April 10th, 2017

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

MonDAY • April 10 • 2017

DIMAPUR • Vol. XII • Issue 97 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

P o W e R

To God everything is beautiful, good, and just; humans, however, think some things are unjust and others just Rs. 9600 lakhs required for grant-in-aid to VDBs in Nagaland

Aadhaar card initiative a watershed event: Prez pAGE 08

o F

— Heraclitus

Hamilton coasts to fifth title at Chinese Grand Prix

PAGE 02

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

That’s a huge development project you’re promising us.

Thank you. We know you’re lying, but hey, we believe you.

The Morung Express Poll QuEsTion

Vote on www.morungexpress.com sMs your answer to 9862574165 Is Naga society open to talking about mental health issues? Why? Yes

no

others

How would you rate the general Happiness Level of the people of Nagaland state? Why? • High • Medium • Low

PAGE 12

8 killed as violence mars Kashmir polls nagaland legislators

SRINAGAR, APRIl 9 (IANS): At least eight civilians were killed and scores injured in firing by security forces as mobs tried to attack some polling stations in Srinagar parliamentary constituency that on Sunday recorded a poor seven per cent voting in a by-poll -- the lowest in the state in three decades, officials said.

The by-poll to the Lok Sabha constituency -- spread across three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal -- was marred by widespread violence with police claiming that nearly 200 incidents of violent protests took place in central Kashmir.

As the day began with small queues of voters outside polling booths, slogan shouting mobs attacked polling stations in Budgam, damaged EVMs and prevented voters from exercising their franchise.

Security forces tried to disperse the crowds with warning shots initially and opened fire at them when they didn’t relent, a police officer said.

Seven persons were killed at three places of Budgam district and one in Ganderbal, where protestors clashed with security forces.

“The security forces opened fire to protect the polling staff,” the officer said, alleging that mobs tried to storm many polling stations and destroy EVMs. The seven per cent voter turnout is the lowest in 27 years in the state. The constituency had in the 2014 general elections recorded 26 per cent turn out.

The by-poll was the first af-

without quarters Morung Express news Kohima | April 9

Kashmiri demonstrators (C) throw stones towards indian policemen during a protest against by-polls in srinagar April 9. (REUTERS)

ter the 2016 unrest, triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July last. Over 100 people were killed in five months of the unrest -- the worst in six years of the troubled valley.

“It was an unfortunate day.

Over 100 security personnel were injured. The turnout was 7.09 per cent,” Chief Electoral Officer Shantmanu told media persons.

He also said that re-polling will be held at 100 polling stations that witnessed early closure due to violence.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it was the worst

poll-related violence he had seen in his 20 years of political career.

“Have contested six elections over 20 years and have never seen this level of violence in elections in Kashmir,” Abdullah tweeted.

Abdullah hit out at the state government over the violence and accused Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of failing to provide a conducive atmosphere for voting.

“Mehbooba Mufti is responsible for this situation. There is mismanagement,” he said.

Security was stepped up after separatists extended shut-

down call till April 12 -- election day in south Kashmir, the authorities also decided to suspend the internet services and postphoned the university examinations scheduled.

The stakes were high for opposition National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s Nazir Ahmed Khan who were the main contestants in the constituency. In all, nine candidates were in the fray.

The seat fell vacant after then PDP leader Tariq Hameed Karra resigned to protest alleged atrocities on people during the 2016 agitation.

Some elected representatives of the Nagaland State are currently caught in a strange conundrum.

Additional appointments have come with the shortage of housing quarters in their wake, forcing some of them to operate without an official residence.

The newly appointed NLA Speaker, for instance.

The present Speaker, Dr. Imtiwapang Aier, has no official quarters, and is compelled to reside at his wife’s allotted quarters under the Forest Department, informed a source close to the Speaker.

According to the said source, the NLA Speaker handles most official meetings at his office at the Nagaland Assembly Secretariat, but security remains compromised and visitors are difficult to accommodate. “He is entitled a body guard, house guard and security guards who cannot be accommodated at the current location. Moreover, when people visit from his constituency and villages therein, it becomes difficult to meet them all at the office.

An official residence becomes necessary for these functions,” the source noted.

The problem, according to a journalist, is that new appointments in the ‘rank and status of cabinet ministers’ has created a domino effect on the shortage of housing for those who are entitled

to designated quarters. The current Government of Nagaland has 12 ministers, 24 parliamentary secretaries and six advisors.

An official source reported that the official residence of the former PHED Minister is presently occupied by the Finance Advisor, compelling the current PHED Minister (who is the former Speaker) to continue residing in the Speaker’s official residence. This is what has left the current Speaker with no official quarters to operate out of.

“We do not know which quarter is designated to which minister/portfolio,” said one Minister on the condition of anonymity, citing that the quarter allotted to the Deputy Speaker (near Raj Bhavan) is still occupied by the former Deputy Speaker who is now a Parliamentary Secretary.

The bureaucracy has taken note of the confusion. Work is underway to ensure that all those elected representatives with allotted quarters are ensured a place of residence from where to disburse their official duties effectively, with ample security.

“We are working hard to ensure that new ministers’ quarters are ready soon. We are constructing (quarters) for ten ministers and separate for Speaker and Deputy Speaker,” said Himato Zhimomi, Commissioner & Secretary to Chief Minister. The said constructions will be completed within a few months, he added.

lotha Hoho, rengma Hoho serve ultimatum to state govt

03% 28% 69%

Details on page 7

Naga woman killed in road accident in Punjab DIMAPUR, APRIl 9 (MExN): A 21 year old Naga woman was killed and two others injured in a tragic accident at Phagwara, Punjab on April 9 at around 2:40am.

The deceased, identified as one Aosen Longchar, a BSc Agri student at Lovely Professional University, was reportedly killed on the spot when a truck hit the motorbike in which she was travelling along with two others.

Sources informed that one of the injured, identified as Yepeto Khuzumi is reportedly in the ICU, while the other sustained minor injuries. A condolence service for the deceased was conducted at 2:00pm today.

T R u T H

The mangled roof of a house at Molungyimsen village after a hailstorm lashed parts of Mokokchung district on sunday afternoon. Tuli town, a few kilometres away from the village, was also affected by the hailstorm, which was reported to have lasted for around 10 minutes. At longtho, under Mangkolemba sub-division, a few houses were partially damaged.

Kidima village records over 1 Cr income from sale of vegetables our Correspondent Kohima | April 9

Kidima village under Kohima district was adopted as a vegetable village by the Horticulture Department in 2007 under the name of ‘Aazu Farmers Group’ with the vision to achieve economic empowerment for both men and women through production of horticultural crops.

Together with the assistance of the department and hard work of the villagers, this village has evolved into a vegetable village of repute, according to annual administrative report 2016-17 of the Horticulture Department, tabled in the just concluded state assembly session by Parliamentary Secretary for Horticulture, Kejong Chang. In addition to cultivation of vegetables like tomato,

Khuve, chilli, cabbage, beans, potato etc in the open field, protected cultivation of vegetables like capsicum, tomato etc was also introduced in the village by the department and components like community tanks, farm handling units, vermin-compost units, power tillers were also provided to the farmers, which have paid rich dividends.

As the villagers have reported

an income of rupees one crore and thirty thousand just from the sale of vegetables alone which is expected to go up to rupees two crores and fifty thousand during the peak season, the report stated.

“The cultivation of vegetables surely has minted in prosperity for the villagers changing the very face of their socio-economic status,” the report stated.

DIMAPUR, APRIl 9 (MExN): The Lotha Hoho and the Rengma Hoho today served an ultimatum to the Nagaland State Government for widening of the National Highway No 2 (erstwhile NH 61) in Tseminyu and Wokha Sectors.

A joint statement from the two apex bodies gave the government till April 18 to start works, failing which they cautioned that a total Bandh would be imposed from April 19.

Citing the series of events with regard to the project, the apex bodies questioned “how the NH Authorities can be so adamant, so indifferent and so discriminating to the two tribes, for so long.”

“The NHAN gives excuses that being a centrally sponsored work, it involves lots of technicalities and hence time taking. But sen-

sible people will all agree that four years (after settlement of court case) is too long for preparing DPR and to obtain sanction,” they said.

The rights of the people, the apex bodies affirmed, “cannot be suppressed by any amount of clarifications or assurances, except by timely and satisfactory works.”

Stating that the issue will no longer be negotiable, the Lotha Hoho and the Rengma Hoho said that the total bandh will be imposed indefinitely till work is started by producing copies of the work order to the two Hohos.

It was meanwhile informed that the bandh, if enforced, will exempt the press & media, paramilitary, medical personnel on patient duty, administration, police personnel on duty, fire service and water and power personnel on emergency duty.

NE students show solidarity with African nationals Bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches kill 36

Ask GoI to address racial discrimination

C M Y K

DIMAPUR, APRIl 9 (MExN): 23 North East student unions today issued a joint statement decrying the discrimination and assault against African nationals in India.

The statement extended solidarity with people of African origin living in India and particularly those who were attacked in Greater Noida recently.

“We empathise with the violence, ordeals, and humiliation faced by Africans in India. We are distressed to learn of the ongoing situation, and denial of the Indian government to term the incident as racist is worrying. Various incidents of racism against people of African origin in India from the past are not isolated incidents, they stemmed from the deep rooted prejudice mindset of the majority of Indians,” it stated.

While condemning racial discrimination against anyone (particularly people of African origin) and caricatures people make by creating stereotypes like cannibalism and drug users/peddlers, the student unions

stated that these stereotypes are reflection of “racist mindset which we, people from North East India, are also at receiving end over and over again.”

It pointed out that whenever people from the North East were “racially discriminated, we see that nationalism fervour is being infused by stating that we don’t deserve to be discriminated when we are also Indian.” Statements like these are misleading, it stated, while adding that “racism is committed towards any people from other race irrespective of one’s citizenry of a nation.”

The unions urged the Government of India to take appropriate steps and measures to address this issue. “We believe that the first step towards addressing this issue is to acknowledge the existence of racism. We also like to convey that the government and concerned authorities, and civil societies should continue to reach out to people of African origin and make their voices heard and involve them in any decision concerning their interests,” the statement added.

The student unions that appended the statement included the All Bodo Students’ Union, Arunachal

Students’ Union, Delhi (ASUD), Concerned Faculties, St. Edmund’s College, Shillong, Delhi Association of Manipur Muslim Students (DAMMS), Delhi Mizo Zirlai Pawl (Delhi Mizo Students’ Association), Foothills’ Study Circle, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad Manipur Society (HYMS), Kuki Students’ Organisation, Delhi & NCR, Kuki Students’ Organisation, Mumbai, Manipur Students’ Association Delhi (MSAD), Meghalaya Students in Delhi, North East Students’ Association, Jamia (NESA), Naga Students’ Union, Mumbai (NSUM), Naga Students’ Union Pune (NSUP), North East Students, Delhi School of Social Work, University of Delhi, North East Support Centre & Helpline, North East Students, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, North East Students’ Forum (NESF), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, Northeast Solidarity, Bangalore, North-Eastern Hill University Students’ Union, Raiot Webzine, Tripura Students’ Forum, Delhi. (TSFD) and the Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR), Meghalaya.

TANTA/CAIRO, APRIl 9 (REUTERS): At least 36 people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks on two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday, in the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which come a week before Coptic Easter and in the same month that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt.

The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city less than 100 kilometres outside Cairo, killed at least 25 and injured at least 78, Egypt’s Ministry of Health said.

The second, carried out just a few hours later by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, hit the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 11, including three police of-

A relative of one of the victims reacts after a church explosion killed at least 21 in Tanta, Egypt, April 9. (REUTERS)

ficers, and injuring 35, the ministry added.

Pope Tawadros, who had attended mass at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, was still in the building at the time of the explosion but was not harmed, the Ministry of Interior said.

The bombings come as Islamic State’s branch in

Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks and threats against Christians.

In February, Christian families and students fled Egypt’s North Sinai province after a spate of targeted killings.

Those attacks came after one of the deadliest on Egypt’s Christian minority,

when a suicide bomber hit its largest Coptic cathedral, killing at least 25. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Thousands gathered outside the church in Tanta shortly after the blast, some wearing black, crying, and describing a scene of carnage. “There was blood all over the floor and body parts scattered,” said a Christian woman who was inside the church.

“There was a huge explosion in the hall. Fire and smoke filled the room and the injuries were extremely severe,” another Christian woman, Vivian Fareeg, said.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail are set to visit the Tanta site on Sunday and Sisi has ordered an emergency national defence council meeting, state news reported.

2

MonDAY 10•04•2017

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Rs. 9600 lakhs required for grant-in-aid to VDBs in Nagaland 1238 VDBs with 2,43,265 taxpaying households in Nagaland Our Correspondent Kohima | April 9

During the year 2016-17, grant-inaid to Village Development Boards (VDBs) is proposed to be continued.

The total requirement of funds will amount to Rs. 9600.00 lakhs which is inclusive of restoration of back-logged funds for 2014-15 and 2015-16.

This was stated in the annual administrative report 2016-17 of Rural Development department tabled in the just concluded state assembly session by Minister for Rural Development & REPA, CL John.

The report stated that grant-inaid to VDBs is one of the major state sponsored programmes being implemented by Rural Development department through VDBs. There are 1238 VDBs in the state with 2,43,265 taxpaying households.

Fund under this programme is allocated on the basis of number of taxpaying households @ Rs. 1000 for implementation of developmental activities.

“This is the only programme which ensures the participation of women folk in the activities of VDBs by earmarking of 25% of the fund allocated to the village,” the report stated, adding that another 20% of the fund is also earmarked for youth programme in all the villages.

This scheme ensures the active participation of all sections of the rural people in taking up activities that is suitable to their needs, it added.

In addition, a mandatory scheme called VDB Welfare Fund is in place. Under this, funds are deposited @ Rs. 10,000 for villages having 50 households and below and Rs. 200 per household for villages having 51 households and above from the general allocation to mobilize resources for the VDBs to supplement their activity. The deposits are made annually for a period of six years and at maturity the interest accrued will be utilized for the scheme and the seed money is re-invested, creating a continuous cycle of resource to supplement the grants provided by the state.

Under this scheme, income generating programme is being emphasized to be implemented to improve the economy of the rural areas, the report added.

Garbage collectors: Unsung heroes of Kohima Town Vishü Rita Krocha Kohima | April 9

Imagine waking up at the crack of dawn just to make your way to a stench-filled garbage point every morning. Sanitation workers, garbage collectors or call it what you willthese intrepid men are a mystery, who have silently done their job, daily. By the time a common person starts her/ his day, they have already cleared all forms of garbage, piled up in 37 different collection points in Kohima Town.

The 40-odd sanitation workers are on the job by 4:00 am, ensuring that citizens are not greeted by dirt when they step out. Rain or sunshine, they perform their jobs in all kinds of weather on a meager salary of Rs. 5500 per month, which was enhanced from Rs. 4500 only two years ago.

Ishrao, who has been in the job for 35 years now, said he has become accustomed to the unpleasant odour that always accompanies a garbage pile. It is a dirty job any way you look at it, but the sanitation worker has clearly dedicated his life to cleaning. “If I don’t collect the garbage, who will?” he maintained.

50-year old Afren from Jharkhand has also spent over 10 years collecting garbage in Kohima. For him, “it is not just about earning a livelihood but keeping Kohima city clean.” Like the rest of them, the father of four

Sanitation workers under Kohima Municipal Council pose for a photograph.

children, has willingly risked his life to one of the most hazardous jobs in the world.

“These are the people who sacrifice. They are the ones who are actually the face of KMC,” Kovi Meyase, Administrator of Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) strongly asserted. “It is these people who are toiling every single day and when the face of Kohima improves, it is them who earn us that name.”

“My sanitation workers don’t have any Sundays, holidays, Diwalis, Pujas, or Christmas. In fact, there is more garbage to be cleared during the festive season,” he said. “If they fall ill or is in-

disposed, one particular location gets piled up,” Meyase further enlightened.

Senior Sanitary Inspector, KMC, Neilhouphrelie Paphino also reiterated, “We hardly get holidays and festive season means more work. When people eat more, there is more waste.”

The garbage collection points start from the South PS Junction to Duda Guest House and Sanourü towards Secretariat Road, including the vicinity of DC’s Office and Raj Bhavan.

The sanitation workers have been provided with personal equipments like gumboots, gloves, and protective head gears. It was also learnt that apart

from health seminars, efforts have been made in collaboration with the Chief Medical Officer’s office to cover the sanitation workers under a provision where free medical care is given.

Mention may be made here that currently there are 7 dirt carriage vehicles for Kohima. Management of waste in a more scientific way is expected to be possible once KMC receives the 29 dirt vehicles customised for wet and dry waste from State Investment Programme Management & Implementation Unit (SIPMIU). Out of the 29, 19 dirt vehicles will go to the wards and 10 to KMC.

nagaland state anglers converge for 31 students graduate from workshop cum interaction in dimapur trinity theological college Morung Express News Dimapur | April 9

Jointly organized by Anglers’ Association Nagaland (AAN) and Mahseer Trust, UK, a Workshop cum Interactive Meet was held at Hotel Acacia, Dimapur on Sunday with Chairman, Mahseer Trust, UK, Steve Lockett as the main resource person.

Lockett impressed upon the gathering on the importance of preserving the Mahseer fish.

The resource person has been working as a photojournalist for magazines around the world, apart from writing regular articles in the UK’s weekly Angler’s Mail. He has also been involved in various projects and negotiations that moved the Trust forward.

His experience of organizing meetings, serving on the committees of various angling clubs led to him being appointed Vice Chair (currently acting Chair) of Mahseer Trust under the new constitution.

General Secretary AAN, Ricky Ozukum highlighted the activities of AAN while the District Fishery Officers of Dimapur and Mokokchung, Dr. Vimezo Kire and Sunep Ao respectively alsoaddressedthegatheringofanglers from different parts of the state.

1st Nagaland Open Angling Competition A joint venture of Department of Fisheries, Government of Na-

galand and Anglers’ Association Nagaland (AAN), the 1st Nagaland Open Angling Competition would be held on April 22 at Noune Resort, Dimapur with total prize money of Rs 2 lakh to be won in various categories.

Informing this to The Morung Express on the sidelines of Workshop cum Interactive Meet for anglers on Sunday, the AAN officials said that the competition is organized by it and sponsored by Department of Fisheries to promote recreational and eco-tourism fisheries in the State.

It was informed that two rods (two hooks) with an entry fee of Rs 1300 would be realized from the participants. The entry fee amount is inclusive of free lunch and fishes caught to be taken home. However, catches of fishes 8 inches and below would have to be released back into the water.

There would be first top 10 biggest catch category: 1st – Rs 50,000 with trophy and certificate, 2nd – Rs 30,000, 3rd – Rs 20,000, 4th – Rs 15,000, 5th – Rs 10,000 and those at 6th to 10th position will receive rod and reel.

The competition is open to all and will start from 7:00 am with closing function scheduled to be held at 3:20 pm. For registration and more details, interested parChairman, Mahseer Trust, UK, Steve Lockett delivering presentation at the an- ticipants can contact phone number: 8731991997. glers’ Workshop cum Interactive Meet in Dimapur on Sunday. (Morung Photo)

Graduating students seen during their graduation ceremony at TTC on Sunday. (Morung Photo) Morung Express News Dimapur | April 9

Altogether, 31 students from Trinity Theological College (TTC), Thahekhu graduated on Sunday in Diploma of Bachelor of Divinity (BD) and Provisional Diploma in Bachelor of Divinity (PDBD). While 29 students cleared BD, two students cleared PDBD. During the programme, proficiency awards were

handed out to seven students: Faculty award for outstanding academic performance – Isha Sawin; Principal’s award for best discipline in Christian Living – Renemkala; Ivulho Shohe award for Biblical Studies – Isha Sawin; Dr. Hokishe award for social service – Nupato; Rev. Dr. Najekhu award for scripture knowledge – Pavikali V. Chishi; Governing Board award for general proficiency –

Isha Sawin; Sumi Baptist Convention award for best sermon – Kughaka I. Swu Chairperson, Board of Governors, TTC, Rev. Dr. Phughoto Sema released the college magazine while Chancellor, North East Christian University, Rev. Dr. L. Anjo Keikung delivered the graduation address. A large group of church leaders, parents and well wishers attended the graduation ceremony.

Palm Sunday celebrated in nagaland celebration at mgOS church, Catholics urged to live worthy life as Jesus’ true disciples Kerala christian church, Kohima

Dimapur, april 9 (mExN): Mar Gregorios Orthodox Syrian (MGOS) Church, Dimapur and Kerala Christian Church, Kohima celebrated Palm Sunday on April 9. The day’s celebrations comprised of morning prayer, holy mass, special Palm Sunday services, Palm Sunday procession and blessings on palms, and special prayers,

a press release informed.

Rev. Fr. Daniel Alexander and Fr. P.S. Varghese conducted the services in Dimapur and Kohima respectively.

The press release from Fr. P.S. Varghese, the Parish Priest said that Sunday evening onwards, Passion Week special prayers will be conducted in both the churches. Evening prayer

will be held at 5:30 pm everyday; on Maundy Thursday midnight prayer will start at 5:00 am followed by morning prayer Pass Over service; on Good Friday, morning prayer will start at 8:00 am followed by Good Friday services; morning prayer will start at 8:00 am on Holy Saturday followed

by Holy Mass; on Easter Day, morning prayer will

be conducted at 5:30 am thereafter Easter services.

MGOS Church, the release mentioned, is the only Orthodox Syrian church in Nagaland under the diocese of Kolkata. The church also runs MGM Hr Sec School, MGM hostel, and MGM College in Dimapur under the registered society, St. Thomas Mission Society.

Faithful asked to keep Jesus in hearts

Kohima, april 9 (mExN): St. Xavier’s Catholic Church Kidima under diocese of Kohima observed Palm Sunday with Reverend Father Benny Varghese, Administrator of St Joseph’s College, Jakhama as main celebrant on April 9.

Reverend Father Benny Varghese in the introductory speech asked the faithful to keep Jesus in their hearts as the ‘Spiritual King.’

He also wished grace and joy of God to all faithful in the Holy Week.

Blessing of palm leaf, sprinkling holy water on the faithful, Eucharist celebration, singing hymn and praises, reading out the passion of the Lord Saviour, and offering a charity were part of the celebration, informed a press release from P. Tepekrovi Kiso.

The church members carried out the Palm Sunday procession holding palm leaves from Thokh- Members of St. Xavier’s Catholic Church Kidima carry out procession on Palm wezu village view till church.

Sunday on April 9.

Kohima, april 9 (mExN): Catholic faithful in Nagaland joined the rest of the world in celebrating the Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday on April 9. With the celebration of the Palm Sunday, the faithful enters into the Holy Week.

At the Kohima Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians, Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima, was the main celebrant. Fr. Carolus, Vicar General and Parish Priest of Mary Help of Christians Cathedral, Frs. Richard, John PM, George Punnolil, Jacob Charalel, Thomas, Sunny Joseph and priests from National Vocation Service Centre (NVSC), Pune, concelebrated with the Bishop.

Over 3000 Catholic faithful participated in the celebration, informed a press release from Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary, Kohima. The liturgy had two parts. For the first part, the parishioners gathered at the junction of Police Headquarters, Kohima where the Bishop prayed and blessed the palm leaves, after which the community proceeded to the Cathedral singing hymns, with palm leaves in their hands, observing the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem. The second part of the liturgy was held at the Cathedral Church where Passion narrative from the gospel of Mathew was read and Eucharist celebrated.

The Bishop, while intro-

Catholic faithful during the Palm Sunday celebration in Kohima on April 9.

ducing the Palm Sunday, said the two names for the day - Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday remind of two aspects of the celebration, namely the joyful part of proclaiming Christ as the King singing Hosanna and sad part of the passion and death of Christ. Bishop referred to the executive order of emperor Constantius- I, the father of Constantine the great, the first Christian Roman emperor, who demanded the Christians in his kingdom either to give up their faith or give up the job they possessed. “To the utter surprise of the emperor most Christians preferred to give up their job than to deny Christ. The king was happy with the fidelity of Christians and gave them back their job saying that if one is not faithful to one’s God, one will not be faithful to the king,” he

added. The day’s liturgy, the bishop said, is an invitation to be faithful to God. During the homily in the church, Bishop said that the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and the agonizing passion of Jesus, both of which were read from the gospel of Mathew, are two sides of the same coin or two aspects of human life. “We have our moments of joy, triumph and victory,” he stated. “Then there is the other side of the coin – our moments of sorrows and agonizing passion. There are times when we go through what Jesus went through in Jerusalem: betrayal, denial, indifference, mockery, loneliness, rejection, false accusation, unjust treatment, insults, humiliation, mental and physical agony, torture and shameful death.”

“What a consolation

and encouragement to know that Jesus bore all the suffering and evil which we human beings undergo and to believe that he is with us whenever these things happen to us,” he added. The Bishop further urged that the celebration be a pledge to live a worthy life as Jesus’ true disciples.

Meanwhile, Rev. Fr. Carolus Neisalhou, Parish Priest of the Cathedral, announced about the Chrism Mass to be celebrated on April 11 at 3:00 pm in Cathedral Church during which the Bishop along with all the priests working in the diocese will celebrate the Priesthood Day, thus showing the unity in priesthood and bless the sacred oils – oil of Chrism, oil of the catechumens and oil of the sick. All the faithful have been invited to take part in it.

Monday 10•04•2017

NORTH-EAST 3

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Manipur Govt announces People's 12-hr bandh Karbi Anglong bandh today Day to have public-state interaction Newmai News Network Imphal | April 9

In an effort towards providing easy access to the legislators and top bureaucrats, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has announced to hold ‘Meeyamgi Numit’ (People’s Day) on the “15th of every month”.

He made the announcement while speaking as chief guest at a reception function hosted by the women vendors of Khwairamband Keithel in Imphal in his honour today.

The Chief Minister said that public would be allowed to meet the Chief Minister, Ministers, Commissioners, Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners

and Superintendents of Police to lodge their complaints and air their grievances on the “15th of every month”.

Conveying that a formal official order would be issued soon in this regard, N. Biren Singh said that his Government is fully committed to work tirelessly in the interest of the people of Manipur.

He said that ending United Naga Council (UNC) sponsored economic blockade, resolving Churachandpur issue and revamping National Highway-37 were the three tasks which he had decided to do first soon after he was sworn-in as the Chief Minister.

Stating that the first

round of talks with Joint Action Committee Against Anti Tribal Bills (JACAATB) ended on a positive note, the Chief Minister expressed hope that the impasse would be resolved within a few days' time.

Maintaining that repairing works on the Imphal-Jiribam highway had begun gaining pace, Biren said he would personally inspect the condition of the road and work progress soon.

Regarding the problems of vending space, pollution and traffic congestion in Imphal city, the Chief Minister said that the State now has a competent and dynamic MAHUD Minister and all the problems would be sorted

out soon by chalking out a long-term plan.

Every hill district headquarters would now have a women’s market each, he said. The Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already sanctioned funds for the said project, he added.

Taking serious note of question leakage of Physics subject in Class XII examinations conducted

by Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM), Biren asserted that an independent body would probe the matter and his Government would not spare those who are involved in the mess.

Speaking at the occa-

sion, MAHUD, Forest and Environment and Horticulture and Soil Conservation Minister Th Shyamkumar urged the women vendors and public to extend cooperation and give some time to the State Government in making Imphal city and Ima Keithel neat and tidy.

In his speech, Works, RD&PR, Commerce and Industries, Power and IPR Minister Th. Biswajit assured the women vendors to complete the repairing works of Ima Keithel No.2 and 3 before September this year. He also promised to complete construction of market shed undergoing at the Tombisana High School complex at the earliest.

Looking for football, DEMU train between Silghat Town & Guwahati three boys in Tripura struction of high-level platforms and construction of Pit Line and Sick Lines. These works will be takfall in well, die en up in the current year, he said. agartala, april 9 (ianS): Three boys, aged between 10 and 17 years, died when they fell into a deserted well in a remote village in Tripura, the police said here on Sunday.

"Three young boys while looking for their football suddenly fell into a deserted well and died on the spot. The abandoned well was covered with weeds and various other wild plants," a police official said.

The police official quoting the doctors said that the boys died after inhaling poisonous gas inside the well.

The incident took place at remote Chawmanu village, 120 km north of the Agartala state capital, in northern Tripura late on Saturday.

According to the police, some youths were playing football in a school ground when the ball skidded off the field into what the players believed was an outcrop of weeds. Looking for the lost ball, the three boys accidentally fell into the abandoned well, and died.

They were identified as Bratajoy Ashlong, 16, Dhahari Tripura, 10, and Harendra Tripura, 17.

Bratajoy as a member of the Tripura team was to take part in the next national athletic meet.

Railway Minister of State Rajen Gohain with others flags off the DEMU train between Silghat Town and Guwahati on April 8.

Maligaon, april 9 (MExn): Taking another step in Railway’s commitment for providing better commuter service, the Railway Minister of State Rajen Gohain flagged off a Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train (No. 75730/75729) between Silghat Town and Guwahati on April 8 morning at a ceremonial function attended by the Minister for Water Resources etc, Government of Assam, Keshab Mahanta and senior railway officials including the General Manager Chahatey Ram. Later, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Railways, Manoj Sinha inaugurated a filtered drinking water facility for passengers at Silghat Town station.

Flagging off the DEMU train, Rajen Gohain said the new service will greatly benefit the sub-urban commuters within a 200km radius by providing a faster, efficient daily link with the capital city of Guwahati, informed a press release from Pranav Jyoti Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, NF Railway/Maligaon. Railways, he said, is planning for more rail connectivity from Central Assam to the rest of the country.

Gohain further mentioned that Silghat Town station was established in 1920 and is one of the oldest stations of NF Railway. As the station is going to complete 100 years in few years time, NF Railway has drawn up plans for up-gradation of the station including con-

The Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha in his speech emphasised the developmental efforts of the Railway Ministry towards the North East and said that the investments in railway infrastructural works in the region had increased considerably during the last two years. Every year the railways also spend a considerable amount on providing better passenger amenities, he said.

It was informed that NF Railway has approximately spent Rs. 22 core on new drinking water facilities in the last two years.

Filtered drinking water through vending machines will be made available at 10 more stations during this year.

Following the flagging off of the Silghat Town - Guwahati DEMU service, two other DEMU services are also being introduced. They are – (i) 75723 / 75724 Guwahati – New Bongaigaon DEMU via Goalpara Town in place of 55806/55806 Guwahati – New Bongaigaon Passenger & (ii) 75727/75728 Guwahati – Haibargaon DEMU in place of 55815/55816 Guwahati – Haibargaon Passenger train. The new DEMU trains have more seating capacity and the timings of the new DEMU trains are also chalked out in a way to make them convenient for people intending to come to Guwahati in the morning for various works and return by evening, the release added.

M'laya village bans fishing on river stretch to preserve fauna Shillong, april 9 (pti): A tiny village in West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya has banned fishing on a stretch of the Rilang river to preserve its fauna. The fish sanctuary near Rohbah village, about 130 km from here, has helped rejuvenate the fauna which has been depleting over the years. The initiative also got support from residents of 7-8 nearby villages through which the Rilang rolls down.

The village, with a population of about 250, was adopted under the North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP), a livelihood and rural development project aimed at improving the livelihoods of vulnerable groups in a sustainable manner through improved management of

their resource base in a way that contribute to the preservation and restoration of the environment.

The villagers say the fish sanctuary, established about five years ago, has helped increase yields of the river. The state authorities too extended support to the fish sanctuary, said a villager.

"We have set up 238 community conserved areas in West Khasi Hills and 267 in West Garo Hills of Meghalaya under the project. We initiate project based on the people's need and we utilise their knowledge of conservation," said a project official.

The NERCORMP, a joint developmental initiative of North Eastern Council and International Fund for Agricultural Development, has been implemented in two districts each of

Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya - in two phases. The central government extended the project to two more districts in Manipur and three districts in Arunachal Pradesh in the third phase. A proposal has been mooted for the fourth phase of this project.

"With limited resources and time frame, the two phases of NERCORMP was implemented in two districts each in Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur, but not covering all blocks of these districts... There are more villages in abject poverty with only agriculture and shifting cultivation as their main source of livelihood. There is a need for an intervention to uplift the livelihood of the communities residing in these remote villages," according to a project document.

Diphu, april 9 (MExn): The Hills State Demand Council (HSDC) has called for a 12 hour Karbi Anglong bandh from 5:00 am to 5:00 pm of April 10.

A press release from the HSDC charged the BJP Governments – both at the Centre and at the State – for “totally” failing to protect the boundaries of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao with Nagaland and Meghalaya. This, the HSDC alleged, has “emboldened land mafias to grab vast tract of land”.

The HSDC alleged that NSCN (IM) General Secretary Th. Muivah in a recent statement at Hebron had claimed that “vast tract of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao will be included in the proposed

Assam: No govt job for those with more than two children, says draft population policy The policy aims to give free education to all girls up to university level guwahati, april 9 (pti): The Assam government on Sunday announced a draft population policy which suggested denial of government jobs to people with more than two children and making education up to university level free for all girls in the state.

“This is a draft population policy. We have suggested that people having more than two children will not be eligible for any government jobs,” Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at a press conference in Guwahati.

Any person getting a job after meeting this condition will have to maintain it till end of his service, he added. “ For employment generation schemes like giving tractors, offering homes and others government benefits, this two-children norm will be applicable. Besides, all elections such as panchayats, municipal bodies and autonomous councils held under the state election commission will also have this norm for candidates,” Sarma said.

Sarma, who is also the Education minister, said the policy also aims to give free education to all girls up to university level.

Several sources whom FE spoke to said the project work has been delayed as the participating firms have been blaming each other for inconsistencies in filing of bid documents and equipment, which has led to the government conducting testing of the equipment twice.

A total of five firms— Vihaan Network (VNL), Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL), state-owned ITI, Fibcom and Toshniwal Enterprises Controls—participated in the project bidding.

VNL and HFCL cleared the technical bid round. The opening of the financial bids is yet to happen.

A source said: “The first testing was done in August last year and two firms (VNL and HSCL)

finalised. After this, the managing committee of the BSNL board, Department of Telecom and the Universal Services Obligation Fund received several complaints from the participating firms regarding discrepancies. Following this, a high-level committee was formed to look into the complaints.”

This high-level committee recommended retesting of the equipment, which took place in February this year and VNL as well as HFCL again cleared this round, he added.

A senior government official said that after the second testing and its report, there has been again complaints regarding the “evaluation, re-testing and submission of equip-

ment’s”, which were then disposed as per standing procedure. This complaint business and bickering among the participating firms has led to delays, otherwise the project should have started by now.

The issue of delay in the project has now been raised by Ninong Ering, member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Arunachal Pradesh. Ering, who has written several letters to telecom minister Manoj Sinha, approached the Prime Minister earlier this month regarding the delay in the mobile connectivity project. He also raised the issue during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha. Sinha assured Ering that the project is the government’s priority and will be completed.

“We want to make all facilities free, including fees, transportation, books and mess dues in hostels. This step is also likely to arrest the school dropout rate,” he added.

Sarma further said the proposed population policy will seek to debate on increasing the legal age of marriage from 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.

If anybody has child marriage then he will be ineligible for government job, the minister said.

The policy will also seek stringent laws to prevent violence and sexual abuse of women, he added.

“Besides, a proposal for providing incentives is also included for poor persons, who take care of their elderly parents. The policy will also care for the adolescents. We will work for public awareness and reach out through religious leaders, NGOs, parliamentarians and media in this regard,” Sarma said.

The policy proposes to set up a State Population Council and a State Population Research Centre, he

added.

The minister also said he will consider including a provision for giving 50 per cent reservation to women in government jobs and elections.

“Till July, we will seek public suggestions. Then it will go to the Assembly for debate and adopting a resolution. We have to go step by step and we are in no hurry. This is the long-term thing that BJP had promised in the Vision Document,” Sarma said.

Service rules of 48 departments will have to be amended for adopting the proposed policy, he said, adding it will take at least three years and he will be happy if the policy takes the final shape by next Assembly polls in 2021.

“We want to move from primarily a medical-led policy to a socially responsible policy. We want to have a behavioural change and there will be policy incentives. Assam’s current population is 3.12 crore as per 2011 Census and it increased by one crore from 2001,” Sarma said.

Mountain View Christian College, Kohima AFFILIATED TO NAGALAND UNIVERSITY Near BSF Camp. Below ATI Office: Kohima Contact No : 0370-2280071/9856974717 ARTS AND COMMERCE

Classes 11&12 B.A (Gen) B.A(Hons)

Admission fee Installment 5500 3000 quarterly 6500 3100 quarterly 6800 3200 quarterly

Hostel Monthly fee

- 3500

50th DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF ETSSISAO

( The First Convert (1902) at Okotso Village, Wokha Dist., the Founder of Baptist

Church at Okotso Village (1904)- the First Baptist Church in Lotha country- and the First Lotha Pastor (1904-1912).

As we, the people of Okotso, observe the 50th death anniversary of our spiritual pioneer- Etssisao with reverence on this day the 10th of April, 2017, the good works that he had done for the Lord and for the people of Okotso in particular and the people of Lotha in general are fondly remembered. The seed of the eternal Kingdom that he had planted at Okotso 113 years ago (in 1904) has grown healthy and strong and has been bearing fruits abundantly! What we are today is because of what he had done for the people of Okotso 113 years ago. His 50th death anniversary is, therefore, observed by every Okotsoe man & woman, young & old,, far & near, including his children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, with great reverence!

Narendra Modi mobile connectivity plan hangs fire in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam; here’s why nEw DElhi, april 9 (Financial ExprESS): The government’s plan to improve mobile connectivity in the north-east is hanging fire, as the tender to connect more than 4,100 villages in the mountainous regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam has been marred by bickering amongst participating firms, delaying the pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The project aims to provide 2G mobile connectivity in 4,118 villages through 2,817 telecom towers at a cost of around Rs. 1,500 crore and was cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2014.

State-run telecom operator BSNL is the operating agency for the project, for which it floated a tender in April 2016.

Greater Nagalim in line with the Framework Agreement”. In this regard, the Council called for making the contents of the Framework Agreement public.

“The repeated assertions of the successive Meghalaya Governments both inside and outside the Assembly points to the fact that BJP Government has failed to protect the boundaries of Karbi Anglong with Meghalaya,” it added.

However, all essential services like medical, fire services, and examinations are exempted from the purview of the bandh. Delegates of the Karbi Anglong Presbyterian Church Synod returning from Ronkimi to their own places are also exempted from the purview of the bandh.

( 10-04-1967 – 10-04-2017)

( 10-04-1967 – 10-04-2017)

Rev. J.Thungjamo Lotha Chairman, Okotsoe Mission Society (OMS)

4

mondAY 10•04•2017

business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Note ban: Loans, card payments over Rs 2 lakh in cash must be shown in ITR

Now, link your Aadhaar with PAN through ID proof scan, OTP

New ITR form provides separate column to disclose such payments during demonetisation

New Delhi, April 9 (pTi): All cash payments of over Rs 2 lakh for paying loans and credit card bills during the 50-day period post demonetisation will have to be disclosed in the new one-page Income Tax return (ITR) form.

The tax department a few days back notified new ITR forms for filing of returns for the Assessment Year 2017-18 (financial year (FY) 2016-17).

Besides providing for declaring income, exemption claimed and tax paid, the forms have a new column providing for declaration for any deposit of over Rs 2 lakh

in bank accounts made during November 9 and December 30, 2016, after the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were demonetised.

This column is also to be used for declaring cash payments in excess of Rs 2 lakh for repayment of any loan or settlement of credit card bills during this 50-day period, a senior official told PTI in New Delhi.

“The column is an attempt to match the cash deposits made post demonetisation with the annual income,” he said.

While all credit cards are linked to permanent account number (PAN) of the holder,

almost all loans by scheduled banks are also provided on furnishing of PAN. The tax department will collate the data it has of cash payments made in excess of Rs 2 lakh with the returns filed. “We want to see if the income profile matches with the cash payments made,” he said.

The move comes amid concerns of unaccounted cash or black money being used to settle bills after credit cards were used to make heavy purchases. It could also be that black money could have been used to repay loans.

Post-demonetisation,

the government had provided a 50-day window beginning November 9, 2016, to deposit the junked notes in bank accounts. For those with unaccounted cash, it gave them one last opportunity to come clean by depositing 50 per cent of it as tax and parking another 25 per cent in a zero- interest bearing deposit for four years.

The changes made in ITR are an attempt to catch tax evaders, the official said.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had last week told PTI that the new column of cash deposits made during November 9, 2016, and December 30, 2016,

was a one-time feature in the ITR and would not be there in the ITR from next year onwards.

The ITR, he had said, would evolve or change every year depending on the need. While coming out with new ITRs, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had also rationalised them and cut down the number of forms to seven from earlier nine.

While all taxpayers will have to now mandatorily link Aadhaar with their PAN cards, ITR1 (Sahaj) form has been shortened from 7 page to 1 page to enable filing of returns by

people with income up to Rs 50 lakh by July 31.

ITR2 is to be filed by individuals and HUFs who do not have income from business or profession and ITR3 is filed by individuals and HUFs having income from a proprietary business or profession.

Also ITR 2 and ITR 3 also have a Schedule AL which require assessees to declare their assets and liabilities at the end of the fiscal.

ITR4 (Sugam) is filed by those individuals who have opted for income calculation under presumptive income from business and profession.

826 housing projects President urges people to help make India cashless society New Delhi, April 9 (iANS): per cent of all transactions being in veloped for making payments easier. running behind He complimented the government for President Pranab Mukherjee on Sun- cash,” President Mukherjee said. initiatives, for promoting the culAppreciating the government initiaday urged the people to support the schedule: Assocham government’s mission to make India a tives, he said: “It is necessary to reduce the ture of digital payment in the country.

New Delhi, April 9 (iANS): As many as 826 housing projects are running behind schedule by an average of 39 months, with Punjab having the maximum delayed projects followed by Telangana and West Bengal, an Assocham study has found.

“At the end of December 2016, 3,511 projects were live in construction and real estate sector, of which 2,304 were under the implementation stage. Of the projects under implementation, 886 construction and real estate projects have recorded significant delays,” the study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said. “Importantly, out of 886 delayed projects, 826 delayed projects are for housing construction and 60 for the commercial complex,” it said.

On an average, construction and real estate projects have been delayed by 39 months, the study said. Hopefully, with steps like banks being allowed by the Reserve Bank of India to invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), the sector should see revival of investment, enabling it to cut delays and restore consumer confidence,” Assocham Secretary General D.S. Rawat said.

Among the major states, Punjab has recorded the maximum delay of 48 months in construction and real estate projects followed by Telangana (45 months), West Bengal (44 months), Odisha (44 months) and Haryana (44 months), the study noted. “Similarly, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have recorded 42 months of delay. Maharashtra saw delay of 39 months,” it said.

“Karnataka has recorded lowest delay of 31 months.

Similarly, Rajasthan and Kerala have recorded delay almost equal to Karnataka followed by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu,” it added. Assocham said that the process of obtaining mandatory approvals from multiple regulators and authorities result in cost and time overruns, which not only discourage investments in the housing sector but also lead to delays and corruption.

cashless society. “I urge all citizens to extend their unstinted support to the mission of a less cash India. All efforts of the government will achieve their end only if people were to adopt them proactively,” the President said.

Mukherjee was speaking on the occasion of the 100th mega draw of lots for Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. “India has a long way to go to become a cashless society. Presently, we remain primarily a cashbased economy with about 95 per cent of the personal consumption and 86

People sending demonetised notes as books abroad by courier: Customs New Delhi, April 9 (pTi): Customs officials have registered a few cases, where demonetised banknotes were sent abroad by courier, and seized over Rs 1 lakh in such notes, a senior official said today. People sending demonetised notes as books abroad by courier: Customs The customs department has unearthed a new modus operandi of sending demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes abroad by courier in a bid to get them con-

leisure

CROSSWORD # 3911

SUDOKU

Answer Number # 3907

and seized over Rs 1 lakh in such notes, a senior official said today.

People were found trying to send the old notes abroad by falsely declaring them as articles such as books, he said.

“The aim could be to take help of their relatives or friends abroad to get the old notes exchanged with the new ones,” the official said.

In two cases, couriers were booked from Punjab for Australia and the content inside them were declared

verted here later.

After these high denomination notes were taken out of circulation by the government in November last, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) were given a longer window till June 30 to get them exchanged, whereas citizens who were in the country at that time were allowed to deposit the old notes till December 30, 2016.

Customs officials have registered a few cases, where demonetised banknotes were sent abroad by courier,

as book.

The customs official, who are keeping an eye on outbound parcels at foreign post office here, found them having demonetised notes.

Similar consignments were booked for Korea and the United Arab Emirates containing the defunct notes. “In all, over Rs 1 lakh in old currency notes were seized from these couriers,” he said. Such cases have also been registered at foreign post offices located across the country, the official said. std code: 03862

DiMaPUR ACROSS 1. If not 5. Yellowish-brown 10. Poop 14. Hireling 15. New Zealand native 16. Sister and wife of Zeus 17. Severe 19. Wicked 20. Frequently, in poetry 21. Ancient Mexican 22. Conflicts 23. Labored respiration 25. Spin 27. Sum 28. Literary criticism 31. Tired 34. The male reproductive cell 35. Fury 36. Border 37. Not last 38. Debatable 39. Point 40. Sea eagles 41. Marriage announcement 42. Extraordinarily large 44. 52 in Roman numerals 45. Wounds 46. Half woman and half fish 50. Make into law 52. Homeric epic 54. African antelope 55. Head 56. Impasse 58. As just mentioned 59. Subsequently 60. Beers 61. An abandoned calf 62. Glacial ridge 63. French for “Head” DOWN 1. Ancient Hebrew vestment 2. Foliate 3. Classifies 4. Terminate 5. Agape 6. Devilfish

Simple Rules - Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Game Number # 3908

The government launched the Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana for merchants on December 25, 2016, in order to promote and encourage digital transactions.

These schemes are being implemented by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The Lucky Grahak Yojana rewards Rs 1,000 daily to 15,000 customers undertaking digital transactions. Weekly prizes up to Rs 1 lakh for consumers and Rs 50,000 for merchants are given. As on March 30, 2017, 13.5 lakh consumers and 79,519 merchants have received prizes under these schemes.

cash in circulation and impart greater urgency to promoting secure digital payment methods to ensure greater transparency.” Calling the Aadhaar card a watershed event in the development story of India, President Mukherjee said: “Aadhaar enabled payment system has made digital payments possible for even those section of the population who may not have mobile phones.”

“Launch of BHIM has demystified the digital payments and brought it within the grasp of every citizen,” he said while discussing the new modes of digital payments which are being de-

7. Portend 8. Verticality 9. Disencumber 10. Chipper 11. Intense aversion 12. Desiccated 13. Friends 18. Useful 22. Movie 24. Role 26. Verruca 28. French for “After” 29. Weightlifters pump this 30. Collections 31. Walk in water 32. Black, in poetry 33. Machine-controlled 34. Inflammation of the sinuses 37. Not “To” 38. Disable 40. Send forth 41. Jays and owls, for example 43. Flower part 44. Boss 46. Chop finely 47. Spry 48. Arm of the sea 49. Coarse edible red seaweed 50. Sweeping story 51. Nil 53. Lean 56. South southeast 57. Make lace

Answer to Crossword 3910

ABet ACCess AHeAd ALLeGAtIon AttentIon BLUnt CArBon CLAP CLeAn CoUPLe dePend eArLY eLeCt erAs error FALLen FIrst HALL HAtCH Host LULL LUre

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TaHaMZaM

std code: 03871

(formerly senapati)

Police station Fire Brigade

222246 222491

Civil Hospital

232224

emergency

229529 229474

MH Hospital

227930 231081

Fire Brigade

2222952

Faith Hospital

228846

naga Hospital

2222916

shamrock Hospital

228254

oking Hospital

2243339

Zion Hospital

231864 224117 227337

Bethel nursing Home

2224202

northeast shuttles

08974997923

Police Control room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

east Police station

227607

west Police station

232181

CIHsr (referral Hospital)

242555 242533

dimapur Hospital

224041 248011

KOHiMa

std code: 0370

KoHIMA Ps/oCs Contact numbers north Ps

8575045501

Officer-in-Charge 8575045510 south Ps

8575045502

Officer-in-Charge 8575045520 Zubza Ps

8575045508

Officer-in-Charge 8575045518

Apollo Hospital Info Centre 230695/ 9402435652

Chiephobozou Ps 8575045506 Officer-in-Charge 8575045516

railway

131/228404

tseminyu Ps

Airport Indian Airlines

229366 242441 225212

Khuzama Ps

8575045507

Officer-in-Charge 8575045517 8575045505

Officer-in-Charge 8575045515

Chumukedima Fire Brigade 282777

W

New Delhi, April 9 (pTi): Individuals struggling to link their Permanent Account Number with Aadhaar because of differently spelt names can now simply upload a scanned copy of PAN to get the work done.

Besides, the tax department is planning to introduce an option on the e-filing portal through which taxpayers can choose to link the Aadhaar without changing the name by opting for a One-Time Password (OTP), provided that the year of birth of the person matches in both documents.

With the linking of PAN with Aadhaar being made mandatory, individuals can log on to e-filing website of the income tax department or NSDL but the seeding cannot happen if the name is differently spelt in the two cards — like the use of the full name in PAN and initials in Aadhaar.

In such cases, the government has allowed a simple uploading of a scanned copy of PAN on the Aadhaar website.

The tax department will start educating taxpayers from this week through media outreach on ways to link the PAN with Aadhaar, an official told PTI. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had through amendment to tax proposals in the Finance Bill of the Budget for 2017-18, had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar to curb tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

The e-filing portal has already activated a functionality of linking PAN with Aadhaar. Over 1.08 crore assessees have already Aadhaar-linked PAN but the number is abysmally low as there are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country, while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people.

As per statistics with the tax department, only 6 crore people file income tax returns at present.

The official said that linking of PAN with Aadhaar should not be cumbersome for people whose registered mobile number with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is active.

“In case the taxpayer is unable to link PAN with Aadhaar because of discrepancy in name, we are advising them to log in to the Aadhaar website, request for a name change and upload a scanned copy of PAN card as supported proof. This is the simplest way to update name in Aadhaar and only the registered mobile number has to be functional,” the official said.

This option will hold good for people who have given short forms of their name or in some cases there are some spelling errors in the name provided in Aadhaar card. However, in certain cases, there are people who have got married and changed their surname and updated the same while getting Aadhaar number, but it does not get reflected in PAN documents.

In such and other name change cases, the tax department is planning to give the OTP option wherein the password would be sent to the Aadhaar-registered mobile number and the tax department, on its part, would match the year of birth of the taxpayer with the Aadhaar database.

“We are also contemplating that when taxpayers with name discrepancy logs into the e-filing website for linkage, we will send OTP to the Aadhaar registered mobile number. The taxpayer can link PAN using the OTP. While generating the OTP, we will just check if the year of birth of the taxpayer in PAN card matches with the year given in the Aadhaar document,” the official added.

Kezocha Ps

8575045549

nikos Hospital and research Centre

232032, 231031

nagaland Multispecialty Health & research Centre

women Cell 8575045509 248302, 09856006026 Officer-in-Charge 8575045519

eden Medical Centre

248722 /248288

S

E

A

R

C

Officer-in-Charge 8575045538

Control room

H

8575045500 (Emergency No. – 100)

FiRE STaTiONS

KoHIMA soUtH: 0370-2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC) KoHIMA nortH: 7085924114 (O) dIMAPUr: 03862-232201/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) CHUMUKedIMA: 7085982102 (O) 8732810051 (OC) woKHA: 03860-242215/101 (O) 8974322879 (OC) MoKoKCHUnG: 0369-2226225/ 101 (O) 8415830232 (OC) PHeK: 8414853765 (O) 8413822476(OC) ZUnHeBoto: 03867-280304/ 101 (O) 9436422730 (OC) tUensAnG: 8414853766 (O) 9856163601 (OC) Mon: 03869-251222/ 101 (O) 9862130954 (OC) Kiphire: 8414853767 (O) 9436261577 (OC) Peren: 7085189932 (O) 9856311205 (OC) LonGLenG: 7085924113 (O) 9862414264 (OC) we4 woMen HeLPLIne 08822911011 WOMEN HeLPLIne 181 CHiLD weLFAre CoMMIttee Toll free No. 1098 childline

MOKOKCHUNG

std code: 0369

Police station 1 Police station 2 Police station Kobulong Police station tuli Police station Changtongya Police station Mangkolemba Civil Hospital

9485232688 9485232689 9485232690 9485232693 9485232694 9485232695 2226216

woodland nursing Home

2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (tourist Lodge) 2226373/ 2229343

CURRENCY NOTES BUY (rs) seLL (rs)

Us dollars sterling Pound Hong Kong dollar Australian dollar singapore dollar Canadian dollar Japanese Yen euro thai Baht Korean won UAe dirham (Aed) Chinese Yuan

63.18 78.61 7.87 47.66 45.01 46.96 56.66 67.3 1.77 0.054 16.64 8.87

66.05 82.42 8.77 50.00 47.23 49.28 59.88 70.56 1.97 0.0601 18.55 9.87

monday 10•04•2017

NAGALAND

Shilu Aier wins Dimapur New Theological Journal debates on Angling Competition 2017 Customary Practices and Gender Relations Clark Journal of Theology on the theme “Empowering Tribal Customary Practices vis-à-vis Disempowering Women: An Academic Debate” released Mokokchung, April 9 (MExn): The Clark Journal of Theology Volume VII, No.1 (JanuaryJune 2017) of Clark Theological College was officially dedicated and released by the Principal of the College Rev. Dr. Marnungsang on the occasion of Commissioning Service for the 2017 Graduating Students of the Clark Theological College at the Multi-purpose Hall, CTC, Aolijen.

Titled “Empowering Tribal Customary Practices vis-à-vis Disempowering Women: An Academic Debate”, the present issue of the Clark Journal of Theology addresses one of the most critical concerns of our contemporary tribal communities of the North East India.

“The editorial board consciously acknowledged the pertinence of addressing the issue of Women’s Empowerment and Reservation at the backdrop of Tribal Customary Law and Practices and therefore have produced the current issue,” a press release stated.

NBCC Education and Communication Secretary Dr. Botoholi with Chairperson of the CTC Board of Governors, Rowainla, Principal of Clark Theological College Rev. Dr. Marnungsang, and editor of the Clark Journal of Theology Dr. L. Imsutoshi Jamir.

Focusing on the theme, the present issue carries scholarly articles such as, “Tribal Women As Cultural Other: An Academic Debate”, “Equal but Repressed and Marginalized: Biblical and Theological Reflection of A Naga Christian Women”, “The Games People Play through the Prism of the 33% Reservation for

Women”, “Gender Implications of Tribal Customary Practices: A Reflection”, “Gender Based Critique of Customary Law, Tribal Identity and Citizenship”, “Can Gender Disparity Mess in Naga Customary Law Be Balanced?”, “The Problems of Tribal Women in India: Critically Re-evaluating and Re-defining

Tribal Heritages for Gender Justice” and “Rethinking Gender Relations: Cosmo Vision and Rights from an Indigenous Women’s Perspective.”

Two review works included in the present issue also addresses on the theme of the issue.

“Bearing in mind the ‘community’ nature of trib-

al society, the essays presented in this issue argues that the importance of customary law and practices that governed and maintained tribal community cannot be negated,” the release stated. “At the same time, they also argue that it is equally important for customary law and practices to be based on a jurisprudence that affirms life and dignity of all, irrespective of gender,” it added.

The essays also argue that once the process for tribal jurisprudence has evolved, the prevailing sides that undermine “justice to and for all”, “equal participation of all in decision-making process”, and most importantly, the inconsistencies in the present system can be addressed both at the functional as well as at the conceptual levels.

While conceding that addressing this “critical issue” at this juncture may be risky affairs for many, the editor of the journal, Dr. L. Imsutoshi Jamir averred to it as “unavoidable terrain” where tribal scholars must

venture in for the purpose of doing theology “with boldness and clarity”.

“Developing innovative approach that encompasses dignity, justice, equality and respect to “all” could be a pathfinder and capable of addressing the present debate associated with Women’s Empowerment, Women’s Reservation and Tribal Customary Law and Practices,” Jamir added.

The Clark Journal of Theology encourages biblical scholarship and theological thinking in relating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the socio-political, cultural and religious contexts in North East India and beyond.

The journal encourages scholars from various fields and branches of study to share information and perspectives on the contextual issues and problems. In doing so, the Clark Journal aims toward providing Christian witness and critical academic as well as theological voice in the ongoing ministry and needs of both the church and society.

Winners along with competition organising committee members and club owner after the prize distribution on Saturday.

DiMApur, April 9 (MExn): The Dimapur Angling Competition 2017 organised by Dimapur District Anglers’ Association (DDAA) in collaboration with Musu Angling Club, Hoito village was successfully held on April 8 at Musu Angling Club.

Shilu Aier emerged champion and received a cash prize of Rs. 30,000 along with certificate. Sujit Sarkar was placed second and walked away with a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 along with certificate. Lawrence Humtsoe had to be content in third position and received Rs. 10,000 as cash prize besides certificate.

Lanutemsu Aier and Janal Ahmed came fourth and fifth respectively and were awarded with rods and reels.

Mhonbemo Ngullie won both the categories of Biggest Catch and Biggest Katla and pocketed Rs. 5,000 from each of the two categories.

Prizes were given by Akato Chophi, Proprietor of Musu Angling Club.

Altogether 85 participants including from Mokokchung participated in the event.

‘Wanted’ NSCN (K) functionary apprehended ASU biennial general conference concludes TirAp, April 9 (MExn): The Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles undertook an operation in Laju village of Tirap District on the morning of April 8 and apprehended a “wanted” NSCN (K) cadre.

A press release from the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) identified the cadre as Second Lieutenant Kijen Rongshong. The release claimed that the cadre was a "wanted" senior NSCN

(K) functionary involved in attacks on security forces.

“Kijen is an important senior cadre in NSCN (K) and was involved in the standoff firing incident on 7 Jun 2015 on Laju Post and had attempted a standoff on Noglo Post on 18 Aug 2016 which failed,” the release stated.

It further claimed that the cadre “confirmed” the death of three cadres in

Myanmar who were injured in the ambush on Security forces in Lyangche on December 3, 2016.

According to the release, the Assam Rifles battalion has been tracking the cadre for the past one month and on receiving specific input, swiftly launched an operation and apprehended the cadre with a weapon and extortion notes.

Visako Rino elected as new ASU president Our Correspondent Jotsoma | April 9

The three day long 27th Biennial General Conference of the Angami Students' Union (ASU) concluded here this evening under the theme “Realistic Response.”

Speaking at the valedictory session, Er. Krosii Rhetso, Chief Engineer R&B Nagaland talked on "Affirmative Decision - Realistic Response" and said that any decision taken should be realistic and accomplished through hard work and commitment.

Noting the importance of affirmative decision, he advised the students to take proper decision. Once you have decided, “never never give up”, Er. Rhetso added.

He called upon the students to continue to struggle and face the various challenges ahead and Christ King Church Kohima Village celebrated Palm Sunday on April 9. Seen in the picture is Rev. Fr. Dr. Peter Salew, Parish Priest with Altar Servers after the Holy Eu- become responsible men and women in the society. charist.

Er. Krosii Rhetso speaking at the valedictory function of ASU conference at Jotsoma on April 9. (Morung Photo)

He also called upon the students to be mentally prepared and at the same time work hard, study more and complete their assignments on time.

Stating that there are many challenges ahead and the situation of “Survival for the fittest” has come, he said “One must aim to become the champion”.

Earlier, Rev. Dr. Sanyii Iralu, Principal Shalom Bible Seminary, Sechiima spoke on "The call for Integrity - Realistic Response" during devotional service on the same day.

On the occasion, ASU outgoing president Dievi Yano and president elect Visako Rino also delivered short speech.

Organizing Committee Convenor Kelhouneizo Yhome led the prize distribution on debate, extempore speech and volleyball held during the conference.

In men’s volleyball, WASU emerged as champions while SASU bagged runner-up. In women’s volleyball, WASU defeated NASU to win the championship trophy.

In debate, SASU, NASU,

and SASU bagged 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

In Extempore speech, CSA edged SASU to win first prize.

Meanwhile, a new team of office bearers for the tenure 2017-19 was also announced by election commissioner Puthuto Natso with Visako Rino as President and Vizokho Zashiimo as general secretary.

The others include: Vice President – Petekhrietuo Kiewhuo, Assistant General Secretary – Keviseto Rhitso, Secretary Finance – Rokolhou Shiinyu,

PAPO resolves to support ‘Clean Election Campaign’ MITE goes on educational trip to Khezhakeno phEk, April 9 (MExn): The Phek Area Public Organisation (PAPO) has extended its support to the 'Clean Election Campaign' initiated by Nagaland Baptist Churches Council and its affiliate Chakhesang Baptist Churches Council.

A resolution in support of the clean election campaign was taken during PAPO consultative meeting at Khuza town on April 6. In this regard, PAPO appealed all its affiliated units to extend all out support while implementing this noble mission for the welfare of the people.

Also stating that it supports and encourages good and upright leadership, the organization in its resolution stated, “PAPO and its constituent units shall extend all support, promote and uplift leaders from the area without any ism or bias.”

In a 10-point resolution, PAPO noted with regret that the Backward

Area Funds are not reaching the people of the area under Meluri A/C for many years. “Therefore, it is resolved that PAPO will fight for the people of the area till this fund reach the people of Meluri A/C,” it maintained.

The organization also urged upon the Department of Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority to realize the amount of Rs. 12,26,65,700 sanctioned against the construction of disaster development infrastructure for Phek District by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) New Delhi vide office letter No. 33-8/2015-NDM-1 Dated March 9, 2016 at the earliest.

Also pointing to a longstanding demand of the public, PAPO appealed the state government of Nagaland (Home) to sanction independent EAC post to EAC HQ Khuza along with other infrastructure development.

The resolution further stated that

PAPO aims at balanced development of villages under its jurisdiction, and in this regard called on all its constituents to help, support and uplift one another “for the development of the area”. “Special support should be extended to the weaker and less developed villages of the area so that they can come at par with the other villages,” the resolution stated.

Other resolutions approved and adopted at the PAPO consultative meeting include: Support to bring Phek area under one A/C “as and when there is delimitation of A/C”; to abide by the decision of CPO in banning hunting and fishing and preserving the flora and fauna of the land; to maintain unity, integrity and fraternity of the area; that disputes between different villages under PAPO jurisdiction should be first handed over to PAPO for finding a solution which should be strictly adhered to.

Appoint counselors to combat mental disorders: NEISSR DiMApur, April 9 (MExn): The North East Institute of Social Science and Research (NEISSR) commemorated the World Health Day on April 7 on the theme “Depressionlet’s talk”.

According to a press release, the programme was conducted to signify the importance of health which is not only the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social being and understand the different aspects of depression prevailing in the society.

The programme

stressed on the role of the social workers to bring a positive change and to be an asset in health sectors.

During the programme, different speakers highlighted on the concept, root causes, effect of depression and search for possibilities to handle depression in a professional manner.

Napoleon K highlighted the causes of depression among youth in Nagaland and motivated the MSW students to venture out and lend a helping hand to victims.

Judith Huidina, Asst.

Prof. NEISSR, brought

about the concept, facts and issues of depression and quoted Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss on the concept of depression that “there are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

Pointing to a WHO study where it found that depression is more common among adolescents, youth, women after childbirth and those above 60, she suggested that the government needs to increase investment for people with mental health disorder.

Others suggestions to

the government included: introducing improved support system and scale up programmes with mental health disorders; Better funding for research to facilitate better services; Trained human resources for better mental healthcare.

Rev. Dr C.P. Anto Paul, Principal of NEISSR highlighted the signs and symptoms of depression and urged on the importance of setting up of counseling centres in various settings like educational institutions, hospitals, family and the community at large.

kohiMA, April 9 (MExn): The student-teachers of Modern Institute of Teacher Education (MITE), Kohima along with teacher-educators went on a one day educational field trip to Khezhakeno village in Phek district on April 7. The purpose of the field trip was to get acquainted with new places and to study and observe the educational system of that particular area, according to a press release from the Principal of MITE. The team visited and observed different government and private schools. The student-teachers interacted with the villagers, students and teachers in the village.

They also visited the famous Chida lake.

with the Nagaland Education Association (NEA) also organized a workshop on “guidance & counseling” at the college auditorium on April 7. Dr. Zavise Rume, Associate Professor, Guidance & Counseling Cell SCERT & President, NEA facilitated the student-teachers on the importance of guidance & counseling, informed a press release from Principal, MITE. He emphasized on group counseling with an objective of preparing teachers on how to provide group guidance & counseling to the students. Touching on different types of group guidance and counseling, he stated that teachers should be prepared to counsel and guide the students. A total of 66 student-teachers along with the Workshop organized at MITE Kohima Teacher-Educators participated in the Modern Institute of Teacher Educa- programme, which concluded with a distion (MITE), Kohima in collaboration cussion on the theme.

Secretary Sports – Meguo Ratsa, Secretary Education – Kekhriengulie Keditsu, Secretary Literature – Vitsikuolie Kehie, Secretary Publicity and Information – Avizo Lcho, Secretary Art & Culture – Kekuosetuo Chase, Secretary Environment, Health & Sanitation – Neitsituo Mere, Secretary Library & Archives – Kevisilie Khate, Treasurer – Kholievizo Chadi, Auditor General – Kevisetuo Sechii.

Speaker – Kekhrievituo Dahou, Deputy Speaker – Teisovi Thorie, Assembly Secretary – Vizovo Yongo.

Free medical camp held in Phek phEk, April 9 (MExn): The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Phek Branch organised a free medical camp at Tezatsu village along with Hospital Welfare Committee Phek on March 25.

General health check-up, blood test and free medicines were given to all patients who attended the camp, informed a press release. Around 90 patients were treated for various ailments by four doctors, obstetrics & gynaecologist, paediatric, pathologist and dental surgeon accompanied by three nurses, medical attendants, pharmacist, assisting team, two lab technician, councillor and team.

Kangtsüng village prepares to confront corruption DiMApur, April 9 (MExn): Kangtsüng village under Mokokchung district has taken a thoughtful initiative of moral rearmament among its citizens to keep themselves prepared to confront every corrupt system in society.

This moral issue was deliberated seriously amongst the citizen during the three day seminar organized by the Kangtsüng Union, Tuli on the theme “ Equipped citizen ” from April 7 to 9 which was held at Rajeshwari Karuna School, Tuli.

In an attempt to identify the causes that ail our society today, the resource person of the programme, K. Temjen Jamir, the Editor of Tir Yimyim lamented that instead of trying to enhance the moral and cultural values passed on to us by our parents, we have made ourselves vulnerable to the temptations of amassing wealth without working

and jobs without labour.

Instead of condemning the corrupt system and shunning the paths of dishonest people, we have made the most corrupt people in our society “Very Important Person” as if they are our model in every occasion and activity of our lives, he commented adding that this was one of the reasons why we are active competitors in the race of corruption.

In sharing a food for thought, Temjen expressed regret that the younger generation of Aos in particular and Nagas in general failed to inherit the valued legacy and status of older generation as a result of which, the children of rich farmers, successful businessmen, top ranking officers and politicians have become social parasites today. Instead of inheriting good legacy by becoming better persons in our society, we have reduced ourselves to beggar status, he viewed.

Temjen encouraged the citizens to emulate the Roman Centurion principles, where patriotism, voluntarism, selfless sacrifice and service with great physical endurance were the main weapons to fight the enemy and serve the nation. “There were no positional or backdoor promoted centurions. The commission could not be bought but earned by one own blood, sweat and sacrifice,” he stated.

Group discussions and sports were the highlights of the programme. Leaders and elders from the village exhorted the participants to make themselves well equipped morally and intellectually to overcome the ill systems of our society.

The seminar was attended by more than five hundred men below the age of sixty. The three day seminar programme was sponsored by the family of Subo Lkr.

6

Monday 10•04•2017

IN FOCUS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express volume XII Issue 97 By moa Jamir

A cool figure of collossal wastage

E

lection in Nagaland is fought and won with money.

In such a state of affairs, ideologies and manifestos are insignificant. Along with monetary factor, personal configuration, tribal, clan and village dynamics among others play equally influential role.

For instance, the Youthnet comparative analysis of the last two Assembly elections in Nagaland (2008 and 2013) revealed that the total estimated expenditure of 216 candidates in 2008 was a cool Rs 569.96 crores, while 184 candidates spent a whopping Rs. 937.82 crores in 2013 - a cool Rs 2.63 and Rs.5.09 respectively for each candidate . One might argue with the methodology used by the Youhtnet to arrive at its figure, but it does not take a genius to come to conclude that monetary factor indeed plays a huge role in elections in Nagaland.

However, the bigger revelation was that – the success rate of each candidate is directly proportional to the amount of money he/she spent on the campaign. From all 60 constituencies, candidates with very high expenditure won, the study highlighted.

Consequently, out of 33 candidates who spent less than Rs. 1 crore only 1 won, but out of 11 candidates who spent more than Rs 20 crore, 8 won.

This lead to a “vicious cycle” in which – the wealth drainage during election led to rampant diversion of funds meant for development resulting in no development thereby unemployment, poverty and frustration. Consequently, this leads to money mongering during elections and starting the cycle again. This vicious circle needs to be broken, Hekani Jakhalu of Youthnet opined.

Incidentally, the Election Commission of India had set the maximum limit for poll expenses for 2013 at Rs 8 lakhs, and each candidate disclosure showed a miniscule average expenditure of Rs 4.62 Lakhs to the ECI - with 16 candidates showing ‘Zero Sum’ on public meetings, processions etc and 24 candidates disclosing nil expenses ‘on campaign workers.’

However, such huge expenditure throws up a curious conundrum - people take money from politicians on the understanding that politicians “have eaten up their money” while politicians spend their term in office “making up for the monetary loss” and “saving for the next one.” It is a ‘favour in exchange for a vote cast’ a Minister stated as a matter of fact during the lecture. Blaming each other for any omission or commission, it becomes temporary “win-win” situation for them but they become stuck in a ‘vicious circle’ with no redemption in sight each feeding upon the other.

In such a state of affairs, while the Nagaland Baptist Church Council’s Clean Election Campaign started with an intention to prick the “conscience” of the electors as well as the electees, has not elicited any desired outcome so far. The council has reignited the mission again keeping in mind the upcoming 2018 election and a sustained campaign is a way forward.

But unless the mindsets are altered it would not engender any change. The poll bugle has already been sounded in Nagaland and we are already coming across reports of ‘unanimous’ declaration by village councils for particular candidates. Others may follow suit. The ‘signing of pledges’ or for that matter, its misuse and manipulation along with such arbitrary declaration has become the biggest stumbling blocks and litmus test for any clean election campaign yet. As other organisations joins the Clean Election Campaign – independently or concurrently, all stakeholders must be synchronize under one banner to implement it more effectively.

The first reform, however, must be political - the political parties as well as the candidates must be brought under the banner of the campaign while incorporating the same in the respective party’s manifesto. The public must also be made aware of the process though which a politician gets its money.

Democracy and the principle of ‘one person, one vote’ is the best defence against any form of electoral mal-practice.

The public should not take it for granted and undermine the same by ‘exchanging favour’ in place of vote.

Time is ripe to discard the money mongering exercise, and bring back ideology and manifesto into the electoral process in Nagaland.

For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com

lEfT WING |

Vera Eckert Reuters

World investment in green power down, money went further in 2016

R

ecord levels of renewable energy capacity were added across the world in 2016 but the falling costs of green power equipment led to a 23 percent decline in money spent on investments, UNbacked research showed on April 6.

Wind, solar and other renewables capacity totalling 138.5 gigawatts (GW) was added to global power generation capacity last year, 8 percent more than in 2015, a Frankfurt School of Finance report said.

But investments to achieve this totalled $241.6 billion, compared with $312.2 in the previous year, mainly due to falling equipment costs as technologies mature, and economies of scale.

"There is no let-up in the clean energy investment drive," Ulf Moslener, professor for sustainable energy finance at the school and one of the report's authors, told reporters.

"Investors received more capacity for less money."

The average capital expenditure for solar photovoltaics and wind dropped by over 10 percent year-on-year and the unit cost of producing power from onshore wind turbines dropped by 15 percent and that from turbines offshore by 25 percent.

"Wind and solar energy have arrived at costs that would have seemed inconceivably low a few years ago," Moslener said.

Investment in new renewables capacity, which avoids emitting carbon dioxide when being operated, was roughly double that in fossil fuel generation, he also noted.

Investors were keen to build new installations, or acquire existing ones, borne out by acquisition activity rising by 17 percent to a record $110.3 billion.

But a dent in the positive trends comes from the still small proportion of electricity actually being derived from weatherdependent renewables.

Excluding large hydro projects for their questionable environmental role, it rose to just 11.3 percent of world power generation, up from 10.3 percent a year earlier.

The lower investment sum, apart from the better cost effectiveness per dollar spent, also resulted from a slowdown in China, Japan and other emerging markets, mainly due to slower than expected growth in demand for power.

China broke an 11-year rising trend, seeing investments drop by 32 percent to $78.3 billion, Japan's slumped by 56 percent to $14.4 billion and those in the United States slipped by 10 percent to $64.4 billions as developers lengthened construction periods to benefit from a five-year extension of tax credits.

Europe saw a 3 percent rise to $59.8 billion, led by Britain and Germany.

The report was prepared by the Frankfurt School-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Collaborating Centre and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

C O M M E N T A R Y

Kate Raworth openDemocracy

Think like a 21 century economist st

Economics matters enormously for the future, but its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date

N

o one can deny it: economics matters. Its theories are the mother tongue of public policy, the rationale for multi-billion-dollar investments, and the tools used to tackle global poverty and manage our planetary home. Pity then that its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date yet still dominate decision-making for the future.

Today’s economics students will be among the influential citizens and policymakers shaping human societies in 2050. But the economic mindset that they are being taught is rooted in the textbooks of 1950 which, in turn, are grounded in the theories of 1850. Given the challenges of the 21st century—from climate change and extreme inequalities to recurring financial crises—this is shaping up to be a disaster. We stand little chance of writing a new economic story that is fit for our times if we keep falling back on last-century’s economic storybooks.

When I studied economics at university 25 years ago I believed it would empower me to help tackle humanity’s social and environmental challenges. But like many of today’s disillusioned students its disconnect from relevance and reality left me deeply frustrated. So I walked away from its theories and immersed myself in real-world economic challenges, from the villages of Zanzibar to the headquarters of the United Nations, and on to the campaign frontlines of Oxfam.

In the process I realized the obvious: that you can’t walk away from economics because it frames the world we inhabit, so I decided to walk back towards it and flip it on its head. What if we started economics with humanity’s goals for the 21st century, and then asked what economic mindset would give us half a chance of achieving them?

Spurred on by this question, I pushed aside my old economics textbooks and sought out the best emerging ideas that I could find, drawing on diverse schools of thought including complexity, ecological, feminist, behavioural and institutional economics, and set out to discover what happens when they all dance on the same page.

The insights that I drew out imply that the economic future will be fascinating, but wildly unlike the past, so long as we equip ourselves with the mindset needed to take it on. So here are seven ways in which I believe we can all start to think like 21st century economists: 1. Change the goal: from GDP growth to the Doughnut.

For over half a century, economists have fixated on GDP as the first measure of economic progress, but GDP is a false goal waiting to be ousted. The 21st century calls for a far more ambitious and global economic goal: meeting the needs of all within the means of the planet. The challenge now is to create local to global economies that ensure that no one falls short on life’s essentials – from food and housing to healthcare and political voice – while safeguarding Earth’s life-giving systems, from a stable climate and fertile soils to healthy oceans and a protective ozone layer. This single switch of purpose transforms the meaning and shape of economic progress: from endless growth to thriving in balance.

2. See the big picture: from self-contained market to embedded economy.

Exactly 70 years ago in April 1947, an ambitious band of economists crafted a neoliberal story of the economy

is not an economic law or necessity: it is a design failure. Twenty-first century economists recognize that there are many ways to design economies to be far more distributive of value among those who help to generate it. And that means going beyond redistributing income to pre-distributing wealth, such as the wealth that lies in controlling land, enterprise, and the power to create money.

6. Create to regenerate: from ‘growth will clean it up again’ to regenerative by design.

Economic theory has long portrayed a clean environment as a luxury good, affordable only for the welloff—a view that says that pollution has to increase before it can decline, and (guess what), growth will eventually clean it up. But as with inequality there is no such economic law: environmental degradation is the result of degenerative industrial design. This century calls for economic thinking that unleashes the potential of regenerative design in order to create a circular, not linear, economy—and to restore ourselves as full participants in Earth’s cyclical processes of life.

and, since Thatcher and Reagan came to power in the 1980s, it has dominated the international stage. Its narrative about the efficiency of the market, the incompetence of the state, the domesticity of the household and the tragedy of the commons, has helped to push many societies towards social and ecological collapse. It’s time to write a new economic story fit for this century – one that sees the economy’s dependence upon society and the living world. This story must recognize the power of the market—so let’s embed it wisely; the partnership of the state—so let’s hold it to account; the core role of the household—so let’s value its contribution; and the creativity of the commons—so let’s unleash their potential.

3. Nurture human nature: from rational economic man to social adaptable humans.

The character at the heart of 20th century economics—‘rational economic man’—presents a pitiful portrait of humanity: he stands alone, with money in his hand, a calculator in his head, ego in his heart, and nature at his feet.

Worse, when we are told that he is like us, we actually start to become more like him, to the detriment of our communities and the planet. But human nature is far richer than this, as emerging sketches of our new self-portrait reveal: we are reciprocating, interdependent, approximating people deeply embedded within the living world. It’s time to put this new portrait of human-

ity at the heart of economic theory so that economics can start to nurture the best of human nature. Doing so will give us—all ten billion of us to come—a far greater chance of thriving together.

4. Get savvy with systems: from mechanical equilibrium to dynamic complexity.

Economics has long suffered from physics envy: awed by the genius of Isaac Newton and his insights into the physical laws of motion, 19th century economists became fixated on discovering economic laws of motion. But these simply don’t exist: they are mere models, just like the theory of market equilibrium which blinded economists to the looming financial crash of 2008.

That’s why 21st-century economists embrace complexity and evolutionary thinking instead. Putting dynamic thinking at the heart of economics opens up new insights for understanding the rise of the one percent and the boom and bust of financial markets. It’s time to stop searching for the economy’s elusive control levers (they don’t exist), and instead start stewarding the economy as an ever-evolving system.

5. Design to distribute: from ‘growth will even it up again’ to distributive by design.

In the 20th century economic theory whispered a powerful message when it comes to inequality: it has to get worse before it can get better, and growth will eventually even things up.

But extreme inequality, as it turns out,

7. Be Agnostic about Growth: from growth-addicted to growth-agnostic.

To the alarm of governments and financiers, forecasts for GDP growth in many high-income countries are flatlining, opening up a crisis in growthbased economics. Mainstream economics views endless GDP growth as a must, but nothing in nature grows forever, and the economic attempt to buck that trend is raising tough questions in high-income but low-growth countries.

That’s because today we have economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive. What we need are economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow. That radical flip in perspective invites us to become agnostic about growth and to explore how our economies—which are currently financially, politically and socially addicted to growth—could learn to live with or without it.

I am convinced that these seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist are fundamental to the new economic mindset this century demands. Their principles and patterns will equip new economic thinkers— and the inner economist in us all—to start creating an economy that enables everyone to prosper. Given the speed, scale and uncertainty of change that we face in coming years—and the diversity of contexts from Beijing to Birmingham to Bamako—it would be foolhardy to attempt to prescribe now all the policies and institutions that will be fit for the future. The coming generation of thinkers and doers will be far better placed to experiment and discover what works as the context continually changes.

What we can do now—and must do well—is to bring together the best ideas to create a new economic mindset that is never fixed but always evolving. The task for economic thinkers in the decades ahead will be to bring these seven ways of thinking together in practice, and to add to them. We have barely set out on this adventure in rethinking economics. Please join the crew.

Kate Raworth’s new book is Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist.

As deluges threaten crops, hill farmers shift tactics Rafiqul Islam

Thomson Reuters Foundation

F

or a long time, slash and burn agriculture was a way of life for Funghkal Bawn.

Like other farmers from the ethnic Bawn community, in the Chittagong Hill Tract area of Bangladesh, he used to clear a new strip of land every season on the slopes near his village of Farukpara. On it he grew a single crop such as paddy rice, pineapple, ginger or turmeric.

But two years ago, a flash flood triggered by torrential rains damaged his entire crop of rice, leaving him short of food and money to buy new seeds.

The setback forced Bawn to rethink his traditional method of farming and find a more sustainable way to grow crops, to hedge against the growing likelihood of extreme weather.

Now Bawn sows a mixture of traditional crops and other plants on the hill slopes, to minimise his losses if any natural disaster hits his crop land again.

Other farmers are following his lead to help improve their resilience against the worsening impacts of climate change.

"I started mixed cultivation of crops, including pineapple, ginger, mango and coffee together," Bawn told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

He sows and harvests the crops at different times. If one is damaged by floods or erratic rainfall, there is a chance that another will survive, and he will be able to sell that one instead, he explained.

Ten of the 22 families in Farukpara's Bawn community are now practising similar mixed cultivation.

Zarmoy Bawn, one of Fungkhal's neighbours, said that along with traditional crops he has planted coffee saplings on his land. He hopes that once the trees start fruiting, he will be able to earn more money selling the cash crop.

Another farmer, Nu Ang Bawn, intends to plant coffee and mango saplings on her hill slopes from next season.

"Now I sow only ginger and pineapple on my land. But I want to start mixed crops cultivation from next season to get more benefit from farming," she added.

perts say the frequency of heavy rain is increasing in South Asia, including Bangladesh, while lighter rainfall is becoming less common.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), situated in Bangladesh's south-east and bordering India and Myanmar, are the country's only largely hilly region, with slopes prone to problems in heavy rain.

A 2014 study by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology found that rainfall has been increasing in recent decades, both during and before the annual monsoon. In 2007, the Chittagong region received 480 mm (19 inches) of rain in a single day, leading to flooding and landslides that killed more than 100 people.

Malik Fida A. Khan, deputy executive director of the Dhaka-based Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services, a think-tank, said that as the rainfall pattern shifts in South Asia as a result of climate change, the hill tract area can expect monsoons to bring more intense rain over shorter periods.

MORE HEAVY RAIN This could lead to massive soil eroWeather services and climate ex- sion and flash floods, he said.

WRITE-WING

Reducing the use of traditional shifting cultivation – which can lead to the removal of trees or plants that help hold soil and trap water on slopes – could help reduce risks, and not just in the hills, he said.

"As a result of soil erosion due to shifting cultivation, the streams, rivers and tributaries are rapidly silted up, resulting in flash floods in the CHT region," said Abdul Mannan, a programme officer for the Arannayk Foundation, a joint initiative of the Bangladeshi and U.S. governments that works on forest conservation and biodiversity in Bangladesh.

Mohammad Qudrat-E-Ghana, a director of Bangladesh's Department of Agriculture Extension (Horticulture), said there is great potential for growing fruit and other new crops to replace shifting cultivation in the hill tracts.

The agriculture department has opened 15 fruit tree centres in three hill districts, distributing high-quality saplings to farmers to encourage them to change their farming practices, cut soil erosion and slow land degradation.

He said about 60 percent of farmers living in the hill areas had already started making changes in how they grow crops.

Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender.

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.

MonDAY 10•04•2017

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

7

They are spying on us and we know it Eduard Martín-Borregón

I

openDemocracy

nstant messaging has become the main digital tool for social and political activism. As its use expands, so do doubts about its confidentiality Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of modern democracy, and the right to the privacy of our communications is a part of it. During the last century it was said that, in some dictatorships, they opened letters with steam - so that the peeping could go unnoticed -, they read the contents – to detect divergent thinking -, they closed the envelopes again, and let the letters reach their addressees - to avoid suspicions.

Today, when we send a message from the simulated intimacy our electronic devices give us, it is traced by a complex communication intercepting system. The root cause of the problem is this: the internet is a network designed for sharing information which, at the time it was created, was not intended for its current use – nor was the problem of privacy taken into account.

The problem is bigger than we can possibly measure. Whenever we connect to a website that does not have https - when a little padlock appears in our url - all the interactions we make are clear. This means that anyone who is viewing our connection – which goes through several intermediate servers - can read everything we write - passwords, emails, attachments - in addition to the url we are visiting.

When we talk about virtual communications, e-mail and messaging apps, the issue becomes even more complex. Gmail and Hotmail, the two most common providers, know all the content of all the emails we store with them. WhatsApp has been encrypted since April 2016 but messages only. Telegram uses other encryption versions, and traditional SMS are not encrypted. In short: it is very easy to spy on us.

Massive spying The internet design has always been the problem, but not even the most paranoid hacker in the world would have imagined the terrifying picture Snowden introduced us to in June 2013. The Five Eyes Alliance - the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK - spies on all internet users on a consistent, sys-

tematic and cumulative basis. Not a minor detail is the fact that the US invented the internet in the first place, and that it is the country that controls it the most.

Yahoo gave the National Security Agency (NSA), the US agency dedicated to digital espionage, full access to all its users’ emails. Google responded to the NSA’s requests but did not give them full access, and since the NSA deemed it insufficient, it chose to illegally enter Google’s servers and check the information anyway. No Internet company is free from these pressures.

Your electronic devices spy on you. It is not only Wikileaks that says so, but a US court: your SmartTV spies on you without asking for your consent. It not only records everything you are watching, but even when it is not on it can record and share your private conversations.

The same thing happens when we activate our cell phone’s voice control: it listens to us.

All these data are being processed with the aim of spying on us massively. In this process, metadata are crucially important. Metadata are the data which describe the data: date of creation, modifications, size, format, GPS coordinates, among others.

It is on the basis of this information that behaviours can be determined which the agencies analyze so as to gauge the degree of surveillance they need to apply to us.

Ads on the internet work in a similar way: how many times, after seeing a particular product on some web, does not this product chase us through ads on the other websites we visit? This is only advertising; just imagine what spy agencies can do.

Think about what might happen if, by any chance, you have the misfortune to coincide twice in the same site as a person who is under government surveillance.

Programs to infect Digital espionage is not only massive, it is also customized. The Five Eyes Alliance has been spying on government leaders like Angela Merkel, internet tycoons like Kim Dotcom, and has become so pervasive that even Donald Trump dares to be frivolous about it.

You can spy on a device in many different ways and to different effects: capturing everything written, sending all the actions you perform while browsing, accessing all your WhatsApp messages, using the webcam and the microphone unnoticed - among many others. The problem is so real that even Mark Zuckerberg and James Comey - director of Facebook and the FBI respectively - taped their laptop webcam as an anti-espionage measure.

There are companies like Hacking Team that sell spyware and their main clients are governments. Their exploits – i.e. programs for taking

Where Can We Find the Heroes For the students of our Science of Happiness course, heroism is all around us Kira M. Newman greatergood

What does it mean to be heroic?

According to researchers, heroism means helping people in need or defending a moral cause, in the face of great risk. Heroic acts can take place in an instant, like saving someone from drowning, or over an extended period of time, like sheltering Jews during the Holocaust—or caring for someone with a terminal illness.

We think of heroes as extraordinary and larger than life; in awe of their noble acts, we may doubt that we could ever be heroic. But researchers are trying to demystify heroism: “We want to democratize the notion of heroism, to emphasize that most heroes are ordinary people,” writes heroism researcher Philip Zimbardo. “It’s the act that’s extraordinary.”

That means that heroes (and heroic potential) are all around us— which is what we discovered when we asked over 30,000 students in our Science of Happiness course to share their hero stories—times when they witnessed heroism and acted heroically themselves. Their tales may move and inspire you.

Great acts of altruism and forgiveness One student endured the horrific tragedy of having her partner stabbed to death about 12 years ago.

She, a Buddhist, found a way to forgive the murderer and eventually went to meet him in prison.

“Deep down in my heart, I knew that he must be struggling with the fact that he had taken another person’s life,” she writes. “I was able to tell him I had forgiven him and even to embrace him and speak with him openly and frankly about the way he had made me feel and how he had affected my life.”

She reflects, “Some people said that this act was heroic, but I’m not sure; what I do know for certain is that by showing compassion and forgiveness, it did help to change his life, and now he’s doing positive things for the community.”

Another student found out about her mother’s heroism only after her death. Her mother endured abuse from an alcoholic husband, and she struggled to raise and feed five kids

with little money. When her husband died and she received a small pension, she ended up sharing it with his mistress and their two kids—the halfsiblings of her own children.

“My mother never told any of this to any of her children, but the sacrifice she made to help the other woman and her children was an incredible act of selfless heroism, in my opinion,” the student writes.

Heroism in the face of danger Another student served in the Army in wartime—a setting that’s commonly associated with acts of heroism. His best friend, who got teased for being weak during training, ended up sacrificing his life to save someone else in Afghanistan.

“Before he died in a Humvee accident with an IED, he dragged one of his buddies out of the hot area and saved his life,” the student recounts.

“He meant everything to me, and to know that he changed the lives of a few means the world to me; he is my one and only hero.”

One woman lived through a mass shooting in her dormitory— and helped keep a panicking friend away from danger. She describes hearing the first gunshots and trying to reach the security office, when her friend showed up by her side.

“My next duty was now to get her safely away from the shooting. But it seemed everywhere we turned, there were bullets flying our way,” she recalls. They eventually made it out and climbed a fence to safety.

Beyond the call of duty One student worked in a treatment facility for young people suffering from suicidal thoughts, depression, and other mental illnesses. She remembers two instances when she put herself in danger to keep her patients from harming themselves.

“One girl went into the bathroom and had made it known that she intended to end her life. I opened the door and tried to talk to her. She was in the shower and screamed at me that, if I didn’t leave, she would throw a heavy metal frame at me.

I didn’t leave and told her that I wouldn’t until I knew that she was safe,” she recounts.

“There was also a time, at the same

job, when a window broke and a resident dashed to pick up the glass. I stood in her way and refused to allow her access despite threats and attempts to hurt me. I think those moments, when I was able to stand firm and protect them despite threats to my own safety, are what make them feel heroic.”

Another student recalls her own heroic act while working as a flight attendant many years ago in Colombia. She was on a small plane that was forced to circle for half an hour at a very high altitude, putting the passengers at risk of oxygen deficiency.

“We, the members of the crew, gave the passengers two small bottles of oxygen that we had and saved the life of one newborn and 17 passengers; and the crew, including myself, didn’t use oxygen for ourselves.”

The heroism of kids One mother would have lost her son but for the heroism of her nephew. The two kids, ages 10 and 12, were out hiking in the winter when her son slipped and fell into the icy water of a reservoir.

“He could hardly move between the weight of his clothes and the freezing cold of the winter water. My nephew took off his shoes and jacket and got into the water. With much effort, he dragged my son out,” she recalls.

“That was the day we almost lost these boys,” she writes. “It is hard today to think of this time some 40 years ago. It brings tears and gratitude.”

Another mother sees heroic potential in her son, in the brave acts of kindness he performs. “Ever since he was little, he has stood up for the underdog. I have watched him walk away from his friends to befriend others with disabilities, and watched it change his friends for the better.

They, too, started to include less fortunate kids in their circle and would defend them fiercely,” she says.

Who in your life is a hero? Have you done something heroic? We may hesitate to share our great deeds, unwilling to “brag” or reluctant to call ourselves heroes. But these stories uplift us all.

“Just reading about the heroic actions of so many otherwise ‘ordinary’ people makes me experience deep warm feelings,” one student wrote. “This is truly the world I want to live in.”

long to, or the place where they live.

If they publicly denounce this situation, it is quite likely that their way of life will be severely affected. In many cases, even if they denounce the fact anonymously, the accused may deduce the source.

Every society needs its citizens to denounce acts which harm and corrupt the community. But it must protect those who, through an act of courage, put themselves at risk by denouncing corruption, malpractices, or violations of human rights. This protection must be offered by both civil society and the state - through specific legislation protecting and encouraging whistleblowing.

In most Latin American countries there is no protection available for whistleblowers, nor is there an agency that protects officials who report malpractices within the public sector. This being so, and while we keep on waiting for protection mechanisms to be set up, civil society must propose measures so that control over a computer - can be at- people can report anonymously and tached to a Word file and take con- safely. This can only be achieved trol of your Mac or PC unnoticed, with encryption. when the file is opened. Among Hacking Team’s top customers: the If you do not have governments of Mexico, Italy, Mo- the key, it is not safe In the physical space, when we rocco, Saudi Arabia and Chile.

But you do not have to be a gov- want to keep something safe, we put ernment: a simple internet search it under lock and key. No one would can offer you some very advanced ever think that a keyless door is safe. program licenses at a small cost - In the digital world you have to ask about 50 USD dollars. The slogan the same question: who has the key?

The first service to doubt is of one of the most popular of these programs is: "If you are in a com- WhatsApp. They tell us they encrypt mitted relationship, have children, everything, but we do not have the or manage employees, you have the key. We do not even have to put a right to know! Discover the truth, password to generate it: from our number, the messaging service itself spy on their cell phone. » generates a key - which, of course, The importance of privacy it controls. Messages are encrypt"Arguing that you do not care ed, but whenever WhatsApp (or its about the right to privacy because owner, Facebook) wants to, it can you have nothing to hide is like say- read them. The same happens with ing you do not care about freedom of any other service that we do not speech because you have nothing to have a password for. say", Edward Snowden famously said The most common system for in a debate on Reddit in 2015. There encrypting communications is PGP, is nothing better than putting oneself which literally means "Pretty Good in his position as a whistleblower to Privacy". It works with a public key system, which you share with everyunderstand what is to be done.

Due the complexity of modern one else, and a private key, which society, it is very often individuals you are the only one to have. When with no media connections who get someone wants to send you a mesto know about some malpractice, a sage, they cipher it with your public case of corruption, or a violation of key and you are the only one who human rights. Probably, their ac- can decipher it with your private key. cess to this information comes from The equivalent in the physical world knowledge picked up at their work- would be to distribute open padlocks place, or at an organization they be- which, once closed, you are the only

one who can open them.

Encrypting is the only way to keep communications and files private. If you have to send a message that you do not want to be tracked, forget about messaging and use PGP mail. Even better: use your own servers or non-intrusive services like riseup.net. For more information on this, check Tactical Tech’s Security in a Box manuals.

The future of communications There is currently considerable tension between encryption and national security, and the national security theses have the upper hand. In 2014, the most heavily used and robust encryption program was discontinued for no apparent reason. In 2015, a judge in Spain considered the use of Riseup and encryption in private communications an aggravated circumstance. In 2016, the FBI admitted that it could break the iPhone encryption, and refused to share its finding with Apple.

These are just three examples, and we could go dig much deeper, but in the end we have to accept reality: our communications are becoming increasingly insecure. It is a global problem, which the nonpoliticized citizen has, and so does any activist, journalist, businessman, policeman or whistleblower.

We are all on the same boat.

In order to change this trend and allow for safer communications, our governments should start promoting and distributing free software tools. This is the path that cities like Munich have begun to follow which, in the long run, will help them to break free from the big multinational corporations and become self-sufficient in information technology and information management in a democratic context. Just think about this: in order to govern your country, all your MPs are using software that is owned and controlled by US companies - and yes, you can be sure that they are listening to them too.

Eduard Martín-Borregón is a data journalist who specializes in digital security. He is currently Coordinator of Technologies for Transparency at PODER, an organization that cofounded Méxicoleaks and Perúleaks, and promotes the creation of new anonymous and safe whistleblowing platforms in the region

The Morung Express POLL RESULTS

How would you rate the general Happiness Level of the people of Nagaland State? Why? and the growing lack of opportusociety vice versa the so cl poor Some of those who nities among the youth and the hs no status and no prevlage to voted HIGH had this to say: preponderance of material emoptan even th smal schme tat th • People are generally very happy phasis by the church ... All these css,wt evr i tink it wl tak tim to and despite the pathetic state of combined will have attributed a mak a change affairs people seem to accept the very low % of happiness existing situation. If they were not happy • Low, corruption hs torn apart and growing worse.... ur society vice versa the so cl there would be social unrest. poor hs no status and no pre- • We are currently not a Very HapSome of those who py - too many Bandhs and Provlage to optan even th smal voted MEDIUM had this to say: tests against • Medium. peothe Govern69% ple are generment shows ally happy with the Apathy of their lives beour Governcause of the "evment towards erything is goits citizens and ing to work out" burning of mentality we Govt. Buildings have. we tend and Protest not to get too outside Govt. serious about offices and Pen 28% things and even Down Strikes if we do, we forproves that its get them after Citizen is on a a while which ANGRY MOOD is why noth03% T YPES........ ing gets to us, very Angry at least most of Christian peothe time. But ple in these bad roads and HIGH times....

MEDIUM LOW lack of opportunities are also Others: forced upon us schme , CSS, wt evr i tink it wl • Those who haven't been paid every single day which is why we salaries for months, LOW. Those tak tim to mak a change ,helpcannot be like super happy or who are living lavish lifestyles, less in a very vast ocean in anything.

HIGH; those toiling in their fields search of land to servive. and getting their salaries, those • Low. Nothing is in order from Some of those who who are able to have a square bottom to top everyone is equalvoted LOW had this to say: meal, MEDIUM. ly responsible we can't squarely • Low-And it's gonna hurt even blame the only the government • Please add "very high" as well. I more when we realise that we would opt for 'very high'. Every have a low quality of life but • Happiness lol is a state of comNaga is happy very high in its pleteness of mind spirit and thanks to our jestful and casual own satisfaction as the society soul.... nature, the realisation is masked has become more individualis• As commented upon material from most of us for now. tic. Politician for own family in surroundings around us, their • Low I should say. we don't have every profitable field, civil serlack of maintenance stc have had any good reason to be happy vant the same and the general a deep bearing on us besides the looking at the present scenario public care for individual frame atmosphere of cynicism which around us .First of all the road in the expense of whitewashed is growing more as a result of exand connectivities are at its most social work. Corrupted are very posure to the outside world and pathetic level , the public transhigh happy for their very high the the level of aspirations which portations are far beyond acprofit through it. This is the rehas been stroked and rightly so ceptability , the healthcare sysality of who we are now. The by the BJP....The potentials are tems are just too bad ..the overall countable good hearts are invisapparently shifting towards othdevelopment and progress of ible as the principle of democraer areas but due to the extent of the state is at the lowest pace as cy belongs to majority. Perhaps creative impoverishment that compared to other states in the the question need to be 'happy the Govt of our State exemplicountry ... about what?' fies in its subsequent tenures • Low, corruption hs torn apart ur

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

MonDAY 10•04•2017

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Aadhaar card initiative a watershed event: Prez

A car and a Metropolitian Transport Corporation (MTC) bus sink into a huge crater formed after a portion of the road caved in at the arterial Anna Salai in Chennai on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

Need to rise above sectarian interests: Rajnath

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (ANI): Stressing that India is on the cusp of a digital revolution, President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday highlighted the important of the Aadhar card initiative, saying it is a watershed event in development story of India "I am happy today to be a part of the digital payment movement that India has embarked upon. I congratulate each one of you who has contributed in this mission to make India a less-cash society. This will help ensure financial inclusion where every Indian, irrespective of her socio-economic status, is empowered with necessary digital tools to participate in the new age economy," the President said on the occasion of mega draw of lot for Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana.

Stating that India has a long way to go to become a cashless society, the President said that the nation remains primarily a cashbased economy with about 95 per cent of the personal consumption and 86 per cent of all transactions being in cash.

Expressing his happiness with the initiatives of the Centre in the matter, President Mukherjee further said that it is necessary to reduce cash in circulation and impart greater urgency to promoting secure digital payment methods to ensure greater transparency.

"India is on the cusp of a digital revolution. More than one billion Indians have a unique identity number with a biometric identifier which is unique in its own way. Even countries which are technologi-

Govt mulling making Aadhaar or passport must for flying

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (pTI): The government is in the process of making Aadhaar number or passport mandatory for booking domestic flight tickets amid its plans to create a no-fly list to deal with unruly passengers.

"Aviation regulator DGCA will start working on a civil aviation requirement (CAR) this week," R N Choubey, secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation told PTI. The ministry has asked the DGCA to draft the CAR by next week for consultation with stakeholders in this matter.

Aadhaar number or passport will be useful in identifying an "unruly passenger" who has been barred from flying.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, in a series of tweets yesterday, had warned that unruly behaviour by passengers will result in "severe consequences" which would include police

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (IANS): Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said all stakeholders should rise above sectarian interests to focus on the larger picture of national development.

Rajnath Singh made the observation while chairing the 11th Standing Committee meeting of the Inter-State Council here.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the meeting.

Besides, ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan represented their states at the meeting.

The Home Minister said all the stakeholders share a common desire to take the nation forward

and prosperity can come only when there is peace and stability, a release said.

He said India is a nation characterised by unity in diversity, and hence it is important that trust and cordiality form the bedrock for centre-state cooperation.

The Standing Committee examined various recommendations of the Punchhi Commission contained in Volume 2 and 3, the release said.

The Punchhi Commission was notified in 2005, and it submitted its report in 2010. It made recommendations which are contained in seven volumes The Volume 2 of the report is related to provisions of the constitution that are concerned with important aspects of Constitutional governance such as role of Governors, deployment

Teesta river is lifeline of North Bengal, says Mamata

Irani attacks Rahul Gandhi, says he has no time for people of Amethi

KoLKATA, AprIL 9 (ANI): Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s talks on river Teesta, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday expressed displeasure, asserting that Teesta is the lifeline of North Bengal which can’t be taken away.

“There is very little water in Teesta River, it is our lifeline, the lifeline of North Bengal,” Banerjee said.

Mamata said other trans-national rivers could be diverted to attend to Bangladesh’s water needs.

“Your problem is water, not Teesta. I am willing to look at any alternate proposal to address your issues. What we can do is that there are many other rivers in the area (India-Bangladesh), we can use water from them,” said Banerjee.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Hasina said India’s support would help resolve all issues, including Teesta, expeditiously.

No pact on the sharing of water of the river Teesta was signed between the two nations.

On this, Modi said, “I am very happy that the chief minister of West Bengal is my guest today. Her feeling for Bangladesh is as warm as my own. I assure you and the people of Bangladesh of our continuing efforts on Teesta. It’s only my government and your government that can and will find an early solution to Teesta water sharing issue.”

The Teesta River runs through both Bengal and Bangladesh and if a treaty is signed it would allowed for equal share of water.

Bangladesh has welcomed Modi’s commitment to ensuring an early solution.

AMETHI, AprIL 9 (pTI): Stepping up attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Smriti Irani today said the Amethi MP has no time for the people of his constituency. She also accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of doing little for the development of the district.

"When I came here in 2014, I saw that it is in the grip of a political family.

The political family has not thought about the development of Amethi and its people. Another point of concern is that a Member of Parliament does not have

of central forces, federal balance of power, ensuring better coordination between central government and states and other important issues of centrestate relations.

The recommendations in Volume 3 of the Punchhi Commission report are related to centre-state financial relations and cover the subjects of fiscal transfers to states, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Centre-state fiscal relations.

"The discussions centred around various aspects of Centre-state relations having implications for governance and flowing from Constitutional provisions. The recommendations of the Standing Committee finalised at this meeting will be placed before the Inter-State Council," the release said.

It said that the remaining volumes of the Punchhi

Commission recommendations would be taken up in subsequent meetings of the Standing Committee along with the implications of the recent developments in terms of the GST Act, the 14th Finance Commission Report and formation of NITI AAYOG and rationalisation of Centrally sponsored schemes.

The recommendations of Punchhi Commission pertain to history of centre-state relations in India; constitutional governance and management of centre-state relations; centrestate financial relations; local self-governments and decentralised governance; internal security, criminal justice and centre-state cooperation; environment, natural resources and infrastructure; and socioeconomic development, public policy and good governance.

any time for his constituency and people," the BJP leader said. Irani, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Rahul in Amethi, was addressing a bakery training programme on the campus of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University on the second day of her two-day trip.

She also said that addressing the Congress vicepresident as 'Yuvraj' (prince) is an "insult" to democracy.

"In a democratic country like India eulogising Rahul Gandhi with the title of Yuvraj is an insult to democracy," the Union Textiles

Australian PM arrives on visit

Minister said. Addressing the gathering, minister of state for Vocational Education and Skill Development Suresh Pasi said that very

cally far more advanced than India with comparatively much smaller size population do not have such a system in place. The Aadhaar card initiative is a watershed event in the development story of India," he said. Further noting that

soon four Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) would come in Amethi, which have been approved by the government.

"The buildings of the ITIs will be ready by June this year," Pasi said. Referring to Pasi, Irani tweeted, "A moment of pride for me to witness a samanya karyakarta of Amethi Suresh Pasi giving his first public address as Minister of State, GoUP." Earlier in the day, Irani held meetings with officials of Amethi district administration to ensure that schemes including those related to education, water,

the Aadhaar enabled payment system has made digital payments possible for even those sections of the population who may not have mobile phones, President Mukherjee added that the Centre has enabled development of new modes

health and irrigation are implemented in a time-bound manner. The Union minister also tweeted that she facilitated interaction of citizens with the DM and the SP of Amethi and both assured speedy redressal of their grievances.

Yesterday, Irani in one of her tweets said, "Day ends on a celebratory note, as I meet birthday boy Harshit - a karyakarta's son who turned 8 today." The 41-year-old Union minister also held a community meal for party workers. "Adding special touch to the evening was Banwari ji's famous meetha pan," Irani said in her tweet.

RSS chief calls for nationwide ban on cow slaughter

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (IANS): Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrived here on Sunday evening on a four-day state visit to India. "Welcoming a valued friend and partner. PM @TurnbullMalcolm arrives in New Delhi on his State Visit to India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted. This is Turnbull's first bilateral visit to India since he assumed office in September 2015. His predecessor, Tony Abbott had visited India in September 2014 and this was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia in November that year. Modi will hold a bilateral summit with Turnbull on Monday following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (pTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today condemned violence by cow protection groups, saying it “defames” the cause but made it clear that the Hindutva organisation wants a law banning cow slaughter across India.

Calling cow slaughter a “vice” that must be removed, he pitched for stepping-up of cow protection efforts by bringing more people in the drive while “completely obeying the law and the Constitution”.

His remarks at an event to observe the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir came against the backdrop of the lynching of a Muslim man by cow vigilantes in Alwar in BJP-ruled Rajasthan that sparked protests from opposition parties and put the saf-

fron party on the defensive.

“Nothing should be done while protecting cows that hurts the belief of some people. Nothing should be done that is violent. It only defames the efforts of cow protectors... The work of cow conservation should be carried out while obeying laws and the Constitution,” Bhagwat said.

He said many states where RSS functionaries, a reference to BJP leaders with RSS background, have been in power have enacted such a law and expressed confidence that other governments will follow suit by dealing with local “complexities”.

In several northeastern states, including some where BJP is in power, cow slaughter is not banned while

action as well as being placed on the nofly list.

The no-fly list was mooted by Air India on the day Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad hit the national carrier's staff R Sukumar with his slipper. Air India had said that they were "examining" to create such a list.

The following day, the Federation of Indian Airlines, which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as its members, while announcing a ban on Gaikwad, also proposed the promulgation of a "no-fly list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers."

On Friday, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen had allegedly fought with the crew over not getting seats of her choice in an Air India flight from Delhi to Kolkata resulting in it being delayed by nearly 40 minutes.

beef is consumed widely in states like Kerala and West Bengal where the party is working to emerge as a strong political force. The RSS chief suggested that enactment of such a law everywhere will take time due to the complexities of politics.

If there is a law, it will be for promoting non-violence not violence, he said, noting, “There cannot be a law that says you do violence. It is impossible.” “I am confident that wherever RSS workers are in power, they will deal with local complexities and work in that direction,” he said. Cow protection should be promoted in such a way that it wins over more and more people to the cause and brings praise for those doing it, Bhagwat said.

of digital payments with the goal to make their use easy and seamless across providers.

"Launch of BHIM has demystified the digital payments and brought it within the grasp of every citizen," he added.

UP’s Yogi govt on Mission 2019: Breakfast for Rs 3, lunch Rs 5 LucKNoW, AprIL 9 (HT): The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to emulate the successful ‘Amma canteen’ model of Tamil Nadu, where heavily subsidised nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner is made available to the economically weak people.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to sit through a presentation on ‘Annapurna Bhojnalayas’ by labour department officials on April 12.

Labour minister Swami Prasad Maurya and urban development minister Suresh Khanna are expected to give finishing touches to the scheme that seeks to provide breakfast for Rs 3 and lunch for as little as Rs 5.

The BJP-ruled Rajasthan also has a similar scheme going where it provides breakfast for Rs 5 and lunch and dinner for Rs 8.

The scheme could be launched from Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Gorakhpur, say officials.

In all, the government plans to run about 200 such subsidised meal canteens throughout the state. The labour department is working round the clock to ready the presentation.

During its presentation before the chief minister, the urban development department is also expected to put up a proposal about opening of cow sheds (‘gaushalas’) in each UP district.

The government has already launched a crackdown on illegal slaughter houses. The urban development department that also governs the municipal corporations, which grant licences to slaughter houses and meat shops, is also expected to ready a proposal to regulate the meat shops.

“No illegal slaughter houses or meat shops would be granted licence. However, our government won’t target those who comply with norms,” Khanna said ahead of his department’s presentation. Meanwhile, the excise department, too, is readying a proposal to make changes in the excise act. The department plans harsher penalties, including capital punishment, to those who sell or manufacture illicit liquor.

India, China warships foil pirate attack in Gulf of Aden

NEW DELHI, AprIL 9 (pTI): Navies of India and China on Sunday rescued a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden after it was hijacked by Somali pirates, in a well-coordinated operation which came in the midst of strain in ties between the two countries over a range of sticky issues.

After getting a distress call about the attack by pirates on the cargo vessel OS 35 on Saturday night with 19 Filipino crew members, the Indian Navy sent its two frontline warships, INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash, while the Chinese Navy also moved in its missile frigate Yulin.

The two Indian ships were in

the region as part of an overseas deployment.

The merchant ship was travelling from Kelang in Malaysia to port city of Aden in Yemen and following the attack, the crew had locked themselves in the 'citadel', a safe room inside the vessel, according to the Indian Navy.

While the Indian Navy deployed a helicopter that provided air cover, the Chinese side sent in a team of 18 personnel to sanitise the 178-metre-long merchant ship registered in Pacific island of Tuvalu.

At the end of the operation, the Chinese Navy thanked Indian navy for its role in successful

operation. The Indian Navy also returned compliment to their Chinese counterparts.

"In a show of international maritime cooperation against piracy, a boarding party from the nearby Chinese Navy ship went on board the merchant ship, while the Indian Naval helicopter provided air cover for the operation. It has been established that all 19 Filipino crew members are safe," Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said. The well-coordinated operation by navies of India and China comes amid strain in ties between the two Asian giants over a range of issues including the Dalai Lama's visit to

Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, China's opposition to India's Nuclear Suppliers Group membership and Beijing blocking India's effort to declared Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist by the United Nations.

The Indian Navy had swung into action after getting a call from Dubai office of the United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Organisation which acts as the primary point of contact for merchant vessels and liaison with military forces in the region.

Pakistani and Italian warships had also responded to calls for help and reached the spot.

The Indian warships established contact with the Captain of the merchant vessel, who along with the crew had locked themselves in a strong room on board as per standard operating procedure.

An Indian Navy helicopter undertook aerial reconnaissance of the merchant vessel at night, and at sunrise, to sanitise the upper decks of the merchant ship and ascertain the location of pirates, if still on board.

The pirates had fled from the ship after warships of India and China moved in. "Indian Navy's helicopter cover, and on receiving the 'all clear signal' that no pirates were visible on the up-

per decks, some crew members gradually emerged from the strong room and carried out a search of the ship and ascertained that the pirates had fled the ship at night," said the navy spokesperson.

The operation to rescue the ship and free those on board was accomplished at dawn on Sunday. The Captain of the merchant vessel profusely thanked the Indian Naval ships for their response and for providing air cover, said Sharma.

The European Union Naval Force said it is working with "counter-piracy partners" to investigate the incident.

mondAY 10•04•2017

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

US envoy says Assad must go after ‘chemical attack’ Beirut, April 9 (AFp): Washington’s UN ambassador said that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad cannot stay in power after a suspected chemical attack that prompted the first direct US military action against his government.

Nikki Haley’s comments in an interview airing Sunday came as part of an apparent shift in US policy towards Assad’s government after the alleged chemical attack last week on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun that killed 87 people, including many children.

Images of civilians suffering the apparent effects of a gas attack, including convulsions, vomiting and foaming at the mouth, provoked international outrage and prompted US President Donald Trump to order a strike on a Syrian airbase.

In the interview with CNN, Haley said peace in Syria was impossible with Assad in power. “There’s not any sort of option where a political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime,” she told the “State of the Union” programme.

“If you look at his actions, if you look at the situation, it’s going to be hard to see a government that’s peaceful and stable with Assad.” “Regime change is something that we think is going to happen,” she said, adding that Washington was also focused on fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and ending Iranian influence.

Iran’s Rouhani affirms support to Assad’s Syria

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks at the Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York on April 7. (REUTERS Photo)

that defeating IS in Syria remained Washington’s top priority.

“It’s important that we keep our priorities straight.

And we believe that the first priority is the defeat of ISIS,” Tillerson said in an interview with CBS television’s “Face the Nation” being broadcast later Sunday.

“Once the ISIS threat has been reduced or eliminated, I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilising the situation in Syria,” he said, using an alternative acronym for IS. After years of calling for Assad’s removal during former president Barack Obama’s tenure, Washington appeared to be stepping back from seeking regime change in Syria in recent weeks.

Tillerson: IS fight Prior to the attack in top priority US Secretary of State Rex Khan Sheikhun, Tillerson Tillerson insisted however said Assad’s fate should be

decided by the Syrian people, suggesting Washington would not oppose him standing for reelection.

And Haley too said Washington’s priority was “no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out.”

But in the aftermath of the attack, Trump ordered the strike targeting the Shayrat air base in central Syria’s Homs province with 59 Tomahawk missiles.

And his administration informed Congress that it could “take additional action, as necessary and appropriate, to further its important national interests.”

Iran’s Rouhani calls Assad Syria’s government has denied any involvement in Tuesday’s attack on Khan Sheikhun, suspected to be the second-deadliest chemical weapons attack since the country’s war be-

Bangladesh President rejects Mufti Hannan’s clemency plea DhAkA, April 9 (iANs): Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Sunday said there was no legal bar to execute the death penalty on militant leader Mufti Hannan as President Abdul Hamid has rejected the clemency plea, a media reported.

“The Kashimpur Jail authorities have started the preparation, Mufti Hannan will be executed anytime,” the Home Minister said while talking to media at his secretariat office here, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

“There’s no threat of militant attack centring the execution of the militant leader,” he added in reply to a query.

On March 21, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division released the full text of its verdict confirming the death penalties of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) leader Mufti Hannan and his two aides.

The culprits were sentenced to death for the assassination attempt on Anwar Choudhury, the then British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, during his visit to Hazrat Shahjalal’s shrine in Sylhet city on May 21, 2004.

The attack killed three persons and severely injured Anwar.

On December 23, 2008, a Sylhet court sentenced the trio to death and two others to lifetime imprisonment for their roles in the attack. The High Court upheld the sentences in February 2016.

Hannan was also sentenced to death for the 2001 Ramna Batamul bombing, in which 10 persons were killed.

The HujiB militant group was formed in 1992 and claims to have carried out at least 14 attacks, killing more than 100 people in the pursuit of “establishing Shariah law in Bangladesh”.

New research can change understanding of pain medication BeijiNG, April 9 (iANs): Neuroscientists have established in a new study that the human body’s peripheral nervous system is capable of interpreting its environment and modulating pain.

This finding can change the understanding of pain medication, the study found.

So far it was believed that only the central nervous system could actually interpret and analyse sensations like pain or heat.

However, researchers from the Hebei Medical University in China and the University of Leeds highlights a crucial new role for the ganglia, a collection of ‘nodules’.

“We found the machinery for neuronal communication did exist in the peripheral nervous system’s structure. It is as if each sensory nerve has its own ‘mini-brain’, which to an extent, can interpret incoming information,” said Nikita Gamper, who led the research at both universities.

“We also found the peripheral nervous system has the ability to alter the information sent to the brain, rather than blindly passing everything on to the central nervous system,” Gamper added.

The new study opens up possibilities for developing new drugs that are targeted at peripheral nervous system instead of those targeting the central nervous system which have side effects including addiction and tolerance issues.

The findings have potential future implications for the development of new pain-killers, including drugs to target backache and arthritis pain, the paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation noted.

“This dramatically changes our understanding of pain medication because in theory it is now possible to target drugs at the peripheral nervous system which could widen the type of treatments available,” stated Xiaona Du, Professor at Hebei Medical University.

Beirut, April 9 (reuters): President Hassan Rouhani stressed Iran’s support for the Syrian state in “its war against terrorism” during a call with his counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, condemning a U.S. missile strike on Syria as a violation of its sovereignty.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Assad told Rouhani the Syrian people and army were “determined to crush terrorism in every part of Syrian territory” and thanked him for Iran’s support for “the Syrian nation”. The United States launched a cruise missile attack on Friday against a Syrian airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack which killed 87 people including 31 children and which Washington says was carried out by the Syrian government.

Assad’s government has denied any involvement in the attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in the rebel-held Idlib province. Syria’s ally Russia says the deaths were caused when a Syrian air strike hit a depot where rebels were making chemical weapons, leading to a leak of toxic gas. Rebels deny that. Russia and Iran have provided Assad with critical military support in his war against rebel groups fighting to topple him.

gan in March 2011.

It killed at least 87 civilians, including 31 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.

Hundreds more suffered symptoms that the World Health Organization said were in some cases consistent with exposure to chemicals that include nerve gas.

The exact nature of the substance used in the attack has not been confirmed, and Syria has insisted it would not and has not used chemical weapons.

Assad’s government signed the Chemical Weapons Convention and agreed to turn over its chemical armaments in 2013, after being accused of a sarin attack outside Damascus that killed hundreds of people.

But there have been

repeated allegations of chemical weapons use by the government since then.

Syria’s closest allies Russia and Iran have defended Damascus against the allegations of chemical weapons use, with Moscow saying a conventional strike hit a rebel depot containing “toxic substances”.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called Assad to reaffirm his support for the Syrian leader in the wake of the US strike, Rouhani’s office said on Sunday.

“The nation of Iran will remain alongside the Syrian nation in fighting terrorism and safeguarding Syria’s territorial integrity,” Rouhani said in the call on Saturday evening, according to a statement on the presidency website.

He said allegations that Assad’s regime was behind a chemical weapons attack

were “baseless” and suggested it was carried out by rebel groups to influence global public opinion.

Moscow on Sunday also slammed Britain after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson cancelled a trip over Russian support for Assad.

The British have “no real influence,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began, and strikes have continued since the suspected chemical attack.

On Saturday, one woman was killed in a suspected Russian air strike on Khan Sheikhun, the Observatory said.

New strikes hit outside the town on Sunday, with no immediate reports of casualties, the monitor added.

9

UN pushes Myanmar to release detained Rohingya children YANGON, April 9 (AFp): The UN children’s agency UNICEF has called on Myanmar’s government to release Rohingya children detained as part of a sweeping military campaign in Rakhine state.

More than 600 people were arrested in an army crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in the north of the restive state. The operation was launched after deadly attacks by militants on police posts in October.

Rohingya escapees in neighbouring Bangladesh, where more than 70,000 have fled, gave UN investigators accounts of beatings, torture and food deprivation inside the jails. Minors are among those detained.

UNICEF’s deputy executive director Justin Forsyth said he had given the country’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi details of around a dozen youngsters being held in Buthidaung prison.

“There are some children that are detained in prison, so those are the cases that we’re raising,” he said late on Saturday at the end of a brief trip to Myanmar.

“Any child that’s detained is an issue for us.”

Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s army chief both recognised “that there’s an issue here” but made no firm committment for their release, he added.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay declined to comment when contacted on Sunday.

The UN Human Rights Council has agreed to send a mission to Myanmar to probe allegations that troops and police raped, killed and tortured Rohingya in their months-long campaign.

Myanmar has rejected the accounts collected by UN investigators in the Bangladesh refugee camps, who said the crimes could amount to ethnic cleansing.

“I think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening,” Suu Kyi said in an interview with the BBC last week.

Myanmar’s police and the military have both launched separate probes to investigate the deaths of at least eight people in custody in northern Rakhine.

UN rights envoy for Myanmar Yanghee Lee said some 450 people were being held in Buthidaung prison when she visited in January, most without access to lawyers or their families.

Myanmar has long faced criticism for its treatment of more than one million Rohingya, who are vilified as illegal “Bengali” immigrants and forced to live in apartheidlike conditions even though many have lived in the country for generations.

A group calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has claimed the October attacks, which it said were intended to defend the rights of the persecuted minority after years of worsening conditions.

Forsyth said there was a growing recognition among both Myanmar’s civilian government and army that depriving Rohingya children of opportunities had bred militancy.

“The reality is if you don’t address these issues particularly for these communities then it will come back to haunt them, which is partly what has happened,” he said.

NATO official hopes Serbia-Kosovo tensions will ease after vote COlOGNe, April 9 (reuters): The overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia’s presidential election on April 2 could help stabilise the country, a top U.S. and NATO military officer said.

Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, who heads NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, told Reuters she hoped “engineered provocations” between Kosovo and Serbia in recent months would calm down now that the election was over.

“Now that we’re through the election, perhaps the na-

tional leaders will refocus on their own countries and govern. That’s my hope,” Howard, who also commands U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, said in an interview late on Saturday after an event hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

Howard said the region remained an area of concern for the U.S. military and NATO, which still has 4,500 troops in Kosovo after intervening in 1999 to stop Serbia’s killings of ethnic Albanian civilians in a counterinsurgency campaign.

She said Vucic, the outgo-

ing prime minister, had run for president on a promise to keep the country moving on a path toward European Union accession, which also required a demonstration of economic stability.

“If he’s serious, then I think that is helpful for the country,” Howard said. “As you meet all that criteria, I can only imagine that it’s helpful for ... establishing stability and security of (Serbia).”

If Vucic makes good his vow to continue moving toward EU membership, then Serbia would remain “balanced be-

tween Russian influence and the rest of southeast Europe”, Howard said.

Thousands of students and other protesters, who see Vucic as an autocrat, rallied in Belgrade last week to protest at his victory and what they see as a fraudulent election.

Although his new post will be largely ceremonial, Vucic is expected to maintain his grip on power through his Serbian Progressive Party and to continue a balancing act between the West and Russia, a Orthodox Christian and Slavic ally.

Howard said she found it

astonishing how tense relations still were between Serbia and the ethnic Albanian-majority government in Kosovo nearly two decades after the war.

Serbia continues to regard Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, as a renegade province.

“Every time I talk to someone who’s from that region, they just remind me that grievances run deep in this part of the world, that the dead get buried but the grievance does not,” Howard said. “It’s a very complex environment.”

Hungary: ‘Illiberal State’ versus an ‘Open Society’ BuDApest, April 9 (Ap): Hungary’s effort to close Central European University, founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros in 1991, is another step in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s plan to transform his country into an “illiberal state,” a narrower view of democracy which contrasts with the “open society” ideals promoted globally by Soros.

A law rushed through parliament on Tuesday sets new conditions for the 28 foreign universities operating in Hungary. Some of the requirements — such as carrying out teaching activities in their home countries — are seen specifically targeting CEU, which does not have an American campus.

CEU is accredited in New York state and Hungary and its students can obtain diplomas accepted both locally and the United States. Orban says CEU is “cheating” by issuing two diplomas, giving it an unfair advantage over other local universities.

Hungary is demanding a binding, bilateral agreement with the U.S. government on CEU and another one with New York state.

Thousands attended two rallies against the law targeting CEU. Another protest has been announced for Sunday to ask President Janos Ader and the Constitutional Court to block the legislation.

Party, told deputies from Orban’s Fidesz party. “This may be too big a price to pay.”

Orban, who has increased Hungary’s dependence on Russia with a long-term nuclear energy deal, may also be doing a favor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has hosted in Budapest twice in the last two years. “CEU ... is the training ground for the opponents of Putin and other illiberal politicians,” Robert Braun, a former political consultant, said in an article published in the hvg. hu online magazine. “That is its mission.”

FALSE HOPES Orban, an early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, especially his anti-migrant stance and the vow to end America’s “democracy export,” said “goodwill” will lead the two governments and “therefore there is no reason for anyone to be nervous.”

Orban, who has named Russia, China and Turkey as models for his “illiberal state,” had great expectations that the Trump administration would be less criti-

cal than Barack Obama’s about his efforts to undermine the democratic system of checks and balances, stifle media freedoms and increase the role of state control over the economy, sports, culture and practically all aspects of life in Hungary.

The U.S. State Department, however, has made it clear that CEU has “bipartisan support” in Washington and that it “will continue to advocate for its independence and unhindered operation in Hungary.”

SEEKING FAVOR WITH U.S., RUSSIA Orban may be aiming for an invitation to the White House, appearing to ally himself with Trump against Soros, a prominent backer of Hillary Clinton in last year’s U.S. presidential election — while also trying to please with Russia.

“You are willing to sacrifice a university to finally get Donald Trump to host Viktor Orban,” Gergely Barandy, a lawmaker with the opposition Socialist

WIDE-RANGING SUPPORT FOR CEU The government says CEU is deceiving public opinion, but the president of Germany, hundreds of academics and many universities around the world, over a dozen Nobel Prize winners as well as the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Hungary’s major universities have expressed solidarity with the university and its intention to remain in Budapest.

CEU enrolls over 1,400 students from 108 countries and offers master’s and doctoral degrees in disciplines ranging from the social sciences to law, business and public policy.

The EU Commission, the bloc’s executive body, plans to discuss the CEU issue next week.

10

monDAY 10•04•2017

sports

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

sees red as barca chelsea in champion form at Neymar blow chance to level real bournemouth, spurs chase hard

Chelsea's Eden Hazard in action with Bournemouth's Adam Smith and Harry Arter. (Reuters Photo)

lONDON, ApRIl 9 (ReuteRs): Chelsea had the look of champions again as they maintained their comfortable seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday -- but Tottenham Hotspur will not give up the chase.

After Son Heung-min had scored twice in Spurs' 4-0 thrashing of Watford at White Hart Lane to cut Chelsea's lead temporarily to four points, Antonio Conte's men responded emphatically in the late game at Dean Court to move on to 75 points.

Chelsea were aided by Adam Smith's own goal before the outstanding Eden Hazard slid home a second

and Marcos Alonso curled home a stunning freekick.

Josh King scored his 13th league goal of the season in response.

The pack chasing Chelsea, headed by Spurs, all won earlier. Fourth-placed Manchester City beat relegation-threatened Hull City 3-1 with Sergio Aguero among the scorers at The Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool, who are third but have played more games than their rivals, left it late as substitutes Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino earned a precious 2-1 victory at Stoke City.

At the bottom West Ham United eased their relegation fears when they

ended a five-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory over third-from-bottom Swansea City at London Stadium.

Second-from-bottom Middlesbrough's hopes of beating the drop are slipping away though after they could only draw 0-0 at home to Burnley -- stretching their winless run to 14 league games.

Elsewhere, Southampton won 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion.

In a potentially tricky visit to the sun-drenched south coast, Chelsea started in dominant fashion and led when Diego Costa's effort deflected in off the unlucky Smith.

There was no luck about

their second goal, however, with Hazard, one of the Premier League's outstanding attacking players, collecting N'Golo Kante's pass with a superb touch before searing past Artur Boruc and finishing from an angle.

The in-from King pulled a goal back for the hosts but the visitors had too much quality and sealed the win when the often unheralded Alonso curled home a breathtaking free kick to cap an impressive personal performance.

"When you have this type of opponent [Tottenham] who is in good form and wants to catch you, it is important to have a good answer. This is a good an-

public discourse

On Upcoming HSLC Result: An Appeal to NBSE Meribeni Kikon

S

Nutun Basti

ome teachers are stringent while some generous in allocation of marks to examinees. There may even be occasions when an otherwise generous teacher may have got out of the wrong side of bed and in a foul mood may not have been as generous in his markings on that particular day.

Looking at past HSLC results and the toppers in particular, the difference in percentage from top 1 down to 20 in sequence varies from each other in fractions. How is one to judge in what way top 1 is superior to top 20 when it is evident to all that a single teacher may not have necessarily evaluated the scripts all the toppers? Similarly, how about the rest of the students who may have missed the recognition of being in the top 20 by a fraction? How is one to know if the examiners have done justice to their scripts? Again, chances are that the scripts of such students may have been evaluated by a less than generous examiner than the examiner who evaluated the lucky 20? The hypothetical deductions can be endless.

The point I want to make here is that, the

probability of many deserving students missing the accolade and recognition of being in the top 20 could be due to a variety of the reasons as argued above. It stands to reason that, by the very fact that such unfortunate students, though having done extremely well, may missed the rarefied top 20 position by a fraction of percentage by a combination of bad luck. Nonetheless, they are equally intelligent, consistent and hardworking throughout and it is only fair that due recognition should be meted out to them in equal measure. These can be done by the NBSE reverting back to the past practice of acknowledging the best 50 students from this coming HSLC result. This will harm no one but only encourage and boost the morale of many hard working students.

I trust that many parents will agree with my reasoning which I believe is valid because, we are talking about top 50 out of close to thirty thousand candidates and not out of a couple of hundreds.

Being a teacher for more than three decades and in the process scrutinizing and chief examining hundreds of scripts year after year gives me the authority to reflect with some degree of verity on this issue.

A new dawn in the Naga sky Liberal Democratic Party of Nagaland

F

or we see a new hope on the horizon if we are to pursue a better future. A dream that bests dreams surging from the inside of the system itself, for a dawn of glorified Nagaland do we see. It has everything to do with Nagaland from development to our social and personal freedom, the right for every Naga far and near to be as one. Yet seems it may as though a ‘vision’ that regards none the dreams the system itself nurtured into its loving fold determined to cause havoc, only if we pause and see the truth. And though it may seem so yet it is not, for we pride being a ‘Naga’ and unifying every Naga to ascend to yonder pedestal of glory and making the world a better place is all that is instilled in our DNA. Writers write, thinkers think and doers do for no one can say “awaken Nagas” just like no one can say “keep sleeping Nagas”. Let those who think that we best wait for a decade more or an infinity more, let them wait. Let those who can’t wait a millisecond more, let them act. But we all the while better choose the right choice lest you not complain in your misery when hope is all but lost.

Which is why, open your inward eye Nagas.

Think of what you are about to speak or do and think more of what you’ve already spoken or done. You may be learned much but learn more for there is greater truth and world beyond the

reality of Nagaland. Just because we were right once doesn’t mean we will always be met with such gratitude until we last breathe such as so, just because we were wrong once doesn’t mean we have lost the right to be who we truly are.

We have today Nagas who can produce world class music, brilliant Naga minds who work in NASA, design clothes for Hollywood Celebrities and the rest of the Charismatic loaed intellectual Nagas who can rebuild the ignorant architecture of our system into a civilized one had the platforms being provided. We today sit in our homes and with all the knowledge to live a productive live but because of the buoyancy of the leaders to repel “common sense” from their reasoning we have become slaves of the obvious transparent ignorant system which needs every little touch but since because the system has become a way of our life,we find it difficult to even change the tiniest little detail of the entirety of this imperfection.

For we have understood the system and its deception to keep us inside it for eternity, we cant be slaves no more of the system. The system has to be changed should Nagas need to be free. Free from ignorance driving us to not question what is right and wrong, what is the truth and what is not, the right for everyone to pursue knowledge and search for the truth.

For the words are sweet because the real world based on truth and rationality is only sweeter.

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.

swer," Conte told the BBC. "There are seven games to go and in England it is not easy, there is a lot of pressure. It's normal to have a good pressure [after Spurs won]."

Tottenham chalked up a sixth successive victory, Dele Alli scoring a superb goal -- his 16th of the season in the league -- and Eric Dier doubling the lead before Son's brace.

Spurs will be hoping Manchester United, Chelsea's next opponents, can do them a favour by beating the Blues.

Tottenham's 11th consecutive home league win and seventh league victory in which they have scored at least four goals put them on 68 points and had manager Mauricio Pochettino purring.

"We keep pushing.

We're in a very good position, second in the table," he said.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp made the surprise decision to leave out Coutinho and Firmino at Stoke and when Jonathan Walters gave the hosts the lead just before halftime it appeared to be a costly decision before the Brazilian subs both struck in the second half.

Liverpool move to 63 points -- nine ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal who have three games in hand, starting away to Crystal Palace on Monday.

"Job done, feels good.

Nice weather, 63 points and I couldn't feel any better," smiled Klopp, explaining that Coutinho had been ill during the week.

Barcelona’s Neymar is dismissed after receiving a second yellow card for barging into Málaga’s Diego Llorente. (Getty Images)

MADRID, ApRIl 9 (ReuteRs): Neymar was sent off as Barcelona suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Malaga on Saturday that scuppered their hopes of going top of La Liga and handed control of the title race to leaders to Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane's Real were held to a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the capital derby earlier in the day, giving Barcelona the chance to go top on goal difference, but Luis Enrique’s side squandered the opportunity and now sit three points behind Los Blancos, who have played a game less.

Former Barcelona striker Sandro Ramirez opened the scoring for Malaga with a breakaway goal in the 32nd minute before Jony added a 90th-minute second for the hosts.

Neymar was shown his second yellow card and dismissed midway through the second half.

Luis Enrique was angry with several of referee Gil Manzano’s decisions, in-

cluding the award of a free kick rather than a penalty after Charles fouled Sergi Roberto in the box.

"It's curious that a team like us that doesn't usually kick people gets so many yellow cards in such an incomprehensible manner," he said.

“There was some very ugly tackles from behind from their team which didn’t see them get booked and others committed by us which were given yellows.

“The rules are there to be interpreted, but equally for everyone. I don’t understand how the foul on Sergi Roberto was given outside the area, but we are used to it.”

After the Madrid derby ended in a draw a victory at La Rosaleda would have sent Barcelona level with Madrid on 72 points.

Barcelona started well but Juankar’s long ball caught the visitors off guard and Sandro beat Jeremy Mathieu for pace before finishing past Marc-Andre

ter Stegen with aplomb.

Neymar was booked in the first half for tying his laces in front of a Malaga player trying to take a free kick and received his marching orders for a late tackle on Diego Llorente in the 65th minute.

Adalberto Penaranda put the ball in the net for Malaga but his effort was incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Malaga grabbed a second at the death, however, with the excellent Pablo Fornals unselfishly teeing up Jony.

Earlier on Saturday, Madrid handed their archrivals the chance to depose them at the top of the table, as Antoine Griezmann grabbed an 85th-minute equaliser for Atletico.

Pepe opened the scoring for Real with a looping header in the 52nd minute and it looked like the hosts would earn victory, until the Frenchman intervened late on, reaching Angel Correa’s through ball and slotting home.

Durant returns as Warriors post 14th straight win lOs ANgeles, ApRIl 9 (AFp): Kevin Durant scored 16 points in his return from injury as the Golden State Warriors won their 14th straight with a 123-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.

Durant also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds and six assists as he played 31 minutes at the Amway Center after missing 19 games with a knee injury.

"I felt good putting my jersey on and running out with the team. It felt normal again," Durant said.

"I am a basketball player. I love playing basketball. It is my favourite thing to do. To feel part of team and this energy we have feels great."

The Warriors improved to 66-14 to extend their win streak which is the longest in the NBA this season. They had already clinched the top seeding in the Western Conference.

They won Saturday despite the absence of Stephen Curry, who was sidelined by a bruised left knee.

The Pelicans (33-47) played minus star big men DeMarcus Cousins (right Achilles tendinitis) and Anthony Davis (sore left knee).

They were also playing the second night of back-to-back games that began with a loss in Denver.

Durant suffered a sprained left knee on February 28.

The Warriors threw him right into the fire against the Pelicans, not only starting him but feeding him on their first possession. He made good, driving to the hoop for a reverse dunk.

"You get a dunk on the first play of the game, it don't matter how long you been out, it feels good," he said.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Durant has been bugging him to play.

"At first we thought it was season ending," Kerr said. "I am just happy for him that he was back out here where he needs to be. It was time for him to play."

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler did all he could, but the Chicago Bulls' defensive lapses proved too costly to overcome in a damaging 107-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Butler scored 33 points, but the Bulls' bid to rally from a lacklustre first half were doomed by their inability to

Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors goes up to slam dunk the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter of their NBA Basketball game at ORACLE Arena on April 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Getty Images)

put the brakes on the Nets in the final five minutes.

"Jimmy played amazing down the stretch," said Chicago guard Dwyane Wade, who scored 14 points in his return after missing 11 games with a broken right elbow. "He hit a lot of big shots for us. We just needed some stops."

After their slow start the Bulls finally seized the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter.

Nikola Mirotic's three-point play on a fast break gave them a 97-88 lead with 4:24 to play.

But Chicago didn't score again for more than two min-

utes, when Butler's jump shot gave them a 99-98 lead.

In the meantime, Nets rookie Caris LeVert hit back-to-back three-pointers and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made two layups.

The Bulls were unable to respond. Butler's two free throws gave Chicago a 101-98 lead with 1:36 to play, but it would be their last lead of the game.

- Bucks book playoff berth Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 90-82 to clinch a

playoff berth.

Antetokounmpo scored eight of his points in the third quarter, when the Bucks (4139) outscored the Sixers 25-12 to seize command and snap a three-game losing skid.

The Bucks began the night needing a victory and a loss by Chicago, Indiana or Miami to secure their second postseason berth in three years. The Bulls lost 107-106 to Brooklyn.

Greg Monroe added 17 points off the bench for Milwaukee, which held Philadelphia to 35 percent shooting, including just 25 percent from beyond the arc.

MONday 10•04•2017

EntErtainmEnt

Power Rangers REVIEW

After his second single track and the much acclaimed 2015 Song of the year in the 7th Music Award of Nagaland - Agape Love, Sanepong Tzudir is back again after a silent year with his latest track "The Anniversary" which is directed towards and dedicated to Rev. O. Alem and his wife on the commemoration of their 45th wedding anniversary.

The song expresses about the voyage of love and the contented relationship the couple has been sharing throughout their 45 years of marriage which is still standing strong. The song is available on indihut. com/sanepong-tzudir.

It’s a mighty morphin’ good time

W

henever the film industry tries to reboot a beloved, pre-existing property, it always feels reconstructed in a way to be more accessible for all kinds of audiences, and less specific than the original may have ever been.

The best thing that can be said about the new Power Rangers movie is that it doesn’t ever feel like it betrays the core values of the Power Rangers franchise.

That may be a disappointing selling point of the film though for those

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who never quite connected to the property in the first place but are going in expecting it to be a much different or darker approach than its previous incarnations. Make no mistake, this Power Rangers is still just as campy and cheesy as the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, but it just looks much better than that early ’90s version could ever be.

To put it simply, this is very much a film for the fans out there who always wondered what Power Rangers might look like if the budget for the

special effects and action sequences matched the ambition of them.

Taking place in the small town of Angel Grove, the film follows the same basic structure of the original 90s incarnation, telling the story of what happens when five very different and seemingly unconnected high schoolers stumble upon an ancient spaceship buried underneath their town.

Discovered with it are five specially colored alien discs, one for each of the kids, that turn them into superpowered versions of their previous selves, stronger and faster than any normal person could be.

None of the characters feel particularly accepted or understood by anyone, until they all find themselves in the exact same place at the same time, and are given gifts most kids could only ever dream of receiving.

Power Rangers can struggle to find the right tone at times, especially during the muddled and haphazardly-paced middle section when the team are training. Occasionally, the film manages to capture the sense of wonder and joy that audiences want from their superhero origin stories, but this also clashes noticeably with the much slower and leisurely-paced opening act.

It’s only during the final 30 minutes or so that Power Rangers feels like it manages to perfectly nail its blend of campy fun and emotional stakes in a final battle that is as visually exciting as it is well-staged and executed.

On that same note, director Dean Israelite and screenwriter John Gatins are never afraid to have fun with this film, and that feels like it should be applauded. This is not by any means the “serious” version of Pow-

er Rangers like we’ve seen so many recent blockbuster reboots try to do with their properties, and as a whole it succeeds because of the clear love and energy brought to it by everyone involved.

Coming off the mildly inventive sci-fi found-footage film Project Almanac, Israelite is the latest young filmmaker to be seemingly plucked from obscurity and given the opportunity to prove his worth through the means of large scale, blockbuster filmmaking.

The result isn’t a perfect blockbuster by any means, as the emotional aspects of Power Rangers do struggle to come through from time to time. But Israelite directs both the super-powered action scenes and mundane days of his characters’ lives in such an equally dynamic and spirited manner that he seems like the perfect person to bring Power Rangers to life for a whole new generation.

The Verdict?

Power Rangers likely won’t do much for those who never liked the property in the first place. But for those who grew up with it, or found it through the many different incarnations throughout the years, it provides the kind of passionate, loving reboot that we very rarely see from the studio system nowadays one that goes deeper into its mythology without ever losing the camp element that made it so much fun in the first place. > Find the Skid Reviewer at: www youtube.com/theskidreviewer www.facebook.com/theskidreviewer And at Instagram at the_skid_reviewer (The Skid Reviewer is a YouTube channel run by two comic book fans from Nagaland who make videos about anything that catches their fancy)

Baek Jin-Hee to visit India

S

outh Korean actress and model Baek Jin-Hee is all set to pay her first visit to India to support gender equality and youth empowerment in the marginal sections of the community. The actress, best known for her award-winning performance as the devious Empress Tanashiri in the 2013 hit period drama "Empress Ki", would be coming to the national capital as part of Plan India's programme from April 11 to 13.

Since 2012, she has been an ambassador for "Because I am a Girl" (BIAAG) campaign, a global initiative to create a world that values girls' rights, promotes girl empowerment and end to injustice.

Jin-Hee will participate in the graduation ceremony of 'Saksham', a programme to provide market oriented vocational skills and micro enterprise development to the underprivileged youth in the suburb of Dwarka, according to a statement released by Plan India on Saturday. She will felicitate the girls in a digital learning centre set up to prevent girls from dropping out of school in the unorganised settlements of Delhi.

On the second day, she will join in the volunteer activity at SDMC primary school, Madanpur Khadar and would later visit the safer cities programme centre and meet the girls there. Jin-Hee will conclude her tour by participating in a school wash programme and promote basic hygiene and safe water handling practices.

Source: IANS

12

monday 10•04•2017

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Hyderabad outplay Gujarat Hamilton coasts to fifth by 9 wickets for second win title at Chinese Grand Prix

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Chinese Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton (C) is flanked by runner-up Sebastian Vettel (L) and third placed Max Verstappen.(Getty Images)

the best battle you can have. Because then when you come out on top, it's so much more satisfying."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen drove a masterful race through traffic to move up from 16th position on the starting grid to third place, fighting off a spirited challenge from teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the final lap.

Ricciardo finished fourth, followed by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas in sixth.

The drama-filled start after a rainy morning set the stage for Hamilton's victory and Mercedes' recovery after Vettel surprisingly triumphed in Austra-

lia and signaled that Ferrari had the pace this year to challenge the silver cars.

The drivers had barely left the starting grid when Williams' Lance Stroll bumped against Sergio Perez of Force India and spun off the track into a bed of gravel. A short time later, on the fourth lap, Antonio Giovinazzi hit a wet patch and slammed into the wall, severely damaging his Sauber car and bringing the race to a halt again.

During the safety-car slowdowns to remove both cars from the track, the top drivers pitted to change to softer tires, reshuffling the starting order. Hamilton emerged from the fray with

a hold on the lead, but Vettel and Bottas slipped back several places and had to fight to catch up.

After Vettel's victory on the Albert Park street circuit in Melbourne, Ferrari showed it can also match Mercedes' pace on a traditional track with long straights following the off-season F1 rule changes that ushered in faster cars with wider tires, better aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce.

The goal was to increase the competition at the front of the grid — and two races into the season, the changes have certainly had an impact.

"If we can challenge Mercedes again (going forward), that's very good news," Vettel said. "They've had a very, very strong run the last couple of years. This year, as well. If we can be close, that's good."

Verstappen, meanwhile, made clear that Red Bull isn't that far behind.

The young Dutch driver passed nine cars on the opening lap and was even threatening Hamilton at one point, but fell back and eventually lost second place to Vettel.

"I had a good start and I got a bit of luck," he said.

"Nine cars is quite a lot in one lap, but of course very happy that it worked."

Rashid Khan of Sunrisers Hyderabad during match 6 of the Vivo 2017 Indian Premier League between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Gujarat Lions . (Sportzpics)

21-ball 31 threatened Hyderabad early. But Rashid, with his discipline and guile, came and applied the brakes.

Struggling opening batsman Brendon McCullum was trapped leg before wicket with a googly from Rashid in the fifth over.

In the next over, Roy, who slammed five boundaries, was the next batsmen to go. Roy was caught by Dhawan at the midwicket off a delivery from Bhuvneshwar to leave his side at 37/2.

Skipper Suresh Raina (5) and Aaron Finch (3) also failed to step up to the occasion as both were adjudged leg before wicket off Rashid in back-to-back overs.

With Gujarat tottering at 57/4 in nine overs, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (30) and Dwayne Smith (37) played sensible innings by rotating the strike

and punishing the bad balls.

They built a 56-run partnership for the fifth wicket to steady the fort before Smith ran out of patience and decided to take on Bhuvneshwar. The West Indian failed to pick a slower delivery and the ball ended up in the hands of Vijay Shankar at the deep mid-wicket.

Dhawal Kulkarni (1) was run out by Rashid in the same over. With two overs remaining and Gujarat reeling at 117/7, the lower-order only managed to add 18 runs. Basil Thampi scored 13 runs and Gujarat Lions totalled 135/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

The total, proved to be no challenge for the likes of Warner and Henriques, who dominated Tejas Baroka, Basil Thampi, Raina, Dhawal Kulkarni and Praveen Kumar.

Mokokchung Young Hearts to play ManU cruise to victory at Sunderland McGregor-Mayweather fight on the horizon: UFC Prez exhibition football match with 44 AR moKoKchuNG, april 9 (mExN): Come April 15 afternoon, the 44th Assam Rifles Ground at Mokokchung will witness a football match of a different kind between some of the well-known faces and the 44th Assam Rifles stationed at Mokokchung.

The match has been organized by the 44th Assam Rifles as part of its civic action programme and also to familiarize with the local people on the theme, ‘Sentinels with the sons of the soil’.

The local team, dubbed as Mokokchung Young Hearts United, comprises of nearly thirty players brought in from different walks of life. The team is made up of administrators, social workers, teachers, religious and social leaders, entrepreneurs, youths and so on; prominent among them are former Chief Secretary Alemtemshi Jamir - the captain of the team, beauty queen Imlibenla Wati, entrepreneurs Tsukti Longkumer, Limalenden, musicians like Wati Imchen, etc. Besides, there are also some veteran

footballers who will play from the local side.

The Assam Rifles team will be captained by its commandant Col KS Kataria.

Taking opportunity of the 44th AR initiative, the Mokokchung Young Hearts United (MYHU - pronounced Mi-Who) reached out to different people who have contributed to towards the development of Mokokchung society. The MYHU members also asked the different organization and NGOs like Ao Senden, Watsu Mungdang, AKM, MTLT etc to be a part of the team, to which they agreed wholeheartedly.

The exhibition match will be played for ninety minutes and the match will be officiated by professional referees.

An added attraction will be renowned musician, Nise Meruno as ‘Celebrity Guest’ and a special appearance by upcoming comedian Hopong Naga.

Meanwhile, the MYHU invites all to come and witness the match on April 15 at 2:00 pm.

SuNdErlaNd, april 9 (rEuTErS): Manchester United put a spate of recent draws behind them to boost their top-four hopes with a routine 3-0 victory at bottom club Sunderland to move fifth in the Premier League on Sunday.

Once again it was veteran Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic who provided the inspiration for Jose Mourinho's side, scoring the opener and setting up a late goal for Marcus Rashford.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was also on target while Sunderland had Seb Larsson sent off shortly before halftime.

Six draws in their last nine league games had eroded United's hopes of a top-four finish and victory

over Sunderland was imperative if they were to stay in touch.

They were frustrated for 30 minutes but once Ibrahimovic produced a clinical finish for his 28th goal of the season in all competitions they were untroubled.

Sunderland have gone seven league games without scoring and with seven games remaining they are 10 points adrift of safety and seemingly doomed to relegation.

Manager Davis Moyes said Larsson's red card for going in on high on Ander Herrera had killed the game. "I don't want to blame referees for my position and us losing," he said.

"Manchester United were playing well but it was a decision that went against us."

United took the lead at a sun-drenched Stadium of Light when Ibrahimovic, receiving the ball with his back to goal, shook off his marker and buried a low 20-metre shot past Jordan Pickford.

Victor Anichebe went close to an equaliser but his close-range effort was blocked by United keeper Sergio Romero who was starting in place of the injured David de Gea. Any Sunderland hope disappeared with Larsson's red card and 46 seconds after the break Mkhitaryan fired past Pickford.

In the 89th minute Ibrahimovic combined with substitute Rashford who beat Pickford with a crossshot for his first league goal since September.

Cormier retains light heavyweight belt, pushes Johnson into retirement

Anthony Johnson (L) fights with Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in Buffalo, N.Y. (Getty Images)

sellout crowd of 17,110 went wild for the former champion. Three months from completing a yearlong doping ban, Jones said he was focused on reclaiming the light heavyweight title he's lost twice due to suspensions.

Cormier wanted nothing to do with Jones' posturing, saying, "don't talk to me about a guy who's ineligible. When you get your (act) together, I'll be here waiting to fight."

Cormier was award-

ed the light heavyweight belt only after Jones was stripped of it in early 2015, when he was suspended by the UFC following his involvement in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Cormier edged Johnson at UFC 187 in 2015 by submission, and he won with a rear naked choke in the second round at the KeyBank Center.

The 33-year-old Johnson said he was moving on an unspecified non-MMA

venture.

"I'm tired of getting punched," he said.

Gegard Mousasi stopped Chris Weidman by TKO in the second round of a confusing conclusion to a middleweight bout.

Mousasi connected with two knees to the right side of Weidman's head that stunned the former champion and led to a stoppage. Mousasi had lifted Weidman and delivered one right knee to the head, a seemingly clean

blow that clearly did some damage. Mousasi's second knee caused some of the confusion.

Referee Dan Miragliotta gave Weidman, who suffered his third straight loss, a 5-minute recovery period because he thought the fighter had both hands on the canvas, which would make the second knee illegal. Fighters can't deliver those knees when the opponent has two hands down.

Mousasi's first knee was clearly legal, though replays seemed inconclusive on Weidman's hand placement on the second knee. After an extended break and plenty of commotion, doctors checked on Weidman and the fight was stopped as a packed KeyBank Center drowned out the decision with boos.

UFC fans hadn't fully settled down for the main event from the mess of a finish in what had been a punishing Moursasi-Weidman bout.

Weidman yelled profanities as he looked at replays on the screen and believed he should have won because of illegal kicks.

"Why did they even stop the fight if it was a legal hit?"

Weidman asked.

Weidman lost his third straight bout following a run of 13 victories to open his career. The New York native apologized to fans who had rallied him with "USA" chants against the Dutch Mousasi.

"It's not the way I wanted to win. I wanted to continue to fight," Mousasi said. "I was just in the moment of the match. If he wants a rematch, he can have his rematch."

UFC was back in Buffalo for the first time since New York lifted its MMA ban and ran a card in the city for the first time since UFC 7 on Sept. 8, 1995, was headlined by Ken Shamrock and Oleg Taktarov's fight to a ridiculous 33-minute draw.

New York had shunned MMA almost since the company's inception and was gone for nearly 20 years once UFC 12 in 1997 was booted after the event was denied sanctioning rights. But New York hosted two big cards at Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center in the last five months and advance ticket sales were strong for Buffalo.

UFC announced Urijah Faber will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July during International Fight Week.

fighter's girlfriend gives birth to their first child in May. White cautioned the fight was not close to a done deal. "The longer it takes for us to come to an agreement, the longer it takes to negotiate with the Mayweather team," White said. "Is Conor McGregor not a massive star? Floyd doesn't make this kind of money without Conor."

NORTHERN ANGAMI -1 T20 BASH 2017 APRIL 10 MATCHES Middle Bayavü Lions vs D. Khel United (7:00 AM) Upper Bayavü Sixers vs T. Khel Knights (10:00 AM) Rokabozou/Sepfuzou Challengers vs P. Khel Eagles (1:00 PM)

NSCA elects new office bearers Kohima, april 9 (mExN): The Annual General meeting-cum-Election of the Nagaland Sports Coaches Association (NSCA) was held on April 7 and 8 at Puliebadze Chaheki, Jotsoma, Kohima.

A new team of office bearers for the tenure 2017-2020 was elected with Tosovi Anthony as President and Ropfu Meyase as Secretary. The others are: Vice-President – Mughato Aye; Joint Secretaries – Toshi Jamir, Ashok; Treasurer – Kevilebei; Advisors – Yanbemo Humtsoe and Khriehutuo Tsira.

DAYANANDA SAGAR UNIVERSITY Innovation Campus - supported by labs from industry leaders: IBM, Autodesk, Bosch Rexroth, VMware, Boston, Bosch ETAS, nVIDIA and GE Healthcare

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buFFalo, april 9 (ap): With a vicious choke, Daniel Cormier forced Anthony Johnson into submission and retirement.

Cormier's next title challenger?

Pick a fighter outside of the cage.

Cormier easily defeated "Rumble" Johnson for the second time in two years, using a rear naked choke to retain the light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 210 on Saturday night.

With tears in his eyes, Johnson announced his retirement inside the octagon, saying "it's time for me to do something else."

It's time for Cormier to figure out what's next — and he has options for a major fight later this year.

Cormier jawed with No. 4 ranked contender Jimi Manuwa immediately after the bout and then talked trash with perhaps the class — and considered, the uncrowned champ —of the division, Jon Jones.

"Jimi Manuwa, you don't want any of this," Cormier said. "Jon Jones, as a fighter, I respect you, but we don't see eye to eye."

Jones looked on from cageside and stretched his arms in approval as the

buFFalo, april 9 (ap): UFC President Dana White said he was confident a proposed bout between Conor McGregor and boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. is on the horizon. "I see this fight happening," White said after UFC 210. White said he will meet with McGregor, UFC's biggest box office attraction, in New York soon after the

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ShaNGhai, april 9 (ap): With Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel starting side-by-side on the front row at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, the stage was set for a wheel-towheel duel between longdominant Mercedes and a newly competitive Ferrari.

A chaotic start to the race on a wet track, however, scuttled the highly anticipated showdown as Hamilton coasted to victory for his fifth title in Shanghai and first of the new Formula One season.

Starting from pole position, Hamilton led from beginning to end to capture the race in 1 hour, 37 minutes, 36.158 seconds and pull even with Vettel atop the driver's standings with 43 points.

Two weeks after beating Hamilton at the season-opening Australian GP, Vettel had to settle for second place this time, finishing 6.2 seconds behind his rival.

With both teams showing equal pace at the top, there will likely be plenty of other opportunities for close races this season.

"I'm fighting up against a four-time world champion (and) he is at his best and he is phenomenally quick. And Ferrari are at their best in years," Hamilton said. "And we're at our best as a team and I feel like I'm at my best."

"The ultimate fighter always wants to go up against

hydErabad, april 9 (iaNS): Leg-spinner Rashid Khan (3/19) and seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/21) put up impressive bowling performances to help Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) outplay Gujarat Lions (GL) by nine wickets and register their second consecutive win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Sunday.

Thanks to the heroics of 19-year-old Afghan slow bowler Rashid and India medium pacer Bhuvneshwar, the defending champions restricted Gujarat Lions (GL) to a low total of 135/7 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

The target never appeared a challenge for the hosts, who rode on pyrotechnics from captain David Warner (76 not out off 45 deliveries) and Moises Henriques (52 not out off 39 balls) to maul the inefficient and inexperienced Gujarat bowlers and give Hyderabad an easy victory with 4.3 overs to spare.

Even though opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan (9) fell to Praveen Kumar, the power-hitting of Warner and Henriques meant that it was smooth sailing for Hyderabad.

Warner whacked six fours and four sixes, while his fellow Australian Henriques hit six fours to give Gujarat not even a toehold in the match.

Hyderabad were put in firm control during their bowling, by Rashid and Bhuvneshwar. Put in to bat, Gujarat opener Jason Roy's

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