April 3rd, 2015

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The Morung Express

Dimapur VOL. X ISSUE 90

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Friday, April 3, 2015 12 pages Rs. 4

Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best

Congress protests Minister’s remark on Sonia Gandhi

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–Edward Abbey

Lauren Gottlieb’s dream comes Serena true with three big films earns 700th win to [ PAGE 11] reach Miami Thailand junta replaces martial Open semis law with absolute power

Dimapur hit by hailstones [ PAGE 2]

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DupeD: 30 Zeliang urge Nagas to press Crore in Ponzi for solution with one voice Morung Express News Dimapur | April 2

An oft repeated tale, another case of a fraudulent investment operation with thousands of people from Nagaland being duped of huge sums of money has emerged.

Investment in a ponzi scheme has led to more than 10,000 investors lose more than Rs. 30 crores in Nagaland.

This time, it is a Dimapur based ‘NGO’ Queensberry Foundation which is allegedly behind cheating investors who include bureaucrats, church workers and police officers, among others.

The Queensberry Foundation (QF) promised its investors interest rates on capital that were as high as 60% for a year or even up to 21% in 6 months, informed employees of the Foundation, who themselves claim to have been duped. Set up in 2009, the NGO is registered under the Nagaland Societies Act and has 11 branches all across the State with more than 500 employees.

In fact, the Foundation did very well from 2009 till the end of 2013, with investors getting marvellous returns on the capital they invested without any corresponding mortgage. People invested anywhere between Rs. 200 to crores. Those who invested more than a lakh rupees even got a notarised affidavit stating that the capital along with the interest is assured returned. No one asked where the abnormal returns were drawn from. Having gained confidence, investors put in more money. When the money ran dry at the end of 2013, the employees were the first to panic.

“The organisation was overall very professional in hiring us and paid us really well,” said one of the employees of QF, most of whom now find themselves “sandwiched” between the Foundation and the investors. Yet they continue to come to work, though unpaid since end of 2013, so investors can be informed of the situation, employees claim.

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

“No.ooo don’t,Switching on the computer or the Tv will result in instant power failure in the area.”

Public Information

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On account of Good Friday, The Morung Express will remain closed on Friday, April 3, 2015.

Normal work will resume on Saturday, April 4 and the next issue of The Morung Express will be available to readers on Sunday, April 5.

Here’s wishing all our readers a blessed and meaningful Easter weekend.

The Morung Express

“We ourselves invested in the schemes! So we request investors to understand that we cannot pay back their money as it was all handled by the CEO and proprietor. We are merely agents,” appeal the employees, ready to cooperate with the police in every way possible.

The CEO and proprietor of Queensberry Foundation, one Aaron K. Quinker, a Naga native, is now under police custody, booked under section 420 of the IPC. He convinced his more than 10,000 investors across Nagaland that all their returns will be paid by March 31, 2015, and disappeared to New Delhi in 2013. Later, he is said to have been living in Guwahati, from where the employees together with the Nagaland police managed to nab him.

Ponzi schemes occasionally begin as legitimate businesses, until the business fails to achieve the returns expected.

The business becomes a ponzi scheme if it then continues under fraudulent terms.

In the recent past, there have been numerous cases of bogus financial institutions coming to Nagaland and duping the public of crores of money.

In 2012, Jeevan Suraksha Group of Companies with registered offices in Assam, attracted lakhs of depositors with promise of high returns on investments. The firm had reportedly collected around Rs 1500 crore from the gullible depositors including thousands from Nagaland.

In 2008, a con man going by the name Abu Sayed duped many Nagas by promising to pay double the money paid to him on the same day.

The modus operandi of the con man was ludicrous- the depositors had to open the neatly sealed cellophane packets containing the “doubled money” only at their respective homes in Dimapur and not at the con man’s place where the exchange took place.

People invested in lakhs of rupees on the “scheme” and lost aplenty.

Phom community celebrates Monyiu festival at DDSC Morung Express News Dimapur| April 2

Nagaland chief minister, TR Zeliang, today iterated that the settlement of the protracted Naga political issue remains on the top agenda of his government.

Towards this end, the chief minister informed that the Joint Legislature Forum (JLF) comprising of all political parties in the state assembly will be reconstituted and the JLF will collectively approach Delhi pressing for early solution to the Naga issue.

Zeliang was addressing the Phom Monyiu festival celebration organized

by Phom Union Dimapur here at DDSC Stadium Thursday. He hinted that since there was no opposition in the present Nagaland Legislative Assembly, the JLF would have better understanding.

Referring to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s assurance to bring solution to the Naga issue within 18 months, Zeliang said this can be possible if Nagas are united and press for solution with “one voice.”

He however lamented that the Naga issue has been dragging on for many decades mainly due to disunity among Nagas.

Chief Minister TR Zeliang being felicitated by the Phom community during Phom Monyiu celebrations in Dimapur on April 2. (Morung Photo)

Zeliang said it was ironic that the Naga struggle, instead of uniting the Naga people has divided them further due to disunity among the Naga people and covert policies of external elements bent on destroying the Naga house.

CONPA affirms to National workers come in support of Wangtin & Tikhak strengthen Naga unity MoN, APRIL 2 (MExN): The NSCN/GPRN now led by Y. Wangtin Naga and P. Tikhak held a meeting at Mon HQ and claimed to have overwhelming support from regional authorities led by their chairmen and vice chairmen from Chang, Yimchunger, Sangtam, Konyak, Chakhesang and Phom tribes.

In a press release, it was informed that the Naga Army was represented by Col. Khamhi, Col. Phongjai, Col. Wanglon, Lt. Col. Yohong, Lt. Col. Khatwang, Maj. Teihwang, Maj. Pongpa, Maj. Mathlem, Maj. Romeo, Maj. Kono, Maj. Yangpongse while the Civil setup was represented by host of Kilonsers and Deputy Kilonsers led by Cabinet Kilonser Zaremo Lotha, Kilonser Thopevezo, Kilonser Tongmeth, Deputy Ki-

lonser Omnyai, Deputy Kilonser Langkho, Deputy Kilonser Chongpong, Central Council Member (CCM) cum Region Chairman Yimthong and host of CCM, secretaries and Deputy Secretaries.

All the regional authorities, Kilonsers, CCMs, Army Officers and members attending the meeting resolved to stand by the two leaders and urged both of them to work without fear or favour. The two leaders also urged all the national workers who want peace to “stand after them without any hesitation and follow the path of truth, reconciliation, love and respect in the Naga family.”

“No solution is possible without Peace and Reconciliation among the Nagas. The Naga people must unite together and raise the Naga issue

A woman before her time: First Naga woman MP laid to rest

The funeral service for Nagaland state’s first woman MP, Rano M Shaiza in Kohima on April 2.

Morung Express News Kohima | April 2

“A formidable fighter to the end for what she believed was right. A woman before her time,” said Niketu Iralu, brother of Rano Mese Shaiza while paying tribute to the former MP from Nagaland, who passed away on April 1.

The funeral service of Rano Mese Shaiza was held at Ura Academy Hall Kohima on April 2. The service was led by Rev. Rachülie Vihienuo, Pastor, Union Bap-

Alluding to the ongoing crisis within the ruling NPF party, the chief minister called upon the rival NPF legislators to come out of their hiding place so that unitedly they can work together for development and progress of the state.

On the financial crisis in the state, the chief minister said this was mainly due to the adverse effect of the 13th Finance Commission, which had not been generous to the state.

Zeliang however exuded confidence that the 14th Finance Commission would provide the much need relief and bail the state out.

Greeting the Phom community on the occasion of their premier festival, the chief minister underscored the need to promote and preserve the custom and tradition of Naga way of life and pass them on to posterity. Zeliang also stressed on the need for documentation and books so that outsiders can also gain knowledge on the rich tapestry of Naga culture.

President, Easter Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO), S Khoiwang who was the guest of honour and president, Naga Council Dimapur, T Bangerloba, also delivered greeting on the occasion.

The festival started with invocation prayer by Rev. Dr. Anjo Keikung.

The hailstorm witnessed in the early morning gave way to a sunny day and the ground came alive with merriment and gaiety as various Phom cultural troupes entertained the festive gathering with songs, dances, traditional games and the beat of the log drum.

Photos on page 11

tist Church. Speeches were delivered by Shürhozelie Liezietsu, Mayo Shaiza, Lhouvitsü Kesiezie, Rev. Candid Sareo, Niketu Iralu and Aziebu Shaiza. The funeral rites were performed

by Rev. Tsolie Chase, Pastor, Baptist Church Kohima.

Mayo Shaiza in his speech thanked the Angami community for giving Rano the chance to contest in the MP election who said that it was because of the love of the people that Shaiza won the MP election.

Lhouvitsü Kesiezie in

his tribute to Rano pointed out the many contributions of Rano and most importantly her pursuance of keeping one’s culture and identity alive through traditional attire, a signature style of hers. Kesiezie termed Rano as “The guide and mother of many of us” and hoped that Nagas will continue her path.

Her son Aziebu Shaiza affirmed his mother Rano as “the perfect blend or breach between the Angami and Tangkhul Community at difficult junctures.”

in one voice,” stated the leaders. The National workers who want to work for peace and national reconciliation have been asked to contact senior Kilonser Zaremo Lotha and Dy. Kilonser Langkho at 9436612441 and 9612756715 respectively.

On the issue of CorCom supporting the abrogation of ceasefire by SS Khaplang, the two leaders said, “outsiders will always be outsiders.

They have a habit of shooting from the Naga shoulder and this one is no different. Therefore, we are not surprised to see their support for abrogation of ceasefire. They knew that, if the Naga issue is put at rest, their issue will die its own natural death. Therefore, it becomes pertinent for them to keep raking the Naga issue for their own survival.”

DIMAPUR, APRIL 2 (MExN): The first meeting of the Committee on Naga Political Affairs (CONPA), a committee formed under the aegis of the Naga Hoho to work for Naga Unity, Reconciliation and Settlement of the IndoNaga issue was held at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur on April 1.

A press note from CONPA informed that the committee resolved to reach out to all stake holders in Nagas lands across “artificial boundaries” to understand each other better for building trust and understanding amongst the Naga People. It further affirmed to strengthen cordial relationship amongst all Naga tribes and organizations and pursue the work of unity among all Naga political groups simultaneously with initiatives

and programs for early settlement of the Indo- Naga Issue.

The committee also resolved to support the Ceasefire Agreements of various Naga political groups with the Government of India (GOI). It then appreciated the achievements and continuous endeavor of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) to bring unity and reconciliation amongst the Naga Political Groups.

The CONPA appealed to all Naga political groups to “reflect and value the utmost desire of the Naga People for Unity and Reconciliation and wholeheartedly work to achieve the same.” It further urged state parliamentarians to sort out their internal differences with an open mind and collectively work for development and providing good governance to the Nagas.

Kuala Lumpur to Dimapur on a Harley Morung Express News Dimapur | April 2

This preacher from the ‘Wild West’ is not your usual image of a conventional priest confined to his pastoral ground.

In a trail blazing tour to know more of the North East region and its people, founder and director of ‘Fire around the World’ Ministry, Rev. Daniel Hurt, traversed more than 3,000 miles on his Harley-Davidson from Kuala Lumpur and reached Dimapur after more than three weeks on the road.

Rev. Hurt who rode alone in his machine was accompanied by his wife Sandra Hurt and actor-producer, Kory Bassett, in another vehicle. At an informal interaction with media persons at the residence of Rev. Dr. Pughoto Aye, director NE India ‘Fire around the World’ Ministry, at Thahekhu village, Rev. Hurt said his trip this time was more of an education tour as he wanted to learn more about the North East.

Bassett said he will be doing a documentary on the journey and experiences of Rev. Hurt.

“I love motorcycles.

In the US we do motor-

Rev. Daniel Hurt sitting on his motorcycle along with his friend Rev. Dr. Pughoto Aye. (Morung Photo)

cycle shows. So this time I thought why not bring along what I love. This also an expression of God’s love for the NE,” the preacher from Iowa said. Hurt who is heading for Arunachal Pradesh Friday along with his two companions said he would be sharing his experiences and learning from the tour back home.

Rev. Hurt said his ministry has been reaching out to the “unreached” in the North East and Nagaland for more than 15 years besides other countries like Malaysia, Thailand and different

parts of Africa. “Eighty percent of our energy and resources is spent in the North East Region,” he said.

Hurt who is also currently creating a Naga museum back in his native state Iowa said, over the year, he and his colleagues have become very familiar with the “suffering” of the Naga people and the circumstances in which they were placed.

He said he believed God has raised Nagas as Christians for a purpose.

With the Naga people being surrounded by Hindus,

Muslims and other faiths, Rev. Hurt believed this was God’s way of choosing Naga people to spread the Word of God to the unreached.

His steel companion has a lot to tell too including the Naga story. Painted on the sides of his bike are motifs of Naga shawls, spears and daos. Hurt said these motifs are another way of spreading the Naga story wherever he goes went including motorcycle shows back home.

The image of a wizened old woman from Arunachal Pradesh decorates the fuel tank. He said the old Buddhist woman was converted to Christianity during one of their outreach programmes.

“She is now 102 years and still attends our programmes,” he added.

For those interested in giving a personal touch to their bikes, the preacher’s machine is a marvel of an innovation, assemblage of accessories dating back to the 1930s and 1940s - fenders dating back to 1940s, tail light of a parked car, main headlights of a pickup truck, brake pedals of a Buick, radiator of a 1929 Model T car and footrest of a tractor. The list goes on…..

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Dimapur

Friday

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3 April 2015

The Morung Express C

Dimapur hit by hailstones 245 houses destroyed in Thahekhu village, Dimapur District Transport Office damaged

Vehicles navigate through a waterlogged road near the SP's Office in Dimapur onApril 2. (Photo Courtesy: Medovoi Medeo) Morung Express News

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Dimapur | April 2

eavy rain along with hail lashed Dimapur on Thursday afternoon causing massive waterlogging. Gale associated with the rain resulted in branches of trees falling on the national highway and resulting in traffic jams. There were also reports of damages to houses. Hailstones the size of plum also damaged billboard hoardings on the highway.

For Dimapur citizens, it was the first time they had seen such a blanket downpouring of hail after many years. Social media users have also been sharing pictures of the hail.

According to the Thahekhu Village Council Chairman Khekuto Yeptho, the cyclonic storm has damaged lot of properties and houses and rendered many families homeless. Thahekhu village, which is comparatively located at a higher altitude than Dimapur town was severely hit by the storm. It has destroyed 245 houses and properties worth around 1.2 crore of rupees.

The Council Chairman on behalf of the village appeals to the district administration and the concerned department to kindly extend necessary relief and aid to the effected families at the earliest possible time in order to ease their hardship. The TVC has acknowledged Anoka Assumi, SDO (Civil), Dimapur for visiting the affected area at Thahekhu village.

Meanwhile, the District Transport Officer, Dimapur has informed the public that since a part of its office building was damaged due to severe hailstorm, the District Transport office will remain closed till restoration is completed. The public are requested to bear with the inconvenience.Hail is caused when raindrops are lifted up into the atmosphere during a thunderstorm and then supercooled by temperatures below freezing, turning them into ice balls

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Photographs taken after the hailstorm in Dimapur on April 2.

KU Kohima celebrates Aoleong Mongu at Kisama

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Minster for power Kipili Sangtam, minister for forest, wildlife and environment Dr. Neikiesalie (Nicky) Kire and others during Konyak Aoleang festival at Kisama on April 2. (Morung Photo)

KOHIMA, APRIL 2 (DIPR): The Konyak Union Kohima celebrated Aoleong Monyu festival at Kisama, Naga Heritage village on April 2 with Minister for Power, Kipili Sangtam as the Chief Guest and President Angami Public Organisation (APO), Dr. Vilhusa Seleyi as the guest of honour. The Chief Guest in his speech said that Nagas are rich in culture with colourful customs and started its history from head hunting to wisdom and from invisible to vis-

ible. He also said that selftrust was the secret of success. Konyak community celebrates Aoleong Monyu in the first week of April every year after completion of sowing of seeds in the new field and to mark the end of the old year and to welcome the New Year with thanks giving. He also said that the foundation of success was only through love, unity and sympathy shown to one another. He also quoted the words “Work is worship” where God wanted every man and woman

to work and only through hard working our future is determined. He also said that Konyak tribe is one of the biggest tribes in Nagaland and called upon them to live in unity for upliftment of any field.

Seleyi in his speech said that it is an honour for inviting him to grace this auspicious occasion as guest of honour. On behalf of the Angami community, he greeted all Konyak people who have come to celebrate Aoleong Monyu. He said that Konyak people

are admired by all tribes because of their courages and warriors. Therefore, he called upon them to maintain the good qualities inherited from our forefathers. He also appreciated the Konyak people living in Kohima for showing their love and honour for Angamis.

The highlights of the programme included invocation by H. Moba Nyuyomba, Pastor Konyak Baptist Church Kohima, welcome address was delivered by President KUK, T. Ngamjok, welcome song

by Tangshimlan, significance of Aoleong by Advisor KUK, L. Nyeiang, cultural songs by Homching Phong, Mon circle, Chen area and Tobu Area and vote of thanks was proposed by Press Secretary KUK, S. Tongyoung.

Minister of Forest, Dr. Nicky Kire, Parliamentary Secretary for Prisons, Er.Picto, MLA, Naiba Konyak, Government officials and NGOs also took part in the celebration.

World Autism Awareness Day 2015 observed

KOHIMA, APRIL 2 (DIPR): World Autism Awareness Day and dedication of music therapy centre was held at JO Foundation, Agri colony, Kohima on April 2 with Commissioner & Secretary, Works and Housing, I. Himato Zhimomi, IFS as the chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest expressed his appreciation to the owner of JF for taking initiative with an intention to take care of those who have been affected by this syndrome. He said that they would get a sense of satisfaction on this mission over a period of time and God Almighty would certainly bless them abundantly for their good work.

He went on to say that, there was a possibility to reach out to the people who needed attention. Therefore, he urged to rededicate ourselves for what we could do for disabilities. He also congratulated and extended the best wishes to foundation as well as music therapy centre.

Director, Music Task Force, Gugs Chishi shared his views on relevance of music in this generation. He said music and dance which we inherited from our forefathers was a

part of our culture which brought peace and tranquility in our lives. Music has been a source of bonding and communication in all walks of life provided we had time and space, he added. He further said, music could be used not only as a therapy but also as a medium to avoid distractions.

Music Therapist, Rukuse Sakhrie shared on as to why music therapy was important for Autism related diseases. He said that the main objective of music therapy was to have connection, self identity and to build good rapport with one another irrespective of age groups where there was no other means of communication.

JF was established in 2010 with an initial enrolment of 8 students only. At present it has more than 80 children, stated Chairman, JF, Daniel Thong Seb in his introductory remarks.

JF children & Jonathan Lushai presented special numbers while vote of thanks was proposed

by Administrator JF, Tenyeninlo Thong. Chairman JF, Daniel Thong Seb delivered welcome address.

Pastor, City Church, Kohima Kedo Peseyie invoked blessing and also dedicated the music therapy centre.

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Strengthening unity and friendship through community fishing, Philimi village from Sumi community and Tsungiki village of Lotha community gathered at Doyang River on March 31. Besides strengthening the bond among the two villages, this was done to revive their forefather’s traditional fishing. During community fishing, people collect roots of a particular tree found in the forest and beat them against fallen tree trunk or stones. It is believed that this helps release poison from roots which knock out fish, making it easy to catch them. While men from the two villages pounded the barks of a tree known for its pungent properties, women prepared lunch by the riverside – with the fish they caught during the day. The event also attracted tribes from other districts. (Morung Photo)

phD general meeting

Preparation for NSF conference at Khonoma

DIMAPuR, APRIL 2 (MExN): President Pochury HOHO Dimapur District, Soutsutho Amon has convened a general meeting on Saturday, April 4 at 10 AM at its treasurer, Therheli’s residence in Chumukedima. All members are requested to attend the meeting positively.

The Wakching Wankon Üdüp Dimapur (WWÜD) celebrated Aoleang, the premier festival of the Konyak on April 2. The celebration, hosted at the residence of Jenmei Konyak at Signal Angami, was attended by members of the WWÜD, besides dignitaries, including former Lok Sabha MP Chingwang Konyak, MLA & NKVIB chairman YM Yollow, former Minister MC Konyak and other guests. Aoleang is observed after the sowing of seeds in the fields invoking the Almighty’s blessing for a bountiful harvest.

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KOHIMA, APRIL 2 (DIPR): Nagaland Government has adopted change in procedure of submission of pay bills with effect from April 1, 2015.

According to a DIPR report, an office memorandum issued by Principal Secretary & Finance Commissioner, Temjen Toy informed that the preparation and approval of salaries of all gazetted officers at all levels in the state would now be made through es-

tablishment pay bills.

In this connection, Toy informed all Heads of Departments and DDOs concerned to take note and initiate necessary steps for compliance of the change in procedure for submission of pay bills. He also directed all Treasury Officers/ SubTreasury Officers to ensure that the revised procedure is enforced.

In accordance with this, Treasury Officer, Mo-

kokchung, Toshizemba informed all DDOs in the district to comply with the government order. He further said “Erasers and overwriting in any bill are absolutely forbidden and must be avoided. If any correction be necessary, the incorrect entry should be cancelled in red ink and correct entry inserted. Each such correction or any interpolation deemed necessary should be authenticated by the DDOs setting his full signature with date

against each”.

It may be recalled that the revised system of drawal of salaries of gazetted officer through establishment pay bill was made to the officers of Secretariat.

Subsequently this was extended to Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts.

It was further applied to all the Directorates. This measure was adopted to streamline and simplify the system of preparation and drawal of pay bills.

KCSU new executive council KOHIMA, APRIL 2 (MExN): The Kohima Chakhesang Students' Union had held the installation programme for the new executive council tenure 2015-16 on April 1 at CBCK conference hall, Kitsubozou Kohima. The following persons were declared to various post for the tenure 2015-16: Presient: Wkhrope Marhu, Vice President: Atolu Lohe, General Secretary: Vechivo Rhakho, Finance Secretary: Mhaseto Khamo, Assembly Organisation: Speaker: Hukhoto D Vadeo and Assembly Secretary: Pretsho Venuh.

LOC and CoLA members with ASU officials during a trip to Khonoma village as part of preparatory for the forthcoming NSF conference.

Our Correspondent Khonoma | April 2

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the forthcoming general conference of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) along with the officials of the Angami Students’ Union (ASU) today interacted with the Committee on Local Arrangement (CoLA) here and discussed threadbare as to how to go ahead with necessary preparation for the success of the conference.

The NSF conference will take place by the second week of May this year at Khonoma village.

The Angamis under the banner of ASU is hosting NSF conference for the first time in its history. It is also significant to note that the first president of NSF late Z. Ahu Zinyii who hails from Khonoma village where the NSF conference is slated to be held.

After surveying the location of the monolith site and the proposed confer-

ence venue, a meeting took place with COLA members at Khonoma Village Council hall wherein LOC convenor Khrielievi Chiisi called for collaborative effort of each and every individual towards the success of the conference.

He also urged upon all the Nagas to be prepared and actively participate in the conference.

Thousands of delegates from all Naga inhabited areas are expected to attend the conference.

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REgional

The Morung Express

NLFT to hold talks with governments agartala, aprIl 2 (IanS): National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) will hold tripartite talks with the central and Tripura governments in Shillong on April 4, an official said here on Thursday.

"The NLFT led by its self-styled chief Biswamohan Debbarma expressed its willingness to the central government a few months back to hold talks.

The union home ministry sought opinion of the state government in this regard.

The Tripura government gave positive response," a top Tripura home depart-

ment official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"A tripartite meeting between officials of the central and Tripura governments and leaders of NLFT militant group is likely to be held in Shillong," the official said.

It was not clear why the tripartite talks are to be held in Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, and not in Agartala or New Delhi.

The Tripura government told the union home ministry that it welcomed any move of militants to come to the mainstream of life after eschewing vio-

lence, the official said.

Members of Tripura's two militant groups - NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) - shelter and avail arms training in Bangladesh, which shares 856-km border with Tripura.

Both outfits, banned in 1997, have set up bases in Bangladesh and get support from other separatist groups of northeast India.

They have been demanding secession of Tripura from India.

As most of the ATTF cadres have surrendered in Tripura, the outlawed outfit is almost non-exis-

tent now.

According to a union home ministry report, the central government currently has ceasefire agreement with five terrorist outfits of Assam, two in Manipur and all the three factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland.

The central government has implemented a scheme for surrendercum-rehabilitation of militants of northeastern region since 1998.

Under this, a one-time grant of Rs.1.5 lakh, monthly stipend of Rs.3,500 per militant cadre, and in-

centives for deposited weapons are given to surrendered extremists as a rehabilitation package.

The report said: "In case of Manipur, one time grant of Rs.2.5 lakh and monthly stipend of Rs.4,000 per militant cadre are given to surrendered militants under a special surrender-cumrehabilitation scheme formulated in 2012."

During the financial year 2013-14, a sum of Rs.15.55 crore was released to the northeastern states for payment of stipend to surrendered extremists, it added.

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3 April 2015

Manipur unit told Times of India on Wednesday that the names of candidates are being finalized.

"We will field candidates in all seats in Tamenglong, Ukhrul, Senapati and Chandel districts and more than half of the total seats in Churachandpur and Sadar Hills district autonomous councils," he said. Responding to a query, he said there is a possibility of an alliance between NPF and BJP as the two are partners in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

In the 60-member Manipur assembly, NPF has four MLAs and is the sec-

ond largest opposition party after Trinamool Congress that has six MLAs. At a recent meeting in Senapati, NPF resolved to participate in the Manipur ADC polls to fight for tribal rights and expedite the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process.

BJP, too, has convened a series of meetings ahead of the ADC polls.

Another opposition party — JD (U) — said it will field at least 20 candidates and possibly more. The party's Manipur unit president M Tombi said it will contest the ADC election with likeminded parties.

The Indian Army suspect NSCN (K) to be behind the attack Itanagar, aprIl 2 (IanS): Three India army jawans were killed and three others wounded on Thursday when suspected militants ambushed an army convoy in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district.

Six army personnel in the convoy were injured in heavy firing by the militants, an army official said, adding that three soldiers later succumbed to their injuries.

NGT directs Meghalaya to submit coal mining plan in 6 weeks new DelhI, aprIl 2 (ptI): The National Green Tribunal has come down heavily on Meghalaya government for not framing the coal mining plan for safety of workers and directed it submit the guidelines within six weeks.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar took strong objection to the illegal mining going on in the state despite "specific and complete prohibitory orders" and to the Meghalaya government's non-compliance and inability to execute the directions of the Tribunal.

"It is indisputable that orders of the Tribunal have been violated without exception. The transportation of coal has continued without taking any environmental protection measures and without strictly complying with the guidelines framed by the committee and Meghalaya.

"We record our disapproval, for the said

conduct of Meghalaya in not formulating appropriate policy and guidelines despite orders of the Tribunal... The mining in the state cannot be permitted till the time such policy and mining plan/map is prepared by the state government," the bench said.

The Tribunal also refused to agree with the state government's submission of "lack of force" for its failure to execute the directions and directed the Additional Secretary, North East in the Home Ministry to hold a meeting with the Meghalaya Chief Secretary within two weeks and consider the proposal for deployment of appropriate force.

The green bench also allowed transportation of the coal strictly in accordance with the guidelines prepared by the committee under Additional Chief Secretary K S Kropha and orders of the Tribunal and environmental protection measures for carriage of such coal.

Rongali fest to project Assam as tourism destination guwahatI, aprIl 2 (IanS): Food, music, dance, lifestyle, sports, fashion, literature and scenic beauty - Assam's rich culture, beauty and lifestyle will be flaunted with aplomb at Rongali, a three-day festival starting from Friday, to give an impetus to the state's tourism as well as to change people's perception towards the Northeast.

The fest, which will be held at Veterinary Ground, Khanapara, in Guwahati, will focus on Assam's rich history, icons, music, dance, magic, handloom, handicrafts and age-old harmony between various tribes and communities.

The first edition of the festival is expected to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Shyamkanu Mahanta, the chief organiser of Rongali, noted that it is an "attempt to showcase the state as a tourism destination".

"We did Northeast Festival in Delhi recently, which was a big occasion with a lot of people coming in. So we thought that we must do something to attract tourists to Assam, which is a gateway of Northeast. Rongali is an attempt to showcase the state as tourism destination. We believe that Assam was not marketed well; so we aim at doing that," Mahanta told IANS. Assam's image is often marred by reports of violence between tribal communities, terrorist groups or poaching, but Mahanta says the fest is "an attempt to change it".

"There are reports about ULFA, violence and tribal conflicts. But change is under way and the situation is improving a lot. People have also realised that tourism is quite critical. With its heritage, landscape and wildlife, Assam can be the best tourist destination in India," he added.

Visitors will get a glimpse of different aspect of life in the state with exhibitions on lifestyle, food habits of various tribes, traditional handloom and handicrafts, and delicious Assamese cuisine along with other northeastern fare.

The extravaganza is aptly timed around spring (Bihu), during which Assam is painted by myriad hues with the blooming flora and fauna.

Artists will also narrate intriguing and captivating stories, while actors from Sangeet Natak Akademi will enact a play "Ram Vijay Bhaona".

Visitors will get a chance to watch maskmaking by Sibsagar artisans. Tea exhibition, magic shows from Mayong and a display of traditional jewellery from Nagaon will add a mystical touch to the fest; while dancers from across the state will present over 50 dance forms.

Literature will be of focus with display of Assamese literature by legendary writers; and Assam's traditional sport has also found a spot in the cultural gala.

Music has always bridged gaps and connected people. Hence Assam's

top singers like Zubeen Garg, Papon and Simanta Sekhar will also attempt to strike a chord with their musical notes.

Rock band Indian Ocean and heavy metal band Girish and The Chronicles will also perform. A roundtable discussion in association with Guwahati University will also be held on the theme 'Development Agenda of Assam'.

Without leaving its booming fashion industry aside, the state will lay out a style statement with two fashion shows presenting creations of Assam designers, putting the state's fabric and handloom in spotlight. They have also called buyers to inject enthusiasm in the budding designers.

Mahanta points out that the festival is a small step towards ushering in a change. "This is just a beginning and within next four to five years, we will make it a global festival where we will bring people from across the world. We expect the festival to catch up with spread of word.

This will be a continuous effort," he said.

Keeping business side in mind, several reputed tour operators across India and tourists are expected to visit during Rongali, which is being organised by a socio-cultural trust of Assam Trend MMS in association with Hotel & Restaurants Association of Assam, Assam Tourism, department of cultural affairs, government of Assam, and Ministry of Youth Affairs, government of India.

in five northeastern states

aIzawl/agartala, aprIl 2 (IanS): As many as five states in India's northeast -- Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura -do not have permanent governors.

Of these, four are ruled by the Congress party while the Left is in power in Tripura. Only Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have regular governors.

Retired Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma is based at Itanagar and Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya in Kohima. Acharya holds the additional charge of Tripura and Assam.

K.K. Paul, a former Delhi Police chief and then governor of Meghalaya, will continue to hold the additional charge of Manipur till further orders though he is the governor of Uttarakhand.

West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi has been asked to discharge the functions of the governor of Meghalaya. And now he also has to discharge the responsibility in Mizoram.

Tripathi will be the seventh to hold the post in Mizoram in less than eight months, albeit temporarily, till the state gets its own fullfledged governor. Tripathi will take charge of the state this weekend, Mizoram government spokesman L.R. Sailo told IANS. Aziz Qureshi, who took charge as the 15th governor of Mizoram on January

9 after being transferred by President Pranab Mukherjee from Uttarakhand, has been sacked. His term would have ended in 2017.

Qureshi last year filed a petition before the Supreme Court alleging the Narendra Modi government was putting pressure on him to give up his post. Qureshi's case was reportedly referred to a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court as it involves constitutional law related to removal of governors. The bench is yet to be formed.

Tempers are running high in Mizoram over the frequent transfers of governors. This started with Vakkom B. Purushothaman, who was asked to go to Nagaland on July 6, 2014, just a month after Modi became the prime minister.

Purushothaman resigned, claiming he was not consulted over his transfer.

"Governors cannot be treated like clerks," he said.

Former Gujarat governor Kamla Beniwal was then transferred to Mizoram. Beniwal took charge on July 9 as the 12th governor of Mizoram. But within a month, she was sacked. Beniwal had a strained relationship with Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister.

Former union home secretary Vinod Kumar Duggal, the then governor of Manipur, was given the additional charge of Mizoram. Duggal assumed

office on August 8 but resigned after 20 days.

Maharashtra governor K. Sankaranarayanan was then transferred to Mizoram on August 24 for the remainder of his term, which was scheduled to end in 2017. He too quit, blaming the central government for taking a unilateral decision.

Paul was given additional charge of Mizoram and Manipur until his transfer to Uttarakhand.

Politicians, civil society groups and others in Mizoram are unhappy that the central government is using the state to "dump" governors.

But the Mizoram government has no issues. Spokesman Sailo, also the advisor to Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, said: "Appointment of a governor in a state is a prerogative of the centre.

Everybody is welcome as the Mizoram governor."

Congress leader Tapas Dey said the Narendra Modi government had chosen Mizoram as a "punishment posting" for governors appointed by the previous Congressled United Progressive Alliance government. Dey said: "It is also unbecoming that there are no permanent governors in five of the northeastern states."

With a population of only 1.1 million, Mizoram has had 15 governors in 28 years after it became the 23rd state of the Indian union in 1987.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

DIRECTORATE OF WOMEN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT NO.DWRD/ESTT/GEN-106/2010

3

Three jawans killed in Arunachal ambush

NPF gears up for Manipur ADC polls No permanent governors IMphal, aprIl 2 (tnn): With the Manipur Autonomous District Council (ADC) election round the corner, Naga People's Front (NPF) has begun its poll preparations.

Scheduled on May 30, the ADC polls in the six hill districts of Manipur will witness a three-cornered fight among BJP, NPF and the ruling Congress, political analysts said. Both Congress and BJP will field candidates in alI 140 seats.

Though Manipur has five hill districts, one of them — Senapati — has two district councils (Senapati and Sadar Hills).

A key leader of NPF's

Dimapur

"The army convoy was on its way to Longding district in Arunachal Pradesh from an army base in Assam's Tinsukia district.

When the convoy reached Topi area, a group of suspected militants started indiscriminate firing," the official said.

"We suspect the role of NSCN-Khaplang faction behind the attack. The NSCN faction must have taken the help of anti-talk faction of ULFA militants in carrying out the ambush," he said.

The official, however, added that the role of Na-

tional Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) could not be ruled out.

On Friday, NSCNKhaplang led by S.S. Khaplang abrogated the ceasefire agreement with the central government.

Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, that borders Myanmar, have been a stronghold of the NSCN factions and the route is also frequented by the anti-talk faction of United Liberation Front of Asom to sneak over to Myanmar, where these groups have camps.

Vistara launches flight service between Delhi-Guwahati new DelhI, aprIl 2 (IanS): Tata's full service passenger carrier Vistara Thursday launched its inaugural flight from New Delhi to Guwahati.

"We've had lots of customers asking us to fly to the eastern India over the past month, so we're delighted to launch this new route in response to the customer demand," said Phee Teik Yeoh, Vistara chief executive.

"The addition of this route reaffirms our commitment to promote regional connectivity in India, and contribute to

the government's efforts to boost trade and opening up development avenues for people in these regions," he said.

The new flight marks the airline's foray into the eastern and northeastern sectors. The airline will operate daily flights on the Delhi-Guwahati-Bagdogra-Delhi route.

Currently, the airline operates from Delhi to seven destinationsMumbai, Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bagdogra and between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

SUCCESSION NOTICE Whereas application under Succession Act 1925 for grant of Succession Certificate for the estate of Late G.M. Rongmei @ G. Mukta Rongmei has file by Smti Gaichemdinlu (Wife) R/o H.No.09, Nagagaon, Signal Bosti to draw his Family Pension, Bank Acct., Landed Property etc,who expired on 1.3.15. Covered by Patta No.252, Dag No.366, Block No.11, Mouza No.11.

Notice is hereby given that any person having interest in the administration of the estate of the said deceased, may if she/he so desire appear in this court on the said date of 30/04/15.

Addl. Deputy Commissioner Dimapur, Nagaland

INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN MINISTRY

Motto: Every Child, Every Church Sponsored by Toluvi Baptist Church Toluvi Village, Dimapur – 797112, Nagaland

A six months intensive course (residential) diploma course especially designed for child care givers, Sunday School teachers and others interested in children ministry.

• Issue of application forms – 5th April to 7th May, 2015 • Last date of submission of application forms – 8th May, 2015.

• Date of entrance exam and interview – 12th May, 2015, 10 AM. • 2015 session begins in the month of June.

Interested candidates may contact: Programmee Co-Ordinator, ICM Mobile: 8259973539 or E-mail: icmtoluvi@gmail.com

Dated Kohima, the 2nd April, 2015

RE-ADVERTISEMENT In compliance with the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench judgment vide Order W.P (c) No.138 (k) of 2014 dated 05-02-2015, the Department of Women Resource Development hereby re-advertises its earlier Advertisement dated 05-07-2014 apropos recruitment to the posts of LDA cum Computer Assistant.

Applications are, consequently, invited from eligible candidates for recruitment to the posts mentioned below; Sl. No Particular of Post Total No. of Posts 1.

LDA cum Computer Assistant 4 (four)

Pay Band + Grade Pay Rs.5200-20200/- + GP Rs.2000/-

Terms & Conditions/ Qualifications 1. Recruitment will be conducted based on Written Test and Interview on a date and venue fixed by the Department.

2. Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognized University.

3. Applicants must possess a Diploma in Computer Application.

4. Candidates from the Backward Tribes are exempted from Clause No. 3 regarding Computer Diploma, with the condition that they will acquire Diploma in Computer Application within 2 (two) years of appointment.

5. The educational qualification for all the Backward Tribes will be Class 12 Passed.

6. One post each is reserved for candidates from the Konyak and Phom tribes as per the existing ‘Roster System Policy’ of the Government of Nagaland.

7. Age of the applicant, as on the date of issue of the earlier Advert dated 05/07/14, should be between 21 and 30 years. Upper Age Limit for SC/ST will be relaxed by 5 years. Lower Age Limit for the Backward Tribes will be further relaxed by 3 years i.e. 18 years.

8. The Upper Age Limit for the Physically Handicapped will be relaxed by another 10 years.

9. Age concession for serving Government employees will be allowed and will be equal to the number of years they have been in service, subject to a maximum of 5 years.

10. Serving Government employees applying for the posts are required to submit ‘No Objection Certificate’ [NOC] to be issued by the concerned Head of Department.

11. Candidates may submit their applications in plain paper addressed to the Director, DWRD and submitted at the Directorate of Women Resource Development, Meriema during office hours on any working day on or before 15th April, 2015.

12. Along with the applications, it is mandatory that attested copies of the following documents/certificates be included; [i] Academic/Technical qualification certificates from Class X onwards (including Exam Admit Card) [ii] Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate [iii] Scheduled Tribe Certificate [iv] Birth Certificate [v] Backward Tribe Certificate (where applicable) [vi] 3 (three) passport size photographs in colour measuring 45mm x 35mm.

13. If any of the mentioned papers are missing/incomplete or forged, the applications will be summarily rejected.

14. Candidates who have applied earlier in response to the Department’s Advert dated 5th July 2014 need not apply again.

Sd/T. Haralu (Additional Director)

JUBILEE MEMORIAL SCHOOL (Affiliated to CISCE New Delhi) Salangtem Ward

Mokokchung , Nagaland

SITUATION VACANT Assistant Teacher for: 1. Computer – 1 Post Qualifications: BCA/MCA/B.Sc. with Diploma in Computer Scale of Pay: 8,000 – 12,800/- P.M. Plus DA 45%, HRA, M.A. etc.

Perks: CPF. LTC, Gratuity, etc.

Date of Interview: 11th of April 2015 at 9:00 AM in the school premises. No calling letter will be issued. Candidates should bring all original documents to the Interview.

Sd. S.K.Maiti Principal, J.M.School

Sd. Chairman BoG, J.M. School

ADOPTION DECLARATION Regd.No: 2933/2015 Date: 01/04/2015 I, Mr. Lithungo Kithan, permanent residence of Old Tssori Village, Dist-Wokha, Nagaland and presently residing at Duncan Bosti, H/No- 203, Near Lotha Sector Fellowship Church, Dist. Dimapur, Nagaland do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:1. That, I am a bonafide and law abiding citizen of India and hailing from Lotha (Naga) community.

2. That, I legal and natural uncle of Mr. TSENBEMO KITHAN, S/o.

Lt. Phyokhamo Kithan & Mrs. Orenboni Kithan, whose date of birth is on 14/07/1998.

3. That, after expired of my brother Lt. Phyokhamo Kithan, I had adopted Mr. TSENBEMO KITHAN according to Lotha (Naga) customary law/customs and rituals.

4. That, since his adoption of Mr. TSENBEMO KITHAN, where his educational and other documents his parental name should be read and write as son of Mr. Lithungo Kithan and Mrs. Nzano Kithan from concern authority.

5. That, my said son shall have full rights, titles of heritability whatever according to Lotha (Naga) customary law.

6. That, this affidavit is made for the purpose of declaring the above mentioned facts of adoption of my said son.

That, the above statements made from para 1 to 6 are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and nothing has been declared false therein.

Solemnly sworn before me on this 1st April 2015.

Deponent

Magistrate/Notary public Dimapur, Nagaland

4

Dimapur

businEss

Friday 3 April 2015

The Morung Express

Modi stresses on financial and geographical inclusion

Empowerment training on Vanya Silk concludes KohiMa, april 2 (Dipr): Department of Sericulture, Government of Nagaland conducted 6 (six) days Beneficiary Empowerment Training on Vanya Silk under Cluster Promotion Programme sponsored

by Central Silk Board (CSB), Government of India at Zunheboto and Kohima during the month of March 2015 Altogether, 150 beneficiaries (75 each) in both the districts were trained under resource persons taken both from State and Scientists from Central Muga Eri Research and Training Institute Ladiogarh, Jorhat, Assam.

MuMbai, april 2 (iaNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday to prepare a 20-year roadmap on financial inclusion to mark its 100th anniversary in 2035, and said geographical inclusion must also be addressed to bridge the east-west divide.

“Why don’t you have a target for 100 years - to reach banking services and beyond to each and every household?” the prime minister posed at an event here to mark 80 years of India’s central bank, which was established on April 1, 1935.

“Eighty years is an important event for us in India,” he said, adding that it marks the witnessing of 1,000 full moons during that time. “I’m sure when you celebrate your 100th anniversary 20 years from now, you would not have disappointed the country.”

He said the other milestones for financial inclusion could be the 150th birth anni-

Cellphones can now be used to measure objects in 3D WaShiNgtoN, april 2 (aNi): Researchers have developed a new technology that uses the camera and accelerometers in a cellphone to measure objects in 3D space just by waving the phone around the object or the scene. According to TechCrunch, the accelerometers called Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), tells the phone’s software the position of the phone in space. IMU’s are very noisy and rarely usable to truly assess a phone’s actual orientation with any degree of real accuracy but coupled with the camera, users can get far more useful results. Simon Lucey, associate research professor in the CMU Robotics Institute said that they have got accuracies with cheap sensors which they would not be possible. The tool allows for better computer vision and could mean that you could create a 3D model of almost anything with your smartphone alone.

versary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019, the 75th year of Indian Independence in 2022, and the RBI’s own 90th anniversary in 2025.

With Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajam at the dais, the prime minister also spoke about how the poor can actually give back with financial inclusion.

“Out of the 14 crore bank accounts opened under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Scheme, 41 percent did not open it for free,” the prime minister said, adding that as much as Rs.14,000 crore was collected from such accounts.

“Banks must have seen the poverty of the rich, but you have not seen the richness of the poor,” he said, alluding to the beeline that the corporate sector makes to banks, even as the poor, who need credit the most, are deprived.

Modi also expressed con-

cern over the the east-west divide and said while there was perceivable development in the western states of the country, those in the vast east were still struggling, despite being endowed with the maximum resources.

“We talk of financial inclusion. We should also look at geographical inclusion.” The prime minister also expressed concern over the suicides committed by farmers and said their pitiable plight was something that the financial sector in India must address.

“The pain of this should not only be restricted to newspapers and TVs. When a farmer commits suicide, it should make the banking sector look up and think. By taking money from a lender, the farmer has to resort to these steps.”

In the past few weeks, there has been a debate over whether or not the government and the central bank were on the same page in addressing issues that concerned the coun-

try’s financial system and health. But Modi sought to allay such apprehensions over lack of sync.

“I meet Raghuram (RBI governor) every two months.

Each time he comes to me with just four slides. These explain very clearly what the thinking is and I am able to understand it clearly,” the prime minister.

“Would this be possible unless the government and RBI are on the same page?”

Finance Minister Jaitley said the Jan Dhan scheme was a tremendous success and that the banking sector must now gear up to its second phase - that of providing a longer and meaningful social security net.

The challenge, he said, would be or account holders to get insurance cover for accidents and death, as also an alternative pension scheme with the support from the government, banking systems and other institutions.

Ford Mustang is finally coming to India

NeW Delhi, april 2 (ageNcieS): Ford India has plans to launch at least four new products this year in different segments. Besides launching the new-generation Ford Figo,Figo Aspire sub-compact sedan and the newgen Endeavour, the company is planning to bring its iconic sportscar - the Mustang - to India.

The India-bound Ford Mustang model will go through many changes when compared to the global one. Onne of those will be the right-hand drive steering system, which has never happened before in the history of Mustang. The Indian Mustang will power a 4-cylinder, turbocharged engine, which was last seen in the thirdgeneration model of the car.

Ford India will launch the Mustang in three engine options - a 2.3-litre Eco Boost, 4-cylinder (305bhp, 406Nm), a 3.7 V6 (300bhp, 365Nm) and a 5.0-litre V8 (420bhp, 528Nm). All the engines will be offered with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearboxes. The expected price of the Mustagng is around Rs. 50 lakh.

India ranks 119 on Global Gurgaon to have India’s ‘Most Expensive Apartment’ Business Resilience Index

Vistara launches flight service between Delhi-Ghy

NeW YorK, april 2 (ageNcieS): India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries on an index that measures business resilience of nations based on economic, risk quality and supply chain factors, dropping seven notches from last year. The 2015 FM Global Resilience Index has been topped by Norway for being the country best suited for companies seeking to avoid disruptions in their global supply chain operations. Venezuela is ranked last on the list.

India, “despite its scope and global potential”, ranks 119, falling from 112th rank in 2014. On the economic parameter, which takes into account GDP, political risk and oil intensity, India is ranked 115, the same as last year. In the risk quality factor, India is ranked 109 for its quality of natural hazard and fire risk management, a slight improvement from its 113th rank in 2014.

In the third category of supply chain, which looks at corruption control, infrastructure and local supplier quality, India is ranked 89th, falling 11 spots from the previous year.

Among the top 10 countries that are most resilient, Norway is followed

by Switzerland (2), Netherlands (3),

NeW Delhi, april 2 (iaNS): Tata’s full service passenger carrier Vistara Thursday launched its inaugural flight from New Delhi to Guwahati. “We’ve had lots of customers asking us to fly to the eastern India over the past month, so we’re delighted to launch this new route in response to the customer demand,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, Vistara chief executive. “The addition of this route reaffirms our commitment to promote regional connectivity in India, and contribute to the government’s efforts to boost trade and opening up development avenues for people in these regions,” he said. The new flight marks the airline’s foray into the eastern and northeastern sectors. The airline will operate daily flights on the Delhi-Guwahati-Bagdogra-Delhi route. In a span of three months, Vistara has already expanded its operations with the addition of Goa, Hyderabad and Pune to it route network. Currently, the airline operates from Delhi to seven destinations- Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bagdogra and between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The airline will soon commence flights to Pune from April 9, 2015. The airline added that its fleet will grow to six aircraft this month and nine by the end of this year.

Ireland (4), Luxembourg (5), Germany (6), Qatar (7), Canada (8), Finland (9) and the US (10). At the 123rd spot, Pakistan is in the bottom 10 countries on the index. The other least resilient nations to business supply chain disruption are Dominican Republic (126), Nicaragua (127) and Kyrgyz Republic (129).

Ukraine fell 31 places in this year’s index to 107th, the biggest year-overyear fall in the rankings, owing directly to Russian military intervention there. This worsening political risk and a weakened infrastructure are the main negative factors affecting the rank of Europe’s largest country, the report said.

France, ranked 19, trails Germany at 6, the leading EU nation.

France has slid down the index in recent years, reflecting a rising risk of terrorism, evidenced tragically in Paris, and deteriorating perceptions of both infrastructure and local suppliers. Also exposed to terrorism risk is the United Kingdom, which nevertheless held steady at 20 for the third year running, aided by its relative resistance to oil shocks.

The index provides an annual ranking of 130 countries and territories according to their business resilience to supply chain disruption.

_

LEISURE

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

SUDOKU Game Number # 3184

gurgaoN, april 2 (ageNcieS): A penthouse atop a 60-floor building in an upcoming luxury project in Gurgaon has been priced at Rs 100 crore

by Delhi-based Raheja Developers. Dubbed as “India’s most expensive apartment”, the 10,000-square feet penthouse will sport a private swimming pool overlooking the Aravali mountains and access to a roof-top helipad.

The floor-to-floor height of the penthouse would be over 15 feet, while all interior fittings and fixtures would be supplied by luxury brand Versace. The ultracostly penthouse will have 6 bedrooms and a private clubhouse. It would also sport artificial intelligence home automation system, the company claimed.

At Rs 1 lakh per square feet, the penthouse will be out of reach of the common man. But having sufficient money may not be enough to buy the property, which is being marketed among NRIs and big names in business, the company claimed. The penthouse will be sold by invitation only.

The company is undertaking proper due diligence before discussing the property with prospective clients, the company’s spokesperson said.

“Over 90 per cent of the units in this community are sold out, mostly to NRIs and big names in business,” said Raheja Developers ED Nayan Raheja. The project is being built by Arabtec, which has also built the Burj Khalifa -- the tallest building in the world.

How ‘free’ mobile apps drain your resources NeW YorK, april 2 (iaNS): There’s no such thing as free -- especially when it comes to smartphone apps! A new study by a team, including an IndianAmerican engineer, reinforces this conventional wisdom.

“Ads in ‘free’ apps drain your phone’s battery faster, cause it to run slower, and use more data,” said William Halfond, co-corresponding author of the study.

The findings of the team will be presented at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) in Italy in May. The researchers found that apps with

ads use an average of 16 percent more energy. That lowers the battery life of a smartphone from 2.5 to 2.1 hours on average.

“A phone’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) is like its brain.

Ads eat up a lot of that brainpower, slowing it down. “Apps with ads take up an average of 48 percent more CPU time -- 22 percent more memory use and 56 percent greater CPU utilisation,” explained co-researcher Meiyappan Nagappan from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), New York.

The team compared 21 top

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3194

Answer Number # 3183

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

apps from the past year and measured their effect on phones using analysis tools loaded onto a Samsung Galaxy SII smartphone. Since the ads themselves are content that has to be downloaded, apps with ads cause smartphones to use much more data -- up to 100 percent more, in some cases. On an average, these apps use around 79 percent more of the expensive network data, the study found. The researchers hoped app developers would take note of this study.

“Right now, they’re kind of clueless,” Halfond said.

STD CODE: 03862 232224; Emergency229529, 229474

Metro Hospital:

227930, 231081

Faith Hospital:

228846

Shamrock Hospital

228254

Zion Hospital:

231864, 224117, 227337

Police Control Room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

East Police Station West Police Station

227607 232181

CIHSR (Referral Hospital)

242555/ 242533

Dimapur hospital

224041, 248011

Apollo Hospital Info Centre:

230695/ 9402435652

Railway:

131/228404

Indian Airlines

229366

Nagaland Multispe- 248302, cialty Health & 09856006026 Research Centre

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ACROSS

1. . Pond gunk 5. Quietens 10. Trail 14. Piece of glass 15. S-shaped moldings 16. Balm ingredient 17. Unable to read 19. The original matter (cosmology) 20. 56 in Roman numerals 21. Sporting venue 22. Gangsters 23. An informal term for money 25. Constructed 27. Half of a pair 28. Diaphanous 31. Grownup 34. Throats (archaic) 35. French for “Summer” 36. A division of a hospital 37. Unexpired 38. A Freudian stage 39. Eastern newtv 40. A pinnacle of ice 41. A short simple song 42. Adhering 44. Disencumber 45. Large long-necked wading bird 46. A young hare

50. Characteristic 52. Utilize again 54. Genus of macaws 55. Hearing organs 56. Belonging to the past 58. 17 in Roman numerals 59. Not outer 60. Distribute 61. Popular hot beverages 62. Excrete 63. Not amateurs

DOWN

1. Overflow 2. Give birth 3. Dim 4. Japanese apricot 5. Compel 6. Concur 7. Low-fat 8. Relating to metabolism 9. South southeast 10. Bribe 11. Portion 12. Pigeon-___ 13. Skirt lines 18. Razz 22. Snake sound 24. Informed 26. Utilized 28. Internment camp 29. French for “State”

30. Depend 31. Amazes 32. Wacky 33. Hives 34. Earning 37. Blood vessel 38. Assistant 40. Three-handed card game 41. Frogman 43. An unstable situation 44. Vacation destination 46. Chordophones 47. Formula 1 driver 48. Muse of love poetry 49. Stories 50. Words 51. Rant 53. Feudal worker 56. Hasten 57. Evil spirit Ans to CrossWord 3193

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

STD CODE: 0370 100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202 08974997923

CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862 282777/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC)

MOKOKCHUNG: 0369 2226225/ 101 (O) 9436012949 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 9862130954(OC) ZUNHEBOTO: 03867 280304/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC)

MON: 03869 251222/ 101 (O) 9436208480 (OC) KipHire: 8414853767 (O) 8974304572 (OC)

Toll free No. 1098 childline

Police Station 1:

DIMAPUR: 03862 232201/ 101 (O) 9436017479 (OC)

TUENSANG: 8414853766 (O) 8414853519

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE

MOKOKCHUNG:

KOHIMA: 0370 2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC)

WOKHA: 03860 242215/101 (O) 9862039399 (OC)

Chumukedima Fire 282777 Brigade Nikos Hospital and 232032, 231031 Research Centre

KOHIMA

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

2226241

Police Station 2 :

2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:

2226216 2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226373/2229343

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

CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

US Dollars Sterling Pound Hong Kong Dollar Australian Dollar Singapore Dollar Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen

60.73 89.54 7.58 45.89 44.00 47.45 50.15

64.26 95.52 8.55 49.23 46.98 50.69 54.40

Euro

65.00

69.49

Thai Baht Korean Won New Zealand Dollar Chinese Yuan

1.81

2.04

0.0529

0.0597

45.15

48.45

9.47

10.68

LOCAL

The Morung Express

Friday 3 April 2015

HM Patton appeals Chang Finance department directives on payment community to uphold peace regulation during vote-on-account period TuENSaNg, april 2 (Dipr): Nagaland Home Minister Y Patton today appealed the Chang community to uphold peace and extend co-operation to the government as peace was the only pre-requisite means to bring development in the district.

Addressing a meeting with the Chang civil organizations led by Chang Khulei Steshang (CKS) along with All Sectors Union, Tuensang town, district administration and the police on Thursday, Patton said the ongoing law and order situation within

the district was proving to be a hamper to the ongoing project of opening of a new university in the Eastern District of Nagaland.

The Home Minster also invited the CKS for the tripartite talk with Yimchunger Tribal organisation on April 7, 2015 where the state government will facilitate as the third party.

Parliamentary Secretary for Horticulture, Kejong Chang also appealed to both the tribes to maintain peace and tranquility so as to bring development at the earliest.

Representatives from different civil societies of Chang community deliberated on the historical base, current base and the happenings pertaining to the ongoing situation in Tuensang. They also requested the government to look into the matter at the earliest.

The Home Minister was accompanied by Parliamentary Secretary for Horticulture, Kejong Chang, Chairman NBRM, Toyang Changkong Chang, MLA Mhonlumo Kikon and DGP Nagaland L L Doungel, IPS.

BJP on TR Zeliang ministry reshuffle Dimapur, april 2 (mExN): Whether the BJP Nagaland State become a party to the TR Zeliang government proposed reshuffle depends on the decision of its central leadership.

The BJP with four legislators in the house of 60 is an important ally of the DAN III government, which also includes NCP, JDU and their arch rival at the centre-Congress.

“We reiterate that it is for the leadership of the BJP at the centre to decide

on this issue and it is not within the power of the state unit, a press statement from media cell, BJP State unit stated.

It also placed on record that the party has 4 (four) bonafide legislators and men in the governance should know the fact and not distort it.

On the change of nomenclature from the present DAN III to any other name, the release said it was up to the NDA chairman and Prime

Minister Narendra Modi to decide.

Also informing that BJP state president Dr Chuba Ao has left for Bangaluru to attend the BJP state Unit presidents and executive members meeting which begins from April 2, the release assured that decision from the central leadership would be happen soon.

It has therefore asked the party workers to be patient with reassurance that the interests of the BJP Nagaland will be protected.

Kohima, april 2 (mExN): In matters relating to expenditure during Voteon-Account w.e.f 01.04.2015 to 31.07.2015, the Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, Y Kikheto Sema in a press communiqué has stated that the payments during the aforementioned period will be regulated in the following manner: 1. All Treasuries and SubTreasuries shall honour the pay bills of salaries, wages, pensions and GPF. 2. Leave encashment, Medical re-imbursements, etc shall be honoured after being duly pre-audited by the Directorate of Treasuries & Accounts.

3. Salaries and wages of employees under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) such as Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS),

Family Welfare Programme (FWP), District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Hindi Teachers, etc shall also be honoured on the strength of DDO-wise sub-allocation duly authenticated by the Finance Department.

4. Payments for salaries and wages under flagship programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), etc shall be honoured on the strength of DDO-wise authenticated by the Finance Department.

5. Treasuries and SubTreasuries shall honour pay bills of erstwhile State Plan employees in respect of Planning and Coordination department, Higher Education, Rural Development Department, etc.

6. Salaries under Public

Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Boards and Work-charged employees shall continue to be honoured on the strength of D.A/ D.L issued by the Finance Department.

7. In the event of failure on the part of any departments to bring sanction from the Government of India (GOI), for the salary component, Finance Department shall be left with no option but to issue direction to the Treasuries to stop payment of salaries and wages in respect of the defaulting department.

8. Departments having Work-charged employees and PSUs / Boards may move proposal of salary to Finance Department for issue of D.AID/L. 9. All other payments shall have to be honoured on the strength of D.A/ D.L issued by Finance Dept.

NSCN (IM) directs Chang and Yimchungru regional authorities

Dimapur, april 2 (mExN): The NSCN (IM), in pursuance of the decision of the Joint Meeting of the Steering Executive Members and the Cabinet dated March 30, has directed that “all national work-

ers both civil and army is informed not to involve in any kinds of activities between Yimchungru and Chang.” A press note from the MIP of the NSCN (IM) cautioned that “defaulters shall be doing so in

one’s own risk.” It further directed the Yimchungru and Chang regional authorities of the NSCN (IM) to “confine in their respective Headquarters to avoid from volatile communal tension.”

Dimapur

5

MEx FILE NSCM (IM) Sumi Region CAO directs Dimapur, april 2 (mExN): The NSCN (IM) CAO Sumi Region has directed the Chapilee of the region to stop collecting tax in Zunheboto and Sumi Region due to poor performance and “unwanted collecting” in the Region without reaching the Central office and harassment to the public. The CAO, Khuwoto in a press note further informed that only ‘central cabinet Chapilee’ is allowed to function in the region till the investigation is over. Business entities, “Conductor and Head of the Department” in the region are further informed to deal directly with CAO, Sumi Region for all official purposes.

Shops in Kohima to be open till 7:00 pm Kohima, april 2 (Dipr): As desired by Governor, the Kohima Municipal Council has agreed to keep the shops open in Kohima Town till 7.00PM on every Saturday of the week with effect from April 4.

Zila Sainik Welfare office Mkg informs moKoKchuNg, april 2 (Dipr): Secretary, Zila Sainik Welfare Office, Mokokchung, Lt. Col Joy Choudhury (Retd) has informed all Ex-servicemen, widows and dependent pensioners of Mokokchung, Tuensang and Longleng districts to report to the office of Zila Sainik Welfare, Mokokchung along with the following documents on or before April 6. Photo copy of ID card issued by Zila Sainik Welfare Office, Mokokchung, PPO, Updated Pass Book, Aadhar card (if held) or Any of the following- Pan Card/Voters ID Card/Driving Licence.

NFESA executive meeting Kohima, april 2 (mExN): The Executive meeting of the Nagaland Forest Executive Staff Association (NFESA) had been convened on the April 7 from 11:00 AM from Kohima Forest Range Office complex. The president of NFESA in a press note has requested all executive members, advisors (DFCs), unit presidents of the districts, co-opt members and other members to attend the meeting for constructive consultations regarding the welfare of the association and future course of actions.

Liquor seized from truck Will take up the vehicle theft as per Naga Customary laws: PLCCK Kohima Easter Sunrise Service

Kohima, april 2 (mExN): In connection with the theft of a vehicle from its colony, the Panchayat Lower Chandmari Colony, Kohima (PLCCK) in an emergency executive meeting on April 1 had resolved to demand the Government to take up the matter with the accused as per the Naga Customary Laws.

Maintaining that it’s has Labourers are seen unloading the seized liquor from the dipper at the office of the Commissioner of Excise & Prohibition on April 2.

Morung Express News Das (24 years), was arrested.

Dimapur | April 2

State Excise Narcotic Cell personnel on Thursday seized a huge cache of illicit IMFL at the Chumukedima Excise check post. According to the Excise Narcotic Cell, the liquor was confiscated from a Kohima-bound dipper truck (NL 07A 5562) during routine frisking. The driver, identified as Rajen

The liquor was concealed beneath layers of bricks. The consignment contained 350 cases of rum. The Narcotic Cell stated that as per the initial statement of the driver, the liquor was loaded somewhere at 3rd Mile, Dimapur and was headed for Kohima. A case under the NLTP Act was registered, it was added.

Around 400 students participated at an "Anti Tobacco Awareness Campaign" organised by DTCC Dimapur, at St John Residential School, Dimapur on March 31. The Principal of the school J Messiah exhorted the students to stay away from tobacco products in order to lead a healthy life and led the students in taking Anti tobacco pledge.

taken sole initiative and responsibilities by producing its eye-witnesses before the Kohima (S) Police Station and Naga Hospital Authority (NHA),and clearly identifying Sinilo Rengma and Neibu Angami as the robbers who had stolen the Panchayat KMC sanitation Bolero pick-up on January 29, the PLCCK stated that the accused are continu-

305 traffic accidents; 81 fatalities in 2014 Kohima, april 2 (Dipr): A total of 305 road traffic accidents were recorded in 2014 in Nagaland from which 81 people were killed and 230 injured.

According to a DIPR report, out of the 305 accidents recorded, 91 occurred due to driving under the influence of alcohol/ drugs; 51 because of over speeding, 36 due to driving on the wrong side of the road. There were 110 hit-and-run cases, 49 cases of head on collision and 36 caused by skidding.

On types of vehicle, Autorickshaw stood the highest number of casualties with 58 registered cases, followed by two – wheelers which stood at 56 and Taxi at 43.

District wise, Dimapur recorded the highest number of accidents with 263 cases which was followed

by Kohima (11), Wokha (7), Mokokchung (6), Tuensang (5), Phek (4), Zunheboto (3), Peren (2), Mon (2), Longleng (1) and Kiphire (1).

With the number of road accidents on the rise, the State police warned against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; over speeding, driving without protective gears (pillion riders), taking wrong turns, over-taking in narrow roads etc.

Obeying traffic rules is not just a duty and a responsibility but a way of showing respect to other fellow human beings as well, the state police has reminded.

Condolences for Late Rano Shaiza

S

everal organisations and individuals have conveyed their profound grief and sadness over the demise of Rano Shaiza, the first and sole Woman Member of Parliament (MP) from Nagaland, who died on at the age of 81 on April 1.

Naga Hoho: The Naga Hoho conveyed its profound grief over of sad Late Rano Mese Shaiza who left for her heavenly abode on April 1 at Kohima.

A press note issued by its communication cell described Lt. Rano as a lady who “displayed an inspirational live for all the Naga women folks by becoming the first and the only lady this far to occupy a chair in the parliament.”

“At this time of grief and sorrow, the Nagas prays for the departed soul, a fact which is known to all that it will be a difficult task to fill the vacuum she has left. To all the near and dear ones, the Hoho humbly prays that Almighty God will grant you solace and wisdom even as we mourn together with the departed soul. May Her Soul Rest In Heavenly Peace,” the

press note added.

NBCC: The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has expressed its profound grief over the sad demise of Rano Shaiza, an exceptional lady and a prominent figure who will always be remembered for her contribution towards the welfare of the people of Nagaland.

Saluting her as a pioneer, the council in a press condolence issued by its general secretary office, acknowledged the contribution made by her in various capacities especially in its church ministry and prohibition.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members Late Mrs. Shaiza as well as with her friends…

May your faith bring you comfort at this time of sorrow, and may God’s love give you strength to face tomorrow. Mrs. Shaiza was loved by many and will be missed,” the NBCC added.

NCW: The Nagaland State Commission for Women has conveyed its deep shock and sadness at the demise of Rano Shazia, the sole MP and a dynamic leader

among the Naga women.

Stating that her demise is great loss to the Naga society as a whole, the Commission in a press note offered its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayers of solace and strength for them and wished eternal peace for the departed soul.

NMU: Naga Women’s Union (NWU) expressed its deepest grief at the demise of Late Rano Mese Shaiza. In press condolences through its publicity wing, the NWU “praises God for what she was and her contributions in her lifetime” as the pioneering Naga woman politician, social activist, and educationist as well as good wife and good mother.

“We will always cherish her contributions and imbibe her virtues of courage, confident leadership and commitment to our people.

Her legacy and position will remain an inspiration to all young and old and future generations” it added. NWU conveyed its deepest condolences to the members of the bereaved family and pray for their solace and peace dur-

ing their grief and loss.

MUK: The Mao Union Kohima (MUK) has expressed its deep sadness over the passing away of Late Rano M. Shaiza, Nagaland’s first and only woman Member of Parliament elected to the 6th Lok Sabha in 1977.

MUK general secretary, D.Neli Koso in a press note stated that, “With her passing away the Nagas have lost a respected leader and a noble motherly figure and the void thus created in her premature death will be very difficult to fill.” It further extended its prayers of solace and condolences to her bereaved family members.

Dr. Vekusa Nienu: Deeply saddened at the demise of Late Rano Shaiza, Dr. Vekusa Nienu in a press note has condoled her death describing her as a “courageous and inspiring woman and dearly loved by everyone whose life she touched.” “On this sad occasion, I would like to express my condolences to the bereaved family members,” it added.

ously denying the alleged “commission of thief.” The eye-witnesses were called by police and even accused were paraded in the presence of Magistrate on April 1.

In such a scenario, it stated that if the accused continuously deny their involvement despite the eyewitnesses deposition, the PLCCK assert that it will take up the matter as per Naga Customary Laws and asked the government for same.

“The deposition of Panchayat eye-witnesses was

solely for the interest of justice and the welfare of its Panchayat in particular” the PLCCK said in a press note appended by its Chairman, Nohokhul Sophie; Secretary, Bentilo Rengma; GB Supong Ao and GB Hoshito adding that it will pursue the matter till justice is “meted out”.

Its next of action would be to convene a general meeting to take up further action involving entire members particularly the youth, it further informed.

Kohima, april 2 (mExN): The Kohima Easter Sunrise Service is scheduled to be held on 4 April at Kohima War Cemetery from 5.00.AMonwards, under the theme, ‘He is not here, He has risen.” Rev. Dr. Kethozelhou Keyho, general secretary, NBCC will grace the service as the speaker while Pastor Kedo Peseyie will lead the service.

According to a press release issued by Kohima

Baptist Pastors Fellowship (KBPF), Pastor, Surjay B. Sapokota will do the invocation, blessing and read the scripture passage while Rev. Dr. Vevo Phesao, President KBPF will delivered welcome note. The service will also feature with a special song to be presented by Police Baptist Church, New Reserve and Khedi Baptist Church, Kohima Village respectively. The organizer invites one and all to attend the service.

4 houses and 24 Orchards burnt down in Ntu village pErEN, april 2 (mExN): In a blazing inferno, four houses were completely gutted and 24 orange orchards were burnt down on March 17 at Ntu Village under Peren district.

In a press note received here, the Chairman of the village council K Aningbo stated that the fire which nearly whole village was nearly burnt down, continued for nearly two days and the orange orchard consisting of 50 to 60 thousand fruits bearing plants, While the villagers with approximately estimated to the assistance of outsiders be fifty to Sixty lakhs, were tried their best, it was of completely burnt off. no avail, he stated adding

that it razed further as no fire tendering machineries were available. The village council also appreciated

district administration and the forest department headed ADC Tening for inspecting the site.

CCCK conducts recollection programme Kohima, april 2 (mExN): As part of the Lenten observation and preparation for the Holy Week, the Chakhesang Catholic Community, Kohima (CCCK) conducted a recollection programme on March 28 at Holy Cross Chapel Kohima.

CCCK Chairman, Neingulie Krome and Secretary, Sarhunyi Dukru in a press release said that

the animator for the programme was Lucas Meyase. In his first session, the animator dwelt on the various signs, symbols and usages in the Catholic Church. He said the most significant among the various signs and symbols commonly used in the Catholic Church is the sign of the Cross, signifying one God in three persons i.e., the Father, the Son and

the Holy Spirit. The sign of the Cross is a characteristic signature of God and all His creations in the universe bears this signature, which includes His most unique creation, the Human being.

In his second session, the animator deliberated on the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church namely Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion,

Reconciliation, Anointing of the sick and Holy Order (Priestly Ordination) and the Holy Matrimony.

He described these seven sacraments as channels of grace. Like a pipe connected to a water reservoir, he said the seven sacraments connect us to God through which grace comes to us.

Faith, reflection and repentance were the focus of the final session.

Wokha blast condemnation WDEA: The Wokha district entrepreneur association (WDEA) has strongly condemned the March 26 bomb blast in one of the locally run grocery shop at PWD Colony Wokha town injuring four including one 9 months male infant and 3 female.

Expressing shock over the “act of terror”, the association general secretary in a press note termed the incident as “cowardice and inhuman act” and appealed the authority’s concern to thoroughly investigate and apprehend the person(s) responsible at the earliest and award befitting punishment as per the law.

It further wished victims and wished them a speedy recovery to the in- speedy recovery. jured persons.

WTLE: The Wokha WCSU: The Wokha Town Lakhuti Ekhung Circle Students’ Union (WTLE) condemning the (WCSU) strongly con- March 26 bomb blast at demning the tragic bomb Wokha has informed that blast that occurred at PWD injured, Benchilo Kikon is a colony, Wokha has stated bonafide member of WTLE that such inhuman inci- and a peace loving citizen.

“The Ekhung is shocked dent creates fear and psychosis which affect the nor- by this act of terror and urges the authority’s concern mal life of the public.

The Union in a press to apprehend the person(s) note issued by its presi- responsible”, WTLE stated dent Chanbemo Humtsoe, in a press note issued by its thus, appealed the investi- chairman, Chibo Yanthan gating agency to nab the and press secretary Thunculprit(s) at the earliest glamo Odyuo. The Ekhung and award punishment as also appealed to the disper the law. WCSU also ex- trict enforcement force to pressed its solidarity to the beef up the security in and

around Wokha to prevent such occurrences in future; and sharing profound grief and sympathy with the injured wished them a speedy recovery.

WVYO: The Wokha Village Youth Organization (WVYO) strongly decrying the subsequent bomb blasts at Wokha on February 24 and March 26 has termed the incident as a “cowardice and inhuman act.”

The WVYO has further appealed the concern authority to thoroughly investigate and nab the culprit (s)at the earliest and award exemplary punishment. It also wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

6

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express fRIDAy 3 APRIl 2015 volumE X IssuE 90

Guest editorial

By Dr. sao Tunyi

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

Walter Kirn The New York Times

remembrance of things lost

Change of focus in Health

T

he present healthcare system is RCH-centric. RCH stands for Reproductive and Child Health. In National Health Mission, RCH takes the centre stage and all the other national health programs follow far behind. Is it justifiable that RCH is given priority over other health concerns?

The answer is both Yes and No. RCH covers a very crucial component in the health needs of a population. Women during childbirth and children are vulnerable to adverse health conditions.

The quality of health services is measured by how far the benefits are reaching this group of people. Infant mortality rate is an indicator of the overall human development of a population. Healthy mother means healthy child and healthy child means healthy population. So, it is right that RCH should be focused.

But ideally health services should be free of targets. It should be comprehensive and universal. It is the limitedness of our resources which compels to plan specific and targeted interventions. The result of this is that we have RCH which looks after only women in their reproductive period and children, deafness control program just for deafness, and so on.

The drawback is that lots of resources are pooled for some limited interventions. For example, women’s health concerns much more than reproduction but RCH is concentrated only on child birth related events. So, universal health care proponents would argue that such targeted interventions are wastage of resources. If the general health service is strengthened, all types of illnesses whether there is a national health program or not, will be covered.

But the more pressing question for us is, ‘should RCH be top priority in Nagaland?’ Without own resources to work with, we only have to implement what Delhi plans. That is the tragedy that beggars can’t be choosers. A Naga public health specialist remarked that RCH should not be top priority in Nagaland when compared to, say, the North Indian States where maternal and child condition is really bad. There are a lot of cultural and socio-economic determinants variations between us and those States. Our mothers and children are in a relatively better condition and consequently we have lesser mortality rates despite weak health services.

Given that we continue to have limited resources to work with, what health area should our State’s focus be? I would suggest that we increase our focus on Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The 4 most common NCDs that come to mind are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases (there are many more). NCDs have become the leading cause of death globally, being responsible for 68% of all deaths in 2012. NCDs are chronic diseases (often lifelong) and are twice more costly to manage than other diseases. A household having someone with chronic disease increases the risk of falling into poverty by 40%.

The good news and the opportunity for NCD control is that they are preventable. 80% of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, 80% of type 2 diabetes, and over 30% of cancers can be prevented. There are 4 risk factors which are closely linked to the 4 common NCDs. They are all behavioural and modifiable risk factors: Tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet (high salt and fats, low vegetables and fruits), and harmful use of alcohol. So, majority of the NCDs are non-medical in origin, and so should be their control. It is everyone’s responsibility. It requires enforcement of legislation (tobacco warnings/tax, food safety), education (health promotion), urban development (cycling/foot path), media and marketing (food advertisement), and control of one’s personal habits (tobacco, alcohol).

lEfT wiNg |

Mazie Nakhro, Ph.D

Building a City upon the Hill What does God say? Read Psalm 122 Jerusalem is a city on a hill called Mount Zion. In the olden days, the Jews would “go up” to worship the LORD there (Ps. 122:4). Likewise, the nations will also “go up” to Jerusalem to worship Him there (Zech. 14:16; Mic. 4:1-2; Rev. 21:24-26).

Metaphorically, Christians are to be like a city on a hill. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14).

The American Experiment When Charles I became king of England in 1625, he began to punish the Puritans who criticized the actions of the Church of England. Also, his government policies caused great economic hardships on the common people. He raised heavy taxes to pay for the cost of war. All these problems led to the Great Migration. In 1630, a fleet of ships carrying some Puritans left England for North America, hoping to have freedom to practice their religion. Led by John Winthrop, the Puritans made a covenant with God so as to build an ideal Christian community. They wrote: “We must delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own and rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes…our community…. For we must consider that we shall be like a City upon a Hill; the eyes of all people are upon us.”

In 1638, a colony was established in New Haven, in what is now Connecticut, by Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Easton, who wrote a Constitution which states: “… the Word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God….” Another colony in Rhode Island has this in its Charter of 1683: “We submit our person, lives, and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given us in His Holy Word.”

Attracted by the dream of “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, many more followed later on. They were Quakers, Mennonites, Lutherans, Dunkards (Church of the Brethren), Amish, Moravians, Huguenots, Catholics, and Jews from England, Scotland, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, and Holland.

Okay, so now what?

By Divine providence, almost every Naga village is located on a hilltop. But whether or not we can turn each village into a “city on a hill” depends on us. A “city on a hill” is one which has its inhabitants walking in the light. Are you helping your village to become one like that?

Taken from the book “Breakfast with the King: The 100-Day Devotional” by Mazie Nakhro

A 2011 installation of printouts of photos that had been uploaded to Flickr over a 24-hour period. Credit "24 HRS in Photos," by Erik Kessels at Foam in Amsterdam, KesselsKramer.

W

hat if Marcel Proust had kept an Instagram account? What if he’d used a smartphone to snap a photo of every evocative morsel he’d ever eaten?

Would he still have written “In Search of Lost Time,” his multivolume account of the vanished social universe of his youth, unlocked by the taste of a madeleine dipped in tea?

These questions occurred to me a couple of months ago when I picked up my son, 13, and two of his friends after a long day of downhill skiing at a resort near our home in western Montana. They stowed their gear in the trunk and piled in. As I pulled out of the crowded parking lot, eyes on the slick road, I asked them about their day. No answer. I glanced to my right, at my son, then in the rearview, and saw that all three of my rosy-cheeked young passengers were absorbed in the same task. They worked with their heads down, thumbs and fingers flying, occasionally passing their cameras to one another.

“Whoa!” I heard. “Awesome!” “That jump was sick!”

I tried again to start a conversation about the day’s most memorable moments but my son was so busy with his highlights reel that I realized this was his day’s most memorable moment: the reviewing and editing of the video footage from his helmet-mounted GoPro camera; the conversion of blurry raw experience into a finished, archived artifact.

When I try to recall my childhood (which, as a memoirist and fiction writer, I’m often inclined to do), I don’t have recourse to an exhaustive catalog of images and documents. My parents never shot home movies and they took family photos only rarely, on ceremonial occasions when everyone was compelled to smile tautly and mask what was really going on inside them. As a consequence, revisiting my youth can feel rather like a homicide investigation.

Working from clues and the accounts of witnesses, including the highly unreliable one who lives behind my eyeballs, I wait for scenarios to form and patterns to emerge. If they seem plausible I delve into them further, especially if the images align with the murky emotions they conjure up. I tend not to question the resulting mental scenes despite being well aware that photographs and secondhand stories have been shown to create false memories. Clear or hazy, bright or dim, my recollections are private, mine alone, and written in synaptic smoke, not subject to verification by instant replay.

What makes memories precious, even certain “bad” ones, is forgetting, of course. Remember forgetting? I’m not so sure my son will. There’s also a

As we increasingly outsource our memories to devices, we may be forgetting the pleasures of imperfect recall chance that people might miss it someday. “Black Mirror,” the dystopian British TV series (now available for posterity on Netflix), devoted one of its early episodes, “The Entire History of You,” to the nightmare possibilities of total digital recall. The premise is that the hip and affluent have adopted a new gizmo: a tiny “seed,” surgically implanted in their necks, that records (and can also replay on a TV screen or in its owners’ brains) footage of everything they see and hear. Oddly, no one seems to mind being filmed continually by others, even during sex; indeed, the appeal of the implant seems partly based on its users’ desire to reenact the thrilling erotic encounters of their pasts, occasionally while making love to another partner in the present. The inevitable crisis occurs when a tipsy, jealous husband scrutinizes footage from a party that indicates his wife and the male host may be infatuated with each other. The husband grills her on the subject, learns that she and the host are carrying on, and forces her to replay for him a scene of their having sex; later, his wife having left him, he cuts out his own seed with a razor blade rather than retain the painful memories.

The fallacy behind this script is that there would be a market for a device that enables complete and perfect recall. Not even my GoPro-toting son wants that. His instinctive goal is to record exceptional experiences that he expects he may want to savor again someday, saving himself the Proustian trouble. He inherently understands that memory consists of constructing, and later reconstructing, narratives, not just storing and retrieving data. Memory is an imaginative act; first we imagine what we’ll want to keep and then we fashion stories from what we’ve

kept. Memories don’t just happen, they are built.

The problem for my son — and for everyone who relies on microchips to preserve the present for future examination — is that we have no idea who we’ll be when the time comes to reflect on who we were. Despite our tendency in the computer age to think of ourselves as soft machines, the human mind is not a hard drive, a neutral repository of information. The melancholy passage of the years tends to change our values as we age, and the awesome backflips of 13 don’t hold the magic they once did; not when compared to the image of a loved one who has since gone absent, say. If I’d had a smartphone with a video camera back in my early adolescence, I doubt that I would have trained it on the things that matter to me now, like the sight of my mother reading in her blue armchair, underlining passages from Proust.

A graver problem with offloading our memories is that we may be degrading our capacity to make them the old-fashioned way. I’ve long suspected that this might be true; in fact, I may be an extremist on the matter. One reason that I’ve never kept a journal is that the attention that goes into keeping one is, I feel, more profitably spent on engaging with the moment. I’d rather live in the instant than ‘gram the instant. Support for my instinct came the other day when I read about a study conducted at University College London on the alleged contribution of technology to early dementia. The research suggested that regions of the brain crucial to forming memories — in this case of the features and locations of landmarks in physical space — may tend to wither prematurely with the use of automated navigation aids. The part of the hippocampus that remembers things simply doesn’t turn on when a device performs the task instead.

A remembrance never formed is worse, far worse, than a remembrance lost. At 52, increasingly forgetful, I sometimes rack my brain for past experiences that I’m positive are in there somewhere and draw a blank. It’s frustrating, but the blank still marks a spot — a spot where a memory used to be and might, if I eat the right cake, reappear. What makes memory magical is its imperfections and its unpredictability; try as we might, we never quite control it. It draws our attention to the margins of stories that once seemed to be the main events. Someday, when my son reviews his footage, what will come back to him may not be his ski stunts but other aspects of that winter day: the voices of his friends, the shadows on the mountain, the face of his father beside him in the car.

No justification for terror in any religion

T

here is no true religion that does not regard the sanctity of human life as one of its highest values, and Islam is no exception. Indeed, Allah made this unequivocal in the Qur’an. He emphasized the gravity of the universal prohibition against murder, stating that when a person takes even one life, “it is as if he has killed all mankind.”

Egyptians are still torn by grief for the 21 countrymen who were horrifically beheaded in Libya. It was an exceptionally sad day for the Egyptian nation to have to watch a video of its citizens massacred by a group of thugs.

The scenes of bloodbath are heartwrenching in their severity.

This grisly crime finds no justification in any reasonable understanding of any religion. Only extremists who have perverted the essence of Islamic teaching could countenance the idea that our religion of mercy and reason might allow the killing of innocent workers earning money so their families can live dignified lives.

It took place just days after the socalled Islamic State extremists burned alive Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh. It was one more high-profile example of the growing global threat

Shawky Allam Reuters

that violent extremist ideologies pose to international peace and security, to the image of Islam and to the future of intercultural and interreligious relations.

These thugs are invoking religious texts to justify their inhumane crimes.

Their ill- conceived linking of sacred texts to violence and aggression has led to much misinterpretation of Islam’s lofty ideals. We must make clear that the terrorists’ justification is nothing more than a hallucination of sick minds. It is a flagrant misreading of both the letter and spirit of the Islamic tradition and an aberration from the long history of Islamic civilization.

Murder and terror can never be the outcome of any proper understanding of religion. Rather, they are a manifestation of the immorality of people with cruel hearts, arrogant souls and warped logic.

The corruption and instability sown by their actions are a source of great sad-

ness and outrage for Muslims — and all humanity. These terrorists are not Muslim activists but criminals who have been fed a mistaken interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, the teachings and practices of the Prophet Mohammed.

To defeat the terrorists and defend our peaceful, tolerant religion, their ideologies must be challenged and rooted out at the physical level and, even more so, the intellectual level. We must persist with a correct presentation of Islam’s true teachings, as passed down for centuries through the collective wisdom of sages and scholars.

Beyond a military war on terror, we are in an ideological battle — one we must win — against radical extremists who use terror as a weapon to achieve their goals of disrupting global stability and the conscience of the peaceful world. Winning this war requires not just victory on the ground but, more important, in the successful exchange of ideas and information that refutes

wRiTE-wiNg

the dogma of radical clerics.

Let me be clear: Islam is utterly against extremism and terrorism. Unless we dismantle and deconstruct all ideas of extremism propagated by these groups, however, we will never eradicate this scourge. All terror groups essentially carry the same intellectual poison. This must be understood in order to build a better future that can bring an end to this grave situation that is destroying the world.

Egypt is in dire need of the world’s support as it fights against the terrorist cancer. In this battle, Egypt is defending not only itself but also humanity against the encroaching danger of extremism. This is progress that the international community has expressed a genuine desire to understand the perils that radical ideology poses.

Radical movements must be opposed in every way possible — not given moral support to stoke more tensions.

The international community must take measures to shut off terror groups’ financial resources, deny them safe haven and prevent them from further growth.

The time is upon us to take up the challenge of ridding the world of radicalization to save our future from further bloodshed and victims’ families from further sorrow.

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.

7

Friday

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

3 April 2014

PERSPECTIVE NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

MUSHROOM SPAWN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY Narola Pongener, Asst. Professor

Dept. of plant pathology, SASrD Nagaland University

L

ike cultivation of any other crop which starts from the seeds, mushroom cultivation starts from the spawn. Spawn plays an important role in mushroom production because the success of mushroom cultivation depends upon the availability of pure culture spawn. The methods of spawn production can be divided into three steps.  Raising of pure culture.  Preparation of mother spawn/ stock culture from pure culture.  Preparation of planting spawn from mother spawn.

lour. Spawn of 15-20 days old is considered best C. Overhead expenditure 10% depreciation and 10% interest on capital cost for planting.

98,200/Cost of production B+C= 592200 Storage of spawn The spawn can be stored for about 30 days Income from sale of 10 tonnes spawn @ 80/kg at room temperature. Spawn can also be stored Rs. 8, 00,000/in refrigerator for 3 months. However, with in- Net profit/ year = 8, 00,000-591500 creased storage period above 2 months there will = Rs. 2, 07,800/be decrease in the yield of mushroom.

Flow Chart of Spawn Production

Precautions in spawn preparation: Following Fresh, healthy grains (paddy/ wheat) washed, precautions should be taken for better spawn soaked overnight production.

• Unbroken and intact boiled grains should be used for spawn preparation.

• Boiled grains mixed with lime and gypsum should not be kept un-sterilized for more than 10 hours.

• Bottles should be plugged and sterilized prop- Drain,cook in water for 15-20 minutes Raising pure culture erly.

Pure culture of the mushroom can be pre- • Shake the bottles thoroughly after inoculation pared by culturing tissue from the fruit body on to get early and uniform growth. suitable media like potato dextrose agar (PDA) or oat meal agar (OMA).

Approximate cost for spawn production unit Procedure: Healthy mushroom of about 48 Approximate expenditure for establishment of hours old is selected. The mushroom is split a spawn production unit for producing 10 tonnes Drain out excess water, cool, dry for 1 hour open lengthwise from the cap downwards. With spawn per annum are given as follows: a flamed needle or forceps a small piece of internal tissue is cut from the junction of the cap and A. Capital cost stalk and immediately transferred on the media and incubated to obtain the pure culture. The Sl. items Qty. Amount (Rs.) first generation (T1) pure culture prepared from No the mushroom fruit body tissue is called mother 1.

Autoclave 1 1,00,000 culture.

2.

Laminar flow 1 80,000 Mix lime and gypsum @ 20 g/kg grains Preparation of mother 3 BOD incubator 1 80,000 spawn / stock culture from pure culture.

The pure culture raised from tissue culture is 4 Hot Air Oven 1 50,000 inoculated into suitable grain substrate such as refrigerator 1 15,000 jowar, bajra, wheat, rice, maize, etc. which pro- 5 vides base as well as nutrition to the mycelium.

6 Gas stove 1 4,000 Procedure: To prepare the mother spawn, the 7 Weighing bal1 2,000 grains (paddy/wheat) are washed thoroughly, ance Fill in empty bottles @ Fill in pp packets @ soak overnight and then boil in water for about 300g grains (Mother 200g grain (planting 15-20 minutes or till such time the grains become 8 racks 40,000 spawn) spawn) soft but do not rupture. The grains are drained Utensils 40,000 and allowed to cool. 20g calcium carbonate 9 (CaCo3) and 20g gypsum (calcium sulphate) is 10 Glasswares 80,000 added and mixed thoroughly.

Total 4, 91,000 The processed grains are either filled in empty bottles @ 300g (3/4th capacity of the bottle) for B. Recurring cost mother spawn or in polypropylene packets of size 17x25cm @ 200g for planting or commercial B.1. Raw materials spawn. The mouths are plugged with non-absorAutoclave at 1210 C (15lb pressure) for 2 hours bent cotton and covered with brown paper. These Sl. items Qty. Amount (Rs.) grain filled bottles or packets are sterilized by autoclaving them at 1210 C (15lb pressure) for 2 No

hours.

Sterilized bottles are taken out from the autoclave while still hot and are shaken to avoid lump formation. The bottles are immediately shifted to inoculation chamber and allowed to cool down.

Then switch on the UV lights and keep for at least 1 hour. Inoculate the bottles with the T1 mother culture. Incubate the inoculated bottles at 24±2oC for Pleurotus spp and Agaricus bisporus whereas Volvariella volvacea and Calocybe indica should be kept at 28±2oC. After 7-8 days the bottles are shaken properly so that mycelia threads are broken and mixed with the grains for fast spreading of mycelium. One bottle of mother spawn (T2) is sufficient for multiplying 20-25 polypropylene packets for planting or commercial spawn.

1

Grains(Wheat/ paddy),cotton, lime, gypsum, polypropylene packets, rubber bands, gloves, disinfectant etc.

1,60,000

2.

Electricity, water consumption/ year

80,000

3.

Miscellaneous

50,000

inoculate the bottles with a small piece of pure culture (T2)

From the mother spawn (T2) inoculate 10g grain to each packet

2,90,000

Total B.2. Salary

Preparation of planting spawn from mother spawn The planting spawn is the actual planting material used in mushroom cultivation. From the well-grown mother spawn bottles (T2) about 10g of grain is aseptically inoculated into the polypropylene packets (T3). Spawn packets are incubated at specified temperatures for different species.

Within 10-15 days the mycelium spreads and covers the entire packets and appears white in co-

1

Technical assistant@ rs.12,000 / month

1

1,60,000

2.

labour @ rs.5,000 / mo nth

1

80,000

Total rs. 2,04,000/-

incubate at 240C/280C for 10-15 days

Weather based integrated agro advisory for the month of April Advisories

 Dimapur district has received 32mm of rainfall in the month of March, chance of intermittent rainfall is there in this month. Therefore agricultural operations should be planned accordingly and plant protection measures and application of fertilizers should be carefully done to avoid loss.  Use quality and certified seeds for all crops.

The success in raising healthy seedlings depends to a larger extent on the quality of seeds. Before sowing, the seed should be treated with biological control agent formulations which protects the seed against soil-born fungi and also give a boost to the seedlings.  Leaf eating caterpillar and fruit fly in cucurbits needs to be controlled initially. Neem oil can be sprayed 5ml/ lit of water to control build up of leaf eating caterpillar. For fruit fly poison bait can be prepared with juggery and rogor kept in plastic bowls in cucurbits fields to check fruit fly.  pit for plantation of fruit crops and agro forestry should be completed by April. Expose the pit to sunlight to kill the microbial infection as well as soil borne pests for 15-20 days. Then fill the pit with top 50cm soil with 1 kg lime, 15-20 kg well decomposed FYM. put a bamboo peg to remind the place of the pit. let the pit be exposed to 3-4 rain showers before planting.  Tomato plants are coming to bearing stage provide irrigation to avoid water stress condition.  in case of banana to reduce the infestation of banana stem weevil, remove dried leaves periodically, keep the field clean, prune the side suckers every month, uproot infested plants, chop into pieces and burn.  lime @ 500 Kg/ha should be applied in furrows before sowing of maize and other crops for better productivity.

Livestock

• Animals should be vaccinated against all infectious diseases before the monsoon starts.

• provide clean drinking water and the water troughs should be cleaned daily.

• Chickens, pigs or ducks can be raise near the fishery pond. Chicken, duck houses and pig pens can be build on the banks or over the ponds and the manure can be sweep into the ponds. ponds will supply water for the animals and the animals will supply manure to help keep the water in yours ponds rich. At the same time, the ducks will feed on the plants that grow in your ponds and help to keep your ponds free of plants, weeds and sails. if the ponds are side by side, chicken, duck houses and pig pens can be build on top of the bank between two ponds and sweep the manure into both ponds.

• The poultry house should be kept well ventilated during the day time as the day temperature has increased.

Mother spawn (T2)/ planting spawn(T3) is ready and appears as white in colour

Agro Met Field Unit ICAR, Jharnapani. Medziphema

INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT- AN OUTLINE imtisenla Walling Technical Officer iCAr, Jharnapani. Medziphema

“A

weed is a plant growing where it is not desired”.

James Bull, a Great Britain farmer, was the first person to use this definition of weeds in his famous writing “The New Horse Hoeing Husbandry” published as the first book on agriculture in 1781. Since then several definitions of weeds have been suggested. All, in one way or another, deal with plant impact on human activities.

Definitions include : plants that interfere with our activities; plants with negative value; plants that grow where they are not wanted; plants that we have not yet found a use for and plants originating under a natural environment and in response to imposed and natural environments, evolved as an interfering associate with our crops and activities.

• Monitoring success or failure.

Integrated weed management Attention must focus on managing threatened resources (crops, livestock, natural areas, landscapes, etc) to maintain their competitive ability rather than on eradication of weeds once they invade. A balanced approach to successfully managing the resource must include the following processes: • Managing the resource to prevent weeds from invading.

• Proper identification and knowledge of invasive weed species.

• Inventory, mapping and monitoring of weed population and damage.

• Making control decision based on knowledge of potential damage, cost of control method and environmental impact of the weed and control decision.

• Using control strategies that may include a combination of methods to reduce the weed population to an acceptable level.

• Evaluating the effectiveness and effects of management decisions.

Impact of weeds - reduce crop yields, crop quality, some weeds are poisonous. Weeds are aesthetically unpleasant and can temporarily lower property values. They can create unsafe conditions. Weeds harbour insects and disease of crops and in many cases act as alternate hosts for diseases and pests. They also cause Types of integrated weed management environmental damage and threaten the diversity of Preventive control natural resources.

Prevention and detection is the highest priority for weed management technique on non-infested lands.

Weed management strategies In any weed management programme, it is often the Strategies to prevent the introduction or establishment little things that can spell success or failure and it is of- of noxious weeds in areas not already infested include: 1) watching out for ways that weeds can be introten these same items that affect the cost of weed control. A successful weed management programme re- duced by topsoil, gravel, equipment, irrigation water 2) inspecting your land and identifying and eradiquires the farmer/grower to undertake four basic steps: • Diagnosis and estimation of intensity of the problem. cating small new infestations of weeds 3) continuous monitoring and evaluation to prevent • Planning of the programme. recurrence of noxious weeds • Implementing the programme.

4) timely revegetation and reclamation of distribut- over noxious weeds, including maintaining optimum fertiled sites using appropriate native plant species. ity and plant moisture in an area, planting at optimum density and spatial arrangement in an area, and planting speBiological control cies that are most suited to particular area. Crop rotation, Biological control is the use of living organisms to dis- reseeding, fertilisation, are all cultural practices that can rupt the growth of noxious weeds. These can be insects or enhance weed control. Reseeding to reintroduce desirable grazing animals. Objective of biocontrol is never eradica- plants once weeds have been removed is important. tion; its reduction of a weed’s density to non threatening levels. After their introduction, biocontrol agents can take 5 to Chemical control 10 years to become established and increase to numbers Chemical control is the use of herbicides. With chemilarge enough to reduce the density of the targeted weeds. cal control, it is important to know what kind of weed you When insects are released other methods of control should are treating. Herbicides have different modes of action. be used simultaneously on the perimeter of the site since Herbicides are categorized as “selective” or “non-selecit takes years to see results and weeds will continue to re- tive”. Selective herbicides (i.e. 2,4-D, Banvel, Tordon and produce. Grazing animals such as goats are being used as many more) effect a specific type of plant. Non-selective a means of weed control. Continual grazing of the tops of (i.e. Roundup, Arsenal , Spike and more) will affect all or young plants can retard plant development, seed forma- most vegetation. Herbicides may also be selective based tion, and gradually deplete root reserves. Fencing the graz- on the amount used. Effectiveness can be enhanced by ing animal prevents them from eating nearby grasses or applying chemicals at certain times of year. If you are going shrubs. Once established, effective biological controls proto apply chemicals it is important to apply them as recomvide a long term and non toxic means to control weeds. mended on the manufacturer’s label, wear safety gear and take necessary precautions to protect the environment.

Mechanical control Mechanical control or management practices that physically disrupt plant growth include tilling, mow- Conclusion Keeping the above facts in view, thus it can be coning, hand pulling, shoveling and chopping. Mechanical cluded that Integrated Weed Management prevent or control must be done at the correct stage of growth to be effective. Often this needs to be done several times dur- suppress the weed growth to a great extend. Timely ing the growing season and for many consecutive years. weed control is very important. A good Integrated Weed A major advantage of hand removal is that it occurs be- Management plan should be flexible enough to incorfore plants set seed and so it reduces the soil seed bank porate innovations and practical experiences of local over time. This method is often used in conjunction farmers and should be developed for the whole farm and not just for one or two fields but should be extendwith other control methods. ed to irrigation channels, roadsides, and other nonCultural management crop surroundings on the farm from where most weeds Cultural management involves methods or manage- find their way into the crop fields. Weeds managed efment practices which favour the growth of desirable plant fectively can reduce crop yield loss to a greater extent.

The Morung Express in collaboration with the ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Nagaland Centre will be publishing articles with regard to Agriculture and the farming community on the first Friday of every month.

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

8

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Friday 3 April 2015

The Morung Express

India to add more AIDS and TB Cong protests Minister's remark drugs to essential medicines list on Sonia New Delhi, April 2 (iANS): Congress workers on Thursday protested union Minister Giriraj Singh's remark on party president Sonia Gandhi's skin colour that triggered an outrage with many party leaders condemning it.

Over 50 Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress members staged a demonstration outside the Bharatiya Janata Party's office at Ashoka Road here. Holding Congress party flags, the protestors raised slogans against the minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, and called for his resignation.

Giriraj Singh told reporters in Patna on Tuesday: "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn't white-skinned, would the Congress have accepted her as a leader." This comment triggered an outrage following which Giriraj Singh backtracked and said he regretted making the remark. On Thursday, members of the Congress party raised slogans saying: "Naari ka apmaan. Modiji ki chuppi" (Modi is silent while women are being insulted). "At least 46 women protestors were taken in a bus to the Tilak Marg police station where they were detained and released later," said a police official.

Earlier, a few Congress workers protested outside Vithal Bhai Patel House in New Delhi area around 9.30 a.m. and were detained by police. "Some 30-32 people were protesting and were detained," Joint Commissioner of Police M.K. Meena told IANS. Some of the protestors wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act in the matter.

Likening union minister Giriraj Singh to people with a "narrow mindset" over his "white skin" re-

New Delhi, April 2 (reuTerS): India is likely to add more HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis drugs to its list of essential medicines that are subject to price caps, people directly involved in the process said, in a move to improve affordability of drugs to treat the deadly diseases.

All the drugs on the government's HIV/AIDS and TB control programmes are likely to be added in the list, the people said. India provides a number of key HIV/AIDS and TB medicines for free under the government's disease control programmes through state-run clinics and distribution centres.

But many patients, particularly those with TB, prefer more expensive private clinics as treatment is widely considered of higher quality. The private sector accounts for about 80 percent of India's healthcare delivery market.

India has about 2.2 million TB patients, the highest in the world, and an estimated 2.1 million are afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The additional HIV/AIDS and TB Activists of India’s opposition Congress party’s women’s wing climb police barricades and shout slogans against medicines would join a list of nearly 400 the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday, April 2. The protestors were reacting to the racist comments reported to have been made Tuesday by Junior Indian Minister Giriraj Singh against Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. (AP Photo)

mark which suggested she was accepted as party chief due to her skin colour, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday declined to comment on it. As mediapersons sought her reaction to Singh's remark which caused national outrage, Sonia Gandhi first asked: "What did he say?" On hearing the full account of Singh's observation of her, the Congress president said: "I would not like to comment on people who have a narrow mindset."

Singh, who has stoked various controversies in the past as well, told reporters in Patna on Tuesday that he wondered if former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had married a non-white Nigerian woman, would the Congress party still have

accepted her as its president. "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn't white-skinned, would the Congress accept her as a leader," he said. Following the outrage triggered by his comment, Singh on Wednesday expressed regret, adding the remarks were made in an off-the-record conversation.

"During off-the-record conversation, there is talk of different kinds. If Sonia ji or Rahul ji have been hurt by my remarks, I express regret," he said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday declared that the matter "ended" with Singh's clarification about the controversial comment.

Terming the response as "flippant, frivolous, and "flimsy", the

Congress hit back at the BJP. Party spokesperson Sanjay Jha deplored the "casual and indifferent" approach of the BJP whose leader, Narendra Modi, was still silent despite a volley of reactions from across the political spectrum and the demand for the errant minister's ouster.

Describing Singh as a "repeat offender", Jha told IANS: "Despite his previous observation during the campaign trail in 2014 where he asked all non-Narendra Modi supporters to leave India and go to Pakistan, he was rewarded by a post in the cabinet. "If Modi remains silent this time as well, he is providing ammunition to many others in the party who are prone to making pedestrian remarks against Congress leaders."

essential drugs under price control in India, where more than 70 percent of people live on under $2 a day and health insurance is scarce.

The revised list of essential medicines could be announced in the next six months, said four members of a health ministry panel that was set up to review the list that was last revised in 2011.

The people, who declined to name the medicines that could be added, did not want to be identified as the additions have not been finalised. YK Gupta, vice chairman of the panel, declined to comment on new drugs that would be part of the list and said the discussions were ongoing.

"We are reviewing drugs across therapy areas, and there could be additions as well as deletions to the 2011 list," said Gupta. "We will have better clarity on when the list could be out by the end of April."

Indian drugmakers Cipla Ltd, privately held Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Hetero Healthcare Ltd are among the major companies selling HIV/AIDS drugs in India.

Advani not to address BJP meet? bANgAlore, April 2 (iANS): As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) commenced its largest strategy meet on Thursday since coming to power at the centre, it remained unclear if veteran leader L.K. Advani will address the national executive meet.

The three-day BJP conclave is holding the national office bearers' meet on Thursday and its national executive meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.Party spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said "the party has the

guidance of all senior leaders" while refusing to state whether or not Advani would deliver a speech.

Advani has attended and addressed at all national executive meetings of the party, except during the last meet in Goa when Narendra Modi was announced to be the head of party's campaign committee in Lok Sabha polls.

Advani had not only skipped the event but also sent a letter resigning from all posts of the party. His differences with the party's decision were later reconciled.

According to party sources, this time Advani, a three-time BJP president, is not keen on addressing the party's national executive meet. Sources added that organisation secretary of the party Ramlal met Advani in Delhi days before the meet over the issue. But it was not clear if Advani will speak at the forum.

Advani, along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi, is a part of a 'Margdarshak Mandal' , or the party's guiding committee which includes Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh.

AAP member questions sacking IAF planes bring back 358 Indians from Yemen of internal Lokpal, gets suspended New Delhi, April 2 (pTi): AAP National Executive member Rakesh Sinha was suspended on Thursday from the party, days after he raised questions about the way its internal Lokpal Admiral L Ramdas was sacked and Prashant Bhushan was removed as the chief of its disciplinary committee.

Sinha, a party leader from Uttar Pradesh, had accused the AAP leadership of taking the decisions to remove Ramdas and Bhushan in a hurry from the two crucial posts and without due consultations with all members of the National Executive.

Sources in the party said that Sinha and another member from UP, Vishal Lathe, were suspended from the party while an inquiry into the matter was pending.

“They were part of the press conference convened by Yogendra Yadav and Bhushan after their ouster from the National Executive on March 28,” said a party spokesperson.

In a letter to the party secretary Pankaj Gupta on March 30, Sinha had questioned the sacking of Bhushan and Yadav from the National Executive without referring the case to the party’s internal Lokpal as per norms.

“I would like to bring to your notice that I came to know about this meeting through some journalists who called to ask me if I was attend-

ing the NE meeting.

“I was surprised and thought that it must be a PAC meeting since I got no intimation and I had received an SMS from your office on March 18 that there will be no meeting before or after the NC meet.

“Your SMS saying that it was an emergency meeting is well taken but it still does not explain why I was not informed,” Sinha had said in the letter.

Sources said the decision to suspend Sinha was taken in the National Executive meeting held on Sunday.

Interestingly, Sinha is one of the NE members who had opposed the removal of Yadav and Bhushan from the party’s Political Affairs Committee. He had also walked out of the March 28 National Council meeting when the two dissident leaders were ousted from the panel.

AAP leader Christina Samy from Tamil Nadu tendered her resignation on Wednesday from its National Executive over the removal of Yadav and Bhushan, first from the PAC and then from the National Executive.

After the sacking of Yadav, Bhushan, Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar from the National Executive and following Sinha’s suspension and Samy’s resignation, the strength of AAP’s second-most important decision-making body has been reduced to 16.

SIT to probe case of fake IAS official at academy

DehrADuN, April 2 (iANS): A special investigation team was constituted on Thursday to probe the case of a woman allegedly masquerading as an IAS official at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administrative Academy in Mussoorie, officials said.

However, the woman maintained that the academy's deputy director knew she wasn't an IAS probationer.

The Uttarakhand government has formed a special investigation team (SIT), headed by a woman police official, which will probe how Ruby Chowdhary managed to stay at the academy for months.

Chowdhary has said deputy director Saurabh Jain knew she was not an IAS probationer. She also told mediapersons that Jain facilitated her gate pass to the academy. Director General of Police (DGP) B.S. Siddhu said the case is being probed "with all the seriousness it deserves".

Chowdhary has accused Jain, 38, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official from the Kerala cadre, of seeking a bribe of Rs.20 lakh to get her a librarian's job.

She said that when President Pranab Mukherjee visited the academy, she was in the group photograph, hinting at a serious breach of security. Chowdhary also alleged that Jain had asked her to keep quiet and not report the matter to the media in lieu of Rs.5 crore.

The matter came to light when the advance security detail of the president, who is scheduled to visit the academy April end, scrutinized the list of IAS probationers residing at the campus. It was found that Chowdhary was living on the campus for the last six months as an IAS probationer.

Jain is currently on deputation to the hill state. He has served in various capacities in Uttarakhand and joined as the deputy director of the academy in September 2013.

Kochi/MuMbAi, April 2 (pTi): Two groups of Indian nationals evacuated from strife-torn Yemen landed at Kochi and Mumbai international airports on Thursday morning.

An Indian Air Force plane carrying 168 Indian nationals landed at the Kochi airport at 2 am, while another C17 Globemaster with 190 onboard landed in Mumbai at 3.30 am.

They were part of around 350 Indians who had reached Djibouti after being evacuated on a Navy vessel from Aden, the seaport city of Yemen.

Kochi Arrival Those that arrived in Kochi at 2 AM, including nurses and workers among others, reached by the special flight--Indian Air Force's C17 Globemasters-- bringing an end to their about a weeklong ordeal. The evacuees were welcomed at the airport by Kerala Minister for Diaspora K C Joseph, PWD Minister Ibrahim Kunju and Ernakulam District Collector M G Rajamanikyam.

Parents of Jincy and Tincy, two nurses working with government hospitals in Yemen, are concerned about

An Indian woman, left, greets her relative who arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on Thursday, April 2, after being evacuated from Yemen. India is evacuating its citizens from Yemen amid the growing violence in the Middle Eastern country. (AP Photo)

their elder daughter whose flight from Sana'a was cancelled even after a boarding pass was issued. Omana, mother of the nurses, hailing from Vadakkancherry of Palakkad district, said only Jincy, working in Aden, could reach home safely.

"We are happy that our daughter Jincy is coming back on the special flight. But we are concerned about the

safety our elder daughter Tincy who is in Sana'a. We hoped that she would also be reaching safely tonight.

"Jincy could not come as the flight did not take off because of the last minute developments at Sana'a airport," said Omana who came to the airport along with her husband Soman to receive their daughters.

A Kerala government of-

ficial said the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) cell would give Rs 2000 each to the people who returned from Yemen at the airport besides providing them free transportation facilities to reach home.

Mumbai Arrival The flight carrying 190 Indians from Yemen arrived around 3:30 am at the Chha-

trapati Shivaji International Airport here.

Defence sources said that the flight to Mumbai could not take off on time from Djibouti due to the pending paper work of the evacuees.

Many people did not have even their passports with them leading to delay in flight, the sources said. Maharashtra Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Mehta and MP Kirit Somaiya were present the airport to welcome the evacuees.

The Central Railway has offered free-of-cost travelling for the evacuees till their destinations. The evacuation operation was a very difficult task as not much details were available with the IAF, Wing Commander Vikram Abbi, co-pilot of the flight said.

Abbi said that the crew were told about the rescue operation on March 30 and the flight departed from India yesterday. One of the evacuees, Mary Amma Vargeese said, she was working as a nurse in a hospital in Aden for past two years. And, one day she suddenly "heard some exploding sound, after which I stopped going to work."

"All the shops were closed, we didn't have food for many days," she said.

Farmers hit as unseasonal rains take toll

chANDigArh, April 2 (iANS): The damage caused to the standing wheat and fruit crop by unseasonal rains in the past four to six weeks has started to hit home, with farmers in these states saying that they will not be able to recover from the loss any time soon.

As if the fury of the rainfall in February and early March was not enough, another spell of rainfall in late March, coupled with strong winds and hailstorms, has added to the damage caused to the standing crops in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

While the wheat crop in Punjab and Haryana that was to be harvested later this month has been damaged, the mango and strawberry crop in Maharashtra and the apple crop in Himachal Pradesh has been severely affected.

The wheat procurement process in Punjab

and Haryana, which officially begins on April 1, is likely to be delayed as the crop has still not ripened for harvesting.

In Haryana and Punjab, agriculture experts feel that the damage to the crop could be up to 25 percent till mid-March itself. The rainfall and strong winds in March-end have added to the woes of farmers.

"The crop that has been damaged cannot be recovered. The crop, which is still standing will also not be of much use as it will have a higher moisture content and procurement agencies will be unwilling to purchase it," agriculturist Amar Singh Sandhu of Moga district told IANS. Scientists at the Haryana Agriculture University (HAU), Hisar, and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, have said that the quality of grain in the wheat crop this season will be poor.

"The grain will have high moisture content. It

will not be good for longterm storage," a senior scientist at HAU told IANS on the phone from Hisar.

And there will be no respite from the unfavourable weather conditions in the coming days too.

Weather department officials in Chandigarh said that western disturbances could lead to more rain over the northern region in the next few days.

The worries for the farmers - and the affected states - are that the central government, as per existing rules, does not chip in with compensation for the damaged crops if it is less than 50 percent.

"In case of Punjab and Haryana, the damage was up to 25 percent till midMarch. Fresh assessment is being done to find out the extent of damage to crops," a senior officer of the Punjab agriculture department, told IANS in Chandigarh, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to

speak to the media.

In Maharashtra, the two fruits of pride - mangoes and strawberries - have been drastically hit due to regular bouts of unseasonal rains in different parts of the state. The damage has happened at the peak cropping and plucking season, industry stakeholders said.

"Nearly 60 percent of the mango crop has been hit by twin spells of heavy rains, one during Diwali (last October) which hit flowering and in March which hit the ready crop that was to be plucked after a few days," Fruit Growers Welfare Association chief Balasaheb Bhende told IANS in Mumbai.

Compared to an estimated 45,000 tonnes of mango crop from the state, the final season's tally (in July) may barely touch 25,000 tonnes, he rued.

The worst-hit is the famous alphonso of Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district.

The rains have resulted in anthracnose disease,

which blots the raw fruit and rots it before it ripens, rendering it useless.

"Even strawberry has been at the receiving end of rains and hailstorms at different times during the cropping season from November to February," Strawberry Growers Association of India President Balasaheb Bhilare told IANS in Mumbai, adding that the production will be less than 50% this time.

Consequently, the prices of both mangoes and strawberries have hit the roof in major markets like Mumbai and Pune. The juicy apples from hill state Himachal Pradesh too may not be as sweet this time, with adverse weather conditions damaging the crop.

State horticulture department officials say continuous spells of rain in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts and snow in the higher reaches of Kinnaur district are good at this point in time, but if precipitation continues till mid-April,

it will delay the flowering stage of the apple crop.

"There are reports of widespread rains in Jubbal, Kotkhai, Rohru, Theog and Narkanda areas (in Shimla district). This will help sustain the required level of moisture in the soil during summer," S.P. Bhardwaj, former joint director at the Solan-based Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, told IANS. Bhupinder Chauhan, an apple grower in Jubbal in upper Shimla, said the rain during this period is good but after the middle of next month it would be a matter of concern.

The fruit production in 2014-15 is estimated at 653,000 tonnes, compared to 866,000 tonnes in 2013-14. "Apples constitute about 89% of the total fruit production. During 201415 (up to December 2014), 581,000 tonnes of apples were produced against 739,000 tonnes in 2013-14," the state economic survey report said.

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Friday 3 April 2015

Dimapur

9

At least 15 dead as gunmen attack university in Kenya NAIROBI, APRIL 2 (AP): Al-Shabab gunmen attacked a college in northeast Kenya early Thursday, targeting Christians and killing at least 15 people and wounding 60 others, witnesses said.

Even as security forces cornered the gunmen in a dormitory at Garissa University College where they could be holding hostages, survivors described to The Associated Press a harrowing scene, where people were mercilessly gunned down and bullets whistled through the air as they ran for their lives.

Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from Tana dorm, which hosts both men and women, 150 meters (yards) away. The campus has six dorms and at least 887 students, he said.

He said that when he heard the gunshots he locked himself and three roommates in their room.

When the gunmen arrived at his dormitory he could hear them opening doors and asking if the people who had hidden inside whether they were Muslims or Christians.

“If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot,” he said. “With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.” The gunmen

Students of the Garissa University College take shelter in a vehicle after fleeing from an attack by gunmen in Garissa, Kenya on Thursday, April 2. Gunmen attacked the university early Thursday, shooting indiscriminately in campus hostels. Police and military surrounded the buildings and were trying to secure the area in eastern Kenya, police officer Musa Yego said. (AP Photo)

started to shoot rapidly and it was as if there was an exchange of fire, he said.

“The next thing, we saw people in military uniform through the window of the back of our rooms who identified themselves as the Kenyan military,”

Wetangula said. The soldiers took him and around 20 others to safety.

A spokesman for al-Shabab says it is responsible for the ongoing attack. Ali Mohamud Rage said in a radio broadcast that fighters from the group are conducting a

“heavy” military operation inside the campus.

Kenya’s security forces are trying to dislodge the gunmen from at least one dorm where the attackers could be holding hostages.

Augustine Alanga, a 21-year-old student, de-

scribed a panicked scene as gunshots rang out outside their dormitory in the predawn hours when most people were asleep.

The shooting became more intense almost immediately, he told AP by phone. The heavy gun-

fire forced some students to stay indoors as others fled with gunmen firing at them. He said he saw at least five heavily armed, masked gunmen.

“I am just now recovering from the pain as I injured myself while trying to escape. I was running barefoot,” said Alanga, who was one of scores of students who managed to escape through barb-wire fencing.

At the time the attack started — 5:30 a.m. — morning prayers were underway at the university mosque, where students were not attacked, he said.

A mortuary attendant in the town of Garissa says at least 15 people have been killed and at some 60 were injured. The attendant saw the casualties arrive by ambulance. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Some of the more serious wounded were being flown to Nairobi, the capital, authorities said.

The National Disaster Operations Center said on Twitter that three of four dorms have been evacuated, with the gunmen cornered in one dorm. No further details were immediately available and Kenya Defense Forces have surrounded the area, journalists said, impeding their access.

Terrified students streamed out of buildings,

some young men shirtless, as arriving police officers hunkered down, taking cover. The gunmen had opened fire at guards upon arriving, triggering a “fierce shootout” with police guarding student dorms, Kenya’s National Police Service said in a written statement.

Wetangula was among about 20 students who had been rescued by soldiers.

One soldier instructed them to run at their command and dive when they told them to when they got outside, he said. Police and military surrounded the buildings and were trying to secure the area, police officer Musa Yego told AP. Last week al-Shabab claimed responsibility for a deadly siege on a Mogadishu hotel in which at least 24 people, including six attackers, were killed. It lasted more than 12 hours as Somalia’s security forces tried to dislodge gunmen who had taken control of parts of the Maka-al-Mukarramah hotel in the Somali capital.

Al-Shabab also attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013, killing dozens.

Kenya’s northern and eastern regions, which are near the Somali border, have suffered many attacks blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Somali group, which has vowed retribution on Kenya for sending

Iran sees progress; talks resume LAUSANNE, APRIL 2 (AP): Eyes bleary from lack of sleep, senior diplomats from the six countries negotiating with Iran huddled Thursday in a morning strategy session meant to advance the pace of agonizingly slow nuclear talks. Iran’s foreign minister said the sides were close to a preliminary agreement, but not yet there.

The talks resumed several hours after a flurry of marathon overnight sessions between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as well as other meetings among the six powers negotiating to curb Iranian nuclear programs that could be used to make weapons. Iran denies any interest in such arms and wants a deal that will quickly lift economic sanctions stifling its economy.

Two days after busting through a March 31 deadline, the negotiators hope to leave the Swiss city of Lausanne with at least a text outlining general political commitments to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, and the pace of lifting sanctions. They are also trying to fashion more detailed documents on the steps they must take by June 30 to meet those goals.

As he headed to his own meeting Thursday, Zarif said the talks had made “significant progress.” But he said drafts still had to be written. Reaching both agreement in Lausanne as well as a June final deal will be “a difficult job,” he said.

Walter Steinmeier cancelled a planned visit to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was also back, less than a day after leaving the city.

The West demands that the Lausanne talks wind up with concrete commitments.

But Iran has pushed back, demanding a general statement with few specifics. That is politically unpalatable for the Obama administration, which must convince a hostile Congress that it has made progress in the talks so lawmakers do not enact newsanctions that could destroy the negotiations.

By blowing through self-imposed deadlines, Obama risks further antagonizing lawmakers in both parties who are poised to take their own action to upend a deal if they determine the president has been too conciliatory.

The initial response to the extensions from Republicans suggested they had already come to that conclusion.

“It is clear, the negotiations are not going well,” said Sens.

John McCain and Lindsey Graham in a statement. “At every step, the Iranians appear intent on retaining the capacity to achieve a nuclear weapon.”

$220,000 bounty for the alleged mastermind The man whom Kenyan police say was a possible mastermind of the attack on a college in northeast Kenya is currently in charge of al-Shabab’s external operations against Kenya, according to Kenya’s intelligence service.

Kenyan police have offered a $220,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, who has the aliases Dulyadin and Gamadhere. They believe he is the mastermind of the attack on a college in Garissa, in northeast Kenya. At least 15 have died in Thursday’s attack, which has turned into a hostage situation. Mohamud was a teacher at a madrassa, or Islamic religious school, for several years. He claimed responsibility for the Nov. 22, 2014, bus attack in Makka, Kenya, in which 28 people were killed.

Relatives of victims of the South Korean ferry sinking that killed more than 300 a year ago, have their heads shaved during a rally against the government’s plans in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, April 2. Dozens of relatives of victims protested against the government plans to provide about 420 million won ($383,000) for each of the 250 students on the ship and 760 million won ($694,000) for 11 dead teachers. The letters on yellow apron read “Intactly salvage the ferry Sewol and Abrogate the government’s plan.”

(AP Photo)

Talks close in on preliminary agreement One problem, said Zarif, was differing voices among the other side at the table — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — making it difficult for them “to reach a coordination.”

A senior Western official was downbeat, saying the talks were “at a tough moment and the path forward is really unclear.”

The official was not authorized to discuss the negotiations and demanded anonymity.

The talks — the latest in more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear prowess — hit the weeklong mark on Thursday, shortly before the State Department announced they would go into double overtime from the March 31 deadline.

As the sides bore down on efforts to get a deal, German Foreign Minister Frank-

troops into Somalia to fight the militants. Kenya sent its troops there in 2011 to fight al-Shabab militants. Last month, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for attacks in the county of Mandera on the Somali border in which 12 people died. 4 of them died in an attack on the convoy of Mandera County Governor Ali Roba. Police statistics show that 312 people have been killed in al-Shabab attacks in Kenya from 2012 to 2014.

Russian trawler sinks into icy waters MOSCOW, APRIL 2 (AP): A Russian fishing trawler sank in just 15 minutes early Thursday in the icy waters off Russia’s Far East coast, killing at least 56 of its 132 crew members, rescue workers said.

The massive trawler Dalny Vostok sank about 4 a.m. local time (1800 GMT Wednesday; 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday) in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula. It did not send a distress signal prior to the sinking.

Emergency services in Kamchatka, citing the head of the

rescue operation, said 63 crew members were rescued but the fate of the remaining 13 crew members was unknown.

No cause for the sinking was immediately given, but investigators said the ship sank in just 15 minutes and may have collided with drifting ice. The Investigative Committee said it is considering all theories but it is likely that the trawler hit “an object” floating in the sea.

About 26 fishing boats and 1,300 fishermen and emergency workers were helping in the rescue operation, and

scouring the water for survivors and bodies even after darkness fell, Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov said.

The fishing boats have recovered 56 bodies so far. The Interfax news agency quoted a local emergency representative as saying two of the bodies were found Thursday evening — one in a lifeboat 105 kilometers (65 miles) away and another in the water nearby.

Interfax also quoted Vasily Sokolov, deputy chief of the Russian Fisheries Agency,

denying reports that an overload may have caused the boat to sink.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry sent a Mi-8 helicopter with rescue workers and doctors to deliver medical help and transport crew members to hospitals in the city of Magadan. It also set up a telephone hotline for the families of the crew.

Among the 132 crew members, 78 were from Russia, 42 from Myanmar and the rest were from Latvia, Ukraine and Vanuatu.

Thailand junta replaces martial law with absolute power BANGKOK, APRIL 2 (AP): The big topic of conversation in Thailand is martial law. Technically it’s gone, but in reality it’s still there.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s junta lifted martial law, which was imposed in the run-up to their May 22, 2014, coup — but then quickly replaced it with another set of draconian laws innocuously called “Article 44.” But make no mistake — 10 months after staging the coup, a military junta is still ruling Thailand, essentially with absolute power.

The move is the junta’s latest cosmetic change aimed at putting a softer face on a military-ruled country, according to scholars, jurists and rights groups who called the development a PR stunt and a sleight of hand aimed at helping restore Thailand’s image abroad while keeping the junta firmly in control at home. Others wondered half-jokingly if the government of former army chief Prayuth Chanocha pranked the country with an April Fool’s joke.

“Martial law may be lifted, but Thailand remains deeply sunk in unchecked military rule,” Verapat Pariyawong, an independent political analyst and Harvard-educated lawyer said in a statement, noting that the announcement came Wednesday in “ironic fashion on April Fool’s Day.” Prayuth’s government had faced growing pressure from overseas and particularly Thailand’s own business community to revoke martial law. Although it wasn’tgenerally visible in everyday life — there were few soldiers in the streets — it was devastating for Thailand’s image and its economy. It scared off foreign investors and hurt tourism, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of the GDP. Tour operators complained that it was a deterrent to tourists — partly because many insurance companies won’t cover travelers to countries under martial law.

Thailand’s king on Wednesday formally approved a request from the junta that martial law be lifted. Within minutes of the

announcement being aired on national television, another announcement was broadcast informing the country that in place of martial law, the junta was invoking Article 44, a special security measure in the military-imposed interim constitution. It gives Prayuth the power to override any branch of government in the name of national security, and absolves him of any legal responsibility for his actions.

Thai media have referred to it as “the dictator law.” Under similar legislation in the 1960s, a Thai dictator carried out summary executions.

“From the outside, the lifting of martial law is good news for business and tourism,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

“But from the inside, we’re functionally in the same boat,” he said about Article 44. “Similar restrictions are still in place. And

where there are pockets of dissent and political expression it is likely to be more draconian.”

There are many similarities between martial law and Article 44, and some significant differences. Both provide sweeping powers to the military and allow the military to make arrests and conduct searches without warrants.

Both also provide for trials of suspects in military courts and censorship in the name of preserving order.

Article 44, however, centralizes power under the head of the junta, who is Prayuth, unlike martial law which more broadly puts the military in charge of public security.

Article 44, like martial law, allows authorities to ban public gatherings but it goes a step further by specifying harsh penalties. It says people who join unauthorized political gatherings of more than five can face up to 6 months in prison.

Wednesday evening, the junta televised an order detailing 14 provisions un-

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, arrives at Government House in Bangkok on Thursday, April 2.

Thailand’s junta lifted martial law, which was imposed in the run-up to their 2014 coup but replaced it with a set of draconian laws called “Article 44.” (AP Photo)

der Article 44, but it can issue more later.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch said the decision to invoke Article 44 marked “Thailand’s deepening descent into dictatorship.”

“Thailand’s friends abroad should not be

fooled by this obvious sleight of hand by the junta leader to replace martial law with a constitutional provision that effectively provides unlimited and unaccountable powers,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director.

Thailand’s military has

a history of intervening in politics, having seized power 12 times since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

In many ways, the move marks another cosmetic evolution for Prayuth, who led the coup as the country’s powerful army chief but then shed his uniform and suited up to assume the role of prime minister.

Prayuth imposed martial law on May 20, 2014, and two days later led the coup that toppled the elected civilian government after months of sometimesviolent street protests.

Since the coup, the junta has moved to consolidate power. In July, the military adopted the interim 48-article constitution and formed a junta-appointed legislature. In August, the legislature appointed Prayuth as prime minister — a post he said he will retain until elections, though no date has been set. Polls were initially promised for this year, then pushed to sometime in 2016.

Stability has been restored but at a steep price.

Thailand’s democratic institutions were dismantled, and the country’s authoritarian rulers have crushed dissent. Critics say the coup leaders’ real goal is to eliminate the political influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 coup. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted by a court ruling just days before last year’s coup and later barred from holding office for five years.

The coup was part of a societal schism that in broad terms pits the majority rural poor, who back the Shinawatras, against an urban-based elite that is supported by the army and staunch royalists, who see the Shinawatras as a threat to the traditional structures of power.

Prayuth sought to downplay concerns about Article 44, saying nobody had made much fuss about it until now. “Article 44 will be exercised constructively,” Prayuth said. “Don’t worry, if you’re not doing anything wrong, there’s no need to be afraid.”

10

SPORTS/Public diScOuRSE

Friday

Dimapur

3 April 2015

The Morung Express

BCCI likely to call emergency Liverpool looks to stay in meeting ahead of Bangladesh tour top-4 race in Premier League Steve Douglas

L

AP Sports Writer

iverpool could slip out of realistic contention for Champions League qualification with a loss at Arsenal on Saturday as the Premier League returns from the international break with a significant match in the race for the top four.

A 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United ended Liverpool's 13-match unbeaten run in the league that had lifted last season's runner-up from midtable to the brink of the top four.

It left Liverpool five points behind fourth-place United and six off third-place Arsenal, and there is no more room for error with just eight games left in the campaign.

Liverpool's season could be unravelling at just the wrong time, with captain Steven Gerrard suspended for three matches after his red card against United, top striker Daniel Sturridge injured again with a hip problem and the team's form dipping in its last three games before the international break.

And preparations for Saturday's game at Emirates Stadium were hardly helped by comments from its best young player, Raheem Sterling, who said Wednesday that he would hold off on discussing a new contract until the end of the

Sterling to put off Liverpool talks until end of season liVErpool, april 2 (ap): Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling is putting off contract talks with the club until the end of the season, saying "it has never been about money." Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said the 20-year-old Sterling, one of English football's top young talents, has been made an "incredible offer." Sterling says he would have signed a new contract "straightaway, probably for far less money than being said now" if it had been offered last summer, after Liverpool had finished second in the English Premier League. The England international tells the BBC that "the timing was a bit off" to discuss a new deal during this season, and "I just want to take the time to think about what I've achieved in my career so far, where I need to go."

Liverpool is fifth in the league, outside the Champions League qualification spots. season when he has a better idea about Liverpool's future.

By saying his focus is on winning trophies over money — "I don't want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old," he told the BBC — Sterling's future may have to lie somewhere else than Anfield.

While the two-week break for European Championship qualifiers and friendlies perhaps came at a good time for Liverpool, it probably frustrated United.

Impressive wins against Tottenham and Liverpool restored belief in Louis van Gaal's team, which could be eight points clear in fourth by the end of the 31st round of games if it beats Aston Villa at Old Traf-

ford. Chelsea takes a six-point lead — plus a game in hand — into its home match against Stoke on Saturday and Manchester City visits Crystal Palace on Monday, by which the champions may have lost second place to Arsenal or United.

Here are some things to know about the upcoming Premier League games: MATA'S FORM United's resurgence has coincided with Juan Mata's return to the team, with the Spain playmaker scoring twice against Liverpool and also impressing in the 3-0 win against Spurs.

Angel Di Maria, who cost United nearly $100 million last summer and captained Argen-

Lest We Forget the Cross Up on Calvary’s Cross, The blasphemed crown, The scarring nails of contempt and ignominy, Hung him infamously high.

The Heavenly glory deserted the flesh...

The painful moments, Crying out, ‘Abba Father, thou forsake thee’?

In submission Heavenwards, ‘Thy Will be done.’

And purpose drifted for mortal moments.

Never will there be another Judas kiss; Never will there be another Golgotha Cross.

Yet the nail pierces deeper, Christ’s wound bleeds still.

Have we forsaken thee, oh million tongues.

Alas! The ‘bread and wine’ turned sour For the ‘sweet’ temporalities.

For at the threshold of ‘sacrifice’, The bitter Gethsemane prayer went ‘unheard.’

Oh for the redeeming sublime, We are, but a breath away In his ‘grace’ful purpose.

Tis a blessing to be reminded of the Cross.

Dr. Asangba Tzüdir

The Darkness Of Good Friday

T

oday is called Good Friday, which is not really good because “good” is too neutral a term. The events of Good Friday are the ultimate paradox - at once atrocious and wonderful, scandalous and beautiful, the worst kind of hate and the best kind of love. On this day we were convicted and pardoned, condemned and freed, cursed and blessed.

It was the darkest day. Many who had followed Jesus up to now fled from the events of Friday. And those who stayed to watch wept in horror: the phony trial, the mob that cried out for the blood of the man who was unbending in the weight of their demands and expectations. The brutal beating, the savagery of the soldiers, the grueling walk through the city he had entered to cheers just five days before. Finally, the nails pounded into flesh, the tortured body slouched over, the naked man died as his enemies jeered.

To his disciples – those that had forsaken everything in order to follow Jesus – this day was anything but good. This man, in whom they had put all of their hopes, was hanging dead on a tree. This was the death of their faith, the crushing of all their hopes for a new kingdom, and the end of all they believed in. Or so it seemed.

As his followers laid Jesus in the tomb on that same dark day, Easter Sunday lied in wait for them, but on Friday they couldn’t see it. They couldn’t see the defeat of death, the glory of the resurrection, or the advancement of God’s kingdom. They couldn’t see the whole story. There was no way around Good Friday, only the way through—through pain and death and burial.

It is the same for us; we cannot get around this day. We must go

through the pain and death and burial to get to the resurrection.

We must go through the darkness of Good Friday to get to the light of Easter.

God is a God of light: darkness cannot survive in his presence.

We, who have dark hearts full of sin, should tremble at this fact.

But Jesus, who was completely good, cloaked himself in the darkness of our sin and stood under the wrath of God for us. On the cross, he was destroyed and cut off from his Father. It was to have been our fate. On the first Good Friday, in the midst of our darkest hour, God did not cut us off. Jesus Christ, our true light, plunged himself into the darkness so that we might live in the light.

Today, we mourn with Jesus.

We sit in the darkness. Pray into empty silence. Stare into the abyss and dare it to consume us. Good Friday challenges us to allow ourselves to experience the forsakenness of Jesus, of humanity, of our lives, that we try our damnedest to ignore every other day of the year.

It is one of the few moments in the Christian year that we can admit those feelings in the sanctuary, that the sanctuary welcomes the darkness, the rupture of the death of God. It is the one day that the church opens its doors to those foolish bridesmaids whose lamps went out, who scattered in darkness just like the disciples did at the death of their master. It is the one day when we can scream:My God, my God, why have you forsaken us?

We can go through the darkness of this day because Jesus went through it before us. He is saving us and bringing about our everlasting joy, in a way only God could have chosen. Easter is not far away!

Fr. C. Joseph

tina in midweek, is finding it difficult to get back in the team after suspension because of Mata's form.

"I check the calendar and I see four big games for us in April: Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton," Mata said. "All of them are big clubs and we want to show that we can beat them (and) getting close to our goal (of qualifying for the Champions League)."

United has won five games in a row. Villa's run of three straight wins under new manager Tim Sherwood was ended

by Swansea last time out.

KANE'S CHALLENGE Sixth-place Tottenham isn't quite out of the running for the top four and much will depend on the continued strong form of Harry Kane, who is on the brink of an impressive club milestone.

The 21-year-old Kane has 29 goals in all competitions in his breakthrough season and needs one more to become the first Tottenham player since Gary Lineker in 1991-92 to reach 30 goals in a single campaign.

It could come on Sunday against Burnley, which Spurs have beaten in the league and the FA Cup this season. Kane and Chelsea's Diego Costa are the league's top scorers with 19 goals each. Tottenham is seventh, six points behind United.

Dhaka/kolkata, april 2 (iaNS): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to call an emergency meeting within a week to consider the imbroglio surrounding the Indian team's Bangladesh tour in June. This follows Bangladesh's Mustafa Kamal quitting the ICC and blaming its chairman, N, Srinivasan for his exit, a media report in Dhaka said on Thursday.

A top BCCI official was quoted as saying Kamal's tirade against Srinivasan is perhaps forcing the Indian board to meet and discuss the situation, bdnews24.com reported. Kamal quit Wednesday as the ICC president protesting against not being allowed to present the World Cup trophy on March 29, terming this a "flagrant violation" of the world body's constitution.

Srinivasan was the erstwhile BCCI president till a Supreme Court judgement forced him to relinquish his post on the basis of several wrongdoings surrounding the "conflict of interest" between his role in the board and also being coowner of Indan Premier league (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings. BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya has refused to comment on the Kamal issue.

The official, on condition of anonymity, said Srinivasan's supporters in the BCCI are trying to force the emergency meeting. "They may try to push BCCI to cancel the June tour of Bangladesh because Srinivasan is BCCI's

representative in ICC and Kamal's tirade against him, they may argue, is now a national issue," he said.

"But Srinivasan has large number of opponents in the BCCI who will stoutly oppose such plans, arguing that Kamal's tirade against Srinivasan is a personal issue and BCCI cannot afford to create a diplomatic row," the BCCI official added.

He said that if BCCI cancelled the tour of Bangladesh, Kamal will surely get his government to take up the issue with Delhi . The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is unlikely to cancel the cricket tour for fear of adverse impact on bilateral relations.

"Some of Srinivasan's opponents may actually like the BCCI to do something silly so that the issue boils over and the Modi government comes down hard on the BCCI and forces it to oust Srinivasan," said another BCCI official , on condition of anonymity.

Some ministers of the Modi government are connected to the BCCI and none of them belong to the Srinivasan camp. His opponents are trying to rope in these ministers and get him out of BCCI. Kamal has made it clear in a Dhaka press conference on Wednesday that his fight is against Srinivasan and not against the BCCI. India played a major role in getting Bangladesh its Test playing status, so it would be

ironic if it were to cancel its June 2015 tour of Bangladesh, when two Tests and three One-day International (ODI) matches are likely to be played.

Kamal has described Srinivasan as "mentally deranged".

Upset pro-Srinivasan supporters are believed to be willing to cancel the Bangladesh trip to seek revenge. But antiSrinivasan supporters in BCCI say that India can ill afford to cancel its tour of Bangladesh when Pakistan has finalised its summer tour of Bangladesh.

Foreign policy analysts here say that a pullout will become a huge diplomatic issue if that happens.

Analysts say the Modi government will be very upset with the BCCI if they cancelled their tour at a time when Modi himself is planning to visit Dhaka this summer after the Indian parliament clears the land boundary agreement and his government inches closer to a possible deal on Teesta river water sharing.

Srinivasan's opponents in the BCCI say it is time the board got rid of a man, barred by the Supreme Court from contesting BCCI polls again, from representing India in ICC. "He is a national disaster," said one Bengal cricket official who has represented the state board in BCCI for years.

But the BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya has refused any comment, saying he first needs to discuss the whole situation and all issues involved with his board members.

The Aching Grace of Suffering

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(A Reflection for Good Friday)

ain, sickness, accidents, death, and natural calamities are a part of daily life and they raise questions that cause people a great deal of personal anguish. The existence of suffering is an undeniable reality of life, and hardly anyone escapes from the clutches of this painful mystery. It makes many of us, if not most of us, question the very existence of a good and omnipotent God. Many have lost their faith and even turned out to be hardcore atheists on account of suffering. There have been loud protests from time and again even in the form of books entitled “Where is God When it Hurts?” or “Why Do Good People Suffer and Bad People Prosper?” and the like. This gripping puzzle of human woundedness has been formulated by David Hume in the following manner: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then God is impotent. Is God able to prevent suffering and evil, but not willing? Then God is malevolent. Is God both willing and able to prevent evil? Then why is there any evil in the world?”

To those who ask despairingly, “Why doesn’t God just stamp out evil?” we may have to ask another question: “If at midnight tonight, God decreed that all evil would be stamped out of the universe, how many of us would be here at 12:01?” God could obliterate all evil and suffering in the world by one single stroke, but all that would prove is how much bigger and stronger he is!

God has not created puppets, but dynamic free beings, endowed with the freedom of choice, which undoubtedly involves serious risks. However, God’s ways are not our ways. Perhaps God allows pain and suffering to remain, in order to demonstrate not merely the attribute of his power, but those of his wisdom and grace, and he is able to work through even evil and suffering and transform them into grandeur and grace. Or it may be the paradox of the power of powerlessness. In the course of centuries many people and various theories have tried to answer the problem of suffering. Doubtless, these have thrown considerable light on the mystery of suffering and evil; yet, whenever we come face to face with raw and actual suffering, none of these can ever totally dispel the darkness of this inscrutable puzzle.

Suffering may be destined to remain an ever-elusive mystery that we shall never fully comprehend in this life. In itself it is something not good and every effort is to be made to alleviate it. At the same time, suffering cannot be totally abolished or explained. But we can do one thing: to have a healthy attitude to suffering. There remains the possibility of realistically accepting it as an inevitable part of human life and then seeking to transform it and integrate it into human life in such a way that we come to see that life would be ‘poorer’ without it. It becomes easier to face it, if we can find some meaning or sense in it, for as Nietzsche has said, “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost

anything.” Victor Frankl makes the same point when he observes, “Suffering ceases to be suffering in some way at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”

The Bible gives certain piercing insights into this mystery, which provoke reflection: Job and Jesus. The Book of Job is an outpouring of human agony, which also explores an important situation: Can a right relationship with God exist in suffering? Job is a just, righteous and blameless man. He loses everything: family, property, and health. Afflicted with leprosy, he sits on a dung heap. He is ready to accept this suffering, as his past good fortune, as a gift from God. “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” But his friends and even his wife seek to attribute his sufferings to some unconscious transgression of divine law. Job protests vigorously and challenges God to prove that he has been guilty. He speaks out in anguish, and comes ultimately to rail in fury against God. God then gives an answer that is no answer. God asserts God’s authority and power as Creator and questions Job for questioning God. Job answers the Lord: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted… I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know!”

We are creatures. God knows best what we are and what we need. We recognize our total dependence on God and accept from God’s hand good things as well as bad. We may not always find it meaningful. But we trust God. We have to give up our idea of God who always does what ‘we think’ is good for us. All that we can do is to trust in God’s love and accept everything as coming from God, especially when we do not understand.

The earthly life of Jesus was an arduous pilgrimage to the Father carried out in silence, worship, and suffering. Jesus’ lifetime of love is climaxed in the most powerful kenosis of his crucifixion. The self-emptying of Jesus reaches its peak on Calvary. He prays that the suffering may pass him by. His suffering was great and unmerited. Why a life of suffering and why an existence that led to the hard bed of the cross? Why the shedding of the last drop of the blood? For something like the same reason that there are more birds than are necessary for the needed song of man, more grains of sand than are necessary for a seashore – because of the superfluity of love, the superabundance of love, the non- logical logic of love.

Where there is true love, nothing is too costly, not even one’s own life.

St. Augustine affirms the truth of it: “Where there is love, there is no hardship. If there is hardship, that hardship itself is sought after and embraced lovingly and willingly for the sake of the beloved.” Love, which is real, loves even to the point of sacrifice, in fact, loves even to the end, which is the offering of one’s own very life. Christ loves to that extent, for “a man can

have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” Indeed, at the heart of the deepest fulfilment lies the greatest sacrifice!

The Calvary becomes the Academy of Love, the suffering love, revealed and manifested to us in human terms in Jesus crucified. The Calvary event is recorded with the blood of Christ and nowhere has God’s revealed love reached a greater peak of self-giving to us than in the image of Jesus on the cross, totally broken, rejected and poured out for love of us. The example of Jesus is the example of absolute unquestioning obedience, and his love was like a clear flame without the slightest wavering before the winds of fear or self-seeking. Jesus accepted his mission and life in all its fulness, with all its pains and pathos.

Christ does not explain suffering, but fills it with his presence. He shows us how to transform and give meaning to suffering by accepting it for a greater cause. The cross therefore is not an answer. The cross rather is an assurance, the assurance that suffering can be salvific, redemptive. To use the very instruments of defeat as the instruments of victory – this is the great triumph. He accepted, with all the adoring love of his heart, to lay down his life. When Christ bowed his head in the death-hour, love solemnized its triumph. He became our fellowsufferer, and the crucifixion became the most perfect way of expressing the eternal love of God for us.

Jesus accepts the suffering as a sign of his faithfulness to God. He makes it an occasion for total self-surrender. He suffers in solidarity with the people.

The catastrophe and the shattering weight of disillusionment that Calvary had brought gripped the minds of even the staunchest followers of Christ. Jesus was, however, sustained by the hope that God will vindicate him. That vindication comes only after death, when God raised him to life again and enables him to share that life with others. Furthermore, the mystery of Jesus condemned to an ugly death and enclosed in a borrowed tomb was not closed either with his death or with the tomb. Suffering and death could not choke the divine love. The pierced heart quickened to the throb of life. The resurrection counteracted the catastrophe of the cross. It was a ratification of his life, love and teaching. Death was not the end, but it was the inauguration of his resurrection. The resurrected Christ showed those who experienced him that God’s Kingdom is more powerful than death. It reveals that love conquers everything, every suffering, even death! Through suffering to glory: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Death is not only a passage to life; it is the very condition for its fruitfulness.

What lessons can we draw from Job and Jesus? The Book of Job offers a challenge to the modern mind: it views life without illusion, but not with de-

spair. It punctures the traditional beliefs in God, but not in faith. It points to a God beyond the God of the philosophers and of ethical concepts – a God who transcends all human interests and human cataloging. Job teaches that any attempt of man to justify God would be an act of arrogance. It also challenges any attempt on our part to reduce the mystery of human life to simple equations. Just as Job, we who read ‘Job’ may likewise find a gain in the loss of self-sufficiency. We are totally dependent on God. We have to accept what comes from God even when we do not see its meaning. We are sure, however, that God will not abandon us. The fulfilment of this hope may not happen in this life, but only after death.

In this sense it is a ‘blind’ trust in God. This hope makes us realize that no catastrophe is ultimate. There is always a beyond for us and for all.

Our scientific and technological achievements may puff us up with our own sense of power. Tragedies, sufferings, and natural calamities cut us down to size and make us humble and vulnerable before God, and even nature. Our faith in a God who is merely there to meet ‘our needs’ is purified.

Rather than expect God to do ‘our will,’ we learn to mean what we pray: “Your will be done..” At times wisdom comes to us through the awful grace of God. Pain may be required for our recovery.

And the deepest enlightenment may result from the greatest shock! An appropriate attitude in the face of suffering may be a willingness to surrender to God’s mystery and to trust in God with the hope that everything will work out for the good of everyone everywhere in ways unknown to us.

There ‘is’ suffering in human life and we do not totally know why it should be. The denial of God does not alleviate the suffering one whit; all it eases is our inability to comprehend. Railing against God does nothing to help. Instead there is the encounter with mystery: the mystery of human life, which in its vulnerability and frailty can be infinitely precious and treasured; the mystery of human love, which can surmount extraordinary pain and suffering; the mystery of divine love which must suffer and grieve with us in our hurt and misery, but which – as we can say to each other – says also to us: “You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you.” Love is gift. We really know not its why or wherefore. How much more the love of God! The ultimate mystery of our world is not that ‘we are,’ or that ‘we love.’ It is not that ‘we suffer.’ Nor is it faith that ‘there is a God.’ The ultimate mystery of our world is that its Creator God should deeply love each human being, nay, each and every creature, individually and eternally. And that is the incredible and ineffable mystery of God’s everlasting love. Such mystery calls forth unfathomable wonder. Such love can only be met with unconditional acceptance.

Fr. T.C. Joseph SDB Bosco B.Ed. College, Dimapur.

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.

Entertainment

The Morung Express

Friday 3 April 2015

Dimapur

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Photo by Caisii Mao

Morung Photo

The Dimapur Phom Union celebrated the Phom Monyiu Festival on April 2 at Dimapur District Sports Complex (DDSC). The daylong celebration showcased log drum beating, folk dances, modern folk songs, indigenous games, lenglengkhongkhong (bamboo dance), traditional attire etc. The people of the Phom-Naga community celebrate Monyiu, their biggest traditional festival from April 01 - 06 every year. This is a spring festival normally observed after the sowing is done in their paddy fields. This is to invoke God’s blessing to have a bountiful harvest. Monyiu also marks the end of winter and the onset of the monsoon

Choupette Lagerfeld

Everyday’s a made €3 million last year Valentine’s t's no wonder that Karl Lagerfeld is What's funny is that the design gegaga over his Siamese cat Choupette; nius didn't even seek out the pet in the Day

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not only does she provide him with design inspiration, she also brings home the bacon by the millions.

It has been well-documented that Lagerfeld's little kitty has two maids, an Instagram account, likes to fly first class and has had a book published in her honour. But what has been less documented is how much the moggy earns.

Chanel creative director revealed to The Cut that she raked in £2,172,625 for doing two jobs - a collaboration with cosmetics brand Shu Uemura (resulting in the aptly-named Shupette collection) and posing for a Vauxhall Corsa car calendar.

That's just a fraction less than Cara Delevingne, who worked tirelessly during 2014 for her rumoured £2.4m pay packet.

"She did two jobs and made 3 million Euros last year. I don't allow her to do foodstuffs and things like this. She's too sophisticated for that" the 81-yearold told the New York website as he arrived in the Big Apple to showcase his latest Metiers d'Art collection for Chanel yesterday. Note: Choupette had her own room at the Mercer Hotel - complete with maid, of course.

first place. "Choupette belonged to a friend of mine who asked if my maid could take care of her for two weeks when he was away," Lagerfeld explained. "When he came back, he was told that Choupette would not return to him. He got another cat who became fat, and Choupette became the most famous cat in the world, and the richest."

What endeared Choupette to Mr Lagerfeld is that she "is like a human being, but the good thing is that she's silent. You don't have to discuss it. She hates other animals and she hates children."

The moggy's maids happily "play with her, they have to take care of her beautiful white hair, the beauty treatments for her eyes, and they entertain her. She is the centre of the world. If you saw her, you would understand. She is kind of Greta Garbo. There is something unforgettable about her, the way she moves, the way she plays. She's an inspiration for elegance.

For attitude."

Turns out the high-maintenance pampering is paying off then; Choupette is the new cover star of US fashion magazine, Lucky's '100+ Stylish Animals' issue.

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single song titled ‘Everyday’s a Valentine’s Day’ with its official T-Shirt designed by Robin Paul of Zumvu Printex Kohima was released on April 2 at Hotel Japfu Watienla Jamir, Director of Horticulture.

The song is written and composed by Senti Longchar ‘Desert King’ (DK) along with John Pfokrelo (MM), Tasy Theluo (TT) and Imli Jamir (AK) recorded at Clef Ensemble Studio Kohima.

During the release programme Watila said

(L-R) Senti Longchar “Desert King”, Watienla Jamir, Tasy Theluo

that she felt young while listening to the music and the lyrics. Reviewing the romantic song she said that it touches the hearts of both young and the old.

She also encouraged the youngsters to take good example of artist like DK

for his versatility in his profession as an Officer, a songwriter, singer, a poet and a photographer. The programme was co-ordinated by Kongie Ozukum, General Secy. Desert Kings Club, Kohima and Photo Session by Roko Rocks.

Suzy confirms she's dating Lee Min Ho

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-pop girl group Miss A's Suzy acknowledged she is dating hallyu star Lee Min-ho at the group's comeback showcase in Olympic Park, Seoul, Monday. "I found

him very considerate and warm-hearted," Suzy said.

"I will maintain a good relationship while working on the new album." News about the K-pop star and the hottest Korean actor in

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China broke on March 23 when the couple were seen dating in London, hiding their faces with mask and muffler.

Suzy admitted that she met Lee there because they had overlapping photoshooting schedules. The couple went on a rather routine date - driving around and

dining. Suzy asked that attention not be focused on her relationship, but rather on Miss A's new album.

Miss A released its first single in 17 months, "Only You," and the song immediately topped the online

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The 15-year-old daughter of Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp made her red carpet debut at the Chanel ParisSalzburg show in New York

hanel's coterie of reliable party girls were out in full force at the brand's New York show last night: Alexa Chung, Harley Viera Newton and Julia Restoin Roitfeld fulfilled the brief of looking great in the luxury fashion house's clothes, but they were joined by a very young newcomer who -dare we say it stole the show.

Step forward Lily-Rose Depp, the doe-eyed daughter of Hollywood actor Johnny. Aged just 15, the teenager arrived with her mother, the French model and singer Vanessa Paradis, to take her debut turn in the spotlight. Lily-Rose, look-

ing older than her years with a sophisticated bob haircut, confidently posed for photographers solo on a red carpet that also counted Beyoncé and Katy Perry.

She looked composed in a Chanel cropped top and column skirt - no doubt having access to her mother's Chanel-filled wardrobe growing up helped.

Paradis, 42, has enjoyed a relationship with the Chanel brand since she was a teenager, famously swinging across a giant birdcage for a TV fragrance ad when she was 20 years old. In fact, this affiliation has lasted longer than her union with Depp did; the couple never

wrote lyrics for "I Caught Ya" and "Stuck." "It was my first time composing and I enjoyed it," Suzy said. "The lyrics are mostly about the feelings I get while I write in my diary. "I usually ask my friends and family for opinions on our new album.

They told me the songs

married but were together from 1998 to 2012, and also have a son.

Paradis is now the face of the couture house's new 'Girl' bag, so it makes sense that her daughter would be welcomed by Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld with open arms.

Having inherited her mother's slight frame, we wouldn't be surprised if she is picked to model for the brand in years to come.

were easy to sing along to, which they liked a lot."

The album's title, "Colors," is an apparent reference to a change to the idol group's bright pink costumes from their once-favorite dark stage outfits. "We have worn many dark dresses until now," said the group's Chinese member, Fei. "We've kept our concept sexy, and ‘Bad Girl Good Girl' is the epitome. This time, we are emphasizing a lovely charm and cuteness, like a typical girl band, which all the group members wanted."

It has been five years since Miss A debuted in 2010, and group members said they were starting to understand more of what they are doing.

Miss A revealed they have no plans go overseas for a while as they want to focus on Korea. "We try to communicate with our fans abroad through (social networking)," said Zia, another Chinese member. "It took us a long time to come back, and if you could wait just little more, we will visit you soon."

Voices of hope with their director Nise Meruno performed at the Sur poorva, 'Festival of Choral music and Instrumental ensemble' in Junagadh,Gujarat on April 1. The event was organised by the Sangeet Natak Academy.

Lauren Gottlieb’s dream comes true with three big films

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hough she started off as a Hollywood import, today, Lauren Gottlieb has become a household name, thanks to her perfect score almost every week on the dance reality show, 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6'. The actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Remo D'Souza's 'ABCD: Any Body Can Dance', will soon be seen in 'ABCD 2' alongside Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor.

While she was shooting the climax of ABCD 2, she got a call from the makers of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy to choreograph a promotional song for the film. Lauren reveals, "Sushant Singh Rajput has always been vocal about being my fan and he suggested my name to Aditya Chopra and Dibakar Banerjee." Adding that she

had the time of her life working with them, she continues, "I was completely bowled over when they asked me to not just choreograph, but also feature in their next promotional song, Calcutta Kiss."

Interestingly, she has also been signed on to play an ISI agent in Vashu Bhagnani's Welcome To Karachi. "I've always wanted to step out of the dance zone and do an action role. So, I'm just pinching myself that my dream has come true," she enthuses. Lauren, who wants to do more films in the future, says, "Everyone I work with calls me a workaholic and I'm happy with that. This is my biggest passion in life and I'll always give it my all."

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found 'family halfway around the world' in India

Switchfoo

Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose steps out into the style spotlight

music charts.

Popular songwriter Black Eyed Pilseung produced the lead single, a hip hop song with trap rhythm that tells the story of a girl's passionate love for her crush. As for the other six tracks, Suzy and another member, Min,

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oming all the way from the US to regale their Indian fans, members of the hugely popular alternative rock band Switchfoot felt they had found a "family" far away from home on their maiden tour of the country, says frontman Jon Foreman, who is drawn to Indian classical music.

Comprising Jon (vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keyboard, guitar) and Drew Shirley (guitar), the band performed at Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi last month as part of their tour in India through Micromax Vh1 Rock Rules.

The concerts drew enthusiastic crowds.

Talking about the crowd at their perfor-

mance, Jon told IANS: "It was similar in a lot of respects. My favourite thing about music is that it brings people closer together. And to feel like family halfway around the world, that was incredible."

Jon has an affinity towards Indians.

"There are wonderful crowds. I've always found my friends who are from India to be beautiful people with a special spark in their eyes. It was amazing to be able to sing along with Indians in Mumbai... People really like rock and roll down here.

"Music, for me, is a communal experience and when you feel that connection, that's special," he added of Switchfoot's Mumbai performance.

Jon has been to the country once before and he is glad to have returned with his band members.

"I have always been fascinated by Indian culture and music. I have a harmonium and a tanpura. I came here a few years back and went to Delhi and Lucknow. I'm glad that I brought my bandmates with me this time," he said.

Southern California natives Jon, Tim and Chad formed the band in 1996 in San Diego, and Jon says the "joy" from music has remained constant through their 19year journey.

"We've seen a lot of changes over the years and the thing that remains constant is that music has always provided me a vehicle in which to travel places I've never been. I will always have this joy that music gives me and that has remained constant throughout our journey," he said.

Admitting he's not "drawn to" Bollywood music, Jon said he is more of an admirer of traditional Indian music and likes to listen to Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar's work after he discovered the instrument listening to The Beatles.

"I'm not really drawn to the Bollywood thing; I like more traditional Indian music.

My first experience of listening to Indian music was growing up on The Beatles and hearing the sitar in some of their songs.

"I think that was what set me off to listen to Ravi Shankar and some other sitar and tabla music. I love the rhythms and I love a lot of the raagas... I tend to lean towards the stuff that is truly Indian and sounds like it couldn't have happened in America," Jon said.

Asked if he has any preconceived notions about India, Jon said: "Most of the preconceived notions are fairly positive - spicy food, the most incredible colours I've seen, beautiful smiles and crazy traffic."

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Saina in quarters, Prannoy, Kashyap lose in Malaysia Open

Kuala lumpur, april 2 (iaNS): World No.1 Saina Nehwal reached the quarter-finals while men's singles shuttlers H.S. Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap suffered crushing defeats in the second round of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Superseries Premier at the Putra Stadium here on Thursday. Olympic bronze medC M Y K

allist Saina registered a facile 21-13, 21-9 win in 30 minutes against Chinese qualifier Xue Yao in the second round of the women's singles event.

In the last eight stage, the 25-year-old Hyderabadi, who currently trains under Vimal Kumar in Benagluru, will face World No.15 Sun Yu. The Chinese worked hard for her 21-17, 20-22, 21-17 victory over Malaysian Beiwen Zhang.

Prannoy, who jumped three places to be 14th in the World rankings on Thursday, lost 15-21, 14-21 in 52 minutes to fivetime World champion Lin Dan of China.

World No.17 and Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap received a 10-21, 6-21 thrashing in 35 minutes at the hands of reigning World champion Chen Long of China. In another heartbreak for India, leading Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost 23-21, 8-21, 17-21 in 58 minutes to the Indonesian pair of Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii.

In the quarter-finals, World No.1 Chen will face Kento Momota, who crushed Hu Yun 21-6, 21-9. Two-time Olympic champion Dan awaits the winner between India's Kidambi Srikanth and Chinese Tian Houwei.

NBA: Clippers wiN to keep BlAzers wAitiNg for title

Northern Angami-1 t20 BAsH

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Lower L. Khel Vikings, Kenuozou Wolves wins

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Moa being adjudged man of the match. In the second match, Kenuozou Wolves overKohima | April 2 powered Peraciezie Royals by 2 wickets.

Lower L. Khel Vikings and Kenuozou Tovi was awarded the man of the match.

Wolves today registered wins in their respective matches of the ongoing 2nd 10th April 4 fixture (starts 10:00 AM) Northern Angami-I T20 Bash 2015 played 1st Match: Upper Bayavü Sixers vs T. Khel here at Kohima Village Ground, Ziekiezou. Knights Lower L. Khel Vikings won by 70 runs in 2nd Match: Chedema Strikers vs Zienu- Portland Trail Blazers forward Dorell Wright, right, stretches to defend a shot

by Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul during the second half of an NBA the first match against RS Challengers with obadze High Flyers basketball game in Portland, Ore. on April 1. (AP Photo) pOrTlaND, april 2 (ap): Los Blazers with 29 points.

Dallas withstood a triple-douAngeles' Chris Paul had a seasonhigh 41 points and 17 assists to ble from Russell Westbrook and the Clippers to a come-from- won 135-131 at Oklahoma City.

Dimapur, april 2 (mExN): Ram ing scholastic aptitude for the children’s lead Westbrook finished with 31 behind 126-122 win at Portland Janaki Higher Secondary School success- strength and giving a balanced spectral on Wednesday, denying the Trail points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. fully conducted its 11th Annual Sports development in the framework of the Blazers a win that would have It was his 10th triple-double of the Meet 2015 from March 31 to April 2. A school curriculum. The principal stated clinched the NBA's Northwest Di- season, the 17th of his career and press release from the Principal of the that the sports meet included a number of vision title. his eighth since the All-Star break. school informing this stated that the sports traditional games like obstacle race, relay Dallas' Monta Ellis scored 26 Portland, which had won its meet was held with the aim of increas- race, taekwondo etc. previous four games, will have to points and Chandler Parson addwait to clinch their first division ed 22 for the Mavericks, who had title in five years. The Blazers re- seven players in double figures.

The Thunder lost despite havmained 6-1/2 games clear of Oklahoma City, which failed to make ing three players score at least 30 mEDziphEma, april 2 (mExN): nial event for football lovers, originally intro- up ground after suffering a home points. Anthony Morrow scored The 4th Frolic Cup organized by Frolic duced for Medziphema and adjoining areas. defeat against Dallas in an even 32 and Enes Kanter added a career-high 30. Milwaukee snapped Club, Medziphema, will begin from April However, the tournament is now attracting higher-scoring game.

Among other key results, Mil- a run of nine-straight home loss10 with the theme "Goal for Change." A teams from other districts of Nagaland.

Entry forms are available at S.K. Provi- waukee ended its long run of home es against Chicago by beating the press release received here informed.

Around 20 to 25 teams are expected to sion, Medziphema; Akholie Bakery, Chu- losses against Chicago by beating Bulls 95-91.

Michael Carter-Williams had participate in the tournament which will mukedima Second Gate; and Vety. Care the Bulls, and Houston's James 21 points and 10 rebounds while Harden scored a career-high 51 be played at the Medziphema Town lo- Clinic TCP Gate, Kohima. The last date Ersan Ilyasova added 16 for the points to power Houston to victory for submission of forms is fixed for April cal ground. Frolic Club Medziphema was Bucks, who maintained a 2-1/2 over Sacramento. formed by a group of like-minded youths 6. For further details, one may contact The Clippers trailed by 19 game lead over Miami and Brookin 1998 with the motto "Achieve greater 9856175975, 8974694974. points in the first half but were led lyn for sixth place in the Eastern The prizes includes cash plus certifi- back by Paul and J.J. Redick, who Conference. Chicago's sevenheights." The club has, till date, over 300 registered members. Despite financial cates for winners, first and second run- added 25 points, including five game winning streak against Milconstraints, the club often ventures into ners-up as well as individual prizes includ- 3-pointers, and eight rebounds. waukee ended despite 25 points charitable works and is today, a well- ing Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Player They then held off a furious Port- and seven rebounds from Jimmy of the Tournament, Best Forward, Highest land rally at the end.

Butler. Houston's James Harden known club in Medziphema.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the strengthened his case for the MVP Frolic Cup Football Tournament is a bien- Scorer and Best Disciplined Team.

Ram Janaki holds Annual Sports Meet

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Our Correspondent

4th Frolic Cup from April 10

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Model Heidi Klum watches the Los Angeles Lakers play the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)

award with a career-high 51 points and the Rockets needed just about all of them as they hung on for a 115-111 win over Sacramento.

Wednesday's performance surpassed Harden's previous career best of 50 points, which came on March 19. An 8-0 run by Harden, which he capped with a 3-point play, pushed the Houston lead to 112-104. Four straight points by the Kings cut the lead to four with less than a minute left, but they didn't score after that.

DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with his second career triple-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.

San Antonio clinched a playoff berth with a 103-91 win at Orlando. Aron Baynes had 18 points and Manu Ginobili added 13 for the Spurs, who have made the postseason for 18-straight years.

Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 24 points but Orlando still fell to the Spurs for the eighth straight time. Boston's Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points after nearly missing the game with an eye injury sustained hours before tip-off, and the Celtics beat Indiana 100-87 in a match of Eastern Conference playoff hope-

fuls. Tyler Zeller scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half for Boston, which is half a game out of a playoff spot. The Celtics sit just behind Brooklyn and Miami, who are tied for seventh in the East.

George Hill had 21 points for the Pacers, who fell two games behind Boston. Utah cruised to a 9884 win against Denver, with Rudy Gobert scoring a career-high 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Charlotte beat Detroit 102-78 to keep pace in the playoff race, staying two games behind Brooklyn. Toronto's Lou Williams scored 18 points to lead a balanced Raptors offense which won 113-99 at Minnesota. Washington stayed three games behind the Raptors by beating Philadelphia 106-93, with Marcin Gortat contributing 23 points and 14 rebounds.

New Orleans inched closer to a possible playoff berth with a 11392 defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Brooklyn's Brook Lopez netted a follow shot with 2 seconds left to give the Nets a 100-98 win against city rival New York, notching their fifth straight victory and keeping a share of seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

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Serena earns 700th win to reach Miami Open semis

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KEY BiSCaYNE, april 2 (ap): Serena Williams abused her racket, scolded herself and even made angry faces at the sun. In the end, as usual, she took out her frustration on the ball.

The seven-time Key Biscayne champion overcame her annoyance and shaky play Wednesday for her 700th career victory, beating Sabine Lisicki 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Miami Open.

Williams won despite an unreliable serve, a poor second set and 51 unforced errors. She looked flatfooted and listless at times, and seemed especially vexed when playing on the side looking into the sun.

"It's always tough on that side," she said. "You just don't see. You just have to adjust."

She did, earning her 16th consecutive victory on Key Biscayne, where she's the two-time defending champion.

"I know today wasn't my best day," she said. "I just told myself, I'm not serving the way I normally serve and hitting the way I normally would hit, so at this point all I can do is just fight and try to give 200 percent instead of 100 percent." The No. 1-seeded Williams' opponent Thurs-

Serena Williams poses with a cake celebrating her 700th career win after she defeated Sabine Lisicki during their quarterfinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, April 1, in Key Biscayne, Fla. (AP Photo)

day night will be No. 3 Simona Halep, who beat unseeded American Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5. No. 9 Andrea Petkovic plays No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro in the other semifinal.

Two-time champion Andy Murray advanced to the men's semifinals by rallying past unseeded Dominic Thiem 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Murray's opponent Friday will be No. 8 Tomas Berdych, who beat unseeded Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-4.

Williams improved

her career record to 700120, making her the eighth woman in the Open Era to reach the milestone. She was presented with a cake on the court, similar to the honor Murray received following his 500th victory Tuesday.

"I think my destiny was to play tennis," Williams said. "I saw a picture where I was in a stroller on the tennis court."

The No. 1-seeded Williams withdrew before the Indian Wells semifinal ear-

lier this month with a right knee injury. She had been scheduled to play Halep, who went on to win the title and leads the women's tour with 24 victories this year.

"I was really disappointed to not be able to play and just not even be close to 100 percent," Williams said.

"So I look forward to it this time. I'm just happy to be in the semis and still be alive somehow."

"It will be a very nice match," Halep said. "I have to try everything. She is No.

1 in the world. She's the best player. I have nothing to lose."

For much of Williams' quarterfinal, she trailed Lisicki in fist pumps and points, and let frustration quickly show.

After losing three consecutive games to fall behind 4-3 in the first set, the Floridian pounded the court with her racket and drew jeers in the stadium she considers her home court.

Williams won the first set only because Lisicki wobbled in the tiebreaker, hitting three shots into the net before double-faulting on the final point.

Williams played even worse in the second set, losing six games in a row, but then began to grunt louder and hit harder, with positive results. She earned the only break of the final set in the second game and held from there, serving out the match at love.

"Come on!" she shouted when it ended, as if already gearing up for the semifinal.

Tournament officials then rolled out the cake, with pink, green and purple frosting. What's her favorite kind? "Vanilla," she said.

It wasn't really Williams' day, but she won anyway.

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