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SunDAY • AuGuST 28 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 236 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
Voters don’t decide issues, they decide who will decide issues FBI raids home of formerCollege Board official in probe of SAT leak
By Sandemo Ngullie
Take remedial measures to mitigate power crisis APEN says that it is not too late for the Government to act on the situation Kohima, august 27 (mExN): The Association of Power Engineers Nagaland (APEN) has requested the Nagaland State Government to take remedial measures to mitigate the power crisis prevailing in the State but also appealed to customers to maintain calm and bear with inconvenience due to frequent power outage. An ‘Appeal’ from APEN President Er. Shikato Sema and its General Secretary Er. Rukongutuo Suohu acknowledged that for the last few months, power supply to districts like Kiphire, Phek, Kohima, Wokha and Dimapur has been “badly affected due to the sudden breakdown of Power Transformers.” While power outage in these districts has caused “unprecedented loss and hardship” to citizens, the APEN stated that it had anticipated the situation beforehand. This has happened, it stated, because the State Government “could not provide the bare minimum basic consumable items required for the upkeep of Power and Distribution transformers, High Tension lines and Low Tension distribution lines.” The APEN also reiterated that it is not too late for the Government to act on the situation.
T R u T H
Rose denies Liverpool win at Tottenham
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Nagaland gets its first No relief or rehab for cancer treatment centre flash flood survivors yet
No power, and to escape the blazing heat .. the Dimapurians are making the most of the city’s deplorable roads.
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o F
— George Will
‘Need to build robust and weatherproof economy in Nagaland’
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reflections
P o W e R
The Eden Medical Centre in Dimapur, Nagaland, is seen here flanked by its staff
Morung Express News Dimapur | August 27
After decades of waiting, Nagaland, which is amongst the highest cancer prevalent states in the country, finally inaugurated a multi-specialty hospital specializing in cancer treatment. Eden Medical Centre (EMC), a 75-bedded hospital specializing in cancer treatment, was formally inaugurated here on Saturday by Nagaland State Minister for Health & Family Welfare (H&FW), P Longon. The EMC plans to upgrade itself to a 100-bedded hospital, which includes suites, cabins, and male and female wards.
The Minister, in his address, said that Nagaland State has achieved a lot in healthcare system but more needs to be done. “Our State being located away from mainland India, we are facing a lot of problems while tackling health issues as demanded by our people.” Longon said earlier that in order to avail health care facilities, patients from Nagaland had to go far off places and cities thereby incurring heavy expenses both from the individual and State government side. The Minister was especially referring to the huge number of cancer patients from Nagaland who had to go outside the State for
treatment. “But today, we are proud to have this Eden Medical Centre providing quality cancer care services to our patients at our doorstep by our own doctors. I am greatly encouraged to see this type of hospital coming up in our home city where the state-of-the-art medical treatment is being provided to the patients at an affordable limit,” Longon said. He expressed optimism that the creative innovation of the proprietor and team of doctors at Eden hospital would definitely change the outlook of the patients while struggling from their sickness. “I strongly believe that this hospital will bring
changes in the life of cancer patients keeping in mind the value of human lives,” he said. 60% of cancer cases preventable Chief of Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute-Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr. (Prof) GK Rath, who also graced the inaugural ceremony, said of the various diseases, cancer is among the three top causes of death in India. However unlike other diseases like diabetes or blood pressure, cancer is curable, more so when detected at an early stage, he said. Dr. Rath said 60% of cancer cases are preventable and 80% curable if detected early. On the occasion, the H&FW Minister released the Hospital magazine and Dr. Rath launched the hospital website. Proprietor and the brain behind EMC, Yashitsungba Ao, presented mementos to guests. Earlier, Dr. Lima Imchen delivered the welcome address. Departments in the hospital Radiation oncology, radiology and imaging, casualty, OPD &IPD, General Medicine, Surgery, Obstretics & Gynaecology, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Dentistry (Oral and Maxillofacial surgery), Pathology and Orthopedics. The EMC has resident doctors, consultants and visiting consultants.
NSCN (R) says cadres increasingly attacked Questions the silence of Naga NGOs, the Naga Hoho, ENPO, NTC, CNTC, NMA, NSF, ENSF and the churches
Dimapur, august 27 (mExN): The NSCN (Reformation) has now revealed that factional torture of their cadres is on the rise. In a press release from its MIP, the NSCN (R) alleged that GPRN/NSCN has been “arresting, beating and imposing fine” on the former’s cadres and then making them sign bonds with heavy fines for their release pitted to be up to Rs. Ten lakh. This heavy bond amount and fine has to be then paid by the family members of the cadres, informed NSCN (R), and further that more than 40 of their workers have gone through this treatment before their release from custody. It noted that the recent cases were those of Thiapa Leacy on June
14, Athrongpa A.S.O. on July 3, Thritsapa S.O. on July 4 and Phuhoto C.C.M on August 26. Actions of the GPRN/NSCN seem “too heavy to bear any longer” noted the NSCN (R) which may compel it to act as the situation demands. Its patience, stated the group, should not be mistaken as a “sign of weakness” and that it will “fight back squarely” if the situation continues. However, it also stated that NSCN (R) considers the GPRN/NSCN and otherNagaPoliticalGroupsastheir“own brothers fighting for a common cause”
butsaiditseemedtothemlike GPRN/NSCNhas“nohuman compunction”towardsthem. The NSCN (R) also questioned the Naga NGOs, the Naga Hoho, ENPO, NTC, CNTC, NMA, NSF, ENSF and the churches about their silence in the face of such conditions being faced by its workers. It raised three questions for GPRN/NSCN: What is your problem with NSCN (R)? Why are you targeting and attacking only NSCN (R)? Is it the decision of your government or individual action? Based on the response to these questions, the NSCN (R) stated that it will act. It also asked the Naga people not to blame them if any “unwanted situation” cropped up due to this.
Some survivors of the August 16 flash floods are seen here at the public meeting held by a joint team of civil society organizations on Friday, August 26, 2016, at Khanari Village, Karbi Anglong, Assam.
Karbi Anglong orgs appeal govt for compensation & long term development Morung Express News Diphu/Dimapur | August 27
A joint team of civil society organizations from Karbi Anglong district in Assam have now urged government authorities for “immediate relief and rehabilitation” for the flood survivors of east Karbi Anglong’s Nilip constituency. The joint team consisting of Karbi Students’ Association, Rengma Naga Students’ Union (RNSU), Dimasa Students’ Association, Kuki National Assembly, Asom Jatyabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, Students and Youth Council, Hills People’s Cultural Forum and Hills State Demand Council (CWC) visited the flood affected areas on August 25-26. Flash floods on the wee hours of August 16 led to considerable damage of paddy fields, houses and loss of livestock in Rengma and Karbi villages, including Rechangari, Khanari, Khonwani, Choshengtongri, Ridongü, Phangcherop, Mai Gaon, Lakhiram Gaon, Chekso and Hanse Gaon. “People were left homeless, and without granaries to survive through the winter,” stated the RNSU in a press release from its President, Phenpiga Rengma, and General Secretary, Thangshi Jishing, following their visit. This information had been shared with the District Administration of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), National/District Disaster Management Team and the Joint Director of the Medical Department on August 17 by the RNSU team, it stated. However, “no relief such as medicines and food supplies had reached the affected villagers.” The joint team of the above mentioned organizations has now demanded that compensation for property loss and valuable assets, including livestock, be provided by the government immediately. They have also called for “immediate developmental schemes” for the area as well as basic amenities like a public healthcare centre, PHE, PWD, irrigation, agriculture and housing services which are conducive for the “welfare and wellbeing” of the people. “We held a public meeting at Khanari
Village and distributed some rice bags and potatoes to the severely hit victims. Our vehicles could reach only till Phangcherop Village. Rest of the villages could only be covered by foot,” stated the RNSU. It also informed that many people in the villages are suffering from diarrhea and viral fever, even as they cannot access basic healthcare—this area has no bridges across damaged roads, no electricity, no healthcare facility or any developmental activities whatsoever. Handicap in governance An officer at the Sub Divisional Office (Civil) in Bokajan, while speaking over the phone, acknowledged that the KAAC has not given enough attention or resources to this region. “With no roads or mobile connectivity, it is difficult for us to carry on governance work in this area that has more than 25 villages spread over a vast underdeveloped area,” he said, adding that their office has been instructed by the Medical Department to make visits to the villages every 2-3 days but they are unable to do so due to lack of connectivity. “It is a big handicap for us,” he admitted. Another officer from the Assistant Revenue Office (ARO) of the KAAC who made a visit to the flood affected areas in the Naga Rengma Mouza, soon after the floods, was equally shocked by the conditions. “I had visited that area once in 2001. It is still exactly the same,” he said. The ARO team, along with the Agriculture and Veterinary Departments, has already made and submitted a detailed report of the damages but no action has come from the KAAC or its district administration so far. 96 families have been affected in various ways with large swathes of paddy fields completely damaged. “The paddy fields have become riverbeds as the river has changed its course,” noted the officer, who explained how the government team, which had visited on August 18, had to cross three rivers and walk several more kilometers to assess the situation. “The government has not looked after this area at all. They don’t even have water supply or electricity. They only depend on cultivation for their food and earn some money from selling Raja Mircha, oranges etc. for which they have to go 40km in such conditions to access the market in Silonijan. This year everything is destroyed. How will they survive?” wondered the officer.
ASTD sets guidelines for money lending CMO clarifies stand on allegations
Interest rate not to exceed 3 % Morung Express News Dimapur | August 27
After doing away with the ‘chief guest culture’ within its jurisdiction, the Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur (ASTD) has come up with another initiative of social reformation by setting guidelines for local money lending systems to come into immediate effect. Addressing media persons in Dimapur on Saturday, ASTD office bearers pointed out that local money lenders were not adhering to regulations of The Nagaland Money Lenders Act 2005. They said the unregulated local money lending system has become a “social menace” entrapping many people, even leading to divorce and severing of family ties. “To curb
such social evils, we have set certain guidelines for local money lending system which will be binding on all Ao individuals, societies, groups or associations involved in money lending business within the jurisdiction of ASTD,” said ASTD President Supu Jamir. Against the prevailing rate of interest which is as high as 7% to 10 % per month, the ASTD has set a new rate of interest not to exceed 3 % per month and no compound interest is to be charged whatever the duration of the loan is. The prevailing practice of the debtor paying 10 % to the broker has been rectified too. From now, the lender has to pay the broker his/ her percentage. However, the broker’s percentage has been left to the broker and the lender for mutual understanding and negotiation. Aimed at controlling misuse of land patta for
mortgage, the ASTD said that from now on, only the original patta holder shall duly sign for mortgages to be witnessed along with signature by his/her close relatives or legal heir. The ASTD also decided not to burden the Courts of the Naga Political Groups for issues relating to money lending. “From today, no Ao citizen, individual, groups or associations should give burden to the Courts of any Naga Political Groups as they have enough burdens.” It was also informed that the set guidelines would apply only when the money lender (individual or NGO) is from the Ao community. The ASTD has empowered all village units within its umbrella to oversee and monitor the implementation of these guidelines and take necessary action against the defaulters.
Kohima, august 27 (mExN): The Chief Minister of Nagaland State, TR Zeliang, has clarified that the Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015, is “not with him or the State Government” and thus “we have to trust the negotiators and their statements that the best interests of the Naga people would be ensured while evolving a negotiated settlement.” This was stated through a press note from the Media Cell of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Nagaland. The CMO stated that, “The attention of the Chief Minister has been drawn to some serious but unwarranted allegations raised against him by various Naga National Political Groups which appeared in the media this morning, thereby warranting this clarification.” In that, the CMO of-
fered that “If anyone has any doubts, or wants to know the details (of the Framework Agreement), RN Ravi (interlocutor) is always there to clarify instead of speculating and interpreting as per one’s own understanding.” According to some people, “there is nothing for the people of Nagaland in the present Framework Agreement, which would make it appear that they have seen the contents of the Agreement,” observed the CMO, while on the other hand, some people ask how “we can support without seeing the Agreement.” The CM maintained that people should not be confused with such “ambiguous statements.” The press note also reminded that the talks on the Naga political is-
sue between the Government of India (GoI) and the NSCN (IM) started 19 years ago, in 1997. Eventhough Ceasefire Agreements were signed between the GoI and other NSCN groups, successive Governments of the State
sured that the CM stands for an inclusive solution, further noting that “all Nagas should be stakeholders, wherever they are, in the final solution.” Whereas, TR Zeliang is the Chief Minister of Nagaland and not of the neighbouring States, “when it comes to the Naga issue, whether he remains the Chief Minister or not, he is determined to speak for all Nagas and will continue to do so till the issue is honourably resolved,” the CMO stated. In terms of inclusiveness, the CM has repeatedly requested the interlocutor to meet all NPGs for dialogue to bring out a lasting solution. According to the CMO, at the Chumukedima Consultative Meeting on March 9, 2016, the CM also expressed his willingness to facilitate a meeting if any
Reassures that the Chief Minister stands for an inclusive solution had taken the stand to facilitate the peace process, and the present Government continues to abide by that declared stand. “It is unfortunate that some people are talking as if the Peace Talks started only during the tenure of the present Chief Minister which, in fact, has completed just a little over two years,” maintained the CMO. The CMO also reas-
group wanted to meet the interlocutor. The CMO further clarified that the inauguration of the Veterinary College at KVK Jalukie was organized by the ICAR, a central government institution. A ceremonial lamp was lit and a coconut was broken to signify good luck and prosperity by the Union Minister—the CM and State Government had no part in the arrangement of that inauguration, maintained the CMO. Further, invocation prayers were offered by the State Chaplain Rev. Kuzeirang Thou, with the Foundation Stone of the Farmers’ Training School laid by the CM where the Pastor of Jalukie Town Baptist Church, Mongzeu, offered the invocation prayers. Therefore, “attributing the Chief Minister of indulging in Hindu or Heraka rites are false and baseless,” asserted the CMO.
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SunDAY 28•08•2016
NAGALAND
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
‘Need to build robust and weatherproof economy in Nagaland’
AYO seminar deliberates on improvising economy in the State Morung Express News Zubza | August 27
In commemoration of its 25 years celebration, Angami Youth Organization (AYO) held its second seminar on the topic ‘Economy’ on August 27 at WAPO Hall, Sechü Zubza. The resource persons for the seminar were Rovi Chasie, entrepreneur, Richard Belho, architect, and Kesao Kesiezie, businessman. The panelists for the seminar were Khris Kire, businessman, Neivikuolie Khatsü, social activist, and Dr. Vilar Solo, entrepreneur. In his keynote address, Prasielie Pienyü, Co-convenor, Organising Committee highlighted the aims and objectives of the seminar. Under the theme ‘Kelhou Kevi ra’, the AYO will be holding its 25 years of celebration on November 4 and 5. As a preface to the celebration, seminars on the topics of Ethos, Environment, Economy and Education are being held in the four regions of the Angami community. Despite being blessed with one of the best geographical regions, climatic conditions, flora and fauna, and natural resources, there are many challenges ahead and in the course of the seminars, these challenges will be discussed, said Pienyü.
Participants and resource persons at the AYO seminar held on the topic ‘Economy’ on August 27 at WAPO Hall, Sechü Zubza.
Rovi Chasie, founder of Livelihood Enhancement Center spoke on the position of the present economy in Nagaland where there is very less cash inflow within the State with most of the goods, services, and every essential commodity being imported from outside the State. Other areas where cash has been spent outside are through education and medical treatments. ‘How do we generate wealth within the State?’ was one question put forward to the participants by Chasie. Initiatives such as independently managing one’s livelihood such
as growing and rearing for one’s own consumption, attempts to circulate cash within the State and to pull in money from outside through tourism were major points highlighted by Chasie. Youngsters need to be taught about savings at a young age, asserted Chasie, who also expressed the importance of innovation of new ideas to generate economy and to build and promote the concept of ‘Made in Nagaland’. Although the trend has started, very few products of Nagaland go outside. Despite its accessibility and proximity, Nagaland still has an under-developed
economy, viewed Architect Richard Belho, who pointed out the setbacks of business among Nagas. The problems are mostly to do with the mindsets and attitude of Nagas. “The mindset of working under an authority/ authoritative figure is absent. And our idea of success is wrong. Success is not just about building a house and receiving the rent. The hunger to progress, to be better is absent among Nagas,” said Belho. He added that mediocrity is the worst quality and idleness, the greatest enemy of the Nagas. Belho also asserted that Nagaland needs policy chang-
es where it needs to invest in education followed by skill and labour. Further, the value of time and money, and civic sense need to be incorporated in schools. The problem of drop outs and the failure to take drop outs in schools which has a ripple effect on the Naga society was also impressed upon the participants, where Belho mentioned that many of the drop outs tend to become idle and engage in anti social activities. “Monopoly business is not our strength, we need competitive business,” stated Belho suggesting that organizations like AYO can initiate opportunities for drop outs where villages can start Skill Resource Centres for training the people. Instead of exploiting natural resources, the State needs to explore livelihood avenues, it was added. Panelist Khris Kire also stressed on the significance of keeping oneself updated with state policies and national policies. Nagaland being a landlocked state, the peoples’ minds also tend to be landlocked, humored Kire, who however suggested the term ‘landlinked’ for Nagaland which has geographical advantages with its connectivity to several states and Myanmar. “Plan economy in such a way that it is rigid and robust- one that is weatherproof. We need to plan on how to sustain economy even in the worst times, make it weatherproof so that we are able to sustain in any kind of situation,” stated Kire.
Promoting fundamental rights awareness Sensitization of dairy farmers through church tSEMinyu, AuguSt 27 (MExn): The Council of Rengma Baptist Churches (CRBC) in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) conducted an awareness programme on Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) and Joint Liability Group (JLG) for dairy farmers on August 25 in the conference hall of CRBC, Zunpha. Dr. Gwazenlo Tep, Veterinary Assistant Surgeon sensitized the participants on the scope of setting up dairy farms and importance of adopting scientific practices while undertaking dairy activities to realise
its full potential, according to a press release from Bendang Aier, Assistant General Manager, NABARD. To encourage dairying with bank loan, Bendang Aier, AGM, NABARD during the programme discussed the objective, features and facilities available under DEDS, which is a credit linked subsidy scheme of GoI. As the group approach has been found to be an effective mode for purveying credit, Aier also sensitized them about JLG and requested CRBC to mobilise interested dairy farmers into groups on cluster basis for effective implementation and monitoring. In Na-
galand State, a total of 82 and 344 dairy farmers were assisted under the scheme during the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, he added. Meanwhile, Puhovil Tsukru, Branch Manager of Nagaland State Cooperative Bank (NStCB), Tseminyu branch shared his concern about poor recovery climate especially under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme. However, the experience of associating with CRBC for extending banking services to the rural people, including recovery, has been positive, he said. Calling upon the participants to respect the terms and condi-
tions of credit, Nitish Chakravorty, Branch Manager of Vijaya Bank, Tseminyu branch also expressed his willingness to extend necessary assistance to the people in collaboration with CRBC. In this connection, both the Branch Managers requested CRBC to promote JLGs and extend necessary hand holding support to them for ensuring proper end use of bank loan. Arhunlo Semp, Development Secretary, CRBC chaired the meeting, while John, Pastor and Hini Tep, Secretary, CED, Zunpha pronounced the invocation and vote of thanks respectively.
Family Night at Koinonia Baptist Church
kohiMA, AuguSt 27
MDLSA officials along with participants of the second essay competition at Mokokchung (MExn): The Koinonia Law College on August 27.
Mokokchung, AuguSt 27 (MExn): With an aim to promote awareness on constitutional rights among the student community, the Mokokchung District Legal Services Authority (MDLSA) conducted its second essay competition at Mokokchung Law College on August 27. The competition, conducted on the topic “Im-
portance of Fundamental Rights”, was attended by higher secondary schools and colleges around Mokokchung. Each institute was represented by two students. The result of the competition will be declared on September 1, informed MDLSA officials. MDLSA also informed that competition carries
JGHSS celebrates 70 years
NPSC Secretary, Khrupi Sothu releases the school magazine of John Govt. Higher Secondary School, Viswema on August 27.
kohiMA, AuguSt 27 (DiPR): John Govt. Higher Secondary School (JGHSS), Viswema observed its 70th anniversary at the school’s Assembly Hall with NPSC Secretary, Khrupi Sothu as the chief guest on August 27. The chief guest said, ‘Today we are grateful to the founding members and land donors of the school who had a vision for the betterment of future generation and established the school and further handed down to us.” He stated that JGHSS, considered the third oldest school in Nagaland, has produced a number of great leaders, bureaucrats in different fields from Southern Angami villages and other Naga villages from neighboring State of Manipur. “Once our school is considered as one of the best schools in Nagaland but with the fast paced changes in the education sector, the school performance is sadly sliding backward comparing in the last ten years,” he expressed. Sothu said the State Government upgraded the school to higher secondary school in the year 2014 and the school has now HSSLC exam centre. The first batch of HSSLC 2016 result was 70.59 % pass percentage, he said, adding it showed the sincerity and dedication of the teaching faculty members. He therefore encouraged all the stakeholders - teachers, parents, students, the managing board and all concerned - to come and reason together for further improvement of the school. He also challenged the participants to wake up from deep slumber of stagnancy and challenge oneself to bring progress and development of the school so that the efforts of our forefathers do not go wasted. The School Headmaster, Krope Koza in his welcome address said that the commemoration of 70th year of JGHSS in such special manner was for the upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebration which will be held in 2021 and also to create awareness among the well-wishers. Others who gave short speeches included Vikulto John; Rusovil John, Member Secretary, Nagaland Pollution Control Board; KN Pusha; U.K. Nair. The chief guest also released the school magazine.
cash prizes for the winners and certificates for the participants. Meanwhile, MDLSA also informed that on September 1, MDLSA will be opening a Legal Aid Clinic at District Jail Mokokchung. Simultaneously an awareness programme on rights of prisoners and basic rights will be conducted for the inmates.
Baptist Church Kohima held its Family Night in the church premises on August 25. The event started last year spearheaded by The Shepherd Male Voice, a group that was formed by music lovers who are also dedicated fathers and energetic young men, informed a press release. Held on the theme, ‘You are my ministry: Family is the first ministry’, the
sa Family, Sophia Female Voice and Male Voice from Kohima Bible College, The Lemtor, Mepfhüo Voice, Vizo Family, Zuyie instrumental, The Chung Sisters, Neo Family, Chakrüno Family, Kikon and daughter, Yanpolomi Tsopoe and Koinonia Choir. Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo terming family as the first ministry called upon the children of each Participants of the Koinonia Baptist Church Kohima’s Family Night. family not to be a source event comprised of various and music. It featured mu- family such as Shepherd of trouble but a source of artists performing songs sical groups, duos, and Male Voice and Oasis, Rut- blessing.
Financial literacy: Borrowing from informal money lenders discouraged
kohiMA, AuguSt 27 (MExn): The Nagaland State Co-operative Bank Ltd. (NStCB), Kohima Main Branch organized financial literacy programme on August 26 at Teichuma village. Supported by Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) managed by NABARD, the programme was chaired by Lhousakoulie Metha, Village Council Chairman. S Kevi Hibo, Asst. Branch Manager & I/C Nodal centre Kohima in his keynote address highlighted the significant role played by NStCB Ltd, especially for the rural poor farmers. Hibo also requested the rural farmers
and the participants to approach the bank and avail credit facilities available in the bank with positive motive of repaying the loans, instead of borrowing from the informal money lenders, stated a press release received here. It was highlighted that the concept and importance of launching the financial literacy programme was introduced by the GoI since majority of the Indian population are rural farmers who are financially excluded. In order to boost their living economy and uplift the BPL clusters, the programme was launched so that the rural farmers can
be financially included, Kevi said. The programme aims to reach out to the unreached by way of conducting financial literacy camps in the rural areas where people are deprived of banking knowledge. Hibo also elaborated on the importance of social security schemes such as PMJJBY, PMSBY, PMFSY, APY, and opening of various types of accounts, small savings methods, curtailing of expenditures. Branch Manager HSJ Branch, Dusuzo Soho briefed the participants on judicious utilization of loans and prompt recovery of loan in the specific timeframe. The Manager also
appealed to the villagers and the public in general to render their best services to the NStCB so that the bank can also serve the public better. In the interactive session, S. Kevi Hibo discussed about the formation of SHG, JLG & KCC loan and seeding of Aadhaar Number in the accounts as the benefits entitled can be directly transferred to their accounts. Kevi also highlighted the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme, which is a credit linked subsidy scheme. He challenged the participants to venture into the project honestly and sincerely.
Financial Literacy Camp
Mokokchung, AuguSt 27 (MExn): To promote financial literacy/inclusion, a one day Financial Literacy Camp (FLC) supported under FIF managed by NABARD was conducted at Mongsenyimti village on August 27. It was organized by Care and Support Society (CSS), Mokokchung in collaboration with Nagaland State Cooperative Bank Ltd (NStCB). A press release from CSS informed that S. Amarjit Mangang, DDM, NABARD spoke on the role played by NABARD in financial inclusion. He further shared in detail about the farmers club, SHG & JLG program and role of NABARD in creating infrastructure in the district. Temsulepden, Assistant Branch Manager & in-charge FLC, NStCB, Mokokchung shared the importance of banking, saving, financial planning. He also dwelt on various financial services offered by the bank for the public and highlighted on PMJDY, PMJJBY and APY. The programme was chaired by Imchawati Kichu, Managing Director, CSS, and welcome address was delivered by Imnakumzuk, Chairman, Mongsenyimti Village Council.
Society cannot do without unity: Er. Levi
Shillong, AuguSt 27 (MExn): Parliamentary Secretary for PWD (Housing), Er. Levi Rengma has asserted that a society cannot do without unity. Speaking at the ‘Cultural Meet’ in Shillong organized by Naga Elders’ Forum Shillong and Naga Students’ Union Shillong on August 25, Er. Levi stated, “In every walk of life we find that it is our unity that gives us strength. No home can be strong, happy and peaceful without unity.” He pointed out that North East India constitutes about 8% of India in size with a population of approximately 40 million as per 2011census, which is about 3.1% of total Indian population. “But God has blessed our North-East with abundant natural resources and beauty which we can harness for our development, keeping in mind the need for preserving environment and ecology for our future generations to come.” Being comparatively small in
size, North-East people, he said, should come together in unity and understanding so that the region can be developed, especially in the field of tourism, and projected as one of the world tourist destinations. Questioning why the NorthEast States are still lacking in developments, the MLA maintained that the rest of Indian people have to recognize the NorthEast as a part of India and not treat people from the region as “outsiders”. “At the same time we North-East people should also project ourselves in the positive right way in our behaviors and conducts.” Er. Levi said it is “our” duty to change the concept of negativity of “our” land and people to outside world. Meanwhile, he pointed out that the power to tap into the tremendous potential comes from one’s identity. “In order to understand your identity you have to know about your past history,
Parliamentary Secretary Er. Levi Rengma speaking at the Cultural Meet in Shillong on August 25.
culture and traditions because knowing your own history, or the history of your culture is important for development because it helps you to know who you are while moulding the future.” Cities and towns today, he added, is a huge melting pot of different cultures, where it can be easy to feel lost and confused. In such a situation, self-reflection is crucial
to the cross-cultural learning process, and knowledge of one’s own culture is crucial, he said. The MLA also said understanding cultures will help one overcome and prevent racial and ethnic divisions. According to him, unless the people from North East first learn to understand other’s culture and respect them, we will continue to be what we are. “Like any other people in the world, we the people from North East are proud of our own culture and traditions but we seem to fail to understand and respect each other’s culture and traditions. Culture can give people a connection to certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It allows them to identify with others of similar mindsets and backgrounds. Understanding our cultural heritage can give a sense of personal identity.” Talking on the economic development of North East region, he said despite efforts at policy
formulation to cater to the developmental needs of the states in the region, nothing significant has come out yet in the last several years. “It is as such unwise to approach the problem in the Northeast as merely a law and order problem; neither can it be handled as purely political one. The roots lie deep in the fundamental economic dynamics of insurgency movements. The problems of political violence, insurgency, ethnic conflict, migration pressure, inter-state disputes and underdevelopment have become integral to the understanding of political process and economic development of the region.” Further, he opined that the root of the matter lies in the failure of several North East states to develop their internal financial resources, and their continuing reliance on Central Government for contribution towards meeting their internal non-plan expenditures etc.
SunDAY 28•08•2016
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
68th Martyrs’ Day observed in Mao Gate, Ukhrul, Chandel Newmai News Network Senapati | August 27
The 68th Anniversary of Martyrs’ Day was observed at Mao Gate in Senapati district, Ukhrul town and Chandel today. The programmes were organised by the respective frontal body of the districts under the aegis of the United Naga Council (UNC) to honour Asiisii Hepuni of Punanamei, Mahriili Lohrii and Modo Kholi, both of Kalinamei, who were shot dead on the spot and Daikho Hesho of Chowainamai Khullen and Obow Adani of Punanamei who were grievously wounded and later succumbed to bullet injuries from indiscriminate firings of the Assam Rifles and Manipur Police on August 27, 1948. In Mao Gate, the Mao Council (MC) organised the event and witnessed the participation of a large number of people. UNC treasurer Kaikho Mao spoke on the occasion while Vice President of Mao Council, K Kapani, delivered the keynote address. Chandel Naga People's Organisation (CNPO) organised the event in Chandel and Tangkhul Naga Long in Ukhrul, according
UNC leader Kaikho laying a wreath at the Memorial Park of the martyrs at Mao Gate. (NNN Photo)
to the UNC source. According to a paper issued by the UNC, the observation is in respectful memory and honour of those who suffered and made the ultimate sacrifice for the integration of all Nagas over 66 years ago during the "No-Tax campaign". Being a landmark in the history of political movement of the Nagas in Manipur in particular and all Nagas in general, the observation of “Martyrs’ Day” was taken up by the UNC with the Mao Council as the Local Organizing Committee since August 27, 2005,
the UNC paper added. The UNC paper also stated that to the dismay of the Nagas, against their wishes to live together with their brethren of the Naga Hills of the then Assam, the Government of India decided to grant a Legislative Assembly in Manipur. At this juncture, F. F. Pearson, President, Manipur State Darbar hurriedly constituted the Manipur State Constitution and the Manipur State Hill Peoples (Administration) Regulation Drafting Committee to work out an interim administrative arrangement for Manipur
before the lapse of the British Paramountcy. "Mr. A. Daiho and Mr. Tiankham, representatives of hill tribes in the Committee pointed out that the draft constitution should incorporate the following clause - “the principle of equality and freedom as applied to all without distinction of caste, creed and race shall include the right of any section of hill people to secede at the end of five years period should the condition within the constitution not be satisfactory”. Mr. A. Daiho and Mr. Tiankham made it clear that if the clause
was not incorporated they would not be party to the constitution. When the draft Constitution was submitted to the Maharaja of Manipur on 15/5/47, Mr. F. F. Pearson, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, drew the particular and personal attention of the Maharaja to the dissension of the representatives of the hill tribes," the paper added. In spite of the democratic demand for consolidation of contiguous Naga areas under one administrative unit and the explicit opposition to the Manipur State Draft Constitution by the tribe representatives, the General Election under the Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 was held in June 1948. The Nagas boycotted the election. The “No Tax Campaign” 1948: a landmark in the history of political movement of the Nagas of Manipur was launched when Maharaj Kumar Priyobrata Singh was the Chief Minister of Manipur. The Nagas in Manipur refused to pay the annual House Tax to the Government of Manipur and under the aegis of the Naga National League (NNL) submitted their annual house tax to Charles Pawsey, D.C. of Naga Hills of Assam at Kohi-
ma, the UNC paper also said. "It was an act of defiance against the Authority of the State, under which the Nagas of Manipur had been placed without their consent. It was also a means of putting pressure on the Indian Government for securing the merger of the Nagas in Manipur with the Naga Hills district," the UNC added. According to the UNC paper, the Manipur Maharaja, Budha Chandra was in good terms with Sir Akbar Hydari, the then Governor of Assam, who was requested by the Maharaja to send a contingent of Assam Rifles to arrest A. Daiho. "Sir Akbar Hydari, well known for his anti Naga political stand, gladly approved and dispatched a contingent of 4th Assam Rifles along with State Police equipped with rifles and machine guns, to Mao Gate on August 27, 1948. The Assam Rifles took position in and around Mao Inspection Bungalow in war like fashion and indiscriminately fired at the volunteers/students of the Mao-Maram Tribal Council (now Mao, Maram, Poumai, Thangal and Upper Zeliang) who were blocking the road leading to the residence of Mr. A. Daiho", it added.
Portfolios allotted to AMSU observes ‘Hunger Public Prosecutor office Meghalaya ministers Marchers’ Day' building in Imphal torched shIlloNg, August 27 (PtI): Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has alloted portfolios to newly inducted cabinet ministers Martin M Dangngo and Ronnie V Lyngdoh. Danggo was given charge of Public Work Department (Roads) replacing Sniawbhalang Dhar while Ronnie got the Urban Affairs department held by Ampareen Lyngdoh, with additional charge of Soil & Water Conservation, according to the official list of portfolios released today. Dangngo, former Assembly Speaker, and Government Chief Whip Lyngdoh had taken oath as ministers yesterday. In a bid to contain infighting among Congress legislators, Sangma on August 25 dropped Deputy Chief Minister Rowell Lyngdoh and Health Minister A L Hek to accommodate Danggo and Lyngdoh. Deputy Chief Minister Roytre C Laloo was relieved from Education and PHE portfolios and is given charge of Food & Civil Supplies department. Senior minister HDR Lyngdoh got the Home department, a portfolio he had held earlier.
Former Community and Rural Development Minister Prestone Tynsong has been allotted the PHE and Border Area Development departments. Dhar, who was stripped off the PWD department, was given charge of Power and Community and Rural Development departments. Former Power Minister Clement Marak will head the Forest and Environment and Social Welfare while Zenith Sangma was awarded the Taxation portfolio. While former Home minister Roshan Warjri will be heading the health and Higher & Technical Education departments, former Urban Development Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh will be new minister incharge of IPR, IT and PWD (Buildings). Former Social Welfare Minister Deborah Marak, who was stripped off of the working president's post in the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, was given charge of education and Secretariat Administration Department besides printing and stationery. This was also the first major reshuffle by Sangma after the Assembly elections two years ago.
ImPhAl, August 27 (NNN): The 51st ‘Hunger Marchers’ Day’ was observed by All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) to pay respect to those who had died during a student protest staged here against an artificial famine created by the government in 1965. Thousands of students, well-wishers, AMSU leaders and family members, relatives and friends of the student ‘martyrs’ paid floral tributes at the memorial complex located at Pishum Chingamacha here. On August 27, 1965, AMSU organized a protest rally against artificial famine in the Imphal streets during which the police unleashed a brutal crackdown against them, killing four. The union has been observing the event every year.
ImPhAl, August 27 (NNN): The office building of the Public Prosecutor cum Government Advocate located near the Old High Court complex at North AOC here was set ablaze by unknown miscreants in the wee hours of Saturday. Important official documents, including case records and service record books, and 17 computer sets were destroyed in the fire which according to reports started around 1 am. Fire Service personnel rushed to the site and put out the
blaze which could have spread to other buildings. PHED Minister Irengbam Hemochandra Singh accompanied by some officials later visited the site. The police are investigating the incident but the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. They suspected some miscreants burned the office building. Unidentified people torched District Transport Office, Thoubal yesterday morning. Official records and documents were destroyed in the fire.
Mizoram politicians banned from lecturing in colleges AIzAwl, August 27 (INterNAtIoNAl BusINess tImes): The Mizoram government, on August 18, issued an order prohibiting politicians from delivering lectures on political issues in the state's colleges and universities. The prohibition order was issued by the state government after the heads of the opposition parties Zoramthanga of Mizo National Front (MNF) and Lalduhawma of Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) delivered lectures in colleges across the state. While Zoramthanga was invited by two different colleges to deliver a lecture on separatist movements in the northeast and the Mizoran Accord, Lalduhawma of ZNP talked on various subjects in colleges. The state order said that the such lectures disturb the environment and upset the students. It also
NORTH-EAST
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Tripura Gov concerned over cross border terrorism AgArtAlA, August 27 (PtI): Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy has expressed concern over cross border terrorists from Bangladesh seeking safe haven in West Bengal and urged for further strengthening of bilateral ties through sharing of river waters. Pointing out that as a lower riparian country, Bangladesh, should get its due share of water to further strengthen bilateral relation with the neighbouring country, Roy said, "Five rivers including Sutlej, Chenab flow from India to Pakistan and despite deterioration of our relation with the country, India has not stopped sharing water." "So, India cannot deny sharing of water with the lower riparian country, Bangladesh. Let this irritant be removed," Roy said last evening after inaugurating a conclave, "Cross-Border Terrorism in Bangladesh: Implications for India's Border States," organized by a news portal here. He said the visa system between Bangladesh and India should be simplified and he has taken up the matter with the central government. Roy, a former leader of BJP in West Bengal, said, "Nearly half of the border of Bangladesh is with West Bengal and many terrorists from the country are using the state as their sanctuary. It is alarming." A B Mathur, former Chief of Research and An-
alytical Wing (RAW) said, "Pakistan is the source of terrorism in South-Asia. Army and ISI rule the country in the real sense and sponsor terrorism. Army is funding and encouraging terrorism." Expressing his gratitude to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mathur said, "She is fighting against terrorism in her country and did not allow insurgents of north eastern region of our country to use the soil of her country. If terrorism grows in Bangladesh, it is also a matter of deep concern for us." Director of NSI, Bangladesh, Nurul Absar said, "Our country follows the principle of zero tolerance towards terrorism. It is presumed that different terrorist groups in our country are trying to regroup and our government is alert." He said terrorist groups made an attempt on the life of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2004 because she was against terrorism. Absar said, "Bangladesh is not Pakistan or Syria. Our people are influenced by the Sufi thoughts, so it would not be possible for the terrorists to find solid ground in our country. Country would overcome the menace of terrorism." He also attached importance on sharing of information regarding activities of the terrorists so that both the countries could act against them.
GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND
DIRECTORATE OF SCHOOL EDUCATION NAGALAND, KOHIMA
CONDOLENCE MESSAGE Dated Kohima, the 27th August 2016.
NO.ED/EST-C/2016:: The Department of School Education is deeply shocked at the sudden demise of Lt. Aomeren Imsong, Head Master, Government High School Tuli on 26th August 2016 at Dergaon Assam on his way back to Tuli. The Department conveys its profound condolences to the bereaved family and prays that Almighty God gives them solace and grant them the strength to overcome the period of pain and sorrow. (POLLEM TEP) Additional Director
directed teachers in government colleges to refrain from inviting politicians to deliver lectures on sensitive issue and also said that the teachers who do not follow the directives will be penalised, according to Northeast Today. Meanwhile, college teachers, students, unions and opposition parties are not in favour of the state directives and have said that the government led by Lal Thanhawla is attacking freedom of speech. The academicians across the state said that such restrictions would hinder the students, particularly students studying political science in colleges. The opposition parties of the state also criticised the order for imposing restrictions on teachers and students saying that students have the capability of differentiating between propaganda and historical facts.
'China getting interested in political developments in countries around India' AgArtAlA, August 27 (IANs): China, which earlier provided support to terrorists in northeast India, is now trying to get involved in political developments in the countries adjoining India, security experts from India and Bangladesh said here. Security and terrorism experts, addressing a conclave here on cross-border terrorism late on Friday, said that mutual cooperation and indepth study of the threat could be an effective means to deal with terrorism. "China has been a factor for northeast India. It earlier supported terrorism in the region. Now China has been showing keen interest in the political development of the countries adjoining India," intelligence official and retired IPS officer A.B. Mathur said. He said: "China may take active interest in the next elections in Bangladesh. China has a role in Pakistan and Sri Lankan politics too." Mathur, who earlier worked in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, said that Pakistan is the "single source of terrorism in Southeast Asia". The ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) and Pakistan Army are the custodian of Pakistani nationalism, he said. "ISIandPakistanArmyhaveanac-
tive role in that country's foreign policy, especially diplomacy relating to India. A colonel in the Pakistani Army is more important than a cabinet minister in that country," he added. "NGOs in Pakistan overtly and covertly are collecting money for terrorist groups and in different forms they advocate for the radical forces. Some so-called Pakistani thinkers are always trying to describe that country's terrorist groups as benevolent groups." Praising the Bangladesh government for dealing with terrorism, Mathur said that Sheikh Hasina has been courageously dealing with terrorism and fundamentalists in her country. "Growth of fundamentalists in Bangladesh is of big concern for both India and Bangladesh," he said, adding that Bangladesh could be the gateway for India's 'Act-East Policy'. The conclave, which was organised by a news portal, was inaugurated by Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy. Commodore Nurul Absar of Bangladesh said: "Earlier it was thought that poor people or people influenced by madrasas are getting involved in terrorism, but in the recent incidents in Bangladesh, these thoughts proved wrong."
"Affluent people, highly educated men, technocrats and intellectually sound citizens are running terrorism," said Absar, who is the Director (Security) in Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office. He suggested regular exchange of information, intelligence inputs and continuous research among the affected countries as very vital to curb terrorism in Southeast Asia. "We have to gather information from all sides and analyze them properly. The form of terrorism is changing everyday, that's why tackling them with an apt method is imperative," said Absar, a former Bangladesh Navy officer. US-based communication expert, Saumen Sarkar, said that terrorist groups through internet facilities are expanding their base, collecting money, mobilising people and spreading their theories and philosophy. "Cyber-security and counter terrorism experts in advanced countries like USA, Rusia and Israel work in sync with law enforcement professionals to contain terrorism. By using technology it is possible to crack the networking among the terror groups," said Sarkar, who worked in New York City government and Bank of New York.
"After the 9/11 experience, the US is following all the techniques and they have been successful in technically fighting against terrorism", he added. Writer and counter-terrorism expert Subir Bhaumik said that India's dealing with Pakistan is not effective and New Delhi should respond in such a way that Islamabad can understand. "This is a war not fought with guns alone. It is a battle of wits, where to win the argument is more important and specially in cyberspace where the terrorists are learning to thrive and use it as a force multiplier," said Bhaumik, an expert on India's northeastern region. The Governor, in his speech, questioned that if India has a long standing water treaty with Pakistan, then why is the Teesta water treaty not signed with Bangladesh despite the two neighbours being the closest and natural friends for a long time. Writer and terrorism expert Jaidip Sakia said that a joint interrogation mechanism between India and Bangladesh is the need of the hour to deal with terror threats in both the countries. Additional Director General (Special Branch) of Assam Police Pallab Bhattacharya moderated the conclave.
OFFICE OF THE
UNEMPLOYED TRAINED NURSES ASSOCIATION Post Box No. 838, Kohima : Nagaland Regd. No. H/Rs: 2108 Theme: “Trained to serve humanity”
“By a resolution arrived at the general meeting of the Unemployed Trained Nurses Association held at Dimapur on25-08-2016, it was resolved that it shall be mandatory for all trained Nurses in the State to get themselves registered with the Unemployed Trained Nurses Association(UTNA). In this regard, the office of the UTNA hereby notify and direct all the unregistered Trained Nurses in the state to get themselves registered with the UTNA on or before the 30th of September, 2016 failing which the UTNA shall take stern action against the defaulting unregistered nurses as resolved in the above noted meeting by way of penalty in the form of protest against their appointment and any other penalties appropriate. It is herein mentioned that the UTNA have from its very inception been fighting for the common cause of the unemployed Trained Nurses in the State which involved financial expenditures and manpower. However, only the unemployed Trained Nurses registered with the UTNA have been bearing the financial burden and manpower hitherto, whereas; those unregistered unemployed Trained Nurses have been/are availing the benefits caused due to the hard work of the UTNA. Hence, this resolution. It is therefore notified and directed to all Unemployed Trained Nurses who are not registered with the UTNA to get themselves registered positively within the stipulated period of time as envisaged in the resolution above to avoid future inconvenience. This note is issued in the interest of the unemployed Trained Nurses in the state and for strengthening the Association to face future challenges with concerted effectiveness and strappingly” Further, “Through this press note, it is notified that there will be a joint meeting of the team of Central Office Bearers, Executive members and all unit President and General Secretary of the UTNA with the 2001 and 2002 batches of unemployed Trained Nurses at 1.00 p.m at the Naga Hospital Auditorium, kohima: Nagaland on 1st September, 2016. Therefore, all concerned are hereby directed to attend the meeting positively without fail.” (BENDANGMONGBA) President, UTNA, Nagaland.
(NEIVOTUONUO) G/Secretary, UTNA, Nagaland.
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SundAY 28•08•2016
business
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Foreign seed firms rally behind Monsanto in Indian alliance
NEW DELHI, August 27 (REutERs): Major international seed companies in India formed an alliance on Friday, seeking the support of their peers after a flurry of regulatory steps in recent months by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Executives from companies including the local businesses of Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, Dupont Pioneer and Syngenta announced the alliance in a crowded Press Club of India conference room. The newly-formed Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) says its goal is to address difficulties in the industry. Reuters reported earlier this week that Monsanto had withdrawn an application to sell its next-generation genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds in India
on concerns over the security of its intellectual property. India is Monsanto's biggest market outside the Americas. Monsanto objected to a government proposal that would force it to share its technology with local seed companies. It has also taken the government to court over a cut in the royalty it gets from seed companies for licensing use of its patented technology. The New Delhi press conference was a show of solidarity with Monsanto, which has operated in India for decades but is now being investigated by the anti-trust regulator on whether it misused its nearmonopoly on GM cotton seeds to jack up prices. "Our new association is driven by the fundamental value of respecting
FILE PHOTO - Monsanto logo is displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. on May 9. (REUTERS)
research and intellectual properties of each other," M. Ramasami, a founding FSII member, read out from a statement. "The association believes that no single company has all the solutions and hence collaborations, joint ventures, licensing arrangements and similar approaches are necessary among the members of the
industry." Monsanto, a takeover target of Germany's Bayer, has said it contemplated quitting India because of heightened regulation. But on Friday its India head, Shilpa Divekar Nirula, said there was a need to align Modi's goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022 with what firms like Monsanto can offer.
She declined to comment specifically about her company and left with her media managers immediately after the conference. "I would always want a very transparent system around licensing," said Sharad Khurana, country manager for DuPont Pioneer. "Forceful licensing stifles innovation. Nobody would want to invest." Nirula told Reuters in February last year that Monsanto was close to submitting final trial results for its GM corn to the government, but a top government official said it had yet to do so. A Monsanto India spokesman declined to comment on corn, but the official said the government was moving swiftly on another application for what could be the country's first GM food crop: mustard.
india's forex reserves Thousands line up outside stores as increases to $367 bn new handsets join Jio preview offer CHENNAI, August 27 (IANs): India's foreign exchange reserves went up to $367.16 billion as on August 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Saturday. According to the foreign exchange data released by the RBI, the foreign exchange reserves stood at $367.16 billion as on August 19, as against $365.82 billion as on August 12. On August 19, the foreign current assets stood at
$341.67 billion, gold $21.58 billion, special drawing rights $1.49 billion and the reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stood at $2.41 billion. On the other hand the foreign exchange reserves as on August 12 comprised of foreign currency assets that stood at $340.35 billion, gold $21.58 billion, special drawing rights $1.48 billion and the reserve position with the IMF stood at $2.39 billion.
Govt aims to incubate 50 early stage start-ups NEW DELHI, August 27 (IANs): Aiming to incubate 50 early stage start-ups and create at least five global companies over a period of five years, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has setup Electropreneur Park at University of Delhi, South Campus, an official statement said here on Saturday. The park was inaugurated by Information Technology and Electronics Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. This incubation centre has been set up through a
consortium of the government, academia and industry represented by Software Technology Parks of India, Delhi University and Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association. The incubation centre has already onboard six early stage startups, with a few more in the process of on-boarding. The startups under incubation were awarded the admission certificate also, the statement said. Electropreneur Park has received over 200 proposals for incubation so far.
NEW DELHI, August 27 (IBt): It has been a busy few weeks for employees at the Reliance Digital, Digital Xpress and mini stores, as people are lining up in large numbers to get the Jio 4G SIM. From what we have learnt, it is going to get busier in the days to come as word on the street is that all 4G-compatible smartphones are going to be eligible for Reliance Jio Preview Offer (JPO). The demand for Jio 4G SIM is on the rise due to its offer of 90-day free unlimited high-speed internet, calls and SMS. On the other hand, users of rival networks shell out about Rs. 250 for 1GB of 3G/4G data per month, plus the call charges and SMS costs that one endures throughout the month. Jio users have the privilege of unlimited usage for three whole months, saving them a lot
on their mobile bills. Jio SIM is available for free, but requires the handset to be eligible for the offer. Reliance has already expanded its JPO to several smartphone brands, such as Samsung, LG, Asus, Gionee, YU, Micromax and more. As long as the device is supported for the offer and the user presents all the KYC documents, the SIM card with 3-month unlimited data and other services will be issued. The pricing
leisure
of internet and call charges after three months are still a mystery, but until then customers can enjoy the services with no strings attached. When we visited some Reliance Digital stores in Bengaluru, they had no SIM cards in stock. But there are many stores around the city with sufficient stock, and people have been lining up before the store counters open, which is the case in all the stores across India.
ACROSS 1. Unwakable state 5. Bouquet 10. Sitcom set in Korea 14. Iridescent gem 15. Type of retinal cells 16. Greasy 17. Multiplicative inverse 19. Percussion instrument 20. Historic period 21. Thorny flowers 22. Seminal fluid 23. Fine particles of wood 25. Extreme 27. Commercials 28. Instructing 31. Winged 34. A river through Paris 35. 52 in Roman numerals 36. Wicked 37. Flip over 38. Animal companions 39. Snake-like fish 40. Growing old 41. Center 42. Remorsefully 44. Enemy 45. A type of plastic 46. Panorama 50. Supporting column 52. Portents 54. Louisville Slugger 55. Anthracite 56. Vengeful punishment 58. Pot 59. Ganders 60. Forearm bone 61. Encounter 62. Law and _____ 63. Beloved DOWN 1. Essential parts 2. A drama set to music 3. Long-tailed parrot 4. Anagram of “Ail” 5. Not down
CROSSWORD # 3696
ficials said. “We will soon issue guidelines clarifying the situations in which we may permit clicking photographs inside an aircraft when it’s mid-air or grounded,” a senior DGCA official said. The official said the circular, which will most likely be released next week, will cover issues such as whether photography is permitted in the cockpit, or at what stage of a flight can photography, including selfies, be permitted.
Microsoft unveils new tools to curb hate speech NEW YoRk, August 27 (IANs): In an effort to curb hate speech and ensure safe online communities, Microsoft has announced a new dedicated web form for reporting hate speech on its hosted consumer services and a separate online form for petitions to reconsider and reinstate content. With these resources, microsoft users will now be able to communicate directly with the firm to report hate speech and request petition to reinstate content via online forms. "We will continue our
'notice-and-takedown' approach for removing prohibited content on hosted consumer services, and the new form aims to improve the quality and speed of our reviews," Jacqueline Beauchere, Chief Online Safety Officer at Microsoft, said in a blog post on Saturday. "When hate speech is reported to us, we will evaluate each complaint, consider context and other factors, and determine appropriate action with respect to the content and the user's account," he added.
SUDOKU
Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.”
Game Number # 3682
Answer Number # 3681
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NEW DELHI, August 27 (PtI): Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday defended her demand for 2 per cent cut in interest rates by RBI, saying it is essential to boost SMEs and create jobs, amid criticism that such a move would drastically affect fixed deposits. "My comment about SMEs, their access to credit is based on real environment in which SMEs are doing business... world over interest rate is low... equally, income generation/ jobs are important," she said in a series of tweets. She said that for long periods, if rates would remain high SMEs would not be able to afford the borrowing. Sithraman was responding to two tweets by
an individual: "Have you suggested 2 per cent cut in repo rate? Are you aware how will it affect the rate of interest on FDs?... Since you will probably never contest a direct election in your life, you are not really in tune with the mood of common people". On not contesting elections directly, she said: "My contesting any (direct/indirect)election is my party's decision". Talking about SMEs, Sitharaman said in their respective areas they create jobs and they ask for support not charity. Recently, the minister had pitched for as much as 200 basis points, that is 2 per cent, interest rate cut by Reserve Bank to help the cash-starved MSME sector.
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Market declines for 2nd straight week EXCEL COACHING & COMPUTER CENTRE MuMBAI, August 27 (PtI): The BSE benchmark Sensex extended its fall for second straight week by slumping 294.75 points and once again slipping below the psychological 28K, while the broader Nifty lost 94.35 points to fall below the crucial 8,600-level. Bears took control over bulls in a lopsided trading week following appointment of new RBI chief Urjit Patel which triggered wariness and set-in-motion the debate over the topic of domestic rate-cut and inflation. However, sentiments were dominated by global caution on eagerly awaited US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Monetary Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which could provide hints about the timing of the next rate hike, in view of recent set of hawkish tone from senior Fed officials.
Daily Cross WorD
DGCA to issue guidelines for in-flight selfies NEW DELHI, August 27 (tHE HINDu): The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may soon issue guidelines for clicking photographs, including selfies, by cabin crew and passengers inside aircraft while airborne. Although there are rules in place restricting photograph at airports or from aircraft in flights, DGCA had received various complaints in the past related to pilots clicking selfies inside the cockpit and posting them on social media websites, of-
India does not yet allow GM food crops, whose introduction could help reduce heavy import bills for items such as edible oils that it needs to feed its growing population, already over a billion. But political and public opposition to lab-altered food remains strong due to fears that GM crops could compromise food safety and biodiversity. The source said the government would soon make public a summary report on the indigenously developed mustard, inviting comments on it within 30 days before making further decisions. A panel of experts gave technical clearance for the mustard on Aug. 11 after multiple reviews of crop trial data generated over almost a decade, Reuters reported on Thursday.
‘Interest rate cut necessary to boost smes, create jobs’
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SaturdaY 27•08•2016
NAGALAND
Suggestions and criticisms are welcome: Kiyanilie Peseyie KOHIMA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Kiyanilie Peseyie today responded to reports quoting an unnamed NPF legislator as stating that legislators are not allowed to ask questions in the Assembly. The Minister stated that this statement is “highly reprehensible since it is devoid of any truth or basis, and appears to be a mischievous statement with the intention of tarnishing the image, reputation and integrity of the present Government.” Peseyie stated that it is a democratic tradition followed by heads of all Governments to call for a coordination meeting of the Parliamentarians/ Legislators prior to the Parliament/ Legislative sessions.
“And in the case of Nagaland, I, as the Minister in Charge of Parliamentary Affairs, convene a coordination meeting of all the NPF Legislators before the Assembly session, or the Chief Minister convenes a coordination meeting of the DAN legislators just like the one convened yesterday at 4 pm at Kohima,” he said. The Minister informed that in these meetings, far from restricting legislators to ask questions, the Chief Minister and senior Ministers “encourage the members to ask questions and give constructive criticisms on the functioning of the various departments so that they can acquaint themselves with the activities of the Government departments, check ir-
MEx FILE NLA to go paperless KOHIMA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) has set its sights on becoming an e-assembly. A source informed that the proposal to go paperless has already been sent to the Government of India.
NSCN (IM) informs lounges, discos DIMApUr, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The UT-1 of the NSCN/GPRN (IM) has notified owners of lounges and discos to remain closed on Sundays in an around the UT-1 region with immediate effect. However, for the convenience of travelers, food and lodging hotels, bakeries and salons are exempted from this order, a press release the CAO, UT-1 informed.
Student drowns in Dikhu River Morung Express News Dimapur | August 26
In a tragic incident, a Class 9 student was swept away in Dikhu River on Thursday evening and her body was retrieved this morning about three km away from the location. The victim was identified as one Lanubenla, from Akhoya Village, and studying in Green River Valley High School, Changtongya Town. Sources informed that the victim along with her classmates and a teacher had gone for a picnic and was returning back when they stopped to take a picture. The victim slipped from a slippery rock and was swept away by the flooding river.
Power Dept informs WOKHA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The Wokha Electrical Division of the Power Department has informed that due to technical fault of the 500 KVA, 33/11 KV Englan Power transformer on August 24, power supply to Englan range has been disturbed. In a press release, EE (E) Wokha Division, Er Orenvungo S Ovung requested the consumers to bear with the inconvenience as the department is trying its best to restore the power at the earliest.
regularities if any, and also keep the Government officials on their toes to deliver goods to the people.” The Ministers themselves, he added, “urge the legislators to ask questions in their respective departments since the goal is to provide good governance to the people as enshrined in the Party Constitution and election Manifesto.” Peseyie added that in the absence of an opposition in the 12th Legislative Assembly, “it is unimaginable that good governance can be provided if ruling Legislators themselves do not give constructive suggestions, opinions and even criticisms as and when required.” Therefore, rather than muffling the voices of dissent and criticism from the
ruling Legislators themselves, it is left to the wisdom of the Legislators to raise any issue or question pertaining to their Constituencies or elsewhere, he said. Regarding the quoted legislator’s reported comments on the Cabinet decision on the 33% reservation for women in the Urban Local Bodies, and also the ratification of the GST Bill, Peseyie stated: “I can only say that the legislator has a poor and limited knowledge about the legal realities as well as the positive implications of the Goods & Services Tax Bill, 2016.” On the issuance of Whips to all party Legislators, he said that the legislator who had gone to the media “would do well to familiarise himself with democratic practices and
norms.” “Whip, he should know, is an official appointed by the party to maintain discipline among, secure attendance of, and give necessary information to, members of his party. It is a practice as old as Democracy and there is nothing extraordinary to ensure members abide by the party rules, Principles and stand on various issues,” he stated. The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs further appealed to all legislators to “feel free and ask whatever questions they want to ask whether in the Assembly or outside the Assembly. After all, as elected representatives of the people, we are here to ensure that the people are not deprived in any manner, nor should we let irregularities go unchecked.”
Take up extra initiatives to curb TB: NUN urges state government DIMApUr, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The Nagaland Users’ Network (NUN) has urged the State Government to take up extra initiatives in curbing the menace of Tuberculosis (TB) in Mon and Tuensang districts since both are high TB prevalent districts. NUN in partnership with Mon Users’ Network, Integrated Development Society and CHAI Axshyaa program, Mon and Tuensang, conducted treatment literacy programs on Tuberculosis in Mon on August 20 and in Tuensang on August 24. Government staff working with tuberculosis program in the state, NGOs, and the community participated in the workshops, a press release from the NUN informed. Resource person Renbonthung, Advocacy Officer for NUN, oriented the participants on the basics of tuberculosis and also discussed IPT, MDRTB and XDRTB. Session on TB/HIV and related complications were also discussed during the workshop. Basic testing and diagnostics like sputum microscopy, CBNAAT, x-ray and other test required for TB were part of the topics discussed. NUN made a stopover at Tobu sub divisional headquarters and convened a meeting with the stakeholders there. Representatives from the Konyak Union, KNSK, school authorities, DBs and political groups attended the meeting where they shared
Release salaries of Hindi teachers: AHAHTA Citizens repair road DIMApUr, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The All Nagaland Aggrieved Hindi Teachers Association (ANAHTA) today highlighted the “untold hardships” being faced by the ANAHTA members due to non-payment of salaries for the past seven months. In this regard, a state level meeting of the ANAHTA was held at APO Conference Hall, Kohima on August 11, where the grievances and hardships of the Association were thoroughly discussed. After the meeting, the association petitioned the Directorate of School Education to look into the issue on August, 24. During the meeting, the association unanimously resolved to demand the School Education Department to pursue the release of pending salary
with immediate effect. The members also resolved to pursue the Department to submit the audit report on time to the Central Government, “so long as we are paid under CSS.” The meeting asserted that “as per our appointment order, we are state employees regularly appointed and not appointed under any scheme; hence we should be accommodated under the State Plan henceforth.” It was also resolved to ask the School Education Department to afford opportunity to teachers to pursue training through correspondence course. It maybe noted that the Department has already made the teachers to sign an undertaking on July 26, where the teachers on training would not be substituted at
the expense of department/authority during the training period, instead the teacher on training would have to pay his/her substitute/proxy from his/ her own salary to the tune of Rs 6700/per month. “It may also be noted that the state has only one Hindi teachers training institute that cannot accommodate all the teachers within limited time,” the ANAHTA said. The ANAHTA also decided to pursue as to why the New Pension Scheme (NPS) deducted/contributed amount is not properly accredited to the accounts of members. It further resolved that the association would “stand together, in case any member(s) is/are individually targeted by any authority while working for the cause of ANATHA.”
‘We are educated and skilled but lack professionalism’ KOHIMA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): A two day National Seminar on “Human Resource and Economic Development in India: Prospects, Challenges and Strategies” is being held at St. Joseph’s College’s Auditorium in Jakhama on August 26 and 27. Organised by the Dept. of Economics of the college, the seminar is being sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Sciences and Research (ICSSR), Shillong. State Additional Director of Higher Education, Kuholi Chishi was the Chief Guest at the inaugural. Nagaland University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. B. K. Konwar, delivering the
keynote address dwelt on the nature of seminar and termed it an exchange of ideas. Pointing out the problems of the NE states in Human Resource and Economic development, he called upon the youth in the NE region to be educated in socio-economic development. Speaking as chief guest, Chishi emphasized on “Professionalism” observing that we are learned, educated and skilled but lack professionalism. This has led to huge unemployment in the state, she viewed. She exhorted the gathering to be creative and innovative and called on the young people to be the solution
of the prevalent problems, besides being professionals with skills. A special lecture was delivered by Prof. Mithilesh Kumar Sinha, Dept. of Economics, NU, on “Education, Employment and Development” based on his expansive experience and knowledge. “Employability leads to innovation, innovation to productivity and productivity to economic growth,” Prof Sinha posited. The seminar is being attended by Professors, Asst. Profs., research scholars from different universities of different states, and students of the organizing dept.
DIMApUr, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The half yearly sitting of the Tangkhul Hoho Nagaland (THN) will be held on August 27 at Tangkhul Baptist Church Dimapur (TBCD), Kuda at 10:30 am. A press release from the Hoho has requested all members to attend the said meeting.
RTI training at Mangkolemba
Vety &AH Service Rules laid in assembly KOHIMA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): Parliamentary Secretary for Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, S. Chuba Longkumer, laid a copy of the Nagaland Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Department Service Rules, 2016 here today on the floor of the House. Earlier, NLA speaker Chotisuh Sazo made an obituary reference to the passing away of Y. Shangyu, former MLA from Wakching Assembly Constituency. The House observed two minute silence as a mark of respect to the departed soul. NLA Commissioner & Secretary N. Benjamin Newmai reported the assent of the Governor of Nagaland on two bills viz., The Nagaland Salaries, Allowances and other Facilities of the Chief Minister, other Ministers, Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Deputy Speaker, other Members of the NLA/ Parliamentary Secretaries and Pension for Ex-Members Act, 2005 (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Nagaland Appropriation (No. 3) Bill, 2016.
Citizens repair the road in Mangkolemba Town.
MANGKOlEMbA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): Members of the Mangkolemba Adhoc Town Committee (MATC), all ward chairmen and executive committee, Gaonburas and well wishers of the town in coordination with the PWD (R&B) Mangkolemba repaired the road leading to Entsüngkong Ward, BSNL station and the Amenity Centre of Tourism Department in Mangkolemba Town. Altogether, 91 volunteers filled the countless potholes with stones, pebbles and soil, stated a press release received here. The clogged side drain was cleared, trees and bushes were trimmed, and the road sides were cleared. The repairing was done from Nokyu-Hokiyong ward junction to Tsüpaksa-Nisameyong area, a stretch of 3 kilometers.
KAOT 7th general session held
Tangkhul Hoho Nagaland
MOKOKcHUNG, AUGUST 26 (MExN): Training on RTI Act 2005 for PIOs and APIOs was conducted together with prominent NGOs and academic institutions of Mokokchung district in collaboration with Administrative Training Institute, Kohima and Customary Law Court on August 24 at Mangkolemba. SDO (Civil), Renbemo Ezung in his keynote address said that the RTI Act is for transparency and accountability in the working system of public authorities. “We should use the RTI for the all-round development of the people,” he said. Resource persons were EAC Mokokchung, R. Daniel Angami and EAC Chuchu, Neyazungba. R. Daniel Angami, EAC gave an explanation on the know-how of the RTI Act. He also stressed on the role of the PIO. Vikhoto Richo, EAC, Tuli was also present in the training.
the seriousness of TB in Tobu area and further informed of the non-functioning DMC in Tobu, the release stated. Citing reliable sources as mentioning that the DTO, Mon is taking extra initiative and has started the process of reviving the centre, NUN acknowledged the DTO, Mon, but further requested the authorities to accelerate the process as majority of cases referred to Aboi centre or Mon DTC are from Tobu area. During its visit to the RNTCP program in Tuensang, NUN expressed disappointment to find that the supervisor, DOTs plus supervisor and the nurse were not around except for the statistical assistant who was there at the dispensing room. NUN further informed that following the departure of the previous District Tuberculosis officer, the district has been left without a DTO for some time. Earlier the district had an additional MO to assist the district RNTCP considering the number of TB cases in the district, but due to some unknown reason, that provision also has been removed, the NUN lamented. In this regard, NUN has called upon the government to “seriously consider” the matter as urgent. It also requested the concern authorities to intervene as both Mon and Tuensang districts are high prevalent TB areas.
The Mokokchung Town Baptist Church Youth Department celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Music Fest, an annual musical event of the youth department. What started as a fund raising project in 1992, Music Fest has nurtured many talented individuals and groups and provided a platform for many local talents. With artist from the first Music Fest event to young budding talents, the jubilee was celebrated at MTBA church on August 25. Seen in the picture is Wabang Kichu, who was the first performer of the first ever Music Fest back in 1992, performing the same song "The Messiah" 25 years later. (Photo Courtesy: Moa Metsubo)
KOHIMA, AUGUST 26 (DIpr): The 7th General Session of the Kohima Ao Officertem Telongjem (KAOT) was held on August 25 at Molu Ki, Paramedical, Kohima where P. TalitemjenAo IAS Retd exhorted the officers. Speaking on the occasion, Talitemjen said that we must come together and work hard to set a good example for the coming generations. He said that the KAOT is one of the highest intellectual forums where many good things can be done by taking challenging initiatives. He said that the forum should be a “spring board” for youngsters to achieve greater heights and urged the officers to abolish the inferiority complex which is a stumbling block for advancement of the present society. The meeting decided to set up Ao Officers forum in other district headquarters and also discussed on the
grade-wise contribution for the construction of Ao Senden Building and requested the members to give their contributions at the earliest. The Union further decided to initiate career guidance centers in Mokokchung and Kohima. During the meeting, the General Secretary presented audit and nominating reports for the tenure of 2013-15 while new office bearers for the tenure 2016-18 were also elected. The new office bearers are: President - Toshitsüngba Aier IPS; Vice President - L. Youdang Jamir; General Secretary - R. Asenla Keitzar IAS; Assistant General Secretary - Pangjung Jamir; Information Secretary – Asangla Imti; Finance Secretary - R. Atsung Tzudir; and Treasurer - Bendangkokba IAS; Advisors - Temjen Toy IAS, Sentiyanger Imchen IAS and Imkonglemba IAS.
SAMETI organises training on Pochury Literature Board installed ‘Agri marketing & micro finance’ MEDzIpHEMA, AUGUST 26 (MExN): State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) organised a three-day training on “Agricultural marketing and micro finance” from August 23 to 25. The program focussed on equipping functionaries of Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) in all districts with sound knowledge about agricultural marketing and micro finance, which in turn, could be implemented at the grassroots level, informed a press release from S. Bendangtemsu, Director, SAMETI. The resource persons for the training were Dr. Amod Sharma, Associate Professor & Head, Department of Agricultural Economics, N.U., SASRD; Sanjoy Das, Assistant Professor, Department of
Agricultural Economics, N.U., SASRD; and Evan T. Munsong, Manager, NABARD Dimapur. The valedictory function was chaired by Tiajungla Longchar, DPD SAMETI, while feedback on the training was given by Akam Zeliang, DPD Peren and Visizolie Virie, DPD Kohima. S. Bendangtemsu, the outgoing Director SAMETI, in his valedictory speech acknowledged that it has been a very pleasant and indelible experience working with ATMA functionaries and encouraged them to continue working with the same spirit of sincerity, dedication and uprightness in all future endeavours. The training saw a good turnout of participants from all districts of the state and concluded with distribution of certificates to the participants by the Director.
Rev. Chithosie, Pastor Meluri Village Baptist Church, performs the blessing prayer for the new members of the Pochury Literature Board during the installation programme.
MElUrI, AUGUST 26 (MExN): The installation programme for the new team of Pochury Literature Board cum the launching of Bible and hymnal apps for mobiles in Pochury dialect was held on August 26 at the Pochury Hoho Office. All the Pochury Hoho office bearers, executive members,
frontal organisations, former office bearers and the newly elected office bearers of Pochury Literature Board attended the programme, a press release from the Hoho informed. The blessing prayer for the new members was pronounced by Rev. Chithosie, Pastor Meluri Village Baptist Church while the
launch of the Bible and Hymnal mobile apps was done by Penthü Pochury, President of Pochury Hoho. Sponsored by the Pochury Hoho, the innovative idea was initiated by Akho Leyri, the President elect, while the programming for the app was done by Richard.
6
The Chalkboard
SunDAY 28•08•2016
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
_____________________________ Because Children Matters
J
okes are simply the best for kids for several reasons. Kids jokes not only add interesting twist to the stories, but also help kids in remembering them. Good jokes or jokes with moral help stimulating their mind! Kids enjoy being told funny jokes. But since their attention span is small, short jokes or one liner jokes are better way to catch their interest.
Word Scramble
Imkong asks his father, “Dad, are bugs The topic for my third-grade class was Little Sam (on phone): My son is having good to eat?” genetics. Smiling broadly, I pointed to my high fever and he won’t be able to come “That’s disgusting — don’t talk about dimples and asked, “What trait do you think I to school today. things like that over dinner,” the dad replies. passed on to my children?” Teacher: Who is this? After dinner the father asks, “Now, One student called out, “Wrinkles!” Little Sam: This is my father speaking! Imkong, what did you want to ask me?” “Oh, nothing,” Imkong says. “There was a Teacher: Why are you late? One day teacher asked Anen: Did your bug in your soup, but now it’s gone.” Student: Because of the sign on the road. mother help you with your homework? Teacher: What type of sign? Anen simply said: “No, she did it all by Student: The sign that says, herself”! “School Ahead, Go Slow.”!
W
hat goes up must come down right? Well try bending the rules a little with a cup of water that stays inside the glass when held upside down. You'll need the help of some cardboard and a little bit of air pressure.
Lets Get
Busy
Experience Gravity Free Water
What you'll need: • A glass filled right to the top with water • A piece of cardboard Instructions: • Put the cardboard over the mouth of the glass, making sure that no air bubbles enter the glass as you hold onto the cardboard. • Turn the glass upside down (over a sink or outside until you get good). • Take away your hand holding the cardboard. What's happening? If all goes to plan then the cardboard and water should stay put. Even though the cup of water is upside down the water stays in place, defying gravity! So why is this happening? With no air inside the glass, the air pressure from outside the glass is greater than the pressure of the water inside the glass. The extra air pressure manages to hold the cardboard in place, keeping you dry and your water where it should be, inside the glass.
O
nce, there was a Man who lived in the village. He owned an Ass and a Dog. One day, the Man was returning from the town with his two animals. The Ass was carrying many sacks on his back. The Man was walking behind him. The Dog was walking behind the Man. All three were tired and hungry. After some time, the Man, the Ass and the Dog stopped at a meadow to rest. The man lay down under a tree and fell asleep. The Ass started feeding on the green grass of the meadow. The Dog said to the Ass, “Friend Ass, please bend down a little. I want to take some food from the bag on your back, for I am
T very hungry” The Ass said, “Let our master wake up. He will give you your food.” The poor Dog quietly lay down, too. Suddenly, a Wolf came to the meadow. He saw the Ass and pounced on him. The Ass shouted, “Friend Dog, please help me!” The Dog said to him, “Let our master wake up. Then I will save you.” Soon, the Wolf had killed the Ass and eaten him.
What you do, comes . u o y o t k c a b
Facts about Childre n
• A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. • Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight. • On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day. • Watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children. • In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives. • Children under the age of six are at the greatest risk for crushing or burning injuries of the hand. • When babies are born, they have 300 bones. Adults have 206. Bones fuse together during growth to come up with the new number. • One would think that January sees the heaviest babies given all the holiday eating but this is untrue. May is actually the month that sees the heaviest babies born. Usually about an average of 200 grams heavier than any other month.
aylor Ramon Wilson is the youngest person in the world to build a working fusor: a device designed to create nuclear fusion. He built a bomb at age 10 and the fusor at age 14. In May 2011, he won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for his radiation detector. In February 2013, he spoke at the TED 2013 conference about his ideas on self-contained underground nuclear fission reactors. He designed a compact nuclear reactor that he said would generate 50 megawatts of power and would need to be refueled only once every 30 years.
Word Puzzle
Taylor Wilson
The Ass, the Dog and the Wolf
FAITH LEAF
SunDAY 28•08•2016
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
INSPIRATIONAL STORIES, MESSAGES, POEMS & SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
Prophecy: God Is Raising Up a Generation Like Martin Luther S
Jim Rawlins everal weeks ago as I was praying for transformation in our city, region, state and nation, the Lord spoke to me a few very astonishing, but not surprising words, "There will never be transformation in society until there is reformation in my bride. I am raising up a generation of reformers not seen since Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church." Immediately the Lord began to show me church as He sees it today—poor, naked and blind. The church is parading around as a bride in a beautiful gown betrothed to a rich groom, but when seen from a heavenly perspective, she does not have enough of the true riches of heaven to clothe herself. She is naked and blinded to such a state that she does not recognize her own pitiful condition. The grandeur of our buildings, the expertise of our technology and the betraying success of our programs have brought us to a false picture of our true condition. My entire life, church has played an important role. As a small boy I watched in wonder as the preacher opened his Bible and began to speak. Each preacher of my childhood holds a special place in my heart. They unashamedly and uncompromisingly declared truth. Through their preaching and the teaching of great Sunday School teachers, the foundational truths that have carried me a lifetime were laid ever so firmly. Most of the buildings of those congregations from so long ago were very humble. Homemade pews and pulpit and hand-held fans were very common. Yet, when they sang, preached and prayed, there was such a fervency and zeal that it captured my heart. At age 8, I met the reason for their passion, the Lord Jesus, and my heart began to burn as the hearts of those saints of my childhood. I met Jesus almost 60 years ago now and the fire for Him burns more fervently than ever before. My heart for Him is ablaze, but when I look at my beloved America, it is broken. Corrupt government, drugs rampant, immorality accepted, perversion embraced, children murdered and violence are disheartening realities of our society. As I prayed the day the Lord told me there would be no transformation in our society without reformation in the church, Jesus brought this indictment against His bride: "It is My bride's fault." I stand today as Nathan stood before King David decreeing, "You are the man!" I cry out loudly. It is not government's fault, education's fault or even society's fault. We, the people of God, are to blame. It is our fault. We carry the verdict of "guilty" for squandering our heritage of freedom and liberty. The churches of my childhood only had few things going on, singing, teaching, preaching and praying. Let me put it in the words of today: worship, equipping, exhorting and intercession. Society was greatly affected by the church during those days, but as the church has compromised for acceptance and growth, all of society has suffered. The church today is not fulfilling her place as the ekklessia ruling in the heavenlies through worship, intercession and prophetic declaration. The early church filled the world with their teachings and turned it upside down. What has happened? The church is not transforming society but soci-
ety is transforming the church. The more worldly the church has become, the more depraved society has become. What is the answer? The answer is the same as it has always been. We, as individual believers, must fall in love with Jesus all over again and burn with passion for Him. A fire starts with one small spark and I say to you, we must become the spark that ignites revival in the church of America. We must return to our prayer closets and fall in love with Jesus all over again until our hearts burn within us from being with Him. Regardless of what anyone else does, we as individuals must determine we will burn. No matter who refuses to burn for Him, we must burn and burn brightly. If the pastor will not burn, I will. If the deacons will not burn, I will. If my family won't burn, I will. As a small child we would sing vibrantly, "This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine." God, through Solomon, gave us a formula for revival at the dedication of the temple. We find it in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
The key to this verse is the simple statement, "if my people..." The ball is not in society's court but it is in our court, and the decision to play the ball is ours. We must pick up the ball of revival and carry it. Forces have gathered to destroy America, the great heritage given us by God, and only the people of God can save it. We have come to a desperate time and we must take action now as ambassadors of the King of Kings on the Earth today. As the church of the living God, we must get off our high horse and bring ourselves to men of low degree as Jesus did. We think way too much of ourselves, saying we are rich and in need of nothing, but the truth is we are poor, blind and naked. We must humble ourselves today before the mighty God of heaven. God is resisting us today because of our pride and arrogance. We are astonished when governmental leaders are so arrogant but they are just mimicking our behavior and attitude. Believers are the proud ones that need to humble themselves before God. Prayer is paramount to revival. We must become a people of constant prayer again, a people known as a people of prayer. Prayer is a lifestyle, not an event during your day. A dear friend of mine taught me more about prayer by his example than I ever learned through hours of study. One day, my good friend Philip was installing a dishwasher. He had worked on a leak for hours constantly praying during his labor. Finally, exasperated, he stood up and said, "Okay Lord, that is your dishwasher and your dishwasher is leaking. I have tried everything I know to do and your dishwasher still leaks. I am going to try one more time but You have got to fix it, I can't." Philip took the same wrench, turned it the same way and immediately the leak stopped. I have known Philip for a number of years and prayer is his lifestyle. Prayer must become our lifestyle. We must be known as a people of prayer. A lifestyle of prayer will naturally lead us to seeking the face of the Lord. Sin has become rampant in the church. No one blushes at sin any longer. We snicker under our breath but no one gets alarmed and we allow sin to enslave our congregations without saying anything. As a result, immorality runs rampant in the body of Christ. Couples living together, unmarried, sit week after week in our services and think nothing about their sinful lifestyle. Why? We tolerate sin. An old preacher said to me one time, "What one generation tolerates the next generation will embrace." Sin is tolerated by the church today and will be embraced by the next. Often when I pray for the church of America I hear the Spirit cry out, "Clean it up! Clean it up!" The Spirit is crying out like a parent walking into their teen's room, "Clean it up! Clean it up!" If we are to experience revival we must clean up our act. God has three responses to His people when they humble themselves, pray, repent and seek His face. He will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land! America must have God's healing hand to survive, so we must have revival in the body of Christ. We must awaken now! If America is to experience transformation then the church must experience reformation and if the church is to experience reformation, we as individuals must experience revival! Remember, it only takes one small spark to start a forest fire!
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The one who is in you is greater Bible Passage: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) 1. Introductory note: The word “You” is used by John to address those who confessed Jesus in contrast to the f a l s e t e a c h e r s. John affectionately called the community as “dear children”. They have overcome the false prophets and false teachers because they resisted their teaching. As Selie Visa over comers and not overcome by false teachings, they are from God or in other words “born of God”. Now they have fellowship with the all powerful God and walk in holiness. The one who is in the world is the spirit of Antichrist, the devil, “the prince of this world.” 2. Triumph over evil: The one who is in them is greater than the one who is in the world. Therefore they were triumphant over the evil strategies of Satan. The false teachers do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them because “living” involves “fellowship,” which is possible between God and his children only by the Holy Spirit. The false teachers are without this fellowship. Therefore they do not love because they do not know love. The antichrist can be in the world and evil spirits can be in the false teachers, but “living in God” is possible only for the children of God. In contrast to the dear children who are from God, the false teachers are from the world. The false teachers are successful “in the world” because their thinking is accommodated to the world’s beliefs.
3. Spirit of truth and spirit of falsehood: The faithful has knowledge of God through fellowship with him by loving him and abiding in him and his Word. When people confess that Jesus came in the flesh, then the “Spirit of truth” has been present and active. When people deny the Gospel and will not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, it indicates that the spirit of falsehood has been at work. Their willingness to hear and follow the false teachers showed their true colors. Believers was no place for me to spend the night in that city so I slept on who continue to live faithfully in Jesus can the subway station like any other homeless man. By morning a know that they are the children of God. friend of mine took me to a food-processing factory. I worked for 12 hours non-stop and was treated very badly by the other native workers. Dead tired and exhausted I cried and questioned God 4. Are you an over comer? If you are a world over comer, you have in my heart. Why did God bring me to Korea to let me go through this? Why was my faith being repaid with such problems? Those something inside of you that makes you 12 hours were excruciatingly painful yet humbling. Those 12 stronger. You are equipped with the capacity hours became a time of reflection on how I was faring with God. and power to defeat any evil that comes your Done with the day’s work, as soon as I came out of the way. If you’ve made Christ your Lord, then factory I got a phone call saying that a Church is willing he lives inside you. Before you accepted him to hire me. ‘Bittersweet’ best describes that moment. I as Savior, you were just an ordinary. thought God gave up on me already. When I thought that Greater simply means more. The One with such bitterness, here is this job offer now…sounding who is more than enough is in you. If you are as sweet as can be! As if God wanted me to be homeless for in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the One who a night and work so freaking hard…just to give me a real job is more is inside of you. Because of this you in another place, another time. I was overwhelmed! From thereon I started working in the church, my life can overcome. got a little better. Those couple of months where I was like a wanderer, God taught me His sufficient grace. I realized 5. We are victorious: it was God’s grace working through the circumstances the We should declare that the greater One whole time. I finally got to see the big picture…abundant makes us victorious. When we declare this, grace of God from my friend’s mother, an overnight at the we are giving God a place to work in our deserted subway station, those 12 hours of work and the job! God did take his time with me to show me His grace lives. We are acting on what we know to be true and declaring it to be so. and I learned my lesson on never to doubt God. We all face life’s trials, we can take great Though it may take a while He makes everything beautiful in His perfect time and we dare not run ahead of His comfort in the fact the Holy Spirit of God has Plan lest we hurt ourselves. In difficult times God’s grace taken up residence within us. He’s always shines even clearer. I learned to trust him more each day present to help. It is all too easy to take our and give Him my best for He never failed me and never eyes off of the one who has set us free and will. ‘Faithful is He who called you and He will do it’ I Thes- to dwell on the negative circumstances that salonians 5: 24. Lastly I will say, “When you see all the doors come at us in life. Look to the inside where the are being closed, learn to trust in his sufficient grace for he greater one dwells, not to the circumstances. will always meet your needs.”
WHEN GRACE MAKES ENDS MEET
A
zo Suokhrie is a Sunday School Pastor at Yoido Full Gospel Church, Bundang, Korea currently. His journey has not been all smooth and pretty but what came out of it definitely beautiful! I know him as a cheerful person, quite funny too, and he always lights up the place everywhere he goes! He is a people person; makes friends easily and just draws people to him effortlessly. He is came my companion 24/7. I was extremely worried because one friend you can’t miss out on! Here is his story… I had to pay my admission fees apart from looking after myself. I couldn’t ask my parents because in the initial stage I His sufficient Grace convinced them with the assurance of full sponsorship. My I constantly experience God’s grace and His protection hope on my sponsors was shattered! I was distraught and it in my life. But ‘worry’ works its way into the little corners of took me three days of earnest prayer to muster courage to my life and makes me forget His grace. This is an incident talk to my family about what happened to me. which happened in the year 2013, where I again encounI stepped out from home with 20,000 rupees and that tered God and His grace… where I was taught a lesson on was all I had. The amount did little in encouraging me durnever to doubt God! ing those trying times. One of my Korean friend’s mother It all started with a calling letter from a university in heard about me and immediately rescue mission was on. South Korea in the year 2012. A Church even promised me She met my dormitory fees and my other basic needs. full sponsorship so I decided to pursue my studies there But I was jobless still and desperately in need of finanknowing that I will have the financial support. All was set cial aid. After two months of constant prayer, I thought God and I happily landed in a foreign land by February 2013. was being silent. With no answer I gave up all hope on God However things took on a different turn. My sponsors and thought I will work out things by myself. I trusted my suddenly stopped all contact with me. Feeling betrayed and own ability and doubted that God would even help me. helpless I immediately went into panic mode. WORRY beI decided to go to another city to find a job temporarily. There
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n 2014, churches lost an estimated $39 billion due to internal financial fraud. Compare that with the $35 billion that churches spent on worldwide missions in the same period. The statistics, from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, illustrate how improving stewardship through better controls can have real impact on any individual church’s objectives. Church fraud is particularly pernicious because it takes place amid an environment of trust. Even when discovered, there is a reluctance to prosecute. It’s because of that goodwill that most fraud schemes go undetected for so long (median duration is 18 months) and hold so much appeal for would-be thieves. But trust does not have to displace good sense. The key is to run your church finances like you would run a business, and put certain controls in place that reduce the opportunity for theft in the first place. A majority of the perpetrators of church fraud are first-time offenders without a criminal history, and most are long-time employees of the church. The two biggest schemes perpetrated against churches are (1) skimming of the weekly collection between when the totals are collected, counted, recorded and de-
Protecting Your Church Against Financial Fraud Steve Thomason posited, and (2) fraudulent cash disbursements—an employee writing checks to himself but recording the transaction in church records as going to a vendor. Additionally, a growing issue is credit card abuse—when an employee or minister charges personal items on the church credit card. The amounts are not small and the schemes can take a variety of approaches. The median loss in fraud cases against churches is $145,000. So how do you protect the church’s resources, and improve financial oversight? • One of the most important steps is to make sure your church has a system of adequate segregation of duties. The person who writes the checks should not be the same person who reviews the checks and bank statements each month, for example. Having two authorized signatures on checks, not using computer-generated signatures and only allowing signature stamps to be in the custody of the authorized signer also can reduce opportunity for fraud.
When it comes to the weekly collection, duties should also be divided among a number of people and there should always be at minimum two people to collect and count the offering. Members should be highly encouraged to use envelopes. And to prevent skimming of an individual’s tithe without anyone recognizing it, the collection team, count team and person handling the deposit should not have access to the general ledger or the member contribution records. • To reduce credit card fraud, the church should have a written policy on use and misuse, receipts should be required, and charges should be reviewed monthly. Penalties for misuse of a credit card—such as payroll deductions or termination—should be spelled out. • As with most organizations, allowing wider oversight will provide better objectivity and protection for the church. If you can, put members on your church finance committee who have a background in accounting or other financial expertise who can understand poten-
tial exposures. The finance committee should be reviewing monthly financial statements, and meeting at least quarterly to discuss results and inquire about anything unusual or unexpected. • The finance committee can also be a bulwark against what is known as “affinity fraud,” when fraudsters come in and try to infiltrate the church, going after individual members at first and then the group, centered around a scam with some seemingly positive religious purpose. • An audit can turn up potential weaknesses in financial controls. But if your church is not required to have an audit by a lender or denominational affiliation, it still could get a less costly internal control assessment consultation from a qualified CPA that will help identify potential vulnerabilities that should be addressed. Most important, if your church does fall victim to fraud, don’t hesitate to report it. Unfortunately, an estimated 80 percent of church-related fraud goes unreported, sometimes because church leaders want to downplay the loss of funds to its congregants. Most perpetrators of fraud know that, affirming their belief that they can steal from the church and get away with it.
6. The spirit that gives life: We can know that regardless of the circumstances we have victory on the inside of us, if we will just give him the opportunity to work on our behalf. We can then say with confidence, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. God’s Word tells us that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. “But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11 This is not some different spirit but the very same Spirit who dwells in us and will give life to our mortal bodies. 7. Are you in Christ Jesus? To be more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus, we must begin to walk in the light of the revealed Word of God, to acknowledge his truth above all other circumstances, to be lead by the Holy Spirit and walk in line with his Word. If you are in Christ Jesus than the Holy Spirit is within you, however if you have never accepted Christ then you need to take the first step and ask him to be the Lord of your life. He is waiting for you. And he promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you.
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.
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SunDAY 28•08•2016
INDIA
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Mehbooba pins Kashmir hopes on Modi, blames Pakistan new Delhi, auguSt 27 (ianS): Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday squarely blamed Pakistan and separatists for fuelling the ongoing trouble in the Kashmir Valley that has been seething with public anger and violent anti-government protests for the past 50 days. Mehbooba was on a whirlwind visit to Delhi for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation in Kashmir where at least 71 people have been killed since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said she exchanged views with the Prime Minister on finding a way out of the “Kashmir imbroglio”. "The Prime Minister is very concerned and is as hurt as we are with the deaths in Kashmir,” she said and blamed Pakistan for inciting the violence and provoking youth to attack security forces and police stations. "I want to tell Pakistan, if it has any sympathy for Kashmiris, it should stop provoking (Kashmiris) to
attack police stations,” she said. This is for the first time that Mehbooba has directly blamed Islamabad for causing trouble in Kashmir. Previously when in opposition, she was known to have a soft spot for Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists. She said Pakistan lost a "golden chance" to resolve the Kashmir problem when Modi went to Lahore in December last and later when Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Islamabad for a Saarc conference early this month. "It is time for Pakistan to respond (to India) if it wants peace in Kashmir," said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader who heads a coalition in the state with Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its ruling ally. The meeting was her first with Modi since the unrest began. Saturday marked the 50th day of curfew and shutdown that have crippled normal life across Kashmir. More violence erupted in the state after the body of a man, allegedly chased by security forces during a stone-pelting protest a day ago, was fished
Kashmir continues to see the on 50th day of unrest
J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 27 to discuss the situation in Kashmir.
out of the Jhelum River. Education institutions, shops, private offices and other businesses have not opened in seven weeks. Some government offices have been functioning but with thin attendance. Mehbooba said she pitched for talks "with all stakeholders" to end the current impasse. She, however, asked separatist leaders to shun violence “if they want to talk”. “Talks should be held with those who want peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. For others,
it is a business. Those who provoke people and cause bloodshed don't want talks," she said. The Chief Minister said "Indian democracy has enough space to accommodate the dreams of Kashmiris", adding the resolution of the Kashmir issue was only possible during Modi's government. “If during his time, the situation doesn't change then it will never change. I have hopes that when the Prime Minister says there will be a dialogue with everyone, then it would hap-
pen." Mehbooba made a passionate appeal to Kashmiri protesters for peace and sought "one chance" to solve the Kashmir issue. "These are the same youth and kids who would accompany me in my public rallies. Give me a chance I will get it (Kashmir issue) solved. It has been only two months since I have taken over the government and 'itna bada bawaal aagaya' (such a big problem erupted)," the first woman Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said, referring to the turmoil.
Srinagar, auguSt 27 (ianS): Curfew and restrictions continued for the 50th day across the Kashmir Valley on Saturday with no let up in separatist-called shutdown as the death toll rose to 71 after the body of a man, allegedly chased by security forces during a stone-pelting protest a day ago, was fished out from Jhelum river. Residents said the body of Shahnawaz Khan, 24, was retrieved from the river near Sangam village in south Kashmir's Bijbehara area - the home town of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. Khan, of Dadoo Marhama also in Bijbehara, was one of three men who had jumped in the Jhelum to escape from being caught by police and security forces chasing protesters on Friday evening, the residents claimed. The other two are believed to have swum across safely. A CRPF spokesperson told the media here that the security forces were “supposed to chase (protesters) when there is a stonepelting mob”. He said nobody was pushed into the river. A large number of mourners on Saturday blocked the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway squatting on the road with Khan's body, shouting anti-government and pro-freedom slogans. Saturday marked the 50th day of curfew and shutdown that have crippled normal life across Kashmir. All education institutes, shops, transport and other businesses have not opened in seven weeks. Some markets have been functioning in the interiors of Srinagar and other cities
and towns for a few hours in the evenings. The youth's death in Bijbehra took the toll to 71 in the unending cycle of violence triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Over 11,000 persons -- including 7,000 civilians and 4,000 security personnel -have been injured in the deadliest unrest the Kashmir Valley has seen in six years. Police said the curfew would continue on Saturday in parts of Srinagar and other areas of north and south Kashmir. Restriction on the assembly of four or more persons will remain in force in the rest of the valley, a police officer said. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were detained on Friday when they defied restrictions and came out to join a separatist-called march in the city which was foiled by the security forces. While Geelani was released, official sources said the Mirwaiz has been arrested and lodged in a a jail. The government blames separatist leaders for provoking youth to protest and attack security forces and their camps and pickets with stones. Suspected militants killed a police constable, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, in a south Kashmir village on Saturday morning when he was leaving for duty. A police spokesman said the cop was leaving for District Police Lines in Pulwama when unidentfied gunmen shot him dead from close range.
Kerala govt may move SC over medical admission Universities should be bastions of free speech, debate: President
Kochi, auguSt 27 (Pti): Kerala government on Saturday indicated it may approach the Supreme Court seeking clarity over the Kerala High Court order permitting all self-financing medical and dental colleges in the state to go ahead with admission process for the management quota seats Both the Central government and the Supreme Court have said that admission for the medical and dental courses shall be conducted from the NEET list on the basis of merit. "It cannot be said the high court was on Friday reiterating the same stand," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here The state government might have to approach the Supreme Court to get a "legal clarity" on the matter, he said. The high court on Friday granted
a conditional stay on a state government order directing the Commissioner for Entrance Examination to conduct admission to all seats, including NRI and management, in self-financing medical and dental colleges in the state. The court permitted the colleges to go ahead with admission process for the management quota seats. A final decision on approaching the apex court on the issue is likely to be taken on Monday after the government's meeting with representatives of the self-financing medical and dental college managements. Vijayan made it clear that the government did not want any confrontation with the self-financing colleges' managements on the issue. The high court had?rejected the
contention of Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad that the government's aim behind the impugned order was to allot seats directly from National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) list to management quota to avoid corruption, capitation as well as to ensure transparency. The private college managements have assailed the impugned order as "unconstitutional" and claimed it was an infringement on certain rights guaranteed under the Constitution to private educational institutions in the country. The government order had said admission to 50 per cent merit seats in these institutions would be made through the Kerala Entrance Examination 2016 and admission to 35 per cent management quota and 15 per cent NRI seats from NEET list.
Whistleblower to hand over Scorpene data to Australian govt new Delhi, auguSt 27 (ianS): The leaked data on Scorpene submarine has changed a few hands, after being taken from DCNS by a subcontractor, before reaching the whistleblower who gave it to The Australian newspaper, and will be handed over to the Australian government on Monday, said a report by the journalist who broke the story. The report by Cameron Stewart also said that the authorities in Australia are aware who the whistleblower is. "He has not broken any law and the authorities know who he is. He plans to surrender the disk to the government on Monday," the article said. The journalist, in a series of tweets, also said that he will release documents related to weapon sys-
tems on Monday. The Indian government has so far maintained the leaked information does not cause any major concern, while analysis of the data is on to ascertain the level of information contained. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the leaked information did not contain data on the weapon systems. Stewart however tweeted calling the statement "wrong" and said: "Will release (selfcensored) weapons doc Monday." The report in the weekend edition of The Australian meanwhile told the story of how the 22,400 documents from French DCNS reached the newspaper continents away. According to the report, the in-
formation, which has had both India and France in a fix, was delivered to the whistleblower's mail box. It also said that the whistleblower's hope is that this would "spur the (Australia's Malcolm) Turnbull government and DCNS to step up security to ensure Australia's $50 billion submarine project does not suffer the same fate". According to the report, the CD with the documents has been in Australia for more than two years. The report ruled out the "corporate war angle" that was given by DCNS and said for competitors to strike, Norway would have been a better place than Australia as DCNS is pitching its submarine for the country's navy.
nalanDa, auguSt 27: President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said universities and institutions of higher learning must be bastions of free speech and expression and debates should be encouraged. At the first convocation of Nalanda University, he said the varsity reflects an idea, a culture which flourished for 1,200 years before it was destroyed in the 13th century. He said that over the years, India has conveyed the message of friendship, cooperation, debate and discussions through the institutions of higher learning. "Dr Amartya Sen in his book 'The Argumentative India' has correctly pointed out that debate and dis-
President Mukherjee addressing the first convocation of Nalanda University at Rajgir on August 27. (Twitter/@RashtrapatiBhvn)
cussion is the ethos, a part of Indian life which cannot be done away with. "Universities and institutes of higher learning are the best forum for debates, discussions, free exchange of views...such atmosphere should be encouraged,"
Court notice to Sonia, Rahul on Swamy's plea new Delhi, auguSt 27 (ianS): A court here on Saturday issued notice to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case on a plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy. Swamy has sought the balance sheet of 20102011 of the Congress party and other documents relating to the company, Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) in the case. Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen asked the Gandhis, party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and
Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) who are accused in the case, to file a reply to Swamy's plea and listed the matter for October 4. The Delhi High Court on July 12 had quashed an order of a trial court summoning the same documents besides others relating to Herald House from the Finance, Urban Development, and Corporate Affairs ministries, the Delhi Development Authority and the Registrar of Companies. The High Court had observed that the order was passed without giving any notice or opportunity of hearing to the opposite side. It had also directed Swamy to move the trial court
India's deadly floods raise risk of women, children being sold into slavery
new Delhi, auguSt 27 (thomSon reuterS FounDation): Women and children in India's flood-hit eastern region are at risk of being preyed upon by human traffickers and sold into slavery in middle class homes, restaurants and shops, and even brothels, aid workers warned on Friday. Heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers including the Ganges and its tributaries to burst their banks, forcing more than 200,000 people into relief camps in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The deluge has killed at least 300 people, submerged thousands of mudand-brick villages and destroyed large swathes of farmland - affecting millions of people across the five states. Charities working in the worst affected regions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh said trafficking was widespread in the aftermath of previous disasters in the region, such as last year's earthquake in neighbouring Nepal and floods in Bihar in 2008. "Children are always the most vulnerable dur-
ing emergencies - especially during floods, when families are forced to move to higher ground, leaving their homes for an extended period of time," said Thomas Chandy, CEO of Save the Children India. "While a child's parents may not always remain in their close proximity, and with the presence of strangers, the threat of sexual abuse and child trafficking is high. There are organised groups of offenders who are quick to seize opportunities to exploit the plight of children." South Asia is the fastestgrowing and second-largest region for human trafficking in the world, after East Asia, according to the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime. India alone is home 40% of the world's estimated 45.8 million slaves, according to a 2016 global slavery index published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation. Thousands of children, mostly from poor rural areas, are taken to cities every year by gangs who sell them into bonded labour or hire them out to unscrupulous employers. Many end up as
A man stands on a boat in front of partially submerged houses along a street flooded by water from the banks of the river Ganga, in Allahabad on August 26. (Reuters Photo)
domestic workers or labourers in brick kilns, roadside restaurants or small textile and embroidery workshops. Many women and girls are sold into brothels. "Child friendly spaces" Government officials in Bihar said they were aware of the risk of exploitation and were working with charities such as Save The Children, ActionAid and the U.N. children's agency UNICEF to curb instances of trafficking."Before the
current floods, we had held meetings early this month on the issue of human trafficking," said Imamudin Ahmad, Director of Bihar's social welfare department. "We are sensitising people and are involving everyone including the police department, labour department and social welfare departments." Officials added that authorities were also checking trains, often used to transport victims, originating from impoverished
Mukherjee said. He said the modern Nalanda should ensure that this great tradition finds new life and vigour within its precincts. "Universities must be bastions of free speech and expression. It (Nalanda) must be the arena where diverse
and conflicting thoughts contend. There should be no room for intolerance, prejudice and hatred within the spaces of this institution. Further, it must act as the flag bearer for co-existence of multiple views, thoughts and philosophies," he said. Mukherjee asked the students, who passed out of the varsity today, to progress in life, leaving behind "all narrowness of minds and constricting thoughts". The ruins of the ancient university are located close to the new campus. The MoU on the establishment of Nalanda University has so far been signed by 13 East Asia Summit participating countries and four non-EAS countries.
districts where children labour is commonly sourced. With schools destroyed or shut down, aid agencies said they were creating "child friendly spaces" to give children a safe environment to play, learn and be with their families. India usually experiences monsoons from June to September which are crucial for its agriculture sector, making up 18 percent of its gross domestic product and employing almost half the country's 1.3 billion people.
But in many states the rains frequently cause landslides and flooding that wash away crops, demolish homes and devastate livelihoods - pushing already impoverished families to brink. The floods in Bihar this year have killed at least 130 people. Almost one million people across 24 of Bihar's 38 districts have been evacuated from their homes and are either in relief camps or have sought shelter on embankments and roads. Authorities said that they had managed to reach most affected communities, but aid agencies working in the state said rescue and relief efforts fell short of what was needed. "We have also been working with the administration providing status updates, offering support and coordinating efforts. However all flood relief efforts are inadequate in terms of the scope and extent of the crisis," said Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director of ActionAid India. "In particular many areas reported a shortage of boats. We need greater effort in building disaster preparedness and ensuring rapid response to emergency rescue and relief."
again with a similar plea. Swamy had filed a complaint about "cheating" in the acquisition of AJL, which published the National Herald newspaper, by YI, "a firm in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each own a 38% stake". Swamy had accused them of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by just paying Rs 50 lakh by which YI obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed to the Congress. The Delhi High Court in December 2015 dismissed the plea of the Gandhis to quash the summons issued by the trial court on Swamy's complaint.
Father who abandoned two girls, also drowned 2-year-old son new Delhi, auguSt 27 (ianS): In a tale of extreme parental cruelty, an alcoholic father flung to death his two-year-old ailing son into a Delhi canal, just three days after he abandoned his two starving and ill daughters in their house. The shocking revelations came when police arrested the man, identified as Bunty Gupta, 35, around 12.30PM. on Saturday from Samaypur Badli area in west Delhi. Investigators in Delhi Police were on the lookout for Gupta since August 19 when they rescued his daughters Himanshi, 8, and Deepali, 3, from a rented house - No 304 - in Nepali Colony, in Samaypur Badli area after being alerted by the neighbours. The siblings, who are being treated in the city's Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hospital, were locked in the house since August 15. Gupta informed police that he locked his two daughters in the house and fled with his son Laksh, who also had maggot-infected wounds on his head.Failing to provide proper care to his son Laksh, Gupta threw him
alive in Munak canal -on the Delhi-Haryana border - on August 18, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikramjit Singh said. The officer said the body of the boy has been recovered and Gupta has been taken into custody. Police produced Gupta in a city court on Saturday and managed to get his 3 day custody for further inquiry. The officer said that Gupta abandoned his two daughters and killed his son because he could not bear the expense of rearing them as he was jobless. During investigation police found that Gupta's wife Rajni alias Rosy had abandoned the family 2-3 months ago. Gupta used to visit his house everyday but did not provide them food or any care but his visit stopped after August 15. Lack of food and sanitation resulted in the girls contracting skin diseases, including maggot infestation. Neighbours, who had initially ignored the victims, called the police after the stench from the room became unbearable. The parents have been charged with abandoning their children and under the Juvenile Justice Act.
SunDAY 28•08•2016
WORLD
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
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FBI raids home of former-College Board official in probe of SAT leak
WASHINGTON, AuGuST 27 (ReuTeRS): Federal agents searched the home of a former employee-turned-outspoken critic of the College Board, the standardized testing giant, as part of an investigation into the breach of hundreds of questions from the SAT college entrance exam. The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized computers and other material on Friday from Manuel Alfaro, who left his job as executive director of assessment design and development at the College Board in February 2015. The FBI is investigating alleged computer intrusion and theft against an unidentified “victim corporation” involving “confidential or proprietary information,” including tests, test forms and internal emails, according to a search warrant issued in the case. Alfaro had contacted officials of seven state governments in recent months, accusing the College Board of making false claims about its tests when bidding for public contracts with the states. The College Board, he alleged, misled the states about the process it used to create questions for the new version of the SAT, resulting in an inferior exam. He also aired those allegations publicly, largely through postings on his LinkedIn account. Lawyers for Alfaro could not be reached for comment. An FBI official confirmed that agents were present at Alfaro’s home in Maryland but declined to
elaborate. College Board spokesman Zach Goldberg said the leak of test questions constituted a crime. “We are pleased that this crime is being pursued aggressively,” he said. He dismissed Alfaro’s criticisms of the SAT test-making process as “patently false.” The FBI raid comes after Reuters reported earlier this month that the news agency had obtained about 400 unpublished questions from the newly redesigned SAT exam, which debuted in March. Some experts said the leak constituted one of the most serious breaches of security ever to come to light in the standardized testing industry. Reuters reported previously that the SAT and its rival, the ACT are being systematically gamed by test-prep operators in Asia. The SAT has proved particularly vulnerable to cheating because of its practice of reusing test questions. Test-preparation companies obtain previously administered questions that are scheduled for reuse and feed those questions to students, who can score higher by practicing on the exam items before the test.
BROADSIDES ON LINKEDIN The SAT and ACT are taken by millions of students a year and are major criteria used by U.S. colleges in selecting applicants. The cheating rings and leaks, testing experts say, call into question the fairness and validity of the standardized exams. Alfaro, who oversaw the
Thousands of tables are seen inside a hall at Asia-World Expo near Hong Kong Airport in Hong Kong, China October 2, 2015, one day before SAT examinations to be taken place. (Reuters Photo/File)
development of parts of the new SAT, jolted the staid world of standardized testing in May with a barrage of criticism of the College Board. In a series of posts on LinkedIn and Twitter, he charged the New Yorkbased not-for-profit with skipping a crucial step in the test development process, which he says resulted in a lower-quality exam. He also alleged in a June 1 post that the shortcut may fail to comply with federal guidance on peer review for state testing programs. Alfaro wrote to seven states that have granted public contracts to the College Board to use the SAT as an official tool for assessing high school students. In a May 7 email to the education chiefs for those states, Alfaro said that while he was a College Board employee, he "became aware
of patterns of concealment, fabrication, and deception used by the College Board to misrepresent the SAT and PSAT.” He alleged that the College Board didn’t follow the process to develop the SAT and PSAT that it publicly says it uses. The PSAT is a test primarily aimed at high school sophomores and juniors used as practice for the SAT and to screen applicants for tens of millions of dollars awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Alfaro emailed his complaints to the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire. A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education, Bill DiSessa, said the state “checked with the College Board” and decided not to look into Alfaro’s claims. Jeremy Meyer of
Alfaro's allegations. U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat from Maryland, has "been in touch with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," according to a July 28 letter she wrote to Alfaro. Asked Friday about Alfaro’s criticisms of the new exam, College Board spokesman Goldberg said: “Mr. Alfaro does not speak with any authority about our tests. With the new SAT, we have made an unprecedented commitment to transparency and have published our test specifications, which include the test development process. Any claims that counter the published information are patently false.” The document cited by Goldberg contains a nineALLEGATIONS step process for developOF SHORTCUTS A member of Congress, ing the new SAT and enmeanwhile, has asked fed- suring that exams contain eral regulators to look into fair and valid questions. the Colorado Department of Education said the state discussed Alfaro’s email with the College Board and was “satisfied with the response we received.” Kelly Donnelly, spokesperson for the Connecticut State Department of Education, said the state considered Alfaro’s email to be “replete with hyperbole, but scant on actual facts. We did not take further action.” Donnelly said the state hadn’t reviewed Alfaro’s detailed posts on LinkedIn. A New Hampshire official said the state had no immediate comment. Officials in Delaware, Illinois and Maine didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Dhaka cafe attack mastermind killed
DHAKA, AuGuST 27 (ReuTeRS): Bangladesh security forces killed three Islamist militants on Saturday including a Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen alleged to have masterminded an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last month in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed, police said. The militants were cornered in a hideout on the outskirts of the capital and, having refused to surrender, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, Monirul Islam, the head of the Dhaka police counterterrorism unit, told Reuters. He initially said four militants had been killed but later revised the number to three. The success notched up by the security forces came ahead of a visit on Monday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is expected to discuss security in the wake of a series of killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault on the cafe in a posh
Security personnel walk on a road leading to the site of a gunbattle with militants on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 27. (Reuters Photo)
neighbourhood of the capital, during which militants singled out non-Muslims and foreigners, killing Italians, Japanese, an American and an Indian. The government has steadfastly denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation, like al Qaeda or Islamic State. But police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Is-
lamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack. The scale of that attack and the targeting of foreigners has cast a shadow over foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. MASTERMIND'S DEATH The suspected mastermind killed in Saturday's raid was identified as Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury,
a 30-year-old Canadian citizen born in Bangladesh. Analysts say Islamic State in April identified Chowdhury as its national commander. "According to our evidence we are now sure that Tamim was among the three killed," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters. "So the chapter of Tamim has ended here." Khan said Chowdhury was one of the main sup-
pliers of funds and arms for several recent attacks. He had returned to Bangladesh in October, 2013 via Abu Dhabi, A K M Shahidul Hoque, the inspector general of police, said. The raid followed a tip off from the landlord of the house where the militants were staying, Hoque told reporters. The landlord said the militants had described themselves as businessmen in the medical trade. Police have also been holding in detention two men who had been among the survivors of the attack on the restaurant. Hasnat Karim, holds dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of Toronto University, had been dining separately in the restaurant. A lawyer for Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, has said his client is innocent. Relatives of Khan, 22, say he is innocent too. Earlier this month, security forces arrested four women suspected of being members of Jamaat-ulMujahideen Bangladesh.
It’s the fourth of those steps that Alfaro says the College Board routinely skipped, according to his posts on LinkedIn. That step, known as “external content & fairness reviews prior to pretesting,” relates to the checks that new questions are supposed to undergo before they are included on an actual test. According to the College Board document, newly written SAT questions are scrutinized by external, independent reviewers, who look for mistakes and potential bias. After that initial review, the questions are field tested on actual test-takers in an unscored section of a regular SAT exam. The field testing helps determine whether questions are statistically valid and whether they should be included on a future, scored portion of the exam. After the field test, questions once again go through external reviews before they’re put on a live, scored section of the test. The external reviews before field testing didn’t always happen, Alfaro alleged. “The Content Advisory Committee reviewed the items for the first time, not before they were pretested, but after the items were assembled into operational SAT forms,” he wrote in a May 27 post on LinkedIn. In a June 9 post, he added: "We first implemented Step 4 in August of 2014, after thousands of items had already been developed and pretested without this crucial step." An internal document from 2014 describes what the College Board called
US, Russia fail to close deal Thailand frees on ending violence in Syria prominent activist GeNeVA, AuGuST 27 (ReuTeRS): The United States and Russia failed on Friday to reach a breakthrough deal on military cooperation and a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying they still have issues to resolve before an agreement could be announced. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, addressing a joint news conference after more than nine hours of off-and-on talks in Geneva, said teams from both sides would try to finalize details in coming days in the Swiss city. Kerry said the talks with Lavrov had "achieved clarity on the path forward" but together they offered few details on how they planned to renew a February cessation of hostilities and improve humanitarian assistance. "We don't want to have a deal for the sake of the deal," Kerry said. "We want to have something done that is effective and that works for the people of Syr-
ia, that makes the region more stable and secure, and that brings us to the table here in Geneva to find a political solution." The talks have been complicated since initial meetings in July by new government attacks on opposition groups, and a significant offensive in the southern part of the divided city of Aleppo led by opposition fighters intermingled with the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate also seeking to topple Russianbacked President Bashar al-Assad. In the days ahead the technical teams, which include U.S. and Russian military and intelligence experts, will try to figure out ways to separate the opposition groups, backed by the United States and Gulf Arab countries, from the jihadis. It was unclear after Friday's meetings whether outstanding issues could all be resolved between Moscow and Washington, which back opposing parties in the Syrian conflict.
In crime-ridden Israeli Arab city, police seek new approach uMM AL-FAHM, AuGuST 27 (ReuTeRS): On the rundown streets of Umm al-Fahm, an Israeli-Arab city of 50,000, locals in smoky cafes are reluctant to speak. Violent crime at the hands of drug gangs is rife here. Reprisals are common. Israeli Jews rarely set foot in the city. "The gangs are in control," said a man who refused to give his name, standing beneath two security cameras that he said were pointless since the police rarely came. Cities like Umm al-Fahm illustrate a stark division within Israeli society: the growing lawlessness in parts of the Arab community, which makes up 20 percent of Israel's population and frequently complains of discrimination. With murder rates and other criminal activity far higher among Arabs - 59 percent of all murders are committed by Arabs, police records show - the
government is hoping a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar plan to bolster policing will tackle the problem and put Arab municipalities on a better footing. As well as extra policing -- at a cost of $500 million -- there is a proposal for a general boost in spending in Arab areas, where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line, double the national rate. In a signal of its commitment, the national police in April promoted an Arab Muslim officer to its second highest post, for the first time in its history, and has announced plans to build more police stations and recruit more Arab officers. But the residents of Umm al-Fahm say they have seen no change so far, and there is little optimism. Weeks after Deputy Commissioner Jamal Hakrush's promotion, two Umm al-Fahm men were murdered hours
Israeli Arabs protest against the recent attack on a mosque in the northern Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm April 21, 2014. (Reuters Photo/File)
apart. Much of the crime is Arab-on-Arab. Still, new recruits to the police service say they are keen to get to grips with the problem. "One of the reasons that made me join the Israeli police is the
increasing amount of violence in Arab society," said Kamal al-Asadi, a trainee at the police academy. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? Ahmad Jamal, 51, sells
the “rigorous process of vetting new test items that could potentially become part of the Math Test in the redesigned SAT.” The document says changing items after pretesting was “rare.” Alfaro said such changes were actually common. “I’m not talking about adding a missing comma here, fixing a typo there,” he wrote in a May 20 post. “Sometimes the revised items,” or questions, “are completely different than the version that was pretested.” An outside attorney for the College Board wrote to Alfaro on May 10, three days after Alfaro contacted the states with his allegations, and requested a meeting. Alfaro declined to see the attorney. But he said he would be open to explaining his concerns to the organization’s Board of Trustees and to lawyers for the seven states, according to an email he sent the states. No such sessions took place. Inside the organization, the College Board’s top attorney has called Alfaro a “disgruntled former employee” and told staff to avoid him. “I am writing to alert you that the College Board is dealing with a disgruntled former employee who has expressed anger at the College Board in a very public way,” College Board general counsel Peter Schwartz wrote in an email to staff. “Please be aware that he has no reason to visit our offices, and in the event that he does, he should not be allowed in.” Reached by phone on Friday, Schwartz declined to comment.
sporting goods near the scene of one of the murders in Umm al-Fahm. A neighbouring street vendor was shot in the legs last month over a parking dispute. "Police can't solve this problem. It comes from us and only we can solve it," he said. "There isn't any dialogue between neighbours any more." Jamal has coached a local boys soccer league for decades and seen an increasing number of former players fall into a pattern of crime as they enter adulthood. He partly blames a breakdown of traditional Arab society, and some experts agree. In Umm al-Fahm there's little confidence in the police as mediators. Patrols within the city are rare. It's one of Israel’s largest Arab cities but there are no hotels -- no one wants to stay. Locals fear nighttime, describing armed men stalking the streets, drug dealers gather-
ing in souped-up cars and bursts of gunfire in the early hours. Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu of the Abraham Fund Initiative, an Israeli NGO that promotes equitable policing, said crime among Israeli Arabs has been rising "gradually, but significantly". Human rights organizations say "over-and-under" policing, in which police are less responsive when it comes to Arab-onArab crime yet employ tough measures in response to threats against Jews, are partly to blame. The Israeli police hope recruiting more Arabs will help. There is an effort to sign up more Bedouin, Druze and Israeli-Arab officers. But a study by the RAND corporation commissioned by the Israeli government warned diversifying the force wouldn’t be sufficient. The think-tank pointed to U.S. cities with majority black police forces that saw little improvement.
over royal insult
BANGKOK, AuGuST 27 (ReuTeRS): Thailand has freed a political activist after eight years in jail for insulting the country's widely revered monarchy under its draconian royal defamation laws. Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, also known as "Da Torpedo", was freed on Saturday under an annual series of royal pardons, Charnchao Chaiyanukij, permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry, told Reuters. She was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, he said. Daranee, a key supporter of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was convicted of making defamatory comments against the monarchy during a fiery speech at a political rally in 2008. The Criminal Court found her guilty on three counts of lese-majeste. Under Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code, anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent" faces up to 15 years in prison. Since seizing power in 2014, the military junta has taken a hardline stance against perceived royal insults and handed down record sentences. For more than a decade, Thailand has been bitterly divided between rival camps, one led by Thaksin, the other dominated by the royalist and military establishment who accuse Thaksin of corruption and nepotism, charges he denies. National anxiety over the frail health of 88-yearold King Bhumibol Adulyadej has compounded the political tensions. Thais mostly see the king as a unifying force and celebrated the 70th year of his reign in June.
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SPORTS/Public diScOuRSe
The Farewell
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SunDAY 28•08•2016
o not go so fast today, he tapped the shoulders of his driver from behind, I somehow want to take it slow and savour the memories today, for this will be the last day that I can think of our younger days growing up together. His eyes became misty as he recalled childhood days long dead and gone: of the days when hardship was a sibling, and the actual siblings were treasures priceless! Poor, they might have been, but they were opulent when it came to filial affection. The Poor, Little Rich Boys, they were dubbed by envious neighbours who saw the seven brothers eat out of a wooden plate filled with steaming hot rice served by their loving mother; and the seven boys shared equally every tiny morsel of meat that happened to pay a rare visit to their plate! They toiled together, played together, ate together and most importantly, they prayed together. And isn’t it said that a family which prays together stays together? The author of that memorable adage must have taken note of this family in question because theirs was a classic example of that saying. Compelled to leave their ancestral village and settle elsewhere because of their acceptance of the Lord Christ and the Gospels, this family, along with several newly-converted families, had to pay a heavy price for embracing Christianity – they had to leave their hearths and their loved ones and relocate elsewhere! The jungles were thick, inhospitable and menacing. Wild animals were the least of their worries because what stared them at their face threatening to do them fatal harm was the stark reality of having the herculean task to tame the wild vegetation so that they can at least embark on some sort of Jhum cultivation to enable themand their dependents to find sustenance in the coming months.It was a hand to mouth existence those days like all our forefathers faced and prevailed, and this family too, had to struggle, or else perish. The new land they occupied was wild and unfriendly, but only to the lazy and the lethargic: under the thick foliage that blocked sunlight for most of the day, lay a fertile soil hitherto undiscovered by hands will to farm.The trees were felled, painstakingly hard to fell but fall the gigantic and the tiny alike did owing to the toils and labour of the hardworking and determined hands. Back-breaking, sweat dripping, arm-weary days resulting in multiple blisters on the palms that were so sore as tomake it painful to even fold one’s hands together to form a fist, nevertheless, saw the overhang clear and rays of sunlight, life-sustaining sunlight, filter down to the earth below in the weeks to follow. Slash and burn, rake and clear, hoe and sow... the days turned to weeks and to months. But their labour bore fruit as the seeds showed signs of life by breaking out of the land after the first showers of early Spring. Go slow, he reminded the driver. I am in no hurry today, he said, and his mind went back to his childhood years. As you sow, so shall you reap, they say. Likewise, this family sowed enough to harvest a bountiful yield and this ensured that the family never went hungry. But work and hardship was a part of their life, and they, parents and siblings of all age, did strive together to ensure that they could keep their stomachs full throughout the whole year. At the same time, their parents never failed to share with the children, nay, imbibe in them, the ways of life that the Lord Christ taught mankind. The young learned to pray and find comfort in the Lord from a very early age; the parents lived lives taught by the Gospels; and the parents never eased their efforts to bring more to the fold of the Lord, or letting those already in go astray. Shall we stop here for a while, he told the driver who immediately pulled up by the side of the highway and watched his passenger get out of the vehicle,walk a distance to be alone. He recalled the days in school: He attended school only after his parents realised that education makes a person better with greater chances of success in life. Moreover, his father argued, an educated man will surely make a better believer in Christ! He attended school, not the Government-run school which provided free of cost to enhance the image of all Governments, but Catholic-run private school which provided good education but also depreciated the purses of parents. The parents were self-sufficient but hard cash was not something that came by just like that. And so, the family had to decide how to take care of his education. Round the sizzling heat of the log-burning hearth one wintry evening, they say, parents, and siblings enjoying each other’s company like they have always done since childhood, sat and discussed how to solve problems they faced. The best times of a person’s life is found, not spent, during the days when one is in the company of parents and elders. And so, our protagonist reminisced and recalled that all brothers decided to contribute and sponsor his study in Dibrugarh, Assam. He slowly walked back to his chauffeured vehicle with downfallen shoulders, his aides recall. The skies seem to be laden with rain clouds this evening, he murmured to his wife as he stared out of the window,capturing the cloud-shrouded mountain tops in the distance. He was lost in his memories as he recalled of the turbulent and trying years he spent in the wild, wild jungles trying to eke out a living, and later, struggling with his studies in Catholic schools and hostels: his friends in the hostels had parents and guardians paying weekly visits bringing them new clothes, home-cooked food items specially made for them, whereas, he had no one to visit him year long; his clothes were in tatters and he needed replacements, but there was no way he could because his parents and family were far off and even if they could visit him once in a while, he knew they could Hart afford to arrange new clothes for him. He suffered the mental agonies in silence, but at the same time, learned the powers of a smile: He could endear himself to his hostel mates and everyone seemed to be fighting the other to win over his friendship! His smiles, so to speak, got him to places, and he learned a valuable lesson outside his curriculum. We were closest even though all the brothers were close to each other, he whispered to his aides as earlier in the day he walked out of the privacy of his office chamber to address a large gathering that he had toaddress given his position and responsibilities.The grief and sorrow he felt then after the tragic news was conveyed to him, his aides recalled, was written large on his face the few seconds that he let his guards down. Go slow, he repeated, this is no time to make haste. I am burdened with fond memories that I do not want to spoil. Go slow, let me relish and relive my life gone by; enjoy at least in my mind the company of one I shall never ever meet again during my lifetime... He recalled how he entered public office, how he came to be what he is, and he shed silent tears that could have deluged his world: You were one of the strongest pillars in my life; one of the most active unseen hands that contributed to my success; the prayer warrior who guarded me, led me and ensured that I walked in the righteous path that the Lord decreed. He was silent. But his heart and soul were crying out threatening to break out in revolt as his pent up emotions ballooned. He could hardly swallow; he should never show tears in front of his minions: but he shed the tears of a thousand mourners, all unseen, unheard... but felt. The evening sun was setting behind the western horizon, but the memories, recollections and nostalgia were as fresh as new. We are there Sir, the driver declares. Ahh yes, we have come! But I am yet to reach there to catch up with him, says the passenger as he alights to enter the hall and pay his respects to his elder brother, whose body was placed there awaiting his arrival. Sebastian Zumvu
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Russia to appeal against Rio ban in court MOsCOW, AUgUst 27 (ReUteRs): Russia will appeal in the Swiss Federal Court on Monday against the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) decision to uphold a blanket ban on their athletes from competing in next month's Rio Paralympics. "The appeal has been launched in the Swiss court," the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) president Vladimir Lukin as saying on Friday. Earlier this week the Lausannebased CAS, sport's highest tribunal, rejected an RPC appeal against the suspension that was handed out by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) because of a state-sponsored sports doping programme. The Federal Court can only overturn the CAS ruling on the basis of a procedural mistake and not on the merits of the case. The decision to exclude Russia's team means at least 260 competitors from the country are now set to miss the Sept. 7-18 Paralympics. The IPC went further than the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stopped short of a blanket ban on Russia at the Rio Olympics that ended on Sunday and left the decision instead in the hands of international sports federations. PUTIN CRITICISM On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Paralympic ban cynical and immoral but also said Moscow acknowledged
Vladimir Lukin, president of the Russian Paralympic Committee, speaks during a news conference after Russia was barred on August 7, 2016 from taking part in next month's Rio Paralympics, in Moscow, Russia, August 8. (REUTERS)
mistakes it had made in tackling sports doping. The country's track and field team were also excluded from the Olympics due to the sports doping programme. Putin said the decision to bar Russian athletes, including those who had not tested positive for any banned substances, was a vivid manifestation "of how the humanistic foundations of sport and Olympism are shamelessly flouted by politics". "The decision to disqualify our Paralympic team is outside the law, outside morality and outside humanity," he added. "It is simply cynical to vent one's anger on those for whom sport has become the meaning of their life ... I even feel pity for those taking such decisions
because they must well understand that it is so demeaning for them." The whole dispute centres on a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that found the Russian government and the FSB security service had, over years, covered up hundreds of doping cases across the majority of Olympic sports and Paralympic events. Although not widely followed or celebrated in Russia, where rights campaigners say many disabled people are marginalised by regressive social attitudes and inadequate state support, the country's paraathletes are some of the best in the world. Their team topped the medal table at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in the Russian city of Sochi after taking second place behind China at London 2012.
Lewandowski treble as sixgoal Bayern rout Werder MUNICH, AUgUst 27 (ReUteRs): Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped give coach Carlo Ancelotti a flying start to his first Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich cruised to an easy 6-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday. The champions went ahead with a stunning ninthminute volley from Xabi Alonso before Poland striker Lewandowski opened his account four minutes later from a Franck Ribery through ball. Lewandowski then effectively put the game beyond Werder's reach one minute into the second half. Captain Philipp Lahm and Ribery made it 5-0 before Lewandowski completed his treble with a 77th-minute penalty, his second hat-trick of the season after he also bagged one in the German Cup last week. Italian Ancelotti, who replaced new Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola at Bayern in the close season, said before the game that the Bavarians were aiming to win every competition this term. Alonso opened the scoring against an outclassed Werder team when the Spanish midfielder was given time to control the ball before smashing it into the top corner of the net from 20 metres. Ribery then cut the Werder defence wide open to set up Lewandowski's first goal of the night. Better finishing could have given the Pole his hat-trick before halftime. He failed to convert on the rebound after a 25-metre shot by Thomas Mueller hit the post and in the 38th minute his close-range effort struck the crossbar. Bayern have won the Bundesliga for the past four seasons and they showed no signs of easing up in the second half. Lewandowski made it 3-0 when he met Mueller's cross to prod the ball in from waist height. Lahm struck after a one-two with Mueller before Ribery, who was excellent throughout, also found the net. Lewandowski rounded off the scoring after Thiago was fouled from behind in the box.
A BEAUTIFUL SOUL: Anna the Widow (Luke. 2:36-38)
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he gospel of Luke shares a short but beautiful story of Anna an old widow with great faith. It is about an aged woman who found joy in giving praise to the Lord, a great example for people of all ages. The story sees about a woman who became a widow very early in life. She must have married very early and had been a young wife, the number of years she lived with her husband is only seven years. Most of her life she was a widow, she had no children with her husband, so she did not know the joy of being loved by children or holding or nursing a baby in her arms, She did not have the joy of hearing her children call her “Mama” or mother. If she had have lived at this age on Mother’s day she would not receive mothers’ day call or receive gifts, flow-
er from her children. Since she did not have children she was also deprived of the greatest joy of holding or carrying her grandchildren or watch them running and jumping in her courtyard. She had no one to turn to call when she was ill or sick. Despite all these there is no mention of complains or remorse towards God or envious of anyone. She never asked God” why me Lord” as we also do. Her mind was clean like a slate, her perfect and calm state of mind reflects in her life, making her a beautiful human being. She turned her anguish and sorrow to joy. She lived a life of devotion, giving thanks and praising God all her days of her life. She lived in the temple and faithfully prayed to God and shared the word of God to those who came to the temple to worship. I met a woman (Naga) in a prayer
centre in Dimapur; she must be in her mid-seventies or more. Like Anna, she is a widow and has no children of her own and lives alone. Though she is bent because of her age there is no one to take care of her. She was not embittered or had any resentment, everyday she would regularly come to the prayer centre to pray and attend the noon worship service. Whether rain or shine she would not miss it and always end her prayer with “Jehovah-tsu, Jehovah-tsu”. She is a happy woman with no complain or needs. Like Anna she also lives a life of thanksgiving. Anna is an example, a role-model for old people. She lived her life only for God; she was a righteous woman, lived a sinless life and a life of thanksgiving not only that she also prayed for people who came to the temple. Her life was like a precious
fragrance emanating the air and all the surrounding wherever she went. She was an example of grace; despite many disappointments she lived a dignified life. She communicated to people around her through her testimony. Her devotion to God and love of God touched people who read about her. Today her life becomes the message. She did not look for pity or sympathy; she was not like ‘look at me I am so helpless” or “poor me”. Yet she gave hope and joy to others and her life was a blessing. Despite losing everything she made God her fortress and refuge. Could anyone who had gone through such loss or missed so much in life could be that happy? Would anyone in her place be so joyful and live a thanksgiving life without complain and pity. Asenla Walling, Dimapur
NBCC Clean Election The Road to Recovery Campaign is a Success
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he tireless effort put forth by members of NBCC Clean Election Campaign is spearheading towards a silent revolution. However, it was an upsetting news for me and many others who saw the NBCC’s ‘supposedly’ admission of its failure as published in local dailies. Adding salt to the wound were the quick follow up articles of some Naga intellectuals who appreciated the ‘supposedly’ confession of the apex Naga Church organisation as ‘timely and genuine confession’. Such statements bring more harm to the very cause the Church was fighting for rather than healing it. It is not the time to discuss about failure as it only discourages the common people who follow the NBCC’s directives. It is right time to glean the successes of the Campaign. The rate of success may not be upto the expectation but it still is a success. It is a success even if only 5 persons out of 100 practice clean election because of the effort of NBCC. If, through the awareness created by NBCC, one person refused to take bribe for vote, that’s a huge success (in the manner of Jesus’ acknowledgement of the widow’s offering). If, because of the NBCC Campaign, a village or a clan avoided indulging in violence, that itself was a success. If a candidate refrained from using money to lure voters but might failed to get elected, that was still a success. To say that the Campaign was a failure is inaccurate at this juncture. Therefore the NBCC may be wise not to make such public confession in the near future (if such thing had happened in the past) and at the same time the Naga intellectuals may likewise not jump in to endorse the purportedly failure of the campaign. What is imperative is to actively participate in Clean Election Campaign in order to rout out the whole corrupted electoral system from the state. The mentality of Naga people is that they want to get things done within a short period of time. They lack perseverance and tend to be very emotional with every issue. Determination to achieve needs persistent effort till it bears fruit. If we continuously wrapped thread to a post for many years, then we need to give the same amount of time and energy to unwrap it again. Same action is required to stop our unwanted habits and practices. Nagaland that attained statehood in 1963 had started electoral corruption since then. As corrupt electoral practice was in existence for many decades, it will be certainly difficult to stop at just one attempt. Movement needs sustained united effort. It may take decades or a generation to see change but it should
never be given up. Naga people need to learn from movements such as Narmada Bachao Andolan that continues for years fighting against destructive mega-dams without losing hope. Irom Sharmila fasted for sixteen years and she continues to fight for the repeal of AFSPA. She became an inspiration for thousands of activists around the world. Genuine movement produces result in pieces as it moves along the path. It is unwise to expect for a miraculous 100 per cent success in an instant attempt like deceptive TV advertisement or destructive tsunami wave. For a journey of thousand miles, each small step put forward is a success. Today, because of NBCC Clean Election Campaign, we hear many people (young and old, literate and illiterate) discussing about the evil practices of election. We often hear that many seminars and symposium were conducted in educational and religious institutions educating the masses on the impact of corrupt political system prevailing in Naga society. Creating awareness is in itself a success and those who have not yet changed will change sooner or later. It is not only within Nagaland that Clean Election Campaign of NBCC had made an impact but also in neighbouring state. Four Baptist Church Associations (Poumai, Mao, Maram and Thangal) in Senapati District, Manipur, had formed common platform and started clean election campaign. The same initiative is being taken up in Tamenglong District. We hope that it will spread to Arunachal Pradesh in the near future. The Campaign has brought to light the failure of the state government as a responsible guardian forcing its citizens to become corrupted. It has exposed the ignorant and power mongering mentality of many of our leaders. It has brought to light how corrupted we are as individuals. This challenges us –the Church- to give more effort in making the election system smoother (Christianise so to say) and straighten it so that many evils in our society can be nipped at its bud. Remember, if people can do bad things, they can also do good things too. God works bit by bit, bit by bit, bit by bit and bit by bit till transformation takes place. With the help of God, surely NBCC’s dream of fair and clean election will prevail in our land sooner or later. (The opinion expressed here is that of the writer and did not represent the views or opinion of any organization or institution. For discussion: zkpahr@gmail.com). Z. K. Pahrü Pou, BTC, Pfutsero
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ICHAEL PHELPS, the most decorated Olympian of all time - with 23 gold medals and 28 overall, and a net worth of $55 million (as of August 2016), who has broken 37 world swimming records - had his own lowest and darkest moments in life. In an interview Phelps told ESPN, "I thought the world would just be better off without me, I figured that was the best thing to do — just end my life.” He admitted that he sent himself down a downward spiral and went through a scariest moment in his life two years ago. Phelps had enough in his bag to weigh him down and enough skeletons to tumble out, like an arrest for driving while intoxicated when the judge implored him to get his life in order or end up in jail, unresolved issues, a complex relationship with his father, hurts of his family, friends and fans. This gold-medal-winning machine had enough to deal with including a photograph at a house party with the now infamous bong (smoking pot?). In spite of all these Phelps decided to set things in order and first he accepted his mistakes and said, “I was taught no matter how old you are, you should always take responsibility for your actions,” which he did. TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS: We hear about talent, success and glory, but life is not always an easy road. There are some bumps, humps and pot holes. Every life great or small, famous or obscure, rich or poor, all of us have some loose ends to tie up while we steer through our life’s journey. Loose ends hang out and bother us, they gnaw us and make us guilty, they rub us on the wrong side and hurt us, they weigh us down and make our lives miserable. We have all faced some scariest moments in our lives. The star, Phelps had fallen and he needed a helping hand, an encouraging word to hear, a hand to hold, and a shoulder to lean on. Ray Lewis was there for Phelps with his presence and the book, “The Purpose Driven Life.” Thank God for good friends, mentors and encouragers who never give up on us, who are there to help us to tie up the loose ends. Lewis never gave up, got Phelps the professional help he needed and the rehabilitation facility. The star was on his road to recovery! Phelps later called Lewis and said, “Bro, I can’t thank you enough, you saved my life.” REBUILDING RELATIONSHIPS: The king of the pool who went into a shell
decided to come out of it. The best way for him was to go to The Meadows, a psychological trauma and addiction treatment center about an hour northwest of Phoenix. The ESPN interview was quite revealing. He said he was trembling at the thought of sharing his inner demons with strangers, but he did. He shared how his parents divorced when he was 9. He'd long felt abandoned by his father. He had to deal with this issue in a major way. His escape route was the pool; out of it he said he had no identity, no self-esteem, no self-worth! He had issues with his coach Bowman and sometimes the way they handled themselves was embarrassing. His struggles with his father, and his vicious fights with Bowman were gnawing him. “Not having a father always there was hard... Getting that off my chest in therapy was this huge weight off my shoulders.” Phelps invited his dad over for a week, though anxious that he may let him down as he had done in the past. First the hand shake and then the son pulled the father for a warm hug. To me it seemed like the prodigal father was coming back! It’s not just about a dad or a coach but every relationship needs some mending, repairing and rebuilding. REGAINING ONE’S LIFE BACK: The road to recovery is not all that easy - lots of kicking and tear drops on the way. Forgiveness is tough and difficult but not impossible. Donna de Varona, a swimmer says, “A great champion deals with setback with a comeback.” God has kept a ‘champion’ within each one of us and there is always hope and behind that a great big GOD. Not everyone is lost like Phelps in the pond. Some are lost in their job or business or pursuing their name, fame or wealth. Some in their ministry lose themselves or family! “Don't be impressed with your own wisdom, ...Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Pro. 3: 5-7) Michael Phelps got lost and found himself again. Find your purpose and meaning in your life through the One who gave you the purpose and meaning for your life. Get onto the springboard and dive into the pool of GOD’S WORD. Get some godly friends, if possible a coach and a mentor, who will help you to put your life in order. Rev. Dr. Jose T. Nithi Mokokchung
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.
Sunday 28•08•2016
Forbes top paid actresses vs actors
EntErtainmEnt
Korea-India Handshake Concert 2016
Traditional dancers and musicians from Nagaland and Manipur are all set to perform at the Korea-India Handshake Concert to be held on September 1 and 2, 2016 at Gwangju, Korea. The event is jointly organised by Embassy of India Seoul, Asia Culture Institute Gwangju and Rattle & Hum Music Society Nagaland, and is supported by Music Task Force, Government of Nagaland.
Bruce Springsteen breaks his own record Hillstar SHOWING for Longest e street Band show NOWFLYING JATT
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e’s a rock leg- can leg of 2016’s massive end famous The River Tour, supportfor his epic ing The Ties That Bind, the live shows, expanded 2015 reissue of but Bruce his 1980 album The River. Springsteen has bested The jaunt kicked off way himself once again by per- back in January, and this forming the two longest week saw the band return sets of his career on Ameri- to the US after touring for can soil during consecutive three months in Europe. hometown gigs in New Jer- They play seven US cities sey. before concluding the tour Clocking in at precise- on September 14th in Foxly four hours, Springsteen borough. and the E Street Band perIn front of an adorformed the record-break- ing hometown crowd, he ing marathon set on Thurs- played 33 songs that feaday night at the MetLife tured fan requests, a three Stadium in East Ruther- year old guest vocalist, a fan ford, New Jersey – just two proposing to his girlfriend, days after he beat his own and an appearance by Rage record for the first time at Against The Machine guithe same venue by playing tarist Tom Morello. for three hours and 52 minHe returns on August utes. 30th to the same venue, Springsteen kicked off during which fans will he 10th highest paid actor, Akshay Kumar ($31 the second North Ameri- hope The Boss can beat his million), on Forbes magazine’s list of highest paid actors in 2016 earned $6 million more than the third highest paid actress in the world, Avengers: Age of Ultron star Scarlett Johansson. The pay disparity between men and women in films is on full display after the release of Forbes’s annual best-paid actors and actress lists. When compared to the list of highest paid actors released on Thursday, women earned noticeably less. The list of the world’s highest-paid actress’ was released on Tuesday. Top paid actress Jennifer Lawrence’s $46 million haul over the past year puts her at a disappointing No. 6 spot on the actors list, nearly $20 million less than her male counterpart, highest paid actor Dwayne Johnson ($64.5 million). Her earnings are only 72% of Johnson’s, reported The Guardian. Jennifer earned even less than the other four actors that made up the top five on the list: Jackie Chan ($61 million), Matt Damon ($55 million), Tom Cruise ($53 million) and Johnny Depp ($48 million). Basically, the highest paid actress in the world is the world’s sixth highest paid actor. Melissa McCarthy, who starred in the hit comedy Spy and is the second highest paid actress on the list, earned $33 million - This would be good enough for a No. 8 spot on the actor’s list, along with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. Perhaps most shockingly, Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone and superstar Akshay Kumar, who were both placed at No.10 in Forbes’s annual best-paid actors lists, which are divided between men and women, have highlighted the huge pay gap between genders. While Deepika made $10 million, Akshay made three times that amount, $31.5 million. aying she is “disappointed, The Forbes lists, which show the actors’ earnings saddened and deeply conpre-tax and before the deduction of management fees, cerned” by the price hike were produced by Forbes using data from Nielsen, Box of the EpiPen, actor Sarah Office Mojo and IMDb and interviews with agents, Jessica Parker has cut ties with the managers and lawyers. They are published at a time company that makes the emergenwhen female stars are becoming less hesitant in public- cy allergy treatment. Parker, whose ly criticising the entertainment industry for unfair pay. 13-year-old son James has severe In May, House of Cards star Robin Wright said she had threatened bosses at Netflix with going public unless peanut and hazelnut allergies, was she was paid the same as her male co-star, Kevin Spacey. part of a short campaign with pharIn the same month, Mad Max: Fury Road star Charlie maceutical giant Mylan N.V., makTheron, number six on this year’s list, spoke about her ex- er of the EpiPen. She was never a perience of campaigning for the same pay as her co-star spokeswoman. The company is facing heated The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Chris Hemsworth. criticism about the list price of an Closer home, speaking at the Hindustan Times EpiPen twin-pack climbing to $608 Leadership Summit 2015, one of the most successful stars in Bollywood today, Kangana Ranaut was un- over the past nine years. Parker took to Instagram on Thursday to equivocal about wage gap. “Women who ask for what they deserve and are distance herself from the company open about demands for equal pay are considered dif- and urged it to “take swift action to ficult. That needs to be changed. You know your worth lower the cost to be more affordable and you should know when to put your foot down,” for whom it is a life-saving necessiKangana said, echoing several other actress’ stand on ty.” A representative for the actress confirmed the statement was acpay disparity. These top paid actresses versus top paid actors curate. Source: AP figures show exactly how actress’ are discriminated against when it comes to pay.
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11:00 am | 0200 PM 08:00 PM
MECHANIC 2 all-time longest set, which lasted four hours and five minutes in the Finnish capital of Helsinki in 2012. In other Springsteen news, fans who are eagerly awaiting the publication
of the rocker’s autobiography got treated to a brief glimpse of the book on Twitter on Thursday. Released on September 27th, the 66 year old star recounts his life and career
in ‘Born to Run: Chapter and Verse’, and a short video showed him flipping through the pages of the book, slowing down to let fans see the chapter pages. Source: Contactmusic
Steve Rogers won’t be Captain America anymore
Sarah Jessica Parker has cuts ties with Drug Company for raising medicine prices
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Source: Hindustan Times
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opular character Steve Rogers, famous as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will no longer be seen as the superhero, says "Captain America: Civil War" director Joe Russo. At the end of "Captain America: Civil War", Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) puts down his shield and walks away from his heroic mantle after reluctantly fighting Tony
Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who is enraged after learning that The Winter Soldier killed his parents. When Steve Rogers reappears at the end of the movie to break out his allies from The Raft, the superhero prison in the middle of the ocean, he is without the stars and stripes. After that key moment, many wondered if this meant Steve Rogers had truly quit being Captain America, and Rus-
so has confirmed it now. Russo has said that Captain America has given up his identity as Captain in Marvel Cinematic Universe, reported The Huffington Post. "I think him dropping that shield is him letting go of that identity. It's him admitting that certainly the identity of Captain America was in conflict with the very personal choice that he was making," Russo said.
05:00 pm
Now ShowiNg
Source: IANS
Shahid Kapoor, Mira Rajput blessed with baby girl
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t’s a GIRL! Shahid Kapoor and wife Mira Rajput became proud parents to their first child, a baby girl on Friday. The girl was born at the Hinduja hospital in Khar around eight in the evening. Both mother and child are said to be doing well and in a healthy condition. Shahid himself took to Twitter to confirm the happy news. Mira was admitted to the hospital on August 24 ahead of her delivery to the Hinduja Healthcare Surgical Hospital in suburban Khar. Earlier the child was expected to be born sometime around mid-September. A hospital source said the delivery was normal and the mother as well as the child were doing fine. Sources also suggest that both the mother and daughter will be discharged within a couple of days. Shahid, who has been around his wife all through and taking special care about her delivery, is no doubt a happy father now.
Mira had been spotted with a baby bump at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai in April, while Shahid revealed during the trailer launch of “Udta Punjab” that he was going to become a father. The couple had tied the knot in July last year. It was an arranged marriage. Needless to say the news has brought immense cheer to the entire Kapoor family too ever since the news broke. Shahid had few days ago shared an adorable picture with Mira. Shahid and Mira tied the knot in July 2015 after a whirlwind courtship. Source: The Indian Express
03862-237226 Ticket Counter (09:00 AM - 09:00 PM) www.BookMyShow.com Ward 5 (6), Burma Camp, Dimapur. Landmark: J. K Hospital/ Power House.
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SunDAY 28•08•2016
SPORTS
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
Chelsea top as Leicester secure first win
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LonDon, auguSt 27 (rEutErS): Goals from Eden Hazard, Willian and Victor Moses sent Antonio Conte's Chelsea to the top of the Premier League on Saturday with a 3-0 win over promoted Burnley in a one-sided match at Stamford Bridge. Belgian Hazard picked up the ball in his own half in the ninth minute and with a burst of speed wrong-footed defenders, cut inside Michael Keane and sent a right foot shot low past a diving keeper Tom Heaton. Willian's contribution came in the 41st minute after an exchange of passes between Hazard and Spain striker Diego Costa. Costa sent the ball to the Brazilian who sidestepped Stephen Ward and drilled the ball into the net. Heaton was called into action constantly in the second half as Chelsea peppered the Burnley goal with shots. But he could not keep out Moses, who got on the end of a ball from fellow-substitute Pedro in the dying minutes, ensuring a 100 percent start to the campaign for the London side. Defending Premier League champions Leices-
ter City got their first win of the season as Jamie Vardy's trademark first-half strike and Wes Morgan's secondhalf effort were enough to see off Swansea City 2-1 in wet conditions at the King Power Stadium. In an attacking move that became a familiar sight during Leicester's titlewinning campaign, Vardy was picked out by a longrange ball from Danny Drinkwater from inside his own half in the 32nd minute, and made no mistake when one-on-one against Lukasz Fabianski. Morgan added a second in the 52nd minute after reacting the fastest to slam home from close range after Swansea failed to clear their lines, before Leroy Fer pulled one back for the visitors in the 80th minute, meeting Modou Barrow's cross with a superb header. Riyad Mahrez could have made sure of victory from the spot in the 56th minute after Shinji Okazaki was brought down by Jordi Amat, but his spot kick was saved by Fabianksi, while the champions lost goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to second-half injury when he raced off his line to deny Fernando Llorente.
A fine first half garnished by goals from Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal a 3-1 win at Watford for their first Premier League victory of the season, easing the pressure on longserving manager Arsene Wenger. Under fire from fans demanding new signings before the transfer window closes on Wednesday, Wenger was given some breathing space after Cazorla drilled in a ninthminute penalty and Sanchez made it 2-0 in the 39th with a scrambled finish. Ozil, who pulled all the strings for the Gunners in the opening period, superbly headed home the third on the stroke of halftime after an inch-perfect cross by the lively Sanchez. Halftime substitute Roberto Pereyra pulled one back for the home side on his Premier League debut when he curled in an unstoppable shot from 15 yards in the 57th minute after a pinball-style ricohet fell kindly for him. At Saint Mary's stadium, substitute Jay Rodriguez struck late to salvage Southampton a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Sun-
BErLin, auguSt 27 (rEutErS): Pierre-Emerick
Michael Keane Eof Burnley (R) attempts a challenge on Willian of Chelsea (L) during the Pre- Aubameyang scored twice to give new-look Borussia mier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on August 27, 2016 in Dortmund a winning start to the Bundesliga as they London, England. (Getty Images)
derland after Jermain Defoe had given the Black Cats a 79th-minute lead against the run of play. Scott Dann's stoppagetime header earned Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw after striker Josh King put Bournemouth ahead with a neat
finish after 11 minutes. The draw secured Palace's first point of the season. At Goodison Park, Shay Given scored a bizarre own goal as Everton beat Stoke City 1-0 in an exciting game to extend the visitors' wait for a first Premier League
11th KDVA Foundation Day on September 3
Kohima, auguSt 27 (mExn): The 11th Foundation Day of Kohima District Volleyball Association (KDVA) will be held on September 3 starting 12:00 noon at Sithie Park, Tsiese Basa. Registration for new KDVA members has been fixed at Rs.500 while the annual renewal fee will be Rs.200. It can be paid on or before September 3. During the Foundation Day, the KDVA Search Committee will announce the new team for the tenure 2016-19. All KDVA members and well wishers have been invited to grace the Foundation Day.
NSF Martyrs' Trophy from September 24
Kohima, auguSt 27 (mExn): The Angami Students' Union will be organizing the 17th edition of the NSF Martyrs' Memorial Trophy, 2016 under the theme "Goal for peace" from September 24 to 0ctober 22 at Local Ground, Kohima. According to a press release, the entry forms and bylaw for the tournament will be made available to the interested teams by the first week of September. The forms will be put out both in Kohima and Dimapur at the following locations: SK Provisions Popular Bakery at Medziphema Town, Kiran Sports at Dimapur, Star Sports at BOC Kohima, Sports World in Kohima town, Zumvii Printex, Kohima and ASU Office below AIR Station. The last date for the form submissions will be on September 20, the release informed.
Danny Rose equalises for Tottenham. (Getty Images)
last weekend, ran riot during the first 45 minutes. The hosts suffered a setback in the 28th minute Kyle Walker was replaced by new signing Vin-
Zurich, auguSt 27 (aFp): FIFA's ethics commission on Friday called for a two-and-a-half-year ban against a top Qatar and Asian football official for refusing to cooperate with an inquiry. The official, Saoud Al-Mohannadi, is an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) vicepresident and had hoped to stand as an Asian candidate for the FIFA Council. While it did not give details of the allegations against the Qatar Football Association vicepresident, football's governing body said it did not involve the attribution of the 2022 World Cup to the wealthy Gulf state. "The investigation against Mr Al-Mohannadi concerned his failure to properly cooperate and provide truthful information to the investigatory chamber," said an ethics commission statement. It added that the action was "in the framework of another investigation not related to the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup." The recommendation by the ethics commission's investigators will be decided by the commission's investigatory chamber. Al-Mohannadi has been reported to be one of four candidates for two Asian spots on FIFA's ruling council. The election is to be held at an AFC congress in the Indian city of Go on September 27. He is also head of the organising committee for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Aubameyang double gives newlook Dormund winning start
win of the season. Given initially saved Leighton Baines's penalty after Ashley Williams fell under pressure from Phil Bardsley, only for the ball to bounce back off the post and deflect over the line off the goalkeeper's head.
Rose denies Liverpool win at Tottenham
LonDon, auguSt 27 (rEutErS): Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur were fortunate to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Erik Lamela nodded Eric Dier's cross into the path of Rose in the 72nd minute and the England left back controlled the ball and slammed it past Simon Mignolet to extend Spurs' unbeaten start to the season. Milner beat Michel Vorm from the spot in the 43rd minute after Erik Lamela had tripped Roberto Firmino in the box, as Spurs struggled to deal with Liverpool's firepower. "A draw's probably the fair result," Rose told Sky Sports. "In the first half, Vorm was our man of the match but I thought we played much better in the second." Tottenham missed the presence of suspended Mousa Dembele as Liverpool, who had been toothless in a 2-0 loss at Burnley
FIFA seeks ban for Qatar official
cent Janssen, although it was Liverpool's Mane, a 34 million euro ($38 million) signing from Southampton, who dazzled in the first half. Stand-in goalkeeper Vorm
was twice called out of his area to tackle the outstanding Mane and made an excellent save to deny Philippe Coutinho from close range as the visitors created
chance after chance during the first half and Spurs' resistance ended when Lamela clipped Firmino. "Philippe had a brilliant chance," Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren told Sky Sports. "I think if we went 2-0 up it's a different result. "We always want to win so we're not satisfied. We're just missing a few goals more." Tottenham started slowly last term and looked set for their first defeat of season when Mane tapped in at the back post from Adam Lallana cross, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Simon Mignolet produced two excellent saves to thwart Lamela and Toby Alderweireld as Spurs sought an equaliser before Rose's decisive intervention, although Harry Kane was again off the pace and his goalless start to the season continued. "Ultimately, we're disappointed," Milner said. "We didn't do enough in the second half so it was probably a fair result in the end."
beat Mainz 05 2-1 on Saturday. Defender Michael Hector was sent off for the second time in as many appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt while Cologne's 2-0 win over Darmstadt was halted for 12 minutes in the second half as lightning flashed around the stadium. The five afternoon matches were all played in intense heat and needed water breaks. Aubameyang, who stayed with Dortmund while team mates Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ilkay Gundogan and Mats Hummels all departed, headed in a cross from Andre Schuerrle, one of several newcomers, after 17 minutes. The Gabon forward converted a penalty late in the game to extend the lead, although Dortmund survived a nervy finale after Yoshinori Muto pulled a goal back for coach Thomas Tuchel's old club in the 90th minute.
India to form Olympic task force after Rio flop nEw DELhi, auguSt 27 (aFp): New Delhi will form a task force to prepare for the next three Olympics after India's disappointing medal tally at Rio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Friday. The special team of experts will chalk out a broad strategy to ensure effective participation of athletes in the 2020, 2024 and 2028 Games, while aiming to improve their sports facilities and training as well as their selection process. A string of below-par performances saw India win just two medals at the recent Games, fewer than the six clinched during their best-ever performance in London four years earlier. The task force will be set up over the next few days, it added. India, a country obsessed with cricket, has never finished high on the medal table -- winning just 28 from 24 Olympic appearances. Badminton champion P.V. Sindhu clinched silver at the Rio Games and wrestler Sakshi Malik won bronze, sparking an outpouring of national pride and celebrations in India. But it was far below the sports ministry's target of 10 medals in Rio, where it had sent its largest ever squad. Indian athletes often complain of substandard training facilities and a lack of government investment in sport in the country of 1.25 billion. The government said it had spent about 1.2 billion rupees ($18 million) preparing the athletes for Rio -- a fraction of the amount forked out by China, Britain and other countries.
Rosberg beats Verstappen to Belgian pole
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team's German driver Nico Rosberg arrives in the pitlane during the first practice session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Spa on August 26, 2016 ahead of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix. (AFP Photo)
Spa-FrancorchampS, auguSt 27 (aFp): Nico Rosberg boosted his hopes of regaining control of the world championship on Saturday when he claimed pole position for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. Taking full advantage of his championship-leading Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton's multiple grid penalties, that have consigned him to the back of the grid, the 31-year-old German delivered a well-judged performance to complete a hat-trick of poles. It was Rosberg's fifth pole this season and the 28th of his career – and gives him a great chance to reduce, or even overhaul, Hamilton's 19-point lead in the drivers' title race. Dutch teenager and local hero Max Verstappen was second to become the
youngest front-row starter in Formula One history ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was fourth in the second Ferrari ahead of Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. Sergio Perez was sixth ahead of his Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Jenson Button of McLarenHonda and Felipe Massa in the second Williams. The session began in continuing sweltering conditions with an air temperature of 36 degrees Celsius and the track at 44 degrees – utterly unexpected by tyre suppliers Pirelli and many of the teams. In a demonstration of their strict application of the track limits, the stewards swiftly deleted the early Q1 laps of Felipe Nasr
and Kevin Magnussen after both ran off-road. Fernando Alonso's troubled weekend continued when, having collected a 35-place grid penalty for taking a new power unit, he suffered a car failure without clocking a lap time. He was already destined to join Hamilton at the back of the grid, the defending champion having collected a 55-place grid penalty for taking three power units. Out with them went Swede Marcus Ericsson, who also has a 10-place penalty, Russian Daniil Kvyat and French debutant Esteban Ocon. All of this meant that Briton Jolyon Palmer managed to squeeze his Renault through to Q2 for the second consecutive race and Hamilton, with a broad smile, faced the media as
an early departee. "It could be fun," he said. "I've never qualified 18th before, but in this heat, it could be the wrong time to take these penalties as the tyres will be gone so quickly, but it is what it is." As Hamilton chatted to reporters before going to feed his dogs and relax, Rosberg went out and set the pace in Q2 ahead of Verstappen and Hulkenberg, while a strong lap from Button meant the elimination of both Haas drivers Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez in 11th and 13th places. The Renault duo of Magnussen and Palmer also departed, along with Carlos Sainz and German Pascal Wehrlein, who qualified in an impressive 16th place. Notably, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Vettel and Ricciardo all went through on the 'soft' tyre, meaning that will be the rubber they use to start Sunday's race rather than the fragile super-soft. The top-10 shootout began with Bottas leading the way. He was overhauled by Perez before Vettel went top, only to be replaced by Verstappen. The local hero's joy was also short-lived, however, as Rosberg outpaced him by one-tenth on his first run. Raikkonen's first flying lap included an excursion at Stavelot, where he slid wide and into a gravel trap. It left him without a time ahead of the drama of the final runs in the closing minutes.
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