TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017

Mohanlal pulled me out of depression: Director

CAMPUS | 3 HEALTH | 10 BOLLYWOOD | 11DPS-MIS organises

Annual Science Exhibition

Eating red chilli may help you

live longer

P | 4-5

Email: dohatoday@pen.com.qa

CDPS-M

Anmen:

11

IT’S COOL! STAY SAFE

As mercury fell to 1.5 degree Celsius, the lowest temperature in country’s history, concerned authorities have come up with a list of do’s and don’ts to stay warm and safe while using heating appliances.

CAMPUSTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 03

The Peninsula

Every great advancement in science is the brainchild of imagination and by taking

this into consideration DPS-MIS organised its Annual Science Exhi-bition ‘QUEST-2017’on January 21.

The event saw young innova-tors or inventors from classes III to X putting up approximately 740 participatory exhibits comprising working models, static models and research based projects. The occa-sion was graced by the Chief Guest

,Dr Tapas Kumar Bandyopadhay, an environmental expert, President, DPS-MIS Hassan Chougule, Vice-President, Yasir Nainar and Director of Administration, Rocky Fernandes.

Tapas Kumar Bandyopadhay highlighted the importance of

environment for sustenance on Earth. He urged the students to become environmental stewards and protect it for a better life in future.

Principal, Asna Nafees, men-tioned that DPS-MIS always encourages its students and it is a pleasure to be associated with young minds who think differently

and constantly to inspire us to be innovative and creative. Vice-Pres-ident, Yasir Nainar, appreciated the dedicated efforts of the teachers and the students. He stated that the schools should develop

responsible thinking among their students for the future so that they understand the importance of sus-tainable development and shape their own environment for a better tomorrow.

DPS-MIS organises Annual Science Exhibition

Kainat Foundation celebrated Basic Education Learning Day and its eighteenth

Foundation Day on the 120th birth anniversary of great educationist Dr Zakir Hussain, recently.

Shakil Ahmed Kakvi, Founder Secretary of Kainat Foundation, appealed to the federal Govern-ment of India to declare February 8 as “Basic Education learning Day” in commemoration of Dr Zakir Hussain birth anniversary . “Char-ity begin at home, the basic Education learning Day will be

initiated at village level by kainat Foundation to pay homage to Zakir Hussain,” said Shakil Kakvi said. Seminars and cultural programmes were held. Major attraction of the programme was the Rural Science art and Craft Exhibition in which rural students showcased their tal-ent. On this occasion, Mani Kant Thakur, former BBC correspond-ent was awarded Ajmal Fareed Memorial Award 2016 and Ajay Kumar , Editor of Bihar Times por-tal, was also awarded Khursheed Kakvi Memorial Award,

Kainat Foundation celebrates

Basic Education Learning Day

COVER STORY TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 201704

Irfan Bukhari The Peninsula

With the abrupt fall in mercury, residents’ dependence on heating appliances has

increased manifold and it prompted con-cerned authorities to guide people how to remain safe while staying warm dur-ing the chilly weather.

More and more people started buy-ing electrical or space heaters with the onset of cold spell last Thursday. In view of this, experts warn of dangers that can happen due to careless handling.

Market sources told The Peninsula that the sales of space heaters had mounted since the onset of ongoing chilly weather. “In fact the sales of space heaters started with this fresh cold spell. Earlier our stock was just resting on dis-play racks of the mall,” said an employee of a hypermarket located at D-Ring road.

Officials from Hamad Trauma Cent-er’s Hamad Injury Prevention Program (HIPP) on Sunday issued a list of best practices that can help residents stay safe from possible accidents related to the use of heating devices.

On Sunday, Qatar’s weather station in Abu Samra recorded at early morn-ing the lowest temperature in country’s history at 1.5 degree Celsius. The new record low temperature is the lowest since the 3.8 degrees recorded in Mesaieed in January of 1964.

Qatar Meteorology Department said that the cold wave was a result of the advancement of a high-pressure area and an air mass close to regions in the country.

“With the expected cold weather, some residents of Qatar have used addi-tional means to stay warm at home and at bath time. Unfortunately, this may lead to a rise in the number of patients with injuries due to accidents with their heating system. These include scald inju-ries, electrical or contact burns, and even

serious flame burns from house fires sus-tained while at home or in accommodations,” said Dr. Rafael Con-sunji (pictured), Director of the HIPP, which is the community outreach arm of the Hamad Trauma Center.

Dr. Consunji explained that electri-cal burns and fires are more likely to happen with the incorrect use of elec-trical appliances for heating, while scald burns most often happen when bathing or cooking with hot liquids. “Most vic-tims of scald burns are very young or elderly, because they are unable to phys-ically remove themselves from the scalding liquid’s path, and because their skin is much thinner and more sensitive to high temperatures. They can sustain severe scald burns within a few seconds,” he said.

The Hamad Injury Prevention Pro-gram (HIPP) has shared the following basic recommendations when using electrical or space heaters:

1. Only purchase electric or space heaters from reputable stores and ensure the product is ‘UL’ certified, or its equivalent. This will certify that the heater meets international standards for safety.

Safety tips forheating your home

COVER STORYTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 05

2. Electric heaters are high-power devices that must be plugged directly into a wall outlet. Plugging them into an extension cord, especially those with multiple outlets, can lead to an overload of the electrical system. This can cause the fuse to blow or even the overheating and melting of devices or wiring, which can in turn lead to a house fire.

3. Heaters must be positioned far away from flammable materials such as curtains, tablecloths, blankets and bedding. At least a three-foot or one-meter distance is recommended.

4. Keep heaters away from heav-ily trafficked zones or play areas and teach children to avoid them. Electric heaters can be a significant source of heat and can cause contact burns.

5. Make sure that automatic tim-ers on heaters are working. Timers can help limit the duration that the unit is fully powered and reduce the risk of overheating and fire.

To help prevent scald burns:1. Never leave your child, particu-

larly those under the age of one year, unsupervised in the bath. Your pres-ence within an arm’s length at all times is the best defence against accidental scalding or drowning of infants and

young children during bath time.2. When bathing children, espe-

cially infants, the water must be mixed thoroughly so it has a uniform tem-perature. ‘Hot spots’ within the bath can cause scald burns. Always take the water temperature (it must be no more than 45° Celsius) or ‘hand-test’ before putting your infant into bath water.

3. Do not fill up the tub with your child in it. Repeatedly feel the water temperature during use.

4. Keep children out of the kitchen when cooking, especially when cook-ing hot liquids like soups, stews and even coffee or tea. Create a ‘no chil-dren’ zone within the house/kitchen so little ones know that they should not play in these areas.

5. Do not carry a child and a hot beverage at the same time – this is one of the most common reasons for a child getting scald burns from hot liquids. Use a travel mug or cup with a lid to reduce the chance of spilling hot liquids.

6. When moving containers with hot food or liquids, let people know what you are doing (‘I am walking with a hot pot of soup!’) and make sure you have a clear, unobstructed and child-free path before proceeding.

Pics: Salim Matramkot

MARKETPLACE TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 201706

Alfardan Premier Motors Co, the exclusive retailer of Jag-uar Land Rover in the State

of Qatar, announced that it is the official transport provider of Qatar Total Open 2017.

This marks seven consecutive years of partnership with Qatar Total Open, which will take place from February 11 to 18 at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. The event will host 32 players competing in the singles draw and 16 teams competing in the doubles draw.

This partnership stems out of the company’s eagerness to

support sports tournaments hosted by the State.

A fleet of 45 luxury vehicles will ferry players and staff to and from the stadium in style and comfort. Jaguar Land Rover has maintained the title of ‘Official Car’ for the pres-tigious tournament for seven consecutive years.

The 2017 Qatar Total Open will witness participation from tennis champions across the globe. Seven out of the 10 best players will be in Doha headed by the World No. 1 Angelique Kerber from Germany, the Polish Agnieszka Radwanska ranked 3rd, the Slovenian Dominika

Cibulkova, ranked 5th, Karolína Plíšková ranked 6th from Czech Republic, the Spanish Garbiñe Muguruza ranked 7th, the Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova ranked 9th and the British Johanna Konta ranked 10th.

Samer Bou Dargham, Sales Manager for Alfardan Premier Motors, said: “We are delighted to be extending our role as official

transport provider for the seventh consecutive year for one of the world’s top tennis tournaments.”

Saad Al Mohannadi, Tourna-ment Director of the Qatar Total Open, said: “We are excited to be working with Alfardan Premier Motors who ensures that the play-ers and staff have a smooth and pleasant journey to and from their matches.”

Alfardan Premier Motors

official transport provider

of Qatar Total Open 2017

Galfar Al Misnad concluded a month long safe driving campaign on January 31 in

association with the Ministry of Interior and Traffic Department.

Around 625 drivers-operators and 200 staff members attended the awareness session. About 306 drivers-operators were recognised

for their accident free records and for not committing any violations for the last three & 2 years respec-tively. 5 staff were also recognised

for their long time accident free records and for not committing vio-lations as well. Ministry of Interior O f f i c i a l , N i h a s A b d u l

Majeed, appreciated the efforts. Satish G Pillai, Executive Director of Galfar Al Misnad, thanked Min-istry of Interior official.

Doha Marketing Services Company WLL (Domasco), part of Al Futtaim and the distributor for Honda

motorcycles in Qatar, is proud to announce that the revolutionary CRF450R, the most powerful, best handling Honda motocross machine ever,is now available in the Honda showroom. The 2017 CRF450 is all new-from-the-ground-up. It looks dif-ferent, feels different and delivers a whole new rider experience – in plain and sim-ple terms it’s faster, much faster. The new

CRF450R Unicam engine has been devel-oped to achieve overwhelming performance in the first 100 feet of battle, offering increased power output and allowing unparalleled traction. Honda engineers designed an all-new chassis with reduced weight and centralized mass. The new geometry and packaging results in a more concentrated, lower center of mass, helping to get the power to the ground, maximize stability and improve cornering performance.

Honda CRF450R arrives in Qatar

Galfar Al Misnad concludes safe driving campaign

CAMPUSTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 07

Students of DPS-MIS celebrated the Repub-lic Day of India in all its solemnity and grandeur by organising ‘Flagathon’ activ-

ity and special assemblies respectively. The students zealously prepared flags by hand

printing which instilled love and respect for the nation in their inquisitive minds. A special assem-bly was also conducted where they paid tribute to the soldiers of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force by wearing tri-coloured clothes, singing patriotic songs and dancing with poise and grace. Principal, Asna Nafees, graced the occasion.

DPS-MIS students

organise ‘Flagathon’

Pakistan International School (PISQ) organised “Open House” event at its premises

on February 3. On the day, a good number from all the segments of the society marked their attendance.

It was relatively an informal occasion designed to allow people to drop in and obtain first-hand information about the institution at their convenience.

The core objective behind this was to attract prospective students and their parents not only to famil-iarise with the current facilities available to the students but also to open the channel of communica-tion between school staff and them. Overall, it was a good occasion for the guests to enter the school with a vision to receive information from various desks set up for their convenience.

These resource desks mainly

included: Boys Wing, Girls Wing, Junior Wing and KG Wing, ETL (Education, Technology & Labora-tory), FBA (Federal Board Affairs) & Science Laboratories.

They particularly appreciated the endeavours of the management and faculty in imparting quality education along with a host of co-curricular activities for the character building of the students. The remarks of all the guests were encouraging which will surely boost up the spirit of the institution.

Nargis Raza Otho, Principal PISQ, expressed her deep gratitude to all the guests for sparing their valuable time and giving a positive response and constructive feedback.

“The success of PISQ is not possible without the inception of all the stake holders”, she urged. She also felt pleased with the strenuous efforts of the entire school staff for making the day a big success.

PISQ organises ‘Open House’ event

LIFESTYLE TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 201708

IANS

The beauty of peacocks, with their dazzling multi-coloured feathers, has always provided

inspiration to poets and artists in their creative work.

Now, peacock feathers have inspired a team of Chinese scien-tists to develop a new way to colour fabrics without the use of tradi-tional dyes that enter streams and rivers, causing environmental pol-lution. An added advantage: these colours don’t fade easily.

The non-polluting greener method to colour textiles using

“3-dimensional colloidal crystals”

has been described by Bingtao Tang and colleagues at China’s Dalian University of Technology in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Traditional dyes and pigments used on textile fabrics are chemi-cal colours that produce their visual effect by selectively absorbing and reflecting specific wavelengths of visible light.

On the other hand, the colours of peacock feathers (or butterfly wings) result from physical inter-actions of visible light with

“microstructures” on the feathers that are periodic at the scale of the

wavelength of light. According to the report, the Chinese researchers wanted to find a way to colour voile, or semi-transparent, textiles by cre-ating the “microstructures” akin to those on peacock feathers.

According to an ACS release, they accomplished this by devel-oping a simple two-step process for transferring 3-D colloidal crystals

-- a structural colour material -- to voile fabrics.

Peacock feathers inspire

variety of fabric dyes

Exposure to the sticky residue of tobacco smoke -- or third-hand smoke -- left behind on the furniture and walls of your

home may significantly affect your baby’s growth and immunity system, researchers have found.

The findings showed that the residue of the smoke puts babies and toddlers at much greater risk because they come into contact with con-taminated surfaces while crawling or teething during their critical period of immune system development.

“We suspected the young are most vulner-able because of their immature immune systems, but we didn’t have a lot of hard evi-dence to show that before,” said lead author Bo Hang, scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in Califor-nia, US.

Further, the dangers associated with smok-ing continues for a long time, even after the cigarette is snuffed out, the researchers said.

For the study, appearing in the journal Sci-entific Reports, the team studied the changes to body weight and the hematopoietic system after three weeks of exposure for two age groups of mice: birth to 3 weeks (neonatal) and 12-15 weeks (young adult).

They were compared to a control group of mice that were not exposed to smoke. The results revealed newborn mice exposed to

smoke weighed significantly less than mice born in a control group.

In addition, newborn and adult mice exposed to third-hand smoke showed persist-ent changes in blood cell counts.

There were lower levels of platelets and spe-cific types of white blood cells -- associated with inflammation and allergic reactions -- in the smoke-exposed mice.

“The effects on blood cell count persisted even after exposure ended. Changes remained at least 14 weeks after exposure ended for the neonatal group and two weeks after it ended for the adults,” Hang said.

Third-hand smoke may affect babies

Using an essential oil as a part of your daily routine will not only treat dan-druff, but will also give you healthy

hair. Lemon oil, basil oil and tea tree oil are some of the oils that you can add to bid adieu to scalp issues, says an expert.

Garima Singh, Research and Develop-ment Manager, Organic Harvest, lists some essential oils for better results:

* Lemon oil: Enriched with the goodness of lemon and due to its clarifying proper-ties, this oil is a wonder tonic for people with oily scalps. Besides being an antiseptic and anti-microbial, which helps fight dandruff and other secondary infections, lemon oil also renders a pleasant and long-lasting healthy fragrance to the hair.

The only factor to keep in mind is that after having used this oil, one must thor-oughly rinse it off before stepping into direct sunlight, since citrus is known to react to sunlight.

* Tea tree oil: The other truly remarka-ble essential oil is the tea tree oil. It is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial in nature, enabling it to exterminate bacterial and yeast formation on the infection prone scalps. Tea tree oil is absorbed well by the scalp and can hence be left overnight to fight dandruff.

Go organic to beat dandruff

FOODTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 09Joe Yonan The Washington Post

One long-standing piece of advice for busy cooks - I’ve suggested it to readers many times myself - is to get

in the habit of cooking batches of building-block ingredients on the weekends so you can more easily make quick dinners on weeknights.

A pillar of that strategy in my household involves roasting pans. Every weekend I spend a few hours filling them with various seasonal vegetables, drizzling with olive oil, salt and maybe a spice blend I’m into at the moment and roasting the pro-duce until tender. Between that and the pots of grains and beans, braised or blanched greens, various raw and/or preserved or fermented products in my refrigerator, and my pantry full of pastas, more grains, nuts, oils and vinegars, I can assemble seem-ingly countless dishes.

There are chopped salads, grain bowls, pastas, soups, hashes, frittati, sandwiches, tacos - you name it. Cro-quettes traditionally are fried, but I don’t always want to break out that setup (and create the unavoidable mess) on any given weeknight, so I took Patricia up on her alternative method of baking. For some extra protein and crunch, I swapped in ground pumpkin seeds for some of the coating of panko bread crumbs. And I employed cooking oil spray before baking - a good way to get the croquettes closer (if not all the way) to that just-fried texture.

If you want to actually fry them, I won’t object. In fact, I’ll be doing that myself soon enough. Probably this weekend, after a lot of roasting.Winter Squash Croquettes

2 to 4 servings (makes 8 to 10 croquettes)

Adapted from “Farm to Table Asian Secrets,” by Patricia Tanumi-hardja (Tuttle, 2017).

Ingredients12 ounces winter squash (acorn,

kabocha, butternut, delicata or kuri)12 ounces floury potatoes, such

as russet1/4 cup finely chopped shallot

(from 1 large shallot lobe; may sub-stitute red onion)

1/4 cup frozen/defrosted green peas

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more as needed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed

3 tablespoons cornstarch2 tablespoons milk (may substi-

tute nondairy milk of your choice)1 large egg (optional)1/2 cup raw, hulled pumpkin

seeds, coarsely ground (pepitas)1/4 cup panko (Japanese) bread

crumbs1/2 cup ketchup, preferably

low-sodium2 tablespoons chili sauce, such

as harissa, Sriracha or sambal oelek

StepsPreheat the oven to 400 degrees.Cut the squash in half, remove

the seeds, and cut into 4 to 6 wedges. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Lay the squash and potatoes, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool, but leave the oven on if you are roasting the croquettes immedi-ately after assembling them.

Scoop out the vegetables’ flesh into a small bowl and discard the skins. Mash coarsely with a potato masher or fork. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Fold in the shal-lot, peas, salt and pepper. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble the croquettes, set up your workstation: Place 2 table-spoons of the cornstarch in a small rimmed dish. Place the milk in a small bowl; whisk in the egg, if using. Stir together the ground pumpkin seeds and panko in a separate small rimmed dish. Set out another plate to hold the assembled croquettes.

Divide the mashed vegetable mixture into 8 to 10 equal portions

(golf ball size). Dust your hands with the remaining tablespoon of corn-starch. Roll each portion into a ball, then coat each one in cornstarch, shaking to remove excess coating. Dip a ball into the milk or egg-milk mixture, then coat it with the panko mixture, using a fork to help you lift and turn it and pressing as needed for complete coverage. Repeat to coat all the croquettes.

Use cooking oil spray to lightly grease the same baking sheet you used for roasting the vegetables. Spray the croquettes with cooking oil spray and arrange them on the baking sheet, spaced well apart; bake for 10 minutes, until browned on the bottom. Roll them to another side (so they won’t be flattened in just one place) and bake for 4 minutes, until another side is browned. Continue turning and baking two or three more times, each time for 4 minutes, until crisped and golden all over.

Stir together the ketchup and chili sauce in a bowl to create a dip-ping sauce.

Serve the croquettes warm or at room temperature, with the sauce.

Round out

the roasting

repertoire

HEALTH TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 201710

QNA

A misconception that popular herbal medicines are safe simply because they have

been used for thousands of years could be putting the heath of users at risk, Australian researchers warned yesterday.

Researchers from the Univer-sity of Adelaide said some popular herbal medicines, which have been used for generations, actually con-tain toxic materials from plants and animals, but are still taken because it is assumed they are beneficial.

Lead author of the study, Prof. Roger Byard from the University of Adelaide, said recent developments in linking medical conditions with some herbal treatments has uncov-ered new risks involved in taking traditional medicines.

“Toxic side effects of herbal medicines used in traditional soci-eties have typically not been reported, and this is often cited in

favour of their safety,” Byard said.“However, the lack of system-

atic observation has meant that even serious adverse reactions, such as the kidney failure and liver damage caused by some plant spe-cies, have gone unrecognized until recently,” he added.

Co-author, Dr. Ian Musgrave from the University’s Discipline of Pharmacology, said many patients don’t bother to check the ingredi-ents of some herbal medicines, because it’s assumed that thousands of years of use points to everything being safe.

“Most of the time patients don’t recognize herbal products as a medicine, so it doesn’t come to mind when asked what medicines they are taking,” Musgrave said.

He said some herbal medicines slip through the cracks of Austral-ian regulations because they are not technically medicines under Aus-tralian law. “A significant number of traditional herbal medicines do

not comply with Australian regu-lations. In some cases ingredients are either not listed or their con-centrations are recorded inaccurately on websites or labels,” he said.

“In other cases a botanical spe-cies may be replaced with another if it is difficult to source or too expensive. The replacement spe-cies may be potentially toxic,” he added.

Herbal medicines could

pose hidden risks: Expert

Researchers have identified a genomic mutation that causes physical abnormalities and devel-

opmental delays in children. Upon analysing the genome of a six-year-old boy, the scientists identified a novel muta-tion that affects a protein known as CASK, which is key to brain development and the signals transmitted by brain cells, or neurons.

“Identifying this new CASK mutation helps build our understanding of how these multifaceted disorders occur, and provides insight into how they might be treated in the future,” said senior study author Isabelle Schrauwen, Assistant Pro-fessor at Translational Genomics Research Institute (Tgen) in Phoenix, Arizona, US.

The child involved in this study was seen at TGen’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders, which helps families identify

the genetic source of their children’s med-ical symptoms. According to the study, published in the American Journal of Med-ical Genetics, the child’s “constellation of symptoms” included developmental delay; feeding disorders, including severe gas-tro-intestinal and gastro-esophageal complications; and involuntary eye move-ment, a condition known as nystagmus, which can reduce or limit vision.

Researchers identify genetic link

to rare developmental delays

Wish to live l o n g e r ? Eating hot

red chilli peppers with cholesterol lowering properties may help, research-ers say. The findings showed that con-sumption of hot red chilli peppers can lead to a 13 per cent reduction in total mortality, primarily in deaths due to heart dis-ease or stroke. People who were regular consumers of hot red chilli peppers showed lower cholesterol.

Although the researchers are not certain about the mechanism by which peppers could delay mor-tality, “transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, which are primary receptors for pungent agents such as capsaicin -- the principal component in chilli pep-pers -- may in part be responsible for the observed relationship.”

Eating red chilli may

help you live longer

BOLLYWOODTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 11

IANS

The prolific Priyadarshan has been to hell and back. A messy ugly divorce played

out in the public domain left him shattered, and he felt unable to make films -- until “Oppam” last year. He credits Mohanlal for pull-ing him out of depression.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he says, “It has been a traumatic time for me. I can’t even begin to describe what I went through. I stopped making films for three years. I couldn’t think straight. I felt

I had lost my ability to make films.“He (Mohanlal) told me I had to

get back to work, and not with another comedy. Mohanlal and I have done nearly 40 films together, many of them comedies. I could’ve easily done another comedy with him. But he insisted we do some-thing we haven’t done before.”

Priyadarshan, who officially ended his marriage after signing legal documents in a Chennai court last year, chose to do a thriller this time with Mohanlal. “I’ve done so many genres of films in my career. I’ve done 91 films so far. But never

a thriller. That’s how ‘Oppam’ happened.” When “Oppam” became a box office hit, both Priyadarshan and Mohanlal breathed a sigh of relief. “It was very important for me to come

back with a bang. And Mohanlal was worried for me. He never needs to worry for himself. Luckily, the film was a success and I was back in business, though movies are not a ‘business’ for me.

Mohanlal pulled me out

of depression: Director

National Award winning film-maker Shoojit Sircar, who has produced “Running-

shaadi.com”, says he had complete faith in the film’s debut director Amit Roy and didn’t interfere in the creative process of the project at all.

“I didn’t interfere in the making of ‘Runningshaadi.com’ as I had complete trust in the director Amit

Roy. When he came to me with the script and the cast, Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh, I was floored by the potential of Taapsee. In fact, that is when I decided to cast her for (my production) ‘Pink’,” Sircar told IANS here. “Though as a producer, I have a checklist while choosing a script, in this film, neither have I interfered in the process of filmmaking, nor I

went by restrictions,” he added.However, Sircar agreed that he

was quite possessive about his last production “Pink”. The story of the film revolves around a Bihari young man Ram Bharose who along with his friend Sarabjeet Sidhaana helps all the young couples of Amritsar to elope and get married through their website Runningshaadi.com.

Scripts are often called the foundation of a film, but Imtiaz Ali says he follows no pro-cedure to pen his scripts, which are more

like notes that he writes to himself.The scripts of Imtiaz’s movies like “Jab We

Met”, “Highway” and “Tamasha” are available for reading and download throughout Febru-ary on online platform Film Companion. This is for film lovers, students and enthusiasts to know what their favourite movies look like on paper -- the way the writers and makers had envisioned the same. “Film scripts educate and entertain. In February, we celebrate the work of a filmmaker who has shaped our notions of modern love. ‘Tamasha’, ‘Jab We Met’, ‘Rock-star’ and ‘Highway’ are provocative narratives of love and longing.”

Actress Sshivada Nair has stunned crit-ics and audiences alike in a negative role in her latest Tamil release “Adhe

Kangal”. She says she doesn’t want to get typecast in any way, and would like to experiment.

Buoyed by the response she has received so far for her role, Sshivada said: “It’s been overwhelming. I never expected this kind of a response. It feels really special when you realize that audiences are clapping and whistling for you in theatres.”

In the film, she plays a con woman with an angry streak. She tricks blind men and cheats them off their money.

Initially, she had her own reservations about the role. “Even though I was confident

when I read the script and heard the narra-tion, I did have my own doubts when it came to shooting. After we shot a scene on the first day, I wasn’t satisfied. I remember going back to my caravan and telling my mother if I could do this,” she said.

Don’t want to restrict myself: SshivadaMy scripts are like notes to myself: Imtiaz Ali

Didn’t interfere in ‘Runningshaadi.com’ shoot: Sircar

HOLLYWOOD TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 201712

The odds of winning an Oscar are greater for an American actor in a film that portrays

American culture than others, says a study.

Of the 97 Oscars in the lead best actor and actress category since 1968, nearly 70 per cent have gone to Americans, the study found.

The findings, published in the British Journal of Psychology, sug-gest that our perception of what makes a creation original and

outstanding is heavily influenced by the social groups we are mem-bers of. “We know a lot about the factors that increase people’s capacity to show exceptional performances.

However, a somewhat differ-ent question is what makes a given creative performance likely to be seen as exceptional. This was the question we addressed in this research,” said Niklas Steffens from University of Queensland in

Australia. “These results show that whether we see a given perform-ance as extraordinary is not just a function of the objective quality of that performance. For perceivers are much more likely to recognise a performance as truly brilliant when perceivers and performers share membership in a social group,” Steffens noted. For the study, the researchers conducted a large-scale analysis of the distri-bution of the Academy Awards.

AFP

The Berlin film festival, one of Europe’s top cinema show-cases, gets under way on

Thursday, bringing a parade of stars to its famed red carpet.

Nearly 400 movies will be screened during the 11-day gather-ing. Here’s a preview of highlights from the Berlinale, now in its 67th year, that are already generating a buzz.

Right from opening night, the festival will throw a spotlight on biopics and documentaries that explore famous creative lives. Etienne Comar’s debut feature

“Django” is focused on the Gypsy-jazz great Django Reinhardt and the little-known story of his fam-ily’s persecution by Nazis in occupied Paris. Geoffrey Rush plays Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti in “Final Por-trait”, directed by Hollywood actor Stanley Tucci.

Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis comes to life in “Maudie” starring Sally Hawkins as the beloved painter with a debilitat-ing illness and Ethan Hawke as her devoted husband. Long before there was Damien Hirst and shark preserved in formal-dehyde, there was Joseph Beuys

and his dead rabbit. The docu-mentary “Beuys” explores the controversial life of one of Ger-many’s most important post-war artists.

And veteran German filmmaker

Volker Schloendorff (“The Tin Drum”) tells the story of his friend Max Frisch, played by Stellan Skars-gard, in “Return to Montauk” based on the Swiss novelist and play-wright’s life.

Spotlight on biopics at Berlin film fest

People, who camped-out overnight in sleeping bags, queue to buy

tickets for the upcoming 67th Berlin International Film Festival

Berlinale in Berlin, yesterday.

Singer Lady Gaga delivered a power-packed performance during her Super Bowl 51 half-

time show, but played it safe with subtle political undertones.

Gaga performed without a single special guest performer and focused on her biggest hits. She earlier prom-ised to be politically charged in the wake of protests against US President Donald Trump, reports theguardian.

com. Although her lyrics included phrases like “black, white and beige” and “gay, straight, or bi, life”, there appeared to be no direct attack on Trump. Gaga opened the half-time show with a poignant medley of

“America the beautiful” and “This land is our land” -- an alternative national anthem. Hillary Clinton, the former Presidential candidate, tweeted her praise for Gaga.

Model Kendall Jenner painted her bedroom pink to “suppress” her

appetite The 21-year-old “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star has admitted she redecorated her room with a baby-doll shade of rose in a bid to keep off the hunger pangs, which is a tip her friends advised her to do after they visited an art exhibition.

Jenner said: “I decided to paint (my room) pink because while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the room, I went to dinner with friends and they had just gone to the Human Condition exhibition at a former hospital in LA.

“They were telling me there’s a pink room at the exhibit that had an explanation of the colour choice: Baker-Miller Pink is the only colour scientifically proven to calm you and suppress your appetite. I was like, ‘I need this colour in my house!’

Oscar winners mostly American: Study

Lady Gaga soars over Super Bowl stageJenner paints

bedroom pink to

‘suppress’ appetite

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYTUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 13

AFP

An experimental Japanese mission to clear ‘space junk’ or rubbish from the Earth’s

orbit has ended in failure, officials said yesterday.

Over 100 million pieces of gar-bage are thought to be whizzing around the planet, including cast-off equipment from old satellites and bits of rocket, which experts say could pose risks for future space exploration.

Scientists at the Japan Aero-space Exploration Agency (JAXA) were trying to test an electrody-namic ‘tether’ -- created with the help of a fishing net company -- to slow down the orbiting rubbish and bring it into a lower orbit.

The hope was that the clutter -- built up after more than five

decades of human space explora-tion -- would eventually enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up harmlessly before it had a chance to crash into the planet.

The 700-metre (2,300-foot) long tether -- made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium -- was due to be extended out from a cargo ship launched in December carrying supplies for astronauts at the International Space Station.

Problems arose quickly, how-ever, and technicians tried for days to remedy the situation but only had a one-week window to carry out the mission before the vessel reen-tered the Earth’s atmosphere before dawn yesterday.

“We believe the tether did not get released”, leading researcher Koichi Inoue told reporters.

“It is certainly disappointing that

we ended the mission without com-pleting one of the main objectives,” he said. The disappointment is the latest failure to hit JAXA and comes just weeks after the agency had to abort a mission that sought to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite

into orbit. The agency also aban-doned a pricey ultra-high-tech satellite launched in February last year to search for X-rays emanat-ing from black holes and galaxy clusters after losing contact with the spacecraft.

Japan’s troubled ‘space junk’ mission fails

Social media companies Face-book, Google and a group of news organisations launched

an initiative yesterday to tackle fake news stories in France, with the media in the spotlight as the country’s presidential election approaches. Facebook said it would work with several leading French

news organisations, including Agence France-Presse, BFM TV, and newspapers L’Express and Le Monde to ensure that false news items were not published on its platform. Google also said it was part of the initiative, dubbed “Cross Check” by the partners.

Facebook has faced criticism

that it did not do enough to prevent false information being republished on its platform during last year’s US presidential campaign, and in response has set up measures to try to tackle the problem. Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax.

FB & Google launch drive against fake news

Flaws in batteries caused the fires in Samsung Electronics’

Galaxy Note 7, which led to a worldwide recall and pro-duction halt of the smartphone, results of tests conducted by South Koreas product safety watchdog show.

The state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards found no prob-lems in the smartphone’s hardware design or soft-ware, Yonhap news agency reported yesterday.

These conclusions are similar to the probe result announced by Samsung Electronics last month. “Our investigation concluded that the batteries were found to be the cause of the Note 7 incidents,” Samsung had said.

Researchers have developed a terahertz (THz) transmitter capable of transmitting digital data at a rate 10 times or more faster than that

offered by the fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) expected to appear around 2020.

The terahertz transmitter could make it possi-ble for the whole content on a DVD (digital versatile disk) to be transferred in a fraction of a second, according to the research scheduled to be presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2017 being held from February 5-9 in San Francisco, California. The terahertz band is a new and vast frequency resource expected to be used for future ultrahigh-speed wireless communications.

The research group has developed a transmitter that achieves a communication speed of 105 gigabits per second using the frequency range from 290 giga-hertz (GHz) to 315 GHz.

New tech to transfer data faster Faulty battery

caused Galaxy

Note 7 fires

BABY BLUES

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida

during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the

Ku Klux Klan.

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

LIVE BY NIGHT

NOVO ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

MALL

LANDMARK

Split (2D/Horror) 11:30am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30, 10:00pm, 12:00midnight & 12:15amKung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40pm & 12:00midnightLive By Night (2D/Crime) 11:00am, 1:30, 2:15, 4:00, 6:30, 7:15, 9:00 & 11:30pmArsenal (2D/Thriller) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnightRaees (2D/Hindi) 10:30am, 3:45 & 9:00pm Monster Trucks (2D/Animation) 1:30, 6:45pm & 12:00midnightJackie(2D/Drama)10:10am, 2:00, 5:50 & 9:50pm Pet(2D/Horror)12:10, 4:00, 7:50 & 11:50pmSing (2D/Animation) 10:15am, 12:15, 2:15 & 4:15pmLa La Land (2D/Musical) 6:15, 8:45 & 11:15pm Split (2D/Musical) 4:50pm XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 10:30am, 2:45, 7:00 & 11:15pm Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2D/Action) 12:45, 5:00 & 9:15pmResident Evil: The Final Chapter (3D IMAX/Action) 10:30am, 2:45, 7:00 & 11:15pm XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (3D IMAX/Action) 12:30, 4:45 & 9:00pm

Jomonte Suvisheshangal (2D/Malayalam) 2:15 & 11:00pmJackie (2D/Drama) 2:00pm Kung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 2:15, 7:15 & 9:15pm Nenu Local (2D/Telugu) 3:45pm Pet (2D/Horror) 4:15pm Ballerina (2D/Animation) 4:15 & 6:00pm Arsenal (2D/Thriller) 9:45pm Raees (2D/Hindi) 6:15pm Live By Night (2D/Crime) 5:00 & 8:45pm Kung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 7:15 & 9:15pm Bogan (2D/Tamil) 11:00pmSplit (2D/Horror) 11:30pm

Jomonte Suvisheshangal (2D/Malayalam) 2:15 & 11:00pmNenu Local (2D/Telugu) 2:00pm Jackie (2D/Drama) 2:15pm Kung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 5:15, 7:15 & 9:15pmMoana (2D/Animation) 4:30pm Pet (2D/Horror) 5:45pm Live By Night (2D/Crime) 8:45pm Split (2D/Horror) 7:30 & 9:30pm Raees (2D/Hindi) 6:15pm Arsenal (2D/Thriller) 4:00 & 11:30pm Bogan (2D/Tamil) 11:00pm

Jomonte Suvisheshangal (2D/Malayalam) 2:15 & 11:15pmEnakku Vaaitha Adimaigal (2D/Tamil) 2:15pmKung Fu Yoga (2D/Action) 2:15, 7:15 & 9:15pmRaees (2D/Hindi) 4:30pm Live By Night (2D/Crime) 5:00 & 8:30pm Jackie (2D/Drama) 8:00pm Split (2D/Horror) 6:00 & 11:30pm Pet (2D/Horror) 7:00pm Arsenal (2D/Thriller) 4:15 & 9:45pm Bogan (2D/Tamil) 10:45pm

Jomonte (Malayalam) 5:00, 6:30, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00 & 11:15pm Nenu Local (Telugu) 6:45pm Bogan (Tamil) 9:30pm Raees (Hindi) 6:30pm Enakku Vaaitha Adimaigal (Telugu) 8:45pm

TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017

VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

CINEMA PLUS14

AL KHORJomonte (Malayalam) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm Bogan (Tamil) 11:15am,

2:15, 5:15, 8:15 & 11:15pm Nenu Local (Telugu) 10:45am, 1:45, 4:45, 7:45 & 10:45pm

CROSSWORD CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

ALL IN THE MIND

08:00 News08:30 Counting the

Cost09:00 Al Jazeera World10:30 Inside Story11:00 News11:30 The Stream12:30 Rebel Education 13:00 NEWSHOUR14:00 News14:30 Inside Story15:00 Canada’s Dark

Secret 16:00 NEWSHOUR17:00 News17:30 The Stream18:00 newsgrid19:00 News19:30 Viewfinder Asia20:00 News20:30 Inside Story21:00 NEWSHOUR22:00 News22:30 The Stream23:00 Al Jazeera World

13:00 Welcome To The Ronks

16:15 Sunny Bunnies

17:10 Stuck In The Middle

17:40 Girl Meets World

18:05 Bizaardvark 18:30 Liv And

Maddie 19:25 The Next

Step 19:50 Austin &

Ally 20:15 Star Darlings 20:20 Shake It Up 21:10 Liv And

Maddie 21:35 Cracke 22:05 Best Friends

Whenever 22:30 Jessie 22:55 Tsum Tsum

Shorts

13:50 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet

14:45 Gator Boys15:40 Great

Animal Escapes

16:05 Great Animal Escapes

16:35 Tanked18:25 Rugged

Justice19:20 Up Close

And Dangerous

20:15 Tanked21:35 Great

Animal Escapes

22:05 Rugged Justice

23:00 Up Close And Dangerous

23:55 Gator Boys

13:14 Mythbusters14:02 How Do

They Do It?14:50 Alien

Encounters16:26 Da Vinci’s

Machines17:14 Mythbusters18:02 Alien

Encounters18:50 Da Vinci’s

Machines19:40 Mythbusters20:30 Future

Weapons21:20 How Do

They Do It?21:45 Food

Factory22:10 Alien

Encounters23:00 Future

Weapons23:50 Da Vinci’s

Machines

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

BRAIN TEASERSTUESEDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2017 15

Yesterday’s answer

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku

is a number-placing puzzle based on a

9×9 grid. The object is to place the

numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each

3×3 box contains the same number

only once.

ALTITUDE, APEX, ASCENT, BASE,

CAMP, CLAMBER, CLIFF, CLIMB,

CRAG, CRAMPON, CRANNY,

CREST, CREVASSE, CREVICE,

DESCENT, ESCARPMENT, FACE,

FLAG, FOOTHILLS, GUIDE,

HEIGHT, LEDGE, MOUNTAINEER,

PEAK, PICK, PINNACLE, PITON,

RIDGE, ROCK, ROPE,

SHERPA, SIDE, SLOPE, SPIKE,

STEEP, SUMMIT.