August 26th 2014

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The Morung Express

Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 234

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RJDCongressJD-U alliance stuns BJP in Bihar

Beyonce owns the MTV Video Music Awards

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Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165 Are you satisfied with how the Nagaland state government has addressed the boundary issue?

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3 former NCP MLAs disqualified from NLA Kohima, august 25 (pti): More than two months after declaring a “merger” with the Nagaland Unit of BJP, three NCP MLAs were disqualified from Nagaland State Assembly today. Speaker Chotisuh Sazo ordered the disqualification of the three MLAs from the Assembly, State Assembly sources said. The three MLAs include then NCP state president Imtilemba Sangtam, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr. TM Lotha and MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon. The three of them had declared “merger” with the BJP on June 16 and had claimed to have fulfilled all criteria under the AntiDefection Law. However, the NCP Nagaland unit had written to the Speaker urging him not to accept the merger, but to disqualify the three defectors on grounds that no resolution had been passed by the NCP to merge with the BJP in Nagaland.

IRB kills colleague, injures two

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Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): In a shocking incident Monday, a policeman hacked to death one of his colleagues and severely wounded two others. The incident occurred at Tzudikong, Tuli sub-division in Mokokchung where a company of the 12th NAP (IR) is stationed. According to Mokokchung police, the incident occurred around 4:30pm inside Tuli Paper Mill. The accused was a 26-year-old constable of the 12th NAP (IR), identified only as Atoka. He was taken into custody by the Tuli Police Station. The SDPO of Tuli informed that as per the preliminary report, the episode occurred without any provocation.

The constable struck one Rajesh, a non-combatant employee (NCE), with a machete killing him instantly. He then hit another NCE and a constable, severely wounding them on the head and neck, before being restraint by other jawans in the camp, the SDPO said. The injured were identified as NCE Ramdas and constable Manohar Ram. They were evacuated to Tuli PHC and later referred to Dibrugarh, the SDPO informed.

–Khalil Gibran

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Scotland Referendum: Contentious issue of Currency

Rain washes out Ind-Eng ODI series opener in Bristol

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‘india for greater transport connectivity with AseAn’

By Sandemo Ngullie

The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4

36 teachers to be awarded on Teachers’ Day 2014

reflections

Stop smoking, drinking and partying. You`re starting to look like our govt` healthcare centers and schools.

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Sadness is but a wall between two gardens

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haNoi, august 25 (iaNs): India Monday pushed for greater connectivity with the ASEAN countries as visiting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Monday stressed that the geographic pathways could be linked to the five Ts - Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade and Technology - that the Narendra Modi government is pursuing.

Addressing the Third Round Table on ASEANIndia Network of Thinktanks, Sushma Swaraj said the connectivity with the 10-member bloc should also ensure institution-toinstitution and people-topeople linkages.

The minister, who called on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Vice President Nguyan Tha Doan and held bilateral talks with her counterpart Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, said the geographical connectivity should be multimodal and integrate land, sea Australian rider Michael Matthews of Orica GreenEdge celebrates his victory on the finish line of and air connectivity.

She said the connectivthe third stage of the Spanish Vuelta, in Arcos de La Frontera, Cadiz, Spain on Monday. The third stage of the Spanish Vuelta cycling race over 188 kilometers with started in Cadiz. (AP Photo) ity projects would become

stronger if “we can bring in the soft infrastructure to advance trade integration and facilitation through joint transit arrangements and allow easier movement of goods and people”.

Elaborating on the status of connectivity projects with the ASEAN, she said 160 km of the TamuKalewa-Kalemyo (TKK) Friendship Road as part of the Trilateral Highway from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand have been completed so far.

“We are committed to another 120 km in the Kalewa-Yargyi sector and the refurbishment of 71 bridges on the TKK road. Myanmar and Thailand are to complete their respective segments.”

Sushma Swaraj said India would also begin negotiations on a Transit Transport Agreement between India-Myanmar-Thailand for the Trilateral Highway.

She said the Kaladan Multimodal Project in Myanmar, including the port at Sittwe, is heading towards completion.

India is also looking at the possibilities for collaboration in Special Econom-

ic Zones Kyaukpyu and Dawei in Myanmar.

She said the economic benefits for the 1.8 billion combined populace of India and ASEAN can be increased by “setting up production and manufacturing networks and creating financial mechanisms to support this integration”.

“There are opportunities for creation of infrastructure and capacity in manufacturing and industrial development, for skills training and vocational education, for establishing logistics chains, energy grids and food processing capacities, which in turn would help address issues relating to energy and food security in our region,” she added.

Indian companies already have a strong presence in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia and are now becoming part of the development story in Myanmar.

“In fact, there is more outflow of Indian FDI to ASEAN countries than vice versa. This will help bring in the necessary momentum to our trade and investment linkages and achieve

the target of $100 billion by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020. We can build on synergies in our approach to regional trading mechanisms such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” she said.

Sushma Swaraj also stressedatIndiaandtheASEAN looking at “a more functional visa regime between us, with long-term visas for businessmen and professionals and their families”.

She said that tourism has tremendous potential which needs to be boosted.

“We need to integrate our business and tourism sectors with better air connectivity. We should find ways of seamlessly encouraging our people-to-people interfaces, which have been our collective strength through centuries.”

She said senior officials have been asked to begin work on drafting of the next Plan of Action for 2016-2021. Sushma Swaraj arrived here Sunday on a three-day visit to prepare the groundwork for President Pranab Mukherjee’s state visit to Vietnam next month.

enquiry committee visits ralan MortH & neBDA PiU on sArDP-ne termed Morung Express news Dimapur | August 25

A week after the Nagaland Government set up an Enquiry Committee to probe the Ralan incident, the Committee visited the affected interstate border villages, on August 25.

The five-member probe team, headed by Imkonglemba Ao, APC & Commissioner & Secretary, Agriculture as Convener, was constituted on August 17 and stipulated 15 days to submit its findings to the government.

The enquiry team visited the af-

fected areas and interacted with the villagers, said a member of the Committee. It also met with the CRPF stationed in the Disputed Area Belt and interacted with administration and police officials of Ralan. The situation has calmed but apprehension remains as the displaced Adivasis are yet to return, while most of the Nagas affected by the violence have returned to their villages. Queried on the number of Nagas displaced and damage caused to property, the Committee member replied that it can arrive at a figure only after ana-

lysing the reports collected today.

It was added that the Committee could not collect reports from some of the villages, which were asked to compile and submit reports.

On the displacement of 10,000 Adivasis (tenants according to locals of Ralan) as reported in the Assam media, the Committee member said that at this juncture, it cannot be established with certainty. According to the Committee member, the figure appears a “little exaggerated” when juxtaposed with the ground situation in the affected villages.

Union demands arrest in student’s murder

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): The Western Viyixe Village Union (WVVU), Dimapur has demanded immediate arrest of the person(s) involved in the alleged murder of Itoka Yeptho, a Class XII student of Salt Christian College, Dimapur on the night of August 23 at Khaghaboto here by “unidentified miscreants”.

The Union has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur to direct the investigation agencies to expedite the inquiry with a sense of urgency, without leaving any loophole and arrest the accused within six days from today. A memoran-

dum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner further demanded prosecution of the culprits to “ensure that the culprits are awarded befitting and maximum punishment as per the law so as to ensure that justice is delivered.” It also ordered not to grant bail to the culprit/ accused under any circumstances whatsoever. Further, it asked the DC to grant monetary compensation to the victim’s family members. It was also demanded that the public be notified on the action taken in the case.

The union has cautioned that if immediate action is not taken, it will take its own course of action and “for

any untoward incidents that may arise, the District Administration shall be solely held responsible.”

Condemning the incident, the Union also stated it was “extremely appalled and humiliated and distressed” by the “utterly heinous and beastly act committed to a student without an iota of remorse.” The memorandum signed by WVVU general secretary, Shenito Yeptho and president Yetovi Awomi expressed hope that utmost wisdom will be exercised while considering and fulfilling the demands and justice will be delivered in a transparent, fair, and just manner.

‘first step towards integrating NE states’ Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): A press statement under the banner of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Government of India, has claimed that the North East Business Development Agency (NEBDA) Joint Program PIU framework with MoRTH under Special Accelerated Road Development Program in North East (SARDP NE), is the “first step towards integrating NE States” within Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an ‘Inclusive India’.

The NEBDA has welcomed the “massive investments” under SARDP NE and work to “deliver opportunities and diversified benefits within the development process for local community,” stated a press statement signed by NEBDA chairman under the banner of MoRTH, I Nochet Imcha, today.

I Nochet Imcha informed that since its inception, NEBDA‘s “functional mandate

has enabled co-ordination and interaction with central agencies and region organisations, member states and tribal communities. Our fundamental focus has been directed towards facilitating extensive support measures to empower local stakeholders and buildup the region’s economic competitiveness.”

NEBDA, the press statement recognized “the priorities for accelerated development of roads within NER and appreciates Government of India’s initiatives to develop economy of the region in a big way.” According to it, the SARDP-NE under MoRTH covers 10141 km length of National Highways, State roads and General Staff (GS) roads.

“We have always adopted the role of a growth enabler, working to safeguard local interests within an inclusive process. It is high time, we bring in accountability and transparency in work implementation and prevent exploitation of human resourc-

es and work manipulation,” stated I Nochet Imcha in the statement.

On behalf of SARDP PIU, Imcha “reassured” all local contractors/village councils affected by the execution of 2 Lanning roadwork under Phase A-Nagaland that “MoRTH will address all their genuine issues and will ensure strong action for those responsible for present SARDP NE Nagaland mess.PIU will visit all project road HQ to address the hurdles that affect Nagaland’s development.”

He also stated that him, “along with SARDP PIU Officials will seek to meet the Chief Minister and his Cabinet administration in the government to convey the decisions taken by MoRTH to expedite project completion. We will also meet with State NH officials, Contractors Association to work out in detail a mechanism on how we all can play contributing role towards the infrastructure process.”

Patients bear the brunt as nrHM workers remain unpaid Morung Express news Dimapur | August 25

In Zunheboto district, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays see the maximum number of patients visiting health care centres—in rural areas with no private clinics, Mondays see the maximum number of patients. Nagaland’s districts share stories. A Health Centre in Peren district, for instance, was reportedly visited by more than 50 patients Monday. Many of these patients, however, had to return home without treatment as technicians, nurses and doctors under the Nagaland chapter of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) have remained unpaid since April this year. Left without money to fend for basic necessities and under debt, the nearly 1000 NRHM staff in the State have been on a strike

since August 21 till their salaries are paid by the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Nagaland (DoH&FW).

“Patients are being managed currently by nurses and doctors employed directly by the State Government—it will be a tough time for all of them,” says an NRHM worker on strike in Zunheboto district, surprised that the Government of Nagaland has still not given any direct response on the matter to the staff on strike. Through newspapers, the DoH&FW has stated that the money required has been sanctioned by the Government of India, but is spiraling somewhere between the planning and finance departments of the Government of Nagaland before it is paid to the employees.

Meanwhile, the monsoon season has not waited for the workers to be paid, and

is bringing in an increasing number of patients with respiratory tract infections, malaria, typhoid, severe gastroenterology diseases and so on.

“With the high inflow of patients to the Community Health Centre (CHC), it will be very difficult for one doctor to

manage,” reflects a concerned NRHM worker from Peren district, where the CHC is now being run by two State Government doctors, one who does the day shift, the other night.

Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays see a large influx of patients here. “Most NRHM doctors

and nurses are young adults so night duties are taken up by us—it will be a big problem for the senior State staff to manage,” discloses another NRHM worker from Peren district.

A worker from Mon district agrees. “The nurses of the State Government are due to retire soon and now they will have to do additional night duties apart from their day shifts,” she says, concerned by the Government’s lackadaisical approach.

Rural citizens will face abnormal costs, in surgery for instance. “Before we had a surgical department here, patients used to go to Dimapur for surgeries. Some basic surgeries cost them Rs. 20-40,000 in Dimapur for which they have to pay just Rs. 3-4,000 here,” informs an NRHM doctor posted in Peren district—patients will have to get back to this mode

of expense till the Government pays the NRHM workers. “This group of people has no name, face or voice…” echoes the doctor, speaking for citizens affected till deserved dues are paid. Minister of Nagaland for Health and Family Welfare had earlier acknowledged that the NRHM workers have the “right to agitate” as they have not been paid for 5 months.

In the midst of this, the DoH&FW has chosen this time to “test” an online messaging and monitoring system with the question: Are you attending your duty? Reply (Y for YES) (N for NO) to … (numbers given take you to the DoH&FW helplines in Kohima, informing that only District Program Managers, Block Program Managers etc., or non technical NRHM staff, have been sent the message as a way to test the online system).

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Dimapur

Tuesday

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26 August 2014

MEx File

CCRT cultural talent scholarship scheme

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): The District Education Officer, Dimapur informs all the interested students under the age group of 10-14 who are talented in painting, handicraft etc to apply for CCRT cultural talent scholarship scheme on or before August 30. For more information check www.ccrtindia.gov.in and email to dir.ccrt@ni.in

Edu dept puts up complaint box

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): An information/ complaint box has been placed to invite the complaint/ suggestion in detecting proxy teachers and multiple appointment practices in the Department. Principal Director Kesonyu Yhome, IAS informed in a press release that this initiative was taken as per directive of the Parliamentary Secretary for School Education, Nagaland, on his statement made during the inauguration of the SDEOs office building at Pughoboto on the August 12 to place an information/complaint Box at the Directorate of School Education, Nagaland. Henceforth, any such cases of evil practices as well as positive/constructive suggestions to improve the Department/Schools can be dropped into that Box with clear authentification/identification of the teacher/school involves in the said practices for which the identity of the reporter (s) shall be kept secret by the Department who brought such reports.

SAYO on August 14 incident

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): The Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) deeply regrets the August 14 incident meted out below Para Medical Colony where four Kohima Village members assaulted two Chakhesang Youth members. Reiterating the SAYO press statement on August 19 published in the local dailies, the four culprits have not responded the statement of SAYO through verbal or in written. A press statement issued by Neiba Bio, General Secretary and Kekhrühol Mekhro stated that, in a joint meeting with the frontal organisation of Southern Angami, the house have strongly resolved to act as and when necessary arise to the four culprits until the truth is prevailed.

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ANFSA executive meeting

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Kohima, august 25 (mExN): The All Nagaland Field Staff Association (ANFSA) has informed all the Nagaland PHED field staff employees and all unit office bearers and executive members and HODs that as per the central body executive meeting held on September 17, 2013, from 2013 onwards all unit president will be vice president in the central body, and all general secretaries will be joint secretaries. A press release from ANFSA general secretary Maong Tzudir informed and added, “The central body president and general secretaries will maintain finance secretary.” It requested all employees and units to follow and maintain the declaration made by the central executive members.

ANIDFSAJF approves to constitute HPC

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): All Nagaland InterDepartmental Staff Association Joint Forum (ANIDFSAJF) held its executive meeting on August 17 and thoroughly deliberate on the proposed decision of the government for constitution of High Power Committee (HPC) for conducting work charge employees’ verification of all districts. After prolong deliberation the house unanimously accepted the proposed decision of the government and urge upon all the responsible authorities to constitute HPC with immediate effect without any further delay. Further, ANIDFSAJF appeals to the government to release the five months from March to July 2014, pending salaries of the W/C. “The employees are suffering for non-release of their salaries and giving harassment to the association,” states ANIDFSAJF in a press release issued by its sessional chairman N. Zhekugha Assumi.

AR conducts medical camp at orphanage home

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): 18 Assam Rifles under the aegis of Headquarters 6 Sector AR conducted a medical camp at Christian Servanthood Ministry, Peren – an orphanage home - on August 21. Medical team under AR Medical Officer of 18 AR provided free medical examination to the students and orphanage staffs. Medicines were also distributed among the orphanage students and staff. A total of 13 students and school staff were given medical aid. A defence release stated.

Committee on Public Accounts meeting

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): Toyang Changkong Chang, MLA, who is also the Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts has convened its first meeting of the newly constituted committee on August 28, Thursday at 11 am in the Committee Room of Assembly Secretariat to take stock of the unfinished works and also to chalk out the programme for 201415. A press release from A. E. Lotha, Secretary, has requested all concerned members to attend.

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UGC Expert Committee and AICTE visits ICFAI UN

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): UGC Expert Committee and AICTE members are on a two-day official visit to ICFAI University, Nagaland (IUN), to assess the university infrastructure and interact with students and faculty.

At the inaugural programme held at the university hall on Monday, the 6-member UGC Expert Committee and AICTE team were given a warm welcome and felicitated by the university. Prof. Ramappa, the interim vice chancellor of ICFAI University, gave the welcome address and introduced the expert committee members.

Pro-vice chancellor and dean, IUN, Prof. CP Alexander, who delivered a brief report of ICFAI University, Nagaland, said IUN was established by an Act of Nagaland State Legislative Assembly in 2006. In April 2013, IUN shifted to its pres-

Members of the UGC Expert Committee and AICTE and ICFAI University Nagaland (IUN) at the inaugural programme of the visit of the expert committee members to IUN campus, Monday. (Morung Photo)

ent permanent campus at Sovima, which was inaugurated by then chief minister, Neiphiu Rio, the pro VC said and added that the university is sponsored by the Insti-

tute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), a non-profit educational society established in 1984 under the Andhra Pradesh (Telengana region) public

societies registration act.

Prof. Alexander said the university has been striving to develop a new cadre of professionals in the state of Nagaland by disseminating

Donate blood rather than taking: Zhaleo Rio

3 days mass casual leave

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): In view of the government's failure on no re-examining the promotion order of an ex-cadre to the post of Addl. Director on 26-07-2014 at Hotel Japfü Joint meeting, the Nagaland School Education Administrative Officers Association (NEAOA), Nagaland Sec. School Field Officer Forum (NSSFOF) and All Nagaland School Teachers Association (ANSTA), has directed all its members to avail 3 days mass casual leave w.e.f September 2014 which was temporarily postponed earlier on the commitment given by the Hon'ble Parliamentary Secretary to re-examine the case. A press note issued by Ponchulo Wanth, President ANSTA, Ekonthung Lotha, Vice President NSEAOA and Kevitsianuo Luho, Secretary, NDDFOF stated that all the members of the constituent Associations are therefore, reminded to strictly comply with the directive as it is a common issue confronting to all concerned members.

The Morung Express

Parliamentary Secretary, Zhaleo Rio declaring open the blood donation drive at Medziphema on Monday. (Morung Photo)

He recognized the bravery and valour exhibited by the Gorkha community who were also known for their straightforwardness and clean-hearted nature. He encouraged the Gorkhas to continue rendering their good services to the society.

Noting that the Gorkha community were well settled both in Assam and Nagaland, Zhaleo pointed to the recent border situation and said that the Gorkhas can play a vital role in building better understanding between the two states.

“You can become ambassadors of peace for Assam and Nagaland,” he added.

Guest of Honour, Col. Ananya Boral, Commandant 37th Assam Rifles expressed happiness that the martyrs of the nation were being remembered by the people in a noble way by organizing blood donation camp. Technicalities of the blood donation drive were overlooked by health personnel from District Hospital Dimapur.

knowledge and skills in core and frontier areas through innovative and professional educational programmes.

“To that extent, the university is proud to have pi-

DEO Kohima informs on tentative seniority list

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): All concerned graduate teachers, SISs, supervisors and functionaries of the same category of service in the Department of School Education, Nagaland and serving under the jurisdiction of the District Education Officer, Kohima are informed that the tentative seniority list is made available in the establishments of DEO, Kohima; SDEO, Kohima; SDEO Chiephobozou and SDEO, Tseminyu respectively for personal verification, rectification or inclusion with immediate effect. DEO Kohima Ruovihulie Angami has informed in a press release that care should be ensured in furnishing accurate individual information corresponding to the prescribed format supported by relevant official documents as may be required while succeeding lapse on individual information if any, shall not be accounted as responsibility of the department.

Miss Phek Beauty Pageant 2014

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): Miss Phek Beauty Pageant 2014 under the aegis of Elite Club, Phek has been rescheduled to September 18 at Phek town. Miss Phek title winner will pocket a cash prize of Rs. 70,000 alongwith gift hampers while the Ist and 2nd runner-up will receive Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 30,000 respectively. Sub-title winners will also get Rs. 5000 each. Gift hampers will be given to all the contestants. Minister for PWD (Roads & Bridge) and Parliamentary Affairs Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu will be the special guest while Minister for Forest, Environment and Wildlife Dr. Neikiesalie (Nicky) Kire as special appearance. Sekuzo Sovenyi will be the season designer while Rosu Rhi (Designer) will be the chief judge. Choreographer will be Dovile Venuh (Former Miss Nagaland Ist runner- up). For further information, contact 9436204877/ 8732892402 or elitephek@gmail.com.

chief guest at the commemoration of the 70th martyr’s day of the first Gorkha martyr, Maj. Durga Malla (INA) and also honouring Kargil martyr, Capt. N. Kenguruse (MVC) at Town Hall, Medziphema on Monday.

The commemoration was observed by organizing a

DESA meeting on August 29

36 teachers to be awarded on Teachers’ Day 2014

Kohima, august 25 (Dipr): A state level working committee on National Foundation for Teacher’s Welfare Nagaland headed by the Commissioner & Secretary for School Education M. Patton IAS held a meeting on 13th August 2014. The meeting selected the deserving teachers for the prestigious State Award 2014 who will be awarded on the occasion of Teachers’ Day celebration on 5th September 2014.

The committee, by reviewing

the 2013 resolution, the following partment or the school wherever they are serving shall be given considerations were taken as cripreference for the Award. teria for selection: (a) Teachers involved in social activ- (d) In principle, 3 (three) awardees from each district covering ities outside the school while remaining absent in the class shall Elementary/Secondary/Higher Secondary schools of both govnot be selected for the award. (b) Teachers with extra-ordinary ernment and private sector, depending on citation. But this is adcontribution to the school and justable between the bigger and good practices in real sense, smaller districts or depending on shall be favourably considered number of existing schools. for the award. (c) Teachers who have more years The meeting resolved that to serve as an asset to the De- Teachers’ Day token car flag @ Rs.

10/- and normal token flag can be sold in and around the school premises on free-will donation from well-wishers to popularize Teachers’ Day, to pay respect to the teaching community of the nation.

It also resolved that all 8 (eight) applicants from private schools be selected for the State Award and together there are 36 (thirty-six) teachers from Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary schools selected for the State Award and 7 (seven) for Financial Assistance.

Kohima, august 25 (mExN): The Diploma Engineer Service Association (DESA) Power and B.E Junior Engineers Electrical, Department of power will have a joint meeting on August 29 at 10 am at Zonal Council Hall, Kohima near Old MLA Hostel. A press note issued by Er. Thiya Jamir, President, DESA and Er. S. Yanpamo Odyuo, General Secretary has requested all members to attend the meeting without fail.

10,000 respectively from the sale SDEO for Elementary Schools Kohima, august 25 proceed for the Teachers’ Day on or before August 25. (mExN): In pursuance of the Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): All celebration at their own level.

State Level Teachers’ Day Award 2. Rs. 2/- per Student for the normal Teachers’ Day token flags 4. Each DEO/SDEO shall have to the regular graduate teachers serving under selection Committee meeting deposit Rs. 2/- per students for SDEO Niuland are informed that their tenis compulsory and Rs. 10/- per held on August 13, the Principal the token flag towards the Na- tative seniority list of graduate teachers/SIS/ Teachers’ Day Car flags shall be Director Kesonyü Yhome, IAS has tional Foundation for Teach- Supervisors as on August 30 is release and sold in and around the school ZuNhEboto, au- been directed to make it known premises and even to the pubers Welfare (NFTW) through they are directed to check their names from gust 25 (Dipr): Sub- to all the concerned to take note lic on free-will donation from the Directorate of School Edu- the list during office hours. SDEO Niuland, Divisional Education Of- of the following instructions to cation, Nagaland on or before I Temjennaro informed in a press release well-wishers w.e.f the 1st Sepficer Zunheboto Ghokiho ensure a successful celebration of 10th September 2014 along- that those included in the list are directed to tember to 5th September 2014 Zhimo has informed all Teachers’ Day 2014 throughout with a brief reports of their submit their respective appointment order, only to popularize Teachers’ the graduate teachers un- the state of Nagaland: Day as a National Day to pay celebration supported by few regularization order, present place of post1.

All the Heads of School of both der Zunheboto district to ing order and educational qualification scene of photographs. respect to the teaching comGovernment and Private are collect their seniority list 5. Every School/DEO/SDEO are di- documents for inclusion in the list to the munity of the Nation. asked to collect the Teachers’ format from SDEO Ofrected to maintain transparency office latest by September 4, failing which Day token flags and car flags 3. The schools shall deposit their fice, Zunheboto on 26th sale proceeds to their respecwhile utilizing the sale proceed at no further matters in this regard will be enaccording to their School enof August and resubmit it tive DEO/SDEO on or before their own level and the defaulter tertained. Further, the teacher in-charge or rollment from their respective on 28th of August 2014 for in abiding by the conditions giv- head teachers are informed to collect the 5th September out of which controlling officers – Higher the final compilation of en above shall be seriously dealt Teacher’s Day token from the SDEO Nieach DEO may utilize Rs. 20,000 Secondary and Secondary graduate teachers senioruland office from August 25 to 29. by the higher authority. and each SDEO may utilize Rs. Schools from the DEO and the ity list which will be carried out on 30th August 2014 at the Directorate of School Education, Nagaland, Kohima. The SDEO further informed that the DepartMinister of Education as ment shall not be held re- Kohima, august President they added. sponsible if any individual 25 (mExN): The Nagaland State Bharat Scouts The award ceremony fails to collect the same. & Guides call on the Chief will witness felicitation Minister of Nagaland TR of Rashtrapati/President Zeliang at his residential guides for the year 2013, office on August 25. which is the highest award CMO media cell in a in the Country for a Guide press release stated that the and Rajya Puraskar. Also members briefed the Chief known as Governors award, Minister on the upcoming Rajya Puraskar is earned by programme of induction a Scout & Guides on comand Rajya Puraskar award pletion of thirteen years of ceremony to be held on Auage and qualifying a series gust 30 at Durbar Hall, Raj of tests conducted at the Bhavan, Kohima.

State level prescribed by the At the programme, the national headquarters. This Governor will be inductaward is the highest award ed as Chief Patron, Chief Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang with the Nagaland State Bharat Scouts & Guides at his for Scout & Guides in the Minister as Patron and The residential office on August 25.

State level.

Schools directed on Teachers’ Day token

SDEO Zbto inform graduate teachers

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oneered the introduction of management education and computer science in the state of Nagaland. Till date, 194 students have graduated from this university in the areas of management and computer science and the university has a remarkable placement record”, he informed.

Currently, IUN is offering BBA, BCA, B Com, MBA, MA (English and Political Science) and PhD in Management and interdisciplinary studies. from a humble beginning starting with six students in 2007, IUN currently has 312 students, 25 regular faculty members, 12 administrative staff and 13 supporting staff.

“This growth is certainly a sign of trust and expectations that the people of Nagaland have upon this University, which we expect to meet in the best possible way”, the pro VC added.

Dimapur, august 25 (mExN): Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Development, Zhaleo Rio has appealed the people to inculcate the habit of donating blood rather than taking it, adding, “by donating blood you are saving a life.”

He was speaking as the

blood donation drive by the Medziphema unit of Dimapur Gorkha Union.

Paying tributes to the martyrs, Zhaleo stated that since everyone cannot be in uniform, even the public in civvies can all contribute in their own ways for the glory of the nation.

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SDEO Niuland informs on seniority list

Nagaland State Bharat Scouts & Guides meets CM

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REgional

The Morung Express

Tuesday

26 August 2014

Dimapur

Judges’ reports reveal AFSPA scars

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Details of crimes committed by Armed Forces add impetus to the cry for justice

NEW DELHI, August 25 (tHE HINDu): A 15-year-old girl carrying lunch for her father to his workplace, a mother putting her baby to sleep at home, a woman waiting for her bus at a busy marketplace and spectators at a volleyball match are some of the innocent victims of rape and revenge killings by services personnel under the cover of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur.

The details of the crimes allegedly committed by the Army, the CRPF and police commandos were revealed in a series of inquiry reports filed by serving and retired district judges, adding impetus to the cry for justice and repeal of AFSPA by activist Irom Sharmila. On August 8, 2014, the Manipur government handed over the reports to a Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

The Bench is hearing a PIL petition filed in 2012 by the Extra Judicial

Executions Victims’ Families Association, through senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, seeking a Special Investigation Team to probe almost 1,590 cases of alleged extra-judicial killings and disappearances in the State since the 1980s.

These inquiries, commissioned by the State government and the Guwahati High Court, date back to 1985.

One report by M. Manoj Kumar Singh, District Judge, Imphal East, is about the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl committed by two Army personnel of the 12th Grenadier on October 4, 2004. The victim committed suicide the same day.

The judge noted that “crimes against women, more particularly relating to sexual harassment, committed by armed forces, are now increasing at least in some States like ours.”

The report said: “They [armed forces] think themselves placed at

the elevated status of impunity by the legislation and think wrongly they are given licence to do whatever they like.”

Another report by C. Upendra Singh, a retired district judge, investigated the death of Amina, a young mother shot by CRPF personnel while putting her baby to sleep at home. The report said she died when a CRPF party, in pursuit of a man, entered Naorem village, surrounded Amina’s house and fired indiscriminately.

Similarly, Judge Manoj Kumar Singh investigated the shooting of Yumnam Robita Devi, 52, on April 9, 2002 as she waited for a bus at Pangei Bazar. A passing convoy of CRPF personnel was ambushed by insurgents. In retaliation, the report said, the personnel turned to the civilians and fired indiscriminately. Ms. Devi, A man carrying his son returning from school on his back prepares to walk through a temporary bamboo bridge across flood who ducked on the floor of the mar- waters in Burhaburhi village in Morigaon district, Assam on Monday, August 25. Monsoon season brings rains vital to growing ket, was spotted and shot dead. crops in India, but floods and landslides each year kill thousands of people and submerge hundreds of villages. (AP Photo)

ATDUM demands immediate ‘Don’t treat us like a dumping ground’ says an incensed Aizawl redressal of their grievances 'I quit as I did not want to go to Mizoram'

IMPHAL, August 25 (NNN): The non-appearance of Bhim Bahadur Thapa, accuse in Ideal Blind School rape case, in court for the second time today has infuriated All Tribal Disabled Union Manipur (ATDUM). With this development, ATDUM has fervently urged the state government not to delay in giving befitting punishment to the culprit according to the law of the land.

Speaking to media persons at Cheirap Court in Imphal on the sideline of the protest, Letminthang Haokip, president-

in-charge of ATDUM told that the failure of accuse to appear in court for trial today was very disappointing. Terming the repeated failure to appear before the court as a sign of negligence, the organisation has appealed to the concerned authority to make necessary arrangements so that the trial can be conducted smoothly and punish the culprit at the earliest.

It may be mentioned here that organisation had earlier served a charter of demands before the state government which included the removal of Manipur

Social Welfare minister, AK Mirabai from the ministerial portfolio, termination of the service of the headmistress, the hostel superintendent, the warden and accused Bhim Bahadur Thapa who is the chowkidar of Government Ideal Blind School in Imphal.

ATDUM also demanded that the government provides immediate rehabilitation and monetary relief in to the victim as well as impose monetary penalty upon the school authority for their failure to address the situation straight away.

Rain restores power in Meghalaya sHILLoNg, August 25 (tNN): Incessant rainfall over the last couple of weeks has not only filled to capacity the Umiam (Barapani) Lake, the only viable source of hydro-electricity in the state, but has also flooded the plains of Garo Hills in Meghalaya.

"The Umiam Dam is full and excess water will have to be discharged any time now," said an official in the state power department.

"As there is sufficient water for electricity generation, the state is facing no power outages now, as was the case about a month ago," said the official, adding that rains have brought about the much-needed relief to the state.

On the other hand, the downpour has also flooded all major rivers in the state, including the Umkhrah, which flows

through the heart of Shillong.

"The Polo Grounds, which is the lowest lying area in the hill city, gets flooded every year during monsoons. This time too, houses got partly deluged and some people had to take shelter on higher grounds," said a local of Pynthorumkhrah area.

"At least two houses have collapsed due to landslides triggered by heavy rainfall at Malki Hill in the city," said a senior official. "However, except for damage to property, there has been no casualty so far," he added, even as the met department has predicted thunderstorm with rain in the days ahead.

Several places in the plains of the Garo Hills have also been inundated due to the ongoing downpour, though the situation is not alarming as yet, claimed officials.

Respect human rights and stop targeting civilians: NEDF IMPHAL, August 25 (MExN): North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) expressing deep anguish over the “human rights” situation of Assam, urge all parties involved in the conflict to respect “International Humanitarian Law” and avoid targeting innocent civilians. In a press note receive here, Adam Kharam, NEDF’s Coordinator said, the situation particularly

in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) has deteriorated over the last few months, where most recently a 16 year old girl a student was shot dead in front of their parents in August 20. In 2014 till July 27 based on newspaper report, Assam has recorded 141 fatalities due to arm conflict, out of which 76 were civilians, it added.

NEDF, thus, appeal all the Non-State Armed Actors and the Indian Security Forces including Assam Police to honor “Law of Arm Conflict/War” that prohibits targeting of civilians and implement the common article 3 of Geneva Conventions, 1949. Further, it urges all the parties to seek solution through negotiation and put “an end to violence”.

AIzAWL, August 25 (INDIAN EXPrEss): First, Vakkom Purushothaman was removed as Mizoram Governor on July 6. On August 6, Governor Kamla Beniwal was sacked just a month after taking charge. And on Sunday, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan was shunted out to Mizoram. This has led to questions here about the state being used as a “dumping ground”.

“It looks like they have designated us as a repository of expired things. I don’t want to take specific names but earlier they gave us a Governor because the party in power then was afraid he may be arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog.

They have also given us Governors who come to take a break because they are not in power in their respective states… It is not about the person, but the longstanding attitude,” said Fanai Malsawma, a former minister and vice-president of the Zoram Nationalist Party.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla was more diplomatic. “Earlier, the Home Minister would consult the Chief Ministers. They would say, ‘we are proposing so-and-so to be Governor, what is your view?’ But

MuMbAI, August 25 (PtI): A day after quitting as Maharashtra Governor, K Shankarnarayanan today suggested that the "taste" in which he was transfered was not good and that he had resigned as he did not want to go to Mizoram or any other state.

He underlined that the appointment of governors is a Constitutional decision and anything regarding that should be done "within the four walls of the Constitution". Explaining his decision to quit, the 82-year-old former Congress leader said, "...Of course Rashtrapati (the President) has all the powers to transfer a governor, but then I thought it is not convenient...I decided not to go to Mizoram or any other state. I have my right to resign. I was thinking to resign since last three months."

When asked whether he felt humiliated with the Centre's decision, he said, "There is no humiliation. I find it no wrong. The President of India appointed me. The order came from the President of India and he transferred me, but I decided not to go there." He said he does not "think it is political vendetta". At the same time, he added, "Whether the taste (in which he was transferred) is good or not, is a question....I don't find anything wrong but the approach should be constitutional." they anyway made the appointments, whether we approved or not. So, it’s the Centre’s prerogative… I don’t think our pride should be hurt,” he said.

“They are making us Tawngkawlawng (a remote hamlet on the southern border with Myanmar).

But what can we do? Of course we would want a good person to be sent, but there is nothing we can

do about that,” said former Chief Minister and Mizo National Front president Zoramthanga.

“It’s a punishment posting…

It is something to be very angry about, that Mizoram is being used as a dumping ground. Of course, it is a tactic — that they transfer someone who has refused to resign in the hope that he/ she will do so,” said Vanlalzawma, former

North East Briefs Kuki leaders still in dark KLPF leaders Arrested about the ‘tripartite meeting' DIPHu, August 25, (PtI): The Chairman and the

NEW DELHI, August 25 (NNN): It has been already three days since the expiry of current term of “Suspension of Operation (SoO)” between the Government, the Kuki National Organisaion (KNO) and the United Peoples' Front (UPF) but the leaders of both the umbrella underground organisations are still in dark about the formal signing of the “extension pact”.

The current SoO term expired on August 22 but as principal secretary of Manipur, Suresh Babu is on leave the formal signing for the extension yet to be done. The principal secretary is to take the initiative as a formality for any tripartite meeting involving either KNO or UPF with Manipur Gov-

ernment and New Delhi.

Meanwhile, a well placed source from UPF informed Newmai News Network today that principal secretary had told the outfit that he will inform them to come straight to New Delhi any day for the tripartite meeting. The UPF expects that the tripartite meeting is likely to take place in this week.

On the other hand, a KNO source said the outfit was informed from certain quarters that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had already intimated the Manipur Government that the SoO was 'already extended' with the outfit except for the formality.

It can be noted here that both the leaders of KNO and UPF had met Union Minister of State for

Home Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi last week. The Minister had reportedly assured both the groups that the Government would soon initiate political dialogues. Following this assurance, both KNO and UPF had agreed to extend the SoO after it expires on August 22.

Defence Secretary of Kuki National Organisation (KNO) T.S. Haokip had met Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on August 16 in New Delhi and had discussed on the much hyped commencement of the political dialogue between the two parties in the near future. Few days before that, the UPF leaders too were assured by the Union minister for the starting of dialogue.

Central team to visit Bru refugee camps in Tripura

AgArtALA/AIzAWL, August 25 (IANs): A central team arrived here Monday to take stock of the condition of Mizoram's displaced Reang tribals, locally called 'Bru', living in refugee camps in Tripura, an official said here.

About 35,000 Reang tribals are staying in seven camps in Tripura for about 17 years after they fled their villages in Mizoram following ethnic troubles after the

killing of a Mizo forest official.

"The union home ministry has recently constituted a sevenmember committee headed by Rajiv Gauba, the ministry's additional secretary, to oversee the condition of the refugees in the Tripura camps," Swapan Saha, Tripura's relief and revenue department secretary, told IANS. "The central team arrived here today (Monday) and they would visit the refugee camps

MP and Leader of Opposition in the Mizoram Assembly.

“Not just Governors, Mizoram is considered a difficult posting for all bureaucrats from Delhi also. It’s the way the rest of the country sees us. It’s a fact that they don’t give us the best people,” said Lalhmangaiha, a retired bureaucrat and current president of the Mizoram People’s Conference.

“It has always been this way…

This shows once again the Centre’s discriminatory view and indifference towards the Northeast in general and Mizoram in particular,” said Lalhmachhuana, president of the Mizo Students’ Association.

“The questions that now arise are: can they not post a full-fledged Governor who is physically fit and who would wholeheartedly come here and work for the state? Do we not deserve that? Can they not post someone here other than a person they just want to punish?” he asked.

“This raises the pertinent question: does the Centre really look down on us this much? It is wrong for us to be used as a punishment posting,” said Zodinpuia, president of the Mizo Students’ Union.

tomorrow (Tuesday)," Saha said.

He said the central team, also comprising officials of the human resource development ministry, social justice and empowerment ministry, Tripura government and representatives of three NGOs from New Delhi, West Bengal and Assam, will submit its report to the union home ministry and the Tripura High Court by Sep 12.

The central team was constituted following a directive from the Tripura High Court, which passed an order June 24 after a lawyer filed a petition on the alleged miserable conditions of the refugees and the camps they are living in.

"The central team would oversee the sanitation, health, educational and other facilities there," Saha added.

Meanwhile, Tripura Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya visited the refugee camps Sunday and told them that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent him to see the conditions of the displaced people.

"Do not be upset, good days

are ahead for you. Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre would resolve all the problems of all of you," the governor told the refugees while addressing gatherings of migrants in different camps.

Refugee leader and Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) general secretary Bruno Mesha submitted a memorandum to the governor.

The memorandum contains 10 demands which included providing all facilities to the refugees like Kashmiri Pandits and Tamil refugees, allotment of lands to all the repatriated tribals, creation of model villages in Reang tribals' inhabited areas, ensure better security and sanitation, health and education to the tribals in Mizoram.

Acharya, who is the governor of Nagaland with additional charge of Tripura, promised the refugees to take up their matter with the central government.

The Mizoram government recently asked the union home ministry to take up with the Election Commission the is-

sue of deleting from the electoral lists the names of those refugees, who are unwilling to leave Tripura camps and return to Mizoram.

"Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla earlier this month held a meeting with Home Secretary Anil Goswami in New Delhi and requested him to take action over deleting the names of those refugees who are not willing to return to Mizoram," an official of the Mizoram government told IANS in Aizawl.

"Lal Thanhawla apprised Goswami that while the state government has done its best to take back the refugees from Tripura camps, the state government's efforts have often been opposed by a section of refugee leaders," the official said.

The Tripura government has been repeatedly asking the central government to take steps to repatriate the 35,000 tribal refugees to Mizoram.

Only about 5,000 Reang tribal refugees have returned to their homes in the past three-and-ahalf years.

General Secretary of Karbi Land Protection Force (KPLF), a new militant outfit active in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, were arrested today and huge quantity of arms and ammunitions were seized from their possession, police said.

"A joint operation was launched by both police and the CRPF in Dilai and Mania areas in Bokajan police station and the duo was nabbe d from Jiyadongh village," Superintendent of Police Karbi Anglong Mugdhajyoti Mahanta said.

Army chief reviews counterinsurgency operations

KoLKAtA, August 25 (IANs): Indian Army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, Monday reviewed counterinsurgency operations in Assam. With his plans to visit some of the forward areas in the northern area of responsibility (AOR) of the army's 4 (Gajraj) Corps being abandoned due to inclement weather, Suhag visited an infantry division deployed in central Assam.

Addressing officers of Eastern Command at Kolkata and Tezpur, Gen. Suhag outlined his priorities and expectations from his officers and troops in fulfilling the mandate of safeguarding the frontiers of the nation at all costs. The army chief was updated on the operational preparedness and readiness status by eastern army commander, Lt.Gen. M.M.S. Rai at Kolkata, and Gajraj Corps commander, Lt.Gen. A.K. Ahuja.

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OFFICE OF THE

LONGCHARI KIDONG CHANGKI CHANGKI: NAGALAND

FELICITATION With immense joy and honour, the Longchari Kidong of Changki village extends our heartiest Congratulations to the following individuals for their recent outstanding achievements in their respective field: 1. Smti. Anenla S Longchari NCS Secretary to the Govt of Nagaland (PHED), W/o Shri.Bendang Longchari IAS for her induction to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service.

2. Shri. Imjung M Panger NCS Secretary to the Govt. of Nagaland (IT&C), S/o Late I Panger Ao for his induction to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service and 3. Shri. Moamongba Longchari S/o Late Walunuba Longchari for securing the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) under NPWD in the recently declared NPSC Combined Technical Examination, The Longchari Kidong of Changki village takes tremendous pride for their distinguished achievements and thereby bringing laurels to our Kidong/Village. We wish them all God's continuous Blessings, Wisdom, Guidance and bright future ahead.

-SdShri.Tinuwabang Longchari President Longchari Kidong Changki

-SdShri. Assamwati Longchari Secretary Longchari Kidong Changki

4

Dimapur

public discoursE

Tuesday 26 August 2014

The Morung Express

What role can we play if we want future growth & advancement?

This paper was presented by Oken Jeet Sandham, Senior Journalist, during a seminar on 23th, Aug. 14. The seminar was held with a view to enlighten the Student who are in the hunt for the ‘Student of the Year’ to be awarded by school

O

ne of the most important issues what the world is talking often is the “World is changing so fast” and in fact the changes taking place are getting faster and faster. And the trend we have witnessed clearly shows that only the developed countries have been enjoying maximum benefits while underdeveloped and developing countries struggling to catch up with the fast global scenario.

The irony is the educated youth from the underdeveloped and developing countries, instead of serving and making their own respective countries stronger and developed, rushing continuously to work in those so-called developed countries. We have seen many engineers, scientists, technocrats of Indian origins have been working in those most developed countries of the world. This is one of the major areas to be seriously pondered over and why the Government should not utilize their services.

The Government has to find out why the best students are continuously choosing to leave the country. We need to study on this and only motivation cannot do unless we show them that we care for them in real sense of term. So that the country grows.

In Nagaland context: Our youths know very well what is the progress and advancement of the world. They know the current affairs of the country and other parts of the world. They also know how the

youths and students of the world nations have been competing in various fields, besides trying to know one another through various youth programs. They even started opening various “Social networking sites” for various youth development programs. In fact, literally, the world youth have become one family. There are literally no boundaries. They sing together, work together, share together, try to understand each other, --- and in the process the kind of psychological barriers automatically start disappearing.

Now, what is happening in Nagaland?

We often talk of our literacy that our State enjoys one of the highest literacies in the country. But sadly, when we go for any competitive exams in “All India level”, our results are not encouraging. Yet, the Government and the policy makers have never studied why this was so?

Because those who are running the affairs of the state – the politicians, bureaucrats and other heads of departments – have been mostly educated from the well-established educational institutions of India.

If the literacy rate is taken as per the report, then our educated youth should be the ones who should easily compete with the rest of their counterparts. But it was not so. From all these, the time has come that the government and the policy makers in the State should constitute “Educational Reform Commit-

In Democracy The Media Should Be Safeguarded

M

edia gathers news through thick and thin; with sweats in their brows; tears in their eyes and catering the same to the public as daily bread. In Democracy media plays as “Fourth Estate” or as corner stone without which the vehicle of Democracy cannot survive. In our civilized society Media can be treated as “Mirror” through which can see the present and project the future therefore it is neither appropriate nor wise to threaten the Media or dragging to litigation for impartially exhibiting the views and opinions of the citizens. If there is any omission and commission on the part of the Media it is advisable to amicably settled the same sitting across the table in state of pointing figure in the public. It is the writer who owes the responsibilities therefore the media should not be crucified for the statements made by some individuals. In the event if the same continues unabated the fourth pillar of democracy will be lopsided and eventually the Rule of law will be trampled under the knee of injustice and ultimately the entire society will be plunged into darkness.

Supu Jamir President, ASTD. C. Onen Walling, Gen. Secretary, ASTD.

tee” wherein we can invite educational experts and study the loopholes in our educational systems.

Some sad trends: Every national magazine worth reading publishes cover stories on the best colleges, universities, medical and engineering colleges, etc. at least 4 to 5 times in a year. There are hundreds of medical and engineering colleges and universities spread all over this country. There are medical and engineering colleges in the northeastern region too and they have been performing well and even the Indian Institute of Technology based in Guwahati is among India’s top 10 engineering colleges. Medical colleges in Assam and Manipur have been doing well and they have been producing dozens of medical graduates every year and they have been successfully practicing in many hospitals in the region.

Whereas, one of the major factors the State has been in dormant state even after 50 years of its statehood is: 1. The State is yet to have a Medical College.

2. The State is yet to have an Engineering College.

3. The State is yet to have a technical College.

4. The State is yet to have an IT Park.

Why is this happening? Where does the fault lie? Whether our approach to the Center is lacking something or the political will is lacking.

I would not be wrong to say that we

Life for debt

O

n 21st Aug 2014, I was shocked going through the papers, where 2,000 (two thousand) IRB Jawans were proposed by the centre to be deployed to battle against the Maoist.

Behind this issue, led by our Chief minister and some of our Cabinet ministers are involved in this do or die mission.

The worst and the most fearing activity for the Central Govt. is the Maoist group. Lets look back the past History of our Nagas, how our forefathers were tortured and killed at the hands of the Indian army.

The central Govt. Knows that, if they treat those Maoist the same way as they did to us, they know very well how India will tear apart.

Since the Maoist are Indians, instead of sending the

Indian army the centre has the policy to deploy only the CRPF and special police force.

The centre knows that we are into a large debt and money matters a lot to the state now, more over we have been witnessing in the daily papers how our state ministers led by our Hon’ble CM have been running around Delhi.

Since we were not present at their meetings we never knew what and how our State Govt. has negotiated with them, but as we study and witness the present scenario our Ministers must have sold the lives our Naga brothers (IRB) Jawans for the sake of Blood Money.

In place of those thousand IRB, if we send your sons and daughters to this death zone, how will you react? Its not a hard task for the centre to lend

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LEISURE

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

SUDOKU Game Number # 2976

lacked the political will as far as medical college issue of the State is concerned.

States like Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya attained Statehoods much after Nagaland. These States have at least one or two medical colleges. And the fact is the State (Nagaland) had got an opportunity to establish its first medical college in the 70s but because of the lack of political will, it missed it.

Again the saddest part is the present Christian Institute of Health Sciences Research (CIHSR) was initially constructed for State’s only Referral Hospital. The construction started in mid 80s in an area of 133 acre with the assistance from the Ministry for Devolvement of North East Region (DoNER). But it had never become as expected and finally when the DAN Government came to power, it handed over to CMC, Vellore and EHA through a tripartite agreement— the Nagaland Government, the CMC, Vellore and the EHA. This development was the first manifestation of the State Government that they still lacked many things as far as medical related activities are concerned.

In reality, this Referral Hospital, if not handed over, could be a strong bargaining factor for establishment of a new medical college too.

And today, the scenario is not much different. Our state appears to be still lacking a political will. It appears that the Center is not fully con-

us the money, its just a blink of an eye for them. However its not easy for them to send two thousand IRB away to the pits of death. Maybe the central Govt. pay those debts that we had owed, who knows maybe they might have given some extra amount to develop our state along with paying those debts. If the ministers realizes who they are or if they use at least 50% to develop our state who know we might have become the business hub center in our country.

For the debts of the state so many Naga IRB life are to be lost, the blood money which is bartered at the expense of these innocent life will be clawed to the root bottom and we’ll see that it’s not misused.

I

vinced. Now the issue is as to how we go about and get what we deserve from the Government of India. How long are we going to send our children for pursuing higher studies, medical and engineering studies or any other technical studies outside the State even after 50 years of Statehood? How much resource do we have to continue sending our children for pursuing their higher studies?

What is the role of our youth, students, and every one of you, in correcting the wrong systems?

1. You should not waste our time thinking on all these dormant state of affairs in the State.

2. You must start working to know your rights.

3. You must know the fundamental rights of our constitution.

4. You must read our Constitution.

5. You must read current affairs of the nation and world.

6. You must know Right to Information (RTI).

7. You must know Right to Life (RTL).

8. You must know Right to Education (RTE).

9. You must know Universal Human Rights Commission.

10. Even you must often organize debating competition on various Rights issues amongst you to sharpen your knowledge.

11. You must know Children’s rights.

12. You must know how to democratically protest when your rights are not violated.

13. You must know Climate change and the global warming issues.

14. You must know how must your state is getting fund from the Center.

15. You must know what the Government is doing with the funds they get from the Center.

16. You must try to think differently.

17. You need to play to avoid complacency.

18. There are thousands of “Social networking Sites on any topics” and you must keep yourselves connected with them to update yourselves.

19. Information is one of the weapons in the fight for changes.

Above all, you must dream for a progressive society and State and when you dream in this manner, you will automatically realize that your participation is a must towards making your dream into a reality. You have to be a player if you want to bring changes and cannot be fence sitter.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt “…credit belongs to the [person[ who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if [he/she] fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”.

Non-payment of salary to Hotel Saramati Staffs

t was indeed sad to read about the media news report regarding the non-payment of the Hotel Saramati employees since the month of February. Here I would like to remind every esteemed reader that this is not about trying to raise some political issue or another agenda on tribalism, groupism and sectionalism lines here but about the present corruption and injustices prevailing in our land today.

While there has been a good number in the increase of private resorts and hotels in the state capital and the commercial capital on Nagaland, the only two government owned and run hotels, one Hotel Japfu and the other Hotel Saramati seems to be dying.

Here almost all the employees are our local youths who have the dignity of labour and are sincere dedicated young enthusiastic people who love to work and eat from the brow of their own S.T. Yapang. Lkr sweat and denying their hard earned Kohima bread is justice most foul. Many digni-

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 2983

taries and visitors of both national and international level are made to stay in the privately owned resorts and hotels owned by some higher echelons of political top brass and the revenues which actually should be going to the state treasury, the income generated are diverted in to the private coffers of some political big-wigs.

In fact ,does it mean that the govt. is indirectly instigating the few handful hardworking dedicated youths to search other means of livelihood by nefarious, immoral and disreputable ways? The civil organisations which should be acting as the watch-dog to all these injustices have all become numb and dumb except for some new generation youths crying for a revolution in our corruption-ridden state.

May justice be delivered and what is due to those unpaid employees be paid soon.

Jonah Achumi Dimapur

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

STD CODE: 03862

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

Answer Number # 2975

KOHIMA

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

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

STD CODE: 0370

Northeast Shuttles

100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202

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LOCAL

The Morung Express

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Poor infrastructure, 'pathetic' security plague lone train station in Nagaland: bJYM

DiMApur, August 25 (MExn): The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Nagaland State unit today stated that the one and only railway station in Nagaland lacks all modern amenities, has poor infrastructure, and “pathetic” security system.

It alleged that the station is in its “darkest form of existence.” The BJYM team visited the railways station located in Dimapur on August 25 to “see the laying condition of the railway station and its system of functioning.” The team interacted with several staff and secu-

rity personnel.

The BJP youth wing in a press statement pointed out there is no metal detector in the entrance, thus, “everyone is provided freedom to carry out any evil design and movement of prohibited items.” Although a luggage scanning machine is installed, the BJYM observed that luggage scanning is not made mandatory. Further, it was stated that apart from the “loose” security system at the main entrance, the two over bridge are left completely free of any security.

According to the release, the team was “shell shocked” to realize that the whole staff of Railway Protection Force (RPF) along with its officer in-charge had gone for lunch break from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm with just one personnel left in the office, whereas the official lunch break time is from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm.

It also alleged that the upper class and sleeper class room lacks complete hygiene and passengers are being charged “undue” fee of Rs 10/- per use “whereas the toilet is supposed to be

free for use by the passengers.” The parcel section, it further stated, was “completely abandoned” without a single staff except for one commercial clerk "who justified the condition due to lunch break and shortage of staff."

Meanwhile, it stated that Dimapur railway station also do not have proper water supply for flushing the railway track, while adding the waiting shed in platform no.2 and 3 needs tremendous restructuring and improvement as the present “fancy” sheds

is “complete nuisance”. It suggested that there should be proper roofing in both the platforms. The youth wing also highlighted that the refreshment room is in “deplorable” condition with leakage of water from the roof and unhygienic kitchen. “In fact the person who runs the refreshment room on tender basis had already submitted memorandum to the competent authority for three times for renovation but the concern authority did not take up the matter.” It was also stated that the platform is

filled with garbage, where empty alcohol bottles are found in abundance.

The BJYM has suggested installation of CCTV in the platforms for the safety of passengers and general public and also appealed to the authority concerned to make announcement in Nagamese mandatory.

The statement appended

by BJYM general secretary, Mathew K Janger and vice president, Daniel D Dzeyie further urged the higher ups to take initiative at the earliest in the greater interest of the people in the region.

Training on bookkeeping & livestock raising US Consul General visits St. Joseph’s College DiMApur, August 25 (MExn): As part of the ongoing series of training conducted by the Department of Land Resources, Dimapur in the village level, training on book keeping and allied activities, livestock raising and management was held on August 22 at Lhothavi village under SPEED. Resource person, Botoholi T. Yepthomi, WDT member, Department of Land Resources, Dimapur spoke on book keep-

ing and allied activities.

She apprised participants on the importance of Self Help Groups, its formation and also how to maintain the four basic registers, i.e., saving, loan, cash and proceeding register. This was done specially to empower womenfolk and update their knowledge on bookkeeping.

Dr. Aba Sephe, WDT member, Land Resources, Dimapur, who was the other resource person stressed on livestock raising and

management. Piggery being an important aspect in the village, he presented on topics ranging from time of selection of piglets to weaning. Also, the participants were made aware of the ranikhet disease that was very much prevalent in the area. Vaccines and mineral compositions were distributed to the participants.

Altogether, 50 participants attended the training that was chaired by Grace Kikon, WDT member, Land Resources, Dimapur.

MAC reiterates commitment to protect Dhansiri DiMApur, August 25 (MExn): Apropos to the news items, ‘DRFCB, Green-SONS dismayed with DMC’ published on August 9, 2014, Dr. Toshimanen Ozukum, Additional Director, Municipal Affairs Cell (MAC), Nagaland has requested the DRFCB and Green-SONS, “to have little more patience and continue to support the department so that together we will achieve the goal not only to safeguard the river, but also make Dimapur into a garbage clean city.”

In a press release, Ozukum stated that on detailed examination of the contents, it was found that the Dhansiri River Flood Control Board

(DRFCB) and Green Succession of Nagaland State (Green-SONS) members had expressed their concern to protect the river from pollution caused by unorganized dumping of municipal garbage by the Dimapur Municipal Council.

The release informed that in 2012, the Additional Director, MAC visited the spot along with the then Advisory Board members, noted the problem, and submitted the report to the administrative department for further necessary action.

Since then, all efforts, it said, are going on to fulfill the demand for protection of the river. The State government had also purchased a plot

of land adjoining the present dumping site under the initiative of former Chief Minister. To show more commitment for protection of the river and clean municipal garbage, an Integrated Solid Waste Management Project Report has been prepared by Municipal Affairs Cell with the title "From Waste to Wealth," it was added.

Further, a road map for landfill development has been prepared and ready to execute once the monsoon stops. Also, other department, which has great concern for protection of Dhansiri River, has prepared a DRR for re-furbishment of the river which is expected to be approved and implemented on war footing, the release stated.

JAkhAMA, August 25 (MExn): Helen LaFave, US Consul General, Kolkata visited St. Joseph’s College on August 25 and interacted with the students on 'USIndia relationship: cooperation in higher education.'

The Consul General gave a brief description of the work of US Consulate in Kolkata, and explained the existing relationship between India and US in the fields of trade, education, security, economic development, and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

A press release from the college stated that the interaction started with a question on “how we can build a stronger relationship between the US and the Nagas in the field of education?”

Helen LaFave replied that she was impressed with the current progress in our educational system and

Dimapur

5

MEx FILE Two arrested for murder Mokokchung, August 25 (MExn): Two individuals identified as Ashok Chetia and Piren Gogoi, both 42 years have been arrested for the August 16 murder of Soh Bahadur Chetri. A press release from the Mokokchung SP Vikram M. Khalate (IPS) informed that on August 16, Soh Bahadur (42), a chowkidar of Power grid store, Moayimti area under Longtho Police Station was found hanging from a tree bearing injury on the neck and other parts. After Post Mortem was conducted and on receipt of information, a case was registered at Longtho Police Station and investigation was taken up, it stated, and added that prompt arrests of suspects were made which ultimately led to the arrest of Chetia and Gogoi. The duo confessed to hitting the victim with iron rod on the neck fatally and hung him on the tree, the SP’s release informed.

Travelers asked to avoid road near Botsa at night kohiMA, August 25 (MExn): The PWD (National Highway) has reiterated that due to heavy landslide at 33/300 Km along NH-2 (NH-61 old) near Botsa, travelers using these roads have been requested not to travel from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM in order to allow the department in clearing operation. The department has engaged enough machineries and is working round the clock for clearing the mudslide. The department has requested the public to kindly bear with them.

“Unrated magazine” to be launched on August 28 kohiMA, August 25 (MExn): The official launching programme of “Unrated Magazine” will take place on August 28 at The Hut Restaurant, CK Arcade, Opposite Post Office, Kohima at 11:00 AM. Parliamentary secretary for Youth Resources & Sports, Music Task Force and New & Renewable Energy, Khriehu Liezietsu will grace the occasion as the chief guest while minisHelen LaFave, US Consul General, Kolkata (Right) with ter for forest, environment and wildlife, Dr. Neikiesalie Fr. Abraham Lotha, Principal, St. Joseph’s College (left) (Nicky) Kire will be the guest of honour. during the former’s visit to the college on August 25.

opined that student exchange programmes, use of technology to network and other various scholarship schemes can further enhance our ties.

During the interaction, other topics such as economics, climate change, poverty, impact of Indian politics on USA, and Indo-US relations were discussed. “The interaction was very nice and informative,” said one of the stu-

dents who participated.

The programme started with a welcome address by Njulo Kent, President of Students Council. Fr. Abraham Lotha, Principal, highlighted the courses offered by the College. Leaders of the various departments, clubs and associations, Community College students and lecturers attended the programme. Sr. Ranit, the Vice-Principal gave the vote of thanks.

Pensioners can redress complaints online DiMApur, August 25 (MExn): All retired state government officials have been informed that an Online Grievance Redressal System is functioning and can be viewed on the office website of Accountant General (AG). Any person having grievance with any Entitlement functions (Pension, GPF, Payslips & Loans) discharged by the Office of the Accountant General (A&E) can record his/ her griev-

ance online. Along with text of the grievance, relevant documents can also be uploaded. Acknowledgments would be provided both via SMS and e-mail, along with status updates via SMS. The pensioners can also write to the Deputy Accountant General (A&E) Kahoto J Yepthomi or e-mail at kahoto_j@yahoo.co.in or agaenagaland@cag.gov.in for immediate redressal of their grievances, informed

secretary for school education and strengthen his hand in any eventuality for betterment and welfare of the people. It also resolved to support and co-operate with both the divisional and the central office in execution of their duties and responsibilities. It further decided to request Yitachu for introduction of science stream in the Government Higher Secondary School, Meluri from the next academic year.

Meanwhile, T. Kamsang, president, NPF 20th Meluri A/C urged upon the members to stand firm in support of the MLA and the party leadership for the

betterment of the common people. He also called upon the members to maintain unity for the welfare and betterment of the society.

Several senior leaders exhorted the members and raised certain pertinent issues for serious consideration for both the party leadership and the members, the release informed.

S. Akho Leyri, general secretary attached to secretary general NPF central office appealed to the members to be united and stand firm to strengthen both the local representatives as well as the state government. He talked at length on the latest events

Labour Department awareness programme DiMApur, August 25 (MExn): The Department of Labour, Dimapur district is organising an awareness programme on registration of beneficiaries of building and other construction workers under the purview of BOCW (RE&CS) Welfare Cess Act 1996 on August 27 at Town Hall, Super Market Complex at 10 am. A press release from the Assistant Labour Commissioner informed all ward/colony/council chairmen, head has GBs in and around Dimapur to attend the programme.

ZSU organizes seminar on career guidance kohiMA, August 25 (MExn): A one-day seminar on career guidance was organized by Zelome Students Union on August 23 here at LCS Building with Zavise Rume, Associate Professor, Guidance & Counseling Cell, SCERT Nagaland and Kevichosa Krome, PGT as resource persons. Rume in his speech emphasized on academic guidance while Krome spoke on traditional and modern education. The participants were challenged to be hard working, sincere, dedicated to their studies in their efforts to face the competitive world and specialization. Various academic courses and vocational training courses were discussed. Students were highlighted about various competitive examinations.

The resource persons encouraged the participants to acquire employability skills so that they would be employable in the present world of work.

a press release.

Pension and GPF Final payment cases settled up to the month of July 2014 have been uploaded on the AG Nagaland website. Pensioners may log on to www. agnagaland.gov.in and click on Felicitation and PENSION or GPF Felicitation or directly click on the sticky note written “Click here to view list of settled PEN- Science Seminar 2014 held in Kiphire SION/GPF final payment kiphirE, August 25 (MExn): Science Seminar cases,” the release added.

2014, Kiphire district was held at Loyala School on August 23 under the theme “Innovations in agriculture for a sustainable future: Prospects and Challenges.”

A total of 16 students from eight schools participated in the seminar, where Narul Hasan and Khalong from and issues confronting the Saramati School bagged first and second respectively. party as well as the govern- Thronglise from Good Shepherd won the third posiment and called upon the tion. DEO Kiphire spoke on the topic while launching party workers to extend the seminar. Robert Marathon was the chairperson. their fullest cooperation to Training on plant protection held their leadership to enable him to render his valuable MEDziphEMA, August 25 (MExn): State Agriservices to the satisfaction cultural Management Extension Training Institute (SAof the people. He also urged METI) Medziphema organized training on plant prothe members to cooperate tection on August 20 and 21 at SAMETI Training Hall with the central office in Medziphema. ATMA functionaries from all the districts any eventuality to protect of Nagaland participated in the said training. The reand strengthen the interest source persons Dr. L Daiho, Professor, SASRD imparted knowledge on the topic - Disease control of field crops of the party.

The House also con- and Disease control of horticulture crops. J. Akato Chiveyed its heartiest congrat- shi, STA SASRD spoke on introduction to plant proteculations to the new Chief tion, identification and management of common pests Minister T.R. Zeliang and of field crops, identification and management of comhis council of ministers, who mon pests of horticulture crops, pesticides and fungitook over the reign of govern- cides uses and integrated pest management. Nguzonyi Wetsah, Director, SAMETI and Principal, IETC Medziment on May 24 and wished phema presented the certificates . him a successful inning.

DMPF informs of Salekh Ahmed’s expulsion NPF, 20th Meluri A/C for separate political division DiMApur, August 25 signed in the presence of (MExn): Dimapur Muslim Public Forum (DMPF) has informed that Salekh Ahmed, accused of threatening two persons, has been expelled from Dimapur for an indefinite period as per the case heard on August 16. A press release from DMPF general secretary Mukibur Rahman informed that his father Abdul Motin also gave an undertaking that henceforth, “he will be responsible for any eventuality or loss of life upon the lives of the aggrieved parties, Jonah Achumi and Renponi Kithan and their respective families relating to the case.” The undertaking was

DMPF official where General Secretary signed as the Guarantor, it was informed.

The DMPF while condemning the action of Salekh Ahmed “bringing disrepute to our community” has thanked the Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) for the initiative to settle the case. It further lauded Shena Old Union Dimapur Area (SOUDA) and Sumi Council Dimapur for their effort to solve the case amicably.

The DMPF has assured that “henceforth any of its bonafide Members indulging in such activities shall not be tolerated and strict action will be taken.”

kohiMA, August 25 (MExn): The NPF of 20th Meluri Assembly Constituency has resolved to request NPF central president for creation of a separate political division for the constituency. The leaders of NPF 20th Meluri Assembly Constituency consisting all the office bearers and presidents of the village units held a consultative meeting on August 14 under the chairmanship of Eyekowe, working president, NPF 20 Meluri A/C. A press release informed that the house unanimously resolved to stand firm in support of Yitachu, parliamentary

Public SPace

M

Clarification on August 14, Kohima incident

y attention was drawn by the news items appeared in the local dailies in connection to the 14th August, 2014 incident where Mr. Neingumelie (Amelie) Dzuvichu, S/o Lt. Rulhoulie of L. Khel, Mr. Ruokuovituo Sote S/o Mr. Methasenyu Sote of P. Khel, Mr. Mhalelhoulie Mepfu-o S/o Lt. Razouvotuo of L. Khel, Mr. Ziekro-o Mepfu-o of L. Khel, all from Kohima village had assaulted Mr. Pelo Letro and Mr. Neizeko Mekrisuh in a road rage. After assaulting them below Paramedical Colony, Mr. Pelo Letro was kidnapped to an unknown destination.

On 14th August 2014, I sent my driver Mr. Neizeko Mekrisuh and my Sales Manager Mr. Pelo

Letro to Dimapur to bring shop materials to Kohima. At around 8.00 PM I received the information that Mr. Neizeko Mekrisuh and Mr. Pelo Letro were assaulted and Mr. Pelo was kidnapped by the occupants of a Bolero NL-01H-0036 to an unknown destination and learnt that the kidnappers were speaking Tenyidie. Immediately, I inform South Police Station and also asked my wife to inform and alert my in-laws of Kohima Village to enquire if the kidnappers had taken him to Kohima Village side. Accordingly, my in-laws of Kohima Village joint us in the search. Besides, I asked my relatives, neighbours, friends, well wishers to help me in rescuing the victim and left home.

On reaching TCP gate, people were waiting in confusion as they have no proper clue to search. Therefore, I requested everyone to contact any person known to them to come out and search every ward/colony including outskirts of Kohima.

After which, I left for north police station with my cousin to file an FIR. Reaching the North PS, I ask the duty in-charge from the police personals sitting at the entrance. They point out at a person that he was the Duty Officer. So, I greeted him and we went inside the room and I told him in Nagamese that one of my person was assaulted and kidnapped by the occupants of a Bolero NL-01H-0036 to an unknown destination and

that I came to file an FIR. So, I ask him to give me a piece of paper to write an FIR. On seeing the name tag of the duty Officer written as K. Solo, I felt more comfortable as he being from the same khel of my wife and start talking to him in Tenyidie. I personally requested him to enquire if the Bolero had gone to Kohima village side and also keep constantly in touch with the police patrolling party and inform us.

I also told him that I have already inform South PS and other search parties in several locations. Then, I gave him the FIR paper and took telephone number from him and left.

Later on, one of the search parties found the said Bolero

coming towards high School junction and informs me. So, I passed the information to the police party and other search parties. Finally, we found them at Tin-Patti and the police came to the spot and interrogating the suspects and later on took the culprits into their vehicles and went to the New secretariat -Meriema link road to search the victim. However, the culprits failed to reveal the exact spot where the victim was left.

Therefore, I went to the Duty Officer Mr. K. Solo, ASI to ask the information about the victim and pressurise him to extract information to get necessary clues, I went further asking him to beat them if necessary and force them to disclose where

they had left the victim and in what condition. However, there was no positive response. For the Second time, I went again and asked the same thing and further asked if he has any problem because they are from the same village. He told me that he has no problem and reply the same thing that he is interrogating. Even after several hours, the Police who were on duty, keeping the three culprits in their vehicles could not tell us where about of Mr. Pelo, and out of helplessness and in desperation I went and pushed Mr. K. Solo to pressure him in order to rescue Mr. Pelo at the earliest.

After sometime, we came to know that Mr. Pelo was admitted at Naga Hospital Kohima.

So, we all came back to North PS. On reaching the North PS, I met SDPO, OC, SDO (Civil) and SDO (Sadar) Kohima and request them to booked them and arrest the absconding culprit at the earliest. After which, I went to the Hospital to attend Mr. Pelo who was badly beaten and lying in the Hospital in a serious condition with so many injuries on his head, body, arms and limbs.

All these while my sole intention and action is desperately trying to rescue Mr. Pelo and that I have no personal grudges, no enmity or ill-feeling whatsoever against any individual, Family, Organisation of Kohima Village.

The Morung Express is introducing “Public Space” as part of our intention to provide deliberate space for the opinions of the people to be expressed and heard through this newspaper.

Nonetheless, The Morung Express points out that the opinions expressed in the contents published in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper or the editor.

(Kudecho Khamo)

6

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express TUEsDAy 26 AUGUsT 2014 volUmE IX IssUE 234

Transformative Gesture

Mr. Prime Minister, surprise the Nagas

N

umerous statesman, politicians, army generals and peace negotiators and philosophers have often acknowledged that it is easier to make war than peace.

Practitioners involved in nonviolent peacebuilding have observed that the period of ‘peace-making and peacebuilding’ often takes the same length of time as the duration of the conflict. Hence, for example, a people that have been in a situation of conflict for 60 years will require at least another 60 years before a condition of sustainable and durable justpeace is attained. Generational reflection and action is required in this context so that information and understanding is transferred across generations.

The process of justpeace in situations of protracted conflict is multi-faceted and highly complex. It requires more than cease-fires, political negotiations, development incentives, people-to-people engagement and political agreements to actually resolve a conflict. The tendency to emphasize on these outcome-focused activities has the potential to undermine process-focused initiatives that holistically transform power-relations and create conditions for sustainable justpeace.

While the terms of a political agreement are expected to provide a comprehensive roadmap for ending the conflict, the degree to which values of democracy and justice have been embraced in the agreement is central to making a harmonious transition in which the values truly represent the people’s aspirations.

Nagaland Governor, PB Acharya’s recent public assertion that: “Only through talks, the Naga problem can be resolved. The National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to resolve the long pending problems,” is reassuring. The lingering question that remains to be seen is whether Modi will sincerely exude the degree of enthusiasm and accord the necessary priority and commitment required in constructively engaging one of the world’s longest conflicts. Such commitment will require Modi to have the political will to rise above historical experiences and pursue with conviction the human desire to achieve justpeace. It primarily means understanding the Naga heart and respecting the Naga aspiration to live in dignity, freedom and peace.

International experiences have shown that decisive breakthroughs do not necessarily come through formal processes of peace talks and negotiations; rather, they come through unexpected and symbolic gestures that convey meaning that have more impact than political rhetoric. In the Naga case, it means approaching them sincerely, respectfully and forming relationships, as well as taking meaningful pragmatic steps to demonstrate good will in order to form new relationships with Nagas.

One possible way for this idea to become tangible within the present context could mean: The Prime Minister saying ‘Sorry’ to the Naga people for violations of rights and injustices committed by the State that came through policies such as “groupings”, while simultaneously repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Such a gesture would herald a new era in engaging Indo-Naga relations. This could also mark the beginning of ending discrimination and prejudice against people from the North East.

Given the historical circumstances in which Narendra Modi finds himself, he has the finest opportunity to do the unexpected that would be a model nationally, regionally and internationally!

lEfT wiNg |

Corinne Chin Associated Press

Dead floppy drive: Kenya recycles global e-waste

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n an industrial area outside Kenya's capital city, workers in hard hats and white masks take shiny new power drills to computer parts. This assembly line is not assembling, though. It is dismantling some of the estimated 50 million metric tons of hazardous electronic-waste the world generated last year. The clanking is rhythmic as the workers unscrew, detach and toss motherboards onto piles of gleaming circuitry at the East African Compliant Recycling facility. Workers wipe hard drives with magnets, shred small appliances, and bundle old cables like bales of multi-colored hay.

Stacks of dingy gray computer towers — some with nowancient floppy disk drives — cover much of one wall. The cornerstone is a cardboard box labeled "PCs for Africa."

The amount of electronic waste generated globally last year is enough to fill 100 Empire State Buildings and represents more than 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) for every living person, according to the U.N. Environmental Program. Much of that e-waste is exported to developing countries like India and Kenya in the form of used goods, where it ends up in landfills or is burned, putting lead, arsenic and mercury into the environment. Kenyan leaders are working on new laws and regulations requiring proper disposal of e-waste, defined as anything with a battery or a cord.

"A lot of e-waste is shipped to these countries in order to get rid of it," said Ruediger Kuehr, the executive secretary of Solving the E-Waste Problem, a Germany-based organization coordinated by the U.N. Impoverished Nairobi residents collect end-of-life electronics for processing. In Nairobi's Mukuru slum, women pick through dumpsites or purchase discarded material from electronics repair shops. They earn about $2 for a CRT tube-style television. If dumped, that television would have released 6.5 pounds (3 kilograms) of lead into the environment.

"I can say we have already done something good," waste collector Joyce Nyawira said, referring to cleaning the environment. Some of this e-waste stems from private Western charities donating products near the end of their life cycles, like the box of "PCs for Africa" sitting in the warehouse. Public initiatives like school computer programs also contribute.

"You can imagine if you are giving one kid a laptop, it's very easy for this laptop to die anytime," said Joshua Patroba, operations manager at East African Compliant Recycling, a company in Machakos, about an hour east of Nairobi, that began business in December and has already collected and sold more than 130,000 pounds of e-waste.

East African Compliant Recycling funds its operations by selling high-tech waste to countries like the U.K., China and Hong Kong with the machinery to isolate the precious metals and rare minerals from the scrap. High-grade motherboards can contain platinum, gold and silver. New products also pose a growing problem, as cheap gadgets become more widespread.

Kuehr said more e-waste is generated in developing and transitioning countries than in the developed world. The U.N. says that while the world's 7 billion people have 4.5 billion toilets, they also have 6 billion phones. "Most people, when their phones are dead, they give them to their children as toys, and then the children break them," said Margaret Kamar, Kenya's Minister of Higher Education, Science & Technology. "People get exposed to a lot of dangerous materials that are used when electronic materials are being manufactured."

President Uhuru Kenyatta in June signed regulations requiring e-waste be disposed of at government-licensed facilities meeting international standards. More detailed regulations written into an environmental act are pending.

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

A Unified Korea— on the Soccer Field at Least

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n a Tuesday in early August, North Korea’s women’s soccer team defeated Finland 2 to 1 in the opening match of the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Toronto.

Yes, it was just a soccer game. But for those of us who were there to cheer on the North Korean team, the stakes were profound. International soccer fans routinely express their support by adorning themselves in the national colors and symbols of a single country. In our case, however, we came as the supporters of a peacefully reunified Korea.

Ranging in age from 27 to 80, a group of Korean Americans and Korean Canadians converged in Toronto for the game. Armed with flags and wearing tshirts bearing images of a unified Korea, the group included nearly 50 grandfathers and grandmothers who had come from as far away as Vancouver, Texas, and Kansas. The backside of our t-shirts displayed the text of the 6.15 Joint Declaration, signed in 2000 by the leaders of North and South Korea, declaring their mutual desire for peaceful reunification.

Someone unfamiliar with Korea’s history might ask, why would a group of Korean immigrants travel so far to cheer on the North Korean women’s soccer team?

Rules of the Game The Unification Flag had been openly displayed at international sporting events as early as 1991, when athletes from North and South Korea for the first time participated on a single team.

But even though the 6.15 resolution had been agreed to by both Koreas, a FIFA representative informed us during halftime that because Korea is currently recognized by the United Nations as two separate states, promoting the idea of a single Korea on our t-shirts and flags constituted a political statement, which FIFA prohibits at its events. “I understand. I’ve been to Korea myself,” he said over our protests. “But I warn you, if you don’t take off the shirts and stop waving the flags, I will have to call on guards to escort all of you out of the stadium.”

Fan support for Korean teams at international sporting events under the banner of one Korea was not, however, without precedent. In the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by the United States, Korean American fans unfurled a giant unification flag that covered an entire section of a Philadelphia stadium, with no admonition from FIFA. North and South Korea memorably marched under the Unification Flag in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the 2006 Asian Games.

Presumably unaware of the use of the flag at past FIFA events, the FIFA official foisted responsibility for the decision onto the ironclad rules of the game, saying that he had no choice but to enforce them.

For those of us supporting North Korea under the banner of a unified Korea, the division of Korea was not just political, but deeply personal. Many of the elderly members of our group were survivors of the Korean War who have been separated from family in the North.

Hyun Lee and Betsy Yoon Foreign Policy in Focus

Korean Americans and Korean Canadians waving unification flags and playing Korean drums at the 2014 FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Toronto.

With the country’s fuel supply cut off due to the colThey have lived with unhealed wounds that stem from lapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist trading bloc, the unresolved war and Korea’s enduring division.

North Korea’s factory production came to an abrupt halt. Its idle tractors were transformed from tools for The Political is Deeply Personal Coming to cheer on the North Korean team and developing their country into immovable reminders of to wave the Unification Flag was one way in which their changed reality. A series of floods and droughts Noh Chunhee sought to redress the painful past. devastated the country’s annual harvests, and U.S.During the war, as her family was preparing to flee imposed sanctions blocked virtually all sources of infrom the southern city of Daegu, a relative urged come for the cash-strapped country. Among the many her parents to abandon Ms. Noh and her sister, the deprivations suffered by the North Korean people duryoungest of her parents’ many children. In the end, ing this time, undernourished mothers were unable to her parents did not leave the city, but this painful breastfeed and did not have access to infant formula, so children born during the “Arduous March” possess a memory remains.

“My sister was 3 and I was 2, and my mother searing memory of hunger.

It was those children, now grown, who were repheard my sister saying something to her pillow, hugging it like a baby,” recounted Ms. Noh. “My mother resenting their country on the world stage. If it were leaned in to listen. She heard her saying, ‘They’re go- a contest based solely on size, the North Koreans ing to throw us away. They’re going to throw us away.’ would have stood no chance. But when the game Years later, when my older sister hears our mother opened, they ruled the field. They outran, outfought, tell this story, she still cries.” Now 64 years old, Ms. and outscored the Finnish opponents who towered Noh, a New York resident, drove all the way to To- over them. In our minds, they became giants, crisscrossing the field with stunning speed and power, ronto to see the match.

Cheering on the North Korean team until his gritting their way to pulling off a herculean feat that voice turned hoarse, Soobok Kim was both haunted seemed implausible just moments before. and galvanized by his memories of the war. “I was hit here,” he said, pointing to the sole of his foot, “Six A Step Toward One Korea Outraged by FIFA’s denial of our right to claim our years old, hit by a U.S. airstrike. Not only me, two sisters also.” Now 70, Kim gestured toward his foot and nation as one and exhilarated by the tough determiadded, “And this, even though it looks OK now, I still nation of the North Korean team, we chanted the name of the last united Korean kingdom: “Joseon! ache every day when I walk.”

Our outraged response to FIFA was not simply a Joseon!”

With each goal, our chants became more impasmatter of asserting our right to free speech. FIFA’s demand was in effect a de-legitimization of the experi- sioned and our drumbeats even louder, because ences of Koreans who had lived through the devas- what we were rooting for was much more than just tation of war and the externally imposed division of a soccer team. It was for an underdog, battered by a long history of war and crippling sanctions, and an our homeland.

Our desire to cheer on the North Korean team un- object of international scorn that overcame imposder the banner of a peacefully reunified Korea was not sible odds to stand up, heads held high, to an im“political” in a divisive or provocative sense, as FIFA measurably more privileged opponent. Having been implied. To the contrary, our actions were a necessary forced to put away our flags, we poured our hearts expression of hope for those of us who continue to be- out as we stomped, clapped, and screamed for the lieve in a resolution to the ongoing war and division, tenacious North Korean women.

When the game-ending whistle blew with North and the urgency of lasting peace in Korea.

Korea as the winner, our group did not simply erupt into triumphant cheers. Someone in the group beOvercoming the Past The scars of the past were not just present in the gan singing a well-known reunification song: “Uriaudience. When the teams from Finland and North ui sowon-un tong-il…” (“Our dream is for reunificaKorea emerged onto the field, the significant height tion…”). The rest of us spontaneously joined in, as if disparity was immediately noticeable: The Finnish to reclaim our right to hope for peace and healing. team was strikingly tall whereas the North Korean While this opening match is likely to end up being team was uniformly short. one brief moment in the World Cup record books, While this might not seem odd to the casual ob- for those of us rooting for North Korea, it brought reserver who likely carries a bleak vision of North Kore- newed excitement and great hope. FIFA’s ham-fisted an life, we recognized the height disparity as visible demands lent clarity to the tragic fact that much of scars of a painful recent past. Born between 1995 and the world would prefer to keep the human conse1997, at the height of North Korea’s economic crisis, quences of Korea’s division out of sight and out of the North Korean soccer players were survivors of an mind. Yet as we closed out the opening match with especially bleak period marked by widespread food a song that expressed our shared desire to see a unishortages, which North Koreans refer to as the “Ar- fied homeland in our lifetime, we established this duous March.” day as one step in our long path toward unification.

Ice bucket challenge may change nonprofit world Alicia Rancilio

T

Associated Press

he ice bucket challenge's phenomenal success is making other charitable organizations rethink how they connect with a younger generation of potential donors.

Since the ALS Association began tracking the campaign's progress on July 29, it has raised more than $53.3 million from 1.1 million new donors in what is one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history.

Thousands of people, including celebrities like Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey, have posted videos of themselves getting buckets of ice water dumped over their heads and challenging others to do the same — or donate money to The ALS Association, which raises money for Lou Gehrig's disease research and assistance.

The ice bucket challenge has shown it's OK to be silly for a good cause, says Brian Mittendorf, a professor at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, who teaches courses in nonprofit finance.

"Normally the model is to find people who are passionate about a cause and then ask for donations or to educate people and then seek out donations. (The ice bucket challenge is) something that's fun that people can do ... people are taking part in it and then taking the info and donating."

The viral nature of the effort surprised even The ALS Association.

"This level of unprecedented giving is (something) I don't think this country

has seen before outside of a disaster or emergency," said ALS Association spokesperson Carrie Munk. "We had no idea it would get to this point."

Who should get credit for making this a viral sensation depends on whom you ask. Some say it began earlier this month when friends of a 29-year-old Boston man with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, did a group challenge. It's also demonstrated that the average Joe or Jane can make waves.

"One of the big take-aways is the power of individuals who are so tightly connected to a cause can really make a difference," Munk said. "I'm pretty sure that if any company or any nonprofit had all of the public relations dollars in the world to come up with a campaign, we never would've seen this kind of success."

Lucretia Gilbert, executive director of The Pink Agenda, which raises money for breast cancer research and awareness, believes it will encourage other nonprofits to get creative on social media. "It's a very simple thing and that's kind of the beauty of it. Everyone can do this challenge," she said.

The effort comes at a time when private groups are searching for new ways to raise dollars in the wake of tighter federal government spending on basic medical research, including on diseases like ALS. The National Institutes of Health is spending about $30 billion this year, money that is divided

in a highly competitive process to scientists around the country, and the world, to pursue what are deemed the most promising leads to understand various diseases and to find new targets to fight them.

Congress cut government spending last year; in 2012, the NIH's budget was $30.8 billion. And even before those cuts, the agency's budget hadn't kept pace with inflation for about a decade. As a result, the NIH is funding about one in six grant applications — down from about one in three a decade ago, director Francis Collins said earlier this year.

For Lou Gehrig's disease, the NIH's estimated budget this year is $40 million, down from $44 million in 2012.

Employing technology for fundraising campaigns, of course, isn't a new idea: Perhaps one of the most enduring began in 1966 when the Muscular Dystrophy Association had its first annual Labor Day weekend telethon. Last year, it raised $59.6 million in contributions.

Fundraisers have also embraced donating by text message in recent years.

But some fundraisers contend that one of their greatest challenges is asking the same people for money year after year — a challenge successful social media campaigns could solve. Mindy Bailey, corporate and community development specialist for JDRF, a foundation that raises money to fight Type 1 diabetes, said volunteers want to come up with a similar idea to fuel donations.

"We have had a lot of people reach out

wRiTE-wiNg

to us and say, 'Hey, we're going to do the ice bucket challenge,'" Bailey said.

"Recently we had a woman say, 'I'm thinking of doing a pie-in-your-face idea.' The wheels have been turning."

However, not everyone is a fan of the public approach of the ice bucket challenge. #NoIceBucketChallenge is a hashtag on Twitter that's being used for a variety of reasons. "I just think it seems hokey and far too gimmicky and a hot trend and part of the whole 'me' culture of 'Oh look at me. Pay attention to me,'" said Cameron Mitchell of New York. "The charity part seems like an afterthought."

Some even argue that it's wasteful to dump water, even for a cause, especially in places like California, where there's a drought. The California Water Board offered a measured response. "It doesn't violate any of our regulations.

People should always use good judgment whenever they use water while we're in a drought. On the other hand, we understand that this is a charitable event," said George N. Kostyroko, director of the California State Water Resources Control Board's office of public affairs, in an email.

Annoyed, impressed or otherwise, the ice bucket challenge has people talking — and ALS's Munk asserts that even if they don't donate, the campaign has raised public awareness, a major focus of the organization that last year spent 32 percent of its annual budget on public and professional education and 27 percent on research.

Just a few years ago, she said, only about 50 percent of Americans knew what ALS is. "We're really looking forward to see how the needle moves," she said.

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

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

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THE MORUNG EXPRESS

26 August 2014

PERSPECTIVE NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

The BRICS and Gaza

Where do the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries stand in relation to the current conflict in Gaza? How do they compare to the dominant external power in the region, the US? What do their responses to the crisis reveal about their broader global aspirations?

Guy Burton

E

xamining the BRICS is important for several reasons.

Although they differ greatly in terms of their economic size (e.g. China’s status as the second largest economy versus South Africa’s much smaller size) and political orientation (democratic Brazil, South Africa and India versus more authoritarian Russia and China), they have become a shorthand for describing those countries which are emerging as ‘rising powers’ within an increasingly multipolar world. In addition, they have developed common strategies and actions over the past decade, including regular summits and, most recently, the creation of a mutual financial instrument.

Despite these common activities, there has been no attempt to coordinate foreign policy objectives. And this is evident in the way that the five have individually responded to the violence inflicted on Gaza over the past month. Yet those differences must also be set into the context of a broadly common international consensus in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, specifically a commitment to two states (one Jewish, one Arab) which was first proposed and adopted by the United Nations (UN) following the referral of the Palestinian question in 1947.

That position is reflected in the current framework for negotiations, namely the 1993 Oslo accords which provided the basis for talks to establish a Palestinian state in exchange for Israeli security. Although Oslo proposed a final agreement within five years, this was never achieved – a situation which has persisted despite intermittent efforts to restart and conclude talks.

The US position Like the international community, the US is committed to Oslo. However, its efforts at being an honest broker have been undermined by its strong support of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.

The US maintaining a close association with Israel contrasts with its position in the past. Although it was supportive of Israel’s establishment in 1948 it was not especially active in providing assistance to the new state. Indeed, the Eisenhower administration roundly condemned Israel’s aggression alongside that of its British and French allies during the 1956 Suez conflict. It was only during and after 1967 when the Cold War expanded to make the Middle East a proxy arena that the close ties between the US and Israel on one side and the Soviet Union and its Arab allies (including Egypt, Iraq and Syria) on the other became more apparent. Prompted by a strong pro-Israel lobby in Washington, successive US governments have adopted an extremely supportive position in relation to Israel, including the use of vetoes or abstentions in the UN Security Council when Israel has been criticised.

With the end of the Cold War, the US has stood alone as the dominant global power. A confluence of changes in this period encouraged the Palestinian leadership to reach out to Israel, resulting in Oslo. As part of the process the conflict was internationalised, with the US providing diplomatic support along with financial assistance (the latter which was also provided by the EU as well).

Although Washington saw itself as an honest broker, few others did. As the peace process faltered and violence broke out between Israel and the Palestinians after 2000, the US continued to side with Israel, both diplomatically at the UN and in physical support, including continued military assistance. During the time of the Second Intifada (200005), the Quartet was established to try to broker a diplomatic solution and consisted of the US, UN, EU and Russia. By the mid-2000s the Second Intifada had wound down. Israel became the dominant party in the conflict and the Palestinians were economically, politically and territorially weakened through the construction of the wall, the siege of Gaza and the denial of Palestinian selfdetermination. This state of affairs has persisted over the past decade, including the previous Israeli military interventions in Gaza in 2008-09 and 2012.

The BRICS: a challenge to the US? Since June, Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories has escalated, in both the West Bank and Gaza.

How have the BRICS countries responded? Like other countries, including the US, the BRICS have appealed for moderation and an end to the violence. To this extent, they do not offer a radically different stance from Washington’s. But at the same time, when examined closely, the nuances within those appeals have varied, from strong criticism of Israel to relative invisibility from India, private support of Israel by Russia’s President Putin and China advising a return to talks.

Criticising Israel: Brazil and South Africa Last month Brazil voted to investigate Israel’s actions in Gaza in the UN Human Rights committee, which 28 other countries supported against 17 abstentions and one vote against (the US). A few days

“Arena of Mind” portrays a space for idea germination, a field where ideas from multi-disciplinary viewpoints fertilize the world of intelligence. The writers aspire to envision a new future by exploring the mind, discovering new seeds of insights and unleashing them to enlightenment.

Paradigm Shift In Our Education System: A Key To ‘Entrepreneurial Revolution’

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Palestinians inspect the damage of a Rafah commercial center after an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on August 24. (AP Photo)

later, on 24 July Brazil recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, calling Israel’s action ‘disproportionate’.

By recalling her ambassador, President Dilma Rousseff may have echoed the sentiment of her pro-Palestinian Workers Party, but it also marked a change from her predecessor, Lula. During his presidency (2003-10), Lula had claimed that Brazil could be the honest broker and that the US could not be, because it was determined to keep open channels of dialogue with both sides.

However, it received short shrift from the Israeli foreign ministry, which called Brazil a ‘diplomatic dwarf’ as a way of diminishing the impact.

Despite this, Brazil’s action was in line with that of other Latin American states. By the end of July Chile, Peru and El Salvador had also recalled their ambassadors. Increasingly, Latin America has been acting in broadly the same fashion. In 2010 Brazil and several other countries in the region recognised Palestine as a state, which preceded the Palestinians’ attempt to have that status recognised at the UN the following year.

Latin American attitudes towards Israel appear to be hardening; a striking development for a region which broadly voted in favour of the UN’s 1947 partition plan which provided the basis for a Jewish state. More recently, Latin America’s diplomatic response to Israel’s actions in Gaza is more strident than among some Arab states, whose support of the Palestinians has been muted (mainly because of these rulers’ antipathy towards the political Islam of Hamas).

As in Brazil, the South African governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), has been highly critical of Israel.

The party’s deputy general secretary, Jessie Duarte, used robust language to described Israel as turning the ‘occupied territories into permanent death camps’, which brought an angry response from the country’s representative Jewish organisations.

Duarte’s words reflect the ANC’s historic identification with the Palestinian struggle. Officially, however, the ANC government has used more measured language; while criticising Israel and promising $1m in humanitarian relief to Gaza, President Jacob Zuma also made sure to include a reference to the threat to Israeli civilians as a result of the missiles fired from Gaza. Unlike Brazil, South Africa has not recalled its ambassador, although the government did announce that it would prosecute any South Africans involved in the conflict.

The statement was made in response to a pro-Palestinian advocacy group that opened a case against an alleged South African serving with the IDF in Gaza.

Near invisibility in India In contrast to Brazil and South Africa, the response from New Delhi has been extremely muted. In India there have been solidarity marches in support of the Palestinians in New Delhi, but relatively little attention in the media to the conflict. The government has been reticent on the subject, adopting a balanced approach which criticises disproportionate damage by Israel and the rocket fire from Gaza. This is in marked contrast to an historic pro-Palestinian stance in the decades following independence.

Why this is the case has been examined by The Diplomat correspondent, Sanjay Kumar. He has suggested that geopolitical considerations, including Israel’s status as the largest arms supplier to India and India’s closer ties with the US, has encouraged it in this direction.

This may also be due, in part, to the long term diminishing of third worldism and the decolonisation impulse and more recently the absence of a strong ideological commitment to these goals in the historically dominant Congress party. Admittedly, the current conflict in Gaza has occurred following the recent election of a Hindu nationalist BJP government, which is more focused on concerns within its immediate neighbourhood.

Despite this more regional focus,

Kumar notes the concern of Indian academics and analysts who believe that by failing to show leadership over this (and other) issues, New Delhi is undermining its claim to be a global power, along with its long running campaign to gain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Russia: Masking pro-Israel sentiment Internationally, the Russian government has been at the centre of a diplomatic storm with the West over its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis and whether it was directly or indirectly responsible for shooting down a Malaysian Airlines flight travelling over eastern Ukraine last month. Most recently, this has resulted in a spate of economic sanctions being imposed by the US and EU. Russia differs from the other BRICS owing to its institutionalised diplomatic presence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a member of the Quartet. In between these issues, Russia’s representative at the UN sought a balanced approach to the Gaza crisis, criticising the killing of civilians by Israel while also denouncing the firing of missiles from Gaza. During one of the UN Security Council meetings, he stated that Russia was willing to consider (although not explicitly) a request from PLO leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to make Palestine an international protectorate.

While Russia publicly presents itself as a dispassionate observer of the conflict (the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, reported on 23 July that President Putin had spoken to Israeli prime minister Netanyahu that he was prepared to mediate between Israel and Hamas in searching for a ceasefire), the Moscow Times notes that at a personal level Putin identifies with Israel and its ‘attempts to protect its citizens’. This may be due to several reasons, including the strong Russian Jewish population in Israel as well as Putin’s and the Israeli government’s shared opposition to ‘terrorism’. Despite these sentiments, it is unlikely that Russia under Putin will come out publicly and strongly support Israel; it has other diplomatic commitments elsewhere in the region, including ties with the Damascus regime in Syria and involvement in the current nuclear talks with Iran, which require it to maintain a distance.

China: Pushing for talks Prior to the current conflict in Gaza, China’s Middle East envoy (a position which it first introduced in 2002) visited the region and spoke in support of the two-state solution and encouraged negotiations between the two sides and to ‘meet each other halfway’.

This more measured approach reflects the broader policy that Beijing has pursued since the 1990s. Historically, the Chinese leadership was pro-Palestinian, a position which reflected its third world commitment to the developing world and political revolution. From the 1980s the government adjusted direction, focusing less on ideological purity and more on economic development. While this initially occurred at the domestic level, the 1990s and 2000s saw China’s economic importance rise through greater trade. Meanwhile, in the Middle East China had established relations with Israel in 1992, partly to counter the diplomatic isolation it had faced by the West and its allies after the Tiananmen Square repression, but also to make purchases from Israel’s sizeable arms industry.

The role of the BRICS: does it matter?

Although the BRICS broadly share the international consensus in favour of an end to the violence, a more moderate stance by the two sides and ultimately a two-state solution, there have been some differences in nuance. Yet does any of this matter? Can rising powers such as the BRICS countries make a difference in relation to Gaza? To answer this, it is worth looking at the issue from two viewpoints.

One way is to ask whether a rising power can have a direct impact on the conflicts actors, Israel and the Palestin-

ians. If this is not the case then it does not matter whether a BRICS country is critical or not of a particular party, especially if it’s the stronger one of Israel. For most of the BRICS, their relationship with Israel is mostly diplomatic; beyond making official statements, they have limited influence to offer. The one exception to this is China, owing to its importance as the world’s second largest economy and a key source and destination of the world’s imports and exports. China’s economic weight means that neither Israel nor the Palestinians can afford to ignore Beijing’s wishes. By contrast, BRICS like Brazil and South Africa have less trade with Israel (and the Palestinians), making them much less important economically. India, meanwhile, imports a sizeable amount of Israeli arms, which may potentially discourage it from taking too strong a stance. And Putin’s sympathy for the Israeli position means that he cannot be seen as an honest broker in any settlement.

Another way that a rising power might make a difference to the conflict would be to challenge and change the framework associated with the conflict.

This would involve moving away from the established way of dealing with the conflict as one between two equals. To do so is a fallacy: Israel is a state, which in Weberian terms means control over a physical territory with a monopoly on the tools of coercion (i.e. police, military); by contrast the Palestinians are a national group without a state; the West Bank and Gaza are defined as being under occupation. Although Oslo enabled a transitional government, the Palestinian Authority, to be established in the occupied territory, it does not have the attributes of a state. Its room for action is framed and contained by Israel. As an example of this, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B and C. The PA is responsible for administration (and theoretically security) in Area A where the majority of Palestinians live in the principal urban areas. In Area B, the PA has administrative responsibility and Israel controls security while in Area C, which makes up two-thirds of the West Bank, Israel has sole administrative and security control.

From this perspective, China’s approach is not transformative. It does not present a change from the dominant diplomatic paradigm of the conflict, since it explicitly promotes a return to talks – the very same model that has persisted since 1993. Meanwhile, Russia and its support for the dominant actor, Israel, would merely reinforce the status quo.

This therefore leaves the two countries which have been most critical as offering a move in this direction: Brazil and South Africa. Of the two, Brazil has challenged the status quo by recalling its ambassador in order to make clear that the current arrangements and power disparity is unacceptable. If this was followed by other measures to criticise and challenge Israel’s behaviour, this might yet yield significant results.

However, those seeking a new way out of an old problem should not be cheering just yet. Indeed, Brazil’s approach continues to occupy the dominant diplomatic paradigm associated with the conflict, where statements are restricted to the official sphere. Moreover, everyday realities will continue to be important. In this instance the relative economic weight and impact that a country can bring will continue to be significant – especially if it is followed up with sanctions, as advocated by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in Palestinian civil society. Brazil and South Africa are relatively insignificant to the overall Israeli economy. In sum, until this begins to change, such criticism will remain peripheral and the more common appeal towards a diplomatic solution (as advocated by China) will continue to dominate. Finally, this is an approach which has done little to challenge the prominent position of the US – and suggests that the BRICS will have only marginal impact during the current Gaza crisis.

ducation is a liberating force and in our age it is also a democratizing force, cutting across barriers of caste and class, smoothening out inequalities imposed on us by birth and other circumstances ’’, these are the words of late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Education is the builder of ideas and images that promotes the development of knowledge. It is a mixture of ideas and learning that have made man superior to other residents of this planet in spite of his shortcomings.

Knowledge and education are loyal companions and torchbearers during difficult times. Education is the main means of discovering information and sharing insights within us and beyond. Human brain and its intellectual capacity have expanded with the development of knowledge. In fact the boundaries of knowledge are aiding the development of different spheres of education.

We know that education is a continuous evolving process. Even if a person meets his mortal end, he passes on his life long attained knowledge to the next generation by means of books and scriptures. In the present day world, a person desirous of raising his standard of living must pursue education and update his knowledge profile.

Education is a blessing and blessed are those who have received this blessing… But the big question here lies in the fact that “Have we Indianised or localised our education system? Does our education system enhance the growth and development of students to be self reliant? Does our education system permit us to think beyond the box provided in the syllabus?’’

The education model followed in India is the education system which was started by the Britishers.

The present model still heavily relies on the old model which was designed for the purpose of creating two classes –one, ruling elite that included Britishers and high profile Indians and second the working class.

Moreover, it is a well recognised fact that education has to be in accordance with the national priorities, but we are still lacking in this respect. Growth and development of the country can be further accelerated if our system of education incorporates our values, moral, spiritual and cultural.

There is an urgent need to revamp our education system if we really want our future generations to enjoy total independence of freedom of the heart, mind and soul. Unless a person has true freedom he or she will not be able to explore the possibilities and opportunities that may knock at his or her door. In order to explore new and untried areas a person has to think beyond and has to be innovative. Innovation is the key to entrepreneurship and economic development. The goal of innovation is to bring about positive change leading to growth and development both internal and external to the person.

Since Independence, our country has seen and experience ‘Green Revolution’ and ‘White Revolution’ now the time has come for an ‘Entrepreneurial Revolution’. Entrepreneurial activities in all corners of our country will provide a complete solution to the ever growing problems of unemployment, social instability, regional disparities, etc. Therefore, there is an imperative need to analyse and reform our educational system for ourselves and for the benefit of our people and our nation as a whole. Here lies the importance to imbibe creativity in the minds of our students.

According to educational psychology, creativity is universal. Every one of us possesses creative capacity to some degree. Although creative abilities are natural endowments, they are capable of being nourished and nurtured by way of training or education. “Creativity implies the production of a ‘totally or partially’ novel identity.” (Crow and Crow, 1973).

“Creativity is the capacity of a person to produce compositions, products or ideas which are essentially new or novel and previously unknown to the producer.”(Drevdahl,J.E., 1956).

According to Hoselitz’s cultural theory of Entrepreneurship, certain persons are endowed with creative powers……. The stabilising social institutions help in the development of entrepreneurs. They develop their attitudes in the direction of productivity and creative integration.

The present system of our education stresses only on the importance of rules, regulations and instructions. It has no or limited areas which will mould the students or learners to develop and experiment with the creative side of their learning.

Teachers’ too should change their mindset as well as their outlook of their profession in line with the changes of recent times. The alphabet ‘A’ is not only for spelling the word “Apple” but is also for “Amitabh Bachchan/ Arizona/ Auditor/ Avril Lavigne/ Aurora/ Avocado… The question here is- How many teachers are willing to give full marks when a student writes A is for Amir Khan/Attitude? How many of our teachers are willing to teach beyond the box or out of their comfort zones? So far, our present model of education has been hindering the path to innovative and creative thinking in the minds of those who are at the receiving end. There is an urgent need for a ‘Paradigm Shift’ in our education system to pave the way for ‘New Thinking’. Change in the pattern of thought in line with creativity will bring about ‘Entrepreneurial Revolution’. An ‘Entrepreneurial Revolution’ that will promote innovation and accelerate the economic growth and development of our country thereby improving the standard of living of the masses.

“An Entrepreneur is an innovator; he takes the economy to new heights of development.” – Joseph A. Schumpeter.

Thejanuo Fidelia, Former HOD Department of Commerce St. Josephs’ College, Jakhama

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

8

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Tuesday 26 August 2014

10 pilgrims killed in stampede at Chitrakoot temple in Madhya Pradesh

A woman holds a crying child as relatives of victims gather at the spot of a stampede at the Kamta Nath Hindu temple in Chitrakoot on Monday, August 25. A pre-dawn stampede killed 10 people Monday as tens of thousands of Hindus were worshipping in an annual procession marking the holy day of Somvati Amavasya. (AP Photo)

BhoPal, august 25 (tnn): Ten people have been killed and dozens more injured in a stampede at a temple in Chitrakoot area — which falls in the northern Vindhya range of mountains spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Collector of Satna district has ordered a magisterial inquiry.

Rope barriers set up to contain thousands of Hindu pilgrims during parikrama of Kamadgiri hill gave way on Monday morning, resulting in a stampede in which six women were killed and 30 injured, said police in Satna district.

They said the accident occurred early morning during the “ Parikrama (circumambulation) of the hill on the occasion of Somavati Amavasya — is no moon day that falls on a Monday (Somvar) in traditional Hindu calendar.

“We got the information at 5.30am.

Teams were dispatched immediately,” said Pawan Srivastava, inspector general (IG) Rewa range. The stampede occurred during ‘Shayana Pradakshinam’ which is done in a lying posture, an officer told TOI. “In this pose, the devotees circumambulate on the pradakshina path. The relatives

and friends of the devotees help them to roll around. Some of the pilgrims who were walking fell on the ground during the circumambulation and this triggered a panic,” IG added.

Kamadgiri hill is a place believed to have been the abode of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman during their exile. Lord Kamtanath, another of his names, is the Ishta Deva principal deity not only of Kamadgiri Parvat but of the whole of Chitrakoot.

Hundreds of pilgrims were present at the pilgrimage path around this hill which is about 5km long. There are a large number of temples in the Parikrama Path (pathway).

One of the major temples here is the Shree Kamatanath Temple.

The stampede took place near Bharat Milap Temple which is located on the back side of the hill, said police.

As per the mythology, this temple marks the spot where Bharat, the brother of Rama, is said to have tried to convince Rama to return to Ayodhya, to be the king.

Earlier, 115 pilgrims were killed and more than 100 injured in a stampede near a temple at Ratangarh in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on October 13, 2013.

The Morung Express

Congress, Lalu-Nitish derail BJP in by-elections

neW Delhi, august 25 (ians): in results it admitted were not to its liking, the BJP suffered stunning reverses in by-elections in Bihar, exactly three months after it swept the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress scored gains both in Karnataka and Punjab but lost 1-2 to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

In the first pan-India popularity test after the May Lok Sabha verdict, the new alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Janata Dal-United and Congress shocked the BJP by winning six of the 10 assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress wrested Bhagalpur, an urban seat, from the Bharatiya Janata Party after a gap of 23 years.

In Karnataka, the ruling Congress wrested the prestigious Bellary reserved seat and retained the Chikkodi-Sadalga seat. The BJP won from Shikaripura in the Aug 21 by-elections held in four states. In Punjab, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress won one seat each.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which won four Lok Sabha seats, was defeated in both places.

The best news for the BJP came in Madhya Pradesh where its candidates won from Aagar and Vijayraghavgarh constituencies, while the Congress snatched Bahoriband from the BJP. BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS here that the results were not to the party’s satisfaction but claimed they did not reflect the national mood.

“The results do not reflect the national mood. There were local issues and factors such as popularity of the candidate,” he said.

He added that the results did not

Happy over success of experiment with RJD, Congress: Nitish Kumar

Patna, august 25 (Pti): With the “secular alliance” successfully halting BJP victory in Bihar bypolls, an elated JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday expressed satisfaction over the “experiment” and said the results would have been better had the parties discussed seat sharing in better way.

“The experiment we made through tie-up has proved successful. People have expressed their mind and mood in favour of it,” a visibly happy Nitish Kumar told reporters. As per results and trend available so far, the secular alliance has won four seats and is ahead in two more seats.

BJP has won three seats and is ahead in one. The BJP had bagged six seats out of the 10 in 2010 election while RJD had 3 and JD (U) 1.

The secular alliance has annexed two seats from BJP-led NDA. Kumar said, “The results in the bypoll would have been better if we had taken a decision on seat sharing in a better way.” “But, still in a short span of time the alliance has managed a good show in the bypoll that has taken place a little after the general election in which BJP had registered stupendous victory in Bihar,” Kumar said. indicate a revival of the Congress which won only 44 seats -- its worst ever showing -- in the Lok Sabha battle.

The Congress was buoyant.

“The BJP gave the impression that the Narendra Modi wave, which was based on false promises, will carry it through in the bypolls but unfortunately people did not vote as they expected,” Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed told IANS. “The results are a positive signal for the Congress,” he added.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar, both former chief ministers of Bihar, were jubilant. After the Lok Sabha disaster, they ended their animosity of two decades to take on the BJP. Lalu Prasad tweeted from Mumbai: “It seems people have corrected the wrong of the Lok Sabha polls.” Nitish Kumar

vowed to step up efforts to form a nationwide anti-BJP front.

RJD’s Ajay Kumar Bulganin won from Mohiuddinnagar by 21,530 votes. His colleagues Ramawatar Paswan was elected from Rajnagar by 3,448 votes while Randhir Kumar Singh won from Chapra by 24,106 votes.

JD-U’s Rishi Mishra made it to the assembly from Jale by 7,720 votes and Ramanand Prasad Singh won from Parbatta by 56,990 votes. In Bhagalpur, Ajit Sharma of the Congress won by 17,000 votes. The BJP’s Awadesh Singh won in Hajipur by 6,127 votes, Nirmal Ram (Mohania) by 19,851 votes, Rashmi Verma (Narkatiaganj) by 15,742 votes and Ram Narayan Mandal (Banka) scraped through by 711 votes.

Its ally, Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, was routed.

RJD leader Ashok Kumar Sinha

said the results showed that the “magic of Lalu and Nitish has clicked and the Modi factor has failed”, referring to Prime Minister Modi.

N.Y. Gopalakrishna of the Congress trounced Obalesh (BJP) by 33,104 votes in Bellary, 330 km from Bangalore.

He secured 83,906 and Obalesh 50,802. In Chikkodi-Sadalga, Ganesh Hukkeri of the Congress won by 31,820 votes defeating K.M. Mallikarjun of the BJP. In Shikaripura, B.Y. Raghavendra of the BJP defeated H.S. Shanthavirappa Gowda of the Congress by 6,430 votes to retain the seat. Congress candidate and former union minister Preneet Kaur won from Patiala in Punjab, defeating Bhagwan Dass Juneja of the ruling Akali Dal by over 23,200 votes.

Preneet Kaur is the wife of former chief minister Amarinder Singh, now a Lok Sabha member from Amritsar. Akali Dal’s Jeet Mohinder Singh won from Talwandi Sabo by over 46,600 votes, defeating Harminder Singh Jassi of the Congress.

In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, BJP’s Sanjay Pathak defeated Brajendra Mishra of the Congress in Vijayraghavgarh by over 50,000 votes. Pathak was the outgoing Congress legislator who joined the BJP. In Aagar, BJP’s Gopal Parmar trounced Rajkumar Gore of the Congress by over 27,000 votes. Manohar Untwal vacated this seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Ujjain.

The Congress hit back in Bahoriband where Sourabh Singh defeated BJP’s Pranav Pandey by over 7,000 votes.

Supreme Court holds coal blocks Dikshit meets President and HM amid indications of resignation Delhi, august 25 (Pti): was under pressure to do so. However, to have discussed about her continuaallocation illegal, but no cancellation yet neW Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit when asked whether she will resign, tion in Thiruvananthapuram Raj BhaneW Delhi, august 25 (ians): The Supreme Court Monday held the coal blocks allocated from 1993 onwards by a steering committee and through government dispensation route were illegal, arbitrary, and non-transparent without any objective criteria but did not cancel them yet.

A bench of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Madan B. Lokur, and Justice Kurian Joseph said: “The entire allocation of coal block as per recommendations made by the Screening Committee from July 14, 1993 in 36 meetings and the allocation through the government dispensation route suffers from the vice of arbitrariness and legal flaws.”

Pronouncing the judgment, Chief Justice Lodha noted there was “no objective criteria” for evaluation of comparative merit. “The approach had been ad-hoc and casual. There was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth.

Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily.”

The verdict came on a batch of PILs initially by advocate M.L.Sharma and NGO Common Cause challenging the validity of allocation and seeking their cancellation. Unlike the court verdict in 2G case where it cancelled all the 121 licences, the court took a cautious approach as it wanted to address the consequences of its ver-

dict and how to tackle it.

“As we have already found that the allocations made, both under the Screening Committee route and the government dispensation route, are arbitrary and illegal, what should be the consequences, is the issue which remains to be tackled.

We are of the view that, to this limited extent, the matter requires further hearing,” the court said as it directed the next hearing on Sep 1.

It said one way of dealing with it is to appoint a committee headed by a retired apex court judge and the such a committee’s report may help the court to have an objective view on the options available for allocation.

The court said as it pointed out that the former attorney general was not able to give facts and figures and the money involved in these allotments, as whatever figures he gave were disputed by the state governments.

Pointing to the ad-hoc manner in which the screening committee had acted in its 36 meetings from 1993 till 2010, the court said: “The Screening Committee has never been consistent, it has not been transparent, there is no proper application of mind, it has acted on no material in many cases, relevant factors have seldom been its guiding factors, there was no transparency and guidelines have seldom guided it. On many occasions, guidelines have been honoured more in their breach.”

Holding that the allocations based on the committee’s recommendations as illegal, the court said that the allocations through the government dispensation route, “however laudable the object may be”, were also illegal as they were impermissible as per The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973.

Referring to some of coal mines allocated to the state governments or its undertakings which in turn entered into joint venture for mining and prospecting, the judgment said that no state governments or their public sector undertakings are eligible for mining coal for commercial use.

“Since allocation of coal is permissible only to those categories under section 3(3) and (4) (of the CMN Act, 1973), the joint venture arrangement with ineligible firms is also impermissible. Equally, there is also no question of any consortium/ leader/association in allocation,” the court said.

The court also said that “it may be clarified and we do, that no challenge was laid before us in respect of blocks where competitive bidding was held for the lowest tariff for power for Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs)”. “It is directed that the coal blocks allocated for UMPPs would only be used for UMPPs and no diversion of coal for commercial exploitation would be permitted,” the court stressed.

on Monday met President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Rajnath Singh amid indications that she may put in her papers if shunted out of the southern state.

Sources close to 76-year-old Dikshit, who took charge of Kerala Raj Bhawan only five months back, indicated that the former Delhi Chief Minister may put in her papers as she

Dikshit refused to give a direct answer.

“You will know, when I take any such decision,” she told PTI. Dikshit, who served as Delhi Chief Minister from 1998 to 2013, was appointed Kerala governor in March just before the model code of conduct came into force for the Lok Sabha polls. During her 15-minute meeting with the Home Minister, Dikshit is understood

‘Britain will help build India’s good days’

neW Delhi, august 25 (ians): British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg Monday said his country was “ready” and “able” to help build India’s “good days” and that bilateral trade between the two countries would be boosted.

“Good days are coming.

Britain is ready and able to help build that. India is our biggest G20 investor and UK has the expertise and investment capacity that can create the best jobs for India’s young population,” Clegg said at “UK-India: Business is great” conference organised by UK Trade and Investment in partnership with Ficci here.

Calling for collaboration with Indian entrepre-

Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, center, speaks to a Sikh during his visit at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara or Sikh temple in New Delhi on Monday, August 25. (AP Photo)

neurs, he said Britain is uniquely placed to cater to Indian consumers demand for high quality products.

“India’s entrepreneurs can expect to benefit from UK’s

‘India has historic opportunity to end tropical diseases’

Washington, august 25 (ians): Given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stress on “toilets not temples”, India has a historic opportunity to end Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) that affect the world’s poorest people, according to an Indian-origin health specialist.

“India has an excellent history of controlling and eliminating smallpox, guinea worm and polio. Now we have this huge opportunity to end NTDs,” says Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Managing Director of Global Network for NTDs here.

“We are very positive because of India’s proven track record and the current scale of India’s treatment programme,” Mistry, a third generation South African of Gujarati origin, told IANS. Mistry joined the group in July 2010 as he was passionate about the issue.

“The other positive sign is the new administration’s commitment to the issue of sanitation

and reducing open defecation,” he said. “India is also committed to the London declaration on ending NTDs by 2020.”

“In the Indian context, we feel that this is an achievable goal that will propel not only India but also the global response,” Mistry said as India accounts for 35 percent of the total global burden of NTDs. Over 500 million Indians are at risk of the five main NTDs present in India - intestinal worms (roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm), elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis) and trachoma.

Together with river blindness (onchocerciasis) and snail fever (schistosomiasis), these seven NTDs infect more than one in six people worldwide and cause blindness, massive swelling in appendages and limbs, disfigurement, severe malnutrition and anaemia.

Living in rural areas predisposes over 70 percent Indians to get these infections and trapping them in poverty with coastal

areas the most vulnerable. Up north, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal and in the South Tamil Nadu and Kerala also have higher rates of elephantiasis.

In India, working hand in hand with the government, Mistry’s Network runs a very local customised END7 awareness campaign to end these diseases, mainly led by a lot of private sector Indian companies. As pills are donated by pharmaceutical companies and existing infrastructure is used, it costs only 50 cents (31 rupees) to treat and protect one person for an entire year against all the seven NTDs. With the new government’s commitment to sanitation, there is a huge move to reduce open defecation in India as that’s the key to controlling these infectious diseases. Because these parasites are in the intestines, it comes out in urine and faeces and gets back into the soil or water and when people walk barefoot or children don’t wash their

van, sources said.

She is said to have refused to quit after the NDA government had allegedly nudged her to resign. There have been reports that suggested that the former Delhi Chief Minister may be transferred to a state in the Northeast.

After meeting Singh, Dikshit met the President. However, there was no official word on what transpired in the meeting.

hands, it infects new individuals or even re-infects individuals who have been treated.

Thus “reducing open defecation together with providing treatment is what’s going to turn this around,” Mistry said. “In addition to providing the facilities and figuring out what the infrastructure needs are, at the end of the day, the success of all these public health programmes depends on what we call behaviour change or shifting the culture to take up these services,” he said.

“Social change is actually the hard part of it,” he said. “It’s the type of cultural shift that comes from what we see from religious leaders and popular social figures.” A physician can treat a body, but one needs to get into the hearts and minds of people to effect behavioural change, Mistry said.

That’s why last February Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan was roped in as the first official END7 campaign am-

bassador in India to help raise awareness of NTDs. Like his father Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the polio campaign, Abhishek Bachchan’s recent trip to an interior area of Orissa, about an hour’s drive from Bhubaneswar, had a “very very huge” impact on NTD treatment programme.

His being actually involved in washing the feet of women infected with elephantiasis also helped reduce the stigma and misperceptions related to this.

“Now India has done an excellent job in creating policies at the federal level and currently runs some of the largest NTD control and elimination programmes in the world, reaching some 400 million people,” Mistry said.

“And we are optimistic that with the new policies and commitment - sanitation together with established programmes for deworming and elephantiasis - India can notch up another success story in controlling infectious diseases,” he said.

flexible tax regime,” he said, adding that “every UK business group wants to work with India”.

“We will together create jobs, ensure growth and

make a prosperous future,” Clegg reiterated. Clegg is on an official visit to India August 25-August 27. He will be visiting Mumbai and Bangalore too.

Children forced to carry corpses rescued BhuBanesWar, august 25 (ians): Two homeless children, who were forced to pick up corpses from railway tracks in Odisha, were rescued, an official said Monday. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC), a semijudicial body, has launched a probe into the matter.

Two boys, one 17-yr-old and another 15-yr-old, were rescued by the volunteers of government-run Childline from the railway station in Cuttack town, 26 km from here. The Childline presented them before the local CWC Friday. They told the committee that the Government Railway Police (GRP) officials had used them to lift corpses from railway tracks.

The boys said they were not only lifting the corpses but were also carrying the bodies to the postmortem chamber of a nearby hospital and cut and expose the organs for examination by doctors, the chairman of the CWC Bikash Mohapatra told IANS. The elder boy said he had carried as many as 100 bodies during his three-year stay at the railway station and the other boy helped him, he said.

If the children refused to do the job, railway police personal allegedly beat them up. Police were paying them about Rs.300-Rs.500 towards disposal of each body, the boy said. Mohapatra said the boys were rescued during a special drive to rehabilitate the destitute minors living at the railway stations and other places in the city. “We have taken suo moto cognizance and launched a probe. We have also directed the hospital authorities, railway police and other concerned to investigate the matter and submit a report to the committee in 15 days,” he said.

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Dimapur

9

Scotland Referendum: Contentious issue of Currency ISLAY, AuguSt 25 (AP): Carl Reavey plunged his nose into the glass, inhaled the amber liquid’s scent, then sipped. Slowly.

It’s said that Scotch tastes of the place where it is made, so Reavey’s Bruichladdich Black Art single malt would offer a touch of barley, a splash of the sea, and a whiff of salt from the island of Islay, 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Glasgow.

That taste takes time — a long time — to produce, with top-rated Scotch aged for decades. And it means distilleries need to have long-term plans for investments and financing — all of which could be thrown into turmoil in a single day, Sept. 18, when Scotland votes on whether to leave Britain.

Whisky makers and many other businesses are worried about the risks involved in finding themselves overnight in a new country with, among other things, a different currency.

“The uncertainty associated with independence, rather than independence itself, really, I think is the concern,” Reavey said.

The most contentious issue so far has been what currency an independent Scotland would use.

The central government has ruled out sharing the pound, saying British taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to underwrite economic and fiscal policies over

Whisky’s worries mirror economic fears in Scotland

In this is Jan. 9, 2011, file photo China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang, left, laughs as he raises a glass of whisky to Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond before attending a state dinner at Edinburgh castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Distilleries need to have long-term plans for investments and financing, all of which could be thrown into turmoil on Sept.

18, 2014, when Scotland votes on whether to leave Britain. Whisky makers and other businesses are worried about the risks involved in finding themselves in a new country with, among other things, a different currency.(AP File Photo)

which they have no control.

Pro-independence leader Alex Salmond has refused to offer a plan B, arguing that the stance of the unity advocates is merely a scare tactic.

For many companies, that’s not a bluff worth calling. If Scotland were to take a new currency, businesses would suddenly find themselves in the position of having to pay back

loans they took in pounds with new money of uncertain value. The risk is a new currency would be weaker than the pound because it would be based on an economy, Scotland’s, which is smaller than the rest of Britain, which includes England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The currency debate is especially important to Scotland’s financial ser-

vices industry, which accounts for 25 percent of the region’s economy, excluding oil and gas. Scotlandbased groups such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life, which rely on the stability provided by the pound, have warned about the potential risks of independence.

Part of that would come from the fact that an independent Scotland may be

forced to drop out of the European Union and have to reapply for membership.

The union of 28 countries guarantees free movement of money and people — a precious asset for companies, particularly multinational corporations, as well as exporters.

Nine out of 10 bottles of Scotch are sold overseas for a value of 4.3 billion pounds ($7.1 billion) a year. Being

outside the EU would raise the prospect of new export duties to the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc with over 500 million people.

Many distilleries import grain from EU countries to make whisky, something that could become more expensive. Scotland would also have to take on the job of shielding the drink from unfair trading practices, protect its trademarks and safeguard an estimated 35,000 jobs The broad-ranging uncertainty is the primary weapon of anti-independence campaigners. The key question for voters — not just business owners — is whether Scots would be economically better off if they severed ties with Britain.

Salmond says Scotland will grow rich from its North Sea oil reserves once it is free of meddling politicians in London who have wasted the country’s energy wealth. Salmond wants to funnel a portion of that revenue into a special fund like the one in Norway, which has set aside the equivalent of $883 billion for future generations.

“We’re not saying that the day after independence we’ll all wake up and find there are three taps in every house - whisky, oil and water. We’re not saying that,” Salmond told The Associated Press. “We’re saying if we work together over a period of time, we can build a

more prosperous and a more just society.”

Alistair Darling, who leads the Better Together campaign, argues that prosperity is best guaranteed by Scotland remaining an integral part of Britain. Darling, who was British Treasury chief at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, underscores that North Sea oil production is already declining and future revenue is uncertain. He has portrayed the nationalists as deceptive, arguing for example that a 650-page report explaining the nationalists’ plans lacks heft — offering more mentions of the celebrity television show “Strictly Come Dancing” than of the whisky industry.

One independent analysis suggests advocates of secession may have overestimated Scotland’s energy windfall.

Some 84 percent of British oil reserves are in Scottish waters, meaning an independent Scotland would receive the lion’s share of future tax revenue from those assets. That translates to about 7 billion pounds ($11.6 billion) a year based on government forecasts, according to the London-based National Institute for Economic and Social Research. However, an independent state would lose roughly the same amount in transfer payments that

the central British government now sends to Scotland, the institute said in a February report.

With North Sea oil production likely to decline beginning in 2018, Scotland may actually be left with a shortfall that would require it to find new sources of revenue to maintain public spending, according to the report.

Whisky differs from oil in that it is not only a source of money and jobs, but has become one of the most pervasive and recognizable symbols for Scotland internationally.

The drink, which has been distilled in Scotland since at least 1494, was popularized globally by Hollywood after World War II. The promotion of single malt whisky added another dimension to the market, which exploded in terms of sales in the last decade.

“You’re buying a very carefully made and complex product,” said Charles MacLean, a leading expert on Scotland’s whisky industry. “You’re buying the blood of one small nation.” The members of the Scotch Whisky Association are clear — they will work with whoever is in power. But who will that be? “If there’s one certainty of this process, (it’s) that Scotch whisky will still be made in Scotland whatever happens,” said David Williams, the association’s spokesman.

Healthy diet key to boosting immunity as you age Israel PM tries to link Hamas with ISIS

LONdON, AuguSt 25 (IANS): While attempting to find why immunity decreases with age leading to lifethreatening diseases, researchers have cracked how to rejuvenate ageing immune cells. As we age, our immune systems decline. Older people suffer from increased incidence and severity of both infections and cancer. Vaccination too becomes less efficient with age.

Now, a team of scientists from University College, London has demonstrated how an interplay between nutrition, metabolism and immunity is involved in the process of ageing. Professor Arne Akbar’s team showed that ageing in im-

mune system cells known as ‘T lymphocytes’ was controlled by a molecule called ‘p38 MAPK’ that acts as a brake to prevent certain cellular functions.

They found that this braking action could be reversed by using a p38 MAPK inhibitor, suggesting the possibility of rejuvenating old T-cells using drug treatment.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Immunology, the group showed that p38 MAPK is activated by low nutrient levels, coupled with signals associated with age (senescence) within the cell.

“It has been suspected for a long time that nutrition, metabolism and immunity are linked and this paper provides

a prototype mechanism of how nutrient and senescence signals converge to regulate the function of T-lymphocytes,” Akbar explained.

In a second paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers showed that blocking p38 MAPK boosted the fitness of cells that had shown signs of ageing.

The two studies, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), could help enhance immunity to disease through dietary instead of drug intervention and help make existing immune system therapies more effective, researchers noted.

Thai king endorses junta leader as PM BANgKOK, AuguSt 25 (ReuteRS): Thai military leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha was endorsed as prime minister by Thailand’s king on Monday, four days after he was elected by his own hand-picked parliament, paving the way for the formation of an interim government.

Prayuth was appointed prime minister on Thursday by 191 out of 197 members of the military-dominated national assembly. He was the sole candidate for the post.

Approval from King Bhumibol Adulyadej is a formality. The interim government will be set up in the coming

weeks, although power will remain firmly in the junta’s hands.

“His Majesty the King has endorsed General Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister to govern the country from this day onwards,” the Royal Gazette said in a statement published on its official website on Monday. Prayuth is expected to take part in a royal endorsement ceremony at the army’s Bangkok headquarters later on Monday.

He led a May 22 coup, which the military said was necessary to avoid further bloodshed after months of turbulence pitting protesters, including the urban elite and

southern Thais, against supporters of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Prayuth, who is due to retire as army chief in September, moved quickly to silence dissent and deployed troops to quell protests in the weeks after the coup.

The junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order, has tried to sell a positive story and has pointed to modest improvements in the economy and consumer confidence since the takeover. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy avoided recession in the second quarter of the year but the tentative recovery is some

way from matching the government spin.

Prayuth, 60, was a key figure in the 2006 coup that ousted Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008 to avoid serving a jail sentence for corruption charges he denies. He has said he wants to free Thailand from a vicious cycle of political instability but critics say his rhetoric, including nostalgia-tinged references to an agrarian utopia and a “return to morality in Thailand”, is outmoded and threaten to drag Thailand back by decades.

JeRuSALeM, AuguSt 25 (AP): Israel’s prime minister is trying to capitalize on the gruesome video of an American journalist’s beheading by the Islamic State extremist group, saying Hamas is an equally vicious foe as he tries to rally international support in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. But the comparisons between Hamas and Islamic State are being met with reservations by Israel’s allies and enemies alike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu always has prided himself on his ability to attract media attention. Netanyahu, who grew up in the U.S. and speaks fluent English, often uses catchy quips, props or visual aids in public speeches or briefings to journalists.

A day after the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, posted the video of journalist James Foley’s killing, Netanyahu debuted his latest catchphrase: “Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas.” He voiced the slogan at a news conference, on Twitter and even at his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

As Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza nears its eighth week, Netanyahu is fighting an uphill battle for international support. While the international community generally supports Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket fire, the world has grown increasingly uncomfortable with the scenes coming out of Gaza. Hundreds of Israeli airstrikes, along with tank

and artillery fire, have killed more than 2,100 people and caused widespread destruction. U.N. and Palestinian officials say most of the dead have been civilians, including some 500 children.

With powerful images of flattened buildings and dead children coming out of Gaza each day, Israel’s argument that the civilians have been used as “human shields” by Hamas seems to be making little difference to perceptions abroad. Sixty-eight people have been killed on the Israeli side, all but four of them soldiers.

“There is complete agreement, almost a consensus, that (the Islamic State group) is a monstrous organization. But there is no international agreement that Hamas is a monstrous organization,” veteran Israeli television commentator Moti Kirschenbaum said.

Perhaps with this distinction in mind, Netanyahu has tried to frame the military operation in Gaza not as a local conflict, but as part of a broader global fight against a unified Islamist threat.

But his pairing of Hamas and the Islamic State group has hit bumps. When asked about Netanyahu’s comparison last week, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. considers both groups terrorist organizations, but said: “I think by definition they are two different groups. They have different leadership. And I’m not going to compare them in that way.”

Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, writing on the news website Walla, called the comparison hypocritical because Israel has held negotiations with Hamas over a longterm cease-fire, while the U.S. refuses to negotiate with the Islamic State group — and because Hamas has not beheaded American journalists in Gaza.

“Journalists who strayed from Hamas’s strict line and reported on rocket fire at Israel, were threatened, and in extreme cases, expelled from Gaza, but none of them ended their lives like James Foley,” Tibon said.

Hamas itself condemned Netanyahu’s comparison, saying its battle is against Israel, not against the entire West. Hamas official Izzat Risheq said James Foley was “executed in a brutal matter.”

Hamas is a “national liberation movement” whose forces are “freedom fighters who are seeking the liberation of the Palestinian people and their civil rights,” Risheq said.

Yoram Schweitzer, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said unlike the Islamic State group, Hamas believes in postponing full implementation of Islamic religious law to a later stage and has taken part in democratic elections, he said. “In this sense Hamas is more pragmatic,” Schweitzer said. But he added that “Hamas, whether ISIS or not ISIS, is a very brutal organization.”

Journalist held in Syria freed after nearly 2 years WASHINgtON, AuguSt 25 (AP): The nation found something of a reprieve from the killing of an American journalist with the release of another freelance reporter who had been held hostage for nearly two years by an al-Qaidalinked group in Syria.

Peter Theo Curtis, who wrote under the byline Theo Padnos, was freed Sunday, offering consolation to U.S. officials, a journalism community and family members deeply unnerved by the grisly video of James Foley’s beheading in a desolate desert landscape.

Curtis’ release appeared to have been aided by the oil-rich nation of Qatar, which said Sunday that it had “exerted relentless efforts” to win the American’s freedom. Qatar is a leading supporter of the Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad and has been involved in mediating past hostage releases.

U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry said Curtis had been held by Jabhat alNusra, also known as the Nusra Front, an al-Qaidalinked militant group fighting Assad’s government.

Curtis was not believed to be among the hostages held by the Islamic State group that executed Foley.

Islamic State was formally disavowed by al-Qaida earlier this year after being deemed too brutal. Curtis’ release was likely to renew questions about the intentions of different militant groups in Syria and Iraq and how the U.S. should deal with hostage takers.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the release Sunday morning as he wrapped up a vacation in Massachusetts, “The president shares in the joy and relief that we all feel now that Theo is out of Syria and safe,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.

“But we continue to hold in our thoughts and prayers the Americans who remain in captivity in Syria, and we

will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to see that the remaining American hostages are freed.”

A senior administration official said Curtis was released in the Golan Heights, where he was met

by U.S. government personnel who were transporting him to Tel Aviv. The official was not authorized to speak by name and discussed the release on the condition of anonymity.

In a video obtained by The Associated Press and dated July 18, 2014, Curtis sits cross-legged on a floor with his hands bound, and appears to read from a sheet placed in front of him on the floor. Addressing the U.S. and European governments, he pleads for them to contact a named intermediary before it is too late.

“They have given me three days to live,” he says as a man holding an assault rifle and dressed in camouflage stands next to him. “If you don’t do anything, I’m finished. I’m dead. They

will kill me. Three days.

You have had 20 days, and you’ve done nothing. “ He does not specify any demands, only urging Western governments to make contact with the intermediary. Foley’s captors had demanded $132.5 million (100 million euros) from his parents and political concessions from Washington. Neither obliged, authorities say.

Betsy Sullivan, a cousin of Curtis, said intermediaries involved in negotiations threatened the family and made ransom demands of varying amounts. But the family said that ultimately they were assured by Qatari representatives than no money was paid for Curtis’ release. His family said they believe Curtis was captured in October 2012, shortly after crossing into Syria.

“My heart is full at the extraordinary, dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and have tirelessly

helped us over these many months,” Curtis’ mother, Nancy Curtis, said in a statement from the family.

“Please know that we will be eternally grateful.”

The Obama administration used Curtis’ release to insist that it was determined to find those responsible for Foley’s death and pursue the release of other hostages. “Theo Curtis, Jim Foley and other journalists travelled to Syria to shed light on the unspeakable horrors being committed against innocents - only to become victims of brutal forces unleashed and abetted by the conflict,” U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power said in a statement. “So long as any American is held captive, the United States government will do everything in our power to bring them home safely.”

Curtis, under the Theo Padnos byline, has written for the New Republic and in 2011 wrote a book called “Undercover Muslim: A Journey Into Ye-

In this image made from undated video obtained by The Associated Press, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a man believed to be Peter Theo Curtis, a U.S. citizen held hostage by an al-Qaida linked group in Syria, delivers a statement. The U.S. government said on Sunday, August 24, that Curtis, who had been held hostage for about two years, had been released. (AP Photo)

men,” which studied the radicalization of disaffected youths.

In another video from June 30, 2014, a man with a beard and disheveled hair identifies himself as Peter Theo Curtis from Boston, and says he is being treated

well. “I have everything I need. Everything has been perfect — food, clothing, even friends now,” he says.

He appears to be reading from a script.

In a statement, Kerry said that over the past two years, Washington had

“reached out to more than two dozen countries asking for urgent help from anyone who might have tools, influence or leverage to help secure Theo’s release and the release of any Americans held hostage in Syria.”

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Dimapur

SPORTS

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Michael Phelps shows his comeback is on track

Zoe Mahan, center, pushes the trophy as her mother Kandi Mahan, left, grabs her while they pose with Hunter Mahan, husband, father and winner of The Barclays golf tournament Sunday, August 24, in Paramus, N.J. (AP Photo)

Bolt ends injury-plagued season early

ZuRICH, AuGuST 25 (AP): Usain Bolt has decided to end his injuryplagued season early, having competed in just three races in 2014.

Organizers for Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Zurich said Sunday that Bolt had withdrawn from the event's 100-meter race and will not compete again this season.

The decision comes a day after the Olympic champion and world recordholder won a 100 race in Warsaw, Poland, clocking 9.98 seconds.

The statement said Bolt's coach Glen Mills "feels it is now time to shut it down while he is healthy and injury free with a view on his preparations for the

The Morung Express

2015 season."

Bolt's preparations for the season were disrupted by a foot injury and his only other appearances in 2014 were in the 4x100 relay for Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and a 100 exhibition race in Rio de Janeiro. He won

all three events but without displaying the type of speed that has made him the sport's biggest star. Saturday was the first time this year he ran a 100 race in under 10 seconds.

With no major titles on offer in 2014, Bolt hopes to be back to full fitness for

next year's world championships in Beijing, which will mark a return to the Bird's Nest stadium where he won three Olympic golds in 2008 and set as many world records.

His absence will be a major blow to European meet organizers, though, as the Jamaican remains the sport's biggest draw.

However, Zurich meet director Patrick Magyar said he understood Bolt's decision. "Usain's body has delivered tremendous performances over the last years.

But, it is a body and not a machine," Magyar said. "If an athlete of that level and his coach feel more rest is needed, we are certainly not going to question this and fully support this decision."

GOLD COAST, AuGuST 25 (AP): Michael Phelps gave an incredulous look, an almost indignant response and strode away to collect a gold medal.

The most decorated swimmer in history had completed his first meet in international competition since coming out of retirement by helping the United States win the medley relay Sunday, the last event of the Pan Pacific championships. So he was stunned by a question in a post-race interview relating to him being beaten in his section of a relay two nights previously. As he pulled his tracksuit over his swimming trunks in preparation for the medal ceremony, he went over the question repeatedly with people around him.

Then he shrugged it off and ran out to join his teammates on the podium.

Four months into his comeback, Phelps finished the Pan Pacs with three gold and two silver medals, a decent return by any measure. It's just a sign that he is, as he describes it, super competitive. His comeback is for real. He wants to again be unbeatable.

This time last year, Phelps was more inclined to be swinging golf clubs than swimming. He retired after the London Olympics and gained weight. Now he's back on track for the Rio Olympics in 2016.

"It was, I think, a successful year," Phelps said.

"Obviously I'd like to win every single race I swim in.

But, doesn't always happen. It was a learning experience, that's most important." His long-time coach, Bob Bowman, was among those who noticed a big leap in Phelps' performances since the U.S. nationals earlier this month.

"I'm extremely pleased.

Michael Phelps of the U.S. swims butterfly during his men's 200m individual medley at the Pan Pacific swimming championships in Gold Coast, Australia on August 24. (AP Photo)

Just the way he swam those things. Really, that looked like the real Michael there, so that was very good," Bowman said of Phelps' butterfly leg in the 4x100 medley relay. "The second 50 of that, that's about as good as his butterfly gets."

Earlier in the evening, the 29-year-old American had been beaten in the 200 IM final by two-hundredths of a second by Kosuke Hagino of Japan — a silver medalist at the last world championships — who won in 1 minute, 56.02 seconds.

That's all part of Phelps feeling his way back into competition, mentally and physically.

"Today my body was hurting. I woke up this morning and I was in pain," he said. After the morning preliminaries and a nap, he felt better but was a little nervous ahead of the night finals, admitting he was "a little peppy" in the warmups. "The one thing, if I look back at the 200 IM and could say I would change anything, I think I'd say 'step on the first 100,'" he said. But, "For my first real big international meet

Hamilton wonders whether Nico Rosberg can be trusted

SPA-FRAnCORCHAMPS, AuGuST 25 (REuTERS): Lewis Hamilton says he no longer knows whether to trust Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg on the track after they collided at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix but has ruled out retaliation.

The incident, with Rosberg's front wing making contact with Hamilton's rear tyre and causing a puncture on the second lap of the race, was an avoidable one that wrecked the Briton's afternoon.

Hamilton eventually retired after struggling with a damaged car while Rosberg, now 29 points clear in

the Formula One standings with seven races remaining, finished second.

With the Spa paddock swept by the controversy, Hamilton fuelled the flames by telling reporters Rosberg had said in a postrace meeting he did it on purpose to 'prove a point'.

"When you're out there you have to trust people to think with their heads and not do things deliberately. But after that meeting I don't really know how to approach the next race," Hamilton said.

"I'll have to make sure we're not wheel-to-wheel," he added when asked whether he would trust

Rosberg in similar circumstances going into the chicane at Monza next week.

"Whatever the case I will always put the team first and I won't take anything into my own hands."

In a potentially lethal sport where drivers go wheel-towheel at speeds in excess of 300kph, trust is essential.

Racers need to be sure that others will be firm but fair, not weaving more than allowed or closing the door entirely. Deliberately driving into a rival to gain an advantage or out of revenge is a no-no, even if several examples from the times of Taekwondo Board of India-National demo team, Faith in Action team won Gold Medal in Ayrton Senna and Michael Aerobic Competition in the recently World Taekwondo Hanmadang Championship held in Schumacher come to mind. Pohang City, South Korea from August 21 to 24.

win World Cup - Swann

FILE - In this May 7, 2013, file photo, Tiger Woods walks with his golfing coach Sean Foley during a practice round for the Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Woods is leaving swing coach Sean Foley after four years and no majors.

Woods said on his website Monday, August 25, 2014, he will no longer work with Foley. (AP Photo)

mers make in age-group competition. After the Pan Pacs, where strong wind and heavy rain hampered competition on three of the four days at the outdoor pool, Phelps seemed satisfied with his progress. He surged to the wall in every race, and the only American to beat him in a final was Nathan Adrian, the 2012 Olympic champion who placed second in the 100 free.

"It shows that I can ... finish races well. I finished pretty strong in all of my swims," he said. "Now, I really just have to step on the first half."

Bowman said Phelps' inclination to hold something in reserve for the finish was good, and predicts faster starts will come with time.

"It's the smart thing to do — he's probably the smartest swimmer out there in terms of knowing what his body needs to do," Bowman said. "He did what he had to do for this meet. A year from now, he'll have the gas in the tank that he won't have to be so tentative."

Inter-School Table Tennis Tourney

Woods splits with swing coach Sean Foley 'No chance' England will

WASHInGTOn, AuGuST 25 (AFP): Tiger Woods has split with coach Sean Foley, the 14-time major champion said on his website on Monday.

"I'd like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship," Woods said in announcing the move.

"Presently, I do not have a coach, and there is no timetable for hiring one," added Woods, who has been hindered by injury throughout the 2014 season. The 38-year-old missed the cut at the PGA Championship this month, a week after withdrawing from the World Golf Championships event in Akron, Ohio, with similar trouble.

He missed the Masters and US Open while recovering from March 31 back surgery, and finished joint 69th at the British Open.

Woods has ruled himself out of contention for a Ryder Cup berth, saying he won't return to competition until his unofficial World Challenge event in December. "Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him," Woods said. "With my next tournament not until my World Challenge event at Isleworth in Orlando, this is the right time to end our professional relationship."

Woods had worked with Foley for four years, and under Foley's guidance reworked his swing in a way designed in part to reduce stress and punishment on his surgically repaired knees.

Foley was Woods' third coach, the US star working with Butch Harmon from 1993-2003 and Hank Haney from 2004-2010. He began working publicly with Foley at the US PGA Championship in 2010 and in the period they worked together won eight US PGA Tour titles. However, Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles has remained stalled, and he has battled a new spate of injuries.

back, we accomplished everything we wanted to. We were able to find out some of the things I need to improve on over the next year, and things I want to improve on.

"It is frustrating at times, but that's usually how I respond well." Leading into the last night, Phelps won the 100 butterfly and helped the U.S win the 4x200 relay — although he later joked that he got "dusted" by a Japanese swimmer in the relay, a throwaway line that came back on him in his post-race interview Sunday. He also earned a silver medal in the 4x100 relay and had an encouraging fourth place in the 100 free. A comparatively light program for a man who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games — among the 18 gold and 22 medals in all that he won at the Olympics.

After the nationals, where he placed second in the 100 fly and 200 IM, and seventh in the 100 freestyle, he was upset with the way he was hitting the walls, saying he was making mistakes young swim-

LOnDOn, AuGuST 25 (AGEnCIES): England have no hope of winning next year's World Cup because of their "old-fashioned" approach to the one-day game, according to former spinner Graeme Swann. Swann, who retired from international cricket during the 5-0 Ashes series defeat in Australia in December, believes the one-day team need to do away with the old guard in favour of exciting new talent if they are to succeed in the 50over format.

Swann said captain Alastair Cook, who is set to lead the side at the 50-over tournament in Australia and New Zealand in February, should just concentrate on skippering the test team.

"We won't win this World Cup," Swann, who took 104 wickets in 79 one-day internationals, told BBC radio on Monday. "In four years' time, we might have a chance if we get in all the exciting players who have none of the baggage of the old-style brand we play.

"I used to sit in the changing room and always felt we were so far behind other teams because we play such an old-

fashioned brand."

Cook, who has scored 2,967 ODI runs, should step aside and let Eoin Morgan lead the team, Swann said.

"I love Cookie dearly. "But I don't think he should be bothering playing one-day cricket anymore. He doesn't need to.

He's proved a very good point in test matches.

"He should just enjoy being England test captain. Let in the young people who just want to smash it everywhere.

"He's not the guy who should be opening the batting in one-day cricket for England.

(James) Vince should be doing it with (Alex) Hales in a young vibrant team with Morgan as captain."

Swann spoke after England's opening one-day international of a five-match series against India was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Bristol due to heavy rain.

The match was due to see talented opener Alex Hales make his ODI debut for England. The 25-year-old is a regular in the country's Twenty20 team and Swann believes his call up to the 50-over side is long overdue.

MOkOkCHunG, AuGuST 25 (DIPR): The 8th InterSchool Table-Tennis Tournament, Mokokchung district will begin on August 26 Sub-Divisional Education Officer, Mokokchung, Imsusenla will inaugurate the Tournament at Multi-Sports Hall at 9:30 a.m. The Tournament is being organized by Mokokchung District Table-Tennis Association. The organizers said more than 10 schools will be taking part in the Tournament.

Van Gaal still winless as ManU manager LOnDOn, AuGuST 25 (AP): The World Cup memories are fading fast for Louis van Gaal as the size of the Manchester United rebuilding task hits home. A week after losing the season opener, United was held to a 1-1 draw at Sunderland on Sunday, leaving the former Netherlands coach still searching for his first win in the Premier League. Juan Mata gave United the lead in northeast England but former Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell headed Sunderland level on the half-hour.

"Football is played for creating chances and making goals," said Van Gaal, who led the Dutch to third place in Brazil. "We haven't created so many chances today. We probably had more ball possession and were more dominant than the last match but you have to win your game at that moment and we couldn't, so that's a pity."

Before the approach from United to replace David Moyes, Van Gaal was close to taking charge at Tottenham. Instead, Mauricio Pochettino's reign at White Hart Lane has begun with successive league wins as his team overwhelmed Queens Park Rangers with a stylish 4-0 rout on Sunday. Whether Tottenham is a top-four contender might only become clearer when the north London club hosts Liverpool next Sunday. Before then Liverpool plays champion Manchester City on Monday in a meeting of last season's top-two.

United, which collected a 20th English title in 2013 before Alex Ferguson retired, seems some way away from rejoining the elite, based on the Swansea loss and Sunderland draw. By pursuing Argentina forward Angel Di Maria, who would likely cost more than $100 million to leave Real Madrid, the United owners are showing there is money to spend, having already splashed out around $125 million in recent months.

Atletico's Simeone suspended eight games for Super Cup MADRID, AuGuST 25 (AP): The Spanish football federation has suspended Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone for eight matches after he was sent off during the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup. The federation announced its decision on Monday, three days after defending Spanish champion Atletico beat Real Madrid 1-0 to win the Super Cup 2-1 on aggregate. Simeone was suspended for four games for tapping the back of the assistant referee's head, two games for protesting, one game for applauding his sending off, and one game for remaining in the stands instead of leaving the stadium after his expulsion. Assistant coach German Burgos will take over for Simeone while he serves his suspension.

Entertainment

The Morung Express C M Y K

26 August 2014

Dimapur

NIAPA makes its mark at Asian Fashion Week

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he Northeast India Academy of Performing Arts (NIAPA) has successfully marked its presence felt yet again at an international platform, with its recent participation at the ASIAN/ASEAN Fashion Week (AFW), held at CiputraWorld Surabya, Surabaya city, Indonesia which was held from 15th – 18th August, 2014. With this the AFW commemorated the 4thof its Series under the theme “Bridging the Cultural Exchange” thus making Fashion a Universal language in Asia. Participant countries included Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Russia, Brunei, Cameroon, Nepal, Australia, Bolivia, Mexico, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.

As the sole partici-

Collections showcased at the ASIAN Fashion Week

pant representing India, NIAPA showcased its official clothing brand’s Spring/Summer Collection themed “Colors of India”,

marking the debut launch of the brand MOI. MOI’s collection at the AFW was inspired by the diverse and vibrant colors that repre-

sent India.

Focused on promotion of local textiles, its collection infused the local weaves of northeast India

and indigenous silk into other readymade fabrics.

The result is a unique brand with universal appeal.

Other activities during the ASIAN Fashion Week included the “Diversity Night” and welcome dinner to all the participating countries and delegates which was hosted by the Mayor of Surabaya, Mrs. Tri Rismaharini, It may be noted that following its debut launch, MOI, is all set to showcase its Evening and Bridal gown collections titled "Arakezhievi" during the 20thSeason of the Couture Fashion Week, to be held in New York, from 5th – 7thof September, 2014.

The clothing brand will be open for general retailing after the September show at New York.

RichaRd attenboRough dies at 90

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Tuesday

ichard Attenborough was a lord, an Oscar-winning director for the much-lauded "Gandhi" and an unflagging pillar to British cinema. But Attenborough, who died Sunday at 90, was best known as Dickie.

Baby-faced as a young actor and whitely bearded in his older age, Attenborough — warmly known as "Dickie Darling" — presided over six decades of British moviemaking as both an actor and filmmaker with a genial warmth that endeared him to his fans and fellow actors.

"I have no great interest in being remembered as a great creative filmmaker," he told The New York Times when "Gandhi" was released in 1982. "I want to be remembered as a storyteller."

The actor's son, Michael Attenborough told the BBC that his father died Sunday.

He had been in poor health for some time.

Prime Minister David Cameron issued a statement calling Attenborough "one of the greats of cinema": "His acting in 'Brighton Rock' was brilliant, his directing of 'Gandhi' was stunning," Cameron said.

Ben Kingsley, who shot to stardom for his performance as Mahatma Gan-

dhi, recalled Attenborough's passionate 20-year struggle to bring Gandhi's story to the big screen. The film won eight Oscars, including best picture (over "E.T."), best director for Attenborough and best actor for Kingsley.

"He placed in me an absolute trust and in turn I placed an absolute trust in him and grew to love him," said Kingsley. "I along with millions of others whom he touched through his life and work will miss him dearly."

A product of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,

Attenborough made his screen debut in the patriotic 1942 World War II film "In Which We Serve." He served, too, in the Royal Air Force, and afterward became one of the best-known actors of post-War Britain.

In his 60-plus years of acting, he amassed some 70 credits, including "Brighton Rock," ''The Great Escape," ''Doctor Dolittle," ''10 Rillington Place," ''Jurassic Park" (as the failed theme park developer) and the 1994 remake of "Miracle on 34th Street." (Naturally, he played

Kris Kringle.)

He transitioned into directing beginning with 1969's World War I musical comedy "Oh! What a Lovely War." He directed 12 films altogether, including "A Bridge Too Far," ''A Chorus Line," ''Cry Freedom," ''Chaplin" and "Shadowlands."

Attenborough was a constant advocate for the British film industry as well as other humanitarian causes, including his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. He was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize in 1983. He was knighted in 1976, and 17 years later received a life peerage, becoming Baron Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames.

The son of a university principal, Attenborough was born Aug. 29, 1923, into a family with strong liberal views and a tradition of volunteer work for humanitarian concerns. One of his younger brothers is naturalist David Attenborough, whose nature documentaries have reached audiences around the world.

A small, energetic man with a round face that remained boyish even in old age, he was perfectly cast at the start of his career as the young sailor or airman of

British movies during and after World War II. Attenborough was often thought to be at his best when trying to coax the finest work from actors. "Gandhi" made a star of its little-known leading man, Kingsley, and Denzel Washington won an Oscar nomination for 1987's "Cry Freedom."

"The people I want to reach are those who have never even considered the whole question of South Africa. In order to do that, you have to make a film that is fundamentally entertaining. I'm in the entertainment business; I'm not a politician," he told The Associated Press at the time. "I make movies for millions of people all over the world."

Attenborough's later years were marked by a personal tragedy when he lost his daughter Jane and granddaughter in the tsunami that hit Thailand the day after Christmas in 2004.

The heart-broken Attenborough said he was never able to celebrate the Christmas holidays after that.

Attenborough had been in frail health since a fall at his house in 2008, and spent his last years in a nursing home with his wife. He is survived by his wife, their son and a daughter.

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Celebrated concert artise Nise Meruno was invited to perform for the North East Film Fest at the Siri Fort auditorium, New Delhi recently.

Seen here with some of the members from "Voices of Hope."

Eastern Explorers’ School Campus Idol Finale

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he much awaited School Campus Idol Grand Finale will be held on August 30 with Mark Merikiu gracing the occasion. A press release received here stated.

The Idol hunt organized by the Eastern Explorers’ kicked off on March 15 touring all the schools under Kiphire, and after several round of shows and grooming sessions from experienced musicians, 13 contestants remain and will vie for the coveted title.

Event Managing Director Likhum Y. Sangtam has informed that the winner of the School Campus Idol will receive a one year scholarship which will be directly credited in his/her account, first runner up will receive free diploma course in compute application and one imported hollow guitar, while the second runner up will receive free diploma course in computer application. Besides, this, the organizers with an objective to encourage the students in their academic career will also award exciting gift hampers to the best academic student among the contestants.

Call for entries to the 6th Music Awards of Nagaland 2014

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he Native Trax Society is pleased to invite nominations for the 6th edition of the Music Awards of Nagaland (MAN).

Instituted in 2009, MAN has been honouring local music makers each year for their artistry and originality by rewarding excellence in music of different genres.

Over the last five years, the Music Awards of Nagaland has put the spotlight on some truly remarkable homegrown talent. It has showcased musicians and others involved in the local music industry and helped them win recognition and fame.

The winners are decided by an eminent panel comprised of individuals with experience as well as an open ear for new sounds who assess musical content as well as the potential of the artists/bands.

Earning a MAN trophy is more than just a badge of distinction and has come to be coveted by musicians because it recognizes excellence. The awards carry a cash prize of ` 10,000 for each category, but it is the

recognition and prestige of winning an award that far outweighs any monetary gain, especially for the artists the award is bestowed upon. It helps artists to see where they stand among the best musicians in the state, get their music heard and appreciated and opens up exciting new opportunities for them.

Past winners of the Music Awards of Nagaland include Divine Connection who went on to win the ‘Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV’, Alobo Naga and the Band, winners of Best Indian Act, MTV Europe awards 2012, Still Rhyming, the first hiphop crew from NE India to be featured on VH1 Hit Factory among others.

Artists, recording studios, producers or their respective representatives are invited to submit entries.

Original compositions recorded within Nagaland and released anytime after 1st January 2013 are eligible for consideration and entry.

Forms and rules can be downloaded from Music Awards of Nagaland Face-

book page at http://www. facebook.com/pages/ Music-Awards-of-Nagaland/124506960984391 and are also available at recording studios in Dimapur and the following places.

Dimapur : 1) Pixelcraft Design Studio, Nuton Bosti Jn. 2) Gravity, Near City Tower 3) Live Sound, Near Christian HS School 4) Café Destination, Opp. Super Market and 5) Cards Gallery, 1St Gate, Chumukedima.

Kohima : 1) Opt In, Jasokie Complex. 2) Dream Café, Below War Cemetery Mokokchung : 1) Cosmos Entertainment Hall Zunheboto : Uniform House, Center point and Mon : Butterfly Floral Boutique The deadline for submission of entries is 15th September, 2014. In case of any queries regarding the awards or entry conditions please contact 9856201694/ 9856819202 or send mail to native. trax@gmail.com

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beyonce owns the M T V Video Music Awards

BOw DOwN: Beyonce was the award, the VMA's version of a lifereigning queen of Sunday's MTV time achievement award, at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Video Music Awards. she kissed her daughter and hushe diva closed the awards band Jay Z, who called her the show with an epic nearly "greatest living entertainer." The 20-minute performance. duo won best collaboration for the Tears streamed down her face hit "Drunk In Love." as she was joined onstage by her "I have nothing to say but I am beaming husband and daughter, filled with so much gratitude," she amid the numerous rumors sur- told the cheering crowd as they rounding her marriage. chanted her name repeatedly.

Beyonce sang and danced in a Her performance easily outdid metallic leotard while Blue Ivy and her competition throughout the Jay Z watched from their seats as night, though Beyonce lost video of the diva declared: "MTV, welcome the year, which instead went to Mito my world." ley Cyrus who let a homeless man As Beyonce accepted the Mi- accept her award. It was in sharp chael Jackson Video Vanguard contrast to the 2013 VMAs, when

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Cyrus twerked and danced shockingly onstage.

"Thank y'all, my name is Jesse and I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now.

I know this because I am one of these people," he said, as a teary Cyrus looked on. "Though I may have been invisible to you in the streets, I have a lot of the same dreams that brought many of you here tonight."

Cyrus' decision to let someone else accept her award to promote a cause was reminiscent of Marlon Brando's 1973 Academy Awards best actor win, when he gave a Native American activist the stage rather than accept his Oscar trophy.

The two-hour show was tamer than past VMAs: the most shocking moment was Nicki Minaj's rump-shaking during her performance of "Anaconda" in the show's first minutes and her wardrobe malfunction when she joined Ariana Grande and Jessie J for "Bang, Bang."

"It felt amazing to open the show, and we ran out of time getting the dress zipped up," Minaj said backstage.

Taylor Swift was a crowd favorite when she performed her new single "Shake It Off" in shimmery, fringed shorts and a crop top. She got to the top of the stage, and as her tuxedoed male background dancers stood with their arms wide open waiting for Swift to jump she said, "One second. I don't care if it's the VMAs. I'm not jumping off there."

She continued: "It's all kinds of people getting bitten by snakes.

Dangerous."

Grande, who held hands with

rapper Big Sean backstage, kicked off the show with a performance of her EDM hit, "Break Free" in a Beyonce-inspired leotard. The 21-year-old won best pop video for her smash single "Problem," but lost best female video to Katy Perry, who won for "Dark Horse."

Perry sported a figure-hugging denim dress and was joined by Riff Raff in a coordinating outfit, mirroring Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears at the 2001 American Music Awards.

The night also featured a serious social message: Rapper-actor Common held a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a police officer on Aug. 9, before he presented the award for best hip-hop video.

"Hip-hop has always been about truth and has been a powerful instrument of social change, from Melle Mel to Public Enemy to Kendrick Lamar," Common said.

"Hip-hop has always been presented a voice for the revolution."

Later, a 15-second spot aired alluding to the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, urging viewers to take action to eliminate bias.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced," a quote by author James Baldwin read on the screen.

Lorde won best rock video for "Royals" and Ed Sheeran won best male video, beating out Pharrell, Eminem, John Legend and Sam Smith, who was a show highlight with his smoldering performance of his hit "Stay With Me." Iggy Azalea and Ora appeared onstage as spider women when they performed their hit "Black Widow," as Swift, Lorde and Charli XCX danced and sang along.

Miley Cyrus Uses Acceptance Speech to Promote Homeless Charity

'Wrecking Ball' singer, Miley Cyrus won the Video of the Year award for her hit song, to then allow someone else to take her acceptance speech.

That person, was a young homeless man, named Jesse, educating all who watched about the plight of homeless youths in America.

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iley Cyrus more than made up for her controversial dancing and outfit at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards by taking the time to draw attention to homelessness during her acceptance speech. The singer stirred up strong backlash last year when she chose to dance inappropriately in her underwear during a performance by Robin Thicke, leading many people to believe she had taken the new 'wild girl' persona a bit too far.

In response, upon winning the award for Video of the Year for her song, Wrecking Ball, Cyrus opted out of making an acceptance speech - instead, choosing

to let a young homeless man by the name of Jesse explain to the audience and viewers at home about the large homeless problem in the currently in the US. The young man stated: "I've survived in shelters all over the city. I've been an extra in your movies, I've been an extra in your life....

Outside these doors are 54,000 human beings that have no place to call home."

The speech was a form of promotion for Cyrus' Facebook page drawing attention to the homeless problem facing America.

With an apparent 1.6 million runaways and homeless youths living in the US, Cyrus is rallying support to help these young people

out by raising money for My Friend's Place - a young person's homeless shelter in Hollywood.

This is not the first time a celebrity has used an acceptance speech to raise awareness. In 1973, Marlon Brando turned down his Academy Award for Best Actor in The Godfather, instead choosing to send Native American Sacheen Littlefeather in his place.

The purpose was to protest the Hollywood portrayal of Native Americans in films.

Cyrus' version was a far happier one, as Jesse ended his speech with the inspiring statement that "A dream you dream alone is only a dream, but a dream we dream together is reality."

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Messi's back with 2 goals as Barca wins

20th CLASSIC CUP 2014 AUGUST 25 MATCHES RESULT

A. Yhome FC beat Chizami Boys FC 3-0 Chedema FC beat Chetheba Town Students Union 1-0 Colt United Boys beat Football Club, Chiechama 1-0 New Market defeated Invictus FC 11-0

MATCHES FOR AUGUST 26

Head Hunters vs Hurricane Boys @ 10:00 am New Reserve Youth Org vs Adroit Boyz FC @ 11:40 am Kohima Raider vs Tiema Khe, Kidima @ 1:30 pm Eagles Club vs Twenty XI FC Viswema @ 3:30 pm

Brooke Henderson, left, of Canada, holds medals for the Top Canadian and the Top Amateur and poses with winner So Yeon Ryu, of South Korea, at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open golf tournament in London, Ontario, Sunday, August 24. (AP Photo)

Mario Balotelli Signs for Liverpool FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi from Argentina, left, kicks the ball to scores against Elche during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, August 24. (AP Photo)

BARCELONA, August 25 (AP): Lionel Messi scored twice to help 10man Barcelona start the Spanish league with a 3-0 win over Elche in the debut of coach Luis Enrique on Sunday, with the Argentina star looking eager to put last season's disappointments behind him.

Messi used a signature burst of speed to dribble free of a pack of opponents before slotting in Barcelona's first goal in the 41st.

Minutes later Barcelona lost Javier Mascherano to a direct red card when he fouled Elche's Garry Rodrigues with only goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to beat.

But Barcelona's 18-yearold Munir El Haddadi, starting for the injured Neymar, scored seconds after halftime before Messi got his second goal in the 63rd after again confounding a group of defenders. "Leo is oneof-a-kind and today he was in a state of grace," said Luis Enrique. "He will be the best player in the world in every way he wants, defending or attacking."

Elsewhere, promoted Eibar edged Real Sociedad 1-0

Enrique puts stamp on new Barcelona

BARCELONA, August 25 (AP): New coach Luis Enrique put his stamp on Barcelona in his winning debut.

Luis Enrique was brought back as a former player who knew the club's inner workings and demanding tradition of success after the team failed to win a major title for the first time in six years under former coach Gerardo Martino. His first risky move paid off on Sunday when he started little-known Munir El Haddadi alongside Lionel Messi in attack, with Neymar injured and the club waiting for Luis Suarez to finish his biting ban in October. The 18-year-old Munir responded by scoring Barcelona's second goal in a 3-0 victory over Elche to open the Spanish league season. His goal came after Barcelona had lost Javier Mascherano to a red card and crushed Elche's hope of a comeback. But Luis Enrique didn't think he was "brave" in giving Munir his first-team debut in the league opener in front of the Camp Nou crowd.

"Brave, not at all," the coach said. "Munir is growing at a pace that is difficult to keep up with. He trains even better than he plays and he plays with attitude."

Munir had just moved up to Barcelona's "B-Team" in the second division in March. But he caught Luis Enrique's eye and impressed after the manager included the promising forward in his preseason training sessions and friendlies. for a winning debut in the first division, while Villarreal won 2-0 at Levante, and Celta Vigo beat Getafe 3-1.

After Barcelona lost its Spanish league title in the last round of last season

and Argentina lost to Germany in the World Cup final, Messi summed up his desire for the new campaign to begin by writing on Facebook before the game: "First match today!!!

I hope God is on our side for a great season."

It started with a bad omen, though: Just seconds after kickoff, the game was paused when a black cat ran onto the Camp Nou pitch before stewards managed to herd it off. But aside from Mascherano's red card, there was no bad luck for Barcelona.

Messi looked back to his best and his pair of goals seemed the perfect answer to critics who had said the four-time world player of the year had lost a step. He was lively from the start, both in attack and in defense, and scored his goals in classic Messi fashion: putting the ball on his left boot to breeze around his markers before picking his spot in the opponent's net.

With Neymar out and new signing Luis Suarez suspended until October, Munir got the nod from Enrique and had Barcelona's first chance when he fired the ball off the goalframe in the 22nd. Andres Iniesta followed suit with a strike onto the crossbar in the 32nd as Barcelona piled up chances before Messi converted.

Balotelli poses with the No 45 shirt at Melwood after completing his £16million move from AC Milan.

LiVERPOOL, August 25 (AP): Liverpool signed Italy striker Mario Balotelli from AC Milan on Monday, taking a calculated gamble on a headline-grabbing player known as much for his controversies as his goals.

Nineteen months after ending a 2½-year spell with Manchester City to play for his boyhood club, Balotelli will return to the English Premier League as a replacement for Luis Suarez — another of world football's talented but dis-

ruptive stars.

Liverpool has been looking to strengthen its strikeforce after selling Suarez to Barcelona for $130 million.

During his time at City, in which he won the league title, Balotelli was sent off four times, threw a dart at a youth-team player and was involved in an incident that saw fireworks let off in his bathroom. Days before news of the fireworks incident emerged, Balotelli had revealed a T-shirt

under his City jersey with the question, "Why Always Me?" after scoring in the team's 6-1 win over Manchester United.

Balotelli, with his physique, technical ability and qualities as a finisher, is one of the world's best strikers and, at 24, the best times of his career could still lie ahead of him. At Milan, he scored 26 goals in 43 league matches and he is the Italian national team's top striker. But with trouble always seeming to

follow him, some are questioning whether Balotelli is worth the risk for Liverpool, which has fostered a strong team spirit under manager Brendan Rodgers that helped it finish second in the Premier League last season. Jose Mourinho described Balotelli as "unmanageable" during their time together at Inter Milan, which the striker left in 2010 to join City.

However, Rodgers got the best out of Suarez and current first-choice striker Daniel Sturridge, who both had turbulent pasts before arriving at Anfield. Sections of the British media have reported that Balotelli has had to agree to behavior clauses being included in his contract with Liverpool.

"We have a fantastic environment here and a great culture, and I think it is something that was very important for us to create and build here," Rodgers said Friday. "There will be nothing that will ever shake that or provoke it in any way."

Rodgers' attempts to bring in a striker has seen him look at Loic Remy of Queens Park Rangers, whose switch to Anfield broke down at the last minute, and former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea star Samuel Eto'o. Last month, during Liverpool's tour of the United States, Rodgers was linked with a bid for Balotelli.

Rain washes out Ind-Eng ODI series opener in Bristol MS Dhoni is the 'only boss' of Indian team, says Ravi Shastri

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Cricket fans one with an Indian flag across his shoulders wait for play to hopefully begin as rain delays the start of the England one day cricket international against India at the Bristol County Ground, Bristol on August 25. (AP Photo)

BRistOL, August 25 (Pti): The first ODI of the five-match series between India and England was today abandoned without a ball being bowled due to relentless rains and wet ground conditions here.

At the Gloucester County Ground, the match officials decided to call off the five-match series opener at 1.30 pm local time following heavy showers.

The forecast for the match was never good and it started raining late yesterday night, and it didn`t stop even for a until morning.

The rain did subside for a 20-30 minutes, only to pour down with greater intensity thereafter and never relented for even a moment.

The grounds men though

weren`t the ones to give up in a hurry. The whole square had been under covers since morning but they were busy clearing up rainwater. Three super soppers were put in to service but they would have been useful only if the rain had stopped.

The ground staffs efforts proved even more futile when puddles started forming on the outfield, signaling that the drainage was now getting choked.

The last cut-off time for the match to start was 3.45 pm local time (8.15 pm IST). For that the grounds men needed at least an hour before that to dry off the field for suitable playing conditions to prevail. The last cut-off for that was

NEw DELhi, August 25 (AgENCiEs): Team India‘s newly appointed team director, Ravi Shastri, in an interview to Times Now, stated that skipper MS Dhoni is the “only boss” of the team and also went on to shed some light on his role in the camp, which has been a hot topic of debate since Board of Control of Cricket in India’s (BCCI) appointment. This throws open further speculations on the rift in the Indian camp and coach Duncan Fletcher being a sitting duck in the team and that a sacking maybe just around the corner.

Speaking to the media and clarifying his role in the team for stipulated to be 2 pm local time (6.30 pm IST), but about thirty minutes before that, the umpires walked onto the field and inspected the conditions.

After observing the water accumulated on the covers as well as the heavy puddles on the outfield, the umpires finally decided to call off the game. It was always inevitable given that this entire week`s forecast is for wet weather.

It was a cause for much disappointment to the sparse crowd that had gathered at the ground, taking advantage of the summer bank holiday here in England. Bristol is a regular feature on England`s fixture-list since the 1999 World Cup, with 13 ODIs played here after the

the first time since his appointment, Shastri said, “My role is to oversee cricketing matters. I will also give inputs where necessary.

There is only one boss in the Indian team and it is skipper MS Dhoni. The coaching staff will directly report to me.” There were speculations that Shastri’s and co. selection along with fielding coach Trevor Penney and bowling coach Joe Dawes being ‘rested’ just a week before the start of the five match One-Day International (ODI) series would undermine the role of Fletcher. MS Dhoni earlier stated in a press conference a day ago that it was in fact Fletcher who is the boss of the Indian team.

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first one in 1983. However this 14th match was the first time a game has been abandoned here.

India have played here before against Kenya in the afore-mentioned World Cup, against Sri Lanka in the 2002 Natwest tri-series and against England in the ODI series of the 2007 tour. And interestingly, the Men in Blue have won all the three games here.

The second ODI of the five-ODI rubber will be played in Cardiff on Wednesday. The weather forecast for the second ODI isn`t too good either as intermittent showers expected throughout Wednesday.

England had won the five-match Test series 3-1 after India took the lead at the historic Lord`s.

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