The Hindu

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Bookies approached three more IPL players

NEW DELHI: The betting syndicate that was able to snare Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila had approached three other Rajasthan Royals players — Brad Hodge, Kevon Cooper and Siddharth Trivedi — but the players had no hesitation in turning down...

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Six bookies held in Chennai, hunt on for Delhi- based kingpin

CHENNAI: The Crime Branch CID of Chennai Police on Friday arrested six bookies involved in betting on the ongoing IPL cricket matches. A hunt is on to apprehend six others, including the suspected kingpin based at New Delhi, agency sources...

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Let's accept stapled visas: Arunachal leader

On the eve of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India, a former BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh has said that the Indian government should allow people from the State to visit China on ‘ stapled visas' without compromising its position on sovereignty...

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Farmers' suicide rates soar above the rest

MUMBAI: Suicide rates among Indian farmers were a chilling 47 per cent higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011. In some of the States worst hit by the agrarian crisis, they were well over 100 per cent higher. The new Census 2011...

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Dutt wants to be shifted from ‘ Anda' cell

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt is feeling “suffocated” in his egg- shaped, high- security ‘ Anda' cell at Arthur Road Central Prison, which is normally used to lodge terror suspects and hardcore criminals, and has pleaded with a TADA court to shift him to...

5/18/2013: FRONT PAGE: Liyaqat gets bail

NEW DELHI: Suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah was granted bail on Friday by a Delhi court, which said the National Investigation Agency's probe “confirms” that there was no substantial evidence to link him to the conspiracy to carry out terror...

5/18/2013: CITY: South tops ICSE, ISC exams

The southern region once again recorded the highest pass percentage in the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education ( ICSE) class X exam as well as the Indian School Certificate ( ISC) class XII exam whose results were announced on Friday. While...

5/18/2013: CITY: Centre pushes for Rs. 20,000- cr airport at Sriperumbudur

Officials from the civil aviation ministry will on Saturday meet bureaucrats from the State government to push for the proposal of a new airport at Sriperumbudur. The proposed airport will be built over 5,000 acres and will cost Rs. 20,000 crore,...

5/18/2013: CITY: GH looks at new option for central BP measurement

Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital ( GH) will soon undertake a study to test the effectiveness of a new apparatus — SphygmoCor — used for measuring central artery pressure in a non- invasive method. Conventionally, regular blood pressure is...

5/18/2013: CITY: Math whiz kid enters record books

Numbers are T. Sweatha's closest friends. This 13- year- old student from Puducherry, last month, set a world record for the most number of sums solved in an hour. A student of class VIII of Achariya Bala Siksha Mandir, Puducherry, Sweatha solved 23...

5/18/2013: CITY: Jayalalithaa fires yet another salvo at PM

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa charged the Centre with not showing the “necessary alacrity” in constituting the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee

5/18/2013: CITY: Transgender secures government job

A transgender, K. Gunavathi, has been appointed as a security guard in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Dindigul Government Headquarters Hospital

5/18/2013: CITY: Two brothers go for swim, drown in Tirusulam lake

Two boys, brothers aged 12 and 7, drowned in Tirusulam lake near Tambaram on Friday afternoon. V. Bothiraj and V. Santhosh were the children of Velusami ( 37) and Samuthiram ( 30), residents of Vaithiyar Street, Tirusulam. After breakfast, Velusami, a...

5/18/2013: CITY: 150 Metro labourers strike work

Over 150 workers of Gammon India, engaged in Chennai Metro Rail work, refused to work on Friday, citing salary dues. The workers, an official said, get a salary of around Rs. 8,000- Rs. 10,000, and were yet to receive the salary for April, which...

5/18/2013: CITY: Man arrested for scam

A 24- year- old youth from Bangalore was arrested on Friday on charges of cheating seven persons in the city of a total sum of Rs. 45 lakhs, by pretending to be a franchisee for wholesale mobile recharge for Airtel. Sources with the Cyber Crime cell...

5/18/2013: CITY: Eight injured in accident

Eight persons were injured after a speeding bus belonging to a private company hit a parked van, a two wheeler and commuters waiting at a bus stand near Padi on Friday morning. According to a police source, the driver Nandakumar was driving very fast....

5/18/2013: CITY: Woman dies as tree falls

A 38- year- old teacher was killed after being trapped beneath the trunk of a tree in Virugambakkam on Friday. The victim Kalpana was on her way home near Baskar Colony in Virugambakkam when a tree fell on the road, crushing her to death instantly....

5/18/2013: CITY: Corporation yet to be compensated for prime land handed over in 1986

The Housing Board ( TNHB) owes the Chennai Corporation crores for a 73- acre property it took over in 1986. Soon, however, the civic body may have to cough up an equivalent amount to gain control of a community hall spread over three grounds of TNHB...

5/18/2013: CITY: Inspect closed water units: green tribunal

The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Friday, directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board ( TNPCB) and the Commissionerate of Food Safety and Drug Administration to inspect the 92 packaged drinking water units that were closed...

5/18/2013: CITY: Cops land in time to break up reel gang war

The action had just begun before a police team closed in on a film shoot location and ordered the crew to pack up. The 15- member crew had not obtained police permission for filming some action scenes involving knives in the sensitive north Chennai...

5/18/2013: CITY: Stanley's stem cell research gains ground, enters 2nd stage

The Stem Cell Centre, which was launched at Government Stanley Hospital in 2009, has moved into the second phase of research. On May 3, a team of scientists from the Indian Medical Council of Research, inspected the centre and gave the formal nod for...

5/18/2013: CITY: MNC employee held for PF scam

A senior executive of a multinational company here in Sriperumbudur was arrested by the District Crime Branch ( DCB) police on Thursday on charges of swindling funds to the tune of Rs. 1.35 crore. The DCB personnel are on the lookout for two other...

5/18/2013: VARIETY: Navy flies high with induction of Boeing P- 81

Boeing P- 8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti- Submarine Warfare ( LRMRASW) aircraft got a loud applause from naval officers as it hovered around the hangar of the Naval Air Station ( NAS), INS Rajali here and later landed on Wednesday...

5/18/2013: VARIETY: Sugarcane prices

The Government of India have raised the minimum prices of sugarcane by lowering the required percentage of recovery of sugar per maund of cane. Till now the Government had allowed Rs. 1.62 per maund for a recovery of 9.8 per cent. In future they allow...

5/18/2013: VARIETY: What is knowledge?

That which gives us knowledge is known as pramana. What we experience through our sense organs is pratyaksha pramana. So seeing, hearing, feeling through the sense of touch etc., would all come under the category of pratyaksha pramana. Anumaana follows...

5/18/2013: REGION: Mayor evicts DMK Councillors from meeting

The decorum of the Madurai Corporation suffered a severe damage at the Council meeting here on Friday with Councillors creating unruly scenes. Members of the ruling AIADMK pushed the opposition party members out of the Council hall at the Corporation...

5/18/2013: REGION: JAC buoyant after passage of Annamalai University Bill

The members of the Joint Action Council of the Annamalai University Teaching and Non- teaching Staff Associations have heartily greeted the passage of the Annamalai University Bill- 2013 in the State Assembly on Thursday. They took out a rally and...

5/18/2013: REGION: Outpatient services thrown out of gear in Jipmer

The outpatient services at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research ( Jipmer) were thrown out of gear on Friday as the members of Resident Doctors' Association went on a token strike demanding protection to doctors and...

5/18/2013: REGION: Interim injunction on proposed solid waste management facility

and would also cause air pollution due to emission caused during the process of incineration. It would result in substantial damage to the community at large and to public health,” he added. L. G. Sahadevan, counsel for the applicant, submitted that...

5/18/2013: REGION: Check your pulse beat after reading this

Feel your pulse, and put your eye on the clock. Are you counting over 100 beats per minute? That is certainly not normal. If you have an elevated blood pressure too, then perhaps there is a reason to seek an appointment with a doctor. This World...

5/18/2013: REGION: HC modifies bail condition of Mani, other PMK workers

With High Court on Friday modifying a condition of an earlier bail order, PMK president G. K. Mani and 361 other party workers, can now appear before the Judicial Magistrate No. 1, Villupuram, as and when required. They were arrested in connection...

5/18/2013: REGION: Jayalalithaa fires yet another salvo at PM

Charging the Centre with not showing the “necessary alacrity” in constituting the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday said the formation of the machinery would be the only lasting...

5/18/2013: REGION: After PMK, VCK leaders face ban in Villupuram district

District Collector V. Sampath has clamped prohibitory orders preventing Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan from attending any public or private meetings or functions in Villupuram district till further orders. The Collector has...

5/18/2013: REGION: HC orders notice to Raaj Kamal Films International

The Madras High Court has ordered notice to Raaj Kamal Films International and three others, including the Chennai Police Commissioner, on a petition by the Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors Association for a direction to the police to act on a complaint...

5/18/2013: REGION: Stalin's son appears before CBI in Hummer import case

Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( DMK) treasurer, M. K. Stalin, appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) here in connection with a car import case on Wednesday. After the agency issued a notice asking him to...

5/18/2013: REGION: Arcot Town Police Inspector dismissed

The Vellore Range Deputy Inspector General of Police ( in- charge) S. Murugan dismissed Arcot Town Police Inspector Pugazh from service on Wednesday based on the findings of an enquiry conducted by the Superintendent of Police, Vellore district, I....

5/18/2013: REGION: Snag hits two units at Tuticorin power station

Two units at the Tuticorin Thermal Power Station on Friday suffered a breakdown following a technical snag, according to Chief Engineer P. Arthanari. While generation in the second unit came to a halt in the early hours of Friday, the third unit...

5/18/2013: REGION: Transgender secures job at GH, respect in neighbourhood

“There is no longer any discrimination or stigma in being a transgender. Now, I am respected by society, my neighbours and family members,” says K. Gunavathi ( 23), a transgender and native of Oddanchatram, who is serving as a security guard in the...

5/18/2013: REGION: Custom House Agents' protest hits cargo handling at airport

N. Anand and Sunitha Sekar Since Friday morning, Custom House Agents stopped handling cargo in the city's Air Cargo Complex protesting long delays in clearance of imported cargo and documents by the ground handling agency. Chennai Customs House...

5/18/2013: REGION: Railways to improve safety levels with communications- based control system

Indian Railways plans to roll out a communications- based train management system that provides higher precision in locating trains when compared to the conventional signalling systems, S. Manohar, Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer, Southern...

5/18/2013: REGION: Karunanidhi slams AIADMK for failing to control prices

DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Friday criticised the AIADMK government for failing to control skyrocketing prices during its two years in power. In a statement here, the DMK president alleged that even prices of vegetables were not under...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Select content carefully, cartoon channels told

In the wake of complaints against content on ‘ children's/ cartoon channels,' the Broadcasting Content Complaint Council ( BCCC) has advised broadcasters to be ‘ more cautious' in selecting content. The Council, a selfregulatory mechanism for general...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Nivedita house handed over to Ramakrishna Mission

The house in Darjeeling where Sister Nivedita, Swami Vivekananda's disciple, breathed her last has been handed over to the State government. The Ramakrishna Mission is entrusted with the task of turning the 102year- old heritage building into an...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: IPL in a spot

I am one of those millions of Indians who love cricket and who even played some club and officelevel tournaments out of sheer love for the game. But the latest scandal proved to be the last nail in the game's coffin, destroying my passion. IPL, the...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: Time to put garbage on the table

In 2012, for the first time in its history, India saw nationwide public protests from the northernmost Jammu and Kashmir to southernmost Tamil Nadu against improper waste management. A fight for the right to a clean environment and for environmental...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: Our human rights deserve better

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013 uspicions and apprehensions cannot be the basis on which a government can take decisions or make appointments. But with the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: Turkey's Kurdish challenge

he world's longest- running ethnic conflict took a new turn on May 8, when about 2,000 guerrillas belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party ( PKK) started to cross the southeastern Turkish border into Qandil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region. The...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: On Afghanistan

It was a pity to contrast the front page picture, of pacer S. Sreesanth with a black face hood being escorted like a criminal, with the one on the inside pages, of his distressed parents ( May 17). Glamorous film stars, media houses and corporate...

5/18/2013: EDITORIAL: Saving a temple

This refers to a report from Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, titled “1000- year- old Chola era temple facing threat of demolition” ( May 17). During the construction of the Aswan dam, monuments like the Sphinx were removed and installed in a safer place. India...

5/18/2013: OP- ED: All but lynched by the media

hose who claim to respect the “rule of law” should feel concerned about the unfolding of the Aarushi- Hemraj murder trial and its reportage in the media. On May 14, the print and electronic media triumphantly reported that the Supreme Court had...

5/18/2013: OP- ED: Copy by the book or risk killing academic publishing

Olav Stokkmo, Owen Atkinson & Jens Bammel C opyright assures the supply of quality educational material worldwide The world and India need well- educated graduates and university students need access to high quality educational material. Students often...

5/18/2013: OP- ED: Dalai Lama's birthplace to get a makeover

The Chinese government has approved a $ 250- million plan to redevelop the Dalai Lama's birthplace, a remote village called Taktser, into a modern city, state media reported on Friday. Taktser, or Hongai in Chinese, is in the northwestern Qinghai...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Don't play politics with cooperative societies, Supreme Court warns States

The Supreme Court on Thursday decried the tendency of State governments superseding elected cooperative societies for political or extraneous reasons. “Supersession of an elected managing committee/ board is an exception and [ can] be resorted to only...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Suspended Jammu jail official made undertrial write exam for her

Suspended over an attack on Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Haq earlier this month, the former superintendent of Jammu's Kot Bhalwal Central Jail, Rajini Sehgal, has been booked also in a case of examination malpractice. The former superintendent of...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: CBI officer probing Coalgate, inspector held

A senior Central Bureau of Investigation official supervising the probe into coal block allocation cases and an inspector have been arrested by the agency's internal vigilance team for allegedly receiving Rs. 7 lakh in bribe for getting a land dispute...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Bets were placed also on runs in sessions

Investigations by the Delhi Police Special Cell into the spot- fixing case have revealed that the bookies, apart from trying to influence the outcome of the number of runs in given overs, were getting bets placed on sessions or a span of seven overs in...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: IPL has spurred a gambling and sex racket: Sena

The Shiv Sena on Friday expressed dismay over spot- fixing allegations, saying cricket, since the advent of the Indian Premier League, no longer remained “a gentleman's game” and had instead become “a gambling den that was destroying a...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Boy dies of head injury, teacher held

A Class III student of a government- aided primary school at Basanti in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, who was hospitalised after allegedly beaten up by a teacher on Wednesday, died in a hospital here on Friday. Bapi Joardar ( 10), student...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Demands of unions under study, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said some of the demands raised by the various central trade unions, for which they organised a nationwide general strike for two days in February, were in advanced stage of consideration of the...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Court gives Pappu Yadav the benefit of the doubt

PATNA: The Patna High Court on Friday acquitted the former Lok Sabha MP, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, and two others in the 1998 case of murder of Communist Party of India ( Marxist) MLA Ajit Sarkar. A Division Bench of Justices V. N. Sinha and...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: We can't ask GOM to study House panel reports on CBI, says court

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue a direction to the Group of Ministers ( GoM), constituted to consider a law to make the CBI an independent organisation, to study parliamentary committee reports on the investigating agency before making...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Adivasi forum leader remanded in judicial custody

Madhuri Krishnaswamy, leader of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan ( JADS) which works for health and labour rights in south- western Madhya Pradesh, was remanded in judicial custody for a fortnight on Thursday. Ms. Krishnaswamy, popularly called Madhuri...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Two more held in Staines case

The CBI on Friday arrested two more persons in the case of the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in Odisha's Keonjhar district in January 1999. Ghanshyam Mahanta and Ranjan Mahanta were arrested from their village...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Australian gets 45- year jail for rape, murder of Indian student

A 21- year- old Australian was on Friday sentenced to 45 years in jail with a minimum non- parole period of 30 years for the “planned and premeditated” rape and murder of an Indian student. With time served, StaniReginald will be eligible for parole...

5/18/2013: INTERNATIONAL: From building a house to securing a community

In a quiet lane in Eluthumadduval, Jaffna, cement and concrete structures, in different stages of construction, show up on either side every few yards. Part of the second phase of Indian Housing Project launched, they will soon take the form of...

5/18/2013: INTERNATIONAL: Moscow confirms weapons supply to Syria

Moscow reaffirmed ongoing supplies of weapons to Syria even as U. S. reported new Russian missile deliveries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the uproar in Western media over Russian arms supplies to Syria. “We do not conceal it that we...

5/18/2013: INTERNATIONAL: India- to- U. S. trafficking ring busted

A human trafficking ring headed by a “citizen of Indian origin” was exposed by authorities in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil who said the gang sought to smuggle people from India and Sri Lanka into the U. S. Local reports on Thursday identified...

5/18/2013: INTERNATIONAL: Indian- American poised to join U. S. Appeals Court

Chandigarhborn Indian- American legal luminary Srikanth ‘ Sri' Srinivasan has moved a step closer to making history as the first South Asian judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the American capital. Mr. Srinivasan ( 46) who in August last year was...

5/18/2013: INTERNATIONAL: Heist rocks Cannes Film Festival

Jewellery worth more than $ 1 million due to be loaned to stars at the Cannes Film Festival was stolen in a pre- dawn heist on Friday but the Palme d'Or trophy was safe, said officials. In a scenario itself worthy of a movie, thieves entered the hotel...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: S& P warns of rating downgrade

At a time when ‘ green shoots' of the economy are signalling a turnaround and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is scouting for infrastructure development funds abroad on the strength of India's fascinating growth story, Standard & Poor's ( S& P) on...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Feeder fund for IDFS under study: FM

India is exploring the possibility of setting up a London- listed ‘ feeder fund' for Infrastructure Debt Funds ( IDFs), and is looking to work with the U. K. on increasing institutional investments in the sector, said Finance Minister P....

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Tribunal directs cement firms to deposit Rs. 630 cr

The Competition Appellate Tribunal ( COMPAT), on Friday, ordered 10 cement producers, including UltraTech, Ambuja and ACC, and Cement Manufacturers' Association ( CMA) to deposit Rs. 630 crore as it hears their appeal against a record amount of penalty...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Land, a key issue in tapping shale gas potential: ONGC chief

Land is one of the major challenges that would have to be handled strategically before India could tap its resources of shale gas, Chairman and Managing Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Sudhir Vasudeva, said. Shale gas, which is natural...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: ‘ Forensic audit reveals holes in Deccan Chronicle balance sheet'

Chairman and Managing Director ( CMD) of Canara Bank R. K. Dubey, on Friday, said a forensic audit had revealed several irregularities in the balance sheet of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Pvt. Ltd. ( DCHL). The bank has loaned about Rs. 360 crore to the...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: British MPS flay Google for tax avoidance

British MPs have branded Google ‘ devious, calculating and unethical', accusing the search giant of deliberately subverting its motto, ‘ don't be evil', in order to pay less tax. Infuriated members of the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Hero Cycles plans to set up two new plants

Hero Cycles, on Friday, said it would invest about Rs. 200 crore for setting up two new plants in the country by 2014. “We are setting up a new plant in Bihar, which will be operational be January 2014. This will be followed by another plant at Mangli...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Southee, Anderson hog the limelight

James Anderson took his 300th Test wicket and then ended a bold counterattack by New Zealand's Ross Taylor as England fought back in the first Test on Friday. The two players lit up a Lord's bathed in artificial floodlight to counter the overhead...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: A wet start to APRC

The International Rally of Whangarei, the opening race of this year's FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, got off to a wet start here on Friday. Incessant rain, which made it difficult for the drivers to negotiate the gravel track during shakedown in...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Sun TV to pay Rs. 2 final dividend

Sun TV Network has reported a rise in its standalone revenues at Rs. 1,817.62 crore for the year ended March 31, 2013, against Rs. 1,757.37 crore in the previous financial year. The net profit after tax stood at Rs. 683.34 crore against Rs. 694.65...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: ITC Q4 net up 19.4%

For the first time, ITC's non- cigarette business reported a profit, boosting the fourth quarter results of the multi segment conglomerate. For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, ITC posted a net profit of Rs. 1,927.9 crore, marking a 19.42 per cent...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Berdych stuns Djokovic, meets Nadal

Big- serving Czech Tomas Berdych caused another big upset when he ousted World No. 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Rome Masters on Friday. Berdych, who had beaten Djokovic only once in their previous 14 meetings, prevailed 2- 6, 7- 5,...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: NIIT Technologies fourth quarter profit up 22 %

NIIT Technologies posted a 22 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs. 56.6 crore for the January- March 2013 quarter against Rs. 46.2 crore in the year- ago period. “We experienced sequential growth in each quarter of the year, driven by all round...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Anand looking for strong finish

World champion Viswanathan Anand remains a contender for the title despite being 1.5 points behind the leader as he will take on the lowest- ranked players in the remaining two rounds of the Norway chess 2013 super tournament here. Anand started with...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: SCOREBOARD

England — 1st innings: A. Cook c Watling b Boult 32, N. Compton c Southee b Martin 16, J. Trott c Brownlie b Boult 39, I. Bell c Watling b Wagner 31, J. Root c Watling b Southee 40, J. Bairstow c & b Southee 41, M. Prior lbw b Southee 0, S. Broad lbw b...

5/18/2013: BUSINESS: Sensex up 39 points

Continuing its upward march for the fourth straight day, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday rose by 39 points to close at fresh 28- month high of 20286.12. It has gained 594.45 points in four days. The National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, rose by...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Never the greatest player but an unsurpassed cultural phenomenon

Jere Longman & Sam Borden W hen David Beckham broke a bone in his left foot before the 2002 World Cup, Tony Blair, then the British prime minister, interrupted a cabinet meeting to express his concern about England's suddenly uncertain chances. Tabloid...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Indians fail to make an impact

Neither the men's nor women's Indian teams made a firm impact in the league stage of the Asia Pacific under- 21 beach volleyball championship, which commenced on the sands of Marina here on Friday. The No. 1 Indian women's duo of R. Deepika and S....

5/18/2013: SPORT: Blazing Comet for Birthday Girl Cup

Blazing Comet may score in the Birthday Girl Cup ( 1,200m), the main event of the races to be held here on Saturday ( May 18). 1 VADALUR PLATE ( Div. I), ( 1,200m), 3- y- o only ( Terms), 10.30 a. m.: 1. Sweet Love ( 1) N. Rupa 59, 2. Special Edition (...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Everyone is focused on the CSK match

I t's been a gloomy couple of days in the Indian Premier League due to the sad news about the spot- fixing scandal. A lot's already been said about what's happened, so I'm not going to add fuel to the fire. Being an active player, it is difficult for...

5/18/2013: SPORT: It's Jersey Girl vs. Successor

Jersey Girl and Successor may fight out the finish of the Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup ( 1,200m), the main event of the opening day's races to be held here on Saturday ( May 18). False rails ( width about 5m from 1,400m to 1,000m and 8m from 1,000m to the...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Sathya excels

Sathya's five- wicket haul helped Wahe Guru CA beat Annai Violet CA by four runs in the Swastik under- 16 cricket tournament recently. The scores: Loyola CA 129 in 27.4 overs ( A. Deepak 25, K. Gokul four for 24) bt United Friends 101 in 27.3...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Big win for Pankaj Advani

Pankaj Advani ( PSPB) notched an emphatic 7- 1 win over Railways opponent Siddharth Parikh to book a final berth at the RKG- Khar Gymkhana Snooker Masters 2013. The latter had shocked Asian champion Aditya Mehta 5- 4 in a thrilling quarterfinal...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Indian women triumph

The Indian women's team won the first Asian basketball 3x3 championship in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, beating Mongolia 21- 14 in the final. It was the third title for the Indian women's team, following the ones in the South Asian Beach Games in Sri...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Praggnanandhaa surges ahead

FIDE Master Praggnanandhaa was ahead of the field in the sixth round of the “Sri Krishna Cup” Tamil Nadu State Under 9 chess championship on Thursday. Important Results: ( Sixth round): Boys: Aswin Kumar ( 5) lost to Praggnanandhaa ( 6);...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Women in bronze play- off

The Indian compound women's team will figure in the bronze medal play- off against Italy on Saturday. The new- look team, comprising Trisha Deb, Gagandeep Kaur and P. Lily Chanu, went down fighting to top- seeded U. S. 227- 228 in the semifinals of the...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Sri Ram shines

C. Sri Ram with a fivewicket haul ( five for 14) helped VBCA to seven- wicket win over Sri SAI SF in a match in the Reddy's Trophy under- 13 cricket tournament. The scores: Kedar CA ‘ B' 70 in 18 overs ( Aswath four for 10) lost to Chakra CA 73 for...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Indian challenge ends

Ace Indian paddler Achantha Sharath Kamal crashed out of the men's singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, losing 9- 11, 12- 10, 11- 1, 11- 5, 11- 2 to Germany's Timo Boll 4- 1 in the second round. India's mixed doubles pair of...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Teams for Asian event

Lovneet Singh of Punjab and Poonam Chaturvedi of Chhattisgarh will captain the boys' and girls' teams in the Asian juniors basketball 3x3 championship to be held in Bangkok from May 22 to 24. The teams: Boys: Lovneet Singh ( captain), Anam Ali,...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Double for Dominic

G. D. Dominic completed a double in the KCCC district- level carrom tournament held recently. Dominc won the Open singles beating S. Gavaskar 15- 11, 25- 6 and the doubles partnering M. Senthilkumar. The pair beat S. Gavaskar and P. Ravishankar 18-...

5/18/2013: SPORT: The boy who never grew up

Once while batting with M. S. Dhoni in a losing One- Day International match, S. Sreesanth, who was at the nonstriker's end, got hit on the helmet by a ferocious straight drive from his captain. In the post- match press conference, Dhoni, frustrated...

5/18/2013: SPORT: BCCI meeting on May 19

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has convened a working committee meeting at Chennai on May 19. Sanjay Jagdale, Secretary, BCCI, has said in a press release that the committee will discuss among other things the fallout of the spot- fixing...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Does fixing a match or one aspect of it amount to cheating?

The Delhi police have once again found credible evidence that cheating in cricket — a subject of surmise and suspicion for years — is a reality. The best- known and least- acknowledged scandal in the subcontinent has seen its cover blown off for more...

5/18/2013: SPORT: The Board's monopoly has to be broken

C ricket in India is going through its normal routine, trying to push another scandal under the carpet. While as a cricket- loving people we remain disgusted with the lethargic manner in which we handle corruption, we should be proud of the Delhi...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Proper mentoring is the key

Mentoring of players has been a much- neglected area in cricket administration. From the time when Sourav Ganguly took over the reigns during the difficult phase when allegations of match- fixing in 2000 had left the world of cricket ravaged, the Board...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Things a bowler can do for a bookie

Conceding the exact number of runs fixed by a bookie may be difficult for a bowler, says a former international cricketer. “But it will be easy if you say… you have to give away above 10 runs or above five runs, whatever number it is,” said the South...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Gilchrist minces no words

Adam Gilchrist minced no words when asked about the spot- fixing controversy. “Like everyone, I am very short on detail. I have only followed it through the press. I must prefix this by saying if at all it is true, it is very, very sad. “It's very...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Royals refute charges

Hurt by the damaging statements directed against its players' alleged spot- fixing in IPL 2012, Rajasthan Royals said: “these are completely unfounded... RR will take legal action in the event of such defamatory statements continuing to be made by any...

5/18/2013: SPORT: ‘ Game's quirky touches will be questioned'

Stephen Fleming said that the game's quirky touches would now be a subject of needless speculation. “Every quirk in cricket will now be over- analysed and accusations will fly. The game of cricket is quirky but the events of the last two days does add...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Suspect action stopped Amit's selection

Amit Singh, according to reports a proxy for bookies and nabbed by the Delhi Police in the Pepsi- IPL VI spot- fixing manipulation of a few matches, tried his utmost to get into the Rajasthan Royals team. But the franchise did not consider the Gujarat...

5/18/2013: SPORT: VERY BRIEFLY

Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait has strongly denied any link to the arrest of three Rajasthan Royal teammates. Tait's name was circulated in social media, on radio and a number of websites along with the three Indians, but he robustly denied any...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Lots at stake as heavyweights clash

K. C. Vijaya Kumar The weeks leading towards Saturday's muchawaited big match in the southern peninsula — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings — was all about getting tickets. And it was not a surprise that the booking portal www....

5/18/2013: SPORT: Sunrisers move ahead in the play- off race

Proving that teamwork is more about ‘ we' and less of ‘ me', Sunrisers Hyderabad's collective enterprise saw it cruise to a comfortable victory over Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday. The result led to Kings XI...

5/18/2013: SPORT: Gilchrist calls it a day; Tendulkar to rest again

Sachin Tendulkar's first visit to this serene, much- admired cricket destination coincides with Adam Gilchrist's last. Fittingly, when Kings XI Punjab hosts Mumbai Indians in its last league match on Saturday, the occasion could have been marked by...

5/18/2013: SPORT: SCOREBOARD

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Parthiv Patel b Faulkner 2 ( 6b), Shikhar Dhawan c Rahane b Faulkner 1 ( 3b), G. Hanuma Vihari c Sachin Baby b Trivedi 19 ( 28b), Cameron White c Trivedi b Watson 0 ( 1b), Biplab Samantray c Cooper b Faulkner 55 ( 46b, 6x4, 1x6 ),...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Indian- origin students steal the show

The dominance of Indian- origin students was evident at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair ( ISEF) here with more than 30 students from different parts of the world bagging awards, while the Indian contingent of eight students could...

5/18/2013: NATIONAL: Now, send SMS to book rail ticket

Very soon, short code 5676714 will become an integral step to kick- start your travel programme. One has to SMS his or her travel details and SARATHI will book the ticket and deliver it in a flash, through SMS. The first step to book a mobile ticket...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Cause and effect

CM YK Besides our actors, the Cannes Film Festival will see another Indian representation and this time it's the celebrated designer Tarun Tahiliani. He will not be walking the red carpet but his creation will be showcased at the amfAR's annual Cinema...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Shopping fest

The Hindu Metro Plus Lifestyle Show returns to the city. One of South India's largest consumer fairs with over 40,000 visitors a year, it is a retail shopping extravaganza offering a variety of products to consumers. The 10th edition too promises to...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Mama mia!

The Hindu presents Super Mom 2013 , an opportunity for mothers to win prizes worth Rs. 1 lakh. On May 19 at Express Avenue, the reallife superheroes will battle it out for the top spots in challenges that test their personality, creativity,...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: HOW ABOUT VISITING HEMMINGWAY'S HOMETOWN?

ESCAPE.

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Driving while woman

Rom drove the entire way on our first field trip. So I decided to learn to drive. In a vacant lot early one morning, Rom showed me the basics on his old rattling jeep. I put the vehicle in gear and gave the accelerator a gentle nudge. It stalled. I...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: The lost action heroes

The new Iron Man movie is, thankfully, less about Iron Man than Tony Stark, the man inside the metal. Choosing to showcase a human being over a superhero is always a risky enterprise, but unlike Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent, whose dour selves extinguish...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Technology in sleep mode

It's a revelation that has come as a wakeup call — who would have thought that our sleeping positions would actually reveal our technology preferences! Foetal Those who sleep in the foetal position were born with a USB cord instead of an umbilical cord...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Paradise regained

Once Woody Allen has celebrated all the maximum cities, he may one day release a film titled Ernakulam, You're Not Half Bad. I'd like to beat him to it in my more modest medium. Ernakulam is not far from home, and it's still the kind of town in which I...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: TECH

Soldier Imagine standing in attention — and dropping into bed in the same position. That's the soldier position, and people who sleep in this position tend to be militant about their technology as well. You'll never catch them downloading stuff onto...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: WISE

er Biennale stop, had a proper book shop next to its cafe, unnamed but evidently more permanent than the art exhibits. Close to the synagogue in Jew Town was Idiom, which has always had an excellent collection of Indica. Collections of books on art and...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Pitch perfect

ale Steyn's regretting something this IPL season and it has nothing to do with him or his team Sun Risers Hyderabad's performance. It's the fact that he's not seen the Taj Mahal yet! Talking to fans and the media at Smaash, a sports- based immersive...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Handled with care

Artistic terracotta murals, vases and bowls with twirls of poetry, along with beautiful dhokra work pieces from Odisha, and other exhibits set the tone for festive gift shopping at two exhibitions on in the city. Rajarunnodayan, sculptor from...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Shadow of guns

Making a documentary film on a woman who is an ex- insurgent is not easy. It takes a lot of courage to go ahead with such a subject and do justice to it. Independent filmmaker Sonia Nepram took on this in her debut documentary Gun and a God. The...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Call of the crafts

DakshinaChitra holds summer internship programmes on art for students from class 12 and college from May 29 to July 6. Participants can take part in workshops, sessions, and talks on temple architecture, story- telling, folk and contemporary arts,...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Get creative

Love designs? Looking for a creative career? This could be your answer. Raffles Millennium International, Chennai, offers a free workshop on Design as a career. RJ Paloma, a Design graduate herself, will interact with young designers about the career...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Sing in style!

The finale of American IdolSeason 12 will be telecast in India. As finalists Candice Glover and Kree Harrison fight it out, viewers have something more in store. The last episode of the season will feature performances by Jennifer Lopez and PSY. It...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Testing skills

Lisaa School of Design, Bangalore, calls for entries for the All India Creative Aptitude Test 2. The test is open to candidates of any board and discipline. It includes aptitude test, a personal interview and a portfolio review. The course on offer...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: In search of th

ne day, nearly ten years ago, bird- lovers in Taiwan realised they had only 50 Pheasanttailed Jacanas in their country. In the past, the birds were found by the hundreds in the water- chestnut farms of Tainan city. What went wrong? The culprit, they...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: E Jacana

n Wetoshiung , Chiayi d Birds convert he sake The area was dug- up and water from a near- by dam was flown into it using irrigation channels. They planted water- chestnut, water- lily and nymphoides in the area. Five months later, the restoration area...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: A record of sorts

The air around Lily Pond Complex ( old Moore Market) smells of musty old books. But that's not all it's about. On the first floor, as one strolls past antique stores stuffed with dusty transistors, bird cages and other paraphernalia, you reach the...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Happy birthday, Goofy!

he clumsy yet extremely lovable and charming Goofy has held a very special place in the hearts of children for generations. So join him as he hops, skips and jumps to the next fun- filled adventure in his usual ‘ goofy' style this weekend on Disney...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Green tales from the terrace

f he wants to make tomato chutney for breakfast, Mohandas walks to his terrace garden and handpicks the tomatoes himself. Sakthivel gets his family's daily dose of greens from his garden; Shankara Baham gets his medicines from the herbal garden on his...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Are you a genius in Geography?

This year, as part of the Summer Carnival for Kids, Landmark presents ‘ The Landmark Geography Genius Quiz' at the Landmark Bookstore in Apex Plaza, Nungambakkam this afternoon from 3 p. m. onwards. The quiz is a fun way for children to learn...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: It's show time!

The Verb School of Dance, headed by dancer- choreographer Vinu John, organises Hotsteps 2013, its annual dance show. The culmination of a month- long workshop, the show aims to throw open the area of performance to both children and adults. The...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Colour me happy

It's time to ditch those plain blacks and sizzling reds and opt for a more colourful wardrobe instead. No, we don't mean the loud colours that can have a jarring effect on the eye. Spring/ Summer collections across the world are focusing on soft...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Colours that work well

For fashion lovers: Green with violet, coral with red, electric blue with maroon, yellow with pink. For the demure ones: Light grey with neon pink, white with yellow, peach with orange, black with coral. For all: The black and white combination is...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: A ‘ Super' ride

hen R. Azhagesan sings ‘ Aayirathil Oruthi Amma Nee…' the world seems to stop. His booming voice reverberates across the room; it drowns all other earthly sounds. And when he stops, the atmosphere is that of the calm after a storm. It's this power in...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Time for celebration!

When films of two stars release on the same day, it's nothing short of celebration for the fans. And, looks like it's going to be celebration all the way in August since both Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam 2 and Rajinikanth's Kochadaiyaan are slated for...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: Life through the lens

fter the Bachchans and the Khans it is time for one of the Deols to hog the limelight on the small screen. The youngest of the four Deol heroes — Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby — Abhay is all set to make his television debut with Connected Hum Tum coming...

5/18/2013: METROPLUS: ‘ I eat six chocolates before every game'

or all his histrionics on the field, Dwayne Bravo appears rather coy off it , or so it seemed when we met him at the Reebok showroom in Alwarpet, along with his Chennai Super Kings teammates, Michael Hussey, Dirk Nannes and Baba Aparajith. Dressed in...