December 11th, 2015 by The Morung Express

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www.morungexpress.com

friDAY • December 11 • 2015

DIMAPUR • Vol. X • Issue 337 • 12 PAGes • 4

T H e

ESTD. 2005

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance

P o W e R

PAGe 11

Giroud hat-trick inspires Arsenal’s ‘great escape’

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HornBill festiVAl 2015 conclUDes

T R u T H

— Socrates

‘Clean Chumukedima Town’ awareness programme held

Salman Khan acquitted in 2002 accident case

o F

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‘OUR RIGHTS. OUR FREEDOM. ALWAYS’ International Human Rights Day observed in Nagaland

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Hornbill feathers worn by Naga men in their head gears make for a striking image under the December sunlight as seen during the last day of the Hornbill Festival at Kisama on Thursday. Photo by Caisii Mao

Chizokho Vero Kisama | December 10

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The Hornbill Festival 2015 concluded here this evening, registering a remarkable increase in the number of visitors to 2, 43, 113 against 1,72, 404 during 2014. This year saw an increase of 70,709 visitors to the Hornbill Festival. The inflow of foreign tourists has however gone down as the 2014 edition registered 1144 while in the 2015 edition it registered 1360. The number of domestic tourists registered an increase with 19, 969 against 17,044 in 2014 while the local visitors also registered an increase with 2, 13,000 against, 1, 54,000 in 2014. This was disclosed by Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, C Apok Jamir during a closing function here at Kisama. Miss Nagaland 2015 Nenghoilhing Hangsing along with 1st runnerup, Alica Zhimomi and 2nd runner up, Yangerjungla Pongen lighted the

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

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annual bonfire which was followed by the unity dance. Jamir was appreciative that this year’s Hornbill Festival was peaceful with no untoward incidents reported. He said the main purpose of the festival is to showcase the rich Naga culture in all its wonder and diversity. He said that the Hornbill festival was planned in such a way that it was held at one particular venue at Kisama from December 1 to 10 every year for the convenience of the tourists from all over the world, domestic tourists and for local visitors, so that everyone can plan and come to enjoy the festivities. The other purpose of the Hornbill Festival is to earn revenue through tourism and also foster camaraderie and better understanding between peoples. The Hornbill Festival also envisaged to encourage the survival of the Hornbill birds and also to protect other endangered, threatened and rare birds and animals in the state, thereby bringing ecological

balance in the long run. “This festival is not only about celebration and showcasing the rich culture but through this we would like to campaign for a greener planet, to create awareness on climate change and environment protection,” he said. He further noted that the Hornbill Festival venue at Kisama was declared a “No Plastic Zone” this year. “This Hornbill festival has been a great success because of the overwhelming visit of tourists, domestic and foreign without which Hornbill festival would have been meaningless,” Jamir said. He thanked all the departments, hohos, neighboring villages, villagers of Phesama and Kigwema, all entrepreneurs and artists who put up stalls. The Parliamentary Secretary also thanked the various cultural troupes who entertained the visitors throughout 10 days and made the festival a success. Concluding remarks were given by Nagaland state’s Tourism Secretary, Angau I Thou.

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lems, social disharmony, psychological problems and family discord. Dr Lhishelo Tsuhah, Medical Officer, PHC Chizami further presented on the physical impacts of substance abuse. He recommended “regulation rather than prohibition,” and proposed the need for reduction of social stigma, while enhancing community support through inclusive approach and not isolation. He also stressed on the need to strengthen the Church’s role in motivational and counselling support. Budhiswatya, Psychiatric Social Worker, Assam Medical College underlined the basics to understanding substance abuse as an illness which is cyclic in nature. In approaches towards substance abuse, she stated that both communities and families have an important role in dealing with the issue. Citing the lack of acceptance as a major hindrance towards the rehabilitative process, she mentioned “inclusiveness and acceptance” as vital approaches, along with conducive/ favourable support systems both at family and community level. She shared on group therapy and network therapy which can be attended by individuals, family, friends through discussions, experience sharing and develop solutions themselves. Meanwhile, the Peace Channel in collaboration

with North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research, NEDSF and NACWR also commemorated the day at NEISSR’s conference hall. Rev Dr Fr CP Anto, Founder-Director Peace Channel and Principal NEISSR highlighted the concept and importance of human rights in today’s world with special emphasis on Nagaland. He stressed on the need to respect the dignity of human life, and said that human rights are inherent to all human beings, whatever nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language or any other status. “We are all equally entitled to our human rights,” he stated. Affirming the need for peace, he however lamented that there are certain people who interpret religion, law, customs according to their personal agenda thus depriving people of their basic human rights and peace. Human rights education thus, should begin in our own homes, he said. Subhrangshu Dhar, Assistant Professor, NEISSR in his speech stressed on the historical development of Human Rights as a concept and focused on the different kinds of human rights violation existing in society. He further mentioned that many of the basic rights are violated as part of culture, tradition, religion and soci-

etal norms and for which structural reform is needed. NK Keny focused on the violation of rights of people with disability, children and destitutes. She also stressed on collective effort to correct the existing situation in Nagaland. Azungla Imsong, Sisterhood Network, also addressed the gathering pertaining to Girls Forward and VAW. The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation also marked the day by freely distributing a book released by the organisation, while making an appeal to citizens, especially the citizens who are in power to respect human rights. President of NVCO Kezhokhoto Savi, in a press note stated that no true democracy can be said to exist unless rights are available to the individual. “Human Rights is not only about physical or atrocity meted out to human body but it covers whole lot of human life. They are the rights to life, liberty including all the political civil, social, economic and cultural rights necessary for people to live dignified lives,” he stated. He further lamented that Nagaland state does not have a State Human Rights Commission and termed this as a “very serious issue” which needs to be addressed by the state government.

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court stays order summoning Nagaland CM on qualification issue

Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): In a new development to the qualification issue of Nagaland state Chief Minister, TR Zeliang, the Kohima Bench of the Guwahati High Court on Thursday stayed the Judicial Magistrate’s order summoning the Chief Minister and has listed the matter for another hearing on The welcome committee members are caught in a January 20, 2016. The First Class Judicial massive traffic jam caused by our chief guest’s motorcade. Magistrate, Kohima had

earlier summoned the Chief Minister to appear before its court on January 7, 2016 after a case on the qualification issue landed in the judicial court. Providing a sequence on the qualification issue, the CMO said the Court had dismissed a petition filed before it to issue directive to the police to register an FIR petition last month. Upon dismissal of the writ petition by the Court, the

matter was taken to the Raj Bhavan on the grounds of seeking an impartial inquiry. During which, the Judicial Magistrate was approached, who then summoned the Chief Minister to appear before the Court on January 7, 2016. The Chief Minister had questioned the legality and authority of the Magistrate to issue summons when the matter was rejected by

Faced with war-like situation in North East, Kashmir: Centre to SC M

Dimapur/phek, December 10 (mexN): The International Human Rights Day (IHRD) which marks the end of the 16 days campaign against Gender based Violence was observed today, with various events held across the state. The North East Network organised an awareness event on Substance abuse and mental health at Chizami, Village Council hall, Phek district. Acknowledging the fact that Substance abuse has become a major concern in the community, affecting people of all ages and genders, the event was organised to raise awareness and sensitivity on the issue amongst diverse stakeholders. Highlighting on IHRD 2015 UN’s theme ‘Our rights. Our freedom. Always,’ Wekoweu Tsuhah, NEN shared about the different rights and freedoms that every human is entitled to. She pointed that substance abuse is one of the factors that has caused fear and violence within homes and communities, and therefore addressing this issue on IHRD becomes pertinent as every individual has a right to live a life free from fear and violence. Stephen Gangmei, NEN stated substance abuse is one of the critical factors leading to mental health concerns and other series of consequences such as physical prob-

New Delhi, December 10 (iaNS): The Centre on Wednesday defended army operations in the NE and Jammu and Kashmir, and told the Supreme Court that India was faced with a war-like situation which was not akin to inter-country conventional war. “What we are facing in the northeast or in Jammu and Kashmir, it is not a law and order situation or interval disturbance. It is an insurgency from across the border in collaboration with home-grown groups,” Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit. Pointing out that some groups engaged in armed insurgency, observe the day when Manipur became a part of India as “black day”, Rohatgi defending the army action in He said “we (security forces) don’t have a first strike

option” in engaging the insurgents. The Centre said this during a hearing of a PIL by the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EJEVFA) seeking action against security personnel involved in alleged staged shootouts in Manipur. The petitioner contended that during May, 1979 to May, 2012, at least 1,528 people were killed in Manipur in extra-judicial executions. Rohatgi said: “When we deal with army, it is a different cup of tea compared to routine police. Army is a different organisation, it has its own discipline. It has its own rigour.” Pointing out that the rights of an army officer under the constitution were not the same as that of a common man, Rohatgi said: “If I (army officer) don’t do what I am supposed to do, to apprehend and shoot (the enemy), then I attract death.”

Drawing the attention of the court to the flaws in the Justice Santosh Hegde Commission report that inquired into the truth of alleged stage shootout cases in Manipur, the Attorney General said most of the queries related to normal police investigation into a crime case. He wondered how could there be questions posed by the commission as to how many bullets were fired by the army, what about collection of empty shells, if insurgent was alone and army personnel were four, then why was he not apprehended alive. “It is either him (insurgent) or me (army personnel). You are dealing with a person who is not peaceful, who wants to overthrow the government. It is a rebellion by a 25, 30 or 100 groups, some are banned and some are not banned,” Rohatgi told the court.

a higher Court and at the same time when the matter was being looked into by the police who had already instituted preliminary investigation, the press statement maintained. “Today’s Court order may lead to resting speculations that there were no false documents provided to the ECI with intention to falsify facts on the part of the incumbent Chief Minister,” it added.

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NCSU calls for 12 hour bandh on December 15 kohima, December 10 (mexN): The Nagaland Contractors’ & Suppliers’ Union (NCSU) has called for a 12-hour (6:00am to 6:00pm) total bandh of NH-29 Dimapur-Kohima road on December 15. NCSU in a press release informed that it was compelled to call for a total bandh as the Union Ministry of Transport & Highway had failed to heed its repeated requests with regard to the 4 lane project of the Dimapur-Kohima road. Police, Paramilitary, Magistrates on duty, Ambulance are exempted from the purview of the bandh. NCSU expressed regret at the inconvenience created and at the same time appealed to the public to cooperate. NCSU stated that the Union Minister had on several occasions given assurances to accommodate local contractors by breaking up huge projects into smaller packages to accommodate them. The Union further maintained that it was not being greedy to get the contract work but argued that it was “fighting for the rights of the Nagas.”

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friDAY 11•12•2015

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

‘Clean Chumukedima Town’ awareness programme held Morung Express News Dimapur | December 10

A “Clean Chumukedima Town” awareness programme as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign was held at Chumukedima Town Council (CTC) hall on Thursday with chief editor, Nagaland Post, Geoffrey Yaden, who is also the Swachh Bharat ambassador for Dimapur district as the chief guest. The chief guest in his address said Swachh Bharat is not only a campaign against open defecation but encompasses a whole gamut of activities including sanitation, garbage disposal, personal hygiene, health, food habit and lifestyle. Stressing on cleanliness, Yaden said “cleanliness is health and health is wealth.” He said every citizen should make cleanliness a habit and not only displayed during social works. He also said it is easy to acquire bad habits but very difficult to adopt good habits. Yaden also said the Swachh Bharat is a purely voluntary mission and therefore the public should not only wait on the government or state agencies

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Swachh Bharat ambassador for Dimapur district, Geoffrey Yaden (2nd right), along with EAC Chumukedima, Thungbemo Patton (3rd right) and others take the Swachh Bharat pledge. (Morung Photo)

for fund or support but take initiatives themselves and spreading and creating awareness on importance of cleanliness. He said Nagas should revive the voluntarism spirit of their forefathers to achieve success in the cleanliness mission. Lauding the launching of the “Clean Chumukedima Town” awareness programme, the Swachhh Bharat ambassador said Chumukedima, a tribal cosmopolitan town, can become the cleanest town in Nagaland if the residents desire so.

On the occasion, Yaden also gave away cash prizes to winners of the inter-school quiz competition held on the topic “Cleanliness.” Thechamo Ezung, IPS (retd. DGP Nagaland), who spoke on behalf of senior citizens of Chumukedima town, also stressed on a holistic approach to the issue of cleanliness. He said the campaign is sure to succeed if all citizens of Chumukedima extend their cooperation. Head GB, Chumukedima, Kelenguzou Kuotsu,

spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries. Earlier, EAC Chumukedima-cum- administrator, CTC, Thungbemo Patton, in his welcome note, explained on the concept of the “Clean Chumukedima Town” awareness programme and said every citizen should become ambassadors of the cleanliness campaign. Later, all the guests and participants of the awareness programme also took the Swachh Bharat pledge. Kekhriesenuo Seyie chaired the programme.

‘Project 125’ launched in Mokokchung Morung Express News

Mokokchung | December 10

In commemoration of 125 years anniversary of the town, the Mokokchung-based skills development firm TK Skills today launched its “Project 125” with the Urban Development Officer of Mokokchung, Imtilepden Pongen as chief guest. Along with Project 125, TK Skills also launched a web skill training program under Digital India. On the objective of launching Project 125, Managing Director of TK Skills Wapang Aier said that his firm will be training 125 interested individuals at his firm for free. Some of the courses offered at TK Skills presently include computer training on software and hardware, spoken English, fashion designing, handcraft

Urban Development Officer of Mokokchung, Imtilepden Pongen speaks at the launch of “Project 125” at TK Skills, Mokokchung on December 12. (Morung Photo)

and home health aide. Under the Digital India web skill training program launched today, TK Skills will offer code-free web designing course

with Webydo, a US based online cloud software. The chief guest while speaking at the launching program appreciated TK Skills for their sincerity and devotion and hoped that the firm would flourish in days to come and become a skills training destination for people of not just Mokokchung but for neighbouring districts as well. He also appreciated TK Skills for its Project 125 and prayed that God would bless them for training 125 people free of cost. The management of TK Skills informed that admissions under its Project 125 program are underway immediately and that it will be on first come, first served basis. The Digital India program does not fall under the Project 125 plan, though. The program was chaired by the MD of TK Skills.

Training on Medical certification KSU office building of cause of death held inauguration on Dec 12 Mokokchung, DeceMber 10 (Mexn): One day training of Doctors of Mokokchung District on Medical Certification of cause of death was held at IDSP hall, IMDH Mokokchung on December 10. Dr. Nyan Deputy Director, Directorate of Health and family welfare Kohima was the Resource person. He explained in detail about the issuing of death certificates to the needy. Death certificates has become a necessity, therefore we have to be very careful while issuing the certificates because it may have some le-

gal implications, he also stated. Different formats were issued to all the health units of the district. The training was chaired by Dr. S.S.Akaba Longchar CMO Mokokchung. He thanked the resource person as well as the trainees for attending the training even though everyone is busy with the festive season. The training was attended by the doctors from IMDH, TB &chest disease hospital, Programme Officers, SMOs and MOs from CHCs and PHCs of Mokokchung District.

kohiMa, DeceMber 10 (Mexn): The Kiruphema Students’ Union (KSU) will be inaugurating its new office building on December 12 from Peducha NH.29 with Rovilato Mor, IAS, Deputy Commissioner Kohima & former president 1984-1986 as the chief guest at 9.30am. The programme will be chaired by Neingulhoulie Zenyüu, invocation from Vileto Vielie, Pastor Kiruphema Baptist Church. The welcome address will be presented by Kepeneilhou Shosahie, President KSU, special number from Ketholezo Vielie and report of detail building construction will be deliver by Neicasato Visienyü, convenor building committee. Greetings from Angami Students’ Union (ASU), Western Angami Students’ Union (WASU), Chairman Kiruphema General Council and the vote of thanks will be pronounce by Neisengulie Suohumvü.

Morung: Heart of Listening and Back to One’s Roots third phase Finding the best chicken shop in Mkg

kohiMa, DeceMber 10 (Mexn): The third phase of the yearlong series Morung: Heart of Listening and Back to one’s roots was held on November 30 at Angami Students’ Union (ASU) office. The program which is initiated by Path Finders in association with the Angami Students’ Union aims to train young leaders to be responsible and accountable leaders and to create a space for them to develop their skills and ideas. The theme of the third phase was ‘Leadership, volunteerism and its crisis’ with Peno Hiekha as the resource person. The workshop focused mainly in the interactions and analyParticipants at the third phase of the yearlong series Morung: Heart of Listening and sis of the participating student Back to one’s roots held on November 30 at Angami Students’ Union (ASU) office. activists who discussed on the

National energy conservation day

kohiMa, DeceMber 10 (Mexn): To create awareness on energy efficiency and conservation under National Energy Conservation Day launched by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India, the Nagaland State Designated Agency (NSDA) on energy conservation will conduct a seminar on December 18 at 11:00 AM in Zonal Council Hall, Kohima on “BEE Star Labeling programme on electrical and electronics appliance.” Er. G. Chishi, CE (D&R) department of power Nagaland will grace the occasion as the chief guest.

concerns of leadership in the current day. The participants talked about the concerns of leadership today and the limitations of the concerns where they pointed out that, most times the energy is spent on the concerns of the organization and less on the circle of influence. The workshop also focused on interferences in leadership and the potentials of leadership. Some of the interferences pointed out were disunity, politicians, dominating figures, family pressures, lack of human resources etc. An important feature of the discussion included the lack Nungshiwabang with his wife at their newly opened modernized chicken shop located at Salangtem New Market. He is one of the five beneficiaries selected from Mokokchung under the National of participation of women in Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) ‘modernized meat shop’ scheme. (Morung Photo) activism or political leaderMorung Express News nished with all the mod- Council and the governship in Nagaland. ment for selecting him as a Mokokchung | December 10 ern essential equipment. There are about twenty beneficiary of the scheme. It is said that most benefi- registered chicken shops The MMC authorities were ciaries of various govern- in the town all run by lo- also profoundly impressed ment sponsored schemes cals and his has been one with him that he was given in Nagaland often fail to of the most successful in the charge of maintaining deliver the goods, save for the business. He learned the newly built ‘pay and use a few exceptions. Nung- the tricks of the trade from toilet’ at New Market. Always wearing a smile shiwabang could per- his parents who started haps be one of those few. business during the early on his face while serving The second generation 70s. “I remember selling customers, Wabang is a 50-year old chicken shop chicken at Rs.16/- per kilo,” cheerful man who goes business owner is one of Wabang recalls. He says about his business withthe five beneficiaries from that he is eager to stay in out letting any negativity Mokokchung sponsored the business and serve the around his life off-putting by the government under customers as long as his him. Saying that “thank the National Mission on health keeps him and that you” is all he could say to Food Processing (NMFP) he wants to hand over the those who selected him as a ‘modernized meat shop’ reins of his business to his beneficiary, he assured that scheme. With more than children. Wabang, hail- his purpose of being in the 25 years of hands on ex- ing from Mopungchuket business is to strife to serve perience in the business, village, is a proud father to the best of his ability. Wapang is already run- of four children and he is Apart from selling dressed ning his newly opened all praises to his wife who and cut chicken, he has MLA Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu releases the first Kepfutsami khel day souvenir at Phek village. The MLA graced the modernized chicken shop helps him with the busi- also increased his product first Kepfutsami day at Phek village on December 7, emphasised pn the need for Nagas to go back to the land and at Salangtem New Market, ness. He is grateful to the line by introducing frozen do away with ever mounting dependency on the government. The first kepfutsami day was marked by folk tunes Mokokchung fully fur- Mokokchung Municipal meat products. and act of blessing by the khel elderly.

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NMYO observes 42nd foundation day

Special song presented at the 42nd NMYO foundation day.

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Drive Slow & Safe DIMAPUR TRAFFIC POLICE in collaboration with The Morung Express

kohiMa, DeceMber 10 (Mexn): The 42nd foundation day of New Market Youth Organization (NMYO) was observed on Thursday (December 10) at the New Market Panchayat hall premises with Vilathie Solo as the special guest . Addressing the gathering, as special guest Vilathie Solo lauded the efforts of NMYO for being a re-

sponsible youth organization in the state capital and opined that over the years the NMYO has grown from strength to strength in all fields. He also advised the youths to respect and obey their parents in whatever they do and also one should strictly adhered to the principles of “truth and honesty” and have a fear in God. In his short speech,

Kuotsu Kehie , present chairman of NMAP , who is also 1st President , NMYO gave a brief history how the NMYO came into existence in 1973 and continues to be one the premier youth organizations in Kohima city. Further he said that NMYO over the years actively involved in educational, social, cultural, sports activities and called upon the

youth organization continue its good works. Earlier the function was chaired by Khriesavizo Rame, General Secretary NMYO , welcome address by Sedevizo Nakhro, President, NMYO ,special song s were present by New Market Chakhesang Fellowship and Angulie and vote of thanks by Celina, asst GS, NMYO.

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FridAY 11•12•2015

NORTH-EAST

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

man beaten up in Gurgaon in ‘NE can set off India's second Green Revolution’ Manipur front of woman friend; FIR against 4

AgArtAlA, December 10 (IANS): The mountainous northeastern region, which comprises eight states, occupies eight percent of India's land area and is home to four percent of the population, can set off India's second Green Revolution, a top Indian scientist said. "Powered by adequate resources, skilled manpower, good climate and sufficient water, the northeast region is expected to be a food sufficient area in the near future and India's second Green Revolution is expected to set off from this region," Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) director and renowned agricultural scientist S.V. Ngachan told IANS in an interview here. "Besides huge natural, agricultural and mineral resources, there is devoted manpower in the northeastern region. The pollution-free region has all ingredients to make it selfsufficient in foodgrain," said Ngachan, who is the ICAR head for the north-

eastern region. According to Ngachan, the demand-supply gap of foodgrains in the northeastern region had narrowed from 23 percent in 2006-07 to 2.3 percent. He said that currently the net agricultural sown area in the northeast is 4.5 million hectares, excluding the small private gardens and orchards. "The 'jhum' cultivation of the tribals is a major impediment in the northeast. We, in association with the state governments and political leaders, are trying to persuade the tribals to introduce the modified multi-cropping system instead of the unscientific jhum farming," the agricultural scientist said. According to the latest satellite-based forest survey of India, the cover in the northeastern region has decreased by 628 sq km, mainly due to encroachment on forest land, biotic pressure, rotational felling in tea gardens and shifting cultivation. Launched in 2010,

North east Briefs

Tripura outcome to affect national politics: CM

AgArtAlA, December 10 (IANS): The results of the Tripura civic polls which took place on Wednesday will have an impact on national politics, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said on Thursday. "The people will give a reply to the issue of intolerance that came to the fore after the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government came to power at the centre," Sarkar told reporters. Elections were held to the 49-seat Agartala Municipal Corporation, 13 municipal councils and five Nagar Panchayats in Tripura. Around 89 percent of the 537,968 electorate voted in the polls in Left-ruled Tripura.

NSLA cadre nabbed KOKrAJHAr, December (PtI): A joint team of Army and Police today nabbed a National Santhal Liberation Army (anti talk faction) cadre from Panbari area under Kachugaon Police Station in Assam's Kokrajhar district, defence sources said. Police recovered a country made rifle with two rounds of ammunition from the militant identified as Silu Soren, the sources said.

Rs.21 cr from ticketless travellers

Mizoram's Rs.2,873-crore flagship farming scheme New Land Use Policy (NLUP) - aims to benefit over 125,000 tribal families, mostly Jhumias, to solve food scarcity by moving away from jhum cultivation to stable and sustainable farming. "The NLUP is a unique programme and the Manipur and other state governments in the northeast are trying to introduce similar schemes to take the tribals from jhum cultivation to normal agriculture with technology innovation." "Integrated farming and improved jhuming are also the alternative to age-old Jhum farming," said Ngachan. "Though global climate change has an effect in the northeast, strong political will, governments' active involvement, farmers' wholehearted participation and use of latest technology in farming, could make the northeast a foodgrain surplus region in the country," he added. "As the region is a biodiversity hotspot, rising

food production and productivity make the effort much easier. However, the animal fodder crisis is a very big concern in the region, despite it being rich in animal resources." The ICAR director said that the northeastern region, comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, accounts for 7.8 percent of the total area under rice cultivation in India while its share in rice production is only 5.9 percent. The average rice productivity of 1.4 tonne per hectare is below the national average of 1.9 tonnes per hectare. The NE states are largely dependent on Punjab, Haryana and other larger states for foodgrain and essential vegetables. Stressing on the need to increase the area under stable irrigation, the scientist said that only 20% of the total crop are in the NER is now under irrigation against the national average of 45%.

Emergency treatments made mandatory in Assam

'First North East Indigenous Peoples' WestsIDe sChooL Kiyeto, Dhansiripar Sub-Division, Dimapur Parliament' begins in Imphal

guWAHAtI , December 10 (PtI): Assam Assembly today unanimously passed a resolution to adopt the Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010, making it mandatory to treat anyone with "emergency medical condition". Health and Family Welfare Minister Nazrul Islam introduced the resolution in the House and it was accepted unanimously. It is applicable to all clinical establishments belonging to any recognised system of medicine as well as single doctor units with or without beds such as hospital, maternity home, nursing home, dispensary, clinic, sanatorium, etc.

AgArtAlA, December 10 (IANS): A total of 345,427 cases were registered in the northeast for travelling without ticket or with an irregular ticket with Rs.21 crore being collected as fine in eight months of the current fiscal, NFR's chief public relations officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said here on Thursday."To discourage ticketless travel, the NFR has put systems in place whereby surprise checks are conducted by flying squads," he said. Fortress checks and surprise checking are also conducted in stations byThe guWAHAtI, December 10 (tNN): With bareNFR officials accompanied by security personnel. ly six months left for the assembly polls in Assam, six ethnic communities of the AgArtAlA, December 10 (IANS): Sushil Chow- state are becoming restive dhury, the editor of a local Bengali language daily here over the centre's delay in who was convicted in the sensational triple murder granting ST status to them. case in his newspaper office, was acquitted by the TriThe six communities - Tai pura High Court on Thursday. Chowdhury, the editor Ahoms, Koch Rajbongshis, of Bengali daily Dainik Ganadoot, had appealed to the Moran, Motok, Sootea and high court against the verdict of the West Tripura dis- Adivasis (the descendants trict and sessions court, which had sentenced him on of tea garden workers settled July 14, 2014, to jail till the last day of his life. The high court division bench comprising Chief Justice Deepak by British in the state from Kumar Gupta and Justice Shubhasish Talapatra heard Chotanagpur plateau in mid the appeal in September and pronounced the judgment 19th century), have for long on Thursday, acquitting the 75-year-old Chowdhury. been demanding ST status. On May 19, 2013, three employees of Dainik Ganadoot The ST issue becomes one -- manager Ranjit Chowdhury, 61, proof reader Sujit of the talking points in every Bhattacharjee, 25, and driver Balaram Ghosh, 31, were election. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls too, the BJP found murdered within the office premises. had promised to grant ST status to the communities. "Our prime demand DImAPur, December 10 (mexN): The Ukhrul now is that the centre District Working Journalists' Association (UDWJA) has places the bill on ST in expressed its profound sympathy and heartfelt condolences on the sudden and untimely demise of Ngath- the parliament during ingkhui Hungyo on December 10. He was the founding the winter session. OtherEditor of first Tangkhul daily newspaper 'The Aja Daily' wise we have to go inten-a Tangkhul-English bilingual newspaper. The UDWJA sify our agitation and go in a press condolence issued through its secretary, R against BJP in the run-up Lester Makang described Late Hungyo was a man of to the assembly polls," All vision, perseverance and accomplishment who over- Assam Motok Students come numerous challenges establishing the newspa- Union (ASMSU) president per in early 1990s and the success of the paper stand Arunjyoti Moran said. testimony to his sincere endeavours. “All members of UDWJA also join all the near and dear ones in sharing a deep sense of sorrow in the sudden loss of an enterprising man,” it maintained adding that his pioneering vision will remain etched to their memory forever.

Our Correspondent Imphal | December 10

A three-day long 'First North East Indigenous Peoples' Parliament' has kickedoff here at the Kangshang, Khuman Lampak Sports Complex on Thursday. The programme is being jointly oganised by Coalition for Indigenous Rights Campaign, Manipur, Assam Sanmilta Mahasangha and Assam Meitei Apunba Lup, where core issues of the region will be discussed by representatives of various ethnic communities of North East. Issues such as challenges and survival of each tribe in the region, human rights and human secu-

"As vast areas of Assam and land in remaining states are flood prone, crop losses are an annual phenomenon in the region," he pointed out. Ngachan was here to lead a two-day national seminar here on "sustainable hill agriculture in changing climate". Over 200 agricultural scientists from 11 hill states including J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and all eight NE states took part in the seminar that also discussed how to deal with the climate change effect and improved farming modules. He said that the ICAR has launched the KIRAN (Knowledge Innovation Repository of Agriculture in the Northeast) platform in July 2012 to harness the power of scientific knowledge and technology innovation for strengthening agricultural production systems in the northeast region through dynamic partnership and convergence among the diverse stake holders.

rity with special reference to controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, economy and development with special reference to the Indian Act East Policy and Foreign direct investment, land and natural resources, dams and water and fundamental rights of the people will be discussed during the parliament so that the indigenous peoples of the region can fight together and find a common platform to solve them. Former president of Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), Stephen Angkang attended the opening session as the chief guest and former Principal of DM College of Science, Imphal, Hidangma-

gurgAON, December 10 (PtI): A 30-yearold man from Manipur was allegedly beaten up in front of a woman friend in Gurgaon Tuesday evening, said police, even as the assault revived talk of violence against people from the Northeast in the national capital region. Lal Bruce Thangkhal, the media in-charge of North East Support Centre and Helpline (NESCH) in Gurgaon, suffered extensive injuries when a group of men assaulted him at about 8 pm, said police sources. He was returning from a party in Chakarpur village when a group of people attacked them, added the sources. His friend Amy Niang, 26, witnessed the assault and tried to help him, but she was pushed aside, said the sources. Bruce received 15 stitches on the head at Uma Sanjeevani Hospital. Doctors said when he was brought in, both his

MHJU flays ‘unwarranted attack’ cHurAcHANDPur, December 10 (mexN): The Manipur Hill Journalists Union (MHJU) strongly condemned the ‘unwarranted attack’ on journalist Bruce Thangkhal at Chakarpur in Gurgaon on Tuesday evening by some locals after throwing lewd abuses. Thangkhal, who hails from Churachanpur in Manipur is the Delhi Correspondent of The Zogam Today, a Churachanpur based daily news papers and also an media incharge of Delhi’s North East Support Centre & Helpline. Physical forces and discrimination can never bring love and the unprovoked bashing of Thangkhal for his “racial features” is highly condemnable, the MHJU stated in a press note issued by its President, Sothing Shimray and General Secretary, S.Nengkhanlun The MHJU further beseeched to Manipur Government to look into the matter so that the racial attacker does not go scot free and fervently appealled to the Gurgaon police to immediately book the culprit into justice. eyes were also swollen. Police have registered an FIR against four unidentified persons. More than 100 NESCH members from across NCR rushed to the hospital Wednesday and also met the deputy commissioner of police. “We have formed teams and are in-

yum Dwijasekhar Sharma presided over it. Stephen Angkang said that despite differences among various groups in NE, there are some area where they can go together. He was optimistic that positive outcome was expected if debate and discussion ate held on the common cause and aspiration. Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha president Matiur Rahman also spoke during the inaugural session. He said the unchecked influx of migrants into the region has remained a big challenge to the people of NE. He said the British era rooted problem is creating a serious problem and posing a big threat to the indigenous peoples.

Six communities threaten to go against PolAris ExPEriENcE ZoNE BJP if centre fails to grant them ST status Nagaland’s 1 All-Terrain-Vehicle (ATV) Track

Tripura editor acquitted in murder case

UDWJA condoles

iN THE coUrT oF DEPUTY coMMissioNEr DiMAPUr DisTricT HEADQUArTEr cHUMUKEDiMA cAMP: DiMAPUr: NAGAlAND NOTICE

Dt.Dimapur the 09th Dec’15

NO.M-2225/15/15988-89 / Notice is hereby given that Shri. S.I. Jamir -Vrs- Shri. Nitya Gopal Deb resident of Kuda (C) Khel Village in the District of Dimapur, Nagaland under Rule 50 & 51 of Assam Land Revenue Regulation 1886 have applied for Mutation of land described in the schedule below:The undersigned under Rule 52 of the said Rules do hereby invites claims/objections concerning to the said land, if any & should be submitted to this court in writing on or before 09th January, 2016. SCHEDULE OF LAND AND BOUNDARY Name of Patta Holder : Shri. S.I Jamir Village /Block No : Nagarjan Patta No : 864 Dag No : 20/1183 Area : 00B-01K-00Ls. (267.55) Sq.m Sd/- Deputy Commissioner Dimapur: Nagaland

Six communities constitute a sizeable chunk of electorates in many of the assembly constituencies. ASMSU and other organizations representing six communities on December 7 staged demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for early placing of the ST bill in the on-going parliament session. All Tai Ahom Students Union (ATASU) president Pranjal Rajkonwar said the delay in granting ST status showed that seven BJP MPs from the state had not been able to raise the issue proactively with the centre. Rajkonwar added that leaders of the six communities will come out with its next course of action on December-end if the ongoing parliament session failed to place the ST bill. On the other hand, the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS) which has been opposing ST status to six communities, said that the existing tribal's rights will significantly be curtailed once centre accept the demand.

New Winter Timings!

vestigating. The accused are yet to be identified. We will take prompt action,” said Deepak Saharan, DCP (East) and nodal officer for people from Northeast in Gurgaon. Delhi and peripheral areas have seen sporadic reports of violence against people from Northeast states.

ADMISSION NOTICE

Admission forms and Prospectus for both Hostellers and Day Scholars for Classes L.K.G.-6 (2016-17 Session) are available. Located in an ideal environment with spacious campus; a home away from home. Office Hours: 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. For further information contact: 9856310711/9436004058

JoB VaCaNCY Entrepreneurs Associates, an NGO working towards promoting entrepreneurship is looking for promising, energetic, result oriented and dynamic professionals with relevant work experience and brilliant academic records. Job Designation : Project Coordinator Expected salary : Rs. 30,000 p.m. with other additional benefits Vibrant candidates with minimum qualification of a graduate degree in any discipline and atleast 2 years of working experience in NGO/Corporate/or any other similar workings may apply. Minimum of 3 years Work Commitment is required. Interested candidates fulfilling the pre-requirements may submit their application with CV on or before 15th of December, 2015 to eanagaland.hr@gmail.com | Contact: +918131091105 or visit the Office of the Entrepreneurs Associates, PWD Junction, Opp. Traffic point, Kohima. Shortlisted candidates will be called for interview.

Looking for something fun and exciting to do this festive season? Come and experience the power performance of Polaris off-road vehicles in the pay-and ride ATV tracks at Polaris Experience Zone, Dimapur. Perfect for those seeking a rush of adrenalin and outdoors fun. Kid’s ATV is also available but must be accompanied by an adult. Join us where the road ends and the off-road adventure begins. Located at Bamunpukhuri, 4 kms from Zion Hospital – look out for “Polaris Experience Zone” way signs on the road leading to track. For Dec and Jan, we are open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 till 5:00 pm. Closed on following dates: 24th to 27th Dec and 31st Dec to 3rd Jan 2016. Ph: 897-419-2695, e-mail: polaris.northeast@gmail.com

A Lecture by Dr. Abraham Lotha on

‘Understanding Naga Ancestral Journey Through DNA Studies’ What does the Naga DNA say about the origin of human beings? National Geographic’s Genographic Project uses advanced DNA analyses to learn about how human beings originated and came to populate the Earth. Using the results of a DNA sample examined by the Genographic Project, Dr. Abraham Lotha shares his understanding of the Naga ancestral journey and invites people to an interaction to broaden the discourse. Date Time Venue

: : :

Monday, December 14, 2015 3:00pm Elim Hall, Dimapur Ao Baptist Church (DABA), Duncan Basti, Dimapur

Limited Seats. Those interested to participate, kindly send us your name and phone number to: # +91 (03862) 248854 OR @ morung@gmail.com A collaboration of the Chumpo Museum, Morung for Indigenous Affairs & Just Peace, and The Morung Express

friDAY 11 •12•2015

Business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

India clears Japan’s bid for first bullet train ahead of Abe trip

Hyundai Cars become costlier in India NEW DELHI, DEcEmbEr 10 (agENcIEs): Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second largest carmaker today announced a sudden price hike across all its models. Prices of Hyundai cars in India have now gone up by up to 30,000, making this the Korean carmaker’s second price hike in the period of just two months. Earlier around mid-October, Hyundai India increased the prices for its popular premium hatchback Elite i20 and the Hyundai Creta SUV. Hyundai had increased the price of the Elite i20 by 2,000, while prices of the 1.4-litre diesel and petrol powered Creta went up by 10,000. On the other hand, price of the more powerful 1.6-litre diesel version of the Creta was hiked to 20,000. Commenting on the recent price hike, Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing said, “In these challenging market conditions, we are constrained to consider the price increase on account of factors like increase in cost of components, weak rupee etc. The proposed price increase up to 30000 will be effective from January 2016 across all models including Elite and Creta.” Currently Hyundai Motor India owns only one manufacturing facility in the country, which is located near Chennai. Due to the recent torrential rains and flood that engulfed the city and its surrounding areas, Hyundai had to suspend its production operations. Hyundai’s sole plant has been catering to both domestic as well as export markets, which makes this untimely halt in production all the more severe.

NEW DELHI, DEcEmbEr 10 (rEutErs): India’s cabinet has cleared a $14.7 billion Japanese proposal to build its first bullet train line, an Indian government minister and official said on Thursday, one of India’s biggest foreign investments in its infrastructure sector. The decision ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit beginning on Friday gives Japan an early lead over China, which is also bidding to build high-speed rail lines across large parts of India’s congested and largely British-era system. Japan had offered to finance 80 percent of the cost of the train linking financial capital Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the

commercial centre of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, at an interest rate of less than 1 percent. “It’s been done,” a government minister who attended the cabinet meeting headed by Modi late on Wednesday told Reuters. An official in Modi’s office confirmed the decision, saying there were some issues relating to the bullet train but that had since been sorted out in time for Abe’s visit. “We expect to make an announcement during the visit,” the official said. Both the minister and the official declined to be identified. Modi and Abe have forged a strong relation-

ship, seeking to expand commercial and defence ties and push back against the rising influence of China across Asia. Japan’s International Cooperation Agency completed a feasibility study in July on the 505-km (315mile) Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor offering to cut travel time to two hours from the current seven to eight hours. China was in September given the right to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train link between Delhi and Chennai, in the south, after getting clearances from India’s security agencies wary of Chinese involvement in infrastructure areas such as telecoms and railways. French and Spanish

firms are also conducting studies into building two of the routes in a quadrilateral of high-speed train lines criss-crossing the country that would drastically reduce travel times. A railway official said a panel led by Modi’s adviser, Arvind Panagariya, had cited the accident-free record of the Japan’s highspeed trains in its recommendation. Lured by the scale of India’s transport needs, foreign rail companies are aggressively campaigning to sell their technology and steal a march on rivals. However, the government has not said how it would pay for the new lines if they eventually get the green light.

Global airline industry’s net profit to rise in 2016: IATA ‘Indian economy to become NEW DELHI, DEcEmbEr are benefiting from greater value are expected to rise to 3.8 billion 100% digitised by 2020’ 10 (IaNs): A leading interna- than ever-with competitive air- travelling over 54,000 routes. fares and product investments,” said Tony Tyler, director general and chief executive, IATA. In addition, the global aviation industry body revised its airline industry outlook for 2015 upwards to a net profit of $33 billion. IATA cited low oil prices, strong passenger demand, healthy performance of major economies and operational efficiencies achieved by airlines as some of the factors behind its positive outlook for 2016. Furthermore it predicted that in 2016 total passenger numbers

tional airlines industry body on Thursday said it expected the sector’s net profit to rise by 10 percent from $33 billion in 2015 to $36.3 billion in 2016. The figures were revealed by International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its airline industry outlook for 2016 which sees an average net profit margin of 5.1 percent which is expected to generate a total net profits of $36.3 billion in 2016. “The airline industry is delivering solid financial and operational performance. Passengers

The airline outlook for next year revealed that the passenger capacity growth in AsiaPacific region is expected to accelerate as new aircraft are delivered in major emerging markets such as India. “Passenger capacity growth is expected to accelerate from 6 percent in 2015 to 8.4 percent in 2016 as new aircraft are delivered largely to accommodate growth in the major emerging markets of India, Indonesia and China,” IATA said in its airline industry outlook for next year.

NEW DELHI, DEcEmbEr 10 (IaNs): The Indian economy, which is currently 50% digitized, is expected to reach 100 percent by 2020, a top official said on Thursday. The digital transformation is being fueled by rapid innovation in the technology space, said National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai at the 3rd edition of the National CIO Summit organized by Confederation of Indian Industry. On the flip side, this transformation makes any country vulnerable to cyber threats, he said. India ranks amongst the five top most countries for malware penetration and security breaches. Mobility, social networking, customer centricity and optimization of supply chain are four key forces driving the digital transformation, said KPMG director Arnab Mitra. Organisations need to build capabilities to walk through this transformation, he said, adding successful digital transformation depend on degree of simplicity from adoption perspective, the risks identified and a proper mitigation plan needs to be in place.

Black money outflow more than defence budget mumbaI, DEcEmbEr 10 (tHE HINDu): India, one of fastest growing economies in the world, is also a leading source of illicit financial outflows, pegged at $51 billion a year, or a-fourth more than its defence budget, according to Washington-based research and advocacy firm Global Financial Integrity (GFI). With $51 billion siphoned out a year, India ranks fourth in terms of black money outflow, just behind China, Russia and Mexico. Over half a trillion ($510 billion) worth of black money has been drained out of the country from

2004 to 2013, said the US based think tank in its new study. This report comes when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose key poll promise was to bring back black money stashed abroad, is seeking international cooperation towards that end, and the government has since worked with authorities abroad to crack down on illegal account holders, enacting tough laws to arrest such practices. China tops the list with $139.2 billion average outflow of illicit finances per annum, followed by Russia at $104.9 billion

per annum and Mexico at $52.8 billion per annum, according to the study. The study titled “Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013” reveals that illicit financial flows first surpassed $1 trillion in 2011, and have now grown to US $1.1 trillion in 2013, marking a dramatic increase from 2004, when illicit outflows totalled just $465.3 billion. The illegal capital outflows stems from tax evasion, crime, corruption and other illicit activity, said the study adding that illicit financial flows averaged a

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 # 3431

staggering 4% of the developing world’s GDP. In October, the Indian government said that 638 number of declarations have been received under the compliance window declaring undisclosed foreign assets amounting to Rs 3,770 crore under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (the Act). The compliance window was opened from July 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015. Tax at the rate of 30% and penalty at the rate of 30% is to be paid by December

31, 2015, according to the government statement. “This study clearly demonstrates that illicit financial flows are the most damaging economic problem faced by the world’s developing and emerging economies,” said GFI President Raymond Baker, an authority on financial crime. “This year at the UN the mantra of ‘trillions not billions’ was continuously used to indicate the amount of funds needed to reach the sustainable development goals. Significantly curtailing illicit flow is central to that effort,” he added.

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3443

Answer Number # 3430

Govt collects Rs 21,054 crore through petrol, diesel cess in FY’15 NEW DELHI, DEcEmbEr 10 (PtI): The cess on petrol and high speed diesel is collected as per the provision of the Central Road Fund (CRF) Act, 2000. The government has collected Rs 21,054 crore through the cess imposed on petrol and diesel in the last financial year, ended March 2015, Parliament was informed on Thursday. The collection is higher by 22% at Rs 21,054.43 crore as against Rs 17,330.87 crore collected in 201314. In 2012-13 the figure stood at Rs 16,401.91 crore, Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways P Radhakrishnan said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The cess on petrol and high speed diesel is collected as per the provision of the Central Road Fund (CRF) Act, 2000, which is utilised for development and maintenance of national highways (NHs), development of rural roads, he added. It is also used in the development and maintenance of other state roads of inter-state and economic importance and for the improvement of safety at rail-road crossings, among others, the Minister informed the House. “Besides, the Ministry also approves/sanctions works for development of state roads under CRF including roads of Economic Importance (EI) and Inter-State Connectivity (ISC),” Radhakrishnan said. In a separate query, the Minister told the House that the government has set a target of laying down 10,950 km of highways, under various schemes, in the current fiscal, ending March next year.

Facebook service aimed at professionals to be launched soon saN FraNcIsco, DEcEmbEr 10 (rEutErs): Facebook at Work, Facebook Inc’s professional version of its social network, is expected to launch in the coming months, after spending a year in tests, a company executive said. The new service, geared towards workplace collaboration, is nearly identical to its ubiquitous social network, with a scrolling news “feed”, “likes” and a chat service. “I would say 95 percent of what we developed for Facebook is also adopted for Facebook at Work,” Julien Codorniou, director of global platform partnerships at Facebook, told. However, Facebook at Work users will maintain special profiles that are distinct from their existing Facebook profiles. The company is also developing exclusive products for Facebook at Work, including security tools, he said. Facebook started beta-testing the service in January and has kept it as a free, “invite-only” service for companies so far. The service will be open to all companies once launched and Facebook plans to charge “a few dollars per month per user” for premium services such as analytics and customer support, a company spokeswoman said. The online career market, which includes LinkedIn Corp and Monster Worldwide Inc, is worth about $6 billion a year, market research firm IDC had said in August. More than 300 companies, including Heineken, Royal Bank of Scotland and jeweller Stella and Dot, are using Facebook at Work and Club Mediterranee SA is set to be the latest adopter. The French resort company will offer the service to all its 13,000 employees through summer 2016, Anne Browaeys-Level, Club Mediterranee’s chief marketing & digital officer, told. “Almost everything on Facebook at Work is the same as the regular Facebook social network, with some minor exceptions You cannot play Candy Crush on Facebook at Work,” said Codorniou. DIMAPUR civil hospital:

STD CODE: 03862 232224; emergency229529, 229474

metro hospital: Faith hospital:

227930, 231081 228846

shamrock hospital

228254

zion hospital:

231864, 224117, 227337

Police control room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

east Police station west Police station

227607 232181

cihsr (referral hospital)

242555/ 242533

Dimapur hospital

224041, 248011

Apollo hospital info centre:

230695/ 9402435652

railway:

131/228404

indian Airlines

229366

nagaland multispe- 248302, cialty health & 09856006026 research centre

The WeATheR AirPressure

summAry

Drizzle

chArt

OvercAst

hAzy

BArOmeter

sunBurn

DrOught

chillFActOr

PreDict

hurricAne

BlizzArD

sunshine

DrysPell

clOuDy

PrOsPects

lightning

BlOwy

temPerAture

FOrecAst

cOlDFrOnt

scOrcher

lOcAlly

Breeze

thunDer

FrOnt

cOlDsnAP

seAsOnAl

meteOrOlOgy

Bright

tOrnADO

gAles

DOwnPOur

sleet

misty

cAtsAnDDOgs

tyPhOOn

glOOmy

DriFting

stOrmy

OutlOOk

chAngeABle

visiBility

hAilstOnes

E Z E E R B Y P U T H U N D E R A J S D

G T P E T L Y R A M M U S C P F S A G B

M Y P R L V C H A N G E A B L E T P S I

F P A A A P R E D I C T F O R E C A S T

D H C Y T I L I B I S I V R M F E I T V

C O N H G X L L J A S D K P S O P D O P

L O W G R L L A N E I N E N E V S R R E

F N L N M E O D N Z U R V W L E O I M H

V Y J R P E D O X O A K P N A R R Z Y U

P D W S H O T Q M T S T O R G C P Z C R

Z G Y O G S U E U Y O A N O E A B L O R

O R N S L T B R O L Y E E O L S Y E L I

D F P I R B E D F R G V P S R T S G D C

A C A K N R E T E M O R A B O F U U F A

N H N F G T D V C H I L L F A C T O R N

R K S E N I H S N U S H O L O S F O O E

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

O P D D R O U G H T A T H G I R B L N I

T S L E E T B L I Z Z A R D Y A A U T A

S C O R C H E R Y L Y X G N I T F I R D

G N C L O U D Y N R U B N U S M I S T Y

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

ACROSS

1. Lacquer ingredient 6. Not first 10. Desire 14. An evil supernatural being 15. Arab chieftain 16. Cozy corner 17. Paces 18. Scoff at 19. A ridge of sand 20. Zeal 22. Quaint outburst 23. A parcel of land 24. Rowed 26. Jargon 30. Water holes 32. Fruit of the oak tree 33. Dancing 37. Cold-shoulder 38. Prods 39. Region 40. Dictatorships 42. A simple seat 43. Pile 44. Reddish brown 45. Hard fats 47. An Israelite tribe 48. Tale 49. A shortened version

DOWN

1. Border 2. Low-fat 3. Send forth 4. Sweater eater 5. Diabetics lack this 6. On the up and up 7. Dogfish 8. Brothers and sisters 9. Vibratos 10. Downplay 11. French for “Red” 12. Testicle 13. Barely managed 21. Mayday 25. Altitude (abbrev.) 26. Long ago 27. Sore 28. See the sights 29. Decorative 30. Engaged

31. Nights before 33. Smile 34. Weightlifters pump this 35. A noble gas 36. Big party 38. Useless 41. Excluding 42. Vocalists 44. Unhappy 45. Expensive fur 46. Pee 47. Means 48. Not mine 50. A novel 51. Debauchee 52. Lunch or dinner 53. Sea eagle 54. Anagram of “Tine” 55. Exam Ans to CrossWord 3442

DIMAPUR: 03862-232201/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) CHUMUKEDIMA: 7085982102 (O) 8732810051 (OC)

MOKOKCHUNG: 0369-2226225/ 101 (O) 8415830232 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 8413822476(OC) ZUNHEBOTO: 03867-280304/ 101 (O) 9436422730 (OC) TUENSANG: 8414853766 (O) 9856163601 (OC)

KIPHIRE: 8414853767 (O) 9436261577 (OC) PEREN: 7085189932 (O) 9856311205 (OC) LONGLENG: 7085924113 (O) 9862414264 (OC)

Toll free No. 1098 childline

WE4WOMEN HELPLINE 08822911011

MOKOKCHUNG:

KOHIMA NORTH: 7085924114 (O)

MON: 03869-251222/ 101 (O) 9862130954 (OC)

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE 56. Death notice 57. Godsend 58. Creepy 59. Forearm bone 60. Boor 61. Harangues 62. Bobbin 63. Anagram of “Seek” 64. Mixture of rain and snow

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

WOKHA: 03860242215/101 (O) 8974322879 (OC)

chumukedima Fire 282777 Brigade nikos hospital and 232032, 231031 research centre

KOHIMA

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

Police Station 1:

2226241

Police Station 2 :

2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:

2226216 2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226373/2229343

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

CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

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

65.17 98.16 8.14 47.51 46.33 48.44 52.52

68.12 102.90 9.06 49.85 48.62 50.82 55.48

Euro

70.34

73.76

Thai Baht Korean Won New Zealand Dollar Chinese Yuan

1.76

1.96

0.0541

0.0602

43.59

45.73

9.77

10.88

FridAY 11•12•2015

Chedie wins King Chilli Eating Competition

DAN legislature party resolve Mass Prayer Walk in Mokokchung to uphold NPNG act 2012 Mokokchung DC informs Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): A joint meeting of the DAN Legislature Party held on December 10 at the State Banquet Hall resolved to uphold the resolution of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on land and its resources, 2010, and also to uphold the rules and regulations on Nagaland Petroleum & Natural Gases passed in 2012. DAN Legislature Party Spokesperson, Yitachu in a press statement said the meeting also decided to further approach central leaders of both the ruling as well as the opposition parties to apprise them of the Naga political issue and to urge support for an early solution. It further resolved to place on record its appreciation of the efforts of the various governmental departments and other participating

NGOs for the success of the Hornbill Festival, 2015. Earlier, the NPF Legislature Party in a meeting resolved to thank the erstwhile 8 INC, 1 NCP and 1 JD (U) MLAs for merging with the NPF party thereby raising the NPF Legislature party to an all-time high of 48 MLAs in a House of 60. It also reiterated to fully support the leadership of TR Zeliang, leader of the NPF Legislature Party in the years to come and acknowledged the statement of the party president, Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu that TR Zeliang will continue to lead the NPF Legislature Party beyond 2018. It further resolved to maintain the DAN alliance in letter and spirit with all the political parties in the State including the Independent MLAs.

moKoKchuNg, December 10 (mexN): On account of the Mokokchung Town 125-years an- The Deputy Commissioner, Mokokcniversary and “to praise hung, has in a press release informed all God and further seek His the Heads of Department to park their blessings,” all the Baptist vehicles at the Yongpang Market during churches falling under the 125 years Celebration Inauguration Mokokchung town will be Function on December 12. observing a mass prayer walk on December 11 and Further, a special devotional a special devotional on December service and prayer will be held 13. This was stated in a press re- in all the churches on Decemlease issued by the Mokokchung ber 13. Also, all elderly persons Town Baptist Churches Mission above 90 years of age will be giv(MTBCM), which comprises of all en special prayers and gifts, MTthe 18 Baptist Churches under Mo- BCM stated. This program will kokchung Town. be initiated by the pastors of the Ringing of the ‘Jubilee bell’ respective churches. MTBCM in all the churches will mark the Chairman, Mangyang Pastor beginning of the prayer walk and Secretary, Puryabang Paswhich will go on till 5 p.m. In this tor in the press release further regard, MTBCM has requested called upon all believers to upall the believers to participate in hold in their prayers the success of the programs. the prayer walk.

ANSTA lauds ongoing verification of schools P. Chedie Khiamniungan won the Naga King Chilli eating compitition at Kisama on December 10. (DIPR Photo)

Kohima, December 10 (Dipr): P. Chedie Khiamniungan won the Naga King Chilli eating competition consuming six chillies. The second prize was bagged by Prem Saikia from Kohima who also ate six chillies but only lagged behind the winner by few seconds. Khumong, Mongtsa and Shanyu David shared the third prize. The Naga king chilli eating competition was organized by XL Nagaland and sponsored by the Department of Horticulture. 19 contestants participated in the event. The winner from the tourist category was Ghao Debajil from Assam. Rongsenmoa walks fastest on Bamboo Stilt The Stilt Bamboo walking, a popular game of the Nagas and the last indigenous game of the Hornbill Festival, marked the tenth day celebration on December 10 at the main arena, Naga Heritage Village Kisama. Almost all the tribes par-

ticipated in the competition with the following emerging as winners: 1st – Rongsenmoa Ao, 2nd – Gumpeu Zeliang and 3rd – Binod Sangma. The winners pocketed a sum of Rs. 7000, Rs. 5000 and Rs. 3000 respectively. The competition was organsied by the Department of Youth Resources & Sports which was co-sponsored by Department of Tourism. Apfukru wins Hipfest Photo Competition Apfukru Dolie was judged winner of the Hipfest Photo competition which was held on the theme ‘Colours of Nagaland’. Dolie was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25000 during the closing ceremony of the Hornbill Festival 2105 at Kisama, Heritage Villages. Caisii Mao and Mahong Sorei were awarded second and third place respectively. Consolation prizes were also awarded to Tsugporong Imsong and Zhaletuo Sachü. About 50 entries were registered for this year’s

Hipfest Photo competition. Judges for the competition were Tom Potisit, a Thailand based Photographer, Jill Bednar, Owner of American Image New Jersey, and V. Doulo, Assistant Director, Tourism Department. Painting Competition Neiketouzo Keyho from Khedi Baptist School Kohima won the painting competition and received a cash prize of Rs. 10,000. Ilokito K. Chella from Mount Hermon School Kohima and Ruopfuzhazo Dzüvichü from North Field School Kohima were the first and second runner-up respectively. Ilokito and Ruopfuzhazo were awarded Rs. 5000 and 2500 respectively along with certificates. The painting competition was organized by Art and Culture in collaboration with All Nagaland Fine Arts Teachers Association. YouthNet's First Cutinter collegiate entrepreneurship competition was won by Sazolie College.

Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): The All Nagaland School Teachers' Association (ANSTA) has lauded the order of the Department of School Education to verify the actual existence of Government schools under particular areas. In this regard, a district wise meeting had been called at DOSE from No-

vember 20 till the middle part of December to ascertain the actual number of Government schools. Terming the verification exercise a “cleaning venture,” ANSTA urged upon the authorities to leave no stone unturned in carrying out its verification drive. The association also urged the Field OfficersDEOs /SDEOs and staff to

cooperate with the authorities in furnishing the actual facts and figures. The Association while maintaining its stand for proper streamlining and cleaning the mess of the department expressed its willingness to extend all possible help as and when required by the concerned department in the present exercise.

NBSE notifies Kohima, December 10 (mexN): The Nagaland Board of School Education has notified that it has enrolled 22969 students for the 2016 High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) Examination while 14507 enrolled for the Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examination. Another 17526 enrolled for the 2016 Class XI Promotion Exams, a press release from NBSE Controller of Examination informed.

High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) Examination 2016 Number of Examination Centre - 72 Enrolment - 22969 Class XI Promotion Examination 2016 Number of Examination Centre Enrolment: Arts Science Commerce Total

- 147 - 13798 - 2621 - 1107 - 17526

Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examination 2016 Number of Examination Centre - 50 Enrolment: Arts - 10385 Science - 2725 Commerce - 1397 Total - 14507

State Unit of Freedom Fighters Successors’ org formed Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): The Nagaland Unit of Northeast Region Freedom Fighters Successor's was formed with Zeliezu Angami as its President, a press note from the State Unit informed. Members of the or-

ganisation called upon Governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya on December 9 and apprised him of the need to work for the welfare of freedom fighters and their children, who were against British imperial policies for the

Indian Independence, it added. It further informed that the members requested the Governor to extend all possible help and guidance to the newly formed organisation for the service of the people in the state.

MEx FILE DBA calls meeting Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): Dimapur Bar Association (DBA) has informed all its members that the office bearers and executive meeting will be held on December 14, 12:00 pm at DBA Hall to deliberate on important matters concerning the Association. Therefore, all the members have been requested to attend the meeting positively.

ANPWDFWA emergency meeting Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): The All Nagaland PWD Field Worker’s Association (ANPWDFWA) has convened an emergency meeting on December 15 at PWD Rest House Dimapur from 10 a.m. onwards to discuss issues related to pending salaries and other important issues. All unit presidents and secretaries of PWD (R&B), Housing and National Highways, have been requested to attend the meeting positively.

Kohima city bus owners, drivers informed Kohima, December 10 (mexN): The City Bus Owners Union, Kohima (CBOUK) has informed all the city bus owners, drivers and conductors in Kohima that there will be a combined picnic on December 12 at Multi Purpose hall, IG stadium Kohima, at 11 a.m. Sr. Superintendent of Police, Kohima, Joseph Hesso, will be the Chief Guest on the occasion while Kovi Meyase, Administrator, Kohima Municipal Council will be the Guest of honor. In this regard, the union has requested all the bus owners, drivers and conductor to turn up on the day. No city bus would be allowed to ply in town on the said day, it stated. Defaulters would be fined Rs. 1000, it warned.

58th PVSU Annual Session 2015 Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): The 58th Annual Session of Pongidong Village Students Union (PVSU) will be held on December 29 and 30 under the Theme: “Catalyst of Change (DongphijiLanlyui)” at Community Hall Pongidongvillage, with Er. Y. Zanathung Ezung, Junior Engineer, Power Department, Wokha as the Chief Guest, Thungchibemo T Humtsoe, Head Master Mt. Sinai School Wokha will be the Theme speaker and Lily Humtsoe Asst. Prof Department of Pol. Sci. St. Joseph College will be the resource person for the career guidance.

Benreu Village observes 50th Martyr’s Day Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Zunheboto in collaboration with Nagaland University conducted a demonstration on processing of ginger – preparation of ginger pickle and ginger candy. The main objective of the programme was to make the SHG women acquainted with the uses of ginger to make it profitable. Altogether 14 women from Lumami village participated in the programme.

Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): The 50th Martyr’s Anniversary of Benreu village was observed at Centenary Tsusum Benreu. The day is observed to honour the five slain members of the village who were killed by Rani Gaidinliu’s soldier at Ngauluang village in Peren district on January 1, 1965 while on a Peace Mission. The programme began with the placing of wreath by the family members of the martyrs which was

followed by special number from Benreului Nkwa Kohima. Fourteen people representing the 14 khels of the Benreu village also paid tribute to the martyrs. Earlier, the unveiling of the monolith stone was done by Rev. Deuhing Nsa. Rev. Dr. Visor H. Zeliang invoked God’s blessing while short speeches were given by Benreu Village Council, Ex-MLA Lungbe Meru and Benreului Baudi. Kilungme spoke on behalf of the victims’ family. Rev. Kulungsing Meru chaired the programme.

Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, during his visit to the Hornbill Festival at Kisama Heritage Village as the State Chief Guest of the Day on December 7. He was accompanied by Neerupma Bakshi, Regional President, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).

C-Edge College holds Tobacco Awareness Programme Relay race being flagged off by Chief Guest Rajesh IAS, ADC Mokokchung during Dimapur, Decemthe silver Jubilee celebration of SSS at Babu Tsübo Amphitheatre on Thursday, ber 10 (mexN): Committed to transforming its December 10, 2015.

campus into a ‘Tobacco Free Zone,’ C-Edge College took its first steps with its Student Forum (CECSF) organizing a Tobacco Awareness Programme on December 8. Dr. C Tetseo, District Nodal Officer of NTCP – National Tobacco Control Programme and Dr. Arenla Tetseo of NLEP were the resource persons on the occasion. Dr. C. Tetseo mentioned that Nagaland is ranked as the second highest tobacco consumer state in India with an alarmingly high 57% population in the state consuming tobacco. Stressing on the adverse health effects of tobacco, Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) team with newly appointed Chair- Dr. Tetseo stated that literman of NBHM, Pusazo Luruo, along with Agriculture Production Commissioner & Mission Director T. Imkonglemba Ao during the welcome programme organized at Multi- acy has no bearing on the prevalence of tobacco use. Utility Center of NBHM at 6th Mile, Dimapur on December 8.

We cannot ignore tobacco create awareness about usage anymore, he added. Human Rights and a pledge to eliminate discriminaHuman Rights tion, the department of Day observed Political Science observed With the objective to World Human Rights Day

on December 10. Aloli H Kinny, Asst Professor, spoke on the significance of Human Rights Day. A presentation on the Human Rights status in Nagaland

was given by the semester II students. In addition, the students from the department also took the initiative for pledge taking with those present at the event.

FRiDAY 11•12•2015

IN FOCUS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express X issue 337X issue 185 Thursday 9volume July 2015 volume By dr. sao Tunyi

Is there gender inequality in Nagaland?

he title seems like a no-brainer that the existence of gender inequality in Nagaland should be put into question. But surprisingly many males including educated people in leadership positions hold the view that there is no gender discrimination in Nagaland. Therefore, before going into enumerating or highlighting the degree of gender discrimination, it may be worth looking at the debate on the existence of gender inequality itself. We hear it from the pulpit or elsewhere which goes something like this: Once upon a time, there was gender inequality when Nagas practiced headhunting. There were battles between villages/tribes and therefore male warriors and boys were regarded over women and girls. Due to customary practices and the traditional way of life, men occupied all the leadership positions. But with the coming of Christianity and modern education, there is no more gender inequality. Girls are doing really well in studies and are beating boys in exams. Women are becoming officers. But is that assessment true and does it correspond with reality? This year, I had two experiences which cement the fact that our Naga society is discriminating towards women. “Two experiences? We experience discrimination every day”, womenfolk will say and they are right. One only has to ask a woman, any woman, and you will be told that genders are indeed not equal. It is in our very system; it is in how the society, families, and various institutions are structured and run. Why some men miss it is probably because it is inbuilt in the system. Let me proceed with my two experiences anyway. I was a member of a study team on infant and maternal mortality and travelled to several villages to talk to people. I stayed in one village for a few days and in one of the meetings, I talked to the village council members. All the 52 members of the village council were males and I asked why is that so. The explanation given was that the Naga villages are run as per Naga customary law where the village council is the ‘court’ as well as the ‘police’ of the village. Therefore women in the traditional custom of the Nagas cannot be enforcers of the law. The leaders said that crucial issues are discussed which cannot even be spoken of at home. Therefore in matters which concerns security of the village, it requires strong-headed males who will not crumble under pressure and divulge the matters being discussed. The leaders opined that equal gender representation or 33% women reservation is not applicable in the Naga society because it will go against the customary practices of the Nagas. There were other derogatory comments and male chauvinistic talks which were not worth recording. But the pervasive male dominant attitude came out strongly from that interview. It is not confined to rural areas. In my other experience, there was a talk from a church pulpit in our Capital city that with the coming of Christianity, gender discrimination is gone. It was uttered with a sense that this ‘equality’ was a gift that women received (as a result of religious ‘enlightenment’), rather than a Right which is inherent. Such attitude which is dismissive of the existence of gender discrimination provides no stimulus to work towards gender equality. Data in wide ranging areas show that gender disparity is prevalent. For example, in Nagaland the gender gap in literacy rate is 6.6% in 2011 census. The same data source shows that in some districts, the female literacy is still below the State’s average of 10 years ago. That means a lot of women are over 10 years behind the average Naga in terms of literacy. Naga society is in transition where age-old understanding of male dominance and superiority coexists with increasing understanding of gender equality. Although mindsets are slowly changing, the structures and systems of the society are even slower to change. It will require more than letting things run its ‘natural course’, hoping that people will eventually become aware that gender discrimination do exist ‘even’ in our society and in our own homes. Dr. Sao Tunyi works as an Epidemiologist at Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Kohima. Feedback can be sent to saotunni@yahoo.co.in, or visit his blog www.thatchhouse.blogspot.in

lEfT wiNg |

IANS

Why visual tasks make us temporarily 'deaf'

f you try to talk to someone who is focusing on a book or game and do not receive a response, they are not necessarily ignoring you, they might simply be not hearing you! Concentrating attention on a visual task can render you momentarily 'deaf' to sounds at normal levels, a study finds, which suggests that the senses of hearing and vision share a limited neural resource. "We found that when volunteers were performing the demanding visual task, they were unable to hear sounds that they would normally hear," said study co-author Maria Chait from University College London (UCL). Researchers examined brain scans of 13 volunteers to find that when they were engaged in a demanding visual task, the brain response to sound was significantly reduced. "The brain scans showed that people were not only ignoring or filtering out the sounds, they were not actually hearing them in the first place," Chait added. Examination of people's ability to detect sounds during the visual demanding task also showed a higher rate of failures to detect sounds, even though the sounds were clearly audible and people did detect them when the visual task was easy. The phenomenon of 'inattentional deafness', where we fail to notice sounds when concentrating on other things, has more serious implications in situations such as the operating theatre, where a surgeon concentrating on their work might not hear the equipment beeping. Pedestrians engaging with their phone, for example texting while walking, are also prone to inattentional deafness. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

S O U N D BITE

ur definition of democracy cannot be restricted to elections and government only. Democracy is strengthened by Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation). I want to make India’s development journey a ‘mass movement’… everyone must feel he or she is working for India’s progress. People only talk about GST and parliament but there are also several other measures for the poor that are pending in parliament. Mahatma Gandhi brought a big change in the freedom struggle. He made it a ‘Jan Andolan’ — (mass movement). The first thing is to have faith in the people and their strengths.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi

C O M M E N T A R Y

Colin McGinn New York Times

Memes, Dreams and Themes

e have ideas, many of them, every day. We have them, but we don’t often reflect on them. Mostly they just come and go. How many ideas did you have today? What was their character? Some you might describe as big or small, simple or complex. Is it possible to gain a better understanding of ideas, their types and value to us? Is it possible to establish a taxonomy of ideas? I’d like to try. I want to propose a taxonomy of ideas that invokes a three-way division: memes, dreams and themes. Let’s start with a basic fact: It is characteristic of ideas to be shared by many minds. Why is this? One reason is that ideas spread from one mind to another. Here, the concept of a meme comes in: A meme spreads like a virus from one mind to another, duplicating itself, colonizing new minds. In modern life, we are immersed in memes — jingles, catchphrases, fads, fashions, crazes, religions, ideologies, mannerisms and accents. They spread by imitation and natural credulity, exploiting the receptivity of the human mind to new information and influence, forged in childhood. Uncritical copying is favored. People just can’t help picking stuff up, willynilly. Memes may also mutate and be subject to natural selection, sometimes proliferating wildly, before possibly going extinct. Thus ideas (in a broad sense) exist in many minds because they are memes: They have arrived there from somewhere else by means of meme transfer. Memes are like computer viruses — they trade on the architecture of the system to insert themselves into the software. Once inside they can vary from mild mental nuisance to dangerous ideology. In some respects they work like a drug: They trigger reactions in our brains that take over our minds. That annoying jingle in your head is a meme playing with your brain chemistry. (Here I have paraphrased a concept originated by Richard Dawkins, who coined the term “meme.”) The concept of the meme can be taken more or less widely. Some people take it to provide a general theory of human culture and idea transmission. I want to distinguish the meme from two other sorts of idea that are importantly different from it. First, dreams. Dream ideas, like memes, are widely shared, with the same kinds of dream cropping up in widely different communities and cultures. And as with memes, these dream contents often seem arbitrary and pointless — despite being widely shared. Though the variety of dreams is essentially unlimited, there are types of dreams that most of us have regularly: dreams of falling, flying, being pursued, being embarrassed, missing trains or buses, being inadequately prepared, being incapacitated and finding an extra room in the house. (The last item is particularly peculiar: Why should so many people dream of that?) Dream ideas are not shared because they are transmitted like memes. They don’t spread like a virus from one mind to another; they are not the result of automatic imitation. No one knows for sure why people dream as they do, though theories abound. But one thing is clear: It is not by means of imitation. Dreamers do not transmit their dreams to others by recounting them or otherwise making them public (say, by making a film embodying the dream). You cannot plant a dream in the mind of another. Yet people still tend to spontaneously have the same sorts of dream. It’s possible that dream life can be influenced to some degree by shared culture in memelike fashion, but that does not explain shared dream content. Dreams seem to grow from within, like bits of anatomy. Memes are externally formed; dreams are internally formed. So dreams are not memes. They don’t spread from mind to mind by imitation or manipulation. I call the third category themes — mainly for the

ompassion—some have it, some don’t. In a Canadian government website entitled “The refugee system in Canada,” the opening sentence states: “Our compassion and fairness are a source of great pride for Canadians . . . .A refugee is different from an immigrant, in that an immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country. Refugees are forced to flee.” It was great news for Syrian refugees camping out in Jordan that Canada showed how those words translated into practice for those hoping to emigrate to Canada. On November 29, 2015, Canada opened a refugee-processing center in Amman, Jordan. The Center’s goal is to process 500 Syrian refugees a day so that they can leave the refugee camp. It is to become the main processing center in the region. On November 29th there were three federal Canadian cabinet ministers on hand to see how the newly opened center was working. They were representatives of the government that intends to facilitate the resettlement of large numbers of the estimated 4 million Syrians who have been declared refugees from that country’s war. Hundreds of Canadian civil servants and soldiers are handling the cases of those seeking to emigrate. The Canadian government plans to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of February 2016 of which 10,000 will be resettled by the end of this year. The remaining 15,000 should be resettled by the end of February 2016. Since the beginning of November, 153 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada and another 928 have received visas that enable them to travel there. In a Canadian website entitled #Welcome Refugees, the Canadian government says that : “resettling

sake of the rhyme, but also because it has a breadth that I want to emphasize. One of the salient features of memes is that they do not spread by rational persuasion — they spread by nonrational or irrational manipulation. But the spread of scientific ideas, to take the most obvious example, is not like that: They spread because they have been found to be true, or at least empirically confirmed. Thus Darwinism is accepted because of the overwhelming evidence in its support. There is no psychological exploitation at work here. The explanation for the spread of scientific ideas is simply the power of scientific method. I hope what I have just said is completely uncontroversial, because now I want to court controversy. It would surely be wrong to restrict the nonmeme type of idea transmission to science: Many other disciplines involve shared beliefs, where these beliefs are shared for good rational reasons. Thus, history, geography, literature, philosophy, mathematics, music theory, engineering and cookery. There is a large range of human cognitive activities in which ideas are shared by something other than meme propagation — not all of them counting as “science.” We clearly need to expand the notion of rationality so as to incorporate these areas. And there is no difficulty in doing so: There are standards of evidence and argument and intellectual rigor that characterize all these areas — it isn’t all jingles and ideology (despite what post-modernists may claim). But, as always, matters get a bit more interesting when it comes to morals and aesthetics. Moral ideas spread, as do aesthetic ideas — is this kind of spread more like meme transmission or scientific communication? Compare an advertising jingle to the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth. Both may lodge in the mind against one’s will, there to repeat themselves endlessly; and they may be transmitted to others, for example by whistling. Are they both therefore memes? I would say not. There is a different explanation of the musical spread in each case: In the jingle case we have a meme, a worthless cultural trope that insidiously takes over the mind; but in the Beethoven’s Fifth case we have an aesthetically appealing and valuable musical theme. In the case of morals, one might cite the difference between the proclamation of universal human rights, a theme, and the spread by propaganda of racist ideology, a meme — one rational, the other irrational. And that is why I call my third category “themes”: Themes are cultural units with intrinsic value, which deserve to be spread and replicated. The reason they spread is that they are inherently good — meritorious, worthwhile — and are generally recognized to be so. Notice here that we can distinguish themes from

memes only by employing evaluative language, and by assuming that values play a role in cultural transmission. Themes spread because they have value (notably truth or rational justification), while memes spread despite having no value. It is the same with other aesthetic products, like art and literature. Famous lines from Shakespeare don’t spread because they are memes — worthless cultural viruses — but because they are judged to be aesthetically valuable, and rightly so judged. Nor is this a matter of high culture versus low culture: A good Beatles song is a completely different animal from a commercial jingle. The point is that the mechanism of transmission is quite different in the two cases, being more like science in the theme case, in contrast to your typical meme. None of this is to say that memes and dreams cannot get mixed up in practice, or that it is always easy to tell the difference. There can be fads and fashions in science — memes masquerading as themes (the idea of a “paradigm shift” comes to mind); and not all art that is popular is good art (popularity as measured by the number of reproductions of a given picture adorning the walls of suburban homes). But there is a deep difference of principle here — there are two very different kinds of idea transmission. Memes may disguise themselves as themes in order to gain a stronger hold, as with certain “scientific” ideologies, or kitsch art. The difference lies in the psychological means of transmission. Themes may spread from mind to mind in an epidemiological manner, even mutating as they spread, but the reason for their exponential spread is not the same as for memes. In the latter case it is brute susceptibility, but in the former case it is appreciation of merit. This is why we don’t resent the transmission of themes into our minds, while we do resent the insertion of memes. Theme transmission is genuine learning or improvement, but meme transmission involves no learning or improvement, merely mental infection. One of the central questions of civilized life is which of one’s existing ideas are memes and which are themes: Which are absorbed because of mental manipulation, usually conformity and imitation, and which represent genuine value — scientific, moral, or aesthetic? That is, does one accept certain ideas for the right reasons? Does one’s personal culture consist of memes or themes? Is it merit or manipulation that explains the contents of one’s mind? That vital question is possible only if we refuse to extend the meme concept beyond its legitimate domain. Colin McGinn has taught at various universities in England and the United States. His most recent book is “Prehension: The Hand and the Emergence of Humanity.”

Compassion... some Got it, some don't Christopher Brauchli commondreams

All of our people all over the country-except the pure blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over on the Mayflower. — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1944 Campaign Speech refugees is a proud and important part of Canada’s humanitarian tradition. It reflects our commitment to Canadians and demonstrates to the world that we have a shared responsibility to help people who are displaced and persecuted.” Across the border things are a bit different. No one in the United States is talking about resettling 25,000 refugees in the next three months. President Obama speaks hopefully of settling 10,000 by the end of 2016. That is less than one-half of what Canada proposes to do in considerably less time. And it seems increasingly unlikely that the president will come anywhere close to his goal. Compassion is no longer a word in the American vocabulary. Thirty-one governors have said that Syrian refugees are not welcome in their states. They have used different language to express their opposition to admitting them. Alabama governor, Robert Bentley, for example, said: “Af-

ter full consideration of this weekend’s attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As your governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way.” Shortly after he was sworn in as governor in 2013, Governor Bentley signed a bill expanding the rights of citizens of his state to carry weapons. On December 1, 2015, two shooting deaths occurred in Birmingham, Alabama that brought the total number of shooting deaths in that city to 81 for the year, the first time since 2008 that Birmingham could claim more than 80 shooting deaths in one year. The governors opposing the admission of refugees are inspired in their opposition by the Paris attack of two weeks ago that killed 130 people. They have forgotten what life is like in the United States without the terrorists

wRiTE-wiNg

even being admitted. As of December 1 there have been 12,127 gun deaths in the United States, 24,450 gun related injuries, 640 children killed and 308 mass shootings. All occurred without the assistance of one Syrian refugee. None of the 12,127 gun related deaths was the result of terrorist attacks. The mass shooting that took place on December 2 that left 13 people dead and 17 wounded was by local murderers rather than Syrian refugees. It is not only the elected governors who fear the effects of a Syrian refugee inflow into the United States. The would-be presidents in the Republican Party have equally strong feelings. Donald Trump says if elected he would deport any Syrians who had been admitted prior to his taking office. Ted Cruz says bringing Syrians into the U.S. is “absolute lunacy.” Chris Christie says not even orphans under the age of five should be admitted. Rand Paul plans to suspend visas for all people coming from countries with “significant jihadist movements.” (Whether France would be considered such a country given recent events there is probably an open question.) The paragraph headings in the Canadian government’s description of the Canadian Refugee system read as follows: Tradition of Humanitarian Action; Canadian Refugee Protection Programs; Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program; In-Canada Asylum Program; Integration services; Assistance for resettled refugees; Assistance for all newcomers, including refugees. Compassion is a 10-letter word. It has no place in the vocabularies of more than one-half of the United States governors and all the presidential wanna-bes among the Republicans. This country was founded by immigrants. Go figure.

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.

FriDAY 11•12•2015

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

A SMUGGLER’S TALE The story of five Iraqis who ended up dead in a van by the side of an Austrian highway – and the man who sent them on their journey

FRUSTRATIONS Two of the men Sevo dealt with were second cousins who had both served in the peshmerga, the armed forces of the semi-autonomous area of Kurdistan in northern Iraq which have been fighting Islamic State since last year. The cousins came from well-off families in Duhok, the region’s third biggest city. The younger of the two, Semian Nasser Mohammed, was 25 and had pondered leaving Iraq for months. Mohammed’s father described his son as quiet but amiable. He liked raising animals. His father wanted him to settle down and marry, but Mohammed said he would wait until the war was over. His second cousin, Nashwan Mustafa Rasoul, was 28, owned a car and liked to listen to Lebanese singer Elissa, or to Ibrahim Tatlises, a Kurdish singer in Turkey. He loved Apocalypto, a Mel Gibson film set in pre-Colombus Central America. He swam and spent time in the countryside. Both men were increasingly frustrated with life in Kurdistan. They had been fighting Islamic State in Tel Asqof, a Christian village north of Mosul. But thanks to an economic crunch in Kurdistan over the past year they – like most other state employees – had missed three months in salaries. “They complained about instability and the problems with electricity and petrol too,” Rasoul’s elder brother Sarbast said in an interview at the family’s home. “They preferred to travel in search of stability and ease. Mentally he (Rasoul) was not at ease. None of us are after the economic crisis.” Rasoul worried about the future and the lack of opportunity in Kurdistan, said his brother-in-law, Reveng Jalal Ibrahim. "They (fight) for their country, but their country is doing nothing for them." When Rasoul and Mohammed returned on homeleave in early August they told their families they were leaving Iraq. Their parents tried to dissuade them but the men would not listen.

Malaysia’s Balancing Act Cheng-Chwee Kuik New York Times

Although the hedging of small and middle powers means keeping the greater powers at arm’s length, China and the United States should embrace and encourage the approach. This is partly because it helps maintain stability in the region by preventing the polarization of power

Isabel Coles and Shadia Nasralla Reuters

n photo after photo, Sediq Sevo’s Facebook page lays out the riches and allure of Europe. In one picture the young Iraqi Kurd poses beneath the Eiffel Tower. In another he stands in a neon-lit restaurant in Rotterdam. A third has him grinning beside a train in Milan. He stopped posting pictures in August. That was the month Sevo helped smuggle five fellow Iraqi Kurds to Europe, he told Reuters. They ended up dead, trapped with 66 other migrants inside a truck abandoned alongside an Austrian highway. Like Sevo, many of the dead came from Iraqi Kurdistan. They had joined hundreds of thousands of people who have entered Europe illegally this year from homes wrecked by civil war, sectarian violence or repressive governments in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea. Many are young men ready to risk their lives for the chance of stability and wealth. On their side are determination, sheer numbers, and people-smugglers. Human brokers such as Sevo play the central role in many migrants’ journeys. He was the first in a chain of people that helped the five men make their way from northern Iraq through Turkey and Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary and finally Austria. “I have good experience in the smuggling industry,” he told Reuters in a phone interview in October. “I have been working for more than seven years in the smuggling sector ... I used to take people from Kurdistan to Turkey and from Turkey to Greece all on foot and by car.” Like the thousands of Central Americans who pour into the United States, or the Rohingya Burmese who flood into Thailand and Malaysia, illegal travellers worldwide depend on an industry run by networks of individual criminal entrepreneurs. More than 3,000 people-smugglers were arrested in Europe in the second quarter of 2015, according to European border control agency Frontex - the biggest number since records began in 2007. But the networks are often too diffuse and complex for fragmented law enforcement services to unravel. The violent unravelling of Iraq has been a major source of business for traffickers. More than 3 million Iraqis have been displaced by fighting since the start of 2014. The United Nations' deputy humanitarian coordinator in Iraq said 10 million Iraqis would need humanitarian support by the end of this year. Some 6,000 Iraqis have reached Greece or Italy in 2015, according to the International Organisation for Migration - five times more than last year. So far, Hungarian police have arrested five men four Bulgarians and an Afghan - in connection with the deaths. One man has also been arrested in Bulgaria. Hungary’s prosecutor has agreed to take over the case; prosecutors in Budapest have yet to say whether they will raise murder charges. Sevo is back in Iraq, where he has gone into hiding after the families of two of the migrants he helped complained to the Kurdish security services about him. He says he has nothing to apologise for, and blames another Kurdish smuggler called Bewar, whom he calls the weak link in the network. It was Bewar, Sevo says, who foolishly entrusted the five men to two other smugglers without checking up on them. Reuters could not reach Bewar and it is unclear how close Sevo is to other smugglers in the chain into Europe. Sevo is keen to distance himself from those further down, in particular Bewar. Neither the Austrian nor the Hungarian police would comment on their investigations. Hungary has an extradition agreement with Iraq dating to 1977 which has not been used for years, a diplomatic source said. Sevo told Reuters he is not sure what happened to the truck, but he thinks some kind of police check must have caused the driver to abandon it and flee, so the people inside “ran out of oxygen.” The last time he spoke to Bewar was on Sept. 1. His fellow smuggler had rung from Greece to ask Sevo what had become of the five men. “Bewar is to blame because when he passed the job on … he didn’t get any information” about the migrants’ whereabouts, he said. “Even now we don’t know the truth.”

Nashwan Mustafa Rasoul, 28, had fought Islamic State. He loved Mel Gibson movies and listening to music. But his dream of a new life in Europe ended when he suffocated in the back of a truck crammed with dozens of other migrants. (Reuters Photo)

Rasoul had already made contact with Sediq Sevo, plied that he had talked to one of the Zakho men at around 5:30 a.m., who said the men were in a trailer who knew the families from the past. with 120 people. Sevo now thinks the man did not know the differTHE GUIDE Sevo is from Zakho, an ancient city on the border ence between a trailer and a truck, and overestimated between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey. He told Reuters the number of passengers on board. Or perhaps Bewar that in the mid-2000s he worked as a “guide” – he pre- misunderstood him. Sevo told the families in Kurdistan that all was well. fers that to smuggler – and helped take between 100 and Sarbast, who couldn’t reach his brother, asked Sevo 150 people to Europe. In 2007, though, he was arrested for smuggling and imprisoned for about eight months. for a number to call him on. But Sevo said he did not When he was released, he worked as a painter and in have one. He added that the men might have handed themselves in to police or be in hiding. construction, including a stint in Greece. Sarbast called Sevo every hour. “He told me to be He returned from Greece on Aug. 1. Within days, he said, young men wanting to get to Europe approached patient.” On Aug. 27 Austrian police found a refrigerated him for help. Among them was Rasoul. Sevo asked for $8,000 each to take the cousins to truck stuffed with the decomposing remains of 71 Germany, according to Rasoul’s elder brother Sarbast. people. When Sarbast saw the news on television, he The men haggled that down to $7,500 and Rasoul sold called Sevo. “I became very tense and then worried,” Sarbast his car for $18,900 to pay the fares. Smugglers in Kurdistan sometimes ask would-be said. By this time Sevo was back in Zakho. He told Sarbast migrants to deposit their payment with a trusted third party who wires it when the migrant reaches Europe. that Mohammed and Rasoul had not been in the truck. Mostly, though, migrants simply transfer their payment Austrian police were saying the bodies were days old. when they get to their destination. Sevo did not ask Ra- Sevo also believed the vehicle the pair had travelled in soul or Mohammed to pay upfront, their relatives say, was not refrigerated, but open-air. Sevo says he called friends and fellow smugglers because he was confident they would not cheat him. Rasoul’s elder brother Sarbast spoke to Sevo, who re- for information about the men. Bewar’s phone was assured him the route through Bulgaria was safe. Sevo switched off. Sevo guessed he was in prison because told the men to make their way to Istanbul where he the Austrian police had rounded up smugglers after finding the truck. would meet them, Sevo says. Sarbast, by now desperate, asked a relative in GerSevo said he did not intend to get back into smuggling. He was simply doing the five men a favour by giv- many to go to Austria. ing them the telephone numbers of smuggling contacts. THE SMELL He said he provided the numbers for free. The police were beginning to identify bodies. Christian Rosenich, deputy head of the police idenTHE JOURNEY On the evening of Aug. 11, Rasoul and Mohammed’s tification division in the province of Burgenland, said relatives accompanied the cousins to the bus station in the process was difficult. "You don't forget the smell. Duhok. The bus was meant to arrive at 9 p.m., but was And on the first day it smells different from later." Rosenich worked from a small office filled with files late. The two men, excited and impatient, ignored lastminute pleas for them to stay and finally left at midnight. and pot plants in the police headquarters of Eisenstadt, When they arrived in Istanbul early the following a sleepy town with a population of 14,000. He wore a sports sweater and smoked a lot. morning, Sevo was already there. "My cigarette consumption has gone through the A few days later, three more young men arrived from Zakho, Sevo’s hometown. The trio had left without tell- roof," he said. The Burgenland police had to deal with hundreds of ing their parents, according to relatives. The father of one of the boys said he spoke with Sevo calls from Kurdistan, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. They by phone and urged him to send his son home. “I told set up a call centre with two multilingual interpreters and him ‘I don’t want him to go. I beg you not to take my broadcast police contact details on Kurdish television. Families began to send in pictures or copies of son.’” But sometime in the middle of August a smuggler passports, birth certificates, and fingerprints. The two known to Sevo collected all five Iraqis and drove them interpreters talked to families via Whatsapp and Faceand between 20 and 40 other people from Istanbul to book. The police also compared clothes and bags found Edirne near Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria, among the bodies to pictures on Facebook pages. Most of the dead had family in Europe. Some relaaccording to Sevo. The passengers got off the minibus and proceeded tives flew to Austria to give DNA samples. Once a posion foot. It is a 7 to 10 hour walk across the border, but tive match was made they paid 3,000 to 4,000 euros to Mohammed fell ill on the way and it took them more fly a body home. One morning at the end of September, Rosenich than a day. Once inside Bulgaria the men were driven to the placed the belongings of some of the dead in airtight capital Sofia, where they were put in an apartment. The bags to be sent home with the bodies. There were rings, plan was to continue on to Serbia, Sevo said, but the cash found stitched into trouser pockets, and handwritgroup had to wait for Mohammed to recover. They fi- ten notes from the Koran. “You get tunnel vision,” he said. “You deal with one case and start the next." nally left a day late, Aug. 22. Some of the bodies had just a few coins on them. One Sevo had given the men the phone number of a smuggler from Zakho who worked in Bulgaria. The five had 2,000 euros cash soaked in bodily fluids. The Burmen called him and he drove them in a Fiat from Sofia genland police brought the money to Austria's National Bank in Vienna to have it changed into clean notes. "It's to the Serbian border, Sevo says. Pictures posted on one of the men’s Facebook pages their pecuniary legacy, we have to hand it over the best on Aug. 22 show the trio from Zakho resting in a forest way we can," Rosenich said. Most relatives are grateful for the way Austria has with bulky rucksacks on their backs. One of them grins handled the process. But some get angry and impatient. and flashes a peace sign. The men arrived in Serbia on Aug. 23. The govern- One Kurdish man rang to complain that the DNA testing ment registered them as asylum-seekers and sent them was taking too long. He said he knew it only took half an hour because he watched CSI Miami. on to Belgrade, Sevo says. Police have now identified more than 90 percent of Back in Kurdistan, Rasoul’s elder brother Sarbast received a call from Sevo, who gave him a number to call the dead. his brother. A smuggler answered and passed the phone to Rasoul, who confirmed the men had arrived in Ser- THE FUNERALS Rasoul and Mohammed were identified fairly quickbia. It was evening, around eight, Sarbast remembers. One of the men from Zakho got on the phone and told ly. The Austrians compared fingerprints from one body Sarbast: “We will not be separated. We will face any situ- with Rasoul’s passport. Mohammed was identified beation together, good or bad. We will look after each other yond reasonable doubt on Sept. 16, thanks to a DNA match between him and an uncle who came to lodge a until we get to Germany.” The last time the men’s relatives heard from them ‘missing persons’ claim. The two bodies were flown home over the Muslim was on the evening of Aug. 24, a few hours before they set off for Hungary. “They told me they were in a flat but Eid al-Adha holiday. They were buried side by side in a cemetery on a hill overlooking Duhok. didn’t know when they would move,” Sarbast said. The men from Zakho took longer to identify. A bag belonging to one of them that was found in the THE TRUCK Sevo said he gave the men contacts for two smug- back of the truck contained two passport photoglers. The men called the one named Bewar, who told graphs, one of his mother and the other of his father, them he could get them to Germany, according to Sevo. his family said. But at the time, they put their hope in The travellers set off for Hungary at 10 or 11 p.m. on a rumoured sighting of the men in prison. That hope Aug. 24, Sevo said. It is roughly a two-hour walk across proved to be false and the bodies of the three men the Serbo-Hungarian border so they probably reached were repatriated in October. Sevo is adamant he should shoulder no blame – Hungary around midnight. Bewar, accompanied by a translator, handed the five he was just helping out. When Bewar called him from men over to an Afghan smuggler. Another group of mi- Greece on Sept. 1, “I told him to return to Kurdistan and grants led by a Kurdish smuggler joined up with Bewar’s hand himself in to the authorities,” Sevo said. Instead of group, says Sevo, who was keeping in contact with Be- defending himself, Bewar handed the phone to a friend who described conditions on the smuggling routes. war. The friend told Sevo “there is killing and plunder and Based on the assumption the men arrived in Hungary around midnight, Sevo believes the men got into all things, so I urge you to explain to the families of those five and for them not to complain about Bewar.” the truck at around 1 or 2 a.m. Sevo told the man that was not possible. "I feel reAround midday on Aug. 25, Sevo spoke to Bewar, ally bad about what happened, but it wasn’t my fault,” who said the five men had arrived safely in Munich. “I said, ‘how do you know?’” he said. Bewar re- he said. “I was helping them."

resident Obama came to Malaysia recently for the latest U.S.-Asean and East Asia Summits, reaffirming America’s strategic commitment to Asia. But most of the 10 Asean countries responded as they often have in recent years: They hedged. They stopped short of fully aligning with Washington. And even some of the governments increasingly worried about China’s creeping assertiveness in the South China Sea, like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, have preferred to selectively accommodate Beijing rather than confronting it head-on. This balancing act has meant keeping some distance from Washington, and at times defying its will. Even so, the United States government should welcome this behavior: Hedging by small and mid-level states in Southeast Asia is good for stability in the region, and that’s good for America. Take Malaysia, which played host to the 27th Asean summit last month. Partly in response to China’s increasing encroachment in its waters since 2013, Prime Minister Najib Razak has steadily upgraded the partnership between Malaysia and Obama’s America, by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, collaborating to counter the so-called Islamic State and allowing the U.S. Navy to fly its spy planes from Malaysian airstrips and dock its vessels at Malaysian ports. At the same time, however, the Najib government has denied that any expanded defense activities with the United States were aimed at Beijing. In fact, it has also been developing closer military ties with China. During a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2013, the two countries upgraded relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” In September, they conducted their first bilateral live-troop exercises in the Strait of Malacca, the largest-ever military drill between China and an Asean country. Last month, Malaysia allowed Chinese ships to stop in Kota Kinabalu, near the South China Sea — at the same port the U.S.S. Lassen used a month earlier while carrying out a freedom-of-navigation operation near the artificial islands China has been building in the area. Malaysia’s tightened military relation with China complements already robust economic ties. Malaysia is China’s largest trading partner in the Asean region, and China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner in the world. Last month, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a debt-ridden sovereign wealth fund, announced a $2.3 billion deal to sell its power assets to a Chinese state-owned company. But the Malaysian government is not falling entirely into Beijing’s embrace either. While continuing to leverage its longstanding ties with the United States, it is also using Asean-based forums and other multilateral institutions to mitigate the risks of China’s rise. Malaysia hardly is alone in hedging. Most Asean countries (not the Philippines) and traditional American allies in the Asia-Pacific region, such as South Korea and Australia, have displayed some degree of deference toward China on certain issues while pushing back against it on others. Many have promoted closer commercial relations with Beijing, joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank it spearheaded, and collaborating on trade, investment and major infrastructure projects. Some have expressed support for China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and participated in the Xiangshan Forum, a security dialogue hosted by Beijing. And some — South Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand — even sent representatives to the military parade in Beijing in September celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, despite the pointed absence of high-level officials from America and its key allies. But smaller and mid-level states in Asia have also tried to reduce the risks of becoming dependent on China. Some, like Indonesia, have rejected or distanced themselves from several of Beijing’s initiatives, such as its proposal to conduct joint military drills with Asean countries in the South China Sea. Others, like Vietnam, have responded cautiously to China’s proposed maritime Silk Road. States in the region have internationalized the South China Sea issue by bringing it to Asean-led multilateral forums. They have insisted on the need to conclude a code of conduct in those waters. They are developing military ties with as many powers as possible. This is logical behavior. Hedging is less about countering either the United States or China per se than managing the systemic risks of dealing with any great or rising power. And it is all the more rational in Southeast Asia today because of concerns about the long-term sustainability of America’s commitment to the region, wariness over an ascendant China’s future intentions and uncertainty about the direction of U.S.-China relations. Although the hedging of small and middle powers means keeping the greater powers at arm’s length, China and the United States should embrace and encourage the approach. This is partly because it helps maintain stability in the region by preventing the polarization of power. It also ensures Asean’s neutrality, and so its centrality, as an inclusive platform for discussing and managing the security and prosperity of the region. Compelling or inducing regional powers to take sides would only risk triggering vicious cycles of actions and counteractions, heightening tensions between the two major powers. Washington may not quite be getting its way with states like Malaysia, but that’s for the better — for Malaysia and the region, as well as China and the United States itself.

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.

FridAY 11â&#x20AC;˘12â&#x20AC;˘2015

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Cong, govt continue to clash inside, outside parliament New Delhi, December 10 (iANS): The continuing confrontation between the Congress and the government on Thursday saw the main opposition party forcing repeated adjournments in the Rajya Sabha over the National Herald case and a walkout in the Lok Sabha to demand a BJP member's suspension over his "objectionable remarks". The verbal sparring between the two sides continued for the third day outside parliament as well. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the "answer to the Congress leadership landing up in a 'chakravyuh' (in the National Herald case) is to fight their battle legally and not disrupt parliament", while Congress leader Ashwani Kumar told the media that the government was indulging in a "politics of intimidation" and "assault on liberal values". With the passage of crucial Goods and Services Tax bill looking increasingly uncertain amid the standoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a function here that there were several measures for the poor, oth-

Members protest in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing winter session of Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

er than the crucial GST bill, pending in parliament. "People only talk about the GST and parliament, but there are several other measures also for the poor that are pending in parliament," Modi said. In a Facebook post, Jaitley took potshots at the

Congress and said "India has never accepted the diktat that the queen is not answerable to the law". "Why should the Congress and its leaders not contest the notice before the court? The government cannot help them in the matter, nor can the parlia-

ment. Why then disturb parliament and prevent the legislative activity from continuing?" he said. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi along with his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi will appear in a trial court here on December 19 in

connection with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's complaint in the National Herald case. While Congress staged a walkout for the day in the Lok Sabha and was joined by Trimanool Congress, the Rajya Sabha saw repeated adjournments for the third

successive day on Thursday over the National Herald case with the Congress members raising slogans. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien tried to take up the whistleblowers' protection bill, but could not amid the din. The Rajya Sabha Bulletin, which informs members about the proceedings and other important issues, named 46 members for disorderly conduct. The list included the names of E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Ashwani Kumar, Ambika Soni, Kumari Selja, Renuka Chowdhury and a number of other Congress leaders. Congress members trooped near the chairman's podium shouting slogans soon after the house met for the day and the house saw several adjournments. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said members who were creating ruckus should be sent out of the house. "I have a request. Those who do not want to let the house function should be allowed to take rest; let them sit outside for

some days," Naqvi said, to which Kurien responded: "I agree." In the Lok Sabha, Congress leader in the house Mallikarjun Kharge sought an apology from BJP member Virendra Singh for making remarks on Wednesday against former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi apart from Rahul Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow an adjournment motion by Congress members and said the remarks have since been expunged. As Congress members came near the speaker's podium raising slogans, the house was adjourned for nearly 25 minutes. Raising the issue after the Question Hour, Kharge alleged that the government seemed to be supporting the BJP member. "Unless you suspend (the member) or there is an unconditional apology, it will affect the dignity of members. Please suspend him," Kharge said. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the Con-

gress members were continually laying siege to the speaker's podium. He said Congress members had also raised slogans with their back to the prime minister but did not express any regret over their behaviour. "How long will these double standards continue?" Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said there cannot be two set of rules for the members. Referring to Wednesday's protests, Biju Janata Dal member Bhartruhari Mahtab said that not only were papers thrown while the deputy speaker was in the chair but his desk too was thumped repeatedly. The protests in the two houses began after the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to quash the summons issued to them regarding their personal appearance by a trial court in the National Herald case. The trial court, giving relief to the Gandhis from personal appearance on Tuesday, asked them to appear before it on December 19.

Centre asks states to quickly 3 found guilty in Kolkata Park Street gang rape case Mumbai court makes David The quantum of punishment Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Headley approver in 26/11 case December 10 deposit PF remittances KolKAtA, Banerjee called it a "cooked up (iANS): Nearly nine months af- will be pronounced on Friday.

New Delhi, December 10 (iANS): The union government on Thursday suggested that states should quickly deposit remittances collected to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in order not to lose out on the interest. "There has been a delay in the remittances of pension fund collected by the states to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) resulting in loss of interest," said Special Secretary, Expenditure, Ajay Narayan Jha, while addressing a conference here on states' implementation of the National Pension System (NPS). "Pensions and pension payout have become a very big challenge. They have been growing steadily and the liability for the pension payments is going to cast a very heavy burden on the exchequer. "The delay in remittances also impacts subsequent investments," he added. Jha said the pension liabilities of all state governments, which was around 3 percent of the total revenue expenditure, excluding salary and interest payments, in 2004-05, increased to 12.3 percent in 2012-13. Currently, all states except West Bengal and Tripura are part of NPS, while so far Rs.50,000 crore had come from states under the scheme.

ter her death, the Anglo-Indian woman gang-raped on Kolkata's Park Street in 2012 finally got justice on Thursday with a court pronouncing guilty all three accused who were on trial in the sensational case. The women - then 40 years old, a divorcee and mother of two - was beaten up and gang-raped at gun-point inside a moving car and then thrown off the vehicle near a city intersection on the night of February 5, 2012, after she had come out of a night club on the fashionable Park Street. Passing the judgment during in-camera proceedings, Additional Sessions Judge Chiranjib Bhattacharya of the City Sessions Court pronounced Ruman Khan, Naser Khan and Sumit Bajaj guilty of gang rape.

The accused were found guilty of gang rape, criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and common intention, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. However, main accused Kader Khan and a co-accused Ali are still absconding. The courageous and gutsy Anglo-Indian woman, who came forward and revealed her identity and even urged the world to call her a "rape survivor" and not as the "Park Street rape victim", grittily fought her case for three years against heavy odds. Days after she filed the complaint on February 9, 2012, ignoring disparaging comments and initial reluctance of Park Street police station personnel, West

case" and alleged that the woman was trying to malign the state government. Banerjee's remarks were widely flayed by the civil society and the public, but that was no end to the raped woman's ordeal. Trinamool MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar called the entire episode "a sex deal gone wrong", while then minister Madan Mitra questioned what she was doing at a night club so late in the night and dubbed the rape allegation a "fabricated complaint meant to extort money". But the woman did not live to see her moment of victory, that also coincided with the Human Rights Day. On March 13 this year, she died of multi-organ failure after being diagnosed with encephalitis.

Pollution at 'serious' level, needs multi-pronged approach: SC New Delhi, December 10 (Pti): Stepping into the raging debate on pollution, the Supreme Court today agreed to examine a suggestion to ban entry of all diesel-run trucks, except those carrying essential goods, into the national capital while asking the Centre to come up with "common minimum acceptable programmes" on the issue after consulting all stakeholders. The apex court also observed that it was "very embarrassing" when visiting foreign dignitaries speak about

the high pollution level. Coming out in support of Delhi Government's "odd and even number policy", allowing private cars to run on alternate days from January one, a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and R Banumathi said it was an "emergency measure". Terming the rising pollution level in Delhi as "very serious", the bench advocated a "multi-pronged" approach to deal with the situation. The intolerable limit of pollution is earning a "bad name"

to Delhi as "the most polluted city in the world", it said. "It is very embarrassing for us when foreign dignitaries visiting Delhi speak about the capital's high pollution level," it said and gave example of a visiting judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referring to the issue. "This is very serious issue and we are earning a bad name in the world for Delhi being most polluted city," it said and agreed to examine the suggestion of senior advocate Harish Salve that as an in-

Indian kids continue to be under-nourished: Nadda New Delhi, December 10 (iANS): Children in India continue to suffer from under-nourishment despite positive changes the country has witnessed over the years, Health Minister J.P. Nadda said on Thursday. He said children in India may survive due to better health and vaccines, but inspite of that may not reach their full potential as productive citizens. Terming the difference in children's nutritional value among various states as a "big failure", Nadda said: "There is a need for providing timely and evidence based holistic interventions using a continum of care approach, in a convergent manner with all concerned departments such water, sanitation, hygiene, education, agriculture and food security." "Accelerating action at the statelevel is essential for changing the trajectory of India's children's future as the battle against under nutrition must now be fought at the ground level in communities and at homes," he said at the launch of the India Health Report for Nutrition Security in India. The event was organised by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Stating that the government was committed to eradicating malnutrition, Nadda said that with the launch

of the Rural Health Mission and the subsequent National Health Mission, India has moved from its earlier vertical approach to a new strategic approach -- the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and adolescent (RMNCH+A) -- bringing focus on all life stages with nutrition as a cross cutting issue especially for adolescents. "Improving adolescent girls' nutrition and delaying first pregnancy is one of our key intervention designed to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition. "The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), and the Janani Shishu Saraksha Karyakram (JSSK) have contributed to a rapid increase in coverage of essential interventions," he said. "An essential part of these interventions is a 48-hour mandatory stay in a facility during childbirth to ensure counselling on appropriate nutrition for mother and child and initiation of breast feeding under the supervision of health service provider," he said. Nadda also informed that his ministry has developed a set of guidelines on "infant and young child feeding" that recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, who was present on the occasion, highlighted the role of Anganwadi in eradicating malnutrition.

terim measure, the entry of all kinds of diesel-run trucks into Delhi be banned for six weeks to see as to whether it makes "perceptible" change in the already worsened air quality. Salve, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in a 1984 PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on the issue, said trucks, except those carrying essential goods into Delhi, can be banned in pursuance of the 2001 order of the apex court. "We will be happy if you (Centre) can provide platform

to all stakeholders to prevent the problem and come out with common minimum acceptable programes... "There cannot be a single solution to this problem, there has to be multi-pronged approach and suggestions to defuse pollution crisis. The odd and even number policy is only as an emergency measure," the bench said and sought views of all stakeholders, including the Centre, Delhi government, MCD and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

mumbAi, December 10 (Pti): David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani -American LeT terrorist, was today made approver by a Mumbai court which granted him pardon in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, a development that may help unravel the conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. He would depose as a prosecution witness on February 8, 2016. Headley, currently serving 35year prison sentence in the US for his role in the Mumbai terror attacks, today told the sessions court here through video link from an undisclosed location, that he was ready to depose if given pardon. After the special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that the prosecution was agreeable to Headley's offer, the judge G A Sanap made Headley an approver, subject to certain conditions and granted him pardon. "I have received the charging document filed against me in this court. It charges me with same conduct for which I was charged in the US. I had pleaded guilty to

the charges in the US and I admitted that I was participant in these charges," Headley told the court earlier this evening. "I accepted responsibility for my role in those offences in my plea agreement (in US). I also agreed to make myself available as a witness in this court. I appear here ready to answer questions regarding these events if I receive a pardon from this court," he said. On November 18, the court had said that Headley must be produced through video conference on December 10 as it allowed the Mumbai police's plea to make him an accused. The police had said he should be tried by the Mumbai court along with the key conspirator Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal. The police's application also noted that Headley entered into a plea bargain agreement with US authorities in 2010, and thereby willingly and voluntarily agreed that he was part of the conspiracy behind the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai which claimed 166 lives.

Indo-US experts developing solar-powered oral cancer detector for remote areas KolKAtA, December 10 (iANS): Researchers in India and the US are testing a handy solar-powered device for early detection of oral cancer which could be integrated with mobile technology, enabling faster and accurate diagnostics in rural areas. Designed by the Beckman Laser Institute (BLI), University of California-Irvine (UCI) and the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) in Bengaluru, the compact screening and diagnosing system - slightly larger than a shoe box - has been specially adapted for India, which has one of the highest rates of head and neck cancers in the world and accounts for the highest rate among women. Its light-weight and userfriendly features mean even minimally educated healthcare workers in the field can apply it. The solar energydriven device will capture images of the patient's oral cavity and transmit them via

a mobile phone to experts at the centre. "India is the first country in which we are using the device - it was specifically designed to meet conditions and needs there. The final device will have a solar option," Petra Wilder-Smith of BLI told IANS in an email interaction. Recognised as a pioneer in the application of optics and lasers in oral diagnosis, Wilder-Smith said the device is based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) - an imaging technology that is similar to ultrasound, except that it uses light (a laser). Screening will be in real-time and the patient will not be subjected to harmful radiation. "The inexpensive, very small, robust portable diagnostic system for oral cancer based on OCT will be used to screen for oral cancer in the field by basic level healthcare workers in India, and a simple diagnostic algorithm will indicate further diagnostic and treatment needs

for each individual," said Wilder-Smith, director of dentistry at BLI. Oral cancer is the most common cancer in India, accounting for 40 percent of all cancers overall and for over 50 percent of all cancers in some areas of the country. It is also disturbing to note the spike in oral cancer in young adults. "In the US, the oral cancer rate is also high, especially in African-Americans, older persons, and tobacco and alcohol users. It is particularly troubling that recently a trend has been observed worldwide towards an increased incidence of oral cancer among young adults," informed WilderSmith, stressing on early detection. Why the emphasis on the light-based technology? Wilder-Smith said oral cancer and pre-cancer are currently diagnosed using a visual exam, which has a poor accuracy rate, and by surgical

biopsy, which cannot be performed in the field by basiclevel healthcare workers. And since existing and emerging imaging-based diagnostic tools are too expensive, too fragile and difficult to operate in remote locations, head and neck oncologist M.A Kuriakose from MSCC, who is leading the venture in India, said the probe will be of immense value in low-resource settings in rural India, where visits to dentists are rare. "It is being tested in MSCC Bengaluru. The validation phase is 12 months. We are also planning to incorporate the transmission of the laser image from remote location via a mobile phone. Once developed, one needs to get regulatory approvals before it can be made available for wider clinical use," Kuriakose said. With the fabrication cost goal estimated at lower than $5,000 (Rs.335,000), researchers say the subsequent mod-

els of the probe will be wireless and 3D scan-enabled. "The experimental model costs about Rs.1.5 lakh (lower than that of existing commercial devices). However, the commercial product cost will be significantly lower," Kuriakose told IANS. The project is funded by the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, under the Indo-US collaborative programme. The Department of Biotechnology is also a funding partner, said Kuriakose. The collaborators are also working in close consultation to thrash out a simple diagnostic algorithm which will indicate further diagnostic and treatment needs for each individual. "Screening will identify whether a person needs to travel to a centre with higher levels of expertise in oral cancer for further tests and potential cancer therapy," Wilder-Smith added.

FridaY 11•12•2015

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

‘Climate deal must ensure respect for human rights’ PARis, DECEMBER 10 (THoMsoN REUTERs FoUNDATioN): From Pacific islanders losing their homelands to encroaching seas, to indigenous people forced from their forests in the name of conservation, human rights are already being violated by both climate change impacts and solutions, U.N. rights experts said. At climate talks in Paris, tasked with hammering out a new deal to tackle global warming by the end of this week, the experts called for strong language on respecting human rights and the rights of indigenous people to be included in the agreement. “The climate crisis is a human rights crisis,” said Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “It needs to be addressed as such, and it needs to start right here in Paris.” In a report released on Thursday, which is International Human Rights Day, the U.N. Environment Programme said the far-reaching environmental impacts of climate change pose a threat to human rights, including the rights to health, food, water and adequate housing.

Indigenous observers demonstrate, with a message that reads, “Include the rights of native peoples in Article 2” at the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Le Bourget, near Paris on December 9. (REUTERS Photo)

The effects are already being felt by millions of people around the world, said Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement. An outcome in Paris that would protect hu-

man rights should include a binding obligation to respect human rights in climate action, a commitment to keep global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and delivery of $100 billion a year in funding to help devel-

oping states deal with the effects of climate change, the experts told journalists in Paris. There has been concern that some states - including Saudi Arabia, Norway and the United States - have been trying to weaken the

presence of human rights in the climate deal. They worry a binding provision could lead to more litigation and constrain some options for reducing climate-changing emissions, such as forest protection schemes and

big hydro-electric dams, observers say. “There is a relationship between human rights and climate change - Paris can’t do anything about pretending that relationship doesn’t exist,” said John Knox, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment. “What it can do is recognise that the relationship does exist and do something about it.” All 195 states at the negotiations belong to at least one human rights treaty, he noted, and those treaties require them to take steps to protect rights from harm due to environmental degradation and climate change. “That means they must ensure their climate change actions meet human rights obligations,” he added. The latest draft text includes a proposal in the binding section that a Paris agreement should be implemented “on the basis of respect for human rights”. But its survival is not yet assured, and workers’, women’s and indigenous groups are unhappy that specific references to their rights now feature only in a non-binding introduction. Former Irish president

and U.N. special envoy for climate change, Mary Robinson, said she expected there would be “significant pressure” to re-instate binding language on promoting gender equality. A new version of the agreement is due out on Thursday afternoon. INDIGENOUS CARBON Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said indigenous communities have helped keep climate change in check by saving forests and managing ecosystems well. “We live very simple lives - we don’t over-consume and over-produce,” said Tauli-Corpuz, who is of Philippines Igorot ethnicity. “When human rights are protected and respected, then climate change mitigation is achieved,” she added. New analysis, released last week, shows that indigenous territories in the Amazon Basin, the Mesoamerican region, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia contain 20 percent of the carbon stored above ground in the planet’s tropical forests. The number demon-

strates the historical role indigenous people have played in conserving forests, and their importance in keeping them standing, said the report from Woods Hole Research Center, the Environmental Defense Fund and several indigenous networks. Any programmes to conserve forests must enable indigenous people to participate in their planning and implementation, and must gain their consent, Tauli-Corpuz said. Local communities also need to be protected from the loss of their land as part of efforts to make biofuel from crops, build dams to generate hydroelectricity, or mine uranium for nuclear power production, she added. Several countries, including the Philippines, Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico and Chile, have been pushing to ensure human rights are inscribed in the Paris climate deal. Tauli-Corpuz urged other countries that have also signed an international pledge on human rights and climate action - including France - to join them. “You cannot bargain away human rights,” she said.

North Korean leader’s H-bomb claim draws scepticism Social networks influence academic performance sEoUL, DECEMBER 10 (REUTERs): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on Thursday to claim his country has developed a hydrogen bomb, a step up from the less powerful atomic bomb, but outside experts were sceptical. Kim made the comments as he toured the Phyongchon Revolutionary Site, which marks the feats of his father who died in 2011 and his grandfather, state founder and eternal president, Kim Il Sung, the official KCNA news agency said. The work of Kim Il Sung “turned the DPRK into a powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and Hbomb to reliably defend its

sovereignty and the dignity of the nation,” KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as saying. DPRK are the initials of the isolated North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. A hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, uses more advanced technology to produce a significantly more powerful blast than an atomic bomb. North Korea conducted underground tests to set off nuclear devices in 2006, 2009 and 2013, for which it has been subject to U.N. Security Council sanctions banning trade and financing activities that aid its weapons programme. An official at South Korea’s intelligence agency

told Yonhap news agency there was no evidence that the North had hydrogen bomb capacity, and believed Kim was speaking rhetorically. The Foreign Ministry in China, North Korea’s most important economic and diplomatic backer, said China was dedicated to ensuring the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and resolving problems through talks. “We hope that all sides can do more to ameliorate the situation and make constructive efforts to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing when asked about Kim’s remarks.

Impoverished North Korea and rich, democratic South Korea remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. The North has threatened to destroy the South and its major ally, the United States, in a sea of flames. Despite the underground tests, outside experts suspect the North is short of achieving the capability to put a nuclear warhead on a missile, although it has boasted it had succeeded in the miniaturisation of a weapon. If the hydrogen bomb claim is true, it would indicate advances in the North’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. “I think it’s unlikely that

they have an H-bomb at the moment, but I don’t expect them to keep testing basic devices indefinitely, either,” said Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. It was possible the North was referring to the technology of boosting the yield of a nuclear device, possibly using fusion fuel, Lewis said. North Korea claimed in 2010 that it had successfully developed fusion technology. Assessing progress of the North’s nuclear programme is difficult because no one outside a close circle of leaders and experts knows what advances have been made.

LoNDoN, DECEMBER 10 (iANs): Social networks influence academic performance among students, finds a new study. Students tend to perform better with high-performers among their friends, as some people are capable of inspiring others to try harder, according to the researchers from the HSE Centre for Institutional Studies in Russia. The recent studies indicate that the role of the social environment may be underestimated, as classmates can greatly influence one another’s behaviour and academic success. Using 2013-2014 data on the social networks of 117 first-year students examined whether students consider academic success in choosing friends among their classmates and whether friends influence each other’s academic performance. Students do not usually consider aca-

NagalaNd Board of School EducatioN Kohima

As Fuel shortages hit Nepal, is renewable energy an alternative? KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 10 (THoMsoN REUTERs FoUNDATioN): On a Sunday morning, dozens of police officers in combat gear stand guard at a petrol station in Kathmandu’s Lalitpur neighbourhood. Outside, nearly a hundred cars, motorbikes and buses form a serpentine line, their drivers hoping to buy a few litres of fuel. Disruption in supplies since October – the result of a strike at the Indian border - has caused an acute shortage of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas in Nepal. There is no guarantee that every customer in the Lalitpur queue will be served, and the police are on alert in case frustration turns to outbursts of anger. “For over two months now, this has been a common sight across Kathmandu,” said Mohan Singh, a journalist with state-owned Nepal Television. The crisis has environmental experts hopeful that the government will see the crisis as an opportunity to increase investment in renewable energy sources, which would not be so vulnerable to such strikes. In the meantime, they worry short-term measures to subsidise fuel wood will undo the country’s progress in protecting its forests. STRIKE ON INDIAN BORDER The problems began soon after Nepal adopted a new constitution on September 20. According to Singh, the constitution curbed some rights of people in Madhesh, a province in southern Nepal, bordering India. To enforce their demands for an amendment, Madheshi political parties called for a strike and blocked incoming supplies of fuel and other goods from India. With hundreds of trucks prevented from entering Nepal, most petrol stations, cooking gas refill hubs and kerosene stores have

now run out of stock. “The sentiment (of the protesters) is still too strong. This fight is definitely going to continue,” said Singh, who is also president of the pro-protest Madheshi Journalists Association. According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, the South Asian nation currently consumes 1.2 million tonnes of fuel oil each year, all imported via India, and demand is increasing by 10 percent annually. Nepal has storage facilities for about three weeks’ supply of fuel. By early November, the fuel shortage had snowballed into an economic crisis, affecting transportation and tourism, among other industries. Ironically, the government says the fuel blockade is also hurting efforts to built renewable energy capacity in Nepal. At the 450 megawatt (MW) Tamakoshi hydropower project and the 30 MW Chameliya hydro plant, construction materials are no longer reaching the sites and engineers and construction workers have been “jobless” as a result, the government said in a report. Despite the disruption, the government has reiterated its commitment to finding cleaner energy sources, including expediting construction of the 1,200 MW Budhi Andaki hydropower project and Nalsing Gad, a 410 MW hydro project. Currently, only 1 percent of Nepal’s energy is produced from renewable sources, according to the Independent Power Producers Association Nepal. Interviewed at the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris this week, Krishna Chandra Paudel, Nepal’s environment secretary and chief negotiator at the climate conference, said that Nepal needed an “energy mix” to meet its needs. “Diversified sources of such energy such as solar, hydro, biogas, wind and other renewables

demic performance, but over time - often in the middle of the academic year - all members in a peer group tend to perform at about the same level. Thus, most students who surrounded themselves with high-achievers improved their performance over time. The opposite was also true - those who befriended underachievers eventually experienced a drop in grades. According to the authors, while underachievers have a stronger influence on their networks, high performers tend to gain popularity and expand their influence over time, particularly by helping other students with their studies. Men were found to have larger networks than women, and all students were more likely to be friends with those whom they had known before college, classmates of the same gender, and members of their study group.

NOTIFICATION Dated Kohima, the 10th December 2015

NO. NBE-3/EX-Misc (10)/2015-16/ :: The examination routine of the following examinations are hereby notified for information of all concerned. A. HSSLC Examination 2016 Date Day 9th February 2016 Tuesday 11th February 2016 Thursday Saturday 13th February 2016 15th February 2016 Monday 17th February 2016 Wednesday

A vehicle carrying cooking gas cylinders enters through Prithivi highway, during an ongoing fuel crisis, in Kathmandu on November 2. (REUTERS Photo)

are being encouraged with full exploitation of hydro power potential,” Pokharel said. But he said it was very difficult to predict how soon they might be in place, and at what cost. CHEAP WOOD A THREAT TO FORESTS But even as the government promises to adopt more clean energy, it has also started to sell firewood at subsidised rates to tackle the shortage of cooking gas – a move that has been criticised by environmentalists. For two weeks, each family has been able to buy 100 kilograms of firewood at 15 Nepali rupees a kilo ($0.15), while business owners can buy up to 500 kg of wood at a rate of 17 rupees a kilo. Governmentowned timber depots had sold 110 tonnes of wood, sourced from forests in the Terai region, by early December. Environmentalists fear that this will undo Nepal’s achievements as a global leader in communitymanaged forestry. Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha, a plant ecologist in Kathmandu, warned that unless there is strict

monitoring, promoting firewood as cooking fuel could cause largescale damage. “This can increase deforestation and illegal logging,” he said. A better approach, say some, is to subsidise electrical appliances such as induction stoves and at the same time encourage the production of solar power, biogas and micro hydro-electric projects. Krishna Pun, a resident of Nangi, one of the first villages in the country to install a mini-hydro project, said the country’s experience in community-run forestry could now be put to building renewable energy capacity. “We can promote community participation in alternative power and build a new energy movement,” Pun said. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, agreed that Nepal faces serious energy challenges. “The most important thing for Nepal is to bring electricity to its people,” said Birol in an interview at the Paris climate conference. “In my view, the best action for Nepal right now would be to take the cheapest option – renewable energy.”

19th February 2016 22nd February 2016 24th February 2016 26th February 2016

Friday Monday Wednesday Friday

27th February 2016

Saturday

Subject (Time 9 am to 12 noon) English Education/Psychology/Capital Markets Geography/Entrepreneurship/Music History/Business Studies/Chemistry Alternative English/ Hindi/Bengali/Tenyidie/ Sumi/ Ao/Lotha Political Science/Accountancy/Physics Philosophy/Mathematics/Derivative Markets Economics Sociology/Fundamentals of Business Mathematics /Biology Computer Science/Informatics Practices

B. Class XI Promotion Examination 2016 Subject (Time 1 pm to 4 pm) th Tuesday English 9 February 2016 11th February 2016 Thursday Education/Psychology/Financial Markets 13th February 2016 Saturday Geography/Entrepreneurship/Music 15th February 2016 Monday History/Business Studies/Chemistry 17th February 2016 Wednesday Alternative English/Hindi/Bengali/ Tenyidie/Sumi/Ao/Lotha 19th February 2016 Friday Political Science/Accountancy/Physics 20th February 2016 Saturday Environmental Education 22nd February 2016 Monday Philosophy/Mathematics/Mutual Funds 24th February 2016 Wednesday Economics 26th February 2016 Friday Sociology/ Fundamentals of Business Mathematics /Biology 27th February 2016 Saturday Computer Science/Informatics Practices C. HSLC Examination 2016 Subject (Time 9 am to 12 noon) th Wednesday English 10 February 2016 12th February 2016 Friday Science 16th February 2016 Tuesday Mathematics 18th February 2016 Thursday Social Sciences Saturday Second Language 20th February 2016 Tenyidie/Ao/Sumi/Lotha/Hindi/Bengali/Alt. English 23rd February 2016

Tuesday

Sixth Subjects/Vocational: IIT/Music/Home Science/BK & Accountancy Environmental Education/IT (Vocational)

* The duration of the examination for Home Science, Book Keeping & Accountancy is 2½ hours i.e. 9 am to 11.30 am. For IIT and Music it is 1½ hours i.e. 9 am to 10.30 am. For IT (Vocational) it is from 9am to 11am. * The routines are also available on the website www.nbsenagaland.com (Mrs. Asano Sekhose) Chairman

Note: Examination routine shall not be altered in the event of any unexpected holiday. However, in case of cancellation or postponement of the date(s) of examination, it shall be notified through the media.

friDAY 11•12•2015

SPORTS/Public diScOuRSe

6th Chizami Cup from Dec 14 Dimapur, December 10 (mexN): Chizami Cup 2015 will kick off on December 14 at Chizami with Muroho Chotso, Deputy Commissioner, Phek as the Chief Guest. This was informed in a press release from the organizing committee. Prominent teams include strong title contenders Wings FC, Chizami and Halcyon United, Pfütsero featuring the best of players from across the State. Also in the fray are Champions of Pochury Black Day Memorial Trophy United Brothers FC from Meluri, local favourites Chizami Boys, and first timers Senapati FC. The inaugural day will witness Chizami Boys battle it out with The Hills FC, Pfütsero while Exuberance FC, Pfütsero will take on Hills Boys, Thetsümi. Exhibition matches of Life Sports Under 17 boys, Organisers and Teammate from Dimapur will be held during the tournament. The finals will be held on December 18 where Rev. Vezopa Tetseo, Executive Secretary, Chakhesang Baptist Church Council will grace the tournament as Chief Guest. An undertaking of Life Sports, Chizami Cup seeks to transform the youth and community through football with special focus on rural areas. The event is also an initiative to encourage and develop club football in the State. The total prize money for the tournament is set at Rs. 3.5 Lakhs. The imported running trophy, made of pewter metal with gold linings is donated by Mehuchümvü Foundation Chizami.

T20 cricket tourney at Zunheboto

ZuNHebOTO, December 10 (Dipr): A T-20 Cricket tournament sponsored by Highlanders Club got underway at Local Ground, Zunheboto on Thursday. The inaugural programme was graced by Commandant, 5 Bn Assam Rifles as chief guest who called upon the players to show discipline and true sportsmanship. Altogether nine teams are participating in the tournament. The winner and the runners-up will win cash prizes of Rs. 30000 and 15000 respectively.

CAS to announce Platini decision on Friday LONDON, December 10 (reuTers): Sport's highest tribunal will on Friday announce its decision whether or not to temporarily lift the 90-day suspension on Michel Platini, barring him from seeking the presidency of soccer's scandal-plagued governing body FIFA. Platini, the European soccer boss who until recently was seen as the man to lead FIFA out of its worst ever graft crisis, was suspended by FIFA's ethics committee on Oct. 8 pending a full investigation into his conduct. Sepp Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998, was also suspended after being swept up by a crisis that has led to criminal investigations into the sport in both Switzerland and the United States. The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said in a statement on Thursday its panel had heard the parties' arguments, and would announce its decision on Platini at around 10.00am local time (4 a.m. ET) on Friday.

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

VISION MOKOKCHUNG 2040 Mokokchung as a Hub –Sectors, Issues & Concerns (Part-II)

estled among the hilltops, the Town Park covered witha variety of trees and pines overlooking it, Mokokchung had always been a picturesque town. Even till the 1980s it was covered with varied species of trees. During summer the town was green and the houses looked well tucked in within the shades of the green cover. During season,from the trees in almost every household, children had an unlimited supply of fruits of all kinds – pears, plums, peaches, grapes and many others. During autumn, their leaves turned brown adding colour to the town. Winter saw them shed their leaves and the dry trees had their own charm. With spring, the town would bloom with varied colours of its hundreds of cherry trees. The town was thus treated with a visual display of the change of seasons. This was one of the speciality of Mokokchung. There were also plenty of open spaces where children could play and frolic. Today sadly the trees are disappearing and being replaced with concrete blocks of building, and the town is slowly turning into an urban sprawl of a slum, without any open spaces. Even the drainages are beginning to be covered by buildings! Mosquitos which were earlier found only in the lower and warmer altitudes are now found aplenty within the town. All these are ominous signs of a catastrophe waiting to happen. As we talk and wish for Mokokchung to develop as a Hub for various sectors, we first need to reclaim the qualities that earlier defined the town. We need to re-developspaces in the form of colony wise parks, open up the drainages, replant the trees, and build ring roads and feeder roads to expand the town. Along with this, water supply and electricity must follow. During the past few weeks, citizens have been actively involved in airing their dreams and aspirations for the town. Among many, almost without an exception, they aspire for better healthcare facilities and educational institutions - for the need to have more private hospitals/clinics and more colleges. But Mokokchung with a population of just about 36,000 (census 2011), cannot support the facilities of such dreams. Private hospitals/clinics cannot survive on empty beds and private colleges (or schools) cannot sustain with half-empty classrooms. Yes, patients and students from outside the town and the district too can come for healthcare or educational enrollment. But unless the standard and the quality of the facilities so offered are good enough, they will not come in the required numbers. Hoteliers, restaurant owners and transport operators may also vouch on this! To build and sustain quality, we first need to develop with

the home base or the domestic market. For this, the population of Mokokchung town needs to grow at a much faster rate, doubling to 70,000 or even about 1,00,000 by 2040. But the present town with its existing size and infrastructure which was never designed for any planned capacity, can never achieve this. This is two moreMokokchungs in 25 years! Will it be possible? Will it even be desirable? The official definition may not qualify the nearby villages and colonies outside the present 18 Wards to be included in the town population. But for all other purposes, such as for services and economic environment, the population of the 4-5 town contagious villages and colonies can be effectively counted in, as commented in our earlier Paper “Understanding what is Mokokchung”. When these population too are counted in, “Mokokchung” could be already having an effective population of more than 45,000. We therefore need to have a radical change in our perception and approach to all aspects of the town, its growth and its management. During the last couple of weeks, AIR Mokokchung has been doing a commendable job in airing the view and opinions of the citizens for Vision Mokokchung 2040 (you can tune in between 6:00–6:20pm FM 100.9 MHz). For town growth and development, many have spoken out about the need for a change in mindset of the people. But what exactly is this mindset change? Hopefully some citizens shall more clearly specify the changes required as per their perception and experiences. However, for the purpose of this paper, we propose two key areas for mindset change. First, we need a mindset change to respect and abide by the laws of the land. Second, we also need to realize that for a modern society to grow and develop, the respect of contracts are the very foundation for social order. We wish to illustrate this with two instances. The other day, we saw two groups of 2-wheel riders in the main town. Each had two riders. Both the riders of the first 2-wheeler had helmets on, but the other two riders who were youths, were not wearing any helmet. Now the law says all 2-wheel rider(s) must wear helmets. A police officer was trying to tell the second rider to wear helmets. He looked annoyed and frustrated. Naturally so. But to his credit, he was neither shouting nor being abusive. The shame was on the riders. Not the police officer. Now if the riders could just understand that in any accident involving a 2-wheeler, the head being the heaviest part of the body, and being unprotected,shall suffer the most damage or injury. The helmet requirement is not for the benefit of the law, nor for the policemen on duty.It is simply for the safety and protection of the rider. If the rider can under-

stand this simple fact, for his own safety he will wear a helmet every time without being asked to. This will be a mindset change. In doing so, he willnot be only respecting and abiding by the law but also protecting himself. Secondly on contracts; If I sell my car to someone, after the sale transaction is done, it becomes a contract resulting in a complete change of ownership. Thereafter, I can never claim to be the ‘car-owner’ of that particular car. After a few weeks or months, if I ask for a ride or any favourof any kind as the ‘car-owner’, how stupid and ridiculous will it look? I shall be violating all kinds of contract norms. A society or a business cannot grow if such violations or practices becomes common place. The list can go on.There are legal contracts, social contracts, financial contracts and so on. It could be in written form or simply a word of honour. We propose that the growth and development of the town is hamstrung to a large extent by contract violations in many forms. If we can understand this and change ourselves, it will be another mindset change. We can collectively identify the areas where we can acknowledge that changes are required, and make a conscious effort for such changes. The concept of mindset change is not a ‘big bang’ theory. It consists of small things and small acts, but when combined together, can bring transformative changes beyond measures than we can imagine. With relative peace prevailing in the district during the last decade or so, the town is slowly(some would say ‘fast’) expanding and growing. Many facilities are also coming up in the outskirts and nearby localities. Recreational spots are also being developed, where people from the town drive to for recreation and leisure. Several eco-tourism spots are also being developed. All these are positive signs. With better road connectivity, and in due time, we see no reason why it will not add to the growth of the town as a hub for ecotourism, leisure, farming and related economic activities. If we are aspiring of adding one or two more Mokokchungs within the next 25 years, it should be a modern township or a city with modern amenities and facilities. It should be a modern town befitting the 21st Century. Just the physical size and population growth alone is not the criteria. Otherwise we have the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, the largest slum in the world with an estimated population of about 7 to 10 lakhs. Exporting goods worldwide, mainly leather, textiles and pottery, it has an annual turnover of about US$500 million! Even the blockbuster film The Slumdog Millionaire is based on this slum. But surely this is not the kind of town that we want!

Naga peace talks, a Thai gun-runner and the curious case of Anthony Shimray Bharat Bhushan

Catch News

t a time when the Indian government is tying up the details of a peace agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), there has been a new twist in the tale with the arrival of a Thai gun-runner for trial in India. It would seem that while the government is very keen on a Naga settlement, it is equally enthusiastic about trying some Naga leaders in a case of non-existent arms import to India. It is a case of conspiring to wage a war against India but is not in violation of the cease-fire agreement between India and the NSCN (IM). What then is the case and where does it stand? On 8 December, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) brought back to India an alleged gun runner from Thailand, Willy Naru or Wuthikorn Naruenartwanich, to be questioned and tried under Indian law. He is accused of being a middleman for arms and ammunition that the NSCN (IM) was trying to smuggle into India from China. For this, an advance of US $800,000 had already been paid by the outfit's 'Chief Arms Procurer' Ningkhan Shimrey aka Anthony Shimray/Anthony Shing/ Anthony Sheing /Sir Khan. Willy has been charged in India along with Anthony Shimray and two others - with conspiracy and collecting arms to wage war against India. He has also been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 to prevent challenging the proceedings against him in any other court unless as provided under the Act itself. Willy, 58, was arrested on the request of the NIA in Bangkok on 30 August, 2013, on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner Notice and has now been finally extradited to India. After interrogations, he will probably join Anthony Shimray, currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail. Anthony is a 'Major General' of the Naga underground army. He was part of the NSCN (IM) delegation for peace talks with India and participat-

ed in several rounds of negotiations. However, on 27 September 2010, when he got down at Kathmandu from Nepal Airlines flight RA402 from Bangkok to change planes for Delhi, he was kidnapped after immigration clearance. For the next 5 days, Anthony was incommunicado. On 3 October 2010, he was produced in a court in Delhi by the NIA which claimed that he had been "arrested" from Patna in Bihar. The NIA told the court that Anthony Shimray was the chief procurer of arms for the NSCN (IM) and was involved in a "conspiracy to procure a huge consignment of arms and ammunition from foreign countries to be used for committing activities to wage war against the Government of India". On 26 March, 2011, the NIA filed a charge-sheet against Shimray and three others in the NIA Special Court in New Delhi. The others who were charged along with him were TR Calvin, a lieutenant in the NSCN (IM), the organisation's 'Defence Minister' and its 'Army Chief', Hangshi Ramson Tangkhul, and a Thai businessman W Naruennartwanich aka Willy Naru. Of the 4 accused, 2 - Calvin and Hangshi - are absconding while Anthony and, now, Willy Naru, are in custody. The case against Anthony is currently before a Special NIA court. The press is not allowed to report on its proceedings and "protected" witnesses appear before the judge in curtained witness stands so that no one can see them. According to the NIA, the conspirators had fixed an arms purchase deal of US $ 1.2 million (one million US dollars for the cost of arms and ammunitions and US $ 200,000 for transshipment of the consignment) in 2007. In May 2009, Anthony paid US $100,000 to the Thai businessman and middleman, Willy Naru, which was then sent by him to the Chinese arms supplying company, TCL International. The evidence of the payment was in an electronic receipt on the letterhead of TCL International which Willy forwarded by email to Shimray. US $200,000 were paid to a shipping agent, Kittichai Rimkeeratikul in Bangkok for the shipment of the consignment.

The consignment was to be loaded from Beihei, a South Chinese port to be delivered at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The evidence of these payments was found in the email correspondence of Shimray. All the relevant emails used as evidence were procured from service providers like Yahoo Inc, Google Inc, and Microsoft, USA and verified by cyber forensic experts in India. However, in the later part of September 2010, the NSCN (IM) decided not to conclude the arms procurement deal "for the time being" as the ground situation was not favourable in Bangladesh for the trans-shipment of the consignment. This was after 9/11 and the coming of the Awami League government in Dhaka which was far more sympathetic to Indian security concerns than the previous Bangladesh Nationalist PartyJamaat-e-Islami regime. What is odd about this sequence of events? 1. No arms were purchased in this process which started after 2007. 2. No arms were brought into India as none could be shipped even to Bangladesh. And, 3. If indeed money was paid to the Chinese company TLC and to the Thai shipping company, all that has now been forfeited and lost by the NSCN (IM). It is also worth noting what the Ground Rules for Cease-Fire said about NSCN (IM)'s cadres and arms. The cease-fire was just that - a cease-fire - it did not disarm the NSCN (IM) cadre as they had not surrendered to the Indian Army or the government. They had only agreed to talk while being fully armed. The cease-fire ground rules, therefore, only laid down norms about the manner in which arms could be carried by the NSCN (IM) cadres. The NIA probably knows that even a halfway competent lawyer will punch holes into its story. As a backup, Shimary has also been charged with the Cox's Bazar arms landing case of 1996 wherein Bangladeshi forces seized "half of the consignment of weapons" supplied by a arms manufacturing company of China, NORINCO, when it was being unloaded. Recoveries in Tripura in 1999 of weapons purported to be from NORINCO

from NSCN (IM) cadres are being sited to claim that these were the same weapons that Shimray had allegedly bought from the Chinese company in 1996. Shimray could definitely be tried for the 1996 Cox's Bazaar arms landing case. But that case has been tried already in Bangladesh. However, for good measure, the NIA has also raked up a case of bank robbery against Shimray in Namrup in 1982 for which he was jailed in Dibrugarh but escaped. It can be nobody's case that Anthony Shimray never purchased arms or never robbed the bank in Namrup or that he did not escape from Dibrugarh jail. As head of the Foreign Command of the NSCN (IM), one of his main duties perhaps would have been to procure arms - after all the Naga insurgents were fighting the Indian Army and they could not be expected to do so with bows and arrows. The Indian State is also well within its rights to try him under anti-terrorism laws for purchasing arms to wage a war against it. The negotiations However, it is the political context of the negotiations between the Nagas and Delhi that is important. The important question, therefore, is: Does having Shimray in jail help the negotiations or hinder them? By all accounts, his arrest or trial has not stopped the peace talks. The NSCN (IM) has proposed that all NSCN (IM) prisoners must be released once the final peace accord is signed. Presumably, this will include Shimray also. If that be the case, then how will the government keep a Thai gun-runner in jail and give clemency to the Nagas involved in the case? Willy Naru's extradition to India has clearly complicated the issue. Anthony Shimray is not the only one who is guilty of the conspiracy he is charged with. He was following orders this much is clear from the NIA chargesheet. The NIA claims that he was coming to Delhi to brief his superiors about postponing the arms purchase when he was arrested. The NIA also claims that the money for arms purchase came from the accounts of NSCN (IM). So how is it that those who gave orders and funded the arms purchase are considered innocent while Anthony Shimray has been in jail for the past 5 years?

For a modern town we also need a modern delivery system. Because each city has its own unique background, history and progression, they face different challenges and need different solutions for their problems. Therefore most metropolitan cities of the world are actually governed and managed almost as autonomous states. Now Mokokchung cannot claim to be anywhere near a city status in that sense, but the point is, it too needs a modern mode of governance to address its problems and implement solutions. In this regard, to have a fully functional Municipal Council in its true sense, is a necessity. Municipal Councils to be set up in Mokokchung, Dimapur and Kohimaunder the Nagaland Municipal Council Act 2001, are supposed to be empowered with almost all the basic functions for a modern town – Water Supply, Drainage and Sewerage, Building codes and Procedures, Town Planning and Development, Regulating Markets and Slaughter Houses, Disposal of the Death, Restrain of Infection, Sanitation and Public Safety, Public Conveniences and Latrines & Urinals, Public Lighting and a host of necessary public utility services. The Municipal Council cannot be a panacea for all the problems, but we need at least the appropriate platformand the structuresto address them. The citizens too need to pay some user charges for the services so rendered. Howeverthe establishment of Municipal Councils as per the Act of 2001is in a stalemate situation in Nagaland. These are due to certain provisions within the Act, which were strongly objected by the people. The matter is now in the courts. But if we wait for a court settlement, we do not know how long it will take. Ultimately it could be a no-win situation for any party. Therefore will it not be better and of utmost urgency for all stakeholders including the State Government to address these issues, have a re-negotiation if necessary, a mindset change perhaps, and come to an acceptable solution, and at the earliest? The people wishes to have a dream and an aspiration for the future of their towns. If this could be respected and responded with a sense of justice and integrity by all stakeholders concerned, we are certain that a solution would be certainly possible. Yes, Mokokchung can be developed into a Hub, but we need to build the supporting environment and infrastructure with a clear vision. Please give us your views and feedback atwww.facebook.com/groups/ ilovemokokchung. Blog at visionmokokchung2040.wordpress.com email atmoaaier@gmail.com or akok_n@yahoo. co.intext/whatsappus at 8794158145 Mayangnokcha Award Trust.

A reader’s response Made Wijaya | Razhu Pru Lodge

Dear Morung Express, I write to register my disappointment in your excellent tabloid's publishing the piece “Hornbill: the grand illusion" during festival fortnight. What a profound shock it must have been for the organizers and promoters of the incredible festival -- an event which, to my mind, deserves UNESCO protection. I am a travel writer/cultural historian based in Bali for the last 42 years and found scroll.in's article, as published in your tabloid -- excerpt : " the festival by default reduces NAGA culture and people to a state of exhibitionism and commodification" -- an exercise in intellectual snobbery . Anyone who visits the festival cannot help but be impressed by the organization, the charming indigenous-flavored villagescape design with the 17 morung and the song-filled mini-plaza, and, in particular, the zest of the tribes people. The good nature and good will to all men that settles on that hillside for ten days in December is rare in the world these days. Not to mention the superb kebabs at NAGA CHEF SEASON 3. Not even the occasional propaganda speech by politicians could spoil the mood. But it is so much more than a blissfest ( see my blog below to be published next month as part of an article on the festival in Indonesia's leading travel magazine) : I saw it as an opportunity for all the different tribes people to compete in a wholesome culturally rich atmosphere, and for all of the Nagas to wallow in pride at an event well-staged, an event which combines the Naga skills of environmental design (forget about Kohima), humility in excellence, camaraderie, beauty-worship, Great legs and costume artistry. The Chief Minister's suggestion, made in his Sunday speech, that the festival should be broken up into a few parts spread over the year is not a good one I felt. Practical, perhaps, with the lack of accommodation and infrastructure in mind, but does not. Take enough into consideration that the festival is first a foremost a giant, now hallowed, annual mela for the naga people themselves. The various festival spill-overs -- the star-studded Miss Nagaland pageant , the Carnival night market in Kohima, the two fabulous people's Mela plus many others -- set a standard for all South Asia in how to stage events for the people that are culturally referenced ( and therefore help preserve unique cultures), clean and green and ON TIME. For me the whole week was a triumph of Naga-Pukkah over the tendency, in India in particular, for cultural festivals to be mired in poor-planning, cronyism and ugliness. The Nagas, with their Vajrayana-like tradition of doing things fast and furious and artistic (rivaled only by the Balinese in my experience) should be an example to the rest of India, where planning is often slothful and cultural centers featuring tribal arts undervalued (the once wondrous Craft Museum in Delhi for example). The Hornbill festival is in its 16th year and going from strength to strength. It promotes environmental awareness and unity in Diversity. Bali, with all its World Bank funding and fame, is, tragically, a toilet compared to Nagaland. Cultural Tourism has become a culture of Tourism. The annual one month Arts Festival there, the Hornbill ' s nearest rival is set in a nasty Hindu-kitsch complex of complexes with no landscape integration or real style, off the stage. The facilities are fairly appalling and not really suitable for international tourists. To put it bluntly, the Hornbill festival promotes Naga Culture and cultural tourism.

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.

Friday 11•12•2015

ENTERTAINMENT

director gets threats

“A

ngry Indian Goddesses" director Pan Nalin claims that he has been getting threatening calls against the content of the film, which also features a lesbian love track. However, he remains undeterred. "I will not allow (myself ) to be terrorised by messages and calls I have been receiving like, 'How dare you blaspheme Hinduism through 'Angry Indian Goddesses? We will make sure you go Charlie Hebdo way!'" or another one goes 'What did you achieve by showing

these... non-Sanskari Indian c**ts!' I need not say anything more," Nalin said in a statement. Nalin is said to have been receiving threatening calls and messages since the release day as some groups found the content inappropriate for certain sections of the society. The lesbian love track, especially, is said to have not gone down very well with some people who consider homosexuality as an offence. Revolving around a journey of seven girls who set out to discover them-

selves, the film, released on December 4, has largely received a positive response from a cross-section of people. The film had its share of issues with the censor board, which advised 16 cuts before it could make it to the big screens. The filmmaker had told IANS earlier that he was "super sad and hurt" with the decision of the censor board to curtail them from showing images of Hindu goddesses and for using certain words like "adivasi", "sarkar" and "Indian figure".

Students of Hope Academy performs at the Annual Musical Concert held on December 9.

dressing well is an art, business: Anil Kapoor

ctor-producer Anil Kapoor, who defies age with his suave style and physically fit frame, says dressing well is an art. The "24" actor, who credits his mother for teaching him the value of being well-dressed, shared his sentiments in an interview on Colors Infinity's show "Born Stylish" with host and designer Pria Kataaria Puri. Anil said there was a time when everybody at birthday parties thought that he was from a very rich family as he was always welldressed, read a statement. "In fact, there are still an uninformed lot of people who look down upon fashion enthusiasts and people who dress well. Actually, they don't know that it's an art and of course good business," said Anil, whose daughter Sonam Kapoor is also looked up by many as a fashion icon. Puri also believes that clothes don’t wear you, you wear clothes. "I agree with Anil Kapoor. Style is not about spending money, but an expression of who you are. My show is an attempt of connecting the masses to fashion through exposing the style journey of their favourite icons," she said. On his favourite style moment, Anil said: “My walk in film 'Ram Lakhan' was my most spectacular style moment.” He also shared that compliments are always welcome, but "I am not delusional". "I know where I stand and believe in ageing gracefully. But no one is immortal.”

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ollywood star Priyanka Chopra beat off global competition to retain her title as the "Sexiest Asian Woman" in an annual UK poll. The singer and actress, 33, came out on top following millions of votes pouring in from across the globe on social media for the 2015 edition of the popular '50 Sexiest Asian Women' poll conducted by London-based weekly newspaper 'Eastern Eye. "Now that's a title I'm happy to hold on to. I'm bringing sexy back! A big thank you to everyone who's voted for me. Thank you also to 'Eastern Eye' for making me feel 'sexy'; well, at least for another year. A piece of advice to the ladies it's all in the mind. Remember, sexy is as sexy does," said Chopra. This is the third time in the past four years that Chopra, who has been making waves with her role as an FBI recruit in American television

to MICHAEL LEARNS TO ROCK

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he Bombay High Court on Thursday acquitted Bollywood megastar Salman Khan of all charges in the September 28, 2002 hit-and-run case. Delivering the muchawaited verdict, Justice A.R. Joshi said that the actor "cannot be convicted" on the basis of the evidence produced by the prosecution in the 13-year old case and trial. Virtually dismissing the prosecution case, Justice Joshi said the "prosecution failed to establish the charges (against Khan) on all counts" and that "it had failed to prove that Salman was drunk or driving" at the time of the accident, which left one pavement dweller dead and four others injured. Demolishing the police investigations completely, Justice Joshi's verdict came in Khan's appeal challenging his conviction and five-year sentence by the Sessions Court on May 6. Khan, clad in a dark-checked shirt and jeans, heard out the verdict without emotions after he rushed here from a shooting schedule in Karjat, adjacent Raigad district following the court's directive. Most family members, including his father Salim Khan, his sisters, brothers, friends and fans were present when the judgement was pronounced.

Priyanka chopra voted 'sexiest asian Woman'

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Salman Khan acquitted in 2002 accident case

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thriller Quantico, topped the list. The win rounds off a dream year for the former Miss World, which includes winning all-round praise for her 2014 film Mary Kom and 2015 box-office hit Dil Dhadakne Do. "Priyanka Chopra is doing India proud on the global stage and winning loads of admirers. This was illustrated by the largest-ever number of votes by non-Asians that she received from all over the world. She is clearly building bridges internationally through her art and will continue to do so in the coming years. And by excelling in TV, film and music, the multi-talented actress has shown just how far hard work can take you," said Asjad Nazir, Eastern Eye entertainment editor and founder of the list. The complete '50 Sexiest Asian Women' 2015 list, which is compiled from votes on social media, will be published in 'Eastern Eye' on Friday.

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friDAY 11•12•2015

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

NBA rouNdup: derozan, raptors snap Spurs’ streak

Toronto Raptors Guard DeMar DeRozan in action during an NBA game against San Antonio Spurs on December 9, 2015 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (AFP Photo)

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TORONTO, DecembeR 10 (AP): DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, Kyle Lowry added 19 and the Toronto Raptors snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ four-game winning streak with a 97-94 victory on Wednesday night. Luis Scola had 16 points and Toronto never trailed in handing San Antonio just its third loss in the last 18 games. Manu Ginobili had 17 points off the bench for the Spurs, who also got 13 points from LaMarcus Aldridge. Danny Green hit a 3-pointer following a timeout to make it a three-point game with 2:47 to play, but Bismack Biyombo threw down a dunk to restore the Raptors’ five-point edge. Kawhi Leonard’s follow shot later narrowed the advantage to three, but Toronto was able to run out the clock. GRIZZLIES 93, PISTONS 92 In Auburn Hills, Mich., Matt Barnes tossed in a desperation 3-pointer from just inside midcourt with 1.1 seconds left to lift Memphis over Detroit. Marcus Morris missed a contested shot with 7 seconds left that could have clinched the game for the Pistons, and Andre Drummond’s tip bounced off the rim. The Grizzlies grabbed the ball and fired an outlet pass to Barnes. He let go a running, two-handed shot as he crossed halfcourt that went in, silencing the Palace crowd as players on the Memphis bench celebrated. Morris missed another tough shot at the buzzer, and the Pistons lost their

second straight following a four-game winning streak. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Marc Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Drummond had 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Pistons. Reggie Jackson added 18 points and seven assists. CELTICS 105, BULLS 100 In Boston, Isaiah Thomas scored nine of his 20 points in the final 3 minutes to lead the Celtics past Chicago. Kelly Olynyk added 15 points, Jae Crowder and Evan Turner each had 13 and David Lee scored 12 for the Celtics, who had eight players in double figures and won for the fourth time in five games. They host undefeated Golden State next on Friday. Jimmy Butler led Chicago with a season-high 36 points, and Pau Gasol had his fifth straight double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Derrick Rose added 12 points for the Bulls, who lost their third straight. ROCKETS 109, WIZARDS 103 In Washington, James Harden had 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Houston’s victory over the Wizards. Harden scored 23 in the second half a day after he finished with a season-low 10 points in a loss at Brooklyn. Corey Brewer added 15 points and Patrick Beverly had 14 to help Houston to its fourth win in five games. HORNETS 99, HEAT 81 In Charlotte, N.C., Kemba Walker and Marvin

Williams scored 18 points apiece to lead the Hornets past Miami for its third straight victory. Tyler Johnson scored 20 for Miami, which had won three of four. Dwyane Wade and Gerald Green each added 11. Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lamb had 10 points apiece for the Hornets, who learned earlier in the day the NBA suspended injured center Al Jefferson for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. TIMBERWOLVES 123, LAKERS 122 (OT) In Minneapolis, Kevin Martin scored 37 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Timberwolves over Los Angeles in overtime. Martin went 6 for 9 from 3-point range and scored 17 in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves (912) improve to 3-9 at home. Towns made 11 of 19 shots and tied a career high for rebounds. D’Angelo Russell scored a career-high 23 points and Julius Randle had 20 points and 12 re-bounds for the Lakers (3-19) in what was likely Kobe Bryant’s last game in Minnesota. Bryant scored 11 points on 5-for13 shooting in 24 minutes. CLIPPERS 109, BUCKS 95 In Milwaukee, J.J. Redick scored a seasonhigh 31 points and Los Angeles pulled away in the second half against the Bucks. Redick, who averaged 24 points in two games against the Bucks last season, once again tormented his former team, scoring 15 in the third quarter. Blake Griffin had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 18 points and 18 assists for the Clippers, who won their third straight. DeAndre Jordan had 19 rebounds. SUNS 107, MAGIC 104 In Phoenix, Brandon Knight scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, Alex Len set career highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Suns beat Orlando. Eric Bledsoe made a tiebreaking layup for Phoenix with 1:11 left and finished with 21 points and nine assists. The Magic had a couple chances to tie in the final 30 seconds but turned the ball over, and Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier missed potential game-tying 3s in the final five seconds.

Giroud hat-trick inspires Arsenal’s ‘great escape’ ATHeNS, DecembeR 10 (ReUTeRS): Olivier Giroud grabbed a superb hat-trick as Arsenal crushed Olympiakos Piraeus 3-0 to book their spot in the Champions League's last 16 with a classy demolition job that ended the hopes of their Greek opponents on Wednesday. With Arsenal needing an emphatic victory to make it out of Group F, France forward Giroud produced a high-calibre display to ensure the English club finished second, level on nine points with Olympiakos, but ahead by virtue of their better headto-head record. Giroud opened the scoring in Greece with a powerful header in the first half, doubled Arsenal's advantage with a calm leftfooted finish quickly after the restart and rounded off a superb individual display with a penalty. The victory completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Arsenal who lost three of their first four games of the campaign and needed to win by any result other than 1-0 or 2-1 in their decisive group clash to finish second behind group winners Bayern Munich. "I told you before that it would be the greatest escape," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "I must say I'm very proud of the team as we had to be right on the mental and tactical side."

Chelsea outclass Porto to ease pressure on Jose Mourinho

LONDON, DecembeR 10 (ReUTeRS): Jose Mourinho's Chelsea turned from domestic whipping boys back to European stalwarts on Wednesday, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G. A 12th-minute own goal which rebounded off Ivan Marcano under pressure from Diego Costa and a well-worked second-half strike from Brazilian Willian ensured victory for the struggling English champions and sent Porto into the Europa League.C helsea, cheered by a beaming owner Roman Abramovich, looked a completely different team from the one that has slumped to eight domestic defeats in 15 league games, including four at home. The result took the pressure off Mourinho after intense speculation that the coach, who has won the Champions League with both Porto and Inter Milan, might lose his job if Chelsea failed to qualify for the knockout stages. A relieved crowd celebrated a possible turning point in a turbulent season by chanting Mourinho's name.

Arsenal's Olivier Giroud celebrates with the matchball and Per Mertesacker after scoring a hat trick at the end of the match. (Reuters)

In what was a straight shootout for the second spot in the group at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium, Giroud opened the scoring with a stooping header from Aaron Ramsey’s cross just before the half-hour. Olympiakos

responded to going behind positively, however, and finished the first half stronger. Felipe Pardo’s cross was deflected over by Laurent Koscielny and Arthur Masuaku tested Arsenal keeper Petr Cech with a long-range drive.

Arsenal grabbed the vital second goal shortly after the restart as Giroud benefitted from Joel Campbell’s trickery to latch onto the Costa Rica forward’s neat pass and side-foot past Olympiakos keeper Roberto four minutes after

halftime. While Arsenal controlled possession, they looked vulnerable at times on the break and the hosts almost hit back immediately. An unmarked Manuel Da Costa headed a corner straight at Cech, who shortly afterwards made a superb flying save to deny the impressive Kostas Fortounis. Any hope of a comeback from the hosts though was extinguished when Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli awarded a penalty against Omar Elabdellaoui for handling Nacho Monreal’s shot, with Giroud sending Roberto the wrong way from the spot. The win preserved Arsenal’s superb record in the Champions League, having now qualified for the competition's second stage for the 16th time in succession. Olympiakos coach Marco Silva was understandably deflated but gracious in defeat. “We were eliminated simply because Arsenal were better; they showed their level tonight and we just couldn’t make it despite a massive effort,” said the 38-year-old, whose side will now play in the continent's second tier Europa League. “Our fans should be proud though... the team gave all they had and it’s significant that we were in with a chance of qualifying for the second stage in the last round of group matches.”

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Lewandowski gives Bayern 2-0 win at Dinamo

ZAGReb, DecembeR 10 (ReUTeRS): Bayern Munich eased into the Champions League's last 16 after a second-half double by top scorer Robert Lewandowski gave them a 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb in their Group F match on Wednesday. Bayern, who had already secured top spot in the group, finished with 15 points from six games, six ahead of Arsenal, who booked their berth with a 3-0 win at Olympiakos Piraeus. After a tepid first half, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola brought on Thomas Mueller into his makeshift side at the interval and Germany's 2014 World Cup winner made a tell-

ing impact despite missing a 90thminute penalty. Mueller's perfect cross allowed Lewandowski to break the deadlock with a diving header on the hour and the Poland striker added the second with a dinked finish three minutes later. Five times European champions Bayern dominated from the start but Dinamo missed the best two chances in the first half on a chilly night in Zagreb. Bayern's Sven Ulreich denied El Arabi Hilal Soudani with a superb save before the Algeria striker headed wide after the German side's reserve keeper misjudged an inviting cross by Dinamo's 18-year old midfielder Ante Coric.

The lively Coric also tested Ulreich early on, before Lewandowski's scuffed shot from a good position was easily cleared by the home team's defenders at the other end. Ulreich then kept out a stinging shot by Junior Fernandes before Lewandowski opened the scoring thanks to good work by Mueller, who replaced the ineffective Franck Ribery. The irrepressible Lewandowski showed his class when he made it 2-0 with an exquisite finish after racing clear of a defender and leaving Dinamo keeper Eduardo clutching at thin air, taking his Champions League tally this season to seven goals from six games.

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Leverkusen hold Barca to 1-1 draw

LeVeRKUSeN, DecembeR 10 (AP): Lionel Messi scored his 80th Champions League goal as aBarcelona side without many of its other stars played to a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, sending the German side to the Europa League. Title holder Barcelona had already qualified and was sure to win Group E. Playing without Neymar, who sustained a groin strain in the final practice on Tuesday, and Luis Suarez, who was rested, Barcelona still went ahead through Messi - the only one of the three forward stars who started the match. The Barcelona captain picked up a perfect through ball from Ivan

Rakitic to score in the 20th. Javier ''Chicharito'' Hernandez leveled three minutes later. Barcelona finished with 14 points, ahead of Romawith six. Roma advanced because of a better head-tohead record over Leverkusen, which also had six points. Roma drew 0-0 with BATE Borisov, which stayed bottom of the group at five points. With nothing to play for, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique did not even bring Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique to Germany. But Barcelona still took control at the start and Rakitic created the goal for Messi with a perfectly timed through pass. Messi rounded goalkeeper Bernd

Leno and slotted home. Leverkusen replied quickly. Admir Mehmedi sent in a low cross from the left and Hernandez fired a first-time shot into the roof of the net. A bad clearance then allowed Hakan Calhanoglu to have a clear shot but he missed the Barcelona net. Barcelona's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen produced two outstanding saves to protect Barcelona's point in the second half. He first foiled Karim Bellarabi and then turned away a late effort by Hernandez with one hand. ''All we needed was one more goal so we are very disappointed,'' Leverkusen's Christoph Kramersaid.

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