January 25th, 2016

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www.morungexpress.com

MonDAY • JAnuArY 25 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 23 • 12 PAGes • 5

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P o W e R

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T R u T H

The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings — Martin Buber India has labour, market for French products: Modi PAGE 08

PAGE 02

By Sandemo Ngullie

Torch light, telephone, type writer, VCR, PC, Ps, Xbox, video and music player, speakers....why don’t you get a cell phone instead.

The Morung Express Poll QuEsTion

Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your anSwer to 9862574165 Do you support Government of India’s move to promote Nagamese as an official language? no

others

Are Naga leaders and organizations more concerned with the budget and buildings than the people? Why? Yes

38%

no

46%

others

16%

Details on page 7

One arrested for molesting Naga woman in Gurgaon GURGAoN, JANUARY 24 (TNN): An auto driver has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 25-yearold Naga woman on MG Road on Friday night. The accused, Jitender Kumar, was nabbed later that night, following a complaint from the woman, who works at a shopping mall. He was produced in a court on Saturday and granted bail. Police said 30-year-old Kumar had been stalking the woman for the past 2 months after one day she took her auto for daily commute.

The woman alleged that on Friday night around 9 pm, the accused molested her and thrashed her before fleeing the scene. She then, along with the members of the north eastern union, lodged a complaint at DLFII police station. On reports that the victim had made a U-turn in her statement recorded in court, police said “As per complaint, we lodged an FIR and arrested the accused. Now whether the victim has taken a Uturn or not in her statement will be clear after we get the copy from court.”

Amidst a setting of Mithun and Buffalo skulls adorning the front wall of a house, villagers enjoy a traditional dance (not seen in the picture) performed by a cultural troupe at Waoshu village-some 42 kilometers away from Tuensang Town. (Photo by Toshi Kichu)

create greenbelts around coal mines: nPcB suggests our Correspondent Kohima | January 24

The Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) has recommended that it is a must to create greenbelts around coal mining sites in Nagaland to acts as a barrier for air pollution.

In its report titled ‘Study of coal mining areas in Nagaland and its impact on environment,’ the NPCB said that afforestation should be done on all the slopes of the dump and the depression area which forms lagoons as a result can be utilized for fish cultivation.

“Topsoil will be excavated and dumped separately. The entire topsoil

will be reclaimed and spread over the backfilled internal dump area for land reclamation purpose,” it stated. The surface of leaves also help in collecting dusts and is important around the mine boundary to reduce the SPM and toxic gases beyond the mine site

low for the cost of future land reclamation made necessary by its production.

It also suggested that an assessment of environmental and socio-economic impact should be undertaken when establishing mining activities in areas where there has been no coal mining.

Drainage of water containing acids and heavy metals from mining and / or waste disposal, which is a threat to ground and surface waters, should be abated and techniques should be used which minimize the total cost, including the social cost.

“The highest practicable degree of occupational health and safety for miners should be assured,” it emphasized.

Says calculation of the cost of coal should allow for the cost of future land reclamation to spread to a great extent.

The process of enforcement of environmental legislation, e.g. reclamation, should be conducted in a manner which avoids or minimizes delays and associated costs, the NPCB added. It said that the calculation of the cost of coal should al-

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 24 (MExN): The Union Cabinet today recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Congress-ruled Arunachal Pradesh, which is rocked by political turmoil that broke out last month.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet at an unscheduled meeting this morning took the decision to recommend imposition of President’s rule in the northeast state, official sources said in Delhi.

It is learnt that the Cabinet also recommended that thestate Assembly be kept under suspended animation.

The recommendation drew stinging condemnation from the opposition with Congress alleging democracy was being trampled and that Modi was “fountainhead” of political intolerance while a shocked Chief Minister Nabam Tuki said such a decision in a sensitive border state was “unprecedented” and “unacceptable”.

Accusing the Modi government of trying to destabilize a state bordering China, the Congress also said that it will challenge in court the Cabinet decision if it gets presidential assent.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed “shock” over the Cabinet decision, saying it is “murder” of the country’s Constitution.

Arunachal Pradesh was rocked by a political crisis on December 16 last

Anthony Shimray granted bail DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): Head of Foreign Affairs of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM) Anthony Ningkhan Shimray who is currently lodged at Tihar Jail has been granted bail for a day on January 29. According to sources from the Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Shimray is expected to meet with members of his organizations during his time out from jail. Shimray has been presently lodged in Tihar Jail ever since his arrest in 2010.

Impose single tax on timber laden trucks: NTTU

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DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): The Nagaland Timber Traders’ Union (NTTU) has resolved that the Naga political groups should impose only a single central tax on every timber-laden truck and that imposition of taxes at the regional and other levels should be done away with.

This was resolved by the NTTU during an executive meeting deliberation of the excessive taxation imposed by various Naga political groups and government departments, informed a press note from the NTTU, President, Kevise Sogotsu.

The NTTU, it stated, has taken serious note of the excessive taxation imposed on timber-laden trucks plying between Kiphire and Dimapur by various Naga political

PAGE 12

Union cabinet recommends President’s rule in Arunachal

reflections

Yes

1st Nagaland Orphanage Bible camp held

Djokovic survives scare, Federer races to quarters

Tax levied per timber carrying truck from Kiphire to Dimapur

nsCn (i-M) Pungro town command – Rs. 1,000 Region tax – Rs. 1,000 Longmatra Region – Rs. 1,000 Central tax – Rs. 4,000 Meluri Region – Rs. 1,000 Meluri Town Command (Gate pass) – Rs. 700 Jessami NSCN (IM) gate pass – Rs. 300 GPRn/nsCn Central tax – Rs. 4,000 Meluri Region and town command – Rs. 1,500 FGn nguro Central tax – Rs. 4,000; Meluri Region and town command – Rs. 1,500

groups. It asked the groups whether “solution to the Naga political problem will be found in Kiphire district, taking into account the excess tax levied in the district.”

It further highlighted the “illegal taxation” imposed by the Nagaland State Government depart-

Jessami Police Gate – Rs. 500; Jessami Forest Gate – Rs. 200 Jessami Excise gate pass –Rs. 150 lanye Police Gate – Rs. 700 Pfutsero Forest gate – Rs. 1,700 Pfutsero Town Committee – Rs. 2,00 Kohima Police gate – Rs. 700 Kohima Municipal Council – Rs. 500 lalmati police gate – Rs. 700 Chumukedima police gate – Rs. 500 Chumukedima Town Council – Rs. 200 Source: NTTU

ments and agencies like the Police, Excise and Forest at every conceivable check gates and entry points.

“As per Naga tradition and under Article 371 (A), ownership of the land and resources belong to the people. Accordingly, no NPG or state government

agency has the right to impose tax on any produce such as paddy, vegetable or timbre produced or grown in one’s own field or forest,” the NTTU reasoned.

It further questioned the Nagaland State Forest Department that if timbre falls within the ambit of the de-

partment, “then why the department is keeping silent on tax imposed at various check gates by other Police and Excise departments.”

“Further, we wonder why public and NGOs of Kiphire district are keeping mum on the taxation issue.

It is high time for the Naga public to rise up and curb the taxation menace, which is eating into the very vitals of Naga society,” it said.

“At this rate, many Naga families who depend on timber and timber business for a living would die of starvation after paying all taxes,” the NTTU cautioned.

The NTTU further furnished details of taxation levied per truck by the Naga political groups and government agencies from Kiphire to Dimapur.

tuki expresses shock at centre’s move ITANAGAR, JANUARY 24 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today expressed surprise over the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for imposing President’s rule in the state.

“This is really shocking as the Centre did not consult the state government before taking such a harsh decision.

Arunachal is absolutely peaceful without even a single case of law and order breakdown reported

in the last month,” Tuki told PTI in Itanagar.

G ov e r n o r Jyo t i Prasad Rajkhowa recommended President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh without consulting the state Cabinet at a time when several related cases are sub-judice in the Supreme Court, he said.

“There is no Constitutional crisis in the state as recommended by the governor. Whatever crisis is there it is his (Governor’s) creation,” Tuki said, adding that he en-

joyed full support from all the Cabinet ministers.

“With only a day left for Republic Day celebrations, such a decision will dampen the democratic spirit of the state’s people who are zealously guarding the border with China,” Tuki said.

Congress, he asserted, will protest against the decision if President Pranab Mukherjee gives assent to the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.

year as 21 rebel Congress MLAs joined hands with 11 of BJP and two independents to ‘impeach’ Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia at a makeshift venue, in a move branded as “illegal and unconstitutional” by the Speaker.

Up in arms against Tuki, 21 rebel party MLAs, including 14 disqualified a day before, with the help of BJP and independent legislators, congregated at a community hall after the state Assembly complex was ‘sealed’ by the local administration, and ‘impeached’ Rebia in an impromptu session chaired

by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok.

27 MLAs in 60-member Assembly, including the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues, boycotted the proceedings.

A day later, in a bizarre turn of events, opposition BJP and rebel Congress MLAs congregated in a lo-

cal hotel to “vote out” Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and to “elect” a rebel Congress MLA in his place but the Gauhati High Court intervened to keep in “abeyance” decisions taken at the rebel “session”.

A “no confidence” motion moved by BJP MLAs and Independent MLAs was “adopted” with Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok, who is also a rebel Congressman, in the Chair.

A total of 33 members in the 60-member house, including 20 dissident Congress MLAs, later “elected” another dissident Congressman Kalikho Pul as the new “chief minister” of the state.

The Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his 26 supporting MLAs boycotted the proceedings terming them as “illegal and unconstitutional”.

The Chief Minister later wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modiseek-

ing their intervention to “uphold” the Constitution in the face of the “unprecedented murder” of democracy and “bypassing” of a democratically-elected government by Governor Rajkhowa.

Angry over the Governor’s action in calling a session of the Assembly bypassing the government, the Congress had paralysed the Rajya Sabha for two days during the winter session.

In the High Court, Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed prima facie the Governor’s decision to advance the Assembly session to December 16, 2015 for taking up the impeachment proceedings against the Speaker was in “violation of Article 174 and 175 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has referred a batch of petitions on the Arunachal Pradesh crisis to a Constitution Bench.

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monDAY 25•01•2016

NAGALAND

NFHRCC meeting on Jan 26 DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): The Nagaland Foothill Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has informed that there will be a meeting held at the committee’s treasurer’s residence on January 26 4:00pm. A press note from the NFHRCC Convener, Supu Jamir and General Secretary, WY Kithan has informed all the Committee members to attend the meeting positively.

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

A MOMENT-IN-TIME AT WAOSHU: THE INQUISITIVE YOUNG AND THE INDOMITABLE OLD

KPC to visit NMA hospice KohIMA, JANUARY 24 (MExN): As part of Republic Day visitation on January 26, the Kohima Press Club has been assigned to visit NMA Hospice, located below byepass. All the members of Kohima Press Club have been requested to join the same. Members are requested to assemble near NSF office by 1.00 PM. Meeting with Hospice inmates will take place around 2.00 PM. Members also can reach the NMA hospice directly.

Nagaland to observe 6th national voters’ day today

A man enjoys a bidi or a ‘country cigarette’

KohIMA, JANUARY 24 (MExN): Nagaland along Children from Waoshu village under Tuensang peep excitedly into a digital video camera eye piece. with the rest of the country will be observing 6th national voters’ day under the theme “Inclusive and qualitative participation” on January 25 at 11:30 AM at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan Kohima. PB Acharya, Governor of Nagaland & Assam will grace the occasion as the chief guest. The function will be chaired by Sanjay Kumar, chief electoral officer Nagaland and commissioner & secretary to Governor, who will also highlight the perspective and background of the NVD. Short speech will be delivered by Geoffrey Yaden, editor Nagaland Post, representatives from Naga Hoho, NBCC, The Naga Blog and ENPO while Veineinem Singson, Miss Nagaland 2014 & State Icon SVEEP will deliver short talk. Lithrongla Tongpi, ADC and ERO Kohima will share her experience as ERO. Nenghoilhing Hangsing, Miss Nagaland 2015 & State Icon SVEEP will present a special number. Administration of NDV pledge will be done by Sanjay Kumar while vote of thanks will be proposed by Rovilatuo Mor, Deputy Commissioner and An amused old man in full traditional head gear looks intently into the lens of the camera for District Election Officer, Kohima. a portrait. Photos by Toshi Kichu A group of impressionable youngsters strike different poses for this photographer.

Jockey outlet opens in Dimapur 1st Nagaland Orphanage Bible camp held

The new Jockey outlet which opened in Circular Dimapur on January 24. (Morung Photo)

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): A Jockey exclusive brand outlet opened at Circular Road, Dimapur on January 24. A press note informed that the store boasts of an entire range of innerwear, leisurewear, sleepwear and active-

wear for women and men.

The store provides an array of lounge pants, capri pants, jersey pants, knit shorts, boxers, tees and racer backs in colourful checks, geometric patterns, floral prints and attractive solids for women.

Jo c k e y ' s Fa s h i o n Stretch range comes in a variety of modern silhouettes in innerwear which fits every body shape and works for any outfit.

For Men, there is a fine ensemble of innerwear, leisurewear and activewear too. The USA Originals Innerwear Collection takes inspiration from traditional American colours, textures and icons and combines unique labels, embroidery and prints to evoke a rich sense of Jockey's heritage and American culture. Likewise, do not forget to check out POP Colour, Sport Performance and International Collection as well.

The Men's Relax range presents the latest collection of Muscle Tees, Polo T-Shirts, Crew Shirts, Bermudas, Lounge pants, Pyjamas and Boxer Shorts.

THE 6TH NATIONAL VOTERS’ DAY MESSAGE BY SRI SANJAY KUMAR, IAS, THE CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER OF NAGALAND. Along with the rest of the country, Nagaland too, celebrates its 6th National Voters’ Day on 25th January 2016 in all the 12 Election Districts under the theme ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation’ with the objective that no voter is left behind. The state level NVD is celebrated at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan, with the Honourable Governor of Nagaland and Assam as the Chief Guest.

While so many countries experience downward trend in electoral participation, the Election Commission of India, is determined to promote and strengthen the biggest democracy of the world into a more participative and vibrant democracy.

With a view to: i. achieving greater participation of citizens in the country especially the youth including the new voters in the electoral process; ii. to spread awareness among all sections of voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process to make our democracy a vibrant democracy; and iii. to take up vigorous exercise to identify all eligible citizens attaining 18 years of age on the 1st day of January every year to enroll them on time by the Election Commission; and iv. to give the youth a sense of responsible citizenship, empowerment, pride and partici pation and to inspire them to exercise their franchise,the first National Voters’ Day was celebrated on 25th January 2011.

Hence with special focus on people from marginalized groups and segments, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), Third Gender, Service Voters and Non Resident Indians (NRIs), besides women and youth, the 6th NVD is celebrated today to achieve its goals of: a. All eligible desirous citizens are enrolled; b. One person registers only at one place and surrenders duplicate registration, if any; c. No errors in the details of the elector; d. No ghost electors; e. Voter Id Cards / EPICs are issued to all electors and f. Regular updation of electoral rolls is done for accuracy.

On this day awards are given to winning officers and states/ union territories that excel in Best Electoral Practices both in National and State/ Union Territory levels. Among them Nagaland too is marching with success and achievements.

True to its theme of inclusiveness and qualitative participation, the NVD is held in partnership with recognized national and state level political parties, civil administration, heads of defence service, police, border road organizations, Local bodies, academic institutions, civil society groups, public sector undertakings, government departments, media and all partnering agencies etc.

I appeal to all concerned to come forward and join hands with the Election Commission of India at national, state and district levels and make the NVD a successful platform to serve the people better in the days and years to come.

Let the National Voters’ Day serve as a reminder to all eligible voters in the country of their responsibility to participate in the electoral process and to inculcate in them a commitment to democratic electoral process that leads to greater participation.

Today, as we celebrate the 6th National Voters’ Day along with the rest of the country, your support to the department will go a long way in strengthening our resolve of reorienting the mindset of our people so that the Commission’s theme “Inclusive and Qualitative Electoral Participation” is achieved through our collective effort.

We request all of you that let us rededicate ourselves for greater participation for a stronger democracy and do whatever we can to help cleanse our electoral rolls and ensure ethical, informed and inducement-free voting.

LONG LIVE NATIONAL VOTERS’ DAY.

Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo, Senior Pastor, Koinonia Baptist Church Kohima, organizer and volunteers with the children during the Nagaland Orphanage Bible camp, held from January 22 to 24. (Morung Photo) Our Correspondent Kohima | January 24

The River of Soul Saving Ministry has successfully organized a three day long Nagaland Orphanage Bible Camp from January 22 to 24 last at Koinonia Prayer Centre under the theme “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” (Psalms 27:10).

The speakers of the camp included: Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo, Senior Pastor, Koinonia Baptist Church Kohima; Pastor Vezokho Vero, Naga Shisha Hoho Kohima; Pastor Letuolie Pienyii, Christian Revival Church, Pezielietsie Kohima and Pastor Khriesavituo Belho, Christian Revival Church, Keviphe.

Topics covered at the camp included “Faith and prayer,” “Repentance and salvation,” “Sin,” “Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” “Temptation and

deliverance,” and “Gifts and fruits of the Holy spirit.”

Talking to media persons, Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo, said that after attending the camp, the orphanage felt that they were not an orphanage, but they believed and have strong faith that now they belong to Jesus Christ and have strong conviction that God is their father.

“From this very camp they came to know that their future is bright and they are not different with other children,” Rev. Kiewhuo said.

“They have got confidence and conviction that they can compete with any other children. They had given their life that they will serve the Lord in different capacity,” he added.

Further, Rev. Kiewhuo made a fervent appeal to one and all to come forward and support such orphanage Bible camp.

“Let us join our hearts together

and give chance to them so that they can be somebody in future and let them feel that they are equal with other children,” he added.

Razou Angami, founder-cumchairman of River of Soul Saving Ministry said that 113 orphans from Kohima, Peren, Dimapur, Ghaspani, Phek including Mao gate of Manipur state attended the camp.

Henceforth, the orphanage Bible camp will now be held once in every two years.

He said the objective of the Orphanage Bible camp was to bring them closer to God and have fellowship to get blessing from God. He also stated that the Ministry will conduct similar camps for persons with disabilities soon.

Praise and worship was led by Hope Ministry. Neisapi Ltu and Menuosielie Usou acted as camp director and secretary respectively.

DAYO condemns Jan 18 incident

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): The Dimapur Ao Youth Organization (DAYO) has condemned the January 18 incident whereby four gunmen entered the residence of one Er Sungti Amer at Padhamphukuri, Dimapur and intimidated the caretaker of the house.

A press note from the DAYO said: “Such kind of crooked activity by whosoever without any justification to the innocent citizens which is a regular phenomena in our society has to be stringently dealt with.” It further affirmed that it would not be a mute onlooker and urged law enforcing activities to thoroughly investigate the matter.

The DAYO further expressed support to the ultimatum served by the Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur and the subsequent ultimatum served by the Ao Senden, and the Ao Kaketshir Telongjem to the Director RMSA under the Department of School Education, Nagaland. It cautioned that the department would be responsible for any eventuality that could arise due to negligence.

Korea-Naga culinary exchange prog held

A Korea-Naga culinary programme was held at C-Edge College, Dimapur on January 20.

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 24 (MExN): A team of 14 students from the Korea Culinary Arts Science School (KCAS), Korea, visited C-Edge College, Dimapur and had a day long Korea-Naga culinary exchange program on January 20. This was made possible under a MoU signed by the College with KCAS during 2015.

A press note informed that the KCAS team was led by their Vice-Principal, Park Dong and teacher Kwang Seok.

During the first part, the KCAS team prepared various Korean cuisines which was followed by the C-Edge team showing them Naga cuisine preparation. This provided the lunch for the participating teams. The whole exercise was an enriching experience for all the participants and culinary arts and science as an viable vocational career was appreciated.

The second half of the day saw a cultural festival, where various Naga cultural items such as folk songs, folklore and dances were presented. The Korean team also presented music and dance items. During the day, a separate interaction was also conducted with faculty of the College with Prof. Chang-Sun of Vision University, Korea, who also accompanied the team.

The program was a good learning experience and the importance of practical education as opposed to an emphasis of education mostly on just academics, was an important part of the exchange program, the note added.

The logistics and arrangements for both the Culinary and the Cultural festival were organized by the Fine Arts & Cultural Committee of C-Edge, and the program ended in the evening with a vote of thanks by Daisy Shitio, Academic Dean of C-Edge College.

MonDAY 25•01•2016

NORTH-EAST

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

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President's Rule in Arunachal 4 groups call for Jan 26 shutdown travesty of mandate: Congress Will challenge the imposition of President's Rule: Sibal nEw DElhi, January 24 (ianS): The Congress on Sunday said the central government's decision to impose President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh reflects a "travesty of Constitutional mandate, subjugation of federalism and trampling of democracy".

The union cabinet on Sunday recommended imposition of President's Rule in the northeastern state.

"Modi-ji's double speak of respect for federalism and states being equal part of 'Team India' stands exposed," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

"It also shows a scant disregard of the Supreme Court by the Modi government, particularly when the entire issue of BJP-engineered coercive defections is being heard by a constitution bench (of the Supreme Court)," he added.

Surjewala said the Congress would decisively fight "undermining of elected mandate by autocratic attempts of the gov-

ernment".

Party leader Kapil Sibal, meanwhile, said the Congress would challenge the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

"They are trying to bypass a matter which is subjudice and we'll challenge the imposition of President's Rule," Sibal said.

"This is a wrong decision taken by the government. At one end, the governor through his actions has already embarrassed himself and now its seems even the government wants to embarrass itself with this decision.

"This is an unfortunate political step of the gov-

ernment," he added. " This government knows it very well that they don't have majority in the Rajya Sabha and that this particular recommendation can never pass because it is politically motivated.

"But they still want to destabilise a border state, whose border is with China. They want to create instability in that state. This is the political wisdom that this government has," Sibal said.

"This is an act of political intolerance. This is also their idea of cooperative federalism. Instead of trying to strengthen a border

state, they are destabilising it," he added.

"There is evidence of the fact that they tried to manipulate a majority in Arunachal Pradesh by supporting the dissidents and there is a tape-recording to the effect that the dissidents were actually wanting money.

"While the matter is pending in the Supreme COurt, they must have realised what if the matter goes against them. So it's better to intervene and try and manipulate the majority in yet another way. This decision is going to cost them heavily," Sibal said.

Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): The United Liberation Front of WeSEA (UNLFW), Coordination Committee (CorCom) of Manipur, Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) have called for a shutdown of the Northeast region from 12.01 am to 6 pm on Tuesday.

"We call upon the citizens to put out a strong, clear message and protest against the imposed celebration of the Republic day in our West Eastern South East Asia (WESEA). We call for a total shutdown of our region from 00.01 hrs to 18 hrs of January 26," the joint statement mailed to the media said.

However, Emergency services, media and religious activities have been kept out of the shutdown's purview.

Pointing to the Republic Day celebrations in the region, the four organisations stated that citizens of WeSEA were being “imposed upon” to observe the same. “In pushing for the totality of the Indian Dominion, the GOl is pursuing a hegemonic colonial policy in our region to assimilate all our distinct culture,

Tripura gets Rs. 99 Cr for Wagah-like border aGarTala, January 24 (pTi): The Centre has sanctioned funds to create infrastructure for ‘Beating Retreat’ ceremony here at Agartala-Akhaura border with Bangladesh, similar to that at Wagah in Punjab.

“Of the Rs 99 crore sanctioned by the Centre to develop tourist spots in Tripura, Rs 18 crore was earmarked to create infrastructure at the Agartala-Akhaura border for Wagah-like Beating Retreat Ceremony,” state Tourism Minister Ratan Bhowmik said.

The money was sanctioned by the Union Tourism Ministry under

‘Swadesh Darshan scheme’, for building a mini stadium and roads among others.

Work on developing the infrastructure will begin soon, he said.

The Agartala-Akhaura check post is an integrated one which is also the second largest trading centre with Bangladesh after Benapole and Petrapole in West Bengal.

The Beating Retreat ceremony is performed at Wagah during closing of the border every evening by the BSF and its Pak counterpart Pakistan Rangers since 1959 and is a major tourist attraction.

“The beating retreat ceremony at Wagah is performed by BSF and Rangers in a bit aggressive manner. But it would be done in a more friendly atmosphere at Akhaura check post because India’s ties with Bangladesh and BSF’s relation with BGB is very cordial,” BSF spokesperson D S Bhati said.

“BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) regularly perform a beating retreat in Agartala-Akhaura border and it could be more exciting and splendid show with the building of proper infrastructure,” the spokesperson added.

people and territories to India forever,” the organisations maintained.

Stressing that the people of the region have suffered “hatred and discrimination from caste ridden Indian racism,” the groups noted that “Indian strategists are finding and exploiting fault lines” of the region while “pursuing a policy of divide and rule.”

They accused the Indian establishment of using all its military might in suppressing the struggle for the right to selfdetermination of the indigenous peoples.

“These days to conform to the UN provisions of resolving issues with dialogue, peace talks have been oft repeated. But, the unmistakable diplomatic sly is, ‘Peace within the frame work of Indian Constitution,’” the statement further maintained, and that “our chance” out of this is to “nurture WeSEA compact with a positive symbiosis with innovative and modern federated geo-political identity.”

Calling upon all citizens to introspect and analyse Indian policy in the region, the four groups expressed that there was no reason for WESEA to honour India’s Republic Day.

Concert for earthquake victims held in Tamenglong Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): The Zeliangrong Film Forum along with the 8 Assam Rifles conducted a musical concert at Nonei Bazar on January 16.

An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, epicentred near Nonei village, struck Manipur and neighbouring Northeastern states on January 4 morning. Nine people were killed from A woman walks across a street in Asia's cleanest village, Mawlynnong, a Khasi village in and over a hundred were Meghalaya. Known for its exceptional cleanliness, the village has bamboo dustbins at every left injured. Many families corner. Volunteers sweep the streets at regular intervals while large signs order visitors to were rendered homeless throw away plastic packaging: littering is sternly frowned upon. (AFP Photo) as their houses crumbled

to ground.

Local actors and singers like Vania Chawang, Guru Jiangam Kamei, Star Kamei, Pinky Polmei, Naomi Kamei, Sana, Atingmei and Aoron performed during the concert and mesmerized the crowd by their melodious songs, a press release from the Assam Rifles stated.

Despite the cold weather, the spirit of the noble cause held an audience of close to a thousand locals captivated for about 4 hours, the release stated.

NPF join Netaji birthday celebrations Another rhino killed Arunachal erupts in anti-dam protest Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): NPF Minority Wing President, Bishnu Bhattacharjee, attended the 119th Birthday celebration of Netaji Shubhash Chandra Bose as chief guest at Naojan, Assam on January 23. The event was organized by All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation.

The programme began with flag hoisting and students rally with the portrait of Netaji in Naojan highway and nearest village areas, which culminated in Naojan Government School.

This was followed by a cultural programme and public meeting.

in Assam's Kaziranga

GuwahaTi, January 24 (ianS): Poachers on Sunday killed yet another one-horned rhino in Assam's Kaziranga National Park -- the second one this year -- and took away its horn, a top official said.

Park director M.K. Yadav said forest guards found the carcass of the rhino from near Diphalu camp in Burhapahar range of the park in the early hours of Sunday.

This was the second one-horned rhino killed in the park this year. Last year, 16 rhinos were killed by poachers in Kaziranga. "The guards also recovered over 30 rounds of AK-series bullets from near the carcass today, which indicates the involvement of militant outfits in the poaching," said another official of the Kaziranga park.

Assam's centuries-old barter fair keeps communal bonhomie alive Chandrani Sinha

I

DNA

t is 4:30am. The breeze and the rain create a chill, though having rains at this time of the year is little bizarre. This, however, does not dampen the spirits of the people at Joon Beel mela, a one-of-a-kind fair held in the Morigaon district of Assam, where people transact business, but without any cash.

In this age of big buck and billion-dollar multinational business chains, Dayang Belguri village in Morigaon district, some 90km away from Guwahati, offers a fascinating spectacle of the age-old business practice of tribal communities of Assam – as they sell and buy a whole lot of things – from fish to country fowl to brown rice and many more – seamlessly through the system of barter.

Every year at the end of Assamese Magh Bihu or Makar Sankranti (a harvest festival which is celebrated during the month of January) Dayang Belguri village hosts the Joon Beel fair.

Joon mean Moon in Assamese, and Beel is the local name for wetland. The annual barter fair starts with community fishing at the moon shaped wetland in the village. The three-day fair that began last Thursday, is witnessing a huge turnout of people from different communities. People living in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra valley sell their local produce to the tribal communities

the Tiwa tribal community of Assam, popularly known as the Gova raja, visits the fair and welcomes people from all communities while inaugurating the fair.

"Every year we wait for this fair to come, where we get to meet our brothers from different communities.

These three days we enjoy ourselves to the fullest," says 52-year-old Dhireswor Timung from the Karbi Anglong hills.

Around 10,000 tribal villagers from different communities meet each Women from different tribals groups take part in community fishing during Joon Beel other in this beautiful valley to celebrate their bondMela (Photo:Rituraj Shivam) ing, culture and an age-old who live in the hill areas of Every year at the ing in the kingdom of the trading system which they the state and in barter take (king). Today it serve are immensely proud of. end of Assamese raja their products. Joon Beel as the one annual event in Magh Bihu or remains a bright spot in the Assam where communties horrific history of Assam's Makar Sankranti come together and get inethnic distrust. volved in community fish(a harvest festival ing. They actively take part For 40-year-old Rupali Bordoloi, Joon Beel is the which is celebrated in the barter,"said Dhiren most awaited event of the a fair organising during the month Bordoloi, year. This is the time when committee member. she can exchange her of January) Dayang The three-day fair behandmade Laru and pitha Belguri village hosts gins with an Agni puja spe(homemade savouries performed for the the Joon Beel fair cially made of rice flour, coconut well-being of humanity. and jaggery) along with The theme of the event is to a bag full of beaten rice to in exchange of which I get retain harmony among the some the Khasi tribals who turmeric, herbs, dry fish, various tribes and commucome from the neighbour- pumpkin, ginger and raw nities spread in this region. ing hills in Meghalaya. In stuffs that grow in the hills," People specially from hills return she gets organic veg- says Rupali. The fair is fairly of Karbi Anglong in Asetable and herbs. This has medieval. In the 15th cen- sam and Khasia and Jaintia been an annual ritual for tury AD this fair was intro- hills of Meghalaya come to her for last 20 years. This duced by the Ahom King to barter their products with particular morning she discuss the political state of the plains people. The hill reached the fair grounds affairs of the kingdom. community brings various "It has been hundreds spices, herbs, ginger, fruits at 3am to meet up with her friends from hills. "It has of years since the old tradi- etc and exchanges it with been the 20 years after my tion was introduced with rice, fish, pitha ( rice cakes) marriage that I have been the basic motive behind which are rarely found in religiously visiting this fair. the event being to get bet- the hills.

Every year I bring few of ter understanding of the On the first day of the my homemade products political situation prevail- festival the titular King of

TawanG, January 24 (aGEnCiES): The frigid Tawang at 10,000 feet above sea level in Arunachal Pradesh erupted in protest on Saturday against large hydropower projects in the district, bordering Tibet region of China.

Hundreds of Buddhist lamas and locals turned up at the Tawang parade ground, about 30 km from the Mac Mohan Line, carrying placards saying “no” to large dams in “ecologically, culturally and strategically” sensitive district.

The protest held under the banner of Save Monyul Region Federation (SMRF) also blamed that large dams were planned while the entire district is reeling in frequent power cuts in this frigid cold.

SMRF’s contention is that, had the existing 25odd small and mini hydropower projects were properly maintained there would have been no need for large dams to meet pow-

er requirement of the district. The protest was peaceful. Since 2012 SMRF have been leading anti-dam protest in Tawang which was one of the theatres of 1962 India-China war.

“This mini and small hydropower projects were meant to meet Tawang’s electricity need. But these are not maintained properly for which we are facing power crisis. The irony is while small and mini projects are not functioning properly, the government planned large hydropower projects to the detriment of our culture and ecology”, SMRF general secretary and lama Lobsang Gyatso.

Gyatso said at least 13 large hydropower projects are proposed for Tawang alone, and alleged some of the proposed projects are going to affect Buddhist religious sites.

SMRF had filed a case in National Green Tribunal in 2012 against the project

developer for the proposed 780 MW Nyamjang Chhu project. SMRF’s contention is that the project developer allegedly did not disclose during environment clearance that the project site was located close to the wintering habitat for blacknecked cranes.

The Buddhist Monpa tribe of Tawang reveres black-necked crane as embodiment of the sixth Dalai Lama, who himself was from the district.

There was cheer among the villagers of Zemithang in Tawang when some of them sighted black-necked crane in December last year. They regard arrival of the bird as harbinger of prosperity.

A short 3-km stretch of the Nyamjang Chhu river between Brokenthang and Zemithang, also the proposed site of the Nyamjang Chhu project, is one of the two wintering sites of the black-necked crane in India.

[

OKING HOSPITAL, KOHIMA NEUROLOGY AND CARDIOTHORACIC CAMP st On 1

and 2nd February 2016

Dr. A.R. Baruah DNB (Neurology) and Dr. Bikash Rai Das DNB (Cardiothoracic) from GNRC - Guwahati Contact -: 0370-2290080 for registration

4

MonDAY 25 •01•2016

Business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Online shopping markets make mega pitch with Republic Day sale NEW DELHI, JaNuary 24 (IaNS): Aiming to make the most out of the Republic Day, e-retailers in India have jumped onto the bandwagon, each offering a big bang sale with some even promising discounts of up to 80-90 percent.

For electronic gadgets, clothing, accessories, kitchenwares, skincare and even the daily grocery, the pitch is particularly forceful. While for some products the sales discount is around 15 percent, for some others it is as high as 80 percent.

Almost all the major eretailers like Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Myntra and Snapdeal have come up with their own themes.

Flipkart was among the early birds, naming its three-day pitch “Republic Day Sale”, while Ebay’s week-long affair is called “Democrazy Sale”. Snapdeal’s named its sale “Republic of Savings” span-

ning from January 21 to 26.

For Amazon the “Great Indian Sale” was also spread across three days.

“With this 72-hours marathon deals our customers will have a delightful time shopping in the New Year across a wide selection of products at best possible price-points,” Samir Kumar, vice president with Amazon India, said while

announcing the sale.

“Consumer demand isn’t much these days.

But during Republic Day sales, the interest is incredibly high. The response from the public is fantastic so far and the demand graph for electronics is increasing,” added Rahul Taneja, SnapDeal’s vice president.

“For example, mobile phones ranging within

Rs.10,000 have been in great demand like the Lenovo A6000. The sale of Nexus5, i-phone 5S and Micromax is also increasing as January 26 is approaching,” Taneja told IANS. According to both the shoppers and the e-retailers, this time around the sites were operating at satisfactory speeds, despite the heavy traffic due to a

large number of people logging in for the sale.

The target segment of these shopping festivals are youngsters and working couples, as they seek to lure them away with much wider variety than an physical store, lower prices, heavy discounts and door-step delivery.

For Indians, online shopping is growing by the day with Goldman Sachs predicting the size of the market -- including travel, payments and retail -- to breach the $100-billion mark by 2020.

According to a survey conducted by Flipkart that concluded last month, the Delhi National Capital Region was the most online shopping-savvy area, followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

“E-commerce business grew to $23 billion in 2015 from $13.6 billion in 2014 -- a 70-percent percent growth. The e-tailers

contributed $12 billion against $4.5 billion in gross merchandise value,” Rajat Wahi of KPMG’s India unit had told IANS earlier.

“As one of the fastest growing segments, e-tail has evolved, but it is yet to mature to compete with its offline counterpart (retail). From deep-discounting, e-tailers are focusing on growth and return on investments.”

The main players: - Flipkart named its “Republic Day” sale over three days - Ebay named its “Democrazy Sale” over one week - Snapdeal named its “Republic of Savings” over six days - Amazon named “Great Indian Sale” over three days - Myntra named its “Right to Fashion” over five days - Paytm offered extra 6.7 percent discount on 67th R-Day.

Maruti continues to hold sway India to probe dumping of chemical by other nations in passenger vehicle segment NEW DELHI, JaNuary 24 (PTI): Maruti Suzuki India maintained its leadership position in the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) market in December, with six of its models featuring in the top 10 brands last month. French carmaker Renault’s entry level car Kwid also made it to the list last month.

According to the latest data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in the top 10 best passenger vehicles, Maruti’s Alto retained the top position last month, with 22,589 units, as against 22,296 units in December, 2014. The company’s compact hatchback Wagon R was the second bestselling model with 14,645 units compared with 12,329 units in the same month last year.

MSI’s premium hatchback Swift was third, selling 14,548 units, as against 17,410 units in the year ago month. Further, the company’s compact sedan DZire stood fourth with 13,176 units, as compared to 15,526

NEW DELHI, JaNuary 24 (PTI): India has started a probe into alleged dumping of a chemical, used as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries.

Acting on a joint complaint

by National Peroxide Ltd and state-owned Hindustan Organic Chemicals, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has started a probe into imports of ‘Hydrogen Peroxide’ originating in or exported from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand.

The move is aimed at protecting domestic players in the automobile sector against cheap imports.

In a notification, the DGAD said there was sufficient prima facie evidence of the ‘injury’ being suffered by the domestic industry caused by dumped imports from the countries to “justify” initiation of an antidumping investigation. “....the Authority (DGAD)

units a year ago. Hyundai Motor India’s Grand i10 moved to the fifth slot with 12,749 units in December, from seventh in the same month in 2014 with 8,210 unit sales.

Maruti’s newly-launched Baleno made it to the sixth rank with sale of 10,572 units, dislodging Hyundai’s Elite i20 from the position. Elite i20, however stood at seventh position last month with 10,379 units, as compared to 9,345 units in December 2014.

Maruti’s compact car Celerio was at eighth position, selling 8,019 units. It replaced Omni, which had sold 6,252 units in same period of 2014. Mahindra & Mahindra’s Bolero continued to be in top ten at ninth position with a sale of 7,133 units. Renault’s entry level car Kwid made it to the top ten list with sale of 6,888 units in December.

Honda’s mid sized sedan City and Hyundai’s entry level model Eon were the noteworthy exclusions from the list last month.

_

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 # 3471

hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry...to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the ‘injury’ to the domestic industry,” it said.

The period of investigation (POI) for is from April 2014 to June 2015 (15 months).

After the probe, DGAD, if needed, would recommend to the Finance Ministry for imposition of the duty.

Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidising properties and is therefore a powerful bleaching agent that has found use as a disinfectant, as an oxidiser, and in rocketry and in bipropellant systems.

It also finds application in odour control, corrosion control, disinfection/ bio-control, paper and pulp bleaching, therapeutic uses as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent,

among others.

The anti-dumping duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a levelplaying field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters resorting to dumping of goods at belowcost rates.

Commercially, the product is produced and sold in 35 per cent, 50 per cent, 60 per cent and 70 per cent concentration.

Applicants, the DGAD said have submitted that 90 per cent concentration of the product is used by ISRO and the product is not produced by the domestic industry and hence the scope of product under consideration should be restricted and defined as ‘Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) below 90 per cent concentration’.

The DGAD said the request of the applicant for restricting the product to 90 per cent concentration could be examined during the course of the investigation and considered at the stage of final finding.

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3483

Answer Number # 3470

Govt to offer higher award for land acquired for road projects

NEW DELHI, JaNuary 24 (PTI): Farmers who parted with their land for highway projects are to get enhanced compensation under the new land acquisition law in case they are yet to be compensated under the old legislation. The move will lead to rolling out projects worth crores of rupees embroiled in about 2,000 cases, a top official said.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced recently that government is mulling higher payment to farmers and is also contemplating equity for them. “The Ministry has directed NHAI, NHIDCL and others to enhance compensation to farmers as per provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, (RFCTLARR Act) 2013 in cases were award was fixed as per old law but compensation has not been paid to land owners,” an official told PTI. He said the decision will also be applicable to farmers whose awards were fixed prior to January 1, 2015 but physical possession of land so acquired has not been taken. The ministry has already sought legal opinion from Additional Solicitor General of India Pinky Anand.

“The issue was referred to the Additional Solicitor General of India...it has been opined that in cases initiated under NH Act 1956 but award has not been announced by December 31, 2014, RFCTLARR Act 2013 will apply under section 24 (I)... You are therefore requested to take necessary action towards settlement of cases,” the official said, quoting the letter by the ministry to its various wings.

He said the ministry earlier considered applicability of RFCTLARR Act provisions in compensation “for the purpose of settlement of the cases of acquisition of land for National Highways projects, where award of compensation had been made prior to January 1, 2015 but either the amount of compensation has not been paid to the erstwhile land owners or physical possession of the land so acquired has not been taken.”

The step will pave way for not only “redressal of about 2,000 cases” pertaining to compensation but would also “expedite” highway projects, the official said. NHAI last week said it has kickstarted the work of Eastern Peripheral Expressway, which was held up due to land acquisition problems on the Palwal side after the release of enhanced compensation. Gadkari last month said that the government is working on a plan to offer not only equity to farmers but enhanced compensation which will be four times the actual land cost.

The land acquisition law of 2013 has become applicable for National Highways projects from January 2015 and there has been a large number of disputes by affected owners, who were seeking higher compensation.

The official said Section 24 (I) of the new land acquisition law makes land owners eligible for higher compensation, where land proceedings have been initiated as per the earlier provisions but majority of them have not received compensation. However, there was some clarity needed due to which the ministry sought the legal opinion from the Additional Solicitor General of India.

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

W

O

The FReNCh RevOluTiON ESTATES FReNCH REVOLUTION MARIE ANTIONETTE LOUIS XVI TERROR JACOBINS MAXIMILIEN ROBESPIERRE GeORGe DANTON NAPOLEON BONAPARTE DIRECTORY CONSUL COUPDETAT WAR EMIGRES EXECUTION SANSCULOTTE HOLY ALLIANCE LEGITIMACY PLEBISCITE

R

C G R Z G V Q Y P L U I I N Z N A P E U

D

V J O G R X D D U J S A Y B P W Y A Q B

E L O D K T V S O A G U J K N R N H I W

S

D E G F F B N N O P S X J G O T B A S I

I A J C A O U E R L E G I T I M A C Y R

E

G A A K C N R V F O D P C O Z V I Z X M

L W C P R A J X F I B E N I J J X S A X

P U O N W P X K S F R E N C H R L X J I

A

Y R B P H A F V A I T Z S D K F I O N M

R V I P R R Z P D T B D I P O M H I O Y

Z W N P L T A T E D P U O C I I Q G I Y

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K N I N E B B R A G I H I J A A R R U Y

T D M R T L L I B O V E Z K L Y Q R C X

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N O T N A D O N S A N S C U L O T T E N

K Z F L T M U P Y C P A Q O I O U X X N

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

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O I F J S D O W A L I D H L A Q B I E F

R O R R E T Y N F N E T Q E N K Z Q S T

G H V E N O I T U L O V E R C N U A T Y

V C P H G P G L A G E O R G E G A Y F X

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

1. Stair 5. Harvard rival 9. Writing fluids 13. Hello 14. Set straight 16. Drudgery 17. Portent 18. A skin disease 19. Game on horseback 20. An official in India 22. Inexhaustible 24. Computer symbol 26. Connecting points 27. Meal provider 30. Alabaster 33. Decoration 35. Mortise and _____ 37. Born as 38. Sunrises 41. Fitting 42. Follow as a result 45. Balm 48. Off course 51. In the direction of 52. Go in 54. Containers 55. Burrowed (British spelling) 59. Fence “doors” 62. Historical periods

63. Communion table 65. Cypher 66. 13 in Roman numerals 67. Apologetic 68. Prospector’s find 69. Gangly 70. Awakened 71. Biblical kingdom

DOWN

1. Not barefoot 2. An indefinite period 3. Spectator 4. Remedy 5. Sweet potato 6. Winglike 7. Flax fabric 8. Christmas drink 9. Stalemate 10. Newbie (slang) 11. Murder 12. Blackthorn 15. Poverty-stricken 21. Standard 23. Cried 25. Require 27. Ice cream holder 28. Drome 29. Ribonucleic acid 31. Comprehended 32. Pile

34. Pair 36. Catches 39. Louse-to-be 40. Prig 43. Implement 44. Sea eagle 46. Branchlet 47. Handcuff 49. Collection of maps 50. Lemon or canary 53. Backward-looking 55. Words 56. Murres 57. Found on a finger 58. Not light 60. Cocoyam 61. Appear 64. Type of whiskey Ans to CrossWord 3482

WE4WOMEN HELPLINE 08822911011

Police Station 1:

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

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2226241

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2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:

2226216 2226263

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

CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

66.54 94.12 8.24 45.55 46.16 45.34 56.89

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10.87

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MondAY 25•01•2016

NAGALAND

Naga, assam Mlas join hands to ease tension at border

Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): In an attempt to ease the ongoing border skirmishes and to instil confidence amongst the border living people of Alongtaki assembly constituency of Nagaland and Mariani Assembly Constituency of Assam, the elected public representatives of both the bordering constituencies, Dr. Benjongliba Aier and Rupjyoti Kurmi had an informal meeting at Mariani today at the residence of the Coordinator of the Border Peace Coordination Committee (AssamNagaland).

According to a press note from BPCC, the meeting assumes great significance as the constituencies witnessed border skirmishes for the past couple of years; the most prominent being reported in May 2013 where an innocent civilian was killed by unknown miscreants.

It prompted almost a “war like situation” between the people of Nagaland and Assam, BPCC said resulting in road blockades

Dr. Benjongliba Aier, Parliamentary Secretary and MLA of Alongtaki Assembly constituency of Nagaland and Rupjyoti Kurmi, the Parliamentary Secretary (Power) and MLA of 101-Mariani Assembly constituency during their informal meeting at Mariani on January 24.

on the highways leading to Nagaland by its counterpart and imposition of a ban on all transactions with Assam by Ao Senden (Ao Hoho), the apex body of the Aos. The ban was later supported by other frontal Naga organisations and travel advisories were issued to the general public.

Due to the lack of coordinated efforts and un-

fortunate political interferences, the BPCC toiled almost six months to bring the involved parties to the negotiating table and established peaceful coexistence to date, it stated.

Several skirmishes were reported in the intervening period, it added.

According to BPCC, during the meeting both the public representatives discussed the foregoing is-

sues in depth and vowed to educate the public of either side not to take laws in to their hands but to report any kind of situations to the authority/s concerned for peaceful redressal.

They further expressed appreciation of the services being rendered continuously at the border belt by the BPCC since its inception in 2005.

Both the representa-

tive were of the opinion that certain sections of the society with vested interested who do not vouch for peaceful coexistence in this border area were behind all these as it is otherwise very peaceful, it added.

In a significant statement after the meeting, Dr. Benjongliba Aier and Rupjyoti Kurmi announced that they will be Patrons in this proposed “Gabharoo Festivity-2016.”

Celebrations of the proposed Gabharoo Festivity-2016 is being contemplated to be extended to cover both Hills and Plains and this is expected to enhance the mission of peace committee, BPCC informed opining that Sports and Cultural assimilations of the bordering people are effective ways of peace coordination.

The Committee also noted that the maiden meeting of the legislators sends out a strong message to the bordering masses to live mutually with dignity and shun all sort of violence at all cost.

Run for Republic Day 2016 held Our Correspondent Kohima | January 24

The 15 Border Roads Task Force C/O 99 APO today organized a 5 km mini marathon race billed as “Run for Republic Day” here.

As a prelude to the Republic Day 2016, the Ministry of Defense mooted the concept of organizing a 5 KM Run across the country.

The same was consented by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

The responsibility of organizing this event in Nagaland was given to Border Roads Organisation. The Run was organized in 54 locations across the country and the event within Kohima was organized, planned and executed under the leadership of Sh AK Bhatnagar, Chief Engineer, Project Sewak (BRO).

On Sunday morning, High School Junction Kohima saw hundreds of participants participating in the Run for Republic Day. The students wore bright white T- shirts and caps endorsed with the logo of BRO, distributed by 15 BRTF. Delivering the welcome address, Col SP Yadava, Commander 15 BRTF welcomed all the participants and briefed the importance

and aim of the run as well as the methodology of conduct. The run was divided into 5 categories based on age groups i.e., below 15 years, 16 to 25 years, 26 to 40 years, 40 to 50 years and above 50 years with a cash Prize of Rs 10,000 each for male and female winner of each category. Overall the prize money distributed was Rs 1 lakh.

Flagging off the event, the chief guest, Pankaj Kumar, Chief Secretary,

Government of Nagaland, briefed everyone on the importance of the event and appreciated the efforts of the Border Roads Organization.

The vote of thanks was delivered by AK Bhatnager, CE Project Sewak, who appreciated the active participation of the citizens of Nagaland, the personnel of Police & all paramilitary forces including the NCC cadets who took part in the run.

Winners: Age Goup

Male

Female

Below 15 years

Neilangolie

Chimmushe

16 to 25 years

RFN Mustafa Molla

Vekuvolu

26 to 40 years

Thungti chang

Zuvezolu

41 to 50 years

A Jospeh

R iiiivinoo Pienyu

50 years onwards

SB Yadav

Babunti Devi

Two NSCN (IM) cadres apprehended 9th Nagaland Catholic Women Association's convention concludes Haflong (assam), January 24 (pTi): Two NSCN(IM) cadres were arrested during a joint operation by security forces in Dima Hasao district, an army spokesman said here today.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the 43rd Assam Rifle and police made the arrest from Kashipur and Lodi villages while they were carrying out extortion activities in the area yesterday,

he said.

A pistol along with seven rounds of live ammunition were recovered from their possession.

The militants were later handed over to the Haflong police station, he said.

MWHD celebrates Silver Jubilee Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): The Mao Women Hoho Dimapur (MWHD) celebrated its silver jubilee on Saturday, January 23 at Angami Youth Hall, Kuda ‘B,’ Nagarjan.

A press note informed that the event was graced by Lucy Kumou, a founding member of MWHD, as chief guest and vice principal, St. Joseph College, Jakhama, Dr Rev. Sr. Kaisa Rosalind, as the main speaker.

The chief guest in her address congratulated MWHD for reaching the 25-year milestone and recalled the formative years of the hoho. She urged Mao women to be an example to others both in acts and deeds.

She also advised that one should not criticize others who do not reach up to one’s expectations but be ready to guide them.

Vice Principal, St. Joseph College

Jakhama, Dr Rev. Sr. Kaisa Rosalind, dwelled on the theme of the silver jubilee celebration “Women and modernization”.

She spoke about the progress of women in various fields around the world, women entrepreneurship and the success rate of women in every field.

Sr Rosalind also highlighted the various reservation given by the government to women and said that it was high time for women to demand their rightful place in society.

L Adani, representative from the Mao Council; President, Mao Hoho Nagaland, A Daili; President Mao Hoho Dimapur, K Lokho; and President Mao Women Welfare, P Lolia, also exhorted the gathering and greeted MWHD on the occasion.

Dimapur, January 24 (mExn): Women from 16 tribes across Nagaland attended the 9th Nagaland Catholic Women Association (NCWA) Convention which concluded today at St. Paul’s Church, Wokha. The convention which started in January 22 culminated with the Holy Mass officiated by Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima on Sunday at the Parish Church.

Juliet Ramamurthy, President, Council of Catholic Women of India, along with her colleagues, Shelia Christina from Chinnai, Pamela Caesar, from Kochin, Evoon and Eveline D’Siva from Mumbai were the special guests for the convention while The Catholic Association of Nagaland (CAN) Executives also took part as special guests and invitees. At the concluding function today, Rev. Fr. Anto Tharakan, Parish Priest welcomed Bishop James, Priests, Sisters, laity, invited guests and all NCWA members.

In his introduction to the Holy Mass, the Bishop congratulated NCWA President Annie Kath and Secretary Floret and all their colleagues along with Fr. Mathew

Mhabemo and Sr. Rita successful arrangement of the Convention.

Bishop based his homily on the manifesto of Jesus at Nazareth and urged the congregation to translate Christ’s vision into action for those who are materially and spiritually poor, those in various types of bondages, people who are blind and oppressed.

Though we are many and in different forms, we must work together harmoniously to realize the vision of Jesus, he emphasized.

In the midst of so much bad news such as poverty, hunger, violence, terrorism, injustice, etc., what good news can we proclaim to those affected by this sad news?

Rev. Dr. Thoppil further posed adding how can we become sharers rather than hoarders, liberators rather than perpetrators of socioeconomic slavery?

In this context, he opined that we need to be influenced and be motivated by Christ in order to achieve his vision.

The Bishop prayed and blessed the new office bears of NCWA for the next term – 2016=2019 and wished them the very best in their new responsibilities.

Rev. Frs. Mhabemo Mathew, Spiritual Director, NCWA; Philip Magh, Principal Holy Cross Hr. Sec. School, Dimapur; Rev. Srs. Margarete Sekhose, MSMHC; Rita Miasalhou, Women Co-ordinator, CCWI; and Juliet President, CCWI were the array of speakers during the convention. They dealt with topics such as ‘A Family that prayers together, stays together; Women persevere / bearer of Life; Women can transform the society.

It also features several songs and performances from various entities.

Members from different tribes presented special items during the Cultural fest on 23rd evening.

The entrance procession and the offertory were accompanied by traditional tune and traditional attires signifying the differences in Culture but ONE in Christ, informed a press note from Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary, Kohima.

Public SPace

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oods are lovely dark and deep’-Robert Frost created such enigmatic impact with these lines that resonates memories of an entwining relationship between the human and natural worlds. The woods are indeed lovely for all those communities whose survival and identities are rooted in forest lands. People have to depend on fossil fuel for every aspect of their life. Whether it is health concerns, cooking meals or strengthening the bamboo or wooden walls, firewood becomes indispensible in the rustic communes of Naga hills. Firewood plays a significant role in social, economic and cultural lives of people. Every life-cycle function is incomplete without the use of firewood.

Firewood fumes are considered to be harmful in the modern context of healthcare but somehow they have healing, strengthening, nourishing and life-giving properties. Communities depend on firewood for cooking fodder for pigs and poultry apart from kitchen use on a daily basis. In some customary practices, when a man puts the firewood meticulously in a bamboo basket or khang for the woman he chooses to marry the firewood khang represent the beauty of the woman.

A pile of firewood for whole year for household use would cost around Rs. 4000-5000. Such piles are bought by both households and institutions in the rural context where alternative fuel costs are exorbitant and sometimes in accessible. In Nagaland, firewood is valued much more than any other source of energy. In one village after cutting the firewood and piled in a for-

Flames of Firewood est area, there is a spell which is casted with a tree branch stuck to the pile so that nobody can steal the pile. If anyone touches the firewood they will get sick or get some bad luck. Such is the safety net for firewood.

One elderly man in a village of my work in Nagaland was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

He was unwell and his only wish was to come back to his kitchen fireplace and get healed. Winters are extreme in the Naga hills, not everyone can afford heaters or warm clothes. Electricity goes for months together once the transformer gets burnt. It has happened 3 times since last six months in electrified villages also.

So for common people firewood is the most important resource.

Firewood is also used during festivities and community feasts. It brings young and the old together otherwise life can get very difficult.

In one of the Naga villages, as a part of community practice every new year on the 2nd of January all community households have to contribute the first day of labour to the church. They carry firewood from the community forest and contribute towards the Church. The Church stocks the firewood collected through community labour and sells it to people who need it.Firewood economy is strong in defining relationships within the community. People share their work, money, labour and livelihoods in the context of firewood.

Firewood burns the longest and can be very effective in cooking, smoking, steaming and roasting practices which keeps the Naga kitchen alive and creates the authentic aromas of slow food. Firewood is also a disinfectant which

ensures seed safety and other food products stocked up near the kitchen fire.

In a world where climate risks and carbon emissions are traded through green technology, forest regeneration and wildlife conservation, firewood economy can play a very pivotal role. Firewood is also recycled when farming practices are based on the forests like that of Jhum cultivation. All the primary forest which is cleared during the 1st stage of swidden agriculture is equitably shared by the farmers for both farm and household use. Firewood transportation through medium and smaller loading vans has become another source of livelihood for the rural youths.

Charcoal making, wood chip use, wood ash use for field manuring and making household implements like weaving tools, basket making, bed and chair making, house building are very crucial traditional livelihoods for rural youths in Nagaland which are dependent on firewood. So when prohibition orders from urban spaces reach these far flung rural pockets, suddenly their traditional skills, livelihood practices and customary practices becomes illegal and polluted.

For the elite the colour of soot and firewood is ominous but for poorer households blackening of walls due to firewood burning is auspicious and disease-free. If a freshly crafted bamboo basket woven intricately is not smoked well and its colour does not turn to dark mahogany or deep cherry red, it is not considered to be sturdy enough for use. A Naga home in rural Nagaland doesn’t need pest control, DDT or any

Rejoinder to NSF fear on Nagamese spraying of chemicals, firewood smoking can keep is pest free and leak proof for a long time.

Firewood economy is also a determinant of family bondings and life skill education for the young people in a rural Nagaland context. When the fire is made, there are very delicate techniques which every child has to learn very early in life. They cannot survive without making fire. Some children learn it very early in life especially those with younger siblings as they take up the parenting role when parents are away in the field. Children are taught how to make fire as a life skill tradition in Naga hills. Firewood economy is sustainable and life saving for the most vulnerable communities in the Naga village context. It is a household fuel which is managed mostly by women. Women carry firewood, split them for cooking purpose and also control its use to sustain the family needs throughout the year. Critics of firewood economy will be conscious about the tree felling and cancer causing fume emission in an elitist and urban context, but without alternative energy sources, safe cooking fuel and appliances, use of firewood cannot be prohibited.

But definitely firewood growing patches can be promoted through community forestry practices and wood fire economy can sustain many livelihoods.

Woods will continue to be dark and deep in rural Nagaland when economic, social, ecological and cultural rights are strengthened in the flames of firewood.

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his is in reference to the opinion expressed by the NSF appearing in your esteemed paper on 20-01-16 opposing promotion of Nagamese. It appears that the NSF is not aware that this is the only Lingua Franca that naturally appeared among the illiterate Nagas speaking different dialects without any assistants from the literate Nagas. This language is easily understood and accepted by the ordinary villagers in Nagaland and even beyond. That Nagamese is a mixture of Indian and Foreign Languages do not pose any threat to the Naga identity. On the other hand the name Nagamese itself speaks

I

volume of the ingenuity of the Nagas super ceding many other Tribal languages of the North Eastern States. Nagamese is becoming the most acceptable and easily communicable Lingua Franca which is seen in the churches of Nagaland and outside.

Therefore, the NSF is well advised not to be misguided by any unfounded parochial attitude.

T L Angami On behalf of the whole Village Chiefs and Uneducated Nagas

Power over people

n a country like ours, diverse cultures, religions, ethnic groups and races co-exist together. That in itself is incredible. It would be a daunting task for our leaders to rule over such a vast land.

The ruling party are under the scrutiny of each and every single decision that they frame.

Every word and utterances by them are evaluated and judged.

Hence, making insensitive remarks and pouring fuel to the flame will never solve burning issues. Leaders are chosen for that task for which a common citizen does not have the authority to do so. Almost 2500 years ago the ancient writer Herodotus wrote, “The most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing” Through all the complications of intolerance debate and religious bigotry, the government seem to be tight-lipped on perSamhita Barooah tinent issues that need to be Researcher and Travel Writer strongly and wisely addressed.

In an unruly world where powers are mostly controlled by unwise and uncontrolled rulers, killings and wars have become inevitable. Communal tensions and fights are quite evident. The fears within and without seem to control the decisions of even the largest democracy state in the world. Our present government desires to please people but are unwilling to make a bold statement so far. Their voices are so weak and powerless to calm down the sentiments of the people. The recent sparkle of tension in our country regarding the suicide of a dalit research scholar in Hyderabad has created a lot of noise in the political arena as well as the media. The mere sugar-coated speeches of thumping authority on the podium are not bringing about the desired affect that it needs.

What is really missing is power over people! Politically, Power is the ability to influence

or control the behaviour of people. Karl Deutsch says that power means the ability to be involved in conflict, to resolve it and to remove the obstacles.

Yes, knowledge is prerequisite for any task in hand but without the power to execute those responsibilities, it’s not even worth a coin. Taking right actions in the right situation and standing on a firm stance will have critics throwing stones but in the process, find numerous followers following a determined leader. What we are asking today is of leaders to have the knowledge but most important of all, to have power over the people that he/she governs.

Vebu Khamo Kohima Bible College.

Note: This short-piece is purely an individualistic opinion and does not represent the idea of the institution which the writer associates with.

The Morung Express is introducing “Public Space” as part of our intention to provide deliberate space for the opinions of the people to be expressed and heard through this newspaper. Nonetheless, The Morung Express points out that the opinions expressed in the contents published in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper or the editor.

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MonDAY 25•01•2016

IN FOCUS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express volume Xi issue 23 By moa Jamir

Of Impunity and sexual violence

Is Nagaland the safest place for woman?

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ast year, Nagaland was declared as the ‘safest’ State for women in the country. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, cases of crimes against women registered in the State were 67 for both 2013 and 2014.

Indeed a glowing achievement which many attributed to apparent elevated and equal status women enjoy in the Naga society.

Basking on the glorious achievement, the State’s Inspector General (Crime) is quoted in media as saying, “The civil society organisations are very strong and they firmly deal with any incident of crime against women. Also, the Nagas at large don’t approve crime against women.”

Nonetheless, beneath these layers is an apparent disquiet and knowing acceptance within large section of the people that the figures do not necessarily reflect the ground reality as most incidents of crimes against women go unreported, at least unofficially.

It is in this context, the release of political anthropologist, Dolly Kikon’s Monograph entitled “Life & Dignity: Women’s Testimonies of Sexual Violence in Dimapur” interrogating the existence of sexual violence in Naga society needs utmost consideration.

Kikon attributed the impunity- exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss – equally to decades of militarisation that Nagaland and predominantly patriarchal environment in Naga society which act complementary to each other. It is by and large acknowledged that impunity of law-enforcement personnel guilty of sexual offences against women under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA), is most pronounced in the Northeast and with decades of militarisation, some of its elements have seeped into the patriarchal environment.

Patriarchy is a social system whereby men are given the power, authority, and legitimacy to make decisions and all other forms of asserting claims in society, Kikon had argued in earlier writings noting that Naga men and women, like any other society, reproduce sexist stereotypes often characterised with justification like, boys will be boys or ‘hot headed male’ or women do not talk about such things and so on. Thus, a clear demarcation is drawn, often justifying advertently or otherwise, the ‘deed’ of violence inflicted on woman.

Existence of impunity is perpetuated in Naga society by three reasons according to Kikon. Firstly, survivors of sexual violence are often dispossessed, abandoned by their family, and excommunicated by the larger collective as well, while the perpetrators get away. Secondly, cases of sexual violence are often suppressed and considered as “dark secrets,” and erased from the larger public memory under social and political pressure. Finally, impunity has been inbuilt into crime like rape because the focus is shifted towards interrogating and judging the morality of the victim rather than addressing the gravity of the offense.

It is also equally important for the society to understand what constitutes an act of sexual violence- the definition of sexual violence varies and several parameters are employed to describe the same. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as “Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.”

Factors leading to its perpetration include a belief in family honour and sexual purity; ideologies of male sexual entitlement; and weak legal sanctions for sexual violence, WHO maintained more or less affirming Kikon’s argument.

Therefore, a sense of urgency is needed to address the issue of rising sexual violence against women and children in Nagaland, often ‘confined and contained’ beneath layers of varied societal justification. The first step towards addressing the issue lies in doing away with our illusive notion of a golden traditional era in the past devoid of infirmities that inflict human beings.

Sexual violence is neither an imported phenomena nor a periodical aberration but a grim societal reality today. Acknowledging its presence in the society and identifying it as a social problem will go a long way in starting a discourse and adopting corrective measures to check the menace.

For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com

lEfT WING |

Preetha Nair IANS

Writers should stay away from activism: Booker winner Marlon

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riters run the risk of didacticism if they turn into activists, says Marlon James, the first Jamacian to win the Booker Prize in 2015.

"I think the writer enters a dangerous zone by becoming an activist. Didacticism will destroy a book. Writers should try to do their job and let activists do theirs," he told IANS on the sidelines of the ninth edition of Jaipur Literature festival. James, a professor of English at Minnesota's Macalester College, feels writers need to strike a balance when it comes to dealing with social issues.

He won the Booker Prize for "A Brief History of Seven Killings". The novel, set in the 1970s and 1980s, is based on the story of an assassination attempt on reggae star Bob Marley. The book explores the turbulent political situation in Jamaica and the West during that period, "It's not really about Marley. It's about what happened to the man who tried to kill him and all the people whose life got affected by the assassination attempt," says James.

The book is told through fifteen characters including gunmen, dons, and politicians. Interestingly, the author hasn't mentioned Marley by name. But what led to the book? "I was curious about the assassination attempt on the singer in 1976. Nobody talked about it. Being a writer, I was attracted to the holes in the story, to the unanswered questions and to fill in the gaps," he said. James says his literary sensibilities were formed in Jamaica though he moved to the US later for work. And he is not quite sure how his book would be accepted in India as it had explicit scenes of sex and gore. "I have noticed that in India, writers face censorship. My book is quite explicit. I don't know how it will be accepted," he adds. Though there is no direct censorship in Jamaica, he feels that the country still harboured an outdated Victorian sense of morality. "Writers keep writing without caring much about consequences. It's our hope. The balancing of freedom and censorship is a very slippery slope," he feels.

How has life changed after Booker? "People give importance to what I say now. If I put something on Facebook, it becomes the headline of The Guardian," he chuckles. His next book, will be an 'African Game of Thrones', set within the continent. "I was sick of arguing about whether there should be a black hobbit in the 'Lord of the Rings'. The book will be drawn from the African folklore that is rich and diverse," he said.

A big fan of Salman Rushdie, he loves many Indian authors. "I have too many favourite Indian writers. I am a fan of Amitav Ghosh, Amitava Kumar and Jeet Thayil among many others," said James adding that he admired Anuradha Roy's book, the Indian contender in the Booker race.

C O M M E N T A R Y

Katherine Mackenzie Inter Press Service

Ensuring Food Security for All

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oming from a developing country where, in our generation, we have experienced the devastating effects of food insecurity and the complexity of its root causes, I take to heart the objective of ensuring that during my mandate, CFS will make a ‘real’ difference to people’s lives. Achieving results is something that we owe each and every undernourished person who today, in 2016 goes to bed hungry. There is still an unacceptable 793 million people in this condition worldwide! Ensuring food security for all is also something that we owe our children.

Today, in our inter-connected 21st century world, the persistence of hunger and malnutrition is both unacceptable, and complex to tackle. Root causes are many, they are interlinked, and they will only be addressed successfully if all actors involved, governments, civil society, the private sector, UN organisations and the international development community generally, including research organizations, come together and agree on the policy and actions that are necessary. This is why CFS, as the most inclusive platform for all stakeholders to work together on global food security and nutrition policies, has been called upon to play a major role in two crucial areas: implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the recommendations of the Second International Conference on Nutrition. Both the review and follow-up to implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and particularly of its second goal, “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, as well as action to eradicate malnutrition in all its forms, will require platforms able to ensure inclusiveness, efficient science-policy interfaces, and an approach which breaks down silos.

Thanks to quality reports by its High Level Panel of Experts, and the participation of the different stakeholders around the table, CFS negotiates policy tools which are based on facts and evidence, and enjoy wide legitimacy and ownership. We can no longer argue that we lack the understanding or knowledge of the consequences of our actions, and today, we must all be held accountable for our actions and our choices. Accountability is another priority that I have set myself for CFS in the coming biennium. Reality is fast changing, and CFS must be ready to evolve to stay inclusive, transparent, effective, and relevant.

CFS must continue its constructive self-questioning, and examine whether its procedures are efficient, whether it is as inclusive as it should be, whether the science-based reports support policy negotiations as well as they could, and so forth. This year, we plan to carry out an independent evaluation of CFS, and we are looking forward to the results, in order to continue evolving and improving. These new priorities represent a major turning point for CFS, and will no doubt involve challenges, as well as opportunities to prove that a participatory, inclusive model such as CFS is the future for sustainable development. I look forward to this biennium, and to achieving a lasting impact together with all CFS stakeholders!

The following is an exclusive interview with Ambassador Gornass conducted by IPS.

tion of policies. Better communication is something we need to achieve. In general terms, there has to be an acknowledgement by all actors of their shared responsibility: each stakeholder has an interest, and responsibilities, in achieving global food security and improved nutrition.

IPS: Where have we succeeded so far and what might work better? Is SDG2 an aspirational goal or can we really reach it by 2030?

Amb. Gornass: There are examples of major advances in the fight against hunger. Globally, numbers are going down and overall, regions have made good progress, some regions having achieved both the 2015 international hunger targets. However, others have in fact gone backwards due to new factors such as political crises.

SDG2 can certainly be reached by 2030. We already know how to produce enough to feed the planet. It’s now about understanding how food systems can work better so that we no longer lose or wastefood, that it is more equally distributed, is available at a fair price that enables food producers to improve their livelihoods and encourages vocations, and that is both nutritious and adequate. As a result populations will be better off and countries will be enabled to grow. Increasing the production of smallholder farmers is key to achieving this. These are the people who will make the difference in nutrition and in the quality of food, overall.

IPS: Can you give us some specific success stories that show the way ahead for other countries as well?

Amb. Gornass: Brazil is an excellent example.

Former President Lula’s Zero Hunger is a Brazilian government program introduced in 2003 by the then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with the goal of eradicating hunger and extreme poverty by combining an array of social protection policies and safety net measures, aimed at increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers.

India also has success stories to share! For example, India launched a very successful social media campaign aimed at educating the entire population – and targeting women in particular – about the symptoms and consequences of malnutrition, as well as on the benefits of a varied diet, especially for infants and children under the age of five. The campaign was launched thanks to the support of a telephone comIPS: Please describe some of the toughest challeng- pany, which gave to people who watched the video es we face today in trying to reach Zero Hunger. extra telephone minutes. As a result of this campaign, Amb. Gornass: Our planet, however big and plen- malnutrition dropped from 51 percent to 37 percent! tiful, has physical boundaries, and limited natural resources, which in today’s populated and globalised IPS: Attaining food security could solve so many world, are getting scarce. This leads to competing de- things, including for example decreasing health ismand for land, water, nutrients among others. Soils sues which at the national level cause a strain on a are depleted. This impacts upon agricultural pro- country’s economy, to say nothing of the personal ductivity, and further affects our environment. Cli- suffering due to food insecurity and malnutrition. mate change is probably the most worrying of these Do you think world leaders understand the imporchanges which will affect all of us, with no exception. tance of food security?

Amb. Gornass: They do! This is the message that Political and governance factors also come into play; worldwide, protracted crises are multiplying. These they sent last September by adopting the 2030 Agenda conflicts affect food production from planting and for Sustainable Development: development issues are harvesting to processing, distribution and the final strongly interrelated, and we need to work on these consumer. Policy coordination and coherence is a simultaneously, in a holistic and integrated manner, major issue for food security and nutrition world- bringing together: developing, and developed counwide. For instance, different ministries within a gov- tries; governments, and all other stakeholders.

The challenge is that, while food security and ernment may not share the same views or may have different and sometimes competing approaches to good nutrition achieve benefits that affect many secan issue, which makes the implementation of poli- tors, such as health, economic growth as you mencies such as those targeting the food insecure diffi- tioned, but also the environment, and populations’ cult, or may even jeopardize their impact. Countries overall well-being, achieving this also requires siwithin a region should also improve their coordina- multaneously moving things across many different

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n April 2016, the people of Peru will vote for a new president. The cast of characters is quite familiar—former presidents and the daughter of an ex-president who has run, unsuccessfully, for office before. All the leading candidates are conservative and talk about economic growth as being high on their agendas. In most respects, it doesn’t look so different from past elections. Something, however, is different this year. There is at least one issue where a more progressive outlook is starting to take root.

Recently, when a candidate declared that he opposed abortion, a journalist inquired, “But what about in the case of rape?” Such a question would have been inconceivable in past presidential campaigns, despite the fact that Peru has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the region. A shocking 1 in 5 women experience sexual violence before the age of 15, and 9 out of 10 pregnancies of girls under the age of 15 are the product of incest. Researchers estimate that 35,000 pregnancies occur every year in Peru as a result of rape.

The silence around sexual violence is partially explained by the country’s conservative leanings. A secular state, Peru is still a country where both the Catholic Church and growing Evangelical sects exert considerable influence on society (and on Congress). A conflict with the Maoist group Sendero Luminoso (“Shining Path”) that began

sectors. For instance, “nutrition sensitive policies” should be included in health plans, agricultural development programmes, water management, education, etc. This is why food security and nutrition will only be achieved if all stakeholders realise this and work together. This is also why the 2030 Agenda, and enhanced nutrition, will be placed at the centre of the CFS agenda from now on; CFS multistakeholder members will meet this year in Open-Ended Working Groups to discuss how to implement concretely the decisions taken at the Committee’s Plenary meeting in October 2015.

IPS: Isn’t Climate change a huge problem for attaining food security and zero hunger by 2030?

If we don’t get climate change right, how can we move ahead on food security? What role is CFS playing and couldn’t it play a greater role?

Amb. Gornass: Indeed, it is, especially in developing countries. A two degree increase will have a dramatic impact on crop yields and their nutritional content in many regions of the world and it will also affect climate variability, which in turn has adverse effects on harvests and food availability.

Climate change may also lead to important flows of displaced people, “climate refugees,” which has important food security implications. Small changes in a situation of fragile balance could have huge political and humanitarian repercussions. All countries have to work together to adapt to and mitigate climate change; we need to work on providing more funding and technical help. We need to enable farmers to sustain these changes. We need to find and adopt globally more sustainable agricultural production methods, and fast. But the solutions are in reach, thanks to the huge technology and innovation potential, as well as to traditional local knowledge on how to produce good quality food using available resources to their full potential and in a sustainable manner. On this topic, CFS has commissioned a High Level Panel of Experts’ report on “Sustainable Agricultural Development Including the Role of Livestock”, to be launched in July 2016. In 2012, the CFS published a report on “Climate Change and Food Security” which was a game changer. The report introduced the idea of “Climate-Smart Agriculture”, with climate negotiators realizing that agriculture must needs be included in any negotiations on climate – that it was not only part of the problem but also has enormous potential for solutions! The policy recommendations which were negotiated based on this report are still very topical.

In the run-up to COP 21, CFS openly and actively advocated for a common narrative to be developed for sustainable development in the next 15 years – between the Sustainable Development Goals, Financing for Development, and quick action to check climate change – ensuring that all stakeholders take their full responsibility and contribute to a better world.

CFS will continue using its model, work, and convening power to support joint action, making sure that the implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals that fall under its mandate take into account the need for climate action.

CFS is fully committed to supporting all its stakeholders in building a world where in 2030, not one individual will be left behind.

As the Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan to Italy and Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Sudan to the UN Food and Agriculture organizations in Rome, Amira Daoud Hassan Gornass, takes-up her role as Chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), she shares her vision for the future of food security.

The fight for Women’s Rights in Peru shena Cavallo

in 1980 spanned 20 years. Though Sendero Luminso was eventually defeated, the conflict took a significant toll on progressive civil society, which was often caught in the crosshairs of the conflict.

As a result, the political left was considerably weakened. Consequently, there have been few champions for progressive issues and the political spectrum is dominated by conservative voices.

Since 2012, a group of committed feminists and activists, including IWHC’s long-time partner Promsex, have aimed to break this silence and get reproductive rights and sexual violence on the public agenda in Peru. They launched a campaign called Déjala Decidir (“Let her Decide”), seeking to collect 60,000 signatures in support of a proposal to decriminalize abortion in the case of rape. The campaign ultimately exceeded this goal and became the first citizens’ initiative of its kind in the region to tackle sexual and reproductive rights. In March 2014, the signatures were validated and resulted in a bill, which then went on for debate

by two congressional commissions. The campaign then moved on to the second phase: drumming up support for the legislation.

The activists faced several challenges, including a counter-campaign led by the Catholic Church and antichoice hardliners; they not only challenged efforts to expand access to abortion, but pushed for completely criminalizing abortion without exception. Recently, Promsex also faced an onslaught of attacks from antichoice groups, emboldened by attacks on Planned Parenthood in the United States.

This resulted in conservative members of Peru’s Congress creating a subcommittee to investigate Promsex and other organizations they alleged were “promoting” abortion in Peru. Yet, our partners continued on, undeterred.

At one point it appeared as if the bill would receive a positive ruling, but members who opposed the bill physically departed the chamber so there wouldn’t be a quorum. In November,

WRITE-WING

the bill was debated by the Constitutional Commission and lost (4 votes in favor, 6 against) and was consequently archived. A few members of Congress have asked that the bill be reconsidered in 2016.

Although the Campaign did not achieve its primary aim—to decriminalize abortion in the case of rape— considerable gains were made. The campaign raised public opinion on two important issues: sexual violence and reproductive rights. The country’s largest union came out in support of the campaign and leading newspapers, including Diario 16, featured the symbol of the campaign on their cover pages for weeks. Everyone from telenovela stars to senators to the famous Nobel Prizewinning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa came out in support of the proposal.

Importantly, polls suggest that public opinion in favor of allowing abortion in the case of rape has increased.

This was a part of the activists’ strategy: Promsex and its allies realized that the bill was unlikely to pass but knew that breaking the silence on sexual violence and abortion was a critical first step. By raising awareness and educating decision-makers, our allies were laying the groundwork to eventually advance reproductive rights in Peru. And as the country prepares for elections, Promsex is committed to pushing candidates to discuss abortion. It’s hard to deny that change is brewing in Peru.

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.

MonDAY 25•01•2016

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Ethiopia’s Invisible Crisis Protests broke out in Ethiopia in November, and the government is continuing its massive crackdown

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The Morung Express POLL RESuLTS

Are Naga leaders and organizations more concerned with the budget and buildings than the people? Why? 67%

Felix Horne Foreign Policy in Focus

“B

adessa” was a third-year engineering student in western Ethiopia in April 2014 when he and most of his classmates joined a protest over the potential displacement of ethnic Oromo farmers like his family because of the government’s plan to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into the farmland.

The night of the first protests he was arrested and taken to an unmarked detention center. Each night he heard his fellow students screaming in agony as one by one they were tortured by interrogators. “I still hear the screams,” he told me later. Eventually his turn came to be interrogated. “What kind of country is it when I voice concern that my family could lose their farm for a government project and I am arrested, tortured, and now living as a refugee?”

Since mid-November, large-scale protests have again swept through Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, and the response from security forces has again been brutal. They have killed countless students and farmers, and arrested opposition politicians and countless others. On January 12, the government announced it was cancelling the master plan, but that hasn’t stopped the protests and the resultant crackdown.

Although the protest was initially about the potential for displacement, it has become about so much more. Despite being the biggest ethnic group in Ethiopia, Oromos have often felt marginalized by successive governments and feel unable to voice concerns over government policy. Oromos who express dissent are often arrested and tortured or otherwise mistreated in detention, accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a group that has long been mostly inactive and that the government designated a terrorist organization.

The government is doing all it can to make sure that the news of these protests doesn’t circulate within the country or reach the rest of the world. Ethiopia’s allies, including governments in the region and the African Union, have largely stood by as Ethiopia has steadily strangled the ability of ordinary Ethiopians to access information and peacefully express their views, whether in print or in public demonstrations. But they should be worried about what is happening in Oromia right now, as Ethiopia — Africa’s second most-populous country and a key security ally of the US — grapples with this escalating crisis.

This may prove to be the biggest political event to hit Ethiopia since the controversial 2005 elections resulted in a crackdown on protesters in which security forces killed almost 200 people and arrested tens of thousands .

Although the government focuses its efforts on economic development and on promoting a narrative of economic success, for many farmers in Oromia and elsewhere economic development comes at a devastating cost. As one Oromo student told me “All we hear about is development. The new foreign-owned farms and roads is what the world knows, but that just benefits the government. For us [Oromos] it means we lose our land and then we

20% Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn confers with President Barack Obama.

can’t sustain ourselves anymore.”

It has become almost impossible for journalists and human rights monitors to get information about what is happening, especially in smaller towns and rural areas outside Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is one of the most restrictive environments for independent investigation, reporting, and access to information, earning the country a top-10 spot in the global ranking of jailers of journalists. For the past decade, the government has limited access to information by regularly threatening, imprisoning, and prosecuting individual activists, bloggers, and journalists and sending a clear public message that the media must self-censor and that dissent or criticism of government policy will not be tolerated.

Independent media have dwindled—more than 70 journalists have fled the country since 2010 and five of the last independent publications closed down before the May elections. Meanwhile the staterun media parrot the government line, in this case claiming that the Oromo protesters are linked to “terrorist groups” and “anti-peace elements” who are “aiming to create havoc and chaos.”

Very few international journalists are based in Ethiopia. Those who have attempted to cover events on the ground since the protests began have braved threats and arrest, but these are a few lone voices.

Given restrictions on local and international media, you might think that ordinary citizens, local activists, and nongovernmental organizations would fill the gaps and document the events in Oromia. But Ethiopia’s human rights activists and independent groups have been crushed by draconian legislation and threats, and even ordinary people are often terrified to speak out. People who dare to speak to international media outlets or independent groups have been arrested. The government taps phone lines and uses European-made spyware to target journalists

and opposition members outside the country.

Since the protests began, the restrictions have become even harsher. Authorities have arrested people, including health workers, for posting photos and videos or messages of support on social media. The state-run telecom network has also been cut in some areas, making it much more difficult to get information out from hotspots.

Radio and satellite television outlets based outside Ethiopia, including some diaspora stations, play a key role disseminating information about the protests within Oromia, as they also did in 2014 during the last round of protests. Last year numerous people were arrested in Oromia during the protests merely for watching the diaspora-run Oromia Media Network (OMN).

The government has frequently jammed foreign stations in the past, violating international regulations in the process. When the government is unable to jam it puts pressure on the satellite companies themselves.

Throughout the protests government agents have reportedly been destroying satellite dishes.

Yet despite the clear efforts to muzzle voices, information is coming out. Some protesters are losing their fear of expressing dissent and are speaking openly about the challenges they are facing. Social media plays a key role in disseminating information as people share photos and videos of rallies, of bloodied protesters, and of expressions of peaceful resistance in the face of security forces using excessive force.

In the coming days and weeks Ethiopia’s friends and partners should condemn the use of excessive force by security forces that is causing tragic and unnecessary deaths. But they should also be clear that Ethiopia needs to ensure access to information and stop disrupting telecommunications and targeting social media users. The world needs to know what is happening in Oromia—and Ethiopians have a right to know what is happening in their country.

What happens when soldiers stop believing in war?

D

Ellen Barfield Waging Nonviolence

espite a long history of veterans, soldiers and military families opposing war, the public perception is that those who fight in wars keep believing in them and war-making in general. Nan Levinson helps dispel that false assumption with her sympathetic and perceptive analysis of the formation and first few years of Iraq Veterans Against the War, or IVAW, in “War Is Not A Game: The New Antiwar Soldiers and the Movement They Built.” A journalist and writing teacher, Levinson got drawn into writing the book slowly, having initially written a newspaper article before the 2003 attack on Iraq about resisters to the Gulf War in 1991, and expecting that the much bigger mobilization and the much murkier Iraq war would surely generate soldier dissent.

“I was … moved that they had found a way to use their frustration, fury and sorrow to try to force change,” she writes in her prologue. “I liked their refusal to be reasonable, to shut up and behave as expected … though the reason in too many cases — that the worst that could happen did — is hard to bear.”

The book begins with IVAW’s formation at the Veterans For Peace, or VFP, yearly convention in Boston in 2004 by young veterans who had only just met all together in a workshop earlier that day. Then it follows the growth of the military arm of the anti-Iraq war movement — including Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey, and the Bring Them Home Now project — and winds up with the story of IVAW’s Winter Soldier testimonies at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland in 2008.

Levinson did a skillful job reporting on so many “ethical spectacles,” a term coined by activist and media scholar Stephen Duncombe and used by IVAW member Aaron Hughes to refer to the political actions IVAW and their colleagues used to startle, inform and awaken the public and politicians.

Levinson examines a long list of actions and projects — the Mobile to New Orleans march to protest poor funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina and ongoing huge war spending; the Arlington West temporary graveyard displays of crosses; Bake Sales for Body Armor to send needed equipment and point out that the troops were poorly supplied, the online Appeal for Redress signed by over 2,000 active duty troops, Operation First Casualty street theater patrols in various cities where IVAWs enacted detentions, cuffing, hooding as they had done in Iraq with volunteer civilians from VFP and other groups, the Yellow Rose of Texas Peace Bus tour to military bases, the GI coffee houses Different Drummer and Coffee Strong, the Combat Paper art project making paper out of shredded uniforms, Warrior Writers workshops and playwriting, Operation Recovery to stop traumatized soldiers being sent back to combat, and confrontations at military recruiting offices.

There is a schizophrenic attitude from some nonveteran peace activists, who want veterans to appear

at peace events as media bait due to the seeming paradox of former soldiers — who are generally assumed to be pro-war — opposing war, but who also resent the greater credibility that the media and the public afford veteran’s messages. As IVAW grew up after Camp Casey, its members began to demand to be included as leaders in big coalition marches and events, even to be featured at the front. Amadee Braxton, a civilian activist who ran IVAW’s very first office in Philadelphia, quoted IVAW leaders saying, “Why do we keep going and being a part of other people’s stuff? This war’s about us most directly.”

Guilt is a big item in the book and in veterans’ and families’ lives. Survival guilt, perpetrator guilt, and parental and buddy guilt for not protecting a child or friend.

Levinson quotes Kelly Dougherty, IVAW’s first board chair and then executive director when enough money accumulated, saying, troops in Iraq were “occupiers in bullet proof vests.” Dougherty, a Colorado National Guard medic who got assigned to military police duty escorting supply convoys and guarding and eventually burning broken down vehicles, said, “I’m not proud of burning flatbed trucks filled with food while hungry Iraqis looked on. I’m not proud of burning ambulances.”

Cindy Sheehan, expressed her guilt that she didn’t act until her son died, saying “It took Casey’s death to

awaken me.” Levinson observes, “Guilt can be confusing and paralyzing, but apparently it can be a great motivator.” At the Winter Soldier hearing, John Turner, after detailing atrocities he took part in, said, “I am no longer the monster I once was. I just want to say that I’m sorry.”

Levinson is refreshingly honest about the successes and failures, the strengths and weaknesses, of the people and organizations in her book. “[T] hey could be disorganized, defensive, insular, selfdramatizing, and impossible to get on the phone, but they were seldom boring,” she admits. “IVAW reinforced the argument that dissent can be as principled as military service. And, not least of all they kept showing up … and demonstrated that they could play other roles than hero or victim.”

Levinson rightly criticizes the short-cutting media which tends to seek “a lone, distraught survivor” instead of reporting on movements. Many journalists refused to recognize the movement Cindy Sheehan was part of and accompanied by when she demanded George Bush tell her what noble cause her son Casey died for.

Rather, they “anointed [her] Mother-of-All-Mothers,” just as they called Rosa Parks an old woman with sore feet instead of an experienced civil rights activist. Levinson reports IVAW’s perhaps unfortunate later resistance to putting forward a figurehead or leader after being burned by the Camp Casey experience, where other grieving families and veterans had been slighted.

Unfortunately, Levinson herself fell prey to that journalistic tendency, implying single planners for the Mobile to New Orleans march and for the Winter Soldier hearings. She claims Aaron Hughes alone organized the medal throw back at the NATO summit in Chicago in 2012. As a member of Veterans For Peace and Military Families Speak Out and an organizer with the Bring Them Home Now project I personally know these all were big coalition efforts.

Interestingly, there is another similar book, published on the earlier end of 2014, and with a cover photo of a different angle of the same IVAW action confronting the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008 that “War Is Not A Game” uses on its cover. Dr. Lisa Leitz, a sociology professor and the wife of a naval aviator who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote “Fighting for Peace: Veterans and Military Families in the Anti-Iraq War Movement.”

Leitz is both more academic and more personal in her examination of the anti-Iraq war work of the military community. She powerfully portrays the family of military war resisters helping each other move from emotions of powerlessness to emotions of resistance. The two books make good companions in examining how a movement forms, burgeons and adjusts.

I have always felt so pleased that VFP was able to be a platform for IVAW to launch itself, of course literally in Faneuil Hall in Boston in 2004, but more importantly by offering the philosophical, emotional, and sometimes economic backing they needed from a bunch of older folks who appreciated what they were about much better than most.

13%

YES

NO

OTHER

Some of those who voted YES had this to say • Yes, our leaders, government, church, underground factions and social organizations are all concerned about their cars, buildings and budget. They dont seem to care about the people anymore. Let us be honest. Which of these group of leaders or organizations care about the welfare of the people.

• Yes … organizations cant run without money/fund .. and almost every organization has to sell itself off to the govt or any such powerful group or individuals … so budget is a priority … otherwise from where will money come to meet the mighty needs of the organization … people???

Why care??? Leaders and organizations themselves are individual people.

• Yes, they care only about themselves and no one else.

• Yes, Because their love for money override all other considerations • Yes they are only concerned about filling up their coffers and have not regard for the people at all. Whenever an MLA wins, his first priority is to recover what he has spent during the elections. With such attitude how do you expect Nagaland to progress at all.

• Yes, each leader/bigshot is only interested in his personal development. Go to any VIP residence, the house is WA!! The cars parked outside are WA! The budget is for them to pocket. Real development for the people are a far cry. If the budget is utilized for the required purpose then Nagaland would have very very good Roads to start with. There are a number of leaders trying to do well for the public, they are appreciated.

• Yes, These so called leaders are like contractors, waiting money from New Delhi, bereft of innovative vision of their own.

• Yes we are in deep trouble. The Naga problem is getting bigger and bigger and we dont know where to even begin dealing with it. Our politicians and bureaucrats and underground leaders are only taking advantage of the crisis that we are in. No one cares for the people anymore. Everyone seems to be following Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest.

• Yes, everyone in the government including the NGOs are concerned as to who can hoard the highest from the state exchequer. No governance.

• Yes, security and welfare of the people is compromised and the race to loot the bankrupt government is the only target of the present politicians in power.

• Yes. Hardly they think of peoples welfare, sanning some few… they wait for the budget, when to “pocket” it, given the opportunity… private buildings being built, with the newest vehicles that they find it in the tv ads, trudging on a road inimaginable.. peoples welfare is not in today’s Naga leaders and organizations, when greed has taken over us. Showing off when people are in dire need of a change in leaders and mass based organizations to guide the people… maybe as the saying goes”desperate times call for desperate measure” is needed. Where is “we the people, of the people and for the people!!!!” they do not stand on the principle for what they should… it all comes down to “Greed and ShowOff.” The System has failed…

Some of those who voted NO had this to say • No, its still same and will be because they are more concerned with their own benefits than public grievances.

• NO, i dont think they have forsaken the people in place of the budget and buildings. It is precisely because of the people that they have to work on the budget.

• The people are corrupt and keep demanding unrealistic things from the leaders. So it is only instinct that the leaders focus on the budget. I don’t agree that the leaders have forsaken the people.

Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say • Our state has become a place of misery where only the rich and powerful seem to thrive. Just look at the number of new big buildings that are coming up in Dimapur.

It seems to be bustling with activity, but beneath that you will find that most of the people are living in poverty and are living from hand to mouth. At this rate we are only destroying ourselves. Something needs to be done immediately, if not we are in big trouble.

• The Naga society is in such a mess we don’t know anymore who is to blame. We cannot put the entire blame only a one or a few people. The Naga people as a whole have failed and we are all equally responsible for this big mess.

• Our leaders are willing to sacrifice by laying down our life.

• Everyone is ready to point fingers at the others but no one is willing to take responsibility. The funny thing is that we all pretend to be holy, holy and to be good Christians, when we actually are corrupt and deceptive with dual personalities.

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

8

MondAY 25•01•2016

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

India and France vow to fight terror ChanDigarh, January 24 (hT): Indian and French companies on Saturday signed 16 back-toback agreements as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting French President Francois Hollande vowed to fight terror jointly.

The India-France Business Summit brought together 25 corporate honchos from both countries as Hollande kickstarted his three-day trip India trip with a touchdown at Chandigarh which has a strong French connection — it is designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.

Speaking at the summit, Hollande said one of the main agendas of his visit was to foster ties between Paris and New Delhi to tackle terrorism as both were affected by the menace. Hollande said India and France have had over the years, beyond the strategic partnership, the willingness to work in the same direction.

“I will talk about two: first, security, because we are affected by regional crisis and also terrorism. Both countries have been hit. So together we will increase our exchanges, cooperation between services and act to reinforce our military equipment. It is part of the agenda for this trip,” he said.

“Following the success of the 2015 Paris climate conference in December, we are going to translate our common drive to implement as fast as possible the Paris agreement in launching here the solar alliance.

India has labour, market Rafale deal on ‘right track’, for French products: Modi says François Hollande

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs French President Francois Hollande after his arrival at the Rock Garden in the northern city of Chandigarh on January 24. (REUTERS Photo)

“It is an epic adventure, where our companies, which are numerous here, will be welcomed in India first in line. Besides, numerous job opportunities are also in line during this trip on top of the diplomatic, political and military agenda,” Hollande added.

The French president said the trip to India was special to him because he has been invited to celebrate the Republic Day with French troops joining the military parade.

“It is the best symbol to illustrate the relations between France and India,” he added.

Modi said India was the fastest growing economy in the world. “We have the

labour and the market for your (French) products,” he said.

“We want to venture into defence manufacturing and France and India can do a lot together.”

‘Proud to host hollande’ Earlier, Modi and Hollande met at the iconic Rock Garden, with both greeting each other with a warm hug.

Modi arrived at the Chandigarh air force station around 2.20 pm and headed straight to the Rock Garden to meet the top French leader, who had arrived here with his entourage, including six ministers, a few hours earlier.

Shortly before the arrival of the French leader, Modi had tweeted, “A warm welcome to French President @fhollande. We are honoured & delighted to have him as the Chief Guest for Republic Day celebrations.” “President @ fhollande & I will meet in Chandigarh & Delhi. We will build on the ground covered during our previous interactions,” the Prime Minister added.

After taking a round of the Rock Garden both leaders proceeded for sightseeing and visit the Capitol Complex and the Government Museum and Art gallery, where Hollande will be shown fossil discovered from the Shivalik Hills by

ChanDigarh, January 24 (ianS): As the fastest growing big economy in the world, India has both the skilled workforce to produce as well be the market for French products, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

"India is the fastest growing economy in the world.

We have the labour and the market for your products," Modi said at the India-France chief executives meeting here along with visiting French President Francois Hollande, according to a tweet by external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup.

"I've had the opportunity of meeting President @ fhollande five times in the last year," Modi said according to another tweet by Swarup. Modi earlier met Hollande at the Rock Garden here in the city.

"Glad to welcome @fhollande in the city built by the great Le Corbusier. PM @narendramodi addresses the CEO's Forum," Swarup said in a separate tweet.

During Hollande's visit, France is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding with Chandigarh to help it develop as a smart city, official sources said.

France has committed to help three Indian cities Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry - to develop as smart cities.

French and Indian archaeologists.

“The two leaders viewed the displays of archaeological findings from the foothills of the Himalayas which suggest human activity possibly dating back to 2.6 million years ago, making them among the oldest known remnants of human existence,” a statement issued by the external affairs ministry in New Delhi stated.

“This significant discovery is the result of seven years of extensive research and collaboration between the Prehistory Department of the National Museum of Natural History of France and the Society of Archaeological and Anthropologi-

cal Research of Chandigarh undertaken under the auspices of an ‘Agreement of Collaboration between Society for Archaeological & Anthropological Research, India and French National Museum of Natural History’,” it added.

According to the statement, the archaeological discovery comprises about 1,500 fossil finds, including 200 quartzite tools collected from several locations spread over 50 acres of area in Masol region near Chandigarh. Around 6 pm, the two premiers flew separately to Delhi, where Hollande will attend the Republic Day parade on January 26 as the chief guest.

A Rafale fighter jet flies over the factory of French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation in Merignac near Bordeaux, France. (REUTERS File Photo)

new Delhi, January 24 (PTi): French President François Hollande indicated that the nearly Rs. 60,000 crore Rafale deal is on the “right track” but unlikely to be signed during his visit to India that begins on Sunday. Hollande said, “Agreeing on the technicalities of this arrangement obviously takes time, but we are on the right track.”

“The Rafale is a major project for India and France.

It will pave the way for an unprecedented industrial and technological cooperation, including ‘Make in India’, for the next 40 years.” He also noted that Indo-French cooperation in Defence “is part of our strategic partnership.

It is based on trust, a very strong trust between both our countries.”

India and France are in negotiations for 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition. The announcement for the deal was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last April during his visit to France. However, the deal is yet to be sealed as both sides are still negotiating the prices, which is estimated to be about Rs. 60,000 crore. A highlevel team from France is here and carrying out last-minute negotiations.

Answering a question on Pathankot terror strike, Hollande said, “France strongly condemned the attack on Pathankot. India is fully justified to ask for justice against perpetrators.”

“India and France are confronted with similar threats: we are attacked by murderers who pretend to act on religious basis. Their real objective is widespread hate. They want to undermine our democratic values and our way of life. India and France are united in their determination to act together against terrorism”, the French President said in a written interview.

Hyderabad University vice Amit Shah elected BJP president for three-year term chancellor goes on leave hyDerabaD, January 24 (ianS): University of Hyderabad Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao, in the eye of the storm over the suicide of a Dalit research scholar, has gone on leave but the students continued their protest on the campus.

Vipin Srivastava, the seniormost professor, will perform the duties of the vice chancellor, the university announced on Sunday.

Rao was under fire for his handling of the issue relating to the suspension of five Dalit students, one of whom, Rohith Vemula, committed suicide on January 17.

Demanding the vice chancellor's resignation, students continued their protest in the university.

Meanwhile, the university registrar also issued orders on Sunday with regard to revocation of suspension of four students. The executive council on Thursday had decided to revoke the

suspension.

The students, however, continued their protest demanding the vice chancellor's ouster.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice, an umbrella of student groups, has vowed to continue the protest till justice is done to Rohith's family.

A day after police shifted seven students who were on an indefinite hunger strike to hospital, another batch of seven students went on fast.

The JAC has also called for 'Chalo HCU' (Hyderabad Central University) on Monday to intensify the protest. It has called upon students from across the country to reach the campus for protest.

The JAC is demanding arrest of central ministers Smirit Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP legislator Ramchandra Rao and the vice chancellor, blaming them for Rohith's suicide

and social boycott of Dalit students.

The protestors also alleged that Telangana Police was shielding the culprits.

"Arrests have to be made under SC/ST Atrocities Act immediately as it is a cognizable/non-bailable offence," the JAC said.

A case for abetment to suicide and for violation of Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act was booked against Dattretya, the vice chancellor and two leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on January 18.

Meanwhile, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, visited the university on Sunday and expressed solidarity with the students.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress leader in Telangana assembly Janardhan Reddy and other party leaders also met the students.

new Delhi, January 24 (ianS): Amit Shah, a close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Sunday elected the BJP president for a full three-year term, retaining the post he has held since the party took power in the country in 2014.

Shah, 51, who took charge of the party in August 2014 from now Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was elected unanimously at a glittering event at the BJP headquarters attended by virtually all senior party leaders.

As Bharatiya Janata Party leader Avinash Rai Khanna made the announcement that Shah has got the top post again, the packed hall erupted with joy, with young men repeatedly blowing conch shells and others raining flower petals on him. Hundreds of party activists cheered Shah and raised slogans hailing him and the BJP. Many garlanded or presented bouquets to Shah, who is seen as the most powerful man in the party after Modi.

Modi was not present as he had to go to Chandigarh to meet French President Francois Hollande.

But he congratulated Shah and said he was confident the BJP "will scale newer heights under his leadership".

"Amit bhai combines grassroots-level work and rich organ-

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh congratulates BJP president Amit Shah, who was on Sunday re-elected to the post unopposed.

isational experience which will benefit the party immensely," said Modi, who is said to count Shah as one of his most trusted aides.

Shah took hold of the BJP's reins from Rajnath Singh after the latter became the home minister in the Modi cabinet. There was no election then.

Rajnath Singh said: "He (Shah) has been an extremely successful party president. I am confident the BJP will continue its forward march under Shah's stewardship

and reach newer heights of success and glory." Another former BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said: "He is the most capable person. He has organisational ability, is a good strategist and is committed to (our) ideology."

Besides Modi, the two other notable absentees from the event were former party presidents L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, who are known to be unhappy with Shah's style of functioning. Shah, who did not address the gathering

or speak to the media, leaves on Monday to address a public meeting in Howrah in West Bengal, where the BJP will face a stiff challenge in its bid for power this year.

The Congress was sarcastic.

After pointing out the absence of Advani and Joshi from the event, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said: "Congratulations on his election, and congratulations on his future defeats."

A science graduate, Shah -the son of a businessman -- rose to fame when he, as the party incharge in Uttar Pradesh, led the BJP to a grand victory in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle where it won 71 of the 80 seats. An ally won two more seats.

It was the general election where he and Modi combined to lead the party to a spectacular victory, ending 10 long years of Congress rule.

Shah moved towards the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in Gujarat in his young days, and later took to student politics.

He met Modi in 1982, and the two have remained close since then. He joined the BJP in 1986 -- a year before Modi did. A four-time legislator in Gujarat, Shah was a home minister in the state when he was embroiled in a fake encounter case.

Delink terrorism from religion: India to Arab countries

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj talks with King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa during a meeting in Bahrain on Saturday.

ManaMa/new Delhi, January 24 (ianS): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday made a strong pitch to delink terrorism from religion as India and the Arab League member states condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“As the spectre of terror-

ism and religious hatred raises its ugly head across the world, particularly in those cherished cities of history, it is time once again to reach back in time and redeem the essence of our civilisational spirit,” Sushma Swaraj said as she addressed the first ever ministerial-level meeting of the India-Arab Partnership

Conference here that was attended by the foreign ministers of the 22 Arab League countries.

The Arab League comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, the State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

“We must pledge to halt the physical violence that has spread like a plague,” Sushma Swaraj said.

She said this must be recognised that it cannot be done “without equally addressing the violence in our minds, a poison that has been spread by terror groups, harnessing the power of modern technology and social media platforms to infect our youth - those ideologies and beliefs that regard one’s own brother as a stranger, one’s own mother as accursed”.

“Equally, we must delink religion from terror,” Sushma Swaraj said.

“The only distinction is be-

tween those who believe in humanity and those who do not. Terrorists use religion, but inflict harm on people of all faiths,” she said.

“Those who believe that silent sponsorship of such terrorist groups can bring rewards must realise that they have their own agenda; they are adept at using the benefactor more effectively than the sponsor has used them.”

Stating that one cannot afford to ignore the dangers of radicalisation and indoctrination, she said that India’s model of unity in diversity offers an example for the world. We in India have citizens who belong to every existing faith.

“Our Constitution is committed to the fundamental principle of faith-equality: the equality of all faiths not just before the law but also in daily behaviour,” she said.

Stating that terrorism did not respect national borders, the Indian minister said: “But not only do we need to condemn all acts of terrorism but

we need to join hands regionally and globally to remove the scourge of terrorism completely.”

On India-Arab ties, she said these now covered a whole host of sectors.

“We have substantial common interests in the fields of trade and investment, energy and security, culture and Diaspora. Today the Arab world is collectively India’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade crossing $180 billion,” she said.

“We source 60 percent of our oil and gas requirements from West Asia, making this region a pillar of our energy security. The Maghreb region is a major source of phosphates and other fertilisers which contributes significantly towards our food security,” Sushma Swaraj stated, adding that new and emerging areas of cooperation include agricultural research, dry land farming, irrigation and environmental protection.

Among other areas for partnership she mentioned were in-

formation and communication technologies, automobiles and small and medium enterprises, biotechnology and space.

Following the meeting, India and the Arab nations adopted the Manama Declaration condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.

“The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejecting associating terrorism with any religion, culture or ethnic group, emphasised the need for concerted regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and to address its causes and to develop a strategy to eliminate the sources of terrorism and extremism including its funding, as well as combating organised cross-border crime,” the declaration reads.

The Arab side also aspired “to an effective Indian role, in cooperation with Arab states, to enhance peace and security at the regional and international level”.

Both the sides also called for

urgent reforms of the UN Security Council through expansion in both permanent and nonpermanent membership to reflect contemporary reality.

India and the Arab regional grouping also hoped to strengthen future cooperation in economic, trade and investment.

The two sides also expressed hope to reach a memorandum of understanding in the field of energy, especially in the field of renewable energy.

After Sunday's meeting, Sushma Swaraj called on Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa in Manama.

On Saturday, after arriving in Manama, she called on Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa.

She also held bilateral discussions with her Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid Al Khalifa following which the two sides signed an agreement to exchange their citizens lodged in the prisons of each other's country.

mondaY 25•01•2016

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

9

19 dead as massive blizzard paralyzes NE US NEW YORK, JANUARY 24 (REUTERS): Millions of residents, business owners and workers began digging out on Sunday from a massive blizzard that brought Washington, New York and other northeastern U.S. cities to a standstill, killing at least 19 people in several states.

The storm was the second-biggest in New York City history, with 26.8 inches (68 cm) by midnight Saturday, just shy of the record 26.9 inches set in 2006, the National Weather Service said.

Thirteen people were killed in weather-related car crashes in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on Saturday. One person died in Maryland and three in New York City while shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, officials said.

On the New Jersey shore, a region hard-hit in 2012

by Superstorm Sandy, the storm drove flooding high tides. After dumping about two feet of snow on the Washington area, the storm unexpectedly strengthened as it spun northward and slammed into the New York metropolitan area on Saturday, home to about 20 million people.

A uniformed Secret Service officer stands in the freshly fallen snow outside the White House on January 22.

(REUTERS Photo)

Winds gusting to more than 40 mph (64 kph) sculpted drifts many feet high, burying cars.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, as did 10 other governors. A ban imposed on all travel on New York City area roads

and on Long Island, except for emergency vehicles, was set to end at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Bridges and tunnels into the city were also set to reopen.

Subways running above ground and trains operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North halted

service on Saturday and were to be evaluated for service restoration at 6 a.m.

By early Sunday the storm had all but moved off the coastline, with remnants trailing over parts of Long Island and Cape Cod. Much of the northeast was expected to see a mix of sun

Netanyahu seeks to return Israeli army-evicted settlers JERUSALEM, JANUARY 24 (REUTERS): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would allow Jewish settlers evicted by the Israeli army from two houses in the West Bank city of Hebron to return once proper permits were in place.

Israeli settlements in occupied territory, deemed illegal by most countries, are a fundamental issue in the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process and a factor behind a recent wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks on Israelis. About 80 settlers were removed from Hebron on Friday a day

after Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon withheld his required approval of their occupancy in apartments in a city where tensions between Israelis and Palestinians run high.

The settler group said it had bought the homes from Palestinian owners. But Yaalon said the settlers had failed to seek permission from Israeli authorities to move in and were trespassing. A Netanyahu aide said on Friday that the prime minister supported Yaalon’s decision to evict the settlers, a step that drew criticism from members of the right-wing coalition

government and threats to withhold support in parliamentary votes.

But the aide said the settlers could take up residency again after completing the necessary paperwork.

In public remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said his government “supports the settlements” and would expedite an examination of the settlers’ case.

“The moment that the purchase process is authorised, we will allow the population of the two houses in Hebron,” Netanyahu said, confirming his aide’s remarks.

‘Instability in Pak raises fears of nuke diversion’ WASHINgTON, JANUARY 24 (IANS): Islamabad’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal aimed at India amidst continued instability in Pakistan has raised fears of a radical takeover or diversion of nuclear material and technology, according to a US Congressional report.

While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards, the independent Congressional Research Service said in a new report.

Islamabad is reported to have taken a number of steps to improve its nuclear security and to prevent further proliferation of nuclear-related technologies

and materials since the 2004 revelations about a procurement network run by notorious Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan, it noted.

“However, instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question,” said the CRS report on Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons for US lawmakers.

“Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan’s nuclear complex,” it said.

“Furthermore, continued Indian and Pakistani nuclear weapons development could jeopardize strategic stability between the two countries,” the report said.

“Pakistan’s nuclear ar-

senal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more,” CRS said.

Islamabad is also producing fissile material, adding to related production facilities, deploying additional nuclear weapons, and new types of delivery vehicles, said the report based on published material.

Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against Pakistan, the CRS report noted.

Islamabad has also undertaken an expansion of its nuclear arsenal and development of new types of nuclear weapons as also adopted a doctrine called “full spectrum deterrence.”

This has “led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal,” it said.

According to one unofficial estimate cited by CRS, Pakistan has produced approximately 3,000 kilograms of weapons-grade HEU and approximately 200 kilograms of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

Islamabad continues to produce both HEU and plutonium for nuclear weapons and is developing and deploying a variety of weapons, it said.

Pakistan has tested a version of the Shaheen-1 missile, called the Shaheen-1A, with a range of 900 kilometres, the report said.

and clouds on Sunday with temperatures just above freezing.

SHOWS, FLIGHTS CANCELED Given the massive storm’s impact, it was too soon to tell how much Wall Street’s reopening on Mon-

day would be affected.

Broadway theaters canceled Saturday matinee and evening performances at the urging of the mayor, and a Bruce Springsteen concert set for Sunday was called off.

As an otherworldly quiet descended on the usually bustling city of 8.5 million, the nation’s most populous, tourists and residents took to city streets, venturing into the expanses of parks, some on skis.

Others built snowmen and had snowball fights.

Authorities in New York and New Jersey halted public transportation and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority took the rare step of suspending operations through Sunday.

About 3,500 flights were canceled on Sunday, with more than 600 already canceled for Monday, said FlightAware. com, the aviation data and tracking website.

United Airlines said it would not operate at Washington-area airports on Sunday, and would gradually resume service on Monday. The airline plans to start “very limited operations” on Sunday afternoon at its Newark, New Jersey, hub.

The brunt of the blizzard reached the New York City area after battering Washington, where snow piled up outside the White House and famous monuments were frosted with snow.

The record high of 28 inches of snow in Washington was set in 1922 and the biggest recent snowfall was 17.8 inches in 2010.

MORE HIGH TIDES EXPECTED High winds battered the entire East Coast, from North Carolina to New York, reaching 70 mph in Wallops Island, Virginia, late on Friday, whipping up the tides and causing coastal flooding, said National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Gallina.

The snow also engulfed the Mid-Atlantic cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia while about 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 homes in New Jersey lost electricity.

Accumulations in parts of Virginia and West Virginia reached 40 inches.

Tides higher than those caused by Superstorm Sandy three years ago pushed water onto roads along the Jersey Shore and Delaware coast and set records in Cape May, New Jersey,

and Lewes, Delaware, said NWS meteorologist Patrick O’Hara.

Some evacuations were reported along the New Jersey shore.

Wildwood, a town of more than 5,000 people about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Atlantic City on a barrier island, saw some of the worst flooding.

Emergency workers in inflatable boats rescued more than 100 people from homes, said Wildwood Fire Chief Christopher D’Amico.

Water levels reached chest-height in parts of Wildwood and refrigerators and soda machines floated down the main street.

Further north, barrier islands near Atlantic City were also experiencing significant tidal flooding, said Linda Gilmore, the county’s public information officer. The high tides were set to return on Sunday morning.

The storm developed along the Gulf Coast, dropping snow over Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky on Friday. On the coast, warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean collided with cold air to form the massive winter system, meteorologists said.

Nepal’s crisis drags on as ethnic minorities reject charter amendment KATHMANDU, JANUARY 24 (REUTERS): Nepal’s ethnic minorities have rejected a constitutional amendment, dashing hopes of an end to a political crisis that has led to fuel shortages and hampered deliveries of relief materials to survivors of last year’s earthquakes.

More than 50 people have died since the ethnic Madhesis, backed by some other smaller ethnic groups, launched protests in the landlocked, Himalayan country’s southern plains against the amendment to the constitution.

Protests at the border have prevented trucks from entering from neighbouring India since September, causing fuel shortages and rationing in Nepal. Deliveries of relief supplies to communities hit by earthquakes in April and May last year have also been disrupted.

The Nepalese people had hoped the charter, the country’s first since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, would bring peace and stability closer after years of conflict.

However, the Madhesis, who have close familial, linguistic and cultural ties with Indians across the border, say Nepalese authorities have failed to meet their aspirations for greater participation in government.

The 597-member parliament voted 461-7 late on Saturday in favour of a provision of “proportionate inclusion” of minority groups in all government institutions including the army, and to carve out electoral constituencies on the basis of their population to increase their representation in parliament.

The rest of the lawmakers either

Protesters stand near a burning tyre as they gather to block the highway connecting Nepal to India during a general strike called by Madhesi protesters demonstrating against the new constitution in Birgunj, Nepal. (REUTERS File Photo)

did not vote or walked out.

“The government believes that the amendment will address the problems in the Tarai and hopes that the protests will end,” Law Minister Agni Prasad Kharel told parliament before the vote, referring to the lowlands bordering India in the south.

Madhesi lawmakers protested and walked out of parliament, saying the changes had loopholes and were incomplete. “It is a complete farce. It does not address our demands,” said Hridayesh Tripathi, a leader of Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party, part of the Madhesi Front that is leading the protests.

Nepal’s giant and influential neighbour India said the changes were positive. “We hope that other outstanding issues are similarly ad-

dressed in a constructive spirit,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

The Nepali government says a political panel will be tasked to redraw the internal boundaries of federal provinces within three months, another key demand of the Madhesis.

It says other demands such as citizenship cards for foreign spouses of Nepali nationals will also be resolved through political consensus.

But the Madhesis are opposed to splitting their region into more than two provinces, as the government plan envisages, saying this would scupper their chances of controlling the provincial governments.

Many in Nepal blame India for quietly supporting the Madhesi protesters, a charge New Delhi denies.

Trump says could ‘shoot somebody’ and not lose voters IOWA, JANUARY 24 (REUTERS): U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump expressed confidence on Saturday that he could push back attempts by his rivals to knock him off his top perch, saying he could stand on New York’s Fifth Avenue “and shoot somebody,” and still not lose voters.

Nine days from the first nominating contest in Iowa, however, it was Republican rival Marco Rubio who won the endorsement Saturday from the Des Moines Register, the state’s biggest and most influential newspaper. On the Democratic side, the Register picked Hillary Clinton.

The endorsements were big developments for both Rubio and Clinton. Rubio, a Florida senator, has been running third behind Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Iowa, while Clinton has struggled to fend off a challenge to the Democratic nomina-

Trump has been a difficult target for criticism from his rivals because not all of his supporters are conservatives and many are most interested in his projection of strength, not where he stands on a particular issue.

The latest Reuters-Ipsos tracking poll had Trump pulling in 40.6 percent support of Republican voters nationally. A CNN/ORC poll has Trump up in Iowa with 37 percent to 26 percent for Cruz, who has led in some other Iowa polls.

Trump did not repeat the “shoot somebody” line at a later rally in Pella, while stressing to the crowd there U.S. Republican presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump speaks at a that he would tone down campaign rally at the South Point Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on January his rhetoric as president.

21. (REUTERS Photo)

tion from Bernie Sanders.

Trump and Cruz, Trump’s chief obstacle to a victory in Iowa, held competing rallies across the state while in New Hampshire, other candidates battled for votes in that state’s

February 9 first-in-the-nation primary for the Nov. 8 election.

Trump, the New York billionaire and former reality TV star who has been virtually impervious to attacks from his opponents,

pushed the limits of his political rhetoric again in Sioux Center, Iowa.

“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters,” he said.

BECK BACKS CRUZ Cruz responded to Trump at an event in Ankeny, where he picked up the endorsement of conservative firebrand Glenn Beck, a counterweight of sorts to Trump’s endorsement

by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

“Listen, I will let Donald speak for himself. I can say I have no intention of shooting anybody in this campaign,” Cruz said.

Beck was more direct.

“There is one thing to have a healthy ego, there is another to give a man who believes those kind of things, who has a habit of anyone who stands in his way of destruction,” Beck said. “To give that man the full power and scope of the office of the presidency is something we will grow to regret.”

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was an introductory speaker at Trump’s Pella event. Grassley did not endorse Trump but repeated Trump’s signature phrase, saying Republicans have a chance to “make America great again.”

During his speech, Trump called Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly biased

and said she should not be a moderator at a Fox-hosted Republican debate in Des Moines on Thursday.

Kelly’s questioning at an Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland had prompted Trump to unleash a series of insults at her.

There was no indication that Fox planned to remove her as a moderator.

“Megyn Kelly has no conflict of interest. Donald Trump is just trying to build up the audience for Thursday’s debate, for which we thank him,” said a Fox News spokesperson.

BLOOMBERG CONSIDERING INDEPENDENT BID The potential for more chaos in what has been a turbulent race on both the Republican and Democratic sides emerged on Saturday with the news that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg might launch an independent run for president.

A source said part of Bloomberg’s concern was the problem that Clinton is having in defeating Sanders.

“I hope he runs,” Trump told reporters in Pella.

At a First In The Nation forum for candidates in Nashua, New Hampshire, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was notably withering in his criticism of Trump.

He reminded voters of Trump’s dismissal of Senator John McCain as not a hero because he got captured during the Vietnam War. McCain spent 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war.

He was a two-time winner of the New Hampshire primary and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

“It is not strong to insult women. It is not a sign of strength when you insult Hispanics. It is not a sign of strength when you say that a POW was a loser because they got caught. John McCain is a hero,” Bush said.

10

monDAY 25•01•2016

sports

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Vardy ends goal drought in Leicester win P.V. Sindhu clinches

LONDON, JaNuary 24 (aP): The expectation is the rails will come off Leicester's title challenge and Manchester United will get back on track. Little goes to the script in this Premier League season.

But Manchester United's problems with scoring at home won't go away, with boos again ringing out at Old Trafford on Saturday after the hosts were stunned 1-0 by Southampton.

Leicester went three points clear at the top — for 24 hours at least before Arsenal hosts Chelsea — by beating Stoke 3-0. And Manchester City slipped further behind the pacesetters by drawing 2-2 at West Ham. Jamie Vardy, having set the record for scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games earlier in the season, ended a goal drought exceeding 10 hours for Leicester. Danny Drinkwater and Leonardo Ulloa scored either side of Vardy's 66th-minute goal.

A first-ever Champions League qualification for the central England club seems less fanciful by the week.

Will United return to the European elite, though?

Not if Louis van Gaal's side continues to produce such dismal football. The record 20-time English champions went an 11th home game in a row without scoring in the first half and then conceded after the break when Charlie Austin netted

Malaysia Masters title

Jamie Vardy of Leicester City goes past Jack Butland of Stoke City to score his team's second goal on January 23. (Getty Images)

on his Southampton debut.

"It was a poor performance, of course, because ... football is not only defending but also creating chances, and we didn't create," Van Gaal said. "Our opponent neither, I think.

So it was a poor game for the fans."

Perhaps United should have taken a punt on signing Austin from Queens Park Rangers, given the outlay was only around $6 million.

United fans chanted "Attack! Attack!" at their shot-shy team and will have been even more vexed at seeing Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, who was discarded by Louis van

Gaal and sent out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen, named the CONCACAF region's player of the year on Friday.

United remains fifth but is now five points behind Tottenham, which came from behind to win 3-1 at Crystal Palace. A moment of individual brilliance saw Tottenham go in front with 10 minutes to go. Dele Alli, one of the breakthrough stars of the season, flicked the ball up and back over his own head before volleying into the bottom corner.

The biggest scoring game of the day was on the east coast with a nine-goal thriller, including two in stoppage time. After Norwich threw away a 3-1 lead

in the second half to Liverpool, Sebastian Bassong thought he had secured a 4-4 draw. But in the fourth minute of injury time, Adam Lallana scored his first goal of the season to clinch a 5-4 victory for 7thplace Liverpool.

West Ham is sandwiched between United and Liverpool after holding Manchester City.

City remains third, with only one win in eight league games on the road.

Sergio Aguero canceled out goals from Enner Valencia, who put West Ham ahead after only 53 seconds and then seized on a long throw-in that City failed to defend in the second half.

Aguero's first came from the penalty spot and his second leveler was with nine minutes to go.

"This league is impossible to predict, especially this season," West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said.

"It's so demanding, so every team can beat you."

At Vicarage Road, Watford ended a four-game losing streak by beating Newcastle 2-1. Newcastle remains in the relegation zone along with Sunderland, which was held 1-1

by Bournemouth. Bottomplace Aston Villa endured a goal-less stalemate with local rival West Bromwich Albion and is nine points from safety.

PENaNg, JaNuary 24 (IaNs): Scottish shuttler Kirsty Gilmour proved no match for India's P.V. Sindhu who needed just 32 minutes to crush her opponent in the women's singles final and seal her second $120,000 Malaysia Masters title at the Spice Stadium here on Sunday.

Third seed Sindhu, who had also won the Grand Prix Gold tournament here in 2013, provided herself a great start to the year by winning the summit clash 21-15, 21-9 to pocket $9,000 as prize money. This is Sindhu's second title in three tournaments after she also clinched the Macau Open crown last year in November.

This was the World No.12 Indian's first win over Kirsty in two meetings, having lost their previous encounter at the 2013 French Open. Kirsty bagged $4,560 for finishing as runner-up.

Though the Scottish World No.20 gave a good fight to the 20-year-old Indian, Sindhu managed to go in the lead at the start of the first game. She not just maintained but extended the lead constantly throughout the game which lasted a quarter of an hour.

Kirsty looked as if she was fighting back in the second game till 5-all but Sindhu got into the rhythm to win 11 of the next 12 points played to go ahead by 16-6. It was only a matter of time before the Hyderabadi sealed the game and match in her favour in

BAI greets Sindhu with Rs 5 lakh reward

NEW DELhI, JaNuary 24 (IaNs): The Badminton Association of India (BAI) congratulated star shuttler P V Sindhu for winning the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for her efforts on Sunday. Third-seeded Sindhu won the women's singles title with a straight games (21-15, 21-9) victory over Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the final in just 32 minutes at the Spice Stadium on Sunday. It was Sindhu's second win in Malaysia, having won the title before in 2013. "I congratulate her for this stupendous win. She won the title in 2013 and this time she was quite keen to achieve the feat again and she did it. I am proud of her and wish her luck to win more such titles in the future," BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta said in a release. "This victory comes at a time when winning and being in form is important, keeping the upcoming RIO in mind and I am certain she will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming event."

18 minutes. Sindhu wasted one championship point but on the next one, the Scot's service fell short to hand the Indian the title.

Sindhu's hands went up in the air in elation. She went and hugged national coach Madhumita Bisht, who was sitting in her corner before standing on the top step of

the podium.

The double World Championship bronze medallist was easily the better player of the two, winning 42 of the 66 points played in the match. Her reach and net play proved far better than her opponent's, which won her the crown with ease.

Van Gaal admits United Dhoni, Smith warn against fan fury getting worse Spidercam interference

Manchester United's Dutch manager Louis van Gaal (top row 2R) gestures during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton on January 23. (AFP Photo)

MaNChEstEr, JaNuary 24 (aFP): Louis van Gaal admitted the furious reaction of Manchester United supporters to their side's dismal 1-0 defeat against Southampton was the worst he has experienced in an increasingly turbulent season.

Van Gaal's side failed to score at Old Trafford for the seventh time this term and were eventually beaten by a late headed goal from Southampton debutant Charlie Austin.

United are now five points adrift of a topfour place in the Premier League and their dejected players trudged off with boos ringing in their ears at full-time.

Inevitably, beleaguered boss van Gaal was also subjected to renewed derision from disgruntled fans who have given the Dutchman plenty of abuse for his conservative tactics over the last few months.

The pressure on van Gaal will only increase with United having won just three of their last 13 games and he accepted the criticism from supporters was more vitriolic than ever.

"Yes, because it was very clear," he said. "I can imagine (why) also because I have seen a poor match.

"I cannot change that feeling. I can only work hard with my players to improve our game and that is what I am doing.

"Of course I am disap-

pointed but I have to think and already I put the question how I can change this because we have to change this.

"That is my job and it's not an easy job at the moment. Nevertheless, we have won three times in 2016 and had a draw, so they were very good results in January.

"But we could not show it in this game. I did not see that confidence today."

Although van Gaal knows his approval rating is at an all-time low with United fans, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager refused to be drawn on whether his job may be under threat.

"I cannot answer that because normally I communicate everything with everybody so it is not for me to answer these kinds of questions," he said.

United are in desperate need of a lift to prevent their season disintegrating even further, but van Gaal could give no guarantees that it may come via a move into the January transfer market.

He has already indicated that he would like to strengthen his defensive options with Matteo Darmian, who he said had gone to hospital for checks after spitting blood following a collision with Southampton striker Shane Long, potentially adding to a lengthy injury list.

But regarding the much-needed arrival of creative talents, van Gaal said: "I think one player

cannot change everything.

Sometimes it looks like it but it is always the process of team building that makes a team stronger.

"Sometimes one individual can give the first stimulus for that process but it is not so easy as you say or ask."

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman - an old rival of van Gaal from their time together in Dutch football, appears to have managed just that with the capture of Austin, whose goal secured a third straight league win for the Saints.

The 26-year-old is a proven goalscorer but only Southampton were willing to meet QPR's modest £4 million ($5.7 million) asking price.

"We are very happy we had the possibility to sign Charlie and Charlie was happy to sign for Southampton because he knows Southampton produces good football and gives young players a chance and all the chance to play for their national team," Koeman said.

"That is the reason we liked to sign Charlie Austin - a great numbers of goals.

With Shane together in the last 10-15 minutes they did a great job but it is not fair to mention one player.

"It was a great win. I think it was a difficult game for both teams today. We knew they are under pressure and if you keep the organisation in your team, they will be nervous."

MELBOurNE, JaNuary 24 (rEutErs): Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows the introduction of broadcast technology has enhanced the viewing experience for fans but the Indian skipper has called for restraint after the overhead 'Spidercam' interfered with play in Saturday's one-dayer against Australia.

Virat Kohli upper-cut John Hastings for a boundary in the 19th over of India's innings but it was declared a dead-ball after hitting the camera.

India managed to chase down a 331-run victory target to end their losing streak but Dhoni warned that such interference could affect the outcome of tight contests.

"I am quite a traditional guy," he said after the tourists avoided a whitewash by winning the fifth and final ODI. "Anything that disturbs the game of cricket I don't like it.

"It all started right from the Twenty20 where people would be like, 'Why don't you wear a mic?', 'Why

don't you wear a camera?'"

Dhoni said the camera, which travels along cables and gives a bird's eye view of the action, had to be used more carefully.

"I always feel there is always a need for a balance.

At the end of the day, it's a spectators' sport, people watching on television, but at the same time four runs can really matter.

"Especially when it's a 310-320 game, those four runs can be crucial," he said. On a lighter note, he said there should be some form of penalty for Spidercam if it gets in the way.

"Everyone gets penalised, why not have the same system for the Spidercam?

Say, 'Okay if you get hit, $2,000 per hit.' Let's make it interesting," he joked.

His counterpart Steven Smith also saw the funny side of the incident at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"He was probably our best fielder tonight, Spidercam. He saved four," said Smith, who was not best pleased with his team's fielding display after Shaun

Marsh and Nathan Lyon dropped simple chances.

Smith was also a Spidercam victim last year when he was distracted by the camera's movement and spilled a catch at the same ground.

"I just think we need to make sure it's away when the ball is coming," the home captain said after his team's 4-1 victory in the ODI series.

"We don't need to see things like that where it's a dead ball. Something like that can really change the course of the game.

"So I just think we need to make sure we get him out of the way when the bowler is coming in to bowl."

The teams will next play a three-match Twenty20 series.

Australia will be without allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who is nursing a hamstring injury, for the first game at Adelaide on Tuesday. Melbourne hosts the second game on Friday before the teams return to Sydney for the final match next Sunday.

Keneisezotuo Whuorie of Nagaland lifted the winner’s trophy in both Men's singles and doubles category at the AITA National Ranking 50K Championship held at Karnal, Haryana from January 18 to 22. Kenei beat Abhishek Gaur 6-4, 6-3 in the finals of the men's singles. In the doubles category, Kenei and his partner Ominder beat Abhishek and Rohit 6-3, 7-5.

Cavs fall to Bulls in Lue's coaching debut

CLEVELaND, JaNuary 24 (aP): Tyronn Lue didn't make much of a difference in his coaching debut for Cleveland as Pau Gasol scored 25 points, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 96-83 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Lue was promoted Friday, when the Cavaliers fired David Blatt despite him taking the team to the NBA Finals last season and currently leading the Eastern Conference. The coaching swap didn't have any immediate impact on the Bulls, who outhustled the Cavs to loose balls and won for just the third time in nine games.

Jimmy Butler scored 20 points, Nikola Mirotic added 17 and Taj Gibson 15 for Chicago, which opened a 17-point lead in the third quarter and never let the Cavs get closer than eight in the fourth.

LeBron James just missed his first triple-double this season, finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. J.R. Smith added 18 points.

Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks to the team prior to the game against the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. (AFP Photo)

KINGS 108, PACERS 97 DeMarcus Cousins had a career-high 48 points along with 13 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Indiana for its season-high fifth straight win.

Rajon Rondo had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second straight

triple-double and sixth of the season for Sacramento. Darren Collison had 11 points and rookie Willie CauleyStein had 12 rebounds.

The Kings, winners of eight of 11 in January, used a strong third quarter to build an 11-point lead and never relinquished it

in the fourth. Sacramento has beaten Indiana four straight times, sweeping the season series the last two years.

Paul George had 24 of his 34 points in the second half for the Pacers, who have lost two straight and five of six. Jordan Hill had

17 points and 13 rebounds, Monta Ellis scored 16 and rookie Myles Turner added 11 points and five blocks.

TRAIL BLAZERS 121, LAKERS 103 Damian Lillard had 36 points and the Trail Blazers beat Los Angeles for Kobe Bryant's last game in Portland. CJ McCollum added 28 points and the Blazers led by as many as 27 points in the first half on the way to their eighth straight victory over the Lakers.

D'Angelo Russell came off the bench with 21 points for the Lakers, who dropped their sixth straight game. But all eyes were on Bryant, a Portland nemesis dating back to the 2000 Western Conference finals, who finished with 10 points.

It was the second of a back-to-back for the Lakers, who fell 108-95 to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. The game fell on the 10th anniversary of Bryant's 81-point game against Toronto, which remains the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

Monday 25•01•2016

EntErtainmEnt

gives Alanis Katrina is the strongest Instagram Morissette ‘sense of self’ women I know: Salman C S uperstar Salman Khan welcomed Katrina Kaif on stage during the finale of his show “Bigg Boss” and heaped praise on the actress by calling her “one of the strongest women” he has ever known. Katrina, 32, was accompanied by actor Aditya Roy Kapur on the reality TV show to promote their upcoming romance “Fitoor”.

This was the second time that the actress appeared on Salman’s show after her 2010 visit for the promotion of her comedy “Tees Maar Khan”. Though they were sharing the stage after a long time, the excouple’s comfort level was evident. Be it Katrina’s legpulling by Salman or her demure retorts, there was no awkwardness between them and they looked at ease with each other.

When Katrina told the “Bigg Boss Nau” finalists that if she were in their place, she would have been nervous and broken down in tears, Salman interrupted her saying, “Don’t lie.

You are one of the strongest women I have ever known.

“You were just 16-year-old when you came in the industry and reached so far. It is all your hard work, sheer hard work. If God asks me to choose between talent and hard work, I will pick the latter.”

Katrina quipped, “I also have talent, maybe a little,”

anadian singer Alanis Morissette says she "gets a sense of self" that she never had from looking at her own Instagram page. The 41-year-old recently unveiled her deep interest in psychology and spirituality, and is currently working on a book that is half memoir and half "reflections, insights, regrets, and just straight-up teaching", reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She also regularly keeps her fans updated with her progress in life through her blog and Instagram feeds, and admits that these methods of sharing have proved eye-opening for her.

"I've always had a little of a blind spot around how I am perceived. But there's uniformity now," she told Vogue magazine. "This may be a crass way of understanding it, but there's something about even looking at my own Instagram, looking at my blog, where I'm getting a sense of self that I never had," she added.

Newly-unearthed audio proves David Bowie is ‘musical-chameleon’

D

to which the 50-year-old star replied, “When one keeps working hard, the talent keeps increasing.

The whole country is in awe of you, including me!

So, obviously you are talented.” Salman’s compliment left the actress blushing.

The “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” star also praised Katrina’s dancing skills, referring to the slow, pas-

sionate song “Pashmina” from “Fitoor”, where she is seen performing with Aditya. The two actors gave a sneak peek of their dance on the stage of “Bigg Boss “Fitoor”, directed by Abhishek Kapoor, is touted as an intense love story and sticking to its theme, Salman asked Aditya and Katrina to enact a romantic scene from the movie.

So impressed was

Salman with the scene that he expressed his desire to do the same sequence with Katrina, which received a thunderous response from the audience. Later, they were joined by director Abhishek and Tabu, who plays a pivotal character in the film, which is an adaptation of Charles Dicken’s “Great Expectations”. The movie releases on February 12.

'XXX 3' is a platform for Deepika to flaunt ethnicity

Elton John: I want my kids to work for their money

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inger-songwriter Elton John wants his children to realise the worth of money and makes them work around the house to earn their share. The 68-yearold Grammy-winning singer and his husband David Furnish, who are parents to five-year-old Zachary and three-year-old Elijah, makes it sure that the kids learn the value of money, reported Female First.

I came from a council house and a working class background and I earned my money and I earned it with very hard work and I loved it. And I want them to work for their money. They both have pocket money, but they have to work in the house for it and they have to work in the garden, John said.

The music legend says he will not spoil the boys and if they want to flash out money in teenage, they will have to earn it themselves. They are spoilt enough living the way they do. If they want a new car, they'll have to pay for it, and they're going to have the second hand car to star with that's what I had. They have to have a sense of value. A silver spoon is no good to anybody and the boys are in a difficult position as sons of someone very famous, he said.

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eepika Padukone feels her Hollywood debut with Vin Diesel's 'XXX: The Return of Xander Cage' will be a platform to flaunt her ethnicity. Even after being one of the best actresses in today`s time, the 30-year-old star, in an interview, recently revealed her nervousness about the new venture and that they are roping her because of her ethnicity, reports the Dawn.

The 30-year-old actress, who announced the news of her casting last month via an ambiguous photo with Vin Diesel on the social media, will be portraying a razorsharp huntress who helps Cage during his latest mission.

Directed by DJ Caruso, the action-packed thriller also stars Samuel L Jackson, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev and Jet Li.

Prince Narula is India’s new ‘reality king’

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he winner of Bigg Boss 9 is Prince Narula, reveal our sources. With this big win, Prince has achieved his dream of being the ‘reality king’. Before entering the show hosted

by Salman Khan, Prince had expressed his desire to become the king of reality shows and he has clearly achieved it. Before winning Bigg Boss, Prince had won popular TV shows Roadies X2 and Splitsvilla.

Looking back at his journey, Prince has indeed come a long way in the house. At the premiere, when co-contestants were asked to enter the house with him, he was rejected by many; till Rochelle Maria Rao came to his rescue. Prince’s never-give-up attitude helped him get in the good books of inmates. So much so, that within the first week, many regretted not choosing him as their partner.

The hunk was also in news for his affairs in the house. His growing proximity with Yuvika Chaudhary made it to the tabloids. However, her early exit left Prince heartbroken, only to regain his casual cheery avatar after the entry of wild card contestant Nora Fatehi.

The biggest advantage that Prince had over other inmates was that he had experience of staying with unknown people courtesy other reality television shows he was part of. Salman had once slammed him for his overconfidence and, taking cue from the superstar, Prince had toned it down a notch.

avid Bowie's musical excellence is not unknown to anyone recently another facet came forth with his talent of impersonations of his rock n' roll contemporaries.

In the newly- leaked audio from 1985, Bowie can be heard goofing off in the studio, while recording the title track to the Absolute Beginners soundtrack, reports News.com.au.

The six-amazing-minute video has the Thin White Duke's spot-on impersonations of fellow music icons Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Tom Waits and Neil Young. British record producer Mark Saunders released the recording this week in the wake of the music legend's death following an 18-odd-month cancer battle.

At the end of the session, he broke into the impersonations and I realised that these might get erased at some point, so I quickly put a cassette in and hit record, Saunders writes in a blog post accompanying the newly-unearthed audio.

Justin Bieber used for ISIS propaganda

Hillstar NOW SHOWING

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ustin Bieber does sell well a purported Islamic State group Twitter account is trying to use the hashtag #Justin Bieber to get more eyeballs, especially of the teenagers, on its propaganda video. With links to the video, titled 'Message to Islamic West,' #Justin Bieber was used along with the hashtags of ISIS and ISIL, by which Islamic State is also known, reports News.com.au.

This 21-year-old heartthrob has almost 74 million Twitter followers, which seems to be the easiest way to reach the mass world-wide. The video came after a warning from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this week on improvement of online campaign against Islamic State.

The 15-minute video, which was professionally produced, includes filming of the execution of four men, who are shot in the back of the head at close range as they kneel on the ground with their hands bound. Footage of various attacks are also shown, as are appeals for new recruits.

HBO just released 3 new ‘Game of Thrones’ teasers

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BO just released three new teasers for "Game of Thrones" season six. Using Twitter's new auto-reply feature, fans are given the chance to pledge their loyalty to one of the three main Houses: Stark, Lannister, or Targaryen.

When you tweet either #HouseStark, #HouseLannister, or #HouseTargaryen at the official "Game of Thrones" handle (using @GameofThrones), the account auto-replies with a teaser related to the correspond-

ing house of choice. Each 25-second clip shows the house flag waving in front of a landscape.

HBO made an inter-

esting choice by having no one from the actual Stark, Targaryen, or Lannister family speak in their respective teasers.

Instead, as one Redditor pointed out, they highlight a direct enemy of the given house. The Boltons are partially responsible for the deaths of Robb and Catelyn Stark, and currently have Sansa hostage in a sadistic marriage to Ramsay.

Season six of "Game of Thrones" premieres on April 24. This will be the first complete season with almost no written material left to adapt, since author George R.R. Martin has yet to publish his next book.

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THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Barca back on top after Messi stunner

MADRID, JAnuARy 24 (ReuteRs): Barcelona leapfrogged Atletico Madrid to go top of La Liga after Lionel Messi's acrobatic volley secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against tenacious Malaga on Saturday.

Munir El Haddadi, deployed up front in place of the injured Neymar, fired Barca ahead in the second minute at the Rosaleda Stadium on the south coast after smart work from Luis Suarez.

However, the visitors were unable to exert their customary control and 12th-placed Malaga, whose relentless pressing unsettled the Spanish and European champions, netted a deserved equaliser in the 32nd minute. Javier Mascherano surrendered possession in a dangerous area and the ball fell to midfielder Juanpi whose shot was deflected in off the former Liverpool player as he slid across to block.

Messi was back in the side after sitting out Wednesday's 2-1 King’s Cup triumph at Athletic Bilbao as a precaution but the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner was C M Y K

Football Soccer - Malaga v Barcelona - Spanish Liga BBVA - La Rosaleda stadium, Malaga, Spain - 23/1/16 Barcelona's Lionel Messi (C) in action. (REUTERS)

largely anonymous in the first half. Barca were much improved in the second period and took a 2-1 lead in the 51st minute when Messi cracked Adriano's cross past keeper Carlos Kameni.

The Argentina captain was falling away from the ball as it dropped and he caught it perfectly on the volley to send it arrowing into the corner for his 11th goal of an injury-disrupted

campaign.

Barca keeper Claudio Bravo then did well to palm away a shot from Ignacio Camacho in the 73rd minute and Kameni denied Messi a second with a su-

Djokovic survives scare, Federer races to quarters Sharapova to face off against Serena Roger Federer

perb one-handed save two minutes from time.

"We perhaps didn't deserve to be drawing 1-1 at the break considering what we did and what they did in the first half," Barca captain

Dimapur Premier League T20 results Match – I Royal Tigers beat Kohima Hornbills by 70 runs Match – II Victoria Stars CC beat Lhomithi Knights by 5 wickets Match –III Royal Scotts beat Wiskers CC by 5 wickets Semi finals on Jan 25 Flamingoz SC Ns Royal Scotts (Delhi): 9:00am

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Dimapur Royals Vs Victoria Stars: 12:30pm

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Novak Djokovic

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shows how difficult it is to win in La Liga."

LATE GOAL Barca, who have a game in hand over their rivals, have 48 points with just over half the season played,

Naga girl wins AITA U-16 Tennis Tourney DIMAPuR, JAnuARy 24 (Mexn): Lenien Jamir, a Naga girl who plays for Assam, clinched top honours in both the girls’ singles and doubles categories at the SAI-AITA Super Series Under-16 Tennis Tournament held at the All Assam Tennis Association complex, Guwahati.

In the girls’ singles final, Lenien defeated fellow state teammate Raina Zaffar in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Partnering with her singles final opponent, Lenien and Raina trounced Khushi Shah (Gujarat) and Aishwarya Andalkar (Maharashtra) in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 for the doubles title.

The SAI-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament for both boys and girls below 16 years of age was a national ranking tournament of the All India Tennis Association organized by the All Assam Tennis Association. The tournament, played from January 18 to 22 was also a test event for South Raina Zaffar (Left) and Lenien Jamir (Right).

Asian games.

SA prodigy Rabada rocks England with 7 wickets

Maria Sharapova

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Andres Iniesta told Spanish television. "We didn't feel comfortable and Malaga were very well organised and made the most of it when we gave the ball away," added the Spain international. "It

one ahead of Atletico before Diego Simeone's side host seventh-placed Sevilla on Sunday. Real Madrid are four points adrift of Atletico in third place ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Betis.

Fourth-placed Villarreal missed a chance to draw level on points with Real when they needed a late goal from defender Mateo Musacchio to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw at midtable Espanyol.

Felipe Caicedo put Espanyol ahead in the fourth minute at their Cornella-El Prat stadium in Barcelona before Manuel Trigueros levelled 20 minutes later.

Gerard Moreno, who earned a second yellow card and was sent off a minute from time, made it 2-1 to the home side in the 40th minute and Musacchio headed in from an 88th-minute corner. Celta Vigo, who are fifth, failed to take advantage of Villarreal's stumble when they were beaten 3-0 at Rayo Vallecano.

Rayo and fellow strugglers Granada climbed out of the relegation places after Granada won 3-2 at home to Getafe.

MeLBOuRne, JAnuARy 24 (AP): In the shadows of a sporting shrine where centuries are usually celebrated, Novak Djokovic reached an unprecedented 100 that took a touch of the glow off his streak of reaching the quarterfinals at a 27th consecutive major.

That's rarified territory for the five-time and defending champion, equaling Jimmy Connors' career mark of consecutive quarterfinals - only Roger Federer has more with his 36. ''These are the tournaments that we value the most and to be able to always come up with the best performance in the Grand Slams, of course I'm very proud of it and hopefully I can keep going,'' Djokovic said after holding off Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Sunday at the Australian Open. He will next meet No. 7 Kei Nishikori, who beat No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Five-time champion Federer won the last match of the night, beating No. 15-seeded David Goffin 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to secure a quarterfinal against No. 6 Tomas Berdych, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 winner over Roberto Bautista Agut.

Djokovic's 100 unforced errors were the most startling statistic of the day.

He said he expected it to be

tough against Simon, who is relentless in long rallies, but couldn't remember such a high number of errors. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the home of Australian cricket across the train tracks from Melbourne Park, 100 is a cherished number for runs scored by a batsman. That's not the case for the unforced errors columns at the national tennis center. ''No, I don't think I've had any number close to 100,'' he said. ''In terms of the level that I've played, it's the match to forget for me.''

The drama kept building after a relatively routine start to Day 7, when six-time champion Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova confirmed their quarterfinal date with straight-set wins, ensuring a rematch between last year's finalists.

Djokovic followed them on court, and needed 4 hours, 32 minutes, enduring relentless and long rallies before beating 31-yearold Simon.

And then No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanksa rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to win 6-7 (6), 6-1, 7-5 against Anna-Lena Friedsam, who finished the last two games hobbling and in tears, and also conceded a point penalty on her last serve, after taking a medical timeout for what appeared to be cramps.

Radwanska next plays No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, who had an 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova.

Djokovic only lost one match in a Grand Slam last year - the French Open final - and for the sixth straight major hadn't dropped a set in reaching the fourth round. Despite all that, he was ready to take tips from the public after his errorstrewn performance.

A man in the crowd yelled out during the post-match interview that Djokovic should give up on the drop shots - some of which were incredibly ill-advised and poorly executed. ''OK, thanks buddy,'' Djokovic deadpanned. ''I hate to say, but you are absolutely right.''

Simon entered the match with a 1-9 win-loss record against Djokovic, but thought he'd worked out a way to beat the Serbian star by consistently and desperately keeping the rallies alive. ''I know a lot of players wanted me to win this match,'' the 31-year-old Frenchman said. ''A lot of players will feel better with Novak out of the draw.''

That is Williams' status on the women's side.

The 21-time major winner had a 55-minute, 6-2, 6-1 win over Margarita Gaspa-

ryan to set up a big match against Sharapova, a player she has beaten in 18 of their 20 matches.

Fifth-seeded Sharapova had a career-high 21 aces and hit 58 winners in her 7-5, 7-5 win over Belinda Bencic.

Williams won 26 matches in a row at the majors last season, capturing the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles and reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open before a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci ended her run for the season slam.

That's the driving factor here. ''For my whole career I have been motivated by losses. So that's just been my thing,'' she said. ''So each time I take a loss, I feel like I get better.''

Sharapova won consecutive matches against Williams in 2004, but has lost all 17 meetings since. It's a statistic she tries to block from her mind. ''I got myself into the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam,'' the 2008 Australian Open champion said. ''There's no reason I shouldn't be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It's only going to be tougher, especially against Serena.''

CentuRIOn, JAnuARy 24 (AFP): South African fast bowling prodigy Kagiso Rabada took seven wickets to put South Africa on top on the third day of the fourth and final Test against England at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

England were all out for 342 soon after tea, still 133 runs behind South Africa's first innings total of 475.

Rabada, 20, took seven for 112, including a devastating burst of three wickets in 12 balls shortly before lunch. Rabada dismissed Joe Root, James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow in quick succession - all caught behind by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock - to claim his second five-wicket haul in successive matches.

He followed up by ending an aggressive innings of 33 by Ben Stokes, who was caught at first slip by Hashim Amla off the sec-

Kagiso Rabada celebrates the dismissal of Ben Stokes in Centurion on January 24. (AFP Photo)

ond delivery with the second new ball.

Chris Woakes was dropped by a leaping De Kock off Morne Morkel when he had one but went on to score 26, helping Moeen Ali add 43 for the

eighth wicket, before he was caught at slip in parttime off-spinner JP Duminy's first over.

Rabada then dismissed Stuart Broad for 5 before Ali was last out for 61.

Root, who hit a century

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and two fifties in the first three Tests, made 76 off 128 balls with 11 fours before edging Rabada to wicketkeeper De Kock.

Batting conditions were tricky under a heavily overcast sky on a pitch with occasional variable bounce but England lost only one wicket before Rabada's burst. Alastair Cook and Root made their third wicket stand worth 99 with largely watchful batting, adding 37 runs in an hour before Morne Morkel dismissed Cook. The tall fast bowler, who had been wayward, followed up a wretched wide with a superb delivery from around the wicket which squared up Cook, straightened off the pitch and found the outside edge for wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock to take the catch.

Cook made 76 off 186 balls with 11 fours.

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