HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

city eventsWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES

Easter goodiesHot cross buns, Easter Bunnies, andEaster chocolates are part of the spe-cial Easter menu.Where: Novotel Hyderabad

Convention CentreWhen: March 25-31

St Patrick’s Day – BrunchMenu includes Irish soda bread,boxty and colcannon.Where: The Square,

Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre

When: from March 17,noon onwards

Contact: (040) 6682 4422

Shaam-e-DeccanGreenPark is hosting RoyalHyderabadi Food Festival – Shaam-e-Deccan. There will be a spread ofvegetarian and non vegetariandelights, especially the nawabikebabs and a wide choice of biriyanis.Where: Once Upon a Time,

GreenPark, Greenlands, Begumpet

When: March 15-24,7.30pm to 11pm

Contact: (040) 6651 5151

Daily treatsOrange is the fruit of the month atThe Westin Hyderabad Mindspace.Dishes include orange blossomcheesecake, orange creme brule anddark chocolate orange tart.Where: Daily Treats, The Westin

Hyderabad MindspaceWhen: Up to March 31Contact: (040) 6767 6818

It’s Easter!There is a special Easter brunch.Where: : Seasonal Tastes,The Westin Hyderabad MindspaceWhen: March 31,

noon to 4pmContact: (040) 6767 6888

DocuSplash!Barf, 1997 & Sita’s Family, 2002,Delhi Mumbai Delhi, 2006 andNaach, 2008, will be screened.Where: Goethe-Zentrum, Hyderabad

20 Journalist Colony,Road no. 3,Banjara Hills

When: March 24,

11am onwardsContact: gothe.de/hyderabad

Tales of the night fairiesFive sex workers and the filmmakerembark on a journey of storytelling.Tales of the Night Fairies exploresthe power of collective organizingand resistance while reflecting uponcontemporary debates around sex work.Where: Lamakaan,

Opposite GVKOne, Road No 1, Banjara Hills

When: March 24,11am onwards

Contact: gothe.de/hyderabad

Thinking form and contentAn exhibition of art work by Gopal

Nayak.Where: ICONART Gallery,

Road no. 12, Sri Ram Nagar Colony, Banjara Hills

When: Up to March 30, from 11.30 am to 7pm

Contact: 98499 68797

Women in Public SpacesGoethe-Zentrum Hyderabad hadcalled for applications for a groupphotography exhibition on ‘Womenin Public Spaces.’ This is an exhibitionof selected entries. Where: Goethe-Zentrum, HyderabadWhen: March 15-24,

9.30am to 5.30pmContact: (040) 2335 0443

French heritageA photographic voyage of Frenchheritage in India with Anay Mann,

Gigi Scaria, Rishi Singhal, SerenaChopra, Isabel Saij along with Jean-Pierre Dubois.Where: Kalakriti Art Gallery,

Banjara Hills When: March 16-21

11am to 7pmContact: (040) 6656 4466

The great Oxford saleDiscounts on books, magazines, sta-tionery and gift items.Where: Oxford Bookstore,

Tresorie, The Park, 22 Raj Bhavan Road

When: Up to March 31,Contact: (040) 31002959

Spring Treasure SaleThere is a sale of up to 50 per centoff at Taj Khazana, which showcasesartefacts as well as a selection of gar-ments, stoles, shawls and accessoriesfrom various Indian designers. Where: Taj Khazana

Taj Falaknuma PalaceWhen: March 15-25Contact: (040) 6629 8600

DSLR workshop Nikon India is organising its first everbasic DSLR workshop in Hyderabad.Registrations start at 10.30am and willbe done on first come first servebasis. Where: Hotel Basera,

1-9-167/168, SD Road, Secunderabad

When: March 24,noon to 4pm

GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456Indane 9848824365

BSNL Complaints 198HMWS & SB Complaints 155313

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

ELECTRICITYGeneral Complaints 155333Breakdown Section 23431178

23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

Commissioner & Spl Officer 2326226624166666R

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

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

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

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

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

30417445

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

AIRLINES

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

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

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

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

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

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

Helpline

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to

us comments, suggestions,viewpoint or just about

anything tofeedback@postnoon.com

or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,

Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033

or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222

FRENCH ARTIST B2FAYSAlliance Française of Hyderabad, Kalakriti Art Gallery and Park Hyatt

Hyderabad present French artist B2Fays. It is an exhibition of paintingsand multimedia installations. The preview is on March 28, at 6.30pm at

Park Hyatt. The exhibition will continue at Kalakriti Art Gallery.

BangaloreMax 33Min 22

Mostly cloudy.

ChennaiMax 33Min 25

Clear.

MumbaiMax 33Min 24

Clear.

New DelhiMax 34Min 20

Clear.

31°CA mix of cloudy and

clear skies.

23°CClear with cloudy

periods.

29°CMostly sunny.

37°CSunny.

Weather for HyderabadEvening Overnight Morning Afternoon

PROTEST: Andhra Pradesh Fisherman's Association members protest against government policies at Dharna Chowk,Indira Park, on Tuesday. N SHIVA KUMAR

DINING

SHOWS

ART

MISCELLANEOUS

Wondering whatcould possiblybe making yourbaby cry somuch? Here are afew reasons whyyour little bun-dle of joy is nottoo happy. Readon…

CHILD LAWKEEPS

CORPORATORSON EDGE

The GHMC leads the countrywith a progressive Act. Its 1994amendment to the Act that stipulates a corporator shouldnot have more than two childrenhas had a rather curious fallout.It is believed that there could bemore than 10 corporators representing different partieswho have more than two children. And they’re a worried lot.

EXTINCTIONUniversally familiar in appearance, the widespread and

once abundant, House Sparrow is now finding itself on theroad to extinction. On the least-concern list, their numbers

are dwindling consistently. On World Sparrow Day, wetake time to know more about this feathered friend.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 HYDERABAD WWW.POSTNOON.COM WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 31°C 32 PAGES `3

FLIGHT TO

P14&15

TECHNOLOGY EXPOSES

The digital age has finally invaded family courts wheretechnological proof has replaced physical evidence, leadingto quicker dissolution of marriages. Most divorce cases have

extra-marital affairs as the main reason for seeking separation. So the next time you log on for lust, be

afraid... be very afraid.

CHEATINGSPOUSES P17

REPORT ON P5

BEAT GETTING BAWLED OVER

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

RAPE FEARS FUEL TOURISTS’ ANXIETY IN INDIAForeign countries have issued advisories on safety issues

while travelling in India.

P7

P2

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

1 GHMC corporators are nowon tenterhooks.

With the two children rule now inforce, nearly 10 corporators withthe municipal corporation arewondering if they will lose theirposts since they have more thantwo children.

2 No respite for women in Cityfrom rape and molestation.

Even as the whole country is up inarms against rapists, some contin-ue to have a free run in our City.Recently, a 12-year-old girl wasraped by a 25-year-old man.

3 Congress goes for the killafter co-op poll success.

After its success in the co-opera-tive elections, Congress is gettingready to go in for local body polls.

4 Having an affair? You mightjust be caught on camera!

An increasing number of couplesare turning to creating videos oftheir spouse’s infidelity when filingfor a divorce.

5Cops now offer `10 lakhbounty to blast informants.

Even as cops struggle to find clues,the NIA has announced a rewardto anyone who offers information.

city WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 2

Funding communal discord?

Last year we had reported how sev-eral bike burning incidents had

been taking place in the City, especial-ly in the Old City area. However, thepolice managed to nab a youth red-handed at Chellapur near Charminar.The man from Karnataka had duringthe course of investigation hinted thatthere was a mysterious paymaster whohad been commissioning this.

MARCH 20, 2012

TRS leaders meet homeminister for permissionAdefiant group of TRS leaders

and MLAs who wanted the‘sadak bandh’ to be allowed in theCity on Thursday met HomeMinister Sabita Indra Reddy today toseek her intervention for police per-mission. The leaders said the partywill go ahead with the programmeas part of its agitation for a separateTelangana state.

Ponnala urges Chiru toset up Tourism centreIT Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah has

urged Union Tourism Minister Dr KChiranjeevi to set up a TourismConvention Center at the historicalWarangal city. Ponnala metChiranjeevi on Tuesday and thankedhim for sanctioning funds to set up10 Tourism Convention Centersacross the State to develop thetourism sector further.

Man crossing tracks run over by trainAsenior citizen, K Ram Singh, 65,

said to be a resident of VVNagar of Borabanda was fatally runover by a speeding train while hewas crossing live tracks betweenBorabanda and Hitec City staions onTuesday. Severely injured, he diedon the spot. The railway police havebooked a case and are looking intothe matter.

Class VI student drownsin lake near homeAclass VI student by name

Mohammed Muzamil drownedaccidentally in a lake while swim-ming. Muzamil, 12, a resident ofTukkuguda of Pahadishareef hadgone to the lake near his home onTuesday afternoon for a swim withhis friends where he is said to havebeen drowned. It is not clear if hecould swim or was just practising.

LAST YEAR... HERE CIVIC

NEWS BRIEFS

1 ,300cases of the 1,700 divorce cases filed

last year were because one of thespouses was having an extra-marital

relationship.

5THINGS WELEARNT TODAY

NUMEROLOGY

With theadvancement of

technology, couplesare easily able to findout if their partner ischeating on them andimmediatelyapproach thecourt.

Dhananjaya, advocateSee page 5

Md NIZAMUDDINnizamuddin.a@postnoon.com

Even as two of theGHMC corporatorshave lost cases in thecourts for havingmore than two chil-

dren, another corporator isreportedly fighting the case inthe High Court.

Mohammed Mukrram Ali(Moghalpura) has already lostthe case in the Civil court andnow the case is with the HighCourt.

It is believed that around 10corporators representing differ-ent parties having more than

two children have butterflies intheir tummy. “Unless and untilthere is a strong evidence likeDate of Birth certificates of theirchildren, it’s hard to pin pointand nail them,” says C UdayKumar, who recently won thecase for becoming Corporatorfrom Langar House.

ONE CURIOUS TWIST TO THE LAWAccording to legal experts, thechildren born before the lawwas implemented in 1994, willall be counted as one even ifthere are more one. But there isno exclusiveness for Muslims.“The children born to a man

would be taken into accounteven if they are born of morethan one wife,” says OsmanShaheed, former chairman ofMCH Standing Committee andpresident, TelanganaAdvocates’ Joint ActionCommittee.

While MIM corporators feelthat given the cost of living forthe average person, the phe-nomenon of marrying morethan one woman is rareamongst the corporators. “Thiscan be seen amongst the rich,like a few MLAs and MPs, but Ido not think corporators ofthese days can afford to main-tain more than one wife and

children,” says an MIM corpo-rator, who do not want to benamed.

The leadership of all theparties maintain that they veri-fy the credentials of the candi-date before elections. But therecould be some cases, whichmay have missed cross check-ing, if there is a strong referencefor the candidate.

Singireddy Srinivas Reddy,TDP floor leader, similar toother leaders maintains thereare no cases right now in thecourts. “There are other cases ofcorporators pending in court.But as of now, I did not learnabout any other case,” he says.

Law on children keepscorporators on edge

The GHMC leads the country with a progressive Act. Its 1994 amendment to the Actthat stipulates a corporator should not have more than two children has curious fall-

outs. More councilors are kept on tenterhooks on this issue.

Singireddy Srinivas Reddy (standing in black)

C Uday Kumar, corporator, Langar House

The leadership of allthe parties maintainthat they verify thecredentials of the candidate before elections.

city WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 3

POSTNOON NEWSfeedback@postnoon.com

In yet another case of abduc-tion and rape in the City, aminor girl, aged 12, wastaken forcibly by a 25-year-

old man who kept her captiveand sexually assaulted her for aweek. He has been arrested andthe girl is undergoing treatment.

The girl’s family had come tothe City from Nalgonda sevenyears ago. The girl’s father, PChary, is an agriculturist. Theyrented a home in LB Nagar.

The girl, studying in a gov-ernment school, was alone athome in the evening last weekwhen a man, identified as JKanaka Raju, who also hailsfrom Nalgonda, came and askedher to get into an autorickshaw.She knew the man but not verywell. She was reluctant but Raju

pulled her into the vehicle. Shewas taken to a house inNalgonda where he kept her incaptivity for a week and repeat-edly raped her. Meanwhile, thegirl’s parents lodged a complaintwith the police. The cops, withhelp they received from the

neighbours, went in search of theman in Nalgonda. When res-cued, the girl was in a state ofshock and she was taken to thehospital for forensic tests. Theyouth has been arrested andcharged with the abduction andrape of a minor girl.

CRIME CRIME

Minor schoolgirl abducted, raped

The 12-year-old was held captive in Nalgonda by a youth whosexually assaulted her for a week.

Mohd SUBHANmohd.s@postnoon.com

Three persons were mur-dered in separate inci-dents at different places

in the City and outskirts in thepast two days. All three werefound with their headssmashed in with boulders.

According to details, thebody of a man, aged about 40years, was found on RCI Roadnear a garden in Pahadishareefarea. He had head injuries andwas lying in a pool of blood.

Police say they have startedinvestigating but have got nodefinite clues so far. In anotherincident, a man, around 50years of age, was found deadnear Miyan Sahab lake ofVanasthalipuram area. Hishead and face were smashed inwith boulders.

In another incident, anunidentified person, agedaround 45 years, was foundbadly injured at NagmaiahKunta of Chikkadpally area.

His attackers had injured himusing boulders and he diedwhile undergoing treatment. In this case, two men, Rameshand Chitty Babu, have beenarrested.

Three separate casesof murder, where thevictims were bludgeoned to deathwith boulders, havebeen registered.

Boulders becomekilling tools

city WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 4POLITICS ASSEMBLY

INKESHAF AHMEDahmed.m@postnoon.com

Ameeting of the CongressLegislature Party (CLP) willbe held this evening. Themeeting is being held almost

after a gap of one year. CLP assumes importance in the

wake of the State government’s decisionto hold local body elections for all grampanchayats and MPTC, ZPTC seatsacross the State in either April or May.

The agenda prepared for the CLPmeeting also includes the issue of ninedissident party MLAs who, defying theparty whip, voted in favour of the no-confidence motion (NCM) moved bythe Opposition YSR Congress and TRSin the Assembly on March 15.

The meeting is likely to adopt aunanimous resolution to complain

against the rebel party MLAs to theSpeaker, seeking their disqualificationfrom the house. The meeting will alsodiscuss in detail the strategies to beadopted by the party to face the localbody election by gearing up partycadres from grassroots level.

The issue of strengthening partycadres by recognising the services ofloyal local workers of the party andgiving them leadership roles would betaken on a serious note. The party hasalready decided to field youthCongress leaders in the ensuing localbody elections as an experiment. Theincentive being offered to these young

leaders is that those who ensure theparty’s victory in the local body elec-tions would be given MLA tickets dur-ing the next General Elections.

Speaking to Postnoon, CongressMLA Masthan Wali said that the meet-ing would set a road map to gainmileage for the welfare schemes thegovernment has been implementing.

The CLP meeting would also dis-cuss how to counter criticism fromrival political parties in the ongoingbudget session of the House andevolve a strategy accordingly. Seniorministers and MLAs would likely beentrusted with this responsibility.

POSTNOON NEWSfeedback@postnoon.com

The Opposition stirred up trouble on thefifth day of the Assembly session,prompting the Chair to adjourn the

House twice before noon. Each party wantedto move adjournment motions to discussissues such as VAT on textiles, water shortage,and so on. The Speaker disallowed them all,leading to fracas and adjournment.

BREACH OF PRIVILEGE NOTICE SERVEDIn AP Legislative Council, opposition partyleaders from TDP and TRS gave breach ofprivilege notices to the Council chairmanagainst the State government for committingvisible mistakes in preparation of a separatebudget for agriculture.

FIN MIN CONCEDES MISTAKEFinance minister A Ramanarayana Reddyagreed that they had committed a lot of mis-takes due to lack of co-ordination between var-ious departments. He, along with legislativeaffairs minister D Sridhar Babu, met theAssembly Speaker and gave a letter to him,promising that the State would again present itas agriculture action plan. He also brought tothe notice of the Speaker that they put beforethe House corrected copies of the action plan.

Mayhem on Day 5Cong goes in for the kill

After its success in theco-operative elections,

the Congress is getting ready to go in

for local body polls.

SMALL WONDERS

School children participate in a series of events to commemorate World Sparrow Day at Nehru Zoological Park. N SHIVA KUMAR

FILE PHOTO

classifieds WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 5

To advertise on this page, contact: 040-40672222

NEEDS OF INDUSTRIESA Classified Display Feature

CRIMECity blasts: `10lakh reward forinformantsThe National Investigation

Agency, which took over theprobe into the twin blasts inDilsukhnagar on February 21, hasannounced a reward of `10 lakh forthose who pass on informationabout the culprits. The agency alsopromised to keep the identity ofinformants a top secret.

It may be mentioned here thatDGP Dinesh Reddy had announcedtwo days ago that the police identi-fied the prime accused of the blastsfrom the CCTV footage.

Speaking to the media onSaturday, the DGP said all thatremained now was to locate thecriminal.

He also denied charges that thepolice had taken into custody peo-ple from a particular section forinterrogation.

He said all the suspects werebeing taken into custody. It wasimproper to say that one particularsection was targeted, he added. TheDGP said police were investigatingthe case from all angles. NSS

FAMILY COURTS

Tech to stalk cheating spousesThe digital age has invaded family courts. Technological proof has replaced physical evidence,

leading to quicker dissolution of marriages involving extramarital affairs.ALEENA ALICEaleena.t@postnoon.com

Gone are the days when anestranged spouse, whosuspected his/her otherhalf of cheating on

him/her, would bring hard copiesof photographs, eyewitnesses orother sorts of physical evidence tothe courts. Majority of the divorcecases that reach the family courtthese days are filed on the basis ofextramarital affairs. However, cou-ples now use technology to presentfacts before the courts.

Last year, out of 1,700 divorcecases that reached the courts, near-ly 1,300 cases were filed because aspouse was having an extramaritalaffair. Most of the couples wereyoung, educated people betweenthe ages of 25 and 30. According toadvocates, these couples bring inproof either as recordings on theirhigh-end mobile phones or byrecording their confession and pre-senting the CDs to the court. “Outof every 10 cases I deal with, nearlysix of my clients have applied fordivorce because their spouse hasbeen cheating on them. Nowadays,with the advancement of technolo-gy, couples are easily able to find

out whether their partner is cheat-ing on them or not. Half of the casesthat come to the courts are (thosewith) mobile proof, where the hus-band or wife finds out about theirpartner’s extramarital affairs bychecking the SMS and call historyon their partner’s phone,” saidadvocate C Srinath. The court, onthe other hand, has been honouringthese proofs presented before them,and immediately granting divorceto the couples.

“There was this case where ahusband, who suspected that hiswife was having an extramaritalaffair, acquired her email passwordby recording it on the web cam. Hethen later checked her mail andcaught her redhanded with theemail she exchanged with hersecret lover. He confronted her andrecorded her confession. All thiswas provided to the court as evi-

dence. So the court immediatelygranted his divorce petition,” saidadvocate GK Kalanidhi.

A d d ing that electronic com-muni-cationh a sb e e nplayingan impor-tant rolein thei n c re a s i n gnumber ofdivorce cases,a d v o c a t eD h a n a n j a y asaid, “Earlier,if the hus-band or the wifesuspected each other, theywould only restrict it to thatand later forget about it, mostof the time. Now with theadvancement of technology,couples are easily able to findout if their partner is cheat-ing on them and immedi-ately approach the courtwith the proof.”

Mobile, mail, spy camand GPS have come to theaid of the tech-savvyyoung generation.

Advocates say couplesrecord the proof ontheir high-end phonesand present that, or aCD, to the court as evidence.

Numerous surveyshave found thatyoung adults todayspend more time

being single than the previousgenerations. Instances of live-inrelationships, bearing childrenout of wedlock and refusal tohave children have becomeincreasingly common.

These rising trends havemore or less grabbed the atten-tion of researchers and sociolo-gists world over. Concern isbeing expressed about its socialimpact and the adverse effectsit may have on future generations.

When it comes to love, weget a mixed reaction. Whilesome give no thought to fre-quently changing their partners,for what they call ‘experiment-ing with the right one’, there areothers who are taking the long-term relationship route. Butmarriage does not seem to fig-ure anywhere on the cards.

"It's good to get to knowyour partner before marrying,but one wonders how long youneed," says Maheshwari M,mother of a teenage daughter.But her daughter Anisha says,“Marriage is not something I canafford to think of. For me, com-panionship and living my adultlife completely matters. Myorder of preference is: Career,independence, money, stability,fun, and then marriage. Andchildren.… just out of the question!”

Some try to subvert theinstitution of marriage, pro-claiming that it is no longer anacceptable – or tolerable – wayof life. Sangeeta Chauhan, anaspiring engineer, feels that it’sjust a way to get women tobecome submissive. There areothers who share her view.

Gen Z children were bornin the years that marked theturning point for same-sexcouples. Md Asif, an appren-tice with a fashion designersays, “Though the stigma stillremains, more and more teensare confident enough to comeout of the closet and stand upfor their sexual orientation.Being gay or lesbian is now notfrowned upon. And with some

parts of the world even allow-ing same-sex couples to marry,it won’t be long before the revo-lution reaches India.”

While many Gen Zers willfall in love and get marriedeventually, the casualness ofsexual relationships and thebreakdown of traditionalcourtship has made datingamong Gen Zs painful at times.

The millennial generationtoo had their reservations about

marriage, but now youngstersare waiting longer before sayingtheir vows. They aren’t neces-sarily anti-marriage; what theymost want, it appears, is to getmarriage right.

Online relationships arenow the norm. What earliergenerations would havethought twice about doing,Gen-Z has already been thereand done that.

Nowadays the virtual lives

they lead is making it difficultto differentiate between fictionand reality.

This social-networking gen-eration believes in living everyminute on it. Inter-personalrelationships are discarded.Children prefer to talk to theirparents via phone, Skype oreven Facebook, despite livingin the same house. As a result,even parenting has changeddrastically.

Francis Mathew, a father ofa boy and girl, says, “For ourgeneration, parenting was a bigdeal. We learnt from our par-ents and grandparents how tobring up our kids. But now, it’sbecome fashionable to dole outexpert advice on parenting.”

Tessy Sebastian, a marriedgirl of 22, is now expecting herfirst child,.

“Most people are surprisedthat I chose to marry so youngand now am expecting. Ratherthan listening to advice fromhundred relatives, I believethere are some good books outin the market which will helpme through this.”

When the talks of lowering

the age of consensual sex wereon, Gen Z had mixed views.Dipti Sharma, a medical stu-dent said, “I think it’s a boldand progressive move. It givesyou the right to choose (whatis) right and wrong for yourself.I think now relationships maybe given a chance.”

On the other hand,Tanishkh Mansukhani, a stu-dent of sociology, felt it’s a ployto let adults get their way. “Weas a generation have becomemore promiscuous and sexdoesn’t have the value or gener-al importance that it used to.Losing one’s virginity is nolonger a matter of concern;rather if you haven’t by the ageof 20, then you are consideredan old fossil. This kind ofbehaviour leads to unstablerelationships, reckless drugabuse, depression and askewed sense of freedom.”

As the years pass, a newgeneration takes the old one’splace. They have their ownquirks and problems to dealwith and finally through trialand error come up with theirown solutions.

AGE OF A PAGE DEDICATED TO THE TRIUMPHS AND TRIBULATIONS OF GEN Z

6WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Long and short of relationshipsGen Z doesn’t find any difference between instant chat and face-to-face interactions. They have a

different take on relationships. The question is, will marriage survive Gen Z?

FLEME VARKEYfleme.v@postnoon.com

focusWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

7LIVING IN DENIALAt the Delhi office of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, executive director Gour Kanjilal said it wasunfair to portray India as dangerous. “Our industry is the first casualty when crime against foreigners isreported in India, but the reporting does not always reflect the truth," he said. “Tourists should be respon-sible. They should follow some do’s and don’ts."

HALL OF SHAME

AMMU KANNAMPILLYfeedback@postnoon.com

Danish tourist JudithJensen has a long list ofdon’ts to help her feelsafe during her holi-

day in India. She won’t hail a taxioff the street, she won’t stay in anobscure hotel and she won’t goout after dark — all decisionsmade in response to the growingreporting of sexual crime in thecountry.

“I have read and heard somuch about rape in India thatnow I feel this persistent sense ofdanger," Jensen, 42, told AFP.

The tourism ministry’s ubiq-uitous Incredible India market-ing campaign has helped boostthe number of foreign visitorsover the past decade to around6.6 million a year. But that pushis now hampered by a growingsense that India is simply not asafe destination.

The fatal gang-rape of a stu-dent in December shone a dis-turbing light on the levels of sex-ual violence and a series of sub-sequent attacks on foreigners

have added to the sense ofunease.

On Friday night, a Swisstourist was gang-raped while on a cycling holiday in MadhyaPradesh. Her husband was tied

up by the gang who are alsoaccused of stealing a laptop, amobile phone and `10,000.

On the same night, a group ofmen in a city near Delhi brieflykidnapped an Indian male exec-utive working for the Frenchengineering giant Alstom.

Other incidents reported

since the December bus gang-rape include that of a SouthKorean student who said she hadbeen raped and drugged by theson of the owner of the hotelwhere she stayed.

A Chinese woman workingin Gurgaon, was also reportedlyraped by an acquaintance lastmonth.

Officials say there is no needfor alarm, pointing out that for-eigners are victims of crime theworld over and the vast majorityexperience no problems.

But travel advice from a hostof countries stresses the need forvisitors to take care.

An advisory from the Swissforeign ministry, issued beforeFriday’s attack, urged men andwomen visiting India to travel inlarge groups and with guides.

The US State Department’s

website warns female travellersto “observe stringent securityprecautions” and “avoid travel-ling alone in hired taxis, especial-ly at night".

Britain’s foreign office updat-ed its advisory for India lastweek, saying that “women trav-ellers often receive unwantedattention in the form of verbaland physical harassment by indi-viduals or groups of men".

In a notorious case five yearsago, 15-year-old British school-girl Scarlett Keeling was rapedand left to die on a beach in Goa.

Jensen recalled how shespent a carefree week backpack-ing around southern India adecade ago. But now, travellingwith her 10-year-old daughter, itis a different story with her hus-band texting her several times aday to check up on their safety.

“Women will prefer to visitother places like Singapore orBali or Thailand, where safety isnot such a big concern."

At the Delhi office of theIndian Association of TourOperators, executive directorGour Kanjilal said it was unfair

to portray India as dangerous.“Our industry is the first

casualty when crime against for-eigners is reported in India, butthe reporting does not alwaysreflect the truth," he said.“Tourists should be responsible.They should follow some do’sand don’ts."

A state minister in MP, wherethe attacks on the Swiss andSouth Korean tourists took place,told reporters on Sunday thattravellers must inform localpolice officials whenever theymove from one town to the next.

That suggestion is hardlyrealistic for most tourists like 26-year-old Peruvian MariluLabarthe, who squeezed in visitsto seven cities during a two-week trip to the country.

Labarthe, shopping for ethnictrinkets in Delhi on the last dayof her vacation, travelled to thecountry with 11 other women.

“You have to always be care-ful. And after hearing of theserecent incidents, one obviouslyfeels a sense of fear," she said, asone of her companions noddedin agreement. AFP

Rape fears fuel tourists’ANXIETY IN INDIA

Foreign countrieshave issued advisorieson safety issues whiletravelling in India.

BusinessWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

8Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras said Tuesday it aims to tripleoil production from its huge deep-water fields by 2017. By that date,the company plans to extract 962,500 barrels a day, more than threetimes the current 300,000, according to the plan released to investors.

Petrobras aims to triple Brazil's offshore oil output

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesdayreported that Yahoo! may take a con-trolling interest in France-basedonline video-sharing websiteDailymotion. Yahoo! could buy asmuch as 75 per cent of Dailymotionfrom France Telecom in what wouldbe the California Internet pioneer'sbiggest acquisition under chiefMarissa Mayer. He said at a recentfinancial analysts conference in SanFrancisco that she was making a prior-ity of markets outside the US, wherethe company makes most of itsmoney. Yahoo! and Dailymotiondeclined to comment on the reportthat talks between the companieswere underway.

Y! sets eyes on video

US automaker Ford said Tuesday thatit would pay at least $750 million toworkers being let go as it closes itsplant in Genk, Belgium, after reachingan agreement with unions.Ford Motor Company, which has suf-fered heavy losses in Europe,announced in October it would shut-ter the Genk plant at the end of 2014,wiping out more than 10,000 directand indirect jobs.The announcement triggered shockwaves in Belgium and union block-ades at the plant, which employs4,000 hourly workers and 300 salariedemployees."We recently completed negotiationswith representatives of our hourlyemployees at the Genk facility regard-ing separation benefits, and theresulting proposal has been approvedby a majority vote," Ford said in a reg-ulatory filing."We estimate the cost of these hourlyemployee separation benefits, subjectto formal closure of the informationand consultation process, to be about$750 million, which will be cashexpenditures."

Ford to pay $750mn

NUMEROLOGY

$15.6 bnis the massive order put at Boeing

catalog prices, one of the USaerospace giant’s largest orders ever,

though discounts could bring thetotal value to much less than that.

BSENSEPOUND `85.15

DOLLAR `53.79

SILVER `60,100 for 1kg24CGOLD`31,100 for 10g 20,025.67

44.10

9.206,057.70

BSENSEPOUND `82.03

DOLLAR `54.38

SILVER `54,900 for 1kg24CGOLD `30,100 for 10g 18,913.89

92.30

35.55 5,710.40

PRUDHVI RAJU Kprudhvi.k@postnoon.com

Organic living seems tobe the new mantraand organic food isgaining ground not

only as a viable and sustainablealternative for farmers but alsoas a healthy option for con-sumers. Earlier, organic foodswere mainly cultivated forexport, but recent trends showthat the demand from villagesand retail stores in cities, alongwith the benefit to farmers, aredriving organic cultivation.Although, this is a good start,there is a growing need to edu-cate farmers and governmentsupport is vital to substitutechemical-based farming.

Dr GV Ramanjaneyulu,executive director of the Centrefor Sustainable Agriculture,feels that it is important forfarmers to opt for a sustainableapproach. “Either the farmerhas to produce bio-pesticideslocally or buy them from com-panies. The latter will increasethe market dependence andcosts will not reduce. It is impor-

tant for farmers to be indepen-dent,” he says.

He advises farmers to adoptthe agro-ecological approachbefore choosing the crop. Thisdepends on the soil and waterconditions along with the localdemand for the produce. Forinstance, in Guntur you can stillfind residues of pesticides in thesoil that were banned 30 yearsago. Chemicals and pesticidescan also spread from neighbour-ing fields through water, air andsoil. But with specific prac-tices — like maintaining dis-tance in organic cultivation —can bring down the residue lev-els. Farmers can opt for theincremental approach by whichthey abandon pesticides initiallyand follow it up with chemicalfertilisers over time.

But one must not expectresults immediately as thewhole process takes place grad-ually. Any land can be convert-ed over two to three years withthis approach.

Althoughthisp r o c e s ssounds

tiresome intially, it actuallyhelps reduce expenses overtime.

“These methods not onlyhelp in ecological sustainabilitybut also help bring down coststo farmers by a minimum of 10

per cent. Productivity can alsobe increased by around 10 percent with good managementtechniques. If a farmer can get atleast 10 per cent better pricethrough proper distributionmechanisms, it will be benefi-cial,” says Dr Ramanjaneyulu.

The organic food sector hasseen a rapid rise. In the last fiveyears, it has grown at around400 per cent in exports.However, growth in the domes-

tic market is hard to calculateas it is largely an unorgan-

ised sector. Around

five per cent of farms are certi-fied as organic; but in reality thisfigure is around 30 per cent asmany are into organic farmingby default in the country.

With 70 per cent farmers stilldependant on chemical farming,taking organic methods to themainstream will only be possi-ble with investment from thegovernment. The price of organ-ic foods can also be lowered ifthe subsidy provided on chemi-cal fertilisers is given directly tothe farmer. For instance, thegovernment spends around`2,500 as subsidy on every bagof DAP fertiliser. Around sixbags are used per acre of landand this costs the governmentaround `15,000 for a single crop.If this subsidy is given to thefarmer, he can spend it onorganic fertilisers.

In the name of subsidies, thegovernment is helping theindustry and not the farmer. Bysubsidising chemical fertilisers,the government is directlyresponsible for spoiling the ecol-ogy, livelihood and health ofcores of people.

The organic advantageThe organic sector has seen growth in the last five years. Using bio

pesticides in farming helps bring down the cost to farmers.

The organic food sector has seen arapid rise. In the last five years, it hasgrown at around 400per cent in exports.

GOING THE ECO WAY

1 killed, 6 injured astrain rams into busSUPAUL: A goods train rammedinto a bus at an unmanned railwaycrossing near Saraigarh in Bihar'sSupaul district today, leaving oneperson dead and six others injured.Superintendent of Police VinodKumar said the goods train comingfrom Raghopur to Saharsa hit a pas-senger bus when it was passingthrough the unmanned railwaycrossing. One person died on thespot and six others were injured,About 26 passengers were on boardthe bus which was on way to Supaulfrom state capital Patna.

Two personselectrocuted in UPGHAZIPUR: Two persons wereelectrocuted when a high tensionwire fell on a transformer resulting inflow of high voltage in Dildarnagararea, police said today. The incidentoccurred late last evening when thehigh tension wire fell on the trans-former in Phulli village. Police saidthat Waseem, 20, and Ibrar, 17, whowere repairing cellphones at a mobilestore, were electrocuted due to thehigh voltage. An ex-gratia of `1 lakheach and financial assistance fromthe Chief Minister's discretionaryfund has been alloted to their kin.

NEWS BRIEFS

nationWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

9MILITANTS KILL MAN IN MANIPURMilitants shot dead a 51-year old villager in Manipur's interior Chandel hilldistrict bordering Myanmar, police said today. The militants barged into thehouse of Soshon Maring late last night at Khukthar village, dragged him outand shot him dead from point blank range. The victim died on the spot.

LANKA RESOLUTION

KASHMIR

Pick at the airport, -

Nagaland ministerChang resignsKANNUR: Newly-appointedstate school education minister CMChang of the Naga People's Front-led Democratic Alliance ofNagaland has resigned from hispost, officials said today. Chang, elected from Noksen con-stituency in the February 23Assembly election, had submittedhis resignation on March 14,state Assembly Speaker ChotisuhSazo said. Chang resigned in orderto avoid a Lok Sabha by-election,Sazo said, adding that Chang's res-ignation has been accepted.

Teen killed inside mosqueSRINAGAR: Unidentified gun-men late Tuesday night killed an18-year-old boy in Sopore town,police said here. Sopore SP SyedImtiyaz Hussain told IANS onWednesday: "Suhail Ahmad Sofi,resident of Doabgah area ofSopore, was sitting with anotherboy in the grounds near the localmosque when unidentified mili-tants fired at him.

"However, Suhail escaped thebullets and ran into the mosque.

One militant chased him andfired five shots at the boy insidethe mosque. Suhail died on thespot. We have registered a case inthis regard and investigationshave started."

Commenting on the killing,CM Omar Abdullah tweeted:"Militants chase an 18-year-oldboy into a mosque and shoothim. Imagine the outrage if thishad been done by security forces#hypocrisy". IANS

ACCIDENT

LUCKNOW: In a tragic incidentlate Tuesday night, eight chil-dren were killed and over adozen injured when a speedingtruck overturned at NaglaPatwari near the bypass inAligarh, police said.

The incident happened whenthe truck, loaded with bricks, gotstuck in a pothole. The driverlost control, the truck turned tur-tle and then hurtled into a road-side slum in the village.

Angry at the delay in arrivalof cranes to begin rescue opera-tions to pull out the childrenfrom under the truck, a mobwent on a rampage and chasedaway senior district officialsfrom the accident site.

Angry residents alleged thatthey had petitioned districtauthorities many times to get theroad repaired, as they feared anaccident that could cause loss oflives. They said their pleas fell ondeaf ears.

The condition of the injuredis stated to be serious, thoughout of danger, police officialssaid. The truck driver and itscleaner were also among theinjured.

Angry people blocked theroad for many hours, protestingthe laxity of authorities in repair-ing the road.

PTI

Truck runsover eight in a slum

NEW DELHI: The governmentWednesday said it was talkingto political parties on a resolu-tion concerning the Sri LankanTamil issue in parliament, butthe move was not linked to thewithdrawal of support by theDMK to the UPA.

The remarks were made byFinance Minister P.Chidambaram here, whileaddressing media people. Hesaid the government wasmulling over the resolution, see-ing the sentiments of the Tamils.

Answering a query, he saidthe government was stable: "Noone has questioned our stabili-ty," Chidambaram said.

BJP vice president MukhtarAbbas Naqvi said the party hasno plans to bring a no-confi-dence motion; “the governmentwill collapse on its own”, hesaid.

Information and broadcast-ing minister Manish Tewari saidit was part of government's dutyto highlight the feelings of thepeople of a state. "Talks arebeing held (on the resolution),"he said.

Referring to the resolution atthe United Nations HumanRights Council, he said India'sforeign policy was decidedkeeping the national interest atthe forefront.

Parliamentary AffairsMinister Kamal Nath said the SP

was satisfied with the govern-ment's response on the contro-versy over union minister BeniPrasad Verma's alleged remarksthat Mulayam Singh Yadav had"terrorist links". "They are satis-fied. The issue is closed," KamalNath said.

Uproar over issues relatingto Sri Lankan Tamils and UnionMinister Beni Prasad Verma'sremarks against SamajwadiParty chief Mulayam SinghYadav led to the adjournment ofParliament for an hour today.

PTI

Talks on, governmentconfident of survival

DMK leader TR Baalu (second from left) with party leaders outside Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

DMK ministers submit resignations to PM, Parliament adjourned over uproar

WorldWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

10GENOCIDE TRIAL OF FORMER GUATEMALA DICTATOR BEGINSFormer Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt went on trial Tuesday on genocide chargesover the killing of almost 1,800 indigenous people during his country’s civil war. The trialof the 86-year-old former strongman, who could face five decades in prison, had a rau-cous opening with the court rejecting several motions for a postponement.

FUKUSHIMA COOLEDTechnicians have restored power toall cooling systems at the reactors ofJapan’s tsunami-hit Fukushimanuclear plant, the operating compa-ny said Wednesday after a blackoutsparked a new crisis. Equipment inpools used to cool used fuelbecame fully operational from 0:12am (1512 GMT), some 30 hours afterthe blackout, Tokyo Electric PowerCo. (TEPCO) said. Used nuclear fuelbecomes dangerous if its tempera-ture is allowed to rise uncontrollablyto the point where a self-sustainingcritical reaction begins, causing ameltdown.

Speculation intensified thatAustralian PM Julia Gillard couldbe toppled by her party withindays, with one report saying ex-leader Kevin Rudd was five votesfrom victory. The AustralianFinancial Review said Gillard waslagging so badly in opinion pollsthat even her more strident sup-porters doubted she could winthe September 14 election. It saidthree senior sources had con-firmed momentum was movingtowards Rudd.

RUDD IN COMEBACK?

NUMEROLOGY

27People were killed by landslides

caused by heavy rains in a mountainous area of the Braziliansate of Rio de Janeiro, authorities

said Tuesday. The heavy downpouralso forced 1,466 people to leave

their homes or left them homeless.

We are very seriously

concerned by the factthat chemicalweapons have fallen in the hands ofthe armed opposition inSyria.

Russian Foreign MinistryStatement

Al-Qaeda says Frenchhostage killed in MaliNOUAKCHOTT: A French hostagehas been executed in Mali, a manclaiming to be a spokesman for Al-Qaeda in North Africa toldMauritania’s ANI news agency. AFrench foreign office spokesmansaid they were trying to verify thereport of the killing of PhilippeVerdon, who was kidnapped in 2011.

Anti-whalers return toOz claiming win over JapSYDNEY: The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling fleet docked in Australiaclaiming victory over Japan, as theactivist group urged Canberra togrant fugitive founder Paul Watsonfree passage into the country. Theships returned from a bitter cam-paign in the isolated SouthernOcean in Antarctica with an esti-mated Aus$1.0 million damage bill.

Seven US marines killedin training exercise WASHINGTON: Seven USMarines were killed and eight oth-ers wounded when a mortar roundexploded while still in its launchtube during a training exercise inNevada, the military said Tuesday.The accident involved a powerful60 mm round and the MarineCorps ordered a ban on the use ofsuch mortars after the incident.

Diana dresses raise over£850,000 at London sale LONDON: Ten dresses owned byPrincess Diana, including the oneworn when she danced with actorJohn Travolta at a White House din-ner, sold for £862,800 at a Londonauction on Tuesday. The most iconicitem — the strapless dark blue vel-vet gown worn at a 1985 dinnerthrown by US president RonaldReagan — raised £240,000.

NEWS BRIEFS

JERUSALEM: Barack Obamawas on his way to IsraelWednesday for the first time asUS president, hoping to easepast tensions with his hosts andunder pressure to narrow differ-ences over handling Iran’snuclear threat.

Obama’s long-awaited visit,the debut overseas trip of hissecond term, comes as Israel’snew government settles in andwill also expose Obama’sdiminished ambitions of forgingpeace between Israelis andPalestinians.

The president’s airplane, AirForce One, took off at 8:15 pmfrom Andrews Air Force Baseoutside Washington.

Obama was scheduled totouch down in Tel Aviv ataround 1030 GMT and embarkon a four-day trip during whichhe will meet Israeli leaders andtravel to the West Bank.

There he will findPalestinians who feel he did notlive up to early vows to dedicate

himself to a two-state deal.Obama will also consult

with King Abdullah II in Jordan.“My goal on this trip is to

listen. I intend to meet with Bibi(Netanyahu)... I intend to meetwith Fayyad and Abu Mazen(Abbas) and to hear from themwhat is their strategy, what istheir vision, where do they

think this should go?” Obamatold Israeli television.

Upon arrival Obama willimmediately come face-to-facewith Israel’s security challenge,viewing a mobile battery ofIsrael’s US-funded Iron Domeanti-missile system.

Then he will head toJerusalem, to visit President

Shimon Peres before going intotalks with Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu.

On his trip, Obama willpointedly court symbolism ashe will be inspecting the DeadSea Scrolls and visiting the tombof Theodor Herzl, founder ofmodern Zionism.

The choreography is intend-ed to show Israelis, Arabs andpolitical foes back home thatObama is deeply committed toIsrael’s security and future,despite some scepticism abouthis motives.

Obama normally gets ahero’s welcome on foreign tripsbut after his call for a “newbeginning” with the Muslimworld in his first term, he willconfront questionable personalpopularity among Israelis.

A Jerusalem Post pollTuesday found 36 per cent ofIsraelis found Obama more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel com-pared to 26 per cent who sawhim as favouring Israel more.

DIPLOMATIC TIES

CYPRIOT CRISIS

Obama sets off for IsraelHoping to ease tensions and to narrow differences over Iran’s nuclear threat.

FIERY FIESTA

A woman jumps over a bonfire in southern Tehran on March 19 duringthe Fire feast, or Chaharshanbeh Soori, held annually on the lastWednesday eve before the Spring holiday of Noruz. AFP PHOTO

Cyprus MPs reject levyNICOSIA: Cypriot PresidentNicos Anastasiades has calledan emergency meeting of partyleaders Wednesday in a franticsearch for a viable plan B afterMPs rejected the terms of an EUbailout aimed at saving Cyprusfrom bankruptcy.

Angry lawmakers onTuesday voiced their disap-proval for a divisive levy onbank accounts, devised as partof the bailout EU-IMF rescuepackage, decrying as “black-mail” the recently forged deal.

Under the bailout dealreached at the weekend, the

troika of the EU, EuropeanCentral Bank and IMF were toprovide Cyprus with 10 billioneuros on condition the islandraises another 5.8 billion euros.

It called for a levy of up to9.9 per cent to be slapped on allCyprus bank deposits, anunprecedented move that trig-gered outrage among saversand raised fears other financial-ly crippled EU states like Italyand Spain could be next.

The Cypriot governmentbacktracked, and on Tuesdaydropped the proposed tax onsavings below 20,000.

Barack Obama makes his way to board Air Force One on March 19 atAndrews Air Force Base in Maryland. AFP/MANDEL NGAN

Yahoo is in talks to buy a control-ling stake in France Telecom'sonline-video site Dailymotion.Yahoo could buy as much as 75%of Dailymotion as part of an owner-ship structure that is under consid-eration, these people said. The sitecould be valued at around $300million, one of these people said,and would help Yahoo to gain abigger toehold in online video inparts of Europe and Asia. Yahoomay be able to buy the remainderof the site in the future, this personsaid.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

US regulators are investigatingMicrosoft’s relationship with busi-ness partners that allegedlybribed foreign government offi-cials in return for software con-tracts. US Justice Department andthe Securities and ExchangeCommission are examining alle-gations made by a formerMicrosoft representative in China,as well as the company's relation-ship with certain resellers andconsultants in Romania and Italy.The investigation is in a prelimi-nary phase, according to peoplefamiliar with the probe, and thegovernment hasn't accusedMicrosoft of wrongdoing. Suchinvestigations can end with nocharges being filed.

GOOD DEAL?

UNDER INVESTIGATION

According to a tweet issued byCNBC, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynchwill leave the company this weekto join Apple. “Kevin Lynch,Adobe CTO, is leaving the com-pany effective March 22 to take aposition at Apple. We will not bereplacing the CTO position;responsibility for technologydevelopment lies with our busi-ness unit heads under the leader-ship of Adobe CEO ShantanuNarayen. Bryan Lamkin, who hasrecently returned to Adobe, willassume responsibilities for crosscompany research and technolo-gy initiatives as well as CorporateDevelopment. We wish Kevinwell in this new chapter of hiscareer,” Adobe said.

NEW VENTURE

Technology 11PRICE OF ‘SOCIALISING’

United States

Monthly Price For 1GB of Mobile Broadband Data (PPP$)

The US are the Highest users of mobilebroadband, with monthly contractsdominating the US and Europe.

Cost per megabyte ($US) Smartphone megabyteper month usage

While the cost of data continues to fall, mobiledata usage is expected to grow twenty-fold by 2017

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ban

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(Mil

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PrepaidPre/postpaidPostpaid

Social Media on Your Phone is worse then Cannabis andAlcohol for driving

Distraction and how much they slow driving reaction times:

Using a smartphonesocial networking Cannabis Legal limit Alcohol

Drivers using amobile phone are

More likely to crash

Every additional Mobile phone subcriptions

In distracted driving fatalities

Araceli Beas hit andkilled a pedestrianas she was allegedlyupdating herFacebook status

Two women werekilled by aderailed train asthey were drink-ing and Tweeting

Taylor Sauer droveinto a truck on a high-way as she posted onFacebook every 90seconds while driving

IS ITWORTH

ITPeople love being connected on the go,but is your phone really the best placefor social media?

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

CommentWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

12HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTSPJ Kurien heads Indian delegation to new Pope’s consecration. When newimam of Mecca mosque takes charge, the Indian delegation should beheaded by none other than PK Kunjalikutty.

The Lok Sabha hasgiven its approval tothe Criminal Law(Amendment) Bill,2013 that prescribes

stringent punishment to sexoffenders; however, the voicesof prominent parliamentariansshow how the mindsets havehardly changed.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav’s‘humorous’ reminder, “Whoamong us have not followedgirls,” may have evoked peels oflaughter in the House, but thereis nothing funny about it. Evenwhile passing a law to protectwomen, he has indirectly sup-ported stalking.

I am sure thousands ofwomen across the country whoare stalked do not agree with theJD(U) leader. There are frequentreports of stalkers attackingwomen for spurning theiradvances or refusing proposalsof marriage. May be the likes ofSharad Yadav should see thefaces of those women disfiguredin acid attacks by jilted Romeosbefore coming up with thesefunny one-liners.

Samajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh Yadav was alsoequally worried about the lawbeing misused or abused to set-

tle personal scores. He also fearsthat co-education will have to beabolished to protect boys fromlegal trouble. SP parliamentari-an Shailendra Kumar expressedhis worries about the provoca-tive dressing of female actors intelevision serials and movies.

For all the thunder over the‘controversial’ law, hardly one-third of the members were pre-sent in the House.

If these satraps think that thegood old way of life should con-tinue, they are also supportinginstitutions like khap panchay-ats that order physical and sexu-al abuse of women as modes ofpunishment. The recent incidentof Punjab cops thrashing a

woman who approached themto complain about eve-teasersspeaks volumes about what isailing our system.

Every time there is a sexualassault, cops, politicians and‘spiritual leaders’ don’t wastetime in blaming the victim. Howcan there be any hope forwomen of this country whenthose in charge of creating andmaintaining the machinery thatis supposed to protect have amindset that approves and justi-fies the actions of the perpetra-tors of sexual violence?

In this great land (Bharatincluded), assault on womenstart from the foetal stage itself.If she survives sex determina-

tion and selective abortion cen-tres, she enters a world wherepredators don’t differentiatebetween children and adults.Throughout her life she is forcedto restrict her freedoms for fearof sexual assaults. With everyincident of reported sexual vio-lence, her movements are fur-ther restricted and this, in turn,curtails her opportunities andmakes her more dependent onthe patriarchal male(father/brother/husband/son).

No matter how many lawswe make, unless we are willingto change our mindset about theinalienable rights of ourwomen, they will never fulfiltheir objectives.

The arm of the law might be long, but may not be strongenough — Maharashtra police inspector Sachin

Suryavanshi learned this the hard way. The unpardonable mis-take the policeman made was to stop MLA Kshitij Thakur’s vehi-

cle for exceeding the speed limit. The lawmaker took umbrage tothe measly cop daring to ‘misbehave’ with him and moved aprivilege notice against him. And this was when some MLAs

noticed the policeman at the visitor’s gallery making ‘provoca-tive gestures’ at the legislators. A posse of lawmakers led byKshitij Thakur (Independent), Ram Kadam (MNS), Rajan Salvi

(Shiv Sena) and Pradeep Jaiswal (Independent) thrashed him sobadly that he had to be hospitalised. According to a report in

India Today, the Deputy Chairman of the House Vasant Davkhare

had on Thakur’s complaint, directed the government to sendSuryavanshi on compulsory leave. However, the cop turneddown Davkhare’s offer to ‘settle’ the matter with an apology tothe MLA and dared Thakur to get action taken against him fordischarging his duty. Little did cop know the netas, who considerthemselves above all laws and armed with ‘breach of privilege’powers would lynch him. Though fisticuffs and use of unparlia-mentary language in the House is considered a norm rather thanexception in India, violence by an MLA mob is scaling newheights. Earlier we saw several MLAs watching porn on theirsmartphones when the House was in section. They are stillMLAs... after all, how can we expect them to give up their ‘privi-leges’ when they are hard at work for us.

EDITORIALS

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

The quality ofdecision is like

the well-timedswoop of a falconwhich enables itto strike anddestroy its victim.

Sun TzuMilitary strategist

FUSILLADEArun Koshy Philip

SEXUAL PREDATORSHAVE OUR SUPPORT

Britain and itsbloggers

The British government hasinsisted that bloggers and

posts on social mediawould not be caught by a newsystem of press regulation, butcampaigners warned the new

rules could be open to interpre-tation. Britain’s newspapers are

urgently considering whether tosign up to the new system

agreed by political leaders onMonday in the wake of a phone-

hacking scandal at the nowdefunct Rupert Murdoch-owned

News of the World tabloid. The new watchdog, under-

pinned by law, would have thepower to issue harsh sanctions

on misbehaving publications,including fines of up to £1 mil-

lion. While the Leveson Inquiry intopress standards resulting from

the hacking scandal did notcover online publishing, the new

royal charter hammered out bypolitical leaders specifically cov-ers “news-related” websites too,

sparking uncertainty. In recentyears, the authorities have taken

a growing interest in prosecut-ing people for comments made

on the Internet. Meanwhile newspapers have

railed that details of court rul-ings preventing them from pub-

lishing stories about celebritieshave been openly circulatedonline, effectively making a

mockery of the rulings. Thoughthe Department for Culture,

Media and Sport stressed thatsmall-scale bloggers and com-

ments on Twitter and Facebookwould not be subject to the new

royal charter regulating publish-ers, campaigners feared that the

new system could still beambiguous.

MATTERS OF THE PRESSRobin MILLARD

Porn is passé; in-House violence is the new fad

‘Sheila, Munni...nowBadmaash’So, Piggy Chops recently said thather item number in Shootout atWadala – Babli Badmaash – does-n’t warrant an ‘A’ certification. Herreason was simple – the lyrics:‘Neeyat ayiaash hai, Na bann sha-reef tu, Babli badmaash hai’ aren’tprovocative or suggestive in anyway! Well, we ask you this MsPriyanka Chopra, if telling a manto drop his act of decency as thegirl is in a naughty mood isn’tprovocative, then what is?

Better late than neverTalk about late realisation andyou get Kajol’s recent makeover.The actress, who maintained afrank attitude along with herunflattering paunch throughouther acting career, has recently lostthe kilos saying that it’s “impor-tant to establish yourself as abrand”. In Bollywood where look-ing thin is a little more importantthan being a good actress, Kajolseems to have woken a wee bitlate. Crediting Karan Johar for thetransition, the actress also seemsdesperate to make headlines.

All's been quiet onThe Man From

U.N.C.L.E. front forthe better part ofthe year, but the

long in-develop-ment secret agent

showcase apparent-ly hasn't been

handed its burnnotice just yet as

Tom Cruise is nowin talks to star,

according toDeadline.

Hugh Jackman hasmade his first filmcommitment sincelanding a BestActor Oscar nomfor last year’s LesMiserables. Theactor has signedon to star inParamount’s fea-ture film adapta-tion of the upcom-ing Harlan Cobenmystery novel SixYears.

SCREEN POOPERS

TRENDING...

IN THE LINE OF FIRE

CinemaWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

13TOYS FOR MAMMAActress Evan Rachel Wood has been using the gadgets she has bought for herunborn baby, to help her get some sleep. The 25-year-old and her husband JamieBell are expecting their first child together and she can't resist testing out all of thethings they have bought for their impending new arrival, reports contactmusic.com.

The Eagle is Down!

Hollywood loves putting the US

President’s life in jeopardy. The sheer

number of films where a hero must

rescue the US President from all sorts

of trouble including terrorist attacks,

kidnapping, hijacking and

assassination attempts is mind

boggling. Aaron Eckhart is the latest

actor to don the role of a US President

whose life is in danger after a terrorist

holds him hostage in Antoine Fuqua’s

upcoming film Olympus Has Fallen.

We take a look at few other films from

the past which shared this theme.

HEMANTH KUMARhemanth.k@postnoon.com

AIR FORCE ONEHarrison Ford played

President Marshallin Wolfgang Petersen’sAir Force One in whicha group of terroristshijack Air Force One,the plane carrying thePresident, his familyand Secret Serviceagents. It’s an edge ofthe seat thriller andone of the few times inmovie history wherethe President took the onus of protectinghostages onboard upon himself. There havebeen several films in the past where the USPresident is in trouble, but nothing has comeclose to being as audacious as Air Force Onewas. Harrison Ford, as President Marshall,takes on the terrorists single handedly and ithad all the makings of a blockbuster. The filmgrossed more than $315 million.

MARS ATTACKSTim Burton’s Mars

Attacks, which isbased on trading cardseries of the samename, begins on afunny note where USPresident James‘Jimmy’ Dale, playedby Jack Nicholson, wel-comes Martians toEarth. Little does heknow that the Martianshave other plans. A warbreaks out between the Martians and armedforces across the world. In an attempt tonegotiate peace, President Dale meets theambassador of Martians and he’s eventuallykilled, but before the Martians can take con-trol of the planet, a teenager discovers thattheir heads explode when they hear SlimWhitman's Indian Love Call. It’s a hilariousfilm, although it bombed at box-office.

VANTAGE POINTPete Travis broke the

record for the num-ber of times aPresident’s assassina-tion was showed in afilm, thanks to thescreenplay where thestory is narrated fromdifferent points ofview to unravel themystery. Vantage Pointstarring Dennis Quaid,Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt,and Sigourney Weaver is about an assassina-tion attempt on US President Henry Ashtonwhile he delivers a speech at a politicalsummit in Salamanca, Spain. When the filmreleased in 2008, the film met with mixedreviews but it went on to become a commer-cial success. William Hurt played PresidentAshton, but the film truly belonged toDennis Quaid.

X-MEN 2Leave aside ter-

rorists and sharpshooters,Hollywood evenmanaged to putthe US President’slife in danger in afilm like X-Men. Inthe beginning ofX-Men 2, a tele-porting mutanttries to assassinate the US PresidentMcKenna but fails. Colonel WilliamStryker uses this incident as an excuseto order a full-blown assault onProfessor Xavier’s Mansion and takeevery mutant into custody. All hellbreaks lose, but before Stryker suc-ceeds, Wolverine enters and savesmany lives. In the end, the Presidentrealises who his real friends are andjoins hands with Professor Xavier.

IN THE LINE OFFIREClint Eastwood

starred as AgentFrank Horrigan whomust put the pastbehind him to savethe life of the USPresident inWolfgang Petersen’ssmash hit In the Lineof Fire. Written byJeff Maguire, Frank Horrigan is shownas one of the secret service agents whowas supposed to guard JF Kennedywhereas Mitch Leary (John Malkovich),a former CIA agent becomes obsessedwith the idea of killing the President.Stellar performances by ClintEastwood and John Malkovich made it a critical and commercial successupon its release in 1993 and JohnMalkovich bagged an Oscar nomination for his role.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

16DIVA STATIONKismet and 10 Downing Street are hosting Ladies Night tonight so headto these pubs to dance the night away.

BREAK LOOSE

spotlight

SHINY NEW TOYSPride Honda opened a new outlet at Banjara Hills on Tuesday. The outlet, whichis the sales facility for Honda Cars India Ltd, was inaugurated by National HeadSales, Honda Cars India Ltd. Vikram Pawah.

Party all nightParty animals headed to Cuba on

Tuesday night to beat their work bluesand let their hair down. Spotted were

Neelam, Smriti and others.

Neha Shaine

Reeth Anitha

Saiha

Neelam, Smrithi

Monica

Neil, Gothica

Utsav, Dolly

Syed, Rajiv, Sushanthand a friend

1 2

3 4

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8

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10

1

5

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9

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2 3 4

S BALAKRISHNA

Winners of firstInvitational Golf

Tournament that wasorganised on March 9and 10 were awardedwith trophies at ParkHotel, Somajiguda on

Tuesday. The eventwas organised by Mak

projects.

Winner takes it all

PATHOGEN EXPOSURE LINKED TO TYPE 1 DIABETESScientists have linked lack of exposure to pathogens to increasing rates ofType 1 diabetes, said a study. Countries with lower mortality from infec-tious disease exhibit higher rates of Type 1 diabetes, according to a newstudy by Dr A Abela and Prof S Fava of the University of Malta.health

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

17Beat gettingbawled over

Wondering what could possibly be makingyour baby cry so much? Here are a few

reasons why your little bundle of joy is not too happy. Read on…

It’s been a couple of weeks since youhad your first baby and while youare revelling in the joys of mother-hood, you can’t for the life of you

figure out why your little bundle of joykeeps crying so much. While we agree,

that the baby crying can be rather distress-ing for parents, especially new parents, it

is really not all that worrisome. All youneed to do is read the signs and try to

understand what it is that is making yourlittle one bawl.

“Crying is the only way a baby cancommunicate his/her needs to the -par-ent. While common reasons for the baby

crying include hunger, wet nappy, sleepi-ness or discomfort of any kind, there

could be other reasons like colic also thatcan make the baby cry. While initially, par-

ents find it hard to figure out why theirchild is crying, with time they learn to

understand what it is the baby needs andhow they can soothe the infant,” says Dr

Kasi Vishwanath, consultant paediatrician

at Apollo Hospital. He goes on to add that babies normal-

ly cry before and after wetting or soilingtheir nappies. “A soiled nappy makes the

baby very uncomfortable and they need itchanged as soon as possible. Crying is

their way of alerting their parents of thisneed. Babies also cry when they are hun-

gry and need a feed. If the baby’s sleephas been disrupted, that too will be a

cause for them to cry,” says DrVishwanath.

Too much excitement or stimulationcan also cause the baby to cry. Also whenthe baby is not tired enough to sleep andis bored, he/she will let his/her displea-sure known. Remember that every time

your baby cries you need not offerhim/her a feed. The baby could also be

crying due to thirst. So offer your little onea drink of water instead.

“If the baby is kept too warm or toocold, it will also cause them discomfort

and they will try to let the parent know ofthis by crying. Colic is also another rea-

son. It basically means excessive crying inthe baby and starts from two weeks. Thisusually gets better by four months of age.

Crying peaks during afternoons andevenings,” says Dr Vishwanath.

NEW PARENTS

RANJANI RAJENDRAranjani.r@postnoon.com

Sleepless in parentvillePOSTNOON NEWSfeedback@postnoon.com

You’ve recently announcedyour pregnancy and alongwith the congratulationspouring in, friends and well-

wishers are going all out to warn youof the sleepless nights you’re going tobe up for over the next severalmonths. But is parenting really thatdifficult and do you really need to besleep deprived for a long time beforeyou finally begin to enjoy parenting?

Apparently not. All you need is tolearn to manage your time and sleeppatterns a bit, along with your baby’s.“A baby’s sleeping patterns are verydifferent and understandably so. For

the first couple of months they willsleep for nearly 22 hours in a day andonly wake up for their feeds. So thisperiod should not be too stressful onparents. The baby’s sleeping patternhowever begins to change from thesecond month,” says Dr KasiVishwanath, consultant paediatricianat Apollo Hospital.

Babies’ sleeping patterns tend tochange periodically. “I have a lot ofparents who come to me and say thattheir baby sleeps during the day andstays up all night. They find it verydifficult to manage since they alsohave to work during the day. In suchcases, I encourage them to play withtheir baby in the evenings. This willhelp the baby to sleep better in the

night, reducing the burden on the par-ents as well,” says Dr Vishwanath.

If you notice the baby sleepingthrough the day, experts suggest wak-ing them up every three to four hoursfor a feed. It helps to keep the housebright with natural light during theday and maintaining normal levels ofvolume to encourage the baby to stayactive. Engage your infant in fungames. Put your baby down for a napwhen he/she tires.

At night, keep the room where thebaby is sleeping dark and if possibleplay soothing white noise. Don’twake the baby for feeds unless thedoctor has asked you to. This shouldhelp your baby develop a sleep pat-tern that is in tandem with yours.

health WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 18

WASHINGTON: Scientistshave shown that a combinationof immune cells and antibodiescould pave the way for a univer-sal vaccine against influenza,says a study.

Seasonal epidemics ofinfluenza result in nearly 36,000deaths annually in the US,according to the Centers forDisease Control.

Current vaccines against theinfluenza virus elicit an antibodyresponse specific for proteins onthe outside of the virus, specifi-cally the hemagglutinin (HA)protein. Yearly vaccines aremade by growing the flu virus ineggs. The viral envelope pro-teins, including HA are cleavedoff and used as the vaccine, butvary from year to year, depend-ing on what flu strains are preva-lent. However, high mutationrates in envelope HA proteinsresult in the emergence of newviral types each year, whichelude neutralization by pre-exist-ing antibodies in the body.

On the other hand, otherimmune cell types are capable ofmediating protection throughrecognition of other, more con-served parts of HAs or highlyconserved internal proteins inthe influenza virus.

E John Wherry, PhD, associ-ate professor of Microbiologyand director of the Institute forImmunology at the PerelmanSchool of Medicine, University ofPennsylvania, and colleagues,report in PLOS Pathogens thatinfluenza virus-specific CD8+ Tcells or virus-specific non-neu-tralizing antibodies are each rela-tively ineffective at conferringprotective immunity alone.

But, when combined, thevirus-specific CD8 T cells andnon-neutralising antibodiescooperatively elicit robust pro-tective immunity.

This synergistic improve-ment in protective immunity isdependent, at least in part, onother immune cells. IANS

Universalvaccineagainstinfluenza

RESEARCH

Children whowere overweightwere likelier todrink skimmedmilk or semi-skimmedmilk, which hasone-percent butterfat, thancounterparts ofnormal weight.

iDratediDrated is a way to keeptrack of your waterintake. With simplicityand gesture-based inter-action at it's core,iDrated makes it quick

and simple to log your water levels andcheck how hydrated you are. It can evengive you a gentle nudge when the appisn't running should you need the extraincentive.

Ocular histoplasmosisHistoplasmosis is an infection with thefungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Thetiny spores of histoplasmosis are carriedin the air and inhaled to cause an initiallung infection. This is usually very mildand most people feel as though theyhave a slight cold. Their immune systemsoon deals with the infection and it maynever even be properly diagnosed. Veryrarely the organism spreads to the eyeto cause acute ocular histoplasmosis.

Chocolate promotesfertilityTo the Mayans, choco-late symbolised life, fer-tility, health, and royalty.Chocolate is rich in vita-

mins and minerals, which are essentialfor a healthy pregnancy. Because theyhad no sugar, the Mayans often drankchocolate mashed with chilis and various spices.

Abu al-Qasim al-ZahrawiAbu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi, also known in the West asAlbucasis, was an Arab Muslim physicianwho lived in Al-Andalus. He is consid-ered the greatest medieval surgeon tohave appeared from the Islamic World,and has been described by many as thefather of modern surgery. His greatestcontribution to medicine is the Kitab al-Tasrif, a thirty-volume encyclopedia ofmedical practices.

NEWS BRIEFSAPP-LY YOURSELF HOUSECALL DID YOU KNOW? PIONEERS

PARIS: Giving your tod-dler skimmed or semi-skimmed milk is unlikelyto make inroads againstthe risk of obesity, a large

study conducted amongAmerican children has found.

Researchers trawledthrough data from a long-term probe into the health of

10,700 childrenborn in 2001.

Parents or care-givers were askedabout milk con-sumption when theinfant was two andwere questionedagain two yearslater, when the childwas again weighedand measured.

Overweight orobesity waswidespread: 30.1 per-cent of the children attwo years fell into thiscategory, rising to 32.2percent at the age offour. But children whowere overweight orobese were likelier todrink skimmed milk orsemi-skimmed milk,which has one-percentbutterfat, than counter-parts of normal weight,the probe found.

Low-fat or fat-freemilk was consumed by 14percent of heavy two-year-olds and 16 per cent ofheavy

four-year-olds.This compared with nine

percent of normal-weighttwo-year-olds and 13 percentof normal-weight

four-year-olds.Children who drank full-

fat milk, which has a 3.5 percent fat component, orreduced-fat milk, which hastwo per cent fat, also tendedto weigh less than counter-parts who drank skimmed orsemi-skimmed.

US health watchdogs —the American Academy ofPediatrics and the AmericanHeart Association — recom-mend that all children drinkskimmed or semi-skimmedmilk after the age of two toreduce intake of saturated fat.

The study says that thelogic behind this recommen-dation is to reduce consump-tion of calories and thus pre-vent weight gain.

But the reality could bemore complex, it cautions.

Milk fat may increase asense of fullness, thus reduc-ing craving for fatty or calo-rie-rich foods, the authorsargue. Obesity fighters, theyargue, should look at othersources of weight control,"such as decreased televisionviewing, increased physicalactivity and decreased juiceand sugar-sweetened bever-age intake, as well as a focuson non-Western diets withhigher vegetable content."

The paper, published onMonday in the journal Archi-ves of Disease in Childhood,was led by Mark DeBoer atthe University of Virginia inCharlottesville. AFP

SKIMMED MILKineffective against

toddler obesity

STUDY

EntertainmentWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

19

FROM ONE HEAVYWEIGHT TO ANOTHER

Manoj in GovindayaNamaha’s remake?

Manchu Manoj has signed anew film which will be

directed by Pavan Wadeyarand produced by LagadapatiSridhar. The film is being tout-ed as a remake of superhitKannada film GovindayaNamaha, also directed byPavan Wadeyar. The film hasbeen titled as Potugadu.

Gautham Menon on Suriya’s film

Gautham Menon has beenthe centre of a contro-

versy since producer ElredKumar filed a case against

him. Menon, who announceda film with Suriya a while back,

clarified that the project willgo on floors in May amidst

rumours that it’ll be delayedtill the issue is resolved.

Nithin’s upcoming filmGunde Jaari

Gallanthayindhe is set for anApril 19 launch. With NithyaMenen and Isha Talwar play-

ing leads, ace badmintonplayer Jwala Gutta will be

seen in a special song. WhileVijay Kumar Konda has direct-ed the film, Anup Rubens has

scored the music.

GJG to release on April 19

CINE BYTES

After StanWinston,SHANKARknocksWETA’s doorsShankar is back to doing

what he does best —create lavish sets, cut-ting edge special effects,gorgeous costumes,

unconventional make up andabove all, a cast which only afew directors can manage tocommand. Not to forget an envi-able budget which only aShankar’s film can justify. In thepast, some of his films likeBharatheeyudu, Shivaju and Robothad ticked all the boxes whichare necessary for a Shankar’sfilm and his latest filmManoharudu is expected to fol-low suit. The film’s Tamil ver-sion is titled as I. Vikram andAmy Jackson are teaming up forthe second time and inManoharudu, buzz is that Vikramis sporting two different lookswhich is taking a toll on hisbody. Already, two-thirds of thefilm has been shot in places likeChennai, Pollachi, Kodaikanal,Jodhpur, Bangkok and severalplaces in China. After workingclosely with Stan WinstonStudios for creating specialeffects in Rajinikanth-starrer

Robot, Shankar has now roped inthe other heavyweight in digitaleffects, WETA, a New Zealand-based firm which was co-found-ed by The Lord of Rings directorPeter Jackson and RichardTaylor. “WETA is taking animportant part in our filmthrough the special make-updepartment. The way StanWinston Studios played a majorrole in Enthiran, Weta is doing inI. “As a start we shot a song inwhich Vikram had specialmake-up done by WetaWorkshop artist Sean Foot, andVikram did a top class perfor-mance with it. Weta has done afantastic job which is going to besomething new for Indian cine-ma. And the balance 1/3rd ofthe movie will be full ‘N fullWeta Workshop’s craft,”Shankar wrote on his blog onWETA. Aascar Ravichandran isproducing the film and the bud-get is said to be under `100crore. AR Rahman has scoredthe music and PC Sreeram is thecinematographer. The film isexpected to hit the screens laterthis year.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 20LAST MAN STANDING

Priyanka Chopra-starrerBarfi may have won

accolades at almost all thefilm awards, but it failed togarner any appreciation atthe national awards, whichhas left the actress disap-pointed. “I am feeling badthat Barfi did not win anational award. But then itis up to the jury why theydid not give the award,"Priyanka said. PTI

Priyanka sad as 'Barfi'gets no national award

Critical comments don'tbother Abhishek

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, whooften interacts with his fan-

base through social networkingmediums, says being a celebrity,he is always ready for both appre-ciation and criticism on the webspace. He posts on Twitter often.“Twitter is a public platform andpeople have the right to expressthemselves on it freely. If I am onTwitter, then I feel that I am will-ing to listen to whatever is therein the public domain," the 37-year-old said. IANS

Got my first bikini at 2,says Bipasha

Bollywood actress Bipasha Basusays she is comfortable with

bikinis and her fascination for theswimsuit started when she was a kid.

“When I was two years old,my dad got me a bikini fromAustralia. I have that picture andthat looks really cute. So, fromthat time I have been a girl wholoves the sun and the beach,” the34-year-old said . IANS

CINE BYTES

THE RIGHTSPERMS WIN

Director ShoojitSircar is“ecstatic” afterhis film Vicky

Donor ended up pocket-ing three NationalAwards, including thebest film providingwholesome entertain-ment. He says he brokeinto a “sperm dance” assoon as he heard thenews. The movie was notjust the production debut

of Bollywood star JohnAbraham, but alsomarked the foray ofvideo jockey AyushmannKhurrana in the world ofacting. It also won thebest supporting actoraward for Anu Kapoor,and the best supportingactress award for DollyAhluwalia. Actors AnnuKapoor and DollyAhluwalia, who havewon the National

Awards for BestSupporting Actor andActress respectively, fortheir quirky roles in VickyDonor, are humbled withthe recognition.

“This is all thanks tomy director (ShoojitSircar) and my audiencefor having faith and see-ing me as Dolly Arora.For me, being happy is asmall word. I am flyingright now," Dolly, who

played a loving motherto debutant AyushmannKhurrana in the movie,said in a statement.Actor Anu Kapoor, whoplayed a BaldevChaddha, a fertilityexpert in the movie, for aman who turns a spermdonor to earn quickmoney, said: “I feelhumbled and expressmy gratitude for theNational Award, which I

dedicate to my mother,late Shrimati KamalKapoor." Ayushmann,who played the lead inVicky Donor, was happywith the recognition forhis debut film.

“It's extremely over-whelming and I amproud to be a part of thisproject, which has a rarecombo of quirk andcredibility,” saidAyushmann.

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 21

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 22

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 23WILL DARKNESS PREVAIL?

Does Thor’s misguid-ed brother have achange of heart inThor: The Dark

World?Loki, who attacked Earth in

last year’s megahit TheAvengers, returns. But just howevil or if he’s had a softening ofthe heart, Tom Hiddleston can’treveal, but he will say what hehopes happens.

Hiddleston reprises Loki,Thor’s adopted brother, who’ssuch a terrific menace that he’sbeen nominated for an MTVMovie Awards for Best FightScene and Best Villain.

“The fun of playing Loki isthat the character itself con-stantly keeps people guess-ing," Hiddleston tells Zap2it.“And he provokes a double-edged sentiment in the peoplewho allegedly he has investedin, and who he cares about. Assomeone, who was then castout as the black sheep of theroyal family, whether he can beaccepted into that fold is aquestion that remains to beanswered. Just how dark andevil he has become is anotherquestion I hope the film willanswer."

He has every intention ofplaying Loki for as long as hecan — in between other roles.

THOR:Does

Loki

have

a

chan

ge of h

eart?

THE DARK W

ORLD

With his music careerdecidedly on the

skids, Nick Jonas hasturned to acting. The JonasBrother has joined IsabelLucas in the upcomingerotic thriller Careful WhatYou Wish For, in whichhe’ll play the lead role ofDoug, a young man whoembarks on an affair withthe wife of an investmentbanker, played by Lucas.

Nick gets cosy withIsabel in erotic thriller

One Direction’s 3D moviegets a title — This Is Us

Justin Bieber had Never SayNever, Katy Perry had Part of

Me and now, One Direction willhave This Is Us. After releasingthe official teaser trailer for theirhighly anticipated 3-D movie,Niall Horan, Harry Styles, LouisTomlinson, Liam Payne and ZaynMalik finally revealed the title ofthe flick that was formerly called1D3D.

Jack Nicholson RejectsNina Dobrev?

Nina Dobrev is no JenniferLawrence. At least, not in Jack

Nicholson’s eyes. On Sunday, theVampire Diaries star and JulianneHough went to the Lakers game,but Nina’s request for a pic withHollywood’s coolest man wasdenied! “Just asked jackNicholson to take a picture WithMe.. He said no. #rejected," the24-year-old actress wrote, “Hahaso I took a pic of him solo#paparazzi Lol".

CINE BYTES

ACROSS1 Shorts supports5 Striker's substitute9 Boot out14 Diva's opera delivery15 Fine-tune16 Porsche propeller17 Disagreeably damp18 Jannings of old films19 Uninviting, to a vegan20 Store for future use23 Diner's prerogative24 It divides to multiply25 Bathtub ring gunk29 FBI guy30 Tenth mo.32 "___ seen worse"33 Given new life36 Immodestly brag about38 Rounded molding39 Marine mayday40 Perfect in all ways41 Eat hastily43 Tropical fly44 Rap sheet letters45 Relaxing resort46 Byte parts47 Nitti nemesis49 Have staying power51 ___ de Cologne54 Goof off57 To whom a Muslim prays60 Bibliographicalabbreviation61 Suitable for cacti,

environmentally62 Sphere of influence63 Fishing eagle64 Opposite of none65 Siamese sobs66 Shoddy clothing67 Peter I, for one

DOWN1 Possessed, in the Bible2 Gulf War soldier3 Locker room photo, perhaps4 Japanese rice wine5 Tank type6 Adman's lure7 Old-womanish8 Beats a dead horse9 Austen novel10 Kids in pouches11 Schedule letters12 Barracks bed13 Take a shot21 Muzzle loaders22 Texas city south of Dallas26 Catlike carnivore with a spotted

coat27 Some eye parts28 Country music's Haggard29 Game on a green31 Chubby Checker, famously33 Atkinson of "Mr. Bean"34 Conjure up35 Gaucho's cattle-catchers36 Jailbird37 Lyrical tributes39 More upscale42 Candid43 Long-winded rants46 Giving credence to48 Petty50 Actress Winger of

"Shadowlands"51 Continental coins52 Jung's feminine component53 Whence milk comes55 Units of electrical resistance56 Brewer's kiln57 Furnish with firepower58 Bruce of martial arts films59 Perry Mason's profession

KAKURO QUICK CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

Chai TimeWEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

24THOUGHT OF THE DAYI'm going to tell you the story about the geese which fly 5,000 miles from Canada toFrance. They fly in V-formation but the second ones don't fly. They're the subs for the firstones. And then the second ones take over - so it's teamwork. Alex Ferguson

SCRIBBLING PAD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

How to play kakuroKakuro is a popular game similar to sudoku insome ways. But is also suitably different. The keyquestion: ‘How do you play kakuro?’, well hereare the rules of kakuro. The answer: The kakurogrid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It hasrows and columns, and dark cells like in a cross-word. And, just like in a crossword, some of thedark cells will contain numbers. Some cells willcontain two numbers.

However, in a crossword the numbersreference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are allyou get! They denote the total of the digits in therow or column referenced by the number.

Within each collection of cells — calleda run — any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be usedbut, like sudoku, each number may only be usedonce.

Let’s have an example to explain this conceptmore clearly:

In the image above, which shows a section ofa kakuro puzzle, you will see the numbers ‘26’and ‘14’ in the top row. Look at the 14. Thismeans that the total of the three cells under-neath must sum to 14. Therefore 9, 4, 1 could bethe answer, or perhaps 7, 4, 3 and so on...

So, how do you work out the actual combi-nation? Well, this is done through eliminationand cross-referencing. For instance, as you workout the answers for other kakuro clues, this willnaturally limit the valid combinations, and hencethe answer for this particular run.

Note the second cell in row two — it con-tains two numbers, 30 and 11. The 30 refers tothe vertical run underneath the number 30 andthe 11 refers to the two cells to the right, hori-zontally, of the number 11.

TAROT READ

Chai Time WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 25

STAR POWER

STRIP TEASE

Vol: 2, No 243 RNI No: APENG/2011/39337 Published for the proprietors, Scribble Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, by V Harshavardhan Reddy, at #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500033and printed by him at Jagati Publications Ltd, Plot No D-75&E-52, APIE Industrial Estate, Balanagar, Ranga Reddy Dist, Hyderabad – 500037, Editor: Dean Williams – Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act All rights reserved.

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tarotreadhyd@gmail. com

for 21-3-2013 As per Hindu panchang

for 21-3-2013

ARIESEmployees will complete theworks as per their plan. Incomewill be steady and as per theexpectations. Pay attention tochildren’s studies. Happyevents likely to take place athome. Friendship circle is likelyto expand.

ARIES: Queen of Cups -You seem very vulnerable and thosearound you feel you might need toprotect yourself better. What you feelis what you show on your face.

GEMINI: Four of Pentacles- The financial stability is making itseem worth it despite the lack ofchallenge you feel in your currentposition. You’ll stick on.

LEO: The Wheel of Fortune- Times are not going to be the sameall the time. If they’re bad now,things will look up. This card urgesyou to keep your chin up.

LIBRA: Death - This is notphysical death but an indication ofchanges that will make you look atlife with a brand new perspective.You see everything differently.

TAURUS: Eight of Cups -You have everything and your life isnear perfect. This is to the outsideworld. But only you know that you’remissing something.

CANCER: The World - Theworld is at your feet, and it may bequite literally, too. You may take along distance trip overseas and it allgoes well.

VIRGO: The Lovers -Decision time! It’s in your controlwhether you want to settle for less orwait for something absolutely per-fect and risk never getting it.

SCORPIO: The High Priest- Use your intuition to guide youinto making decisions. It may be adifficult decision time. But listen toyour heart.

CAPRICORN: Two ofSwords - You may be too rigid inyour approach to life and learning.Your own attitude may be preventingyou from exploring new avenues.

SAGITTARIUS: Five ofWands - Don’t let your guard down atany point of time. Be watchful of whatothers are saying about you. That willimpact your decisions and growth.

AQUARIUS: Ten ofPentacles - Finances are well takencare of and you’ve done amazinglywell with organizing your money andputting away cash for a rainy day.

PISCES: Two of Wands -Patience is key to make things workand allow them to happen on theirown time and course. Don’t makeimpulsive decisions.

TAURUSBusinessmen should be alert intheir transactions. Children willdo well and make you proudby their achievements.Employees will get recognitionfrom the management as theywill discharge their duties intime.

GEMINIAvoid frank talk with strangersand new friends. Indirect opposition and criticism arelikely. Employees might facenon-co-operation from colleagues. Businessmen will besuccessful in satisfying theircustomer’s needs.

CANCERMental tension and worries arelikely. Practice of yoga andmeditation will help.Businessmen too will have tostruggle hard. Monetary gainspossible through travels.Employees will be overburdened.

LEOEmployees need to plan thework well and execute the samein time. Pay hike and promotionare likely. You will spend goodtime with children and familymembers. Children might leavefor abroad to continue theirstudies.

VIRGOParents will extend good sup-port to you. Though financialposition is strong and inflow issteady, avoid helping anyonefinancially as you might not getback the money. Superior-employee relationship lookscordial.

LIBRAEmployees are advised to avoidsharing confidential matterswith colleagues. Discharge yourduties carefully. Magnifyingminor mistakes of family members might drive away thehappy situation at home, try toavoid.

SCORPIOWorkload and pressure fromsuperiors will increase. You willbe able to clear debts. Incomeis possible from ancestral property. Health problems arelikely. Avoid eating junk foodsand items which don’t suit you.

SAGITTARIUSChildren will be cheerful as youwill fulfill their needs.Employees get appreciationfrom superiors and management too. Family members will give you importance and accept yourgood suggestions.

CAPRICORNBusinessmen are likely toreceive sops from the govern-ment. Your stock is set to pile-up. Be alert while undertakingjourney. Employees need toobey the superiors and be cor-dial. Controversial behaviormight cost you your job.

AQUARIUSBlood relatives and closefriends will benefit from youradvice and appreciate you.Elevation with pay hike is cer-tain for employees. Avoidextending financial help toanyone. Your influence willincrease.

PISCESEmployees need to be active in completing their works intime. Avoid handing overimportant works to others.Wasteful expenditures need tobe curtailed. Some have bright chance to buy a newvehicle.

AGNES

NON SEQUITUR

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

POOCH CAFE

BoggleDOVER BOISE DENVER ATLANTA

SUDU

KO

NUM

BER

GAM

ESC

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PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS

Entertainment WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 26BLUNT ‘TAKE’

Lindsay Lohan getslocked-down rehab inplea deal

It's back to rehab forLindsay Lohan - 90 days in

a centre under lock and key- plus psychotherapy andcommunity service. This washow the actress resolved herlatest court case, the onethat started over a Porschecrash in Santa Monica lastsummer when she was film-ing Liz & Dick.

'Hansel and Gretel' willreturn to hunt more

No rest for the Witch Hunters.Paramount has announced a

sequel to Hansel and Gretel:Witch Hunters. It is officially indevelopment, according toDeadline. The revisionist fairy talestars Jeremy Renner and GemmaArterton as super-sexy grown-upversions of the hapless brotherand sister who ran afoul of awitch and almost ended up aswitch food.

Bradley Cooper, SukiWaterhouse spotted

Bradley Cooper definitely isn'tdating Silver Linings Playbook

costar Jennifer Lawrence, but itmight not have been the age gapthat stopped the two. The actorwas spotted enjoying Boston andit's freezing temperature with hispossible new love interest, 20-year-old model Suki Waterhouseearlier on Monday. "They werehaving a good time together,touching and teasing each other,"an eyewitness told E! News.

CINE BYTES

Emily Blunt to play

PrincessDiana?

Actress Emily Blunt has beentipped to follow in the

footsteps of Naomi Wattsby playing late Princess OfWales Diana in a new film.

Watts plays the late British royal inupcoming movie Diana, which focuses on

the last two years of the Princess' lifebefore she died in a car crash in Paris,

France in 1997.Blunt, who was rumoured to have

turned down the role earlier, is now saidto be in talks to play the royal in anotherproject, based on the memoirs of Diana'sformer bodyguard Ken Wharfe, reports

contactmusic.com.The movie adaptation of Diana: Closely

Guarded Secret, is being developed by pro-ducer Stephen Evans. IANS

NBA

OKLAHOMA CITY,OKLAHOMA: Ty Lawsonscored 25 points and AndreMiller added 20 off the benchto spark the Denver Nuggetsto their 13th NBA victory in arow, a 114-104 triumphTuesday at Oklahoma City.

Kenneth Faried added 13points and 15 rebounds forthe Nuggets, who improved to47-22 and closed their gap onthe Northwest division-lead-ing Thunder to 50-18.

The Nuggets’ win streakset a record for the team’sNBA history, although theclub has its roots in the now-defunct rival American Baske -tball Association where theyonce won 15 games in a row.

NBA scoring leader KevinDurant netted 34 points for

Oklahoma City and RussellWestbrook added 25 in a los-ing cause. It was only the fifthhome loss of the season forthe Thunder. While Miami

Heat have run off the second-longest win streak in NBAhistory at 23 games, theNuggets have enjoyed theirsuccess in relative anonymity.

Nuggets stretch win streak

sports 27LONDON OLYMPICS SHAME

SYED MUSHTAQ ALI T20 TOURNEY

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

SYDNEY: Australian swimming offici -als on Wednesday said head coach Lei -gh Nugent (right) will resign after a dis-mal ‘12 Games campaign marred by ill-discipline, drug use and drunkenness.

Swimming Australia presidentBarclay Nettlefold said Nugent nolonger wanted to continue in the role,although press reports claimed he wassacked.

“Leigh actually approached us todiscuss his future and where he wouldbest fit into the new structure of theHigh Performance Unit,” Nettlefoldsaid in a statement. “In those discus-sions it soon became very clear thatwhile he still wanted to remaininvolved in the sport, he didn’t want tocontinue in the position of head coach.”

Nugent has been under pressureafter reports into Australia’s disap-pointing performance in the Olympicpool found drunkenness, misuse of pre-scription drugs and bullying wereamong “toxic” incidents at the Games.

So bad was morale, one swimmerdescribed the 2012 London Games asthe “lonely Olympics”, one reportrevealed.

A broader review into the sport’shigh performance programme alsofound failings in strategic planning andtransparency in decision-making whichfuelled disillusionment.

Australia’s swimmers won just onegold medal, six silver and three bronzein London — their lowest tally in thepool since 1992 in Barcelona.

CLEVELAND, OHIO: LeBronJames (in pic) is coming back tohis home region to play againstthe Cleveland Cavaliers, theNBA team he spurned to join theMiami Heat, with his new team-mates on a historic win streak.

The Heat risk their 23-gamewin streak, the second-longest inNBA history, on Wednesday atCleveland in what will be James’first game in the arena where hewas once a star since he won hisfirst NBA title last June with theHeat.

Only the 1971-72 Los AngelesLakers, who own the all-timerecord of 33 wins in a row, havehad a longer NBA win streakthan Miami’s epic run in the 67-

year history of the NBA.“It’s a special team,” James

said. “It’s a special ride rightnow that we’re on. I think thebest thing about it is we’re doingit together. We’re doing it for oneanother and we just want to tryto keep it going.”

The 28-year-old forwardspent his first seven NBA seasonswith the Cavaliers just down theroad from Akron, where he was ahigh school phenomenon whoseprep games attracted nationalattention.

But in that span, theCavaliers struggled in the play-offs. In 2006, they won their firstplayoff series since 1993 but lostin the second round. In 2007,they reached the NBA Finals butwere swept by San Antonio.

Second-round ousters fol-lowed in 2008, 2009 and 2010 andafter the last of those, Jamesmade a live announcement in a

made-for-television specialcalled “The Decision”

that he would leave forMiami.

Teaming withDwyane Wadeand Chris Bosh,

James openlyboasted about bringing mul-tiple championships toMiami before he had woneven one, a detail he took

care of with a victory overOklahoma City in last year’s

NBA Finals after Miami lost the2011 final to Dallas. This season,the Heat own the best record inthe NBA at 52-14.

Andre Iguodala #9 of the Denver Nuggets goes up for the dunk againstthe Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. AFP/LAYNE MURDOCH JR.

Oz swim coach outOfficials said Leigh Nugent will resign after a dismal ‘12 Gamescampaign marred by ill-discipline, drug use and drunkenness.

TOUR OF CATALONIA

LEAGUE CRICKET

Meersman makesit two in a row

MADRID: Belgian rider Gianni Meersmanretained the overall lead in the Tour ofCatalonia after making it two stages wins inas many days on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old beat home ItalianDaniele Ratto and Brett Lancaster ofAustralia in a sprint finish to the 160.7kmride from Girona to Banyuls.

Meersman sits atop the overall stand-ings, 16sec ahead of Spain’s AlejandroValverde with Swiss Danilo Wyss a furtherfour second adrift.

Meersman benefited from a crash on thefinal bend which saw several contenders forthe stage win come to grief or being hin-dered so badly they had no chance of recov-ering.

On Wednesday the overall favouritesfor the title such as Tour de France champi-on Bradley Wiggins should come to the foreas the riders face their first tough challengewith the 180km ride climaxing at the ski sta-tion of Vallter 2000.

Visaka beat SBIA3 division one dayVisaka 144/5 (Sai 44 n.o.,Naresh 58, Abrar 3/19) btSBI 126 (Iftekhar 32)Nizam College 199/9(Sharath 32, Sahir 53, Akhil30) bt Vijay Hanuman 119(Sukhein Jain 36, SahirHussain 5/28)A division one daySportive 218/4 (Murali 59,Ramu 83) lost to VijaypuriWillowmen 223/5 (Shakir 75,Vijay 37, Santosh 35)A institution one dayNational Institute 62 (Yousuf3/19) lost to HMWS & SB64/2 (Ravinder Reddy 30).

Mumbai lose tieAHMEDABAD: An all-roundperformance by Kuldip Ravalpropelled Saurashtra to a com-prehensive 60-run victory overMumbai in a West Zone legmatch of the Syed Mushtaq AliT20 tournament here today.

This was the Ranji champi-ons’ third successive defeat in asmany days in the tournament.

Raval scored 53 off 26 balls,helped by eight fours and a six.His whirlwind knock enabledSaurashtra to reach a fighting 152for 7 in 20 overs. He also tooktwo wickets, giving away 23 runs

in four overs.Unable to get a good start,

the visitors kept losing wickets ata regular interval and were skit-tled out for just 92 in 18.5 overs.

Mumbai play their last matchagainst Maharashtra onThursday.

Electing to bat first,Saurashtra started off cautiously,adding 27 runs for the first wick-et in 4.4 overs before captainJaydev Shah (13 off 12 balls)departed. He was caught byShoaib Shaikh off the bowling ofKshemal Waingankar. PTI

LeBron comes homefor Cavaliers match

sports 28MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: Kimi Raikk -onen ignited the F1 season with astunning win in Australia but the“Iceman” will feel heat from hisrivals this weekend at the notori-ously demanding MalaysianGrand Prix.

Masterful tyre-managementin a surprisingly quick Lotus putthe colourful Finn top of thepodium in Melbourne, withFerrari’s Fernando Alonso sec-ond and Sebastian Vettel, gun-ning for his fourth straight worldtitle, third.

“Finntastic” trumpetedAustralian press, and “Finn putsparty back into Formula 1”, asmedia welcomed a challenge tothe accepted order at the start ofthe new season.

Three championships inthree years have alreadyplaced Red Bull’s German pilotVettel, 25, among the sport’sgreats, but the return of theparty-loving Raikkonen, worldchampion with Ferrari in 2007,has proved invigorating.

And after rain stormswiped out Saturday qualifyingin Australia, teams will bebraced for another toughweekend at Malaysia’s Sepangcircuit, where tropical down-pours played havoc last yearand in 2009. A year ago,Raikkonen marked his returnto Malaysia after a two-yearstint in rallying by handing outice-creams, a nod to an episodeon his previous visit in 2009,

when he coolly snacked on aMagnum during a rain delay.

He has twice been a winneron the long straights and tighthairpins of the Sepang circuit,built on former jungle near theMalaysian capital, but has alsofailed to finish four times andwas fifth last year.

His ability to maintain Pirel -li’s new, deliberately fast-wear-ing tyres was critical inMelbourne, but he will face anentirely different test inMalaysia’s heat, humidity andpossible rain come race daySunday. “I had a good feelingthat we would be OK with thetyres after practice,” Raikkonentold the team website after theAustralian race. AFP

MIAMI: Italy’s FlaviaPennetta booked herself a sec-ond round clash with WorldNo. 1 Serena Williams at theWTA and ATP Masters Miamihardcourt event after a 6-4, 6-1first-round victory Tuesdayover Swede Johanna Larsson.

Pennetta, ranked 103rd,will meet Williams onThursday in a second-roundmatch at the $8.5 millionevent, which awarded byes toall 32 seeded players in boththe men’s and women’sdraws.

The third-round foe forWilliams if she beats Pennettawill be either 31st seed YaninaWickmayer of Belgium orJapan’s Ayumi Morita, whooutlasted Britain’s HeatherWatson 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Williams will try tobecome the first six-time win-ner at Miami in her first eventsince reclaim the top ranking,while World No. 1 NovakDjokovic of Serbia tries to

claim his fourth Miamicrown.

Williams, a 15-time GrandSlam singles champion, wonat Miami in 2002, 2003, 2004,2007 and 2008. The 31-year-oldAmerican, who also reachedthe final in 1999 and 2009, is

the reigning US Open,Wimbledon and Olympicchampion.

Williams’ 19th-seeded sis-ter Venus, a former World No.1 with seven Grand Slam sin-gles crowns, will open againstJapan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm.

LONDON: Indian Wells finalistJuan Martin del Potro hasbecome the latest leading playerto announce he will take part inthe traditional Wimbledon grass-court warm-up event atLondon’s Queen’s Club in June.

The Argentine, who lost inthree sets to a resurgent RafaelNadal in the final in Californialast week, joined US Open cham-pion Andy Murray and worldnumber six Tomas Berdych incommitting himself to play atQueen’s in the June 10-16 event.

“I like to play on grass, and atthe Aegon Championships youfeel like you are at home,” saiddel Potro, the world numberseven.

Del Potro is looking forwardto returning to London, where hewon an Olympic bronze medalduring the 2012 Games tennistournament at Wimbledon.

“I have a fantastic memoryfrom last year when I won thebronze medal at the Olympics,”he said. AFP

MADRID: Hosting the 2020Olympic Games in Madridwould provide a 3.87-billioneuro ($5.0-billion) boost to theSpanish economy and generate83,000 full-time jobs, Madrid bidorganisers said Tuesday.

“Organising the Games

would also generate a positiveimpact on citizens’ welfare esti-mated at over 800 million dol-lars,” added Juan AntonioSamaranch, a member ofMadrid’s bid committee on thesecond day of an inspection visitby the International Olympic

Committee’s evaluation com-mission.

With 28 of the 35 proposedvenues already completed, thecost of building and refurbish-ing venues for the Games wouldamount to around 1.5 billioneuros, far lower than the price

tag for the London 2012Olympics and the 2016Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, saidSamaranch.

“The London Games werebased on the concept of thereconstruction of the East End.That is great for them.” AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 3Luke Donald and Padraig Harri -ngton and Charl Schwartzel willlook to fine-tune their games forthe coming Masters during thisweek’s Maybank Malaysian Op -en. The trio head the field for thetournament starting Thursday atKuala Lumpur Golf and CountryClub, which has a prize purse of$2.75 million, along with risingyoung star Matteo Manassero ofItaly, who won here in 2011.Donald who was world No. 1until Rory McIlroy took over lastyear, is gunning for his eighthEuropean Tour win in KualaLumpur. He also has five USPGA Tour wins under his belt.

‘Iceman’ likely to feel the heatKimi won the Australian GP but he will feel heat from his rivals this weekend at the demanding Malaysian GP.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen holdsthe trophy after winning the F1Australian GP on Sunday. AFP

Del Potrocommits to

Queen’s

WTA AND ATP MASTERS MIAMI

2020 OLYMPICS

Flavia in Serena’s pathWIMBLEDON WARM-UP

‘Madrid Games worth billions to Spain’

Luke Donaldseeks Masters

tune-up

Drivers1. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 25.0pts,2. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 18.0,3. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 15.0,4. Felipe Massa (BRA) 12.0,5. Lewis Hamilton 10.0,6. Mark Webber (AUS), 8.0,7. Adrian Sutil (GER) 6.0,8. Paul di Resta (GBR) 4.0,9. Jenson Button (GBR) 2.0,10. Romain Grosjean (FRA) 1.0

Constructors:1. Ferrari 30.0pts, 2. Lotus-Renault 26.0, 3. Red Bull Racing-Renault 23.0, 4. Mercedes 10.0,5. Force India-Mercedes 10.0, 6.McLaren-Mercedes 2.0

STANDINGS

Flavia Pennetta of Italy in action against Johanna Larsson of Swedenduring the Sony Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on Tuesdayin Key Biscayne, Florida. AFP/AL BELLO

MALAYSIAN OP EN

SYDNEY: FormerAustralian captain RickyPonting was Wednesdayvoted Sheffield Shield play-er of the year for his sizzlingform since quitting interna-tional cricket.

Ponting, who retiredfrom Tests, has been in finetouch with the bat, scoring875 at an average of 87.5 forTasmania, who are into theShield final againstQueensland. He had beenexpected to make the cur-rent Australian domesticseason his last, but has indi-cated he could continue. AFP

sports 29ENGLAND IN NEW ZEALAND

AUSTRALIA’S TOUR OF INDIA HELPING HAND

SNIPPETS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

AUCKLAND: New Zealand andEngland face off in a winner-takes-all third and final Test thisweek, with both sides vowing topress for a series-clinching victo-ry at Auckland’s Eden Park.

After rain-affected draws inDunedin and Wellington, hopesare high for a result in the matchbeginning Friday, as New Zeala -nd eye a rare series win and Eng -land seek to cement their posi-tion as the number-two rankedTest nation. Clear weather isforecast for the Test and EdenPark’s drop-in wicket promisesmore bounce than the docilepitches seen in the opening twofixtures, which have drawn criti-cism from the England camp.

“In an ideal world a pitchwith more pace and bouncewould make for a more excitingwicket,” England captain

Alastair Cook said.“But whichever pitch we get

in Auckland we’ll try to find thebest way to win the game.”

New Zealand, ranked eighthin Test cricket, have not won aseries against England since1999, with their sole series victo-ry on home soil back in 1984.

Skipper Brendon McCullum,whose only other Test seriessince taking the helm late lastyear resulted in two inningsdefeats to South Africa, said avictory would provide a hugeboost for his team.

“We go into every game try-ing to win. Certainly, for us, it’snot about trying to hang on for adraw,” he said. “We see this as agreat opportunity to clinch aseries win against England andthat’s something that we’d allhold very fondly.” AFP

In this photo, England’s Matt Prior (L) jokes with New Zealand’s BrendonMcCullum as rain halted play during day five of the Test match betweenNew Zealand and England on Monday. AFP/MARTY MELVILLE

MELBOURNE: Former skipperSteve Waugh has urged currentcaptain Michael Clarke and hisdeputy Shane Watson to sort outtheir differences for the better-ment of Australian cricket.

Watson was one of the fourplayers to be suspended from thesquad ahead of the third Testagainst India at Mohali for fail-ing to submit performancereviews nine days ago, fuellingrumours of a possible riftbetween the all-rounder andClarke.

Former Australian captainsWaugh, Mark Taylor and AllanBorder wanted the Test skipperto draw intensively on the advice

of his deputy in assembling the2011 Argus review of nationalteam performance.

“Part of the Argus report werecommended was we wantedan increased role for the vice cap-tain as we felt the captain andvice captain had to work togeth-er in Australia’s rebuildingphase,” Waugh told ‘CourierMail’.

“They will have to work andfix it up. To Michael andMickey’s credit they have saidthis is the way we want to dothings, if you want to play forAustralia you have to fall inline,” said Waugh who won 41 of57 matches as skipper during his168-Test career.

“At the same time they haveto be flexible, got to realise acricket team is made up of differ-ent characters.

There will always be clashesof personality, it is just how youmanage it and get all the peoplegoing in the same direction. Theskill they have to have is to worktogether.”

Waugh recalled the timewhen he had started his career 27years ago, incidentally againstIndia. The team was then recov-ering from the exits of GregChappell, Rod Marsh andDennis Lillee.

PTI

KARACHI: Pakistan pacelegend and former captainWasim Akram wants to play arole in helping the CricketBoard resolve, what he calls, a“crisis” in the fast bowlingdepartment.

Wasim said he was willingto not only help the PakistanCricket Board in any venturebut would also launch hisown talent hunt scheme tounearth raw pace talent andthen groom them in a spe-cialised camp in April.

“I want to see Pakistan atthe top of the cricket world

and the recent performance inthe Test series in South Africahas been very disappointingfor me. I strongly believe wecan still find exciting newpace talent in the country,”Wasim said. PTI

‘Clarke, Watson need tosort out differences’

NEW DELHI: India’s latest bat-ting sensation Shikhar Dhawanwas today ruled out of thefourth and final Test againstAustralia starting here on Friday,as he will be out of action for sixweeks due to a fracture on hisleft hand which he sustainedwhile fielding during the thirdmatch at Mohali. The BCCI saidin a statement that GautamGambhir, who was omitted fromthe initial squad for the four-match series due to a prolongedform slump, was included in theteam but he also could bot beavailable due to jaundice.

Watson arrives in DelhiDhawan ruled outNEW DELHI: In a much-neededboost for the beleagueredAustralian side, vice-captainShane Watson today landed inthe Capital ahead of the fourthand final Test against India,scheduled to start here fromFriday. Australia have alreadylost the Border-Gavaskar Trophyafter three heavy defeats in thefirst three Tests of the four-ma -tch series. One of the four play-ers suspended from the squadahead of the third Test at Mohalion disciplinary grounds, Watso n,who had left for Sydney for thebirth of his son last Thursday.

Wasim wants to help Pak

NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkaron Monday said that he wasscared of breaking down in frontof Yuvraj Singh when he met theleft-handed batsman in Londonafter his treatment in the UnitedStates for a rare germ cell cancer.

“When I went to meet him inLondon, I was telling my wife(Anjali) that I don’t want to breakdown when I see him. I met himand gave him a tight hug. Weenjoyed a meal and from the wayhe (Yuvraj) ate, I was convincedthat he is back on track,”Tendulkar told a select gatheringduring the release of Yuvraj’s book“The Test of My Life’. It was apoignant evening with the likes ofTendulkar, Dhoni and Virat Kohlirecollecting stories. PTI

ZURICH: The draw for the 2014World Cup finals will be made onDecember 6 at the Brazilian holi-day seaside resort of Costa doSauipe it was announced by FIFAafter a meeting here on Tuesdaywith the Brazilian organisers.

“It was confirmed at the meet-ing that the draw for the 2014World Cup finals would take placeat Costa do Sauipe, in Bahia State,at 1300 local time (1600GMT) onDecember 6 2013,” FIFA said in astatement.

After the meeting FIFA presi-dent Sepp Blatter had expressedhis confidence Brazil would beready in time to host the finalsdespite the continual delays inconstructing the stadia amd thatthe finals would be ‘formidable’.

‘Didn’t want to breakdown in front of Yuvi’

FIFA World Cup finaldraw set for Dec 6

SHEFFIELD SHIELDPonting

voted playerof year

Decider looms for both sidesNew Zealand and England face-off in a winner-takes-all third and final

Test, with both sides vowing to press for a series-clinching victory.