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Fortress Delhi set for biggest Commonwealth Games

Sun, Oct 3 08:24 AM

Enlarge Photo A paramilitary soldier stands guard in front of a poster advertising the Commonwealth Games outside...

With nearly 6,000 athletes already in Delhi and hundreds more streaming in by the day, the capital was putting the finishing touches to preparations for the biggest ever Commonwealth Games on Saturday.

(For slideshow "Countdown to Commonwealth Games, click http://in.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=INRTR2HWG7)

The 12-day sports gathering for mostly former British colonies was in crisis a week ago but organisers seemed to have put the worst of the rash of preparatory problems behind them on the eve of the opening ceremony.

The late scramble by the government to salvage the $6 billion event might still not be enough to erase the public relations disaster of the last few weeks but the 19th Commonwealth Games can at least boast the most participants.

"The fact that we will have the participation of 6,800 athletes and team officials from all 71 nations and territories indicates the love they have for India," said chief organiser Suresh Kalmadi.

"We are on course to deliver the Games successfully and smoothly."

The late arriving athletes will land in a city in the grip of huge security operation aimed at ensuring the safety of the athletes and spectators, 60,000 of whom will pack the refurbished Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.

Some 100,000 security personnel have been deployed around the city and MiG fighters and helicopter gunships will be on standby.

The Delhi government has also ordered shops and commercial establishments to remain closed on Sunday but the city's police chief YS Dadwal said people would still be able to get around.

"It's huge task and we have cancelled leave for all policemen," he told reporters. "It's a moment of great challenge for Delhi Police.

"We have not asked people to stay home. We told them, 'Plan your movement because of limited road space during the Games. Reach venues well in advance and be prepared to stand in queues.'"

Britain's Prince Charles arrived in Delhi on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Commonwealth.

The Delhi Games, intended to showcase India's growing financial clout with a display of soft power, had threatened to become a national embarrassment before the government intervened.

The organisers had seven years to prepare but the shoddy construction and filthy accommodation forced some of the teams to either postpone their arrival or put up in city hotels.

The director of sport for the Canadian team, Scott Stevenson, said conditions in the athletes' village had now improved.

"We wanted it to get to adequate class as we say, which is where we are," he said. "So people are comfortable, they are getting their sleep, eating well and it's easy to move around. It is a comfortable village to be around."

The organisers renovated most of the existing stadiums and some of the venues, including hockey and cycling stadiums, have been hailed as world class.

The string of top athletes who have skipped the games for fatigue, injury, health or security concerns have taken some of the lustre off the sporting competition, which starts on Monday.

Strong swimming teams from Australia, England, South Africa and Canada have bucked the trend, though, and the action at the Dr SP Mukherjee Aquatic Complex will be among the highlights of the Oct. 3-14 event.

"It is very different from the swimming world championships and in my view the only experience that beats competing at the Commonwealth Games is the Olympics," said South Africa's 2004 Olympic champion Roland Schoeman.

Corruption charges, an attack by suspected militants that wounded two tourists, a dengue fever epidemic, a filthy Games Village and the collapse of a footbridge have tarnished India's image, questioning its ability to host events of such magnitude.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Johnston, Amlan Chakraborty and Sudipto Ganguly, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Five hours of sleep enough for women

Sat, Oct 2 04:02 PM

Women who manage to get between five and six-and-a-half hours of sleep every night are more likely to live longer, a new study has claimed.

Researchers at the San Diego School of Medicine found that women those who slept for between five and six-and-a-half hours a night had the longest survival rates.

While adults are advised to sleep for seven to nine hours every day to stay healthy, the researchers found that those who get slightly less than the recommended amount tend to outlive those who sleep much more.

The findings, they said, would help dismiss the long-held belief that people aren't getting enough sleep, the Daily Mail reported.

The scientists, who monitored 459 elderly women in San Diego for 14 years (since 1995) to try and establish a link between sleep and mortality, found that those who slept for between five and six-and-a-half hours daily had the longest survival rates.

In their first study they worked out peoples' sleeping habits using wrist activity monitors, which are able to tell whether a person is awake or asleep by how much they move and then count up the overall hours of sleep a night.

Last year the researchers tried to get back in touch with all the women 14 years later to find out whether they were still alive. They established that those who had more than six and a half hours sleep a night or less than five were far less likely to be alive today.

Professor Daniel Kripke, who led the study, said: "The surprise was that when sleep was measured objectively, the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours.

"Women who slept less than five hours a night or more than 6.5 hours were less likely to be alive at the 14-year follow-up."

Professor Kripke said their study should allay some people's fears that they're not getting enough sleep. He added: "This means that women who sleep as little as five to six-and-a-half hours have nothing to worry about since that amount of sleep is evidently consistent with excellent survival. That is actually about the average measured sleep duration for San Diego women."

Long term studies show that those who drop down to five hours or fewer face a 70 per cent extra risk of dying from all causes. The new study is published in journal Sleep

Anjaana Anjaani Movie Review

By Rummana Ahmed

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Zayed Khan

Director: Siddharth Anand

Siddharth Anand's 'Anjaana Anjaani' creates a colourful atmosphere but lacks a compelling peg. Shot completely in the U.S., it's a slick production, big on the style quotient but slight on substance.

The basic premise - Akash (Ranbir) and Kiara (Priyanka) bump into each other on a bridge while trying to commit suicide. A few disastrous failed attempts later, they make a suicide pact but decide to make the best of their "last" days. While they embark on a journey trying to help each other achieve their unfulfilled last wishes, they rediscover themselves and also predictably fall in love in totally filmi-style.

Cinematic liberties are in abundance in this film. While their adventures together are fun to watch, it's not clear how they manage to fund their amusing expeditions. Akash and his friends are completely broke and declare bankruptcy after the stock market plummets. And we never really know if Priyanka does have a real job other than nursing her broken heart full-time. It is still amazing that while stories of 'Jobless in America' abound, our lead pair not only eke out a decent living in New York city but also manage to finance their misadventures without cutting any corners.

Priyanka manages to look hot and gets ample opportunity to show off her perfectly toned body. While for the most part she does a decent job, at times, her performance comes across as pretentious and looks like a desperate attempt to recreate the Geet of 'Jab We Met'.

The real show-stealer then is once again Ranbir Kapoor. He is fun, attractive, romantic and arrogant, all at the same time; never overdoes his brief and manages to make an average film, a fun one-time watch.

If you have watched 'Salaam Namaste' and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' and kind of liked it, then Siddharth Anand will not disappoint you this time. Don't expect too much - there are a few fun moments, Vishal-Shekhar's music is average, the 'Aas Paas Khuda' number by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is good and the packaging is glossy.