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ThursDAY • AuGusT 25 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 233 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
The beginning is the most important part of the work “Voices under the rubble” after quake hits Italy; at least 73 dead
AGARTAlA/NEw DElhI, AUGUST 24 (IANS): For the second time in two days, several NE were rocked on Wednesday by a quake in adjoining Myanmar, but there was no report of major damage. “The 6.7 magnitude tremor with epicentre in central Myanmar hit various states of the eastern and northeastern region of India at 4.04 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon,” a meteorological department official said in Agartala. “There is no report of major damage in Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and adjoining areas of the northeast yet. However, we are yet to get complete information from all affected areas of the northeast region,” Disaster Management Coordinator Sarat Das told IANS. the epicentre of the earthquake was at a point 190 km south of Myanmar’s Mandalay city.
Nagaland sees drop in Math and reading skills DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): ASER Centre, the autonomous research and assessment unit of Pratham, today released data on the trend of basic reading and math skills in Nagaland from 2010 to 2014. The ASER, in a press release, today informed that over the years there have been considerable drops in the reading ability of Std V children. “This drop is significant for the state of Nagaland in comparison to the neighboring states like Manipur, and also the All India average,” it stated. Since 2010, the drop is close to 12% for the state of Nagaland. It further informed that Nagaland is performing lower than its neighboring state Manipur when it comes to Math. Similarly with reading, there is a decrease in the performance of Std III and Std V students over the years. The Annual Status of Education (ASER) effort for 2016 is scheduled to kick off on August 30 and the report to be released by mid-January, 2017.
PAGE 12
A chAnce to prove ourselves!
• 33% reservation to empower women and change the structure of society • Why not Nagaland state govt “pass their own state assembly resolution to give provision to women?”
Involve women in peace talks: Governor
Vishü Rita Krocha Dimapur | August 24
The landmark decision of the state government to conduct elections to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 by granting 33% reservation for women, has ignited a ray of hope for intending women candidates to start taking part in the decision making bodies. It is like an answered prayer for the 38 year old contending woman candidate, Khazü Dukru, who is planning to contest from one of the colonies in Pfutsero town when the 33% reservation for women is implemented. “Without reservation, I may not contest,” she said, while stating that politics has been the domain of men for all these years. “Politically, it is the man’s decision,” she added and enun-
Naga women line up to cast their vote in a polling booth.
ciated from many past experiences and observations that even if a woman candidate is far better than a male candidate, the public vote would naturally go to the latter. In this regard, she felt that the chances to win without reservation would be very slim. “I am also apprehensive because many people would say, ‘I will support you if you contest’, but when the real time comes, the vote speaks for itself,” she explained. She sadly observed that women themselves end up following their husbands when it comes to elections. Further speaking on the influence that men have dur-
ing elections, she added, “men always support men, and women always support their husbands.” Therefore, she asserted that the 33% reservation would make the much needed base for women. Not all women, or even men for that matter, may play their roles efficiently, but “give us a chance to prove ourselves,” she appealed. Khazü Dukru is currently a member of the Pfütsero Citizens Welfare Forum and has been actively involved in working towards the welfare of the town. The Director of Kalos Society, Pfutsero, Kupelhi Losou said that 33% reservation for women will not
only empower women but also change the structure of the society. Strongly advocating for women participation in decision making, he said, women tackle issues “faster” than men. He further cited the instance of Pfutsero Citizens’ Welfare Forum wherein he observed that the few women members have responded faster to problems and issues. “I am not saying that the menfolk are not doing their part, but the women members are doing far better than men,” he noted. Meanwhile, Commissioner and Secretary for Municipal Affairs, Menukhol John said that, “since the government has decided
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): Nagaland State Governor, PB Acharya today stated that it is high time that women should be included in peace talks with various militant groups in the North East. A press note from the Raj Bhavan reported the Governor as saying that the protection of women & children from violence must be prioritized. “Peace and security to acknowledge the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women and children recognizes the critical role women should and can play in the processes of peace building and conflict prevention, conflict mediation, and all aspects of post-conflict reconstruction,” the Governor added. He further stated that in politics and to go ahead with the elections, we’ll have to follow the norms on how the 33% reservation is to be marked for the wards and alternatively, we will have to follow the logistics of how soon we can have the elections.” “We are working on the formalities at the moment,” he said. The dates of the elections have, however, not been decided yet. It may be noted that the Naga Hoho and Ao Senden have strongly opposed the cabinet decision to conduct elections to the ULBs with 33% Reservation for women. Naga Hoho has earlier said that it is “premature” to introduce 33% women reservation in the
property ownership, “there is no space for women in Nagaland. There is no women representative in the 60 member state Assembly. North East records the highest number of women trafficking cases.” Stating that women are the worst affected in the conflict zone, the Governor added that women are the main stake holders. “Different women’s group demand to include women in peace talks has to be seriously considered.” He appealed to all stake holders, civil societies, NGO’s, student bodies etc to promote women participation in conflict prevention and peace talks, since they played a major role in the past and can still continue to contribute in the peace process.
Naga society. When asked what it exactly means by “premature”, General Secretary of Naga Hoho, Mutsikhoyi Yhobu observed that at a time when the Indo Naga Political talks are going on, “further division between men and women” or if gender issue comes up, it would be another big issue for the Nagas. He further maintained that the “33% reservation is only the component of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Act itself is very much against Article 371 A- the provision which has been given to Naga people to fight for their sovereign right.” He said that the Article 371
Clause A is not the final solution for the Nagas, because of which, we are still struggling, but added that if this provision to fight for our sovereign right is affected because of 33% reservation by accepting the Municipal Act of India, the whole system is going to be affected. He went on to state that, “If women so desire to have that kind of reservation, instead of accepting this Municipality Act, why not the state government pass their own state assembly resolution to give provision to women?” Under this act, if reservation is accepted by the State Government, it is going to infringe upon the Article 371 A, he reiterated.
‘Promote brotherhood among Nagas and Kukis’ Talks progressing positively: NSCN (IM)
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): President of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), PS Haokip has written to the GPRN/NSCN Chairman, Neokpao Konyak, appreciating the latter’s decision to “entrust three eminent leaders of GPRN/NSCN - C Singson, Adviser to Collective Leadership; Alezo Venuh, Envoy to the Collective Leadership; and Ritsa L Thongru, Secretary to GPRN/NSCN to meet with your Kuki brothers to convey a message of peace and love from the Naga people.” The KNO President, in his letter made available to the media, stated that “Unification is indeed an essential quality precious in the eyes of God. In the fullness of His time, I
believe you will succeed in bringing all of your people under one political umbrella.” He reminded that Naga and Kuki relation “goes way back to Khonoma Angamis and Kukis as brothers drank wine from the barrel of Gun, broke the skull of a dog symbolizing the same fate would meet either party that reneged from the bond of brotherhood and commitment to peace.” “In keeping with the bond, when Khonoma Nagas fought the British, Kukis gave them some Cannons made of mithun hide. Similarly, Pu Lengjang Kuki was a signatory to the Simon Commission of 1929 and was also member of the Naga Club,” he added. Haokip hoped that the act of
sending emissaries from the GPRN/ NSCN would “establish peace and promote brotherhood among Nagas and Kukis.” “This should also put an end to misunderstanding among our people if any and usher in an era of peace and harmony, which will be pleasing in the sight of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he added. The KNO President further accused NSCN (IM) General Secretary, Th Muivah of “creating false propaganda about Kukis” and called for looking into the killing of Kuki people from 1992 and 1997. “With growing retaliation from the Kukis, in 1997 he cleverly signed a peace treaty with the Government of India,” the KNO President stated.
MTLT lock offices of Mokokchung Power Department
Our Correspondent
matter till the end. No incidence of violence was reported during the protest.
Mokokchung | August 24
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Liverpool cruise, Chelsea squeeze in League Cup PAGE 02
MoKoKchunG poWer crIsIs Frustrated over the continuous disruption of electricity supply in Mokokchung, hundreds of youth under the aegis of the Mokokchung Town Lanur Telongjem (MTLT) on Wednesday locked the three offices of the Department of Power. The three offices locked by the youth include Executive Engineer (Electrical Division), Executive Engineer (Transmission Division) and SDO (Electrical Division) – which are located in different parts of the town. The Executive Engineer (Electrical Division) Mokokchung was out of station, reportedly at Dimapur overseeing the restoration of the damaged transformer under repair. The SDO (Electrical Division) who was in office, assured that the department is working on a war footing to restore regular power supply in the town. After locking the offices, the youth marched to the Deputy Commissioner’s
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NBCC consultation on Vision 2030
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North East shaken by Myanmar quake
P o W e R
Youth under the aegis of the MTLT protesting outside one of the Power Department offices in Mokokchung on August 24.
office; however the DC, Sushil Kumar Patel, was out of station as well. Therefore, the agitators met the ADC, Bendanglila and handed over a charter of demands addressed to the Minister of Power, Government of Nagaland. While accepting the ‘demand charter for power’, ADC Bendanglila said she would immediately dispatch the document to the state government and also discuss on the gravity of the situation with the concerned department and
the state government. The ADC also provided her assurance in a written document to the officials of MTLT. The MTLT reiterated that the locked offices should remain closed until the state government gives a positive response ‘in writing’ to its demands. It cautioned that if the offices were opened, they would resort to stringent actions; the consequences of which would be borne by the district administration. Later, the MTLT held a
closed door meeting and discussed about the day’s action and future course of action if the state government failed to meet their demands. Earlier in the morning, the MTLT held a short meeting which was also attended by representatives from the All Ward Union, Mokokchung (AWUM). The AWUM extended their support to the MTLT and added that the two organizations are working for the same cause and therefore urged them to pursue the
MTLT demand charter for power in Mokokchung • Immediately replace the damaged 5MVA transformer at the power station and with a higher capacity transformer. • The present 2.5 MVA at the power station be upgraded. • The government must keep a spare transformer at the power station to be used during emergencies. • Set another power station (10MVA) at Majakong Ward and an additional 10MVA at the existing sub-station at Salangtem (as per the assurance made to MTLT at DPDB meeting in 2015). • Support AWUM demand for an exclusive transmission line for Mokokchung Town. • Demand the utilization certificate of amount sanctioned to the Mokokchung Power Division during the financial year 2014-15 for maintenance works within 7 days.
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): Stating that every round of the peace talks is progressing positively with the Government of India, the NSCN (IM) today informed that its Steering Committee Member, Eustar Chishi Swu for the first time participated in the talks with GoI on August 19 in New Delhi. A press release from the MIP of the NSCN (IM)
stated that the NSCN (IM) has a “high hope that under the leadership of Narendra Modi and RN Ravi, interlocutor, GoI, and the collective leadership, its members and the talk team of NSCN would apply its best wisdom to resolve the issue which is acceptable and honourable to both parties at the earliest.” The NSCN (IM) stated that there has been a “para-
digm shift” to the approach of Indian leaders resulting in understanding and viewing at the problem from the perspective of both sides. “Appreciation of the difficulties of the opposite party has brought the two sides closer than ever, solution can be brought about only when reality is admitted and mutual respect prevails upon imposition of other’s will,” it added.
CM stands firm on 33% women reservation Our Correspondent Kohima | August 24
Nagaland Chief minister TR Zeliang today stood firm on the state government’s decision to conduct municipal elections within this calendar year with 33% reservation for women. Addressing the Central Executive Council (CEC) meeting of Naga People’s Front (NPF) here today, he said due to opposition from certain quarters, the state had not been able to hold municipal elections for the last ten years. “This is definitely not a healthy development, nor contributing to good governance! Our municipalities are being run by just one officer, designated as Chief Executive Officer, with the support of a few municipal employees. Due to this state of affairs, we have not been able to get the grants for urban local bodies recommended by the Finance Commission, and we are losing every year valuable funds, much needed for improvement of our urban infrastructure and facilities,” he said. He added that Kohima’s bid for the smart city project is also handicapped by the lack of an elected municipal council. “Although a case filed by NWA is pending in the Supreme Court, we decided not to wait for the final outcome, which may take a few more years. Our legal advisers are also of the opinion that we can only delay, but our chances of winning are really slim. Above all, the state Government stands for women empowerment, and we believe that giving them this 33% reservation in municipalities will be one important step towards women empowerment,” he said. He called upon the party to help in its smooth implementation through awareness campaign and mobilization of public opinion in its favour. “If we are to argue, there is no end to it, but, we have to accept the present situation, which is different from the past situa-
tion. When it comes to our customary right, we are well protected through the village council act, and the Municipal Act will not touch our villages. If we seriously talk about development of Towns - in every town, the Government had decided to acquire the land with outright purchase, and we are following that policy. But if we allow the land owners to dictate the Government in such townships, how can the Government move forward with its plan and programme? It’s high time to know and understand what is township and what is village! We want a smart city, but the question is how can you have a smart city without municipal council?” he questioned. The CM then added that the NPF Legislature party and the NPF-led DAN Government is united and stronger, pointing out that in a house of 60, the NPF now has 48 MLAs, whereas DAN partner BJP has 4 MLAs. The 8 Independent members are also part of the DAN Government. He said this new found unity came from the collective desire of the legislators, not only to facilitate, but to give a stronger push for an early settlement of the Naga political issue. “We also have 8 Independent MLAs, who are now part of us, and part of the DAN Government, along with their followers. We should, therefore, be aware that there is a need for some adjustments with our new members, especially at the district and Assembly Constituency levels. Both the old and new party workers have to work as a new team...” he added. He called for strong foundation at the grass-root level, with the party backing up the state government with sound advice. “We are open to constructive criticisms and positive suggestions, but party men should refrain from negative altitude, loose talk and back-stabbing at all costs,” he said. Zeliang also said that the vision documents of DAN-III will be brought out very shortly, and the draft will be placed before the cabinet on or before 31st August, 2016.
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ThursDAY 25•08•2016
NAGALAND
Traffic regulation for special NLA session Kohima, august 24 (mExN): In view of the special session of the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) on August 26, the following traffic regulation will be enforced as part of the security arrangement on the day. • Only vehicles with appropriate car passes will be allowed entry to the Assembly Secretariat. • No vehicle will be allowed to be parked by the roadside from 6:00 am onwards on August 26 at the following routes: From BSNL Telephone Exchange till Classic Island; From Raj Bhavan till Classic Island; From Classic Island till Assembly Secretariat via Razhü Point. • Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply from High School junction to Assembly Secretariat via Sanuoru subway during Assembly Session, except Government departmental buses. • Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply in Kohima Town during Assembly Session from 7:00 am till the session is over. All loading and unloading of goods in Kohima Town should be completed by 7:00 am. • Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to be parked along the “D” Block road. While anticipating positive co-operation from the public, a press release from Sr. Superintendent of Police, Kohima cautioned that the police will tow away the defaulting vehicle and towing charges will be borne by the vehicle owner.
BAC finalizes business to be taken up Kohima, august 24 (mExN): The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) has decided that following business will be taken up on the 13th (Special) session of the Twelfth Assembly on August 26 – Obituary Reference, Assent to Bills, Introduction and Adoption of Government Resolution, and Laying of Reports/ Papers/ Rules. The decision was made during the BAC meeting held on August 24 under the chairmanship of Chotisuh Sazo, Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
Car passes for special assembly session Kohima, august 24 (DiPR): Car passes and official gallery passes for the 13th (Special) Session of the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) scheduled to be held on August 26 will be issued on August 25 from 10:00 am onwards. Ministers/Adviser (Cabinet Status)/Parliamentary Secretaries/AHODs HODs/IPR/Medias are to collect car passes from Reception Counter Gate No-I, Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat. MLAs/PS/PA and other departments have been directed to collect car passes from Reception Counter Gate No-II, Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat. This was informed in a press release issued by N. Benjamin Newmai, Commissioner & Secretary, NLA.
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
NBCC consultation on Vision 2030 Morung Express News Kohima | August 24
A 3-day consultation on Vision 2030 is underway at NBCC Platinum Hall, Kohima jointly organized by Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), Nagaland Development Outreach and also sponsored by Development for Human Potential, Imphal. On Wednesday morning, Secretary, Land Resources Department, Y. Kikheto Sema (IAS) presented a paper on the topic, “Socio-Economic Status of Nagaland and the Role of the Church in Major Development Areas,” In his presentation, Kikheto appealed to the Church to review its preaching and teaching by stressing more on the basic values and quality of life and not on spirituality alone. “We need to go back to our homes and teach every parent to spend more time with their children, teaching them the basic values of life and to live in harmony with others,” he added.
Kikheto opined that the Church needs to instil into the hearts and minds of its members that irrespective of denominations or theological backgrounds, everyone is working in the vineyard of the Lord and to focus on doing God’s mission and not to compete on who is better and who is right or wrong. Pointing out that most of the government employees were also members of the Church, he reminded of an earlier resolution adopted by the NBCC at the Rotomi Conference in 2011 that the church should not ring its bells during office hours. “However, this resolution is not fully adhered to,” Kikheto pointed out. Speaking about women issues, Kikheto impressed upon the gathering that being deeply rooted in culture and tradition do not mean that one must cling on to practices that are no more relevant in the present times. “Every society undergoes change according to time and it is time for Naga society to rectify what
Secretary, Land Resources, Y. Kikheto Sema (IAS) speaking at the NBCC Consultation on Vision 2030 in Kohima on Wednesday. (Morung Photo)
is improper in our customs by leaving aside negative aspects to benefit all sections of the people. Without giving women their due share and providing them platform to perform, we cannot expect better progress and development in our society,” he added. Further, Kikheto felt that the churches should play a vital role bridging the gap, and unite the
odds among the different sections of Naga political groups. He appealed to the churches to set aside differences on lines of denomination, associations, doctrines and theological backgrounds and instead show mutual respect and regard for each other as everyone is working sincerely for the Lord. Kikheto emphasized on electoral malpractices
‘Choose life Not toBaCCo’
Shopkeepers attend workshop on tobacco control
Kohima, august 24 (DiPR): Community awareness on tobacco control was held with shopkeepers under the theme “Choose life not tobacco” at Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) conference hall, Kohima on August 24. Speaking on the occasion, ADC Lithrongla said that the shopkeepers selling tobacco products should put up signboards outside
the shop. Pointing out that selling of tobacco to children below 18 years of age is an offence and offenders will be fined, she further informed that selling of tobacco near schools and colleges are prohibited even with the signboard. People selling tobacco near the prohibited area will be fined. Speaking on the harmful effects of tobacco and Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act (COTPA 2003), District Nodal Officer for Tobacco Control, Dr. Arenla Walling stated that tobacco is the foremost preventable
cause of disease and death in the world today. She highlighted that tobacco is the world’s leading single agent of death with 5.4 million people killed by tobacco every year globally. She also stressed on the tobacco scenario in Nagaland, prohibition of smoking in public places, prohibition of advertisement of tobacco and prohibition of sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational institution. She asked the shopkeepers selling tobacco products to display signage at a conspicuous place and instructed
the trainees to put up warning in an applicable Indian language to raise awareness to the people. KMC Administrator, Kovi Meyase urged the shopkeepers’ community to co-operate with each other to work hand in hand to achieve a target of pollution free city for a better place to live in. He also gave away the certificates of COTPA to all the shopkeepers (trainees) and informed them that signboards for shops would be printed out in the KMC office. Altogether, 25 trainees attended the workshop.
LFA changes advocacy strategy Governor’s award for achievers in ethnic fields moN, august 24 (mExN): Governor PB Acharya has taken up the initiative to award achievers in various fields such as indigenous games, fine arts, agriculture, social works, and indigenous herbal medicine, informed a press release from PRO, Raj Bhavan. In this regard, the Governor has written to all the Deputy Commissioners of Nagaland to identify achievers in the fields and make a proper inventory, especially indigenous games experts, indigenous medicinal doctors. “We have to interact with emotional
Church plays pivotal role in prevention of HIV through extensive advocacy Kohima, august 24 (mExN): An advocacy on HIV & AIDS for local area church leaders was organized on August 23 at NBCC Platinum Hall, Kohima. It was organized by Nagaland Development Outreach and sponsored by Legislators’ Forum on AIDS. The Legislators' Forum on AIDS (LFA) in its annual general meeting on February 8, 2016 had unanimously resolved that Church will play a pivotal role in prevention of HIV in the State through extensive advocacy programmes. A press release from Dr. Vinito L. Chishi, State Consultant,
LFA informed that the Forum’s intention is to reach out to all tribal churches in towns and villages. In this effort, all Executive Secretaries of 20 Baptist Associations and 4 Associate Members will be involved. Besides, coverage will be given to other denominations in a phase manner. LFA will also extend advocacies among other faith based organisations such as Hindu and Muslim communities. This resolution made is a revival of NBCC policy dated March 16, 2007, which was long overdue for implementation, stated the release. “LFA is thankful to the legislators for their concern and support in this endeavours keeping an eye on HIV Adult Prevalence Rate (0.78%) and General Population Prevalence Rate (1.29%) as it stood in June 2016 (NSACS data),” it added.
integration with these strong bases of our achievers with the other parts of our country,” the Governor said, according to the press release. He also noted that North East, particularly Nagaland, is well known for its rich cultural life. “We have been proudly showcasing our dance, music, handicraft & handlooms to the whole world. We are on the top in this field.” The Governor asserted that it is high time that we also showcase achievers like social workers, political leaders, patriots, doctors, engineers, literary people and sportsmen etc.
Amity meeting between Nagaland, Assam districts
Kohima, august 24 (mExN): Nagaland’s Longleng district and Assam’s Sivasagar district held “Amity meeting” on August 18 at Singibill Bazar between Nagaland and Assam. Longleng was represented by Parliamentary Secretary, Land Resources Development & Excise BS Nganlang along with DC Longleng, Former Minister B. Phongshak, Ex. MLA Shami Angh, PPC President P. Chingan, civil society, and people in the border area. The Assam side was led by MP Kamakhya Prasad Tassa, DC & SP of Sivasagar district, public leaders and elders of border area. During the meeting, BS Nganlang said, “We cannot ignore the ground reality
of the border issue; we must all put sincere effort to bring solution to the border problem, thereby development activities can be taken up without any hindrances.” According to a press release from his PS, he also recalled the aged old tradition of friendship and trade & commerce between Ahoms and Nagas, which is still practised even today bringing benefit to both sides. The Parliamentary Secretary further urged elders of the area to speak the truth for the future generation and appealed that such meetings be held frequently in the days to come for peaceful co-existence. The meeting was attended by more than 1500 people.
maintaining that comparatively Baptists were more into such practices than other denominations like Catholics, Pentecost and others. Admitting that he was from a political family, Kikheto, however, said that unless everyone was involved in fighting corruption from its roots, only certain sections of the people will not be able to cleanse the system. He said that monetary corruption was a stark reality but added that cleansing system corruption should also be focused upon by all stakeholders. Kikheto further maintained that no matter how many seminars and workshops on any issue are conducted, positive changes cannot be expected unless the election system is changed. In this connection, he urged upon the NBCC to continuously conduct its Clean Election Campaign and not only during elections. He stated that the role and responsibilities of the
church leaders is most inevitable for a progressive and prosperous Nagaland. During his presentation, Kikheto said that the views and opinions expressed were from his personal perspective, observation and research aimed towards bringing positive changes in the society and hence did not intend to hurt sentiments of any individual, organization or different sections of the society. The consultation programme was attended by NBCC units, Nagaland Development Outreach and Development for Human Potential, Imphal and a host of other dignitaries. In his closing remark, NBCC General Secretary, Rev Keyho admitted that such frank and open talk delivered by the resource person, Kikheto, was the need of the hour. He said that the Church needs to stress on practicalities rather than theories alone and emphasized on an important role that the Church could play in socio-economic development.
MEx File
NRMSATA appeals to Chief Secretary Kohima, august 24 (mExN): The Nagaland RMSA Teachers Association (NRMSATA) central body has requested the Chief Secretary of Nagaland, who is also the Chairman of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), to apprise the department concerned (Planning Department) to “act promptly without any procrastinating with the intent that the fund reaches the RMSA Department in time.” The Association accused the Planning Department of withholding the recurring fund for RMSA teachers. In an open letter to the Chief Secretary, NRMSATA President, Renbemo L Patton and General Secretary, Kezhothito Keyho stated by doing that “the RMSA Teachers who are on the verge of collapsing for want of food and energy will regain our potency and effectiveness to carry on our noble job.” It also mentioned the challenges in working without any remuneration for almost five months.
DAKT informs Ao students in Delhi NEw DElhi, august 24 (mExN): Delhi Ao Kaketshir Telongjem (DAKT) or Delhi Ao Students’ Union has informed that it has started registration process for Ao students currently residing and studying in Delhi for the session 2016-17. All students of the Ao community enrolled in any institution in Delhi and NCR have been directed to contact the Statistics Secretaries at +91886024930 and +917836967923 to get registered. Parents have also been requested to encourage their wards to do the same. “The Delhi Ao Students Union will not claim responsibility for any untoward incidents that befalls on students not registered in the Union,” stated a press release from DAKT President, Yarden Jamir and General Secretary, Yutensangla Imchen.
Dept appeals for protection of Amur Falcons Kohima, august 24 (mExN): Amur Falcons are expected to arrive in Nagaland State around mid September 2016 during their migration from Siberia and Mangolia, Northern China and Japan. The migratory birds are expected to stay in the State till November 2016. On behalf of the Forest Department, Chief Wildlife Warden, Nagaland, Satya Prakash Tripathi has appealed to the public, Government officials, village councils, army and para military personnel, students, NGOs and other stakeholders for protection of wildlife in general and Amur Falcon (the State’s Guest) in particular.
KVGoa silver jubilee celebration kicks off Itinerary of KVGOA silver jubilee celebration
MAHINDRA AUTHORISED SERVICING CENTRE OPENING SHORTLY AT KOHIMA Are you convinced there is a better way to serve customers? If so we’d like to hear from you. We are looking for talented, skilled, qualified individuals who are focused on quality and customer satisfaction and the ability to work independently and efficiently. Interested candidates can apply for the following posts: 1. Service Advisor (Diploma/Degree in Automobile or Mechanical Engineering with relevant experience) 2. Service Supervisor (Diploma/Degree in Automobile or Mechanical Engineering with relevant experience) 3. Warranty In-charge (Diploma/Degree in Automobile or Mechanical Engineering with relevant experience) 4. Technical Manager (Diploma/Degree in Automobile or Mechanical Engineering with relevant experience) 5. Customer Relationship Manager (Graduate with relevant experience) 6. Receptionist (12th Pass with Diploma in Computer) 7. Relationship Manager (Graduate with relevant experience) Applicants can submit their resume along with a passport photo in an envelope with the name of the post applied for, at Universal Traders, below Axis Bank, Super Market, Kohima on or before the 1st of September 2016. Applicants will be informed of the date and place of interview/ selection through phone.
Minister Dr. Neikiesalie (Nicky) Kire and others with NPSC successful candidates and recipients of Governor’s medal/ award during the kick off service of KVGOA silver jubilee celebration at Kohima village on August 24. (Morung Photo) Our Correspondent Kohima | August 24
The silver jubilee celebration of the Kohima Village Gazetted Officers’ Association (KGOA) kicked off today here at Kohima Village Council (KVC) Hall by felicitating the NPSC successful candidates, unfurling of KVGOA flag, launching of e-SMS service and release of jubilee handbook. Releasing the jubilee handbook, KVC chairman Medoselhou Keretsü
expressed happiness over the strength of KVGOA members, which now stands at 400 plus. He encouraged the students to study hard and excel in the various competitive exams and continue to keep the flag of KVGOA flying high. He congratulated six NPSC successful candidates from Kohima village this year and also three others who received Governor’s medal/award in recognition of their meritorious services and con-
tributions. He called upon the officers to maintain discipline and uphold the code of conduct so as to receive even Presidents’ Commendation in the coming days. Minister for environment, forest & climate change Dr. Neikiesalie (Nicky) Kire formally launched the e-SMS service. The first SMS was launched by KVGOA first president Vipralhou Kesiezie. It may be mentioned
• August 27: Workshop /training on livelihood at KVC Hall • September 10: Seminar on “Ukijii mu umezhii keriiguo" at KVC hall • September 17: Social work (Kohima Village) September 22: Search, rescue & fire fighting technic at KVC Hall • September 25: Medical camp at KVC Hall • October 9: Inauguration of KVGOA Island near NPSC office • October 13: Grand finale at KVC Hall.
that KVGOA launched eSMS (Bulk SMS Service) as part of the activities carried out in commemoration of the silver jubilee. The e-SMS became a reality through the support of Department of Information Technology & Communication. e-SMS or Bulk Messaging is dissemination of SMS message for delivery to a large numbers of mobile phones (users). It is commonly used for alerts and reminders, but also for broadcasting of infor-
mation and communication to targeted persons or group of people. “We are also happy to inform that this facility can be utilized by any of our organization for broadcasting information in the form of SMS messages to respective members,” KVGOA stated. Kohima Village Youth Organization (KVYO) president Medozhatuo Rutsa and Kohima Village Students’ Union (KVSU) president Vitsu Yhome shared greetings.
ThursDAY 25•08•2016
NORTH-EAST
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Rallies, meetings banned in Agartala after mob violence, arson
AgArtAlA, August 24 (IANs): The Tripura government on Wednesday barred public meetings and rallies in Agartala and re-imposed prohibitory orders in state capital to ensure normalcy and peace, an official said. These measures come after Tuesday's ethnic clashes in which at least 24 persons were injured and 15 vehicles, including two-wheelers, were damaged. The mob also set fire to some
shops and vehicles. "The prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC has been re-imposed in Agartala. All kinds of public meetings and rallies have been disallowed," police spokesman Uttam Bhowmik said. He said the situation was normal in the city, though personnel of the paramilitary forces, Tripura State Rifles and the police were deployed in large numbers across Agartala as a precautionary measure. A senior po-
lice official, insisting on anonymity, said all 74 police stations across the state have been put on alert and security personnel directed to remain vigilant. At least 24 people, including five policemen, were injured, a few of them seriously, in Agartala after activists of a tribal party - Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) - attacked civilians, traders and vehicles indiscriminately without provocation on Tuesday.
The situation turned violent around noon on Tuesday as hundreds of tribals owing allegiance to the IPFT took out a rally and attacked passersby, including women. This triggered retaliation by people of other communities, turning the situation volatile on ethnic lines. Around 3,000 IPFT tribal activists and their supporters, including a large numbers of women, were left stranded here till early Wednesday in the wake
CRAM for ensuring participation of indigenous peoples in formulating policy ImphAl, August 24 (mExN): The Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur (CRAM) has urged the Government of Manipur to undertake comprehensive approach to ensure the rightful participation of all indigenous peoples of Manipur in formulating a policy or bill towards protecting the rights of the State's indigenous peoples and in regulating the entry or exit of nonindigenous populations in Manipur. In a press release issued by its President, CRAM expressed concern with the Government’s reliance only on electronic means of receiving comments for the new proposed policy, the Manipur Regulation of Non – Local People Act, 2016. “It is also extremely important to insist on other means and ways to seek wider inputs of peoples,” it stated. Moreover, it highlighted, internet is inaccessible in interior areas of Manipur.
NPF members condemn new bill in Manipur KohImA, August 24 (mExN): Four Naga NPF MLAs in Manipur who have resigned stated that the Manipur Government has taken the “devious and communal path” of undermining the legitimate rights of the Nagas and the tribal people by introducing the Regulation of NonLocal People Act, 2016. “We condemn this move in the strongest possible term and shall not be a party to any Bill in any form that violates the tribal people's rights,” stated L Dikho, Samuel Risom, ST Victor Nunghlung, and Dr. V Alexander Pao in a press release. “We also declare that the Manipur State legislature is not competent to introduce and pass any bill that violates the Constitutional provision and various laws and Acts which protect the rights of the tribal, their land, identity and culture.” The proposed bill, according to them, is just “another stratagem to annihilate the rights of the Hill people and to protect the ‘Indigenous People’ in Manipur is an absurdity and mockery of Democracy.” The release further condemned the “unscrupulous trick” of the Manipur govt. to deceive the people in the name of promoting their interest.
ZYF to observe Martyrdom Day of Haipou Jadonang ImphAl, August 24 (mExN): The Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF) is observing the 85th Martyrdom Day of Haipou Jadonang on August 29, 11:00 am at Ragailong, Imphal West. The programme is being organised to pay homage to Haipou Jadonang (19051931) who was hanged for waging war against the British Empire, stated a press release from ZYF President, Titus Kamei. In commemoration of the day, ZYF will also organise Blood Donation Camp in collaboration with RIMS Hospital at the same venue. Therefore, it has appealed to the public, particularly the youths from Zeliangrong community, to come forward and participate in the camp. The ZYF also urged all organisations not to call any bandh or general strike on the day.
CRAM asserted that the Government should organize consultations at district headquarters with representatives and leaders of all communities. “The need for a wider consultation and involvement of indigenous communities in policy framing is critical for a multi-ethnic community like Manipur, with myriad wishes and aspirations,” it added. CRAM also affirmed importance of assessing the key causative factors and reasons of massive influx of non indigenous population in Manipur and also to respond to such factors. “Introduction of mega-dams, oil exploration, mining, tourism, railways, road projects and others infrastructure in the state will also contribute in disturbing the indigenous demography in the state, as non-indigenous peoples are relied for such massive development works,” CRAM said.
of Tuesday's violence. The state government has urged the people to maintain peace and not to fall prey to any rumours. The IPFT has been agitating for the creation of a separate state, carved out by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council area. The IPFT's demand was rejected by almost all political parties, including ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
DIMAPUR NKONJAN YONCHUCHO YAMO EKHUNG FREE FIBROSCAN EDEN MEDICAL CENTRE WILL BE CONDUCTING FREE FIBROSCANS FOR LIVER PROBLEMS (CIRRHOSIS, FATTY LIVER, HEPATITIS ETC.) ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH. TIME : 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM Contact: 248288/248722
LOST NOTICE I, Mr. Shitopong, am applying for a duplicate copy of my documents of HSLC/HSSLC and BA I-BA-II BA III as I have lost it. Particulars:1. HSLC ADMIT CARD B/NO-261444 2. HSLC MARK-SHEET (RESULT PASSED) YEAR 2002 3. HSLC LEAVING CERTIFICATE UNDER NBSE. 4. HSSLC ADMIT CARD B/NO-561141 REGD NO- 2160054 YEAR 2005. 5. HSSLC MARK-SHEET RESULT PASSED YEAR 2005. 6. HSSLC LEAVING CERTIFICATE UNDER NBSE. 7. REGISTRATION CARD B/NO-31041913 OF 2005.66 STREAM ARTS N.U. 8. B.A.1st YEAR ADMIT CARD B/NO-B061609. 9. B.A.1st YEAR MARK SHEET RESULT CLEARED YEAR 2006 STREAM ARTS. 10. B.A.II YEAR ADMIT CARD B/NO-B061609/08. 11. B.A. III YEAR ADMIT CARD B/NO-B061609. 12. B.A. MARK SHEET RESULT CLEARED YEAR 2009 STREAM ARTS. 13. B.A. MARK SHEET RESULT CLEARED YEAR 2010 STREAM ARTS.
FELICITATION
23rd August 2016.
On behalf of the citizens of Yonchucho Village and on behalf of its members, the DNYYE extends its heartiest congratulations to Mr. Chonpenthung Ezung, NCS EAC Pungro, Kiphire S/o Khyopemo Ezung of Yonchucho Village, Wokha for being awarded the prestigious Governor’s Commendation Certificate on the occasion of Independence Day 2016 for diligent service rendered as a member of the state administration till date.
AFFIDAVIT
AFFIDAVIT
I, Mrs. Paisuiyigongle D/o Dilia a resident of Dungki Village, Jalukie, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the name Paisuiyigongle and Paisuiyigongle Ilungheing is of same person. I hereby declare that my correct name is PAISUIYIGONGLE and shall be used for all official purposes in the future.
I, Mr. Namyilungbe S/o Dilia a resident of Dungki Village, Jalukie, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the name Namyilungbe and Namyilungbe Elungheing is of same person. I hereby declare that my correct name is Namyilungbe and shall be used for all official purposes in the future. Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
LAND FOR SALE
AFFIDAVIT
Regd. No. 108
Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
Residential plot with Teak plantation 23 years old at Toluvi. Approx 1 ½ Bighas @ 125/- per sq.ft. Contact: 7085837397
JOB VACANCY Sales Consultant (Field) Mokokchung : - 4Nos Kohima : - 10Nos Tele Caller(Female)
: - 2Nos
Salary – 4K to 8K Lozi Hyundai, New Secretariat Road, Kohima, Contact: - 8575015505 Email: - lozihyundaisales@gmail.com Date of Interview – 26/08/2016 & 27/08/2016 Timing: - 10:00 A.M – 3:00 PM
OFFICE OF THE KEJANGLWA VILLAGE COUNCIL PEREN: NAGALAND
Pauheigong Hegui Chairman, Kejanglwa Village Council Peren: Nagaland
MGNREGA Job card verification exercise conducted for Aadhaar seeding and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under MGNREGA Programme. The verification exercise which started on the 1st August 2016 and completed on the 23rd August 2016, was conducted under all the RD blocks under Dimapur District.
The Pungro Area Unit (NPF) 60 A/C Pungro —Kiphire appreciates sincerely for creating NST Bus Service Pungro-Dimapur. The President Mr. Chipong Pungro Area Unit NPF 60 A/C on behalf of the Party workers extends gratitude to DAN Government under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Nagaland T.R. Zeliang, P. Paiwang Konyak, Minister Nagaland State Transport, T. Torechu MLA and Chairman NK & VIB and Nagaland State Transport Department authority and staff in fulfilling the ongoing transport problem facing the Public of Pungro Sub-Division. The Party workers also express gratefulness to R. Tohanba, Parl. Secy, Municipal Affairs for creation of Pungro Town Council recently. The long and most awaited dreams have been fulfilled to meet the needs and problems of the people. Also extends gratitude to the Municipal Affairs authority and people behind in fulfilling the development activities and extend full support and co-operation from the people. Sd/- (CHIPONG), President NPF Pungro Area Unit 60 A/C
GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND HOME DEPARTMENT SECRETARIAT ADMINISTRATION BRANCH 'B' Dated Kohima, the 23rd Aug, 2016
LAST AND FINAL CALLING NOTICE Whereas, Shri. Vizo, Chowkidar in the Nagaland Civil Secretariat has not reported for duty since 20-06-2013 till date without permission from the competent authority. And whereas, un-authorized absence from duty is punishable under Rule 4 (1) of the Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1968. Now, therefore, Shri. Vizo, Chowkidar is hereby directed to report to the Secretary, Home (SAB) in person within 7(seven) days from the date of publication of this notice, failing which necessary disciplinary action shall be initiated against him even up to the extent of termination of service. Sd/- (KERIVILE) Under Secretary to the Govt. of Nagaland. Issued by: DIPR
IMMANUEL COLLEGE LENGRIJAN : DIMAPUR, P.B. No. 253 03862-248 275(off) / 91+ 9436004791
NAAC PEER TEAM VISIT NAAC Peer Team will visit IMMANUEL COLLEGE on 29th, 30th & 31st August 2016 for the assessment and accreditation. All the stakeholders, well wishers and passed out students are cordially invited to be part of the programme. (Th. Sharatchandra Singh) Principal.
Regd. No. 110
I, Mr. Ziekuirangbe S/o Dilia a resident of Dungki Village, PO & PS Jalukie, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the name Ziekuirangbe and Ziekuirangbe Ilungheu is of same person. I hereby declare that my correct name is Ziekuirangbe and shall be used for all official purposes in the future.
Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
AFFIDAVIT Regd. No. 121 I, IHEULUNGLE W/o HAINING a resident of Jalukie Town, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the name IHEULUNGLE and LEIBUNA is of same person. I hereby declare that my correct name is IHEULUNGLE and shall be used for all official purposes in the future. Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
AFFIDAVIT Regd. No. 123 I, Mr. Samzai S/o Lt. Ngauku a resident of Jalukie Town, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the names Samzai and Samzai Zeliang is of same person. I hereby declared that my correct name is SAMZAI and shall be used for all official purposes in the future. Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
Regd. No. 124
NPF PUNGRO AREA UNIT APPRECIATES DAN GOVERNMENT
NO. SAB-5/27/2003/16
Regd. No. 109
AFFIDAVIT
APPRECIATION The Kejanglwa Village Council (KVC) through this press, expresses its sincere appreciation to the Department of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Government of Nagaland for introducing Poultry Farming in the village. About 100 families/households have been benefited through this scheme. We thank the District Veterinary Officer (DVO) and staffs for acknowledging the needs of the poor farmers. The Council further, looks forward for more schemes that directly benefits the farmers and contributes to the growth of the rural economy.
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INFORMATION IN VIEW OF THE INAUGURATION OF EDEN MEDICAL CENTRE, ALL OUT PATIENT DEPARTMENTS (OPD) WILL REMAIN CLOSED ON SATURDAY, 27th AUGUST 2016. HOWEVER THE EMERGENCY WILL REMAIN OPEN. EDEN MEDICAL CENTRE ALSO WISHES TO ANNOUNCE THAT SINCE THE 29th AUGUST 2016 WILL BE THE FIRST WORKING DAY AFTER THE OPENING OF THE HOSPITAL, IT WILL BE A FREE OUT PATIENT DEPARTMENT (OPD) DAY. DOCTORS’ CONSULTATION FEES WILL NOT BE CHARGED ON THAT DAY. Contact: 248288/248722
I, Mrs. Kangyiheile W/o Samzai a resident of Jalukie Town, Peren Dist. Nagaland hereby declare that the names Kangyiheile and Kangyiheile Menreng is of same person. I hereby declare that my correct name is KANGYIHEILE and shall be used for all official purposes in the future. Deponent 1st Class Magistrate
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ThursdAY 25•08•2016
business
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
India on 10 wealthiest Samsung and Tencent surge in race country list, takes 7 spot to become Asia’s most valuable firm th
sINgAPORE, August 24 (REutERs): Tencent Holdings Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd are racing to be crowned Asia’s most valuable company as expectations for robust earnings growth push their share prices to record highs. Their surge - both have gained by a third this year - has made them the world’s best performing large-cap tech stocks and highlights how these nimble Asian firms are thriving while rivals Apple Inc and Alibaba have struggled. “These companies can grow earnings despite weaker global growth,” said Andrew Gillan, head of Asia ex-Japan equities at fund managing firm Henderson Global Investors, which is overweight on Asian technology firms. “The operating fundamentals of the Chinese internet sector particularly have surprised positively in the most recent
quarterly results.” While many investors remain upbeat about Samsung and Tencent, some caution the firms are vulnerable to rapid swings in sentiment on any sign of slowing momentum. Samsung and Tencent have been more volatile than the Asia tech sector and the broader market this year. On Wednesday, Samsung said sales of its latest flagship smartphone were out-stripping supply, but second-half profits could still take a hit if production shortfalls are not fixed and a recovery in components demand fails to eventuate. Moody’s Investor Service also warned that Samsung’s profit margins might narrow in the second half because of seasonal factors in the consumer electronics business and competitive pressures. For Tencent, the market expectations that are driving shares higher are themselves
a risk, according to Nomura. A faster-than-expected slowdown in personal computer game revenue, aggressive spending and new products or business models from competitors could weigh on earnings, the bank warned.
THE NUMBERS Samsung and Tencent have added about $30 billion in market value since Thursday, surging to all-time highs. Tencent is valued at $249 billion, only 4 percent smaller than the most valuable Asian firm, China Mobile, at $259 billion. Samsung is now worth $239 billion. Tencent is now the world’s 12th-biggest company by market value and Samsung the 17thlargest, Thomson Reuters data shows. That’s up from Nos. 26 and 33 respectively just five months ago, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers ranking released March 31.
Samsung shares’ have significantly outperformed Apple’s - the Korean firm has leapt 50 percent over the past year, while the U.S. company has gained 3 percent amid concern about weak sales in China. The gap between Samsung’s price-to-earnings ratio of 12.4 and Apple’s 12.7 is now the narrowest since late 2011, although Samsung is still worth less than half the $586 billion Apple, according to Thomson Reuters data. Samsung’s share price growth spurt comes after years of struggle in its smartphone business which left investors impatient for higher returns. The firm revived mobile profits by restructuring its product line-up this year and is seeking ways to sustain earnings momentum. Buybacks and higher dividends have also boosted shares. Tencent is significantly more
expensive than Samsung. The Chinese internet firm, whose popular WeChat and Weixin messaging apps in China saw active monthly user numbers jump 34 percent in the second quarter, trades at 46.8 times earnings, closing in on Facebook’s 59. China’s slowest economic growth in 25 years and some questionable acquisitions have clouded the outlook for Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, but Tencent has managed to thrive thanks in part to its focus on rapidly growing mobile gaming. Tencent outshone peers including Baidu with a forecastbeating 47 percent jump in second-quarter profit, after it diversified into areas such as music, video and advertising. HSBC expects further earnings growth, driven by new income streams such as advertising, premium content, cloud services and finance.
Jio Preview Offer now on Micromax, ED seeks loan details from SBI in Vijay Yu, TCL and Alcatel 4G smartphones Mallya’s fresh money laundering case NEW DELHI, August 24 (IANs): Domestic smartphone maker Micromax and its owned subsidiary YU Televentures, along with TCL and Alcatel, have partnered with Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited to make the Jio Preview Offer available on their 4G smartphones.
As part of the offer, customers can enjoy unlimited access to Jio services for 90 days from the activation of Jio SIM. Jio’s 4G-LTE services include unlimited HD voice calls and video calls, unlimited SMS, unlimited highspeed data and a host of Jio Premium apps such as
JioPlay, JioOnDemand, JioBeats, JioMags, JioXpressNews, JioDrive, JioSecurity and JioMoney. Consumers buying 4G smartphones of the brands mentioned above can avail the Jio Preview Offer at all Reliance Digital stores including Digital Xpress and Digital Xpress Mini.
‘Mobile shipments to cross 75 mn in Q3 2016’ NEW DELHI, August 24 (IANs): Riding on the upcoming festive season and new product launches, mobile handset shipments are likely to surpass the 75-million-a-quarter mark for the first time in the third quarter of 2016, a report said on Wednesday. According to market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR), a total of 65.9 million handsets were shipped during the second quarter, of which 56.5 per cent where feature phones. Samsung, Micromax and Intex, respectively, lead the market in overall fea-
ture phones and smartphones segments. While Karbonn is at fourth spot, Reliance’s LYF brand is now at fifth spot within smartphones. “Now onwards, we are going to see a clear demarcation between new customer acquisition and the refresh among existing users of the phones,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst, Telecoms, CMR, in a statement. Transsion Holding’s brand, itel, garnered close to two per cent market share in the feature phones category in its first quarter of operations, holding sixth rank.
Cabinet okays Rs 6,461 cr NH interconnectivity project NEW DELHI, August 24 (PtI) :The government today approved a Rs 6,461-crore project for development of 1,120 km national highways in five states under NHIIP programme. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 1,120 km of National Highways in the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal,” a statement from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said. The work for development to two-lane standards are under Phase-I of the National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP) with World Bank assistance, it said. “The revised estimated cost is Rs 6,461 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities,” the statement said. The projects are already taken up for implementation and 429 km has been completed. The civil works are expected to be completed by July 2019, and maintenance works are expected to be completed by July, 2024. The project will ensure safe, fast and all weather movement of traffic on the proposed National Highways mostly located in backward regions thereby improving socio economic development. The proposal was initially approved for Rs 5,193 crore. The cost has increased due to higher bid prices, and increase in cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.
MuMbAI, August 24 (AgENcIEs): After registering a fresh case against Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought loan details from State bank of India (SBI) to the now-grounded Kingfisher Airlines. “We have issued a directive to one of the officers of State Bank of India (SBI) who was in charge of SBI-led 17 bank consortium,” a senior ED officer told Business Standard. The ED had registered a fresh case on Tuesday after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), shared its first information report with enforcement agency. CBI has filed case last week after receiving a complaint from the SBI-led 17 bank consortium. ED case is in addition to the case registered by enforcement sleuths in March for alleged default of Rs 950 crore loan from IDBI bank. Sources said the probe agency wants to know whether all procedures were followed by the lenders while giving loan to Kingfisher Airlines. It is also trying to ascertain lapses, if any, on part of the lenders in the entire Kingfisher Airlines
leisure
Daily Cross WorD ACROSS 1. Speech disorder 5. Group of cattle 9. Hoodwink 13. Against 14. Territories 16. Anagram of “Sire” 17. Fraud 18. Luxury boat 19. Chick’s sound 20. Periods of discounted prices 22. Store clerk 24. Dwarf buffalo 26. A keyboard instrument 27. Anagram of “Migrate” 30. Warning devices 33. Sacrifice 35. Tranquility 37. 7 in Roman numerals 38. Urgency 41. Directed 42. Banana oil, e.g. 45. Angering 48. Unruffled 51. Tournament 52. Nautical for stop 54. Male deer 55. Pus-filled cavities 59. A drama set to music 62. Hubs 63. oozes 65. Goad 66. Urarthritis 67. Boredom 68. Its symbol is Pb 69. Troops 70. Visual organs 71. Makes a mistake DOWN 1. Young girl 2. Ancient Peruvian 3. A cylinder in a cave 4. Salad pepper 5. Fodder 6. Historical periods
CROSSWORD # 3693
SUDOKU
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.”
Game Number # 3679
Answer Number # 3678
Unacademy raises funds from Flipkart’s Bansals, others NEW DELHI, August 24 (PtI): Unacademy, an online free learning platform, today said it has raised USD 1 million from founders of Flipkart and Paytm, Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal and Vijay Shekhar Sharma, among others. The second round of external investment was led by Blume Ventures and saw participation from Stanford Angels India, WaterBridge Ventures, FreeCharge founder Kunal Shah, Sandeep Tandon, Ashish Tulsian, Tracxn Labs and along with most of the existing investors, Unacademy said in a statement. In April, the company had raised their first round of funding worth USD 500,000 (about Rs 3.35 crore). Unacademy allows educators to create courses using their app on various subjects, including exclusive content for various competitive exams. Over 100 educators have created more than 200 courses in the last eight months using Unacademy’s platform. “From content specific to competitive examinations to basic English learning techniques, we are in a process to make Unacademy the one-stop destination for online courses. Within two months, the Unacademy Create app will be made available to all, so anyone across the world can create lessons in any language they like,” Unacademy Co-Founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal said. In a span of 8 months, over 3 lakh students have benefited from over 2,400 online lessons and specialised courses on cracking various competitive examinations, he added.
loan default. The consortium of national banks in their complaint to CBI have alleged that banks have faced huge loss to the tune of over Rs 6,000 crore between year 2010 and 2015, as Mallya has deliberately did not repay loan taken for his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya, his companies Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries Holdings Limited have been named as accused in the CBI FIR. SBI has an exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to the now defunct airline. Other banks that have exposure to the airline include Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank (Rs 800 crore each), Bank of India (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore). While UCO Bank has to recover Rs 320 crore among others.
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NEW DELHI, August 24 (PtI): India has figured among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion while the United States topped the chart. According to a report by New World Wealth, India was ranked 7th ahead of Canada ($4,700 billion), Australia ($4,500 billion) and Italy ($4,400 billion), which came in at 8th, 9th and 10th slots, respectively. The US is the wealthiest in the world in terms of total individual wealth held ($48,900 billion) while China stood second and Japan third, with total individual wealth of $17,400 billion and $15,100 billion, respectively. Others in the top 10 club include the United Kingdom (4) with a total individual wealth of $9,200 billion, followed by Germany (5th, $9,100 billion) and France (6th, $6,600 billion). Wealth refers to net assets of a person. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities, the report said adding that it excludes government funds from its figures. The ranking of India as one of the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world is largely because of its large population. “Australia’s ranking is impressive, considering it only has 22 million people living there,” the report explained.Over the past 5 years, China was the fastest growing wealthiest country in terms of dollar wealth growth. The study ranked the wealthiest countries in the world as of June 2016 in terms of total individual wealth held.
Admission open
NABA BOYS HOSTEL Limited Seat Walkable distance to PCC,Pranab, SD Jain, Burma Camp opp. FUN CINEMAS Contact: 8974760600,8014326311,9862887362
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0370-2241518,9863143390,9436830040
Admission Started:
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hostel available for both Boys and girls
dImAPUR Civil Hospital:
STd COdE: 03862 232224; Emergency229529, 229474
MH Hospital: Faith Hospital:
227930, 231081 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
Chumukedima Fire Brigade Nikos Hospital and Research Centre
282777 232032, 231031
MoKoKCHUNG: 0369-2226225/ 101 (o) 8415830232 (oC)
Nagaland Multispecialty Health & Research Centre
248302, 09856006026
PHEK: 8414853765 (o) 8413822476(oC)
kOhImA
Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home: Northeast Shuttles
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zUNHEBoTo: 03867-280304/ 101 (o) 9436422730 (oC)
MoN: 03869-251222/ 101 (o) 9862130954 (oC) kIPhIRE: 8414853767 (o) 9436261577 (oC) PEREN: 7085189932 (o) 9856311205 (oC) LONgLENg: 7085924113 (o) 9862414264 (oC)
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ThursdAY 25•08•2016
NAGALAND
People already approaching for party ticket: nPF President our Correspondent
NPF resolves on key issues
Kohima | August 24
Naga People’s Front (NPF) President Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu today said that some people have already started approaching for party ticket for the ensuing general election in Nagaland which is due in the early part of 2018. “We are all aware that the process for an honorable political settlement is on the card. One year has elapsed since the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Government of India and NSCN (IM) on 3rd August last year in Delhi. We hope the talk is progressing well,” he said while addressing the NPF Central Executive Council meeting here today. He looked forward to positive response from both sides for an honorable solution in line with the aspirations of the Naga people. On the other hand, he said, as a political party, the NPF needs to prepare for any eventuality for the
• • • • • • • • • • •
The Central Executive Council meeting of the NPF resolved the following: Appeals to NSCN (K) to re-consider decision and resume the ceasefire with GoI NPGs urged to unite and seek solution for the interest of the entire Nagas Urges for translation of Framework Agreement into a reality Mourns the passing away of Isak Chishi Swu, Chairman, NSCN (IM). Demands for revocation of the AFSPA from entire Naga areas Affirms to work for integration of all contiguous Naga inhabited areas under one administrative roof Provide protection to all ethnic groups who are indigenous inhabitants of all Naga Inhabited Areas. Endorse State Cabinet/Government decision for 33% Women Reservation in Municipal and town councils. Agrees that some provisions of the Nagaland Municipal Act need to be reviewed. Resolves to have a panel discussion on the vision document 2030 before it is finalised. Appeals to government to delay/extend the submission of the vision documents to the GoI.
next election. “In Manipur the election is now only six months away and in Nagaland, we have about 17 months only. Even now, some people start approaching us for party ticket,” he said. Expounding on value of party ticket, he said “the ticket itself will earn a good deal of goodwill for you to win over your electorates depending on the perfor-
mance of the party. It earns you the right to ownership of in the party.” He urged the CEC members to tell people not to apply for party ticket for support or for money only. He also requested members of CEC to be more careful in decision making for candidates. “The first reading of the overall assessment of party position by the central office is almost over. I am
happy to tell you that your position is safe and strong,” Dr. Liezietsu added and urged the CEC members to play their role effectively. “As members of this Council we become policy makers in the party and not a mere follower,” he said. Dr. Liezietsu meanwhile said that Nagaland is making good progress particularly in human development. “If we look at
things with positive attitude, I hope, there are many good news which can carry good message to the outside world about Nagaland. All of us can join hands together to build a better image of our state,” he stated. Also claiming that Nagaland is at present the most peaceful state in the whole of the NE, he said “you will always find news issued by militant outfits and insurgency groups threatening to boycott important national days from time to time in other states around us. In Nagaland we do not have such problem.” He added that in Nagaland there is a more or less collective effort to talk about peaceful settlement through political approach and human approach. “Inspite of this, many people are still having doubt whether it is safe for them to come to Nagaland. Let us examine what could be the reason behind making outsiders having doubt about the safety in Nagaland,” he added.
CCPO, CAPO demand resumption of roadwork DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The Centre Chakhesang Public Organization (CCPO) and the Chokri Area Public Organization (CAPO) have written to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways asking it to immediately take up the LonglengChangtonya, Mon-Tamlu¬Merangkong, Chakhabama-Zunheboto and Phek-Pfitsero roads without delay. A letter from the two organizations lamented that in the beginning of the four roads, massive and excess cutting of the stiff hillside had affected the forest, the crops and particularly the terrace fields with its irrigation channels. Compounding the problem, the CCPO and the CAPO stated that the roads were
abandoned by the construction company thereby affecting the lives of people in several villages. The two organizations meanwhile welcomed the order of the Guwahati High Court dismissing the review petition filed by the Union of India through the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways challenging the Court Order dated 13.10.2015 passed by the same Court in favor of PIL No.7/2013. They further observed that “subletting the works to petty parties was a major reason for the miserable handling of the projects.” They asked that the projects be “completed by the contractor henceforth for all the works remaining to be done without anymore sublet.”
a delegation of International Youth Fellowship, south Korea visited the governor of nagaland, PB acharya at Raj Bhavan, Kohima on august 23. The delegation comprised of Prof. Jaehong Kim, general secretary, IYF; sooyeon Kim, national director, India IYF; samgwon Kim, Regional director assam IYF; Hyeonyeong Choi, Regional director, nagaland IYF.
NSCN (IM) directs businesses Foundation stone for CWSK Hostel Building laid No illegal immigrants residing in to down shutters on Sundays kohIMA, AUGUST 24 Senior Pastor, Chakhesang needs of young girls who and expressed his support our village: Chungtiayimsen VC (MExN): The foundation Baptist Church Ministers’ come to Kohima from vil- for the CWSK’s hostel proj-
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The UT-1 of the NSCN/GPRN (IM) has strictly informed all shops and traders in and around UT-1 region, to remain closed on Sundays with immediate effect. However, medical units will be exempted from this order. A press release from the Rangkhamong Anar, Dy. Kilonser cum CAO, informing this stated that the decision was taken in consultation with elders and seniors of UT-1 region reasoning that “Nagaland is a Christian State.” The CAO further informed that there will be strict checking for gambling in market places.
Krishna Janamasthami to be observed in Dimapur DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The Hindu Seva Samiti Dimapur has informed that it will celebrate the 5245th Birth Anniversary of Lord Krishna or the Shree Krishna Janamasthami on August 25 in Dimapur from 8:30 am. To mark the occasion, a Rath Yatra procession would be taken out from Bharat Sevashram Sangha, a press release from the Samiti informed and requested everyone to participate in the religious procession.
Life Consumer Society & RTI informs DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): Life Consumer Society & RTI has informed all power consumers in Dimapur who are seeking to install news meter box under Power Department, Dimapur to stop the installation with effect from August 24. A press release from the Society President, Khekuto Tuccu and Press Secretary, Vitoho Yepthomi alleged that as per legal information sought from the Power Department, there are numerous cases of unfair means and the employees charge more than the actual cost prescribed by department for the installation.
BJP Nat’l Gen Secy visit rescheduled DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The scheduled visit of Saroj Pandey, BJP National General Secretary and former mayor, MLA and MP from Durg, Chattisgarh, on August 25 has been postponed to August 29 due to unavoidable circumstances. All the programmes related to the visit however shall remain unchanged, a press release from State BJP informed.
Contraband ganja seized kohIMA, AUGUST 24 (MExN): Kohima Police personnel manning Phesama check gate while conducting routine checking and frisking of vehicles on Wednesday morning recovered a total of 54 kgs of contraband ganja from the possession of two passengers travelling in a taxi. “The contraband ganja was found neatly packed in 9 (nine) small packets and concealed inside travel bags,” a press release from the Kohima Police PRO informed. In this connection, the two accused persons identified as Pavei Tsunamai (28yrs) and Avele Losu (30 yrs) have been arrested and a regular case under the NDPS Act is registered against them at Kohima South PS for conducting further investigation, the PRO informed.
stone for the Chakhesang Women Society Kohima’s (CWSK) Tribal Women’s Hostel Building was laid on August 24 by Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Monitoring and Taxes, Neiba Kronu, at the Old Ministers’ Hill, Kohima. Rev. Dr. Vevo Phesao,
Hill performed the Dedicatory Prayer, a press release informed. In her introduction, the CWSK President, Neikhwepeu Khalo informed that, with about 5000+ Chakhesang women residing in Kohima, the Society felt an urgent need to cater to the
lages in pursuit of higher studies and jobs, and hence the project. Rev. Phesao opined that through this project, the community’s unity is strengthened, and urged all to join hands in supporting one another. In his brief speech, Kronu encouraged the women
ect. Opining that women are more efficient when it comes to getting things done and more judicious in utilization of funds, the Parliamentary Secretary further expressed hope that women will excel in the projects that are currently in the pipeline for them.
MokokchUNG, AUGUST 24 (MExN): In connection to news reports of assault on a member of Survival Nagaland which was published in local dailies, and other reports posted on social media alleging the presence of illegal immigrants in the area as claimed by one Talisunep Longkumer, the Chungtiayimsen Village Council has in a press release informed that it summoned the claimant on August 22 to deliberate in the village panchayat. According to the village council, Longkumer admitted that he had furnished the authorities with wrong information and that there was “no proof” that illegal immigrants were residing in the concerned area, and that “the allegations were false and baseless”. On realization of the problem caused due to the false report, Longkumer apologised before the village council and the matter has been settled peacefully between the two parties according to customary laws, the council kohIMA, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The All Nagaland DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 In this regard, the Dima- informed. Hindi Teachers’ Union (Kohima Unit) has informed (MExN): The Nagaland Con- pur unit stated that it would that it will be observing its Hindi Diwas on Septem- tractos’ and Suppliers’ Union mobilize its members to ber 14 at Chiephobozu, Kohima with Additional (NCSU) Dimapur Unit has check all the departments Meetings & AppointMents Deputy Commissioner, Chiephobozu, Linda Solo, extended firm support to the under Dimapur district to as Chief Guest. demand for open tender sys- verify all contracts and supIn this regard, the union has invited schools un- tem for all contracts and sup- ply works, as directed by its DAN Legislators meeting postponed head office. “If any violation der Kohima District to participate in the various com- ply work in Nagaland. Drawing attention to the of norms and objectives is Due to unavoidable circumstances the meeting of the petitions which will be held on September 13. The competitions are: Singing (Solo) – from any class; Ex- presence of many discrepan- found in awarding the work DAN Legislators scheduled to be held on August 25 at 3 tempore Speech – Classes 8 to 12; Debate – Classes 8 cies in various departments order, the union shall sub- pm has been postponed to 4 pm on the same day and vento 12; Essay – Classes 7 to 10 & 11 to 12; Poem recita- in awarding contract works, mit the report to its head ue. A press release from Minister Parliamentary Affairs the union reminded the office for further necessary Kiyanilie Peseyie regretting the inconvenience caused tion – Classes 1 to 5. concerned departments to action,” the NCSU Dimapur requested all members to note the change in timing and The topic for the essay is “Hindi Diwas” while “strictly follow” the govern- stated. make it convenient to attend the meeting without fail. the topic for the debate is “Nagaland ki vartamaan ment standing order that all The union has also cauRajnitik Stithi”. For more information, schools can contract and supply works be tioned its members not to contact ANHTU Kohima unit Gen Secretary Vizothal put up for open tender where misuse its letter pad for ten- Rengma Hoho to deliberate @ 9089629973 or Asst. Gen Secretary Keyakhrielie “only registered and valid dering bids for unregistered on women reservation @8794537036. NCSU members are eligible”. members. Rengma Hoho has convened a consultative meeting on August 27, 10 am at its office to deliberate on the 33% women reservation issue and Municipal Act. Therefore, all the frontal organizations and office bearers KCCI haunted by the scourge of illegal taxa- the relationship between the Minis- of the Hoho, intellectuals, and any person(s) expert in customary law practices and Article 371 have been The Kohima Chamber of Com- tion and it has become next to impos- ter and the Eastern Sumis. merce & Industry (KCCI) has con- sible to carry out business without Stating that it took the case “very requested to attend the meeting without fail. No offidemned the alleged assault on a shop- the fear of extortion and intimida- seriously”, the union endorsed its cial communication shall be served to any individuals keeper at Jail Colony on August 19 by tion,” KCCI maintained. fullest support to the FIR lodged by pertaining to this meeting, stated a press note issued by cadres of an underground group “in In this regard, the KCCI called upon the Minister against the culprit. The Thanchilo Kath, General Secretary, Rengma Hoho. For the process of demanding taxes”. the Law enforcement agencies to en- union also appealed the investigat- any further information, one may contact: 8415831086.
Hindi Diwas: ANHTU Kohima NCSU Dimapur Unit support invites participation of schools demand for open tender system
Condemnations
Terming it a “senseless act of violence” perpetrated on the hapless trader, KCCI condemned the totally unwarranted incident in the strongest terms possible. Demanding that the authorities of the organisation, to which the cadres belong, clarify on the matter, the Chamber also demanded that the group make a “public unconditional apology” to the victim and further ensure that no such incidents happen again in the future. “The business community is
sure security to the trading community and bring the perpetrators to book at the earliest. The Chamber further expressed commiseration with the victim and prayed for a speedy recovery.
KTDSSU Kiphire Tuensang District Sumi Students’ Union (KTDSSU) has strongly condemned what it claimed as “viral statement” on social media “wrongfully alleging” Power Minister C Kipili Sangtam on the issue of reservation policy and also misconstruing
ing agencies to expedite tracking of the source and accordingly, book the culprit at the earliest. Further taking strong exception to the “fake propagandas and allegations” against a section of Sumis living in Eastern areas by certain individuals and groups, the KTDSSU appealed to the individuals and groups to “immediately desist” from such practices. Appealing for a harmonious relationship, the union warned that it would “deal with seriousness” if its appeal goes unheeded.
CondolenCe Messages Zeliangrong Baudi Nagaland The Zeliangrong Baudi Nagaland has expressed deep pain at the sudden demise of Rangtalak Rangkau, elder brother of Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang. Late Rangkau was a God fearing individual who served as Asst. Pastor at Christian Church, Jalukie Town, till the time of his demise, the Baudi informed in a condolence message. Terming late Rangkau as a “committed and sincere” Zeliangrong leader who worked in different capacity for the uplift of peace and unity, the Baudi stated that his departure is a “great loss” to the Zeliangrong community. “Zeliangrong people shall treasure and valued the good legacy left behind by him in the
days to come,” the Baudi’s message read. Extending its deepest condolences to bereaved family members and relatives, the Baudi prayed that the Almighty grant solace and comfort to them. Meanwhile, the Baudi, citing family sources, has informed that the funeral service of Late Rangtalak Rangkau will be conducted on August 25 at 11 am, at the Chief Minister’s residence in Jalukie Town. NPF Central The Naga People’s Front Central Hq. Kohima has expressed shock and sadness at the sudden and untimely demise of late Rangtalak Rangkau, elder brother of Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang, who passed away this af-
ternoon at Jaluki. In a message, NPF President Dr Shürhozelie Liezetsu along with members of the Central Executive Council and all ranks and files of the NPF Central extended sincere condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed that God give them strength and solace. “May the departed soul rest in eternal peace,” the message concluded. NPF Central Youth Wing The NPF Central Youth Wing expressed shock to learn of the sudden demise of Rangtalak Rangkau. “The Central Youth Wing is deeply pained for the lost of a tall Leader and a humble Shepherd who has been serving as Assis-
tant Pastor of Christian Church Jalukie Town till his last breath,” the Youth Wing stated in a condolence message. The Central Youth Wing expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members and near and dear ones. “May our God Almighty strengthen and comfort them,” the message concluded. NPF Kohima Youth Wing The NPF Youth Wing of Kohima Division has also expressed deep “grief and pain” over the sudden demise of Rangtalak Rangkau. Late Rangkau served his people as Goanbura GB since 1994, and has been actively rendering his best service as an Assis-
tant Pastor of Christian Church Jalukie Town, Peren District, a message from the Youth Wing informed. Conveying heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, the NPF Youth Wing of Kohima Division prayed that the Almighty grant solace and comfort. State BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party, Nagaland mourned the demise of Assistant Pastor Rangtalak Rangkau. The State President Visasolie Lhoungu expressed grief on the loss of a valuable family member, a condolence message from the BJP stated. Praying for strength for the family, the Nagaland BJP added that it stood with the Chief Minister in this time of grief.
NSBSG annual State executive meet The Nagaland State Bharat Scouts & Guides (NSBSG) will have its annual State executive meeting on August 26 at the State Headquarters conference hall, Bayavü Hill, Kohima at 11 am. All the state executive members have been requested to attend the meeting in full uniform without fail.
Fete day at Pranabananda College Pranabananda Women's College Alumni Association is organising a fete day on August 27 in the college campus from 10 am onwards. The Association has invited all the alumni to come and be a part of the celebration. For any queries/information, contact 08259075059, 08259918203.
CHSS alumni meet Christian Higher Secondary School (CHSS) Alumni Association Dimapur has invited all alumni residing in and around Kohima to a meeting with the CHSSAA executive members along with alumni members, Dimapur chapter on August 27, 11 am at Hotel Grandeur, BOC Kohima. A press release received here requested all the CHSS alumni to positively attend the meeting, which will discuss the formation of CHSSAA, Kohima chapter.
DDEO Kohima informs Deputy District Education Officer (DDEO), Kohima has invited interested candidates studying in class 5 under Kohima district seeking admission in class 6 at JNV Yakukie for the session 2017-18 to collect copy of prospectus-cum-application form from the District Education Office Kohima, SDEO Chiephobozou/ Tseminyu/ GHSS Tseminyu during office hours. The last date for submission of application form is September 10, 2016.
Thursday 25•08•2016
IN FOCUS
6
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
The Power of Truth
The Morung Express volume Xi issue 233 By Aheli moitra
Repeating history
W
hen one draws life’s experiences from the history of partition, the keen observation of other partitioned peoples becomes a natural extension of the self. Bengal was first partitioned in 1905 by the British on reportedly communal and administrative lines. While strong initiatives were taken up by the people to unify into one political unit (including one which called for Bengal to be a Free State that would then decide its relations with the rest of India), they were laid to naught as the 1947 partition converted East Bengal into another nation state altogether—East Pakistan. Bengal never did recover from this, and eventually, in 1971, Bangladesh emerged. The new country faced steep poverty and remained fertile for natural disasters on the one hand; on the other, the people of West Bengal, now a part of the Indian Union developed and maintained a high nosed attitude about themselves. Somehow, the western spoils of partition laid claims to historical advantage (Calcutta being the British capital had brought much better development to the west of Bengal than to its east) as though it was their independent doing—as though their eastern brethren had somehow to be blamed for the historical disadvantages of state making. Today, many people from West Bengal will look down on the people of Bangladesh reflecting a sense of superiority towards the other, albeit knowing full well that culturally they are the same people. Borders make the latter’s similarities fade and enhance even nonexistent hostilities. If we are to bring this historical analogy to the Naga peoples’ case, it may be noticed that a similar path is taking shape. State making has equally affected, and unequivocally damaged, the prospects of a larger Naga political formation since the inception of the Nagaland State in 1963. While the “Nagas of Nagaland” (except perhaps rural areas particularly of the east) have settled into cushy-chaired corruption-filled beneficial arrangement of being proud Scheduled Tribes with the crown of Article 371-A, other Naga people left as crusts of the Nagaland State pie have faced the real brunt of what it means to be Scheduled Tribe minorities in other States of the Union. It is easily forgotten that a collective enterprise, and the imagination of a collective utopia, gave rise to an overground clique that negotiated the 16-points memorandum. Barring exceptions, “emotional integration” has become a matter of politicking, and the people who have benefitted from Nagaland State tend to look till about as far as short sight may permit on issues plaguing their neighbours. A peace process has only brought to fore a sense of victimhood and self defense among this lot. Thus, the peripheries (particularly eastern parts of Naga areas) have remained in the worst of conditions—uncontrolled disease and floods in the east and west of the Naga areas respectively may act as points of reference—with no particular dent on the conscience of the centre. Major organisations being based in the State has not helped the cause. Other organisations from the State have gained mileage over raising the issue of borders, but have foregone the people these borders encompass. Much like the people of Bengal, the Nagas have been reduced to State borders defining their identity. These processes have damaged peoples, their rights and the possibility of strong communities in irreversible ways. Today, while Bengal makes feeble attempts to begin rail lines and enhance communication between the erstwhile Siamese sisters, it remains to be seen if the Naga people can set a new example for the subcontinent—can the Nagas of Nagaland, from their position of comfort, bring together the Nagas spread all over and begin a discussion beyond the borders? Other inputs on the subject may be sent to moitramail@yahoo.com
lEfT wiNg |
Burkhard Gnarig Inter Press Service
The UN must be at the forefront of the fight for basic Civic Rights
T
he United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 provides the foundation for citizens’ rights to participate in shaping their communities. Among many other key provisions, it lays down that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression” (Article 19), “the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association” (Article 20) and “the right to take part in the government of his country” (Article 21). Sadly these and other human rights have never turned into reality for a majority of the world’s population. While we have seen a strengthening of pluralism and individual rights after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we observe a negative trend more recently: people’s space to actively participate in their communities is shrinking. Two major developments undermine our rights to participate in shaping the future of our communities, our countries and our planet. On the one hand, many governments are trying to bring their digitally empowered citizens back under control. Since the beginning of the new millennium, digital technology has empowered individuals to communicate and cooperate world-wide without the intermediation of governments and other state and non-state actors. Together with their near monopoly in informing, framing and directing the discussions and actions of their citizens, governments have lost much of their control over the individual. At present we see a wide variety of government activities – from censoring the internet to jailing activists – aiming to bring their citizens back under control. On the other hand, many citizens are willing to trade in some of their fundamental rights on their governments’ promises of protection against terrorists, migrants, or foreign competition. At the same time we observe a dramatic increase in the number of citizens who are prepared to sacrifice some of their rights on the promise to exterminate terrorism, refuse refugees’ and migrants’ entry, or stop economic and cultural globalisation. A growing number of people world-wide follow ultra-nationalist and authoritarian leaders offering national protection against the aspiration of the global community. The – usually unrealistic – promises of protection come at the price of restrictions to people’s rights to express their opinion, organise themselves or engage in any other way which does not support the government’s policies. In this situation a growing number of actors in civil society, business, governments, political parties, UN institutions, the media, funders, schools and universities are suffering from infringements on their work, and many are considering how to react. My organisation, the International Civil Society Centre, is working to deliver three specific contributions to the fight for civic space: Firstly, we have been facilitating the development of a Civic Charter which – in a concise, easily understandable document – brings together all of the major provisions framing the space for civic participation. Thus we want to provide a common global basis for the fight for our rights. Secondly, we are convening an International Civic Forum with key representatives from civil society, governments, the UN, business, the media, academia, funders, and other key influencers, to analyse the situation and create a basis for common activities. And, thirdly, we will embark on an exploratory journey looking at new forms of civic participation and developing prototypes for effective future action. As the initiators and owners of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has a special role to play in the defence of civic space. We expect the new Secretary General to explicitly and frequently remind governments that they are supposed to serve, to report to – and be controlled by – their citizens and not the other way around. We expect all UN Agencies to engage more systematically and effectively in cooperation with civil society organisations fully using, and thus protecting, the space for people’s participation. We expect the UN to engage in a global campaign that promotes human rights world-wide and specifically citizens’ rights to participate – at local, national and global level – in shaping our common future.
C O M M E N T A R Y
Lyric Thompson
Is a feminist United Nations possible in our lifetime? Hopes for a female, feminist UN SecretaryGeneral look increasingly unlikely, but there are creative ideas circulating for feminist system reforms that would spur progress from the bottom-up
A
glimmer of hope was riding on the possibility that the world might get its first female - and possibly feminist - United Nations Secretary General. The current Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, is coming to the end of his second five-year term this December, with his replacement to be named within months. For the first time, there was a slate of female candidates vying publicly for the UN’s top job. As Croatia’s Vesna Pusic - the candidate who most loudly proclaimed her feminism (and, regrettably, so quickly shuffled to the bottom of the rankings, withdrawing her candidacy after the first straw poll) so aptly put it: “I happen to be a woman, I don’t think this is enough, I happen to be a feminist and I think this is (important).” Yet old habits die hard - or more to the point, do not seem to die at all. With news that female candidates consistently polled at the bottom of the ranks, the vision of a feminist Secretary General ushering in a new era of equality and reform seems as likely as unlikely as ever. This comes as no surprise to feminist activists at the UN, who have developed a healthy amount of cynicism over the years. The promise of a powerful super agency for women’s rights has fallen flat. UN Women has been chronically underfunded, politically hamstrung, and apparently, if the mandate listed on its website is to be believed, not actually an agency for women’s rights at all (did anyone notice the words were scrubbed from the mandate listed on the website?). There is, bless it, one reference to human rights, which apparently no longer include women’s rights in 2016. To be sure, all blame is not to be heaped on the system’s newest and least-powerful agency - there is plenty of patriarchy to go around. Take the most egregious example of the continued, heartbreaking exposés of unspeakable abuses by UN peacekeepers and mission staff - unspeakable not only in the horror they invoke, but also in the inexcusable silence with which episodes of exploitation continue to be met by UN leadership. The Code Blue Campaign has some good ideas about how to end impunity for this abuse once and for all. Against this grim backdrop the symbol of a feminist, female Secretary General is certainly powerful and long overdue. However, absent that ideal, what glimmer of hope is there for women? Here are a few ideas crowdsourced by some clever leaders of feminist thought: 1. Start at the (almost) top: If the Secretary General is neither female nor feminist, at least the chorus of voices calling for that ideal may be loud enough to exert some pressure for feminist appointments at the Assistant Secretary General and Under Secretary General level (all of which must tender their resignations at the appoint-
I
chanced upon Jyoti Prasad Saikia’s name as I was mining through secondary literature for a book on keywords on politics and society in India. Such books have become commonplace in academic circles, where sociological shorthand makes up for lack of empirical details. My brief was to write something about the idea of “Seven Sisters”, a name used to denote the seven northeast states of the Indian union. I would have forgotten about my brief literature review and the piece that was subsequently published, had it not been for the egregious act of a nameless fact-checker who quietly slipped in a completely mistaken date of birth and death besides Mr. Saikia’s name! Some weeks ago, I received a call from Mr. Saikia, who might as well have begun our conversation with Mark Twain’s line that rumours about his demise were highly exaggerated. After several telephonic conversations and a personal meeting, both he and I are trying to live down an embarrassing error that the editors of the published book have assured us will be rectified in subsequent editions. We have also discussed the origins of the phrase and this has led our conversations to Indian federalism. Saikia’s connection to the “Seven Sisters” is almost mythical, since he had been instrumental in giving weight to the concept. As a young journalist in Tripura during the turbulent war of independence in Bangladesh, Saikia was privy to two simultaneous processes: (a) the emergence of a new country in the neighbourhood and (b) the creation of new states from the erstwhile province of Assam. In 1971, East Pakistan declared itself independent with logistic support from India and the So-
ment of the next Secretary General, an “overnight opportunity for parity,” as one activist recently suggested). 2. Model transparency: One activist recently called the UN the most closed system on the face of the planet, with the possible exception of North Korea. Transparency is urgently needed at the U.N. Taking a page from the Secretary General debates, UN meetings system-wide should be public, open and televised. A freedom of information policy would go far to foster transparency and accountability by allowing advocates to demand - and publish - such important information as to how many (and which gender and what type of background) candidates were vetted for key positions critical to reform, or which member states or outside donors are funding which posts. 3. Empower feminists at the UN: While the term “empowerment” has worryingly replaced “rights” for most women’s issues at the UN - see the economic section - there is an opportunity to redeem it by modeling real empowerment for feminist activists who tirelessly, thanklessly - and increasingly futilely - push for progress at the UN. The International Labor Organization’s tripartite model of shared leadership by UN. corporations and workers is a good one that has been proposed to UN Women in the past and could be adopted in a package of feminist reforms. 4. Adopt a feminist framework for Sustainable Development Goals accountability: As the world finalizes its measurement framework, linking the Global Goals to CEDAW would both advance the substance of gender mainstreaming through-
out the goals, as was intended, as well as provide an urgently needed accountability framework, inclusive of a platform for civil society voices through shadow reporting. 5. Save the CSW or kill it: Either way, the annual Commission on the Status of Women is at once the symbol of all that is possible for feminism at the UN and emblematic of all that is wrong with the system as it currently stands. Worth saving is the unique platform for thousands of civil society activists to actually access “the most closed system in the world,” petitioning their states for overdue action on their rights. At no other Commission does this happen at this scale or to this effect. Worth killing is the annual, excruciating, Sisyphean brawl over women’s rights standards, out of which new ground is rarely gained, and where, occasionally, important progress is reversed. This past year, these standards were negotiated in advance, making the 2015 meeting more theatre than a true opportunity for negotiation. Additionally, the great expense to which states and activists must go to in order to travel to New York, which exacerbates the real problem of northern and elite voices dominating conversations at the UN, CSW or otherwise, for governments and civil society alike - a rare moment of shared challenge. Further, some activists may find it difficult to obtain visas to attain the CSW, limiting their ability to contribute to the process. Certainly, additional creative ideas will surface as we move forward, but for now these few represent a starting point, a glimmer of hope from our feminist fallback position in the likely event that hopes for feminist leadership at the very top are indeed put to rest for another five years.
Seven Sisters, Federalism and Meeting J.P. Saikia sanjay Barbora viet Union. West Bengal and Northeast India were seen as the natural hinterland for Bangladeshi freedom fighters (Mukti Bahini), from where they could rely on local support and continue the armed struggle for the liberation of their homeland. In India, similar movements for secession had already taken root among the Naga, Mizo and Manipuri peoples. However, unlike the Bangladesh narrative of a country liberating itself from an autocratic military rule, India’s separatist struggles were managed in a somewhat different manner. In the same year, the government of India enacted the North-East Areas (Reorganisation) Act, thereby enabling the creation of a state (Meghalaya) and union territories (Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh), by reorganising the state of Assam. This act was fraught with social and political tensions that erupted over demarcation of borders between Assam and the new states. In order to allay some of these fears and to ensure continuity in planning and developmental work, the government of India created the North Eastern Council through an act of parliament in the same year. In our conversations, Saikia mentioned how the former Chief Minister of Assam, Sarat Sinha, had en-
listed his help in convincing Mr. Hokishe Sema about the need for all the seven states to participate in the NEC. Today, Nagaland is an integral part of the NEC and having heard Mr. Saikia’s stories about what transpired behindthe-scenes, it is not difficult to see how human affection, mutual respect and strategic alliances were important ingredients for federal experiments in the 1970s. Seven Sisters, as Saikia tells it, was born from a need to unite the different constituents of the region, as well as caution them about the pitfalls of going their separate ways. It competed with other phrases – Saat Bhai Champa and Rainbow Region – before Saikia’s melancholic reference to Wordsworth’s poem “Seven Sisters, Or the Solitude of Binnorie” won the day. The Wordsworth poem had somewhat prophetic references to seven sisters forced to commit suicide when neglected by their father. From such foreboding beginnings, the idea of a cooperative federalism has had several interesting turns in Northeast India. Today, poised as we are at the cusp of seven decades of independence, the Northeast region finds itself at the proverbial crossroads. Most states in the region face unenviable deficits in their budgets, as they
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scramble to invent new ways to earn revenue from their territories and peoples. Ironically, the quantum of money and resources that are being pumped into the region are indeed vast. The troublesome voices of dissent and insurgency have lost coherence, but so has the vision of a united front of the kind that Jyoti Prasad Saikia and his colleagues were trying to create during the period of transition in the 1970s. Rather, one sees the repetition of imperial policies in the form of financial and political control from New Delhi. One needs only to look at the number of times that national parties have changed chief ministers in Meghalaya, or the manner in in which unelected officials have overreached their mandate in places like Arunachal Pradesh, in order to understand our peculiar federalism. In addition, there is the ubiquitous go-in-alone disposition among the various states as they try and secure wealth by selling whatever collective natural resource they can see: mountains, rivers, minerals and forests. Perhaps the only ray of hope lies in the resilience of the people of the region to forge a different kind of politics. Despite the shaky beginnings of my relationship with Mr. Saikia, I was able to understand the political considerations and vision behind the poetic origins of “Seven Sisters”. In his gracious gesture to reach out to me, I am reminded of countless other examples of solidarity that exists among the people of the region. For instance, every winter, Guwahati city comes alive with food festivals where people from all over the region display and taste each other’s cuisines. As they eat overpriced skewered pork and drink watered down rice beer, I am reminded that the idea of Seven Sisters – like the person who coined the name – is alive and lives without fuss among its people.
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Thursday 25•08•2016
PERSPECTIVE
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
7
Who Wants to Marry an Emperor? Minae Mizumura
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parasite who lives off taxpayers’ money.” That was how my father disparaged the emperor of Japan. Back then, our emperor was Hirohito and my father’s antipathy toward him was typical of Japanese intellectuals. I grew up thinking that the sooner the emperor was thrown out into the street, the better. But as time went by and I watched the current emperor, Akihito, obligingly perform his symbolic duties, year after year, tirelessly greeting crowds and visiting victims of natural disasters, I mellowed. I began to like him. I even began to pity the soft-spoken emperor, as did many of my compatriots, conservatives and liberals alike. His schedule is ruthless. His is a job no one wants. Yet there is a job that’s far worse: being married to an emperor. There have been days, as “The Tale of Genji” tells us, when being one of the emperor’s wives or concubines was the most enviable position a woman could attain. But a thousand years later, times have changed, even if esoteric rituals remain the same. Today, marrying a future emperor is the last thing any sane woman would want. Recently, Emperor Akihito made an unusual video appearance expressing his desire to retire. I listened with great sympathy. Then, thinking how his retirement might affect the imperial system, I realized to my surprise that I actually wanted the system to continue. After years of being in the minority, I have now aligned myself with a large majority of the population. There are three reasons behind my change of heart. First, the least fortunate among us seem truly touched and comforted by the emperor’s visits and words. His role as consoler in chief has value. Second, our prime ministers rotate so quickly that these men have become even more forgettable than they actually are. It makes diplomatic sense to have the emperor as a recognizable face of the nation. And third, just because most reasonable people in the West seem to think we should get rid of this particularly inscrutable, mist-shrouded institution, I’d like to see it continue. It’s fun to see people shake their heads and roll their eyes. Emperor Akihito’s plea for retirement came as a reminder of a possibility some people refuse to face: the imperial system may not survive, no matter how we feel about it. The imperial family now has seven princesses and but a single male heir in the youngest generation, the crown prince’s nephew. If Emperor Akihito retires and the current crown prince ascends the throne, this nephew will be next, and last, in line. It is probable in this day and age that this precious 9-year-old boy will reach adulthood. The real question is, what woman in her right mind would want to marry him? Over the last half-century, the Japanese people have witnessed the severe occupational hazards of marrying a future emperor. Michiko, the current empress, suffered a months long loss of voice because of stress; when she finally recovered, we were shocked to see a healthy young woman turn prematurely into an emaciated, frail figure, though still beautiful. Stress-related ailments continued to assail her. Yet she bore two sons (and a daughter), thus accomplishing her essential job: to produce an heir.
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hat role does memory play in the politics of the present? How can we build better futures through politicising the past? The Brigstow Institute brings us a series reflecting on these questions 23 August 2016, was the International Slavery Remembrance Day; yesterday, the UK’s first ever memorial service to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade/African holocaust was held in Trafalgar Square. But what exactly should or can we remember, and why, and what should we ‘do’ with these memories? The forthcoming series of articles will reflect on these questions as they relate to the memory of slavery and the different conversations that can be had about its past and present. But they do not, and cannot, provide the answer to these questions, for there is no simple or single answer. History and Remembrance A call for remembrance is not necessarily a call for closer attention to the details of history. It is not essential to be well acquainted with geopolitics or military history in order to remember the war dead. Nor does remembering those whose lives were destroyed by slavery require a knowledge of historic slave regimes. But in former slave and colonial states like Britain, there is a difference between the remembrance of war and the remembrance of transatlantic slavery. Because the latter disrupts the dominant, self-congratulatory national narrative about a country’s love of liberty, equality, democracy and justice. There is also a perceived question mark over the ‘we’ who will do the remembering. In nationalist acts of remembrance, all citizens alike are positioned as owing a debt to the soldiers who are said to have ‘given’ their lives in defending (or aggrandising) the nation. But do all citizens stand in the same relation to the Africans whose lives were stolen to fuel a system that enriched nations, cities, and private individuals? Even if remembrance is made international and imagined as an act of humanitarian mourning, the problem remains. Transatlantic slavery divided and dislocated human populations, and its abolition did not undo those divisions or restore communities. The particular character of slavery’s violence is, in Stephen Best and Saidiya Hartman’s words, “ongoing and constitutive of the unfinished project of freedom”. If ‘we’ look back in sorrow, we do not do so from the same blank territory of a presumed universal humanity. We do so from our own particular position in the ugly tapestry of inequality woven by the violence and displacement of transatlantic slavery.
Sam Walton: Copying Others’ Successful Tactics to Riches
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Emperor Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, when he was still the crown prince.
In contrast, Crown Princess Masako, a Harvard graduate and former junior diplomat, was able to bear only a daughter after what was reported to be years of intense fertility treatments. She has effectively disappeared from public view, making only rare appearances. “Why did she ever marry him?” my female friends often cry out. Masako not only was a commoner, but she also, like many well-educated women of today, had a career — or rather, a career most well-educated women of today would love to have. Because we can identify with her, we keep wondering at her decision. Indeed, in an age when women have more options than ever before, why choose a life that reduces you to a womb to carry a son? Why bring back the memory of dark days in Japanese history when, under the patriarchal family law of 1898, every household was required to have a male heir? Unlike the imperial family, common people were allowed to adopt sons, but it was indeed a gloomy period for many women. And so my friends and I all agree on one thing: No sane woman would ever marry the young prince, the sole heir. Never. What some people absurdly claim to be a 2,600-yearold male succession — with several ancient empresses acting as regent — was only made possible thanks to the existence of concubines. While insisting on male succession, the current Imperial House Law laudably, and naïvely, forbids them, laying the burden of producing an heir squarely on the wife’s shoulders. Yet Crown Princess Masako had at least one other woman who could and eventually did take over her job — the wife of the crown prince’s brother, who gave birth to the last heir. The next time around, there will be no such substitute. Marrying the last heir would mean
that the continuance of the 2,600-year-old tradition would depend solely on that wife’s luck in bearing a son. If the Japanese people want to see the imperial system survive, the first practical step would be to allow female succession to the throne, whatever the historical claims to exclusively male succession may be. Nearly three-fourths of the population already welcomes the idea. After the new Constitution guaranteed gender equality in 1947, women made gains in many fields, but until recently we had yet to see a woman in a prominent public position. Then came the landslide victory this July of Yuriko Koike as the first female governor of Tokyo. Generally quiet Japanese voters turned overnight into imitations of boisterous Americans, chanting “Yuriko! Yuriko!” throughout her victory speech. The enthusiasm of her amazingly diverse supporters is clear testimony to the readiness of the Japanese people to see a reigning empress. There is of course no way to permanently secure the continuation of the imperial family. An emperor is deprived of basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution to the commonest of Japanese: Like many monarchs, he can choose neither his occupation nor his place of residence, and he has no freedom of expression. Not only the Japanese imperial family but also other constitutional monarchies may one day self-destruct. Before that day comes, let the Japanese people see a reigning empress stand in the center when the imperial family waves to the crowd. Let them see her walk tall with her husband demurely following behind.
Slavery: memory and afterlives Julia O'Connell Davidson experienced, in one way or another, the destructive powers of the anti-black racism spawned by transatlantic slavery, not all will have or feel any personal connection to those who were once enslaved. In fact, for many, their first experience of racism may only have been when slavery was mentioned in the classroom. Plus, as Edson Burton points out in his article for this series, those racialised as black are also divided by class, as well as gender, religion, sexuality, and so on. It is also complicated because being anti-slavery is not the same as rejecting the ideology of race. Many white nineteenth century abolitionists bitterly condemned the human suffering wreaked by slavery without at the same time considering black people to be qualified for freedom and citizenship in white societies. Today, it is perfectly possible for people racialised as white to sincerely mourn the fate of the enslaved without simultaneously challenging antiblack racism or questioning their own white privilege. In this context, what are the dangers and the possibilities opened up by calls for transatlantic slavery remembrance?
Remembering Transatlantic Slavery as a Holocaust A poster created by British-based slavery remembrance activists is currently displayed on a billboard on South Lambeth Road, Vauxhall. It features a photograph taken in 1863 of a man named Gordon, who had been enslaved on a Louisiana plantation. The photograph shows him in sitting posture. His face is clear in full profile, but the viewer’s attention is commanded by his bared back, described by a contemporary observer as, “Scarred, gouged, gathered in great ridges, knotted, furrowed, the poor tortured flesh stands out a hideous record of the slave-driver’s lash…From such evidence as this, there is no escape, and to see is to believe”. Why ask people in 21st Century London to look at this image? One reason is that the way history is taught and publicly commemorated in Britain and other former slaving powers does allow escape from evidence like the photo of Gordon’s scourged back. In fact, in Britain, the story of transatlantic slavery is frequently used primarily as a vehicle for proud memories of the white Britons who played a role in its legal abolition. And such national or civic pride is often equally taken in white Britons who, despite actively profiting from their involvement in the murderous trade, also contribA Question of Race? Race is central to that horrible tapes- uted to the wellbeing of their British breth-
memorialisation in Bristol). Against this, Gordon’s image publicly recalls the immense violence enacted upon the victims of transatlantic slavery, and the overwhelming physical force required to transport people into, and prevent them fleeing from, slavery. It acts as a reminder of the many millions who died en route, who were gruesomely tortured and executed by state officials, and who were starved, beaten or worked to death by slaveholders. It focuses attention on transatlantic slavery as a holocaust, in the sense that it entailed the systematic destruction and slaughter of Africans and their descendants on a mass scale. The billboard is titled ‘the African Holocaust Censored’ because when the Stop the Maangamizi organisation sought to advertise its annual march for Reparatory Justice in a major national newspaper earlier this year, it was told the paper would not print an advert containing the phrase ‘African Holocaust’ because the word ‘holocaust’ was reserved for the Jewish community. But use of the term ‘holocaust’ and demands for public acknowledgment of the suffering of the enslaved does not detract from similar claims by any other group. Reflecting on the vast disparity between the public outpouring of grief in the US for the lives lost in the attacks of 11 September 2001, and the lack of interest in the hundreds of thousands of civilians who subsequently died as a result of the US ‘War on Terror’, Judith Butler has observed that not all lives are regarded as grievable. Some lost lives are not publicly mourned because they are not seen “as worthy of protection, as belonging to subjects with rights that ought to be honored”. Calls to remember transatlantic slavery as an African holocaust are, at one level, calls for its victims to be brought into the fold of the grievable. This is not a competition to win a share of a finite quantity of grief, but an assertion of belonging to humankind. No community loses out by its endorsement. In fact, some might argue that it is the poster’s reproduction of the image of Gordon that raises the more difficult ethical questions. Memory, Bodies and Subjects Gordon’s back, upon which the violence and suffering of slavery was so inescapably visible, became an iconic anti-slavery image. Yet Gordon was much more than his bodily surface. He was a man who managed to escape the plantation, outwit the slave patrols and bloodhounds that hunted him, and reach the safety of the Union encampment at Baton Rouge. He subsequently joined the Union States Colored Troops and
Minae Mizumura is the author of “A True Novel” and “The Fall of Language in the Age of English.”
It is true that were we to remember only the bravery of the individuals who escaped, rebelled, and resisted slavery, we would risk minimising the overwhelming structural violence of slavery as an institution, as well as overlooking the quiet courage of the women, men and children who, against such appalling odds, made their lives as best they could within its confines. Yet what kind of memory is invited by a photo that focuses attention on Gordon as a suffering body (the image is sometimes even referred to as ‘the scourged back’)? In the context of the racism that insists on seeing white people as individuals, while reducing Others to mere bodies bearing a racialised category, this image can make people uncomfortable not because they want to deny transatlantic slavery’s mass destruction of African lives, but because they do not want be complicit in the kind of voyeuristic gaze so eloquently interrogated in Susan Sontag’s book, Regarding the Pain of Others. Mourning and Activism, Mourning As Activism Courtney Baker has recently observed that to look at the pain and death of others is not necessarily to exercise a dangerous or disabling power. There is also a form of looking, ‘humane insight’, that actively seeks out knowledge about the humanity of the sufferer. And, she concludes, with humane insight comes an understanding that some modes of mourning are also forms of activism. Here is another sense in which historical context matters. Calls for transatlantic slavery remembrance are today being made in the context of a new wave of black political mobilisation to assert the value of black life, resist mass incarceration, call for reparatory justice, demand that public monuments to colonists and slave traders ‘must fall’, insist on the public memorialisation of victims of white supremacist terror, and so on. The important point is not whether remembrance campaigners have satisfactorily resolved every ethical dilemma surrounding the visual representation of slavery; or whether campaigns for reparations or to remove historical monuments succeed; or even whether everyone agrees that they should. The important point is that contemporary black activists are successfully generating public awareness and political debate on transatlantic slavery’s afterlives in Europe and the Americas. In so doing, they are opening up more and different possibilities for collectively remembering transatlantic slavery and collectively weaving a different future from its living remains. And that is a project that all of us can and should get behind. Julia O’Connell Davidson is a professor in social research at the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol. She has a longstanding research interest in work and economic life, which she has explored through studies of employment
ost everything I’ve done I’ve copied from someone else,” said Sam Walton, the founder of America’s largest retail stores, Wal-Mart, which has now grown to include over 11,000 superstores in 28 countries. As such, it has become the world’s largest corporation by revenue as well as the biggest private employer in the world. Walton got his first direct exposure to retailing business, working part-time in a five-and-ten-cent store. This retailing format (also known as a variety store) featured a wide range of low-priced merchandise such as apparel, toys, housewares, and other goods. Before going into business for himself, however, he signed on as a management trainee with a departmental store company, J.C. Penny, for $75 a month. That was in 1941. It was while working there, Walton settled on a career in retailing. He also started his lifelong habit of prowling competitors’ stores for ideas---using his lunch hours for that purpose—and began devouring books on retailing. But since his family finances were too tight, he resigned from J.C. Penney and joined the U.S. army. Again, during his military services, he continued spending his off-duty hours checking into departmental stores, hoping to gather new ideas. As soon as World War II ended, and married by now, Walton borrowed some money from his father-in-law and purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas, in 1945. The store was a franchise of the Butler Brothers chain, where he found considerable success in retail management. He converted his operation to the self-service format after reading that two Minnesota Ben Franklin stores had introduced the concept. In fact, he made the long trip north by bus to observe firsthand this new style of doing business. Also, from the Sterling variety store chain, he borrowed the idea of replacing the standard wooden merchandise displays with all-metal fixtures. And by the early 1960s, Walton, along with his brother James, could own 15 Ben Franklin franchises and one independent store. Walton now planned to open bigger stores in rural areas with discounted prices in order to attract more customers and achieve a higher sales volume. He believed that lower prices could increase sales volume. In turn, the huge sales volume could generate high profits, as long as the retailers held down operating costs, such as labor, rent, and advertising. Walton became convinced that discounting was the wave of the future and to ignore it would be fatal. However, the Ben Franklin executives were not in favor of this concept and turned down his plan. But undaunted by the rejection, Walton still went ahead on his own and opened the first Wal-Mart store on July 2, 1962, in Arkansas at discounted prices. Walton, to be sure, was influenced by Michael Cullen who first introduced the formula of low overhead, low margins, and high volume to the retailing business in 1930, when the latter opened his first supermarket in New York. But Walton improvised the discounted concept of Cullen and executed it far more effectively. By his own admission, the key to his success was to be found in his copying of the methods of other successful discounters. In the 1980s, Walton opened his first Wal-Mart Supercenter, offering all sorts of merchandise and making them all available under one roof for shopping convenience. But once again, Walton took this idea from Sol Price who introduced a warehouse format, selling everything from food to appliances under one roof, through the Price Club chain in 1976. However, Walton’s desire was to take Price’s idea to a whole new level. He wanted to treat the customer as the boss. He would say, “There is only one boss: The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” After his visit to South Korean and Japanese factories in 1975, observing the morale-building effects on their workers, Walton also began to treat his employees as his business associates. In the late 1970s, he made a provision to share the benefits of team-efforts in saving costs by reducing internal theft, shoplifting, or faulty records. Profit sharing and stock-purchase programs were also introduced to encourage his employees to be company owners. As a result of these incentives, their sales increased exponentially. By 1980, the company had reached $1 billion in annual sales. Obviously, Walton’s business expansion came at the expense of the small-town retailers who could not compete with Wal-Mart’s low prices. But despite all the criticism, he remained focused and determined in his business efforts. Indeed, he did extremely well because he sincerely believed that he was doing good by helping consumersstretch their incomes. And they vindicated his belief
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ThursDAY 25•08•2016
INDIA
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Minister seeks submarine data leak report, navy says no need for alarm
New Delhi, August 24 (iANs): The leak of data related to India's Scorpene submarines created a stir on Wednesday, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking a report from the Indian Navy on the documents. The navy, however, stressed that the data in the leaked report is hypothetical, pertaining to simulators, and the signature of a boat can be known only when it hits the seas. The navy also made it clear that the leak did not take place in India. The data, which comprises over 22,000 pages, was leaked, the Australian media reported. It contained documents on the Scorpene submarines, designed by French company DCNS and being built in India by the Mazagaon Dock Limited in Mumbai (Maharashtra) at a cost of around $3.5 billion. The news created ripples in India soon after the report in the Australian media came out. According to sources, experts from the navy started examining the documents on Tuesday night. Defence Minister Parrikar, who sought a report in two days, said it appeared to be a case of hacking. "The first step is to identify if it relates to us," Parrikar told reporters here. "The navy chief (Admi-
France's DCNS says India submarine data leak may be "economic warfare"
File photo of Indian Navy's Scorpene submarine INS Kalvari being escorted by tugboats as it arrives at Mazagon Docks Ltd, a naval vessel ship building yard, in Mumbai, October 29, 2015. REUTERS
ral Sunil Lanba) has been asked to analyse what exactly has been leaked," the minister said, adding his first assessment was that it was an act of hacking and not a 100 per cent leak. "I've told the navy chief to find out all the details. Maybe, in a couple of days, I'll be able share with you." The navy, in a statement issued shortly after the minister spoke, stressed the leak did not happen in India. "The available information is being examined at
Monsanto pulls new GM seed New Delhi, August 24 (reuters): Monsanto Co has withdrawn an application seeking approval for its next generation of genetically modified cotton seeds in India, a major escalation in a long-running dispute between New Delhi and the world's biggest seed maker. A letter sent by Monsanto's local partner in India, the conglomerate's biggest market outside the Americas, strongly objects to a government proposal that would force Monsanto to share its technology with local seed companies. The company is also at loggerheads with India over how much it can charge for its genetically modified cotton seeds, costing it tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue every year. The unprecedented decision to pull the application, which has not previously been reported, could set back Monsanto's efforts to introduce its new seed, called Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex technology, for years and lead to further losses.
Did not blame RSS: Rahul New Delhi, August 24 (iANs): Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had not blamed the RSS as an institution for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but the people associated with it, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday.Senior counsel Kapil Sibal made the observation before a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice R.F. Nariman while referring to an affidavit filed by Gandhi before the Bombay High Court challenging the defamation proceedings against him by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker. The bench, while taking note of Gandhi's statement before the High Court said that it can dispose of the matter after the Congress leader's unequivocal statement that he had not blamed the RSS as an organisation for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but only the people linked with it. However, the court deferred the hearing till Sep 1 as senior counsel Umesh Lalit, appearing for the RSS worker, wanted time to take instructions from his client.
the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), and an analysis is being done by the specialists concerned," the navy said. "It appears that the leak's source is overseas and not in India," the statement said. A complaint was also filed at the Prime Minister's Office, though there was no official statement from the PMO on the issue. The Defence Minister was briefed by the navy chief. Later, he also held a meeting with top naval of-
ficials. Navy sources, meanwhile, maintained there is nothing to be alarmed about as the data does not pertain to any of the Scorpene submarines currently being built in Mazgaon Docks, Mumbai. "Details in the leaked documents regarding the Scorpene submarine are not valid because the signature can be known only once the boat goes out to the seas," a navy source said, adding the specifications mentioned in the
document are hypothetical. "How can we know the signature of the boat which is still not done with the trials. The technical and operational details will be written by how we exploit the submarine. So far, even the weapon systems and torpedo are not there." The navy, nonetheless, held the leak is an issue of concern. "The documents should not have been leaked, but there is nothing to be alarmed about," said the source. DCNS, two-thirds owned by the French gov-
sYDNeY/PAris, August 24 (reuters): French naval contractor DCNS said on Wednesday it may have been the victim of "economic warfare" after secrets about its Scorpene submarines being built in India were leaked. India opened an investigation after The Australian newspaper published documents relating to the submarine's combat capabilities, raising concerns over another major contract with Australia. The leak contains more than 22,000 pages outlining the details of six submarines that DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy. The submarines are being built at a state-run shipyard in Mumbai and the first one was expected to go into service by the end of the year, the first step in the Indian navy's effort to rebuild its dwindling fleet. The leak has raised doubts about the ernment, said a probe will be carried out to determine the exact nature of the leaked papers, potential damage to the company and customers and responsibilities for this leak. The Australian media reports, quoting DCNS, said that the leak of such technical data could not happen with its submarine proposed for Australia. The French company also alluded that the leak may have occurred at India, rather than from France. DCNS this year signed a
security of DCNS's submarine project in Australia where it is locked in exclusive negotiations after seeing off rivals for a A$50 billion ($38 billion) contract to build the Barracuda next generation of submarines. DCNS, which is 35 percent owned by Thales, said it was working to determine if any harm had been caused to clients with a view to drawing up an action plan. Asked if the leak could affect other contracts, a company spokeswoman said it had come against a difficult commercial backdrop and that corporate espionage could be to blame. "Competition is getting tougher and tougher, and all means can be used in this context," she said. "There is India, Australia and other prospects, and other countries could raise legitimate questions over DCNS. It's part of the tools in economic warfare."
contract with Australia for the manufacture of 12 submarines. The first of the Scorpeneclass submarines being built in India, Kalvari, went for sea trials in May and is expected to be inducted in the Indian Navy by this year-end. Officials said the other six submarines, in different stages of construction, will be inducted subsequently at intervals of nine months each.
the government of "coverup" over the alleged data leak of the Scorpene submarine, which it said had "gravely compromised" India's national security. "We demand a complete security audit of the Mazgaon Dock Limited and the Defence Ministry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The government can have representatives from defence forces, intelligence agencies as memCong demands bers," Congress leader security audit Randeep Singh Surjewala The Congress accused told reporters.
92% of villages 'electrified' have houses without power One killed in protests, Rajnath meets Kashmir politicians Charlie Moloney
IANS and IndiaSpend
As many as 78% of the 18,452 inhabitable villages the government set out to provide with power have been "electrified". However, 92% of the 10,072 newly-electrified villages include homes which do not have electricity. On August 22, 2016, the government issued an update to say that 28 villages were "electrified" the previous week (15-21 August), as part of the ongoing mission to electrify the remaining 18,452 un-electrified villages in India. Last week, the government missed the quota, as an average of 252 villages must be electrified per week, 36 per day, in order to reach the newly pushed-forward completion target of March 2017. The target set out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was 1,000 days; the live updated government website says the deadline is March 2017, just over 200 days away. As many as 34 villages have been electrified per day, on average, over the past four weeks, so the project is on track to reach its goal on time, just. The electrification process is now being closely monitored by the Gram Vidyut Abhiyanta (GVA), or the Village Electrification Engineer; there are monthly targets to be reached, and a 12-stage electrifica-
tion process has been established. All 12 stages must be completed across 18,452 villages to make the scheme a success -- a total of 221,424 milestones. Of these, 57% or 126,116 have been achieved, according to data on the government website. Up to 32 per cent of the milestones achieved are in the last four stages of the 12-stage electrification process; 35% are in only the first four stages. Just 8% of electrification has reached the final stage, "handing over villages", at which point the village is said to be electrified. However, to say these villages will be "electrified" is not to say all their residents will enjoy electricity, Fact-
Checker reported in 2015. Only 10% of homes in a village are required to actually have electricity for a village to be declared "electrified" by the Ministry of Power. Of those homes truly electrified, quality of power is often an issue. Three-quarters of electrified homes in rural Uttar Pradesh received electricity less than 12 hours a day, IndiaSpend reported in October 2015. The Ministry of Power's August 22 update said that the government has resolved to go on "mission mode" to complete electrification "in view of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi's address to nation, on Independence Day".
sriNAgAr, August 24 (iANs): A teenager was killed and dozens were injured in scattered clashes on Wednesday as Home Minister Rajnath Singh met leaders of the main political parties in a bid to break the cycle of violence in the Kashmir Valley raging for over six weeks. Police said an 18-year-old boy was killed in firing by security forces in a south Kashmir village after he sustained pellet injuries in a clash with police in Pinglina village of Pulwama, some 30 km south of Srinagar. At least 40 people were injured in the clash. Hours later, a suspected militant from a crowd hurled a bomb at security personnel in Pulwama town - a few kilometres further south of the Pinglina village. Nine policemen, including a superintendent of police, a deputy superintendent and a station house officer, were injured in the attack. Demonstrations were also held in parts of Srinagar and north Kashmir despite a strict curfew and arrest of
dozens of youths participating in stone-throwing protests triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 69 people have been killed and thousands injured in the violence that has crippled normal life in the Kashmir Valley for 46 days. There seemed no end in sight to the unrest even as the Home Minister arrived here to meet a crosssection of Kashmiri people and seek ways on how to break the logjam. This is his second visit in a month.Rajnath Singh met delegations of various political parties, including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, the opposition National Conference and the Congress. The mainstream politicians, according to informed sources, pressed the central government for a dialogue involving all stakeholders, including separatist leaders. However, government sources in Srinagar ruled out any possibility of the minister meeting with separatist groups.
Cabinet approves bill to prohibit commercial surrogacy New Delhi, August 24 (iANs): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to the Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016, that seeks to prohibit "commercial surrogacy" and allow "ethical altruistic surrogacy" only to needy infertile married couples. Terming commercial surrogacy as "kokh ka vyapar" (trade of womb), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who headed the Group of Ministers (GoM) formed to look into the matter of surrogacy, said it was becoming a "fashion and a trend" to produce children through surrogacy by "those who do not want to put their wives in pain". "This Bill will curb this practice and would allow ethical surrogacy to needy infertile couples only, and we have put several checks and balances for the same," Swaraj said. Only a married Indian couple who fails to conceive after five years of marriage will be allowed to go for surrogacy, but even in that case, they will have to furnish medical certificate that they cannot conceive for some medical reasons, Swaraj said.
Importantly, a surrogate mother must be a close relation of the couple seeking a surrogate child. An important aspect of the bill is that foreigners, NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) or OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card holders won't be allowed to avail surrogacy. Also, the altruistic surrogacy will not be allowed to single parents, live-in partners and samesex couples, the Minister said. On being asked if this provision was discriminatory, Swaraj said that currently homosexuality is illegal in the country and hence, same-sex couples cannot be allowed to have children through surrogacy. Besides, couples having kids or having adopted a child cannot use surrogacy. In recent years, India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples from different countries and there have been reported incidents concerning unethical practices, exploitation of surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy and rackets of intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes.
According to estimates, currently more than 2,000 surrogacy clinics are operating across the country. As per the Bill, a surrogacy clinic must register itself with the government, else it would be deemed illegal. "There is a provision of 10 years imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh fine on clinics which fail to abide by the rules," she said. Swaraj said the Bill will control unethical practices in surrogacy, prevent commercialization of surrogacy and prohibit potential exploitation of surrogate mothers and children born through surrogacy. The Minister clarified that a surrogate child will have all the rights that a biological child has, including right to property. The Bill is likely to be brought up in the next session of Parliament. The legislation envisions setting up of a National Surrogacy Board and State Surrogacy Boards to regulate the process. Doctors say bill is 'black day' for surrogacy, will spawn corruption Leading gynaecologists have termed the government
nod to the Surrogacy Regulation Bill, that bans commercial surrogacy, as a black day, and say it will lead to malpractices like surreptitious and illegal surrogacy, that is rampant in kidney transplantation. Doctors have questioned the government's decision and asked why would any woman become a surrogate mother for another couple, without any benefits. "What an unfortunate decision it is? Many deserving infertile couples remain childless because of careless government policies. But this kind of provision will do a lot of injustice to infertile couples," said Himanshu Bavishi, President of Delhi chapter of Indian Society of Third Party Assisted Reproduction (INSTAR). Abha Mazumdar, Director, Department of IVF at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, considered the founder of IVF in India, told IANS: "I am completely against the government's decision. This is certainly going to trigger corruption in surrogacy just like rackets being run in kidney transplants across the country.
Commercial surrogacy cannot be banned in India... the government should have given a second thought to it." Alka Kriplani, head of gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said: “The government should have a balanced decision. There are many women who do not have uterus and many others who have complications with uterus. In such situation surrogacy can only help and commercial surrogacy is the only solution. Not every time a relative will come forward to become a surrogate mother.” Shivani Sachdev Gour, another Delhi-based IVF specialist and member INSTAR, called it a black day in the history of surrogacy. According to doctors, there are more that 50 million infertile couples in the world and their desperation for a biological child has turned commercial surrogacy into a booming business. Thousands of infertile couples rent wombs from poor women for nine months so they can take a baby back home.
Salient points of Surrogacy Bill Who can go for surrogacy? Only Indian couples, who are legally married; the couple must be married for at least five years; and the couple will have to produce a medical certificate testifying that either partner is medically unfit to produce children Who cannot go for surrogacy? Foreigners, NRIs and even OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card holders; same sex couples, live-in partners; and couples having one or more children, either biological or adopted Who can become a surrogate mother? Only a married woman with at least one child; surrogate mother must be a close relation of the couple seeking surrogacy; woman is allowed to surrogate only once; and a couple can avail surrogacy only once in their lifetime What is legal protection? Surrogacy clinics must be registered with the government; illegally operating clinics, or those flouting norms may be punished with 10 years imprisonment and/or Rs 10 lakh fine; and clinics are required to maintain each case record for 25 years. Rights versus wrongs? A surrogate child, whether boy or girl, cannot be abandoned by parents; a surrogate child will have all the rights that a biological child has, including right to property; and a surrogate mother cannot be mistreated by the clinic or the parent couple. (IANS)
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NKorea fires ballistic missile towards Japan SEOUL, AUgUSt 24 (REUtERS): North Korea fired a submarine-launched missile on Wednesday that flew about 500 km (311 miles) towards Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a series of launches in defiance of UN sanctions. Having the ability to fire a missile from a submarine could help North Korea evade a new anti-missile system planned for South Korea and pose a threat even if nuclear-armed North Korea’s land-based arsenal was destroyed, experts said. The ballistic missile was fired at around 5:30 a.m. (2030 GMT) from near the coastal city of Sinpo, where a submarine base is located, officials at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Ministry told Reuters. The projectile reached Japan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) for the first time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, referring to an area of control designated by countries to help maintain air security. The missile was fired at a high angle, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, an indication that its full range would be 1,000 km (620 miles) at an ordinary trajectory. The distance indicated the North’s push to develop a submarine-launched missile system was paying off, officials and experts said. North Korea’s “SLBM (submarine-launched bal-
Japan, China, South Korea to urge North Korea to stop provocations
An underwater test-firing of a strategic submarine ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on April 24, 2016. (REUTERS File Photo)
listic missile) technology appears to have progressed,” a South Korean military official told Reuters. Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies said the test appeared to be a success. “We don’t know the full range, but 500 km is either full range or a full range on a lofted trajectory. Either way, that missile works.” The launch came two days after rival South Korea and the United States began annual military exercises in
the South that North Korea condemns as a preparation for invasion, and has threatened retaliation. Beijing is Pyongyang’s main ally but has joined past U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North. It has been angered by what it views as provocative moves by the United States and South Korea, including their July decision to base the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) anti-missile system in South Korea. China opposes North Korea’s nuclear and mis-
tOKYO, AUgUSt 24 (REUtERS): Japan, China and South Korea agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from provocation and follow U.N. Security Council resolutions, after its latest missile launch towards Japan early on Wednesday. Foreign ministers from the three Asian neighbours also sought to soothe their often-testy relations, and have reached an understanding on a trilateral summit meeting in Japan this year, a Japanese official said. “We have confirmed that we will urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint regarding its provocative action, and to observe the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions,” Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference after hosting the meeting with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts. A North Korean submarine fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday that flew about 500 km (300 miles) towards
sile programme as well as any words or deeds that cause tension on the Korean peninsula, its foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Wednesday at previously scheduled meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry condemned the launch and warned of more sanctions and isolation for its rival that “will only speed up its self-destruction.” “This poses a grave threat to Japan’s security, and is an unforgivable
Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a nuclear test and as series of missile launches this year in defiance of UN sanctions. In the face of the North Korean threat, cooperation among Japan, China and South Korea was more important than ever, Kishida said after his meeting with China’s Wang Yi and South Korea’s Yun Byung-se. Yun promised South Korea’s support to realise a trilateral summit by year’s end, as well as to cooperate economically and to achieve a successful summit of the Group of 20 big economies next month in China. Wang said China opposed North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and any “words or actions” that cause tension on the Korean peninsula, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. China will continue to push for the peninsula’s de-
act that damages regional peace and stability markedly,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, adding that Japan had lodged a stern protest. GROWING ISOLATION North Korea has become further isolated after a January nuclear test, its fourth, and the launch of a long-range rocket in February which brought tightened UN sanctions. It has launched numerous missiles of various types this year, including
nuclearisation, seek a resolution through talks and uphold regional peace and stability, Wang added. The three ministers share the understanding that Japan will host a trilateral summit this year, though dates have yet to be worked out, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters. ‘MANY PROBLEMS’ Relations between the three big Asian economies are often difficult with the legacy of Japan’s wartime aggression affecting ties between it and China and South Korea, territorial disputes hurting links between Japan and China, and Japan and South Korea, and China suspicious of the others’ U.S. ties. The meeting marked the first visit to Japan by a Chinese foreign minister since the Japanese government took over three of the tiny islands at the centre of a dispute with China, from private Japanese owners in Sep-
one this month that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters. Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review, said claiming to have mastered SLBM technology is as much about prestige as a military breakthrough, a status enjoyed only by six countries including the United States, Russia and China. “I think it’s meant foremost as a demonstration of sheer technical capability and a demand for status and respect,” Pollack said.
tember 2012. “Trilateral cooperation is a very important part of East Asian cooperation,” Wang told his counterparts at the beginning of the meeting. “There are many problems existing between the three countries, but China, Japan and South Korea are the three biggest economy entities in Asia. It’s our responsibility to promote economic development, lead regional cooperation and maintain regional peace and stability.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said Wang’s willingness to go to Tokyo showed “China’s sufficient sincerity to cooperate with Japan and South Korea”. At the same time, it warned Japan and South Korea to “abandon the Cold War mentality and view the peaceful rise of China as vigour to regional development”, while avoiding “being the tools for some countries outside the region to undermine regional stability.”
South Korea believes the North has a fleet of more than 70 ageing, limited-range submarines - a mix of Chinese, Russian and locally made boats. Acquiring a fleet of submarines large and quiet enough and with a longer range would be a next step for the North, experts said. “They keep conducting nuclear tests and SLBMs together which means they are showingtheycanarmSLBMs with miniaturised nuclear warheads,” said Moon Keunsik, a retired South Korean
navy officer and an expert in submarine warfare. North Korea said this year it had miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a ballistic missile but outside experts have said there is yet to be firm evidence to back up the claim. Tensions on the Korean peninsula were exacerbated by the recent defection of North Korea’s deputy ambassador in London to South Korea, an embarrassing setback to the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Drinking green tea could prevent artery explosion Suu Kyi picks former U.N. head Annan to lead Rakhine State body tOKYO, AUgUSt 24 (IANS): Your love for green tea might save you from abdominal aortic rupture -- a deadly condition of the main artery of the body that often turns out to be a silent killer, researchers say. The findings showed that green tea polyphenol, which is a major component of green tea, can help in preventing the abdominal aortic aneurysm -- a condition in which the main artery becomes overstretched and bloated. In the study, the team treated rats with enzymes that induce abdominal aortic aneurysm and found that the condition developed less frequently in rats that drank green tea polyphenol. “Abdominal aortic aneurysms
often go unnoticed because there are no symptoms until they burst,” says Kenji Minakata from Kyoto University in Japan. Without treatment, abdominal aortic aneurysms eventually rupture and lead to death 50 per cent of the time. Drinking green tea polyphenol also reduced inflammation and lead to more elastin production - the major reason for abdominal arterial aneurysms as well as rupture in the arterial wall. “The type of polyphenol found in green tea has recently been shown to regenerate elastin, an essential protein that gives the artery its stretchy, yet sturdy texture,” explained lead author Shuji
Setozaki from Kyoto University. Previous studies had shown that drinking green tea can prevent cancer, heart diseases, inflammation, as well as oxidation. “Daily intake of green tea should be considered as a new preventative strategy for abdominal aortic aneurysm,” Hidetoshi Masumoto from Kyoto University suggested, adding that Japan’s favourite beverage might be offering more than just a relaxing tea break. “Japanese people have the longest lifespan in the world, and studies show that 80 per cent of the population drink green tea on a daily basis,” Masumoto noted in the paper published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
“Voices under the rubble” after quake hits Italy; at least 73 dead ACCUMOLI, AUgUSt 24 (REUtERS): A powerful earthquake devastated a string of mountain towns in central Italy on Wednesday, trapping residents under rubble, killing at least 73 people and leaving thousands homeless. The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome. It was powerful enough to be felt in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south, each more than 220 km from the epicentre. A family of four, including two boys aged 8 months and 9 years, were buried when their house in Accumoli imploded. As rescue workers carried away the body of the infant, carefully covered by a small blanket, the children’s grandmother blamed God: “He took them all at once,” she wailed. The army was mobilised to help with special heavy equipment and the treasury released 235 million euros ($265 million) of emergency funds. At the Vatican, Pope Francis cancelled part of his general audience to pray for the victims. Rescue workers used helicopters to pluck trapped survivors to safety in the more isolated villages, which had been cut off by landslides and rubble. Aerial photographs showed whole areas of Amatrice, voted last year as one of Italy’s most beautiful
A man is rescued alive from the ruins following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. (REUTERS Photo)
historic towns, flattened by the 6.2 magnitude quake. Many of those killed or missing were visitors. “It’s all young people here, it’s holiday season, the town festival was to have been held the day after tomorrow so lots of people came for that,” said Amatrice resident Giancarlo, sitting in the road wearing just his underwear. “It’s terrible, I’m 65-years-old and I have never experienced anything like this, small tremors, yes, but nothing this big. This is a catastrophe,” he said. The national Civil Protection Department gave the official death toll of 73 at about 12 hours after the pre-dawn quake struck. Scores more will still believed unaccounted for,
with the presence of the said it struck near the Umsummer holidaymakers brian city of Norcia, while Italy’s earthquake institute making it difficult to tally. INGV registered it at 6.0 Disappearing Into Dust and put the epicentre furPatients at the badly ther south, closer to Accudamaged hospital in Ama- moli and Amatrice. The damage was made trice were moved into the streets. “Three quarters of more severe because the the town is not there any- epicentre was at a relatively more,” Amatrice mayor Ser- shallow 4 km below the surgio Pirozzi told state broad- face of the earth. Residents caster RAI. “The aim now is of Rome were woken by the to save as many lives as pos- tremors, which rattled fursible. There are voices un- niture, swayed lights and der the rubble, we have to set off car alarms in most save the people there.” of central Italy. Italy sits on Stefano Petrucci, mayor two fault lines, making it of nearby Accumoli, said one of the most seismically some 2,500 people were left active countries in Europe. homeless in the local com- The last major earthquake munity, made up of 17 ham- to hit the country struck lets. The U.S. Geological the central city of L’Aquila Survey, which measured in 2009, killing more than the quake at 6.2 magnitude, 300 people.
YANgON, AUgUSt 24 (REUtERS): Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi picked former U.N. chief Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lead a commission to stop human rights abuses in Rakhine State, where violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims has cast a pall over democratic reforms. More than 100 people were killed in violence in the northwestern state in 2012, and some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims, who are stateless, took refuge in camps where their movements are severely restricted. Thousands have fled persecution and poverty in an exodus by boat to neighbouring South and Southeast Asian countries. “The Myanmar government wants to find a sustainable solution on the complicated issues in Rakhine State, that’s why it has formed an advisory commission,” the government said in a statement released by Suu Kyi’s office. While Suu Kyi has eased into her role as de facto head of state, former president Thein Sein, who oversaw the early stages of Myanmar’s gradual reopening since 2011, was replaced at the helm of his military-backed party that ran Myanmar until November elections. Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency by the junta-drafted constitution, but runs Myanmar as State Counsellor and foreign affairs minister. The Rakhine commission would include nine independent members, including six Myanmar citizens and
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on February 14, 2016. (REUTERS File Photo)
three foreigners, the statement from Suu Kyi’s office said. The commission, which also includes members of the Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities, would focus on conflict prevention, supporting humanitarian assistance, national reconciliation, human rights and development in Rakhine, the statement said. A report would be published within a year of its formation. Kofi Annan was Ban Ki-moon’s predecessor as U.N. secretary-general from 1997-2006. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the United Nations in 2001.
Ban will visit Myanmar at the end of August. Suu Kyi will go to the United States in September, when she is expected to address the U.N. General Assembly. Thein Sein stepped down as head of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) as Suu Kyi deepened her commitments as the leader of Myanmar. He was replaced by Than Htay, a former general who served as Thein Sein’s minister in charge of energy and railways. Than Htay is considered close to Than Shwe, who led the junta for nearly half a century since a coup in 1962.
GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND DIRECTORATE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT NAGALAND ::: KOHIMA.
ADVERTIsEMENT
Display and sale of products made by sHGs at New Delhi. Applications are hereby invited from registered SHGs for Display and Sale of Products made by the SHGs at the Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhavan, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi by CAPART in September 2016 to provide opportunities for Self Help Groups (SHGs) to showcase their Rural Handicrafts/Artisan Products. 4 (four) Stalls have been made available to the State of Nagaland which will be provided to the 4 (four) SHGs free of cost. However, transportation, accommodation will have to be arranged by the SHGs concerned. In this connection, interested SHGs/ Entrepreneurs are requested to submit their applications alongwith list of products to the undersigned on or before 31st Aug’2016. Sd/- (Imlimeren Jamir) Addl. Director Rural Development Nagaland, Kohima
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Blatter in last fight against FIFA ban Rejuvenated Hamilton
geNevA, AuguSt 24 (AFP): Sepp Blatter will mount his final challenge against his six-year FIFA ban on Thursday, following more than a year of scandal that saw him thrown out of football in disgrace. The former FIFA boss has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking to overturn a suspension imposed by world football's governing body. "I'm very confident," the 80-year-old Blatter told AFP last week, although his prospects for an outright victory would appear to be remote. The now infamous, endlessly debated case first emerged in September of last year, when Swiss prosecutors said they were investigating Blatter over a suspect 2 million Swiss franc payment ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) he authorised in 2011 to his one-time heir apparent, Michel Platini. Those revelations initially triggered a provisional suspension by FIFA's eth-
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter looks on as fake dollar notes fly around him, thrown by a British comedian during a press conference in Zurich, in July 2015. (AFP File Photo)
ics committee. A full investigation and trial by FIFA's in-house court found Blatter and Platini both guilty of ethics violations. They were banned from football for eight years in December. A FIFA appeals committee cut those penalties to six years in February, just before Blatter's successor and fellow Swiss national, Gianni Infantino,
PDTA win 9 medals
PeReN, AuguSt 24 (MexN): The Peren District Taekwondo Association Team (PDTA) won 9 medals in the 29th Nagaland State Taekwondo Championships which was organised by the Nagaland Taekwondo Association on August 18 and 19 at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kohima. The medallists are: Gold – Heutingyi and Shanlanthung N. Ovung; Silver – Keneingulie, Amemba Thongliu and Shubham; Bronze – Ramthailu Panmie, Rezuheibe, D. Nashon & Irangnei Disong.
West Ham trying to sign Bony
LONDON, AuguSt 24 (ReuteRS): West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has confirmed the club are trying to sign striker Wilfried Bony from Premier League rivals Manchester City. The Hammers have been seeking to bring in another forward all summer, a search that has been intensified by injuries to £20 million ($26.44 million) record signing Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll. "We have a couple of players we are going to try and do a deal (for)," said Bilic, who has also been linked with a move for Juventus striker Simon Zaza by the British media. "Bony is an option because he plays in the position we are looking for. I leave negotiations to the chairman and (recruitment head) Tony Henry. "We were linked with him (Zaza) last year and he is a top player. We were in contact with him last year and will see what happens." Bony, 27, has been a bit-part player at City since signing from Swansea City in January 2015. He has also been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League by local media.
was elected as FIFA's new president. Blatter's hopes for redemption at CAS are likely hampered by Platini's failed appeal at the Lausanne-based court. In a May ruling CAS judges said they were "not convinced" that the $2 million payment was legitimate. They did however reduce the suspension against the former French
star and European football chief from six years to four, judging FIFA's penalty "too severe." - 'We're not all liars' Throughout the protracted saga, both Blatter and Platini have insisted the payment was part of a legitimate oral contract. Platini had been hired by FIFA as a consultant from 1999 to 2002 and had apparently not received his full compensation. The two men claimed the $2 million was authorised in 2011 as an honest effort to settle that account. Judges at FIFA and CAS have so far found that argument unpersuasive. Blatter has maintained his innocence as his four decade FIFA career unravelled over the last 13 months, and continued that trend in the interview last week. "FIFA made the contract with Platini, and this was an oral contract," he told AFP at a plush restaurant in Zurich. "So far in the FIFA com-
ICC to probe Tests washout
DubAi, AuguSt 24 (AFP): The International Cricket Council said Wednesday it will launch a review after two Tests in the West Indies and South South Africa were abandoned due to poor ground conditions. The outcome of the West Indies Test against India was branded 'farcical' after only 20 overs of play was possible. In Durban, both South Africa and New Zealand were left ruing the fact that four days were lost and play was impossible even though rain had stopped. The ICC released a statement saying that "the outfields at Kingsmead, Durban, and Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, have been rated as “poor” by the match referees. Andy Pycroft and Ran-
jan Madugalle, both from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC match referees, filed a report stating that they were "concerned" about the quality of the outfields for the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand, and the fourth Test between the West Indies and India, respectively. "The reports have been forwarded to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), who now have 14 days to provide their responses," the ICC said. It said the ICC will launch a review of the respective responses. South Africa-New Zealand and West Indies-India Tests were both interrupted by rain. But once the rain had stopped, the umpires abandoned the Tests be-
Los Angeles pays tribute to Kobe Bryant LOS ANgeLeS, AuguSt 24 (AFP): Fivetime NBA champion Kobe Bryant will be honoured Wednesday with a ceremony in Los Angeles, the city where he played his entire 20-year professional career. As part of the tribute ceremony, to be held at city hall, officials in the southern California city have declared Wednesday as Kobe Bryant Day. "It is Los Angeles' way of thanking him for his single-minded dedication to excellence, the fans and Former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant gestures as he the entire city and region of speaks during a public appearance in Manila on June 25, Los Angeles," said councilman Jose Huizar. "For 20 2016. (AFP Photo)
years, we were all the beneficiaries of Kobe's incredible talent and legendary work ethic." Bryant helped the Los Angeles Lakers win five NBA championships, and was chosen as the finals MVP for the two most recent titles. He scored 33,643 points -- the third most in league history -- behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928). Bryant was the league's MVP in the 2007-2008 season and was chosen to play in the league's All-Star Game 18 times.
Celtic survive scare as Porto dismiss Roma PARiS, AuguSt 24 (AFP): Scottish champions Celtic withstood a furious fightback from Hapoel Beer-Sheva to reach the Champions League group stage on Tuesday despite a 2-0 defeat in Israel, while Porto beat nine-man Roma 3-0 to advance. Leading 5-2 from last week's first play-off leg in Glasgow, Celtic were made to sweat in the Israeli desert with goals from Ben Sahar and Ovidiu Hoban setting up a nervy finish. However, Brendan Rodgers' side held on to progress 5-4 on aggregate and qualify for the group stage for the first time in three seasons, with Maharan Radi's first-half penalty miss proving particularly costly for the Israeli champions. Joining Celtic in Thursday's draw will be two-time former winners Porto after the Portuguese giants punished Roma for their indiscipline in the Italian capital, after the first leg finished 1-1. Felipe headed Porto into an eighth-minute lead but Roma lost captain Dan-
Daniele De Rossi of AS Roma gestures at Referee Szymon Marciniak during the Preliminary UEFA Champions League soccer match between AS Roma and FC Porto at Stadio Olimpico on August 23,2016 in Rome. (Getty Images)
iele de Rossi to a straight red card before the break after a wild lunge on Maxi Pereira, with Emerson Palmieri dismissed just after half-time following another crude tackle. Two quick-fire goals from Mexico internationals Miguel Layun and Jesus Corona then rubber-
mittees, in the ethics committee and in the appeal committee, they were saying: we don't believe that. But we are not all liars. So I think there is a good chance that this panel will believe that there was a contract." Arguments at CAS are expected to last just one day, although a decision may take several weeks. The hearing marks the latest legal battle in a series of intertwined scandals that began in May of last year, when the US Justice Department unsealed a raft of corruption indictments against top FIFA officials. Prosecutors in New York have since indicted 40 football and sports marketing executives over allegedly receiving tens of millions of bribes and kickbacks. Some of the most powerful people in the game have fallen, including FIFA's long-serving secretary general Jerome Valcke who like Blatter is facing a criminal investigation in Switzerland.
stamped Porto's place in the group stage. A stoppage time penalty from Fabinho handed Monaco a 3-1 aggregate victory over Villarreal, with Legia Warsaw ending the dreams of Irish champions Dundalk as a 1-1 draw sent the Polish club through 3-1 overall.
Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria advanced 4-2 on aggregate over Viktoria Plzen following a 2-2 draw in the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will look to finish off Steaua Bucharest after a resounding 5-0 victory in Romania last time out.
cause the grounds were unfit for further play. Former West Indies captain Viv Richards called for an inquiry, describing the situation as "unacceptable". As hosts of the Test the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board announced that they had also launched an investigation. In Durvan, Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the pitch had only recently been relaid and blamed unseasonal rain and earlier flooding. South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said that both teams had been left disappointed. "We were dying to get out there," said Du Plessis. But he added: "The message was clear from the umpires that the players' safety was their main concern."
has 50th win in his sights
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the German Grand Prix 2016 at Hockenheimring on July 31. (REUTERS/Files)
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, AuguSt 24 (ReuteRS): Lewis Hamilton can become only the third driver to win 50 grands prix when Formula One returns from its month-long August break and gets back to business at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. The triple world champion ended the first half of the season in blistering form, opening up a 19-point lead in the standings over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg with six wins -- four in a row -- from the last seven races. His win in Germany last month was number 49, and only Michael Schumacher (91) and Alain Prost (51) have reached the half century. Hamilton, who trailed Rosberg by 43 points after May’s Spanish Grand Prix, is determined not to ease off. "The first half of the season was a bit of a rollercoaster, so it’s great to be in the position I’m in with more than half of the races behind us," said the Briton, who spent his break in the
Caribbean, Costa Rica and the United States. "I’m feeling refreshed, re-energised and ready to go after a fun few weeks off, so hopefully everyone else has had a good rest too and we’ll come out fighting." Rosberg won the opening four races of the season but has scored only three podiums since Hamilton hit his stride. The break, spent with his wife and baby daughter in Ibiza, could be the reset he needs with nine of a record 21 races still to run. It will be crucial that the German does come back strongly, as even finishing second behind Hamilton this weekend will see him drop 26 points behind the Briton, who is likely to have engine-related penalties at the next race in Italy. The 7km Spa circuit is an enduring favourite of drivers, with its flat-out blasts and undulations harking back to the sport’s golden age. For 18-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen, the track is the closest he has to
a home venue. Verstappen, whose victory on his Red Bull debut in Spain in May helped the team move up to second in the standings ahead of Ferrari, was born in Belgium to a Belgian mother and can count on strong local support. His team mate, Daniel Ricciardo, won in Belgium for Red Bull two years ago after Hamilton and Rosberg collided. With little risk of a repeat after Mercedes imposed tighter rules of engagement, Verstappen can pin his hopes on the capricious Spa weather to shake things up instead. French teenager Esteban Ocon will make his Formula One race debut this weekend, replacing Indonesian Rio Haryanto at backmarkers Manor. Making his debut at Spa, as boyhood idol Schumacher once did, Ocon will join fellow Mercedes-backed youngster Pascal Wehrlein with both aiming to impress with Manor in their bid for a future Mercedes seat.
public discourse
The Fashion – How Crazy Are We
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ashion commands spontaneous response and imitation from the people. Fashion is undergoing constant changes so also our life style for better or for worse. These days people are after glamour believing that glamour is happiness. There is nothing wrong in looking good. But people want their image appreciated too to feed their ego. Glamour is of great appeal and thus fashion market is booming. Curves are back and now being seen. Their gorgeous looks sweep you off your feet. No wonder, these curves attract all attention - both male and female. Even those who are otherwise learned have fallen prey to such sheer show and fantasy and fail to discriminate between the grain and the chaff. Fashion producers are cultivating the weakness of women rather than their strength and to make them attractive rather than self reliant. Their sensibilities are developed at the cost of their health as well as mind and is burdened with a dream that they may be chosen. We are aping the western fashion. Western fashions are designed for European stock and not for Asian races. Dresses are normally designed based on racial characteristics, physique, colour of the skin, climatic conditions, etc. The garment that suits the European races living in cold climate may not be suitable for Asiatic races living in hot tropical climate. When we copy other peoples’ fashion, we cannot reproduce their charisma, talent or success. Externally we can imitate their life style but this does not bring us to fulfillment. This is how we lose our culture and arts and fail to create our own image and creativity. It is just like standing before a mirror. The mirror reflects our outward appearance only. The best imitated dress does not reflect your inner self. It may end up simply as outward good looks just to attract some pleasing glances. The fountain of beauty must therefore, be in the heart more than in the eye otherwise it will turn merely as sensuous. I am not against wearing Jeans. It
makes the wearer look attractive and smart but to achieve this the wearer must have a proportionate figure otherwise the best Jeans over a skinny and lanky body will give an awkward look. It is not meant for everybody. But the market is flooded with Jeans of every shape and sizes of both local and foreign make. As even the finest landscape seen daily become monotonous, so does the fashion of today become very common tomorrow. The world of fashion is running on this illusion. This makes our life a mess. Presently, skin tight garments are very popular all over the world. Years of medical study and research in USA and Russia have established a very disturbing finding on the wearers of tight garments. Skin tight garments, as reported, are unhygienic and harmful. In young men tight pants, underwear, briefs especially the warm fabrics are extremely harmful. All these leads to fertility problems. It is advised medically that inner garments should be loosely fitted. In women tight garments with high heel shoes displaces the reproductive organs and the stress over them causing sterility. Moreover, the stress on the hips will lead to medical problems in the long run. Tight inner wear effect important glands of the body by suppressing the body tissue and flow of nutrition to the required glands. Medical findings also say that skin tight garments causes skin diseases like eczema, psoriasis, itching, skin cancer, etc. It is the findings of the researchers that Jeans particularly cannot be washed properly. It does not absorb moisture. It is not porous. It retains inside moisture and heat so harmful to every part that it covers. Similar harm comes even from the synthetic and stretchable garments. These are some of the established health hazards that we get out of our so called outlandish fashion that we follow. Fashion designers are regularly showcasing their creations. On the glittering ramp regal looking models glide by sheathed in transparent trou-
sers, cotton tunics and layered dresses. But despite their colourful swing on the ramp their faces are rubbed clean of any expression. The inevitable question surfaces – what goes through the minds of these models? It takes a lot of time and money to maintain the life style of these models. They have to look perfect, be seen in the right clothes, shoes, accessories and make-up in order to get noticed otherwise they may not get the next assignment. Many of them are from schools and colleges. Hence they are drop-outs without proper qualifications.They live from one day to the next and the glamour will last only till their looks last. It is a short life. The garments displayed by these models are religiously imitated by people and are seduced by manifold temptations of what is called civilized culture. We cannot help imitating what we see and begin to mould our character for good or for worse. The lure of fashion can do or undo our confidence. Believe it or not the most awful legs mercifully hidden under yards of lace and silk can keep the wolf away and help you to sail confidently into the street. So do try the friendly trappings that will not let you down. In India, the devotees both young and old never attend worship places, churches, temples or mosques in skin tight and revealing garments. One can find worshippers clothed in reverence and in humble appropriate dresses and comfortable trousers which are aesthetically best. Inner beauty should be our fashion. One can find divinity within. But when you do not embrace a dirty beggar’s child but embrace a dirty child of yours you only see but does not have a divine compassion in you. Therefore, while graceful fashion makes life pleasant and beautiful it must not be at the expense of honesty, health and mind. Good fashion is a true economist. It gives refinement and grace. A good taste over fashion will adorn even the lowliest lot and can earn respectability in the society. Mapu Jamir I.A.S. (Retd.), 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.
Thursday 25•08•2016
EntErtainmEnt
Lawrence is the world’s highest-paid actress, Deepika 10th
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Jennifer Lawrence is the world’s highest-paid actress for the second consecutive year, according to the latest ranking from Forbes. The star of the Hunger Games franchise earned $46 million before taxes, in part from a big upfront fee for the forthcoming film Passengers. (Reuters)
Musicfest silver jubilee in Mokokchung
eading Indian actress Deepika Padukone has made her debut among the World’s Top 10 Highest Paid Actresses with earnings of USD 10 million dollars in a list alongside Hollywood heavyweights Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts and “Friends” star Jennifer Anniston. Padukone, 30, is the only Indian actress and the sole newcomer in Forbes 2016 list of the World’s Highest-Paid Actresses, coming in on the 10th spot. Forbes said Padukone has “scored box office gold” in Bollywood movies such as “Bajirao Mastani” and “Piku”. While she earns less than her Hollywood counterparts for roles, Padukone “compensates with over a dozen lucrative endorsements”, which “have helped her hedge against a deep pay gap in Bollywood”. The list shows her with earnings of USD 10 million. Forbes said the Bangalore-bred Padukone, who made her Bollywood film debut in 2007 with Shahrukh Khan-starrer “Om Shanti Om”, has “since starred in several films that have crossed the USD 150 million or 100 crore mark? a barometer for box office success in India”. Padukone “has also become something of a style icon” launching her own label for an Indian online shopping site. Making her Hollywood debut along “Fast and Furious” star Vin Diesel, she will be seen in 2017 in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”. Noting the gender pay gap in the Indian movie industry, “a discrepancy not uncommon in Hollywood” also, Forbes said though a top Indian male star might earn close to USD 5 million a movie, prominent Indian actresses rarely clear USD 1 million a film. For the second year in a row, Oscar-winning “Hunger Games” actress Lawrence topped the list of the world’s highest-paid actresses, notching
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Ruvelu Vese releases debut single “Junoon”
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hose who’ve been following Idris Elba on Instagram over the last few weeks have been treated to a number of shirtless selfies and workout videos that show him taking up kickboxing. Now, it’s been revealed what his new training regime has all been about: he’s becoming a Professional Kickboxer! Many had assumed that the 43 year old Londoner had simply been in physical preparation for a new role, but on Tuesday the ‘Luther’ star unveiled that it’s all been about getting ready for competitive, professional kickboxing as part of a new documentary mini-series entitled ‘Idris Elba: Fighter’. The series, to be shown on
the Discovery Networks International worldwide from early 2017, will follow a year in Elba’s life as he develops his training while travelling from Britain to Cuba, Japan, South Africa and Thailand. “It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to fight professionally,” said Elba in a statement. “Entering the ring to further test myself as a human being is a challenge I have been looking to take on for quite some time.” A press release for the prospective docu-series says: “This is no act… There is no script. This fight is real as are the potential repercussions.” It promises to offer viewers an insight into Elba’s personal life, about which he has always been very secretive, “showcasing what
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race VanderWaal is not yet a teenager, but she is precocious and speaks with undeniable grace. In a new interview with Teen Vogue, the middle school student and songstress admitted that going back to her school in Suffern, NY, hasn’t been at all smooth sailing. “My friends don’t really care anymore,” she shrugged. “But it’s hard because you walk into school and people, who might have even been mean to you, are all of a sudden looking at you like, ‘Hey, best friend!’ and are like, ‘Do you want to hang out tomorrow?’” Yes, people can be bummers. Grace added that her newfound popularity makes lunchtime hard, too. “At our lunch table we literally used to sit alone, and people would go out of their way to squeeze their way into other tables, just to not sit at our table. All of a sudden our table is completely full and crowded. It’s frustrating,” she explained to the mag. Outside of school life, Grace is giving the competition her all, and we definitely think she has what it takes to sweep the judges off their feet honestly, she already has. “Grace, you know what I predict for you? I think you are the next Taylor Swift,” Simon Cowell told her in June. Source: Hollywood Life
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electric daisy carnival heads to India in november
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NOW SHOWING rustam
drives him, his aspirations in life and the challenges he wants to face and overcome.” Elba has spoken on a few occasions about how he did kickboxing training in his twenties as a means of keeping fit, but he has never fought professionally. The series will also cover his first ever pro match-up, against a seasoned Kickboxer. To accompany the press release, Elba took to Instagram to show off another post-workout selfie, revealing that the fight in question might be taking place in just a matter of days. He captioned the pic: “Cutting weight, two days before first fight, mind in the right place. Fear NO guy.” Source: Contactmusic
Grace VanderWaal: School is Britney Spears ‘almost harder after ‘america’s Got Talent’ drowned’ in Hawaii
uvelu Vese, finalist of Naga Hindi Voice 2015, has released her debut single in Hindi. She had great love and passion for music since high school and wishes to be a music artist. She used to be a Sunday School teacher while studying in high school and taught collection of songs to young people. Passion for Hindi music has ultimately pushed her to chase her dreams. She is inspired by music artists like Sunidhi Chauhan and Alisha Chinoy. One of her fans said, “Her song is skilfully blended into a seamless flow.” Ruvelu would like to work to be a songwriter and singer. She is presently attending Hindi classes in Dimapur. Stay tuned to see another cover song for studio version. One can download her video on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yPkw2DBhorE or simply type ‘JunoonRuvelu’.
lectric Daisy Carnival (EDC) -- one of the world’s largest dance music festivals - will debut in India in November. The first edition of the two-day music fest will be held here from November 12. Insomniac, which produces some of the most innovative, immersive music festivals and events in the world, and Only Much Louder (OML the creators of some popular entertainment festivals like BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender and Stage42) in partnership with Budweiser India is bringing the music fest to India, read a statement from the organisers. People can expect one of the largest line-ups of interna-
Hillstar
Idris Elba training to become a Pro Kickboxer
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usicfest, one of the oldest and longest sur viving music festivals in Nagaland, will be held on August 25, 2016 at Mokokchung Town Baptist Arogo (MTBA) under the theme “Selah”. The event will start at 5:00 pm. The gospel musical extravaganza hosted annually by MTBA youth department will be a one day affair unlike other years when it spanned for more than two days, where famed musicians and singers from all over Nagaland and even outside the state graced the stage. Besides providing platform to many budding musicians and singers, this one of a kind church sponsored musical festival has also played a pivotal role in proclaiming the gospel through music, stated a press release from Musicfest Publicity committee. This year’s edition of Musicfest will witness many renowned bands and musicians from Mokokchung like Squadron, Infuse band, and Tune Up Channel taking the stage and making the jubilee celebration more grand.
USD 46 million. “Ghostbusters” starrer Melissa McCarthy is ranked second with earnings of USD 33 million. The list includes “The Horse Whisperer”-starrer Scarlett Johansson on the third spot, Anniston on the 4th place followed by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (5), Oscar-nominee Amy Adams (7) and “Pretty Woman”-starrer Roberts (8). Forbes added that in an industry where a pay gap with male actors still exists, 90 per cent of the world’s highest- paid actresses supplement their on-screen earnings with endorsements. Together, the worlds 10 highest-paid actresses tallied a combined USD 205 million between June 2015 and 2016, before fees and taxes. “Though these select actresses earn more than most could dream of, their movie money is but a fraction of what many of their male counterparts pocket. While top actresses can negotiate eight figure upfront fees plus a cut of profits for leading parts in big budget movies, there are simply fewer of those roles available for women,” Forbes said. It also noted that for women, the movie business is “notoriously ageist” but with “box office clout”, some of the highest-paid actresses have manoeuvred themselves into positions of economic power. Source: PTI
tional and Indian artistes for the first-ever edition of the Vegas-style festival in India. Since its inception in 1996, EDC has travelled to various venues across the US (California, Florida, Nevada, New York) as well as other countries including Mexico, Britain and Brazil. “I finally get to share the news that EDC will find a new home in Delhi, India, this fall,” said Pasquale Rotella, Founder and CEO of Insomniac. Rotella added: “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by the country’s colourful and exotic culture. I know it’s a place where the magic of EDC can come alive in a truly unique way, and we’ve got amazing partners in OML and Budweiser who can help make that happen.”Vijay Nair, CEO of OML, said: “We can’t wait to bring that experience to Indian fans and blow their minds.”EDC began as a one-day event in Los Angeles, welcoming a crowd of 5,000 dance music lovers in its first year. Over the past 20 years, EDC has grown into a global phenomenon, hosting over 400,000 fans over three days in Las Vegas this past June.
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inger Britney Spears says she almost drowned after being sucked under by a wave in the sea in Hawaii. The “Make me” hitmaker was enjoying the sea when she found herself unable to breathe after being dragged under huge six-foot waves, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “I went out and I thought it was like a wave pool, and I was like, This is so nice and refreshing and just beautiful. But the thing I didn’t think about is when you come back, the waves really come in hard. I got sucked under for like five minutes. I almost drowned,” Spears said during an interview for a radio station. “And I’m like, ‘Where is my security? They’re just going to let me die here’. And then I came in again and another wave took me under,” she added. The 34-year-old also opened up about the music industry, and said: “A lot of the people in the entertainment business, if you try to work with them or set up projects, a lot of times people just don’t show up. A lot of people are divas in this industry. It’s hard.” Source: IANS
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mohenjo daro
02:00 pm
Now ShowiNg
Waluscha De Sousa to join Lara for ‘Miss India Universe 2016 hunt
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aluscha De Sousa, who after a successful modelling career ventured into Bollywood with a role in “Fan”, will be on the panel of Miss Diva 2016 this year as a judge along with actress and former beauty queen Lara Dutta. Waluscha, who has walked for designers like Rohit Bal and Wendell Rodricks, has been a part of the Miss India pageant in the past and won the title of Miss Body Beautiful. She says it is an “absolute pleasure” to be “back where it all started” for her. “This time round as a judge with Lara (Dutta), Randeep (Hooda) and Seher Latif, I can relate to how the contestants must be feeling at this time. It takes a lot of bravery to put your best foot forward and then be judged. Needless to say that each one will come out a winner in their own way,” Waluscha said in a statement. Lara will be seen mentoring 16 finalists who will compete with one another to represent the country at the Miss Universe pageant. The journey of the contestants will be chronicled on “Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva - Miss Universe India 2016”, a six-part series which will be aired on Colors Infinity starting August 27. It was launched amidst much fanfare and glitterati in Mumbai on August 10. Source: IANS
03862-237226 Ticket Counter (09:00 AM - 09:00 PM) www.BookMyShow.com Ward 5 (6), Burma Camp, Dimapur. Landmark: J. K Hospital/ Power House.
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ThursDAY 25•08•2016
SPORTS
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Rio police say evidence Chelsea links Hickey to ticket scam
Liverpool cruise, squeeze in League Cup
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loNDoN, August 24 (AFP): Daniel Sturridge scored twice as Liverpool strolled into the League Cup third round with a 5-0 win at Burton Albion on Tuesday, while Chelsea edged thirdtier Bristol Rovers 3-2. Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino and Sturridge all scored as Liverpool, last season's beaten finalists, crushed Championship side Burton, who are managed by ex-Liverpool midfielder Nigel Clough. Mi c h y B a t s h u a y i marked his full Chelsea debut with a brace against Bristol Rovers, while Victor Moses was also on target as manager Antonio Conte enjoyed a third straight competitive win. "This was a very serious, professional display from our side," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Sky Sports. "There were nice goals -- nothing to criticise. It was humid today -- not easy for either team. "We gave a few players match-time because that's important. Some only got minutes in pre-season." Premier League teams Crystal Palace, Everton, Hull City, Swansea City and Stoke City also went through, Peter Crouch scoring a hat-trick for Stoke
Liverpool's striker Daniel Sturridge (L) attempts a shot at goal during a League Cup third round match at Burton Albion on Tuesday, August 23. (AFP Photo)
in a 4-0 win at Stevenage. But Watford lost 2-1 at home to third-tier Gillingham after extra time and West Bromwich Albion were beaten 4-3 on penalties by League One side Northampton Town following a 2-2 draw. Klopp handed a debut to Cameroonian centreback Joel Matip and welcomed back Senegalese winger Sadio Mane following a shoulder injury at
Burton's Pirelli Stadium. Mane teed up Origi to break the deadlock with a clever back-heel in the 15th minute before Nathaniel Clyne crossed for Firmino to head in the visitors' second goal. A Tom Naylor own goal just after the hour made it 3-0 and Sturridge came off the bench to complete the rout with a late brace, tapping in James Milner's cross and slamming home from Mane's
pass. At Stamford Bridge, Batshuayi put Chelsea ahead in the 29th minute by sweeping in Nemanja Matic's cross and two minutes later Pedro Rodriguez set up Moses for a tap-in. Batshuayi claimed a second from Ruben LoftusCheek's cross, but Bristol Rovers scored either side through Peter Hartley and Ellis Harrison to keep Conte's men on their toes until the final whistle.
Liverpool and Chelsea, League Cup winners in 2015, both entered the tournament in the second round because they are not involved in European competition this season. Manchester United, holders Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and West Ham United will all enter the competition in round three.
rio De JANeiro, August 24 (AFP): Brazilian police said they have uncovered evidence linking the detained head of the Olympic Council of Ireland Patrick Hickey to a Rio Games ticket scam. Hickey, 71, also head of the European Olympic Committees and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, has been held in a Brazilian top security prison since police raided his Rio hotel on August 15 during the Olympics as part of their probe into the affair. Warrants for the arrest of four others were issued including Marcus Evans, a British businessman who is also the chairman of Ipswich football club in England. "The analysis of the pieces of evidence, and above all of the emails, confirm that the president of the Irish Olympic Committee, Patrick (Hickey), was in direct contact with Marcus Evans, who is the head of THG," Rio police investigator Ricardo Barbosa told a Rio press conference Tuesday. He said the British company THG, a hospitality firm, "was the organiser of this criminal system that consists in the illegal sale of tickets at prices much higher than the official price,
Patrick Hickey
under cover of a hospitality programme." Hickey and another suspect Kevin Mallon, arrested on August 5, are being held at Rio's Bangu 10 prison while arrest warrants had been issued for seven others who are on the run including Evans, police said. The scandal has been mounting since the arrest of Mallon, an Irish director of THG. Police said they seized hundreds of tickets from Mallon, some of which had the Olympic Council of Ireland name on them. Tickets, including for the Rio opening ceremony with a face value of about $1,400 were offered for sale at $8,000. As part of the probe Rio
NRAI for a panel to review Rio debacle
Lodha Panel to have meeting on August 28 New Delhi, August 24 (Pti): The Supreme Courtappointed Justice RM Lodha Panel will meet on August 28 to discuss various issues concerning the BCCI, including the multiple complaints received against the Board. "In the light of several complaints received, Lodha Committee will have an emergent meeting on Sunday 28 August in New Delhi," a source close to the panel told PTI today. Asked about the nature of the complaints received, the source said: "That's confidential. The venue of the meeting is undecided." The issue of BCCI announcing its AGM on September 21 will also come up for discussion. There is every possibility that the Committee uses its discretion and declare the AGM "null and void". The BCCI is set to submit its first Compliance Report with regard to implementing the 11-point reforms by October 15. However, during the Working Committee meeting of the BCCI last Monday, it was decided that the Board will wait for the verdict of its Review Petition that has been filed in the Supreme Court. Till the SC verdict is out, the advice to affiliated units is to go slow on the reforms regarding change in constitution of state units.
Former head of Kenyan athletics dies amid corruption probe
NAirobi, August 24 (AFP): The former head of athletics in Kenya, under investigation for corruption and a doping coverup, died on Wednesday aged 72, his family said. Isaiah Kiplagat ran Athletics Kenya for 23 years, but his career ended in disgrace in November when he was suspended along with two others, accused of corruption and covering up doping among Kenyan runners, over 40 of whom have been banned since 2012. Family members said the former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) council member had been suffering from cancer and died on Wednesday morning. Kiplagat, senior vice-chairman David Okeyo and former treasurer Joseph Kinyua, are accused of stealing $500,000 (442,000 euros) paid to Athletics Kenya by American sports company Nike and of "potential subversion of the anti-doping control process in Kenya," according to the IAAF, the world governing body for athletics. An investigation led by former Kenyan prosecutor Sharad Rao has yet to present its findings.
Gudjohnsen signs up for ISL
New Delhi, August 24 (AFP): The veteran former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen signed up Wednesday for the third edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) as the marquee player for FC Pune City. The muchtravelled Icelander, a two-time winner of the English Premier League with Chelsea and a Champions League winner with Barcelona, said he still has an appetite for the game at age 37. "There were other clubs interested in me but when FC Pune City showed their interest, intent and plans, I knew this was it," said Gudjohnsen who played in this summer's Euro 2016 championship in France. "I have the confidence of the coach and will ensure that they find it difficult to leave me out. "Everyone needs to be motivated to succeed, and I have the same aim here. I love the sport. I still love going to training every day."
New Delhi, August 24 (Pti): The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has come up with a proposal to set up a special committee, to be headed by Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, to carry out a comprehensive review of the shooters' below-par performance at the Rio Games. Indian shooters proved to be an epic failure in a disastrous Rio Olympic Games as the 12-member team, with the exception of Bindra, failed miserably to live up to the sky-high expectations. This has left the country's shooting fraternity highly disappointed. "NRAI is to shortly announce the formation of an independent committee to anlyse the performance of the Indian shooting team at the Rio Olympics and fix accountability of for the same subsequently," a top official of the federation told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The panel will also be expected to recommend to NRAI measures to prevent a recurrence. The likes of Heena Sidhu, Manavjeet Singh Sandhu, Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela, among others, left the country thoroughly disappointed after they were unable to put on an impressive show. The NRAI was expected to introspect and dissect the reasons for this huge let-down from the shooting contingent. After fetching medals at each of the last three Games, India's largestever shooting contingent returned empty-handed. The issue of shooters hiring personal coaches, the selection of shooters for multiple Olympics on reputation rather than form and the role of private non-profits like Olympic Gold Quest, Lakshya Foundation, Anglian Medal Hunt and Go Sports are issues likely to be investigated by the panel.
Sources said the NRAI is keen to have the panel recommend that all shooting activity be centralised under the federation's control. Besides Bindra, the committee is likely to comprise NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia, former national tennis champion Manisha Malhotra, and two journalists. Right after the Indian shooters' campaign in Rio, NRAI President Raninder Singh had taken upon himself the blame for the dismal outing, saying it was a mistake on his part to allow the athletes to train with personal coaches. "We have made a tactical blunder in allowing personal coaches on their own. We will introspect this in future," Raninder had said. In what was the only bright spot for Indian shooting team in Rio, Beijing Olympics gold medallist Bindra's finished a creditable fourth as he missed a medal by a whisker in a tense shoot-off in the men's 10m air rifle event.
Odisha's slum boy to train at Bayern Munich club
bhubANeswAr, August 24 (Pti): Defying all odds, 11-year-old slum boy Chandan Nayak today flew to Mumbai before reaching the prestigious Bayern Munich football club in Germany to train as an academy player. Chandan, who lives at Sabar Sahi slum here along with his mother Duhita Nayak, a woman deserted by her husband long ago, is confident to acquire the techniques of football before completion of his two months training. "I do not remember my father. My mother fed me and my younger brother by working as a domestic help. I had lost hope to visit Germany as there was problem in getting visa. Finally I got it from Kolkata," Chandan, a student of class VII in the Capital High School, said
before boarding a flight to Mumbai. The boy's love for the game came to the limelight like another slum boy Budhia Singh, the wonder marathon runner. "I found Chandan while imparting free football training to slum boys of Bhubaneswar. Chandan was staying at Sabar Sahi slum close to Kalinga Stadium. I found magic in the boy and picked him up," said Chandan's coach Jaydev Mohapatra. Mohapatra thanked Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj and Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhubaneswar Mayor A N Jena for helping the boy to get his visa. "The boy finally got a ticket to Germany. We are extremely happy. He will bring laurels for the country," he said.
police on Sunday raided the offices of the Irish delegation in the Rio Olympic Village and seized passports from three Irish Olympic officials. They also confiscated phones and computers, Irish officials said. Passports seized belonged to Kevin Kilty, head of the Irish delegation in Rio, Dermot Henihan, secretary general of the Olympic Council of Ireland, and Stephen Martin, police said in a statement. Evidence linked the three to the illegal ticket scam, police said. Since his arrest Hickey has "temporarily" stood down from his official positions. The International Olympic Committee has not yet launched an official investigation.
Faulkner claims hattrick against Sri Lanka ColoMbo, August 24 (reuters): All-rounder James Faulkner became the sixth Australian cricketer to claim a hat-trick in one-day internationals, achieving the feat in the second match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The 26-year-old left-arm bowler got his first wicket when he trapped Kusal Perera leg-before with the final delivery of his eighth over. He returned to dismiss Angelo Mathews with the first delivery of his ninth over, getting the rival captain caught at long-off, and bowled Thisara Perera with his next ball to complete the hat-trick. Faulkner, whose 4-38 in the first one-dayer earned him the man-of-the-match award and helped Australia take a 1-0 lead in the fivematch series, finished with figures of 3-45.
England won't force players to tour Bangladesh, says Morgan loNDoN, August 24 (reuters): England will not force any player to tour Bangladesh, limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said, in the wake of the July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people were killed. England's one-day squad will receive a briefing on Thursday from a three-member panel which toured Bangladesh to assess security for the series, comprising three one-dayers and two tests there in October. "I don't think anybody will ever be forced to go on a particular tour," Morgan told BBC Radio 5 live. "I think it's important for us to get together as a group, and be informed by people who we trust in order to make the right decisions and go from there." Australia pulled out of their tour of Bangladesh last year over security concerns and did not compete in the under-19 World Cup in the south Asian country for the same reason. England's one-day team is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on September 30 and Morgan had full faith in the wisdom of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). "I'm pretty open-minded," Morgan said. "You can't really rule out anything until you hear from the people that you trust. "The ECB have made decisions over the years that have held us in good stead - we've never been in any danger before."
Weightlifting federation names Schweinsteiger not giving up on Man United 15 re-test doping failures
geNevA, August 24 (AFP): The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Wednesday disclosed the names of 15 past Olympians, including three Beijing 2008 gold medallists, who failed doping tests after their samples were re-analysed. The re-analysis programme was launched by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) focusing on Beijing 2008 and London 2012 medal winners, as part of an effort to combat drug cheating in sport. "The IWF imposed mandatory provisional suspensions upon the athletes," the Lausanne, Switzerland-based federation said in a statement.
Headlining the group are three Chinese champions: Cao Lei (-75 kg), Chen Xiexia (-48 kg) and Liu Chun Hong (-69 kg), who all claimed gold in Beijing. Liu also won gold in Athens 2004. Three Belarussians -- Andrei Ryaboku (silver medallist at Athens and Beijing), Nastassia Novikava (bronze, Beijing) and Iryna Kulesha (bronze, London) -- were among those sanctioned. Kazakhstan's Mariya Grabovetskaya (bronze, Beijing) Maya Maneza (gold, London) and Irina Nekrassova (silver, Beijing) were implicated, along with Russia's Khadzhilurat Akkayev (silver Athens and bronze,
Beijing) and Dimitri Lapikov (bronze Beijing). Ukraine's Natalya Davydova (bronze Beijing) and Olha Korobka (silver Beijing) also failed tests. The two competitors who have never medalled but flunked the IOC reanalysis were Vladimir Sedov and Nizami Pashayev, both from Azerbaijan. The IOC is grappling with a range of doping crises beyond the just-concluded Rio Games, vowing to overhaul the global testing system in the coming months. Doping continued to plague weightlifting in Rio, where five competitors tested positive, including bronze medallist Izzat Artykov of Kyrgystan.
loNDoN, August 24 (AFP): German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said on Wednesday that Manchester United would be his "last club in Europe" and vowed to fight for his place in the team. Schweinsteiger, 32, has been frozen out by new United manager Jose Mourinho and is yet to make a competitive appearance this season. But with the close of the
transfer window just a week away, he told fans in a statement posted on Twitter that he has no desire to leave Old Trafford. "MUFC will be my last club in Europe," Schweinsteiger wrote. "I respect other clubs, but Manchester United was the only one which could make me leave Bayern Munich. I will be ready, if the team needs me. "This is all I can say about the current situation. I want to thank the fans for the amazing support over the recent weeks." Schweinsteiger came through the youth ranks at Bayern Munich and spent 13 years as a first-team player there, winning eight Bundesliga titles, seven German Cups and the 2012-13 Champions League. He joined United for a reported fee of 14.4 million pounds ($19.1 million, 16.9 million euros) a year ago and made 31 appearances last season, scoring one goal. But he has disappeared from view since Mourinho was appointed manager, prompting speculation he will be allowed to leave the club. A member of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning team, Schweinsteiger announced his international retirement last month after 120 appearances and 24 goals.
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