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Chennai’s No 1 English evening daily since 1982
www.newstodaynet.com
NATIONAL DAILY
VOL. XXXIII NO. 78
FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
H CHENNAI H MONDAY 23.2.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS TUESDAY 24.2.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
No neighbourly love as
England hammers Scotland
Nurse commits
suicide
at Madipakkam
Stories on Oscar
Awards on Page 4
q Urges MPs to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
President Pranab Mukherjee declared
that government attaches
paramount importance to safeguarding
the interests of farmers and families affected by land acquisition.
He also sought the cooperation of all
MPs in the smooth conduct of legislative
business but gave no indication of plans
to bring changes in the controversial land
acquisition ordinance.
Delivering his address to the joint sitting
of Parliament, whose budget session
commenced today, he said the government will constantly endeavour for
smooth conduct of legislative business
and enactment of progressive laws in
the Parliament.
In the address, which is mandated
before the start of the first session of
the year in which the President reads
out government’s plans for the coming
year, Mukherjee said Parliament is the
sanctum sanctorum of Democracy and
the people of have reposed unflinching
NT Bureau
Meanwhile, all over Tamilnadu
Chennai, Feb 23: and other parts of the counWith just hours left for the birthday try where AIADMK wings are
of AIADMK general secretary J Jay- functioning, party members
alalithaa and with her party activists have organised various welfare
making elaborate arrangements to measures to mark the birthday
celebrate it in a meaningful way, of Jayalalithaa. Also, special
prayers will be made in
the mood echoed in the AsU
temples and other places
sembly also, today.
AD ASS
N
of worship across the
During the Question
State, for the well-being
Hour and after, AIADMK
of Jayalalithaa and for
Legislators and Minisher becoming the Chief
ters heaped laurels on
Minister again.
the AIADMK supremo.
‘Tomorrow is our big
Listing out various
day as it is the birthday of
schemes and measures implemented by her for the devel- Amma. As per her wishes, we will
opment of the State and for the involve ourselves in serving the
welfare of people, they expressed people. We will also offer prayers
hope that she would soon be- at temples,’ said an AIADMK
functionary in South Chennai.
come the Chief Minister again.
BLY
EM
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
A nurse allegedly administered
poison to self while on duty early this
morning at Madipakkam.
According to police sources,
Dhanalakshmi (22) a nurse at
a private clinic in Madipakkam
and a resident of Ram Nagar,
was found unconscious at one
of the clinic’s rooms, following
which a doctor on duty declared
her dead.
Police sources said, the CCTV footage showed visuals of Dhanalakshmi
injecting poison into her body and
collapsing.
The reason behind the suicide is yet
to be ascertained.
Welfare of farmers is
govt’s concern: Prez
B’day wishes pour
in for Jaya
TAMIL
Christchurch, Feb 23 (PTI):
Riding on opening batsman
Moeen Ali’s cracking 128, an
under-fire England notched up their first
win in the ongoing cricket World Cup by
crushing minnows Scotland by 119 runs
in a Group A clash here today.
Sent into bat, England piled on a
commanding 303 for 8, courtesy Ali’s
107-ball 128 and his 172-run partnership with Ian Bell (54), the best opening stand so far in the tournament,
and then bundled out Scotland
for 184 in 42.2 overs to taste their
first victory after being thrashed by
Australia and New Zealand in their
earlier matches.
Ali later chipped in with two
wickets for 47 runs in his quota of
10 overs and, along with pacers
Steven Finn (3 for 26), James
Anderson (2 for 30) and Chris
Woakes (2 for 25), rocked the
Scotland run chase.
Chasing a stiff target of 304,
Scotland made a disastrous start
as they were reduced to 54 for 3
by the 12th over and lost wickets
in quick succession twice in the
middle overs to lose
the plot and the
match without any
fight.
In fact, Scotland
were never a match
of their southern
neigbours whose slump
in form in recent times has led
to the talk of a possible upset.
In the end, it did not happen and
Scotland, who gave a tough fight
against tournament co-hosts New
Zealand in their three-wicket loss
opening match, slumped to their
second consecutive defeat in the
ongoing World Cup.
Curtains down on
TN Assembly session
q DMK, Cong MLAs stage walkout
TAMIL
BLY
EM
NT Bureau
A Bill to amend
Chennai, Feb 23:
the Tamilnadu
The first session of the Tamilnadu
Assembly for the year, which comLocal Bodies
menced Tuesday last (17 February)
with the Governor’s address, came to
Ombudsman Act,
a close today. The House is expected
to meet again soon, for the budget
2014 was passed
session.
Today, as soon as the Question
by the Assembly
Hour was over, DMK floor leader M K
Stalin attempted to raise an issue.
Speaker P Dhanapal denied
U
AD ASS
napal ordered deletion
him permission, stating that
N
of remarks made by the
their member would be given
members of the both
an opportunity later (during
DMK and Congress.
motion of thanks to the GovAlso today, a Bill to
ernor’s address). Not ready
amend the Tamilnadu
to accept this, Stalin and othLocal Bodies Ombudsman
er DMK members walked out
Act, 2014 was passed by the
of the House. In a similar fashion,
Congress MLAs too staged walkout Assembly.
Moved by Minister for Municipal
after they were refused permission
by the Speak to raise an issue. Dha- Administration and Rural Develop-
W
Starting up
ith clouds of storm hovering over Parliament’s
budget session, President Pranab Mukherjee
today sought the ‘cooperation’ of all MPs in the smooth
conduct of legislative business but gave no indication
of plans to bring changes in the controversial land
acquisition ordinance.
He, however, declared that government attaches paramount importance to safeguarding
the interests of farmers and families affected by
land acquisition.
Delivering his address to the joint sitting of Parliament,
whose budget session commenced today, he said the
government will constantly endeavour for smooth conduct of legislative business and enactment of progressive laws in the Parliament.
Meanwhile in Christchurch, riding on opening batsman Moeen Ali’s cracking 128, an under-fire England
notched up their first win in the ongoing cricket World
Cup by crushing minnows Scotland by 119 runs in a
Group A clash today.
Sent into bat, England piled on a commanding 303 for
8, courtesy Ali’s 107-ball 128 and his 172-run partnership with Ian Bell (54), the best opening stand so far
in the tournament, and then bundled out Scotland for
184 in 42.2 overs to taste their first victory after being
thrashed by
Australia and New Zealand in their earlier matches.
ment S P Velumani, it said: ‘In section 3
of the Tamilnadu Local Bodies Ombudsman Act, 2014, in sub-section (2), for the
expression ‘appoint a person who has
been an officer of the Government not
below the rank of Principal Secretary to
Government of Tamilnadu as Ombudsman’, the expression ‘appoint a person
who was and / or has been an officer of
the Government not below the rank of
Secretary to Government of Tamilnadu as
Ombudsman’ shall be substituted.
The objective of the amendment is: ‘In
order to have a wider pool of eligible officers to be appointed as Ombusman’.
Dhanapal ordered the watch and ward
staff to evict the Puthiya Tamilagam
legislator, after he sat in front of the
Speaker’s chair and protested for not
being allowed to speak.
For the fourth day, Deputy Speaker
of the Assembly Pollachi V Jayaraman
moved the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address.
Declaring that terrorism and Left Wing
Extremism pose a grave challenge to
nation’s internal security, the President
said the government was firmly committed
to dealing with these challenges in cohesive
collaboration with the people
faith in this institution for fulfilment of
their hopes and expectations. My Government will constantly endeavour for
smooth conduct of legislative business
and enactment of progressive laws in
the Parliament which reflects the will
and aspirations of the people.
I urge all Members of the Parliament
to discharge their solemn responsibility in a spirit of cooperation and
mutual accommodation.
By channelising the patriotic energies of every citizen, we all collectively
must work towards building a strong
and modern India. Ek Bharat Shresht
Bharat (One India, Best India). Jai
Hind, he said winding up his speech
that was heard with rapt attention with
occasional thumping of desks.
The 18-page hour-long speech
details the various steps taken by
the government during its first nine
months in office and lists the steps
it will take during the coming days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his
ministerial colleagues, Opposition
leaders in both the Houses, former
Prime Minister Ministers Manmohan
Singh and H D Deve Gowda, Sonia
Gandhi and L K Advani were among
those seated in the front benches at
the Central Hall of Parliament.
Against the backdrop of Oppositions plans to corner the government
on various ordinances including the
one on land acquisition, the President
gave no indication of government
bringing any changes in the bill to replace the ordinance. My government
attaches paramount importance to
safeguard the interest of farmers and
families affected by land acquisition.
While taking utmost care to protect
the interest of farmers, including their
compensation entitlements, the Right
to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has been
suitably refined to minimise certain
procedural difficulties in acquisition
of Land inevitably required for critical
public projects of infrastructure and
for creation of basic amenities like
rural housing, schools and hospitals,
particularly in remote areas,’ he said.
2 MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
City
Centre
Picturesque space in Mylapore
Clean and green Kumaraguru Street.
O
ne look at Kumaraguru street
and it is hard to believe that it
was once the stinking despised part
of the area.
The green owering plants which
have been planted close to the
Kapaleeshwarar Temple walls by a
thoughtful resident have brought a
picturesque appearance to the street.
A pot of water stands on a stool in a
corner ready to quench the thirst
of passersby. The tall plants povide
ample shade for pedestrians. At
many points their shade provides
scope for parking two wheelers
also. The atmosphere is no longer
pervaded by a stench. Unlike former
times, it is a pleasant area to traverse
now
and a much sought after one now.
A couple of years ago people
despised walking through this street
which links the East Tank Road
with Ponnambalam Vadhyar Street.
Through the day from early morning
it was used as an open toilet.
Vendors on East tank Road and
pedestrians relieved themselves here
and the area was always permeated
by a stench. Even the temple walls
were deled. Pedestrians had to
hold their noses when they passed
through this street and avoided using
it unless forced by circumstances.
Residents were in a quandary as
to what steps to take to prevent the
street from being misused. It was
CHENNAI
The bridge of new hope
nally the efforts of Lakshmanan a
resident which brought a change for
the better here. He felt that a row
of plants along the northern stretch
would prevent the area from being
deled.
He planted
a row of
saplings ,
PORE p r o t e c t e d
MYLA
t e n d e d
them
and
strictly
prevented passersby from
misusing the stretch. After
several months his efforts paid rich
dividends. The plants grew and the
whole stretch became pleasant.
People ceased using it to relieve
themselves. Now these plants have
multiple uses. They provide owers
for worship, shade, and a pleasing
atmosphere in the area.
In recent times even motorists have
begun to seek the street to park their
vehicles. On the days of important
festivals several motorists use this
stretch to park their vehicles.
Pedestrian and vehicular trafc
is minimal. It is easy to park and
remove our vehicles here than on
East Tank Road. Moreover the
plants offer good shade for parking
our vehicles during day time, said a
motorist.
—NT Bureau
Anjikann Varavati yover was thrown open to public recently.
R
esidents of Rajaji Nagar and president of the association. ‘The
Rajamangalam are a happy culvert was widenend, our journey
lot these days. This is because time
‘Anjikann Varavati’ has been thrown
has come down, we are able to
open to public a week ago after reach Koyambedu faster.’
renovation works were wrapped
The re-opening the bridge for
up. That is not all, residents of motorists will hopefully reduce trafc
Srinivasa Nagar, Baba Nagar and congestion on Raja Mangalam
North Jagannathan Nagar too are Police Station Road and North Red
glad with the development.
Hills Road.
Murali,
a
resident
‘The work is over and
bridge is being used
of Baba Nagar says,
AKM ‘it wouldn’t be worth
by public and this was
IVAK
VILL
considering going an
something we had
extra mile on our roads in these
been looking forward
to for a long time.’ says
days of heavy trafc.
Surendiran, chairman,
A few other residents spoke about
Welfare Association Rajaji Nagar the problems they faced when they
had to negotiate a narrow Anjikann
Civic Exnora.
Now residents are nding it easy Varavati.
to reach 100-Feet Road and head
The width was about 10-feet and
there was not enough room for
to Koyambedu, he adds.
‘Till recently, we were going to more than one heavy vehicle or two
Rajamangalam Police Station Road bikes at a time. In such a situation,
and reaching 100-Feet Road to go to slow-moving trafc was routine,
Koyambedu.’ This route involved an says Sambasivam, a resident of
additional travel of two kilometeres. Rajaji Nagar.
He heaved a sigh of relief and
People of these areas will be able to
access 100-Feet Road directly.
said snarls will now become a thing
This is additional travel and was of the past as the bridge has been
no less ardous, says M R Krishnan, widened.’
CHOC-O-BLOCK
PHOTO: K VIJAY ANAND
Trafc-jams are the order of the day at Durgabhai Deshmukh
Road in the neighbourhood.
SONY PIX
JAYA TV
Anjikann Varavati, a narrow
bridge at Rajamangalam is said to
have been built during the British
rule, saw renovation work being
taken up almost a year ago. The
work hit a roadblock some three
months ago but was nished
quickly on resumption.
— NT Bureau
IN THEATRES
IN HOME
TV TODAY
The renovated
facility will ease
trafc woes in
Rajamangalam
area and
motorists won’t
be sweating
over roundabout
trips and waiting
time, say
residents
04:30 PM Kollywood Gallery
06:21 PM Iron Man 2
SANDAMARUDHAM
05:00 PM New Songs
09:00 PM A Few Good Men
Kamala Theatre, Udhayam Theatre, PVR Cinemas,
05:30 PM Makkalin Mudhalvar
11:18 PM White House Down
06:00 PM Arusuvai Ithu Thani Suvai
06:30 PM New Songs
07:00 PM Ramayanam
07:30 PM News
08:00 PM Hits
08:30 PM Akka
10:00 PM Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma
10:30 PM English News
10:45 PM Tamil News
11:00 PM Thenkinnam
09:30 PM Madippakkam Madhavan
06:36 PM The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
10:00 PM News Headlines
09:00 PM Real Steel
10:02 PM Kaliyugam
11:25 PM The Chronicles of Narnia:
10:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
Multiplex, Sri Ganga Cinema, Raj Theatre, Maharani
Theatre
ANEGAN
Prince Caspian
11:00 PM Telebuy
MOVIES NOW
VIJ AY TV
03:00 PM Valli
03:30 PM Movie
06:00 PM Mundhanai Mudichu
06:30 PM Pasamalar
07:00 PM News
07:30 PM Nadhaswaram
08:00 PM Deiva Magal
08:30 PM Vamsam
09:00 PM Priyamanaval
09:30 PM Vani Rani
10:00 PM Sakthi
10:30 PM Azhagi
04:00 PM Aandaal Azhagar
05:30 PM Uravugal Thodar Kadhai
06:00 PM En Kanavan En Thozhan
06:30 PM Puthu Kavithai
07:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal
Varai
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Hall, Rakki
Multiplex, Abirami Theatres,
09:00 PM The Hurt Locker
10:50 PM 14 Blades
03:30 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
THAMIZHUKKU ENN ONDRAI
AZHUTHAVUM
STAR MOVIES
04:45 PM King Kong
08:30 PM The Oscars 87th Academy
Award 2015 : Red Carpet
09:30 PM The Oscars 87th Academy
Award 2015 : Main Event
Kamala Theatre Mayajaal, AGS Cinemas, Escape
Cinema, Abirami Theatres, Devi Cineplex, PVR
Cinemas, Luxe Cinemas, AGS, INOX National,
Woodlands,
07:30 PM Aandaal Azhagar
08:00 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
08:30 PM Saravanan Meenatchi
STAR SPORTS 1
09:00 PM Mahabharatham
03:00 PM Turning Points
09:30 PM Super Singer Junior
03:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
10:30 PM Ofce
11:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal
Varai
11:30 PM Seedan
11:00 PM Movie
KA LAIGNAR TV
07:05 PM Rush Hour 2
03:00 PM Saravanan Meenatchi
04:30 PM Super Singer Junior
SUN TV
Woodlands Multiplex, Mayajaal Cinema, Sangam
HBO
09:00 PM Priyamana Thozhi
09:30 PM Poomagal
AGS Cinemas, INOX National, Abirami Mega Mall,
RAJ TV
05:00 PM S K Shoppe
2015 H/ls : Australia vs.
Bangladesh
04:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : South Africa
vs. India
05:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : England vs.
04:00 PM Pudhu Paadal
05:30 PM Vellithira
04:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
06:00 PM Raj News
05:00 PM Endrum Super
06:30 PM Thirai Vaanil
05:30 PM Kalai Koil
07:00 PM Sindhu Bhairavi
06:00 PM Utchakattam
07:30 PM Mann Vasanai
06:30 PM Idhu Pudhusu
08:00 PM Karuthamma
07:00 PM News
08:30 PM Alaipayuthey
2015 H/ls : Sri Lanka vs.
07:30 PM Mohini
09:00 PM En Iniya Thozhiye
Afghanistan
08:00 PM Bhavani
09:30 PM Gouravam
08:30 PM Cricket Legends
08:30 PM Romapuri Paandiyan
10:00 PM Koppium-Crime Time
09:00 PM Match Point : England vs.
09:00 PM Odi Vilayadu Pappa
10:30 PM Thaikku Oru Thaalattu
10:00 PM Thiraivimarsanam
Scotland
06:30 PM Cricket Legends
07:00 PM Cricket World Cup :
Tales
07:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
Scotland
10:00 PM Cricket Live
10:30 PM Late Cut
11:00 PM Match Point : England vs.
Scotland
TEN SPORTS
03:30 PM WWE Raw Sunday
Dhamaal
05:00 PM WWE Smackdown
06:00 PM WWE Fastlane 2015
09:30 PM Sports Week
10:00 PM WWE Smackdown
11:00 PM ATP World Tour 500
2015 H/ls : Rio Open
TEN CRICKET
03:00 PM Cricket Classics : India
vs. West Indies
04:00 PM South Africa Tour of
Pakistan 2013 (UAE) H/ls
: 1st ODI
06:00 PM West Indies Tour of
South Africa 2014/15 H/
ls : 3rd T20
07:00 PM Cricket Classics : Australia vs. India: April `98
08:00 PM Australia Tour of South
Africa 2014 H/ls : 2nd
T20
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insert the numbers
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once: Easy nah?
ANSWER TO
SUDOKU 2997
(22.2.2015)
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Around Town
CHENNAI
MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
NOT COW‘ED’ DOWN
Slaughter of animals continues despite ban
LAASYA SHEKHAR
Chennai, Feb 23:
When volunteers of People for Cattle in India (PFCI)
rescued two cows from being slaughtered in suburban
Puzhal, many food lovers
(especially beef-eaters) were
supposedly angered. However, most of them would
probably be unaware of the
amendments (made in August,
1976) in the Tamilnadu Animal
Preservation Act 1958 which
banned slaughter of cows.
It is said that despite the ban
on cow slaughter, it continues
in some parts of the city and
various voluntary organisations are going all out to protect
animals.
Giving details about the Act,
Manikandan, a city-based lawyer, said, ‘It is only slaughter of
bulls which is allowed, not cows. But
that involves a lot of procedures like
registering slaughterhouse, checking
the health of the bulls by veterinary
officials, etc. The National Green
Tribunal Act in December 2013 made
it an offence to slaughter animals
without procuring licence from the
local authorities.
It may be noted that Tamilnadu is
one of the States to have banned
cow slaughter.
In the wee hours of Sunday, volunteers of PFCI raided four beef shops
and were shocked to see what was
happening.
Prasanna of PFCI said, ‘Neither
were they registered under the local
Municipality nor did they follow any
of the norms under Slaughter House
Rules 2001 which makes it mandatory to have a slaughter house in
isolated areas, away from residential
zone.’
Two cows were rescued from the Puzhal area.
Apart from the savage treatment
to the animals, the hygiene factor,
which is essential was not followed,
said the activists.
VIT vice-president G V Selvam releasing a book ‘Nambikkai’ written by
Vaira Shekar at a ‘Sangam 4’, a cultural event in Chennai yesterday.
Also seen are poet Tamizhachi Thangapandiyan, writer Sourirajan,
literary personality Rajendran and entrepreneur Cholanachiyar.
About global warming
and climate change
Students of Sri Kanyaga Parameswari Arts and Science College for
Women in Chennai at a special programme on global warming and climate change recently.
NT Bureau
programme on global warming and
Chennai, Feb 23: climate change recently.
According to a press note, ExnoExnora Greater Chennai and Sri
Kanyaga Parameswari Arts and ra Greater Chennai president R
Science College for Women (Par- Govindaraj, spoke about climate
rys) - NSS jointly organised a special change and explained the concept
‘Retailing, a key driver
of country’s GDP’
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Madras University Vice-Chancellor
Prof R Thandavan has said retailing
contributes a lot to the GDP and
pointed out that the shopping revolution had led to a boom in the retail
industry.
Also, he stressed on industryinstitute interaction for the benefit
of the younger generation. He was
the people. This violates the laws of
Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India.’
An FIR has been filed with the
Volunteers
of PFCI, who
rescued cows
from Puzhal, said
killing of animals
was being done in
violation of rules
and in residential
areas, which
was completely
prohibited
Puzhal police under various sections of the sections PCA Act.
Inspector of the Station,Devraj
was unavailable for comment.
Later, the rescued cows were
shifted to PFCI shelter at Red
hills.
Not just in Puzhal, many localities of the city has become hubs
for illegal cow slaughter. One
such place is Karimedu, which
is situated behind the Chrompet
police station. The practise has
been continuing since ages and
authorities too seem unconcerned about the practice, alleged
local residents.
Connecting thru’ art
Spiritual fervour
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Sri Karpaga Vinayakar Temple
will conduct Shuklashashti on 24
February. Special abhisehkam will
be held at 7.30 am and Sahasranamaarchanai will he held at 8.45 am.
On 25 February, Thirupugazh
Bhajan will be held at 9 am. On 27
February, Sri Lalitha Sahasranama Parayanam will be held at 6
pm. On 28 February, Sri Vishnu
Sahasranama Parayanam will
be held at 6.30 pm and Mangala
Aarathi will at 7.45 pm. The temple is situated at Second link Street,
Karpagam Gardens, Adyar.
For further details contact 24914221
/ 9444034221.
‘The slaughter house looked like
a mere dump yard with foul smell
and blood stains. Consumption of
such meat causes health hazards to
3
speaking at international conference
on trends in retailing and branding
organised by FICCI - Tamilnadu State
Council in association with University
of Madras.
A press note said Managing Director of Tamilnadu Handicrafts
Development Corporation Ltd Dr.
Santhosh Babu, inaugurated the
conference while Prince Jewellery
director Joseph Prince also spoke.
of global warming and outlined the
threats our Earth was facing because
of the former.
In simple terms, he spoke about the
habits to be followed by students so
that we can fight against manmade
disasters.
Paramanantham, a solid waste
management consultant explained
about the various methods of disposing waste, the government’s role
in waste management and green
practices recommended by Exnora.
Exnora North Chennai general secretary J Fatheraj Jain spoke about the
need for recycling and showed how
an old newspaper can be converted
into a simple bag. Students later took
an oath to avoid use of plastic bags.
The college’s NSS programme
officer Vijayalakshmi welcomed the
gathering.
Free coaching
classes
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Manidhaneyam IAS Academy will
conduct free coaching classes for the
viva voce examination for candidates
who qualified for TNPSC civil judge
examination. Candidates can visit
the academy at No. 28, First Main
Road, CIT Nagar, Nandanam or call
04424358373.
As many as 45 candidates, who received free coaching, cleared the written examination, a press note said.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
A slew of artists from across the
country are taking part in ‘Chitramela’,
the second international art exhibition, organised by Achalam here.
The event was inaugurated by Tamilnadu Music and Fine Arts University
Vice-Chancellor E Gayathri at Sri Annai
Kamakshi Kalaikudam in KK Nagar.
Works of artists from various States
as well as abroad have been displayed at the expo. The participants
are not only professional artists, but
are also includes advocate, scientists, doctors, chartered accountants,
architects, teachers, The works of
about 300 students from the age of
three yeas and above and works of
eminent artists are also on display,
said a press note.
Annai Kamakshi Kalaikudam has so
far organised more than 150 painting
exhibitions for artists and students in
the past 19 years. The exhibits consists of more than 1000 paintings of
various artists including oil, acrylic,
paintings in mixed media, mural paintings, sculptures, charcoal painting.
The value of the exhibits ranges
Tamilnadu Music and Fine Arts University Vice-Chancellor
E Gayathri inaugurating the art expo organised by Sri Annai
Kamakshi Kalaikudam in KK Nagar.
from Rs 100 to Rs 25,00,000 per
piece. Organisers said the aim of
this exhibition is to connect to people from various levels and create
a common platform a for them to
showcase their talents.
The paintings will be on display till
15 March.
SAKKK College of Fine Arts which
offers degree courses in painting,
Capturing
Vivekananda’s
life on DVD
Rotary Club of Madras Mount president Ram N Ramamurthy presenting a cheque as contribution for the ‘polio campaign’ to Global Team
coordinator for Rotary’s ‘World Greatest Meal to Help End Polio’ Susanne Rea at a function held in Chennai recently. Rotarians Natarajan
Nagoji, R Srinivasan and Vijayaraj are present.
Free computer classes
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23;
Astro Computer Education Technical Institute Private Limited will
conduct free computer classes at
Kottivakkam and Kottur.
According to a release, the classes
will be held for two days for all.
Age is no bar. For information, call
43855773 / 9710107874.
Meet on self-confidence
Superlearning Centre will conduct
a seminar on Accelerated Learning
and Mind Activation.
According to a press release,
the seminar aims to achieve
improvement in memory and
concentration
The session will be held between
4 and 7 pm. Batches are scheduled
1 March (Sunday) at: 15, Nehru
Nagar Second Main Road, Adyar.
Call 9791071534 / 9840319934 for
information.
‘Tech use low in
Indian education’
Tamilnadu Telugu Yuva Sakthi president K Jagadiswara Reddy
distributed welfare measures to inmates of Anbu Illam in Salem
as part of the 10-day celebrations to mark the birthday of AIADMK
general secretary J Jayalalithaa.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Technology penetration
is low in the Indian education sector/market, Sandeep Aneja, founder-CEO,
Kaizen Private Equity, has
said.
Speaking at the 7th International Entrepreneurship
organised here recently
by Great Lakes Institute
of Management, he said,
‘a company is a culture.
It is a set of like-minded
people. What worries you
in starting a new company?
Market Size, cash flow or
viscom and Bharathanatyam and
diploma and certificate courses in
painting and music will begin functioning from this academic year
(2015-2016), said the release.
For information about the college, gallery and institute, log on
to www.achalamartgallery.com
and www.sakkk.com.
Phone: 9381024002 / 8144004001.
its value?? Is there a bubble in new startups that are
valued very high? The real
risk is living an undifferentiated life.’
The conference was
based on the theme ‘Edupreneurship in India - How
do we make it work?’ and
saw Jayan Ramankutty,
founder, Nimbus Technology, and Great Lakes
founder-chairman Bala V
Balachandran participate.
Speaking on the occasion,
Jayan Ramankutty, said,
‘As long as you have clear
vision and good plan you
will definitely succeed. Do
not let lack of capital push
you back.’
Also, the premises of
the Center for Innovation,
Healthcare and Technopreneurship (CIHT) was
inaugurated by Bala V
Balachandran, and V R
Venkataachalam, Chancellor, Sri Ramachandra
University and others.
There was a panel discussion on ‘Technology
Adoption in Education Incremental Gains or Disruptive Shifts and what it
means for Entrepreneurs’.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore,
has come out with a DVD and book
on Swami Vivekananda at an event to
mark the 180 birth anniversary of Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
According to a press note, the
DVD pack was released by Swami
Gautamananda, president of Sri
Ramakrishna Math and the first two
copies were received by veteran
playback singer Vani Jayaram and
former judge of Madras High Court
K Chandru.
The screenplay-dialogue writer of
the serial and founder of Krishnaswamy Associates S Krishnaswamy,
producer Mohana Krishnaswamy and
director Gita Krishna Raj were also
present along with Swami Vimurtananda, editor of Ramakrishna Vijayam.
The 1893 visit of Swami Vivekananda to America to deliver his Chicago
Address was made into a television
series and it has now been brought
out in the form of a DVD.
Blend
4 MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
CHENNAI
WHAT
WH
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NEWS
EWS
EW
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TODA
TODAY
DAY
DA
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PRIN
PRINTS
INTS
IN
TS IIS
S NE
NEWS
WS TTHA
THAT
HATT CO
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Up and running
T
eam India has started its campaign in the ongoing World
Cup with a bang. Successive wins against two of the bigger
teams has brought cheer to fans. When India ended the Test
series against Australia on a dismal note and followed it up with an
uninspiring performance in the tri-series that followed.
Team India failed to click and many doubted the credentials of the
‘Men in Blue’ to defend the (World Cup) title. However, suddenly
the momentum seems to be back. Skipper M S Dhoni seems to have
rediscovered his ‘Midas Touch’. The crushing victory against South
Africa at the MCG was heartening. The batsmen played their part
well and so did the bowlers.
Interestingly, when critics questioned the skills of Indian bowlers,
they responded magnificently by getting Pakistan and South Africa
all out in both the matches. Though much was expected from the fast
bowlers, it is the skills of offie R Ashwin that played a big hand in
both the victories. A good spinner will not just tie down the batsmen
but get breakthroughs at crucial junctures. So did Ashwin.
Suddenly the Indian team looks a winning unit. This is what a
victory can do to a team.
Till their match against Pakistan, team India’s morale was down.
But the win changed everything. They are looking like ‘cornered
tigers’ now.
The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane
have been part of the team for a while and they have proved that
they are ‘big match’ players.
Call it Dhoni’s captaincy that brought about the revival. Not just his
shrewd field placements, shuffling of bowlers, but the faith he had in
players like Dhawan that helped Team India reaped rich dividends.
Umesh Yadav’s threatening spell at the start with Mohamamd
Shami’s accurate line and length and Mohit Sharma’s gentle inswingers have never failed to trouble batsmen. Ashwin tightens the
screw with his variations towards the middle. India can be counted as
one of the favourites to win the World Cup if they continue the form
they showed. Indian bowling has been a huge difference in the World
Cup as compared to Test series against Australia and the tri-series.
Mohit Sharma has played a big part in this transformation. He has
a very good slower delivery also and is very consistent. He made
his bowling very simple by bowling wicket-to-wicket consistently
and he does not easily give away those loose deliveries.
Dhoni’s worry should be the failure of his batsmen to capitalise
in the final couple of overs in both the matches. They fell like pins
and obviously fell short by some 20-30 runs. A batsman like Dhoni
or Raina should stay at the crease to play out the last few overs.
Team India is peaking at the right time. With a solid batting display,
good bowling and aggressive fielding, they are expected to progress
further without any hiccups.
Chennai airport is a mess in the
mrngs..security queue is a
mile long n announcement is
heard only by the staff,so poor..
dread mrng flights.
khushbusundar @khushsundar
‘Borrow money from a
pessimist - they don’t
expect it back.’:)
Anupam Kher @AnupamPkher
Brain’s seat of speech
shuts down when we talk
WASHINGTON: study lead author Adeen Flinker, a
A brain area, long recognised as the postdoctoral researcher at New York
command centre for human speech, University who conducted the study
actually shuts down when we talk, as a UC Berkeley PhD student.
scientists have found. Broca’s area
‘Our results could help us advance
of the brain has been reclanguage mapping during neurosurognised as the command
gery as well as the assessment of
centre for human speech,
language impairments,’ Flinker
including vocalisation.
said.
HEALTH
Scientists at University
Flinker said that neuof California, Berkeley and
roscientists traditionally
Johns Hopkins University in Maryland
organised the brain’s lanhave now challenged this long-held g u a g e centre into two main reassumption after they found that gions: one for perceiving speech and
Broca’s area actually switches off one for producing speech. ‘That belief
when we talk out loud. The discov- drives how we map out language
ery has major implications for the during neurosurgery and classify
diagnoses and treatments of stroke, language impairments,’ he said.
epilepsy and brain injuries that result
‘This new finding helps us move
in language impairments.
towards a less dichotomous view
‘Every year millions of people suffer where Broca’s area is not a centre
from stroke, some of which can lead for speech production, but rather a
to severe impairments in perceiving critical area for integrating and coordiand producing language when criti- nating information across other brain
cal brain areas are damaged,’ said regions,’ he said.
Today
A starry night
Grand Budapest, Birdman make it big at Oscars
LOS ANGELES:
Whimsical drama ‘The Grand
Budapest Hotel’ and musical film
‘Whiplash’ are the early winners at
the 87th Academy Awards, taking
home two trophies apiece including sound mixing and costume
design, among others. ‘Whiplash’
earned JK Simmons the Oscar
in the best supporting actor category.
‘Wow, thank you Academy and
everyone involved with ‘Whiplash’.
I am grateful everyday for the
most wonderful person I know, my
wife...,’ Simmons said.
The movie also scored an Academy for its achievement in sound
mixing. Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins
and Thomas Curley were the recipients. ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ started its Oscar run with two
technical awards-- achievement
in costume design and make-up
and hairstyling.
While Milena Canonero bagged
her fourth Oscar for providing an
attractive ensemble to the cast of
the Wes Anderson-directed film,
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
scored the Oscar for achievement
in make-up and hairstyling.
Mat Kirklby and James Lucas
received the best live action
short film Oscar for the British
drama ‘The Phone Call’. It starred
Sally Hawkins as Heather, a crisis
hotline counsellor trying to dissuade Stanley (Jim Broadbent),
a distraught caller, from a suicide
attempt following the death of his
wife.
And The Winners Are ...
Best Actress-- Julianne Moore, ‘Still Alice’
Best Actor-- Eddie Redmayne, ‘The Theory of Everything’?
Best Director-- Alejandro González Iñárritu, ‘Birdman’
Best Original Screenplay-- Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, ‘Birdman’
Best Original Score-- Alexandre Desplat, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
Best Song-- Glory: ‘Selma’
Best Documentary Feature-- ‘Citizen Four’
Film Editing-- Tom Cross for ‘Whiplash’
Best Cinematography-- Emmanuel Lubezki, ‘Birdman’ ?
Best Production Design-- ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’?
Best Animated Feature-- ‘Big Hero 6’?
Best Short Film, Animated-- ‘Feast’
Best Visual Effects-- ‘Interstellar’?
Best Supporting Actress-- Patricia Arquette, ‘Boyhood’
Best Sound Editing- Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman for ‘American Sniper’
Best Sound Mixing-- ‘American Sniper’
Best Documentary Short Subject-- ‘Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1’
Best Short Film, Live Action -- The Phone Call
Best Foreign Film -- Polish movie Ida
Best Makeup and Hairstyling-- The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Costume Design-- The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Supporting Actor-- JK Simmons, ‘Whiplash’.
Star size
Despite endless theories
about height and the relative
success of Hollywood figures,
analysis of the heights of
today’s top 10 grossing male
actors shows the group only
about 3 cm taller than average. It’s a different story for
leading ladies however, with
the top 10 women at the box
office standing an average of
6 cm above the norm.
Awardees spread
message
on suicide
Graham Moore, who won the
Oscar for best adapted screenplay said in his acceptance
speech that he tried to commit
suicide as a teenager.
‘When I was 16, I tried to kill
myself because I felt weird and
I felt different and I felt like I did
not belong,’ he said. ‘I would like
this moment to be for the kid out
there who feels like she’s weird
and different and feels like she
doesn’t belong. ... Yes, you do.’
‘The next time someone takes
the stage who’s been through a
similar ordeal, please pass that
same message to the next person,’ he said to applause.
Earlier in the evening, another
reference to suicide was included
in an acceptance speech when
Dana Perry mentioned that her
son had killed himself. Perry
made her comments in accepting
the Oscar for best documentary
for ‘Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press
1.’ ‘We should talk about suicide
out loud,’ she said.
CELEBRATION TIME
‘Titanic’ remains the biggest Oscar
winner of all time, with 14 Oscar
nominations and 11 Oscars won.
The biggest flops were Gangs of New
York, True Grit and American Hustle,
all of which received a stunning 10
nominations but no actual awards.
This year, none of the nominated films
received more than 10 nominations:
Birdman and The Grand Budapest
Hotel each earned nine.
‘Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1’
won the Oscar for the best documentary short subject. Director Ellen Goosenberg ent and producer
Dana Perry were the recipients.
Patrick Osbourne and Kristina
Reed won the best animated short
film award for ‘Feast’.
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
earned the Academy for achievement in visual effects for Christopher Nolan’s science-fiction
drama ‘Interstellar’.
Messed-up
voting process
Even those inclined to defend
this year’s lineup of Oscar
nominees (particularly in Best
Picture) will readily admit that
the list ... could be better.
And yet the more I look at this
list, the more I wonder if this isn’t
the new normal. What’s more
- what if the way the Oscars
conducts its voting is essentially
dooming them to these sorts of
nominees - and winners?
In fact, it’s very possible this
year isn’t a fluke. The milquetoast set of choices is the result of a process that is skewed
toward producing disappointing
sets of winners, a process that
only adds to the ongoing frustrations with the awards body’s
lack of diversity.
Since 2009, when the Academy changed Best Picture from
a straight popular vote to something much more convoluted
(ostensibly to more accurately
reflect the Academy’s consensus), the winners have gotten
much more self-congratulatory.
Instead of the most interesting, daring, creative films taking
statues, the Academy is just as
likely to end up with a scenario
where the winner is the majority
of voters’ third-favorite film.
Academy members vote for
nominees in late December
and early January and then
for winners in early February.
They can do it either online or
via paper ballot.
At the nominations stage,
something called ‘instant runoff
voting’ is used to determine
nominees in all categories.
White, pastel hues
rule red carpet
LOS ANGELES:
Rain soaked red carpet failed
to play spoilsport for Hollywood
beauties Patricia Arquette, Lupita
Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard and Lady
Gaga, who turned heads in shades
of white and pastel at the 87th
Academy Awards.
Gaga, who is all set for her maiden
performance at the Oscars, looked
stunning in couturier Azzedine Alaia’s
plunging white gown that totally stole
the spotlight. This will be her first
performance post her engagement
to longtime boyfriend Taylor Kinney,
who could not come to cheer for her
fiancee due to some ‘work’.
Hollywood fashionista and Oscarwinning actress Nyong’o looked
like a mermaid tangled in a pearl
gown designed for her by Calvin
Klein Collection’s Francisco Costa.
The figure-hugging dress featured
intricate white beading from top to
bottom, a halter neckline and sexy
C
keyhole cut-out. This was the ‘12
Years A Slave’ actress’ second
outing at the Oscars.
Best supporting actress nominee
Arquette opted for a one-shoulder
black-and-white gown by Rosetta
Getty which she paired with a Ferrgamo clutch and shoes.
French beauty Cotillard, nominated for Best Actress for her role in
‘Two Days, One Night’, stunned in a
white Dior gown with black details.
She will also be a presenter at the
star-studded event, which is hosted
by Neil Patrick Harris.
Another best actress nominee,
‘Wild’ star Reese Witherspoon wore
an off-shoulder black-and-white
gown by Tom Ford at the Oscars red
carpet. She looked elegant with her
lustrous golden locks untied.
British actress Felicity Jones, a
best actress nominee for her role
of a compassionate wife in ‘The
Theory of Everything’, donned an
Alexander McQueen silver gown.
She kept her hair and make-up
sleek and simple, a perfect complement to her voluminous dress.
Best actress nominee Julianne
Moore wore a strapless Chanel
gown with black details. She completed her look in a neat bun. Supporting actress nominee Laura Dern
opted for a sliver studded strapless
Alberta Ferretti gown.
While most of the women opted for
subdued colours, Rosamund Pike
and Emma Ston, both nominees
this year, turned heads in blood
red and shimmery green. Scarlett
Johansson too opted for an emerald
green Versace halter gown. Actors
too went for different colours rather
than sticking to black. ‘Selma’ star
David Oyelowo wore a burgandy
tuxedo from Dolce&Gabbana, best
actor nominee Eddie Redmayne
opted for a midnight blue Alexander
McQueen tux.
L ICK
PIC
VOICE MAIL
Dog menace
Sir,
I wish to bring to your notice regarding the growing population of the stray
dogs in Bharath Ratna Rajiv Nagar and Thirumalai Priya Nagar in Ambattur which has become a serious threat to the residents and commuters.
It is very evident that there has been no measure taken officially in this
regard for more than a year in spite of complaints that have been lodged
with the officials concerned.
It is very serious issue that needs immediate attention before these dogs
put the life of the residents in the neighborhood at risk
MARY SAROJINI VASANTH,
Ambattur
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]
Filipino residents wearing costumes pose as they perform during the start of the annual ‘Caracol’ festival in suburban Makati, south
of Manila, Philippines. In the other photograph, Filipinos watch as fireworks from The Netherlands light up the sky at scenic Manila
Bay during the 6th International Pyro Musical competition.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
watchdog and Swiss authorities.
HSBC did not immediately respond
to a request for comment by AFP.
However, a representative for Gulliver told the Guardian that
the chief executive had
used a Swiss account to
hold his bonus payments
prior to 2003, when he
moved from Hong
Kong to London.
Gulliver’s lawyers
said that Hong Kong
tax had been paid on
this income and that
his Swiss accounts had
been declared to British
tax authorities.
British newspapers published a letter from Gulliver
apologising for the Swiss division’s
behaviour in full-page advertisements last week.
Gulliver insisted the Swiss arm had
been ‘completely overhauled’ since
2007, when former employee Herve
Falciani stole a huge cache of data
and passed it to French authorities.
British tax authority HM Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) officials, accused of failing to act adequately
on evidence of tax evasion in the
files, are to be grilled by members
of parliament on Wednesday.
To create three lakh new jobs by 2020
E-commerce, cloud services & mobile sectors to hire big
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
Start-ups are likely to create as
many as three lakh new employment
opportunities in the next few years
while 80 per cent of job-seekers are
opting for such ventures -- which
are already attracting funds from
investors.
According to HR experts, the startups employed about 50,000 to 60,000
people in the last year itself and the
hiring outlook looks positive across
sectors in the near term.
Research conducted by HR consultants also showed that a vast majority
of up to 80 per cent job aspirants
prefer jobs at start-ups, as compared
to already established companies.
As per estimates of the talent assessment firm MeritTrac, the start-up
ecosystem in India may hire 2.5 -3
lakh employees by 2020.
‘Indian start up ecosystem is one of
the fastest growing in the world. We
are witnessing an unprecedented
enthusiasm in the industry with re-
Budget: Incentives for
medical devices sector?
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
After relaxing FDI policy for medical
devices sector, the government is
expected to announce an incentive
package, including tax benefits, in
the forthcoming Budget for domestic
manufacturers.
In its Budget proposals, the Commerce and Industry Ministry has
suggested to Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley to increase import duty on
medical devices product, including
syringes and pacemaker.
It has recommended that the basic
customs duty be hiked from five per
cent to 10 per cent in the next Budget
to be presented on 28 February,
sources said.
There is an issue of inverted duty
structure on these products currently.
This means customs duty on the final
product is less than the duty on some
raw materials essential for domestic
manufacturing of syringes.
As per estimates, import of syringes
has increased to $38.7 million in
2013-14 from $30.7 million in 200607. The domestic demand for the
‘Govt should explore non-tax options’
Industry body CII has suggested that the government should explore
non-tax options for garnering revenue, while expressing hope that
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would keep a tight leash on spending
in the Budget to keep fiscal deficit under control.
CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said that ‘a restrained fiscal
deficit would keep inflationary tendencies under check and facilitate
‘crowding in’ of private investment, thereby strengthening the recovery process’.
In its suggestions for the Budget, CII has requested the government
to explore non-tax options for garnering revenue.
Some such non-tax revenue options include hastening disinvestments, effecting dilution of residual government shares in private
companies as well as going ahead with sale of spectrum and mineral
blocks.
products is about three billion pieces.
The ministry has also suggested
that the countervailing duty on the
imported raw material should be exempted on use basis for pacemakers.
According to sources, the Ministry
wants that the existing concessional
duty of five per cent on the imported
raw material should be continued.
An industry expert said that there is
a huge potential in this sector as the
What is Buffett’s
new investment?
New York, Feb 23 (AFP):
Warren Buffett is getting into motorcycle gear, snapping up a German
retailer in a rare investment by his
Berkshire Hathaway in Europe in
recent years.
The acquisition of the privately held
Detlev Louis Motorrad-Vertriebs was
announced Friday by the company`s
legal counsel, Beiten Burkhardt.
The sole heir and widow of company
founder Detlev Louis sold all the
shares to Berkshire Hathaway after
the seller approached the US firm,
the law firm said.
The deal was worth 400 million
euros ($456 million), according to
Bloomberg News.
Detlev Louis sells helmets, motorbike clothing and accessories in more
than 70 stores in Germany and Austria, as well as online. The company`s
headquarters will remain in Hamburg,
the law firm said.
Investment guru Buffett, the world`s
second-richest man, already had
hinted in early February that he had
eyes on Europe.
domestic demand of pacemakers is
about 50,000 pieces. Its imports have
increased to $22.86 million in 201314 from $14.22 million in 2006-07.
The government in December last
permitted 100 per cent foreign direct
investment (FDI) under automatic
route in medical devices sector to
encourage the manufacturing of
equipment, including diagnostic kits
and other devices.
‘AI, IndiGo flyers
worst hit by delays’
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
Passengers of Air India and no-frill
carrier IndiGo, which has best ontime performance record among the
domestic airliners, were most affected
due to delays of flights by over two
hours in January,
according to the
DGCA data.
The number of Air
India passengers
affected due to flight
delays beyond two
hours stood at 96,232
in January while of IndiGo
was 75,034, the monthly domestic air
traffic report released by Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
said.
Also, as many as 11,666 passengers of private carriers Jet Airways
and its subsidiary JetLite were also affected after their flights were reported
late by more than two hours.
The DGCA norms make it manda-
tory for the airlines to submit data on
number of cases of denied boarding,
cancellations and delays along with
the status on a monthly basis.
As per the report, while Air India
provided facilities such as refreshments, refunds (where
passenger desired), rescheduling of flights
besides giving a
compensation of
Rs 1.04 crore to the
aggrieved flyers, IndiGo provided only refreshments to the passengers of the
delayed flights.
It may be noted here that the domestic passenger traffic grew by
21.33 percent in January this year
as compared to figures in the same
month a year ago. In January 2015,
all Indian carriers ferried a total of
62.45 lakh passengers as compared
to 57.47 lakh in January 2014.
Apple to help test
upcoming iOS releases
Washington, Feb 23:
Apple is reportedly getting ready to
allow users with public betas to test
its upcoming iOS releases, a report
said.
Apple`s iOS 8.3, which
introduces support for
wireless CarPlay, new
emoji, and easier Google
logins, is expected to be released in beta form via the firm`s
AppleSeed program in mid-March,
5
No stopping Indian
start-ups
‘HSBC chief kept
millions in Swiss account’
London, Feb 23 (AFP):
HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver, who vowed to reform the scandal-hit bank, kept millions of dollars
in a Swiss account, the Guardian
newspaper reported.
It is the latest in a
stream of so-called
‘Swissleaks’ allegations that have hit
the reputation of the
British banking giant
and caused a political storm ahead of
a general election in
May.
The report claims the
chief executive was a client of the Swiss private
banking arm accused
of helping wealthy clients
evade tax.
Gulliver held about $7.6 million in
2007 in a Swiss account in the name
of Worcester Equities Inc, a Panamaregistered company, according to the
yesterday’s report.
Gulliver, who is based in Britain
but is domiciled in Hong Kong for
legal and tax purposes, was listed as
the beneficial owner of the account,
the report said. It was published on
the evening before Gulliver is due
to present HSBC’s annual report,
expected to be overshadowed by a
scandal that has prompted investigations of the bank by Britain’s financial
MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
reported The Verge.
An even more crucial beta is going
to follow iOS 9, Apple`s next
milestone release, after it
releases the software at
WWDC this June.
With more people testing every corner of Apple iOS updates, the
company is expected to
deliver more polished experience for
its consumers, the report said.
Experts have attributed the hiring trend
among start-ups to positive economic
sentiments and increase in interest among
venture capitalists to invest in start ups
spect to hiring for these start-ups’,
MeritTrac Innovations and New Products Development general manager
Rajeev Menon said.
The firm’s research further showed
that over 80 per cent of job seekers
are willing to get associated with
start-ups.
Noting that hiring for start-ups was
not easy in the past, Menon said: ‘The
situation is much different now. Job
seekers are willing to bet their careers
with start-ups. They see greater opportunities to learn, establish and
grow faster in these start-ups’.
Echoing sentiments, HR services
firm Randstad India CEO Moorthy
K Uppaluri said that ‘in the last two
PE players sign big
deals in Jan: Thornton
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
Private equity deals worth $1.17
billion were sealed in the very first
month of this year, registering a jump
of 74 per cent over last year, says a
Grant Thornton report. According to
the assurance, tax and advisory firm,
the upward trend in PE investment
activity continued in January with 74
per cent higher deal values compared
to the same month last year.
In January 2014 there were 54 private equity deals worth $675 million.
Private equity investments witnessed heightened interest in IT &
ITeS, particularly in the e-commerce
space, which drove both values and
volumes. In one such investments,
online marketplace ShopClues raised
over $100 million from a group of
investors led by Tiger Global.
years, we have seen a consistent
increase in candidates preferring
start-ups over other established firms
and this trend is likely to grow’.
Experts have attributed the hiring
trend among start-ups to positive
economic sentiments and increase
in interest among venture capitalists
to invest in start-ups.
Data provided by Career Shapers
HR Consulting showed that venture
capital firms invested about $1.06
billion (Rs 6,600 crore) in over 244
startups, during 2014.
‘Indian start-ups are not taking baby
steps anymore and have sufficient
funds to sustain and hire experienced
professionals’, Career Shapers HR
Consulting principal consultant &
director Pankaj Minglani said.
Mobile commerce platform StoreHippo.Com CEO & founder Rajiv
Kumar said: ‘Buoyed by government
initiatives like e-governance, easing
of regulatory norms, initiatives like
‘Make in India’ and a positive outlook
for the Indian economy in the coming
fiscal, there will be a huge rise in the
number of start-up ventures’.
‘A big shift is underway in the Indian
technology space where emerging
ventures are winning business from
large clients in the face of competition from established players’, Kumar added. As per experts, hiring is
expected to largely take place from
start-ups engaged in e-commerce
space, cloud services, mobiles and
tablets as well as financial services.
According to HR firm Unison International’s managing director Udit
Mittal, the hiring would mainly be
for positions at the mid-level and
senior-level.
China provided $10 bn
tax breaks for SMEs
Beijing, Feb 23 (PTI):
China has provided $10 billion
worth of tax concessions to small
and micro businesses in 2014 to help
them to ward off negative effects of
its economic growth which touched
a 24 year low last year. China has
expanded preferential tax policies for
small companies and reduced their
tax burden to boost economic growth
and employment, state-run Xinhua
news agency reported.
Nearly 80
per cent of urban jobs are provided
by small companies, which were also
the mainstay of China’s exports.
Tax breaks for the SMEs amounted
61.2 billion yuan ($10 billion) in 2014,
the State Administration of Taxation
(SAT) said. Business income tax
of 10.1 billion yuan was reduced or
scrapped from 2.46 million small
and micro businesses, as companies
with annual taxable business income
below 100,000 yuan were eligible for
a 50 per cent reduction.
Value added tax and turnover tax
cuts were worth more than 51.1 billion
yuan from 22 million small and micro
businesses through a temporary suspension for certain small firms from
1 August, 2013, to 30 September,
2014, according to SAT.
The tax incentives were aimed
SMEs coping up with the slowdown
of the economy which grew at 7.4 per
cent last year, a 24 year low.
6 MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
Sports
CHENNAI
Hard work paid for Shikhar: MSD
Indian skipper pleased with team’s all-round performance
Melbourne, Feb 23 (PTI):
Hailing opener Shikhar Dhawan’s
match-winning century against South
Africa, India skipper Mahendra
Singh Dhoni said the left-hander
played smart by staying at the
crease even after getting his
hundred.
Dhoni liked the manner in
which Dhawan, who struck
137 in India’s challenging
total of 307, planned his
innings.
‘Today, he was really batting the way he bats. When
he needed to play the big shots, he
did play, and he was also rotating the
strike. He made sure that once he
got his hundred, he was still there at
the crease,’ Dhoni said after India’s
impressive 130-run win yesterday.
‘It’s important if you get a hundred
and you are able to score 130 or
140 runs, you always see the team
getting those extra 20 or
25 runs. So it was good
on his part to make sure he
stays until the end because
the general tendency at
times is for the openers is
to after the 25th over they
like to play the big shots.
They think their job is over.
But I think in these conditions,
once you are set you have to
make the most of it,’ Dhoni said.
The captain also acknowledged
Dhawan’s hard work
during the training
sessions.
‘Shikhar batted really well. He was
putting in effort in the net sessions,
and as I said, a lot of times people talk
about form, but form is something that
nobody can see like that. It’s just a
matter of 15-20 minutes, and maybe
it was something that he spent in the
last game, that 20 minutes of initial
batting that really helped him,’ Dhoni
said as he was generous in his praise
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
for his colleague.
The skipper is happy that the team
has found some momentum after
back-to-back wins.
‘The kind of wins that we have had
in the last two games, it’s tough to
get, so definitely both the games
were important for
us. The way we
played in this
game, also -- last
game I said it was a
M S Dhoni
was all praise for
the Indian fielding
effort, which contributed
in a big way to the
victory over South
Africa.
‘Embarrassed’ de Villiers says
confidence down
AB de Villiers
Melbourne, Feb 23 (PTI):
A dejected South Africa captain
AB de Villiers said the ‘embarrassing’ 130-run defeat against India was
a severe dent to their confidence and
the team will have to lick its wounds
for a while now.
‘Yeah, it’s a big knock for us to
get beaten by 130 runs. It’s almost embarrassing. You never
want to lose by that amount of
runs. You always want to be
a competitive team. Feel like
you’re always in the game, feel
like you’ve got a chance to win
games. We’re going to have to
lick our wounds for a while,’ de Villers
said after crushing defeat in Pool B
yesterday.
‘It’s not just about qualifying for the
quarterfinals. It’s not about that. Your
confidence takes a bit of
a knock with performances like that,’ de Villiers said.
Phelps gets engaged
Washington, Feb 23 (AFP):
There’s more gold coming for Olympic record-setting swim star Michael
Phelps. But this time, it’s a wedding
ring.
Phelps, whose record career haul of
22 Olympic medals includes 18 golds,
got engaged to his girlfriend over the
weekend, according to social media
posts from the couple.
Phelps, 29, and his new fiancee
Nicole Johnson, a 2010 Miss California pageant champion, posted
pictures to Instagram shortly after the
proposal. The two are seen rolling
around in the snow and Johnson is
sporting a large ring on her left hand.
‘She said yes,’ Phelps wrote on Twitter and Instagram.
‘I’m going to be a Mrs,’ Nicole Johnson wrote.
While he wants the senior players to
come together in this pressure situation, he did admit that the defeat has
taken its toll and he wants to sulk in
silence.
‘Come tomorrow, we’ll have to start
strategising on how we’re going to recover and regroup
as a unit, and we’ll put
all our focus on Friday
against the West Indies.
It’s a big game for us and
it’s a must win for us in
Sydney, but for now I just
want to sort of go feel sad in my
room for a while, and we’ll see
again how I feel tomorrow,’ de Villiers
said without
hiding his feelings.
de Villiers had a word of caution for his
teammates saying this poor show can
creep into the team’s system.
‘Today’s performance can creep into
your game if you start thinking about
it too much. If you allow it to creep in,
Chelsea fan apologises
for racism row
London, Feb 23 (AFP):
A former police officer and Chelsea
fan apologised for his involvement in
an alleged racist incident involving
football supporters on a Paris Metro
train.
Footage posted online last week
showed supporters blocking a
man named as Souleymane S
from boarding a metro train in
the French capital and chanting ‘we’re racist and that’s the
way we like it.’
Richard Barklie, 50, a director with
rights group the World Human Rights
Forum, acknowledged he was involved but insisted he is not a racist
in a statement released by his lawyer.
‘He did not participate in racist
chanting and singing and condemns
any behaviour supporting that,’ the
statement from Belfast solicitor Kevin
Winters said.
‘He wants to put on record his sincerest apologies for the trauma and
stress suffered by Mr Souleymane.’
The incident ahead of last Tuesday’s Champions League draw
with Paris St Germain sparked
widespread condemnation.
Chelsea have promised to
ban anyone proved to have
been involved for life, while
manager Jose Mourinho said the club
were ‘appalled’ by the behaviour.
Barklie, a Chelsea season ticket
holder, travelled alone to the match
and does not know the other people
shown in the video, the statement
said.
Ferrer captures title in Rio
David Ferrer
Rio de Janeiro, Feb 23:
David Ferrer won his second
tournament of the season and the
23rd ATP singles title of his career,
beating Fabio Fognini on Sunday
6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Rio Open.
Ferrer has won all eight matches
he has played against Fognini, including the previous one - the final
on clay last year in Buenos Aires.
Ferrer of Spain was seeded No.
2 in the clay-court tournament
behind countryman Rafael Nadal.
He called this his ‘best match of
the tournament’
and said he was
adjusting to his
a
new coach Frann
Tennis
ccisco Fogues after a so-so 2014
te
sseason.
complete batting performance, but
this game also I felt we did really well
with the batting. We tried something
different.
‘Last few overs, we actually went
for those big shots irrespective of
wickets falling. We actually wanted to
see how much we can push, so even
though Raina got out, it was Jadeja,
who went for his runs and ultimately Shami and Ashwin batting
in the end and
getting past 300
runs, which
was fantastic. It was
definitely
a par-plus
score
on this
wicke t ,
Praising the bowlers, Dhoni said, ‘Definitely,
it was a fantastic performance. Maybe, the
wicket also helped us a bit, but still, hitting
the right areas, the length, according to the
wicket, how the wicket is behaving, is crucial.’
‘It was not easy to adjust,’ said
32-year-old Ferrer, who is off to the
best start of his career. ‘This year I
have recovered this relaxed feeling
with the new coach.’
Ferrer also won the Qatar Open in
Doha, but brushed of thinking ahead
to the French Open.
‘From this moment forward I am only
thinking about playing next week in
Acapulco on hard courts,’ Ferrer said.
‘I don’t think much farther ahead than
just enjoying this victory.’
Fognini upset top-seeded Nadal in
Saturday’s semifinal 1-6, 6-2, 7-5.
The loss ended Nadal’s 52-match
winning string in semifinals on clay.
Nadal, dubbed ‘The King of Clay’ and
the winner of 14 Grand Slams, has
yet to reach the final in three tournaments this season.
it will knock your confidence down. I
want to have a mature chat and honest
chat about it. When it comes down to
making the quarterfinals, I still believe
that if we play some good
cricket, we’ll make that.’
The South African captain feels that it
was a combination of poor batting from
his team as well as some good bowling
from India.
‘A bit of both, I think. I spoke to Hashim
after the innings. He actually mentioned
to me that he was quite impressed with
the bowling performance from India. I
thought they were quite clever tonight,
but definitely a poor batting performance. Like I mentioned before, the two
run outs (his and David Miller) cost us
quite a lot tonight.
‘You can’t afford to have two run outs
in the top six. It could have been my
night or David’s night tonight, and we
both sat on the side of the field not even
being dismissed by a bowler, which is
disappointing.’
Alonso ‘ok’ after
heavy crash
Barcelona, Feb 23:
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso is ‘ok
and conscious’ after being involved
in a heavy crash on the final day of
pre-season testing in Barcelona on
Sunday.
The Spaniard, twice world champion, hit the wall on the exit of Turn
Three at speeds of up to 150 miles
per hour.
The 33-year-old was taken to the
circuit’s medical centre for initial treatment before being airlifted to hospital
for precautionary checks.
‘Fernando Alonso crashed in the
end of Turn Three. The car has gone
back and crashed into the wall,’ a
statement from the circuit said.
Built-in alarms in Formula 1 cars
measure the G-Force of crashes and
FIA rules dictate that drivers must
complete mandatory hospital tests if
a certain reading is exceeded.
‘Fernando Alonso’s McLaren-Honda
car left the track at Turn Three, causing the right-hand side of his car to
strike the wall,’ McLaren said in a
statement.
‘Fernando was driven to the circuit’s
Medical Centre where the circuit’s
doctors gave him first aid.
‘He was conscious and spoke with
the doctors. However, as per usual
procedure in such circumstances, he
was then airlifted to hospital where he
is undergoing precautionary checks.’
The Circuit de Catalunya tweeted:
‘It seems that Alonso is ok. We hope
that everything’s alright and all ends
with just a shock!!’
It is not yet known whether the crash
was a result of a driver error or a
malfunction of the car.
Alonso’s former Ferrari team, whom
he left at the end of last season,
tweeted; ‘All the best Fernando.’
Shikhar Dhawan
a n d
when we
turned up with the
ball, I think we bowled in
the right areas
and we made it tough for
the opposition to score.’
Kumble inducted
into Hall of Fame
Melbourne, Feb 23 (PTI): for India, capturing 619 wickets and
Former India captain Anil Kumble became the second man in history
to take 10 wickets in an inwas on Sunday inducted into
nings when he dismantled
the International Cricket
Pakistan in 1999 to finCouncil Hall of Fame at
ish with figures of 10
the Melbourne Cricket
for 74.
Ground.
‘Anil was an outKumble is just the
standing internafourth Indian to be
tional cricketer, a
included in the elite
very well-respected
group, joining Sunil
opponent, a great
Gavaskar, Kapil Dev
statesman for his
and Bishan Bedi.
country and a role
Australian legend
model for millions of
Betty Wilson was also
Anil Kumble
aspiring cricketers,’ said
inducted into the ICC Hall
ICC Chief Executive David
of Fame, along with Kumble.
Richardson.
‘It’s an honour to be inducted
‘He played hard but within the spirit
into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame,’
Kumble said.
of the game. His performance and
‘Indeed, it will be a great moment record speak volumes for his tenacity,
of pride to receive it during the ICC commitment, endurance and service
Cricket World Cup 2015 at the Mel- to the game.’
bourne Cricket Ground I deem it as a
Alongside Kumble, Wilson becomes
great privilege to join the list of great the second Australian woman in the
cricketing luminaries,’ he added.
Hall of Fame behind champion batter
The 44-year-old played 132 Tests Belinda Clark.
Age is no barrier
for Karlovic
Ivo Karlovic
Delray Beach, Feb 23:
Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic became the
oldest ATP winner since Jimmy
Connors in 1989 when he captured
the Delray Beach Open final on
Sunday.
The 35-year-old used his prodigious serve to break American
opponent Donald Young three
times for a 6-3, 6-3 victory on
the Florida hardcourt.
Karlovic, who turns 36 on 28
February, is the oldest winner
since Connors won in Tel Aviv
at the age of 37, according to
the ATP.
It is Karlovic’s sixth career title and
it keeps the event in Croatian hands
following last year’s victory by Marin
Cilic, who later in the season won the
US Open.
‘It is really satisfying. At my age to
do this is an unbelievable feeling and
this gives me a boost of confidence
to go into other events,’ Karlovic told
reporters after beating Young in 69
minutes.
Karlovic does not know how long
he can continue at such a high level,
but says he is as fit as when he was
in his late 20s.
‘I am healthy,’ he said. ‘I feel
fast, strong. I don’t know how
many more years I can do
this but for now I am feeling
good. In all the tests I am like
eight years ago.’
The 6-foot, 11-inch (211cm) Croat
used his height to pound 91 aces
for the tournament and remain
unbroken in 56 service games,
though he came closest to
dropping serve when he was
down 0-40 in the eighth game of the
first set against Young.
‘I was able to get out of it. I was also
a little bit lucky,’ he said. ‘After that
game I knew it would be easier because that game I did a lot of double
faults and I was able to get out of it.’
Young, who remains without an ATP
title after two final appearances, said
it was difficult to read where Karlovic
was going to place his serve.
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
Atomic Energy Organisation, continued at a separate location.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the director of the
Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation
and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s brother and close aide Hossein
Fereydoon along with US Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz made their
maiden appearance in the
talks signalling that the
deal is entering a sensitive stage.
The two officials and their
negotiators spent more
than five hours yesterday
negotiating technical details of the nuclear talks. The
US and Iranian diplomats along
with negotiators from the P5+1 group
have been meeting in Geneva since
the last three days to smoothen out
major bumps in reaching a nuclear
deal.
The tricky negotiations have mainly
been over Iranian uranium enrichment and the pace of removing sanctions, which the US wants to stagger
over time.
‘Govt ready for thorough discussion on various issues’
New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI):
With the NDA dispensation facing a
tough Budget session, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi reached out to the
Opposition, saying Government will
listen to their views and efforts will be
made to discuss all issues of national
importance.
Speaking to the media outside
Parliament House before the threemonth session began, the Prime
Minister expressed confidence that
it will proceed in an atmosphere of
mutual cooperation and there will be
an opportunity to do some good for
the people.
‘In a democracy, discussion and
debate should happen in this temple
of democracy. Every subject should
Anna Hazare begins
another protest
34 labourers
rescued from
brick kiln
because they must have done something wrong.
Shortly after his arrival, Anna Hazare said that the agitation may continue
if the government does not take back
the anti-farmer provisions. ‘If the government doesn’t take the ordinance
back, then the people will also continue with their agitation. The activists
will make aware the farmers (of the
amendments). There is a chance that
farmers from across the country will
gather at the Ramlila Maidan in the
next three-four months,’ he told PTI.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar
Vishwas will meet Anna Hazare over
the issue of Land Ordinance Bill today, the ANI reported. However, the
party is yet to decide whether it will
join Anna’s movement.
All steps to conduct
jallikattu again: CM
NT Bureau
the cultural, traditional and reliChennai, Feb 23: gious entiments of the people of
Chief Minister O Panneersel- Tamilnadu, he said discussions
vam today said the Tamilnadu were held between officials of
government has been taking all the State government and Centre
steps to ensure that ‘jallikattu’, on in January this year on the
the popular bull-taming
matter.
sport of the State, is
Stating that a review
DU ASS
A
conducted again durpetition was filed in
N
ing Pongal season.
the apex court as
Speaking in the
soon as the ban
Assembly today, he
was issued, he
said the State govexpressed hope
ernment had already
that a favourable
asked the Centre to
verdict would be
denotify bulls from the
obtained soon.
list of performing aniMeanwhile, intermals to facilitate holding
vening when CPI(M) A
the event.
Soundararajan was speaking
‘Consistent steps are being during the thanksgiving motion
taken on this front and once the to the Governor’s address, PanCentre denotifies, we will get an neerselvam said law and order
order from the Supreme Court for is well being maintained in the
the conduct of the sport,’ he said. State.
Recalling that AIADMK suThanks to various steps taken
premo J Jayalalithaa had taken by Jayalalithaa, crime rates have
consistent efforts to remove come down and the State is now
bulls from the list considering a haven of peace, he said.
BLY
EM
Berhampur (Odisha), Feb 23 (PTI):
As many as 34 brick kiln workers,
including 15 women were rescued
by labour officials in Ganjam district
for the alleged inhumane treatment
meted out to them, official sources
said today. The rescue operation
was carried out on Saturday by the
assistant labour officer, Bhanjanagar
with the help of the police following
a government directive, the sources
said.
The rescued labourers from
Bramhanamala of Baragarh district
were working in the kiln at Chadheipalli village under Bhanjanagar police
station limit since last month.
Their seven children were also rescued from the site although the kids
did not work in the kiln, the sources
said. ‘All the rescued labourers were
sent back to their own village after
being rescued,’ assistant labour
commissioner (ALC), Berhampur,
Nilambar Mishal, said.
The government had directed officials to rescue the labourers when
one of them complained before the
district administration in Baragarh
that his fellow labourers were not
provided with adequate food and
proper shelter, forcing them to live in
inhuman conditions.
Anna Hazare
that he is welcome to join the agitation
but as part of public. ‘If people from
any political party joins us on stage
then people will think that its a party’s
protest,’ he added.
He further added that Congress was
not voted back to power by people
TAMIL
New Delhi, Feb 23:
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare
began a two-day protest against Land
Acquisition ordinance at Jantar
Mantar from today, on the day the
Budget Session of the Parliament
commences.
Hazare is holding the protest to
demand the withdrawal of the antifarmer amendments to the Land
Acquisition Act, 2013.
While interacting with the mediapersons, he said that the agitation is not
against any person or party but for
the benefit of farmers. ‘The BJP went
for an ordinance on land acquisition
which is not in favour of democracy,’
he was quoted by ANI.
On the issue of AAP leader Kumar
Vishwas joining the agitation, he said
Narendra Modi
Zone. While Dhoni
at the right time,’
has always wanted
Tendulkar’s ada proper balance bevice for title contween training and
tenders seem
recovery, Tendulkar
to echo Dhoni’s
also spoke in the
sentiments.
same vein.
Tendulkar said
‘One needs to find
that introduction
that balance beof T20 and the
tween staying fresh
new fielding reand not over-burstrictions have
dening yourself with
instilled a self
additional practice
belief that even
sessions. You just
an asking rate of
Sachin Tendulkar
need to find that right
9 or more can be
balance. Obviously, if somebody chased down.
is not playing well, then he needs
‘There are two reasons that we
to go out and hit as many balls as are getting so many high-scoring
possible or bowl as many deliv- games. Firstly, the rule-change.
eries possible. But if everything There is one fielder less outside
is going well, it is important to
the circle. That makes a huge
save that energy and one peak difference. The game opens up
‘In a democracy,
discussion and debate
should happen in this
temple of democracy. Every
subject should be discussed
in detail’
be discussed in detail. We hope that
there will be a positive outcome of this
debate that will help the poorest of the
poor. Budget session is crucial for any
government. It is also an important
opportunity for the country.
I believe that the budget session will
proceed in a very good atmosphere,
Mystery shrouds
death of boy at
theme park
NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 23:
Mystery looms large over the death
of the 12-year-old boy who allegedly
died in a theme park’s swimming pool
on Sunday.
According to an Inspector, ‘The
case is still underway and we are yet
to conclude how the boy died. The
medical reports will help to draw a
conclusion in this regard’.
The police source added that there
were several life guards at the spot,
and that no one has been taken into
custody yet.
It may be noted that Prabhakaran,
a student of Sri Lakshmi Higher
Secondary School in Tiruvallur was
with 150 other students on a school
picnic to Queensland in Palanjur, with
a dozen teachers.
The incident came to light when
Prabhakaran who was playing in the
pool was found dead.
Relatives argued that the boy’s legs
got stuck in a net placed to separate
the pool into sections, due to which
he could not come out of the waters.
While some reports say that the pool
is three feet and the boy is taller than
the water level, others feel that Prabhakaran ingested excessive water
leading to his death.
Prakbhakaran, according to the
family, was healthy
Police allege that it is a case of
negligence by the school and the
park authorities. The incident sparked
protests from the boy’s family and
relatives at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital yesterday.
Masi festival
begins at
Murugan temple
Tiruchendur, Feb 23 (PTI):
The Masi festival at the famous
Lord Subramaniaswamy temple in
this coastal town began today with
the flag hoisting ceremony.
The flag was brought in a procession and hoisted after special poojas
amidst chanting of the vedas and
‘Thirumurai’ (Tamil veda) by the
experts.
Temple Joint Commissioner
R.Gnanasekar and Fit Person P T
Kottai Manian were present on the
occasion.
Tendulkar backs Dhoni’s
theory on training
Perth, Feb 23 (PTI):
Indian cricket team’s sudden
breaksfrom training session may
have raised a few eyebrows but
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s theory
got firm backing from Sachin
Tendulkar, who feels that an
ideal balance needs to be struck
between - staying fresh and not
over burdening with additional
practice.
Tendulkar, who was in Melbourne yesterday, to watch the
India versus South Africa as
ICC’s World Cup ‘Brand Ambassador’ aired his views on key to
success in the mega event.
‘To have same successful
combination going all the way is
going to be key,’ Tendulkar was
quoted as saying in an audio
released in ICC’s official Media
7
PM reaches out
to Opposition
US upbeat about
reaching N-deal with Iran
Geneva, Feb 23 (PTI):
The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the P5+1 nations aimed to
smoothen out major bumps in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran has ended
with a positive note.
The meeting of P5+1 - China, Russia, the UK, the US, France and
Germany- group nations
was held yesterday at the
EU mission here and was
attended by Iran’s Deputy
Foreign Minister for Legal
and International Affairs,
Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
After the meeting,
Araghchi said, ‘It was a fruitful meeting but we cannot claim
any progress yet. It’s too early to say.’
The US side was attended by Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs,
Wendy Sherman.
Meanwwhile, bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State John
Kerry and US Energy Secretary
Ernest Moniz and the Iranian Foreign
minister Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar
Salehi, the director of the Iranian
MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
completely. It becomes difficult
for bowlers to find those areas to
bowl, as one less fielder forces
you to bowl differently,’ Tendulkar explained.
‘Another reason is the
introduction of T20
which allowed batsmen to play more risky
and innovative shots.
The guys have practised a lot in the nets.
How many times would
you have seen in the
80s or 90s that batsmen
playing reverse sweep to fast
bowlers which happens in today’s cricket?
‘If they have to chase 8 runs
an over, it’s not beyond reach
(anymore).
in an atmosphere of cooperation and
will serve as an opportunity to do
good together,’ Modi said.
The Prime Minister also referred to
his meeting with leaders of Opposition parties at the all-party meeting
called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu yesterday.
‘I had met leaders of all parties for
a long time even yesterday.
Our effort will be that there should
be a thorough discussion on all important issues of national interest,’
he said.
Noting that this is the first occasion
for his government to present a fullterm budget, he said the Budget session is beginning with a committment
that there should be dialogue in this
‘temple of democracy’ and a thorough
discussion on every issue so that it’s
outcome works to the advantage of
the poorest of the poor.
He said that the Budget reflects the
efforts of the government to fulfil the
aspirations of the common man.
AAP turns
focus to UP
Lucknow, Feb 23 (PTI):
Riding high on its victory in Delhi
Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi
Party is gearing up to spread its wings
in the politically important state of
Uttar Pradesh where it hopes to replace caste politics with issue-based
politics. ‘Though we haven’t taken a
decision yet on contesting the 2017
Assembly elections, our main focus is
on UP,’ AAP’s national council member and state spokesman Vaibhav
Maheshwari told PTI.
People feel that caste politics dominates in UP but AAP foresees more
possibilities in the state, he said.
‘The reason being that the electorate changes the government after
every election,’ Maheshwari said.
He exuded confidence that when
AAP will go before the electorate with
issue-based politics, they will respond
positively.
‘We are confident of providing them
with alternate politics, which will focus
only on their issues regardless of their
caste and religion,’ he said.On the expansion of the party, he said AAP currently has committees in 72 districts.
‘These districts have been divided in
five zones supervised by a state secretariat. This secretariat coordinates
among these committees,’ he said.
‘We have to bring the organisation in
a strong position in these 72 districts.
Membership and people’s attraction
towards the party has increased.
There was some negativity after Lok
Sabha elections,’ he said.
Maheshwari said due to Delhi elections, they could not give much attention to the organisational preparations
in UP. ‘Though officially we are yet
to decide whether we will contest UP
Assembly election, but if we are in
the fray then our prime focus is on
organisational preparations,’ he said.
Music director Ilayaraja inaugurating Amma Anandhana Thittam at
Tamil Film Producers Council in Chennai today on the eve of AIADMK
supremo J Jayalalithaa’s birthday. President of Producers Council
Kalaipuli S Dhanu is also seen.
Indians invented medicine
for small pox: Minister
New Delhi, Feb 23:
Union Science and Technology
Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Sunday claimed that modern medicine
originated in India and that Indians
had practised inoculation against
small pox even before the vaccine
for the disease was invented by
Edward Jenner.
Dr. Vardhan, who is himself
an ENT surgeon, said that most
of what is taken to be modern
medicine had come back to India
through the ‘American route’ after
being first translated into Arabic
and Persian in 9 AD and, from that,
into the European languages in the
17th century.
WI aims big win
vs Zimbabwe
Canberra, Feb 23 (PTI):
Riding high after demolishing Pakistan in
their last encounter, an
unpredictable
West Indies eye
another big win
against perceived minnows Zimbabwe
in their third pool
B match of the
cricket World Cup,
here tomorrow.
After a rather stunning loss to Ireland
in their lung-opener,
West Indies bounced
back strongly to get the
better of Pakistan and are
currently placed second
behind India in the points
table. Zimbabwe have also
endured a similar rollercoaster, losing to South
Africa, although they did
have their moments in the
match, before getting the
better of UAE to be placed
fourth on the table.
‘On the day we have to
turn up. It doesn’t matter which team we play
against, we’re going to
have to play our A game.
It’s all good cricket from
now on.
It’s the momentum, and
once we keep doing what
we can do, I think we’re
going to go all the way,’
said all-rounder Andre
Russell ahead of the
clash.
NAME CHANGE
I,
K.DORASWAMY,
S/o. Kalavai Venkata
Krishna Reddy, residing
at No.72, G.R.Kandigai
Village, S.R.Kandigai Post,
Gummudipoondi Taluk,
Tiruvallur - 601 201, Tamilnadu,
shall henceforth be known as
KALAVAI DORASWAMY
REDDY.
K.DORASWAMY
Read
Every evening
8MONDAY
23 FEBRUARY 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
Going
ga-ga over
‘Men in Blue’
MELBOURNE:
As India broke a longstanding World Cup jinx
against South Africa here
Sunday, appreciation and
congratulatory messages
poured in from the cricket
fraternity which hailed the
team’s ‘terrific’ all-round
performance in front of a
packed MCG.
Riding on another strong
batting display powered by
Shikhar Dhawan’s strokeful
century, India crushed South
Africa by a massive 130 runs
to beat them for the first time
in World Cup history.
‘Terrific performance
team India.First win in a
World Cup against South
Africa.First time for me in
the stands in a WorldCup.
Memorable firsts,’ batting
legend Sachin Tendulkar
wrote on his twitter handle.
Former India captain Anil
Kumle said, ‘Great victory
Sports Minister hails
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal lauded the Indian cricket team for its
comprehensive 130-run victory over South Africa in a World Cup match in
Melbourne, saying Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the side ‘brilliantly.’
‘The Indian team truly deserved the victory. It was a true team effort. The
Indians batted well and their running between the wickets was exceptionally
fast. The bowlers bowled well from the beginning and the wickets at regular
interval kept the pressure building and the team also managed to get some
crucial run-outs,’ Sonowal said in a statement.
‘Overall it was a brilliant team effort and with these two important wins, the
team would be beaming with confidence. I once again congratulate MS Dhoni
for brilliantly leading the team and I wish them good luck for their future games.’
Union Minister and Olympic silver-medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore also
congratulated the Indian team.
‘Congratulations India for winning #IndvsSA Match. For each winning moment
there may be a million self beliefs strengthened,’ he tweeted.
for India. Out batted- out
bowled and more importantly out fielded the South
Africans! Well played Ind!!’
Yesteryear star spinner
Bishan Singh Bedi lauded
the team for showing a lot
of commitment.
‘Gr8 win India!Superb
commitment in all departments of Crkt..go & let yur
hair down fellas!!But return
2 good earth ASAP..!!God
be with U all,’ Bedi tweeted.
Defending champions
India now appear set for
a berth in the quarterfinals
after their two comprehensive wins over Pakistan and South Africa
which places them on top
of Group B.
‘Massive win ! well done
shero @BCCI ..great team
Warne still
spinning headlines
Shane Warne
SYDNEY:
From blokeish TV commentary to controversial
jibes at the present day
Australian team to flogging
boxer shorts on his Instagram account, it`s hard to
ignore Shane Warne at the
World Cup. The master
leg-spinner, who retired
from international cricket
in 2007 with over 1,000
wickets in Tests and oneday internationals, is rarely
far from the headlines.
The 45-year-old has been
at the centre of almost daily
criticism of the Australian
team, accusing officials
of trying to ‘break’ close
friend, and national captain, Michael Clarke by
rushing him back from his longstanding injury. Coach Darren
Lehmann, a team-mate of
Warne’s when Australia won
the 1999 World Cup, described
the comments as ‘absolute
rubbish.’
Clarke, however, raced to
the defence of his friend.
‘I have always supported
Warney, he’s a big supporter of mine and is a
good friend,’ said Clarke,
whose planned return to
the team was delayed
when Saturday`s game
against Bangladesh in
Brisbane was washed out.
‘I think Shane might have
been taken out of context. I
think what he was trying to
say was the medical staff
have pushed me to the
limit, which is a great thing.’
Despite Clarke attempting to play a forward defensive stroke for the sake
of team unity, Warne was
soon back on the attack.
Over the weekend, as the
four-time champions kicked
their heels before their next
match against New Zealand
in Auckland on Saturday,
Warne accused Lehmann of
trying to usurp the authority
of the captain.
He suggested it was Lehmann who had decided
when Australia declared
against India in the Boxing
Day Test in Melbourne,
when Steve Smith was
standing in for Clarke.
efforts... Maza aa gaya.
Celebration time,’ said Harbhajan Singh, who was
part of India’s World Cup
triumph in 2011.
Zaheer Khan, who played
a part in India’s victory four
years ago, too praised the
Men in Blue. ‘Great going
#TeamIndia ! Superb all
round performance ....way
to go !!,’ the seamer said.
International stars were also
not behind when it came to
praising the Indian team.
‘What an incredible victory for India...the @MCG
looked like the place to be!
Can’t wait to be back in Aus
in a couple weeks...’ wrote
England’s star batsman
Kevin Pietersen.
Former Australia opener
Matthew Hayden said, ‘Ok
steady you all.... Beating SA
is not the World Cup!!! Happy
#india has own but still have
so much to do in this.
TOMORROW’S MATCH
West Indies vs Zimbabwe at Canberra, 9 a.m (IST)
Mohit Sharma
Team
P
W
L NR
Pts
NZ
AUS
BAN
SL
AFG
ENG
SCOT
3
2
2
2
2
3
2
3
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
6
3
3
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
0
2
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
0
2
1
1
0
2
0
2
0
1
0
1
0
(Updated upto 23 February)
4
2
2
2
2
0
0
POOL B
INDIA
SA
IRE
WI
ZIM
PAK
UAE
Pak keeps
media out to
focus on game
KARACHI:
Pakistan team management has cancelled all
interaction with the media for a few days as part
of emergency measures
taken to revive the side’s
campaign in the ongoing
World Cup.
The team management
also cancelled a scheduled
training session schedule in Brisbane today and
decided instead to have a
long meeting of the players.
‘At the moment the plan is
that all outings and media
interactions have been put
on hold for the next week
and to get the players focused back on cricket,’ a
source in the team said.
— PTI
POINTS TABLE
POOL A
Mohit has been a revelation’
MELBOURNE:
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell feels
rookie pacer Mohit Sharma
has been a revelation in
the ongoing World Cup
as he has made a huge
difference to the Indian
attack, bringing about a
turnaround in the side’s
fortunes after a string of
poor shows in the run-up to
the showpiece event.
Chappell said India
can be counted as one
of the favourites to win
the World Cup if they
continue the form they
showed while beating
Pakistan and South Africa whom they thrashed
by 130 runs here Sunday.
‘Indian bowling has been
a huge difference in the
World Cup as compared
to Test series against Australia and the tri-series.
Mohit Sharma has played
a big part in this transformation, he has been a
revelation and suddenly he
has made a big difference
in Indian bowling,’ Chappell said.
‘Indian bowling was not
consistent against Australia in Test series and
then in the tri-series. They
will bowl well and then they
will have bad deliveries.
They have now cut down
on those bad deliveries. If
India can continue bowling
like this, they will be one
of the favourites to win
the World Cup,’ he told a
television channel. Former
Indian batsman V V S Laxman also praised Mohit for
his consistent bowling.
‘Mohit has a slower delivery also and he is very
consistent. He made his
bowling very simple by
bowling wicket to wicket
consistently and he does
not easily give away those
loose deliveries. M S Dhoni
knows him well and used
him in the IPL for Chennai
Super Kings,’ he said.
— PTI
SID BETS BIG ON
Enakkul Oruvan
A
VIP team
is back
The success team of Velai Illa
Pattadhari-Dhanush, Velraj and
Anirudh Ravichander are coming
togther for another entertainer.
Now the team has kick started
the composing session for the
new project, ‘Started composing
for team VIP’s next project. @
anirudh official at his very best.It’s
always a magical feeling 2 make
songs wid this prodigy’ posted
the overwhelmed Dhanush in his
Twitter page.
Produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar films, the new film will have
Samantha as the heroine while
the rest of cast and crew will be
announced soon.
— NT Bureau
ctor Siddharth has completed 13 years in the film industry. He is called
as chocolate boy and lover boy, but Siddharth says he isn’t one of them.
Eagerly awaiting the release of his next movie Enakkul Oruvan, a
remake of Kannada hit Lucia, Siddharth, says, ‘I don’t take it as compliment
when someone calls me lover boy. See all my films so far, there are different
from each other and my roles have been unique’.
Enakkul Oruvanis releasing on 6 March. Deepa Sannidhi plays the female
lead. Produced by CV Kumar, Ennakul Oruvan is directed by debutant Pawan
Kumar and the film will be released by Dream Factory.
Says Siddharh, ‘I play two different characters in the film. One as a rich affluent youth and other as an usher in a theatre. Both are different from each
other. Whoever watched the movie so far heaped laurels on me’.
EXCERPTS FROM
THE INTERVIEW
Q: Tell us about Enakkul Oruvan?
A: It is an emotional journey of a
youth with right commercial elements.
We have made certain changes to
suit Tamil audience. Playing the role
of an usher was difficult. I worked
hard and reduce eight kilograms to
suit the role. With a tan make-up, I
was into the skin of the character.
Enakkul Oruvan is a refreshing experience for me.
Q: Why you are doing only Tamil
films now?
A: I was away in Andhra doing
Telugu films for almost seven years.
I could see a wave of young talented
filmmakers in Tamil cinema now. I
don’t want to miss the opportunity
to be part of their films. Hence I am
doing a lot in Tamilnadu. I am doing
three more in Kollywood this year.
Formal announcements would be
made soon.
Q: On the commercial debacle of
Kaaviya Thalaivan?
A: It is a movie that will always be
close to my heart. Even after ten
years when I look back at my career,
I would be happy for doing such a film.
We have to celebrate a hardworking
filmmaker like Vasantabalan. Sadly
for reasons unknown, Kaaviya Tha-
Sadly for reasons
unknown, Kaaviya
Thalaivan didn’t do
that well at the box
office. Whoever saw
the film said it was
my best.
laivan didn’t do that well at the box
office. Whoever saw the film said it
was my best.
Q: On pulling out of Bangalore
Days remake in Tamil?
A: I never said that I am acting in it.
I wonder how everyone say that I am
out of the project. I never said yes to
it at the first place.
Q: On rumours of you directing
a film?
A: I enjoy being an actor now. From
my production House Etaki Films, I
would be churning out three films.
Direction demands a lot of hard work
and huge effort. Hence I will do it only
at the later stage of my career.
— M BHARAT KUMAR
Udhay,
Amy shoot
in Kochi
The shooting for Udhayanidhi Stalin’s next with Maan Karate director
Thirukumaran has commenced
yesterday in Kochi.
Earlier, a formal pooja of the film
has happened in the presence of
both Udhay and film’s heroine Amy
Jackson.
Today is the day!! I’m here in
Cochin with @Udhaystalin and the
team for our first day of shooting..
Let’s roll’ posted the excited Amy
Jackson in her Twitter page.
Sources say that the team will be
in Kochi for the next twenty days
and they will be shooting a song
and romantic sequences between
the lead pair.
The untitled film has cinematography by Sukumar of Mynaa fame
and music by Harris Jayaraj.
— NT Bureau
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