9th February 2014

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The Morung Express

Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 37

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www.morungexpress.com

Make India world leader in education: President [ PAGE 8]

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Dear Ministers, Parliamentary Secys, Presidents, Kilo Kilonser, Kilonsers, Hods, Captains, lieutenants, MLAs and brothers and sisters.

Welcome to today`s service.

Autorickshaw driver murdered Morung Express News Dimapur | February 8

One autorickshaw driver was found murdered on February 7 in Dimapur. The deceased, identified by the police as Gulyu Ahmed (21), reportedly went missing on the evening of February 6. His body was found the next day at a forested area on the outskirts of Dimapur, towards Niuland. The autorickshaw he was driving is also reported to be missing. According to police, the body was found at around 11:30 am. Police suspect the death to be a case of murder as the deceased bore signs of strangulation on the neck.

The deceased usually plies his autorickshaw at night waiting for passengers at the railway station, police said. He was reportedly last seen at around 5:00pm on February 6. Police were yet to receive any complaint in this regard, while the family of the deceased refused autopsy, it was added.

AR jawan killed, 3 injured in ambush

IMPHAL, FebruAry 8 (PTI): An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and three others were seriously injured when insurgents ambushed a paramilitary force party at Lambisa in Manipur’s Ukhrul district today.

Insurgents exploded a powerful bomb and opened fire at the road opening party of 44th Assam Rifles battalion, killing one jawan and injuring three others, officials said. When the security forces returned fire, an encounter ensued lasting about an hour, they said. The injured jawans were taken to hospital. Insurgents ambushed the security patrol minutes before the arrival of BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to address a rally in Imphal.

Charging that people of the state were being “suppressed” by central forces in the name of dealing with insurgents, militant outfit United Revolutionary Front had given a call for boycotting Modi’s visit.

Clarification

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With regard to the news report, ‘PACHASPURA PROBE: Period of inquiry extended’, which appeared in the February 8 issue of The Morung Express, it is clarified that the Nagaland government has not yet extended the period of inquiry . The HPEC had submitted a letter to the Nagaland government seeking a month’s extension, the approval of which is still awaited.

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Love is a sacred reserve of energy; it is like the blood of spiritual evolution Madhuri sings in Gulaab Gang for the first time with her mother

Putting legal rights of women on the agenda [ PAGE 2]

Turkish forces foil attempted plane hijack

[ PAGE 11]

[ PAGE 9]

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Sunday, February 9, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 –Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

India faces daunting target in Auckland test [ PAGE 12]

cM for strengthening ties with Myanmar

KoHIMA, FebruAry 8 (Mexn): Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has returned from his five-day first-ever official visit to Myanmar. He extended the goodwill of India, especially from the people of Nagaland, to the people of Myanmar and highlighted that his visit was to promote peace, better understanding and development.

Rio met the Myanmar Union Border Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Thet Naing, the Speaker of the Myanmar Parliament, Thura U Shwe Mann, the chief minister of Mandalay, U Ye Mint and the chief minister of Sagiang, U Thar Aye, the Vice President of the Union Solidarity Party, Naga Myanmar Members of Parliament, civil society representatives, entrepreneurs, and officials of the Indian Embassy led by the Ambassador of India to Myanmar, Gautam Mukhopadhaya, the Deputy Chief of Mission Sailas Thangal and the Indian Council General of Mandalay, Dr. Madan Mohan Sethi.

In his meeting with the Chief Minister of Mandalay, Rio expressed the need to make efforts towards increased ties between the people of Myanmar and India for confidence building measures. The two chief ministers agreed that cultural exchanges and bringing the people towards common platforms would enhance the relationship between the people.

The Nagaland chief minister stated in his meetings that Nagas want peace, development and progress. This feeling was the strongest amongst the youth and he expressed satisfaction that on both sides of the border the political groups and undergrounds were in ceasefire with the governments of

Rio urges Naga leaders in Myanmar to make tireless efforts to bring peace, improve education, health care and connectivity

Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, is seen here interacting with the Speaker of the Myanmar Parliament, Thura U Shwe Mann, during his five-day official visit to Myanmar.

Myanmar and India. He hoped that the dialogues would bring political settlement and speed up the process of development.

Highlighting that the Nagaland government has been urging both the governments of India and Myanmar to focus on the suffering of the Nagas in Myanmar, Rio appreciated Myanmar for the recognition that was accorded

to the Nagas in the form of the “Naga Self Autonomous Zone” and also appreciated New Delhi for the Prime Minister’s aid package of 25 million US dollars to Myanmar, over a five year period, meant for the border regions, specially the Naga areas.

In the meeting with the Chief Minister of Sagaing, Rio appreciated the efforts of the Sagaing government for giving im-

portance and recognition to the “Naga Self Administered Zone”. Both the chief ministers agreed that efforts must be made to ensure that people on both sides of the border must be able to move without needing visas and that confidence building measures must be enhanced.

The Speaker of the Myanmar Parliament appealed to the Nagaland Government for cooperation and support

in implementing development and improving bilateral ties with India. Rio extended India’s fullest cooperation and assistance, especially Nagaland, towards the neighboring country and its people and highlighted that the North Eastern region and Myanmar are at the core of India’s Look East Policy and hoped that this region would become a place of vital importance in the global economy, particularly in the ASEAN region.

In the meeting with the Union Minister of Border Affairs, Rio highlighted the need to improve connectivity in the Naga areas and informed the Myanmar Government that on the Indian side of the border, roads have been constructed at all the meeting points within Nagaland and urged for the road construction within Myanmar to be expedited.

Rio informed that the Prime Minister of India would be visiting Myanmar in March 2014 and he expressed confidence that India would make more commitments towards assisting Myanmar in its march towards democracy and human progress.

As a follow up the visit, the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Gautam Mukhopadhaya will visit Nagaland in April and tour the border regions in order to make future programmes and projects more effective and people oriented.

The Chief Minister also had meetings with the Naga parliamentarians and representatives of the church in Myanmar. He urged them to make tireless efforts to bring peace, improve education, health care and connectivity and make every possible contribution to unite the people.

Manipur girl raped in Delhi AAP defiant on KAAc has ‘misused powers Jan lokpal Bill and exploited the rengmas’

neW DeLHI, FebruAry 8 (IAnS): A 14-year-old girl from Manipur was forcibly grabbed by her landlord’s son, taken to a vacant room and brutally raped here, triggering protests.

The rape of the teenaged Manipuri girl took place in south Delhi, which also last week witnessed an altercation over the appearance of a student from Arunachal Pradesh. Nido Tania was beaten up and he died Jan 30. The girl was raped Friday night. The accused has been arrested, police said Saturday.

She was allegedly raped in Munirka area at around 10.30 p.m. Friday. The girl had gone out to buy some household items when the accused forcibly grabbed her in front of a pharmacy near a hospital. She was dragged to a vacant room and raped.

The traumatised girl suffered injuries to her face in the vicious attack. She underwent medical tests at Safdarjung hospital.

Activists, students and people from northeast Saturday held a protest outside Vasant Vihar police station against the rape.

“She has been raped repeatedly and bru-

tally. We are trying to ensure we get more facts... she is in a very bad shape,” said Binalakshmi, an activist from Manipur. “Even an animal would not do that,” she added.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Barkha Singh described the attack as unfortunate. “I hope police takes action, I have been told the rapist has been arrested,” Barkha Singh told reporters. “We will do everything to ensure the rapist gets a life sentence, it is shameful...,” she said.

Union Minister Manish Tewari too condemned it. “Violence of any sort is reprehensible. It’s very sad incidents of violence keep occurring... when it happens against a woman its even more reprehensible. I hope police acts and all those responsible are brought to justice,” he said.

Following Tania’s death, the central government Thursday announced the formation of a committee that will examine the reasons behind such attacks and suggest remedial measures. Several parliamentarians met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to take steps to stop discrimination against people from the region.

neW DeLHI, FebruAry 8 (PTI): Alleging that BJP and Congress have joined hands to stall Jan Lokpal Bill, Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said its government would ensure passage of the proposed legislation in the assembly’s special session without prior approval of the Centre.

“Without prior approval of President and the Centre, passing Jan Lokpal Bill in assembly won’t be unconstitutional as BJP and Congress are claiming. Under Article 255 of the Constitution, no law passed by any state assembly will be invalid merely because it did not receive prior approval of the President, if it receives subsequent approval of the President,” Prashant Bhushan, a senior AAP leader, told reporters. Asked why AAP govt doesn’t want to get approval of the President and Centre before tabling bill in the assembly, he said: “If government sends Jan Lokpal Bill to Centre, we know that the bill would get stuck there that’s why we are first going to table bill in assembly.

Related story on page 8

Modi’s mantras to develop north east

Identifies Infrastructure, IT and Job creation as key areas of focus

neW DeLHI, FebruAry 8 (eT): Projecting development of the North-East region as an agenda of BJP, the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday said that infrastructure, IT and job creation are the key areas that need to be focused on.

“Why can’t Manipur be made an IT hub?” he questioned. “Infrastructure of Manipur is crumbling. BJP will work on national highways in Manipur,” he said. Modi also slammed the centre’s pet project NREGA, saying, “The much hyped NREGA has failed in Manipur. People of Manipur have been forced to look for employment outside.”

“North-East has its own strength for economic development. North-East boasts of huge bio-diversity, it can be used as a big base for export of herbal medicines,” Modi said. “Youth can be provided employment through value-addition chain. Agro-processing industries can do the face-lift of the North-east region,” he stressed. “North-East has not harnessed its oil & gas reserves,” he added.

Addressing a rally in Manipur’s Imphal,

Nido Tania’s death a “national shame” IMPHAL, FebruAry 8 (PTI): BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today said the death of Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Tania in Delhi is a matter of national shame and asked the Centre and the Delhi Government to shun their blame game on the issue and ensure justice for him. He said such incidents further alienate the people of the northeastern states, which due to the “unfortunate policies” of the Congress

Modi said, “Policies of the centre have not been aligned for the development of Northeast region. India will only gain if North-East gains.” Promising to bring the North-East region at par with other regions in India, Modi said, “The eight North-East states are like ‘Asht-Lakshmi’. India has given 60 years to Congress, these are 60 years ruined. Give BJP 60 months to change the fortune of India.”

Raking up the issue of national security, Modi said, “We have to secure the border to secure people. Peace and progress go together. The problem of insurgency persists.”

Stating that the government at the centre cannot be trusted, Modi said, “UPA at the centre & Congress in Manipur have

have been neglected and have not developed in the last 60 years. “It (the death of Nido Tania in Delhi) is a shameful incident for the nation. I offer my prayers for the boy and his family...There is lack of governance there. There are cases of atrocities on women. “I hope the Government of India and the Government of Delhi come out of the blame game and works towards ensuring justice for the young boy and his family,” Modi said.

played with the issues of national security.

Congress exemplifies bad governance.” “All money from the centre is being used to fill the lockers of the ruling party,” he added.

According to Modi, “Lack of governance has led to North-East falling under divisive forces. Our land is not safe, life of people is not safe.” “Manipur has seen some of the worst governments of Congress,” he added.

Modi also cited the problem of drug trafficking in North-East saying, “Congress-led state government has failed to stop drug trafficking from across the border. Drug consumption is a big problem in Manipur.”

“The politics that is destroying India needs to end. We will bring back every penny of black money that has gone out of India,” he said.

KArbI AngLong, FebruAry 8 (Mexn): A fresh report has stated the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) “deserves a trial and face penalty for grossly violating the Constitution of India and looting the indigenous people for over 64 years.” It holds the KAAC responsible for the “genesis of the ethnic clash between the two tribal communities as it is a part of its game plan to wipe out the Rengmas from homeland.”

This was stated by a ten-member team of observers from the Rengma Hills Support Centre (RHSC), Rengma Naga Peoples Council (RNPC) and others who visited the burnt down Rengma villages to “spot verify burnt houses and assess the situation” on February 4 and 5, 2014. Its conclusion is that the KAAC has “misused its powers and exploited the Rengmas.”

The team of observers comprised of K. Thong, the convener of RHSC, Kechum Nyenthang, secretary of RHSC, Dr. Kenilo Kath, convener of RNPC, Joel Kath, secretary of RNPC’s media cell, other members of RNPC like Hyusin Thyu, Anilo Khing, Kenyuseng Rengma, Gwasheng Rengma, A. Rengma and Joana Marcowitz, an American free lance journalist from New York.

The team revealed that the KAAC had “unconstitutionally allotted land pattas to Karbis belonging to Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and other districts of Assam and established villages very close to Rengma villages with an intention to grab land … in total disregard of Rengmas legitimate landownership rights and stationed militants in the vicinity of their villages is one of the major circumstances leading to aggression and attack.” It further alleged that the KAAC is “preventing the Rengmas from utilizing their land.”

For this, the press release stated that “we can sue the KAAC in the court of law on various grounds and we will not hesitate to do so” as the autonomous council has “totally failed to fulfill constitutional purpose of the tribal autonomy.”

By way of evidence, on Feb-

ruary 4, the team visited Choginlashonyu (Shathi), Guzenlanyu (Khowanyi) and Nkhenlari (Khanari) through the Silonijan– Phentsero route and noted that the path that leads to the Rengma villages is a “rough corridor” and an “irregular passage which floes like a river in summer time.” The team observed, with irony and astonishment, that while none of the Rengma villages in Phentsero range are electrified, the closest Karbi village of Lokhiram had electric posts, cables and a transformer.

On the attacks, the team of observers noted, “According to a villager who was present at the village with CRPF personnel, the KPLT and Karbi villagers came to attack Nkhenlari village on 26th December 2013 but retreated when three of the KPLT cadres were shot dead.”

The first village to be “razed down to ashes,” stated the team, was Guzenlanyu (Khowanyi) village and the first house to be burnt down was the GBs house and his wife was shot dead in the morning of December 27, 2013. According to a youth of the village, “grenades were repeatedly thrown into various rooms of half walled house to make sure that no one would escape and the two women hiding inside and the roof and the upper wall were blown off in the air.” At Choginlashonyu, the team said, all the houses were razed to ashes as “heavily armed KPLT militants accompanied with some hundred villagers suddenly attacked the unaware Rengma village.”

On February 5, the team of observers proceeded towards Tseguchonri, the last village situated on the other range, about 26 km from Chokihola. “The government has already begun road construction nearly reaching this village and for which fund has been sanctioned by the governor of Assam. It is said the permanent security post is to be erected there,” informed the press release. At Lorenyu village, the team revealed, “Nothing could be saved as the villagers ran helter skelter for life into the jungle.”

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The Morung Express C

Putting legal rights of women on the agenda “The realities of the times have changed and it is undeniable that culture also keeps evolving” Our Correspondent Kohima | February 8

“No information on legal rights alone would help women if the basic issue of customary practices was not discussed in open deliberations regarding marriage, divorce and inheritance.” (Photo Courtesy/Aden Jamir)

“Today we are living under a new dispensation: The state of Nagaland where men and women are apparently viewed as equals under the provisions of laws adopted by the state. But when it comes to questions concerning close personal relationships like marriage, divorce and inheritance, customary practices are invoked very often to the detriment of the woman’s cause,” said Dr. Temsula Ao, Chairperson, Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW).

She was addressing the seminar on legal rights of women held on February 8 at Angami Public Organisation (APO) conference hall. Based on the legal rights of women on the theme “Marriage, Divorce & Inheritance” and “Health Education- HIV/AIDS”, the seminar was organized

by NSCW in collaboration with National Commission for Women, New Delhi.

Dr. Temsula further pointed out the issue of variations and contradictions in

traditional laws among various Naga tribes, which compound the problem in cases of inter-tribe marriage. “No information on legal rights alone would help women if this basic issue of customary practices was not discussed in open deliberations regarding marriage, divorce and inheritance,” added Dr. Temsula.

Er Kekhrielhoutuo Nakhro, President, Angami Gazetted Officers Kohima (AGOK); Zakieseto Khate, President, Angami Students Union (ASU); Neithovilie, President, Angami GBs Union; Khunyü, DBs Union; and Keneigunyü Sekhose, President, APO, shared various issues on marriage, divorce and inheritance based on the Angami customary laws. In the second session, Dr. Joyce Angami spoke on women’s health and Lydia Yeptho, Consultant, NSCW spoke on legal rights of women on health and HIV/ AIDS. “The realities of the times have changed and it is undeniable that culture also keeps evolving,” said Zakie Khate who also asserted

that discussing such matters prove the fact that the realities in our time is evolving for equal rights for both men and women. Khate further added that chauvinistic and dogmatic male attitude, customary zealots or even feminist extremism must never come in the way to create a balance and just society.

Kekhrielhoutuo Nakhro, President talked on marriage and divorce where it is opined that the bride’s opinion play a greater role in initiating marriage. However when it comes to divorce, women are only allotted one third of the joint property which does not include any ancestral property, and when adultery is committed by the women, she is often sent away naked, her head shaved. Nakhro pointed out that cases of extremism still occur today which he feels is a serious case of human rights abuse that need to be addressed. Dr. Temsula further hoped that the seminar would further initiate dialogues with elders, intellectuals and women’s groups to facilitate changes in the state.

cil project in the region in partnership with the Music Task Force that brought together 12 musicians from across the UK and Northeast India to explore musical heritage and connections on December 2013.

Celtic Connections is the largest annual winter music festival of its kind and the UK's premier celebration of Celtic music. It has over 2,100 artists, 300 events, 20 venues and 1 brilliant festival showcasing artists of international standing. Approaching its 15th year, Showcase Scotland introduces international and worldwide audiences to new music. Its aim is to secure performances for Scottish based artists on a global scale – creating new audiences for existing artists and introducing new

artists to existing audiences.

Delegates are issued with a pass that gains them access to festival shows, which feature either Scottish artists, or artists from international partnering nations. For the first time in 2014, Showcase Scotland focused on two partner nations – Australia and India. It was through British Council India’s Folk Nations project that Indian music professionals were invited to Celtic Connections. Folk Nations aims to connect the music industries of the UK and India and to open the doors to the Indian market to UK and international music talent and expertise.

For more information on Celtic Connections and Showcase Scotland log onto www.celticconnections.com

Nagaland participates at Celtic Connections festival

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Representatives creates links at an international level for future projects for music industry professionals Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): On January 21, 2014 two representatives from Nagaland, Nokcha Aier and Sarah Pongen from Jumping Bean Café, Dimapur were invited by the British Council India to attend a weeklong event called ‘Showcase Scotland’ during the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland.

They were two of the only three people to be selected from the North East regions of India as delegates and two of the only participants from Nagaland out of the 10-12 in-

dependent music industry professionals across India.

As a delegate at the nation’s largest international meeting of music industry professionals, Nokcha and Sarah played a significant role in creating links at an international level for future projects or opportunities by introducing the gifted instrumentalists, singers and composers from their country to a wider audience.

“It was a real eye opening experience that taught us so much beyond what we were expecting. We have British Council, India to thank for making this

ACKNOWLE

DGMENT

Words are inadequate to express our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals, organizations and churches who stood by us during the time of sickness and untimely demise of our beloved Lt. Dr. Neilavinuo Annuncita Suokhrie. Your words of wisdom, love, prayer and support have helped us through during our greatest loss and grief. The beauty and love of God was revealed to us through your selfless concern and care.

Though we are unable to mention each and every individual, it would be incomplete without giving special mention to the following persons: Dr. Wemeri, Dr. Angto, and Sisters: Jandeno, Chumbeni and Maya.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all days of my life; and shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:6 Loving Husband, children and relatives

Nokcha Aier

Sarah Pongen

possible for us. We have met so many amazing people in the music industry not just across India but from across the world and we hope that through the networking we made we can somehow have people invest in our artists’ too and help in their

career development,” said Sarah in a press note.

Jumping Bean Cafe has been part of the Folk Nations programme by hosting the showcase performance of the Folk Nations Residency in Northeast India, the first British Coun-

ANEFWA emergency meeting

Kohima, February 8 (mexN): The All Nagaland Electricity Field Workers Association (ANEFWA) has called an emergency executive meeting February 14 at its HQ Kohima. The Association requested all its zonal president and general secretary to attend the meeting without fail. The meeting will discuss the important agenda of playing delay tactics by concerned department in the preparation/procession for the payment of time bound scale arrear for both the work-charge and regularized period and to chalk out further necessary action.

Angami Sekrenyi 2014

Kohima, February 8 (mexN): The Southern Angami Public Organization (SAPO) in commemoration of the 50th years of statehood, will be hosting the Angami Sekrenyi 2014 at the Naga Heritage Village Kisama on February 25. The Organization invites all members of the community to join the celebration of the biggest festival of the community. Her Royal Highness, the Princes of Thailand will grace the festival as a special guest. Hectic preparations have already started, according to SAPO press secretary Khrievisa Chale.

5 MORE DAYS TO GO…….

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Stores Associated :

GRAVITY Kohima GRAVITY Mokokchung ADIDAS Kohima ADIDAS Mokokchung Samsonite & American Tourister Kohima Quality Care Kohima

HUB Kohima ADIDAS Wokha BENETTON Kohima

YGOA members told to be “guide, advisor and facilitator”

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Parliamentary secretary for CAWD, R Tohanba (centre) addressing the annual meeting of Yimchungrü Gazetted Officers’ Association at Bamboo Resource Centre, Dimapur, Saturday. (Morung Photo)

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): The Yimchungrü Gazetted Officers’ Association (YGOA) held its annual general meeting at Bamboo Resource Centre, Dimapur, on Saturday, with parliamentary secretary for CAWD, R Tohanba, and parliamentary secretary for Excise, Economics & Statistics and LM&CP, T Torechu, exhorting the officers.

Parliamentary secretary for CAWD, R Tohanba, in his address said YGOA being one of the elite and intellectual organizations of the Yimchungrü tribe, should act as “guide, advisor and facilitator” in order to bring positive changes in the society, especially among the Yimchungrüs.

“YGOA should also act role model and take up the responsibility to bring socioeconomic uplift of the Yimchungrü people, especially the downtrodden people in remote areas.”

Tohanba also urged the officers to follow “professional ethics” at the workplace and to discharge their assigned duties with full dedication, sincerity and commitment in order to serve the state. “Perform your duties without fear or favour and moral integrity should always be the guiding principle in your life,” he said. Stressing on the importance of education in the modern world, Tohanba appealed to the Yimchungrü officers to encourage the spread of quality education in their respective areas and villages. “Pen is mightier

than the sword in the present day and students are the leaders of the future. So YGOA should guide and advice the younger generation to pursue education with zeal as future lies with the educated minds”, he added.

Parliamentary secretary for Excise, Economics & Statistics and LM&CP, T Torechu, in his exhortation dwelled on the early life and culture of the Yimchungrüs and said the tribe was known for its “warriors and heroes” in the headhunting days. Torechu also said the headhunting culture practiced by Naga forefathers was also one main reason of disunity among Yimchungrüs. He however said that the old ways have to give way to the new and said the YGOA should shoulder the responsibility of bringing change in the society by offering their matured and educated advice and guidance. “To bring about positive change, you (YGOA members) should not ask others what you should do.

Rather, it is for you to take the initiative to individually change yourself and in turn change others”, he added.

DIG (Police), S Akumba; CMO, Dr. W Punsokiu; deputy commandant, Village Guard Kiphire, Thsanthong; EAC Shamator, S Athsangla and president of Yimchungrü Students’ Union (YAA) also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, president YGOA, Murelim, delivered the welcome address. The meeting was chaired by vice president YGOA, R Thsanso.

Cultures Of PeACe festivAl

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‘Building bridges and connecting NE with the rest of India’ Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): Conceptualised and produced by Preeti Gill and Mary Therese Kurkalang, Festival Directors, the Cultures of Peace festival is three-way collaboration between Zubaan, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and Khublei.

A press release said that the festival has been growing each year and it brings together writing, music, film, theatre, media, photography etc. It aims to showcase the cultures of the Northeast and foreground important and pertinent discussions, to build bridges and make connections with the rest of India, and to create awareness of the region, both historically and in its present day context.

Now in its third edition, the festival is moving out of Delhi and expanding its reach to other cities. 2014 will take it to three cities, Pune, Mumbai and Guwahati. Earlier editions have included over 60 speakers - writers, academics, Journalists, filmmakers, social activists.

In 2014, the main twoday festival will be held in Pune, the city that witnessed the exodus of large numbers of North easterners, as a result of the rumours spread by vicious sms messages in 2012.

The festival is dedicated to Sharmila Rege (1964 -2013) Phule-Ambedkarite feminist and pedagogue, and Irom Sharmila the 'Iron Lady of Manipur' on hunger strike since November 2, 2000.

The Pune festival will comprise panel discussions organised in collaboration with the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, Women's

Tetseo Sisters from Nagaland will be performing in Pune as part of the Cultures of Peace festival.

Study Centre - Pune University, which will focus on human rights and women's issues in the Northeast, Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Day two of the festival will see the Tetseo Sisters in concert at The Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts at the Vishwabhavan Auditorium. In partnership with FTII, film screenings are being organised which includes films from Tripura, Manipur and Assam.

In Mumbai, in collaboration with the Kala Ghoda Festival, the festival will bring together ten writers and Tripura's rapper, Borkung Hrangkhawlaka BK who will set the tone for an evening in the lawns of the David Sassoon Library.

In Guwahati, within the framework of the Indian Association of Women's Studies conference at Cotton College, the festival will host an evening of writings by women with 14 writers from the different states of the Northeast, and will include fiction, non-fiction, folk storywriters, poets, historians and journalists. Eminent personalities from Nagaland include Rosemary Dzuvichu, Monalisa Changkija and Avinuo Kire.

About the organizers: The Organisers Zubaan is a leading independent publishing house based in New Delhi with a strong academic and general list.

It was set up in 2003 as an imprint of India's first feminist publishing house, Kali for Women, and continues to publish books on, for, by and about women in South Asia. Zubaan's name is associated strongly with high quality fiction by women in South Asia, both in translation and written in English. The trade non-fiction includes memoirs, popular history and books on the women's movement for a general audience. Alongside publishing activities, Zubaan functions as a notfor-profit trust handling a variety of research and outreach projects in the areas of gender, feminism and the women's movement.

The Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBF) is the Green Political Foundation, affiliated to the "Greens/ Alliance 90" political party represented in Germany's federal parliament. Headquartered in Berlin and with more than 25 international offices, HBF conducts and supports civic educational activities and

projects worldwide. HBF understands itself as a green think tank and international policy network, working with governmental and non-governmental actors and focusing on gender equity, sustainable development, and democracy and human rights. With a presence in New Delhi since 2002, the HBF India office coordinates the interaction with local project partners. Its programme activities are focused on climate change and energy, gender and economic policy, and democracy and conflict.

KHUBLEI is founded by Mary Therese Kurkalang in 2012. It is a company working in the field of Art, Books, Culture and Design.

Offering varied services including event curation and production, marketing consultancy, communication, PR, branding and promotions. KHUBLEI also works actively to promote the cultures of the Northeastern states of India, and raise awareness on issues related to these states.

KHUBLEI is a Khasi word, which means 'Thank You', it is also a greeting and literally translated, the two syllables mean 'God Bless'.

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The Morung express

Sunday

9 February 2014

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PM did not do anything for Assam: Modi Guwahati, February 8 (aGencies): Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed the Congress government in Assam was holding back the Northeastern state's progress and promised to implement the Assam Accord if the BJP came to power at the Centre.

He also attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam. "Twenty-three years you have been their representative. You sit in parliament.

You are honouring the PM's post.

Despite that, if his state Assam is in such a bad state, imagine how bad will be the condition of the rest of the country. Mr PM, you must answer. It is the right of the citizens to seek answers from you," he said.

"Assam's condition worse than Nagaland," the BJP's PM candidate said at a rally in Guwahati.

"The per capita income is the lowest in Assam despite the prime minister and the chief minister belonging to the same party.

Assam Assam's rate of economic growth has just reached 0.5 per cent," he said. Modi said the Tarun Gogoi government in Assam had failed to provide jobs. "Of every 1,000 youth, 675 are unemployed in Assam," said. Modi also tried to counter the UPA government's flagship employment guarantee scheme MNREGA. "They keep harping about NAREGA. They keep claiming the people got job under NREGA. Did you get employment under NREGA? Did you?" he asked the gathering. "In Assam, 12 lakh people sought work under NREGA and only 10,000 got jobs."

"They are spreading lies," he said, referring to the Congress.

State President of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam Sarbananda Sonowal, left, presents an Assamese Sarai, an Assamese souvenir to the party prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat state chief Minister Narendra Modi, center, during a public rally, named “Maha Jagran Rally, in Gauhati, Assam on Saturday, February 8. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

"Is there any sign of law and or- Even security personnel are getder in Assam? There are kidnap- ting killed," he said. pings, killings, extortion, bombs Referring to Assam tea, Modi blasts, but they are not bothered. recalled his boyhood days a tea

seller. "Assam is such a place that has tea as well as timber. And I have a special relation with tea.

I used to boil the tea that came

from your place and distribute it among people. The team from my Assam energises the morning of millions of my countrymen," he said amid loud cheers.

Modi said that states in the western part of the country had progressed, those in east were still lagging behind. He said the BJP would bring the east at par with the west. "The BJP has resolved that the way there has been development in the western part, in the same way, our priority will to bring development in the eastern part of India. Northeast is a vital region for India's pride."

He said there was need to harness the water of the Brahmaputra, like his government did in Gujarat. "Assam is lucky to have Bharmaputra. But does Guwahati get drinking water? There is so much water but people are thirsty.

Mizoram launches Community Tania's death spurred anti-racism stir: Arunachal CM Monitoring for health services aiZawL, February 8 (nnn): Community Monitoring – a mechanism to ensure delivery of the various public health services provided by the government at the community level – under National Rural Health Mission has been launched in Mizoram.

Community Monitoring will assess and supervise the various health initiatives carried out by the government under the National Health Mission. This has already been implemented in several states of the country.

Serchhip district has been selected for the pilot project and the organization Zoram Entu Pawl will take up the Monitoring task.

The launching programme, presided by State Health Secretary Esther Lalruatkimi, saw experts imparting training to the selected workers for the tasks for Community Monitoring.

Speaking at the Community Monitoring Launching Programme, Mizoram Health Minister Lal Thanzara said that through the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mizoram has been taking vigorous steps, and, as a result immense progress is seen in public health, he added.

Community Monitoring will make the government initiative more effective and also the people will give better support to the government, the Health Minister said. He advised the selected

Monitoring workers to acknowledge the importance of their task and to perform their duty effectively. He urged them to give intellectual support to the hospital staffs and also to be skillful in finding out the problem of the people, showing the latter the right way concerning their health.

In entire Mizoram, at present, there are 987 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNC) set up in 815 places, and Rogi Kalyan Samities or Patient Welfare Committees (RKS) set up in 77 hospitals, the Health Minister mentioned in his speech. The minister added that the State government will also take further vigorous steps in health sector.

After the launching of the Community Monitoring, selected workers for Community Monitoring were imparted training at Orientation Workshop by Dr.Gordon Zohmingthanga, NRHM Mission Director, Dr. TC Hmingthangi, SNO, and R.Lalmuankima, State Facilitator, RRC-NE, Dr.Bijit Roy, and, Dr.Rakhag Gaitonde, who came from AGCA Secretariat.

Dr Lalrinliana Sailo, Principal Director, Health & Family Welfare Department, Dr.Lalbiakima, Director, Health & Medical Education, and Dr.K.Ropari, Director, Health Services, were also present at the Orientation Workshop.

itanaGar, February 8 (tnn): Arunachal chief minister Nabam Tuki on Thursday said the death of Nido Tania has given the much-needed momentum to the national movement against racism.

Addressing a group of youth here, Tuki talked about the steps taken by him right from the moment he got the news on Nido's death. The youths suggested some reforms to safeguard the future of NE people and end racism against them.

The also demanded death penalty for Nido's killers, enactment of antiracial law, setting up of a special cell for NE students in Delhi, inclusion of history and culture of NE in na-

district before moving to other districts.

The vaccination will be conducted at Dimoria development block and Chandrapur development block and cover about 1,05,726 people in the first phase. The campaign will cover all adults

our cause and this is an opportune moment to ensure he becomes immortal by taking the issue to its logical conclusion," he added.

Memorials for those who have sacrificed their lives for Arunachal, including Nido, would be built, said Tuki. He added that the January 29 Tarasso incident occurred simultaneously which has to the tackled with utmost care.

Referring to the decades-long inter-state boundary problem, Tuki said, "Assam and Arunachal are sister states and we cannot survive without Assam," said Tuki, hinted at the steps he has taken to find a lasting solution to the boundary row and lift

High Court raps Tripura government on undergraduate teachers appointments

aGartaLa, February 8 (tnn): The recruitment of 4,606 undergraduate teachers (UGTs) has come under cloud after the state government was asked by the Tripura high court to explain its selection process. Admitting a writ petition filed by 152 basic training-holding unemployed persons, a division bench comprising chief justice Deepak Gupta and justice UB Saha directed the government to reply within six weeks.

The petition accused the state government of violating the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, in its recruitment of UGTs. It states that according to RTE, at least 50% marks in senior secondary

JE vaccination for adults in Assam Guwahati, February 8 (tnn): Assam is set to become the first state in the country to administer vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) for adults. The state department will start the vaccination from February 10 in Kamrup (Metro)

tional textbooks and seminars in different parts of the country to raise awareness on the region, particularly Arunachal.

"We will ensure that an independent agency conducts the probe, the guilty are brought to book and a strong anti-racial law is enacted. I have spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi which gave the momentum to the issue," said Tuki.

"All sections of people and political parties throughout the nation have backed the demand for an anti-racial law. Tania's sacrifice has given strength to

between 15 and 70 years.

There will be 279 centres at various schools in the area. The drive will continue till February 21. After Kamrup (Metro), vaccination will be carried out in Golaghat, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur.

exam and a diploma in elementary education were mandatory for UGT aspirants. Final selection can only be made after the state conducts a Teachers Eligibility Test. The petition contended that though the government's recruitment process started before RTE came into effect, compliance was necessary as appointments were made in 2014. The court questioned why the state flouted the legibility criteria set by National Council of Teachers' Training in selecting untrained aspirants and directed the government to issue a public notice to all 4,606 appointees, seeking replies before March 19 on why their appointments should not be cancelled.

CONGRATULATION

The Western Angami Women Organization mentions that Madam Banuo Jamir being one of the daughters of the Western Angamis, are so delighted and proud of her being the first Naga lady to hold this high rank post in the history of our State Government, further we are thankful to God for the blessings showered to us though her.

The achievements scored by her are a practical example for the younger generation and very encouraging for the women and girl students in particular.

We wish her success in her new assignments and all her endeavours.

Sd/(Peteneinuo Nagi) General Secretary

(Abaii Jiinyii) President

GRATITUDE The Southern Angami Youth Organization & Kigwema Youth Organization would like to thank and acknowledge to all the individuals/organizations whom have selflessly render their service physically/materially and financially towards the fire incident at Mt.Japfü on 30th Jan’-5th Feb’2014.Both the Organization would like to thank some of the Officials who had contributed and guiding us through in our trying times.

1. Shri.Y.Patton (Forest Minister).

2. Shri.Vikho-O Yhoshü (Parliamentary Secy’ Housing, Treasuries & Accounts).

3. Shri.Neitsale Zhasa (Principal Secretary Forest Dept).

4. Shri.Lokeswar Rao (IFS) PCCF/HOFF,Shri.K.Kire, CF-STC Nagaland 5. Shri.Rothihu Tetso Kohima S.P. 6. Shri.Shouka Kakheto Kohima SDPO. 7. Smti. Asangla Imti Kohima ADC. 8. Smti.Sungtila Jamir SDO (C) Jakhama 9. Shri. Mohammad Ali, SDO(C) Zubza 10. Shri.Sidramappa DFO Kohima & Staff (Forest Dept).

11. Indian Air Force (IAF) Eastern Command Team.

12. Er.Toba (Tourism Dept.).

13. Col.Govind Signh, Naga Territorial Army & His Jawans.

14. 10th IRP (Alpha Company Zhadima), JAT Regiments (Sakhabama), Nagaland Police, O.C.Khuzama & His Team.

15. Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority.

16. Angami Public Organization.

17. Angami Youth Organization.

18. Southern Angami Public Organization.

19. Kigwema Gazetted Officers Krotho.

20. Jakhama Circle Officers Krotho.

21. Western Angami Youth Organization.

22. Khonoma Village Council.

23. Fountain Club Kohima, CHC Viswema, PHC, Kimipfuphe/ Kezocha, Medical Mobile Unit, Kohima.

Regretted to list all the individuals/organizations but we humbly pray that may your service be blessed and may the Almighty God continue to bless you through your endeavour.

(MEZHÜVO-O THORIE) President K.Y.O

(KEKHRÜHOL MEKRO) President SAYO

In Gujarat, where we do not have a river as big as the Brahmaputra, we laid down pipelines and took Narmada's water to the country's border with Pakistan," he said.

He said Congress leaders considered India their personal property. "When they gave way your land, did they ask you?" he said. Recalling the historic Assam accord of 1985, Modi said: "When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, there was an Assam accord. But did the government implement the accord? My youngster from Assam is jobless while the infiltrator gets the job.

There should be registration, verification and we must ascertain who has come from outside. "The promise Rajiv Gandhi made, even his family is not fulfilling. We will fulfill that promise," he said, to applause from the gathering.

the economic blockade at the earliest.

"I have urged the Centre to open road connectivity through Bhutan (TasigaonBleting-Lumla), West Bengal (Bhairabkund-Chicken Neck) and South East Asia (Jairampur-Pangsau Pass-Kunming) to end Arunachal's dependence," added Tuki.

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4

The Morung Express businEss Auto Expo 2014: Hope Maruti 800: The small car with a big heart Sunday

Dimapur

9 February 2014

rides on superbikes, SuVs

NEw DELhI, FEBRUARY 8 (tNN): Most men would have grown up dreaming of riding a Harley-Davidson but the iconic bike, known for its cruiser style and chopper design, had remained beyond their reach, given the hefty price tags.

But rising income levels and a greater interest in luxury biking have prompted the US major to unveil a made-for-India bike — a 750 cc model — with a price tag to suit Indian pockets. At Rs 4.1 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the Harley-Davidson Street is expected to bump up volumes in this rapidly-growing superpremium segment, where annual sales are estimated to be 2,500-3,000 units a year.

"We believe the new Street 750 will excite a new segment of urban riders in India who'll appreciate the attention to detail and opportunity to experience the HarleyDavidson lifestyle at an

accessible price. We will continue to invest in strategies that make our products and ownership experience accessible to more enthusiasts in India," Anoop Prakash, MD of HarleyDavidson India, said.

While Harley has been around for few years, it's facing its first real test as other global majors such as Triumph, Aprilia and Ducati rev up to meet local demand. All of them have one thing in common — they want to tap into the demand fuelled by higher incomes and younger demographics.

But the focus is on the top-income bracket. "It isn't meant for the common man. As more players come in, the market will grow," says Ravi Chopra of Aprilia, a brand owned by Italy's Piaggio. During the last 18 months, the company has sold around 110 units of RSV4, the 1000cc bike that costs about Rs 19 lakh.

Britain's Triumph, for instance, has lined up 10

models, including a mix of classics, roadsters and sports models that can set you back by Rs 5.75 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. "It's a rapidly growing segment," says Vimal Sumbly, MD of Triumph Motorcycles India, but suggests that the company isn't competing with Harley-Davidson that "operates in a different segment".

Sumbly says the company has bagged orders for 160 bikes, some of which are being assembled in India. "The target is to sell around 1,000 by the yearend."

Even local bike makers, including TVS, Hero and Bajaj don't want to be left behind. Hero is showcasing its 620cc bike Hastur at the Auto Expo, Bajaj unveiled a 400cc Pulsar model. TVS, though a little slow off the blocks, has ambitious plans. It is working on several models in the sub-500 cc segment with BMW Motorrad.

"We want to take advantage of the technol-

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Executive Director (Engineering) C.V. Raman poses for photographs during the launch of Maruti’s new car “Celerio” in Hyderabad, India, February 7, Friday. Celerio comes with an automated gearshift technology with car fuel efficiency of 23.1 kilometers per liter. The auto car range starts from 402,000 Indian rupees ($6,442) to 510,000 ($8,173). (AP Photo)

NEw DELhI, FEBRU- nounced that it would stop ARY 8 (LIvEMINt): On production of the vehicle 14 December 1983, Harpal that changed the way India Singh, a Delhi-based em- drove, but no one knew that ogy available with BMW, ployee of Indian Airlines, 2014 would mark the end. while we can offer a great and his wife brought home Indeed, the Maruti 800 had price proposition," says Harpal Singh, an employee of Indian Airlines, Arun Siddharth, the comand his wife brought home their Maruti 800, pany's GM, adding that the first to be sold in the country. in the coming years, TVS wants to target the export market. "It may take 5-10 years, but the market will be there." Like TVS, Siddhartha Lal, MD, Eicher Motors, (parent company of Royal Enfield) — believes it is the midsegment bikes, around 500cc, which will remain the mainstay of the luxury biking segment.

Lal is credited with turning around Royal Enfield into a brand strongly associated with the youth and is going global. While he speaks on the recently-launched Continental their Maruti 800, the first to been selling well in rural GT, a new 535cc motor- be sold in the country. The markets, causing some to becycle, Lal refuses to dis- keys were handed over to lieve that this was a car that cuss an even higher pow- the couple by then prime would not and could not die. er model said to be in the minister Indira Gandhi.

“We have an emotional works. "We are working On 18 January 2014, the connect with the vehicle, on several models, which last Maruti 800s rolled off but at some point, you have you will see in 2015-16," the production line at the to take hard decisions,” he says. Clearly, bikers company’s Gurgaon fac- said C.V. Raman, executive couldn't have asked for tory. Back in 2010, Maruti director (engineering) at anything better.

Suzuki India Ltd had an- Maruti Suzuki.

The firm stopped selling the Maruti 800 in 16 cities, including the metros, after it became unviable for it to upgrade the car to meet BS-IV emission norms. Raman said the company would continue to produce spares for the model for the next 10 years.

Back in 1983, the launch came 14 months after the Indian government andSuzuki Motor Corp. signed an agreement to produce a people’s car. Suzukihad a 26% stake in the company, then known as Maruti Udyog Ltd. The Japanese firm, which has not seen the kind of success it saw in India anywhere else in the world, including Japan, increased the stake to 40% in 1987 and 50% in 1992.

Priced at around Rs.50,000 at the time of the launch, the Maruti 800 was a technological marvel compared with the cars then available in India— theAmbassador, from Hindustan Motors Ltd; the Premier Padmini, from Premier Automobiles Ltd (under licence from Fiat and which continued to be called the Fiat); and the Standard Gazel, from Stan-

dard Motor Products.

The technical specifications of the car have remained virtually unchanged since launch, but the tiny 796cc engine hid a big heart.

The Maruti 800 was a workhorse, ferrying people and loads through rain and snow, uphill and down.

But the Maruti 800 was not just a car.

It was a symbol of the upward mobility that the Indian middle class saw, starting in the 1980s, when the process of reforms that reached a tipping point in 1991, really began. Until then, only the rich owned cars.

It was the vehicle that defined the shape the Indian automobile industry would take—from the birth of a thriving auto parts business to the predominance of the small car (a characteristic not seen in any other market of this size in the world).

It was the vehicle that taught Indians to drive and to pimp up their cars.

And, it was, at one point in time, the coolest set of wheels one could buy in the country. Around 2.7 million units have been sold since 1983.

MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 8 (BL): Thomas Cook (India) Ltd (TCIL) and Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) Ltd announced a merger between the companies today.

Ramesh Ramanathan, Managing Director, Sterling Holidays, said the merger would benefit from both natural and multiple synergies between the two organisations. Importantly, it would provide Thomas Cook a ready inventory of holiday rooms for their clients, while providing Sterling the opportunity of expanding and renovating its properties. The deal will enable Sterling to go to new destinations, buy larger properties and achieve its goals faster, Ramanathan said. Both companies will be able to de-risk the seasonal na-

Menon explained that post the deal, Ramesh and his team would remain with Sterling and run it as a subsidiary of TCIL — but with

an independent board.

The TCIL share closed at Rs. 87.50, while the Sterling Holidays share ended at 92.90 on Friday evening.

Thomas cook, sterling holidays announce merger ture of their holiday businesses, their officials said.

The deal values Sterling Holidays at about Rs. 870 crore. As part of a multistage process, TCIL will make a preferential allotment investment for approximately Rs. 187 crore in Sterling. It will purchase shares from Sterling shareholders for Rs. 176 crore.

It will then make a mandatory open offer for Rs. 230 crore. The merger between the two companies will be at a defined swap ratio of 120:100. That is shareholders of Sterling will get 120 shares of TCIL for every 100 shares in Sterling.

ICICI Securities was the merchant banker for the deal, while Antique Group was the advisor for the transaction.

The deal has been cooking over the past six weeks

and was signed late on Friday night, Madhavan Menon, Managing Director of TCIL, said.

Sterling Holidays has a network of 19 resorts in 16 holiday destinations that together have about 1,512 rooms. The company has about 70,000 members.

About half its revenues come from membership of its vacation ownership plans, while the other half comes from non-members.

Ramesh Ramanathan said the company has about 15 parcels of land of about 150 acres where the company can build another 2,500 units. The company has turned in operating profits in the last quarter and its current debt of about Rs. 44 crore (mainly a term loan from ILFS) would be settled soon through the infusion that comes from TCIL.

BIRTHDAY GREETING

To NaNgshimereN LoNgchar On your birthday, we warmly greet you with our love, affection and sympathy and above all pray to almighty God to let your life live for many blessing years. Many happy returns of the day

Loving wife, Akum, Arenla and Alemla

Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

_

LEISURE

Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box co ntains the digits 1 through 9.”

SUDOKU Game Number # 2786

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 2797

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

STD CODE: 03862

Metro Hospital: Faith Hospital: Shamrock Hospital Zion Hospital: Police Control Room Police Traffic Control East Police Station West Police Station CIHSR (Referral Hospital) Dimapur hospital Apollo Hospital Info Centre: Railway: Indian Airlines Chumukedima Fire Brigade Nikos Hospital and Research Centre Nagaland Multispecialty Health & Research Centre

Answer Number # 2785

KOHIMA

Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: Oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home:

232224; Emergency229529, 229474 227930, 231081 228846 228254 231864, 224117, 227337 228400 232106 227607 232181 242555/ 242533 224041, 248011 230695/9402435652 131/228404 229366 282777 232032, 231031 248302, 09856006026

STD CODE: 0370

Northeast Shuttles

100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202

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CLIMBING

REACHING

COMMITTEE

REPETITION

CUMULATIVE DUST EARPLUGS ENVIRONMENT

REPETITION RISKS SQUATTING STOOPING

GRASPING

SUPERVISOR

HANDJACK

TEMPERATURES

KNEELING

TRAINING

MANAGEMENT

VIBRATION

MEDICAL

WALKING

MIST

WET

NOISE

WHEELS

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S C D N G E I G W I T W M E O T

T O O S R R A Y A R R H A A G S

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ACROSS

F U G M E D I C A L E T E G S N

1. Refute 6. Dirty air 10. Snare 14. Without company 15. Gangly 16. Anger 17. Twangy, as a voice 18. Diva’s solo 19. False god 20. Protection 22. Not right 23. Observed 24. Maps 26. Sharp intake of breath 30. Mineral rock 31. Consume 32. Dwarf buffalo 33. Standard 35. Not a single time 39. A member of the Cosa Nostra 41. Improvement 43. African antelope 44. Head of hair 46. Away from the wind 47. Paraphernalia 49. By means of 50. Extend credit 51. Pillaging 54. Carve in stone

56. Absent Without Leave 57. Kill in large numbers 63. Autumn 64. Jump up and down 65. Steam 66. Kid 67. Baking appliance 68. Colonic 69. Sun 70. Sailors 71. Genders

DOWN 1. Hindu princess 2. Distinctive flair 3. Head honcho 4. Two-toed sloth 5. Informs 6. A guest cabin 7. Sailor 8. Hodgepodge 9. Peek 10. Involving three parties 11. Equestrian 12. In the sky 13. Animal hides 21. Long times 25. Suspend 26. Contest 27. A Freudian stage 28. Couch

29. Analgesic 34. Weapons 36. Sheltered spot 37. Biblical garden 38. Marsh plant 40. Norse god 42. Downy juicy fruit 45. Retaliator 48. Part of a tea service 51. Flat floating vessels 52. Expect 53. A type of dance 55. Bees live in them 58. Exploded star 59. Alley 60. Pinnacle 61. Hefty volume 62. Historical periods

Ans to CrossWord 2796

DIMAPUR: 03862-232201/101 (O) 9436601225 (OC) CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862-282777/101 (O) WOKHA: 03860-242215 (O) 9402643782 MOKOKCHUNG: 0369-2226225/101 (O) 9856872011 (OC) PHEK: 03865-223838/101 (O) 9436012949 (OC)

TUENSANG: 03861-220256/101 (O) 8974322879

08974997923

MON: 03869-290629/101 (O) 9856248962/ 9612805461 (OC)

Toll free No. 1098 childline

W

KOHIMA: 0370-2222952/101 (O) 9436062098 (OC)

ZUNHEBOTO: 03867-220444/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC)

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE

MOKOKCHUNG:

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

Police Station 1: Police Station 2 :

2226241 2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home: Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226216 2226263 2226373/2229343

TAHAMzAM (formerly Senapati) STD CODE: 03871 Police Station: Fire Brigade

222246 222491

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LOCAL

The Morung Express

eDba upholds resolution to disallow any form of taxation

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): East Dimapur Business Association (EDBA) has expressed concern over NSCN (IM) selling calendars in its jurisdiction, despite it being banned based on people’s mandate.

“The calendar which is sold for rupees 200 is dropped at the shops and told to be ready with the money when they come,” EDBA Media Cell stated in a press release.

The EDBA stated that it fails to understand how calendar for the year 2014 is sold now when a month has already passed. “Such acts go in contravention of democratic principles and shows scant disregard for

CTC informs not to pay any tax to any group

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): In view of the advance yearly tax imposition in Chumukedima area by a faction, an emergency meeting was convened at Chumukedima Town Council, Conference Hall on February 8.

The leaders in the meeting while fully supporting the public rally

the will of the people,” it affirmed.

EDBA reminding the village councils of East Dimapur of the resolution taken at EDBA office to disallow any forms of taxation and selling cal-

MEx FILE

CAKU Sekrenyi cancelled kohima, February 8 (mexN): The Chakhro Angami Kuda Union (CAKU) ‘Sekrenyi 2014’, which was scheduled to be held on February 25, hosted by Chakhro Angami Youth Organization (CAKYO) has been cancelled in view of “Angamimia Mechü Sekrenyi” to be held at Kisama, hosted by Southern Angami Public Organization (SAPO). CAKYO President Thejangulie Angami in a press release has extended gratitude to all members of CAKU, CAKSU, CKRAK and advisory board members for their valuable advice and time rendered towards CAKYO’s proposed CAKU Sekrenyi. Further, CAKYO requested all Angamis from CAKU jurisdiction to attend the said Sekrenyi Festival at Kisama on February 25.

Youth organization condemns pastor’s assault

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): Purana Bazaar Tenyimi Youth Organization has condemned the assault on Pastor Zhaseve Vese and his sister-in-law at their residence at Purana Bazaar on February 4, allegedly by Lukhayi Yeptho, his three children and another accomplice. In a press statement, the Organization termed the assault barbaric and uncivilized. It wondered “how a Naga could still be so uncivilized to breed a family of criminals even to assault a pastor in the land of Christians.”

The Organization has urged the law to stringently punish the culprits without bail. It also appreciated Purana Bazaar Village Council for its timely support.

resolution on October 31, 2013 - “One Government, One Tax”, informed all the public and business community not to pay any tax to any group, until further resolutions are adopted.

A press release issued by the Chumukedima Chamber of Commerce and Trade Association

said that leaders also decided to have a general public meeting on February 13 at 9:00 am at Saturday Weekly Market, Chumukedima Town.

Therefore, all the tribal hohos, youth organization, mothers’ association, students’ unions, ward GBs and convenors, ex-CTC members, pastors’ fellow-

endars etc, and to abide by people’s resolution passed during ACAUT's rally, has requested the VCs of East Dimapur to look into the matter.

EDBA further requested its business owners to

submit all demand notes given by NPG's at the office of EDBA as per the directives of ACAUT and not to give any money towards the sale of calendar. “EDBA wish to draw the attention of authority

phek, February 8 (mexN): The 28th general conference of Phekmi Collegiate Forum (PCF) is scheduled to be held at Community Hall, Phek Village on February 18 under the theme, “The Righteous shall be by Faith”.

According to a press communiqué issued by PCF general secretary Kuzhovesa Soho, the daylong conference will be graced

by Rev. DN. Soho, President, Chakhesang Baptist Church Council (CBCC) as the guest speaker.

The conference would feature installation of new Executive Council for the

tenure 2014-2016 by the three-member Nomination Committee namely, Nesucho Keyho, Vechisa Venuh and Thupukhruyi Venuh. Prior to the formal inaugural function at 12:30 pm, a fasting session would be observed at Phek Village Baptist Church (PVBC) from 06:00 am to 12:00 noon, where the entire PCF members are mandatory to partake.

Phek Students Union (PSU), New Ages band, Phek, Phek Village Youth Organization (PVYO) and CYE, Phek Village Baptist Church have been assigned as in-charges of stewards, sound system, seats and

ship have been invited to attend the said public meeting. Further, the public have been asked to send one representative from each household. All the business communities are compulsory to attend the meeting and all the shops are to remain closed during the meeting time, the release added.

concerned that any statement issuing concerning public and businessmen should not view to any individual or particularize to the members of any organization,” the media cell added.

PCF general conference from February 18 decoration respectively.

The formal function would be led by PCF general secretary, opening prayer would be invoked

by Veluhu Keyho, Pastor, PVBC, Presidential Address would be delivered

by PCF President, Kuvehu Soho, western tune will be presented by Ajano, while Kuzhohu Soho, Pastor, CRC, Phek Village would pronounce closing prayer followed by a luncheon.

The forum has extended its invitation to all the church workers, village councils, VDBs, women, youth and students’ organizations, elders to be part of the program.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): Dimapur District Auto Drivers Union (DDADU) has condemned the murder of an auto driver identified as Gulzan, whose body was recovered on February 7.

According to a press release issued by DDADU president, Hokaito Zhimomi, Gulzan was reportedly kidnapped on February 6 from Railway Station by unidentified persons, who snatched his autorickshaw bearing registration number NL-07-7304.

“This is not the first

incident that an autorickshaw driver has been killed,” the statement lamented. “There have been numerous incidents last year, where auto drivers have been killed by unidentified persons for stealing their autos, but till date no one has been arrested and booked for murder.”

The DDADU has urged the law enforcing agencies and the district administration to leave no stone unturned to arrest the culprits involved in the murder and book them under

appropriate laws.

Meanwhile, the Union stated that during such incidents auto drivers approach DDADU for relief and help, but they do not want to join the Union.

All auto drivers are required to follow the rules set by the Union and possess Union Identity Card to avail welfare benefits from the Union, it added.

The release also informed that the Union arranged financial help to transport the mortal remains of the victim to his native village at Nagaon.

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Seva Dal (NPCSD) state office bearers, district chief organizer, mahila organizer and Seva Dal volunteers held their coordination meeting with P.A. Gurung, organizer, All India Congress Seva Dal in-charge Nagaland/ North East on February 6 at Dimapur District Congress Bhavan.

A press release received here informed that G.K. Rengma, chief organizer, NPCSD, encouraged and advised all the state level officers, respective district chiefs, mahila organizer and Seva Dal volunteers to be prepared and ready for the coming Lok Sabha elec-

tion in all the 60 assembly constituencies. He also spoke about the importance, functions and duties of Seva Dal and exhorted the members to work united so a change can be brought through Seva Dal and Congress.

Meanwhile, the main speaker of the meeting, P.A. Gurung, terming Seva Dal as the backbone of Congress party, advised the members to firstly understand and know the true meaning of Seva Dal and work actively for the coming parliamentary election and elect the right person who can work for the people and stand for the people.

The programme was led by L. Manen Jamir, or-

ganizing secretary, NPCSD; invocation prayer was said by Soyhunglo Kath, youth director (DRBC).

Respective district chief organizers and mahila organizer also presented district reports at the meeting. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks from Khutovi Awomi, chief organizer, Dimapur District Congress Seva Dal. NPCSD has thanked Khughato S Aye, president, District Congress Committee for his presence and encouraging words towards NPCSD. It further extended gratitude to media for covering the programme, and Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee for the financial help.

State Congress Seva Dal members asked to gear up for Lok Sabha poll

State level meeting on teacher training BJP urges to donate towards the party Office bearers & dist presidents met on Feb 4

pereN, February 8 (mexN): The 22nd Zeliang Wrestling Meet will commence on February 17 at Mhainamtsi village local ground. A press release issued by Zeliang Wrestling Association general secretary, Haigam Kauring informed that Parliamentary Secretary Nicky Kire will grace the occasion as chief guest. All concerned have been requested to attend the event.

DPFA issues directives for poultry farmers

F

5

DDADU condemns auto driver's murder in Dimapur

Zeliang Wrestling Meet to start Feb 17

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): Dimapur Poultry Farmers’ Association (DPFA) has informed all concerned that import of ready birds from outside Nagaland will be based on the availability of local production. In a press release, DPFA general secretary, Tokio S Yim also directed all the poultry farmers not to exceed the prescribed wholesale rate as fixed by the administration. Further, it informed that in order to channelize avenue for smooth marketing of local poultry medication, all import of DOC (day-old chicks) should be intimated to DPFA office and the same can be coordinated accordingly with the wholesale union.

For any clarification or doubts, the release said, the DPFA office can be reached at Vet-Clinic, River Belt Colony, Dimapur, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on all working days.

Dimapur

Commissioner & Secretary, S.E. & SCERT along with the officials who participated in the meeting.

kohima, February 8 (mexN): A meeting of officials of School Education, SCERT and SSA was held at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima, on February 5 to discuss all issues concerning the training of untrained in-service teachers through distance mode in partnership with the National Institute of Open Schooling.

A press release stated that 25 study centres have been selected covering all districts of the State.

It is expected that this huge effort will solve the problem of professionally untrained teachers within three years.

The meeting was chaired by Imkonglemba Ao, IAS, Commissioner

& Secretary, School Education & SCERT, who gave a clarion call for all concerned to be dedicated in the service of the people. Others who spoke on the occasion were M. Patton, Principal Director, School Education, Vipralhou Kesiezie, Director, SCERT and Kevi Liegise, Project Director, SCERT.

Dimapur, February 8 (mexN): All the BJP district presidents have been entrusted with the task of collecting iron metal scraps and soil for the construction of proposed iron statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat. This was decided during the meeting of BJP Nagaland State office bearers and the district presidents on February 4 at State Office, Dimapur. A press release issued by BJP Nagaland secretary, Jaangsillung Gonmei informed that the district presidents were also entrusted to form booth level agents within a month, and submit the names to the state office to be forwarded to New Delhi.

The party also informed that a Support Modi “Chaiwalla” nationwide programme has been launched by BJP National.

Party members led by district presidents would enlist the support of party and Modi sympathizers by receiving donations from Rs 10 and above from February 9 to 28.

Hence, BJP requested the deputy commissioners of respective districts to facilitate the programme by cooperating with the BJP district presidents who would be contacting them shortly. The party also requested the public to generously donate towards the Support Modi “Chaiwalla” programme.

people of different races is making it apparent that India’s tolerance of the different is a farce. There has been an increase in the violence against white women, some of whom have written about them being subjected to harassment with a racial motivation. The recent Khirki Extention fiasco involving Nigerians is an extension of the discrimination that Africans and people of the Negroid race have been facing for long because of their dark skin.

It is a general trend that when any incident of a racist attack is voiced against, especially a Northeasterner, the atrocities against migrants of the mainland in these states are brought into the debate; as if to say that it is tit for a tat process. However, the problem is that most of India does not know that the strife and unrest in these states are almost half centuries old and a struggle for identity and space within their states against historical cultural, political and economic discrimina-

tions of the Indian State. In facing discrimination and ignorance in the streets, in the system as well as legislations, it only but continues.

At the end, any remedial steps end up being nothing but tokens of populism unless dealt with in depth and sensitivity. Maybe one remedy could be to make racist and hate crimes a national problem rather than based on a few criteria, outside the confines of a single legislation, and bring it within the ambit of an all encompassing specialized law. Article 15 of the Indian Constitution squarely recognizes prohibition of discrimination based on race. It is time to recognize that apart from casteism, racism in India, needs an urgent legislative remedy. The remedy is not just to protect a few recognized classes of people but a general class needing the same remedy.

Public SPace The tokenism of law and racial discrimination in India

or most of the times that any incidences of racial discrimination and hate crimes happens against people from the Northeastern States of India, the majority relates to their appearance. The generalization of all mongoloid faced people in India with a single term ‘chinky’ is a truth. It is also a fact that, like Nido Tania, being a ‘chinky’ might cost them their lives.

Any acts of discrimination or physical harm like murder, assault, hurt etc. has to be dealt with through the recourse of the criminal laws and the criminal justice system. In case, the victim is a member of the Scheduled Cast or the Scheduled Tribes, the crime can be also remedied by filing additional charges with the help of the provisions of the Schedules Cast and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The condition is that the perpetrator has to be from the higher cast in the case of a SC and in the same

way, a non-tribal in the case of a ST for the Act to be applicable. The Act seeks to remedy and wipe out the historical discrimination against the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in different parts of India. It is also criticized for being more tilted towards remedying cast based discriminations rather than those based on tribe.

Since 2010, the word ‘chinky’ became a word that was considered banned under the provisions of Section 3 of the Act vide a letter by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all the states and Union Territories wherein it was considered a crime punishable by imprisonment of up to five years.

When most of the instances of assault and crimes against people of the North East happen, there is a general perception that the crimes are a result of the ignorance about the people from the region. The alienation in the form of exclusion in educating the masses about

the history, culture, traditions and the peoples of the region is said to be the main reason behind the constant discrimination that they face. Their struggle for a space within the national identity of being an Indian is peppered with stories of violence both in the public and private spheres as well as institutions. Some die making news like Nido Tania and Loitam Richard while many die unheard of.

In criminalizing the word ‘chinki’, the legislature has shown the same amount of ignorance that the masses of India are blamed of. By generalizing all mongoloid people as scheduled tribes, it has done greater injustice than has been done by the assumption that the criminalization of a word could be an answer to stop discrimination against all people of the North East.

The entire Himalayan belts, of which the Northeastern states form a part, are inhabited by people who belong to the Mongol-

id race. Similarity of physical features makes it difficult to identify which state they belong to. Hence all of the times, the stories of discrimination has the same underlying narrative of being racist in nature. Even the law and the lawmakers are guilty of such generalization as is apparent in the context of the word ‘chinki’.

The Northeast and Himalayan states are extremely diverse within themselves. Race is but one identity amongst others like religion and caste.

Hence the word ‘chinky’ could include a scheduled tribe as well as a non-tribal. It could cover a person of the scheduled caste or a higher caste of mixed racial parentage or a member of the other backward classes.

Most of the higher caste Hindus, as well as members of the scheduled castes, share Aryan or North Indian features. There are scheduled tribes who share Mongoloid features but there are also members of OBCs, almost the rest of

the population, who share strictly mongoloid features.

There are many who are born of mixed racial parentage whose determination of being a scheduled tribe depends upon the race of the father and more importantly, whether he is a scheduled tribe himself.

The above law refuses to consider people in these fringe areas, thus perpetrating the discrimination.

Then there are the refugees from Tibet, Burma etc as well as the sizeable Chinese populations residing in cities like Kolkata. What would be their recourse in the case of a racially motivated verbal slur? Is racism an identity that needs protection within the framework of citizenship or is it to be granted protection regardless? Hence, if a Nepalese citizen with mongoloid features, working in India, is called a ‘chinky’, what is his remedy? What is the protection that can be granted to Japanese or a Thai tourist against a racist slur within the territory of India?

Hence, the criminalization of the word ‘chinki’ is a populist eyewash and a reaffirmation and perpetration of the fact that India refuses to mainstreamize people of the Northeast as well as the entire Himalayan belt who are racially different but still Indians.

Also, when any act of discrimination or a racially motivated attack happens on the people from the Northeast, is the criminalization of the word ‘chinky’ supposed to be ‘The’ word to sum up the discrimination or is there the need for a recognition of the discrimination as a special kind of hate crime and brought within the larger criminal justice system rather than the confining frameworks of the SC and ST (POA) Act? The most important question is, is tolerance of the different a culturally, personally or socially acquired habit or does it need the intervention of law at all points?

The increasing numbers of hate crimes against

Jwala D Thapa, Asst. Professor, Sikkim University, PhD Scholar, The WB National University of Juridical Sciences

The Morung Express is introducing “Public Space” as part of our intention to provide deliberate space for the opinions of the people to be expressed and heard through this newspaper. Nonetheless, The Morung Express points out that the opinions expressed in the contents published in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper or the editor.

Sunday 9 February 2014

6

www.morungexpress.com

EXPRESS

Review

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The World Cup and child-sex exploitation With the World Cup months away, rights groups are warning tourists to stay away from young sex workers.

Brazil a country of two halves

In many areas [of Brazil], the population does not regard it as a crime... but in Fortaleza we have a strong history of campaigns to protect children.

M

- Leana Regia Faiva de Souza, Secretariat of Human Rights

We had reports of police beating up the prostitutes to keep them away from tourists and visitors [during the Confederations Cup]. We need to be better prepared for the World Cup. I am not looking forward to it.

- Jacinta Rodriguez, Barraca da Amizade NGO

I

Jo Griffin

f last year's Confederations Cup was a warmup for the World Cup in Brazil, it was also a practice run for those working to protect children from sexual exploitation during the FIFA event.

And there's a good reason to dread the start of the football championship in June judging by last year's tournament, say officials and frontline workers in the northeastern city of Fortaleza, which will host six World Cup matches.

“We are worried about the World Cup. It is a very big event and lots of people will be coming to Fortaleza from outside,” says Leana Regia Faiva de Souza, from the Secretariat of Human Rights in the state of Ceara, which is coordinating an initiative to prevent child-sex exploitation.

“We plan to use the strategy that we used during the Confederations Cup, doubling the number of outreach workers on the streets and doubling the shelter service. Two independent secretariats will monitor this work,” de Souza says.

According to the NGO National Forum for the Prevention of Child Labour, there were about 500,000 child sex workers in Brazil in 2012.

Acknowledging that Fortaleza has a reputation inside Brazil and abroad for child prostitution, de Souza says the steep rise in complaints, or denuncias, of sexual exploitation reflects the success of regional authorities in raising awareness that this is a criminal act.

Figures from the human rights secretariat show complaints rose from 193 in 2009 to 2,122 in 2012 in Fortaleza.

“Fortaleza has the highest number of complaints in all Brazil so people think there is a lot of sexual exploitation here. But what this also means is that people here are very aware that this is a crime,” says de Souza.

“In many areas [of Brazil], the population does not regard it as a crime and fail to see that sexual relationships with adolescents between 12-18 have to do with power and economic factors as well, but in Fortaleza we have a strong history of campaigns to protect children.”

Family support As a coastal area with all-year summer weather and high levels of poverty, Fortaleza certainly has the chief characteristics associated with sex tourism, but disentangling media hyperbole from the reality about the numbers of children involved is complex. What is certain is that frontline workers have been seeing more children working as prostitutes as the city has attracted more tourists - Brazilians and foreigners.

“We have been seeing more underage girls on the streets,” says Jacinta Rodriguez, who is with a team of outreach workers from the non-profit organisation Barraca da Amizade, who are driving around the red-light district near the newly built football stadium - the Arena Castelao - in search of young prostitutes.

“For many, they do it for the money to support

Andy Mitten | The National ore than 100 Corinthians supporters used wire cutters to break into their club’s Sao Paulo training ground on Saturday.

World champions just over a year ago, they have not been happy with the poor form of their players and sought to confront them face-to-face. They achieved their aim and one grabbed the throat of striker Paolo Guerrero, the Peruvian who had scored to make them world champions against Chelsea in Yokohama.

Police and security were called, but fans refused to leave for two hours until they had threatened several players and the coach. The Corinthians president, Mario Gobbi, said his employees were frightened to go to work.

Brazilian football crowds have long been passionate; their hooligan groups have also been violent. Incidents remain isolated, but they make headlines and Brazilians are finding headlines get things done. When Sao Paulo state imposed a 10 per cent rise on bus fares in June 2013, it caused protests that quickly spread far away from South America’s biggest city of 20 million.

With Brazil staging the Confederations Cup – a test event for the World Cup – the protests made global news. Initially peaceful, they found support from Brazil’s normally conformist and fast-growing middle class. Most have cars and do not ride buses, but they are unhappy at other issues from security to health, poor education, a high tax burden and poor infrastructure.

Building hugely expensive – and over budget – football stadiums for the World Cup was hardly seen as a priority either, and the protests acted as a catalyst for their frustrations. The protest movement grew, but then lost the confidence of the middle ground and started to decline when anarchist groups became more violent.

“The protests helped,” Manchester United’s Brazilian defender Rafael da Silva says. “The leaders in Brazil know that they have to change. They’ve seen the people in the streets.

Before, the leaders did what they wanted. Now they have to listen if there’s a million people on the street protesting. Already there have been changes.”

Brazil’s government were shocked into making changes, with president Dilma Rousseff proposing a referendum on political reform and pledging US$25 billion (Dh91.8bn) on public transport improvements. There have been smaller protests since, leading to fears that more social unrest will mar the finals.

“If there are problems, they will be away from the stadiums,” says Diego Forlan, the Uruguayan striker who has played in Brazil for the past two years. He thinks the tournament will be a success. “I’ve read about cities not having enough hotels and protests planned because the people know the world will be watching. But visitors will be welcomed in Brazil and it’s an incredibly varied country, socially. If I fly four hours north of here, I’ll still be in Brazil. If I fly four hours south of Manchester, I’ll be in Africa. Are the people in the Sahara the same as in Manchester? The people in the north and south of Brazil are different, too.”

But tensions remain high and the inequalities are acute.

Last week, I stood by the door of Leblon Shopping as thirty private security guards vetted customers walking towards high-end designer stores. They feared protests. In Sao Paulo, outside an upscale Iguatemi mall, protesters carried a banner stating, in English: “In the World Cup country, malls forbid entrance of black and poor people.”

There is no such policy, but the perception among the protesters is that one exists.

Another protest in Sao Paulo on January 25 saw 2,500 people complain about the costs of staging the World Cup. They marched through the streets chanting: “There will be no cup.”

“We feel cheated,” said Eloy Roberto, a retired printer from Rio Grande do Sul. “We don’t trust the government. We’re paying first-world taxes for third-world levels of service and an infrastructure which will be embarrassing when the rest of the world looks at it during the World Cup finals.”

Yet, the majority of Brazilians are looking forward to the World Cup finals. “The Brazilian people want the World Cup to be a success,” says Pedro Wilson Silveira, 39, a Rio businessman. “The Brazilian people will give passion and they love football, but the competition also gives protesters a chance to be heard by the world in an election year. Protests are probable and I can understand the frustrations.

“Of course we should have a better health and education system, but these aren’t anything to do with staging the World Cup. “There are many reasons that are nothing to do with a football competition or the Olympic Games in Rio.” He foresees only benefits. “The World Cup will raise Brazil’s profile. Tourists will be more interested in visiting cities like Rio, a special place which should have a global profile like London or New York. I can’t wait,” he says.

In this photo taken on May 5, 2011, men sit at a bar as sex workers wait for customers at the Vila Mimosa prostitution zone in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Spelling the possible end of Vila Mimosa is a high-speed train the government wants to build to link Rio to Sao Paulo, as part of Brazil's Olympic proposal. The government is expected to open bidding to prospective builders July 29. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

their families.”

On their rounds tonight, Rodriguez and her co-workers spot a new girl with a group of prostitutes waiting at the corner of Juscelino Kubitschek Avenue. Wearing a tight blue vest and tiny shorts, “Andressa” says she is 17, but looks several years younger.

One of the older prostitutes tells her to go to the window of a car to negotiate a programa - on average costing 30 Brazilian reals ($12) - with the driver and his companion. This time, the deal is unsuccessful and she returns to the group.

Asked about the World Cup, “Giovanna” says the work “will be non-stop”.

“The girls lie to us about their age,” says Rodriguez, adding that the organisation regularly sees a 13-year-old girl who works as a prostitute to support her baby.

The NGO hands out condoms and advice, urging girls to come to their centre for classes and to arrange a medical check-up - perhaps even help to leave the streets.

But they must contend with parents who sometimes send their daughters there to make money.

Young girls are most in demand, says Rodriguez, adding “by the time they are 20, many are finished”.

'It's a penalty' In a bid to tackle the sexual exploitation of children during the World Cup which begins on June 12, the UK-based Happy Child organisation launched an “It's A Penalty” campaign to raise awareness and warn football fans who travel to Brazil that they face prosecution if they engage in sex with a child aged 17 or under.

The campaign has the backing of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom and Brazil, as well as prominent international footballers including Brazil's David Luiz and England's Frank Lampard.

Campaigners acknowledge that some football fans and tourists may be duped into having sex with adolescents.

“Teenagers may dress up to look older and say they are older. They may be encouraged by friends

who say that this relationship with a foreigner is the way to a better life,” says Anna Flora Werneck, a programme coordinator with Sao Paulo-based Childhood Brazil, which campaigns against child sex exploitation.

Werneck points out the efforts to tackle child sexual exploitation must focus on Brazilians, as well as foreigners. Research by the human rights secretariat in Ceara has shown that violations occur in non-tourist areas as well as those popular among visitors, according to de Souza.

“Brazil has very strong laws to protect children, but what we need to do is to make citizens responsible and ensure that they recognise this is a criminal act,” Werneck says.

FIFA support But she admits the World Cup holds particular risks. “We are looking for a better relationship with FIFA - positive actions by FIFA - to integrate the sporting activities with educational and other activities.”

For the Street Child World Cup organisation, which will hold a tournament for 230 street children from 19 countries in Rio de Janeiro before the FIFA event, increasing the visibility of street children and the dangers they face is vital to minimising risks of sexual exploitation.

“Research has shown that street children are at particular risk,” says organiser Joe Hewitt. “Our aim is to shift the focus to protecting the rights of this vulnerable group.”

On the frontlines, however, Rodriguez says experience has taught her that the problem of child sexual exploitation in Fortaleza goes to the core of the tourism industry, which she says relies on a “mafia” of taxi drivers, hoteliers and bar-keepers, and where the involvement of some police may increase risks for sex workers.

“We had reports of police beating up the prostitutes to keep them away from tourists and visitors [during the Confederations Cup],” says Rodriguez.

“We need to be better prepared for the World Cup. I am not looking forward to it.”

Kimchi: South Korea's efforts to boost its national dish

Lucy Williamson | BBC News orea's sour and spicy national dish, kimchi, has begun popping up in supermarkets and on restaurant menus in Europe and the US. Even America's First Lady Michelle Obama has shared her recipe. And the government is hoping it will spearhead a drive to promote Korean food overseas.

Standing in her well-equipped kimchi laboratory, her coral lipstick bright against her white lab coat, Kim Soon-ja directs a team of research assistants in their latest project. Giant flasks of pink and yellow kimchi stock tower over the worktable, as they test salt levels in a petri-dish of spicy gloop.

Mrs Kim is South Korea's kimchi Grand Master, and a secret weapon in expanding the appeal of the country's national dish. "I started to experiment with kimchi recipes when I was a child," she said. "I couldn't imagine my life without it."

Few Koreans could. Kimchi, traditionally made with cabbage, is seen as synonymous with national culture, credited with fighting off infections, the respiratory illness SARS and even cancer.

The annual Korean ritual of making it has recently been listed as by the UN cultural organisation Unesco as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

K

Quite a lot for a humble dish of fermented vegetables.

"Kimchi is symbolic of Korea," said Dr Park Chae-lin of the World Kimchi Institute in Gwangju. "One can see it on every meal table throughout the day." "And because [Koreans have] been exposed to it from such a young age, there's a feeling of nostalgia for it when they get older: the flavour of their mother's kimchi. It's part of the identity of Koreans."

So why is Mrs Kim tinkering around with a national icon?

The answer lies many thousands of miles away - in the factories of China and the restaurants of the West.

Kimchi has already started to appear on upscale London menus.

New pop-up snack stalls are offering kimchi-topped burgers or Koreanflavoured tacos to the city's cosmopolitan lunchtime crowd.

This new visibility is partly the result of South Korea's growing cultural prominence, and partly the fruit of a long-running government campaign to promote Korean food overseas. "Ever since Korea hosted the Olympics in 1988," says Dr Park, "there was a strong drive to introduce kimchi to the world, as a food that represented Korea."

"But there was also a hesitation back then; a lack of confidence about whether people would really like it, or would be put off by the garlic smell."

Kimchi is viewed by many as part of the identity of Koreans

Kimchi is traditionally made by adding a paste of chilli, garlic and fish sauce to salted cabbage, and allowing it to ferment - sometimes for several months, or even years. It has a distinctive sharp-sour smell and a robust, spicy flavour, which varies between each batch, and each family recipe.

Korea may be more confident now, but the old recipes, says Mrs Kim, are still considered too spicy and too "aromatic" for modern global tastes. "Foreigners don't like it too spicy. Even Korean children don't like it too strong these days." "These pink and yellow liquids are my new patented kimchi mixtures," she said.

"They're less spicy, less salty and they have no smell at all."

This year, the government is due to invest almost $9m (£5.5m) in R&D into Korean traditional foods, with kimchi at the forefront of that campaign. There is another $34 million (£21m) available for improving manufacturing facilities. But then there are strong reasons, aside from cultural diplomacy, why the government might be keen to promote its national icon overseas.

China competition For all South Korea's pride in kimchi, its trade statistics reveal a

different story: that South Korea is a net importer of its national dish.

In 2012, the country imported almost eight times the amount of kimchi it exported, with most of those imports coming from China.

Kimchi produced there is cheaper, but few Koreans know they're eating it, because Chinese-made kimchi doesn't appear on supermarket shelves here: sales staff say that customers would not buy it.

Instead, it ends up in the catering industry, where it's hidden from view.

Worried by China's growing role as a kimchi producer, the South Korean government is planning to tighten rules on restaurants this year, insisting they list the origin of their ingredients prominently for customers to see.

"We need to raise awareness of the true value of Korean national kimchi" said Lee Yong-jik, deputy director at the Ministry of Agriculture's kimchi department.

Many Koreans, like him, insist that national geography is crucial to kimchi's alleged anti-bacterial properties.

"The ingredients are really important," Mrs Kim explained in her kimchi lab, "not to mention the water, the temperature and also the humidity."

"It's Korea where those elements exist, so the kimchi made in Korea is full of very healthy enzymes. In China, the ingredients are different, and

the environment is different as well, so you don't get the same enzymes.

Korean kimchi and Chinese kimchi are two totally different things."

Perhaps the ultimate irony in all this is that, as government investment and global interest in their national dish grows, Koreans themselves are eating less of it. "Domestic consumption has dropped dramatically," says Dr Park of the World Kimchi Institute.

"People rarely have all three meals at home these days, they're trying to eat less salty foods, and there's more choice available. Western foods are becoming much more common, even at home, and people don't tend to eat kimchi with spaghetti."

The government has noticed the trend too - and wants to reverse it.

"We're trying to educate people," said Mr Lee of the Agriculture Ministry. "To get them accustomed to Korean food, starting from childhood; hold training courses, and make it fun for families."

With increasing competition from overseas producers, and declining consumption at home, kimchi, as one prominent politician put it, "is going through an ordeal as harsh as a Korean winter".

But its place on Western menus also offers South Korea the chance to reinvent its iconic, home-spun dish.

Mrs Kim's formula for foreigners may end up working quite well at home.

Readers may please note that, the contents of the articles published on this page do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

FAITH LEAF

SunDAY

THE MORUNG EXPRESS 9 February 2014

www.morungexpress.com

7

INSPIRATIONAL STORIES, MESSAGES, POEMS & SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

Matters: Unity in A RIGHT VISION OF PROGRESS Race Christ triumphs over

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here was a time when people believed that there would be indefinite growth and progress; that humankind is heading for heaven on earth; that we would someday regain the paradise we lost. Armed with an ever-progressing science and technology, they saw that a perfect economy and perfect health were not only a dream, but for a brief time in history at least, it seemed a possible reality. But with the discovery that earth natural resources will not support indefinite human want and greed, this dream died out. New diseases appear faster than we can find a cure. Economies are crumbling. No sensible person in today’s world would talk about this indefinite progress anymore.

Is God against progress and development? No. God wants us to progress and he is passionate about it. The Bible says even Jesus progressed in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and men. But the problem with the vision of progress the world had many decades back was that it was self-centred, centred around human want and greed. It was no lesser evil in scope than the tower of Babel in the Old Testament.

What Progress is Not. The Bible does not share our vision of progress, because progress is not based on riches or power, but progress is essentially based on wisdom and knowledge (We can organise international festivals to entertain our youth, but can’t deliver their textbooks on time. Is that as far as our vision of progress goes?). Today there are many who may want to think that they are progressing in life. However, if by progress they mean having luxury cars, riches and power, they are mistaken. Such kind will last only as far as the political favour (or whatever favour they have) will last. Very soon they will find that they have been deceived into a lifestyle they can never sustain.

Prosperity and success is not something we can handle on our own. We will soon find that their weight is too heavy if the foundation of wisdom and knowledge is not strong. According to the Bible, it all begins where everything should begin: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. This vision of progress is God-centred, and not self-centred.

When we are God-centred, it naturally follows that we are living for something larger than our own lives. After all, what can be greater than God, and what purpose in life can be greater than the purposes of God? Our young people need to be taught to have this vision of life that is larger than themselves; to quietly seek wisdom and knowledge in the fear of

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rayer lists are useful tools. They help me remember to pray for things I would normally forget. Every so often, usually after reading an inspiring book on prayer, I get on a prayer list kick. I resolve to be more diligent and faithful in prayer. To be like Paul, who was always remembering people in his prayers. I’ll never forget to pray again, I say to myself as I scribble out my prayer list on a sheet of paper. I am definitely a fan of prayer lists.

Despite my affection for prayer lists, I tend to drift away from them.

Sometimes it’s because I’m lazy, and I don’t feel like continually updating my prayer list. Other times it’s because I want to be more spontaneous in my prayer life. I don’t like being confined to what I have written on paper.

But if I had to put my finger on it, I would say I tend to abandon prayer lists most frequently because my prayer lists are often boring and unimaginative. They are stale, like old, bland crackers. They read like recipes.

Kedo Peseyie

the Lord; to have goals and ambition in life that transcends ordinary life itself. After all, the vision we have of God is transcendent, supreme and all-powerful, at the same time immanent and relevant to daily life situations. Because our God is both of immanent and transcendent, we can [and should] have an extraordinary life that is God-centred, with goals that transcends our local situations, and ambitions that are not self-centred. To be God-centred is to live for something larger than ourselves, and that means we live and plan for others.

Two examples.

First one is from Ecclesiastes. The writer of Ecclesiastes was one of the most prominent members of his

Why it’s time to blow up your prayer list Stephen Altrogge | Church Leaders

bers, financial provision, patience with my children and a host of other things I can easily imagine. If you looked at my prayer list, you wouldn’t be like, “Woah!

Hold me back! You must think you’re John the Baptist or something, cause you got some crazy things you’re asking for here.” I don’t usually have any big, audacious, faith-stretching requests on my prayer lists.

Why is this the case? Why are my prayer lists so boring?

Because I fail to take into account scriptures like Ephesians 3:20, which says: Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us The reality is: My prayer lists … are limited by my imagination This verse blows my boring prayer I pray for the salvation of family mem-

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ortheast India is identified as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. This is mainly due to abundant water resources in the region without which various forms of life would not be possible. The region is rich in natural resources, covered with dense forests, with large and small river systems nesting the land and is a treasure house of flora and fauna.

The region is covered by the mighty Brahmaputra-Barak river systems and their tributaries. The vast river systems and small rivulets were a means of livelihood for many people of the population in the region. India with its new Look East Policy (LEP) is trying to connect with many Asian countries through construction of dams, new roads, river linking, and railways, which will all result to ecological destruction. Northeast region is considered as one of the hotspots of global dam building. The Government of India is planning to construct nearly 200 dams whereas 11 projects are in operation in Northeast India. There is proposal for constructing of more than 168 big dams in Arunachal Pradesh alone. Two mega projects on the Dihang (also called the Siang), the main stem of the Brahmaputra, and the Subansiri if constructed would pose great threat to tribal people. The Siang project, a 294-meter-high rockfill dam, would submerge 490 square kilometers, including three towns and 91 villages, and displacing 35,000 people. The Subansiri project, a 257-meter-high rockfill structure, would submerge 13 villages and one town, displacing 7,500 people. This is apart from environmental loss. Arunachal would lose 540 square kilometers of for-

society (probably it was Solomon). Ecclesiastes 2:4ff – “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me...”

He aggressively sought after the good life. For a time it seemed as if he went in search of it with no holds-barred self-centred quest. But the basic difference between his quest and our modern ambitions is that he declares, “In all of these, my wisdom stayed with me” (2:9).

In the final analysis, he asks, “What do people gain from all their toils.” Surely nothing substantial.

It only adds to the burden of men. But this burden can be born where there is the proper foundation of knowledge and wisdom. When the fear of the Lord goes, wisdom goes, then progress is stunted and we are left with nothing but “utter meaninglessness”, says the Ecclesiast. His message is not that we abandon all quests for personal progress and development, but that we make it even more successful by placing it upon the foundation of the fear of the Lord where we discover wisdom. He concludes his book with this thought: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.”

The second example is none other than Jesus himself. Luke 2:52: Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and men. Jesus’ progress was holistic and complete. This quest for progress did not cut out people or trample over them. Rather it earned him the favour of men, and most importantly, the favour of God. Any personal quest or ambition that excludes the welfare of others from the picture can only be self-centred and bound to fail. And any ambition that excludes God and tries to out-do God can only invite the wrath and judgement of God like the tower of Babel. But a quest that is God-centred will have the favour of God and men alike. That is bound to succeed.

To be God-centred is to be Christ-centred. To be Christ-centred is to have the “self-giving” nature of Christ. Then our quest for the good life is synonymous with the quest for the common good of humankind.

lists to bits. I don’t put much thought or passion into my prayer lists. They function like spiritual grocery lists: a checklist of various things I need. But this verse says that God is able to do far more abundantly than I can ask, or even think.

If I sat down and really thought about it, I could come up with some pretty big, important things to ask God. Things that I wouldn’t normally ask for because they are so … well, big. Things that are a definite stretch for my faith.

I pray for the salvation of my children.

If I’m being really bold and imaginative, I’ll pray that God would dramatically and powerfully get hold of each of my children. Ephesians 3:20 tells me that God can do incredible, powerful, life-shaking things for my children that I couldn’t even imagine! Do I believe this?

I pray for God’s provision for my family. If I’m being really bold and imaginative, I’ll pray that God would provide enough for us to give a chunk of money away to someone in need. Ephesians 3:20 tells me that God can provide for my family in breathtaking, surprising, “holy smokes, God is in this place” kinds of ways. Do I believe this?

I pray that God would deepen my love for him. If I’m being really bold and imaginative, I’ll pray that God would increase my love for His word, increase my love for my fellow Christians and let me experience the reality of his presence every day. Ephesians 3:20 tells me that God can meet me and change me and work me over in ways I never could have dreamed!

I don’t think I should stop using prayer lists. I do think my prayer lists should be inspired and bold and imaginative. And I should approach my prayer with eager expectancy. I should expect God to blow away my expectations! I should expect God to give more than I ask.

I should expect God to surprise me.

Stephen Altrogge works as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA, where his main duties include leading worship, working with college students, and shining his dad’s shoes. He also has written a number of worship songs that have been included on Sovereign Grace Music albums.

misunderstanding

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Ed Stetzer | Church Leaders

ace is a tricky thing to discuss.

Some people want to say it does not matter. Sometimes they want to say that because they want to ignore the issues. That's not helpful.

For others, they say race does not matter because they genuinely desire to believe it does not, that we are in a postracial world. But, race does matter. As I said a few years back, God seems to care about race and ethnicity: Luke illustrates the coming of the Spirit with diverse expressions of tongues (Acts 2), even identifying the languages being spoken. And a glimpse of eternity in Revelation shows that men and women from every tongue, tribe and nation make up the choir of eternal praise (Rev. 7:9). If the writers of Scripture take notice of ethnicity, so should we.

Scripture not only identifies race and ethnicity, but John hints at prejudice concerning Jesus in John 1:46, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Furthermore, Jesus intentionally offends ethnic and racial sensibilities with both the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Why go to so much trouble to emphasize their ethnicity if it does not matter?

I'm not sure it's helpful saying we're in a postracial world until we really are.

13 percent of senior pastors of Protestant churches say they have more than one predominant ethnic group in their congregation.

The fact is, we are still divided by race. I asked sociologist Christina Cleveland to share some thoughts right after the George Zimmerman verdict. She explained (through that lens) how race still matters: We need to pay attention to the fact that America's consciousness (and in many ways, the church's consciousness) is fractured along racial lines—for this misrepresents the cross-cultural and unifying love of Christ. And before we spout our opinions, join sides and dig in our heels, we need to pause for a moment and humbly ask ourselves, what is really going on here? Is it possible that I'm missing something? And how should I respond as someone who takes my cues from Christ's words and example, rather than my own personal experience?

She's right. Addressing race issues always leads to misunderstanding, but unity in Christ matters more than a few misunderstandings along the way.

There is still work to be done. We just released research recently that tells us: 1. 85 percent of senior pastors of Protestant churches say that every church should strive for racial diversity.

2. 13 percent of senior pastors of Protestant churches say they have more than one predominant ethnic group in their congregation.

3. 78 percent of Americans say every church should strive for racial diversity.

4. 51 percent of Americans say they would be most comfortable visiting a church where multiple ethnicities are well represented.

You can see the full research report here.

Now, I am quite sure that many of those are in communities that are not diverse. But, also, we still have work to do when only 51 percent of Americans would be comfortable in a multiethnic church.

As Martin Luther King Jr. explained in his letters from a Birmingham jail, real change "comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation." Today, I'd encourage you to take a moment and ask what persistent work you might do to break down some walls for the glory of God. Ed Stetzer Ed Stetzer is President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Ed is a contributing editor for Christianity Today, a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today's Building Church Leaders, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USAToday and CNN.

Commoditization of Water in NEI and Biblical Response est, and drown some of the smaller tribes’ traditional homelands as well as prestigious urban settlements.

Another major dam was on the Barak river at Tipaimukh in Manipur near the trijunction of that state with Mizoram and Assam. There is a strong opposition to it on grounds of displacement of vulnerable tribes (Hmars and Zeliangrongs), damage to plantations, and biodiversity and cultural loss. The tri-junction where the dam is constructed is also ‘sacred place’ by indigenous people. Interestingly it is estimated that Rs. 2,800 million cost would be required for raising and maintaining four battalions of any central force to provide security against the depredations of various insurgent groups. This kind of ‘development’ justifies militarisation in the region.

More than forty-five thousand large dams have been built around the world at a cost of around US$2 trillion. Close to eighty million people have been displaced from their lands by large dams. In India, although there is no consensus, it is assumed that around 3.7 million have been displaced by its 3,300 large dams. Huge population of tribals and adivasis are displaced in this process. Apart from displacement and loss of livelihoods, dam safety remains a most important consideration in the highly seismic Northeast. This region is situated in seismic Zone V, which has the highest risk of seismic activity, the building of big dams naturally poses great danger to people living downstream.

The Northeast is also prone to glacial

Z.K. Pahrü Pou bTC/Pfutsero lake and debris dam outbursts which can cause flood anytime if dams are constructed.It is also found out that large dams trap organic materials and rotting vegetation from submerged lands, which in turn creates methane gas, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions contributing significantly to global warming.

Water is turned into a commodity today and becoming one of the most profitable trades in the world. Powerful corporate water cartels have emerged and seized of every aspect of water for its profit. They put massive amounts of water in plastic bottles and sell it to us at exorbitant prices. Internationally bottled water industry earns US$100 billion per year. Water privatisation is one of the key components of the World Bank’s Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPS) imposed on the developing countries to privatize water and receive international aid to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals. India being a signatory to World Trade Organisation (WTO) has given in to adopt Structural Adjustment Progamme (SAP) imposed by World Bank (WB) is hell-bent on privatisation of its waters. Water is no more considered as sacred but a commodity to trade and make profit. Millions of indigenous people in India are losing their life and livelihoods due to privatisation of water. Government programmes on Interlinking rivers would cause another big headache for tribal people whose livelihoods, religion and culture would be

endangered to a large scale.

Forests are the lungs of water system, absorbing pollution and preventing flooding. Indiscriminate deforestation for commercial purpose is destroying water sources at fast pace. Many streams and rivers are drying up. Social tension is increasing over lack of water. Fresh water is at peril due to excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers, dumping of waste at river sources by tourists, industrial waste, and so on. Acid rain caused by human action is destroying the life of forest. Therefore, waters of life have been turned into waters of death.

Water if life and who owns water owns life. The importance of water is quite visible as water is mentioned in the Bible more than 700 times: less often than God but much more than faith, hope, prayer, or worship. Before there was light or sun or moon or earth there was water (Genesis 1:2). The very last image found in the Bible is the river of life flowing from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem. The concluding part of the Book of Revelation says, “Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Revelation 22:17). So the Bible begins with God and water and ends with God and Water, and between the beginning and the end- the Bible is filled with testimony that links God and water in creating, blessing, and saving work. After God’s spirit hovers over the surface of the waters at

the beginning of creation, water continues to be the setting and even the medium of creation. God called the earth into being out of water, created the sky in the midst of waters and summoned living creatures to life out of water (Genesis 1: 10ff). The Garden of Eden was watered by a river (Gen. 2:10). Without water, the garden would have died, as animals, plants and human cannot survive without water. The Psalmist praises God for the water that fills the river and enriches the earth (Psalms 65).

Water is also considered as a symbol of God’s greater mercy to people not only as God’s providence in nature. Prophets Joel and Isaiah comforted their people saying that God would pour down abundant rain on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground and that their descendants will spring up like a green tamarisk, like willows by flowing streams. Life flourishes where there is abundant water.

In Hosea, much like to tribal belief people’s belief, spring rains are a sign of the presence of God. If God’s presence is felt in rains and in springs, how can we privatise water? Isaiah 55:1 invites people to come to the waters and enjoy without money, which can be interpreted as opposing the sale and buying of waters. Water is used as a symbolic of purification. In Exodus (30:18), the priests wash their feet and hands with water before they enter the tabernacle.

In Leviticus, Aaron was instructed to bath in water before offering sacrifices.

In John 13, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet with water. Washing with water for purification has been practiced

even among the tribals as discussed above but we are so much afraid to compare such practice with biblical meaning of purification. We often tend to spiritualise all biblical teachings as if such lessons do not have any meaning for our survival here on earth.

The Bible also talks about destruction of life by flood waters (Genesis 6-9) as a result of human wickedness.

But at the end of the incident, God promised that flood will not be used to destroy living beings again. When God has repented from unfairly action, human beings are creating drought and floods by building dams and expanding towns and cities blocking waterways. When people disobey God they suffer. Dams and privatisation to solve water problem is not the solution for it. Only through acknowledging that water is a precious gift of God can there be peace and life. The ‘water’ or ‘living water’ is a metaphor for the Spirit in the Bible. The Lord is the spring from which living water flows (Jeremiah 17:13). And whenever the river flowed out of Jerusalem everything would live (Exodus 47:9). Jesus refers to himself as the giver of ‘living water’ (John 4:10-14). Therefore control over water or denying water is literally a control over God given lives of the creatures on the earth. Water sustains not merely human life, but also the life of animals and birds; and it sustains and is sustained by the ecological system. It plays a crucial role on planet earth. When we take water for granted, waste it, or spoil it we suffer spiritually and physically. Stand up against privatization and commoditization of water. Water is life. When we respect water as God’s gift, our rivers and reservoirs will be full with water and life would flourish.

Readers may please note that, the contents of the articles published on this page do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

8

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Sunday 9 February 2014

The Morung Express

Make India world leader in education: President Pranab Mukherjee

‘China a strategic partner, not a threat’ Port Blair, FeBruary 8 (iaNS): India should look at China as a strategic partner and not as a threat, a senior military commander has said.

“Is China a threat to us? Though we have some border issues with China, we have a strategic, economic partnership with that country,” Air Marshal P.K. Roy, Commander-inChief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, told reporters here on the sidelines of the Milan 2014 drill involving 16 navies of the Asia-Pacific region.

“If we look at each other as a threat, then none of the two countries will grow,” he added. He also spoke about China’s growing presence in the Southeast Asian region, especially its presence in the South China Sea. “It is increasing its presence, its navy is growing and we are aware of it...

We are conscious about it.

We are also developing, modernising, increasing and building our capacity,” he said. “As regard to the South China Sea and the growing Chinese presence, we are trying to find an amicable solution... We are working on it. Till we arrive at an amicable solution, a code of conduct has to be put in place to ensure that the situation does not escalate,” he added.

He also refused to read much into the Chinese presence in the Coco Islands, located between the Andamans and Myanmar.

“China has been developing a runway for civilian purposes. There are no

reports of presence of Chinese per se. The situation is not alarming,” he said, adding that it was only some civilian infrastructural developments and not a threat to India.

Roy also said that human trafficking has gone up in the region. “Trafficking is an issue... From 300 in 2011, it has shot up to 1,300-plus last year. If they are into international waters we cannot do anything.

But as regards to extending humanitarian assistance, we always do that if there is an emergency,” Roy said.

He added that the coast guard and the navy have been regularly conducting surveillance exercises across the southern and northern group of the Andaman islands.

“The coast guard and the navy ships and aircraft conduct routine sorties.

Whenever we see anybody in distress, we rescue them, provide them assistance and hand over them to the civil administration,” he said. Roy said the Coastal Security Network - which includes setting up a chain of static radar and electrooptic sensors at various strategic sites along the coastline, including the island territories, was well on course.

“As regards to infrastructure, we have issues environmental clearance, almost everything from equipment to materials to contractors has to be brought in from the mainland. All these things definitely delay in implementing the projects but things are moving,” he said.

Indian claims new path to cancer cure New delhi, FeBruary 8 (iaNS): Arnab De, an Indian scientist working at Columbia University in the US, claims to have found a new biological pathway that holds hope for cancer cure.

De also claims to have discovered a previously unknown biological pathway that is essential to fight off infections caused by bacteria and viruses. He says he has developed a transgenic animal model, an animal in which there has been a deliberate modification of the genome that could be used to study the role of A20 gene for cancer cure.

“I have created a transgenic mouse to study the action of A20 (gene) in living animals. “It will help to understand the mechanism by which A20 works in healthy individuals and patients,” De, a postdoctoral scientist at Columbia University, told IANS over phone from the US. He said that “A20 is a tumor-suppressor and this one gene is dysfunctional in a number of different cancers”.

“For example, we find that patients of both B cell lymphoma and lung cancer have mutations in this gene, although at different places along the gene. We cloned stem cells having a single

active amino acid mutation of A20. We then injected these bioengineered stem cells into blastocysts and subsequently generated transgenic knock-in animals from these stem cells.

“Previous understanding of A20 would have predicted the development of the various diseases in these animals. Surprisingly, these animals developed normally and had a healthy life. It is obvious to see why the work has important ramifications for cancer patients,” said De. He was involved in the two high-profile projects and has worked with internationally reputed Indian-American immunologist Sankar Ghosh.

De, who completed his PhD from Columbia University, is a cricket aficionado and has chosen to dedicate his thesis to Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. “Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of the post-war era and holds every record that we can imagine. I dedicate this thesis to Tendulkar for the way he has inspired Indian youth for the past 25 years.”

Arnab has also helped in a drug-discovery at Indiana University where he worked with Richard DiMarchi, a professor.

MuMBai, FeBruary 8 (iaNS): President Pranab Mukherjee Saturday called for increased investments in higher education to enable India recover lost ground and become a world leader in education once again as it was for thousands of years.

Pointing out that investments in education earn the highest returns, the president stressed the need to make it affordable as well as accessible.

“Almost 700 years ago, India dominated the scene of higher education not for one decade or two, but for 1,500 years, from the days of Taxila in the third century BC till the collapse of the Nalanda in 12th century. India like a magnet at-

tracted mighty minds from Greece, China, Persia and far off places,” Mukherjee said at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the venerable K.C. College here.

In present times, however, he lamented that India’s institutes of higher learning no longer count among the best. “When the international rating agencies release the list of 200 top institutions, I do not find the name of a single Indian university. I feel sad,” the president rued.

He said that it is not as if the country lacked in talent - in contemporary period, Indians who studied from Punjab University (Hargobind Khurana), Madras University (S. Chandrasekhar), Calcutta Uni-

versity (Amartya Sen) have won the Nobel Prize but unfortunately they were recognized when they were recognized outside India.

In this context, the president called upon India to develop capacities to retain its best minds. Referring to the tremendous investments that have taken place in higher education in the country, Mukherjee said that despite having over 650 universities ad 33,000 colleges, the higher education enrolment ratio at just seven percent is far lower than developed countries like US (34 percent) and Germany (21 percent).

“Commitment to alma mater is very important.

All the great institutions in the world, be it Harvard,

Massachussetts, Oxford or Cambridge have thrived throught generous contributions from the alumni,” he added, urging the need to imbibe the spirit of gratitude among the students towards the education institutions.

Stressing that we live in an increasingly globalised world, he said that in order to successfully interact in this great melting pot, we have to develop a “global mindset” in our students for which good education is essential. Speaking on the occasion, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan said that in a just world, the opportunity of good education should not be confined to a privileged few but must be made available to all. “Democracy should not

only be a great leveler, but be a great uplifter of one and all,” he observed.

Present on the occasion were Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, union minister Milind Deora, state Education Minister Rajesh Tope, the KC College management trust members, Hyderabad Sind National Collegiate Board president Niranjan Hiranandani, distinguished alumnus Anil Ambani, his mother Kokilaben Ambani and wife Tina Ambani, among others. Set up in 1954, the KC College relocated to Mumbai post-Partition and is known for its consistently high academic records and enjoys a NAAC Grade A Certification.

He said the bill, however, enables the National Human Rights Commission to investigate what are defined as “scheduled” offences only and only if state governments give their concurrence. “In any event, the central government has

governments unwilling to investigate offences committed during the course of such targeting. “In fact, many courts, including the Supreme Court, have been constrained to comment that state investigating agencies have not only been laggard but have willingly misdirected their investigations to benefit the real accused.

“In this state of affairs, in certain circumstances, with the concurrence of the state, an investigation may be handed over to National Human Rights Commission. How such a Bill transgresses the exclusive legislative competence of the state Legislature is beyond comprehension,” he said.

Vijayawada, FeBruary 8 (Pti): Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on Saturday took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi, saying she “ignored” the groundswell of support against division of Andhra Pradesh by not listening to the party leaders on the issue.

“Unfortunately, the Congress high command did not listen to feelings of union ministers from Seemandhra, of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, state ministers, PCC president, MPs and MLAs,” Rajagopal said.

He alleged that leaders who have become “politically irrelevant” were drafted in to formulate a proposal to divide Andhra Pradesh. “Some of the Union ministers who nev-

er won any direct election and some others who have lost confidence of the people and searching for new constituencies are actively involved in the process of bifurcation of the state,” the MP said.He said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has always lent patient hearing to the party members. “In many meetings of Congress, Rahul asked the party members to listen to and understand feelings of the common man. Rahul always advocated distribution of power to people to strengthen democracy,” Rajagopal said.

The MP was referring to the Union Cabinet’s move to clear the Telangana Bill on Friday even though Andhra Pradesh Assembly

had rejected the draft legislation. He also attacked Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the issue.

“Chidambaram never respected his colleagues from Seemandhra region on the issue. Our Union ministers from Seemandhra are demoralised,” Rajagopal said. He also appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to listen to his “conscience” and reject the bill. On tabling of the bill in Rajya Sabha next week, the MP said, “We are moving with a strategy to get the support of some opposition parties to not allow the bill in Rajya Sabha.” He also urged Union ministers from Seemandhra region to enter the Upper House to stall the proceedings.

Sibal defends communal violence bill Cong MP attacks Sonia over AP bifurcation issue

New delhi, FeBruary 8 (Pti): Under attack from opposition over the communal violence bill, Union law minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday defended it saying the proposed law was not violative of the country’s federal structure and was required as several state governments have been accused of shielding those guilty of targeted violence.

He said the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2014 does not either directly or indirectly seek to legislate on public order, police and public services of the state. Therefore, it is not in violation of the federal structure.

“It is not in violation of the federal structure” no role to play in such investigations,” he wrote on his website.

Sibal said India has witnessed the targeting of sections of society professing one religion or another. “The country has, he said, witnessed state

Arrest accused exminister: Srinagar court

SriNaGar, FeBruary 8 (iaNS): A court here Saturday issued an arrest warrant against former Jammu and Kashmir minister Shabir Ahmad Khan, accused in a sexual assault case. Doctors too demanded his arrest.

A senior police official said: “We have obtained an arrest warrant from the chief judicial magistrate Srinagar against Shabir Ahmad Khan...”. Khan Friday resigned from the ministry.

His resignation was accepted by Governor N.N. Vohra on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recommendation. The police official said a team has been dispatched to arrest him. Police sources said the team would initially go to Jammu and, if needed, outside the state.

Khan is accused of sexually

assaulting a doctor after he called her to his office Jan 28.

Doctors held protests here to demand Khan’s arrest. The doctors suspended duties in all the hospitals of Srinagar city Saturday.

Shouting slogans, they assembled at their work places demanding that Khan be arrested. Kashmir doctors association president Nissar-ul-Hassan said unless the accused is arrested and given exemplary punishment, the protests would continue. “We are running emergencies and casualty services inside the hospitals. If the accused is not arrested today (Saturday), we will suspend all work in the hospitals across the Valley, including emergencies and casualty services,” the protestors said.

waShiNGtoN, FeBruary 8 (reuterS): A top White House adviser attempted to smooth over troubled ties between the United States and India on Friday, saying the two countries should not allow the dispute over an Indian diplomat to “derail the future we are working diligently to build.”

The diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested on December 12 on charges of visa fraud and lying to U.S. authorities about what she paid her housekeeper.

She was stripped-searched while detained in a Manhattan federal courthouse, an incident that triggered a major rift between India

Exile Tibetans carry Tibetan and Indian flags as they begin their foot march to New Delhi from the Indian hill town of Dharmsala, India on February 8. More than 50 Tibetans are expected to cover a distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles) for over a month to reach the Indian capital on March 10, which Tibetans commemorate as the “Tibetan Uprising Day.” On March 10, 1959, Tibetan people in Lhasa rose up against the Chinese occupying forces, leading to the death of thousands of Tibetans and the eventual escape of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama into exile. (AP Photo)

U.S. NSA: diplomat issue shouldn’t derail India ties and the United States.

The controversy interrupted what had been a warming in U.S.-Indian relations as part of a U.S. pivot toward Asia. President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, addressing the Aspen Institute U.S.India Dialogue, said recent events had drawn more at-

tention to disagreements than cooperative efforts.

“But those difficulties should be minor compared to the breadth of our relationship and the magnitude of what we can accomplish together. We must also deal with our differences in a constructive manner, commensurate with a relationship of

this importance,” she said.

The two countries cooperate on a wide range of issues including counterterrorism, regional security and defense. India is also a major market for U.S. weapons.

“We cannot allow such challenges to derail the future we are working diligently to build — a future of greater

prosperity, greater security, and consistent adherence to our shared values,” Rice said.

Rice also said the United States is confident that, whatever the outcome of India’s upcoming national elections, the cooperation and strategic partnership between the two nations will continue to grow.

Asked if could resign, the Aam Aadmi Party leader responded by affirming that he could go to any extent over the “huge” issue of corruption.”That (resignation) you interpret,” he added. Asserting that both Congress and BJP will never allow passage of the bill, Kejriwal said since the government has decided to probe the alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, Congress’ “pitch” has become more “shrill” in this regard and also there are allegations against BJP, which is in power in MCD for past seven years.

Last week, Delhi Cabinet cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants --from chief minister to Group D employees -and seeks life term as maxi-

mum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.

Bringing the Jan Lokpal bill to contain corruption was a key election promise made to the voters by Aam Aadmi Party.

“They (Congress) realise that if there is a strong Lokpal then many of these people will get into trouble. For seven years BJP is in power in MCD and they may also get into trouble.

If the bill is passed then all these CWG cases will go to Lokpal,” the 45-year-old Chief Minister said.

Kejriwal also said, “We have written to home minister to withdraw the (2002) order which directs Delhi government to take approval of the ministry before passage of any bill in the Assembly” and asserted that the city government cannot follow these “unconstitutional rules.”

“That was only an order and which is completely against the Constitution.

How can an order by the home ministry curtail law making powers of Delhi assembly. It is a very very serious issue...I have taken oath of the Constitution and not home ministry’s order. I will uphold the Constitution.”

He added that “When I saw the order after becoming chief minister, I was completely flabbergasted.

How can they do that. Then I told my officials to show me the history. I have a list of 13 legislations in which they did not take any approval.

The legislations are held back in Home Ministry for six-seven years. If this is the case, then how can the assembly make law.

Sheila Dikshit used to pass law before taking Centre’s approval.”

Kejriwal threatens to ‘go to any extent’ over Jan Lokpal Bill Arvind Kejriwal

New delhi, FeBruary 8 (Pti): Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday threatened to “go to any extent” over his pet anti-graft legislation,

the Jan Lokpal Bill, which is opposed both by the Congress, whose continued support is essential for the survival of his government, as well as the BJP.

“Corruption is extremely important issue and I will go to any extent,” he said during an interaction with PTI editors at the agency’s head office here.

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Sunday 9 February 2014

Dimapur

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Turkish forces foil attempted plane hijack

ANKARA, FebRuARy 8 (AP): A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkeybound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the games could be a terrorism target.

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television.

It escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes. “Through a very

successful implementation by our pilot and crew, the plane was landed in Istanbul instead of Sochi,” Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters at the airport. “He thought it was going to Sochi but after a while he realized that (the plane) was in Istanbul.”

He said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a stand-off during which a negotiator convinced him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well.

“Our security units sneaked through various entrances during the evacuation of the passengers and with a quick and effective intervention the hijacker was subdued,” Mutlu said.

No bomb was found, he said.

The man’s motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had “requests concerning his own country” and wanted to relay a “message concerning sporting activities in Sochi.” Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization and Mutlu did not give his name.

Missionary moved back to North Korean labor camp

American missionary Kenneth Bae, right, leaves after speaking to reporters at Pyongyang Friendship Hospital in Pyongyang on January 20. Bae, 45, who has been jailed in North Korea for more than a year, appealed for the U.S. to do its best to secure his release. (AP Photo)

WAshiNgtoN, FebRuARy 8 (ReuteRs): A U.S. missionary being held in North Korea was moved from a hospital back to a labor camp last month on the same day he made a public appeal for Washington to help get him home, the U.S. State Department said on Friday, citing Swedish diplomats who met with the prisoner.

Kenneth Bae, 45, has been held for more than a year in North Korea after being sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for trying to overthrow the state. From last summer until January 20, he had been kept at Friendship Hospital in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, his family said.

“The Department of State has learned that the DPRK transferred Mr. Bae from a hospital to a labor camp, a development with which we are deeply concerned,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

“We also remain gravely concerned about Mr. Bae’s health, and we continue to urge DPRK authorities to grant Mr. Bae special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds,” she said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Psaki said Swedish Embassy representatives had met with Bae 10 times since his detention, most recently on Friday in a labor camp.

“We continue to work actively to secure Mr. Bae’s release,” Psaki said, adding that Washington remained prepared to send its human rights envoy for North Korea, Robert King, to Pyongyang for that purpose.

North Korea has rejected this offer in the past and withdrew an invitation for King to visit Pyongyang last August. A State Department official said Bae was moved back to the labor camp on January 20. Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, told Reuters Bae had been held in a labor camp from May 14 last year until August 5, when he was moved to the hospi-

tal. She said the family did not know where the camp was, except that it was far from Pyongyang and Bae was working eight hours a day, six days a week.

HEALTH WORRY Chung said her brother suffered from a variety of health issues, including diabetes, an enlarged heart, kidney stones and severe back pain. “We are very concerned about his health,” she said. Bae, a Korean American, last appeared in public at Pyongyang Friendship Hospital on January 20 when he was paraded in front of a group of foreign and local reporters and asked Washington to help him get home.

Bae’s media appearance was his second since his arrest in 2012 when he led a tour group into the country. North Korea’s state KCNA news agency reported Bae himself had asked to hold the news conference.

Bae has acknowledged being a missionary and has said he conducted religious services in the North, one of the most isolated states on earth and long hostile to Westerners advocating religious causes.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama offered prayers for Bae and U.S. prisoners held in other countries during remarks at an annual prayer breakfast that highlighted his Christian faith. “His family wants him home. And the United States will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release,” Obama said. On Tuesday, the last surviving members of the U.S. Congress to have served in the Korean War sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asking him to release Bae. North Korea in December released 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill E. Newman, a former U.S. special forces soldier who had been held since October after visiting the country as a tourist, and the members of Congress applauded that in the letter seeking Bae’s freedom.

“We were receiving through various channels information that there could be initiatives to sabotage the spirit of peace arising in Sochi, but we are saddened that such an event took place in our city,” Mutlu said.

The governor said the man was being held at Istanbul police headquarters. The man was slightly injured during the struggle when he was detained, but no weapons were used, he said. The private Dogan news agency said later that the man was taken to a hospital for his injuries. Private NTV television identified the man as Artem Hozlov.

The Interfax news agency cited the Ukrainian Security Service, the country’s main security agency, as saying the passenger was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication.

Mutlu said the man was not drunk, but said he may have taken substances to help him remain alert. He did not elaborate.

Habib Soluk, the Turkish Transport Ministry undersecretary, told NTV earlier that the man rose from his seat, shouted that there was

bomb on board and tried to enter the locked cockpit. The pilot signaled that there was a hijack attempt and the airport was placed on high alert. Air traffic at Sabiha Gokcen was halted throughout the incident but had returned to normal after the man’s arrest.

Mehmet Tutan, one of the passengers, told reporters at Sabiha Gokcen that people on board also believed they had landed in Sochi but realized the plane was in Turkey after switching on their mobile phones.

“We thought we had landed in Sochi. We thought so for a long time,” Tutan said. “Then we saw that there was a (Turkish) network on our mobile phone, that we were able to call outside, and that there was no roaming, we understood that we weren’t in Sochi.”

The plane landed at about 6 p.m. Turkish time, just as the opening ceremony for the Olympics was about to begin. The executive creative director of the Olympics opening ceremony told reporters afterward he heard of the threat but didn’t alter the show’s plans in any way.

“We had so much adrenaline in our veins that we could not grasp much,” Konstantin Ernst said through an interpreter.

With about 100,000 police, security agents and army troops flooding Sochi, Russia has pledged to ensure “the safest Olympics in history.” But terror

fears fueled by recent suicide bombings have left athletes, spectators and officials worldwide jittery about potential threats.

“It would be wrong to make any comment before all the facts are known but any security questions are of course a matter for the authorities,” International

WAshiNgtoN, FebRuARy 8 (AP): Vice President Joe Biden wants to make one thing clear: Don’t count me out in 2016.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is widely viewed as the Democratic front-runner to succeed President Barack Obama but the vice president is not foreclosing any options on whether he may seek the White House for a third time.

“There may be reasons I don’t run, but there’s no obvious reason for me why I think I should not run,” Biden said in an interview broadcast Friday on CNN’s “New Day.” The vice president said he would make a decision by summer 2015.

Biden’s remarks came after several former ad-

visers to Obama backed efforts to support Clinton if she seeks the presidency again. Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, recently became co-chair of Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that intends to bolster a potential Clinton campaign. Two former senior Obama campaign aides are advising Ready for Hillary, another outside group promoting a grassroots campaign for the ex-secretary of state.

Biden’s supporters have played down suggestions that the early efforts create an impression that Clinton is the favored heir to Obama’s White House. Clinton, the former New York senator and first lady, says she has not yet decided if she will seek the White House again

and plans to make a decision later this year. “He feels very good about his relationship with the president,” said Ted Kaufman, a former Biden chief of staff who succeeded the vice president in the Senate.

Biden has been Obama’s top deputy on a number of policy fronts, leading the president’s gun control campaign last year, which failed to clear Congress. In last month’s State of the Union address, Obama called on Biden to lead a task force to review federal job training programs as the administration tackles income inequality.

The vice president expects to campaign for fellow Democrats during the 2014 midterm elections.

Biden will headline a Flori-

da fundraiser next week for Alex Sink, who is in a tight congressional race to succeed the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young, a Republican. In the interview, Biden said his decision will be based on whether he thinks he’s the best qualified person to focus “on the two things I’ve spent my whole life on, giving ordinary people a fighting chance to make it, and a sound foreign policy that’s based on rational interests of the United States.”

“I think the future for this country, I know people think I’m too optimistic, but it is incredible,” Biden said.

“There’s so much just within our grasp. Doesn’t mean I’m the only guy that can do it, but if no one else, I think, can, and I think I can, then I’d run. If I don’t, I won’t.”

stocKholm, FebRuARy 8 (iANs): Malala Yousafzai, the teenaged Pakistani education activist attacked by the Taliban, is among the three candidates nominated for this year’s World Children’s Prize, also known as the Children’s Nobel.

Yousafzai has been nominated “for her courageous and dangerous fight for girls’ right to education”, according to the the website of the foundation that presents the award. “She started to speak out for girls’ rights at the age of 11, when the Taliban banned girls from going to school in the Swat Valley in Pakistan,” it stated. “Malala defied the rules and kept going to school. Her life was under

threat and at times she had to go into hiding. Finally, at the age of 15 Malala was shot and almost killed by the Taliban on her way home from school. But Malala survived.”

According to Yousafzai’s candidate profile, the Taliban thought they could silence Malala by killing her.

“Instead they gave her an even stronger voice, which can now be heard all over the world,” it stated. The other two candidates in the running are John Wood, a former manager in Microsoft, and Indira Ranamagar, a Nepali child rights activist.

“John Wood has been nominated for the 2014 World’s Children’s Prize for his 15-year fight for children’s right to education,” his candidate profile reads.

“John quit his job as a manager at the Microsoft company to fulfil his dream: to fight poverty by giving children all over the world the chance to go to school.” Ranamagar has been nominated for her 20year struggle for prisoners’ children in Nepal.

“She grew up in extreme poverty and had to fight to be able to go to school. Even as a young girl she knew that she wanted to help other people who had hard lives,” the website candidate profile stated. Instituted in 2000, the World Children’s Prize is supported by 606 organisations and departments of education.

The World’s Children’s Prize Foundation is regulated by the Svensk Insamlingskontroll (Swed-

ish Fundraising Control), which protects the interests of donors and ensures that the funds raised are used appropriately. Leading patrons of the award are Nobel laureates Aung San Suu Kyi and Desmond Tutu and East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.

Members of the jury for the award consists of around 15 children from across the world. “They are experts in the rights of the child through their own life experiences as debt slaves, child soldiers, street children or refugees, or through having experienced other violations of the rights of the child,” the foundation’s website stated.

tuNis, FebRuARy 8 (AP): As recently as December, the outlook for Tunisia remained grim. International lenders were withholding money. Parliament remained deadlocked. Investigations continued into the assassination of two politicians.

On Friday, French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders attended a ceremony for the formal adoption of a document being praised as one of the most progressive constitutions in an Arab nation. What a turnaround.

The Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia, is now being described by many as a region-wide winter, especially in countries such as Egypt, where the country’s first popularly elected leader was deposed by the military, and Libya, where militias rule instead of a central government. But Tunisia remains a bright spot, since its fractious elected assembly finally wrote and

passed a progressive constitution last month.

“This text honors your revolution. It can serve as an example and reference to many other countries,” Hollande said during the ceremony before Tunisia’s parliament. “You have an obligation to succeed for yourself and for all the other countries watching you.

Tunisia is not an exception, it is an example.”

The speeches lauded the country’s ability to transcend differences and forge the consensus necessary to produce a constitution. The president of Libya’s parliament sounded almost rueful in his praise.

“Libya intends to follow the same path,” said Nouri Abu Sahmein, whose country is struggling to register voters to elect the commission to write a constitution.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki in his address also highlighted the sacrifices the country made.

“By adopting the consti-

tution, Tunisia celebrated a triple victory — over dictatorship, over terrorism that seeks to spread chaos and block our path to democracy and over our own divisions,” he said. The praise contrasts attitudes toward Tunisia last July when Hollande last visited and the constitutional process was stalled.

nation Egypt, whose relations with Tunisia have been tense since Marzouki called for the release of his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Morsi following his imprisonment by the military. On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama called interim Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jo-

“Today we are going again because it’s a success,” said an official with the French presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy. While Hollande is the only European head of state attending, the ceremony in Tunis also included a host of dignitaries from around the world, particularly from Africa.

Conspicuously absent was any representative from fellow Arab Spring

maa and congratulated him on the new constitution, and invited him to visit Washington.

After overthrowing their dictator in 2011, Tunisians brought a moderate Islamist party into power allied with two other secular parties. But the coalition struggled in the face of continuing social unrest, high unemployment, the rise of a radical Islamist movement with ties to al-Qaida and the assassination of

Passengers of private Turkish company Pegasus leave the plane at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, Turkey on February 7. An official says authorities have subdued a man who attempted to hijack a Turkish plane to Sochi, Russia, and that the other passengers have been evacuated. Huseyin Avni Mutlu, the Istanbul governor, says on Twitter that "the operation has ended." In another tweet Friday, he said all passengers were evacuated "without any problems."(AP Photo)

‘No obvious reason’ not to run in 2016

Malala nominated for ‘Children’s Nobel’

Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said.

Security experts warn that Islamic militants in the Caucasus, who have threatened to derail the Winter Games that run from Feb. 7-23, could achieve their goal by choosing soft targets away from the Olympic sites or even outside Sochi.

Olympic organizers introduced blanket screening of all visitors, requiring them to share passport details to get a Winter Games spectator pass. Officials also cut access to vehicles lacking Sochi registration or a special pass, and guards were searching all train commuters.

Stroke prevention guidelines for women

WAshiNgtoN, FebRuARy 8 (iANs): American experts have issued ‘how to prevent a stroke guidelines’ for women, based on risks that are unique to them, and have also listed scientifically-based recommendations for its treatment.

The stroke prevention guidelines for women have been released with the help of an expert at the University of Alabama. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death among Americans and 60 percent of strokes occur in women, according to the American Stroke Association, reports Science Daily.

“Men are physiologically different from women, so preventive tips cannot be one-size-fits-all,” explained Virginia Howard, Ph.D. and co-author of the new scientific statement Guidelines for the Prevention of Stroke in Women, published by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Council on Stroke in the AHA journal Stroke.

“There are many considerations about stroke that might be different for women: Reproductive factors and risk factors more common or stronger in women, like diabetes and atrial fibrillation, might get lost in a general guidelines document,” said Howard. The guidelines report stroke risks unique to women and provide scientifically based recommendations on how best to treat them, including: Women should be screened for high blood pressure before being prescribed birth control pills, which raise blood pressure in some women. Women with a history of high blood pressure before pregnancy should be considered for low-dose aspirin and/or calcium supplement therapy to lower pre-eclampsia risks.

Women who have had pre-eclampsia are at twice the risk of stroke and a fourfold risk of high blood pressure later in life. Therefore, pre-eclampsia should be recognized as a risk factor well after pregnancy and other risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol and obesity in these women should be treated early.

Pregnant women with moderately high blood pressure (150-159 mm Hg/100-109 mm Hg) may be considered for blood pressure medication whereas expectant mothers with very high blood pressure (160/110 mm Hg or above) should be treated. “Getting these preventive measures to doctors is exciting because it’s an opportunity to start the conversation early; people think stroke is just an ‘old person’s disease,’” Howard said. “While it generally is, it’s also preventable. There are many things women can do at younger ages, during child-bearing years, which can impact stroke risk later in life.”

Tunisia basks in praise over new constitution

“Today we are going again because it’s a success”

two left-wing politicians.

The deadlock over the constitution exacerbated the economic crisis in Tunisia, and the International Monetary Fund withheld a halfbillion-dollar loan.

Inflation soared, the budget deficit swelled, and demonstrations over high food prices and lack of jobs spread. However, with the passage of the constitution, Tunisia’s image abroad has brightened, and the IMF released its planned loan. The slide of the Tunisian dinar has halted, and the stock market has perked up.

Ezzedine Saidane, a Tunisian financial expert, said the World Bank is now expected to extend a loan of its own soon, and the African Development Bank will lift a moratorium on lending to Tunisia. “People feel better and are relieved somehow,” he said. “I think the mood has changed tremendously, both inside the country and outside the country.”

In a message, U.N. Secre-

tary General Ban Ki-moon made it clear that it wasn’t just France that viewed the Tunisian experience as a model for the region. “I count on the government and people of Tunisia to continue to inspire the world as they did some three years ago, and serve as an example for dialogue and compromise in resolving political disputes across the region and beyond,” he said.

The only sour note in the ceremony came when the U.S. delegation walked out of the assembly hall during the speech by Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, who took the opportunity to slam U.S. and Israeli meddling in the region, calling the Jewish state a “cancerous tumor” in the region. In statement, the U.S. said its delegation left “due to the false accusations and inappropriate comments made by the Iranian representative present regarding the United States.”

10

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Sunday 9 February 2014

The Morung Express

Serena says ICC approves wide-ranging changes Top-ranked no to Indian Wells again N SrINIvaSaN to be Next ChIef from July, 2014

SINGAPORE, FEbRuARy 8 (AP): The International Cricket Council approved wide-ranging changes to its structure on Saturday after eight of the 10 test-playing nations voted for proposals that put India, England and Australia in control of the world game.

Only Pakistan and Sri Lanka partially opposed the moves by abstaining in the vote at an ICC board meeting in Singapore. Two countries, South Africa and Bangladesh, had initially indicated they were opposed to the reforms but ultimately voted in favor, giving the big three the eight votes they needed to pass their plans.

As part of the changes, which still need to be formally adopted by the ICC's council, a new revenue sharing agreement will come into play giving the lion's share of money to India, and to a lesser extent England and Australia.

That was based, the ICC said, on the big three's larger contributions to the governing body through their commercial rights deals.

"The structure of the model will ensure that none of the full members

(test countries) will be worse off than they are at present and if forecasts of revenue generation prove to be correct, all will be significantly better off," the ICC said in a statement.

The existing ICC-regulated international cricket calendar will also be wiped away and countries will instead negotiate tours and series bilaterally through to 2023, allowing India, England and Australia to pick and choose who they want to play over the next decade.

Those bilateral negotiations had to happen "as a matter of urgency," the ICC said as cricket's international schedule is completely rewritten.

Board of Control for Cricket in India President Narainswamy Srinivasan will become ICC chairman for two years from July, apparently cementing the country's dominant position at the world body.

The head of Cricket Australia, Wally Edwards, will chair a newly-formed executive committee for that "transitional period" through to 2016, with three of the five places permanently reserved on that body for India, England

Main points of resolution

T

he International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday approved a wide-ranging and controversial resolution to change its governance, competition and financial models. The main points are as follows:

• New executive committee: A five-man executive committee with permanent seats for India, England and Australia will be introduced. The committee will make recommendations to the ICC board, which remains the decision-making body • India's Srinivasan to chair ICC board: N. Srinivasan, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, will become the ICC board chairman from July 2014 • New financial model: Full members gain greater financial recognition based on their contributions in terms of finance, their ICC history and on-field performances • Test Cricket Fund: A Test Cricket Fund will be introduced to guarantee all 10 Test-playing nations will be in position to host a home series through to 2023 • Future Tours Programme: Members will strike binding, bilateral agreements "as a matter of urgency" with the aim of extending the programme until 2023 • World Test Championship axed: The Champions Trophy one-day tournament will continue in 2017 and 2021, replacing plans for a World Test Championship • Pathway to Test cricket: The winner of the next ICC Intercontinental Cup will play-off against the bottomranked full member with the prize of gaining Test status. The existing full member will retain Test status.

and Australia. The head of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Giles Clarke, will chair the influential fi-

nance and commercial affairs committee to 2016, the committee that drafted the initial proposals to shake

up world cricket. India, England and Australia also have permanent seats on that committee, with two other countries to be voted on.

As expected, the doomed inaugural test cricket championship, planned for 2017, was dumped and the 50-over Champions Trophy competition will be played in its place in 2017 and 2021.

"It proved impossible to come up with a format for a four-team finals event in test cricket that fits the culture of test cricket and preserves the integrity of the format," the ICC said. Former Pakistan captain and now television commentator Ramiz Raja told Pakistani television channel Geo Television that Pakistan should have "played their cards right."

"Maybe now Pakistan won't feature prominently in the bilateral series because the other board members will remember that you didn't favor them.

"We didn't understand the reality, 80 per cent of the cricket economy is from India whether you like it or not. We could have gone for iconic series with India and could have gone for a qual-

ity cricket schedule, but I think now it will be difficult.

"Pakistan needs money for infrastructure, for their A team tours and for their senior team, but now I guess the situation will be tight," added Raja, following Pakistan's abstention in the vote. In a boost for smaller cricketing countries, they will have the chance to be promoted to play tests with the winner of the next ICC Intercontinental Cup earning a playoff against the lowest-ranked test team.

That gives the likes of Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Namibia, Canada, Kenya and the Netherlands the chance to challenge for test status, probably in 2016.

Ireland won the last Intercontinental Cup, while Bangladesh is currently the lowest-ranked test nation.

The ICC called it "breaking the glass ceiling" to test cricket, which appears set to be increased to 11 teams.

Cricket will also introduce a test fund which will give money to the so-called "smaller seven" current test nations who do not command the riches India, England and Australia do through their commercial rights.

"They've got one player who can take the blame and the rest of them want to go about their business and let him take the fall.

"It's not that we couldn't bowl them out, not that we couldn't score runs, not that we got outplayed -- it's Kevin Pietersen's fault.

"I'd have more respect for some of the senior players if they held their hands up, rather than letting it all get heaped on one bloke."

With the ECB yet to fully explain its decision to axe Pietersen, Flintoff says that the South Africa-born batsman's case had been used as a smokescreen to shield others from criticism. "If his attitude was that bad, why did he play five Tests?"

Flintoff said.

"Who made the decision to drop him? Do they genuinely believe we are better off without him, or are they just fearful for their own jobs and too afraid to say no?

"I can't imagine what Kevin could have done, or what the ECB could announce, that would allow this to make sense."

Russian TV shows doctored Kevin Pietersen England's scapegoat: Andrew Flintoff video of Olympic rings LONDON, FEbuRRAy 8 (AFP): Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff believes that Kevin Pietersen has been made a scapegoat for England's Ashes whitewash after having his international career brought to an end.

The England and Wales Cricket Broad (ECB) announced the end of Pietersen's association with England earlier this week, citing a need for a new "team ethic and philosophy" after the 5-0 Test series defeat in Australia.

However, Flintoff feels that it is wrong to single out individuals and has questioned the team spirit within the England squad.

"The group doesn't seem to be a group any more," he told British newspaper the Daily Mail.

ST. PETERSbuRG, FEbRuARy 8 (AFP): World number one Serena Williams has withdrawn from next month's WTA tournament at Indian Wells, an event which she entered last month after boycotting it since 2001.

The move came only a few hours after the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion withdrew from next week's $2.4 million WTA event in Doha, Qatar, due to a back injury she suffered at the Australian Open.

Williams, however, did not cite her injury as a reason for deciding against playing at Indian Wells in March.

"After careful consideration, I will not return to the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open this year," Williams said. "I send my best wishes to everyone involved with the tournament."

Those well wishes and her earlier decision to enter the event were a thaw in relations that became icy in 2001. Williams and her older sister Venus have boycotted the California event since 2001, when Serena was fiercely booed as she played Kim Clijsters in the final.

Spectators were angry at the time after Venus had defaulted to Serena due to tendinitis just moments be-

fore they were scheduled to meet in the semi-finals, what some felt was less about an injury and more about a desire to improve the family's chances of taking the title.

Richard Williams was so upset with the reception that he called for security protection while sitting in the stands.

Williams entered the event last month after saying at the Australian Open that she was considering returning to Indian Wells after being inspired toward reconciliation after watching a movie about the late South African leader Nelson Mandela.

"We are disappointed that Serena has withdrawn from the 2014 BNP Paribas Open," said tournament director Steve Simon. "We wish her the very best of luck in the year ahead and hope that she will decide to play here next year."

Williams, who lost to Victoria Azarenka in last year's Qatar Open final, last played in the fourth round of the Australian Open, where she was upset by Serbian Ana Ivanovic.

Williams, who won her opening tournament of the year at Brisbane by beating Azarenka in the final, is the reigning US and French Open champion.

Magic stuns Thunder with dunk at the buzzer

In a combo of frame grabs taken from Russian television, five snowflakes float together in Fisht Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7. During the live ceremony, the fifth ring failed to fully open to create the Olympics rings. On Russian television, producers inserted footage from a dress rehearsal when all five rings joined together and erupted in pyrotechnics.(AP Photo)

SOCHI, FEbRuARy 8 (AP): Smoke and mirrors? Russian state television aired footage Friday of five floating snowflakes turning into the Olympic rings and bursting into pyrotechnics at the Sochi Games opening ceremony. Problem is, that didn't happen.

The opening ceremony at the Winter Games hit a bump when only four of the five rings materialized in a wintry opening scene. The five were supposed to join together and erupt in fireworks. But one snowflake never expanded, and the pyrotechnics never went off.

But everything worked fine for viewers of the Rossiya 1, the Russian host broadcaster. As the fifth ring got stuck, Rossiya cut away to rehearsal footage. All five rings came together, and the fireworks exploded on cue. "It didn't show on television, thank God," Jean-Claude Killy, the French ski great who heads the IOC coordination commission for the Sochi Games, told The Associated Press.

Producers confirmed the switch, saying it was important to preserve the imagery of the Olympic symbols. The unveiling of the rings is always one of the most iconic moments of an opening ceremony, and President Vladimir Putin has been determined to use the ceremony as an introduction of the new Russia to the world.

Konstantin Ernst, executive creative director of the opening ceremony, told reporters at a news conference that he called down to master control to tell them to go the practice footage when he realized what happened. "This is an open secret," he said, referring to the use of the

pre-recorded footage. The show's artistic director George Tsypin said the malfunction was caused by a bad command from a stage manager.

Ernst defended his decision, saying that the most important part was preserving the images and the Olympic tradition: "This is certainly bad, but it does not humiliate us." NBC was to air the ceremony in the U.S. on tape delay later Friday, and said in a statement: "We will show things as they happened tonight." Glitches are not uncommon at Olympic opening ceremonies.

There was a minor controversy over trickery involving the fireworks at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after it was revealed that some of the display featured prerecorded footage. Fireworks bursting into the shape of gigantic footprints were shown trudging above the Beijing skyline to the National Stadium near the start of the ceremony. Officials confirmed that some of the footage shown to TV viewers around the world and on giant screens inside the stadium featured a computer-generated, three-dimensional image.

In addition, a tiny, pigtailed 9-year-old girl in a red dress who sang "Ode to the Motherland" was lip-synching. The real voice belonged to a 7-year-old girl who was replaced because she was deemed not cute enough by a member of China's Politburo. At the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Luciano Pavarotti's performance was prerecorded. The maestro who conducted the aria, Leone Magiera, said the bitter cold made a live performance impossible.

ORLANDO, FEbRuARy 8 (AP): The Orlando Magic have seen much more misery than celebration this season. But with one of the NBA's best teams and its top scorer in town, the Magic made the most of a rare opportunity to enjoy the latter.

Tobias Harris slammed home a fast-break pass from Maurice Harkless at the buzzer to give the Orlando Magic a 103-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. With the Thunder leading 102-101 in the closing seconds, Kevin Durant missed a jumper to set up the last-second play, which was reviewed by officials and upheld.

Rookie Victor Oladipo, who had grabbed the rebound on Durant's miss with 2.9 seconds left and passed ahead to Harkless to start the break, pounded his chest after the play and screamed "This is our floor!" as the crowd roared.

"I saw Victor get the (rebound) and I just wanted to be down there, whether or not he shot a layup or if he made it, congratulate him, to get a tip-in — anything," Harris said. "But he kicked it to Mo and I just kept running. Mo saw me and my whole momentum was just to get it in the rim."

Harris led the Magic with 18 points, followed

by Arron Afflalo with 16.

Orlando's bench outscored the Oklahoma City's 3623. The win gives the Magic their first four-game home winning streak in two years. It also snaps the

Orlando Magic's Tobias Harris (12) dunks the ball in front of Oklahoma City Thunder's Reggie Jackson at the buzzer to win an NBA basketball game 103-102 in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 7. (AP Photo)

Thunder's five-game winning streak in the series. "I was drawing up our defensive strategy unless they had point-something left on the clock," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "But we'll take it."

Durant led the Thunder with 29 points and 12 assists. Serge Ibaka added 26 points. The loss was just the second in 14 games for Oklahoma City. Durant's points and assists accounted for half of his team's

points in the first half. But he scored just 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting in the second half. He was 1 for 7 in the fourth.

"We couldn't do anything (in the second half).

We were just a step slow,"

Durant said. "We kept running the same plays. We didn't help on the back side.

We let guys cut to basket. … There were just mental breakdowns." The Magic made eight of their first 11 shots to start the third quarter and trailed by eight entering the fourth.

Vaughn said before the game that the matchup would turn on whether the Magic's second unit could outplay the Thunder's bench. His prediction came true. Without their starters on the floor, the Magic kept their third-quarter momentum going by scoring the first eight points of the final period to cut the Thunder's lead and tie it at 88-all with just over 9 minutes to play.

Durant was re-inserted into the game and promptly put his team back in front with a jumper from the wing. The Magic kept coming, though, and took their first lead, 91-90, on a pair of free throws by Harris at the 7:59 mark. The game stayed tight and was tied at 99 when Durant came down on the break and found Thabo Sefolosha in the corner for a 3-pointer with 1:56 left.

Glen Davis drew an offensive foul and on the ensuing possession Afflalo was fouled on a 3-point attempt with less than a minute to play. He hit two of his three attempts to trim the gap to 102-101 and set up the final sequence. The Thunder hovered above 70 percent shooting early on and led by as many as 17 points in the first half.

Entertainment

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‘I starved myself for my agent’ 5ft 9in model on how she was put on a strict 800 calorie-a-day diet - taking her to just 115lbs

Sunday 9 February 2014

‘If she says I look bad, I’m not going to argue’ H

e may be a style icon in his own right, but David Beckham has revealed that his wife still tells him what not to wear. In an interview David Beckham revealed there are occasions that Victoria, a fashion designer, will disapprove of an outfit he has thrown together. The retired footballer said: ‘She’s my wife, so I trust her opinion, so if she says I look bad, I’m not going to argue with that.’

The football star was speaking at a press conference to launch his US football team in Miami when he was asked if his well cut suit was chosen by his wife, who is now a respected name in fashion in her own right. David added: ‘I dress myself, thank you.’ When quizzed as to whether Victoria ever says that he doesn’t look good, he said: ‘Not often thankfully. But yes, every now and again.’ The former England player explained he ‘trusts’ his wife’s expert opinion so never questions her - especially when

she tells him to change. Beckham has long been considered one of the most fashionable men on the planet and is currently the face of high street clothing store H&M. For decades the former Manchester United footballer has pushed the envelope of men’s fashion and was named the most stylish man of the year last year

by GQ Magazine. Beckham did not reveal which outfits might have caused his wife to wince though in the past he has committed more than a few fashion faux pas.

In 1998 he wore a sarong in a move that made him a fashion icon overnight but led to him being ridiculed by his teammates.

He and Victoria were photographed the next year wearing matching black Versace bikerstyle leather outfits. Beckham later said in an interview: ‘What were we thinking?’ Beckham, 38, retired from football last year after a glittering career that saw him play for England 115 times, more than any outfield player. On

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Wednesday announced that he is launching a football team in Miami that will compete in the US league, the MLS. Brand Beckham however continues and he has been modelling and doing more charity work than ever before. Beckham, who has four children, told USA Today: ‘I’m a busy man, with a busy life and a family that comes first. So, yes, I don’t have to do this project. I want to do it.’

David Beckham reveals wife Victoria tells him if he’s made a fashion faux pas

Indian starlet copies Lady Gaga, wears meat dress M

y idea is to raise a voice against the cruel practice: Tanisha on meat dress South actress Tanisha Singh wore a dress made out of real goat meat for a photoshoot in Mumbai, which looked a lot like Lady Gaga’s famous raw beef meat dress at an awards function in 2010.

Tanisha’s aim was also to grab the eyeballs, but for a purpose, the starlet claimed. Tanisha, who featured in few a Tamil and Telugu films, said, “I have seen poor animals being killed by vehicles on the roads, especially on highways, where people in a rush kill innocent animals. These creatures have no voice of their own, so I have decided to raise my voice against this cruel practice.”

Without mentioning any names, Tanisha also added, “People kill animals for pleasure. Newspapers are full of stories on deer hunting in jungles but nobody is bothered about them.”

For the shoot, the starlet said that she did not kill any animal but used a dead animal which she found on a road near her locality, “I live close to Powai, where we witness several animals being crushed by vehicles. I picked a dead goat from the road and asked my costume designer to make a dress out of it.”

On comparisons with Lady Gaga, she said, “Lady Gaga did it for fun. But my idea is to raise a voice against the cruel practice; it’s not a publicity gimmick, for sure.”

Terence LA(Manipur)

Zorini Khiangte(Mizoram)

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Laldinpuii Sailo(Mizoram) Pdianghun Kharmawphlang (Meghalaya) Rosang(Nagaland)

C.Lalbiakzuali(Mizoram)

Marilyn(Mizoram) David Lalremruata(Mizoram)

RajKumar Jack(Manipur)

Jerry Lalrinawma (Mizoram)

Profile of the singers selected from the 2 elimination round of NE Ethnic Outfit and Voice Fusion to be held on February 14 at RCEMPA (Jotsoma) where Danielle Senior will be the main Judge for the singers. nd

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former model has told how she dieted down to a dangerously low 115lbs following her agent’s orders. Meredith Hattam, 27, revealed in a personal essay for VICE that when she entered the industry she was issued a strict diet plan to help her lose around two inches off her slender 135lb, 5ft 9in frame. ‘I didn’t understand that 800 calories a day countered by two hours of exercise was a starvation diet, something capable of doing long-term damage to my metabolism,’ the brunette recalled.

Bread was off limits and only sources of lean protein including chicken, fish, steamed vegetables, almonds and eggs were allowed. Over a seven-week period she lost 20lbs - taking her down to a tiny size two - and was promptly sent off to work in New York City.

Although her agency was thrilled with her new gaunt look, Ms Hattam, then aged 19, said she felt ‘miserable and frail’. In New York it was a struggle to keep the weight off, but new jobs and praise from her reps made Ms Hattam believe it was all worth while. However, her unhealthy habits soon spiraled out of control. ‘I binged at free dinners provided by promoters and punished myself afterwards by not eating for days,’ she said. ‘I would walk miles around the city for hours on end just to burn off any food I’d ingested.’

Eventually she burned herself out and returned home to San Diego where she checked in for therapy.

Realizing that modeling wasn’t doing her any good, she chose another career path and completed a degree in media studies. Today she works in New York as a freelance graphic designer. She told MailOnline that she feels in ‘a good place’ now but it took her a longtime to recover and craft a self-identity outside of modeling.

In a bid to help others in her position, she wants the fashion industry to promote a healthier body image and is a supporter of the Model Alliance, a non-profit which fights for models’ rights.

Asked what her message is to other young girls, she replied: ‘Do not model if you can’t model. If you are tall and thin, don’t let a scout or agent persuade you to lose weight or change yourself, or else you may pay the psychological tow. ‘Also, do not feel like you need to do anything you don’t want to do. ‘You are in charge of your life - if you really do want to lose weight and be a model, consult a nutritionist, talk with your family, and do it in a healthy way. I wouldn’t recommend modeling to teenagers at all.’ According to a 2012 study conducted by the Model Alliance 68.3per cent of models admit to suffering from depression or anxiety

Madhuri Dixit sings in Gulaab Gang for the first time with her mother

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he world is deewana over Madhuri’s adayein and her naach. In her upcoming film ‘Gulaab Gang’, she will be singing a song for the first time. What makes it even more special is that her mother Snehlata Dixit, who is a trained classical singer, will be starting the song from where Madhuri takes it on. The song is a folk song titled Rangi Sari Gulaabi Chunariya that has been composed by the director of the film Soumik Sen. We can’t wait to listen to the voice of this Gulaabi gang lady.

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India faces daunting target in Auckland test India 87/1 at stumps on Day 3 against New Zealand, need 320 more to win

Britain's Jamie Nicholls takes a jump during the men's snowboard slopestyle final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo)

IOC defends use of rehearsal footage

SOCHI, FebrUAry 8 (AP): Olympic officials are defending the use of TV rehearsal footage to cover up a glitch in Sochi's opening ceremony and the choice of a final torchbearer who had posted a racially offensive tweet about President Barack Obama. Friday night's ceremony hit a bump when only four - instead of five - illuminated floating rings linked up to form the Olympic symbol in the early section of the show.

The five were supposed to join together and erupt in fireworks. But one never expanded, and the pyrotechnics never went off. While the 40,000 spectators in the stadium saw the glitch, Russian state television cut away to air the recorded images showing all five rings joining together and fireworks exploding.

"Some people decided to take some other footage and some not," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference on Saturday.

"It's a very technical Olympic ceremony, very well organized. But the show itself was a fantastic one. I don't see what the problem is, to be honest."

Adams said the show "was even better on television." IOC and Sochi officials also defended Irina Rodnina, the three-time fig-

ure skating gold medalist who lit the cauldron with hockey great Vladislav Tretiak at the close of the torch relay. A tweet of Rodnina's from last year drew new attention on social media on Friday. The image superimposed an image of a banana in front of a picture of Obama and wife Michelle.

Rodnina didn't explain the tweet at the time and later took down the photo, but later defended it with another tweet, saying "Freedom of speech is freedom!"

"Irina Rodnina is one of the most respected" Olympic athletes in the world, Sochi organizing chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said. "I want to stress that Olympics is not about politics. Any political talks and discussions are inappropriate for the Olympic Games." Adams said the IOC does not choose the torchbearers but he defended Rodnina's credentials. "She was chosen for what she's done in sport," Adams said. "She's a triple gold medalist in skating and she's done a great deal of work for sport and that's what she was chosen for." Rodnina, considered one of the greatest female figure skaters of all time, won gold medals in the pairs event at the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics. She also won 10 world pairs titles in a row, matching the great Sonja Henie.

AUCKLAND, FebrUAry 8 (PTI): India face a daunting task of scoring 407 runs to win the first cricket Test against New Zealand, who suffered a dramatic batting collapse in the second innings to be skittled out for 105 and left the topsy-turvy match wide open, on Saturday.

Resuming at 130 for four, India were bowled for 202 to concede a first innings lead of 301 runs as overnight batsmen Rohit Sharma (72) and Ajinkya Rahane (26) failed to provide the side a good start.

The hosts did not enforce a follow-on on the Indians, hoping to bury the visitors under a mountain of runs but the ploy failed as Indians bounced back brilliantly to bundle out the Kiwis for 105 runs in 41.2 overs on an eventful third day, which saw as many as 17 fall at the Eden Park.

Ross Taylor was the top scorer for the hosts with his 41-run knock, which came off 73 balls with five boundaries, including a six. Only three other Kiwi batsmen could manage a double-digit score. Pacemen Mohammed Shami (3/38) and Ishant Sharma (3/28) dismissed three batsmen each while Zaheer Khan (2/23) scalped two wickets to bring India back in the game.

India were 87 for one at close, stilling needing 320 runs for a remarkable victory and with two full days left in the game, a result is almost certain. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (49), who survived an LBW appeal of Ish Sodhi off the last ball of the day, and Cheteshwar Pujara (22) were at the

India’s Shikar Dhawan bats against New Zealand on the third day of the first cricket test at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, Feb. 8. (AP Photo)

crease for the visitors.

Indian batsmen have looked miserable on this tour and now the young batting line up has an unenvious task of chasing a huge total of 407 runs, which if overhauled, would be second highest run chase ever in the history of Test cricket.

West Indies hold the incredible record of chasing 418 against Australia in May 2003 at St John's. Only thrice a target in excess of 400 has been chased till date. India are second in the list with the successful chase of 406 runs against the Ca-

ribbean side but it was way back in 1976. Australia are third team to record a win while chasing a 400-plus score when they scored 404 against England in 1976.

The Indians took four wickets in the morning session and New Zealand never recovered from those early jolts. It was Shami, who triggered the collapse with wickets of both the openers. He trapped Hamish Rutherford leg before for a first-ball duck off the last

ball of the very first over of the innings. And two overs later, he had Peter Fulton (5) caught driving at cover, where Jadeja took a regulation catch.

Jadeja was once again in action in the sixth over, when he took a screamer of a catch to send back inform Kane Williamson, off Zaheer. Jadeja was not done yet as he ran out the New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum (1) in another brilliant fielding display.

McCullum was given a life in the eighth over, when Murali Vijay dropped a dolly at first slip.

New Zealand took lunch at 15 for four and thereafter Taylor and Corey Anderson looked to rebuild the innings but their efforts were thwarted by Shami, who bowled a fiery spell of six overs.

And he got reward for his efforts as he bowled Anderson (2) in the sixth over after play resumed. The Black Caps were down to 25 for five with Taylor still at the crease and under tremendous pressure to put forth a proper fourth-innings' target after choosing not to follow on.

BJ Watling gave him support as the two players added 38 runs for the sixth wicket. But just when they were beginning to look comfortable, Taylor cut one from Zaheer to be caught at gully by Ajinkya Rahane.. It was an intense session with runs coming in a trickle and the batsmen looking to survive. The overs went past quickly as Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja (1/10) came on for a bit. But with the break looming, skipper MS Dhoni once again employed Shami in hope of another wicket. But it was Jadeja who delivered at the other end, sending back Tim Southee (14) even as the tailender was looking to play some attacking shots.

Watling was unbeaten on 11 runs (70 balls) as the Kiwis stared at a shock collapse.

Earlier, after bad light had stopped play early on Day 2, the match began 30 minutes earlier this morning.

Liverpool hammers Arsenal with 5-1 win

Arsenal's goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, top centre right, dives in vain as Liverpool's Martin Skrtel, second left, scores his second goal during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Saturday Feb. 8. (AP Photo)

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LONDON, FebrUAry 8 (AgeNCIeS): Liverpool produced one of the performances of the season with a stunning 5-1 win over Arsenal at Anfield. A blistering four-goal blitz inside the opening 20 minutes from Liverpool effectively put the game beyond Arsene Wenger's side.

Martin Skrtel scored twice in the opening 10 minutes to put Liverpool in firm control and further strikes from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge gave the home side an unassailable 4-0 lead before half-time. Sterling netted the fifth goal early in the second half with Mikel Arteta's penalty the only blot on Liverpool's copybook in what was a perfect day for Brendan Rodgers' side as they enhanced their top four aspirations and dented Arsenal's title bid.

Liverpool came racing

out of the blocks and hit the front in the very first minute when Steven Gerrard whipped in a free-kick and Skrtel, unmarked inside the six-yard box, bundled the ball home past Wojciech Szczesny with his knee.

The home side continued to pour forward in the opening exchanges and Szczesny did well to block Jon Flanagan's shot after Sturridge picked out the full-back's run into the penalty area.

Liverpool had rattled Arsenal and they doubled their lead on 10 minutes when Gerrard floated over a corner and Skrtel produced a superb header into the top corner over the jumping Alex OxladeChamberlain on the line.

Liverpool looked dangerous every time they went forward and Sturridge should have made it 3-0 on 12 minutes when

Luis Suarez sent him clear on goal with a brilliant pass, but the striker chipped his effort wide of the target.

A minute later Liverpool were inches away from netting a third as a corner fell to Suarez fully 30 yards from goal and he drilled in a shot which smashed off the post and from the rebound Kolo Toure stabbed wide with the goal at his mercy.

Arsenal created their first chance of the game on the quarter hour mark when Per Mertesacker got on the end of Santi Cazorla's corner only to flash his header across the face of goal. Liverpool got the third goal their dominance deserved on 17 minutes when Jordan Henderson robbed Mesut Ozil on the halfway line and he fed Suarez out wide. The Uruguayan picked out Sterling with a perfect pass to give the winger a simple fin-

ish at the far post. Things got even better for Liverpool three minutes later Philippe Coutinho found Sturridge's run with a perfectly-weighted ball in behind Laurent Koscielny and the striker coolly slotted home past a stranded Szczesny.

Liverpool picked up where they left off at the start of the second half and made it 5-0 on 52 minutes when Sterling broke the Arsenal offside trap to race clear on goal from Toure's pass and, after seeing his initial effort saved by Szczesny, the winger was able to slot home at the second attempt. Sterling almost grabbed his hat-trick three minutes later when the ball dropped to him in the box from Gerrard's free-kick, but the winger stabbed his effort from close-range wide of the target.

Suarez tried to get in

on the goalscoring act on 63 minutes with a brilliant free-kick as, with everyone waiting for a cross into his box, he arrowed his shot towards the top corner and his effort was kept out by Szczesny at full stretch.

The impressive Coutinho almost created a sixth goal for Liverpool on 67 minutes when he wriggled past a couple of Arsenal challenges and picked out Henderson's run with a sublime pass, only for the midfielder to chip his effort wide of the target.

Arsenal won a penalty on 68 minutes when Gerrard brought down OxladeChamberlain inside the box and Arteta stepped up to covert with the ease. Arteta went close to scoring a second for Arsenal five minutes later when he drilled in a fierce free-kick which Mignolet did well to push away, but this was Liverpool's day.

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