Evening dailyRain plays spoilsport on 2nd day P 4

Vol. 1, Issue 308 n Thursday n June 30, 2011 No. of pages: 8 n Price: Rs 2

Giving boost to jute,TEXTILE INDUSTRY

The competition from China, Pakistan,Bangladesh and other countries in textile andjute industry is increasing by the day. To pro-mote the industry in the country, the govern-ment has restructured the Technology Upgra-dation Fund Scheme (TUFS) to help entrepre-neurs, says L Raghunanda

Page 5

Beyond Beat

Will not react tooppn leadersʼ

allegations: CMBangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: From now on, I will not react toany allegationmade by oppo-sition leaders,said chief min-ister B S Yed-dyurappa herethis morning.

Taking partin the inaugu-ration of a con-vention hall atthe KarnatakaC h i t r a k a l aParishath, hesaid, “The BJPstate presidentK S Eshwarap-pa andspokespersonsfor the party

would answer all the allegations made by theopposition.”

“I will make statements only on the ad-ministration of the state and developmentworks here. The BJP government is commit-ted to development works. I will make Kar-nataka the No . 1 state in the country as far asdevelopment is concerned,” he said.

“I will not make statements through medianor will I react through it. If any statement hasto be made, I will call a press conference andmake announcement,” he said.

2 students die in Raichur

accidentBangalore Beat Bureau

Raichur: Two girl students died and four oth-ers were seriously injured when a van hit anautorickshaw this morning.

The incident occurred near PWD BengaliCamp in Sindhanur taluk. All the victims wereinside the autorickshaw that was ferryingthem to the school in the morning, the localpolice said.

The van was coming from the opposite di-rection. Both the girls died on the spot, whilethe injured were shifted to Vijayanagar Insti-tute of Medical Sciences in Bellary. The doc-tors said their condition is serious.

US aims to destroy Qaida

core in PakWashington: To destroy the al-Qaida, the USneeds to dismantle its core in the tribal regionsof Pakistan and prevent its ability to re-es-tablish a safe haven in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region, a senior US official hassaid. Full report on page 6

BangaloreBeatLove at first sight: Hurley P8

Jamui: A young researcherstudying the problems ofMaoists in Bihar has gonemissing along with her facili-tator from Jamui district, thepolice said today.

Jamui superintendent of po-lice Raj Narain Singh said 23-year-old Juhi Tyagi was be-lieved to have gone missing onher way to Jamui railway sta-tion along with her facilitatorto catch a train to Bangaloreyesterday.

Juhi, who hails from Ban-galore and had returned tothe city after completing hereducation in the USA, hadgone to Maoist-affected Khairablock in the district a fortnightago to conduct her research.Juhi, a sociology research fel-low at Stony Brook Universityin New York, was on a visit tothe rural areas of Jamui inconnection with her researchon Maoist problems in India,

they said. She had visited Garhi, Ru-

pabel, Mahuliatand andKhaira, Singh said.

During her stay, Juhi hadcome in contact with a localPradip Kumar Das, who be-came her guide and facilitator.

Das took her on his bike tothe Maoist-affected villageswhere she held meetings withactivists of civic society, NGOworkers and locals for pur-poses of her research, he said.

"Maoists abducted themfrom Nawada area underKowakol police station andinformed the family membersof Das about it," he said.

Tyagi arrived in Jamui June15. She had visited the districtearlier also. ‘‘We are trying tolocate them,’’ Singh said.

Jamui is considered to be astronghold of the outlawedCommunist Party of India-Maoist. PTI

Chennai Exp derailsin city, none injuredBangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: A train boundto Chennai derailed at thecity central railway stationthis morning. Hundreds ofpassengers were affectedbecause of the incident onPlatform No. 3. No onewas injured in the inci-dent.

The engine of ChennaiExpress from the city gotderailed around 8.05 amjust when the train waschugging out of the sta-tion.

Railway officialsrushed to the spot, re-moved the derailed en-gine and attached anoth-er one allowing it to pro-ceed on its onward jour-ney around 9.15, causinga delay of more than anhour.

There was a lot of con-fusion from the morningas the train that normallydocks at Platform No. 1 ar-rived at Platform No. 3.People had to rush tocatch the train.

The engine of Chennai Express got derailed at the

City Central Railway station this morning. The

train left an hour later.

MAOISTS abduct city researcherin Bihar

Gangadhar PujarGangadhar Pujar

S Radhakrishna S RadhakrishnaNew Delhi: Sonia Gandhi is today un-likely to meet Anna Hazare who wantedto discuss with the Congress chief the civ-il society’s stand on the Lokpal Bill.

“No meeting is likely between AnnaHazare and Sonia Gandhi today. No ap-pointment has been fixed for today,”sources at 10 Janpath, residence of Gand-hi, said.

Hazare had yesterday said that he willtry to persuade Gandhi to include the of-fice of the Prime Minister in the LokpalBill.“We will meet all parties...We willmeet Sonia and tell her if the Prime Min-ister is saying so, then what is the prob-lem,” he had said.

He had said the incumbent Prime

Minister is an honest man. “The UnionCabinet belong to India, the people in theCabinet are our people. Then what is theproblem in taking the decision? Theyshould be able to take it for the country.”

Hazare was responding to Singh’s re-marks that he had no hesitation in bring-ing himself under the purview of Lokpalbut many of his Cabinet colleagues feelthat bringing the institution of PrimeMinister under it will create instability.

Reaching out to political parties aheadof the all-party meeting, the Anna Hazareteam had yesterday met CPI(M) generalsecretary Prakash Karat and RLD chief AjitSingh to explain their position on the Lok-pal Bill. PTI

Sonia unlikelyto meet

Hazare today

Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy came downheavily against the BJP for re-leasing a chargesheet alleging ac-quisition of huge wealth by JD(S)natioal president H D Deve Gow-da and his family.

Addressing the media at theJDS party office this morning, Ku-maraswamy said there is no clar-ity in the document and it hasshown falsely some genuineproperties owned by his familymembers.

For instance, Kumaraswamysaid the house owned by DrManjunath, Director of JayadevaHospital is shown as that of H DRevanna, while along with hishouse the house owned by MLC

Vimala Gowda’s brother is alsoshown.

He said it is far from truththat Deve Gowda’s family owns82 acre land in Holenarasipura inHassan district and that they have encroached gomalalands.

Similarly, he said the docu-ment has shown his brother Bal-akrishna Gowda’s house as wellas his educational institutions asillegal properties.

“Though the BJP is harping onGowda family’s illegal wealthduring the last 5-6 months, letthem first define or clarify whatis illegal wealth? Kumaraswamychallenged.

He said he is ready to prove allcorruption charges against BJPministers including the chief

minister with documents. How-ever, the chief minister is evasiveand never clarified on chargesagainst him.

“The chief minister throws achallenge, swears in the name ofgod, calls for truth test and runsbehind mathadipathis to save him,” Kumaraswamy re-marked.

Terming the document re-leased by BJP against his familyas a bundle of contradictions, Ku-maraswamy remarked that“some jokers taking governmentsalaries seem to have preparedit.”

He said though the BJP claimsto practice politics of dharma, inthe recent past they have forgot-ten their god Rama and seemedto have sent him oto jungles.

Clarify illegalproperty: HDKSets one‑week deadline to order probe

Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: A man, whowas involved in divorce pro-ceedings, consumed poison,stabbed his wife and jumpedhimself to death from thefirst floor of his house at R TNagar this morning.

Afzal Pasha (45), a labtechnician with the Islamic

Institute of Technology, wentto his in-law’s house trying topatch up with her. But the sit-uation got worse and Pashaand his wife Gulzar Khanum(42), who works at an or-phanage on Queen’s road asattender, started quarrellingwith each other. In a fit ofrage, Pasha rushed into thekitchen, got a knife and

stabbed Khanum with it.He then jumped from the

first floor of the house anddied. They have two school-going children.

The police said he hadconsumed poison even be-fore going to his in-law’shouse. The in-laws said thecouple had been living sepa-rately for the last four years

due to some differences.They had filed for divorce

last year and the family courthad given them a year topatch up their differences.Pasha had gone to Khanum’shouse this morning to con-vince her, but that was not tobe. The police said thoughKhanum had applied for di-vorce Pasha was against it

and wanted to give a stablefamily to his children. Pashahad also heard that his in-laws were trying to find amatch for Khanum, theadded. Amidst the commo-tion, Khanum took an au-torickshaw and got herselfadmitted to Ambedkar Med-ical College. She is said to beout of danger.

Estranged man drinks poison,stabs wife, jumps to death

CITY 2Thursday, June 30, 2011

Contact: M : 9900948514

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Train No. Train Name Station Arrival B’lore Departure B’lore Train No. Train Name Station Arrival B’lore Departure B’lore

TRAIN SCHEDULE

INDIAN WOMEN FEELTHEYʼRE BETTER PLACED

Bangalore: Women in India,like their counterparts in emerg-ing markets, believe they havegreater opportunities than theirmothers and are far more opti-mistic about the future of their daughters than women indeveloped markets, says a study.

According to the NielsenWomen of Tomorrow study, re-spondents from India saidwomen are far more optimisticabout the future, and also en-vision a more self-reliant futurefor this generation of womenthe study said.

The areas that today’s moth-ers anticipate as the biggest ar-eas of change are freedom tomake the decision to get mar-

ried, as well as the decision ofwhom to get married to.

The trend shown in India isthe highest amongst the emerg-

ing markets, the study said.The indices of change are

also higher for India with regardsto other parameters like ability

to reduce stress, access to tech-nology opportunities to partici-pate in sports, purchase thingsthey want and opportunities forleisure activities.

The study was conducted be-tween February and April 2011,polling nearly 6,500 women in21 developed and emergingcountries throughout Asia Pa-cific, Europe, Latin America,Africa and North America.

Overall in emerging markets,81 per cent of women surveyedbelieve their daughters wouldhave greater financial stability,83 per cent believe their daugh-ters would have a better educa-tion and 84 per cent believetheir daughters would have bet-ter access to technology. PTI

KIRATAKA (U/A) Yash, Oviya Helen, Nagabharana Adarsh (11.30 am, 2.30, 6, 9 pmBharathi (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm)Eshwari (11 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30pm) Ganesh (11 am, 2, 6, 9 pm)Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road) (4pm, 6.45, 9.45 pm) Goverdhan(10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Ka-pali (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm)Krishna (KR Puram) (11 am, 2, 6, 9pm) Mohan (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15pm) Navrang (1.15 pm, 4.15, 7.15pm) Prasanna (10.15 am, 4.15, 7.15pm) Siddheshwara (11.30am, 2.30,6.30, 9.30 pm) Srinvasa (Gowdana-palya) (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30pm) Uma (10.15am,1,4,7pm) Veeresh(10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30,7.30 pm) Vaishnavi (11.30 am, 12.30,6.30, 9.30 pm) Vajreshwari (11 am,2.30, 6, 9.15pm)

DHAN DHANA DHAN (U)Prem Kumar, Sharmila MandreBalaji (Tavarekre) (11 am, 2.30, 6.30,9.30 pm) Banashankari (Hongasan-dra) (11 am, 2.15, 6.15, 9.15 pm)Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road)(10.45 am, 4.15 pm) Gurusidhesh-wara (11 am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm)Kamakya (10.45 am, 1.45, 5.45, 8.45pm) Menaka (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30,7.30 pm) Navrang (10.30 am, 10pm) Tulasi (Marathahalli) (11.30 am,2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Ullas (10.45am, 1.45, 5.45, 8.45 pm) Veerab-

hadreshwara (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30,7.30 pm)

MAAGIYA KAALA (U)Nishanth, Bindhu ShriKailash (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30pm)

I AM SORRY MATTHE BANNIPRITHSONA (U)Premkumar, Karishma Inox (Malleswaram) (8.45 pm) PVRCinemas (1.10 pm, 6.40 pm)

OSCAR (A)Ashok Kumar, PriyankaTribhuvan (10.30 am,1.30, 4.30, 7.30pm Venkateshwara (Avalahalli (11.30am, 2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm)Vishal (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm)

BETTADA JEEVA (U) Suchendra Prasad, Lakshmi Inox (Malleswaram) (6.25 pm) PVRCinemas (7 pm)

JOHNY MERA NAAM PREETHIMERA KAAM (U)Duniya Vijay, RamyaGopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road)(7.15 pm) Maruthi (11.30 am, 2.30,6.30, 9.30 pm) Nalanda (11 am, 2,5.30, 8.30 pm) Nandini (11 am, 2,5, 8 pm) Rajarajeshwari (11 am,2.30, 6.30, 9.30 pm) Siddhalingesh-wara (11 am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm) Triveni(10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 pm) Vi-jayalakshmi (Garudacharpalya).

CARS 2 (U)Owen Wilson, Michael Caine“3D” Fame Lido (11.45 am, 3.40,7.35 pm) Fame (Shankarnag) (1.20pm) Fun Cinemas (11.15 am, 4.10pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (10 am,12.20, 2.55, 7.15 pm) Inox(Malleswaram) (12 pm, 3.50, 7.40pm) Rex (10.10 am, 5.15 pm) “2D”Fame Forum Value Mall (2.50 pm,

5.05, 7.20 pm) Gopalan Cinemas(Mysore Road) (10.15 am, 1.45, 10pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (10 am, 3 pm)Inox (JP Nagar) (12.50 pm, 5, 7.15pm) Mukunda (4 pm)

GREEN LANTERN (U/A)Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard“3D” Fame Lido (9.50 pm) Inox (Ma-grath Road) (9.45 pm) Inox(Malleswaram) (9.50 pm) PVR Cin-emas (10.45 am, 3, 9.45 pm) “2D”PVR Cinemas (5.30 pm)

X-MEN - FIRST CLASS (U/A)James McAvoy, Michael Fassben-der, Bill Milner Cinemax (12 pm, 10 pm) Cinepolis(5 pm, 9.30 pm) Fame Forum ValueMall (11 am, 1.40, 4.20, 7, 9.40 pm)Fame Lido (2 pm, 4.20, 9.25 pm)Fun Cinemas (11 am, 10 pm) Inno-vative Multiplex (12.45 pm, 10 pm)Inox (Jayanagar) (1.55 pm, 9.40 pm)Inox (JP Nagar (9.30 pm) Inox (Ma-grath Road) (10.45 am, 2, 4, 9.30pm) Inox (Malleswara).

Movie ListingsKANNADA

ENGLISH

ALWAYS KABHI KABHI (U/A)Ali Fazal, Giselle MonteiroFame Lido (5, 9.45 pm ) PVR Cinemas(10.30 am, 2.35, 5, 9.35 pm)

BHEJA FRY 2 (U/A) Vinay Pathak, Minissha Lamba,Amole GupteFame Forum Value Mall (12.20 pm,9.35 pm) Fame Lido (4.30 pm, 9.40pm) Fun Cinemas (9.30 pm) Inox(Jayanagar) (1.50 pm, 3.35, 9.35pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10 am, 2, 7,9.35 pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (10am, 4.40, 9.40 pm) Inox(Malleswaram) (3.20 pm) PVR Cin-emas (7.30 pm) Shaitan Kalki Koech-lin, Arshad Warsi Fame Lido (11.15pm) Fun Cinemas (4.30 pm) Inox(JP Nagar) (7 pm) Inox (MagrathRoad) (10 am, 7.10 pm) Inox(Malleswaram) (10 am) PVR Cinemas(5 pm, 9.30 pm) Vision Cinemas(7.30 pm)

READY (U/A) Salman Khan, Asin, Arya Babbar,Paresh RawalAbhinay (10.30 am, 1.30, 4.30 pm,7.30 pm) Apsara (10.45 am, 1.45pm) Anand (3.30 pm, 6.30, 9.30pm) Fame Forum Value Mall (12.30pm, 6, 9.30 pm) Fame Lido (1.30pm) Fun Cinemas (12.50 pm, 7.05pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10.30 am, 4.20pm) Inox (Jayanagar) (12.25 pm,6.55 pm) Inox (Magrath Road) (1.15pm, 6.40 pm) Inox (Malleswaram)(10 am) Lakshmi (Tavarekere) (10am, 1, 5 pm)PVR Cinemas (12 pm, 3.45, 9.15pm) Vision Cinemas (12.15 pm, 5,9.45 pm)

PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA (U/A)Kartikeya Tiwari, Rayo BhakhirtaInox (Magrath Road) (12.25 pm)PVR Cinemas (1.25 pm)

HINDI

MALAYALAM

INNATHE CHINTHAVISHAAYAM Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine PVR Cinemas ( 9.15 pm)

Rathi Nirvedam (U/A) Shweta Menon, Sreejith Vijay Galaxy

Paradise (Hongasandra) (11 am,2.15, 6.15, 9.15 pm)

SENIORS (U) Jayaram, Biju MenonHMT Cinemas (Jalahalli) (9. 4 5pm)

DOUBLE DHAMAAL (U/A) Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi

Apsara (6.30 pm, 9.30pm) Cau-very (11.30 am, 2.30, 6, 9.30 pm)Everest (11.30 am, 2.30, 6.30,9.30 pm) Fame Forum Value Mall(12.40, 1.20, 3.20, 4, 5.05, 6.45,8.45, 9.30 pm) Fame Lido (10 am,11.15, 12.45, 3.30, 6.15, 7. 05, 9.15pm) Fame (Shankarnag) (10.35am, 3.45, 6.30, 9.15 pm) Fun Cin-emas (10 am, 1.40, 3.50, 6.40,9.15 pm) Gopalan Cinemas(Mysore Road) (10.30 am, 12.30,

3.30, 6.30, 9.40 pm) Inox (Jayana-gar) (10.15 am, 1, 3.45, 6.30, 9.15pm) Inox (JP Nagar) (10.20 am,11, 1, 3.50, 6.35, 8.40, 9.20 pm)Inox (Magrath Road) (10.25 am,1.10, 3.10, 3.55, 5.55, 6.40, 8.35,9.25 pm) Inox (Malleswaram)(10.35 am, 12.35, 3.55, 6.40, 8.30,9.25 pm) Rex (12.10 pm, 2.40,7.20, 9.55 pm) Vaibhav (6.30 pm,9.30 pm) Vinayaka (DJ Halli) (11am, 2.30, 6, 9.15 pm)

SC panel asks state to act on fakecaste certificates

Bangalore: The National Com-mission for Scheduled Casteshas directed the state governmentto act swiftly to investigate anddispose of fake caste certificatecases, which number around300 in the state.

“District caste certificate ver-ification committees are takinga long time to verify them, andsuggested a timeframe of 15-30days to complete the exercise,”commission’s chairman P L Pu-nia said.

Punia said those who securedjobs by producing fake caste cer-tificate should be dismissed andaction should also be initiatedagainst those who issued them.

He said the conviction ratevis-a-vis cases of atrocities onmembers of SC is a low nine percent in Karnataka and the stategovernment needs to take stepssuch as training prosecuting of-ficers to improve this percentage.In some states, it’s as high as 50per cent, Punia said.

He suggested making the So-cial Welfare Department as anodal department for imple-menting all SC plans to ensurethat the benefits directly reachtheir members.

Punia, who addressed a pressmeet along with the membersof the Commission after a three-day visit to the state, praised a“lot of good work” done by suc-cessive Karnataka governmentsfor the welfare of SCs, and said

in cases of atrocities on SCs, thevictims and their families weredisbursed relief sums promptly.

The Commission is also happywith the hostels provided to SCstudents, particularly girls, andinfrastructure facilities for them.

Conviction rate in SC atrocitiescases low in Karna: panel

The Commission also said theconviction rate in cases of of-fences against the SCs in Kar-nataka was low and stressed theneed for taking measures to stepit up.

Punia said the conviction ratein Karnataka had increased from3-4 per cent to 9 per cent in thelast three years, but was waybelow the 40-50 per cent markin bigger states.

Punia came down on manualscavenging terming it inhuman,illegal and asked the state to un-dertake a survey on the issueand ensure rehabilitation of thiscommunity by providing thempermanent jobs.

The commission also calledfor steps to be taken to curb the menace of issuance of fake caste certificates by expe-diting the time taken to punishthose guilty.

It, however, lauded the gov-erment for its efforts in promptdisbursement of compensationto victims of atrocities and thefacilities provided to women hos-tels meant for the scheduledcastes. PTI

ITC Infotechpartners withFinnish firmSolteq Oyj

Bangalore: ITC Infotech, a globalIT services company and a fullyowned subsidiary of ITC, hasannounced its partnership withFinland-based IT service providerSolteq Oyj.

The partnership would enableITC Infotech to expand its pres-ence and offer support to itsNordic clients while Solteq Oyjwould be able to utilise the fullbreadth of ITC Infotech’s servicesportfolio to deliver solutions inthe Finnish market, the companysaid in a statement.

“ITC Infotech’s robust off-shoredelivery model will also furtherenhance value realisation forSolteq Oyj’s clients,” it said.

ITC Infotech vice-president(Europe) Bala Subramanian said,“With the support of Solteq Oyj,we can strengthen and consoli-date our Nordic presence. SolteqOyj has proven expertise in of-fering services for the retail, lo-gistics and manufacturing sec-tors. These complementary com-petencies will help us in offeringa unique value proposition toclients.”

Solteq Oyj CEO Repe Harma-nen said, “This co-operation willenable us to offer new servicesto our clients and to better com-pete in the marketplace.” PTI

CSG, Intecrebrandedas CSG Int

Bangalore: CSG Systems Inter-national, a global provider ofsoftware and services-based busi-ness support solutions has an-nounced that it will be knownas CSG International.

The new name signifies thebrand integration of CSG withIntec Telecom, which CSG ac-quired in late 2010, a release is-sued here said.

Along with a new operatingname, the company has re-branded its visual identity aswell.

“With complementary prod-ucts, markets and infrastructure,our new combined entity is theworld’s second largest businesssupport systems provider withmore than 3,600 professionalsthat help our clients introduceand support new products, gen-erate revenues and optimise theiroperations,” CSG InternationalPresident and CEO Peter Kalansaid. PTI

Financecourse for airoffice officersBangalore: A defence financialmanagement course for air forceofficers was held at the Air ForceTechnical College, Jalahalli, fromJune 27 to 29. The course was in-augurated by Alok Chaturvedi,IDAS, controller defence ac-counts, RTC (SR) & IFA, Head-quarters Training Command, IAF,Bangalore.

The course was attended by35 air force officers.

The course was organised toacquaint air force officers aboutthe integrated financial advisesystem, process and defence pro-curement procedures.

Canara Bankups its baserate by 25

basis pointsBangalore: Canara Bank has re-vised its Base rate upwards by25 basis points – from 10 percent to 10.25 per cent with effectfrom July 1.

It has also revised its bench-mark PLR upwards by 25 bps –from 14.25 per cent to 14.50 percent. The move is in the contextof the hike in policy rates bythe RBI as part of monetarymeasures, a Canara Bank state-ment said. PTI

Centre plans `1 lakh crsubsidies for electronics

Bangalore: The central govern-ment proposed to give invest-ment subsidies to the tune of Rs1 lakh crore to give a big boostto the country’s electronics in-dustry in the next ten years, akey official has said.

This push is expected to generate Rs 4 lakh crore of investment in the sector and also create 20 million jobs in this decade, joint secretary in the department of information technology Ajay Ku-mar said here.

Addressing a strategic elec-tronics summit 2011, focused ondefence and aerospace, organ-

ised by the Electronic IndustriesAssociation of India (ELCINA)here, he said the governmenthas also proposed a seed andventure capital fund with a sizeof Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 20,000crore to support start-ups andnew ideas in the electonics sec-tor.

Noting that a special incentivepackage for the electronics in-dustry expired last year, Kumarsaid a modified one in its placeis “coming”.

Under the proposed new pack-age,incentives would be madeavailable to units across the valuechain.

In the old package, it was available only for chips and high-tech components but in the new one, incentiveswould be available from raw materials to final product and accessories irrespective of the extent of value additiondone, he said.

Kumar also said the threshold limit for eligibility forsubsidies would be broughtdown to Rs one crore from theearlier Rs 1,000 crore so that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would also get incentives, which wasnot the case earlier. PTI

Momentive to launchR&D centre in city

Bangalore: Momentive Pefor-mance Materials Holdings, aleader in speciality chemicalsand materials, has announcedthe launch of a global R&D centreand regional headquarters here.

The global player’s sub-sidiaries Momentive PerformanceMaterials and Momentive Spe-ciality Chemicals would launchthe new centre. The researchand development (R&D) facilityis one of the company’s six globalfacilities in the world.

The facility would aim at de-veloping local platforms, collab-orating with others for develop-ing varied platforms and devel-oping products for the domesticmarket and overseas market,Momentive chairman and CEOCraig O Morrison said.

The facility, spread over a two-acre plot, has a total capacity tohouse 200 personnel. However,

initially, the facility would house125 personnel, including 75 sci-entists.

Scientists here would workon new technology platformsand product development fornew and existing applicationsin diverse industry segments,including personal care, energy,healthcare, said Momentive’sMD (India) V P Nalian.

The centre would be focusingon leapfrog technologies saidMomentive Peformance Materialschief technology officer Dr EricThaler.

In addition to the R&D facility,the centre would also serve asMomentive’s regional headquar-ters and will house its commer-cial and business support func-tions.The centre with an invest-ment of $4 million, is expectedto be completed by the first quar-ter of 2012.

M Lokeswara Rao, a 1983-batch Indian Forest Service based in Bangalore and working ascivil servant, explains his Zodiac series of paintings at Gallery Rasa in the city. He haspainted 12 zodiac like different Rasis and Zodiac constellations like Aries, Saggitarius,

Gemini etc.

Painting zodiac signs

Weekend KSRTC Volvo service to Mantralaya

Bangalore: KSRTC will ply newVolvo weekend (Friday, Saturday& Sunday) services from Ban-galore to Mantralaya from July1. These services are in additionto the already existing KSRTCservices.

The new buses will leave thecity 10 pm and arrive at Manta-laya at 5.15 am. In the returnjourney, the buses leaveMantralaya at 2.15 pm and arrivein the city 9.45 pm.

Travellers can get more details

on 7760990562, 7760990561 orvisit www.ksrtc.in for e-booking& mobile booking.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee felicitated NationalSC-ST Commission chairman P L Punia in the city yesterday.

KPCC Kisan and Kheth Mazdoor Congress vice-presidentAnand Kumar presents a memorandum to Punia.

CITYThursday, June 30, 2011 3CITY EVENTSGeneralSri Saibabanagar Welfare As-sociation: Inauguration ofGenset Street Light by MinisterSuresh Kumar, MP P C Mohanto participate, 65, Saibabana-gar, Srirampuram, 6 pm.

Centre for ContemporaryStudies: Talk on “The TanjoreEnlightenment 1798-1832” bySavithri Preetha, Visiting Fel-low, CCS Seminar Hall, IISc,former JNCASR, near HealthCentre, 4 pm.

Rotary International Dt 3190:Installation of Pandurang Pot-nis as 35th Dt Governor, RtnYashpal Das, Sri VeerendraHeggade, Dharmadhikari ofDharmasthala to participate,NIMHANS Convention Centre,Hosur Road, 4.30 pm.

Indian Institute of MaterialsManagement: Lecture on “Is-sues and challenges in SupplyChain Management” by K NSubramanya of Department\of Industrial Engineering andManagement, R V College ofEngineering, Hotel Wood-lands, Raja Ram Mohan RoyRoad, 6.30 pm.

Cultural Karnataka Dalit SangharshaSamithi: Inauguration of Jana-pada Chethana, Oppositionleader Motamma, folk artistBanandooru Kempaiah to par-ticipate, Yavanika, Nrupathun-ga Road, 5 pm.

Sahitya Akademi: Readingroom discussion on Folklore -Oral Tradition and ModernResponse, by Prof Veerab-hadrappa of RBENMS College,Tamil writer Ezhil Vendhan,Library Hall, Sahitya Akademi,Southern Regional Office, Cen-tral College Campus, Ambed-kar Veedhi, 3.30 pm.

Shivaranga: Inauguration of‘Shivarangotsava,’ felicitationby I M Vittala Murthy, S G Sid-daramaiah, former presidentof Kannada Pustaka Prad-hikara to participate, stagingof play ‘Gangavatarana,’ di-rected by Rajendra Karanth,Ravindra Kalakshetra, J CRoad, 6 pm.

ReligiousSri Shankara Jayanathi Man-dali: Discourse on ‘VedantaSaara’ by Eshwar Prasad, SriShankara Krupa, 16th Cross,3rd Block, Jayanagar, 6.30 pm.

Srimadananda TheerthaPravachana Samithi: Dis-course on ‘Bhagawad Gita’ byKalya Narasimha Murthac-harya, Sri RaghavendraswamiMutt, 6th Cross, Amarjyothina-gar, 6.30 pm.

Karnataka Haridasa ScientificResearch Centre: Devotionalsongs by H N Kamalamurthy,49, Vijayaranga, 17th Cross,Vijayanagar, 5.30 pm.

ExhibitionsPhotographs by HomaiVyarawalla: Thursday, June30th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.National Gallery of ModernArt, No 49 Manikyavelu Man-sion, Palace Road, The Na-tional Gallery of Modern artis hosting an exhibition oficonic photographs taken byHomai Vyarawalla, India's firstwoman photojournalist, whostarted working in the 1930sand was instrumental in trac-ing the lives and work of po-litical leaders through her lens.

Contemporary Collections @Gallerie Third Eye: Thursday,June 30th, 2011. 10 a.m. to 6p.m. Gallerie Third Eye, No A-1 Epsilon Office Block, YemalurMain Road, Yemalur An exhi-bition of contemporary Indianpaintings by Ram Onkar, Arpi-ta Kar, Bhaskar Chowdhuryand Mini Arora, curated byJasmine Khanna. Group Show@ Sumukha: Thursday, June30th, 2011. 10:30 a.m. to 6p.m. Gallery Sumukha, No24/10, BTS Depot Road, WilsonGarden An exhibition of sculp-tures, paintings and photo-graphs by ten talented artists.

Seven Summer's Monsoons@ Alliance: Thursday, June30th, 2011. 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.Alliance Francaise de Banga-lore, No 108, Off Queens Road,Thimmaiah Road A contem-porary visual art exhibitionby seven Indian artists, illus-trating the theme of summer,through paintings, photogra-phy and an installation.

ShoppingEarring Collection from Bra-cialeto: Thursday, June 30th,2011. 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Col-lage, No 21/1, Wood Street,Ashoknagar Bracialeto pres-ents a new collection of bright-ly coloured earrings.

New Formal Wear Collection:Thursday, June 30th, 2011. 10a.m. to 9 p.m. John PlayersStore, No 48, Commercial

Street, Shirts and trousers incotton and linen, in both reg-ular and slim fits. Availableacross all John Players outlets.

Accessories @ Esprit: Thurs-day, June 30th, 2011. 10 a.m.to 9 p.m. Esprit, No 10 AnandaBhavan, Vittal Mallya Road,A wide range of belts, hand-bags and scarves with a boldand edgy vibe.

New Collection @ Collage:Thursday, June 30th, 2011. 10a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Collage, No21/1, Wood Street, AshoknagarCollage unveils a new rangeof kurtis and dresses fromleading designers includingKrishna Mehta, Manish Arora,Payal Pratap and many more.

Designer dresses by WendellRodricks: Thursday, June 30th,2011. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. West-side, No 77, Commercial Street,A collection of party dressesby Wendell Rodricks in shadesof earth and tan.

Crimson's Annual MonsoonSale: Thursday, June 30th,2011. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. CrimsonArt Gallery, The HatworksBoulevards, No 32, Cunning-ham Road, VasanthnagarPaintings at discount rates,along with an additional offerwhere patrons get 50% offevery second purchase.

Gifts Galore @ GoGifts: Thurs-day, June 30th, 2011. 11 a.m.to 7:30 p.m. GoGifts, No 73Ground Floor, Unit # 116ShreeComplex, St John's Road, Ul-soor A collection of interesting,quirky gifts on sale, for every-one aged between eight toeighty.

Crocs Candy Collection:Thursday, June 30th, 2011. 11a.m. to 9 p.m. Crocs India Re-tail Limited, Mantri Square,No 1, Sampige Road, Mallesh-waram A collection of light-weight, stylish footwear inbright, candy colours.

Annual Clearance Sale:Thursday, June 30th, 2011. 10a.m. to 9 p.m. Brand Factory,No 228 to 232 Rajath Plaza,Old Airport Road, MarathahalliBrand Factory announces itsannual clearance sale, wheremore than 200 brands areavailable at amazing dis-counts.

Celio End of Season Sale:Thursday, June 30th, 2011. 11a.m. to 9 p.m. Celio, BrigadeRoad, Discounts up to 70%on all apparel and accessories.

Eating OutPower Lunch: Thursday, June30th, 2011. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.City Bar Karaoke + Grill, Nowbe connected even during thequick business lunch. Free wi-fi access while you fill up inthe middle of the day. Delec-table starters with a variety ofveg/ non veg main course op-tions along with draught beer.

Summer Special Lunch Of-fers: Thursday, June 30th, 2011.Fava The Mediterranean Rest-aurant, Treat yourself to ahealthy and sumptuous lunch.Two course salad and mezzelunch. Avail buy one get oneoffers on wine and beer.

Lunch Buffet: Thursday, June30th, 2011. noon to 3 p.m.Chamomile, 100 Feet Road,Above Bombay Store, Indi-ranagar Enjoy a wholesomelunch with salads, spreads,rolls, flavoured lavache, livepasta station, main course,desserts, unlimited mocktailsor a drink/ beer/ house wineof your choice. All at Rs.449 +taxes.

Executive Lunch: Thursday,June 30th, 2011. 1 p.m. to 3p.m. Touché, 100 feet Road,Indiranagar, Take your pickfrom a variety of cuisines fora quick executive lunch.Choose from American, Italian,Pan Asian and Continental.Enjoy the five course meal atjust Rs. 349

Themed Dinner Buffets:Thursday, June 30th, 2011.noon 24 @ 43, Crowne PlazaHotel, 43 Hosur Road, Elec-tronic City Add some varietyto the week. Try a new cuisineeveryday. Woks and more onMondays, Mediterranean Par-adise on Tuesdays, BarbequeNights on Wednesdays andTaste of India on Thursdays.

Weekday Lunch Buffet @ManU: Thursday, June 30th,2011. noon to 3 p.m. Man-chester United Restaurant Bar,No 1 KIRA Layout, Hosur MainRoad, Koramangala The Man-chester United Restaurant andBar launches a weekday lunchbuffet priced at Rs 350 plustaxes right from starters todesserts.

'The Kari Culture' at Blue Gin-ger: Thursday, June 30th, 2011.12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. BlueGinger, The Taj West End, 23Race Cource Road, Blue Gingercreates an interesting way tolearn about Vietnamese in-gredients and how to createsome of the popular.

Ambulance service inaugurated Gangadhar Pujar

BU STUDENTS CAN NOW SEE digital answer scripts onlineL Raghunanda

Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Bangalore Universitybecame the first university inthe country to have made avail-able to students their digitisedhandwritten answer scripts. Thestudents can look at their papersand decide whether to apply forrevaluation or not.

To begin with, the serviceshave been made available tobachelor of computer application(BCA) and master of computerapplication (MCA) students, whoappeared for the exams duringMarch-April of this year.

The answer scripts of BCA andMCA students, numberingaround 45,000, took place at Ma-harani Ammanni College. Ofthese, 2,700 students have al-ready applied for revaluation.

With this, the university hopesto make the entire evaluationprocess transparent.

The software for the processeswas provided by Mind Logicxand Bangalore One has pitchedin with its bit as the studentscan pay Rs 50 to view their an-swer scripts.

“The facility will be extendedto cover all students, be it grad-uates or post-graduates, by Oc-tober-November, 2011,” universityvice-chancellor N Prabhudev.

“The university will thenprocess 20 lakh script under dif-ferent streams, be it humanities,commerce or science.

Each student will be given alogin ID and a password so thatthey can look at their answerscripts. etc.

“It is one of the revolutionarymoves by the university. Whetherone wants to get their papers

revaluated or not, they can payRs 50 to view their answer scripts.The IDs and passwords are gen-erated once they pay the fee andsubmit their register number,”

he said. “Then the registrar (evalua-

tion) would secure the exami-nation answer scripts. Mind Log-icx would scan and put them on

the university website. The entireprocess will be handled by theuniversity itself in the future. Atthe time of examination itselfthe students can apply at theexamination centres to view theiranswer scripts.

Prabhu Dev said Mindlogicxhas been asked to train evalua-tors on digitalisation by settingup labs for which infrastructurewill be provided.

He said as of now, only 300evaluators have been trained inthe Digital Valuation System(DVS). Nearly 3,000 evaluatorsneed to be trained and the uni-versity aims to set up 50 labs forthe purpose.

This should put an end toprotests at various university fo-rums on the evaluation process-es, as it would be transparentand is there for everyone to see,Prabhudev said.

Students look at their answer scripts.

Deputy mayor S Harish inaugurates an ambulance service near Sankey Tank this morning.

Sitting in glass house, Gowdashould not throw stones, Naidu

Bangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Those sitting in glasshouses should not throw stonesat others, quipped BJP MP Venka-iah Naidu here this morning.

He was referring to the count-er-allegation by JD(S) supremoH D Deve Gowda to thechargesheet filed by the BJP gov-ernment that revealed the Gowdafamily owning properties of overRs 1,500 crore. “There is onlyone case going on against chiefminister B S Yeddyurappa andthat is before the court, but Gow-da’s family seems to have beeninvolved in a lot of cases of cor-ruption. We have brought outthe charge sheet, let us now waitand see what happens,” he said.

“Gowda and H D Ku-maraswamy should first answerthe charges raised in thechargesheet and then talk aboutthe BJP government.”

Gowda and his family haveamassed such huge wealth. They

have to explain how they ac-quired it, he added.

“Gowda has been seeking theresignation of Yeddyurappa forhis involvement in what theyclaim are corruption charges.Will Gowda let go of his memberof Parliament seat if the chargesare proved against him?” heasked. On Gowda’s fast beforeYeddyurappa’s residence recent-ly, Naidu said, “He is a big manand I am small. What can I com-ment on it.”

He alleged that the JD(S) hasbeen supporting the UPA gov-ernment at the Centre, “whichis mired in scams”. Gowda hasbeen expressing his pity towardsthe corrupt elements in the UPAgovernment.

“What right does he have toraise issues of corruption?” headded.

On the Jan Lokpal bill, he saidthe UPA government has notbothered to consult the opposi-tion on the bill. Let them come

out with the draft proposal andacceptance of it, only then willthe BJP announce its stand on

the anti-corruption bill, he added.The BJP has been discussing

the issue with Gandhian and bill

crusader Anna Hazare regardingthe Lokpal bill, he said.

The government has been

shaken by the Lokpal bill draftcommittee. They have reacheda stage where they cannot digestthe proposals put forth by thecivil society representatives, whoare not elected and not electable.

Sonia Gandhi, who has beenheading the National AdvisoryCommittee, has been showingdouble standards on the Lokpalbill, he criticised.

The UPA government gave ared carpet welcome to BabaRamdev on the first day whenhe arrived at in Delhi with fourcabinet rank minister in atten-dance.

The second day, they came toknow what was in store for themfrom the Baba, he said.

He was the godman the firstday and fraud man the secondday for the UPA government, heridiculed. On the statement ofPrime Minister ManmohanSingh, he said, “How can heclaim to be helpless when he isthe head of the government?”

Chief minister B S Yedyurappa and BJP MP Venkaiah Naidu inuagurate an Artists’ Conven-tion Centre at Karnataka Chitrakala Praishath this morning.

Let CBI probe illegalproperties of CM,

HDK: UgrappaBangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: The illegally acquiredproperties of chief minister B SYeddyurappa and JD(S) statepresident h D Kumaraswamyshould be taken over by the gov-ernment, said senior Congressleader V S Ugrappa here thismorning.

The allegations and thechargesheet of the BJP againstJD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowdaand the allegations of Ku-maraswamy against Yeddyurap-pa should be investigated.

The illegally acquired prop-erties and the way they were ac-quired should be investigatedby the CBI. Not only these two,any case involving the acquisi-tion of properties illegally shouldbe handed over to the CBI, hedemanded.

Only through the investigationof the CBI could the truth bebrought out in all these cases,he said. “Just making allegationswould not serve any purpose.These leaders are making alle-gations to divert the attentionof the people from real issues,”he alleged.

“If these leaders really have a

commitment towards the people,the state government shold firsthand over the case to the CBI,”he demanded.

NICE‑hit farmers sit on day‑long fastBangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Farmers affected bythe Bangalore-Mysore Infrastruc-ture Corridor project, being exe-cuted by the Nandi InfrastructureCorridor Enterprise, continuedto protest against the alleged il-legal encroachments of theirlands by the company. The farm-ers today protested in front ofTown Hall today.

They alleged that nearly 20,193acres of land have been en-croached by the company, butthese documents are not avail-able with the Karnataka HighCourt. They said that it is knownthe company had put in a de-mand for 13,237 acres for theroad project initially. But thegovernment has brought in anotification to acquire 20,945acres. This is a clear violation ofthe original agreement, theyadded. The government has al-ready acquired 7,700 acres ofland and has remained quiet onthe issue. Kodihalli Chan-

drashekar of the Karnataka RajyaRaitha Sangha said, “We wantthe government to conduct aninquiry into illegal land acqui-sition. The government shouldcooperate with us and order theprobe.” “Why does NICE needsuch large tracts of properties?If the court is provided with allthe proper documents it can takea proper decision. The courtshould be given all the detailsof how much property NICE hasacquired and what is the extentof land given by the governmentetc. This will satisfy everyone,”he said. The farmers were sittingon a day-long fast to put forththeir demand. All the farmerswho have lost their lands forNICE peripheral, Ring Road andother projects are protesting, hesaid. When lands are fetchingcrores of rupees per acre, NICEhas acquired lands for as cheapas Rs 2-3 lakh per acre from farm-ers. How the joint developmentprogramme was approved andis being executed, he asked.

Gangadhar Pujar

Farmers affected by NICE land acquistion sit on a day-longfast in front of Town Hall today.

Youth Congprotests against

BSY, HDKBangalore Beat Bureau

Bangalore: Youth Congress work-ers from the city today protest-ed by wearing masks of JD(S)state president H D Ku-maraswamy and chief ministerB S Yeddyurappa here thismorning.

Two Youth Congress workerswore the masks and staged amock fight in front of MahatmaGandhi statue near AnandaRao Circle this morning.

Ba ngalore Youth Congresspresident S Manohar said,“People are fed up with thetwo leaders who are makingallegations of corruptionagainst each other.

Both should realise that theyhold dignified positions andrepresent the people who theyserve. It is a real shame thatthe former chief minister andthe incumbent have dragged

the gods into the whole issue. They have made religion the

scapegoat here.” It is known that the two lead-

ers are involved in massiveswindling, corruption at highlevels and land denotifications.

While Yedyurappa has Rs3,500-crore corruption caseagainst him, Kumaraswamy isfacing a Rs 1,500-crore corrup-tion case.

Both are saying that theywill take the case before theCBI. But will they provide evi-dence to the CBI for the agencyto conduct a proper investiga-tion.

The CBI would have no documents to conduct the in-quiry.

The Congress has a strongervoice as both the JD(S) and BJPhave failed to serve and lookafter the welfare of the people,he said.

Printed and published by B M Arun Kumar vide RNI Registration No. KARENG/2010/33126. Published by SAM Global Media, # 37, 1 Floor, 2nd Main, N. R. Colony, Bangalore - 560 019. Editor: B M Arun Kumar Printed at Lavanya Mudrana, #19, 15th Cross, Thyaarajanagar, Bangalore – 560 028. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Bangalore only.

NEWSThursday, June 30, 2011 4

Gangadhar Pujar

Food inflation falls to 7.78 %for week ended June 18

New Delhi: Food inflation fellto a one-and-a-half month lowof 7.78 per cent for the weekended June 18 on the back ofcheaper vegetables, pulses andpotatoes.

Food inflation, as measuredby the Wholesale Price Index(WPI), stood at 9.13 per cent dur-ing the previous week. It wasover 20 per cent during the com-parable period of June, 2010.

As per data released by theIndian government on Thursday,

vegetables became over 10 percent cheaper year-on-year duringthe seven-day period under re-view.

Prices of pulses also wentdown by 9.50 per cent duringthe week ended June 18, whilepotatoes became 2.39 per centcheaper on an annual basis.

However, prices of other fooditems remained high during theweek.

The latest numbers on pricerise of food items are the lowest

since the week ended May 7,when food inflation stood at 7.47per cent.

It comes a day after PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh saidthat inflation will come downto 6.5 per cent by March-end ifinternational oil prices softenand commodity prices do notrise further.

Headline inflation in the coun-try stood at 9.06 per cent in May.

The latest week-on-week fallof 1.35 percentage points in food

inflation is the sharpest in four-and-half months.

The previous record of a de-cline of over 2 percentage pointshad happened in the first weekof February.

Meanwhile, inflation in overallprimary articles stood at 11.84per cent for the week ended June18, down from 12.62 per cent inthe previous week.

Primary articles have a shareof over 20 per cent in the WPIbasket.

Rain plays spoilsport on 2ndday after Ishantʼs double strikeBridgetown (Barbados): Marlon Samuelsand Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s perseveranceand rain interruptions frustrated India asthe West Indies crawled to 98 for 5 on thesecond day of the second cricket Test here.

Indian paceman Ishant Sharma strucktwice in three balls to reduce the West Indiesto 57 for five in the curtailed morning sessionafter the hosts resumed at an uncomfortable30 for three in reply to India’s first inningstotal of 201 all out.

However, several rain interruptions andsome sensible batting by Samuels (21) andChanderpaul (20) gave India no chance tomake further inroads into the hosts’ battingline up.

The two batsmen added 41 runs for theunconquered sixth wicket and batted to-gether for 19.3 overs on a day when only25.3 overs of play was possible.

The tenor of the day was set early when ashower delayed its start by 45 minutes.There was another break of half an hourafter lunch and the resumption lasted nomore than eight-odd overs.

Heavy rains lashed Kensington Oval inthe second session which forced the umpiresto enforce early tea in the hope of squeezingas much play as possible in the final ses-sion.

That opportunity never arrived. Eventhough it stopped raining after a while,early tea was taken and players even cameout in the final session.

It began raining almost immediately forc-ing players to go back to the pavilion. There-after it was poor light which never allowedthe game to resume.

The most amount of play was possible inthe morning session as West Indies retiredfor lunch at 82 for 5 from 29 overs.

Both the overnight batsmen, RamnareshSarwan (18) and Devendra Bishoo (13), fellprey to Ishant’s bounce with the paceman

returning a spell of 6-2-23-2 in the morning.Despite the precision and pace of Indian

bowlers, both Sarwan and Bishoo stoodtheir ground for the initial half an hour’splay.

Sarwan survived a couple of shouts andBishoo once edged Ishant between the thirdand fourth slip but importantly West Indieshadn’t lost a wicket.

Bishoo’s propensity to fiddle with everydelivery outside off-stump made MahendraSingh Dhoni strengthen the off-side field,

once to the extent that he had all of his nine fielders manning the side of thestumps.

Bishoo finally perished when he wasdrawn to a rising delivery and Virat Kohliat gully caught the chance easily.

A delivery later Ishant struck again, thistime Sarwan falling to a delivery which keptcruelly low and found him in front of hisstumps.

Sarwan is now without a half century inhis last 12 Test innings. PTI

I am not capable enough tocompete with Big B: Aamir

Mumbai: Two big films – AamirKhan’s upcoming home produc-tion ‘Delhi Belly’ and megastarAmitabh Bachchan’s ‘BbuddahHoga Tera Baap’ – are slated tohit the screens tomorrow but theactor-producer says he does notconsider Big B as competition.

“I think every film has itsshare of space in the audience.I am a huge fan of AmitabhBachchan and I don’t think I ameven on the same platform ashim. I don’t sense any competi-tion with him. In fact, I feel I amnot capable enough to competewith him,” Aamir said.

Produced by Aamir Khan Pro-ductions, ‘Delhi Belly’, an adultcomedy, stars nephew ImranKhan, Vir Das, Kunal Roy Kapur,Poorna Jagannathan and Shenaz

Treasuryvala.‘Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap’,

produced by AB Corp, starsAmitabh, Prakash Raj, HemaMalini, Raveena Tandon, CharmyKaur, Minissha Lamba and Sonal

Chauhan in the lead roles.Interestingly, both Aamir and

Big B share similar opinion aboutthe fate of their films.

Recently, Big B had said onhis blog that, “We make films

in this very homogenous industrynot to compete or destroy orwage war with our compatri-ots...Aamir and his productioncompany are much bigger thanme and my AB Corp in commer-cial standing.”

To which Aamir had said, “He(Amitabh) is being generous tosay so. But I must say I am ahuge fan of him. I feel he ismuch bigger as an actor. He is abigger brand. I wish ‘BbuddahHoga Terra Baap’ to do ten timesbetter than ‘Delhi Belly’.” In ‘Del-hi Belly’ Aamir will be seen in aretro look of the 1980s disco erain an item song -- ‘I HateYou...Like I Love You..’ Whilein ‘Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap’actress Raveena will be seen do-ing an item song ? ‘Main Chandi-

Bus driverʼsnegligence

costs lifeBangalore Beat Burau

Mysore: Chennabasavaiah (76),a resident of Ramakrishna Nagarwho fell down while boarding aKSRTC bus on June 28, died todaymorning at K R Hospital.

The deceased was trying toboard the bus when the bus driv-er negligently started and movedthe vehicle. A complaint wasregistered against the bus driverin N R Police Station.

Public gathered at the time ofthe incident and protestedagainst KSRTC city drivers manyof whom are driving in rash andnegligent manner in Mysore City.

Teenagegirl raped,priest held

Muzaffarnagar: A teenage girlwas allegedly abducted andraped by the priest of a localtemple in Banat town here, policesaid today. The 35-year-old priesthas been arrested and sent to 14days of judicial custody by alocal court here, police said.

According to the prosecution,Balkishan had abducted the 17-year-old girl and raped her foreight months after which shebecame pregnant.

On a compliant filed by thegirl's father, the police arrestedthe priest from Gurgaon(Haryana) where he was livingwith the abducted girl. BBMP contract workers protested demanding better remuneration for them today.

BBMP workers protest

Traders from Malleswaram protest against the proposed decision to shift Malleswarammarket to a new location, at Town Hall this morning.

Malleswaram tradrers want to stay putWomen protest against price hike in LPG cylinder at Navarang theatre this morning.

Too dear!

Ishant Sharma is congratulated by teammates after taking the wicket of West In-dies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan during the second day of the second cricket Test

in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Calcutta HC directs Bengalgovt to file affidavit

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Courttoday directed the West Bengalgovernment to file an affidavitin connection with Tata Motor'spetition challenging the SingurRehabilitation and DevelopmentAct, 2011 by July 8.

Justice Saumitra Pal directedthe government to state its op-position by an affidavit to thepetition of Tata Motors and alsoasked Tata Motors Ltd to file areply to that by July 12.

Hearing on the main petitionchallenging the Singur Act willbe held on July 14, Justice Palsaid.

The Supreme Court yesterdaydirected the state government not to proceed withhandover or return of land tofarmers in Singur until furtherorders by the Calcutta High Courtwhich is hearing the petitionfiled by Tata Motors against theSingur Act which was enacted

on June 21.A vacation bench of the

Supreme Court, comprising Jus-tices P Sathasivam an A K Pat-naik, said they were passing a'limited interim order' and that the main matter against thestate government on the issue of possession and distribution of land to original owners was pendingbefore the Calcutta High Court.PTI

Hawkers in Mysore

protestagainst eviction

Bangalore Beat Bureau

Mysore: Hundreds of hawkerswho lost their business due toeviction held protest againstMysore City Corporation todaymorning.

The hawkers under the lead-ership of MLA Shankarlinge Gow-da held protest in front of thesuburban bus stand demandingthat they be given alternative fa-cility to carry on their business-es.

The hawkers led by Jai BharatJana Jagruthi Sangha demandedthat the city corporation and thedistrict administration shouldprovide shops in the newly con-structed suburban bus stand.Their means to livelihood hasbecome uncertain following thecorporation authorities drive toevict street hawkers recently.

Symposiumon cognitive

sciencesBangalore Beat Bureau

Mysore: The all-India instituteof speech and hearing (AIISH)has organised a two day nationalsymposium on ‘exploring areasof research in cognitive sciences’which was inaugurated here thismorning.

Dr Somnath Vasudev, consult-ant neurologist, BGS Apollo Hospital, Mysore inaugurated the symposium and released the CD on abstracts of papers tobe presented during the 2-dayevent.

Dr D S Guru, professor of com-puter science, University of Mysore, Prof S R Savithri, director AIISH and Dr K S Prema, professor of languagepathology were present on theoccasion.

US strongly supports NSGclean waiver for India

New Delhi: The United Statestoday said it “strongly and ve-hemently” supports the NSGclean waiver for India andhoped that the civil nucleardeal between the two countrieswill continue to move in a pos-itive direction.

“I want to say that the USand the Obama Administrationstrongly and vehemently sup-port the clean waiver for India.The 123 civil nuclear legislation

also underscores our supportfor India in this debate that isgoing on and our law alsopoints to the clean waiver forIndia,” US ambassador to IndiaTimothy J Roemer told reportershere.

On his last day in office here,the US envoy was asked aboutthe American support for Indiato get the clean waiver fromthe Nuclear Supplier’s Group.

The 46-member Nuclear Sup-

pliers Group(NSG), the elite nu-clear club, last week decidedto push for more stringentnorms that govern technologytransfer for reprocessing tech-nology.

This decision has raised con-cerns about its impact on thelandmark civil nuclear deal In-dia signed with the US.

“With India’s commitmentand as they look to ratify theConvention on Supplementary

Compensation for Nuclear Dam-age (CSC) and they work closelywith the US companies, I amhopeful that the civil nuclearagreement will continue tomove in a positive direction,”he added.

There have been indicationsthat India was in touch withNSG and that the recent deci-sion will not adversely impactthe India-specific agreementwith NSG.

Bilkis Bano case: Bombay HCrejects bail pleas of convicts

Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt today rejected bail pleasof the seven convicts in the 2002Bilkis Bano gang-rape case afterobserving that it was a “seriousoffence”.

“Considering the seriousnessand gravity of the case, the ac-cused cannot be released onbail till the final disposal oftheir appeals against conviction,” a division bench of Justices N H Patil and Mridula Bhatkar observed.

All the seven accused were

sentenced to life imprisonmentby a trial court in 2008 followingwhich they moved HC seekingbail pending disposal of the ap-peals.

According to prosecution, on March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano’sfamily was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village, about250 km from Ahmedabad, dur-ing the post-Godhra riots.

Eight members of her familywere killed and Bilkis was gang-raped, while six other membersof her family went missing.

“The accused are facing mur-

der and rape charges which areserious offences. At this stagethe accused cannot be released,”Justice Patil observed.

The High Court has admittedthe appeals of the accusedagainst the conviction and alsothe CBI’s appeal seeking deathpenalty for three of the sevenconvicts.

The trial in the case had beentransferred to a court in Mumbaiby the Supreme Court followingallegations that the witnessescould be influenced in Gujarat.PTI

BHUPENHAZARIKA

hospitalisedMumbai: Music maestro BhupenHazarika has been admitted tothe intensive care unit of a hos-pital in suburban Andheri hereafter he complained of breathingproblems.

The 85-year-old was hospi-talised yesterday after he sufferedbreathing problems. He was treat-ed immediately. He is stable anddoing fine, hospital sources toldPTI today.

The maestro has been kept inthe ICU and is under observationbut is out of danger, the sourcessaid.

Hazarika is a noted poet, music composer, singer, actor,journalist, author and filmmakerand has been decorated withseveral prestigious awards in-cluding Dadasaheb PhalkeAward, Padma Bhushan andSangeet-Natak Academy Ratnaaward. PTI

Gumla (Jharkhand): Suspected Maoistskilled a self-styled area commander of thePeople?s Liberation Front of India (PLFI),an ultra-left faction, at Kolambi-Dipatolivillage in Gumla district.

Police said the PLFI hardcore, identifiedas Chhotka Gop, had been to a relative?s

house yesterday when he was confrontedby the armed men, who fired at Gop whilehe tried to run away.

Police were investigating whether thekillers belonged to the rival faction of CPI(Maoist) as both the groups were engagedin a turf war in Gumla district.

PLFI ACTIVISTSHOT DEAD BY

'MAOISTS'

Dayanidhimeets PM ahead

of reshuffleNew Delhi: Union minister and DMK represen-tative Dayanidhi Maran today met Prime MinisterManmohan Singh here.

It was not clear as to what transpired duringthe meeting which came ahead of the expectedreshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers andamidst doubts over his continuance in the Cab-inet. Maran, the Textiles Minister, has recentlycome under scrutiny over his role in the 2Gspectrum issue. He was the Telecom Minister inUPA-1 when the 2G licences were allocated.

Srinagar: More than 18,000 pilgrims were Thursday allowed to move towards theAmarnath cave shrine in Jammuand Kashmir on the second dayof the annual pilgrimage, officialssaid.

"A total of 15,463 pilgrims wereallowed to proceed towards theholy cave from north Kashmir'sBaltal base camp this morning,"a senior paramilitary officer toldIANS on phone from Baltal.

Around 3,000 pilgrims wereallowed to proceed towards the

cave shrine from south Kashmir'sNunwan (Pahalgam) base campThursday, said a senior policeofficer from Pahalgam.

Hundreds of buses, taxis andprivate cars carrying pilgrimsfrom different parts of the countrycontinued arriving here.

In its advisory issued for the pilgrims, the local weather office Thursday forecastcloudy skies with one or twospells of rain or thundershowersalong both the Pahalgam andBaltal routes.

Heavy traffic jams on the Srinagar-Baltal road, especiallyfrom Ganderbal town towards the base camp, have af-fected normal life in many areas."It has taken us six hours to ne-gotiate the heavy traffic jam fromBaltal to Ganderbal town. It isquite frustrating," said SuhailAhmad, a local resident.

Locals in Haripora village,which is adjacent to the Manigamtransit camp of the yatra, also complained of noise pollu-tion.

18,000 pilgrims proceedtowards Amarnath cave

Beyond BeatThursday, June 30, 2011

Bangalore Beat Bureau

The Union textile ministry has comeout with a new policy to give boostto the textile and jute industrythe country. It has restructured theTechnology Upgradation Fund

Scheme (TUFS) that will be operational tillMarch 2012.

TUFS, which was launched in 1999,has picked up momentum over the lastthree years. The scheme was revised in2004, 2007 and this year.

Under TUFS, subsidies of Rs 11,196 crorehave been released. Of that, Rs 8,883 crorewas in the last three years alone. TUFS hascatalysed investments of Rs 2.08 lakhcrore during its operational lifespan of 11years.

“Our textile and jute industries need tobe in the forefront. In recent years, the In-dian industry has come under severe com-petition from China, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Far-East, Middle-East and European coun-tries. Karnataka contributes more than 39percent of the country’s production,” saidD A Venkatesh, textile commissioner anddirector of handloom and textiles, Kar-nataka.

“There are lakhs of entrepreneurs andemployees who are dependent on thismassive industry. The best way to keeppace with the developments is throughtechnological upgradation. That is thereason we have taken the lead in revisingTUFS. This year and the last, we have be-gun independent evaluation of the schemeby a professional consultant, Credit Ratingand Information Service of India Limited(CRISIL),” he said.

TUFS has facilitated an increase in pro-ductivity, cost and waste reduction, and im-proved quality across the value chain.However, the gains made are varied acrosssegments, with the processing and pow-erloom sectors emerging as major areas ofconcern, he said.

“To ensure optimum value additionacross the value chain, the evaluationstudy recommended that TUFS may becompletely restructured to channelise in-vestments towards hitherto low-focus ar-eas. Based on the findings of the evaluationstudy, the government took a policy deci-sion to completely restructure the scheme,”he said.

Under TUFS, textile and jute manufac-turers will benefit in areas of technologyupgradation of their looms and getting sub-sidy to purchase the machinery.

TUFS has several advantages, includingloan at low interest to purchase new machinery, extended duration for repayment of loan and accessibility to obtain loan from leading nationalisedbanks and cooperatives.

Under the revised TUFS, the textilesministry will monitor from the stage of iden-tifying those units which have appliedand whether they would bind by the com-pliance rules put forward for loan repay-ment etc.

The small units that have been operat-ing partially or completely shut downcould benefit immensely through thescheme.

The segments that will be covered underthe restructured TUFS will be cotton gin-ning and pressing, silk reeling and twist-ing, wool scouring, combing, synthetic fil-

ament yarn texturising, crumping andtexturising, viscose staple fibre (VSF) andviscose filament yarn (VFY), processing offibres, yarns, fabrics, garments and made-ups, jute softening and carding, jute draw-ing, spinning and weaving, knitting ofjute blends and jute products.

Highlights of TUFS 2011 Technology upgradation in weaving by

providing higher capital subsidy for es-

tablishment of new shuttle-less looms.Reducing the repayment period to sev-

en years, with two-year moratorium topromote financial efficiency.

Under the scheme, loan will be provid-ed at 4 percent for those who wish to keepthe same spinning machinery. For thoseaiming at replacement or modernisation ofspinning machinery, loan will be provid-ed at 5 percent interest. Those units com-

ing under weaving, knitting, processingand garmenting too will get the loan at 5percent interest.

Power loom units and independentpreparatory units can avail of 20 percentmargin money subsidy under the restruc-tured TUFS on investment in compatiblespecified machinery, subject to a capitalceiling of Rs 5 crore with a ceiling on mar-gin money subsidy of Rs 60 lakh.

Common Effluent Treatment Plant(CETP) and other investments, like energy-saving devices, in-house R&D, will not beeligible under the restructured TUFS.

The scheme will cover only automaticshuttle-less looms of 10 years’ vintage andwith a residual life of minimum 10 years.The value cap of the automatic shuttle-lesslooms will be decided by the technical ad-visory cum monitoring committee.

Broccoli can help beat

AlzheimerʼsLondon: The key to beat Alzheimer’s and other de-generative diseases may lie in the humble Broc-coli, scientists say.

Researchers at the Dundee University in Scot-land found that sulforaphane, a chemical derivedfrom the vegetable, can help keep the brain sharpinto old age.

They hope that a drug based on sulforaphane,which is also found in rocket, Brussels sprouts andcabbages, can help kick-start the body’s own pro-tective or antioxidant mechanisms which will pro-tect vital brain cells from being attacked and de-stroyed by free radicals, the Daily Mail reported.

Anti-oxidants, such as vitamins C and E, can“mop up” the attackers, but are of limited use inthe brain, the researchers said.

They believe that taking the chemical in pill formis likely to be more beneficial than simply eatingbowl after bowl of broccoli.

This is because not everyone makes the sameamount of sulforaphane, with some people mak-ing 10 times less than other despite eating the sameamount of greens.

Study author Dr John Sharkey said: “For somepeople, eating large amounts of broccoli may havethe biological effects we are looking for. But formany people, it won’t.”

In a two-year study, Dr Sharkey plans to seewhether the chemical slows or halts the progres-sion of Alzheimer’s in mice genetically engi-neered to develop the disease.

The preliminary nature of the work meansthat even if it is successful, any sulforaphane-baseddrug is at least a decade from the market.

Similar drugs could also help tackle Parkinson?sdisease, stroke and even cancer, said Dr Sharkey.

“Research is the only answer to dementia andwe hope our work will open up new areas of re-search that could prove key to defeatingAlzheimer’s disease.”

Alzheimer’s other forms of dementia affectthousands of people worldwide and the numberis expected to double in a generation as the pop-ulation ages.

Existing pills such as Aricept can delay theprogress of Alzheimer’s, but their failure to tack-le the underlying cause in the brain means thattheir effect quickly wears off and the disease soontakes its devastating course. PTI

Genes in plantsthat can be usedto produce seeds

identifiedHyderabad: In a development that has potentialto revolutionise agriculture, the Centre for Cellu-lar and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has madeprogress in identification of genes in plants thatcan be used to produce seeds that are genetical-ly identical clones.

This phenomenon of clonal seed formation,known as apomixis, occurs naturally in a few plantspecies, CCMB director Dr Ch Mohan Rao said.

The CCMB scientists have embarked upon en-gineering apomixes into food crops, Rao said,adding it would take 4 to 5 years of research.

This is a key finding as it shows, for the first time,that the equivalent of apomixis can be achievedby manipulating known genes that function dur-ing normal sexual reproduction and cell division.The study suggests strategies for engineeringapomixis in food crops, he said.

Apomixis has two functional components. Thefirst is avoidance of a specialised type of cell di-vision called meiosis that occurs during germ cellformation and gives rise to egg and sperm cells thatcontain only one set of genetic information (chro-mosomes), starting from a cell with two sets (oneset comes from the mother and one from the fa-ther).

The avoidance of meiosis, known as apomeio-sis, results in the formation of egg cells that con-tain two sets of information: exactly the same setsthat are present in the parent plant, he said.

The second component of apomixis, known asparthenogenesis, is the ability of the egg cell to de-velop into an embryo and eventually a seed,without the need to be fertilised by a sperm cellcoming from the pollen, the CCMB director said.

GIVING BOOST TO JUTE,TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Guzzling diet drinks can make you fatter

London: Diet drinks may be a wisechoice for those who are health con-scious, but a new study says that peoplewho guzzle them tend to get fatter thanthose who take normal full-sugar fizzydrinks.

The 10-year study of almost 500 menand women linked low-calorie softdrinks with bulging waistlines – evenwhen taken in small quantities.

Those who downed two or more dietfizzy drinks a day saw their waistbandsexpand at five times the rate of those whonever touched the stuff, according to re-searchers at the University of Texas.

Prof Helen Hazuda, who led the study,said diet sodas and artificial sweetenersmay foster a sweet tooth, distort appetiteand even damage key brain cells. So,treating them as healthy alternativesmay be “ill advised”.

She was quoted by the ‘Daily Mail’ assaying, “They may be free of calories butnot of consequences.”

For the study, the researchers trackedthe health and habits of 474 adults foran average of nine and a half years.

They then compared growth in waist-line of those who consumed diet drinkswith others including some who buyfizzy drinks. Overall, those who favoureddiet drinks saw their waists expand 70per cent faster. But “frequent users” – de-fined as those who drink two or morecans a day – saw a 500 per cent greaterincrease in girth. .

Significantly, the results still stoodeven when other factors such as exercise,

social class, education and smokingwere taken into account, the AmericanDiabetes Association conference heard.

“These results suggest that amidst thenational drive to reduce chronic con-sumption of sugar-sweetened drinks,policies that would promote consump-tion of diet soft drinks may have unin-tended deleterious side-effects,” Hazu-da said.

A related second study, involvingsome of the same researchers and car-ried out on mice, linked sweetener as-partame with the sort of damage in the

pancreas that can occur early in diabetes.The researchers said they think arti-

ficial sweeteners may distort appetite,leaving us craving extra-sweet and un-healthy treats. They may also damagebrain cells involved in feelings of full-ness, while the lack of real sugar couldalso stop us from feeling full.

Sharon Fowler, who was involved inboth pieces of research, said: “Artificialsweeteners could have the effect of trig-gering appetite but unlike regular sug-ars they don’t deliver something that willsquelch the appetite.” PTI

London: Beer buffs pleasetake note: You are more like-ly to be bitten by mosquitoes,as scientists have found thatthe insects are 15 per centmore likely to fly towardshumans after they have con-sumed a pint or two.

A team, led by scientists atthe IRD Research Centre inMontpellier, France, foundthat insects are more at-tracted to odour and breathchanges caused by alcohol.

The scientists believe thatmosquitoes could have learntto associate the beer odourwith an increased lack of defensiveness againstbites from boozy drinkers.

The findings, they hope, will be used to helpprevent malaria, which is spread by mosqui-toes and kills 780,000 people worldwide everyyear, the Daily Mail reported.

The researchers tested their theory on 2,500Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes in BurkinoFaso, west Africa.

They recruited 25 volunteers, aged between20 and 43, and gave them one litre of their lo-cal brew, Dolo, before seeing how many mos-quitoes would fly upwind towards them.

The insects, fed into a downwind box inbatches of 50, were given the option of flyingtowards traps containing either open air or thehuman odour of the participant.

It was found that 47 per cent of mosquitoeswere tempted to fly up into either trap after beerconsumption – compared to just 35 per cent be-fore beer.

And 65 per cent headed for the trap havingthe human odour after beer, rather than just 50

per cent before it.Writing in the journal Plos

One, they said: “To the bestof our knowledge, this studyprovides the first evidencethat beer consumption in-creases human attractive-ness to An.gambiae, which isthe principal vector of malar-ia in Africa.”

The researchers wrote:“The increased attractive-ness following beer con-sumption found here raisescrucial issues regardingstrategic planning for malar-ia control.

“Recent models have stressed that localmalaria control can only be reached if peoplewho are bitten the most can be identified.

“By ascertaining beer consumption as arisk factor, our study has identified a potentialunderlying cause of heterogeneous biting,and hence provides insights into the feasibil-ity of targeted interventions.”

The scientists concluded that not only did themosquitoes’ attraction to humans increaseafter beer, but so did their stimulation to fly upinto either trap.

They conducted the same tests before and af-ter volunteers had drunk one litre of water – butfound minimal difference between the two.

Experts also dismissed a commonly-held linkbetween higher body temperatures and high-er attractiveness – as the beer consumption re-sulted in decreased temperatures.

They ordered that further tests be done af-ter warning that alcohol could compromise thehealth of humans against parasites and dis-eases. PTI

The competition from China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries in textile andjute industry is increasing by the day. To promote the industry in the country, the

government has restructured the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) tohelp entrepreneurs, says L Raghunanda

Mosquitoes bite beer buffs more

No Deal with London: TorontoStock Exchange

Toronto: The Toronto Stock Ex-change (TSE) has terminated itsproposed merger with the Lon-don Stock Exchange as two-thirdsof its shareholders didn’t backthe $3.7 billion merger agree-ment.

In a statement here, the TMXGroup, which owns the Torontoexchange, said only 54 percentof its shareholders who had votedby proxy before Wednesday’sdeadline supported the deal,falling short of the two-thirdsrequired in a vote scheduled forThursday.

The two stock exchanges hadannounced in February to mergeto create a new global mega-bourse with offices in Torontoand London for trading stocks,derivatives and other financialassets.

But the merger proposal madeCanadian banks, pension fundsand the government of Ontarioprovince (whose capital is Toron-to) jittery as they feared that themerger could dilute Toronto’simportance as a major marketand banking centre in NorthAmerica.

The banks and pension fundsbanded together under the MapleGroup and launched a hostilebid for the Toronto Stock Ex-change (TSE) in May.

But the stock exchange reject-ed their bid and set June 30 forshareholders’ annual meetingto decide the merger issue.

But now for terminating themerger agreement, the Torontoexchange will pay a $10 million

expense fee to the Londonbourse.

As required by the agreement,the Toronto exchange will alsopay a further $29 million fee tothe London stock exchange if itaccepts acquisition proposal bythe rival Maple Group whose bidsoured the merger deal.

In London, Xavier Rolet, chiefexecutive officer of the LondonStock Exchange Group (LSEG),said, “We are clearly disappoint-ed that, despite a majority ofboth LSEG and TMX Group share-holders voting for our recom-mended merger, the two-thirdsapproval threshold for TMXGroup shareholders was not metand hence the merger will nownot proceed.

“We believe the merger wouldhave been a unique opportunityfor TMX Group shareholders to be partners in a truly international group, co-located in Toronto and London, focused on growth and oppor-tunity.’’

The 150-year-old Toronto StockExchange is the biggest resource(energy and mining) leader, with about 1,500 companies list-ed on it. IANS

NEWS & FEATURESThursday, June 30, 2011 6

La Toya Jackson waves to photographers before a signing eventfor her new book Starting Over in LosAngeles. The memoir chronicles her

relationship with her late brotherMichael Jackson as well as other

aspects of her life.

AP-PTI

world briefs

Taliban urged to renounce

violenceKabul: Religious scholars from acrossAfghanistan have urged the Taliban to stopviolence and join the peace process duringa meeting to discuss their role in bringingstability to the war-torn country.

Hundreds of clerics from the restiveAfghan provinces, including Khost, Paktia,Paktika, Ghazni, Logar, Maidan Wardakand Kabul, gathered to discuss the role ofreligious scholars in the establishment ofpeace in Afghanistan, as well as in the rec-onciliation of insurgents.

“The ‘ulema’ (the community of Muslimscholars) should not allow anyone to createanarchy because it is their responsibilityto work for the moral strength necessaryto build a sound society,” the Pajhwoknews agency Wednesday quoted MaulviAbdul Hakim Munib, a participant, as say-ing.

Minister of Hajj and Religious AffairsMohammad Yousuf Niazi said that religiousscholars are capable of finding a commonsolution to the ongoing conflict in the coun-try that has lasted over 30 years.

The clerics gathered in the wake of theTaliban terrorist attack on the heavily-guarded landmark InterContinental hotelin Kabul yesterday that left at least 21 peopledead.

China to buy88 planes

from AirbusBeijing: China has signed an agreementwith aircraft giant Airbus to buy 88 planesof the A-320 family, an official said.

According to the deal signed in BerlinTuesday, the China Aviation Supplies (CAS)company will buy 46 aircraft, and the re-maining 42 will be delivered to the ICBCFinancial Leasing Co, a subsidiary of theIndustrial and Commerce Bank of China,Xinhua reported.

The A-320 family is made up of the A-318, A-319, A-320 and A-321.

Airbus has secured more than 7,000 or-ders for the A-320 family worldwide, andmore than 4,700 planes have already beendelivered to over 330 clients across theglobe. A total of 575 A-320 aircraft are oper-ated in China by 13 airline companies.

Cardiac surgeondies minutes afterpatientʼs surgery

Rome: An Italian cardiac surgeon has diedminutes after he completed a complicatedoperation on an elderly patient at a clinicnear Milan. Before the operation, VincenzoCapacchione, 49, complained of chest painbut managed to successfully carry out thefour-hour surgery on a 70-year-old patientwho was admitted to a clinic in a criticalcondition.

The surgeon, who had three daughters,died after the patient was taken away fromthe operating room.

“On that morning he thought only ofsaving the patient. He behaved like a realdoctor,” one of his colleagues said.

The autopsy results are not immediatelyknown but Capacchione is thought to havedied of an aortic rupture Saturday, accordingto local media reports Wednesday.

US court asked tostop execution

of Mexican manEl Paso (US): Defence attorneys for a Mex-ican national sentenced to death in Texashave asked the US Supreme Court to granta stay of his July 7 execution.

The petition, for writ of certiorari and astay motion submitted Tuesday by Leal’slegal team, argues that the state of Texasshould not be allowed to violate HumbertoLeal Garcia’s constitutional rights, nor im-pinge upon the institutional interests ofthe US Congress and the executive branchin a “race to execution”.

That request also cites an “overwhelmingpublic interest” in ensuring that the USgovernment complies with a 2004 orderfrom the International Court of Justice (ICJ)to review the death sentences of 51 Mexicansthen awaiting execution in Texas.

In that March 31, 2004, ruling, the ICJsaid Texas had violated the rights of Lealand other Mexican nationals by failing toinform them of their right to consular as-sistance under the Vienna Convention.

The Mexican government, in a separate“friend of the court” brief on Tuesday, in-formed the high court that it has been a“forceful advocate” for US citizens detainedin Mexico and urged its neighbour to complywith its international treaty obligations.

Wonder drug could kill all types of cancerLondon: A breast cancer wonder drugcould be turned into a universalweapon against tumours. NewcastleUniversity researchers said a familyof cancer drugs, known as PARP in-hibitors, affect the way tumour cellsrepair themselves. These inhibitorstarget hereditary forms of breast canceras well as ovarian prostate cancer andpancreatic tumours with the samerogue gene, the journal Nature Medi-cine reports. The drugs exploit the“Achilles heel” of hereditary forms ofbreast cancer. This is caused by a flawin a gene called BRCA1, which limitsthe cells’ ability to repair damage totheir DNA, Daily Mail reported.

Healthy cells have two ways ofpatching up damage – which allowsthem to breed, grow and spread - butcells in BRCA tumours have only one.

PARP inhibitors block this remaining

pathway, stopping the tumour cellsfrom multiplying, eventually leadingthem to die. Some breast, ovarian andprostate tumours have flawed BRCAgenes - but account for a small pro-

portion of all cancers.The research would allow the drugs

to be used on tumours which do nothave this genetic flaw, by effectivelyrecreating the defect.

In experiments on mice with lungtumours, the researchers showed thatblocking a molecule called Cdk1 alsostopped DNA repair. When the animalswere given a PARP inhibitor, it suc-cessfully shrunk their cancer.

Nicola Curtin of the university said:“Blocking Cdk1 compromises DNA re-pair in cancer cells, making them sen-sitive to PARP inhibitors.”

“We were also able to show thatthis approach only targeted cancercells. Now we need to develop an ef-fective drug that can block Cdk1, somore patients can benefit from treat-ment with PARP inhibitors. It couldbe widely applicable, possibly uni-versally,” she said. Lesley Walker fromCancer Research UK, which fundedthe research, said: “We could have apowerful new tool to treat cancer pa-tients.” IANS

Radio makesus happier

than TV, webLondon: Tuning in to the goodold radio makes people happierand gives them higher energylevels than watching TV or brows-ing the internet, a new studyhas found.

In the British study, based ona survey, radio came out top,beating both TV and online, withrespondents recording a 100 per-cent lift in happiness and 300percent boost to their energy lev-els when listening to a radioshow.

Watching TV and surfing theweb also boosts people’s happi-ness and energy levels, but failedto come close to the positiveeffect radio listening has onBritons’ well-being, ‘The DailyTelegraph’ reported.

The study found that listeningto the radio increases people’shappiness levels nearly twice asmuch as watching TV does andgives them four times the amountof perceived energy.

Similarly radio trumped peo-ple’s feelings when online, es-pecially in the energy stakes.Those listening to radio said that

they felt three times more ener-getic than they did when brows-ing the web.

A separate part of the studyalso used brain scans to furthermonitor people’s reactions to ra-dio.

Having monitored the waveactivity in six persons’ brains(three men and three women),the results showed radio stimu-lates positive brain engagementlevels and they are more respon-sive to audio adverts precededby editorial content.

“People are the happiest andmost energetic when listeningto radio. It plays an importantemotional role in people’s lives,”said Mark Barber, planning di-rector at the Radio AdvertisingBureau which commissioned theresearch.

“People use radio as a lifestylesupport system and to makethemselves feel better about theirlives.

Our latest research highlightsthe immense potential of radioto influence emotions,” he added.PTI

Binge drinking leadsto brain damage

Washington: It’s considered arite of passage among youngpeople -- acting out their inde-pendence through heavy, episod-ic drinking. But a new study saysbinge drinking among adoles-cents and young adults couldcause serious damage to theirdeveloping brains.

Tim McQueeny, doctoral stu-dent in psychology at the Uni-versity of Cincinnati, examinedthe brain’s grey matter that per-forms the function of thinking,receiving and transmitting mes-sages.

Brain scans of a group of week-end binge drinkers, aged 18 to25 years, found that binge-drink-ing, (four or more drinks at onetime for females, five or moredrinks for males), was linked tocortical-thinning of the pre-frontal cortex, according to aCincinnati statement.

This section of the brain han-dles paying attention, planning

and making decisions, process-ing emotions and controlling im-pulses leading to irrational be-haviour.

“We have seen evidence thatbinge drinking is associated withreduced integrity in the whitematter, the brain’s highways thatcommunicate neuron messaging,but alcohol may affect the greymatter differently than the whitematter,” he says.

The pilot study examined

whether the researchers couldsee a relationship between greymatter thickness and binge drink-ing among college-aged youngadults. They found that greaternumber of drinks per binge isassociated with cortical thinning.

The findings affect a significantpopulation. About 42 percent ofyoung American adults between18 and 25 are reported to haveengaged in binge drinking. IANS

Low body fat is no protection

against heart riskWashington: A lower body fat level may not alwayslower your risk for heart disease and diabetes, re-searchers say.

Douglas P Kiel and David Karasik, researchers atHarvard Medical School, identified a gene linked withless body fat, but also with a higher risk of type 2 dia-betes and heart disease, examples of so-called “meta-bolic diseases”.

“We’ve uncovered a truly fascinating genetic storyand, when we found the effect of this gene, we werevery intrigued by the unexpected finding,” says Kiel,senior scientist and professor of medicine at Harvard.

“People, particularly men, with a specific form ofthe gene are both more likely to have lower percentbody fat, but also to develop heart disease and type 2diabetes,” the journal Nature Genetics quoted Kiel assaying.

“In simple terms, it is not only overweight individualswho can be predisposed for these metabolic diseases.

“Some collections of fat, such as the kind locatedjust under the skin, may actually be less harmfulthan the type located in the abdominal cavity, whichmay increase the risk of developing metabolic disease,”Kiel said, according to a Harvard statement.

Investigators examined the genomes of more than75,000 people to look for the genes that determinebody fat percentage. They found strong evidence fora gene, called IRS1, to be linked with having lessbody fat.

On further study, they found that this gene alsoleads to having unhealthy levels of cholesterol andblood glucose.

The researchers speculate that people with thisgene variant are less able to store fat safely under theskin and may, therefore, store fat elsewhere in thebody, where it may interfere with normal organfunction.

All observations were more pronounced in menthan in women and, indeed, many apparently leanmen still carry too much abdominal fat. IANS

US aims to destroyQaida core in Pak

Washington: To destroy the al-Qaida,the US needs to dismantle its core inthe tribal regions of Pakistan and preventits ability to re-establish a safe havenin the Pakistan-Afghanistan region, asenior US official has said.

“We aim to render the heart of Qaidaincapable of launching attacks againstour homeland, our citizens, or our allies,as well as preventing the group from

inspiring its affiliates and adherents todo so,” John Brennan, assistant to thepresident for homeland security, said.

“And we seek nothing less than theutter destruction of this evil that callsitself al-Qaida,” he said, expanding onthe White House counter terrorism strat-egy at the John Hopkins University PaulH Nitze School of Advanced InternationalStudies. Acknowledging that US rela-

tionship with Pakistan is not withouttension, he said: “We’re now workingwith our Pakistani partners to overcomedifferences and continue our effortsagainst our common enemies.”

“It is essential that we do so. As frus-trating as this relationship can some-times be, Pakistan has been critical tomany of our most significant successesagainst al-Qaida,” he said. PTI

Revealed: How drugsbeat malaria

Washington: Scientists claim tohave for the first time revealedthe exact mechanism by whichanti-malarial drugs kill the malar-ia parasite.

A team at La Trobe Universitysays its research also helps inunderstanding how these drugsare developing worrying resist-ance to a pathogen that killsmore than 800,000 childrenworldwide each year.

Team leader Prof Leann Tilleysays that the research, publishedin ‘Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science’ journal,points to new ways of boostingthe action of anti- malarial drugsto overcome this drug resistanceproblem.

Plasmodium falciparum is themost pathogenic human malariaparasite.

It afflicts more than 200 millionpeople worldwide. Treatment re-lies heavily on combination ther-apies, including artemisinin drug,extracted from the wormwoodherb.

“Recent reports of decreasedclinical effectiveness of

artemisinin-based drugs are ex-tremely concerning. It is thereforecritical to understand the wayartemisinin works so we canovercome the pathogen’s resist-ance to drug,” she said.

The latest research shows thatartemisinin targets a point ofcritical vulnerability in the malar-ia parasite.

“The parasite invades andgrows within the red blood cellsof its human victims. As it growsit consumes the haemoglobin ofthe red blood cell and releasesan iron- containing pigment,

called ‘haem’,” Prof Tilley said.The research also found that

supplies of this haemoglobin-derived iron are essential ifartemisinin is to destroy the par-asite.

“Decreasing the productionof this iron renders the parasitesresistant to artemisinin. We havealso shown that the parasite canslow its growth and reduce itshaemoglobin uptake rate in response to artemisinin treatment. This helps it avoidthe toxic effects of artemisinin,”she said. PTI

16,000moved in

China amidflood fears

Beijing: Over 16,000 people wereevacuated from their homes insouthern China as heavy rainsovernight raised flooding fears,Xinhua reported.

Rains began pounding partsof the southern Guangdongprovince Tuesday, forcing peoplein the low-lying areas to leavetheir homes, an official said.

Over 13,500 people were evac-uated from the province's worst-hit Yangjiang city, and over 2,500people were evacuated from Tais-han city. Torrential rains alsolashed the Guangxi Zhuang Au-tonomous Region and the Fujianprovince, prompting the localauthorities to issue flood warn-ings. IANS

NY bombplotters get

25 years New York: Three men convictedof plotting to blow up synagogueshere and shoot down militaryplanes were Wednesday sen-tenced to 25 years in prison, Xin-hua reported.

James Cromitie, DavidWilliams and Onta Williams wereconvicted in October 2010. Theywere found guilty of planningto bomb synagogues in Bronxof New York.

The three men also conspiredto use missiles to shoot downmilitary planes at the New YorkAir National Guard Base. IANS

Yemen air forcejet bombs bus bymistake; 4 dead

Sanaa: A Yemeni air force jetmistakenly bombed a bus todayin a southern town controlledby Islamic militants, killing fourpeople, as clashes between thefighters and government troopsleft 23 dead on both sides.

Government forces have beentrying for days to drive out thefighters who seized Zinjibar lastmonth. The takeover of the townsignaled that Islamic militantsare taking advantage of the po-litical turmoil that has grippedYemen since a popular uprisingagainst President Ali AbdullahSaleh’s rule began in mid-Feb-ruary.

The fighters, some of thembelieved to be linked to Yemen’sal-Qaida branch, have taken overseveral towns in the south, farfrom the reach of the centralgovernment in the capital, Sanaa.

The airstrike that struck thepassenger bus also wounded 12people, security officials said.

A short while later, militants

overran a soccer stadium on thecity’s outskirts and attacked gov-ernment troops there, the officialssaid. The clashes killed 15 secu-rity troops. Government war-planes called in again bombedthe stadium, killing eight mili-tants.

Several government armoredvehicles were destroyed and of-ficials said scores of militantswere wounded in the battle.

Also in Zinjibar, officials saidmilitants seized 50 residents, ac-cused them of passing informa-tion to the government andlocked them inside the governor’soffice. AP

A riot policeman kicks a protesting drummer during clashes in SyntagmaSquare in central Athens yesterday. Greek deputies were to vote on a deeply

unpopular austerity bill that has provoked days of rioting in the streets ofAthens, with the result of the vote determining is Greece can avoid a

potentially disastrous financial default in the coming weeks.

AP-PTIPutting down protestNews Corp

sells MySpacefor $35m

Los Angeles: Media conglomer-ate News Corporation has soldMySpace to online advertisingnetwork Specific Media in a dealvalued at $35 million, the LosAngeles Times reported.

News Corp had acquired theonce-dominant social-network-ing site for $580 million six yearsago, before its user base and ad-vertising revenue plunged withFacebook’s rise .

The agreement with Irvine,California-based Specific Media,ends one of the least successfulchapters in the history of NewsCorp, which had been lookingfor a buyer for the portal forsome time.

The change in ownership sig-nifies the start of a layoff processthat was announced in Januaryand will affect nearly half of My-Space’s 500 employees. IANS

LIFESTYLE 7Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hrithik Roshan hasbeen pushing himselfto limits during the

last few days and admits heneeds a break. You could sayit’s long ‘Diu’. Last Friday,the actor frantically scuttledbetween the small island ofDiu in Gujarat, where “Ag-neepath” is being shot, andMumbai where he is shootingfor a dance reality show.

With no connecting flightsbetween Diu and Mumbai ata suitable time, Hrithik Fridayflew in a chartered plane toshoot the whole night for thedance show before returningto Diu to resume the shootingof “Agneepath” the nextmorning.

Not the best way to focuson work, especially for a per-fectionist like Hrithik. Theactor, who likes to focus fe-rociously on whatever he’sdoing, is currently goingthrough the most demandingwork schedule in his career.

Apparently, neither Hrithiknor his director Karan Mal-hotra are too happy with hismoving back and forth.

Says a source: “BothHrithik and the director areequally stressed about theinterruptions in the dramaticand tense climax. The entireunit of ‘Agneepath’ has been

shooting on a set speciallyerected by Sabu Cyril sincethe beginning of June.”

“Diu is a sensitive area.There is an airbase nearby.Permission to shoot has beenattained after much effort.Hrithik is not happy leavingbehind the shooting. His com-mitment to the dance showis breaking the rhythm onthe location in Diu.”

Says Hrithik: “Well, asmuch as we tried we couldn’tadjust the dates, so I’m vir-tually working like a machinebetween ‘Just Dance’ and the‘Agneepath’ climax shoot,without breaks or anyrespite!”

He is exhausted, but de-termined to see the impossi-ble schedule through.

“It’s like doing three filmsat the same time! But as longas my day is filled with goodwork, I am ready to take oneven more,” says the super-star.

Hrithik had to forgo a tripto Toronto for an internation-al awards function. “I thinkmy first day off now wouldbe in October. And boy, am Ilooking forward to that! Iguess you’ve to be distancedfrom paradise to really un-derstand what paradisemeans.”

TOM HANKSʼ MOVIEexplores college at 50!

Actor Tom Hanks says hewrote his new movie “Lar-ry Crowne” because he

wanted to explore the way aman’s life can change after re-turning to education.

Hanks, 54, has directed, actedand co-written “Larry Crowne”,the story about a man who suffersa crisis when he loses a job andhis marriage fails.

“I wanted to do a story abouta guy in his 50s who goes to col-lege and his life changes forever

simply because of that. That reallyis enough to get a movie goingcreatively between two peoplewho are talking to each other. Igo to college, one of my teachersis Julia Roberts. Guess what hap-pens? All the rest of it flows fromthere,” contactmusic.com quotedhim as saying.

The movie has been comparedwith Hank’s early career hit “Big”,but he insists he never intendedto make the movie a companionpiece to the 1988 comedy.

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway,who dated Raffaello Follieri forfour years, reveals the urge to

please her partner led to their break-up.

Anne, who is currently dating actorAdam Shulman, ended her four-yearrelationship with Follieri amid shockingfraud allegations in 2008.

“There’s something very addictiveabout people pleasing. It’s a thoughtpattern and a habit that feels really,really good until it becomes desperate.It’s one of the reasons that (my) rela-tionship ended. I wasn’t able to grow orfoster anything. I think a lot of girlshave that story,” contactmusic.com quot-ed her as saying.

The actress says now her own needsare a priority

“It’s a big moment when you stepaway from that and say, ‘I’m going to beexactly who I am’. And I’m going to bebrave enough to only be with someonewho wants me the way I am.”

Hollywood actor Mel Gibsonand Robyn Moore havereached a divorce settle-

ment after two years of court pro-ceedings.

Femalefirst.co.uk reports thatGibson’s lawyer appeared beforea judge Tuesday morning to saythey had reached a full agreement,including dividing of their prop-erty.

Moore and Gibson, who havesix sons and a daughter, marriedin 1980 and reportedly did nothave either a pre or post-nuptialagreement, meaning all assets ac-crued during their marriage wouldbe divided equally under Cali-fornian law.

Divorce attorney Stacy Phillipssaid in 2009: “Any income earnedor property purchased during themarriage is considered communalproperty.”

Although no details of the set-tlement have been released, Gib-son was estimated to be worth$900 million in 2006, and ownsat least three properties in Malibu,California, an island in Fiji and aranch in Costa Rica.

According to reports, thelawyers of both sides are nowdrafting the final paperwork inthe case and the judgment is ex-pected to be entered at the end ofAugust, making the divorce offi-cial.

Gibson, Moore seal divorce pact

Hrithikʼs Friday nightfrantic rush to Mumbai!

KANGANA: COMEDY COMES NATURALLY TO ME

Actress Emma Watson hadher first crush on her “Har-ry Potter” co-star Tom Fel-

ton.“For the first two movies, I

had a huge crush on Tom Felton.He was my first crush. He totallyknows. We talked about it. Westill laugh about it. We are reallygood friends now, and that’scool,” she told Seventeen mag-azine.

The final instalment of the“Harry Potter” franchise “HarryPotter and the Deathly HallowsPart 2” hits theatres July 15, wrap-ping up a 10-year run of the se-ries, reports people.com.

Pleasing killed Hathawayʼs relationship

Tom Felton was my firstcrush: Emma Watson

Iʼm thinking of Botoxagain: Peter Andre

Singer Peter Andre, whohas previously gone un-der the knife, says he

wants to get Botox done againin a bid to get rid of his wrin-kles.

“I’m thinking of Botoxagain. I haven’t had it donefor two years and I can’ decidewhether I like my lines ornot,” Andre said.

“I can’t say I’m not vainbecause there are too manypeople who know me! I lookafter myself. I usually workout an hour a day at leastfour days a week. I wax mychest but I’ve never donecrack, back and sack,” con-tactmusic.com quoted him assaying.

The 38-year-old who wasfamed for his amazing absduring his pop days in the90s - also revealed he wouldlike to do a fitness video toshow people how to work outin a sensible way.

“I’m not an exercise ob-sessive. I’d like to do a fitnessvideo because I’ve never usedsteroids and I don’t overdoit,” he said.

She may be known for her intensity andemotive portrayals of conflicted charactersin films like “Gangster” and “Fashion”,

but Kangana Ranaut says that she is essentiallya “fun-loving” person and the comedy genrecomes quite naturally to her.

Kangana, most recently seen in the comedy“Double Dhamaal” that released last Friday,seems to be consciously veering towards lighterfilms. The National Award-winning actress,who started her Bollywood journey with aspate of serious films, has been seen in breezyroles in “Tanu Weds Manu”, “No Problem”and now “Double Dhamaal”.

“I’m a very fun-loving person in real lifeand comedy comes naturally to me. In fact, Ialways found intense characters challenging.But as an outsider in the industry you don’thave a choice in the roles you are offered. Youtake what you get,” Kangana said.

“I don’t regret the earlier films I did though —they were fantastic and brought me to thispoint. But I am enjoying comedy,” the 24-year-old added.

“Also now I think producers have faith inme, that I can do these roles well and audiencesalso like me in such roles... ‘Tanu Weds Manu’was such a hit; so I’m getting a lot of comedies,”she added.

After “Double Dhamaal”, Kangana will beseen in another laugh-riot “Rascals”, whichstars Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn and is beinghelmed by David Dhawan.

Asked whether she was more comfortablewith solo roles or being part of an ensemblecast, she said: “I like doing films with strongscripts that I think audiences will like, a set upthat will deliver the script’s promise. It doesn’tmatter if it’s a solo lead or a two-heroine film.”

“Although it depends on the director andhow he positions and portrays you in a film,getting noticed in a big cast is possible. Peoplereally noticed my performance in ‘Fashion’even though I was not the lead,” she added.

Thursday, June 30, 2011 8LIFESTYLERama , Manju & Anna

XXXXXXXXXXX

Dhruti

Amrutha

Fahreen

Sheela & Krish

Divya

Deepika

Girish Karnad

Swatee

Minogue wants dresseswith flattering arms

Oz singer Dannii Minoguesays she knows whatworks best to help women

feel their best and so she wantsdresses with flattering arms.

Minogue works on her ownfashion line Project D with friendTabitha Somerset Webb.

“I have worn dresses in theglare of public scrutiny. I knowhow a great dress needs to work.

I want to know, for example,what is it with designers andsleeves? Why is it so hard to buya dress that flatters your arms?”femalefirst.co.uk quoted the 39-year-old as saying.

However, she admits that shewas not completely confidentwhile deciding to wear a ProjectD dress on Britain’s “The X Fac-tor” for the first time because

she had just delivered her firstbaby Ethan with British hunkKris Smith.

“The first time I wore ProjectD on the show I was so nervous.It was the Jingle dress - fitted,knee-length, full skirt – very‘Mad Men’. I’d only just had ababy and had completelychanged shape. I felt so inse-cure,” she said.

Halle Berry accuses exfor imperilling childʼs safetyThe custody case between

Oscar-winning actressHalle Berry and her ex-

beau Gabriel Aubry has gainedmomentum. The actress accusedhim of violating the custodyagreement involving their three-year-old daughter, Nahla. In thecourt, her lawyer provided doc-uments revealing an overseasincident where the Canadian

model neglected his daughter,imperilling her safety.

Berry, 44, has asked the judgeto rule that Aubry violated theircustody agreement. However, hewas not in the court and thehearing has been set for a laterdate, reports Usmagazine.com.

The couple, who split in Aprillast year, first argued over theirdaughter’s custody in January.

It was love at first sightwith Warne, says Hurley

Actress Elizabeth Hurley hasopened up about her romancewith cricket ace Shane Warne,

saying it was love at first sight.Hurley's relationship with the Aussie

sportsman emerged last year and, inthe wake of the revelations, she con-firmed that she had split from herbusinessman husband Arun Nayarmonths ago.

"We come from very different worldsso I see that's fascinating, if not odd,to many (fans)," Hurley said.

"But it's not often you meet peopleyou instantly feel comfortable with,and when you find that - even if thereare vast differences in backgroundand experiences - it's worth followingthrough," dailystar.co.uk quoted the46-year-old as saying.

Hurley admits their romance is a"challenge" because they live on op-posite sides of the world.

"When you recognise you have alot in common with someone it's niceto explore. The biggest problem iswe're 23 hours apart. It's a challenge.We'll see what happens," she added.

Hurley and Nayar were granted di-vorce earlier this month.

Photos: Gangadhar Pujar

Intellectualstoast their glasses

I t was the flock of intellectuals atthe recently held launch ofrenowned writer Amitav Ghosh’s

latest offering — River of Smoke — atTaj West End.

Amitav was flooded with questionsfrom his fans, among whom weresome of the well-known intellectualsfrom the city. Amitav indulged them

and answered their questions.The first copy of the book was pre-

sented to Jnanpith winner Girish Kar-nad, which was duly signed by Amitav.

Then a long queue followed to getthe book signed.

The intense conversations contin-ued into the night powered by cock-tails.