory in which his daugh-ter, sitar virtuoso Anoushka,31, is also nominated, mark-ing what appears to be thefirst time that a father anddaughter's albums will becompeting for the same hon-our at the Grammys.

IANS

NEW DELHI: In a setback toSamajwadi Party leaderMulayam Singh Yadav and UPCM Akhilesh Yadav, the SCThursday declined to recall itsearlier order of directing a CBIprobe into the allegation of theirassets disproportionate to theirknown sources of income.

An apex court bench of ChiefJustice Altmas Kabir and JusticeHL Dattu, while pronouncingtheir judgement on MulayamSingh's plea seeking review ofthe court's 2007 verdict directingCBI to carry out preliminaryinquiry into the allegations oftheir possessing disproportion-ate assets, said that investigatingagency will act independentlywithout taking any instructionsfrom government. Pronouncingthe judgement, Chief JusticeKabir said that the investigatingagency will not submit its reportof its investigations to the centralgovernment. IANS

No relief forMulayam, Akhileshin assets case

NUCLEAR PROJECT

CBI

GRAMMY

POLLS

RaviShankar gets

LifetimeAchievement

Grammy

Voting begins for firstphase of Gujarat polls

WorldTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

12MEDIA LAWS MUST APPLY TO TWEETS: LEVESONSenior judge Brian Leveson, the man who led the inquiry into Britain'sphone-hacking scandal, has warned that bloggers and tweeters should besubject to the same laws as traditional media outlets to prevent a declinein standards of journalism.

PRANK CALL PROBE ONAustralia's media watchdog onThursday opened an investigationinto a prank call to the hospitaltreating Prince William's pregnantwife Catherine ahead of autopsyresults on the nurse who died.The hoax sparked global condem-nation with the nurse who fieldedthe call, Jacintha Saldanha, appar-ently committing suicide. The resultof her post-mortem was due to bereleased later Thursday with Britishpolice unable to confirm mediareports that she hanged herself inthe nurses' accommodation nearKing Edward VII's Hospital.

Singapore opposition partiesurged Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong Thursday to call a by-elec-tion after the parliamentarySpeaker abruptly resigned due toan extramarital affair. The callscame less than 24 hours afterMichael Palmer, 44, publicly con-fessed to "a serious error of judg-ment and announced his resigna-tion from his parliamentary seatand membership of the rulingPeople's Action Party (PAP).

SINGAPORE IN UPROAR

NUMEROLOGY

$60.4 bnis the amount the White House hasasked the Congress to approve foraid the post-Sandy rebuild effort.The amount required would be

around $82 billion.

Hong Kong hasbecome a city of

protest. The wholeworld used to sayit was SouthKorea. It is nowHong Kong.

Jackie ChanThe actor’s comments

that protest in his nativecity should be restricted

have sparked a controversy.

China marks Nanjingmassacre NANJING, CHINA, : Air raidsirens sounded in the Chinese cityof Nanjing Thursday as it markedthe 75th anniversary of the masskilling and rape committed there byJapanese soldiers. The two countrieshave extensive trade and businesslinks, but the weight of history stillweighs heavily on their relationship.

AFP

Last S Korea polls givePark the edgeSEOUL: The last polls allowedbefore next week's South Koreanpresidential election all showed alead for conservative favourite ParkGeun-Hye over her liberal rival, butby varying margins. The four sur-veys published Thursday, but basedon data gathered before NorthKorea's provocative launch of along-range rocket on Wednesday.

Ex-Thai PM to becharged with murder BANGKOK, Thailand's formerpremier Abhisit Vejjajiva is set to becharged with murder on Thursdayover the death of a civilian during amilitary crackdown on anti-govern-ment "Red Shirt" rallies two yearsago. Abhisit, along with his then-deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, will beformally charged at Department ofSpecial Investigation (DSI).

UN atomic team in Iranfor nuclear talksTEHRAN,: A team from the UNatomic watchdog led by chiefinspector Herman Nackaerts arrivedearly Thursday for talks with nuclearofficials on Iran's controversialnuclear programme, ISNA newsagency reported. The InternationalAtomic Energy Agency says the aimof the talks is to sign an agreementon a "structured approach".

NEWS BRIEFS

SYRIAN CRISIS

DAMASCUS: The Syrianregime has fired Scud missiles atrebel forces trying to oust Basharal-Assad, a US official saidWednesday, after Arab andWestern states recognised theopposition bloc as the sole rep-resentative there.

"Scuds landed within Syria,"the official told AFP on condi-tion of anonymity.

Earlier Wednesday an AFPjournalist in northwestern Syriareported hearing several fierceexplosions daily from up to 15kilometers (10 miles) away.

State Departmentspokeswoman Victoria Nulandsaid "we're seeing missilesemployed now" but she refusedto divulge intelligence on whattype of missile.

But the US official speakinglater said he could confirm aNew York Times story that theregime was unleashing Scuds.

There was no word of anycasualties caused by the Soviet-era weapons, famously firedinto Israel by Iraq's SaddamHussein during the first GulfWar.

The unguided, short-rangeballistic Scud missiles, depend-

ing on the type employed, havea range of 200 kilometres ormore. Putting further pressureon the Assad regime onWednesday, Arab and Westernstates recognised the oppositionNational Coalition as the solerepresentative of Syrians.

The declaration, issued at a"Friends of Syria" meeting inMorocco, coincided with battle-field gains by jihadists fightingAssad's forces and a rapidlydeteriorating refugee situationas winter sets in.

"Today, full recognition isgiven to the National Coalitionas the sole representative of theSyrian people," MoroccanForeign Minister Saad Eddine ElOthmani told a news conferenceafter the meeting his govern-

ment hosted in Marrakesh.The talks on the 21-month-

old conflict brought togetherrepresentatives from 114 coun-tries, including about 60 minis-ters, the Syrian opposition andinternational organisations.

They came just a day afterUS President Barack Obamaendorsed the NationalCoalition, following a similarmove by the European Union.

The Friends of Syria againcalled on Assad to stand down,and stressed that his regimewould not escape punishmentfor violations of internationallaw. A statement also warnedDamascus against using chemi-cal weapons, saying this "woulddraw a serious response fromthe international community".

Syria ‘scuds’ rebel forcesThere was no word of any casualties caused by the Soviet-era weapons, famouslyfired into Israel by Iraq's Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War.

The unguided, short-range ballistic Scudmissiles, dependingon the type employed,have a range of 200kilometres or more.

BACK TO THE U.S., FINALLY

Anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee(left) was back on American soil Wednesday after being expelledfrom Guatemala, escaping immediate deportation to Belize for questioning over his neighbor's murder.Customs officials did not immediately respond to calls from AFP regarding McAfee's legal status and whatwould happen to him now, after he touched down at Miami International Airport just before 7:00 pm localtime (0000 GMT). (Right) McAfee´s Belizian girlfriend, Samantha Vanegas, waits for his arrival at the Aurorainternational airport in Guatemala City earlier on December 12. AFP

SEOUL: The satellite launchedby North Korea's long-rangerocket is in operational orbit,South Korea's defence ministrysaid Thursday, confirming theapparent success of Pyongyang'sstated space mission.

The satellite sent into spaceby the North's Unha-3 rocket onWednesday, is "orbiting normal-ly", ministry spokesman KimMin-Seok told reporters.

"It is not yet known whatkind of mission the satellite isconducting. It usually takes twoweeks to evaluate whether asatellite is successful.”

KOREAN CONUNDRUMN Korea'srocket is inorbit: S Korea

Amazon Kindle Fire HD

Last year's Kindle Firefelt more like an

OEM-ed content deliv-ery device than a solid7-inch tablet. This year,however, the mega e-retailer went for broke,offering up a focus onhardware design that itsprevious model lacked.As the name implies,you've got a new HD IPSdisplay. Amazon hasalso improved WiFi per-formance, and soundquality is strongerthanks to a pair of speakers on the rear. All thatplus a great content selection from Amazonadds up to a great $199 tablet.Key specs: 7-inch (1,280 x 800) IPS display,16/32GB of storage, micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports, rated for about 11 hours of battery life.Price: $199

Beats by Dr Dre Pill

Dr Dre thinks it's time for a new prescriptionwhen it comes to enhancing your mobile

audio needs in a diminutive speaker. With aquartet of 1-inch drivers, this medication-inspired mini-rig offers sound that's milesahead of other portable Bluetooth speakers atits price point, supporting the likes of Apt-Xand AAC codecs. The rechargeable lithium ionbattery will let you bump out the jams foraround seven hours, while tap-to-pair NFCmakes connecting to your smartphone a cinch.Key specs: Tiny size, four 1-inch drivers, NFC,on-board microphone, Apt-X and AAC support,Bluetooth 2.1, 3.5mm input and output jacks,micro-USB charging and probably some sort ofstreet cred.

Price: $200

Sony Alpha A99

Sony's newfull-frame

flagship is top-of-the-line inevery way,except when itcomes to price.A $2,800 stickerundercutsCanon's $3,500 5DMark III and Nikon's $3,000 D800, and the cam-era's compact footprint and lighter weight makeit feel more akin to the two less-capable modelsyou'll find below. This more comfortable designis compliments of Sony's Translucent Mirrortechnology, which also enables faster autofocus.While it's still not cheap, we feel that a full-frame sensor is the key component that shouldmake you consider a full-size DSLR — for mostconsumers, the mirrorless models will suffice.Key specs: Full-frame 24-MP sensor, 25,600 topISO, 10 fps stills, 1080/60p video with uncom-pressed output.Price: $2,798

Alienware X51

The Alienware X51 isjust a touch larger

than your average gam-ing console, but it'sconsiderably morepowerful. After all, itpacks NVIDIA's GTX 660graphics chip and anIntel Core i7 processorwith 1TB of HDD mem-ory. The X51 can be eas-ily connected to a livingroom TV for use as amedia center and SteamBig Picture Mode gamebox. Kitting it out allthe way comes with ahefty price, of course.Key specs: Core i7-3770processor with 16GB ofRAM, NVIDIA GeForceGTX 660 graphics with1.5GB of dedicatedRAM, weighs 12.1pounds.Price: $1,200

Pope Benedict XVI’s posted his firsttweet yesterday in the presence ofa Twitter employee. He tapped thescreen of a tablet to send a pre-drafted message in eight lan-guages. His tweet was his ownwords according to the Vatican, butsomeone else typed it for him. Inthe first few hours, the tweet pickedup more than 38,000 retweets andwas tagged as a favourite by nearly13,000. Benedict XVI's @pontifexaccount stayed busy, with fouradditional tweets addressing twoquestions about faith.


Google has released this year’sZeitgeist for India — a list ofmost searched terms, people,movies etc — and Sunny Leonehas topped the list of mostsearched person by Indians.Rajesh Khanna, Poonam Pandey,Alia Bhatt and Nirmal Baba arethe other Indians who made it tothe top 5 searched list. Amonggeneral search terms IBPS andGate Exams topped the list, fol-lowed by Sunny Leone, Ek ThaTiger and Rowdy Rathore. SalmanKhan’s Ek Tha Tiger and AkshayKumar’s Rowdy Rathore were alsothe most searched movies of2012 followed by films like Jannat2, Housefull 2 and Raaz 3.

HOLY TWEET

SUNNY LEONE FACTOR

More and more Apple TVrumours are pouring in on a dailybasis. According to Wall StreetJournal, the company has beentesting out TV designs for yearsnow along with companies suchas Sharp and Foxconn. SteveJobs’s biography touches uponthis issue and he points out thatthe product has been delayedmainly because of cable serviceproviders. According to a recentcustomer survey 65 per cent ofthe participants said that theywere ready to pay 20 per centmore than normal HDTVs forApple’s product. Now with newrumours flying around, it’s timefor all Apple enthusiasts to startsaving up.

Coming soon?

Technology 13BOYS TOYS

Forget about Tablets fora minute. If you want togive a tech gift that willbe both loved and covet-ed then look no furtherthan these products.

THE TECHHAMPER

HP Envy X2

HP's take on the Atom-powered laptop/tablet craze is an 11-inch slate witha detachable keyboard dock. It's not the form factor that's impressive,

though: specs include NFC, Beats Audio and a 400-nit IPS display. There's alsopen support, so users can interact with the device via the touchscreen, key-

board or stylus. Beginning November 14th, you'll be able to purchase thislightweight, aluminum-built hybrid for $850 — hardly chump change, but you

get a lot for those buckaroos.

Key specs: 11-inch (1,366x 768) display, Clover Trailprocessor, 64GB of built-instorage, 0.33 inches thick,1.5 pounds / 1.6-pounddock.Price:$850

Lytro Camera

When it first arrived on the scene, we werequite impressed by the Lytro camera's

after-shot refocusing and intuitive UI. Now, thehandsome kit has added manual ISO and shut-ter controls to pilot the f/2.0 8x optical zoomlens alongside a host of accessories for keepingthe unit safe in your backpack. You'll be able tosnap 350 holiday photos with the 8GB modeland 750 images of that ski trip with the16GB model, and the entire lotplays nice with Windows,too.Key specs: Post-shotfocus, manual ISO/ shutter con-trols, 8GB or16GB ofstorage,f/2.0 8xopticalzoomlens, sim-ple UI.Price: $399

CHRISTMAS IS HERE

CommentTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

14HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTSIt seems Hugo Chavez has chosen his heir wisely. As people get moreinterested in Venezuelan vice-president Nicolás Maduro, reports emergethat he is capable of continuing with a very important aspect of Chavismo:incendiary rhetoric.

Hey Fat Man: Iknow you preferto be called Santa,but I thought“Hey Fat Man”

had a nice ring to it. So it’s thattime of year where everyonewrites to you asking for some-thing really materialistic like anew iPhone, blow up doll orknife set that have blades thatnever get dull, even after you cutwood and leather shoes withthem.

Before we get to what I’mgoing to ask for I wanted to clar-ify some issues. It has beenbrought to my attention that inthe laws governing the NorthPole there is a law that governsbehavior. I believe it is called the“Naughty or Nice Law” – this isnot to be confused with the“Sweet and Sour Law” govern-ing the food in ShezuanProvince, China. It is stated thatyou know whether someone hasbeen naughty or nice. First, Iwould like to call into questionwhat qualifies you to pass suchjudgment? Next, what standardis being used to determine ifsomeone is naughty or nice? Is itbased on one particular event oron a cumulative assessment ofone’s overall behavior? Arethere varying degrees of“naughty” and “nice”? Is there aCourt of Appeal if one wishes tochallenge your verdict?

The next issue I would like tobring up is the incident that took

place October 13, 2012. Therecords will show that, yes, I waspresent at the time the incidentoccurred, however, in no wayshape or form was I responsiblefor what occurred. There is noconcrete evidence to prove that Iwas responsible for what hap-pened, nor are there any wit-nesses who can testify to mecommitting the ‘naughty’ behav-ior. I believe it is essential that Iaddress this issue before it isused against me, thereby reduc-ing the value of the gift or size oftoy I receive this year.

We will proceed from thispoint forward under the premisethat you have done your job andhave come to the rightful conclu-sion that I have been “Nice” andhave thereby been cleared toreceive the gift of my choosing.

Yes, yes we should be thank-ful for what we have and not bepicky in what we get. Ok I don’tbuy that nonsense. I spent mostof my year being nice rather thannaughty, so Mr. Fat Man you bet-ter pay up or else I will be filing alaw suit in Small Claims NorthPole Court. I would really hatefor us to go that route, however,just like the Tooth Fairy, if youdon’t meet your end of the dealthen I’ll have to use any legalchannels to claim what is right-fully mine.

Before I forget, I think youshould pay close attention towhat I am asking for or else, andI can’t emphasize this enough, Iwill take you to court.

I need new socks. Six pairsof ankle high white cotton socksshould do it.

Thanks, Ajay.

EDITORIALS

READERS’ VIEWSWe invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to [email protected] or#1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222. Editor: Dean Williams

Be not afraid ofgreatness: some

are born great, someachieve greatness,and some havegreatness thrustupon them.

William ShakespearePlaywright

BUT... SERIOUSLYAjay Hotchandani

Rocket boostfor young Kim

PARK [email protected]

Orth Korea's rocket launchis a timely boost for itsyoung leader, securing

his year-old grip on power andlaying to rest the humiliation ofa much-hyped but failed launch

eight months ago, analysts say.While Wednesday's launch is

likely to deepen the internation-al isolation of a country alreadyin dire economic straits, its real

and symbolic value can onlystrengthen Kim Jong-Un's hand.

The timing was especially signif-icant, both domestically and

overseas where the launch posesa particular challenge for con-

cerned neighbours China, Japanand South Korea -- all in a peri-

od of political transition. Athome it lent crucial validity to

Kim's place in the country'sdynastic succession, coming

days before the first anniversaryof the death of his father, Kim

Jong-Il and in the centennialbirth year of his grandfather andthe communist North's founder,Kim Il-Sung. "The launch means

the fulfilment of Kim Jong-Il'slast wish," said Yoo Ho-Yeol, a

political science professor atKorea University in Seoul. "As

such, it helps cement Jong-Un'sgrip on power and strengthens

his authority over the North'smilitary elites, securing their

loyalty and a sense of solidarityunder his leadership," Yoo said.

Kim, who is not yet 30, hasproved he is willing to follow his

father's example in flouting UNresolutions and ignoring the

advice and concerns of his onlymajor allies in Beijing. "If any-

thing, they carried out this testknowing what they were goingto get in terms of criticism andcondemnation and potentially

an increase of sanctions," said anexpert.

The brazen way in which a gang of several men helped students of JNTU tocheat the examination is no ordinary crime. Task Force arrested 13 people

for the crime today. It’s a crime against education and the entire fraternity ofstudents who honestly prepare for the examinations. The fraud involved the

gang providing blank answer sheets to the students and taking them backand depositing with the university after answers are perfectly recorded. It isclear that this cruel scam would not be possible without the involvement ofUniversity authorities. This prestigious institution of the State is thus sought

to be defamed by a gang of unscrupulous people and they ought to be pun-ished exemplarily. The entire examination wing of the University ought to be

fired for making available answer sheets in blank. If police show laxity andpoliticians try to save the guilty, we would be doing a crime against the

young generation which is unpardonable.

Nail this scam Good job, KarzaiWhat more proof do we need that Afghanistan is

plagued by corruption? The BBC reported that asenior judge in Afghanistan has been secretly recordeddemanding money and marriage from a young womanseeking his help in her divorce case. He first demandedmoney and then offered her marriage, both of which sherefused. Then he tried to lure her with promises that hewould “cover her with gold from head to toe”. Now thejudge has turned tables saying that he offered her mar-riage in jest and the whole episode is the work of hisfoes. The record has been submitted to the SupremeCourt, but nothing has been done yet against the judge.Keep up the good work, President Karzai.

LETTER TO SANTA

DID YOU KNOW...SophieTurner

who plays the character of Sansa inthe series Game of Thrones

adopted the dog Lady after it isexecuted in the show. Series author

George R.R. Martin reported thesame on his blog.

Cagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an Americantelevision series that originallyaired on the CBS television net-work for seven seasons from 1981to 1988. A police procedural, theshow stars Tyne Daly and SharonGless as New York City policedetectives who led very differentlives: Christine Cagney (Gless) wasa single, career-minded woman,while Mary Beth Lacey (Daly) wasa married working mother. Theshow pioneered on-screen pre-sentation of independent, work-ing women.

Lifetime is report-edly looking at

adapting a mod-ern-day version of

Pride andPrejudice for thesmall screen, tobe produced by

Jennifer LoveHewitt. Hewitt

and Lifetime arejoining forces for

Darcy's Town,which will take

place in a smallVirginia town inthe present day.

The script isbeing penned byCharmed writer-

producer Sheryl J.Anderson.

Downton Abbeystar Rob James-Collier hasrevealed that heis keen to land arole on US televi-sion. The Englishactor told that hewants to emulatethe success ofHomeland starDamian Lewis.Downton starJessica BrownFindlay departedthe hit perioddrama and hassince been linkedto a leading rolein action moviesequel CaptainAmerica.

CLASSIC TELEVISION

TRENDING...

YEAR IN REVIEW

tELEVISIONTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

ARROW ADDS TEEN WOLF ALUM COLTON HAYNESErstwhile Teen Wolf star Colton Haynes has landed a recurring role on Arrow. Theactor, who in early October hinted at his departure from the MTV hit, joins the CWdrama as Roy Harper, a “handsome, street-savvy” teen who falls for Oliver’s littlesister. 15

Bestshows of

2012It was an enticing mix

of old favourites and newtrailblazers that made for

pleasurable watchingthis year.

Aaron Sorkin’s brand new drama Newsroom, whichis being aired on HBO, is about a news divisionwhich is trying to pull itself out of the quagmire

of ratings and advertising to restore the honour whichnews channels once had. The promising show delvesdeep into the behind-the-scenes drama at a news chan-nel. The fictitious newsroom will have you at the edgeof your seat, and addicted to the adrenalin rush, thechase of the elusive break and everything which makesthe newsroom such a great place to be.

NEWSROOM

HOMELAND (SEASON 2)

Homeland took off with suchmomentum that it brow-beat Mad Men into sub-

mission by sweeping the Emmy's.The show throws light on theextent of the post 9/11 paranoiain the US, its Islamophobia andmore. By the time Season 1ended, the expectations from theshow had skyrocketed. But if theratings are anything to go by, thelatest season didn't let its loyalistsdown. The brilliant cast, razorsharp dialogue, rocketing sus-pense, continues and even if it'splot line is shaky, it's still one ofthe most entertaining showsyou'll see this year.

ARROW

Is there ever such a thing astoo many superheroes. Lateston the bandwagon is billion-

aire Oliver Queen, who after ashipwreck is marooned on adeserted island for five years.Oliver is rescued but he returns achanged man, with deadly skillsup his sleeve which enable himto masquerade as a playboy byday and a vigilante by night. In adark and gritty retelling of thefamed superhero Green Arrow,he returns to take down his fam-ilies enemies while also restoringorder to Star City.

GAME OF THRONES (SEASON 2)

No one ever thoughtGeorge R. R Martin’s epicA Song of Ice and Fire

could be faithfully replicated onthe big screen. But little did theyknow legends like Tim Van Allenand Alik Sakharovnot lend theirexcellence to make it an unparal-leled mini-series. The mythical,fantasy land of Westeros comesalive in their hands, replete withviolence, sex, blood and gore ofa magnitude that was hithertoinconceivable on tv. And thesecond season of the epic fanta-sy loses none of its magic withbrilliant acting, epic sets,breath-taking twists and turnsand mammoth budgets.

VEGAS

One of the only newshoes to create any ripplesthis year, Vegas is a highly

entertaining show that has to beon your must watch list. The onlything we love perhaps as much asprocedurals are period dramas.And who can protest to the sightof Dennis Quaid in cowboy heels,with a rifle or two to spare in thiswestern. Set in 1960s Vegas, theseries follows a former rancherturned sheriff Ralph Lamb(Quaid) who takes on powerfulChicago mobster Vincent Savino(Michael Chilkis) to restore orderto Sin City.


18ONE NITE STAND One Nite Stand is a band popular for their unique high-energy “Dance-Rock” music. Catch them performing live at Hard Rock Cafe today at 9pm.

MAKING THE RIGHT MIXAce badminton player Jwala Gutta spent her Wednesday afternoon getting intothe festive spirit. She was spotted at a Christmas celebration and cake mixingevent at the Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills.

TIME TO PARTY

spotlight

A soulful eveningAs part of the 100 piper fire bird musical festival, a

performance by Ustad Roshan Khan was held at Firdaus atTaj Krishna on Wednesday.

Vinay, Vipa Veer Naina, Aziz

Rani Kumar, Vijaya

1 2

3

Mickey with a friend Sartag & Sofia Poornima Priyanka & Neha

Rinku & Krishna Sofia Shwetha, Leena Monika

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

S BALAKRISHNA

S BA

LAKR

ISHN

A 1 2

3

TAKING ON PARIS: Neeru’s is going to be ending their year on a high note. Wednesday marked a new phase inthe ethnic fashion trends across the country. Neeru’s presented its signature store Neeru’s Emporio, a luxurious 30,000sq.ft. of wedding bliss. Located in Jubilee Hills, it’s touted to be India’s answer to Paris’ Champs-Elysees.

It’s mid-week and the party loving crowd is outto enjoy themselves. With three more days to go

for the weekend, burning out the stress andfatigue of work, these youngsters let their hair

down at Kismet on Wednesday night.

1 2

4 5

6 7 8

3

WACKY WEDNESDAYS

S BALAKRISHNA

TEA LOWERS ODDS OF OVARIAN CANCER?Drinking tea seems to lower odds of ovarian cancer, Australian researchinvolving 1,000 women says. Dada Su from Curtin University co-authored thestudy in China, involving 500 patients of ovarian carcinoma and the other halfbeing unaffected, who completed a questionnaire about tea consumption. health


19Preventing pressure sores

When my grand-mother was bedrid-den, we had toemploy a nurse just

to prevent bed sores, by chang-ing her position frequently andkeeping her clean. Almost all ofus know what bed sores are.Many of us would have facedthis problem at home, with oldpeople or those who are bed rid-den for long periods of time.

Bed sores are formed whenthe bone presses against the skinor tissues for a prolonged time,most commonly on the hips,back, shoulder blades, elbows,base of the spine, knees, ankles,heels, and even between fingersand toes.

The different stages of bedsores, as described by badbed-sores.com, are as follows: In theinitial stages, the skin tempera-ture and colour changes(becomes reddish or bluish).There could be pain and itching.It rapidly progresses to stage

two, where there is loss of skin.It then damages the tissues,forming a deep, blackish crateron the skin. And in the finalstages, the tissues, muscles,bones and connecting structureslike tendons and ligaments aredamaged, making it extremelydifficult to treat.

Dr Shahina Shafeeq, a con-sultant dermatologist at MaxSkin Clinic, tells us how to avoidbed sores while taking care ofbed ridden patients at home.“The position of the patient hasto be changed every two hours;you need to keep shifting. Areas

where the pressure is more,especially lower back, you needto keep it well cushioned. Urineand faeces should be cleanedimmediately and the area shouldbe kept dry.”

Once it sets in, treatmentdepends on how severe the soresare. “We grade it from mild tosevere. If it’s mild, it justrequires cleaning and dressing.If it is very deep, we have to gofor grafting to treat it,” DrShafeeq said.

Bed sores are most commonin the elderly, comatose orpatients with Alzheimer’s, said

Dr Radha Shah, skin specialist atApollo Hospital, Jubilee Hills.“There are air and water bedsavailable to help prevent bedsores. Application of powderwill prevent infection due tomoisture on the skin.”

She said antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and agents thathelp healing can be used to treatbed sores.

She said looking for earlysigns, like redness of skin, andtreating it early are important,rather than going for treatmentat a later stage. Patients need tobe turned and cleaned regularly.

DERMATOLOGY

Custom Hypnosis LiteCustom Hypnosis is thefirst application where youretain complete controlover your own hypnosissession. It’s perfect forshort sessions at theoffice, long sessions athome, or a session at bed-

time. You can also choose from threedifferent background music selectionsto help ease the mood.

ListeriosisListeriosis is an infection that can occurwhen a person eats food that has beencontaminated with bacteria calledListeria monocytogenes (L monocyto-genes). The bacterium is found in wildanimals, domesticated animals, and insoil and water. They make many ani-mals sick, leading to miscarriage andstillbirth in domestic animals.Vegetable, meet, raw milk and otherfood may get contaminated.

Pregnant women dreamof frogs!The three things pregnantwomen dream most ofduring their first trimesterare frogs, worms and pot-ted plants. Pregnancy hormones cancause mood swings, cravings and manyother unexpected changes. Oddlyenough, hormones can often affect thetypes of dreams women have.

Yik San KwohDr Yik San Kwoh is the inventor ofrobot/software interface program usedin the first robot-aided surgery. Thiswas developed to overcome the limita-tions of minimally-invasive surgery andto enhance the capabilities of surgeonsperforming open surgery. Instead ofdirectly moving the instruments, thesurgeon uses either a direct telema-nipulator or does it through computercontrol.

NEWS BRIEFSAPP-LY YOURSELF HOUSECALL DID YOU KNOW? PIONEERS

Fact filen Bed sores are also called

pressure sores or pressureulcers.

n Keep changing the positionof the bed ridden patientsevery 2 hours.

n Areas like the lower back,where the pressure is high,need to be kept cushiony.

n Maintain proper hygieneand consume protein richfood, doctors say.

n Once it sets in, consult adermatologist. Treatmentwill depend on severity ofthe sore.

The first thingthat comes to

mind when wehave to takecare of a bed

ridden patientis, “how do we

prevent bedsores?”

DEEPASHRI [email protected]

health THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 20

US docs defeat leukaemiawith modified HIV

Best of all,the doctors

say, theboostedimmune

shield con-tinues “toremain in

thepatient’sbody toprotect

against arecurrence

of the cancer.”

BREAKTHROUGH

NEW YORK: US doctors saythey have saved a seven-year-old girl who was close to dyingfrom leukemia with a pioneer-ing use of an unlikely ally: amodified form of the HIV virus.

After fighting her diseasewith chemotherapy for almosttwo years and suffering tworelapses, the young girl “facedgrim prospects,” doctors atChildren’s Hospital ofPhiladelphia said.

So in February this year,they agreed to take her on in anexperimental program thatfought fire with fire.

Helped by a geneticallyaltered HIV virus — stripped ofits devastating properties thatcause AIDS — doctors turnedthe girl’s own immune cells intoa superior force able to rout the“aggressive” leukemia.

The treatment of EmilyWhitehead was one of the veryfirst of its kind and cannot yet beconsidered “a magic bullet,” the

hospital said. But in Emily’scase, it apparently worked com-pletely.

First, millions of the girl’snatural immune system cellswere removed. Then the modi-fied HIV virus was used to carryin a new gene that would boostthe immune cells and help themspot, then attack cancer cellsthat had previously been able tosneak in “under the radar,” thehospital said on its website.

Finally the rebootedimmune cells were sent back into do their work.

“The researchers have creat-ed a guided missile that locks inon and kills B cells, therebyattacking B-cell leukemia,” thehospital said.

Pediatric oncologist StephanGrupp, who cared for the girl,explained Tuesday that therewas never any danger of AIDSduring the process.

“The way we get the newgene into the T cells (immune

cells) is by using a virus. Thisvirus was developed from theHIV virus, however all of theparts of the HIV virus that cancause disease are removed,” hesaid in an email.

“It is impossible to catchHIV or any other infection.What’s left is the property of theHIV virus that allows it to putnew genes into cells.”

During the treatment, Emilybecame very ill and went intothe intensive care unit, underlin-ing how risky the procedure canbe. However, drugs that partlyblock the immune reaction wereadministered, without interfer-ing with the anti-leukemiaaction, and she recovered, thehospital said.

The result was “complete”and best of all, the doctors say,the boosted immune shield con-tinues “to remain in thepatient’s body to protect againsta recurrence of the cancer.”

“She has no leukemia in her

body for any test that we can do— even the most sensitivetests,” Grupp told ABC televi-sion. “We need to see that theremission goes on for a coupleof years before we think aboutwhether she is cured or not. It istoo soon to say.”

Grupp said on theChildren’s Hospital ofPhiladelphia website that celltherapies might eventuallyreplace the more costly, painfulbone marrow transplant treat-ment, a standard last-ditchdefense against cancer.

“I’ve been meeting withfamilies to discuss bone marrowtransplant for 20 years,” he said.“In almost every meeting, I saythat bone marrow transplant isvery hard and that if we had analternative for children at thatpoint in treatment, I would bedelighted to put myself out ofbusiness. And for the first time,we’re seeing how that mightactually happen.” AFP

Diet is a fourletter wordMany of my friends keeptelling me to lose weight. I havetried many techniques but noth-ing seems to help. Pleaseadvise. (contd from last week)

FUNDAS TO LOSE WEIGHTn Never think of dieting and

exercise as punishment. Theonly negative should be onthe weighing scale.

n Never tell anyone you are ona diet. It’s a personal mile-stone. So keep it that way.

n Never refuse food at gather-ings. Take stuff on your plateand nibble what you want.

n Never start a diet with afriend. Support groups candistress you on an emptystomach.

n Never overdo anything.

TIPS TO STAY ON A DIET

1 Buy yourself a nice dress justa bit smaller than your pre-

sent size, and get ready to fit it.

2 Empty your cupboards, takeout all the easy to snack on

stuff, and load up on things youcan make instead.

3 Think of the stuff you caneat, not what you can’t.

4 Be careful about night timesnacks, they don’t digest

easily.

5 Enjoy your favourite foods,in moderation.

6 Never get very hungry, tryand keep snacking. So five

small meals is better than threebig ones.

7 Spice your foods. It willimprove the taste, and make

you eat less (and drink morewater too)!

8 Be physically active allthrough the day. Even 10

steps to climb is good.

9 Eat when you are hungry, eatas much as you need to.Diet is a four letter word; we

need to think of it as smart eat-ing. And we need to find comfortin hobbies, friends, family, andwork — not food!

The writer is a gynaecologist andobstetrician at Happy Women

Clinic. You can write in to her [email protected] or

call her on 9959729444/9581952485.

Dr DivyaT Sudarshan

Doctor’scorner

HEMANTH [email protected]

Venkatesh, who turns53 today, is totally atease with his life.The philosophicaltone in his revela-

tions about life remains intact,but what does come as a pleasantsurprise is his future plans in cin-ema. “I have to admit that atsome point actors like me haveto look for a graceful exit. Wecan’t go on doing larger than liferoles which is why I am open todo more character oriented rolesand multistarrers. In fact, I havetold several directors and writersto write different characters forme and I would love to team upwith younger actors,” Venkateshsays. No wonder, he’s extremelyexcited about his forthcomingfilm Seethamma Vaakitlo SirimalleChettu in which he’ll be sharingthe screen space with MaheshBabu, Samantha, Anjali, PrakashRaj and Jayasudha. He’s allpraises for director SrikanthAddala and producer Dil Rajuwho have been working on theproject for more than a year.“Srikanth told me the scriptalmost two years ago. It’s a bigburden for him as well, but he’shandled everything very well.He’s pure from the inside,” headds. With such a big star castand the tag of being the firstmultistarrer in years, there are alot of expectations on the film.But, is it going to be any differentfrom the family entertainers wehave seen in the past? “It’s essen-tially a story of two brothers andten minutes into the story, you’llfeel the difference. It’s a character

oriented film and the emotionsare quite real. Seethamma VaakitloSirimalle Chettu will be like awhiff of fresh air for the audi-ence. Everyone will identify withthe emotions which the familyshares,” he reveals. He admitsthat he got along with MaheshBabu like house on fire and says,“Mahesh is an intense actor andvery serious when it comes towork. He knows what he wantsand he has improved tremen-dously over the years. Even he isplaying a character like this aftera long time. The good thing isthat neither of us carried anybaggage when we decided to actin the film. We shouldn’t be look-ing at our image when it comesto such good projects.”

After Seethamma VaakitloSirimalle Chettu, Venkatesh’snext film is MeherRamesh’s Shadow which isan action entertainer.“Meher is doing his bestto present me in a newavatar. Shadow is a cleanrevenge drama with lotsof high voltage actionscenes; however, theyare choreographed in adifferent way so thateveryone can enjoy them.Everytime I think of stopdoing such roles, someonecomes along and convincesme to give one more shotand then it’s all back tosquare one,” he quips. Weagree and that brings the topicback to the choices he has beenmaking in the recent few years.Is it conscious decision to do aselect few projects these days?“All said and done, I have a lifebeyond films as well. I have my

family, friends and Ikeep travelling a lot.Few days ago, I hadgone to Madikeri inKarnataka and keepvisiting RamanaMaharshi’s ashram inThiruvannamalai. Ifeel it’s really impor-tant to introspect andcome to terms withreality of our lives,”he signs off.

EntertainmentTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

21

CELEBRATION TIME

Joyalukkas ropes inAllu ArjunAllu Arjun has been roped in

as the new brand ambas-sador of a popular jewellerybrand Joyalukkas. So far, Snehaand Madhavan had beenendorsing the brand. An adfeaturing Allu Arjun will beshot soon. In the past, AlluArjun had endorsed 7 UP andColgate.

Rajamoulipraises Krish

Rajamouli is allpraises for

Krish after the latternarrated him the

story of his upcom-ing film Shivamstarring Mahesh

Babu.

The second scheduleof Ravi Teja’s

upcoming film Balupu isgoing to be held in Vizag

from December 15onwards. Shruti Haasan is

playing the lead role oppo-site Ravi Teja and Anjali is

playing the second lead.Gopichand Malineni is

directing the film

Balupu’s next schedule in Vizag

CINE BYTES

SVSC is like a breath of fresh airVenkatesh, who’s celebrating his birthday today, is extremely excited about his forthcoming film

Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and says that it’ll be a fresh experience for the audience. In a conver-sation with Postnoon, he talks more about his films, his plans to do more multistarrers and life beyond films.

fashionTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

VICTORIA’S SECRET ANGEL ADVISES AGAINST MODELLINGVICTORIA'S SECRET Angel Cameron Russell doesn't recommend following her chosen career path. The 25-year-

old has advised aspiring models to choose a vocation that's not "out of your control".

EarringsAn easy way to get some

sparkle in your wardrobe is witha pair of diamond or glass earrings.

Hoops, dangling chandeliers, studs, allwork well depending on your face shape.

Go for the coloured stones instead of prissydiamond studs. Not-too-expensive optionsfrom high street labels like ASOS, Forever21, Zara, make way for fun accessories to

wear with a formal dress or even tornjeans and sweat shirt. Let your face take

center stage with hair pulled backinto a ponytail or chignon and

sparkling baubles on theear lobes.

TimepiecesA jewelry timepiece is a

long-term investment in yourwardrobe and definitely shines apart

in one’s look. A sparkly wristwatch canbe worn with any party outfit and will def-initely elevate the style quotient. It is also agreat gift item for girl friends as one sizeusually fits all and a good wristwatch is

designed to appeal for a number of yearsas opposed to a seasonal fashion cycle.

For example the Dior VIII BlackCeramic and Diamond Snow SetBezel is a watch-making classic

of timeless Parisian ele-gance.

DIOR VIII BLACKAUTO DIAMOND

SNOW-SET BEZEL

DIOR VIII 33MM AUTOMATIC

WHITEDIAMOND

SNOW SET BEZE

ASOS CROSS GEM STUD EARRINGS

SWAROVSKI NATHALIE EARRINGS

ASOS RHINESTONE SPIKEDOORKNOCKER EARRINGS

SURABHI [email protected]

22&23WUNDERKIND CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY WITH ARCHIVE COLLECTIONLUXURY German label Wunderkind is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year by launching a capsule archive col-lection based on the brand's most celebrated pieces.which will open at the The Old Sorting Office on August 3.

One cannot denythat December

is the partymonth of the

year. Take somespare change of

your savingsand buy yourself

a sparklingpiece of jewelryto shine in this festive season.Here are someitems that may

catch yourfancy.

SparklersPARTY The writer : is a fashion blogger (www.lovestruckcow.blogspot.com) whoattempts to bridge the gap between creator and consumer. As a fashion writer,she hopes to promote Indian fashion among Indians and on a global level too.

RingsBesides the romantic con-

notations of a diamond ring,this festive season go buy yourselfa sparkling band just to match your

festive mood. A glass or diamond ring isa great addition to a somber or decadentoutfit. If diamonds are not your choice of

the stone, then there are enough greatoptions in glass, Swarovski in colours

bright and brilliant to make your handstand bright like a Christmas tree.Wear a single big bauble or stack

thin bands in gold, red, silver,green, blue depending on

your fashion mood.

Hair accessoriesA subtle way to get in the party

mode is wearing studded hair clipsand hair bands. Ever since the hair

accessories trend has been spotted onthe runway and silver screen, there arenumerous options available in the mar-

ket. The ethereal look with a goldenwreath on the forehead is a festivelook for the daring. A smaller clip in

Swarovski and stones adds ahidden detail to an easy

wavy hair chignon.

Body jewelleryA fashion centric choice to go for

the season would be body jewellerythat was made popular through many

runway shows. In Paris, Manish Arora dis-played a ornamental look and at the

Chanel show, Karl Lagerfeld dedicated anentire collection to India titling it ‘Paris-Bombay’. Maximalist style of jewellery in

traditional form and in body art formof hand bracelets, arm bracelets,

maangtikka and chest bracewere displayed at these

shows.

HAIR CLIP BYJENNIFER BEHR

RIVER ISLANDVINTAGE STYLECOCKTAIL RING SWAROVSKI

NIRVANA

Entertainment THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 24

Chai TimeTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

26

ACROSS1 One ___ customer4 It may have

reservations9 Lower in rank14 Wish never

happened15 Sharpened, as a knife16 Memorable Charlton

Heston role17 Scrambled fare18 Abated, as a tide19 Opposite of liability20 Too much, then too

little23 Do some cartooning24 Kind of magnetism27 ‘Good!’ in Genoa28 Sewing room

outburst?31 ‘... ___ to leap tall

buildings ...’32 Sculptor Jean35 Lavish affection (on)37 Adolescent boy38 Sentry’s question41 Monopolist’s portion43 Black and white

snack since 191244 It has a stash of cash45 Musical chairs goal47 Accelerator particles49 Did impressions of53 Feeling of

compassion

55 Descended from thesame language

58 Choice for onewhose back isagainst the wall

61 Romantic hopeful63 Israel’s main port64 Part of a New Year’s

Eve countdown65 Atop66 Shaped into a sphere67 Affront, in slang68 Religious ceremonies69 People who log into

workstations70 What thespians do

DOWN1 Easy house to put up2 ‘Desire Under the

Elms’ playwrightO’Neill

3 Put back on, as weight4 Eighth Greek letter5 Many an Asimov

character6 Like some pedigreed

dogs7 Chili con carne

ingredient8 Icelandic poetry

collection9 At full speed, at sea10 Sarajevo locale11 Put together, as a

model

12 The Who’s ‘I Can ___For Miles’

13 Winter hrs in Buffalo21 Not spread carefully22 Meditative word25 Words before ‘carte’ 26 Was a front-runner29 Supplementary

feature30 A pal of Pooh33 Diamond ___ (coun-

try music group)34 ‘___ the thought!’36 Little amphibian38 Police officer,

slangily39 ‘The One’ played by

Keanu40 A Middle Easterner41 Cleopatra’s slayer42 Place for a shepherd46 Shoplift48 Copier of a

manuscript50 Asian shrine51 Cuisine choice52 Abhor54 Brutish baddies56 Job seeker’s success57 Sword lilies, for short59 ‘___ shalt not steal’60 Two in a row?61 Type of paint or

party62 Cummerbund for a

geisha

KAKURO QUICK CROSSWORD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

How to playkakuroKakuro is a populargame similar to sudokuin some ways. But is alsosuitably different. Thekey question: ‘How doyou play kakuro?’, wellhere are the rules ofkakuro. The answer: Thekakuro grid, unlike insudoku, can be of anysize. It has rows andcolumns, and dark cellslike in a crossword. And,just like in a crossword,some of the dark cellswill contain numbers.Some cells will containtwo numbers.

However, in a cross-word the numbers refer-ence clues. In a kakuro,the numbers are all youget! They denote thetotal of the digits in therow or column refer-

enced by the number.Within each collection

of cells — called a run— any of the numbers 1to 9 may be used but,like sudoku, each num-ber may only be usedonce.Let’s have anexample to explain thisconcept more clearly:

In the imageabove, which shows asection of a kakuro puz-zle, you will see thenumbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ inthe top row. Look at the14. This means that thetotal of the three cellsunderneath must sum to14. Therefore 9, 4, 1could be the answer, orperhaps 7, 4, 3 and so

on... So, how do you work

out the actual combina-tion? Well, this is donethrough elimination andcross-referencing. Forinstance, as you workout the answers forother kakuro clues, thiswill naturally limit thevalid combinations, andhence the answer forthis particular run.

Note the second cellin row two — it containstwo numbers, 30 and11. The 30 refers to thevertical run underneaththe number 30 and the11 refers to the two cellsto the right, horizontally,of the number 11.

Play & Winvoucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally


SUDOKU


Please send in your filled-in entries toPostnoon, #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62,

Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033. The winners will beannounced on this page in Sunday’s edition.

SCRIBBLING PAD

Play & Win

TAROT READ

Chai Time THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 27

STAR POWER

STRIP TEASE

Vol: 2, No 147 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

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

Thiruvaikumar

Sumaa Tekur

thiruvaikumar@yahoo. co. in, 040-27177230 / 9177596118

tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

for 14-12-2012 As per Hindu panchang

for 14-12-2012

ARIESGood effects to take place,which will please you. Employ -e es will get proper recognition.Those in debt will get a rightway to clear them. Business -men will get good supportfrom their staff. Artists will seea very brisk time ahead.

ARIES: The Magician –Your instincts are guiding you in theright direction. Learn to trust yourgut feel and go with it no matterhow off-key it may sound.

GEMINI: Page of Swords –You’re feeling adventurous and are inthe mood to try out something new.Share this time with loved ones.You’ll enjoy the time even more.

LEO: Five of Wands – Thisis a day of contradictions. Not every-thing is as straight as it appears.Don’t get into conflict situations withanyone. Keep a low profile.

LIBRA: Five of Pentacles –This card stands for misery and someform of loss. Keep a positive outlookand don’t give up on your ownbeliefs. Yet, stay practical.

TAURUS: The Lovers –Decision time! Where do you want totake this relationship? You can’t be afence-sitter forever. Make a decisionand leave the rest to fate.

CANCER: Ten of Cups –Family time today. Your family needsattention and you’re discovering joysof spending time with loved ones.Pause all other activities for today.

VIRGO: Four of Cups – Ajob offer makes it difficult for you todecide between the familiar andjumping into the unknown. Weighpros and cons carefully.

SCORPIO: Six of Pentacles– Finances are in focus. You need tomanage your money better. Help isat hand. You need to ask for it andyou’ll get the right advice.

CAPRICORN: Seven ofWands – Secrecy is indicated. At wo -rk, colleagues may be keeping fromyou some crucial information. Justdon’t take anything at face value.

SAGITTARIUS: Seven ofCups – Material possessions are yourfocus. You want to secure yourself,financially, and are actively workingtowards it. All goals will be achieved.

AQUARIUS: The Devil –You’re tempted to go down the not-so-desirable road despite warnings bythose around you. Don’t yield to tem -ptation. Take care of your reputation.

PISCES: Two of Wands – Itfeels as though time is going veryslowly. This is a waiting time periodfor you and you’re not used to it.Keep busy and wait it out.

TAURUSYou meet old friends after along time and enjoy being intheir company. Also, you willget a chance to meet close rel-atives after a long gap in amarriage or gettogether cele-bration. Businessmen will besuccessful in their new plans.

GEMINISudden journey likely. Some ofyou will be forced to sell ances-tral property. Mother's healthneeds to be taken care of. Avoidentering speculative deals. Youwill take bold decisions, whichwill yield desired results. Misun -der standing with partners likely.

CANCERComforts are likely to improve.Considerable improvement lik -e ly in financial situation. Familywill remain in a peaceful atmo-sphere. You will have to spendmore for fulfilling the wishes ofchildren. Minor misunderstand-ing likely between couples.

LEOReduce anger or else you willnot be able to do any work youhave undertaken. Deficit finan-cial situation likely added withincreased expenses. Avoid giv-ing guarantee to anyone. Youwill have to struggle hard tocomplete commitments.

VIRGOYour straightforwardness willget you a good name and allwork get completed as per ex -pectations. Businessmen needto be careful, as some of thestaff might cheat them by leak-ing business secrets. Find themand show them the door.

LIBRAThough indirect oppositionlikely, good effects will be moreand bad effects less. Business -men will see an improvement,especially, individual business-men will flourish well. Womenwill ensure the family staysaway from tensions.

SCORPIONewlyweds will be blessed withan offspring. A happy atmo-sphere will prevail in the family.Some will buy a new vehicle byexchanging an old one. Thosein the business of readymadegarments, textiles and FMCGproducts will see a boom time.

SAGITTARIUSDrive away your imagination oftreating office work as huge,while they are small if properlyplanned and attend to. Officialtrips will be successful andbring you cheer. You will get agood opportunity to expose showcase your skills.

CAPRICORNYour mind will become clearand hence take decisions easilywithout hesitation. Comfortswill increase and also neces-sary steps will be taken toimprove income. Newlywedswill be happy to hear news oftheir offspring’s arrival.

AQUARIUSAvoid getting emotional underany circumstance. Never benegligent in govt-relatedissues. Chances of misunder-standing with mother; be care-ful and avoid such a situation.Tension and work burden likelyto upset you.

PISCESExpenses must be kept undercontrol. Politicians will be res -pected in the midst of friendsand relatives. Women will bedetermined to complete allwork they undertake. Busines -smen will earn profits accord-ing to their expectations.

AGNES

NON SEQUITUR

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

POOCH CAFE

BoggleJUG JAR BOTTLE BARREL THERMOS

SUDU

KO

NUM

BER

GAM

ESC

RABB

LE

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS


Denise Richardscaring for CharlieSheen’s twins

Brooke Mueller may be inrehab again, but her twin

boys with Charlie Sheen aresafe and sound. Sources con-firm that Bob and Max arecurrently staying withSheen’s ex-wife DeniseRichards. Mueller reachedout to Richards for help whileSheen is tied up working onhis FX series, AngerManagement.

Shia Labeouf setsBroadway debut inOrphans

Shia Labeouf has been on anunpredictable career streak

lately, but joining the cast ofupcoming Broadway playOrphans sounds like one of hissmarter moves. He’ll co-star withAlec Baldwin in Lyle Kessler’s1983 drama about two troubledbrothers who kidnap a rich olderman (Baldwin).

Spice Girls reunite forpremiere... all but one

The Spice Girls united inLondon on Wednesday

evening for the world premiere ofthe musical based on their songs,Viva Forever. Four of the five —all but Victoria Beckham— tookto the red carpet early atLondon’s Piccadilly Theatre andwere clearly having a good timetogether, laughing and hugging,and posing for fans to take pictures.

CINE BYTESA NEW HONOUR

JENNIFERLAWRENCE JENNIFER

LAWRENCE named AskMen’sMost DesirableWoman of 2013

Jennifer Lawrence iscatching fire! The 22-year-old actress just

topped AskMen.com’s Top 99Most Desirable Women of2013 list. This is the latest ina string of honors forJennifer; In addition toclaiming AskMen’s top spot,she’s getting awards showbuzz for her role in TheSilver Linings Playbook andwas named the face of MissDior. Jennifer jumped upfrom 46 spots to take theNo. 1 from Sofia Vergara,who dropped to No. 12.Actress Mila Kunis took theNo. 2 spot, followed bymodel Kate Upton and popstar Rihanna. The biggestdrop belonged to KimKardashian, who went fromNo. 8 to No. 98 in 2013,almost falling off the listentirely. Surprisingly,perennial placers JessicaAlba, Gisele Bundchen,Jennifer Lopez and MeganFox all failed to make thecut this year (AskMen’sranking are derived fromeditor’s picks and readervotes). Readers definitelyfound power sexy. FirstLady Michelle Obamadebuted at No. 33 andYahoo! CEO Marissa Mayercame in at No. 53.

sports 2910TH JUNIOR WORLD TT CHAMPIONSHIPS LEAGUE CRICKET


Hyderabad Ranji teamagainst BengalHYDERABAD: The followingplayers have been selected torepresent Hyderabad to playBengal in the forthcomingRanji Trophy match to beplayed at Kolkata fromDecember 15.Team: P Akshath Reddy (cap-tain), B Sandeep (vice-cap-tain), Parth Jhala ,GH Vihari,Ahmed Quadri, K Sumanth,Ashish Reddy, Mehdi Hasan,PM Sarvesh Kumar, AhwarAhmed Khan, HabeebAhmed, Vishal Sharma, AkashBhandari, Paramveer Singh,Ravi KiranCoach: Sunil JoshiFielding Coach: Noel I David

Vijays Champ, Vijays Pride look to be in rousing formVijays Champ, Vijays Pride, Elenor, Nasheeta, Vijays Best, Fastest Finger and Kohinoor Wish caught the

eye when horses were exercised at the Malakpet racecourse in the City this morning.Sand track 800 metresElenor (Imran Khan) 56.5,600/42 Pleased. Our Mascot(Imran Khan) 56, 600/42 Movedwell. Kohinoor Vikrant (AjitKumar) 58, 600/44 Easy. Grigori(rb) 1-3, 600/48 Easy.Vijaysjyoti (Togrolu) 59.5,600/45Easy. All The Fun (Anil) 59,600/45 Moved freely. 2y.Kohinoor Thunder (Ajit Kumar)58.5, 600/43 Un-extended. 2y.Palm Springs (Christopher)Bloody Mary (Kuldeep Singh)1-2.5, 600/47.5 They moved

freely and finished togetherFighting Fit (Kuldeep Singh)Lake King (AK Pawar) 57.5,600/42 Former finished alength in front. 2y. Cold Smile(Anil) 55.5, 600/42 Pleased. IceLolly (Christopher) 2y. CoralSprings (S Nayak) 57, 600/40They moved well and finishedtogether. Robust (Togrolu) 57.5,600/43.5 Moved well. GoldenJewel (app) 56.5, 600/42 Urged.2y. Ice Barrier (Anil) 57.5,600/43 Moved on the bit. WinAnd Enjoy (Joshi) 1-2, 600/47Easy. Palace Affairs (Ajit Kumar)

56, 600/42 Slightly pushed. 2y.Over Look (Anil) 58, 600/44Pushed. 2y. Golden Art (AjitKumar) 1-1.5, 600/46 Easy.Vijay Kiran (Ali Khan) 58,600/44 Moved freely. Daniella(rb) 2y. Power Drive (ImranKhan) 1-1, 600/46 They wereeasy.Sand track 1000 metresNano Desire (C Henrique) 1-13,800/57, 600/43 Moved well.Vijays Pride (Joshi) 1-11,800/55, 600/41.5 Impressed.Nasheeta (Imran Khan) 1-11.5,800/56.5, 600/44 Moved well.

Specialist (Ravinder Singh)1-13, 800/57, 600/43.5 Movedon the bit. Street Magic (app)1-12, 800/55, 600/42 Pleased.Vijays Best (Togrolu) 1-10,800/55, 600/42 Caught the eye.Rajkumari (Imran Khan) 1-13,800/56, 600/42 Speedy.Handsome Hunk (DeepShanker) 2y. Think Twice (Anil)1-18, 800/1-1, 600/46 Theymoved freely.Sand track 1200 metres2y. Fastezst Finger (Joshi) PlayThe Music (app) 1-30, 1000/1-10.5, 800/55, 600/42 Former

impressed while finishing level.Kohinoor Wish (RavinderSingh) 1-26, 1000/1-10,800/55, 600/42 Impressed.Aerosmith (N.Rawal) 1-28,1000/1-13, 800/57, 600/43.5moved on the bit.Sand track 1400 metresVijays Champ (Ravinder Singh)1-41.5, 1200/1-24.5, 1000/1-9.5, 800/55.5, 600/41 In rous-ing form. Dauntless (rb)Lioness Heart (Imran Khan) 1-47, 1200/1-30.5, 1000/1-13,800/57.5, 600/43.5 They fin-ished together.

HYDERABAD TRACK WORK

HCCL wins ZonahLaserMaxx Cup

HYDERABAD: It was a fittingfinal for an exciting tournament;Ivy Comptech batted first andscored 172 runs led by DeepakVerma who scored 96 runs off just49 balls. In their chase, HCCLstarted a little slow and needed100 runs to win in 10 overs;

Qutub Alam Khan scored 61 offjust 38 balls with a six, ZulfiMirza hit a four towards squareleg and Mir Umair Ahmed ham-mered a huge six over mid wick-et, followed by two fours andanother six to finish the gamewith two balls to spare.

COL CK NAYUDU TROPHYRANJI TROPHYHyderabad ‘A’ drawwith Andhra ‘A’ in Day 4Andhra 262 and 224 for 5(DB Prasanth 128no, MPrajith 58, Akash Bhandari 2for 73) Hyderabad 228 Matchends in a draw.

A Division Two DaysLeague ChampionshipCcob 383 (Shaik Mohd 140,Siddique Afsar 124, SM Murtuza 30, Surjan 5 for 89) bt Osmania 167 (Ram Prasad 40, Ganesh 45, Syed Muzammil 5 for 72, Syed Shaker Ahmed 3 for 39)

China boys and girlsrule the roost

SYED [email protected]

HYDERABAD: Coming upwith a fine display of powertable tennis, both the boys andgirls teams of China won theteam championships in a ruth-less show in the 10th JuniorWorld Table TennisChampionships at theGachibowli Indoor Stadium inthe City on Wednesday.

While the girls, who cameinto the tournament as thirdseeds steamrolled the top seed-ed Japan team 3-0, the boys

came up with a powerful per-formance that got them a 3-1victory over their Japanesecounterparts.

Fan Zhendong (China) beatYoshida Masaki (Japan) 11-7,11-5 11-7; Lin Gaoyuan (China)beat Muramatsu Yuto (Japan)11-3, 11-9, 11-4; Xu Chenhao(China) beat Sadai Asuka(Japan) 11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7.

The confidence in theChinese players made a vastdifference in the sport in whichself-belief makes a huge impact,since the reflexes play animportant role in the proceed-

ings. Without any exception theplayers of China grew in confi-dence as the games proceeded,enabling to play freely andaggressively.

The Japan players paid the price for being too defen-sive giving their opponentsmore chances to dominate thegames.

The tournament movesonto the other championshipsfrom Thursday, which willdecide the gold, silver andbronze medallists in the indi-vidual, doubles and mixeddoubles categories.

Grover Sudhanshu of India plays Lim Jonghoon of Korea in the boys singles category of the 10th World JuniorTable Tennis Championships in the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in the City on Thursday. SRINIVAS SETTY

sports 302013 SEASON

DOPING TROUBLE


DAVE JAMESAgence France-Presse

PARIS: Andy Murray joined NovakDjokovic, Roger Federer and the inju -ry-cursed Rafael Nadal as a Grand Sl -am title winner in 2012 as the big thr -ee became the fab four.

But with the 2013 season begin-ning just over two weeks’ time, thelingering uncertainty over the futureof Nadal once again was dominatingthe build-up to the new campaign.

Nadal clinched a record seventhFrench Open title in June defeatingDjokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It shatteredDjokovic’s bid to emulate Don Budgeand Rod Laver by holding all theGrand Slams at once.

Victory in Paris was Nadal’s 11thGrand Slam title, but a shock secondround Wimbledon loss to Czech Lu -kas Rosol brought a premature end tothe Spaniard’s season as another batt -le against a knee injury meant he mis -

sed the Olympics and the US Open.Nadal is due to return to action at

a three-day exhibition event in AbuDhabi from December 27, but he hasalready warned against high expecta-tions. “I don’t expect to return andwin the Australian Open,” he said. “Iwant to be 100 percent fit in time forthe Monte Carlo Masters and the run-up to the French Open.”

Nadal and Djokovic, who was toend 2012 as world number one and benamed player of the year, had alreadyset the scene for an enthralling seasonin a gripping Australian Open final.

Defending champion Djokovicprevailed in an epic five-set contestwhich clocked in at 5hr 53min — thelongest title match in Grand Slam his-tory. Djokovic fought back from los-ing the first set to take a 2-1 lead, buthe was then taken to a gripping fifthset by resurgent Nadal before win-ning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 for histhird consecutive major title.

Although Djokovic missed out inParis, the Serb still featured in threeof the season’s four major finals.

His disappointment at his five-setloss to Murray at the US Open wouldeventually be eased by capturing theyear-ending ATP World Tour Finalstitle in London.

The path of tennis greats (from top-left, clockwise) NovakDjokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal wouldbe carefully monitored in the 2013 season.

Clijsters bidsfarewellwith win

DOHA: Swimming championIan Thorpe said on Wednesdayhe was “happy” at Lance Armstr -ong’s downfall and congratulat-ed the doping autho rities thatexposed the seven-tim e Tour deFrance winner as a dru g cheat.

“I was happy. It shows thatno matter who you are and what-ever you do, you can fall,”Thorpe said on the closing day ofthe Doha Goals sporting forum.

The Australian legend paid

tribute to the US Anti-DopingAgency (USADA) and its presi-dent Travis Tygart who was atthe heart of revealing Armstro -ng’s systematic doping that help -ed him become the biggest namein the sport. Armstrong wasstripped of his seven Tour deFrance titles and banned fromthe sport for li fe in October afterthe USADA produced evidenceof widespr ead doping by himand his former team-mates. AFP

Thorpe ‘happy’ atArmstrong’s downfall

Big three to fab fourMurray joined Djokovic, Federer and Nadal as a GrandSlam title winner in ‘12 as the big 3 became the fab 4.

RETIREMENT PLANS

ANTWERP, BELGIUM: Form -er world number one Kim Clijst -ers celebrated the end of her spa -rkling tennis career with a victo-ry in an exhibition match againstAmerican rival Venus Williamson Wednesday. The Belgian, whowon 41 career singles titles,played her last official match atthe US Open in August, but waskeen to play for one last time infront of her home support.

With a crowd of 13,000 look-ing on, the 29-year-old beatWilliams 6-3, 6-3. “I had noregrets at stopping my career onAugust 29 at the US Open, and Istill don’t have any. Sorry to stopyou,” said Clijsters. “There’s notjust tennis in my life. I like cook-ing, gardening, reading, decorat-ing the house, putting up theChristmas tree and running.”

Clijsters retired for the firsttime in 2007 to give birth todaughter with no plans to return,feeling she accomplished her Gr -and Slam dream with a 2005 USOpen title. But she returned in2009 and with only two tune-upevents captured the US Opentitle - becoming the first motherto win a Grand Slam title since1980, defended the crown in 2010and added a 2011 AustralianOpen title just for good measure.

Nadal is due to return toaction at a three-dayevent from Dec 27, but hehas already warnedagainst high expectations.

FINA WORLD SHORTCOURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

ISTANBUL: US swim star Rya -n Lochte (above) bagged twogolds on the opening day of theworld shortcourse championsh -ips on Wednesday to add to thefive medals he won in the Lon -don Olympics in the summer.

He first led from start to fin-ish to win the men’s 200m frees -tyle before he teamed up withAnthony Ervin, James Feigen

and Matthew Grevers to winthe 4x100m freestyle relay.

Lochte was pushed hard byGermany’s Paul Biedermann inthe 200m freestyle, but he clo -cked 1min 41.92sec to claim his15th career world short coursechampionships gold medal.

The second gold wassecured in a much tougher con-test and needed anchor leg

swimmer Grevers to chasedown and overtake Russia’sArtem Lobuzov and then holdoff the late charge of Italy’sFilippo Magnini to secureLochte’s 16th gold medal in thechampionships history. Thosetwo golds saw the US team sitatop the medals standings at theend of day one, with the USAwomen adding a third gold bywinning the final race of theday, the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Megan Romano, ChelseaChenault, Shannon Vreelandand Allison Schmitt werepushed all the way by Russia,but Schmitt’s greater strengthover the final 200m broughtthem home in front.

Elsewhere it was a good dayfor eastern European women.Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu set acompetition record of 2:02.20when she won gold in the 200mbuttefly also became the firstHungarian woman to win amedal in championship history.

Lochte strikes doubleLochte bagged two golds on the first day of the world shortco -

urse championships to add to the five medals he won in London.

London sets bar high for2020 bid trio PARIS: The three candidates stan -di ng to win the right to host the ‘20Ga mes, acknowledge that they ha ve atough task to emulate the Gam es ho -sted successfully by London this year.Delegations from the Istan bul, Madridand Tokyo bids were all in Londonand the appraisal of IOC Pre sidentJacques Rogge at the closing ceremo-ny will still be ringing in their ears.

Watson on top for RyderCup job NEW YORK: Eight time majorchampion Tom Watson appears tobe the frontrunner to be named theUnited States Ryder Cup captain onThursday for the 2014 edition inGleneagles, Scotland. The PGA ofAmerica could be poised to pick theformer captain and five-time BritishOpen winner as their next skipper,Golf Digest reported on its website.

SPORTS BRIEFS Ryan Lochte of USA competes in the Men’s 100m Butterfly semi-finalsduring the 11th FINA Short Course World Championships at the SinanErdem Dome on Wednesday in Istanbul. AFP/MIRA

sports 31ENGLAND’S TOUR OF INDIA

SRI LANKA’S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

CRICKET BRIEFS


Dimuth to open inningsROBERT SMITH Agence France-Presse

HOBART, AUSTRALIA: Roo -kie Dimuth Karunaratne waspicked to open the Sri Lankanbatting with Tillakarat neDilshan in the first Test agai nstAustralia in Hobart on Friday.

The 24-year-old will be mak-ing only his second Test appear-ance on an expected livelyBellerive Oval wicket in the firstof three Tests.

Nuwan Kulasekara, Shami -nda Eranga and Chanaka Wele -gedara lead the pace attack sup-ported by left-arm spinnerRangana Herath and the swingbowling of Angelo Mathews ina team announced Thursday.

Former Australian fastbowler Rodney Hogg has rub-bished the Sri Lankan quicks asthe “worst ever” to come toAustralia, with Kulasekara,Eranga and Welegedara onlyhaving 38 Tests and 99 wicketsbetween them.

Mahela Jayawardene saidinjuries and retirements hadforced Sri Lanka to overhaultheir new-ball attack, but hewas confident his pace brigade

could do the job against thethird-ranked Australians.

“Teams have to start some-where. I think we’ve lost somefast bowlers in the past andsome with injuries and this is anattack that is probably differ-ent,” Jayawardene said.

“We don’t probably have thepace that you (Australia) think

is required to win Test matchesin Australia, but we’ve got guyswho will bowl good line andlength and create opportunitiesand if we keep to that I think westand a good chance.

“We’ll see. We’ve got threeTest matches to play and oncewe finish that I’ll have a chatwith Rodney Hogg.”

Mahela Jayawardena leaps during atraining session on Thursday aheadof the match against Australia.

SYDNEY: Australian cricket great AdamGilchrist believes the one-day format ison an irreversible slide and will be “his-tory” in three years, a report said onThursday.

The trailblazing wicketkeeper-bats-man fears the 50-over game, which hasbeen losing its appeal in Australia sincethe ascent of Twenty20 cricket, will likelynot last beyond the 2015 World Cup inAustralia and New Zealand.

“I reckon about three years, as I seeit, and it will be pretty much gone,”Gilchrist, who made his name in

Australia’s one-day team before a bril-liant 96-match Test career, told radiostation Triple M.

“There is a World Cup in 2015 — Ibelieve TV deals are all locked away toget to that, and those commitments willbe fulfilled. But after that I think it willbe history. I suspect that one-day cricketmay be obsolete in about three years’time,” he added. “I suspect that afterthat the appetite for it might diminish,and all the TV programmers and theadministrators will be focusing on thetwo other forms (T20 and Test cricket).

One-dayers will soon become ‘obsolete’: Adam Gilchrist

WELLINGTON: New Zealandcricket chiefs issued a publicapology to axed captain RossTaylor Wednesday, as a weak-ened Black Caps side prepared todepart for South Africa withoutthe in-form batsman.

Taylor opted to sit out thetour against the Proteas afterbeing replaced by Brendon McC -ullum last Friday, leaving a gap-ing hole in the New Zealand bat-ting line-up as the side faces theworld’s top-ranked Test team.

The axing also exposed deepdivisions within New Zealandcricketing circles and provoked abacklash against administratorsover Taylor’s treatment.

NZC chairman Chris Molleracknowledged the issue couldhave been handled better, butstood by the decision to appointMcCullum and said there wouldbe no sackings.

“The board has reviewed allaspects of the captaincy issueand wishes to publicly place onrecord its apologies to RossTaylor and his family for themanner in which events haveunfolded,” Moller said.

The drama is a distractionany team poised to confront the

Proteas at home could do with-out, let alone one ranked eighthin the world and already withoutDan Vettori and Jesse Ryder.

“What’s unfolding at themoment is very disappointing,”McCullum, a close associate ofcoach Mike Hesson, told reporte -rs this week after denying he hadany role in Taylor’s downfall.

HOBART: Skipper Michael Clarke hasvowed there will be no complacency inthe Test series with Sri Lanka, insistingAustralia will improve on their recentperformances against South Africa.

The Australians had the better of theopening two Tests against the worldnumber one Proteas only to be crushedby 309 runs in the series decider in Perthlast week.

Sri Lanka are ranked sixth in theworld, have not won in 10 Tests inAustralia over 25 years and are ratedoutsiders to upset Clarke’s team in the

three-Test series, beginning in Hobarton Friday. Former Australian quickRodney Hogg has rubbished the SriLankan attack as the “worst ever” tocome to Australia, with NuwanKulasekara, Shaminda Eranga andChanaka Welegedara only having 38Tests and 99 wickets between them.

Clarke said the third-ranked Australiawere focused only on beating Sri Lankain the first Test since 168-Test greatRicky Ponting’s retirement.

“The opposition is irrelevant to howyou judge yourself as players,” he said.

Clarke curbs Aussie complacency against Sri Lanka

Captaincy row rages Jayawardene to giveup captaincyHOBART, AUSTRALIA: Ma -hela Jayawardene said on Thu -rsday he will give up the capta -incy after Sri Lanka’s currentTest and one-day tour of Austr -alia, with Angelo Mathews seenas his likely replacement. The35-year-old said it was time fora younger leader and nominat-ed Mathews, his vice-captain,as ideal to assume the role. Ja -yawardene’s second stint as ca -ptain began in January, whenhe was called in to replace Till -akaratne Dilshan and he com-mitted to a 12-month tenure,which expires at the end of thecurrent tour. “I took over thecaptaincy for 12 months andthat ends after this series,” saidJayawardene. AFP

WELLINGTON: Batting greatMartin Crowe has burned his NewZealand Cricket (NZC) blazer inprotest at Ross Taylor’s sacking asthe team captain, reports said onThursday. Crowe, widely hailed asNew Zealand’s best ever batsma n,has been fiercely critical of lastweek’s decision to drop Taylor infavour of Brendon McCullum inan effort to reinvigorate the mis-firing Black Caps. The NewZealand Herald reported thatCrowe torched his prized blazerlast Friday, when news of Taylor’sdemotion was made public.

It said he tweeted “Burnt NZcricket blazer Dec 7, 2012. RIP”,adding that both the tweet andthe account it was sent from hadsince been deleted.

Crowe torches blazerover captain sacking

ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS

AN Cook lbw b Sharma 1

Compton c †Dhoni b Sharma 3

IJL Trott not out 28

KP Pietersen not out 28

Extras (lb 1) 1

Total (2 wickets) 61

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-16

Bowling O M R W

I Sharma 8 3 9 2

PP Ojha 10 4 14 0

RA Jadeja 8 4 19 0

PP Chawla 5 1 14 0

R Ashwin 2 1 4 0

SCOREBOARD

THE ‘TAYLOR’ EFFECT

NAGPUR: England were 61 fortwo at lunch on the first day of theFourth and final Test againstIndia.

Having won the toss, thetourstists elected to bat but theirdecision seemed to backfire asthey lost two quick wickets for apaltry 16 runs.

Trailing 2-1 in the four-matchseries, India pushed theEnglishmen on the defencive fromthe very first ball.

With Zaheer Khan beingsacked after puting up a poor dis-

play with the ball adn UmeshYadav yet to recover from a backinjury, the pressure was on IshantSharma, who also happens to theonly regular pacer currently in theteam.

The lanky bowler bowled atight line and lenght which sawhim claim the two wickets whichfell in the morning session. Hisfirst victim was Nick Componwho was dismissed for three.

The batsman stayed in hiscrease and poked at a short of alength ball that rose and was on

its way down as it passedCompton. It took the outside edgeand India’s Mahendra SinghDhoni had to stoop to take thecatch. England lost their firstwicket with the score readingthree for one. The next to go wasEngland skipper, Alastair Cook.While it was claimed that the ballwould have missed the stumps,Sharma was lucky to have gottenaway with that, as the dangerman, who had dented India’shopes on numerous instances ear-lier, was trapped leg before.

India in command

sportsTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

32DESTRO ANKLE BLOW FOR ROMA’S SERIE A MATCHRoma forward Mattia Destro has suffered a knock to his ankle that makeshim a doubt for Saturday’s Serie A match against Chievo, the capital clubindicated. After scoring in the 3-0 Italian Cup win over Atalanta onTuesday, Destro injured his left ankle and limped off.

AC Milan tie up China deal MILAN: AC Milan haveannounced a “commercial partner-ship” with Chinese top flight clubGuangzhou Evergrande, the Serie Agiants announced Wednesday. Nodetails were released by theRossoneri, whose CEO AdrianoGalliani concluded the deal by ahandshake with Guangzhou presi-dent Liu Jong Zhuo.

Milan to offloadyoungsters in JanuaryMILAN: Milan coach MassimilianoAllegri has indicated the club couldoffload some of its lesser-usedyounger players over the next fewweeks so that they can gain much-needed first-team experience else-where. A day before the Rossonerihost Reggina in an Italian Cup last16 tie, Allegri said it was time Mil -an’s 32-man squad was trimmed.

Juve book quarter-finalwith Milan or Reggina MILAN: A Sebastian Giovincogoal in the 56th minute gave Juven -tus a 1-0 win over Cagliari on Wed -nesday and set the Serie A champi-ons up with a potential Italian Cupquarter-final clash against AC Milan.Juve’s win came at what wasAntonio Conte’s return to the touch-line after he recently completed afour-month ban.

Argentina’s Neumannsigns new Adelaide deal SYDNEY: Popular Argentine for-ward Jeronimo Neumann hassigned a two-year extension with A-League side Adelaide United, theclub said on Thursday. Neu mann,one of two Argentines, along withMarcelo Carrusca, signed by theReds this season, has become acrowd favourite since his arrival inAustralia.

BRIEFS

Hines sendsSwanseainto semis LONDON: A late own goal bySeb Hines (above) saw SwanseaCity overcome Championshipside Middlesbrough 1-0 to booktheir place in the League Cupsemi-finals on Wednesday.

A dour match in south Walesseemed destined for extra timeuntil Boro centre-back Hines putthe ball through his own goal ashe tried to defend a Swansea cor-ner in the 81st minute.

Swansea join Aston Villa andfourth-tier Bradford City in thedraw for the last four, withChelsea due to visit Leeds Unitedin the remaining quarter-final tieon December 19. Arsenal’s elimi-nation by Bra d ford has openedup the competition even further.

SPANISH CUP

ARSENAL AGONY

LEAGUE CUP

MADRID: Lionel Messi (heading inpic) extended his record for goalsscored in a year on Wednesday as theArgentinian maestro scored bothBarcelona’s goals in their 2-0 win awayat Cordoba in their Spanish Cup Last16 first leg clash.

The 25-year-old three-time BallonD’Or winner struck in the 11th minute,after being set up by David Villa, andthen in the 74th when he ran onto anAlexis Sanchez pass to score to givethe holders a handy advantage to takeback to the Camp Nou for the secondleg in January.

The brace took him to 88 for theyear, three more than German legendMueller, although earlier on Wednes -day Brazilian side Flamengo suddenlypiped up to claim that Zico should bethe holder with 89 goals in 1979.

Barcelona’s bitter rivals RealMadrid slipped to a 2-1 defeat away atLa Liga strugglers Celta Vigo, though,Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal four minutesfrom time gives them a precious away

goal. Real’s evening had got off to abad start when French internationalstriker Karim Benzema had to go off inthe 31st minute with what looked likea twisted ankle. AFP

Messi hits brace,Bielsa in trouble

There is a growing voice saying that Lionel Messi bedeclared the athlete of the year across all disciplines.

TOM WILLIAMS Agence France-Presse

LONDON: Arsenal’s LeagueCup loss to fourth-tierBradford City was one of thelowest moments of ArseneWenger’s (left) tenure andleaves the club scrapping toavoid an eighth straight seasonwithout a trophy.

In the aftermath of

Tuesday’s penalty shoot-outloss at a wintry Valley Parade,Wenger was typically bullish,congratulating Bradford ontheir achievement and insistinghe could not fault his players.

That the upset occurred inthe League Cup, and not theprestigious FA Cup, took someof the edge off of Arsenal’s dis-appointment, but the Britishpress were unanimously

scathing in their verdict.“Humiliating” was the

adjective universally appliedto the result on the back pages,while The Times claimedWenger was “walking on thinice” after the latest setback inwhat has already been anextremely trying season.

Wenger’s decision to field astrong line-up only increasedthe embarrassment.

Stoke cry foulover action by referees STOKE, UK: Stoke managerTony Pulis (above) has com-plained to referees’ chief MikeRiley over what he regards as thedifferent treatment his teamreceives by officials compared totheir Premier League rivals.

Pulis suggests too many refer-ees approach Stoke games withpreconceived ideas. He backs uphis argument by pointing to thePotters’ position at the foot of theEPL fair play table with 32 yellowand three red cards this season.

He claims Villa defen derCiaran Clark’s unpunished chal-lenge on Stoke midfielder GlennWhelan at the weekend shouldhave resulted in a red card.

UMPIRING QUESTIONED

Storm clouds gather after loss

Flamengo query Messi’sgoal-scoring recordRIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian clubFlamengo are contending thattheir former player Zico held therecord for goal scoring in a calen-dar year, despite Barcelona’s LionelMessi being credited with theaccolade last week.

Zico, who starred in the WorldCup in 1978, 1982 and 1986 with-out lifting the trophy, scored 89goals in the 1979 season, accord-ing to Flamengo.

The midfielder scored 81 goalsfor the Rio-based club, seven withBrazil and one in a friendly, Lancenewspaper reported.

postnoon e-paper for 13 december 2012

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