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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 215
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Advani asks Rahul to control his MPs
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Bouchard beaten on day of outs at Rogers Cup
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West Africa struggles to curb Ebola
‘irregularities’ in implementation of rKVY in nagaland: cAG report
By Sandemo Ngullie
Morung Express news Dimapur | August 6
Corruption has gone beyond sanity. We asked for computers, they gave us a black board and 5 chalks instead.
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‘Life is made up of time; & time is a gift from God’ Pope Francis urges young people not to waste time on Internet and smartphones ROME, AUGUST 6 (REUTERS): Pope Francis urged 50,000 German altar servers not to waste time on the Internet, smartphones and television, but to spend their time on more productive activities. “Maybe many young people waste too many hours on futile things,” the pope said in a short speech to the altar servers - young people who help the priest during religious services - who had come to Rome on a pilgrimage. “Our life is made up of time, and time is a gift from God, so it is important that it be used in good and fruitful actions.” Activities cited by Francis as futile were: “chatting on the Internet or with smartphones, watching TV soap operas, and (using) the products of technological progress, which should simplify and improve the quality of life, but distract attention away from what is really important.” The 77-year-old pope has Twitter accounts in several languages. They were first used by his predecessor Benedict in 2011, and his English language account has 4.3 million followers. He has described the Internet as a “gift from God”, but also cautioned that high-speed world of digital social media needed calm, reflection and tenderness if it was to be “a network not of wires but of people”.
FGN informs
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DIMAPUR, AUGUST 6 (MExN): The Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) has announced the withdrawal and cancellation of all assignment Ahza entrusted to David Zhimo, Tatar, FGN. A press note from Nilo Sheyipu, Finance Secretary, FGN informed that this has been done “due to non compliance with the directives of the Financial Code of Conduct and as per the directives of the Chaplee Ministry.”
–Abbott L. Lowell
Indefinite road blockade for heavy vehicles over bad road
reflections
no
Thursday, August 7, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
Three days of silence for Gisele Bundchen
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Yes
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Your aim will be knowledge and wisdom, not the reflected glamour of fame
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An indian student with painted face participates in a peace rally to mark the 69th anniversary of US atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Mumbai, Wednesday, August 6. The 1945 bombing killed up to 140,000 people. (AP Photo)
ncDs account for 60% deaths in india MUMbAI, AUGUST 6 (IANS): Non Communicable Diseases account for nearly 60 percent or six million of the total annual mortalities (deaths) in India, a WHO report said. NCDs also are the biggest global killers accounting for 38 million deaths every year, with a staggering 28 million in the low and middle-income countries, including India, the “NCD Country Profiles 2014” of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Wednesday. The report says India lacks an evidencebased national guideline for the management of these major NCDs through a primary care approach. “Diabetes, cancer,
vascular diseases, hypertension and stroke (all NCDs) are all on the rise in India. Some of these are the expected effect of an aging population, but other factors include unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity,” cautioned Kenneth E. Thorpe, Chairman of Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases (PFCD) and Chairman, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health at the Emory University. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, NCDs will cost India an astronomical Rs.126 trillion from now through 2030.
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report for the year ending March 31, 2013 has revealed that there was “wasteful expenditure”, “poor control of finances” and “irregularities” in the implementation of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) in Nagaland state. The RKVY, also known as the National Agriculture Development Programme (NADP), is a Special Additional Central Assistance Scheme (100 percent grant) to the State Plan. At present, the scheme is being implemented by nine departments, including the Agriculture department, in all eleven districts of Nagaland state. During the period from 2007-08 to 201213, 116 projects and 6 sub schemes, under 18 sectors, were implemented. This involved a total cost of Rs 16,706 lakhs, including District Agriculture Plan (DAP) funds of Rs 110 lakhs. The CAG report, which was tabled in the NLA session last month, lamented that “financial management and control of finances was poor at all levels” and that delay in State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) sanctions resulted in delay of fund release. The CAG further detected “incorrect reporting and submission of Utilization Certificates” and delays in funds from the state to implementing departments and nodal departments, which further resulted in delay in project implementation. The delays in release
CAG RECoMMENDs • Planning should include bottom up approach so as to ensure its ownership by all stakeholders. • Ensure transparency, economy, efficiency and competitive rates. • Projects should be implemented by all stakeholders in efficient, economical and effective manner so as to avoid short/non-achievement of targets. • State, district and grassroots level supervision, monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened as prescribed in the guidelines to achieve the desired outcomes. • Prioritization of projects should be done during sanctioning to allocate resources for addressing all objectives. • Streamline release of funds from the state to Nodal departments and from nodal departments to implementing agencies. • Utilization certificates should be submitted as per utilization of funds. • All procurements should be done after Notice Inviting Tenders (NIT) or from government empanelled vendors.
of funds ranged from one to fourteen months. It further informed that the Comprehensive District Agriculture Plans (CDAP) prepared were “devoid of grassroot level planning” and was not according to the CDAP manual of the Planning Commission. It detected several “impermissible activities/components proposed and approved in the CDAP State Agricultural Plan (SAP). The CAG reported that there was excess expenditure of Rs 76.06 Lakhs under the Nagaland state Horticulture and Veterinary & Animal Husbandry departments. The excess expenditure here was in respect to projects approved by the SLSC for the years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. There was also short receipt of tools and implements, valued at Rs 56.05 lakhs under Agri-Mechanization (2011-12) and under Integrated Development of Major Horticulture
Crops (2008-2009) in Phek and Kohima districts respectively. The report further disclosed that there was wasteful expenditure of Rs 37.47 lakhs due to “non construction of pack house, non distribution of saplings, abandonment of plantation and non-functioning of poly houses due to non-installation of fertigation machine and cooling system.” It further detected irregularities in disbursement of assistance under Livestock Development. According to the CAG, physical verification revealed that the livestock distributed to beneficiaries was not as per the record maintained in the state Veterinary department. The CAG also noticed “short/non supply of materials, wasteful expenditure, non-achievement of target, irregularities in supply of benefits, excess payment to suppliers and abandon-
ment of projects.” It stated that proper mechanisms to monitor or evaluate the contribution of production at state level “did not exist.” At the department level, the CAG said, there was absence of proper mechanism for post monitoring and evaluation of projects, which it stated “resulted in failure to assess the success of the projects.” The CAG informed that Nagaland state had achieved an overall average annual growth of 5.19 percent, an excess of 1.19 percent above the national target. During the 11th plan, the Nagaland Agriculture department alone achieved 6.14 percent agriculture growth rate. This enabled the state to bag the Krishi Arman Award 201112 for best state under total food grains production (Category III). The report however informed that no effective mechanisms had been put into place to evaluate the impact of projects specifically under the RKVY scheme. As such, it stated that the CAG audit “could not determine whether the implementation of RKVY projects had contributed to increase of agriculture growth rate in the state.” It reminded that in August 2012, the Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) had pointed to the need to work out contributions made to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), separately through implementation of the RKVY scheme in Nagaland state. However, it informed that no efforts had been made to this end.
nltP Act doing more good than harm: ABcc
KOhIMA, AUGUST 6 (MExN): The Angami Baptist Church Council (ABCC) today asserted its commitment to uphold the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act of 1989. Executive Director of ABCC, V Atsie Dolie in a press statement affirmed that the cause is too important, and cannot be debated away so easily. “Regrettably, excessive actions on the part of the Church were seen in bringing about the Act then, for which, I for one am sorry but the cause is too important, and it cannot be de-
bated away so easily, Nagaland is much bigger than Kohima and Dimapur,” the director stated. Citing that many villages across Nagaland have resolved to ban sale of liquor in their respective jurisdictions, he said, it will be “most unfortunate” if the elected representatives of Nagaland “choose to ignore that major voice of the people whom they represent.” He stated that ABCC is “convinced” NLTP is doing more good than harm, and requested the representatives to amend the loopholes, rather than do-
ing away with it. “To the church, the NLTP Act is not properly implemented to this day,” the statement said. “The church has not initiated the Prohibition so that some bootleggers can make crores of money from behind the scene or a mafia-type-network to benefit from regulating flow of supply to Nagaland. Certainly, it has fought for much nobler cause, that is, to save lives and bring peace to families for which Prohibition is expected to be a means to it.” Further, he lamented that the Church is always at
the receiving end. “When she is silent, her silence is questioned. When she speaks out, her voice is questioned. However, the Church as she is meant to be should always strive to be a catalyst to the dying society despite the criticisms.” The statement also said the question of lifting the Act will be due for consideration only when “prohibition is achieved, experienced, and evaluated, but not for its failure.” The ABCC further assured support to NBCC in its effort to make the prohibition a reality.
IPCC: Human ‘influence’ causing climate warming
NEw DElhI, AUGUST 6 (IANS): Observing that humans are the dominant cause of global warming, a UN climate panel has warned that climate change will impact human health, south Asian settlements and infrastructure through flooding, and will aggravate food and water shortages in the region. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in a report Wednesday, said there was a 95 percent probability that human influence is the dominant cause of the observed global warming since the mid-20th century. The rate of climate change has been unprecedented compared to previous decades and millennia and the average increase in temperature of the earth’s surface has been 0.85 degree Centigrade, it said. The IPCC issued its latest assessment of the causes, impacts and solutions to climate science, in three parts, starting in September last year under the title “Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change”. Its
fifth assessment report, titled “IPCC AR5 - What it means for a strong inclusive India” was released here Wednesday. Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, who participated in the event to release the report, said extraordinary solutions were needed to address the extraordinary challenge of climate change. “People’s participation is crucial for developing and implementing environment-related programmes. Though growth as priority might lead to increased emission of harmful greenhouse gases, India is still committed to sustained green growth,” Javadekar said. The event was organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in cooperation with IPCC and Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and in partnership with the ministry for earth sciences. Speaking on the occasion, director general of TERI R.K. Pachauri said the report contains important find-
ings on the underlying physical science basis of climate change. “Dealing with climate change would require a substantial expansion of awareness on all aspects of climate change, and these may be relevant for decision-making in India. India as a signatory to global agreements on climate change also has a responsiblity to take appropriate action,” Pachauri said. Industry chamber Assocham president Rana Kapoor said the findings were an eye-opener at a time when India was facing scarcity of rain. The report further said it is likely that the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights has increased across most of Asia since 1950. “The Asian region experienced the most weather- and climate-related disasters in the world between 2000 and 2008 and suffered the second highest proportion (almost 30 percent) of total global economic losses,” the report added.
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The Morung Express C
Indefinite road blockade for heavy vehicles over bad road
Dimapur, august 6 (mExN): Joint Action Committee (JAC) for DhobinalaSignal-Thahekhu-Rangapahar Road, in its meeting held on August 6 reiterated its stand to proceed with its proposed total bandh of plying/movement of heavy vehicles as first phase of agitation on DhobinalaSignal Angami-ThahekhuRangapahar Road on August 8 from 6 am to 6 pm. The meeting also resolved to enforce indefinite road blockade for heavy vehicles on the said road in the second phase of agitation. In press release, JAC secretary Neichuvoto Kiso and convenor K. Kakheho Yeptho appealed to the dis-
trict administration and the police to co-operate with the JAC for the said bandh, which is being initiated for the common interest of the public of 13 villages and colonies – Rio Colony, Metha
that it is left with no option but to resort to agitate as the government and responsible department have failed miserably to respond to the appeal of the public. JAC maintained that it
tion. In the memorandum, it was clearly mention that on the account of failure of the government and concerned department, the committee would have no option but to impose re-
JAC for Dhobinala-Signal-ThahekhuRangapahar Road agitates as government and department fails to respond Colony, Signal Angami Village, Viola Colony, Sema Tilla, Xuvihe Colony, Kevijau Village, Lhomithi Village, Signal Colony, Naga Gaon, Y. Zhimo Colony, Thahekhu Village and Sangtam Tilla. The committee said
had written a memorandum dated 17/04/2014 to the minister PWD (R&B) highlighting the depleted condition of the road and forwarded a copy of the memorandum to DC and SP Dimapur for informa-
striction of heavy vehicles on the said road. Urging the public of the above mentioned villages and colonies to extend fullest co-operation towards the success of the bandh, the committee has drawn
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up an action plan for volunteers of respective colonies and villages. Volunteers of Thaheku village, Lhomithi village, Xuvihe colony, Sematilla, Metha colony, Rio colony and Y. Zhimo colony have been entrusted to be stationed at Dhobinala and Westyard junctions. Volunteers of Signal Angami, Signal Colony, Naga Gaon and Viola colony to be stationed at Signal colony and Signal Angami junctions. IOC and Thahekhu gate area would be looked after by the volunteers of Kevijau village and Army Water Pump area would be manned by vol- This image depicts the deplorable condition of National Highway road between Botsa and unteers of Sangtamtilla and Tseminyu. Roads across the entire Nagaland State including districts roads are languishing Thahekhu village. in distressed, corroded and potholed conditions. (Photo by Chizokho Vero)
Tuensang dist take measures against Japanese Encephalitis
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tuENsaNg, august 6 (Dipr): District Planning and Development Board for the month of August was held at the DC’s Conference Hall Tuensang on August 6. Parliamentary Secretary for CAWD & Chairman DPDB, R. Tohanba, chaired the meeting. Japanese Encephalitis, which is one of the most talk diseases in the country and with the detection of one such case in Tuensang, the house discussed on this issue with the doctors of the district for awareness. In this regard, the house discussed proposal of diagnostic kid for
Japanese Encephalitis for the safety of the people of Tuensang. The house discussed on the issues of district hospital in priority where many short coming and several shortfalls of the hospital were highlighted for prior needs of the district. Out of the many, some important short comings were men power shortage, absence of eye surgeon, need of blood bank at the earliest (45 to 50 units of blood consumption without blood bank), laparoscopic kids, shortage of nurses in particular, deplorable condition of the OT and
many more which are in urgent needs for the district. The house deliberated on the deployment of police personnel to the newly created police stations in the district and decided to take up with the higher up of the government. The house resolved to remind the government of the previous proposal for construction of the PHC Chessore office building. Site allotment and review for building construction of the district court building was given in charge to the District Administration to locate the site.
Dimapur DPDB reinforce ban on sale of wildlife
Governor of Nagaland and his wife during the visit by former BJP minister MC Konyak and his wife on August 6 at Raj Bhavan Kohima. Dignitaries including the Joint Director of SIB Mahesh Dikshit, former BJP Minister of Nagaland MC Konyak, Rajya Sabha MP Khekiho Zhimomi, Portfolio Judge, Kohima Bench Guwahati High Court, Nishitendu Chaudhury and State BJP President Dr. Chuba Ao called upon governor of Nagaland on August 6. The dignitaries briefed the Governor on various issues pertaining to the State of Nagaland. (DIPR Photo)
Agriculture dept hold orientation for field officers KDPU 14th general session on Aug 8 Kohima, august 6 2014-15 to be implemented in gramme officers (Dy. Direc(mExN): Field officers (DAOs/SDAOs) of Agriculture Department were given an orientation on guidelines and operation of new schemes/ missions at Directorate of Agriculture conference hall on July 30. Director of Agriculture Tekatushi Ao chaired the programme and delivered the keynote address on CSS/missions/mini mission for the year
the State, informed a press release issued by publicity and information wing, Directorate of Agriculture. He urged all the implementing district/subdivision field functionaries to strictly and sincerely execute the programmes as per the operational guidelines for the benefit of the farming community in general. The respective pro-
tors of Agriculture) of various schemes, mini missions presented PowerPoint and paper to the district and subdivision implementing officers of the department on planning and co-ordination, RKVY, NMSA, mini-mission (I-III), NFSM, NMAET, Agriculture census, Agri. Statistic, Agri. Engg., Audit and establishment matter.
Kohima, august 6 (mExN): The 14th general session of the Kohima District Pharmacists’ Union (KDPU) will be held at para-medical training institute, conference Hall, Kohima on August 8 at 10:00 am. Dziesevotuo, President, Nagaland Pharmacists’ Association and Nagaland State Pharmacy Council as special invitee will attend the general session among others. The Session will deliberate on issues pertaining to the Union such as review of minutes of the
last general session; status of cadre review of Pharmacists with the Government; Membership fee; election of new office bearer for the session 2014 – 17 etc. All the members are requested to attend the session with membership fee of Rs. 500/- for the year 2013 – 14 without fail. Members who are yet to pay special contribution of Rs. 2000 may also come with the same. This was informed in a press release issued by KDPU Secretary Neila Solo.
DC Kohima informs C M Y K
Kohima, august 6 (Dipr): The Deputy Commissioner, Kohima, W. Honje Konyak has informed all concerned that as decided in the meeting held on August 4 with all Panchayat Chairman, all Directorate and District Offices in the District are to keep their respective office surrounding clean. The concerned Panchayat Chairman under whose jurisdiction the office is located should coordinate and monitor the cleanliness work. This circular is issued as a part of ‘Clean Kohima Campaign’ and therefore all Offices and Panchayats are requested to implement it earnestly.
CANSSEA Mkg general meet on Aug 12 moKoKchuNg, august 6 (mExN): The general meeting of Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA), Mokokchung unit will be held on August 12 at Longkumer Kilem at 10 a.m. All the members of CANSSEA Mokok-
Dimapur, august 6 (Dipr): The Dimapur District Planning & Development Board meeting was held on August 5 at the DC’s Conference Hall with the Deputy Commissioner H. Hushili Sema chairing the meeting. The Dimapur DPDB decided that henceforth for naming of road within Dimapur the matter would be referred to the committee what had be constituted earlier by the DPDB. To protect and preserve Amur Falcons during their annual Migration to Nagaland the members decided to voluntary contribute Rs. 500 each (All Department in Dimapur) for creation awareness on wild life conservation further the Dimapur Municipal Committee was asked to check and strictly ban sale of wild life in Dimapur. The board discussed at length on the matter of granting permission for opening of new school and concluded that hereafter the SDEO Dimapur should verify on the following criteria, Availability of land,
Status of infrastructure, recommendation from the local authority, appropriate name of school including a brief write up of school before granting of recognition. Approval for opening of new school was given to Generia school, Kuhuboto, Christ School, Domokhia Lotha Village, Dimapur, St Francis De Sales School, Perima Town and Westyard school, Kiyeto village Dimapur. Permission for upgradation was granted to Montessori Nursery school to class VIII, Zeliangrong Dhobinalla and Gonyu Memorial Montessori School to class VIII Chumukedima including change of nomenclature of Western Christian School Doyapur to St Paul Academy, Ganeshnagar. Earlier, the department of Sericulture and Dimapur Government College gave a power point presentation on their activities. For the next meeting the District Administration and District Enforcement Force (DEF) will give power point presentation.
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MEx File chung unit are requested to take note of the date and make it convenient to attend the meeting without fail. General discussions on issues with regard to activities of Mokokchung unit will be held during the meeting. Besides address of the President, General Secretary Report, Audit report and announcement of new office bearers for the tenure 1416 by the nominating Committee will be made during the meeting. Members are requested to submit agenda if any, to the General Secretary on or before August 11. CANSSEA Mokokchung unit expressed deep gratitude to the D.C Mokokchung, Murohu Chotso for granting one hour leave for the meeting.
Free medical camp at Tohoi tohoi, august 6 (Dipr): The District Administration and Border Department in collaboration with the District Health and Medical Services, 156 CRPF Bn. Rotary Club, Lions Club Red cross, Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association (NMDA) and peace committee Dispute Area (ABC Sector) will be conducting a free medical camp in
the larger interest of the people living in the Border Area. The medical camp will be held on August 9, at Tohoi Village “B” Sector. Aghunaqa section starting from 9.00 a.m. onwards. This is for general information to all concerned.
Peren DPDB meeting held
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pErEN, august 6 (Dipr): The monthly Peren District Planning and Development Board Meeting was held at DC’s Conference Hall Peren on August 6 under the Chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Peren Peter Lichamo. After reviewing the last meeting minutes, the house discussed on creation of SDEO Office at Tening and Jalukie, Introduction of Science Streams at GHSS, Jalukie, Deployment of Traffic Police Personnel at Jalukie Town, Construction of School building in Old Beisumpui Village, Establishment of Industrial Training Institution (ITI) at Peren. The house also discussed on the preparation and work distribution for forth coming Independence Day in the District.
‘Values of traditions for a progressive future’ NEZCC Tribal Community Learning Programme for Kachari Community concludes
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Dimapur, august 6 (mExN): As part of the ongoing series of Tribal Community Learning Programme designed by NEZCC, the fourth group consisting of three resource persons and 25 students from the Kachari Community successfully completed their training programme on August 6. The programme is designed to address the challenges posed by the advent of modernity and the resultant impact created in the society, especially on the urban youth, The training programme culminated in a simple function at NEZCC where the students performed a traditional folk song learnt during the training period and shared their experiences as to how they have benefitted from such a creative activity. Lipokmar Tzudir, Di-
NEZCC officials along with resource persons and students from the Kachari Community during the Tribal Community Learning Programme designed by NEZCC concluding day on August 6.
rector, NEZCC in his brief address said that “it is our primary duty to stake our claim in the overall understanding of the Nation’s composite Cultural heritage. He exhorted the participants to take pride in their rich cultural heritage and take up the challenge of ensuring its continuity. The Director further urged the Leaders of the Dima-
sa Kachari Community to give importance in the safeguard and promotion of the Dimasa Kingdom ruins which is now lying unattended.” He thanked the Resource Persons and the Kachari Community leaders for their support and cooperation extended in making the training programme a success. He also gave away the certificates to
the participants. NEZCC Joint Director, Talinokcha has informed in a press release that in this series, the next group of 3 experts and 25 students from the Lotha Community will commence their learning programme for the next ten days beginning the 7th of August in the same venue. The entry is free for any one interested.
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Civil society to press for First dengue case recorded in Tripura early dialogue with UPF Newmai News Network New Delhi | August 6
Civil society leaders are likely to meet Union minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on August 7 to press for initiating for the early commencing of political dialogue with the United People's Front (UPF), one of the two umbrella organisations of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo underground groups. A team of civil society leaders arrived here in New Delhi on August 4. It is expected that these leaders will meet the Union minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on August 7 to apprise the latter for the early starting of political dialogue. "There is no point extending the Suspension of Operation (SoO) every time it expires when political dialogue is not held," said a prominent leader of the community when Newmai News Network enquired on the de-
velopment. The current one year SoO term for both UPF and KNO ends on August 22. Given this, 16 days are left for the expiry of the present one year term of Suspension of Operation (SoO). Both the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples' Front (UPF) are spending hectic consultations on the matter. Both UPF and KNO are not sure whether they will extend the SoO for another term. "Our team will go back to Manipur after meeting the Central leaders here and brief the UPF leaders on August 12 where we will have a big meeting that day," stated another leader. He also said that only after the August 12 meeting the UPF will come to know whether to extend the Suspension of Operation with the Government or not after the current term expires on August 22. It can be recalled here that a leader of the Kuki
National Organisation (KNO) had told NNN earlier that they were still observing the situation. "We have not decided whether to extend the SoO term or not," the top KNO source disclosed Newmai News Network, adding, "We are closely observing the situation and we are also observing what the Government of India's initiative is regarding our position." The source also said that the KNO is yet to fix a date for the outfit's meeting in connection with the SoO expiry issue. "Signing the SoO pact just for the sake of signing every time it expires is a futile exercise," stated the KNO source. The KNO however, expressed hope that the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be better than the previous Congress led UPA government. Both UPF and KNO are engaging in political struggle with similar ideologies. The KNO, however,
in recent time is widening its political advocacy and perspective. Early this year, KNO president PS Haokip had mentioned it in his message on the KNO Raising Day on February 24 in Churachandpur district of Manipur that stretching from Kachin state of Burma covering up to Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh and Tuensang and Mon districts of the Konyak and Khimniungan region in the present day Nagaland in India, as well as the land of the Heimi people in Myanmar (Burma) to which tribe SS Khaplang, leader of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K), including Upper Chindwin and Kale Kabow valley in Sagaing Division are entirely ethnic Kachin-Kuki inhabited.The Kachins have always maintained their link through folklore connections with the Kukis, the KNO chief had added.
AgARtAlA, August 6 (iANs): The first confirmed case of dengue has been reported in Tripura, an official said here Wednesday. "A man was found with dengue virus at the G.B. Pant Medical College and Hospital here. This is the first case of dengue in Tripura," health department spokesperson Pranab Chatterjee told IANS. He said the state government has alerted doctors, health workers and people about the spread of dengue, encephalitis and other vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Also, Chatterjee said that since June 13, 78 people, including 58 chil-
dren, have died and over 258,600 have fallen ill. Out of these, the malaria infection was found in over 44,570 people. He said the disease was "more or less controlled" in the state. On an average, over 124 special health camps were being organised daily in malariahit areas for people who have not been admitted to hospitals. Experts from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), an independent international medical humanitarian organisation, and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), under union health and family welfare ministry, have visited
Assam assembly witnesses noisy scene guwAhAti, August 6 (pti): The Assam Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed a noisy scene over change of senior Congress MLA Anjan Dutta's seat in the House and he along with party colleague Bhupen Kumar Borah boycotted the Question Hour over the issue. Dutta's seat in the front row was alloted to former minister Ardhendu Kumar Dey, who was given a seat in the second row after he was recently dropped from the ministerial berth due to dissident activities. Congress members support-
ing Dutta alleged partiality by Speaker Pranab Kumar Gogoi, who informed of the new seating arrangement by a letter yesterday after the session was over. "It is an insult to me. I am in this Assembly since 1991 and why suddenly my seat was changed? There are junior MLAs sitting in the front row. Some one will do dissidence and then he will be rewarded with a front row seat. You (Speaker) should be independent and impartial," Dutta said. Gogoi said he had changed the seat as per the rules of the House and invited
Northeast Briefs Initiative to promote indigenous sports in NE Beniwal sacked, Duggal new Mizoram Governor New Delhi, August 6 (iANs): Kamla Beniwal, who had a strained relationship with Narendra Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister, was Wednesday removed as Mizoram's governor, an official statement said. Former union home secretary Vinod Kumar Duggal, who is the governor of Manipur, will hold the additional charge of Mizoram. A Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said "the president has directed that Kamla shall cease to hold the office of the governor of Mizoram". It said Duggal will discharge the functions of the governor of Mizoram, in addition to his own duties, until further orders. The 87-year-old Beniwal was shifted to Mizoram July 6 by the centre.
NPO condemns assault on student seNApAti, August 6 (NNN): The Naga People’s Organization (NPO) has condemned the assault of Ringsanbou Newmai, a student studying in Maram on July 28. The NPO termed it as an immature, inhuman act. The NPO in a statement said that, such incident against the student community cannot justify correcting a young student with iron fist when modern education system has propagated leniency, understanding and assistance. "Taking the law into their hands within the existence of the local bodies and civil bodies is out rightly condemned by all", the NPO added. "The third degree torture and treatment to the victim is condemned by all and unacceptable to all right thinking citizens and student’s community," it also said. While appreciating the move of civil bodies to intervene and deal the matter for delivering justice to the victim, the NPO appealed any individual or organization not to drag the name of the college into the incident as the incident happened outside the college.
Ex-gratia amount for victims of electrical mishaps fixed iMphAl, August 6 (NNN): Ex-gratia amount payable to the victims of the families and owners of domestic livestock in the case of electrical accidents in the state has been fixed by the Government of Manipur. In case of human being, Rs 1 lakh will be given to the next of kin and Rs 10,00 to the victim in case of grievous injury. For livestock, Rs 1,000 will be paid to the owner in case of death of calf and foal up to one year old. Rs 10,000 will be given to the owner for the death of matured cattle and Rs 400 for goat, sheep, dog and pig. Now with the formation of successor companies, the Governor has issued an order that sanction and ex-gratia order for both fatal and non-fatal, workmen compensation due to electrical accidents shall not be directly taken up by the Government, according to an official release from the Joint Secretary (Power), Th Kirankumar. It said such cases will be deemed to be directly handled by the companies concerned like the Manipur State Power Company Ltd.
Power cuts cripple Arunachal hospital, hits blood storage itANAgAR, August 6 (tNN): Frequent power cuts at the district hospital at Ziro in Arunachal's Lower Subansiri district, one of the oldest in the state, has made preservation of blood difficult. The hospital's blood bank has four blood storage machines, said blood bank officer and pathologist Joram Khopey. "People are willing to donate, but we do not have adequate storage facilities. Sometimes, power cuts last 12 hours at a stretch," he said. The ailing hospital's only hope is a solar inverter promised by chief secretary Ramesh Negi during a recent visit to the blood bank. "If we are given a solar inverter, the blood bank can be revived, since there is no dearth of donors," Khopey said. After taking charge of the blood bank in November 2013, he has conducted awareness programmes with students, officers and the public. "People turn up to donate blood voluntarily, but I have to turn them down because of the storage problem. However, we have their identities and contact numbers, and we call them as and when blood is required. If we get uninterrupted power supply, the people of Lower Subansiri, Upper Subansiri and Kurung Kumey will benefit," Khopey added.
iMphAl, August 6 (iANs): The success of sportspersons from the North East in international tournaments has prompted a social group, MODIfied Northeast India, to promote indigenous games of the region and also groom talent. Naorem Mohen, the founder of MODIfied Northeast India, said they have identified some indigenous sports and will be grooming youngsters. "We have selected a few indigenous games from the northeast states. Most of these games are the traditional version of modern day wres-
tling, judo, fencing and kabaddi. We will be hosting sports festivals and c o m p e t i t i o n s w h e re these sports will be showcased," said Mohen. The sports are indigenous forms of wrestling in Manipur like mukna, thang-ta, sarit sarak, kangjei and cheibia. Traditional Mizo wrestlings like inbuan and insuknawr have also been selected along with Naga wrestling, hinam turnam of Arunachal Pradesh, dhopkhel of Assam and achugwui phan sohlaimung of Tripura. Referring to the splendid show by Haryana ath-
the disease-affected areas. Cases of malaria and fever have been reported from hilly areas of five districts - Dhalai, Gomti, Khowai, North Tripura and South Tripura. All the northeastern states besides West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka are malaria-prone. Over a 100 people die every year from the disease in the seven northeastern states, excluding Sikkim. According to NVBDCP, malaria claimed 1,018 lives in 2010 in India, 754 in 2011, 519 in 2012 and 440 in 2013.
letes in wrestling, Mohen said it was possible due to their close association with the traditional akharas or wrestling pits. "Northeast India is located at the farthest corner of the country and it lacks sponsorship, exposure to modern technology and other facilities. To fill the gap, MODIfied Northeast India is seeking support and sponsors from industrialists and companies, in addition to the central government projects, to boost the morale of our athletes," he said. Sportspersons from Manipur, Assam and Tripura put up a stupendous show by winning medals
in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Weightlifter Khumukcham Sanjita Devi of Manipur made the nation proud by winning the first gold medal on the opening day of competitions. Manipuri girls Mirabai Chanu Saikhom (women's 48 kg weightlifting) and judoka Shushila Likmabam won silver medals. Manipuri boxers Sarita Devi and Devendro Singh also won silver medals while Tripura's Deepika Karmakar became the first Indian female gymnast to win an international medal, a bronze, in Glasgow.
Dutta for a discussion in his chamber after the session. Dutta rejected his offer and staged a walk out boycotting the Question Hour protesting the new arrangement and did not attend the proceedings for the rest of the day. His party colleague Borah also supported Dutta and said "The Speaker is being threatened by dissident MLAs. Dutta is a very senior member and in his support, I am also boycotting this Question Hour session." Borah, however, returned to the House after the Question Hour ended. AGP MLA Phani Bhu-
san Choudhury said "It is very unfortunate and a black day in the Assembly's history. The Speaker's value is diminished. For this issue, the legislature party leader should have discussed with you in private." Later, Dey told reporters outside the House that his seat in the second row was given "on a written request of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister". "So I went to the Speaker and asked why this was done to me as I was a senior member and was a cabinet minister. Then he (Speaker) gave me this seat," he added.
ZION HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE NEURO-PSYCHIATRIST FOR CONSULTATION Dr. PAKHA TESIA MD (NIMHANS) Bangalore will be available for consultation on 9th August 2014 (Saturday). CANCER SURGEON FOR CONSULTATION Dr. GANESH DAS MBBS, MS (PGIMER) Trained Cancer Surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai will be available for consultation on 16th August 2014 (Saturday). UROLOGIST FOR CONSULTATION/OPERATION Dr. JOY N. CHAKRABORTY MS.DNB (Surgery), DNB (Urology), FRCS renowned Endourosurgeon from Guwahati will be available for consultation on 27th August 2014 (Wednesday). Patients requiring Consultation/Operation for Urinary problems, Prostate, Kidney & Bladder Stone may contact the Reception for Registration. For Registration, please contact 03862- 231864, 227337, 224117
Mizoram: 19 children died of Diarrhoea in 2013 Newmai News Network Aizawl | August 6 As many as 19 children in Mizoram died of diarrhoea in 2013, said Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka, Head of Department, Paediatrics & Neonatalogy, Civil Hospital, Aizawl in a function held to mark World breastfeeding Week. Along with rest of the world, World breastfeeding Week was observed today here in Aizawl with a function like workshop on breastfeeding being held at Aizawl Press Club under the leadership of Dr. Rohmingthanga Ralte, Director of Health Services. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) which is held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries has been intertwined with ‘Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight’ (IDFC) observed between 28th July and 2nd August. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka, Head of Department, Paediatrics & Neonatalogy, Civil Hospital, Aizawl who gave power presentation at the function said at least 19 children had reportedly died of Diarrhoea during 2013
in Mizoram. At Civil hospital alone about 1931 sick children had been admitted to the hospital during 2009 – 2014 of which 11 children had been died of Diarrhoea mixed with pneumonia, septicaemia and malnutrition, Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka said. The main objective of MDG according to Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka is to reduce the mortality rate of children below 5 years. MDG stated its objective thus- (a) No children shall die of Diarrhoea (b) Children shall grow up physically and mentally healthy by doing away with malnutrition. Stressing about the importance of observance of IDFC, Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka said although various diseases and death cause by Diarrhoea can be prevented and avoided, around 20 lakhs children who are below 5 years died every year across the world and in India it is estimated that around 2 lakhs children below 5 years died every year due to Diarrhoea. Of the total number of children who died below 5 years in a year 11 % of them were died of Diarrhoea and majority these children were below 2 years, Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka added
Diarrhoea can be treated effectively with ORS and Zinc and there is no need of other medicine to this disease,Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka said. Speaking about WBW, Dr. Lalhmuchhuaka said the WBW is an annual celebration which is held every year from 1 to 7 August to emphasize the value of breastfeeding for children among mothers. Since 1990 it has been observed successfully in more than 120 countries. In India as well WBW is observed every year under the joint sponsorship of Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP). Citing about breastfeeding, Dr. Hmuchhuaka said the first breastfeeding to new born infant as recommended by WHO/UNICEF should be taken preferably within half an hour of his/her birth and within six months the child should be exclusively breastfeed. Every mother should give birth at hospital. The mother should not eat anything before breastfeeding. After six months, the child should be fed with complementary foods besides mother milk, Dr. Hmuchhuaka added.
KYONg ACAdEMY Sanrhyu Etsa Meta : L.T.C. Hall, Wokha Yuta : 10:00 AM Date : August 9, 2014 Board of Directors tona Sub-Committee members jiang to ethüngta liv. Sub-Committee jiang: 1. Socio-Cultural Committee 2. Language Development Committee 3. Social Education Committee 4. Academic Studies Committee 5. Customary Law Committee 6. Publication Committee Lotha kyon ochyu-ovüng tsükona nchümten topvü rotale to ntsitala. Ntsita tsükona shiang tsakhoka: 8413842070, 9615085905, 9436437544
OFFICE OF THE
MEZOMIA MECHÜ KEHOU MEZOMA: NAGALAND
WORDS OF GRATITUDE
CBSE to include study material on NE New Delhi, August 6 (iANs): The CBSE curriculum committee will include sufficient material related to the northeast region to create awareness, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said Wednesday. "The curriculum committee of the CBSE has decided to give due preference for inclusion of precise and sufficient material to the northeast region in CBSE curriculum for students' awareness about the region," Irani said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The step follows demand from people of northeast living in different cities to include material about northeast in NCERT books.
WATCHMEN PRAYER FOR ISRAEL
Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.”
PLACE : LIFE SPRING CORNER DATE : 8th AUGUST (FRIDAY) 2014 TIME : 8:00 AM TO 12:00 NOON ISAIAH 62:6,7 “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah 66: 10,11 "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance." ORGANIZE by: FRIENDS OF ISRAEL, NAGALAND & House of Prayer for Jerusalem and All Nations, Delhi For more Information please contact: 1) Rev. Dr. Avi Sophie 2) Rev. Dr.N.Paphino 3) Sister Jeny 4) Ahunle
- 09818281480, 09899132377 - 09862757493 - 09856387232 - 09402481194
Please come and Stand with ISRAEL
We the Mezomia Mechü Kehou (MMK) the apex body of Mezoma, convey our sincere gratitude to all the Individuals 'and. Social Organisations who stood and condemned the high handedness and arrogant act meted to one of our sons Ketusielie Kuotsu, DFO Wokha by 19th Assam Rifles at the wee hour on 12th July, 2014 at Officers' Hill Colony, Kohima. Further we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Angami Youth Organisation for taking the initiative in concluding the matter. The MMK expects from the so called 'Friends of the Hill People' to uphold and respect the dignity of all mankind in the days to come instead of inviting criticism and condemnation from the public. (KUOSEVO CASAVI) President
(MHIESICALIE KHEWAKHRIE) Gen. Secretary
GRATITUDE Kidima Vegetable Village on behalf of Wage Council and Kidima Vegetable Growers Committee would like to extend our gratitude to the Department of Horticulture for providing collection-cumgo-down for collection and storage and sorting of vegetable produces for onward transportation to Mao and Kohima market for sale. We would also like to convey our gratitude to Kohima DP&DB Kidima visitation group for initiating and recommending to concerned Department during the village visit. Through this the Department of Horticulture approved and provided the collection cum- go-down and power tiller. The vegetable village Kidima has achieved a long felt need of vegetable collection-cum- go -down at the vegetable farming site. Sd/Village Council Chairman Kidima Village
Sd/Secretary Vegetable Village Kidima Village
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Dimapur
public discoursE
Thursday 7 August 2014
Events in Ukhrul and the Democratically challenged Government
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4 days have passed since the assassination of Mr. Ngalangzar Malue, an Autonomous District Council member of Ukhrul district, and civil society organisations have condemned it. Secondly, 23 days have passed when the Police Commando (MPC) and Indian Reserved Battalion (IRB) raided the Public Liaison Office of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim NSCN-IM) and arrested 8 cadres who were present in the office. Further, on the same day, 144 CrPC was promulgated and imposed in and around Ukhrul District Headquarters swarming with armed forces of the state. The act of killing and the response of the Government of Manipur (GoM) have been condemned by the Naga civil society organisations. Why? An act of cowardice No one has come forward to claim the unfortunate killing of Ngalangzar Malue which makes one to conclude that it was nothing else but a senseless act of people/organisation who
simply does not understand the value life. Such action cuts deep into the sentiments of the community and affects the sense of peace and security of the people. Therefore, the cowardly act was condemned. Turning the public into its enemy The response of the government to this incident is unfortunate and strange. Taking away freedom of movement and disrupting normal life of the public by imposing 144 CrPC, the government appears to be indirectly accusing the public of being a party to the killing. Instead of taking the public on its side, the government has turned the public into its enemy by accusing and punishing them. Such actions can only be taken by a government that is highly motivated by its own vested interests! Undemocratic government The manner in which the armed forces stormed in and swarmed the Ukhrul HQ in 13th July and subsequently suspending civil and democratic rights of the public is nothing but martial tactics
employed by the GoM. Such deliberate actions of creating fear psychosis and trauma is waging psychological warfare and increases trust deficit between the people and the government. The government and the district authorities till date have not been able to explain their action. No democratic institution can behave in such arbitrary manner with total lack of accountability to the people. The GoM is answerable to the people, or else, it is nothing but an authoritarian regime in disguise. Such martial behaviour and suspending the freedom of movement of the public by the state should be condemned by all who value democratic rights and norms. The GoM simply has created a situation that has no logical explanation. Further, the provocative statement by Lt. Gen (Retd) N.K Singh, Chairman CFMG and Mr. Gaikhangam, Home Minister of Manipur is totally uncalled for and disrespectful of the political initiative that has been under taken by the Government of India (GoI). Whether there is a dis-
businEss
O
Rupee falls to 5 month low on dollar demand MuMbai, august 6 (iaNs): The Indian rupee Wednesday fell to its lowest level since mid-March against the United States dollar due to large-scale buying of the greenback by foreign banks and signs of foreign institutional investors booking profits on Indian bourses. The rupee fell some 40 paise to 61.42 per dollar, even as a key Indian equities index ended nearly 1% lower, while gold rose nearly Rs.110 to Rs.28,500 per 10 grams, ahead of the spurt in demand seen during the festive season. With foreign institutional investors and companies turning net sellers in Indian equities and debt markets, banks were buying dollars on their behalf for repatriation, which further weakened the Indian currency. Analysts and experts have said that the huge outflow of foreign money in equities markets and the sale of American currency by the banks and exporters have weakened the Indian currency position. “Today’s movement is impacted by international economic and geo-political situation,” Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst, Kotak Securities, said in a conversation with IANS. “Going forward US fed decision on interest rates and stimulus easing have to seen to know the impact it have on the emerging markets, especially India,” he added. Data with the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed that foreign funds were net sellers Tuesday in the markets to the tune of $112.91 million, or Rs.688.97 crore. During August, foreign funds have pulled out nearly $1 billion.
pute over the area of ceasefire coverage, or whether one holds a different opinion over the ongoing peace talks, the fact is that there is an official peace talk going on, and they are morally bound to show respect. This is the minimum that is expected of a democratic government. Whether it is a case of crime, or whether it is an issue of having divergent views on the talks, those who are in authority of the state very well know that there are established mechanisms, procedures and ethics governing ones action. Simply blaming on the ceasefire coverage area is to justify the martial action of GoM and take the issue out of context. Does it mean that if there is no ceasefire or peace talks going on, the GoM can use such martial tactics and suspended the democratic rights of the public be suspended without logical explanation for so long? Are the public in Ukhrul district HQ under threat? Or has anyone threatened public tranquility in the district? It is only an invention by the GoM! Furthermore, it comes at
odd when the Director General of Police (DGP) Mr. Sahid Ahmed gives out a statement on 31st July justifying their plan to deploy additional security forces in the hill districts. Is it not odd that the DGP is calling the agitators to come to the negotiating table? What about the so-called GoM? Or is he calling on behalf of the GoM? The fact is that it was not an issue for negotiation—the situation and the issue were created by the GoM. There would have been no issue if the public were not penalised by the state and performed its duty according to the rule of law and by respecting democratic norms and principles. It is high time that the GoM rectify its action by withdrawing 144 CrPC and restore normalcy. The GoM should also apologize to the public and retrospect its action to become aware of what is expected of leaders in a democratic setup. Seth Shatsang President All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur
Time to arise from our slumber
Naga people it’s time to arise Isaiah 60:1-2 says arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See the darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Today as we look around the system, our people are in dreamland. We talk about the corrupted system in our land and every young individual mind is boost to talk about the Naga issue and every individual has a history of his own family, village and tribe but how many of us have a courage to push the issues and to voice out how our family, village and tribe struggle earlier. Are we there to transform our dream into reality by arising? I love to read the story about King David in the Bible and wonder sometimes how he killed the champion Goliath. Answering to myself I have never wonder why Goliath couldn’t kill King David because God was with him and King David took the strong courage to fight against the champion by arising from his slumber of fear. How many of us have the same attitude
like of King David? It’s high time that the Naga should arise like of King David to fight against the champions of problems that is within us. Today the real Goliath may not come to our land but be aware that many Goliath are hanging around and shouting were we are afraid to fight against it so it’s high time that we arise. Today in our land the word thrust is dying down because we our lost too much for our individual gain and there are less people who thinks about society and for our land. And it is really embarrassing to see people rejecting the real leaders who can serve us and can serve the nation and can lay their life for us. Arise and be truthful to choose who is right and who is wrong. Life is never the same like of yesterday, today and tomorrow but the history of our Naga is the same and the cost is the same. As years goes by the champion Goliath is becoming stronger and stronger, so it’s high time that we finished the war and be free from the others rule. Arise and don`t be in darkness because God is with us as long as we play the role of King David. Lumtsase C Sangtam, Japfu Christian College
T
The Morung Express
Pain is a reminder of our humanness
he other night I felt overcome edness can arise. This sense of inby sadness as I reflected upon terconnection can bring about an all the pains in our Nagas so- unspeakable thought in public ciety. mine. It can ignite the wish to bring In many ways, I have a perfect happiness to our society. Pain is also life. Nevertheless, a part of me will a motivator to begin learning how to always be sad as long as there is pain change our political status. in my society. Happiness is life and Most of our politician comes happiness comes from you and me. with money minded and make One night, I sat with the feel- things started changing differentings of pain in my heart, gazing at ly – a relationship ends, someone the dark night sky. And I say, let his dies, we’re fired from a job, illness heart be broken into a million piec- descends, a friend is physically hurt. es. And they will be all the better for Now, I’m not suggesting that it. you get stuck on being bad politiThere is not a single person in cian – that would be depression. But our naga society that can escape you should change yourself to be a from pain. Failing to see our true good politician so that the society nature, our life ends up a constant will deeply have good regrets under dance of attachment and aversion. your leadership. At the same time, we don’t need This is precisely what brings painful to push you away for being a politito our way. “I like this. I don’t like that. I cian as soon as you pay a visit but want him. I don’t want him”. These first think of yourself and asked, is how our good politician in our who you are? What you should do society neglect its own people were for you naga society? Politician is the doorway to proin there pad and seal shows “Nagaland for Christ”. And that is a shame found understanding. I feel empowered by those corrupted polifor us. There may be transitory mo- tician because it helps public see ments of happiness when things what is reality matters in our society. The key points to remember are: you overcome with your wealth, you have an enjoyable sensory experi- kindness, love, and compassion. As ence, or acquire an entrancing new in our present scenario of the naga possession as you have wealth. But society these really does not exist in you must know that this happiness most of our politicians mine. If so is not a long lasting one. It is were they are not fit to hold or work for you’re selling out your own identity the betterment of our society. And to others. All the tension of striving this is my Freedom of Speech and for what you want and rejecting oth- Expression under ARTICLE 19 to er pain just to brings more compli- against you. You should say, in my life, the cations for yourself. When politics pops up, instead experience of being great politiof running away with corruption, cian, and the understanding resultlet it wake you up. Politics has the ing from what I learn is leader which power to introduce a crack in your means to lead my people, volunlimited and limiting version of re- teer and render myself to my naga ality. Maybe politics isn’t all about people, it has led directly to being a wanting, getting, accomplishing, more compassionate person. If you have known pain, you and possessing. Maybe there is anrecognize it in others and are able other way. And even if you know this al- to more effectively act to alleviready, politics can sing you an even ate needless suffering. If you can’t deeper song which makes you to feel pain to your kind people about there ignorance and failures in you, work for the people. When politic breaks open your you won’t rededicate to improving heart, you become fully inhuman. your focus till you die. Thus, “Pain is a reminder of our You only think of oneself, overpower others and consider them noth- humanness” where we can called ourself the truth politician leader ing. You by having the courage to which our society will hope the touch your own pain and suffering, best fruit in the future. And proudly you must have the courage to touch called ourself the real Nagaland for and feel the pain and suffering of the Christ society. God Bless Nagaland. public among the naga. You see: Your pain and my pain Keduolhoukho are the same. Pain is a common Dominic Chadi thread that unites all of humanity. StJoseph’s college, From recognizing this simple truth, Jakhama, Nagaland. a profound feeling of interconnect-
Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.
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LEISURE
Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.”
SUDOKU Game Number # 2958
DAILY CROSS WORD
CROSSWORD # 2965
DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:
STD CODE: 03862
Metro Hospital: Faith Hospital: Shamrock Hospital Zion Hospital: Police Control Room Police Traffic Control East Police Station West Police Station CIHSR (Referral Hospital) Dimapur hospital Apollo Hospital Info Centre: Railway: Indian Airlines Chumukedima Fire Brigade Nikos Hospital and Research Centre Nagaland Multispecialty Health & Research Centre
Answer Number # 2957
KOHIMA
Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: Oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home:
232224; Emergency229529, 229474 227930, 231081 228846 228254 231864, 224117, 227337 228400 232106 227607 232181 242555/ 242533 224041, 248011 230695/9402435652 131/228404 229366 282777 232032, 231031 248302, 09856006026
STD CODE: 0370
Northeast Shuttles
100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202
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ACROSS 1. Land of the Rising Sun 6. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 10. Applications 14. Spanish for “Friend” 15. Salt Lake state 16. Exploded star 17. Sacred song 18. Wisdom 19. Affaire d’honneur 20. Tall building 22. Feudal worker 23. Crone 24. Heron 26. A level in a building 30. Suit 32. Rowed 33. Denigrated 37. Membership fees 38. Uproar 39. Cabbagelike vegetable 40. Fortitude 42. Feel 43. Searches 44. A writing implement 45. Elector 47. Accomplished 48. Opera star 49. Gloomy
56. Press 57. Dash 58. Ringworm cassia 59. After-bath powder 60. Alike 61. Whole 62. Maguey 63. Orange pekoe 64. Muzzle
DOWN 1. Photocopier problems 2. Out of control 3. Compassion 4. How old we are 5. Saw-toothed 6. Internment camp 7. At the peak of 8. Container weight 9. Ergo 10. Mortician 11. Alcoholic 12. What’s happening 13. An exchange involving money 21. Beam 25. Band booking 26. Mats of grass 27. Tight 28. Chocolate cookie 29. Opposition
30. Ledges 31. God of love 33. Twilight 34. Armored vehicle 35. If not 36. Backwards “Reed” 38. Most savage 41. C 42. They love to inflict pain 44. Russian fighter 45. Like the flu 46. Convex molding 47. Eats 48. Devil tree 50. Wings 51. Tibetan monk 52. A noble gas 53. Savvy about 54. Two-toed sloth 55. Sodium chloride Ans to CrossWord 2963
DIMAPUR: 03862 232201/101 (O) 9436017479 (OC) CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862 282777/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC) WOKHA: 03860 242215/101 (O) 9862039399 (OC) MOKOKCHUNG: 0369 2226225/101 (O) 9436012949 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 9862130954(OC) ZUNHEBOTO: 03867 280304/101 (O) 9856156876 (OC)
MON: 03869 251222/101 (O) 9436208480 (OC)
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CHEVROLET CARS PRICE AUGUST ‘2014 CAR MODELS
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LOCAL
The Morung Express
Thursday 7 August 2014
Dimapur
5
eNSF initiates Pre-Matric Minority Scholarship 2014-15
Dimapur, august 6 (mExN): Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s new 15 point programme for the welfare of minorities which was announced in June 2006, the Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) in collaboration with the department of School Education is initiating the Pre-Matric Minority scholarship for deserving students in the four districts of Eastern Nagaland. A press release from the student federation received here informed. Stating that the objective of the Pre-Matric Scholarship is to encourage parents from Minority Communities to send their children to school, lighten their financial burden on school education and sustain their efforts to support their children to complete their education, it informed that the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minority is a scheme under the Ministry of Minority Affair
(MOMA) which commenced in the year 2008-09. The scope of the said scheme is to provide scholarship to students from class-1 to class-X studying in Government/Recognised private schools and institutions in India. Scholarship will be awarded to the students who had secured not less than 50% marks in their previous final examination and annual income of their parents/guardian from all sources does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh, ENSF informed. As part of the sensitisation campaign, the Federation along with its units will be assisting the students even up to the village level in filling up the forms. Deserving students and parents are requested to be prepared with all necessary documents. It should be noted that those who have applied earlier for the current year 2014-15 need not apply again. In this re-
gard, the federation has asked the respective DEO & SDEO to furnish the list of beneficiaries/ applicant to the respective students union in order to avoid double entries. Documents required: The documents required to be prepared by August 10 include bank account details of the bonafide student and the institution/ school, fee statement letter from the school, affidavit on annual income and declaration of minority community, passport photos, birth certificate, student ID card, PRC to be issued by the concern village council/ward chairman etc. Hostellers residing in the recognised hostels of the institution should produce their fee statement letter from the institution/school. It should be noted that the last date would be August 20. Appeals: ENSF has appealed to all concerned National banks
to initiate a process and enable students to open their bank account within 5 days from the date of submission. Forms for opening bank account should be filled at the village level through students’ unions, it informed. The federation also appealed to the District Statistical Office to issue birth certificate forms without any charges for poor students under BPL. The federation further appealed to the District first class magistrate to give utmost importance and time for registration of those filled form/ affidavit for easy convenience. The federation has asked the respective schools/institution to be ready with ID card, Fee statement letter, Minority declaration letter and school’s bank account details by August 15. The federation further asked respective VEC & Village council to bear the expenses incurred for all the poor students while pro-
Training on quality planting and nursery accreditation Dimapur, august 6 (mExN): Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH), Medziphema in collaboration with District Horticulture Office, Wokha organized a one day farmers’ training on ‘Production of quality planting material and accreditation of nursery of important fruit crops’ at CIH, Medziphema on August 5. It was held for nurserymen interested to establish accredited fruit nurseries such as citrus, passion fruit, cashew & litchi, said a press release received here. NC Mistry, AMD, National Horticulture Board (NHB), in the training stated that availability of quality planting material is a prerequisite to the success of horticulture development in the country and for that, Seeds Act and Nursery Registration Act have been in operation since December 1996 with an aim to ensure availability of genuine quality planting material. Brief remark about the training was delivered by Dr. Lallan Ram, Director, CIH. He emphasized on the importance of establishing more registered nurseries in the region where there is shortage of quality planting material. In order to facilitate accreditation of nurseries for horticulture crops, he said, CIH
has been authorized as the nodal agency for providing accreditation and certification of nurseries in the region from this year. Dr. K Chuba, Technical consultant, NHB, Pawan Kumar, Jt. Director, Department of Horticulture, Govt. of Nagaland, and Meyasashi, DHO, Wokha also gave short speeches. The release informed that resource persons NC Mistry, AMD, NHB and AK Singh, Technical Consultant, CIH, Medziphema highlighted various aspects like procedure for accreditation of nursery for fruit crops, NHB schemes for development of horticulture in NER, nursery infrastructures, good nursery management practices, production of quality planting material of citrus, cashew, passion fruit and litchi. Practical demonstration on propagation techniques of budding, grafting, pest, and diseases management were also conducted at CIH farm and nursery unit. All the participants were given reading materials on canopy management, nursery management and propagation techniques for future reference in the field. Altogether, 35 participants from Wokha, Molvom, and Pherima attended the training.
cessing for scholarship which, it informed, can be reimbursed gradually. STRATEGY AND DATE LINE: State level training for all the federating units will be on August 7 while training at the district/block/village level students’ unions should be completed by August 10, ENSF informed. The duration for filling up the forms and collection of all necessary documents at the respective unit should be completed by August 15. All filled up respective forms should be submitted to the Bank, Judicial and District Statistical Office which should be completed by August 20. After completion of all necessary procedures on time, it should be submitted to the respective SDEO office by August 25 and the same should reach Directorate on or before August 30, ENSF informed and further warned, “The responsibility so
assigned should be carried out strictly and efficiently. Failure to adhere positively at any level/agency shall be held solely accountable by the concern agency to which the federation shall not be responsible.” “As per the guide line listed in the provision, amount of Rs. 4000/- per student should be directly transferred into the account of the institution for classes 6-10. In case of fees already paid to the institution, it should be accordingly reimbursed on arrival of the scholarship. The Maintenance grant for all the students is Rs. 1000/- for day scholar (class-1 to class-10) and Rs. 6000/- per year per student for hostellers residing in the recognised hostels,” ENSF informed. The federation further highlighted the amount sanctioned for Post Matric Scholarships. “According to 2013-14, Tuensang had received Rs.
2461200/-, Mon-Rs. 1847650/-, Kiphire-Rs. 10861360/-, Shamator- Rs. 3633300/- and Longleng- Rs. 2520650/-,” the federation informed and directed respective students unions to drive out detailed information from the respective SDEO on or before August 10. Further, the federation stated that it was compelled to appeal and issue directive to all the concern authority on account of time limitation in hand for the submission. ENSF also offered its salute and acknowledged Kesonyu Yhome, Principal Director of School Education, for the initiative ‘to bring changes in the system that had polluted for so many decades.’ “The result of such noble venture may not be instantly but the Federation stand assured that it will brighten the future of our younger generation in days to come,” the federation stated.
Lotha Hoho Dmp condemns
Heavy rain almost washed away the house of Mhonbemo Humtsoe on August 5 at Wokha. Friends and relatives numbering about a hundred gathered and literally pulled up and shifted the house to a nearby empty plot. The administration, PWD and other concerned department have taken first hand report on August 6.
Dimapur, august 6 (mExN): The Lotha Hoho Dimapur has condemned the killing of Khonthungo, a young Lotha Naga boy, at Eralibill village on August 1 allegedly by “two migrant labourers.” A condemnation note from the Hoho’s Chairman, T. L. Merry, and General Secretary, Renathung Ezung, stated that the news of the ‘murder in the cruelest form’ has “deeply saddened and hurt the sentiments of the Lotha fraternity.” “This kind of savage and excessively barbaric crime needs to be curbed with
utmost austerity by concerned authorities and befitting punishment awarded to the perpetrators to root out all such crimes and lawlessness,” the condemnation read. “Under no circumstances, the above excesses be taken as a stray incident,” the Hoho further warned. The Lotha Hoho Dimapur also appealed to the Naga Council Dimapur, as one of its affiliated member, to look into the ‘heinous murder’ and help initiate stern action considering the magnitude of the crime committed.
Member of the Zeliang Students' Union, Patkai Christian College, with Heirangying Lungalang. On August 2, Patkai Christian College held its Tribal Social Meet under the initiative of respective students' tribal leaders.
Parliamentary Secretary Torechu visits GHSS Pungro puNgro, august 6 (mExN): Parliamentary Secretary for Housing and Excise T. Torechu paid a two-day visit to his home constituency Pungro-Kiphire on August 4 and 5. A press note received here said that Torechu visited Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS), Pungro on August 4 and interacted with the students of Class XI, who are the first batch of the school. Among the newly 20 upgraded government high school to higher secondary school, GHSS Pungro has the 3rd highest enrolment with 60 students with 39 boys and 21 girls. Exhorting the student,
Torechu said that the students were starting a new path in life and urged upon them to respect the teachers with obedience and discipline. Stating that the students were creating history in the Pungro sub-division, he said that Pungro sub-division was having about 44 villages and this was the first
higher secondary school. Further he also called upon the students to have a sense of responsibility and lead a life for a good future. Pointing out that during earlier days there lots of problem to get good education, he said that today there are facilities at the doorsteps to get good education and students
should take the opportunity to study well. He also visited the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidhalaya Girls Hostel Pungro Block and interacted with the inmates of the hostel on August 4. Winding his tour Torechu also attended and addressed the DPDB, Kiphire meeting on August 5.
A book titled “An Account of Nagas, Sumi, and Hebolimi Village Migration” written in Sumi was released on August 3 at Hebolimi Baptist Church. It was released by Ivuxu Chella, retired Joint Secretary. The migration account was researched and written by a team of members nominated by Hebolimii Village Council and published by the same.
Rengma Students Union condoles tsEmiNyu, august 6 (mExN): The Rengma Students' Union has conveyed heartfelt condolences to Er. Levi Rengma, Deputy Speaker of Nagaland, on the demise of his mother. “Though nothing can replace the love of a moth-
er, may the almighty God grant comfort and solace to the bereaved family members,” a condolence message from the union President, A. Shyerhunlo Lorin Naga, and General Secretary, Sokenye Kent, stated. Calling Jamvu Magh “a
woman of faith,” the union stated, “She will be remembered for bringing up her children in the fear of God of which Er. Levi Rengma is a clear example.” The union further lent its prayers to the family members and prayed that her soul rest in peace.
Mr & Miss Freshers of Rengma Students’ Union Dimapur (RSUD) with RSUD executives during the union’s Freshers’ Day held on August 2 at GCYM Centre, Sovima, Dimapur.
Corrigendum
A
gainst Corruption And Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) would like to clarify and request the readers that our press release on 4th August 2014 in daily news paper should be read as, “The ACAUT further stated that it’s a matter of concern for every Naga that The Pereizie Youth Welfare Board (High School Panchayat Ward no-1) Kohima organised a mass social work on July 26 in and around the colony. The board has thanked such arbitrary and barbaric action of the NPGs all who contributed to the social work.
as has been practiced by the NPGs against the Naga people in the name of national movement is anti people to say the least” and not as “the ACAUT further stated that it’s a matter of concern for every Naga that such arbitrary and barbaric action of the NPGs as has been practiced by the NPGs against the Naga people for over
sixty years in the name of national movement is anti people to say the least” ACAUT further clarifies that its statement was misquoted and the above statement was made in the context of that particular press release and not otherwise and ACAUT regret the unfortunate misquotation. ACAUT
The annual concert of Salesian College Community, Dimapur was staged on August 2 and 3 at Fr. Paul Bernick Memorial Auditorium. The programme consisted of Bribe Boomerangs, a didactic drama by Fr. Tom Karthik Sdb, the Rector of Salesian College. Other items included Exodus (Band Piece), choir, dance, instrumentals, etc. The concert was directed by Fr. Michael Arockiasamy Sdb.
Public SPace
“THe blacK ReVOluTiON” & “THe FaTe OF NaGa MecHaNical eNGiNeeRS”
W
ith the success of the ‘GREEN’ and ‘WHITE’ REVOLUTION’ in increasing the production of food grains and milk respectively in the last decades, Mr. Modi has recently tweeted about his plans in launching the ‘BLUE REVOLUTION’ to harness the resources of the sea keeping in focus the fishery industry. While in Nagaland, our honorable Chief Minister Mr. T.R. Zeliang has officially launched the oil exploration in the Champang and Tsori areas of Wokha District. Should we address this as “BLACK REVOLUTION”? (the color of crude oil is black) Nagaland has a geological reserve of 110 MILLION barrels of oil with a recoverable reserve of approximately 1,600 barrels per day. With its launching, our CM promised
of ushering in a new era of economic prosperity and development of the people of the two villages as well as the state and providing employment to the youths. Metropolitan Oil and Gas Private Limited (MO&GPL), New Delhi, would be carrying out the exploration and it should provide training and employment to the Naga MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Every year our state sends out 50- 60 students for the study of this subject but how many jobs has the government created? We have our Nagaland State Transport department and the Auto Workshops in almost every state, a handful of Diploma Technical Colleges, our DOYANG HYDRO PROJECT and our so called PAPER MILL. I have never come across job adver-
tisements from these departments. And I am also stunned to know that the recruitment for the post of MOTOR TRANSPORT VEHICLE INSPECTOR is done through the Allied NPSC Examination? Shouldn’t this post be recruited through the NPSC Combined Technical Services Examination? Apart from providing employment, the MO&GPL should be an ISO certified company. ISO 9001 is a certification of International Quality Standards and ISO 14001 for ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGEMENT (OSHMS). These certifications of the International System bears testimony to the various safety practices and measures for the employees. MO&GPL should have deep
commitment to QUALITY, SAFETY and ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. The company should also have CONTINUOUS AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATION (CAQMS), which will continuously monitor the ambient air quality and should have proper OIL WATER SEPARATORS and CATALYZERS to check seepage water, and also take up SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT as Oil drilling has harmful ecological and environmental effects which should be checked in an effective manner. The indigenous people continue to rely on their lands and their water ways for sustenance. The government should also consider setting up of OIL REFINERIES. LPG, Motor Spirit, Aviation Turbine Fuel, Superior Kerosene Oil, High Speed
Diesel, Light Diesel Oil, Raw Petroleum, coke etc are some of the products of refining. The refineries will create more revenue than the drilling counter parts with its marketing sector set up across the North East. There is a bright future for the mechanical engineers. Our fate will not be the same. Within a few years, this branch will be the most preferred branch just like it is in the other states. The promises are high but we shouldn’t be carried away with this. We have seen in the news how Delhi University faced wide spread criticism for the unseemly haste with which it introduced the Four Year Under Graduate Program.( FYUP). The role of Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh, who had full support from both the UPA and the
UGC (University Grants Commission) in pushing through the FYUP was not only criticized as autocratic but also seen as an organized attempt to subvert the largely democratic space of the public university. The FYUP under the grab of promoting ‘interdisciplinary’, ‘flexible’ and ‘employability’, was a way to advance private capital’s interest in the higher education. Apart from highlighting the effective implementation of the FYUP and the sufferings of D.U students, statistics and information based on RIGHT TO INFORMATION queries, it proved that the FYUP would entail just the oppositecurtailment of jobs, freezing of employment for teachers and karmacharis, and outsourcing most of the universities to PRIVATE BODIES. All these
point to our conclusion that we should know the INSIDE MOTIVES of both the GOVERNMENT and the MO&GPL COMPANY. Are they simply trying to exploit our land for their higher interests or are they planning to usher Nagaland in a new era of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT as our CM promised. The Oil Exploration should turn out to be an effective “BLACK REVOLUTION”. Otherwise just as the name goes it will darken the hopes and aspirations of the people, the youth in particular. With this, I would like to wish the best of luck to our honorable Chief Minister and the Metropolitan Oil & Gas Private Limited the very best of luck in their undertakings. MAY GOD BLESS NAGALAND!!
The Morung Express is introducing “Public Space” as part of our intention to provide deliberate space for the opinions of the people to be expressed and heard through this newspaper. Nonetheless, The Morung Express points out that the opinions expressed in the contents published in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper or the editor.
Atoba A Longkumer Duncan, Dimapur
6
IN-FOCUS
The Power of Truth
The Morung Express THursDAy 7 AuGusT 2014 volumE IX IssuE 215
Guest editoRiAl Chingya luithui
A
disseNt
martya Sen arguing for democracy as a universal value identifies social and political participation of the people in decision-making as an intrinsic non-negotiable principle. In essence, democracy is about competing ideas, and therefore for it to work, mechanisms have to be developed and evolved to identify the best ideas. Dialogue among the people and with institutions and agencies of the state is a necessary part of this. However, dialogue cannot happen in a moral, cultural, political, or economic critical vacuum; analytical and evaluative introspection and reflection is required to make the dialogue meaningful. This is where dissent becomes crucially important. Dissent involves critiquing conventional views of the majority and pointing out the flaws and weaknesses in policies, laws, government actions, and sometimes even of leaders. As a result, the darker side of democracy has been its history of stifling dissent; governments have an innate tendency to crack down on dissent. It is certainly true that for a society to exist, certain shared core principals and values need to be there such as the idea of equality or freedom. However, as the society evolves, the dynamics within it changes and therefore there is an inherent danger in not questioning the status quo. In such a situation, the absence of dissent results in the decline of intellectual self-reflection that creates perverted understanding of ground realities. History attests to how informed dissent has been responsible for the progress of mankind. Copernicus’ challenge to the then prevalent geocentric model of the solar system was not just about getting the facts right; it was dissent against the orthodoxy of the church. The Black Civil Rights movement in America was not just about segregation; it was challenging the then conventional ideas of equality and freedom. Take any other examples; much of the creative activism in the history of mankind has been a reflection of informed dissent. The Naga national movement is essentially dissent. It is a struggle against the tyranny of force, against the held belief that other people can determine how Nagas should live, eat or breathe. It therefore becomes very worrying when informed dissent is repressed among us by ourselves. There have been many occasions where Naga political groups or organisations or tribe councils have quelled dissent. It has led to a situation where unpopular truths are not spoken or discussed. The cost to the Naga society has been immense; particularly for the Naga national movement where critical intellectual input has become almost nil. Nagas talk a lot about consensus building. But consensus based on what? It has to start from a dialogue process where diverse viewpoints and critique is accommodated—the accommodation of informed dissent! Otherwise consensus, as former President of Uruguay Luis Alberto Lacalle points out emphatically, destroys democracy. (Feedbacks, suggestions, and comments can be mailed to chinxwrites@gmail.com)
lEfT WING |
Stephen Farber The Hollywood Reporter
'Hercules' is schlocky but fast & entertaining
Y
ou'll have to say one thing for Brett Ratner's production of "Hercules": This movie has a sense of proportion. Running just over 90 minutes, the movie is often clunky, but at least it's fast and unpretentious. And its likable star, Dwayne Johnson, manages to murder legions without ever seeming sadistic. Less violent than "300," less compelling than "Gladiator," this new addition to the sword-andsandals genre seems likely to please the fanboy audience and stir up some impressive box-office numbers. The film begins by recounting the legend of Hercules, with snippets of his famous 12 labors. But this is not the Steve Reeves version of the tale. Johnson's Hercules (as envisioned by comic book author Steve Moore) is a flawed hero. Bereft over the murders of his wife and children, Hercules has joined up with a band of loyal comrades who will basically sell their services to the highest bidder. In other words, they're mercenaries. But you can bet it won't be too long before Hercules rediscovers a noble purpose. That happens when he is enlisted by the lovely daughter of the lord of Thrace to save her kingdom from civil war. Let the mayhem begin. The story has a few twists up its sleeve, as heroes turn out to be treacherous and villains are more complex than first appearances suggest. There's just enough plot to keep the movie lurching forward, and there are plenty of battle scenes to delight connoisseurs of carnage. (The movie's PG-13 rating seems fairly lenient.) One problem with these battle scenes is the frenetic editing, an unfortunate staple of contemporary action pictures. On the positive side, the sets (by production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos, who also designed one of Ratner's favorite movies, "Amour") are impressive, and the crowd scenes, even if enhanced by CGI, stir happy memories of films like "Spartacus" and "Ben-Hur." The classy cast also elevates the picture. Ian McShane gives a droll performance as a soothsayer who's always surviving predictions of his own death. John Hurt is working in the glorious tradition of Claude Rains in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" while Joseph Fiennes is doing a Basil Rathbone as his venal confederate. As the one woman in the troupe of mercenaries, Ingrid Bolso Berdal wields a mean bow and arrow. Tobias Santelmann (star of the Norwegian Oscar nominee "Kon-Tiki") has an imposing presence as Hercules' antagonist-turned-ally. Some of these actors have won awards, but a trip to the dais is not likely to be in the future for our star. Still, Johnson plays his role with good humor and more conviction than Steve Reeves could ever muster. When he finally breaks free of his chains and bellows, "I am Hercules," the audience responds with just the right degree of childish glee. There are some neat 3-D effects, but as with so many recent 3-D offerings, the format doesn't seem absolutely essential. The cinematography by Ratner's frequent collaborator Dante Spinotti is vibrant, and the musical score by Fernando Velazquez is rousing. Most important, the pacing is snappy. It may sound like a backhanded compliment to praise this sometimes cheesy movie for never taking itself too seriously, but in a summer of bloated spectacles, this modesty should not be underestimated. "Hercules," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity." Running time: 98 minutes.
THE EDIT PAGE
C O M M E N T A R Y
Daniel Flynn Source: Reuters
Gold, diamonds feed CAR religious violence collects thousands of dollars a week from roadblocks staffed by his fighters, according to U.N. experts. In Boda, militia leader Habib Saidou, a former soldier loyal to Rombhot, said the Muslims would be left in peace provided that 14 people who controlled the diamond trade - including Dahirou and Mayor Mahamat Awal - left the town forever. “Until then, the Muslims have to stay behind the red line. If they cross over, we're going to kill them.”
T
hree young rebels, their AK47s propped against wooden stools in the afternoon heat, guard the entrance to the giant Ndassima goldmine carved deep into a forested hilltop in Central African Republic. Sat in a thatched shack at the edge of a muddy shantytown, the gunmen keep the peace - for a price - among hundreds of illegal miners who swarm over the steep sides of the glittering open pit, scratching out a living. The mine, owned by Canada's Axmin (AXM.V: Quote, Profile, Research), was overrun by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels more than year ago. It now forms part of an illicit economy driving sectarian conflict in one of Africa's most unstable countries, despite the presence of thousands of French and African peacekeepers. Seleka fighters - many from neighboring Chad and Sudan - swept south to topple President Francois Bozize in March last year. Months of killing and looting provoked vicious reprisals by Christian militia, known as "anti-balaka", that pushed the rebels back, splitting the landlocked country of 4.5 million people into a Muslim north and the Christian south. “We control the mine. If there is a problem there, we intervene," said Seleka's local commander Colonel Oumar Garba, sipping tea outside a villa in Axmin's abandoned compound. "People don't want the French peacekeepers here because they know they'll chase them away from the mine." Axmin suspended activity at the mine in late 2012 after rebels occupied its camp. The firm says it is monitoring the situation. CEO Lucy Yan did not respond to requests for comment. Thousands of people have died and more than a million fled their homes in Central African Republic amid the violence between the Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian militia. Scenes of cannibalism and the dismemberment of Muslims by Christian mobs in Bangui sowed fears of ethnic cleansing, prompting France to deploy 2,000 peacekeepers to its former colony. After tens of thousands of Muslims fled the south, the United Nations agreed to a 12,000-strong mission from September. A ceasefire signed last week in the capital of neighboring Congo Republic raised hopes of an end to the conflict. But many fear local warlords on both sides will resist attempts to break their grip over resources, especially diamond and gold mines. At Ndassima, 60 km north of Seleka's military headquarters in the northern town of Bambari, sweatsoaked laborers toil beneath the gaze of Seleka gunmen to produce some 15 kilos of gold a month - worth roughly $350,000 on the local market, or double that in international trade. Weighing gold on a balance in a hut at the foot of the mine, Jimmy Adoum says buyers are scarce but some pay their way past rebel check-
“H
air is political.” That was the line that stuck with me when my 17-year-old daughter recently regaled me with the minutiae of a lighthearted argument she’d had with a friend. It was about my daughter’s staunch resistance to straightening or altering her hair in any way. The friend had insisted that such alterations were no big deal, to which my daughter took umbrage and shot back, “Hair is political.” In my daughter’s view, such alterations were a sign of suppressive concepts of worth and beauty of which she would have no part. Presenting herself as nature made her was an act of self-loving defiance that demanded not her alteration but the alteration of others’ attitudes about how we expect people to bend in order to belong, about how many destructive subliminal messages we’ve all absorbed and how we must search ourselves for the truth of our own prejudices. It reminded me of the profound commentary on the subject by the actress Tracie Thoms in Chris Rock’s 2009 documentary “Good Hair”: “To keep my hair the same texture as it grows out of my head is looked at as revolutionary. Why is that?” But to me, my daughter’s message was bigger than her, or hair, or a debate between teenagers. It was a life lesson that we all have to learn, over and over: Self-acceptance, of all stripes, large and small, is always an inherently political
points to carry gold to Bangui and east to Cameroon. Further north, diamond fields around Bria and Sam Ouandja provide revenue for rebels, who extract protection money and sell diamonds to dealers in Sudan and Chad, experts say. From there, the gems are trafficked to Antwerp, Dubai or India. "Commanders on both sides are profiteering from this conflict. Both the anti-balaka militia and Seleka are involved in gold and diamonds," Kasper Agger, field researcher for the Enough Project, a Washingtonbased think-tank. "If we are going to make peace, we need to offer them an economic alternative." "Jealousy, not religion" Before Seleka seized power in March last year, Central African Republic ranked as the world’s 12th largest diamond exporter. Thousands of artisanal miners produced more than 300,000 carats a year from thin alluvial deposits. Much of the fiercest fighting centered on these deposits, especially in the west. In the mining town of Boda, nestling in forests 100 km west of Bangui, the anti-balaka militia have besieged thousands of Muslims in the market district. French troops, their armored personnel carriers aligned on an escarpment overlooking the town, now keep the two sides apart. Opposite the Muslim enclave stand ruins of Christian homes destroyed in fighting after Seleka withdrew in January. Both sides accuse the other of starting the clashes. Christians have seized Muslims' mining equipment and cattle from nearby pastures. Some who venture from the Muslim enclave have been killed by militia, their bodies dumped in the river. "If the Muslims stay there 40 years, we'll wait for them. We want to kill them," said Nicaise Wilikondi, 45, an ex-teacher who lives in a camp for displaced Christians. Like elsewhere in Central African Republic, in Boda it was Muslim middlemen who controlled the diamond trade and reaped its profits, while most of the poorly paid mine laborers were Christians, fueling sectarian resentment. Cherif Dahirou, Boda's main Muslim diamond trader, said the Christian militia had seized the nearby artisanal pits, but he refused to leave the town where he has lived for 38 years. "This isn't about religion: it's jealousy," he said under an awning in the grounds of his large house in Boda, in the besieged Muslim enclave. Originally from Chad, he spoke in Arabic, not the local Sango language: "I know the anti-balaka commanders, Romeo and Malou: they used to work the mines." The region west of Bangui is controlled by Christian militia leader Alfred Yekatom, a veteran soldier known as "Rombhot" after the movie hard man Rambo, who has profited from several uprisings. He
"Everyone is buying" Since independence from France in 1960, Central African Republic has lurched between a series of coups and rebellions as politicians and warlords strove to exploit its resources. In an attempt to prevent "blood diamonds" from funding this conflict, the Kimberley Process a group of 81 countries, including all the major diamond producers - imposed an export ban on raw gems from Central African Republic last year. Local trading houses like Sodiam and Badica are still buying gems to stockpile until the ban is lifted. The transitional government of President Catherine Samba Panza is trying to enforce a "traceability" scheme to show diamonds are not mined in rebel territory. But with only a handful of officials in its antismuggling taskforce, her cash-strapped government has little prospect of curbing the traffic in gemstones. “Everyone is still buying. Some people take it to Chad, then it goes to Dubai," said Saliou Issoufa, whose family works in the trade in Bambari. He said some Seleka leaders were directly involved in the trade - something corroborated by a U.N. report. Seleka's two main factions have for years vied to control the diamond mines in the remote northeast. The Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), made up of fighters from the Gula tribe, controlled Bria. The Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), grouping Runga fighters, seized mines at Ndele. Yet Roland Marchal, a researcher on the region at Sciences Po university in Paris, said diamond trafficking was not the sole motivation for Seleka's creation. It was formed to combat discrimination against Muslims, who were routinely extorted by security forces and denied access to schools and hospitals by a Christian-dominated civil service. “This conflict is not just about resources," said Marchal. "If it is then why would we see this debate on nationality and whether Central Africans can be Muslims?” France Seeks An Exit France, with its military already stretched fighting against al Qaeda allies in the Sahel, is pushing hard for a peace deal in Central African Republic so it can cut back its mission. Yet the Brazzaville talks failed in their objective of addressing the key questions of disarmament and a roadmap for a lasting peace, including a power sharing deal. Prospects for peace have been complicated by the return as Seleka's leader of hardline former President Michel Djotodia, whose supporters favor officially dividing the country in two. His deputy Nourredine Adam, who has returned from Sudan with hundreds of fighters, was hit with U.N. sanctions this year over allegations of rights abuses and diamond smuggling. Many fear the ceasefire is unlikely to hold. With anti-balaka attacking close to Bambari in recent days, Seleka's senior military commander General Joseph Zoundeyko has said he is ignoring the deal: “We did not want partition but it happened: the Christians drove us out of the south." In a recent report, think-tank International Crisis Group called for mines to be occupied by international peacekeepers. Yet diplomats and Seleka insiders say Djotodia and Adam will not hand over control: "Bambari and Bria are the financing of Seleka. They will never let them go," said one senior diplomat. At the Ndassima mine, bare-chested laborers bristle at the thought of foreign interference in their business. “We don’t want international forces here. They’ll take the mine from us,” said one youth covered in glittering yellow mud on the lip of mine. “Now, Christians and Muslims live here in peace. If the French come, there will be violence."
Age of Identity Charles M. Blow Source: IHT and profoundly revolutionary act. We are so suffused in a mix of misogyny, patriarchy, racism, sexism, homophobia and hetero-normative exclusionary idealism that we can easily lose sight of the singular acts of ordinary bravery that each of us displays every time we choose not to play along. Life is an endless negotiation with ourselves and with the world about who we are — the truest truth of who we are — and whether we have the mettle to simply be us, all of us, as we are, backlash notwithstanding. And every time we answer “yes” to the question of courage, we stand an inch taller and we rise closer to the light. In fact, Michaela Angela Davis, a self-described “image activist,” calls this the “Age of Identity and Intersections.” It is a time when more people are asserting themselves as nonconformists as they recognize that there is a variety of intersections to subjugation. It’s a twist on the idea of diversity: not simply honoring a variety of origins as positive, but uniting under a banner that reminds us that the diminution of
the very concept of variance has been a historical tool of psychic violence against those deemed “different.” It is about developing kinship and alliance among the historically alienated. It is about understanding that open hatred of — or even subtle, sometimes subconscious devaluing of — women, minorities (racial, ethnic, religious or otherwise) and people who don’t hew to sexual or gender norms are not discrete dysfunctions, but are of a kind, a cousin of flawed consciousness. And when that is understood, the fight against them all becomes more focused. You stop hacking at the branches and start digging at the root. Sometimes, when we are confronted by another overt act of intolerance in the news — another racial epithet, a further effort to erode women’s access to a full range of reproductive options, one more state attempting to hold on to its bans against marriage equality, another manifestation of rape culture — it can seem that we are going backward in this fight rather than forward. But I don’t think so. I think that, as the saying goes, it’s darkest before the
WRITE-WING
dawn, that these cases stand out not necessarily because they are growing, but because they are so at odds with this country’s moral trajectory. (Although, it must be said that there are increasing efforts, particularly in Republican-controlled states, to restrict women’s health care.) Young people in America are growing up in a country that is quickly becoming brown, where women outnumber men in colleges, where acknowledgment of sexual identity is increasingly met with shrugs. This doesn’t mean that they are immune to bias, but it does give hope that bias will diminish as difference becomes more mainstream, historical privileges become more identified and gender roles become less rigid. That is why I greet with overwhelming optimism the continuous stream of people who refuse to conform and who insist on acknowledgment of their own identities, as they are, in all of their inherent glories and by way of their “revolutionary acts.” E.E. Cummings once put it: “To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” And when we understand that that struggle against conformity and control is a shared, unifying experience, the accomplishment is made a little bit easier — and a whole lot sweeter. Truth is political.
Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung Express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender. Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.
Thursday
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
7 August 2014
NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE
W
hen the news media becomes its own newsmaker there is reason to rejoice – or repent. Take Geo News, for instance. Pakistan’s most watched news channel is holding the world transfixed by doing what the country’s politicians haven’t dared – locking horns with the all-powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. The first week of June this year saw a further escalation in their battle, with the channel suing the spook agency for defamation over accusations of being ‘anti-state’, even as the country’s electronic media regulator suspended Geo for 15 days for reporting that the ISI was behind the April shooting of Hamid Mir, one of the network’s marquee journalists, and imposed a fine of PKR 10 million (around USD 100,000). We can only rejoice at a media organisation showing such courage under fire. The work of the Guardian, a British daily, is similarly inspiring. The globally iconic newspaper brought Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to its knees by exposing how the corporation’s British tabloids had bribed the police and hacked into the phones of celebrities, politicians and even the Royal Family; faced off against British and American authorities with its WikiLeaks and Snowden revelations because, according to the paper’s editor Alan Rusbridger, citizens in a democracy deserved to know; and is working towards transforming itself into a global digital newspaper aimed at engaged, anti-establishment readers, while keeping it available entirely for free – a heady experiment indeed. Cheers. Alternately, we could wring our hands at the less uplifting news of surveys in both the US and the UK showing that only a quarter or so of the populace in those countries believe that journalists contribute “a lot” to society’s well-being, with only business executives, politicians and lawyers faring worse. (In the US, TV reporters are barely more popular than advertising salespeople, state-level politicians or car salesmen; while in Britain, print journalists take perverse pride in “being down there with the money-changers and the harlots,” with only one in five members of the public trusting journalists to tell the truth – on par with bankers and below real estate agents.) The comforting theory that if everybody hates them they must be doing something right doesn’t quite cut ice – the public esteem of journalists has, over the years, been going steadily downhill. Vanity fair In India, it is not journalists who are grabbing the headlines but their owners – and it is time to repent, and regroup. The climax was reached at the end of May with the dramatic announcement that the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries had gobbled up Network 18’s sizeable bouquet of broadcast and digital media properties. The nation’s richest man is now a media mogul; he will now not only grace front pages and flat screens, announcing mega projects and attending prime ministerial investiture ceremonies, but will pull the strings behind the scenes, too. This is news not because it is the first time we are seeing a businessman investing in the media. Many of India’s leading publications, including the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Malayala Manorama and Eenadu (to name just a few), owe their existence to business families. Even the roots of the Indian Express lie in a businessman who went on to become India’s most colourful press magnate, the redoubtable Ramnath Goenka. Later, even the Tatas had a stake in the Statesman. In the late 80s and early 90s, many other business stalwarts such as Vijaypat Singhania (the Indian Post), L M Thapar (the Pioneer), Sanjay Dalmia (Sunday Mail) and Lalit Suri (Delhi Midday) had illusions of media grandeur. Even the Ambanis, including papa Ambani himself, tried it once (Business and Political Observer) and found it a rather sour experience. And less than two years ago, the Aditya Birla Group announced that it had bought a 27.5 percent stake in Living Media India which publishes India Today and owns TV Today. So the prospect of Indian businessman launching and acquiring media platforms is neither new nor newsmaking. Yet the Ambani’s takeover of Network 18 was news, and, deservedly, had the media agog. None of the previous media barons or industrialists, not even the Ambanis of the 80s were as gargantuan or as formidable as the Ambanis today. As former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi put it in April this year, “Reliance is a parallel state. I do not know of any country where one single firm exercises such power so brazenly over the natural resources, financial resources, professional resources and, ultimately, over human resources.” Of course, an organisation as unassailable as Reliance doesn’t really need to own media outlets to influence government policy or even to build a public image. Whether through fear or favour – or both – the media cannot be said to have been miserly in giving Reliance due coverage or importance. In fact, the battle royale that Ramnath Goenka fought with Dhirubhai Ambani in the pages of the Indian Express in the 80s is said to have been sparked off by Dhirubhai (who at the time was Goenka’s friend) joking that he could get any of Goenka’s Express journalists to do his bidding whenever he wanted. The fact that Reliance has little interest in helping citizens make informed choices through the dissemination of information via its news channels, websites and magazines is no secret. According to a Reliance statement issued in the wake of the Network 18 deal, the “acquisition will differentiate Reliance’s 4G business by providing an amalgamation of telecom, web and digital commerce via a suite of premier digital properties”. Indeed, journalism is not what Reliance’s investment in media is about. However deep his pockets, Mukesh Ambani is not dreaming of giving BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera a run for their money. Though Reliance Jio (as the company’s 4G wing is called), may sound like Pakistan’s Geo, and the Independent Media Trust (the holding company set up in January 2012 to channel Reliance funds to Network 18) may sound like the Independent Media Corporation, which owns Geo, the two operations are as dissimilar as the proverbial chalk and cheese.
I
7 PERSPECTIVE Owning the news
’m thirsty. Indeed, I’m overwhelmed by thirst, thinking about those who lack access to clean water. I’m thirsty for a different world. “In Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians lack water, including those living in hospitals and refugee camps,” Sarah Kendzior wrote in Al-Jazeera last week. “On July 15, citizens of Detroit held a rally in solidarity, holding signs that said ‘Water for all, from Detroit to Palestine.’ A basic resource has become a distant dream, a longing for a transformation of politics aimed at ending suffering instead of extending it.” Water is our common need, our common source of being. In bankrupt Detroit (city of my birth), as the world now knows, the poor and struggling segment of the population — the people whose overdue water bills exceed $150 — face water shutoff. The United Nations, for God’s sake, has condemned the action by the city’s emergency manager as a human rights violation. Thousands of residences — housing as many as 100,000 people — have had their water shut off so far, out of a total city population of 700,000. Ironically, Detroit is surrounded by the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world. Michigan license plates used
tables turned. That bruised young Owner-Ji is today’s omniscient Samir Jain who is credited with being singularly responsible for the emasculation of journalists, not just in his own organisation, but across the nation. Thanks to him, editors these days barely figure in any list of India’s movers and shakers while one in every four powerful Indians is a media baron. It is amazing how easily Jain moved the target of news organisations from making a difference to simply making money. Bottom-line chasing became the be-all-and-end-all of journalistic endeavours: news no longer had to be important, it had to be interesting. Valuation, not values, became the guiding principle within newsrooms, while corporate shibboleths turned into journalistic minefields lest the amour propre of advertisers be hurt. Managers began to rule the roost. Editors too began to take more pride in advertising revenue and soaring circulation figures than in the stories broken and the impact made. The commodification of news was complete as paid news became the order of the day.
Gouri Chatterjee
Himal southAsian
A done deal The complete insouciance with which Reliance declared its business intentions vis-a-vis its foray into the media world, and the matter-of-fact manner in which it has been accepted by one and all is ultimate proof of the secondary status of journalists in the news business in India today. Journalists are there to do their owners’ bidding, not to play any meaningful role in society; content is something owners decide while journalists merely execute their wishes; making money is the primary objective of any media organisation, even if that leads to carrying news that is paid for. In this model, the ‘customer’ is given whatever they want, journalistic ethics or standards be damned. Though this trend began in the liberalised 90s, it has now come to fruition. In newsroom after newsroom across the country, journalists no longer so much as dream of exercising editorial independence without deferring to the wishes of Owner-Ji and his business boys. Instead of deciding the course of news and taking a call on what is or isn’t in the public interest, or taking up cudgels against those who wield power in ministries or in boardrooms, editors are content to be bit players – the errand boys of the business managers who pay their salaries. This is not how professional editors used to be, and owners respected them for being what they were – or so it is said. Celebrated journalist Philip Knightley’s recollection of working for the Sunday Times in 1970s Britain is demonstrative: One day, the owner of the paper, a Canadian called Lord Thompson, knocked on the editor’s door while the morning news conference was in progress, said “hello”, and then rather tentatively asked: “Say boys, would it be possible to squeeze in the Canadian ice hockey results each Sunday?” There was a moment of shocked silence. Then the deputy editor, Hugo Young, said, “Lord Thompson, this is an editorial news conference to which you’ve not been invited. If you’d like to put your suggestion in writing, I’m sure that the sports editor will be willing to consider it.” And next morning there was a note to the editor from Lord Thompson apologising for attempting to interfere with the paper’s editorial policy. Imagine! We being a deferential lot in India don’t have anything as thrilling in our kitty, but as an oldtimer, I still remember the confidence in our eyes and the self-assurance in our voices as we dealt with the men from the other side of the corridor – the circulation chaps who wanted the paper to be sent to press even before the day’s news had come in, and the advertising guys who pleaded with us to go soft on someone-or-other, either because an advertiser would scream blue murder or because their followers could do us harm. We would pour scorn on their cravenly attitudes and stomp off knowing full well that we were the supreme beings in our little dunghills, the men and women who put readers, not advertisers, first. Whoever owned the newspaper, we owned the news. Though moral condescension was often directed at those across the corridor or on a similar pay-grade, sublime irreverence was, on occasion, directed at those holding the purse strings. Repeated by many but sourced to none, the story of how in the 80s the then heir apparent of Times of India was ticked-off – and more than a patch humiliated – by the then Editor Girilal Jain, is a classic. Though the editor had made clear his distaste for managerial presence in the newsroom, the story goes, the real glory lay with the lumpen hacks who told the same trainee owner that if he wanted a better newspaper, he would have to arrange for cleaner toilets. How the
‘Citizens Jain’ It’s not that earlier journalists were superior beings or that the owners were all model citizens eager to impoverish themselves for the public good. But everyone accepted that the media could only make modest profits, and that journalists could only earn modest incomes. No one was looking for untold riches from their investments in media. Some, admittedly, also counted their rewards in terms of influence wielded and policies dictated – Ramnath Goenka of the Indian Express being a prime example. But even when Goenka waged his spectacularly unsuccessful war against the Ambanis in the 80s, he still retained the primacy of news in his enterprise, allowing hundreds of other types of stories to bloom in his own paper and in others – the harrowing conditions of our jails were depicted, the trade in women in the interiors of Madhya Pradesh was graphically described, the Bhagalpur blindings were narrated, the causes of communal riots were probed, the sad tale of non-criminal lunatics being locked in jail came to light, etc. In many cases, high quality investigative reporting led to a modicum of reform. Journalism mattered, journalists mattered. That was before Samir Jain and his Times group declared that they were not in the newspaper business, but in the advertising business, and that their ‘properties’ were ‘brands’ with ‘target audiences’ that advertisers coveted. In line with this logic, the post of ‘Editor’ with a capital E was done away with. All wisdom flowed from the top, and reporters began to follow orders and write copy dictated by advertisers. As if that wasn’t enough, Jain set off a price war that may have appeared reader-friendly, as it reduced newspaper prices across the board. In fact, it made all news organisations increasingly dependent on advertising revenue, thereby tilting the scales heavily in favour of the managerial side of the business. Brand-building exercises came to be seen as essential while news-gathering expenses were regarded as expendable. As American media specialist Ken Auletta put it in his October 2012 New Yorker piece ‘Citizens Jain – Why India’s newspaper industry is thriving’: Samir and [his brother] Vineet Jain make no pretense that what they do is a public calling. Rather than worry about editorial independence and the wall between the newsroom and the sales department, they propose that one secret to a thriving newspaper business lies in dismantling that wall. One of Samir Jain’s blue-eyed managers told Auletta, surely echoing his master, “Editors tended to be pompous fellows thundering from the pulpit, speaking in eighty-word sentences. They saw themselves as part of nation-building, as part of a big dialogue. It did not connect too well with younger Indians.” Jain and his managers evidently did. Hence, says Auletta, “‘Aspirational’ is a word one hears often around the Times offices, as a way of characterizing the sunny outlook that the Jains say their readers want… Poverty, given that it’s not a condition to which one aspires, receives scant coverage.” Poverty, environment, global warming – the list of untouchable subjects not just in Times of India but in the Indian media as a whole is long indeed. What Samir Jain did yesterday has been replicated by other media barons today. Even if politicians are pilloried for sins of omission and commission, corporate corruption and transgressions are rarely addressed. Even the worm turns – can’t journalists stand up and be counted? Surely, they don’t really believe they are of so little consequence in news operations? Can’t they say ‘enough is enough’ and demand editorial independence and the freedom to do the job their own way? ‘How?’ you may ask. Owners can easily sack them and replace them with another lot who will willingly do their bidding. Besides, Raghav Bahl, the founding owner of Network 18, is a journalist-turned entrepreneur and look where it landed him. From all accounts, Bahl was playing the same game as other media owners, measuring success solely in monetary terms and trying to become too big too soon, thereby overextending himself. (Ironically, in the cosmic world of the stock markets, all of this ‘business first’ philosophy still hasn’t gained media houses due respect. The day the news of Reliance formally taking over Network 18 was announced, the latter’s shares rose by 20 percent, but Reliance Industries were down nearly 1 percent.) But I digress. The answer is not to go into business oneself but to ensure the primacy of journalists in all news organisations. That is where a need for a movement comes in. Maybe our own ‘Occupy Newsrooms’ – a movement to win back respect for journalism by insisting that it be valued by its quality rather than its monetary returns. It is now or never. Soon there won’t be any journalist left who came of age in times that were different, who knows the possibilities a truly free press holds. So come on folks, and not just journalists, it matters to everyone: start writing, blogging, screaming, whispering, lobbying, hectoring – whatever it takes for journalists to own the news once again. This article was published in Himal Southasian. Gouri Chatterjee is a senior journalist and a former editor at DNA and The Telegraph.
The Water of Life: Thirsting for Justice in a World of War to proclaim: “Water Wonderland.” Austerity, austerity, God shed his grace on thee . . . As with draconian austerity measures elsewhere, those who bear the greatest burden are the poor, the ones who are barely making it anyway and face the daily and weekly choices of paying for food, paying their rent or taking care of utility and other bills. Alas, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department is owed millions of dollars and has to collect. With the city reeling in bankruptcy, it has no choice. Sorry, poor people. Except, here’s the thing. Many commercial entities also owe money to the DWSD: “Joe Louis Arena, Ford Field, Palmer Park Golf Club and half of the commercial and industrial buildings in the city . . . owe roughly $30 million in overdue water fees,” Drew Gibson writes at TruthOut. And the State of Michigan itself, according to the Daily Beast, owes $5 million. The big players may also owe money but they can contest it. They have clout, so they’re left alone. Implementing a re-
robert C. Koehler gime of austerity means squeezing the powerless. And seldom mentioned is the fact that squeezing them costs money. The city’s emergency manager has hired a private contractor, Homrich — for over $5 million, according to The Progressive — to turn off Detroiters’ water. Last week’s Progressive article, by Ruth Conniff, also notes: “The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is a public asset valued at $6.4 billion. Forty-five percent of the utility’s annual budget goes to Wall Street banks to service its debt — a debt the emergency manager has the power to renegotiate.” But water shutoffs for the poor apparently come first. Austerity is in no way meant to interfere with the rich getting richer. Detroit’s troubles are framed as straightforward and financial, but that’s just part of the game of power and dominance being played here. To the political and corporate sharks in charge of the Motor City right now, the human right to water is not much of a
value, not when the possibility of privatizing public resources looms so seductively. I thirst for a different sort of world, one in which water is not just another commodity, something to be controlled, to one’s own advantage and another’s detriment. “There’s more blood than water today in Gaza,” Palestinian poet Jehan Bseiso wrote this week at Electronic Intifada as the bombardments continued. And just as the powerful play at austerity, so they also play at war. Brent Patterson, political director at the Council of Canadians, who quoted Bseiso, also cited the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in a recent essay: “After two and a half weeks of bombardments from the air and ground, roughly two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants — 1.2 million people — are suffering from severe disruptions to the water and sewage systems, according to Emergency Water Sanitation and Hygiene, a coalition of around 40 humanitarian groups operating in the occupied territories. In addition to the damage of the central pipeline and
Rediscovering Home Vibi Yhokha
What inequality/ discrimination really means for a Naga woman
S
omebody please tell our Naga men and women what inequality or discrimination really means in the context of Nagaland. Discrimination is not just Sati or the practice of dowry (That is the only idea of discrimination some Nagas have in mind.) Inequality/ discrimination is when our girls are still taught to cook, clean and take care of the house because it is not a man’s job to mop the floor, you see. Discrimination is when our girls are still washing the plates of our boys. God bless you, if you are a male and wash your own dishes. Double blessings if you cook. Inequality is when you still expect your mother, your sister or your wife to make tea (and even pour it out) for you in the morning. Inequality is when you laugh off at her ideas, confine her to just the skills of sewing, knitting and cooking. Oh, don’t you know she knows better than you but then she’s worried it might hurt your ego. And you label her as being too sensitive, too emotional. Discrimination is when you settle disputes without taking consent from your women. That is why, your judgements are often unjust and unfair. Discrimination is when you make it a taboo for her to enter the meeting hall under your customary laws. Don’t you know, there would have been lesser violence in your community, had she been given the chance to decide. Discrimination/ Injustice is when our girls are raped and abused inside their own homes by relatives or neighbors. It is when our girls will never be able to gain the courage to reveal because the humiliation, the fear is far too terrifying to be revealed. This humiliation will follow them the rest of their lives while the culprit walks a free man. Discrimination is when you let your wife cook, carry and feed the baby at the same time, while you comfortably sit on the couch and watch TV or hang out with your other male friends and talk politics. And you accuse her of indulging in gossips when that is the only luxury she can afford for all the unpaid labour. Discrimination is the awkward moment when you get to sit right next to a jerk in the bus who’d spread his leg as wide as he can. What can you say? What would you even say? Inequality/Discrimination is when she has to tolerate her alcoholic husband every single day. Inequality is when you marry her off to the alcoholic in the first place. And now she has to live with hell and clean up his mess. That’s what she gets for being a good woman her whole life. And oh, forget about the psychological trauma she goes through. Inequality is when our girls are often discouraged to pursue further studies. What will she do with all the education? If you know too much, men will be scared to marry you. Yes, such mindsets still exists not just in the village but in our cities too. Inequality is when she has to compromise and tolerate her abusive husband for the sake of the community. That’s why domestic violence never gets reported in Nagaland. She will continue to live with the anticipating fear wondering when the next beatings will start and end. She will continue to relive that horror over and over again. Inequality is the cliched truthWhen men themselves become victims of patriarchy and women themselves are perpetrators of patriarchy. Inequality / discrimination is when such subtle elements have become completely naturalized that you don’t even consider it as wrong. (This note does not target henpecked husbands, boyfriends and brothers. We feel for you. And it also does not target our men who are advocating equality for women. You know we love you. ) This column will appear on the first Thursday of every month
the reservoirs — which affects cities and villages throughout Gaza — home pipes and water containers on roofs have been damaged by the bombardments.” And an early July article in The Guardian by John Vidal is headlined thus: “Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, experts warn.” While the article focuses primarily on the tactics of the rebel group ISIS, Vidal notes that getting a stranglehold on the water supply is a primary goal of all sides in this desperate conflict — more important than controlling the oil refineries. He writes: “Last week Iraqi troops were rushed to defend the massive 8km-long Haditha Dam and its hydroelectrical works on the Euphrates to stop it falling into the hands of ISIS forces. Were the dam to fall, say analysts, ISIS would control much of Iraq’s electricity and the rebels might fatally tighten their grip on Baghdad. “Securing the Haditha Dam was one of the first objectives of the American Special Forces invading Iraq in 2003.” These are the reckless tactics of war — every kind of war. Revering and protecting our water supply, not merely “controlling” it, is a far better use of our blood, sweat and tears.
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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Dimapur
NATIONAL
Thursday 7 August 2014
ebolA outbreAk India to screen, track passengers from west African countries New DelhI, August 6 (PtI): India on Wednesday announced a slew steps in the light of the outbreak of Ebola virus in west African countries, including screening and tracking of passengers originating or transiting from there, and asked its nationals to defer non-essential travel to that region. There are close to 45,000 Indians in the affected countries. If the situation worsens in these countries, there could be possibility of Indians who are staying there travelling back to India, health minister Harsh Vardhan today informed Parliament. “All precautions are being taken by us. While the risk of Ebola virus cases in India is low, preparedness measures are in place to deal with any case of the virus imported to India,” the minister said in a statement. World Health Organisation has reported 1603 cases, including 887 deaths, till August 4 in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The number of cases is 485, 468, 646 and four from these countries respectively and the corresponding death toll is 358, 255, 273 and 1 respectively. Mandatory self reporting by the passengers coming from or transiting through the affected countries would be required at immigration check, Vardhan said, adding in-flight announcements regarding this would also be made by the airlines. “There would be designated facilities at the relevant airports/ports to manage travellers manifesting symptoms of the disease. The surveillance system would be geared up to track these travellers for four weeks and to detect them early, in case they develop symptoms,” he said. Vardhan said the risk of transmission of the virus to countries outside African region is “low” but “we would obtain details of travellers originating or transiting through affected countries to India and tracking these persons after their arrival up to their final destination”. A review meeting was held on Tuesdaywhich was attended by representatives from the health, home, external affairs and civil aviation ministries besides those from armed forces, National Disaster Management Authority and WHO.
India facing acute shortage of organ donors
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): India is facing an acute shortage of organ donors due to prevalence of myths and superstitions, and the country should bring in changes to organ donation laws to alleviate the situation, an health expert said here Wednesday. The “donor scene” in India is “dismal”, said the expert, Aarti Vij of AIIMS, despite amendments to the 1994 Transplantation of Human Organs Act (ThOA) were made after a thriving kidney donation racket in northern India was unearthed. “In India 200,000 people need a new kidney every year and 100,000 need a new liver, but only 2 to 3 percent of the demand for new organs is met,” said Vij, head of the Organ Retrival Banking Organisation (ORBO) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). She was speaking at the launch of a campaign named “We welfare society”, an initiative to make people aware about organ donation across India. She said that in the last couple of years there has been almost no improve-
Rahul Gandhi leads Cong MPs’ protest in Lok Sabha
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): A combative Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday led party MPs to the speaker’s podium to protest against the government not agreeing to an immediate discussion on the increasing communal clashes in the country. The Lok Sabha witnessed continuous protests from opposition parties including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal over their demand for discussion on the issue. As soon as the house met, the opposition parties led by the Congress raised slogans demanding a debate on the communal incidents and sought introduction of the bill against communal violence. Minutes later, Gandhi led a group of Congress parliamentarians to the speaker’s podium, following which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the house. Former union minister M. Veerapa Moily told IANS that it was the first time that Rahul Gandhi had gone near the speaker’s podium to protest. “This reflected anguish of Rahul Gandhi against ruling party’s adamancy,” Moily said. Talking to mediapersons after coming out of the house, Gandhi accused the speaker of not allowing the opposition to speak. “We are asking for a discussion but there is a mentality in the government that discussion is not ac-
Advani asks Rahul to control his MPs
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was Wednesday advised by BJP veteran L.K. Advani to ask party MPs to restrain themselves in the Lok Sabha, after the Congress leader led a charge in the house against the government. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there was a coup within the Congress, which was later denied by party president Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi met Advani after he and Congress MPs disrupted the lower house demanding a debate on communal violence, sources said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, according to sources, was upset due to the disruptions in the house, and wanted the floor managers of the National Democratic Alliance to resolve the issue. The Congress vice president Wednesday led party members to the speaker’s podium to protest the government’s refusal to agree to an immediate discussion on the increasing incidence of communal clashes in the country. The Lok Sabha witnessed continuous protests from opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal over their demand for discussion on the issue. ceptable,” Gandhi said. “There is a mood in parliament that only one man’s voice counts for anything in this country and only one voice is being heard,” he added. After the house proceedings resumed following its brief adjournment during question hour, opposition members resumed their protest. Congress and some other opposition parties con-
ment in the organ donation situation. “Things have not changed at all. People are not ready to part with organs of their loved ones even after death.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only about 0.01 percent in India donate their organs after death, while in Western countries around 70-80 percent of people pledge their organs. Vij said the situation globally is much better than in India. “The scenario in Western countries is better as after the death of the individuals the state becomes the custodian of the dead body, who take out the organs so that they can be transplanted to a needy person’s body,” Vij told IANS. She said religious leaders could be roped in to make people aware of the need for organ donation. “People have weird thinking like donating organ can lead the individual to hell after death.” According to the ORBO-AIIMS, over 22,000 people across the country have registered since 2010 to donate their organs after their death. “India should make changes in the laws of organ donation, as many a time though the individual agrees to donate his organ, the relatives refuse to donate his organs after his death,
istrate at every point is erroneous.” “These are unfortunate proceedings against a party that is seeking to revive a newspaper, which is associated with the Congress party for over 80 years. Courts must be extremely careful in scrutinising the matter in the case,” he said. Sibal refuted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy’s claim that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, as majority shareholders of Young Indian Ltd. (YIL), benefited from the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL). He clarified that YIL was a Section 25 company, which is in the
which is a colossal barrier,” Vij said. AIIMS Tuesday celebrated the completion of the 20th year of Heart transplant.
‘CBI out of RTI for security reasons’
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): The CBI has been kept out of the purview of the Right to Information Act “in the interest of the security of the state”, the government said Wednesday. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha that the Central Bureau of Investigation had been included in the Second Schedule of the RTI Act. But this exemption would not be applicable in respect of information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations, the minister said. Jitendra Singh admitted that representations had been received objecting to the CBI’s inclusion in the second schedule of the RTI Act. The government took the decision as the CBI was “a security and intelligence organization” and it would not be in the interest of the state to keep it within the ambit of the RTI Act.
nature of a society, and its shareholders do not get any dividend, salary or benefit. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, argued that the shareholders of YIL had no ownership of the properties of AJL. He said all the properties of AJL even today are with the publishing house and not with its 762 shareholders. “The properties owned by AJL in Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, and Panchkula are under government leases, except for one property in Lucknow which is under a long-term lease to a charitable eye hospital. The covenants of these
‘Threefold surge in male teenage drinking in India’
New York, August 6 (IANs): Revealing an alarming trend, a team led by an Indian-origin researcher has reported a threefold surge in the number of male teenagers drinking alcohol in India, especially in urban cities and poorer households. “The proportion of men who started drinking in their teenage rose from 19.5 percent for those born between 1956 and 1960 to 74.3 percent for those born between 1981-85 - a more than threefold rise,” said lead researcher Aravind Pillai from Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Those living in urban areas and poorer households are more likely to start drinking at an early age, the findings showed. To reach this conclusion, the team questioned 2,000 randomly selected 20-49 year old men from rural and urban areas in northern Goa. They were asked to reveal the age at which they first started to drink alcohol, how much they drank, and whether they had sustained any injuries as a result of their drinking. Levels of psychological distress were also assessed using a validated questionnaire (GHQ). “Teenage drinkers were more than twice as likely to be distressed and alcohol dependent as
those who did not start drinking early in life,” researchers added. They were three times as likely to have sustained injuries as a result of their drinking. Studies from high-income countries have shown that starting drinking early in life is a consistent predictor of alcohol-related harm across the life course. “But whether this association also exists in low and middle-income countries, such as India, was not clear,” they said. Consistent with studies from highincome countries, this study found that starting to drink alcohol during the teenage years was associated with a greater likelihood of developing lifetime alcohol dependence, hazardous or harmful drinking, alcohol related injuries, and psychological distress in adulthood. “Alcohol consumption and its harmful effects are emerging as a major public health problem in India and the trend is alarming,” Pillai added. The findings highlight the importance of generating public awareness about the hazards of starting to drink early in life, and of enforcing regulations designed to limit underage drinking. The study appeared online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Jaitley said they were making an issue out of a non-issue. “Why has Congress made an issue of this non-issue? Reason is clear, a section of the party, unable to lead, is facing a palace coup,” he said. Jaitley alleged there was a coup within the party. “If you want to show yourself as doing something, it will be better if you lead your own party, rather than develop a contrived aggression against the functioning of the house itself, which otherwise has been functioning well,” Jaitley said. “Day after day, established leaders of the party (Congress) are speaking out. It is an internal compulsion within the party. For that, you need not drag the house of the presiding officer into the debate,” he said. Sonia Gandhi, however, rejected Jaitley’s allegations. “Let them say whatever they want to say,” she said when asked about Jaitley’s comments. Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP said: “Rahul Gandhi calling the speaker ‘partial’ is unfortunate and avoidable. It is pure frustration and nothing else. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready for any debate. “There is peace in the country, let peace prevail in parliament. We are ready for any debate,” Naidu said.
tinuously raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)led government. At one time, BJP members stood up to protest against opposition members gesticulating near the speaker’s podium. Sumitra Mahajan, however, told them to take their seats, saying that she was capable of dealing with the situation. She asked leader of Congress in
Summons against Sonia, Rahul stalled by Delhi HC
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): In a major relief to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi, the Delhi High Court Wednesday put on hold a trial court’s summons to them in the case over acquisition of the National Herald. Justice V.P. Vaish suspended the trial court order till Aug 13, when it will hear arguments in the bunch of petitions filed by the Congress leaders challenging the lower court order. Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sonia Gandhi, sought to quash the trial court proceedings, saying: “Every decision of the mag-
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properties specifically restrict the disposal of these properties,” said counsel of the Congress leaders. Singhvi also contended that Swamy had withheld information about the Election Commission dismissing a similar complaint made by him in November 2013, in which he had sought the Congress party’s de-recognition for giving an unsecured loan to a private company. Apart from the Gandhis, Congress treasurer Moti Lal Vohra, family friend Suman Dubey, and Oscar Fernandes sought to quash the proceedings initiated against them by a trial court here.
the house Mallikarjun Kharge to speak and told opposition members to take their seats. Kharge said they had met her in the morning to demand an adjournment motion on the rising incidents of communal violence in the country which was affecting life and security of people. He said they were asked to raise the matter after the question hour.
Kharge’s remarks that “riots were spreading everywhere” drew strong opposition from the treasury benches. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu refuted Kharge’s allegation. “They are frustrated. This is highly objectionable. There is peace in the country. There should be peace in the house. The country is safe and secure under leadership of Narendra Modi,” he said. Naidu said the government was willing to discuss the issue but procedures have to be followed. “Give notice, we are ready,” he said. The speaker asked Kharge to be specific in his remarks and tell the place where incidents had taken place. Amid the standoff, the Congress and some other opposition members came near the speaker’s chair raising slogans. Sumitra Mahajan said that if Congress had given a notice, the matter will be discussed in the business advisory committee for fixing time for discussion. Kharge said he had already given notice and said that either discussion should take place or a time be fixed for it. Rahul Gandhi, who had gone out of the house briefly, also joined the protests and raised slogans against the government. Congress and other members raised slogans such as “We want justice” , “hosh me aaoo (come to senses).”
Govt promises all-party meet on CSAT row, protests continue New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): Cornered over the CSAT row, government Wednesday said that the exam this year should be allowed to be held in the current format, while promising an all-party meet to discuss the issue. Sources said no change in the exam pattern is possible this year. However, the government might consider changes for next year’s exam. In an attempt to put an end to the row around the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), the government had announced Monday that the marks for English comprehension, which was being protested against, will not count in the final merit list. However, opposition members in Rajya Sabha have been questioning the decision, calling it hasty. In a brief discussion on the issue in the upper house Wednesday, opposition members questioned the status of other languages, while some of them demanded scrapping of the CSAT alltogether. Participating in the discussion, D. Raja of the Communist Party of India said, “UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) should make available question papers in all Indian languages”. Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress called the government’s announcement Monday a “knee-jerk reaction”. Pramod Tiwari of the Congress meanwhile alleged the government had fuelled the debate “deliberately” to divert the attention from other issues faced by the nation. Bahujan Samaj Party leader Satish Chandra Mishra slammed the manner of taking the decision.BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, said the step had been taken after much consideration, and was not a knee-jerk reaction. “The government took a step after a lot of consideration and thought. This prob-
lem was started by the Congress and the UPA. Now the NDA and the BJP have come up with a proper solution for that,” Naqvi said. Responding to the debate, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar said the government would convene an all-party meeting on the issue, adding that the government was considering the issues raised by the opposition. “We will convene an all-party meeting to seek the views of the leaders on bringing reforms in the pattern of civil services examinations conducted by the UPSC,” he said. He said that the preliminary examination scheduled for Aug 24 should be allowed to be held. “Let us wish the candidates all the best and let the exam be held,” he said. “Government has already announced some measures in this regard and we are also considering other options as suggested by the members,” he said. Dissatisfied with the minister’s response, members of the Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party staged a walkout. The upper house was then adjourned till 2 p.m. Protests by the aspirants continued across the national capital Wednesday as well. Deputy Commissioner of Police S.B.S. Tyagi said that at least 60 UPSC aspirants were still protesting at Jantar Mantar. “The protesters are staging protest at Jantar Mantar for the past two days. The protest is peaceful. During the night only 15-20 protesters were sitting at the protest site, but the number increased in the day today (Wednesday),” Tyagi told IANS. RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan, known as Pappu Yadav, protested outside BJP’s national headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road to extend support to the protesting civil service aspirants.
‘Children must not be treated as adults’
New DelhI, August 6 (IANs): The Indian government must reject proposed amendments to laws that could allow children to be treated as adults in cases of serious crimes, Amnesty International India said Wednesday. “Children can and do sometimes commit crimes as violent as those committed by adults. And the pain and anger of a victim or their family may well be the same regardless of whether a crime was committed by a child or an adult,” said Shashikumar Velath of Amnesty India. “But children’s culpability, even when they commit ‘adult’ crimes, is different because of their immaturity,” he said in a statement. “Their punishment should acknowledge this difference, reflect children’s special capacity for reform and rehabilitation, and be grounded in an understanding of adolescent psychology.” The women and child development ministry said in June that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, would be repealed and re-enacted. A bill is likely to be introduced in parliament soon to replace the act. Under the bill, in cases where children aged between 16 and 18 are accused of serious crimes including murder, rape and acid attacks, authorities will conduct an assessment of factors including the “premeditated nature” of the offence and “the child’s ability to understand the consequences of the offence”. Based on the assessment, children can be prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court, and punished as adults if convicted. They cannot be sentenced to death or life An aerial view shows houses cut-off by monsoon floods in Kendrapara district of eastern Oris- imprisonment without the possibility of release. Under sa state on Wednesday August 6.The annual monsoon season, which runs from June through international law, anyone under the age of 18 is a child, September, is vital for the largely agrarian economies of South Asia but every year also brings Amnesty said. floods and landslides that kill thousands and submerge hundreds of villages. (AP Photo)
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the Morung express
Thursday 7 August 2014
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Gaza ceasefire holding on second day gAZA/CAIRO, AugusT 6 (ReuTeRs): A Gaza truce was holding on Wednesday as Egyptian mediators pursued talks with Israeli and Palestinian representatives on an enduring end to a war that has devastated the Hamas Islamist- dominated enclave. Egypt’s intelligence chief met a Palestinian delegation in Cairo, the state news agency MENA said, a day after he conferred with Israeli representatives. The Palestinian team, led by an official from Westernbacked President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, includes envoys from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group. “The indirect talks between the Palestinians and Israelis are moving forward,” one Egyptian official said, making clear that the opposing sides were not meeting face to face. “It is still too early to talk about outcomes but we are optimistic.” Egyptian and Palestinian sources said they expected later on Wednesday an initial response by Israel to Palestinian demands, which it has so far shown no sign of accepting. Israel withdrew ground forces from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning and started a 72hour Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Hamas as a first step towards a longterm deal. In Gaza, where some
UN: Gaza deaths and destruction shame world
unITed nATIOns, AugusT 6 (AP): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says “the massive deaths and destruction in Gaza have shocked and shamed the world” and is demanding an end to “the senseless cycle of suffering” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “We will build again, but this must be the last time to rebuild,” the U.N. chief told the General Assembly Wednesday. “This must stop now. We must go back to the negotiating table.” Ban said the U.N. understands Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas rockets but “the horror that was unleashed on the people of Gaza” raises serious questions about respect for international law that requires a distinction between civilians and combatants and proportionality. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay told the assembly that “any attacks in violation of these principles .... may amount to war crimes.”
Masked militants of the Islamic Jihad group march during the funeral of their comrade Shaaban Al-Dahdouh, whose body was found under the rubble Tuesday, in Gaza City on Wednesday, August 6. (AP Photo)
half-million people have been displaced by a month of bloodshed, some residents left U.N. shelters to trek back to neighbourhoods where whole blocks have been destroyed by Israeli shelling and the smell of decomposing bodies fills the air. Streets in towns in southern Israel, which had been under daily rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, were filled again with playing children. The military said that a rocket-warning siren that sounded in the
south in the afternoon was tion. We must prevent a false alarm. Hamas from rearming, we must demilitarise the Blockade Gaza Strip,” Mark Regev, a Palestinians want an spokesman for Prime Minend to the Israeli-Egyptian ister Benjamin Netanyahu, blockade on impoverished told Reuters television. Gaza and the release of U.S. Secretary of State prisoners, including those John Kerry, in an interview Israel arrested in a June on the BBC’s HARDtalk crackdown in the occupied programme, also spoke of West Bank after three Jew- a need for Hamas to deish seminary students were commission its rocket arkidnapped and killed. senal. “What we want to Israel has resisted those do is support the Palestindemands. “For Israel the ians and their desire to immost important issue is prove their lives and to be the issue of demilitarisa- able to open crossings and
Sri Lanka government wary of UN war crimes probe
COLOMBO, AugusT 6 (ThOMsOn ReuTeRs FOundATIOn): Authorities in Sri Lanka are clamping down on the activities of civil society groups, who accuse the government of trying to discourage survivors of the country’s civil war from giving evidence to a U.N. war crimes investigation. Accusations of atrocities have been rife since the end in May 2009 of conflict between ethnic Tamil separatist rebels and government forces that killed more than 100,000 people. Tens of thousands are unaccounted for. In March, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted to investigate accusations of abuses during the 26-year-long war, saying President Mahinda Rajapaksa had failed to investigate properly. The vote has angered the government, which says it will not cooperate or grant visas to U.N. investigators. Without access, the United Nations may have to rely on sources such as human rights groups, diplomats and journalists for crucial information, analysts say. The defence ministry has banned activist groups and non-governmental organisations from holding news conferences, issuing news releases and hold-
ing workshops for journalists. Mobs have disrupted or forced the cancellation of a series of meetings and events held by charities in recent months, and analysts say the crowds disrupting such meetings sometimes have government backing. “These mobs have the approval of the government,” said Kusal Perera, a government critic and director of the Centre for Social Democracy. “Stopping the war crimes evidence is the immediate motive.” Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella denied the accusations, saying the authorities needed to be vigilant about activities carried out “in the name of democracy”.
Warning On Monday, a mob of about 50 people broke into a Catholic church in Colombo, the capital, where families who lost touch with relatives during the war were recounting their experiences to diplomats and activists. Witnesses said the crowd, including Buddhist monks, accused Tamils of plotting against the government by providing information to Westerners in exchange for money. Representatives of the U.S., British, Switzerland,
get food in and reconstruct and have greater freedom,” Kerry said. “But that has to come with a greater responsibility towards Israel, which means giving up rockets, moving into a different plane,” he said. Kerry said, however, all this would “finally come together” as part of wider Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts that he has spearheaded but which have been frozen since April over Israel’s opposition to a unity deal between Hamas and Abbas’s Palestine
Liberation Organization. Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Abbas in 2007, has ruled out giving up its weapons. Humanitarian Aid An Israeli official, who declined to be identified, said Israel wanted humanitarian aid to flow to the Palestinian enclave’s 1.8 million inhabitants as soon as possible. But, the official said, the import of cement - vital for reconstruction - would depend on achieving guarantees
Japan marks Hiroshima bombing anniversary
and German embassies were at the meeting, which was quickly shut down by the police, who said they could not guarantee the safety of participants. The U.S. embassy issued a statement on Monday urging the government to enforce the rule of law and let citizens exercise their basic human rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Authorities dismissed the fracas as a private dispute, triggered by another group of relatives of the missing who wanted to recount their own stories. The foreign ministry issued a warning to diplomats on Tuesday, accusing some of favouring the Tamil community over the majority Sinhalese and promoting mistrust between them. In May, the Sri Lankan unit of Transparency International said the defence ministry had ordered the cancellation of a course on investigative journalism for Tamil reporters. Mob protests forced the cancellation of a second course in June. “The war crimes probe is one of the government’s main concerns,” said J.C. Weliamuna, head of the Sri Lankan unit of Transparency International. “Tamils will be readily talking to these journalists, who can expose the war crimes.”
TOKYO, AugusT 6 (AP): Japan marked the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday, as Mayor Kazumi Matsui called on U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to visit the city to see the scars of the atomic bombing first hand. In his “peace declaration” speech, Matsui invited world leaders to his once-devastated hometown, referring to a proposal made at a ministerial meeting in April of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in Hiroshima, urging them to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “President Obama and all leaders of nuclear-armed nations, please respond to that call
by visiting the A-bombed cities as soon as possible to see what happened with your own eyes,” Matsui said. “If you do, you will be convinced that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil that must no longer be allowed to exist.” Hiroshima launched a campaign this year to send invitation letters to Obama, written on papers recycled from tens of millions of “origami” cranes — a symbol of peace — sent from around the world. About 45,000 people stood for a minute of silence at the ceremony in Hiroshima’s peace park near the epicenter of the 1945 attack that killed up to 140,000 people. A second bombing, over Nagasaki three days later, killed
another 70,000, prompting Japan’s surrender in World War II. The number of surviving victims, known as “hibakusha,” was just more than 190,000 this year. Their average age is 79, and many of the attendants at the ceremony were their younger relatives and descendants. Hiroshima officials said 5,507 survivors died over the past year. The anniversary comes as Japan is divided over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent Cabinet decision to allow the country’s military to defend foreign countries and play greater roles overseas. To achieve the goal, Abe’s Cabinet revised its interpretation of the country’s war-renouncing constitution, making it even more controversial.
contracting Ebola during a recent business trip to Sierra Leone also died early on Wednesday in Jeddah, the Health Ministry said. Saudi Arabia has already suspended pilgrimage visas from West African countries, which could prevent those hoping to visit Mecca for the Haj in early October. Liberia, where the death toll is rising fastest, is struggling to cope. Many residents are panicking, in some cases casting out the bodies of family members onto the streets of Monrovia to avoid quarantine measures. Beneath heavy rain, ambulance sirens wailed through the otherwise quiet streets of Monrovia on Wednesday as residents heeded a government request to stay at home for three days of fasting and prayers. “Everyone is afraid of Ebola. You cannot tell who has Ebola or not. Ebola is not like a cut mark that you can see and run,” said Sarah Wehyee as she stocked up on food at the local market in Paynesville, an eastern suburb of Monrovia. St. Joseph’s Catholic hospital was shut down after the Cameroonian hospital director died from Ebola, authorities said. Six staff subsequently tested positive for the disease, including two nuns and 75year old Spanish priest Miguel Pajares,
Abe, among dignitaries attending the event, said that as the sole country to have suffered nuclear attacks, Japan has the duty to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons. But he did not mention his push for a more assertive defense posture under his “proactive peace contribution” policy. Public polls show more than half of the Japanese are opposed to the decision, mainly because of sensitivity over Japan’s wartime past. Matsui did not directly refer to Abe’s recent change to the interpretation of the pacifist Article 9, which is the cornerstone of Japan’s pacifist pledge to the world. But he said the pacifist constitution is what has kept Japan out of war for 69 years.
China bans beards and veils from Xinjiang city’s buses
BeIJIng, AugusT 6 (ReuTeRs): A city in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang has banned people with head scarves, veils and long beards from boarding buses, as the government battles unrest with a policy that critics said discriminates against Muslims. Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language, has been beset for years by violence that the government blames on Islamist militants or separatists. Authorities will prohibit five types of passengers - those who wear veils, head scarves, a loosefitting garment called a jilbab, clothing with the crescent moon and star, and those with long beards - from boarding buses in the northwestern city of Karamay, state media said. The crescent moon and star symbol of Islam features on many national flags, be-
sides being used by groups China says want to set up an independent state called East Turkestan. The rules were intended to help strengthen security through August 20 during an athletics event and would be enforced by security teams, the ruling Communist Party-run Karamay Daily said on Monday. “Those who do not comply, especially those five types of passengers, will be reported to the police,” the paper said. In July, authorities in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi banned bus passengers from carrying items ranging from cigarette lighters to yogurt and water, in a bid to prevent violent attacks. Exiled Uighur groups and human rights activists say the government’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, including controls on Islam, have provoked unrest, a claim Beijing
West Africa struggles to curb Ebola
MOnROVIA, AugusT 6 (ReuTeRs): Liberia shut a major hospital in the capital Monrovia on Wednesday after a Spanish priest and six other staff contracted Ebola, as the death toll from the worst outbreak of the disease hit 932 in West Africa. The outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever has overwhelmed rudimentary healthcare systems and prompted the deployment of troops to quarantine the worst-hit areas in the remote border region of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 45 new deaths in the three days to Aug. 4, and its experts began an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” and to discuss new measures to contain the outbreak. International alarm at the spread of the disease increased when a U.S. citizen died in Nigeria late last month after flying there from Liberia. The health minister said on Wednesday that a Nigerian nurse who had treated the deceased Patrick Sawyer had herself died of Ebola, and five other people were being treated in an isolation ward in Lagos, Africa’s largest city. In Saudi Arabia, a man suspected of
that it would not be used by militants to construct more infiltration tunnels leading into Israel and other fortifications. Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,867 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed since fighting began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket launches. An Israeli opinion poll, conducted after the ceasefire went into effect, said Israelis, while not regarding
the Gaza war as a victory for their country’s powerful military, remained highly supportive of Netanyahu. According to the poll in the Haaretz newspaper, 51 percent of those surveyed said neither side won, while 36 percent believe that Israel emerged victorious. Six percent said Hamas was the victor. Of the 442 people who took part in the poll, 77 percent described Netanyahu’s performance during the war as excellent or good. Efforts to turn the ceasefire into a lasting truce could prove difficult, with the sides far apart on their central demands, and each rejecting the other’s legitimacy. Hamas rejects Israel’s existence and vows to destroy it, while Israel denounces Hamas as a terrorist group and eschews any ties. Egypt has positioned itself as a mediator in successive Gaza conflicts but, like Israel, its current administration views Hamas as a security threat. Besides the loss of life, the war has cost both sides economically. Gaza faces a massive $6-billion price tag to rebuild devastated infrastructure. Israel has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism and other sectors and fears cuts in overall economic growth this year as well. Palestinian officials said a donor conference to raise funds for Gaza’s reconstruction would be held in Oslo next month.
who is due to be repatriated by a special than half of the people who contract it. medical aircraft on Wednesday. Victims suffer from fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding. Troops deployed in Many regular hospitals and clinics have operation “White Shield” been forced to close across Liberia, often Spain’s health ministry denied that because health workers are too afraid of one of the nuns - born in Equatorial Guin- contracting the virus themselves or beea but holding Spanish nationality - had cause of abuse by locals who think the distested positive for Ebola. The other nun is ease is a government conspiracy. Congolese. In an effort to control the disease’s “We hope they can evacuate us. It spread, Liberia has deployed the army to would be marvellous, because we know implement controls and isolate severely that, if they take us to Spain, at least we affected communities, an operation codewill be in good hands,” Pajares told CNN in named “White Shield”. The information Spanish this week. Healthcare workers are ministry said on Wednesday that soldiers in the front line of fighting the virus, and were being deployed to the isolated, rural two U.S. health workers from Christian counties of Lofa, Bong, Cape Mount and medical charity Samaritan’s Purse caught Bomi to set up checkpoints and implement the virus in Monrovia and are now receiv- tracing measures on residents suspected of ing treatment in an Atlanta hospital. coming into contact with victims. The two saw their conditions improve Neighbouring Sierra Leone said it has by varying degrees in Liberia after they re- implemented new restrictions at the airceived an experimental drug, a representa- port and that it was asking passengers to tive for the charity said. Three of the world’s fill in forms and take a temperature test. leading Ebola specialists urged the WHO Some major airlines, such as British Airto offer people in West Africa the chance to ways and Emirates, have halted flights to take experimental drugs, too, but the agen- affected countries, while many expatriates cy said it “would not recommend any drug were getting out, government officials said. that has not gone through the normal pro- “We’ve seen international workers leaving cess of licensing and clinical trials”. the country in numbers,” Liberia’s Finance Highly contagious, Ebola kills more Minister Amara Konneh told Reuters.
denies. “Officials in Karamay city are endorsing an openly racist and discriminatory policy aimed at ordinary Uighur people,” Alim Seytoff, the president of the Washingtonbased Uyghur American Association, said in an emailed statement. While many Uighur women dress in much the same casual style as those elsewhere in China, some have begun to wear the full veil, a garment more common in Pakistan or Afghanistan than in Xinjiang. Police have offered money for tips on everything from “violent terrorism training” to individuals who grow long beards. Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in the past 18 months, but tight security makes it almost impossible for journalists to make independent assessments of the violence.
Aspirin may prevent cancer in elderly
LOndOn, AugusT 6 (IAns): Taking aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of developing - and dying from cancers of the digestive tract, new research has found. Taking aspirin for 10 years could cut bowel cancer cases by around 35 percent and deaths by 40 percent, while rates of oesophageal and stomach cancers were cut by 30 percent and deaths from these cancers by 35-50 percent are some of the conclusions. “While there are some side effects that can’t be ignored, taking aspirin daily looks to be the most important thing we can do to reduce chances of cancer after stopping smoking and reducing obesity,” stressed lead researcher Jack Cuzick, head of Queen Mary University of London’s (QMUL) Centre for Cancer Prevention. The study shows that if people aged between 50-65 started taking aspirin daily for at least 10 years, there would be a nine percent reduction in the number of cancers, strokes and heart attacks overall in men and around seven percent in women. To reap the benefits of aspirin, people need to start taking a daily dose of 75-100 mg for at least five years and probably 10 years between ages 50 and 65. No benefit was seen while taking aspirin for the first three years, and death rates were only reduced after five years, the study noted. However, the research also warns taking aspirin long-term increases the risk of bleeding from the digestive tract. Among 60-year-old individuals who take daily aspirin for 10 years, the risk of digestive tract bleeds increases from 2.2 percent to 3.6 percent. This could be life-threatening in a very small proportion (less than 5 percent) of people, researchers claimed.
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Thursday 7 August 2014
Younis's ton rescues Pak against Sri Lanka
GAllE, AUGUST 6 (AGENCIES): Veteran batsman Younis Khan hit an unbeaten 133 to steer Pakistan out of trouble on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday. The tourists, after winning the toss in overcast conditions, slumped to 3-56 before Khan's rescue act helped them recover to 4-261 when bad light ended play two overs early. The 36-year-old, who went to the crease in his 90th Test at 2-19, hit 11 boundaries and a six in his 24th century. Only Inzamam-ul Haq (25) has more Test hundreds for Pakistan. Skipper Misbah-ul Haq, making a typically dour but determined 31, put on 100 for the fourth wicket with Khan before he was caught behind off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. Asad Shafiq ensured the effort did not go waste as he saw off the second new ball to help Khan add 105 for the fifth wicket, himself returning unbeaten at close on 55. Pakistan's coach Waqar Younis said he was delighted at the total his team was able to post after the early setbacks. "Any coach or captain will be proud of that," the former fast bowler said. "It all boiled down to experience. Younis has tons of it and so does Misbah. "There was a lot of talk at home of whether Asad Shafiq deserved to be in the side. He showed today that he belongs to the high-
Pakistan's batsman Younis Khan celebrates scoring a century during the first day's play of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle on Wednesday. (AP Photo)
est level." Waqar said it was a bold decision by the team management and the captain to bat first despite favourable overcast conditions for the bowlers. "With
so much rain around, there is bound to be some juice in the wicket and I thought we were very bold to bat first. That paid off because the wicket eased up by after-
noon." Sri Lanka's coach Marvan Atapattu admitted it was hard work for the bowlers after the morning session. "The moisture dried up and it became
easy to bat out there," he said. "I think we have done well to keep them down to 261, but a lot still remains to be done. "This is a wicket that usually plays well on the first two days, but spin is going to be a factor later in the match." Khan was given a reprieve by the Decision Review System (DRS) when he was on 59 after umpire Bruce Oxenford had declared him leg-before to off-spinner Dilruwan Perera. Television replays showed the ball pass over the stumps. The partnership between Khan and 40-year-old Misbah came after Sri Lanka dominated the morning session with three quick wickets. The start was delayed by 30 minutes due to a wet outfield and bad weather has been forecast on all five days of the Test. Both teams went in with two spinners - Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman for Pakistan, and Herath and Perera for the hosts - hoping the grassless pitch provides some turn later in the match. Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is retiring from the longer format after the two-Test series, walked out to field amid bursting firecrackers as school children gave him a guard of honour with raised bats. Giant posters of the elegant batsman, who is sixth in the all-time scorers' list with 11,671 runs in 147 Tests, adorned the Galle International Stadium.
Selection headaches for Dhoni ahead of 4th Test
MANChESTER, AUGUST 6 (IANS): In the wake of losing the third cricket Test and face in the Jadeja-Anderson spat judgment, India will look to regroup and devise a plan to make enough runs and take 20 English wickets to win the fourth Test at the Old Trafford here, starting Thursday. India were soundly beaten in the Southampton Test, losing by 266 runs at the Rose Bowl. Set to get 445 runs on a deteriorating pitch, India did not even attempt to save the Test by defying the England attack, having lost four wickets by the end of the fourth day, and cavedin in the morning session on the fifth day. India were bowled out for 330 in the first innings and 178 in the second to allow England to square the five-Test series 1-1. The visitors clearly looked out of depth on a pitch which saw England cumulatively amassing 773 runs in the two innings. More than their fickle batting, captain
ICC not to appeal Anderson verdict
MUMBAI, AUGUST 6 (REUTERS): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ruled out launching an appeal against the decision to clear England fast bowler James Anderson of a code of conduct breach, adding that it was satisfied with the judicial commissioner's verdict. Anderson and India's Ravindra Jadeja were involved in an altercation during the first test at Trent Bridge last month but both players were found not guilty of misconduct after a six-hour video-conference hearing on Friday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni must be worried more about the bowlers' capability to take 20 wickets at a reasonable rate. Not for the first time has this sort of thing happened to India. They could manage to take 20 wickets in an overseas Test only four times in their last 15 Tests. On three of those four occasions, those 20 wickets cost India more than their batsmen could score. And the other instance was on this tour, at Lord's. However, two of India's match-winners from that
"This outcome is the result of two exhaustive and thorough disciplinary processes and, after considering the written decision, the ICC is satisfied with the manner in which the decisions have been reached," ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said in a statement. The ICC's stance will upset the Indian cricket board (BCCI), who wrote to the governing body expressing their displeasure once Anderson was cleared to continue playing when the paceman faced a ban of up to four tests if found guilty.
game, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, are doubtful starters for Old Trafford. While Ishant has been ruled out, Bhuvneshwar barely participated in the first nets session Tuesday with a swollen ankle. In the absence of the two premier pacers, Dhoni might have to rely on oneTest-old Pankaj Singh -who on his debut at Rose Bowl went wicketless, Varun Aaron -- yet to play a match on the tour, and Mohammed Shami. Shami will have to shoulder the bowling attack -- but
can Dhoni pin his hope on a bowler, who has taken five wickets at 73.20? His economy rate of 3.81, too, has been the worst among specialist bowlers. And then there is the worrying factor of Shikhar Dhawan's batting form. The Delhi batsmen has been woefully short of runs and his place in the side is no longer a guarantee. Dhawan is in danger of losing his place to his Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir, who last played a Test for India in early 2012, in Nagpur against England. Many have also questioned the
reasoning behind the omission of India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Ravindra Jadeja has looked a far cry from being regarded as India's first choice spinner in Tests. While Moeen Ali, a parttime English spinner, took eight wickets in the third Test -- six of these coming in the second innings, Jadeja could manage just five on the same pitch. The left-arm spinner bowled 45 overs in the first innings, bagging just two wickets. England, meanwhile, have all the momentum going for them. The hosts ended a winless run of ten Tests, which began in August last year, with a dominant performance. It was almost the perfect Test. Not only did England's out-ofform batsmen -- and under pressure captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell -- make big runs but upcoming star Gary Ballance and debutant Jos Buttler were highly impressive. Another heartening fact is the performance of Moeen Ali, solving their spin problem.
The Morung Express
Two Northeast youngsters join trials at PSV Eindhoven
NEW DElhI, AUGUST 6 (IANS): Milan Basumatary and Bidyananda Singh, two cadets of All India Football Federation (AIFF)’s Elite Academy in Goa, will be appearing for trials at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven AIFF general secretary Kushal Das in a statement Wednesday praised the two youngsters and said it was the “objective of the AIFF Academies to develop Players both for domestic Clubs as well as international clubs and academies.” “We are extremely happy that Milan and Bidyananda have got this opportunity to showcase their talent in one of the best environments and we hope that some Club or Academy in The Netherlands get
impressed with their talent and select them for further training,” he said. AIFF technical director Robert Baan felt the “trials will help the duo a lot.” “They will train on top quality fields with top quality Coaches and with the best Players from this age group in The Netherlands. The tempo of the sessions will be very high and it will surely take some sessions before they will adapt. But after a few days of training, they will match with the local Players it will give them a lot of confidence,” said the Dutchman. “We are also hoping that in time to come more Players from our Academies in Kalyani, Goa and Bangalore would get such
opportunities to showcase their talent and be picked by top Clubs, International Academies and Clubs for the Youth Teams,” Das added. “We will be filming their sessions we will show it to the Players who stayed back in Goa to show about the experience and how much more training and matches is needed to compete at the highest-level,” Baan informed. Basumatary was instrumental in helping Assam win the Mir Iqbal U-15 National Championship 2012 and finishing as the topscorer and the Most Valuable Player. Bidyananda, who hails from Manipur, has been part of India's youth team since he was 12.
Faith in Action to represent India in Seoul
Faith in Action team led by its founder coach and president.
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 6 (MExN): After 40 years of introduction of Taekwondo in India, Faith in Action Foundation, Nagaland will represent India at the World Hanmadang Taekwondo Championship at Seoul in South Korea starting from
August 22. Over 200 countries are expected to take part in the mega event. The Faith in Action team, led by its Founder Coach, Deep Kumar and President, B. Yepthomi, will leave for Seoul on August 16. According to event organizing com-
mittee, the event is aimed at promoting strength of talented players from around the world in spreading harmony and unification. The Hanmadang Sports Festival gives youth a platform to champion the cause of world unity and harmony.
Lampard begins six-month loan spell at Manchester City
lONDON, AUGUST 6 (REUTERS): Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard began his loan spell at Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday, just two weeks after joining Major League Soccer club New York City FC. Lampard, 36, left Chelsea in June after 13 years at the club but will be back in the Premier League for six months before joining up with City's affiliate club New York for their inaugural season. "Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition
for New York City," Lampard, who trained with City for the first time on Wednesday, said. "It has been an amazing few days for me since the unveiling in Brooklyn and everyone connected with both clubs has been fantastic to me. This is a new chapter of my career and I'm really excited about the experience. "I met (City manager) Manuel Pellegrini and some of the players in New York and I'm looking forward to getting into training and making a contribution for Manchester City ahead of my move over to New York." The move was wel-
comed by New York City FC sporting director Claudio Reyna. "This is the perfect opportunity for Frank. He is in great shape following the World Cup, and training and playing with our colleagues in Manchester will enable Frank to be fit and ready for our inaugural training camp," he said. Lampard, who scored a record 211 goals in all competitions for Chelsea, will be available for City's opening game of the season against Newcastle United and could feature against FA Cup winners Arsenal in next week's season-opening Community Shield.
Football has finally exploded in the USA NEW YORK, AUGUST 6 (AGENCIES): The story of an exasperated New York Cosmos executive who, frustrated by the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's reluctance to stray from his defensive domain, remarked 'tell the Kraut to get his ass up front and score some goals', might possibly be the stuff of urban myth; a tall tale invented to mock America's ignorance of what they call soccer. The one about the American sports reporter who cried foul because the US had to play both Trindad and Tobago on the same day in World Cup qualifying, sadly, is not. That was in 1989 when Paul Caligiuri's goal in Port of Spain sent the US through to their first finals in 40 years. Optimistically they called it 'the shot heard round the world' but, in truth, there was little genuine interest even in their own country. The North American Soccer League had folded four years earlier, taking the star-studded Cosmos with it, and soccer faced a bleak future. A quarter of a century on, and it is a rather different scenario. This sum-
mer the US national team's progress in the World Cup in Brazil has sparked unprecedented interest among the American public, while English clubs have been beating a path Stateside like never before. Arsenal were here for the first time in 25 years and there is already talk of both Manchester clubs coming back next summer. A sell-out crowd of 109,000 watched United's game against Real Madrid in Michigan and despite the pitch problems City encountered in Minnesota, there is no doubting the club's belief in this most valuable of markets. City's American brand New York City FC will launch in the burgeoning Major League Soccer next year. They will soon be followed by a new Miami team owned by David Beckham, whose move to LA Galaxy in 2007 made the world sit up and take notice of MLS. 'It's not a promise any more, it's a reality,' says Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano. 'No matter how you look at it, soccer is the No.1 global sport and there is no reason for it not to be growing in the US – I think
it's unstoppable.' 'Frank Lampard was telling me that only five years ago he could walk on the street in New York and nobody would recognise him. Now he can't.' Lampard and David Villa are New York's star signings. A third 'designated player' is allowed by a league still treading cautiously, anxious to avoid the lavish folly of the NASL. No-one is kidding themselves that Lampard
and Villa would have considered coming here at the height of their careers. But the days when star players from Europe and South America – Pele, Beckenbauer and Best – could enjoy an easy pay-day at the end of their careers are in the past. 'All the players are well aware that this isn't a retirement league,' said New York City's director of football Claudio Reyna. 'In saying that, I'm waiting for some of these big players who want
to come who aren't looking for the money. 'The business model of the old NASL didn't work and that's why the league collapsed. It wasn't sustainable. MLS has done a great job in making sure the league grows at the right pace. We need to continue to be mindful of our growth but we're ready to take the next step.' Progress has been built on the popularity of youth soccer, a football-mad Hispanic popu-
lation (up from 14million in the days of the NASL to 55m now), and massively increased media coverage of the sport. Soccer is increasingly prominent on the television screens dotted around bars across America. Curiously, one in downtown Manhattan last week was showing a re-run of last season's Championship Playoff Final between QPR and Derby on the big screen. These days, almost every
Premier League game can be watched live on the NBC Sports Network. 'It's like being locked in a candy store,' says veteran New York soccer writer Michael Lewis. 'There is no stopping the sport now. When the NASL went out of business, I feared it would be difficult for big-time soccer at that level to come back. I would never have predicted what we have here today.' Driven by an ambition to tap into the massively profitable US sports market, obligated by sponsorship deals like United's £355m partnership with car giant Chevrolet, and attracted by first-class sports facilities, nine Premier League clubs have played in America this summer. It's not only the soccer hotspots of LA, New York and Chicago either. The International Champions Cup brought City here to Minneapolis, Liverpool to Charlotte and United to Ann Arbor. Swansea City pitched up in Milwaukee and Blaine, Minnesota. As the last of them arrived home on Tuesday, they leave behind a country still dizzy on a World Cup
high that saw Jurgen Klinsmann's team qualify from a group including Portugal, Ghana and Germany. They only lost by a single goal to the eventual world champions before going out with all guns blazing against Belgium, and afterwards President Barack Obama called captain Clint Dempsey and goalkeeper Tim Howard to offer his congratulations. There is still much work to be done; many people to convince and convert. But it appears that football has finally established a foothold on the American sports landscape. Even the Cosmos are back, albeit in a reduced capacity. 'Soccer has grown in popularity and it exploded at the World Cup,' says MLS executive vice-president Dan Courtemanche. 'It captured the hearts and minds of the US public like never before. This is truly a rising soccer nation and it's ripe for MLS to take advantage. 'In the past, if the person next to me on a plane asked what I do, they would say, 'when will soccer make it in the US?'. This summer we passed that mark – that discussion won't take place in the future.'
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to announce the charity sale of my clothing archive with @TheOutnet to support @M2MTweets (sic). On the official Outnet site, the 40-year-old fashion icon explained how she became involved with the charity, which aims to end mother-to-child HIV transmission, after travelling to South Africa.In February this year I visited South Africa for a project that I was working on with Anna Wintour. It was on that trip that I met Mitch Besser, founder of mother-
B
arefoot Produc- hall, Dimapur on August 9 tion Pvt. Ltd Guitar from 5:00 pm. The winner Prodigy voting for will pocket a cash prize of the final round will close Rupees one lakh. The title on August 7 at 5:00 pm. sponsor of Guitar Prodigy, The grand finale will be 2014 is Aircel. State Bank held at Ana-ki conference of India & Queensberry, The10 contestants for the final round are:
s2mothers, and the Mentor Mothers, who are the most remarkable women I have ever met. I came back from South Africa and thought, what can I do to help I started going through my closet and found so many great pieces that I've worn and thought, maybe I can raise money by auctioning these off. Working with The Outnet has been so exciting for me - I just want to do whatever I can do, she added. The sale will be available on the TheOutnet.com Aug 20-25.
in prayer via her Instagram account, Gisele wrote on Twitter ''Here we go... 3 days in silence. #goinginward (sic). Bundchen, 34, and Kabukuru, 39, seem to be trying to rejuvenate themselves on the break as at the weekend. The former re-posted a image of a basket of vegetables that her personal raw food chef Joanne Gerrard Young had tweeted stating the two beauties were starting their juice cleanse.
niall horan posts picture of MaaM to organize
wearing Miley's tight trousers miss mokokchunG 2014
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ccidentally leaving a garment behind is a bane of life for frequent travellers. So no doubt Miley Cyrus will be relieved Niall Horan sent her a picture of himself wearing a pair of her tight trousers on Monday. The One Direction beefcake went as far as twerking and adopting her stuck out tongue pose as he hilariously sent up the singer on his Twitter page. He seemingly found the garment backstage after his group's concert in New Jersey and, like you do, could not resist trying them on for himself. Niall, 20, then tasked a lackey with taking his picture while he hammed it up for his adoring fans. The Irish jester tweeted: 'Miley Cyrus you left these in New Jersey! They are comfortable , not gona lie #twerk #tongueout' The 21-year-old, who is currently in the middle of her US Bangerz tour, seemed highly amused by the photograph, tweeting: 'F******** yasssss.' While he no doubt enjoyed the thrill of getting recognition from his pop counterpart, it was very much a case of back
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to monotonous reality for him on Tuesday. For he was forced to promote his group's cringeworthy new perfume You And I at the London NYC Hotel in New York. Proving he is an old head on young shoulders, he grinned with glee as he posed alongside his fellow bandmates next to a gigantic bottle of the fragrance.
okokchung Arts & Ae s t h e t i c s Management (MAAM), under the aegis of Mokokchung District Art & Culture Council (MDACC), will be organizing the mega event Miss Mokokchung 2014 on September 19 at Town Hall on the theme ‘Eternal Women’. The Mokokchung Arts & Aesthetics Management (MAAM) comprises of likeminded citizens of the town from all walks of life. This year MAAM has taken up the challenge of organizing the Miss Mokokchung beauty pageant, which is considered as one of the biggest beauty pageants in the state. This year, the organizer is making elaborate arrangements to make the show even bigger and better than the previous editions. The MAAM officials disclosed that the winner of the Miss Mokokchung 2014 will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000/- plus gift hampers. The 1st Runnerup and 2nd Runner-up will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 30,000/- and Rs 20,000/respectively plus gift hampers. Moreover, there will
be four subtitle winners from among the contestants and they will be also awarded gift hampers. A unique and encouraging feature of this year’s edition of Miss Mokokchung 2014 will be the presence of well-known corporate and business houses based in Indian cities that will be sponsoring the different prizes and gift hampers. So far, some of the reputed national companies have already confirmed their interest in sponsoring the prizes and gift hampers. Keeping in mind that beauty pageant is not only about showcasing of physical beauty, the organizers have roped in some renowned trainers who will thoroughly groom the contestants. The contestants will be groomed on personality development, etiquette, career guidance and fashion modeling. Moreover, the organizer disclosed that the MAAM does not want to make the Miss Mokokchung 2014 as a one day affair, but continue to promote the contestants in different ways. In this regard, the officials disclosed that they are con-
tacting some state departments and are exploring different means to promote the contestants. Meanwhile, the MAAM officials announced that girls between the age group of 18-25 can participate in the Miss Mokokchung 2014 beauty pageant. The officials informed interested contestants to contact MAAM at phone number 09089443218/08974393712 for further information. It may be noted here that Mokokchung Arts & Aesthetics Management (MAAM) is a Non-Governmental Organization based in Mokokchung. Basing on their motto “Transformation of Youth and Women, MAAM envisages on promoting women and youth in the society. MAAM officials disclosed that proceeds from the Miss Mokokchung 2014 will be used to open a Trust Fund which will help the poor cancer patients being treated at the Imkongliba Memorial District Hospital.
Pran, creator of comic book character ‘ChaCha Chaudhary’, dies E minent cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, popularly known as Pran, who gave life to lovable comic characters Chacha Chaudhury and his friend Sabu, is no more. Pran succumbed to cancer early this morning at a hospital in Gurgaon, according to his publisher Diamond Comics. He was 75. "Pran passed away at 9 AM at the Medanta hospital. He had been suffering from cancer of the intestine for the past eight months. He is survived by a son and a daughter," Gulshan Rai, Publisher, Diamond Comics said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to express his grief over the passing away of the cartoonist.
in 1981. At that time there were no Indian comics, it was all reproductions of foreign titles. For the last 35 years we have been the sole publisher of his cartoons," said Rai. With a career spanning over five decades, Pran employed a simple style of
Modi described Pran "as a versatile cartoonist who brought smiles on the faces of people through his rich work". Born in Kasur, near Lahore in Pakistan in 1938, Pran began his career in 1960 as a cartoonist for the Delhi-based newspaper 'Milap' with comic
strip 'Daabu'. In 1969, Pran sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine 'Lotpot', which made him famous. "Pran was making small cartoons for newspapers when I first contacted him
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on Aug 9
Three days of silence for Gisele Bundchen S
upermodels Gisele Bundchen has undertaken three days of meditative silence while on vacation in Costa Rica. The Brazilian supermodel is currently on vacation in Costa Rica with fellow model Kiara Kabukuru and the two have embarked on the challenge to find their inner Zen, reports contactmusic.com. Posting a photo of her and Kirara posing with their hands together
Dimapur
Grand Finale
600 items from wardrobe
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7 August 2014
Victoria Beckham to sell inger-turned-designer Victoria Beckham will put over 600 items from her wardrobe up for sale in aid of HIV awareness charity. In partnership with designer outlet store TheOutnet.com and famed auctioneers Christie's, who valued the items, Victoria has placed hundreds of her own clothes, shoes and accessories online in aid of women's charity mothers2mothers, reports contactmusic.com. Announcing the news via Twitter, she wrote Excited
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Entertainment
The Morung Express
art and sense of humour to create a family of characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman and Channi Chachi, which are regularly published in Indian magazines.
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Ezung’s driving school, Dimapur and Movie World, Kohima are the Gold & Silver Sponsors respectively. Music channel Nagaland is the sound partner for the event.
CONTESTANT NO. 2 Kevisa Vivose Kohima
CONTESTANT NO. 4 Keviphruotsu Dzuvichu Kohima
CONTESTANT NO. 5 Honglep Sangle Chang Tuensang
CONTESTANT NO. 7 Kuzhohusa Vero Dimapur
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CONTESTANT NO. 8 Lulantsi Chumukedima
CONTESTANT NO. 10 B. Temsuyabang Dimapur
CONTESTANT NO. 13 Sulanthung Odyuo Wokha
CONTESTANT NO. 14 Okoliba Ozukum Dimapur
CONTESTANT NO. 15 Amos P. Ovung Dimapur
CONTESTANT NO. 16 Waluniba Lemtur Dimapur
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Veteran referee Howard Webb retires
Brazil's Camila Martins Pereira (6) and China's Yanqiu Liu (7) battle for the ball during the first half of a FIFA U-20 women's World Cup soccer match Tuesday, August 5 in Edmonton, Alberta. (AP Photo)
LONDON, AUGUST 6 (AP): Premier League referee Howard Webb, who took control of the 2010 World Cup final, has been appointed Technical Director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, ending his 25-year refereeing career. Webb refereed his first Premier League match in 2003 and also took charge of the 2010 Champions League final where Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0. "I have spent over a decade with the best seat in the house for Premier League matches (and) been lucky enough to be involved in nine UEFA and FIFA tournaments," Webb said. His new role at the PGMOL will see him share his experience through developing and training referees in England. "Refereeing has given me so much and it's important that match officials who have had the rewards remain in the game to pass on their knowledge," he said. The 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, which Spain won 1-0 in extra time, is remembered as a bad-tempered encounter. Webb showed 14 yellow cards - one of which being a second to John Heitinga of the Netherlands, resulting in his dismissal. Another of those bookings went to Nigel de Jong for a high foot that caught Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso in the chest, and Webb later told The Guardian in England he should have shown a red card. Mike Riley, general manager of the PGMOL, says Webb will be missed in the Premier League. "We are very excited that Howard's knowledge and skills are being retained and shared for them and the rest of PGMOL's officials," Riley said. "While we will no longer see Howard's commanding presence on the domestic and international stage. the role of PGMOL Technical Director will strengthen refereeing in this country."
'Had I been banned, this silver medal wouldn't have come'
NEw DELhI, AUGUST 6 (TNN): Jwala Gutta is happy and proud about her win at the Commonwealth Games held at Glasgow. The women's doubles team of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, had to settle for silver in Glasgow. But Jwala maintains she is both "happy" and "proud" because she proved a point to all her detractors, who recommended imposing a life ban on her for allegedly trying to stop her teammates from playing a match at the Indian Badminton League in October last year. Proving her critics wrong wasn't really easy, but Jwala says she is happy to have made a statement. "In spite of whatever transpired, all that I went through, I am happy that
I made a statement and I am here to stay. No one can stop me. "Getting a medal is not a small feat, irrespec-
tive of what colour it is. I have two consecutive medals at the CWG and it makes me feel proud. I hope my
family and friends too share this pride with me. I want to thank everybody who stood by me and be-
lieved in me. I am grateful," said the shuttler, adding, "We won the gold last time, at Glasgow, we still managed to reach the finals and I am proud of that." "We could have won the gold for sure, but it's part of the game. We got to learn a lot from all the players and our opponents," she says. Talking about the finals, Jwala says, "We were very close and we did want to win gold. But it's okay. We have won three medals already this year. It's been a good year." Despite the win, one can't help but wonder that had the life ban been imposed on Jwala, there would have been no medal from the women's doubles team at the CWG. "I am tired of answering people. But yes, if I had been banned, this silver medal wouldn't have come. And that's a reality."
Bouchard beaten on day of outs at Rogers Cup
Eugenie Bouchard, from Montreal, looks over at Shelby Rogers, of the United States, during first round play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament on Tuesday in Montreal. (AP Photo)
MONTREAL, AUGUST 6 (AP): It was a day of unexpected absences at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday: Andrea Petkovic failed to make her match, Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out injured, the power went out, and so too did an inconsistent Eugenie Bouchard. Amid the surprising run of events, there were some predictable outcomes. Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska won through to the second round with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Barbara Zahlavova Strycova, while Ana Ivanovic and Carolina Wozniacki both breezed through. Ivanovic beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-2 while Wozniacki was much too good for veteran Daniel Hantuchova, winning 6-1, 6-1. Radwanska's next opponent will be Madison Keys, who progressed
when Kuznetsova retired when trailing 6-1, 3-2. Ivanovic will next face Coco Vanderweghe, who beat Shuai Zhang 6-2, 6-4 while Wozniacki will meet Klara Koukalova. The main upset of the day was the elimination of local favorite Bouchard by young American Shelby Rogers, 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 in a second-round match. "It was cool to see the support she has here and it's fun to see that much support for tennis," Rogers said. "I knew what I was getting into so I was prepared for it. I hope that doesn't happen too often, but I know she's a mega superstar up here." Bouchard, who had not played since reaching the Wimbledon final last month, was clearly out of touch, holding serve only
twice in the match. "I was feeling the pressure on the court and I was feeling kind of match rusty," Bouchard said. "I knew it would be kind of a difficult situation, but I'm happy I was able to turn things around and not let it get away completely." Rogers, who has beaten Bouchard both times they have played, will face the winner of the WozniackiKoukalova match. Petkovic pulled out with a viral infection, and her place was taken in the draw by lucky loser Elena Vesnina, who beat Camila Giorgi 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Vesnina is in the same eighth of the draw as second seed Elena Vesnina, who had a first-round bye and will being her tournament on Wednesday against Casey Dellacqua.
Federer advances at Rogers Cup
‘ManU believe in the Van Gaal way’
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MIAMI, AUGUST 6 (REUTERS): Manchester United's Spanish midfielder Juan Mata says the team have shown during their pre-season tour of the United States that they believe in the new system introduced by Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. United wrapped up their U.S. tour with a 3-1 win over rivals Liverpool in the International Champions Cup final in Miami on Monday and after defeating Real Madrid on Saturday the mood among Van Gaal's squad is buoyant ahead of their Aug. 16 Premier League opener against Swansea. "It was a good tour for us, a good two or three weeks trying to get ready physically and mentally while trying to adapt to the new system," Mata told ManUtd.com. "Obviously, we didn't lose a game which is good for the confidence but the most important thing is that we believe in what we are doing. United played in front of huge crowds in the United States with 86,000 watching them beat L.A. Galaxy in California and a massive 109,000 in Michigan for a 3-1 win over Real Madrid as the club proved once again their global popularity. "We take home a lot of love from the supporters. It
was amazing from the first day until the last - in every stadium, in every training camp and in every hotel. I think (the highlights were) the support and obviously the new ideas that the manager has brought," said Mata. Van Gaal's 3-52 formation has seen Mata, who scored a well-taken goal against Liverpool, employed in an advanced playmaker role and that appears to suit him well. "I feel good and I feel comfortable in this position. I have to do what the manager wants me to do, both offensively and defensively, and I am trying to do that. It can be a good position for me to try to perform to my best," he said. After a disappointing seventh place finish in the Premier League last year under David Moyes, United will be expected to be back in the title hunt and, at the very least, ensure a return to the Champions League with a top four finish. "We are all excited to start the new season," said Mata, "Everybody wants to do better, we want to fight for the trophies and this club deserves that. We will try our best.” Forward Wayne Rooney, who also scored against Liverpool, gave his backing to Van Gaal's approach.
Roger Federer, of Switzerland, reaches for a shot from Canada's Peter Polansky during the Rogers Cup men's tennis tournament in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 5. (AP Photo)
TORONTO, AUGUST 6 (AP): Roger Federer cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over wild card Peter Polansky in the second round of the Rogers Cup, while Stan Wawrinka, Ernests Gulbis and Richard Gasquet also advanced in the U.S. Open warm up Tuesday. Federer needed just 52 minutes to eliminate Canada's Polansky, who beat 2013 Wimbledon finalist Jerzy Janowicz on Monday. The second-seeded Federer had a bye into the second round. Federer said he's normally not heartless when facing an overmatched opponent, but knew he needed to block that out. "You never know when it can shift," Federer said. "You feel a little bit and then you end up losing the match." Third-seeded Wawrinka rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over Benoit Paire. No. 11 seed Gulbis moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Joao Sousa of Portugal. Gasquet beat local
favorite Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 7-5. "He has an extra motivation because it's being home," Gasquet said of Popisil. "It's the same when I'm playing in France. But yeah he had big expectations on him, especially here in Toronto." Pospisil was set to have an MRI scan on a groin injury, which seized up at 5-5 in the first set. It forced him to withdraw from the doubles competition. No. 16 seed Fabio Fognini and 17th-seeded Tommy Robredo also won. Fognini defeated Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3, and Robredo held on for a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber. Jack Sock of the United States defeated Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 6-3 in the first round, setting up a match with big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic. Raonic beat Sock in straight sets at Wimbledon and then again last week at the Citi Open in Washington. Andreas Seppi defeated Canadian qualifier
Brayden Schnur 6-3, 6-3 after a rain delay of more than two hours. Seppi next faces Ivan Dodig, who upset 10th-seeded John Isner on Monday night. "I'm definitely excited for tomorrow," Sock said of facing Raonic. "The juices will be flowing. He got me in my home country last week, so I'm going to try to maybe get some revenge." In another Canadian loss, Frank Dancevic fell 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 to American Donald Young. Dancevic said Young did a good job of adapting to his game. "He just started reading my serve in the second and third set," Dancevic said. "I couldn't get any more free points on my serve, my serve percentage dropped down a little bit and he just started playing better and better as the match went on."Nick Kyrgios downed Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (3), 7-5 and next plays eighth-seeded Andy Murray. Gael Monfils beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-5, and Lu Yen-hsun edged Marcel Granollers 7-6 (6), 7-5.
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