January 9th, 2016

C M Y K

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SaturDaY • JanuarY 09 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 7 • 12 PAGes • 5

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Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are — Alfred Austin MPs, health officials spar over tobacco warnings PaGE 08

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Kiphire | January 8

Kiphire is considered as the largest maize grower and producing district in the State. For nearly a decade now, farmers from this remote district of Nagaland produce at least 10-12 lakh kilos of surplus maize from one jhum cycle.

Across India, maize production is growing faster than that of all other cereals, thanks to its growing demand as poultry feed, as well as for human and inForget the earth quake, if dustrial consumption. our corrupt leaders don’t Farmers here grow turn to God, next time naga two varieties of maize- the people will get tsunami. indigenous one which is white in color and the yelThe Morung Express low variety provided by Poll QuEsTion the agriculture department. Even though the Vote on www.morungexpress.com indigenous maize variety sMs your answer to 9862574165 is known for being pest reWill 2016 be the year sistant and can be stored of the great Change (preserved) for a couple in Nagaland? Why? of years, it fetches lesser amount.

Yes no others The farmers therefore grow the variety provided by the department which however cannot be stored

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (IANS): A film inspired by the incidents of racism against northeast Indians in their own country will go on floors this summer. To be helmed by Sidhant Saheb and produced by BKT Academy & Films Pvt. Ltd., a media house of films, events and training, the film will be shot here, in Mumbai and Punjab. The film’s shooting will also take place in Arunachal Pradesh - hometown of Nido Tania, a student who died following his injuries in an assault in a market here in 2014.

“We are working on a number of subjects and racial discrimination faced by people of northeast India is one of them. We will start shooting from May or June. We are still working on the story. The title and the cast are yet to be finalised,” Saheb told IANS. According to a 2014 survey, over 50 percent people from the region feel that discrimination is a reality in the national capital.

WHO approves 3rd cholera vaccine producer

C M Y K

GENEVA, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): A third producer of oral cholera vaccine has been approved that is expected to provide 3 million doses in 2016, the World Health Organization said on Friday, doubling the world’s stockpile against a disease that can kill within hours.

EuBiologics, a South Korea-based producer, joins Shantha Biotechnics of Sanofi Pasteur as a pre-qualified supplier, WHO expert Stephen Martin told a news briefing. The third producer, which currently does not have doses in the stockpile, is Sweden’s Crucell, he said.

“It has future potential in the next 3-4 years for a much greater increase in vaccine production,” he said. A vaccine campaign will begin in Haiti this month, targeting some 240,000 people, he added.

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Kiphire maize opens up carbon footprint debate lipichem

Film on racism against NE people in offing

Barcelona dominate UEFA’s 2015 Team of the Year

‘Develop sense of belongingness’

even for a few months.

Not even a single processing unit With not even a single processing unit in the district, the harvested crops are sold to local traders at a giveaway price, who then transport it to the commercial hub Dimapur.

The harvests have been so bountiful over the years that traders are willing to shell out advance payment to farmers and book the produce well ahead of harvest time to make sure that they get the required share for consignment.

Traders are known to buy the corn at Rs 10-11 per kilo from the field and then sell it at Rs 12-13 per kilo in Dimapur. The maize of Kiphire is purely organic since farmers shy away from pesticides or fertilizers.

Besides the sad irony that a district in Nagaland producing such large volume of maize would not even have a small processing unit, this is a bit of good news for the State which is not able to stand on its own

cessed in different factories, exported to neighboring states and back home (Kiphire) in the form of livestock feeds or for human consumption, eg flour-which also burns around 500-600 liters of fuel in a year.

These activities creating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could be avoided if the State government is industrious or enterprising enough to set up small corn processing units which are environmentally friendly and at the same time train local youth to run these units, environmentalists suggest.

Not only will it help in reducing the carbon emisPost harvest of Maize in Kiphire. sion but it will also boost the economy of the locals, feet despite rich natural re- to be transported outside. the maize. sources handed on a plate.

Asserting on how maize Agricultural practices the district and the State, production was leaving along with domestic fos- they added.

Is Kiphire maize leaving carbon footprints, environ- sil fuel combustion have carbon footprints? mentalists have calculated a major impact on the Maize produces oxygen, From an environmen- that in the course of 315 global C and nitrogen (N) absorbs carbon gas If the footprints of talist’s perspective, there kilometers of journey be- cycles, possible leading to is a major side-effect over tween Kiphire and Dima- the global temperature in- maize produce from Kipsuch large production of pur, traders burn around crease of up to 0.17 C per hire district is carbon maize in a district where 3500-4000 liters of fossil decade since 1950, studies emission, it also cannot be overlooked that maize is more than 80% of the pro- fuel (petrol or diesel) in one have revealed. duce are surplus and have season while transporting This maize is then pro- deemed as the ”air purifier”

and much more efficient than forestland, the timehonoured “green lung”.

Maize produces a great deal of oxygen, absorbs large quantities of carbon gas and scavenges carbon from carbon gas in the soil, stopping air pollution having a negative impact on the greenhouse effect. As maize grows, it absorbs substantial quantities of nitrates absorbed from the soil.

Studies have found that one hectare of maize provides four times more oxygen than a hectare of forestland.

At the same time it absorbs four times more carbon gas, i.e. between 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare.

Even after the plant has “died” and decomposes after harvest, it still has a positive effect, keeping the carbon captive in the soil.

Some key points here for the Nagaland government would be to assess the feasibility of maize processing in the State, identify suitable technology and promote processing of this crop in to value added products.

After forty years, India set to re-open Pakistan pledges to cooperate commercial coal mining to private firms with Indian attack investigation

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): India is getting ready to open up commercial coal mining to private companies for the first time in four decades, with the aim of shifting the world’s third-biggest coal importer towards energy self-sufficiency.

Anil Swarup, the country’s top coal bureaucrat, told Reuters on Friday the government has identified mines it plans to auction, and is now finalising other terms such as eligibility criteria for companies to take part and whether and how to set up revenue sharing.

He said a plan should be ready in the 2-3 months, setting a clear timeline on a plan that has previously only been vaguely marked out.

India has an ambitious plan to double its coal production to 1.5 billion tonnes a year by 2020, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to bring power to 300 million people who live without electricity, and give a boost to

manufacturing.

It would also support the government’s efforts to develop eastern parts of the country, which are resource-rich and hold most of India’s coal reserves but have lagged the western states in development.

State-owned Coal India is on track to produce 1 billion tonnes a year by the end of this decade, and India is counting on private firms to produce the remaining 500 million tones - which may prove a tough target to achieve.

As of now, only Coal India and a small governmentowned company are allowed to mine and sell coal in India.

“It’s imperative that India opens up the sector so that private companies can bring in new technologies and the efficiencies that we keep talking about,” said Dipesh Dipu at energy-focused Jenissi Management Consultants. “But I don’t think private companies will be able to produce more than 100 million tonnes this decade as the process has

yet to start.”

The move is likely to attract coal block bids from Indian conglomerates such as the Adani Group and GVK, but the government may find it harder to lure big multinational miners such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Peabody Energy. Rio Tinto did not respond to requests for comment.

Coal prices are at multiyear lows amid global oversupply, and foreign companies have faced obstacles to investing in India, such as problems in getting land and environmental approvals. Some private companies also worry that the best quality mines would be left for Coal India.

FINALISING TERMS Swarup was handpicked

by Modi to lead a turnaround in the coal sector soon after the prime minister came to power in 2014.

Under Swarup’s watch, Coal India has seen record production growth, and the

government auctioned off a series of coal blocks successfully. Coal imports fell for a sixth straight month in December.

Until last year, India spent around $16 billion a year importing foreign coal, even though it sits on the world’s fifth-biggest reserves of more than 300 billion tonnes. Swarup said there were still some aspects of the plan to bring in private players that needed to be examined carefully.

The government, for example, has to make sure that companies do not under-report sales if a revenue-sharing model is adopted, he said.

Companies can do that by selling coal to their units at discounted rates, and by calculating the government’s share based on that instead of the market price.

Swarup declined to say where the identified mines were located. Most of India’s coal is in the eastern states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

ISLAMABAD, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): Pakistan’s prime minister and army chief pledged on Friday to cooperate fully with India on investigations into an attack on an Indian air base last week, as the fate of scheduled talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours remains uncertain.

The comments come a day after India called on Pakistani authorities for “prompt and decisive” action against militants it blames for the weekend attack that killed seven Indian military personnel and wounded 22.

Participants at a high-level meeting in Islamabad “reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to cooperate with India to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s office said in a statement.

The meeting was also attended

by Army Chief Raheel Sharif, the head of the military’s powerful InterServices Intelligence (ISI) Rizwan Akhtar, and several top civilian and military officials.

India says it gave Pakistan “specific and actionable information”

regarding the Pathankot air base attack on Tuesday.

In its statement, Sharif’s office said the meeting had reviewed the progress on the information received from India and would stay in touch with the Indian government.

A meeting between the two countries’ foreign secretaries was scheduled for January 15, but it is unclear if it will go ahead.

The fate of the talks rested on Pakistan’s response to the information, Indian government spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Thursday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharif have been struggling to keep their renewed dialogue, announced last month, on track in the wake of the attack.

Attempts to restart talks between India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars since becoming separate countries in 1947, have often been derailed by similar past attacks.

Pakistan’s leadership on Friday said it hoped “the two countries would remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process” in the wake of the attack.

Human imprint has thrust Earth Chopper tail landing at Kiphire helipad into new geological epoch successful; service set to resume OSLO, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): The indelible imprint left by human beings on Earth has become so clear that it justifies naming a new geological epoch after mankind, experts said on Thursday.

The dawn of the “Anthropocene” would signal the end of the Holocene epoch, considered to have begun 11,700 years ago at the end of the Ice Age. The new term, suggested in 2000, is based on the Greek word “anthropos”, meaning “man”.

“Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth,” said a report in the journal Science by an international team led by Colin Waters of the British Geological Survey.

“We are becoming a geological agent in ourselves,” Waters told Reuters.

The start date could be around the mid-20th century, the authors wrote.

They said the atomic age, starting with a bomb test in New Mexico in the United States on July 16, 1945, and the post-war leap in mining, industry, farming and use of manmade materials such as concrete or plastics all left geological traces.

Concrete, invented by the Romans, was now so ubiquitous that it would amount to one kg (2.2 lbs) for every

square metre (11 sq feet) of the planet’s surface if spread out evenly, they said.

Any formal recommendation to adopt the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch would require years of extra research, partly to pin down a start date, Waters said.

Some experts reckon the Anthropocene began with Europe’s Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Others would give it a more widespread origin, dating it from the spread of agriculture several thousand years ago.

“Any definition will inform the stories that we tell about human development,” said Professor Simon Lewis of University College London, who was not involved in the study. He favours 1610 as a start date, marking the spread of colonialism, disease and trade to the Americas from Europe.

Erle Ellis of the University of Maryland, a co-author of the study released on Thursday, said pinning down the Anthropocene would transform understanding of humanity’s role on the planet.

He said it was a “challenge no smaller than a second Copernican revolution”. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus helped show the Earth rotates around the sun.

our Correspondent Kiphire | January 8

A Pawan Hans chopper successfully carried out a trial landing at the freshly cemented Kiphire helipad on Friday.

Following the crash-landing of a chopper at Meluri on November 24, 2015, chopper service to Kiphire district was suspended for more than a month because the helipad was not cemented.

Nine people were injured during the crash-landing at Meluri helipad. After a thick cloud of dust kicked up by the rotor from the un-cemented surface of the helipad, the pilot had reportedly lost control of the chopper.

Friday’s the trial landing was witnessed by the district administration, DBs, NGOs and the NST department officials. The cementing of the 20 sq meter helipad was financed by power minister Kipili Sangtam and work supervised by Likhumse, PS to the minister along with party workers.

NST department officials said chopper service could have been suspended for more days had the power minister not taken personal initiative.

With the successful trial landing, choppers service is expected to resume without delay. Since the suspension of

The Pawan Hans chopper after a successful trial landing at Kiphire helipad.

the chopper service, Kiphire citizens have been facing a lot of inconveniences for need of a quicker transport, particularly in times of emergency.

A number of patients who were required to undergo treatment outside of the district were compelled to suffer

untold miseries due to the suspension of the chopper service, department officials said.

Mention may be made that it takes 10-12 hours by-road to reach Kiphire from Dimapur. It takes only 45 minutes in a chopper.

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saturDaY 09•01•2016

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

naga youths to join indian army felicitated Peren, January 8 (DIPr): Felicitation Programme in honour of the selected Naga youths for Indian Army was held on January 4 at the premises of the DC Office Complex, Peren Nagaland, with Peter Lichamo, Deputy Commissioner Peren as the chief guest.

In his speech, the chief guest congratulated the selected Naga youths who qualified for the prestigious Indian Army Selection Exam.

In a major breakthrough and true to the Naga Martial legacy, seven Naga youths hailing from Peren district and one from Wokha, who got pre-recruitment training by 18 Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ 6 Sector Assam Rifles, cleared Indian Army Selection Exam. The pre-recruitment camp enabled Naga Youth to emerge triumphant in the recruitment rally.

Felicitation ceremony to this effect was organized at New DC

Complex, Peren, which was attended by 18 Assam Rifles prerecruitment team headed by Commandant 18 Assam Rifles, eight selected youth along with their parents, family members and prominent personalities from their villages and the civil administration.

Waluniba resident of Kelingmen, one of the successful candidates expressed his gratitude for 18 Assam Rifles as he stated during the felicitation ceremony that

without the support of Security Force his success would not have been possible. He stated that he would always remain indebted to the 18 Assam Rifles for making his career.

Onentiba, father of Purtemjen Jamir, was literally in tears while witnessing the felicitation ceremony done for his son as he expressed that he could have never imagined in his dreams that he would be part of this august gathering and that too because of his

son’s achievement for making it into the Armed Forces.

Locals along with Security Forces were elated by the achievement as it clearly showed that the Naga Youth are putting their hearts and soul to join the mainstream and these boys have become the role model for the entire youth of Peren district.

These eight heroes thereafter gave a motivational talk in various local Schools at Peren, Jalukie and Athibung.

Local Ground at Peshu inaugurated Mangkolemba SDPDB meeting held

Tuensang, January 8 (DIPr): Parliamentary Secretary for Land Resources, Village Guards, Women Resource Development, L. Khumo inaugurated the public ground at Peshu on January 5. He also inaugurated the 15th Peshu Students’ Union Silver Jubilee Memorial Football Tournament at Local Ground Peshu as Chief Guest.

He expressed his appreciation to the organising committee for introducing different events in order to bring different villages to get to know one another as well as to develop mutual understanding among the players. He added that

this tournament would be a platform for all the neighbouring villages to rekindle friendship and understanding.

He further said that through sports we tend to develop unity and understanding. As such, he urged the players to abstain from using tobacco/alcohol. He also encouraged the players to improve themselves so as to represent the state at the national and international level.

Welcome address was delivered by VCC Peshu. Thace chaired the program while special song was presented by Thingpis. A short speech was delivered by president (PSE) VDB Secretary.

MangkoLeMba, January 8 (DIPr): The monthly meeting of the Mangkolemba Sub Division Planning and Development Board was held on January 5 at ADC office conference hall.

ADC, T. Imtiwabang Aier welcomed all the members and also introduced and welcomed the new SBI Manager, Kreho Athili to the house and further reviewed the last meeting minutes.

Deliberating on the

agendas viz., to provide NST Bus service from Longchem to Mokokchung and Dimapur and to construct a protection wall at GPS Dibuia, the Board approved to forward the proposed agendas to the higher authority for further necessary action.

During the meeting it was decided that the SDPDB members would be visiting the villages under Mangkolemba Sub-Division to know the manage-

ment and usage of department funds sanctioned, starting from February. The members would first begin the visits from Alongkima on February 6.

Imtiwapang Aier further directed all the village councils under the Sub-division to inform the villagers and public to abstain from hunting of wild animals and also the endangered hornbill bird which has been sighted in the area.

Singti Area student’s Union session held

Langzanger, January 8 (Mexn): The 19th general session of the Singti Area Students Union (SASU) was held successful at Langzanger Village from January 5 to 7. Aound 200 delegates from six units attended the session.

The chief guest of the general session Pitiongse, Dy. Commissioner, Excise Nagaland, while hoisting the flag asked the students to learn how to live in harmony with neighboring villages and brothers so that peace and progress is seen in the area. He encouraged the students to live with time in order to catch up with the fast changing world and added that the primary role of the students is to study so one should know how to priorities in order to be successful.

Cultural chief guest Lipio, Finance secretary USLP, while addressing

the gathering said, each one is defined by one’s own culture and it is only through culture you are known as person, without which you are not worth living. He also asked the students to learn traditional songs; folk stories as this are the treasure in one’s life. Stressing on importance of culture he said, today many students and youngsters do not know ones culture and tradition and because of which rights is also being denied and asked the students to be more aware of one’s culture and tradition along with education.

Tsointhe, Secretary IRCS Kiphire spoke on, ‘Respect diversity, remake Singti’, while Sethricho ADC DMA (SSA) spoke on ‘Education; linking individual and society’. Other highlight of the three day programme was sports, literary, and cultural competition.

Meluri- land of the Pochury nagas Meluri under Phek District is inhabited by the Pochury Nagas. The main headquarter of the region is Meluri town and it comprises of 28 recognised villages. Here is a glimpse of some of the villages and scenic beauty of Meluri. Apart from its rich natural and mineral resources such as, Iron, Chromium, Limestone, Nickel, Cobalt, Copper, Chromite etc, Meluri also offers one of the most idyllic landscapes in Nagaland. Photo by Vibi Yhohka

Children at Wuzu village

A child looks out of the kitchen in Wuzu village

Cloud filled mountains from Phokhungri

View of a village in Meluri

Phokhungri village is one of the last village under Phek District that borders Myanmar

The Guesthouse at Shilloi Lake

Shilloi Lake

A lone hunter

SaturDaY 09 •01•2016

NORTH-EAST

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

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Poumai Thounii celebration concludes 1

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1. A cultural troupe performing at the Poumai Thounii celebration held at Senapati.

2. A man in traditional attire blows a horn.

3. Winners of the Poumai Thounii festival wrestling competition.

4. Winners of the Miss Poumai Thounii competetion

be fostered to strengthen the tribe, the Naga people and India as a whole. He informed that the Government of India is seriously working for the development of Northeast and also towards solution to the Naga issue.

Vice president Naga Hoho, Samsong Raimai in his address urged the participants to preserve culture as people are lost without their identity. Manipur MLA, Dr. V. Alexander Pao address encouraged the gathering to inculcate the habit of hard working passed down by the forefathers. He urged the com-

munity to set good example to the neighbors and work together with unity.

The inaugural session was led by Johnson Raih, welcome to the thounii celebration by Koide village council, invocation prayer

by Rev. Fr. Simon Thaikho, welcome address by Akha Dani president PNU, special songs were presented by Life pages, Mt. Everest college students and Lao Radiant HR.Sc.school, cultural dance by Laii dance troupe, vote of thanks proposed by Ashipri Zho and closing pronounced by Rev. H. Gideon.

Earlier, the Chief Guest

Javedkar discourages Jhum cultivation in Manipur Our Correspondent

unveiled the monolith of the festival, released the souvenir and inaugurated the cultural fair followed by inspection of 24 villages exhibition and demonstration of Poumai indigenous products. Around 15,000 people attended the celebration including a host of dignitaries, former ministers, MLAs, social workers, public, leaders of various organizations and others.

Khopu wins Poumai Thounii wrestling PS Khopu from Phuba village emerged as champion of the Poumai Thounii

festival wrestling competition. He was awarded Rs. 1, 00,000 and a certificate. Sh. Rolland of Tungam village, H. John of Saranamai village and S. Veinii from Tungjoy village bagged the second, third and fourth prize and received a sum of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000 and Rs.20,000 respectively. Chairman ADC Senapati, M.L. Markson graced the wrestling com-

petition as the chief guest.

In his address urged the gathering to show good example to neighbors and also encouraged to be an agent of unity in the community.

The wrestling event was led

by S.P. Raile, special presentations by Rahbo band and Maiden group, and invocation prayer by Rev. D.L. Sapuni. Altogether 16 wrestlers from three regions of

Imphal-Mandalay bus service Assam Rifles colonel hits infrastructure roadblock injured as jawan fires

In spite of this, the InImphal, January 8 travel documents for binge (IanS): India's plans to shopping. During his vis- dia-Burma Friendship Asremove travel bottlenecks it to Myanmar last year, sociation has been organisUnion Minister of State for Environment, with Myanmar, with a bus Prime Minister Narendra ing tour packages and has Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Jaservice from this Manipur Modi had signed an agree- been receiving encouragvedkar here on Friday discouraged Jhum capital to Mandalay ap- ment with its leaders to ing response. Backpackers farming saying such a practice affects the pears to be faced with a construct 71 bridges along have also been travelling environment. major impediment - poor the road where the Indian by themselves along this The Union Forest Minister, who arrived road conditions along the buses will ply. The Myan- route. Besides, several ofin Imphal in a two-day visit to the state, border areas - but this has marese government has ficials, tourists and traders was received by Manipur BJP president not affected the thriving in- started construction of two from Myanmar and ThaiTh Chaoba, party MLAs and general secteraction across the border. bridges. The Indian cabi- land often come to Imphal retary M Ashinikumar at Imphal Airport.

Official indications are net has also sanctioned for government-sponsored He met top leaders of the state BJP at the that the proposed service Rs.371.58 crore ($55 mil- festivals. party office and discussed the current situKulachandra Potsangwill be put off for an indefi- lion) for constructing the ation of the state. The Forest Minister later remaining 69 bridges. bam, who has taken sevnite period. called on Manipur Governor V ShanmuThe construction will eral cultural troupes from "The government has ganathan at the Raj Bhavan. been informed of the bad be supervised by the In- Imphal to Myanmar, said: Javedkar urged upon farmers in the hill road condition along the dian embassy in Myanmar. "There is always electricdistricts of Manipur to stop shifting cultiborder areas," Manipur Construction material, la- trifying response from vation by finding new ways of living and Chief Secretary O. Nabak- bour and machineary will people. It may be because expressed his concern about the impacts ishore told IANS. India be transported from India of the fact that the people of such farming on environment. planned to introduce the to Myanmar through the would like to meet ManiHe stated that shifting cultivation affects Imphal-Mandalay bus ser- 110-km-long NH 102 from puri origin Myanmarese the soil and environment and hence this vice over a distance of 580 Imphal. "It will take some there." practice should be discouraged now. In km as a part of its Look East decades since the two naNorth East, 85 percent of the total cultivapolicy, hoping this would tional highways connecttion is by Jhum farming. evoke a good response from ing Manipur with Assam The Union Minister interacted with a the people and go a long see general strikes and way in promoting tourism. blockades round the year.

Besides, it would help Besides, during the rainy Couple looking to legalising border trade, season the trucks cannot rent a residential as various goods could be ply along these mountain house with private brought straight to Moreh highways due to rockslides. walled compound in India and Namphalong All projects in Manipur are in Myanmar. As it is, hun- far behind the schedule for in and around Didreds of Indian tourists these reasons," a worred mapur.

Speaker Ramendra mittee member Manoran- and traders travel to Nam- official said, speaking on aGartala, January Nath said he had disaljan Acharjee was expelled 8 (ptI): Tripura Assembly phalong every day without condition of anonymity.

Please Contact: today witnessed uproari- lowed the motion pro- from the party on charges 8259979363 of moral turpitude on Deous scenes over the Oppo- posed by Burman.

The opposition mem- cember 10 last. sition's demand for arrest GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND "In view of an allegation of a former MLA of ruling bers shouted and at one CPI-M in an alleged case of point of time trooped into of moral degradation of the NAGALAND STATE TRANSPORT DRIVERS' TRAINING INSTITUTE the well as they tried to MLA of Birganj constituenmolestation.

VIRAZOUMA (7TH MILE) DIMAPUR: NAGALAND Raising the issue after show some documents to cy, Manoranjan Acharjee, NO: NST/DTI/TRG-5/2015-16/2471-73 Dated:- 08/01/16 the Question Hour, Leader the Speaker. Asking rea- party's state committee of Opposition Sudip Roy sons for not arresting the conducted an inquiry into First of its kind 'Drivers' Training Institute" in North-East India Burman asked the Speaker former legislator, opposi- the allegation and asked A joint venture of "Nagaland State Transport and Tata Motors" why former MLA Manoran- tion members demanded him to resign from the post jan Acharjee was not arrest- that chief minister Manik of MLA. He also submitted Special features: 1. Trainees are First made to proceed on Electronic Simulator. ed despite registration of an Sarkar, who also holds the the resignation from the 2. Separate Driving Track provided for Male/Female Trainees.

Home department portfo- post of MLA to the state AsFIR against him.

3. Driving track length – 2.3 km. sembly," a party statement The FIR, lodged last lio, make a statement.

4. Dual Steering System for Trainees.

However, after 10 had said on December 10. month, had accused Acha5. Faculty:- Driver Supervisors, Automobile Engineers and MV Acharjee had resigned rjee of raping an eight-year- minutes, the Speaker adlegal expert. old girl inside the party office journed the House for an from the Assembly on the ADVERTISEMENT in Gomati district's Amarpur. hour. CPI (M) state com- same day last month.

Applications are invited from interested Male/Female candidates for under-going Motor Vehicle Driving Training in the “NST Drivers’ Training Institute” Virazouma (7th Mile) Dimapur.

Courses Offered: Duration 1. Light Motor Vehicle - 1(one) month.

GuWahatI, January 8 (Ie): Six has informed us that the central govern2. Heavy Motor Vehicle - 3 (Three) month. months after the BJP government at the ment is winding up the scheme with imConditions & Eligibility Criteria Centre announced winding up a central- mediate effect,” Assam CM Gogoi said in a 1. The age of candidate must be 18(eighteen) years and above on the date of ly funded programme of setting up 6,000 statement on Friday. admission.

Gogoi said that the Assam government model schools in backward areas across 2. Candidates applying for Heavy Motor Vehicle must possess Light Motor the country, the Congress government in had already received Rs 111 crore out of toVehicle driving License.

Assam on Friday announced it would run tal of Rs 293 crore as advance for construc3. Seats are limited and Admission will be on ‘First Come First’ Basis. tion of 14 such model schools in Assam.

14 such schools with its own funds.

4. Hostel Facility is available for Male Trainees.

“It was a highly deplorable decision of “But with the scheme shut down, con5. Application Form will be available at Drivers’ Training Institute Virazouma (7th Mile) Dimapur from the date of Publication of this Advertisement. the BJP-led government at the Centre to struction of the 14 schools has remained 6. Last date of receipt of application Forms: -30/01/16. wash its hands off an ambitious scheme incomplete,” Gogoi said.

7. Training Classes will commence w.e.f.01/02/16.

“While the BJP-led government’s deof setting up 6,000 model schools for poor 8. For enquiries and application Forms contact the Institute Office on all workchildren in the backward areas of the cision to wind up this scheme has come ing days or Call:- +91 09436417130. country. The scheme, which was launched as a bolt from the blue for hundreds of Sd/in 2007 by the then prime minister Man- students from poor families of the back(BENDANGTOSHI) mohan Singh, was supposed to be sup- ward areas, we have decided to complete Deputy General Manager, ported on a 90:10 ratio by the Centre till construction and run these 14 schools NST, Drivers' Training Institute Virazouma (7th Mile) 2017-18. But union HRD minister Smriti with funds from the state government,” Dimapur, Nagaland Zubin Irani by a letter dated July 25, 2015 the chief minister said.

Imphal | January 8

number of farmers from different districts of the state at Forest Department, Sanjenthong here. Central Forest Ministry’s Additional Director M Anilkumar, Manipur Forest Minister Th Debendra Singh and other officials were present during the interaction.

The visiting Forest Minister later visited Ima Keithel (women market) in Khwairamband Keithel, which was extensively damaged by the recent earthquake.

Javedkar talked to women protesters at the market complex. The women vendors have been demanding construction of new buildings of the Ima Keithel which has three markets.

“I’m quite surprised to see the damaged Ima Keithel which is only five years old.

Buildings which are about 60 years old in the state were reported untouched by the January 4 tremor,” he said.

“I’ve reported the concerned ministry about the damage,” he added.

Javedkar also visited the sacred Kangla Fort and had a glimpse of Kangla Sha (dragon statue) inside the fort. Kangla was the ancient capital of Manipur kingdom. The minister planted saplings inside the fort.

Arrest of former CPI-M MLA demanded in Tripura Assembly

Assam to run model schools with own funds

Poumai tribe competed for (Purul) and Rose (Oinam) and received Rs. 50,000 and the title.

Rs. 30,000 respectively. The other individual title winners Vasonela crowned are:MissCongenialitybagged Miss Poumai Thounii 19-yr-old Vasonela, a BA by Paosei Paokhomai, Miss 2nd semester student of Mt. perfect ten bagged by Teveine Everest College Senapati, Bliss, Miss Catwalk bagged was crowned Miss Poumai by Paone Pao, Miss popular Thounii. She walked home by Athine, and Miss photoricher with Rs. 1, 00,000. The genic bagged by Litsiiveihrii 1st and 2nd runners-up prize Domeh. All of them received were bagged by Taiveinai a sum of Rs. 10,000 each.

WANTED

Imphal, January 8 (ptI): A colonel-rank officer of Assam Rifles was today injured when a jawan opened fire at a camp at Sendra near Loktak Lake in Manipur, army officials said here. The bullets fired by the jawan hit a hand and leg of Colonel Neeraj. The officials said the jawan was overpowered by others present there. It was not immediately known what provoked the jawan to fire, they said. The injured colonel was taken to hospital where he was operated. His condition is stated to be stable.

JOB VACCANCY

 Showroom Executive : - 2Nos  Sales Consultant (Field) Mokokchung : - 2Nos Wokha : - 2Nos Kohima : - 4Nos  Tele Caller(Female) : - 2Nos  Back Office Executive : - 2Nos Qualifications – 10 + 2 + 3 (MS Office Basic knowledge) Salary – 4K to 8K Lozi Hyundai, New Secretariat Road, Kohima, Contact: - 8575015505 Email: - lozihyundaisales@gmail.com Date of Interview – 11/01/2016 & 12/01/2016 BORDER ROADS ORGANISATION NOTICE INVITING TENDER (NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING)

1. The Commander 15 BRTF, PIN-930 015, C/O 99 APO on behalf of President of India invites tender(s) from the eligible contractors for the following work(s) Particular of work

Cost &Time of work (a) Cost : `. 80.15 lakh (b) Period of completion :120 days (c) Earnest money : `. 1,45,225/-

Details of tender documents (a) Cost of tender : `. 1,000/(b) Availability On or after 06 Jan 2016 (c) Submission : Up to 1200 hrs on 28 Jan 2016

Tender No.16 of 201516 Supply and stacking of stone Aggregate and Sand at HMP at Km 32.00 on Maram-Peren Road for re- surfacing works between Km 12.50 to Km 27.216 on Maram-Peren Road under 98 RCC/15 BRTF/Project Sewak in Nagaland State Note : Full notice of tender, any change in above details,,- tender document (including eligibility criteria) and other details may be obtained from BRO Website www.bro.nic.in (Iink:Tender) or Central public procurement portal www.eprocure.gov.in for any queries, please contract on telephone 0370-2260542.

EE (Civ) SW, For Commander

Davp: 37102/11/0501/1516

SenapatI, January 8 (mexn): The 3- day Poumai Thounii celebration with the theme “our culture is our identity” organized by Poumai Naga Union hosted

by Poumai Karong- Senapati held at Senapati public ground concluded on January 7. Poumai Thounii is one of the oldest and most popular customary festivals of Poumai community.

On January 4 the introductory session of the festival, Thounii celebration chairman organizing committee Soloni Pao in his brief on “our culture is our identity” urged the gathering to preserve one’s own culture and identity.

On January 5, Parliamentary Secretary for Higher and Technical Education Nagaland, Deo Nukhu graced the occasion as the chief guest. In his address Deo urged to revive the good customary culture of our forefathers. He also reminded that culture identify people and advised against losing culture in the midst of modernization. He encouraged the gathering not identify with one’s community, and at the same time foster unity for a better future.

BJP National vice president ST Morcha, Ramesh Meena in his address said the unique culture of Poumai community should

4

SaturDaY 09 •01•2016

Business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Rajan is The Banker’s central banker of the year The RBI governor has been named central bank governor of the year several times by other international magazines

MuMbai, January 8 (agencies): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan was named The Banker magazine’s Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015, for stabilising the Indian rupee, initiating key reforms to attract much needed foreign capital in the country and reining in a runaway price appreciation.

The Banker is a prestigious monthly magazine of the Financial Times Group.

“India is the one global economy that arguably weathered the capital outflow and currency storms in emerging markets that were fuelled by uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve interest rate hike in 2015,” the magazine said in its article on Rajan.

“At 7.4 per cent, India’s 2015 third-quarter gross domestic product growth was the strongest among

large economies; the rupee was one of the few stable emerging market currencies in 2015; and a clear financial market liberalisation path is attracting foreign investors and making India’s financial markets more sophisticated,” the magazine said.

The RBI governor has been named central bank governor of the year several times by other international magazines. In October 2014, Euromoney and

Indians by offering higher interest rate on deposits, Rajan stabilised the rupee.

The local currency soon moved back below the psychological level of 60 a dollar.

Since then, the rupee has been trading within a narrow band with a depreciation bias. The stability in the currency not only assures foreign investors, vital for bridging India’s current account deficit, but also helps companies plan better for the future.

The rupee depreciated less than five per cent in 2015 even as its Asian and other emerging markets peers bled on US rate hike concerns. When eventually the US Fed raised rates in mid-December, the rupee strengthened.

“The worst thing for a foreign investor is to have a whole lot of money coming into a market, the country not being able to handle it, and capital outflows leaving damage,”

in January 2015, Central Banking awarded him the best central banker award for his contribution in stabilising the Indian economy.

After he took over in September 2013, the first priority for the RBI governor was to stabilise the local currency, which hit a record low of 68.87 a dollar on August 28. Through a series of innovative measures, including attracting dollars from non-resident

The Banker magazine quoted Rajan.

It lauded Rajan’s inflation targeting mandate and said the stability in prices ensured stability in markets.

“RBI’s focus on taming inflation - India is set to hit its 6 per cent target in 2016 - was key to this performance and reinforced foreign investors’ confidence in India’s currency and rupee-denominated assets,” the magazine said, quoting Rajan that a healthy yield in the domestic market wouldn’t be healthy if inflation were high.

Rajan also opened up the local markets more for foreign investors. Last year, the central bank said it would denominate the bond investment limit for foreigners into rupee and would allow them to hold up to five per cent of the government’s debt. This allowed investors to buy another Rs 1.2 lakh crore of government bonds by

March 2018. Even as global risk-off saw outflow of funds from the emerging markets, foreign investors are fighting aggressively to reserve their rights to invest in government bonds. On Monday’s debt limit auction, the investors were ready to pay a record 88 basis points to reserve their rights to invest in government bonds.

Steps like offshore rupee bonds, nicknamed Masala Bonds, and RBI’s efforts in pushing green bonds were two other key achievements of Rajan, the magazine noted.

The magazine also noted Rajan’s efforts in cleaning banks’ balance sheets from bad debts and introducing 23 new sets of banks in 2015.

“We need to give banks power to deal with distressed debt… because India does not have an efficient bankruptcy or corporate resolution system,” Rajan told the magazine.

‘Netflix expansion in Touch-free car controls split world’s drivers Vegas, January 8 (re- all drivers want gesture, eye-tracking and the eager uptake of any kind of India is evolutionary’ Las uTers): Germans love the lat- or even lip-reading technology. “The new tech by the Chinese. jury is out” on how widespread it will become, said Jeffrey Owens, chief technology officer for Delphi Automotive, which made BMW’s gesture software.

est wave of touch-free car controls, which respond to the flick of a wrist or the swipe of a hand, as it means no messy fingerprints on their spotless dashboards. Italians, known for an extravagant hand gesture or two, are not so sure. A simplistic stereotype, but it captures the split among the world’s drivers over the newest in-car tech on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Germany’s BMW demonstrated a 7 Series car that recognizes five simple gestures, from a finger twirl to the right to raise the music volume and a hand swipe to decline an incoming call.

Japan’s Pioneer had a minty scent shoot out of a dashboard to revive a driver after a car seat sensor detected a falling heart rate, a possible prelude to nodding off. “It’s certainly weird, certainly odd and certainly unproven. But Pioneer is not off base to connect one sensory organ to others,” said Mark Boyadjis, an analyst at consulting firm IHS Automotive.

Given that drivers have enough to do keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, touch-free controls for some non-essential functions makes sense. But it is not clear

washingTon, January 8 (PTi): The entry of streaming pioneer Netflix in India is evolutionary in nature though its inaugural price is a bit on the higher side for what it offers, a leading US expert has said. “I would say that the current price is a bit on the high side for what Netflix offers currently and it will have to keep increasing content quantity and quality over time to justify the price point,” said Puneet Manchanda, a professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

In India, the service will be available under three monthly packs -- Basic (Rs 500), Standard (Rs 650) and Premium (Rs 800). Besides, users will get a month of free trial. His areas of expertise are business in emerging markets, business in India and strategy and marketing issues.

Netflix’s global expansion is driven by three forces, he said.

First, Netflix needs to convince investors that it can keep growing. With the broadband market size outside the US about six times the size of the US market, any significant growth in the future will come from large international markets such as India. Second, a large global reach can be a strong bargaining chip for Netflix in obtaining distribution rights from content providers.

Finally, Netflix’s vision is to be a content provider itself - this expansion exposes a large part of the world to original Netflix content, he said. “In terms of entering India, Netflix can quickly capitalise on a large English speaking market. But, for the Indian media landscape, the current entry is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary as the English speaking market already has access to a lot of Netflix’s India content,” Manchanda said.

However, if Netflix can crack the vernacular market by producing content in local languages with local talent, it has the potential to be revolutionary, Manchanda said.

NATIONAL DIFFERENCES The Japanese, some of the keenest consumers of novelty technology, are likely fans of Pioneer’s ‘bio-sensing system’ that squirts out fragrance, said the company’s marketing head Russ Johnston.

Enthusiastic visitors to Pioneer’s booth at CES suggested cappuccino and peppermint as good wake-up smells, he said.

The Japanese were the first to embrace back-up, or reversing, assistance because they did not want to bang their cars, said Guillaume Devauchelle, head of innovation at French auto parts supplier Valeo, who identified cultural preferences as a huge factor in adoption.

“There’s no universal solution,” said Devauchelle, whose company hired an ethnologist to make sense of different cultures with different tastes. He pointed out Germans’ dislike of touchscreens, the risks of gesture control with expressive Italians,

_

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 # 3455

Regardless of national tastes, the market for gesture recognition technology in vehicles - and the cheaper, more prevalent proximity sensing, in which the approach of a hand will trigger a touchable menu screen is growing rapidly. IHS Automotive predicts a seven-fold jump in unit sales of such technology to 30.4 million in 2021 from 3.7 million today.

But full consumer buy-in is an open question, and cost may keep such features a limited, luxury option.

SAFETY QUESTIONS Safety experts have cautiously welcomed dashboard simplification, but note gesture control and other such features may actually add to confusion. “If a driver doesn’t know how to use it, will that increase the distraction?” asked Henry Jasny, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington. “There’s no proof that it will improve safety.”

Automakers are free by law to test an array of options in their cars.

The industry has voluntary guidelines that say drivers should complete tasks in a series of single glances taking no more than 2 seconds each, for a total of 20 seconds.

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3467

Answer Number # 3454

PSU bank employees on strike, operations hit partially chennai, January 8 (PTi): Banking operations were hit partially on Friday as a section of public sector banks’ employees went on a strike across the country to protest violation of bilateral settlement agreement by associate banks of SBI. Some of the services, like cash handling at branch level and clearing of checks were affected in the banks where presence of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) is strong.

Private sector banks and country’s largest lender SBI continues to function normally.

As precautionary measures, most of the banks, including United Bank of India, had issued advisory to their customers saying they will take all necessary steps in terms of existing guidelines for smooth functioning of branches or offices on the day of strike, in the event it materialises on January 8.

The strike call was given on December 28 to protest violation of the bilateral settlement by five associate banks of the SBI and their attempt to force unilateral service conditions on the employees, AIBEA general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam had said.

Five subsidiaries of SBI are State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

FB Messenger crosses 800 mn monthly users new york, January 8 (ians): With over 800 million monthly active users now - up from 500 million in November last year - Facebook Messenger became the fastest growing app of 2015, a study by global research firm Nielsen says.

Facebook Messenger was the second most popular iOS app behind Facebook with 10 billion photos being shared among users on it per month, it noted.

“From videos to music to apps, digital was at the forefront of consumers’ (and marketers’) minds this year,” a Nielsen statement said.

“In 2015, Facebook again took the lead as the top smartphone app. The social networking app had more than 126 million average unique users each month, a growth of 8 per cent from last year,” it added.

Reacting to the news, Facebook head of messaging products Dave Marcus said in a post: “The Messenger team’s mission is to make Messenger the best place to communicate with all the people and businesses in the world.”

“I’m happy to report that we’ve made a good step in that direction, and toward the end of 2015, we crossed the milestone of 800 million people using Messenger every month,” he added.

YouTube came in second with over 97 million average unique users each month, followed by Facebook Messenger with more than 96 million average unique users each month.

“The apps with highest year-over-year change was Facebook Messenger with a 31 percent increase in users from 2014, and Apple Music, with a 26 per cent growth,” Nielsen noted.

In the third quarter of 2015, a majority of US subscribers used Android (53 per cent) and iOS (43 percent) devices to access their apps.

Three percent of US smartphone owners used a handset that operated on a Windows phone, followed by 0.7 per cent on a BlackBerry.

The results are based on Nielsen’s monthly survey of 30,000-plus mobile subscribers aged 13 and up in the US mobile owners.

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

STD CODE: 03862 232224; Emergency229529, 229474

Metro Hospital: Faith Hospital:

227930, 231081 228846

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228254

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231864, 224117, 227337

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227607 232181

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242555/ 242533

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224041, 248011

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ACROSS

1. Thick slices of something 6. Widespread 10. Carve in stone 14. Woolen hat 15. Within 16. Big party 17. Nonsectarian 19. Creative work 20. Unhealthy vapors 21. Color 22. 1/100th of a dollar 23. Not a fork 25. Twilled fabric 26. Knife 30. Mischievous city child 32. Vacationist 35. Captive 39. A type of mental disorder 40. Exploit successfully 41. Adulteress 43. Remedy 44. Smooth, in music 46. C C C C 47. Caps 50. A watery discharge 53. Component of mammalian urine 54. Consumed food 55. Experience again

DOWN

1. Flower stalk 2. Hubs 3. Shade of blue 4. Vagrants 5. Appears 6. 7 in Roman numerals 7. Moor 8. Unswerving 9. Lacquered metalware 10. Self-centered 11. Become narrower 12. Held on tightly 13. Urgency 18. Short sleep 24. Not in 25. Rope fiber 26. Immediately 27. See the sights 28. Car 29. Genius 31. Expect and wish 33. Small islands

34. Dirty air 36. Away from the wind 37. Donated 38. Visual organs 42. Incomplete 43. Caviar 45. Therefrom 47. Praise 48. Muse of love poetry 49. Risk 51. Website address 52. Encounters 54. Legion 56. A field of grass 57. Bright thought 58. Swerve 59. Sea eagle 62. Precious stone Ans to CrossWord 3466

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

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE 60. “Phooey!”

61. Instigator 63. Ear-related 64. A ceremonial staff 65. Not quite a teenager 66. Only 67. Anagram of “Lyme” 68. Trap

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Thai Baht Korean Won New Zealand Dollar Chinese Yuan

1.75

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0.0531

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43.83

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9.50

10.58

SAturdAY 09•01•2016

NAGALAND

identify your talents and set them as your priority: Nuklutoshi urges students Tobu, January 8 (nEpS): Minister for National Highways, Mechanical Engineering and Election, Nuklutoshi called upon the students to identify their areas of talents and set them their “priority” in life.

Speaking as chief guest on the occasion of the 32nd Tobu Area Students’ session cum sports meet here on Thursday, the Minister reminded the students that the Nagas were talented in the field of Games and Sports and even many had taken it as a profession.

“But the most important

Minister for national highways, nuklutoshi attends the 32nd tobu area students’ session cum sports meet at tobu on January 7.

thing for us is to recognize our talents and set them our priority in life,” he said.

Emphasizing that it was

Cleanliness drive at nZP

Dimapur, January 8 (mExn): A group of likeminded concerned citizens of Dimapur is organizing a Cleanliness drive at Nagaland Zoological Park, Rangapahar on January 11 from 10 a.m. onwards in an attempt to create awareness to the visitors in maintaining a litter free environment and also instilling a sense of pride, protection, preservation and a sense of belonging to such precious places.

The organizers, in a press release, have welcomed all likeminded individuals, organization or groups by helping and supporting the drive. Interested persons can contact +91 8974016853.

important and essential to identify their “talents” to be successful in life, Nuklutoshi regretted that in spite of Nagas being branded as “gifted in games and sports” with many even saying such rare talents were in their blood, they could hardly make it in the National level.

He, further, called upon the students to be serious and dedicated to their God-given talents and take it more seriously and professionally to reach higher goals in the National and International levels.

Stating that these days, Games and Sports played an important role in their life and even making a large part of their life’s activities in developing a “human personality,” Nuklutoshi

us to be cooperative in life and also teach the importance of teamwork. A player is a member of the team and he has to play not only for his own good but also for the good of the whole team, and cooperation with others for common good,” he said. In this way, he or she proves to be a good citizen.”

The Minister also said, “If health is the wealth, then Games and Sports is the means to get it.” “It creates cheerfulness, discipline, fellowship, confidence and physical fitness,” he added.

32nd Tobu Area Students’ session held compared them as no less important than “food and fresh water.” He said Sports could bring people together, no matter what origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status they had.

“Games and Sports teach

Rotary Club Conference commences Morung express news Dimapur | January 8

A three-day conference of the 26th Rotary Club 3240 on the theme “Hornbill” got underway here at Urban Haat with advisor to the chief minister on Urban Development, SI Jamir, gracing the inaugural function as the chief guest on Friday.

The chief guest in his address congratulated the Rotary Family on the occasion and said that Rotary Club since its in-

ception has been doing commendable works and proving its existence to be “fruitful.”

Noting the handful of Nagas in the Rotary Club, Jamir suggested that the Club should rope in more Nagas into the Club which, he said, would help bring positive changes in the society.

Jamir also voiced his concern on the present “communal disunity” rearing its “ugly face” in the country and appealed the Rotarians to

give a serious thought on the issue.

He said once the communal harmony is disturbed, it would ultimately lead to disintegration of the country and disunity among all classes and groups of people.

Jamir said the biggest challenge of India, also known as the home of the world’s religions, is to eradicate communal elements who are posing a grave threat to the integrity of the nation.

Rotarians from other

states also addressed the inaugural programme of the Rotary Club conference, which is being hosted for the first time in Nagaland.

Rotarian Mohan Palesha in his key note address spoke on “Social sensitivity and Rotary.”

The inaugural programme was followed by a cultural programme highlighting various activities of the club and interactions among the Rotarians from various parts of the country.

'Develop sense of belongingness' 51 Changkikong Kaketshir Mungdang concludes on a high note Waromung (mokokchung), January 8 (mExn): Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, C Apok Jamir today urged youths to develop a sense of ownership and belongingness for a healthy future.

Speaking as the guest of honor on the third and final day of the 51st Changkikong Kaketshir Mungdang general conference here today, the Parliamentary Secretary stressed on the need for all round development of a person and urged the youths not to be satisfied with their educational degrees.

While stating that one’s attitude towards others is very important, Apok maintained that a youth should understand their own aspiration in life and continuously persist towards achieving their goal.

Also stating that not everyone will get a government job, he urged the youths to work very hard so that they may become professionals in whatever job they undertake.

Also urging people to stop expecting the gov-

CondolenCe Messages K. Therie: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) President K. Therie has expressed sadness to hear of the demise of Nokzenketba, former Minister representing 28 Koridang A/C. In a condolence mes-

“T

sage, Therie recalled Nokzenketba as one among the few “sincere, straightforward and upright” person whose statesmanship will be remembered not only by his contemporaries but also by those who hear about him. “His dedicated

he law is paralysed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted… Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin! You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.

The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it... the poor and the needy were bought for a pair of shoes…” These statements are scattered pieces from the holy prophets who lived in the ancient Israel and pronounced judgment upon the injustices and exploitation of the poor and needy. The wealth meant for the

W

services to the people of his area and to the people of the state will also be remembered and respected,” Therie stated. “I join all rank and file of the NPCC in conveying our heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved family members

ernment to do all the jobs, Apok maintained the need for people to start developing a sense of belongingness. Take whatever developmental activities brought about by the government as your own and take ownership of the same, he advised.

Cautioning the youths against falling for easy money, he urged them to work hard and earn the money which would be worthwhile in life.

Meanwhile, in the valedictory function, Dr Longri – Chairman DAN, NBRM – spoke about the road condition of the Changkikong range. In this regard, he informed that the Chief Minister, T R Zeliang, is also much concerned about the pathetic road condition of Changkikong range and added that the road construction works has been already initiated.

While challenging the youths, Dr Longri stated that the Naga society today needs revolution in three fields – human development, economic development and social development. He added that there

is no lack of employment opportunities for hardworking people in the society. He therefore urged the youths to be hardworking and stop depending on government jobs.

The conference choir presented special songs, while renowned Ao band ‘Samaro’ entertained the audience with their songs.

Prizes for the folk song competition were also handed out by the guest of honor, Dr Longri at the valedictory programme.

The first prize was won

by Khar Students’ Union, the second prize was won by Luyong Students’ Union and the third prize

by Waromung Students’ Union. A bumper prize was also given to the best exhibition stall at the conference. Adjudged by Minister for Education, Yitachu and Parliamentary Secretary C Apok Jamir, the best exhibition stall was unanimously awarded to Luyong Students’ Union. Certificates of merit were also awarded to successful scholars and achievers at the conference.

Birthday greetings

and pray that the Almighty God will comfort and console you all through this trying time of grief. May his soul rest in peace,” Therie’s message concluded.

mittee has expressed deep pain to learn of the demise of late Lonyi-ü Wetsah, mother of Kedoutsolhi Wetsah, Secretary NPCC, who expired after a prolonged illness on JanuNPCC: The Nagaland ary 1 at Pfutsero Town. In Pradesh Congress Com- a condolence message,

'Happy birthday to our dear lilitoli We wish you a day full of fun and happiness May god bless you with long life'.

NPCC conveyed deepest condolences to the bereaved family and prayed that the Almighty continue to console and comfort them at this hour of grief.

NPCC also prayed for the departed soul to rest in eternal peace.

With love from Kuphelu, Kuputoli, Anika, Akitoli Bono, Vivi, Oko Ben, Ifo Babli, Iza and papa

Public SPace

mass went into personal mansion, the poor sold worth the price of a shoe and justice was nowhere to be found. It was a time of unprecedented prosperity for the unrighteous and the ungodly but for the others, a time of distress and depression.

But it does not last long. The Babylonian exile was on their way. The justice was set right and the wrong repaid in full. Does it strike a similar sound with our state of affair? The things that were happening back then are occurring in our time. Nothing is new under the sun…

In the year 1955 before he was assassinated, Martin Luther talks about the keys to the struggle for equal rights. “But it is not enough for us to talk about

thepfulhouvi solo

hat long ago a Jewish Teacher named Yehohshua –Iesous or Yisu or Isu, Jisu or Jesus in different languages of the world today, after the development of the Roman letter 'I' and 'J' to represent the Long and Short pronunciation respectively of the consonant 'Y' in the 16th Century– taught the people from the gentle slopes of the now beautifully managed lawns on the mountain to the North edge of the Sea of Galilee in Israel, Mankind's moral understanding of Ethics changed forever.

The SERMON ON THE MOUNT, as it is known to Christianity, promises: "Blessed are the pure in Heart, for they will see God, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy, "Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled, "You are the Salt of the Earth, ...

"You are the light of the world, ...

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other, "If someone takes your tunic, let him have your cloak as well".....

And many other gems of Ethical Principles.

The Sermon on the Mount, 2000 years later, in the 20th Century, must have inspired Mahatma Gandhi in the development of his Principles of NON-VIOLENCE and now affects modern Men tremendously for the betterment of the Nation and the World at large, and many Leaders adopts Non-violence for fighting Civil and Political Rights.

The Scripture contains Inspira-

Justice in the Land love,” said he, “There is another side called justice. And justice is love in calculation. Justice is love working against anything that stands against love. Standing beside love is always justice.” For Luther, injustice and inequality was an outcome of less love for people. The blame actually too rests upon the onlookers who do nothing but watch the condition indifferently. This article is birth out with a heavy spirit upon the writer. It’s not one with pessimism or negativity but one with genuine concern for our people.

The society is going through a

radical change but not for good.

The rich are becoming richer and the poor, poorer. Majority of the people living in villages are struggling to buy a pair of warm clothes for winter while the rich in towns lavishly spends away on extravagant self-indulgence lifestyle. The attitude of indifference towards people’s cry and plea will have reached God’s ear.

No! Not one will escape from His hands. In the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, “How can we shout ‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace in our land…? From the least to the greatest, ALL are

greedy for gain. This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.

Truth has perished; it has vanished from our lips. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.” Nevertheless, the Lord declares that “if there is but one person who deals honestly and seek the truth, he will turn his wrath from this land.”In other words, if there is anybody willing to pay the price and stand for the truth?

Then restoration will surely come to this land.The corrosion of morality has infected from the

highest to the lowest strata in the society. From the over-ground to the underground, all are equally guilty before the God of heaven.

Therefore, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Nagaland, officials and all the leaders. This what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this land.’ If we pay heed to hisword, then the promise of God will come to fruition but if we go unheeded, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this land will become a ruin. People from many nations will behold our land and ask one another, “‘why

The church must die to change Nagaland tion for the Reformation and Innovation of Government and Nations too.

The parting Word a dear person -never to meet again- utters at the moment of parting is unforgettable. The last Commandment of Jesus to his Disciples just before he finally left them, recorded in Mathew, the longest Gospel Book, is: "go and make disciples of all nations"; in the shortest Gospel Mark, it is: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" and the second longest Gospel Luke recorded: "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations".

John, the fourth Gospel Writer simply recorded a poignant conversation Jesus had with Peter for the last time in the hearing of all: Jesus said to Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "You know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my Lambs" Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you" Jesus said, "Take care of my Sheep".

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "do you love me?"

He said, "Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep".

The one sentence last commandment Jesus made to his selected Disciples, a bunch mostly of barely liter-

ate, ordinary, day to day and hand to mouth bread earning, tame lowly Fishermen on the shores of the lake variously called 'Sea of Tiberias or Sea of Geneseret or Sea of Galilee' in Israel so profoundly motivated them to become fearless, restless and utterly committed selfless Teachers to renovate and reform the ancient Jewish Faith to new heights of Reality unimaginable to the authorized, traditional paid jealous religious establishment, the Learned and the Powerful.

The Leaders of the religious establishment and Authorities eliminated the Jesus but he rose from the death as he had said he would when alive long before and the tame, timid, powerless Galilean Fishermen were inspired into fearless courage and boldly spread to the whole of the unimaginably vast and powerful Roman Empire covering all the then known World and Waters with the Good News of their crucified, buried but wonderfully risen Messiah, actually God becoming Man and dwelled among Man, to reveal Salvation of Man caught in the madness of Man's selfish Frailties and unconscionably unconscious Evil nature.

This simple Gospel in unbelievable plain story of virgin birth, of curing the blind from birth and of diverse diseases, of making whole the invalids, raising the dead, forgiveness of Sin and resurrection from death, seemingly a shade superstitious, irrelevant, coming out of the mouth of the ordinary, the untrained and uneducated; appeared irrational to the Learned, the Educated, the Power-

ful, the Elites Scholars. They saw the happenings but did not perceive and discern the divine spiritual Scheme.

Science found Water, designated H2O, a Compound of two Gases -Oxygen and Hydrogen- forms Water. If Water is separated into Oxygen (O) and Hydrogen (H), none of them separately is any longer Water. They are each become completely of different characteristics from each other or from Water.

The word of God is a Compound of two inseparable Parts –One of Preaching and the other of living what is preached. When, what is preached is done in Deeds; the Word and the Deed together form the living Spirit of God. And just like a degree of increased Temperature of the Earth melts the whole of the Arctic Snow revealing the bare beautiful Land; the Word of God in the Gospel immensely INSPIRES NEW TRUTH OF REALITY. If Preaching the Gospel does not INSPIRE, if the Preaching does not include real life TRUTH, if it is not with real life Deeds; it is dead Gospel.

The Word of God is Living Spirit and performs Works. The living Word is God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that was made."

Most Pastors and religious Teachers from the Pulpit in the Church in Nagaland seem to take Preaching the Gospel as the whole of everything in the Gospel.

The Gospel of Christ is com-

posed of two parts –Preaching and doing what is preached. If taken only as Preaching without doing what is preached, then the Preacher and the Hearer profit nothing; then the Preaching is only dead Word. Salt that has its Savor can be said to be alive.

Salt, which has not its Savor, is useless. Preaching of the Gospel alone is like salt that has lost its characteristic taste. The Gospel of Jesus is preaching the Word with living what is preached.

If preaching alone is the whole of the Gospel, then God would not have needed the amazingly wonderful action of "the Word became flesh and dwelled among man". Then the preaching of Elijah, Elisha, of Isaiah, Jeremiah and the many other Prophets alone would have sufficed. The Cross would have then been a Farce.

John the Baptist was the greatest of the Prophet born of woman but he is the least in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Preaching the Word without human flesh is Hypocrisy, it is only Show business, devoid of Reality. The Gospel from the mouth not originated from depths of the Heart is pure hearsay. It is only beautiful Fairy Tale. The Christian Tomb has a deep meaning: the Gospel of Jesus preached without deeds by the dead in the Tomb, has no meaning.

The Church in Nagaland must be forged in the furnace; this is the only way to shed the Dross of the State to produce pure Metal. The Show life, the sheer Insensitivity Insincerity of Leaders for the life of the common man, the Incapability to deep Reality; the False worship, the Irreligious

has the Lord done such a thing to this land?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshipped and served other gods (The gods of materialism, mammon, greed, immorality and vanity).’”Nonetheless, if we will return to the Lord and plead for mercy, act right and do justice. Surely the Lord will reinstate us to completeness and favour. The land of my people will once again rejoice and be glad in their satisfaction. The “Nagaland for Christ” will be lifted up for the whole world to react in awe. It will be one of the greatest restoration stories in the history of Nagaland.

Yes, we long to see that day!

Vebu Khamo Kohima Bible College

Pomp, extravagant Wealths in the midst Want; the Injustices of Corruption in the Government, in the Church, in the Society; the Inequity in the land, Christianity without Reality!

Thank God for revealing the Kingdom of Heaven to little children only.

Thank God for hiding the Kingdom of Heaven from the wise and the learned. Thank God that that is his good pleasure.

The powerful pagan Roman Empire changed by the Word in deeds of selfless fearlessness of the poor; not from the Empire's vast resources from Taxations, nor from the wealth pillaged from the conquered Territories.

Nagaland must change and the State can change only when the Church dies to the Inequities of the State. The preaching in the Church alone would not do, it must die for the life of the State.

The decision for real change of the Society lies with the Leaders of the Church in this Christian world more than in the Leaders of the Secular world. Pope Francis has fired the imagination of the civilized World by his Reformations of the Church's Government, Dismissals of erring Bishops, Elimination of Pomp with simple life of staying and eating in the Hostel of Bishops; using a metal Staff than the Golden, wearing simple Necklace Cross than the golden and a modest Ford in place of the magnificent Official Mercedes, emphasis on Graciousness to the Poor, Punishment to misdemeanor Bishops.

Humility is the small sign of a really Great Man. The Church in Nagaland must die on the Cross of the State to produce Easter Morning from the Tomb of Nagaland just as Jesus did.

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.

saturDaY 09•01•2016

PeoPle, life, etc...

6

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The incredible thing we do during conversations O

Ed Yong

ne of the greatest human skills becomes evident during conversations. It’s there, not in what we say but in what we don’t. It’s there in the pauses, the silences, the gaps between the end of my words and the start of yours.

When we talk we take turns, where the “right” to speak flips back and forth between partners. This conversational pitter-patter is so familiar and seemingly unremarkable that we rarely remark on it. But consider the timing: On average, each turn lasts for around 2 seconds, and the typical gap between them is just 200 milliseconds— barely enough time to utter a syllable. That figure is nigh-universal. It exists across cultures, with only slight variations. It’s even there in sign-language conversations.

“It’s the minimum human response time to anything,“ says Stephen Levinsonfrom the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. It’s the time that runners take to respond to a starting pistol— and that's just a simple signal. If you gave them a two-way choice—say, run on green but stay on red— they’d take longer to pick the right response. Conversations have a far greater number of possible responses, which ought to

saddle us with lengthy gaps between turns. Those don't exist because we build our responses during our partner’s turn. We listen to their words while simultaneously crafting our own, so that when our opportunity comes, we seize it as quickly as it’s physically possible to.

“When you take into account the complexity of what’s going into these short turns, you start to realize that this is an elite behavior,” says Levinson. “Dolphins can swim amazingly fast, and eagles can fly as high as a jet, but this is our trick.”

Conversation analysts first started noticing the rapid-fire nature of spoken turns in the 1970s, but had neither interest in quantifying those gaps nor the tools to do so. Levinson had both. A few years ago, his team began recording videos of people casually talking in informal settings.

“I went to people who were sitting outside on the patio and asked if it was okay to set up a video camera for a study,” says Tanya Stivers.

While she recorded Americans, her colleagues did the same around the world, for speakers of Italian, Dutch, Danish, Japanese, Korean, Lao, ≠Akhoe Hai//om (from Namibia), Yélî-Dnye (from Papua New Guinea), and Tzeltal (a Mayan language from Mexico). Despite the vast-

ly different grammars of these ten tongues, and the equally vast cultural variations between their speakers, the researchers found more similarities than differences.

The typical gap was 200 milliseconds long, rising to 470 for the Danish speakers and falling to just 7 for the Japanese. So, yes, there’s some variation, but it’s pretty minuscule, especially when compared to cultural stereotypes. There are plenty of anecdotal

reports of minute-long pauses in Scandinavian chat, and virtually simultaneous speech among New York Jews and Antiguan villagers. But Stivers and her colleagues saw none of that.

Instead, they uncovered what Levinson describes as a “basic metabolism of human social life”—a universal tendency to minimize the silence between turns, without overlaps. (Overlaps only happened in 17 percent of

In India, a top chef saves the world bite by bite

Carla Capalbo

C

Zester Daily/Reuters

hefs can play an important role in the fight against climate change by helping to reduce carbon emissions and sourcing local foods, even when working in luxury hotels.

Manjit S. Gill, executive chef for the eco-award-winning Indian group ITC Hotels, is a champion for a sustainable, greener approach to dining. He oversees the food for all 11 of the company's Luxury Collection hotels, many of which have multiple restaurants within them.

Showcasing traditional ingredients

"Each ITC hotel maintains a connection to its region through food and architecture," he says.

"In the case of our local foods, we are working alongside Slow Food to showcase forgotten grains and traditional ingredients that can be sourced nearby.

In Delhi, for instance, our breakfast offering includes finger millet and charoli nut pancakes with aloe vera and black currant relish, as well as a complex porridge made from seven ancient grains. You can't be competitive today if you're not practicing sustainability."

ITC is the world's largest green luxury company and has achieved platinum-level status with the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The hotels recycle their water and solid waste while producing 70 percent of their energy from wind, sun and other renewables.

Gill, a Sikh and lifelong vegetarian, recently participated in Indigenous Terra Madre, held in Shillong, in the northeastern Indian region of Meghalaya.

The event brought together representatives from food-making communities around the globe to share knowledge and strengthen connections. He was there with other Indian members of Slow Food's Chefs' Alliance, a network of international chefs committed to biodiversity and local food sourcing.

"Food can feed our minds, bodies and souls, but only if it's ethically sourced," he says. "InIndia we also believe that food can't be nutritious if it's not tasty, and that it should be a balance of the six tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent.

You must have some of each at every meal. That's why it's important to know how to use spices, working with whole spices and only grinding them as they are needed to retain maximum flavor."

Luxury and sustainability

Gill has plenty of opportunity to expand these ideas in his busy schedule. In Delhi, where the group has several high-end hotels, Gill works closely with the executive chefs of each hotel, as well as with ITC's state-of-the art training facility.

Not only does the Hospitality Management Institute have full amenities -- from teaching kitchens to lecture halls and IT rooms -- but trainees get to finetune their skills at the five-star Grand Bharat hotel that opened in 2014 in the countryside just south of Delhi. It is already considered one of the world's top

luxury hotels.

"The Grand Bharat was a dream project. It was designed from the ground up, with lots of space, so we were able to include a large farm for growing herbs and vegetables for our own use, as well as construct windmills and solar power stations to supply its energy," Gill said. Other projects support women in the hotel business, local farmers and animal husbandry practices.

Chef focuses on modern fusion, traditional cuisine

The food within the hotel restaurants varies in style. The Grand Bharat's four restaurants showcase modern fusion dishes as well as traditional Indian cuisine, like the succulent Mewati barbecue specialities. At the Hotel Maurya, in the heart of New Delhi, Bukhara restaurant has won numerous awards -- including a place in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list -- for traditionalIndian food cooked in tandoor ovens. Bukhara, which has been open for 35 years, also offers a complex lentil dal that is simmered for 18 hours and some of the city's greatest naan breads.

Chef Gill is particularly excited about the Royal Vega restaurant in ITC's recently opened Grand Chola hotel in Chennai.

"As a committed vegetarian, I've finally had the opportunity to create a high-end vegetarian restaurant, something I had always dreamed of doing," he said.

"Many Indians from all walks of life are vegetarian, yet ambitious vegetarian restaurants are few and far between. So this project is providing me with great happiness."

turns, typically lasted for just 100 milliseconds, and were mostly slight misfires where one speaker unexpectedly drew out their last syllable.)

The brevity of these silences is doubly astonishing when you consider that it takes at least 600 milliseconds for us to retrieve a single word from memory and get ready to actually say it. For a short clause, that processing time rises to 1500 milliseconds. This means that we

have to start planning our responses in the middle of a partner’s turn, using everything from grammatical cues to changes in pitch. We continuously predict what the rest of a sentence will contain, while similarly building our hypothetical rejoinder, all using largely overlapping neural circuits.

“It’s amazing, like juggling with one hand,” says Levinson. “It’s been completely ignored by the cognitive sciences because

traditionally, people who studied language comprehension were different to the ones who studied language production. They never stopped to think that, in conversations, these things are happening at the same time.”

Pessimists among us might view this as the ultimate indictment of conversation, a sign that we’re spending most of our “listening” time actually prepping what weare going to say. (As Chuck Pahlaniuk once wrote, “The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend.”) But really, this work shows that even the most chronic interruptor isreally listening. “Everything points to what astute observers we are of every word choice, every phonetic change,” says Stivers.

And of course, we can change the length of the gaps when we need to.

“You don’t want to respond as fast as possible to everything,” says Stivers, now at the University of California, Los Angeles. “If I ask someone to go to a movie with me and they rapidly say no, that doesn’t feel nice. It’s better to have a gap before you turn someone down for something. And if you hesitate, I can say, ‘...or not tonight?’ We’re pretty good at adjusting.”

Levinson now wants to

understand how our turntaking system evolved. It certainly seems to predate language. Great apes like chimps take turns when gesturing to each other and other primates, including several monkeys and one species of lemur, take turns when calling.

One team of researchers recently showed that pairs of common marmosets leave predictable gaps of 5 to 6 seconds between turns, and will match a partner’s rhythm if it speeds up or slows down.

These simian see-saws could be independent innovations, or they could reflect an ancient framework that we humans built upon when we evolved the capacity for speech.

The researchers also want to understand how turn-taking develops throughout our lives. So far, studies have shown that even six-month-old infants respond to their parents very quickly, albeit with more overlaps. At nine months, when they start to grasp that they’re actually communicating with another mind, they slow down. After that, it takes a surprisingly long time to get back to adult speeds. Stivers has found that even 8-yearolds, who have been speaking for many years, are still a few hundred milliseconds slower than adults. “That’s a puzzle that I don’t have answer to,” she says.

Animals are getting smarter, which worries me Nury Vittachi

S

IANS

ome lost dogs can traverse mountains and cross continents to find their way home, but mine can't find a lump of meat she's sitting on.

And then I check my email and read a report about animal intelligence.

A wild monkey in India got into a truck, used the ignition key to turn it on, and managed to put it in gear, driving across a stockyard, the media reported.

This makes it considerably more intelligent than the humans I once tried to teach to drive. Me: "Turn left." Learner: "Which way's left? No, don't tell me, I can Google it."

Clearly this Indian monkey is proof of evolution. I wonder if I can persuade it to

swap jobs with the guy who drove the bus I took home one night last week. He flew over bumps so fast that we passengers spent much of the ride in mid-air, like Sandra Bullock in the movie "Gravity", except for the final few seconds, when we were all pinned to the ceiling.

The only comfort was a fellow passenger's comment that Justin Bieber, Angelina Jolie and Katy Perry have reportedly paid $200,000 to experience zero gravity in a Virgin Galactic spaceship due to be launched later this year, while we get the same thing regularly for small change. Actually, I would pay that much to send Mr. Bieber into space, as long as it was a one-way ticket.

Animals are getting smarter. A turkey recently thrice broke out of a high security turkey farm in the UK,

I read in a news link sent to me by reader Aalia Shan.

The bird has been named Houdini and turkey-farmer Geoff Mellin took it off death row, telling a local reporter that it was no coincidence that Houdini's escapes happened during peak turkey consumption time. "He obviously knew what was going to happen," he said.

And remember that guy in Taiwan who got his talking mynah bird to say nasty things about his neighbor?

Every time Wang Han-chin went to work, a voice shrieked out after him: "You clueless, big-mouthed idiot." Wang tried to take out a lawsuit but prosecutors said there was legal no way to charge "lower forms of life" with slander.

(Thought: Can nationalist politicians use this defence?)

My plan for world peace

is to get a flock of talking mynah birds and teach them to say three things. 1) "Help, I've been turned into a mynah bird." 2) "You are the chosen one who has to find a way to reverse the spell." 3) "Hurry up, idiot." Then I will release them into the world's trouble zones to distract people from fighting. Worth a try, right?

A colleague says blue parakeets have the biggest vocabularies, and "a famous one called Puck knew 1,728 words". This is definitely more than some humans I know, who get through their lives with a dozen utterances, most of which are just grunts.

Now my stupid dog is in a bad mood because she thinks I have hidden the piece of meat she is still sitting on.

And talking of snacks, where did I put my chocolate bar?

Uh-oh.

Chequered coats: Wear them bright, but right Ankit Sinha

C

IANS

hequered designs, prints and flashy colour combinations for men's jackets and coats are in vogue. Not everyone has the demeanor to carry off chequers, but the style is indeed worth experimenting with, say designers and experts.

"Well, personally speaking, very few people have the demeanor to carry off chequers with panache and elegance. So, my personal advice is to keep it simple while wearing a chequered jacket," Delhi-based designer Sameer Madan told IANS. "Fashion is at a peak these days in terms of experimentation. More and more people have been taking risks as there's a lot of support and encouragement from numerous fashion bloggers," he added.

Fashion sensibilities in India have evolved due to "global trends", says designer Narendra Kumar, now the creative director of Amazon Fashion India.

"While slick and classy comfortable office wear dressing is quite popular among younger professionals, they also have separate party and trendy casual options in their wardrobe which didn't really exist before.

They are also now looking to stand out in a crowd," Kumar told IANS. Also, the focus is likely to be "big on prints and boldness" in 2016, feels Teena Kapoor, founder, thevipsale.com, an online store for luxury Indian and western designer wear.

"Prints in bright colours is something to invest in for this year. For the winter wardrobe, concentrate on layering your prints with a solid colour to neutralise and highlight the print in question," Kapoor told IANS, adding that people can indeed experiment with bold prints.

As far as trendpsotting is concerned, Kumar says that bright colours are making their way through the regular monochromatic pattern.

"Blue seems to be the strongest colour when we talk of chequered coats and jackets. However, now you find colours like red, maroon and purple added to the base of blue and grey chequered blocks. A lot more vibrant colours are coming in, breaking the norm of blue and grey combination," he said.

But how can men judge the best combination for their chequered jackets?

"For maroon and blue chequered jacket, pair it with plain deep blue trouser or denim, light shade shirt and layer it with black pullover. Complete the look with tan boots. Here you can also opt for beige trouser, sky blue shirt and tan shoes," Kumar said.

For chequered jacket in shades of black, grey with a hint of light yellow, pair it with deep blue tailored trousers, sky blue shirt and tan boots.

And for those in shades of purple and pink, pair it with a plain white shirt and light beige tailored trouser and tan shoes. Adding a light tone of white and beige colour will neutralise the entire combination, he added.

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.

SaturDaY 09•01•2016

Morung Youth Express

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

7

The age of soft skills I

Averil Nunes

Q is giving space to EQ in the unlikeliest of places: corporate corridors. Today, head hunters are looking closely at values like integrity, cultural fitment and adaptability before hiring the right talent. Educational institutes are now taking it upon themselves to impart these skills to the potential workforce of the future. But can these be taught or are they imbibed from the environment? Averil Nunes takes a closer look.

"I thought developing confidence, learning how to address problems, deal with people and use words accurately was useless.

But over time, I realised that these have opened doors for me," says Tejas Manve. The networking professional believes he would not have got his current position without the personality development, mind mapping and other skills he picked up at Jet King while studying for his CCNA Routing ans Switching certification. Of course, his job requires knowledge about servers, but it also needs him to be able to manage customers from around the world.

"Companies need innovation, new products and systems, and they are accordingly looking for holistically-developed students who can think outside the box, adapt to different situations, and have problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills.

They don't want somebody who is purely academically focused. They

want confident graduates who work easily with other people," confirms Barry O'Driscoll, senior advisor, education, in Ireland.

GEMS Skills president Amitava Ghosh explains the corporate quest for people who are more multi-faceted as opposed to merely technically skilled as follows: "We are living in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous). There is great ambiguity in the market. The convergence of different generations, technology's disruptive effect and the world becoming smaller by the day makes cross-cultural training important. Content is not as important as how you deliver that content".

Bagging, tagging soft skills 'Soft skills' is amongst the most bandied-about terms these days, but what are the practical implications? It seems to encompass a massive arsenal of skills that run from basic communication to effective negotiation and beyond. Tech-savviness, public speaking, time management and work ethics are thrown in for good measure. Not to mention leadership and relationship building. And then there is empathy, which one may think has no business in the workplace, but apparently, it does. And how does one build all these skills? " Fo c u s o n y o u r strengths, not your weaknesses," recommends Kenneth Lewis, director, Seven

People Systems, which offers HR consultancy, training, development and assessment. Kenneth, who describes himself as "a former geek with no social skills to speak of and a lack of self awareness", credits 80 per cent of his success to the soft skills he taught himself along the way, with some help from Tony Robbins (Awaken the Giant Within), Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) and Ayn Rand. Now, self-help books could be an answer, but they're not the only one. on the joB training As industries struggle to find the right talent despite the tremendous manpower available, companies like GEMS Skills bridge the gap with corporate training interventions for middle and higher management sales and customer service personnel, based on curriculums co-created with the companies they work with.

How do they quantify the difference they are making? While customerlevel measurements have not been introduced in India yet, peer and supervisor-level evaluations ensure that the only way to go is up. Are we leaning towards a facetious world, where we go by impression rather than knowledge and skill? Not quite.

GEMS Skills core values include pursuing excellence, growing by learning, leading through innovation and facilitating global citizenship.

getting schooled Academicians are also ensuring that their students are well-equipped to deal with the big bad world. "Children need to be confident, creative, flexible and adaptive learners who can flourish in a rapidly-evolving world. They need to be risk takers who welcome error and complexity as indicators of progress. They need to be self-starting, selfmanaging, self-evaluating, relentlessly curious, cognitively agile, networked, collaborative, and of course, tech-savvy," says Neil A. McWilliam, head of school at Oberoi International School. Now, that is clearly a tall order. But how does one teach things that veer on abstraction?

"It is misleading to say that we 'teach' them. They have to be embedded throughout the learning process, along with everything else children need to be future-ready," McWilliam clarifies. "Education used to be something that was 'done' to the child by the teacher. Not any more."

As schools become collaborative environments where children learn to speak persuasively, compromise and reach conclusions through interactions and activities, it becomes important for teachers to structure their classrooms in a certain way. This implies that inclass projects, mock trials, debates and group activities gain precedence over solo projects and empori-

preschool children, such as Peaceable Kingdom's 'Feed the Woozle', 'Snug as a Bug in a Rug', 'Count your Chickens' and 'Race to the Treasure'. What is a cooperative game, you ask? It's one where everyone plays together and no one is left out. In a cooperative game, players work as a team against a common obstacle, not against each other. Apparently, 'cooperative games emphasise play, not competition, and attempt to foster non-stressful play situations, emotional development, shared decision making, creative problem-solving, a sense of community, positive selfesteem, playfulness and cooperation'. Clearly, soft skills are now child's play.

"These games could be a way of developing teamwork and showing kids that the power of the group is more effective than working alone," says psychologist Sonali Gupta, who works with a lot of children and families. She would rather define what the corporate world terms soft skills as 'life skills', since "these are essential skills that are crucial for personal development".

She elucidates: "Such skills are important in a workplace, in a personal space and in a relationship. People take to you because of who you are, rather than what you know or the role that you rise up to." She believes that developing g a m e s c h i l d r e n these skills needs to be an experiential process, with play And then there are children learning by mod'cooperative games' for elling the behaviour they um-style teaching.

Meanwhile, the School of Vocational Education at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS-SVE) has a general education module spanning 1,110 hours, common to all its Bachelor of Vocation courses, which includes subjects such as English (as a foreign language), communication, basic computing, basics of accounts, livelihood and entrepreneurship and finishing school. "Soft skills get refined over time, but students need to be made aware of what is needed and how to prepare their resumes realistically," shares TISS-SVE dean Prof. Neela Dabir. TISS has an annual conference on emotional intelligence. It also has soft skill workshops and uses participatory learning methods such as classroom discussions and presentations to impart such skills.

"Soft skills are crucial, but things like interpersonal skills can't really be taught in a classroom. We need a more practical approach. About 80 per cent of our programmes have real life projects. Students are constantly working in teams and presenting to the class," says Barry O'Driscoll. The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) does a lot of volunteering in local communities, enabling students to develop interpersonal and other skills.

see around them. "One needs to be conscious of the value system you impart to your child. A disregard for punctuality can be learned. A child will think it is okay to be late if you are always late." off the Beaten track Antano Solar John from the School of Excellence says NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) uses personal change to help people get the full-benefits of whatever soft skill they are learning. But take one look at the list of life skills that NLP 'installs' in people, and you will realise that some of these – effective communication, leadership, empathy, perspective – are in fact what people imply when they speak of soft skills. From unconscious assimilation to building a rapport through exuding trust and connection, NLP lets people "be in a situation as it happens, trust their intuition and make good decisions".

We're told NLP offers the clarity to make "quick and correct decisions" that enable people to grow in their career, become good negotiators and position themselves well – all exceptionally handy skills in the current economy.

Essential soft skills: Interpersonal skills; Teamwork; Lateral thinking; Tech-savviness; Effective communication; Empathy; Compassion; Kindness; Self-management;

Self-regulation; Decision making; Critical thinking; Planning; Positivity What the stats say According to the India Skills Report 2016, the ability-mix that employers look for in potential employees is: Domain expertise: 28% Values, integrity, result orientation: 27% Interpersonal skills and learning agility: 18% Numerical and logical ability: 9% Cultural fitment: 8% Communication: 6% Adaptability: 4% Now, domain expertise may occupy a major portion of the pie at 28%, but take a closer look at the parameters, and you'll realise that soft skills – values, integrity, result orientation (27%), interpersonal skills and learning agility (18%), cultural fitment (8%), communication (6%) and adaptability (4%) – account for a whooping 63% of the pie. If you're grinning because you think can get by with a smile and smooth talk, think again! No one's saying domain expertise isn't important. At least not yet. While there have been debates on how workplaces of the future will have two basic types of people – those who are tech-savvy and those who are people-savvy – pure skill (irrespective of domain) is still what will get you that dream job. But what will help you keep it and rise up the ranks?

Why, soft skills, of course!

But everything is made new again Watch the plot thicken

Q

oheleth, the ecclesiastical preacher, insisted that there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes is sometimes a depressing piece of literature, and though it offers very many general truths, one should also be careful of its heavy ponderous tone. That was the mood of that age, not necessarily in line with the abundant life that Jesus offers us in John 10.10.

Regeneration and renewal are the key words to living life abundantly. And it all depends on our thought life. If we are still stuck in thinking the old way, according to the way the world teaches us to think, we have to change the way we think. Here is a truth for the year 2016: Everything is made new again.

A leaf falling to earth from a wintry tree is falling to earth for the very first time. It’s not important that many other leaves have fallen from many

D

other trees before for as long as the earth has existed. The fact is, for that little leaf, it is falling for the first time and that makes it new and altogether unique. A seed sprouting from the soil is doing that for the first time. A flower opening up its petals is blooming for the very first time. That is the truth that general statements miss out on when they insist that there is nothing new under the sun. It is a dismissive statement even though there is a lot of philosophical or theological truth in it. We have to see that even in the natural world, the regular rhythm of birth, growth, maturation and death is not a repeat of what it did last year.

Every morning that we are granted the blessing of seeing, every minute and second that we are blessed to step into,

is a new moment, a new day, a new week, a new year. We should greet that newness with respect and honour it by filling it with our best selves, our best efforts at kindness, our best attempts at being good humans. That is the only way to honour the

amazing gift of life: by not taking it for granted, and definitely by not treating it as a rerun of the day that has gone before.

It is like being handed a spanking clean slate.

The phrase ‘a clean slate’ makes sense for people who went to school in the sixties. They got a new slate to write on, and after filling it up with squiggles, they could wipe it all off and start afresh. In fact, the dic-

tionary definition of ‘clean slate’ says, ‘an opportunity to start over without prejudice,’ a ‘chance,’ ‘opportunity,’ ‘fresh start,’ ‘tabula rasa.’ The New Year is precisely that, another chance to start afresh without the burden of the prejudices of the past. It is a chance to pick ourselves up, d u st ou rselves off, and give life a go again.

And so long as we have breath in our nostrils, we have the possibility to repair, improve, upholster, totally renovate in some cases, and get to live life the way it was meant to be lived.

How do we do it? By making some efforts besides making resolutions. There are words we don’t have to use in the new year, the defeatist words, the accusatory words, and the deprecia-

tory words that pull others down. There are thoughts we don’t have to think: the fear driven thoughts of failure, the self-centred thoughts that prevent our generosity, and all the self conscious thoughts that stop us from protesting violence and injustice even when it’s happening right in front of our eyes.

And as all the self defeating thoughts and words are wiped clean from our slate, only the best words will come forth, pure and new-born words of compassion and empathy for one another. What a wondrous thought!

And so, here we are, on the cusp of a new-born year. Feel the energy it brings with it, the grand possibility for rewriting our lives all over again, this time more satisfactorily than the years before.

Don’t let it slip by. Grab it, own it and finally live that abundant life that has been waiting for you all along!

Your dressing style tells your story

o you prefer bright coloured clothes?

Perhaps it's to do with your positive thoughts. Or if you have an eye for abstract prints, it's likely that you have a bold personality. Your wardrobe choices can depict who you are as a person, say experts. The design team at John Players, which offers a fashion wardrobe for men, have decoded how one's clothes can help people interpret his personality. * Bright outfits: yellow, orange and red If you move away from the classic grey and blacks and wear the hot colors of today, you are definitely a trendsetter and a changemaker. You are friendly and people approach you for help with an ease. The bright colour radiates positive energy making you feel comfortable. Such shades are a symbol of your dynamic personality. styling mantra: Wear such colours with a raw jeans or chinos to grab all the attention that you want. * abstract prints: tribal, geometric & numeric If you play unscripted with the prints then you are nothing but bold. You are outspoken and spontaneous and do not wish to be spoon-fed. The prints are unique and classy and so are you. You are seen as someone who knows it all and will express his individuality by using creative mind to inspire and create new ideas. styling mantra: Do not accessorise with these prints.

* necklines to suit your style: crew vs V-neck Men who love their crew neck are more logical in their approach. They are practical, uptight and would take a lot of time before making a decision. Their no-nonsense approach to work is highly respected amongst the peers. The men who go for a V-neck instead, are seen as chilled out and casual loafers who would not give into the pressures of the world. Natural go getter, they are often driven by their passions and instincts. styling mantra: Be it V-neck or crew neck, one should be very sure of the occasion before

carrying the look. * The classic: black, grey and blue These colours are a symbol of age-old tradition. Hence, when you carry these colours, you are seen as a culture loving person who is more urban and groomed. Sophisticated and well-organised are 2 words that top your personality traits. styling mantra: Make sure that you pick the right fit to make your look sophisticated and elegant.

(Source: IANS)

Archana Subramanian

fearsome tiger Sher Khan. To protect himself he leaves home. Guided by Bagheera, the black panther and Baloo, the bear, he sets out. It is a journey of selfdiscovery. Along the way he meets many animals — some are nice and some not so nice. Others, like Kaa, the python are alvin and the chipmunks: beguiling with seductive voice and hypThe road chip (january 2) Pack your bags and brace yourself as notise gaze. the fourth in the series will soon be released. It’s confusion and miscommu- captain america 3 civil War (may 6) Former friends and now foes, the nication all the way. Alvin, Simon and Theodore believe that Dave, their foster third Captain America film revolves father is going to propose to his new girlfriend in Miami...and d u m p them. So, they come up with a plan: They have three days to get to him and stop the proposal. For, stopping him is the only way they can save themselves from losing him and getting a terrible stepbrother (Miami’s son).

A

host of animals and superheroes await you this New Year. Ready or not, they will get you. Look out for these movies in the first half of 2016.

kUng fU panda 3 (february19) We know Po has been waiting for his dad. And when they are reunited, the ride is nothing short of an adventure. They travel to a secret sanctuary where there are many pandas. The problem is Po does not fit in.

But that problem is solved when he meets Mei Mei. She is an overly eager panda, who was been promised to Po in marriage when they were cubs. All seems well, when an evil, ancient spirit called Kai makes its appearance and begins terrorising China. Kai is a bull spirit especially notable because he is the first supernatural Big Bad of the series. It steals the powers of defeated kung fu masters. It is up to Po to train a village of clumsy, funloving pandas to become a band of Kung Fu Pandas.

around the “Civil War” storyline. What happened earlier in the Age of Ultron leaves an imprint on the world. It’s then that that the collective governments of the world pass an act to regulate all superhuman activity.

And this leads to differences in opinions among the Avengers and causes two factions to side with— Iron Man or Captain America. They form two teams and are pitted against each other which causes an epic battle between former allies.

Zootopia (march 4) Meet two new superheroes Black PanIt’s a mad, modern world — a melt- ther and Spider-Man. ing pot where humanoid mammals from every environment live together. And finding dory (june 6) then, an otter goes missing, a fast-talkYou may love Nemo but there’s no ing fox is framed and is on the run, and way you can forget Dory. Six months a self-righteous rabbit, is hot on his trail. after finding Nemo, Dory suddenly reBut things take a crazy turn when both members her childhood. The jewel of become targets of the conspiracy. Now, Monterey, California, rings a bell and they are forced to team up and discover she sets out with Nemo and Marlin, to that even natural enemies can become find her family. At the Monterey Marine best friends.

Life Institute, she meets a white beluga whale, a whale shark and an octopus. jungle Book (3d) (april 15) The octopus becomes her guide. Swim Mowgli knows no other life but that along with her and learn what she has to with the wolves. His only worry is the teach you about the meaning of a family.

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

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SaturdaY 09•01•2016

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

MPs, health officials spar over tobacco warnings

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): A parliamentary panel in India reviewing whether to put larger health warnings on cigarette packets has asked the health ministry for evidence to show that such a move would cut tobacco consumption, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

The panel, which has been criticised before by tobacco control activists for apparent conflict of interest as one of its members owns a tobacco business, sent a list of 32 questions to the health ministry in October.

It asked the ministry to explain which ingredients in tobacco cause cancer and whether previous government surveys showed that graphic warnings led to a drop in tobacco usage, which is linked to as many as 900,000 deaths a year in India, the world's secondlargest tobacco producer.

Some questions cited concerns that larger warnings can hurt tobacco farmers and boost illicit trade.

That surprised officials as they appeared to toe the

industry line rather than focus on public health, ministry sources said. One health official said they thought the questions were "almost identical to objections raised by the industry."

"The panel is playing into the tobacco industry's ploy," said Shailesh Vaite, a member of the Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control, a group of more than 350 global organizations.

Panel chairman Dilip Gandhi denied the panel had been influenced by the tobacco industry, and said it expects to have a report on its findings within 45 days.

He declined to comment on the list of questions sent to the health ministry.

Shyama Charan Gupta, a panel member who runs a company that makes traditional hand-rolled "beedi" cigarettes, said he has recused himself from the issue of tobacco warnings.

He remains on the panel, which scrutinises several other regulations.

The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) - which rep-

14 Indian schools threatened with closure for following CBSE courses KATHmANDU, JANUARY 8 (IANS): Fourteen Indian schools in Nepal, following the curriculum of India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), face the threat of closure from the new academic session beginning from March. The predominantly Left government in the Himalayan nation has observed that these 14 schools have been following CBSE curriculum without the government's approval and, therefore, stand to lose their respective licences to operate.

Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), has warned the schools either to take permission or else face action from the next academic session, which commences in March.

The 14 Indian schools include the Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School) inside the Indian embassy premises in Kathmandu and a branch of the Delhi Public School in Dharan, in eastern Nepal, among others, and have been pursuing the CBSE curriculum in Nepal for years, the education minister said.

The ministry clarified that it would give a time-window to the schools to seek formal approval from the government to run the curriculum, pay the requisite tax and follow the guidelines of the foreign school category. Parents whose wards were likely to be affected have expressed anxiety about the Nepal government's latest move, fearing that it may make their children's educational career uncertain if the required approval was not granted to the schools.

"If they fail to meet the criteria set by the ministry before taking approval, we will scrap their licence from next academic session," Minister Pokhrel warned. Among the schools affected by the government's latest diktat are the Kathmandu-based Modern Indian School, Rupy’s International School, Rai School, Chand Bagh School and Alok Vidyashram.

Over 20,000 students are currently studying in the 14 schools on the government's hit-list. "Before commencement of the the next academic session, we will give them a chance to seek approval. If they fail the compliance, we will not let them run," said Pokhrel. The situation faced by these schools is not new -- they have faced the threat of closure even earlier but interestingly only when the Communists have been in power.

The last such incident happened in 2013 when the education ministry issued notice to these 14 schools asking them not to admit students for the new academic session as they were conducting classes using study material as per CBSE curriculum without taking due permission from the government.

Am going to end child slavery in my lifetime: Satyarthi NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (PTI): Intensifying the battle to fight rights of children, both in India and worldwide, and ending child slavery in his lifetime is now the mission of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi . "We are moving towards freedom of children and I am going to see the end of child slavery in my lifetime. 35 years are not too many years in the history of human kind and 35 years ago this was a non-issue in my country as well as world over," Satyarthi said.

"People thought that slavery has been abolished completely and now people have started accepting that children are being enslaved and we have to find an end to it," he said. The 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate first book in Hindi "Azad Bachpan Ki Aur" here late last evening by Justice Dipak Misra, Judge, Supreme Court of India.

The book is a selection of articles penned by Mr Satyarthi on landmark movements, judgments, events and prominent policy intervention in his three decade long struggle for child rights. These writings chronicle the fight to end violence against children and provide a historical perspective to the efforts.

"This is my first book and I am proud it has been published in my mother tongue. The collection of articles in this book has been written at the most emotional and physically draining time of my life when I was fighting aggressively to rescue children," Satyarthi said. Since the 1980s, the activist has been fighting various issues related to children and their rights. The book talks about issues of child labour, rescue operations, trafficking, child slavery, sexual abuse against children and illiteracy.

resents hundreds of local manufacturers in India's $6 billion cigarette market as well as bigger firms such as ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco Plc - said it held talks with the parliamentary panel in July.

"Regulatory impositions adversely impact the livelihood of farmers, the legal cigarette business," said Syed Mahmood Ahmad, director of the TII. The group did not com-

ment on the panel's questions to the ministry, but has previously said bigger packaging warnings are "unreasonable" and "impractical". ITC declined to comment.

The health ministry first proposed in October 2014 that 85 percent of a cigarette packet's surface area should carry health warnings, up from 20 percent. That was opposed by the tobacco industry and put on hold after the parliamentary panel

said it needed to analyse the impact on the industry. The move has also been challenged in courts.

The government has put the number of Indians using tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, at around 275 million, and the TII estimates the industry provides a living for 45.7 million people.

India ranks 136th of 198 nations that use health warnings on cigarette packs, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Graphic warnings appear to have yielded results in some countries. A 2013 study in Canada, for example, showed that smoking dropped by up to a fifth after the adoption of graphic warning labels.

RISK OF DELAY Such communication between the parliamentary panel and the health ministry, which has not previously been reported, risks further delaying the measures, activists and health ministry officials said. The ministry has defended its

proposal, and told the panel that extensive research proves "conclusively" that tobacco causes cancer, a review of the ministry's responses shows.

In one question, the panel said the proposed increase in the size of the packaging warnings was "skewed", and it questioned how it would cut tobacco use, especially among young people. It asked if there was any research planned for "evolving" a less harmful tobacco crop.

The ministry said it believes all forms of tobacco are harmful and addictive, and there is no safe level of tobacco, according to the documents. It cited several studies in its defence.

The panel also asked whether the ministry had data to show how many cancer cases were directly linked to tobacco, and which were the main harmful ingredients in it. In reply, the ministry said cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, including nicotine, tar and radioactive components.

'Odd-even scheme may be extended beyond 15 days' NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (IANS): The Delhi government on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it may extend the odd-even scheme, aimed at curbing air pollution, beyond the planned 15 days trial period.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the city government, defended the scheme, saying there is "a definite positive effect" and it "may be continued after this two weeks (planned 15 days) period". "There has not been a single good air quality day this winter.

"Pollution is not going to go away. The odd-even scheme is an emergency measure to arrest peaking of the air pollution level," he told a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath as he submitted the data of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on air pollution from January 1 to 8.

The bench took note of the report, which stated that this winter, pollution in Delhi is four times beyond the safety standard, and said it will pass an order on January 11. Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai and Aam Aadmi Party member Ashish Khetan were present in the court during the hearing.

The government also told the court that it was in the process of buying more buses to augment the fleet of the existing public transport system. The court had earlier asked the Delhi government whether it can limit restrictions on the plying of even- and odd- numbered vehicles in Delhi on alternate days to "a week" instead of the planned 15 days.

The bench also asked whether the pollution data collected by the government till now after the implementation of the odd-even scheme was enough to gauge the effectiveness of the policy. "Why is it necessary to have it for 15 days. Is there any better method which can be brought in," it asked.

The government claimed that vehicular pollution had fallen since January 1 when the scheme was launched.

However, the petitioners contended that Central Pollution Cont rol Board data doesn't show any decrease in air pollution level. The court, hearing 12 PILs challenging the government decision to allow even- and odd-numbered vehicles to ply on alternate dates January 1-15, also asked why diesel cabs were still plying on roads despite a ban.

Wearing army pattern dresses 'illegal', cannot be fashion: Army CHANDIgARH, JANUARY 8 (IANS): With terrorists adopting the modus operandi of wearing army fatigues to mislead people about their identity, the Indian Army on Friday asked people not to wear army-pattern dresses.

Use of army uniform and equipment is not only illegal, but cannot be "a fashion statement", the spokesman said.

"Avoid wearing army pattern dresses. It is illegal," an army spokesman said here on Wednesday, adding people should follow this in the national interest.

"Private security agencies, police and other central forces are also requested not to wear

combat pattern dresses as it is not authorised and leads to false alarms," the spokesman said.

Suspected Pakistani terrorists who launched a pre-dawn attack on the Pathankot air base in Punjab on Saturday had come attired in army fatigues.

The terror attack left six terrorists and seven security personnel dead. All assets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the air base, including fighter jets, attack helicopters and other equipment, as well as families of personnel were secure.

The spokesman said that sale of army uniforms by shopkeepers, happening freely across the

country, to unauthorised persons was also illegal.

"Shopkeepers should not sell combat cloth, army uniforms or army equipment. All traders and shopkeepers interested in selling these may approach the local military authority and request for shops in units/cantonments approved areas/shops. It is illegal to sell army uniforms to unauthorised persons," he said.

The spokesman said relatives of the armed forces personnel and ex-Servicemen have also been requested not to use items of uniform which they may be having as they could create false reports. "It is illegal," he added.

The army has asked police and civil administration to check and crackdown on defaulters.

The advisory comes in the wake of the Pathankot and the Dinanagar incidents (on July 27 in Gurdaspur district of Punjab).

In both the incidents, Pakistani terrorists came dressed in army fatigues.

The spokesman said anyone not authorised to wear the army pattern dresses and roaming around could lead to a scare in areas where there is apprehension of a terror strike.

"The army and the police keep getting information of suspicious activities of persons having been seen carrying rucksacks

and wearing combat pattern dress associated with armed forces," he said.

"While during incidents such as in Pathankot, it has resulted in elimination of terrorists, in most cases these have turned out to be misleading and caused inconvenience to the people at large."

"We deeply regret the inconvenience caused but then these operations are inescapable to ensure your safety and security," he said.

The army has also appealed to the youth to use social media to spread awareness and start a campaign to prevent misuse of army uniform and equipment "as fashion statement".

Malda violence: BJP demands central probe Asaram's bail plea rejected KoLKATA, JANUARY 8 (IANS): Accusing the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of being involved in the alleged communal violence in Malda district, the BJP on Friday demanded a central agency probe in the matter.

Incidentally, the BJP's demands came on a day when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, wooing investors for her industrystarved state, claimed there was no communal tension in Bengal.

Protesting against remarks allegedly made to "hurt religious sentiments" in Uttar Pradesh, a large number of people on Sunday went on a rampage in Kaliachak, torching vehicles including those belonging to the Border Security Force and also attacked a police station.

The central government has

also sought a report from the Banerjee government over the issue.

The Bharatiya Janata Party which has already sought the intervention of West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi in the matter said the truth behind the incident can be revealed only after a probe by a central agency.

"Using an incident that happened in Uttar Pradesh, which we condemn, a communal issue was created and it was used to set afire a police station. BSF vehicles, were also set on fire and few houses attacked in Malda," said BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh.

"The whole attack was made to look like a communal issue but actually it is rather a cover up by the Trinamool. This is nothing but hoodwinking by the Trinamool.

So we demand a probe by a cen-

tral agency," he added.

Speaking at the Bengal Global Business Summit, Banerjee during the day described Bengal as an ideal destination for investments asserting there was no communal tension. "Bengal is a peaceful state. There is no communal incident or tension. Some people may indulge in criticising us politically, but we don't allow any communal problems. If there is peace, everything is settled," she said.

Police so far have arrested 10 people booking them for several offences including arson and damage to public property.

Claiming that the attack on the police station was actually meant to destroy criminal records stored there, a BJP delegation led by national secretary Rahul Sinha on Thursday met the governor seeking his intervention in the matter.

JoDHPUR, JANUARY 8 (IANS): A court here on Friday rejected the bail application of spiritual guru Asaram in a case relating to sexual assault of a minor.

The bail plea of Asaram, who is behind bars since September 2013, was argued by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in the district and sessions court here on Monday. The court, after hearing the arguments, had reserved its verdict for Friday.

While rejecting the plea, District and Sessions Judge Manoj Kumar Vyas on Friday did not make any comment over the facts of the case, but said that in the given facts and circumstances, the bail application of the accused cannot be accepted. Swamy was not present in the court.

"We are happy that we could satisfy the court that grating bail at this stage can affect the trial of the case adversely," P.C. Solanki, advocate of the complainant, told IANS. Asaram's bail applications have been rejected by the sessions court, Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court earlier too.

A 16-old-girl had lodged a police complaint accusing Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur. It was alleged in the complaint that Asaram's aides sent her to his Jodhpur ashram on the pretext that she was under the influence of an "evil spirit" and he could perform an exorcism.

Animal welfare groups to challenge Jallikattu ban removal NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (IANS): The union government's decision to create an exception to the Supreme Court ban and allow Jallikattu, a bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu, has enraged the animal welfare groups, who said they will challenge the government's decision.

Taking exception to the Supreme Court order of May 2014, where the top court banned the use of bulls as performing animals, the central government has decided to allow Jallikattu, though with safeguards.

"What we have allowed is (Jallikattu) with proper safeguards and ensuring it is without cruelty to animals. Historic and cultural practices are being allowed with many restrictions put on them," said union Minister for Forests and Environment Prakash Javadekar to media on Friday.

Animal welfare associa-

tions have called the government's new notification "unconstitutional" and said that it goes against the spirit of the Supreme Court's order.

"The Supreme Court judgment has categorically said that Jallikattu is illegal. This new notification is all against the Supreme Court judgment.

The Animal Welfare Board India (AWBI) is going to pass a resolution and then

challenge the order," Anjali Sharma, a member of AWBI, told IANS. Sharma also recalled the Supreme Court's decision that if any change was to be made to the notification, the AWBI should be consulted.

"Sati was also a traditional practice, but we had to oppose it. This tradition is also such which is inherently cruel to animals,"

added Sharma, opposing the view that traditional practices must be allowed to continue.

Through a notification on January 7, 2016, the union government said animals like bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers, lions and bulls "shall not be exhibited or trained as a performing animal", at the same time making an exception for use of bulls at Jallikattu and

bullock-cart races in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and a few other states, with few safeguards to protect these animals.

The notification superseded the earlier notification dated July 11, 2011, which was quashed by the Supreme Court.

Chaitanya Hoduri, a member at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), echoed the AWBI views.

"At first, it is illegal to allow the conduct of Jallikattu, according to Supreme Court order. We will definitely challenge this as it is unconstitutional," Hoduri said.

In its latest notification, the government has allowed sports like Jallikattu as long as the event is held in a place permitted by the district collector or magistrate, and that the bullockcart race is organised on a proper track, while ensuring that bulls are put to tests

by veterinary departments to make sure they are in good physical condition.

Tamil Nau's bull-taming sport is considered a traditional one, and conducted during Pongal celebrations, but has drawn widespread criticism from animal welfare associations which say the bulls are subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering.

Upholding similar view of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), the Supreme Court on May 7, 2014, held that "bulls cannot be used as performing animals, either for the Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country."

Asking for lifting the court-imposed ban, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2015, urging him that parliament pass a bill allowing the sport

SaturdaY 09•01•2016

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

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Pressure grows on China to rein in N Korea BEIJING, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): South Korea unleashed a high-decibel propaganda barrage across its border with North Korea on Friday in retaliation for its nuclear test, while the United States called on China to end “business as usual” with its ally.

The broadcasts, in rolling bursts from walls of loudspeakers at 11 locations along the heavily militarised border, blared rhetoric critical of the Pyongyang regime as well as “K-pop” music, ratcheting up tension between the rival Koreas.

North Korea later responded with its own broadcasts.

South Korea, which has grown increasingly close to China in recent years, also said its foreign minister would speak with his Chinese counterpart later on Friday.

Wednesday’s nuclear test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang’s claim that the device it set off was a hydrogen bomb.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he had made clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China’s approach to North Korea had not succeeded.

“China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that,”

K-pop, handbags and democracy: South Korean payback

South Korean soldiers draw down a cover from loudspeakers, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea on January 8. (REUTERS Photo)

Kerry told reporters. “Today, in my conversation with the Chinese, I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual.”

China is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic backer, although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.

China’s Foreign Ministry urged North Korea to stick to its denuclearisation pledges and avoid action that would make the situation worse, but also said China did not hold the key to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

“Achieving denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding the

peninsula’s peace and stability accords with all parties’ mutual interests, is the responsibility of all parties, and requires all parties to put forth efforts,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing.

The North agreed to end its nuclear programme in international negotiations in 2005 but later walked away from the talks.

Seismic waves created

by Wednesday’s blast were almost identical to those generated in North Korea’s last nuclear test in 2013, Jeffrey Park, a seismologist at Yale University, wrote in a post on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website, adding to scepticism about the hydrogen bomb claim.

TROOPS DEPLOYED, TOURS CANCELLED The South Korean broadcasts are considered an insult by the isolated North which has in the past threatened military strikes to stop them.

The last time South Korea deployed the loudspeakers, in retaliation for a landmine blast in August that wounded two South Korean soldiers, it led to an armed standoff and exchange of artillery fire.

The sound from the speakers can carry for 10 km (6 miles) into North Korea during the day and more than twice that at night, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported.

A male announcer

SEOUL, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): South Korea’s initial retaliation to the North’s latest nuclear test was a mix of K-pop, scathing commentary on its nuclear programme and derision of the ruling family’s penchant for costly clothes and luxury handbags.

Over the hills by Gimpo city bordering the North, broadcasts from one of 11 banks of highpower speakers set up along the border spared no criticism of leader Kim Jong Un, who was believed to have turned 33 on Friday.

“Clothes for Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju cost tens of thousands dollars each and her purse is worth thousands of dollars too,” a male announcer said. Ri is Kim’s wife.

could be heard from South Korea telling North Koreans that Kim Jong Un, the leader of their impoverished country, and his wife wear clothes costing thousands of dollars. Another message said Kim’s policy to boost both the economy and its nuclear programme was unrealistic.

The North broadcasts were not clearly audible from the South and appeared intended to drown out those from the South, Yonhap said, citing a South Korean official.

North Korea boosted troop deployments in front-line units on Friday, and South Korea raised its military readiness to the highest level at locations

The broadcast can travel 24 km (15 miles) at night and 10 km in daylight, far enough to reach beyond soldiers at the border to civilians to the north.

To the outside world, the idea that broadcasts that also showcase freedom and democracy, and how people are allowed to enjoy love and life, can anger a country enough to risk going to war might seem preposterous.

But North Korea sees them as an attack on the dignity of its leader and political system, and was provoked enough the last time the South used a tactic the North calls “an open act of war”, in August, to launch an artillery strike across the border.

South Korean officials said stopping the broadcasts was the main reason the North agreed at

near the loudspeakers.

The South vowed to retaliate against any attack on the equipment, raised its cyber security alert and cancelled tours of the Demilitarised Zone on the border.

Kerry said he and Wang agreed to work closely to determine what measures could be taken given increasing concern about the nuclear test. He said America has a “firm and continued commitment to regional security and global non-proliferation”.

U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to tighten sanctions on North Korea.

Nancy Pelosi, the House

that time to end an armed standoff and express regret over a landmine explosion that injured South Korean soldiers.

PSY OPS The South Korean military’s psychological department produces content for the FM radio station Voice of Freedom, which from noon (0300 GMT) on Friday was channelled to the speakers randomly for up to six hours a day.

Early in the broadcast, the South criticised the North’s claim on Wednesday to have conducted its first hydrogen bomb test. The U.S. government and other experts doubt that the North has achieved such a technological advance since its last nuclear test in 2013.

Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday.

The House measure would target banks facilitating North Korea’s nuclear programme and authorise freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalise those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.

It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006.

The United States and South Korea are limited in their military response.

Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea in a show of force after North Korea last tested a nuclear device in 2013.

North Korea responded then by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, but declined to give details. Media said the assets could include B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a nuclearpowered submarine.

Germany promises migrant crime crackdown Philippines urges ASEAN pressure BERLIN, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): Germany’s ruling parties promised on Friday to crack down aggressively on migrants who commit crimes, after assaults on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve stoked debate about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming policy towards refugees.

Some 121 women are reported to have been robbed, threatened or sexually molested there by gangs of mostly drunk men between 18 and 35 years old while out celebrating.

Cologne’s police chief has said the perpetrators appeared to be of “Arab or North African” origin and the head of the police union in the region was quoted by German daily Die Welt as saying there were “definitely” refugees among them.

In response to the assaults, Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) have called for tougher penalties against offending asylum seekers, according to a draft paper seen by Reuters ahead of a meeting of the party leadership in Mainz.

The paper says refugees and asylum seekers who have been sentenced to prison or probation should be barred from eligibility for asylum.

This sentiment was echoed by Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel,

Women shout slogans and hold up a placard that reads “Against Sexism - Against Racism” as they march through the main railway station of Cologne, Germany on January 5. (REUTERS Photo)

who is also leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), coalition partners to Merkel’s conservatives.

“Why should German taxpayers pay to imprison foreign criminals,” Gabriel said. “The threat of having to spend time behind bars in their home country is far more of a deterrent than a prison sentence in Germany.”

Cologne police have not confirmed that refugees were among the attackers on New Year’s Eve, but Arnold Plickert, chief of the

police union in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia said there was no doubt in his mind.

“The suggestion that nothing points to refugees as being among the attackers is wrong in my view,” Plickert told Die Welt. “There were definitely refugees among the perpetrators.”

The CDU paper calls for lower barriers to deport criminal asylum seekers, increased video surveillance and the creation of a new criminal offence for physical assault.

PRESSURE ON MERKEL The assaults have raised doubts over whether Germany, which took in 1.1 million refugees last year, can succeed in integrating the latest wave and prompted renewed calls for limits on the number of new arrivals.

“If a direct link is shown between the assaults and the arrival of Middle Eastern migrants, the CDU could lose ground in state elections in March, and Merkel will come under greater pressure to introduce an upper limit on the number of migrants entering Germany,” said Eurasia analyst Mujtaba Rahman.

A new poll for public broadcaster ARD showed Merkel’s popularity rising 4 points to 58%and support for her conservative bloc up to 39%. Peter Tauber, general secretary of the CDU, rejected the idea of a cap but appeared to acknowledge that some refugees were not respecting German laws.

“There are many refugees that are happy to have survived, to have made it here and who are looking for jobs. These people who can contribute to our country are welcome,” he told Deutschlandfunk.

“But clearly there are also some who haven’t understood what kind of opportunity they’ve been given.”

Sharp drop in Rohingya migrants after Thai, Bangladesh crackdowns BANGKOK, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): The number of migrants leaving Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat in the past four months has plummeted because of Thai and Bangladeshi crackdowns on human smugglers, the United Nations and a rights activist said on Friday.

Thai police launched a sweeping campaign against smuggling gangs in May following the discovery of 30 bodies in graves near a human-trafficking camp close to the Malaysian border.

The police operation led to traffickers abandoning 4,000 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh at sea, sparking a chaotic round of “maritime ping-pong” as Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai navies pushed migrant boats away from their shores.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled poverty and persecution in western Myanmar since religious violence erupted there in 2012. Most have headed for Muslimmajority Malaysia, but

Migrants, who were found at sea on a boat, collect rainwater during a heavy rain fall at a temporary refugee camp near Kanyin Chaung jetty, outside Maungdaw township, northern Rakhine state, Myanmar June 4, 2015. (REUTERS File Photo)

many have made landfall first in southern Thailand or been intercepted and held for ransom in camps hidden deep in Thailand’s jungles. The region is now in its “sailing season”, with calmer seas after the rains, the busiest time for smuggling and trafficking ships plying the Bay of Bengal.

But Chris Lewa from the

Arakan Project, a Rohingya advocacy group which tracks migration, said this year the number of people sailing was much lower due to action against smugglers in Thailand and Bangladesh.

About 1,500 people sailed from Bangladesh and Myanmar between September and December, said Lewa, compared with

32,000 people tracked during the same period in 2014.

“Thailand is closed and cannot be used for disembarkation,” Lewa told Reuters.

“The few brokers that still seem to be involved are the ones that have pre-existing ‘orders’ for people to be brought over, that’s what we are being told at departure.”

“Anti-trafficking opera-

tions are going on in Bangladesh as well.” Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, said preliminary data suggested fewer people took to boats in the last quarter of the year.

“Based on our interviews with affected communities, it could be that smugglers and potential passengers are taking a wait-and-see approach following last year’s scrutiny and crackdowns,” said Tan. A major human-trafficking trial in Thailand involving 91 defendants allegedly involved with smuggling gangs that were trafficking Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis, is underway.

Activists have called on authorities to step up witness protection in the trial, which involves an army general and police investigators.

Hundreds of people who made the trip last year remain in immigration detention centres and shelters in southern Thailand and 11 Muslim Rohingya escaped from such a shelter on Friday, the head of the shelter told Reuters.

on China for rules on disputed sea

MANILA, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday urged Southeast Asian neighbours to put pressure on China to agree on a binding code of conduct to ease tension in South China Sea following Chinese test flights to an island it has built.

Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules for rival claimants in the South China Sea aimed at avoiding conflict.

“Can we put a little more pressure on China to sit down and agree on a binding code of conduct?”

Aquino said to reporters in southern Davao City, re-

ferring to ASEAN. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade passes every year, and has been increasingly assertive in staking its claim.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines have rival claims to parts of the sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

Aquino said the Philippines had done everything it could to push forward discussions on the code - a set of rules setting out how claimant states should behave, and imposing sanctions on countries that violate it, aimed at preventing provocative action, the raising of tension and conflict.

Aquino said China and ASEAN were due to meet next month to draw up elements of the code.

China, which has long said it was ready to discuss rival claims bilaterally, has said it will agree on a code of conduct when “the time is ripe”.

Analysts say it might be waiting for the completion of its work on artificial islands it is building in the South China Sea before sitting down with ASEAN. China landed two test flights on one of the islands on Wednesday, four days after its first landing on the 3,000 metre (10,000 feet) runway on a reef in the Spratly Islands. The Philippines denounced the flights.

10

saturDaY 09•01•2016

sports

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Mirza-Hingis win 25th Chappell calls for worldwide ban on Gayle doubles match in a row

The top-seeded Indo-Swiss duo defeated the Slovak-Russian combination of Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 7-5 to make the summit clash. (Getty Images)

brisbane, January 8 (ians): World No.1 women's doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their 25th match in a row, beating Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 7-5, at the Brisbane International on Friday.

The top seeds at the Premier-level tournament faced some resistance from the No.4 seeds, who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and, after dropping the first set, were a game away from winning the second set up 5-4.

But the Indo-Swiss pair did all the right things at all the right times and closed out the match smartly.

"I think we're off to a

great start in the new season," Hingis said after the match.

"We never really felt like we finished in 2015 - I played the Indian league and Sania played IPTL, so we still kind of kept our routine. We're really happy to have the possibility to be in another final, and win another title."

Hingis and Mirza's 25-match winning streak, which has brought them five titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals, is the longest winning streak since Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci's 25 in a row in 2012.

Corrigendum In the news article "Chakhroma Group 'D' conducts Wrestling Meet at Medziphema", the sponsors should be read as: Tsibu Haralu - 1st Prize; Anungla Rhitso - 2nd prize; Nikolie Krose - 3rd prize; Khotso Yalie - 4th prize, while Megolelhu Krose gave away the prizes to winners, and not as published. The inadvertent error is deeply regretted.

MDCA Inter Club Cricket Tourney MOKOKchung, January 8 (Mexn): Day 4 of the ongoing MDCA Inter Club Cricket Tournament saw Musketeers CC and Brotherhood CC registering all important wins in their respective matches.

The first match saw a low scoring but thrilling encounter between Musketeers and Rolling Ball CC. Musketeers batting first scored 87 runs with Toshi top scoring with 24 runs and Akok contributing 21 runs. Panger took 3 wickets while Senti and Meren chipped in with 2 wickets each for the Rolling Ball CC. Chasing the target, Rolling Ball could only manage 83 runs. Wapang and Lima took 3 wickets each for the Musketeers.

In the other match of the day, Brotherhood CC beat first timers Longmiasang CC by 35 runs and became the second club to enter the quarterfinals. Batting first, Brotherhood managed to score 141 runs in their 20 overs. Raja scored 31 runs while Senso and Ochijunger took 2 wickets each for Longmiasang. In the run chase, Longmiasang CC could only reach 106 while losing 8 wickets. Kilen top scored with 42 runs but did not get any support from fellow teammates as none of the other batsmen crossed the single digit figure. For Brotherhood, Longkum, Temsulemba and Santosh picked 2 wickets each.

MatcH Day 5 FixtuRe: 8 a.m. - DC XI vs Sovran Kings 11 a.m. - Suzerain CC vs Team Bendangsunep

36th Tizit Area Inter-Village Tourney underway DiMaPur, January 8 (Mexn): Minister for Transport, Civil Aviation, IT&C, P. Paiwang Konyak declared open the 36th edition of Tizit Area Inter-village tournament 2016 at Local Ground Tizit on January 8. The tournament is being organised by Tizit Area students union (TASU).

Addressing the opening ceremony, the chief guest called upon the participants to take up the opportunity to regain the glory of the past leaders of the area. He also lauded TASU for creating a platform for the young sports persons of the area to expose and excel their talents in various fields of sports by organizing the tournament.

Altogether 28 teams are participating in the tournament. The ten-day tournament will also feature open beat contest and comedy night.

"It's been a long time since we've lost, but it's never easy to start a new season, especially when you're coming off such a great season. Everyone's gunning for us - we're the hunted," Mirza commented.

"We're just taking it one match at a time, staying positive, and picking up from where we left off."

The doubles team of Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva rattled off 28 victories in a row way back to the 1994 season.

Mirza-Hingis won nine titles together last year including the Wimbledon and the US Open and ended the season as the top ranked team in the world.

MeLbOurne, January 8 (aaP): Australian cricket great Ian Chappell has called on Cricket Australia to propose a worldwide contracting ban on Chris Gayle following his controversial sideline interview with Network Ten reporter Mel McLaughlin.

Gayle was fined $10,000 by his BBL side Melbourne Renegades for his on-air mid-match comments to McLaughlin on Monday night. The big-hitting West Indian batsman's hopes of returning next season could also be all but over, given Cricket Australia has the power to essentially veto any BBL player contract.

Some CA officials wanted Gayle to be suspended over the interview, during which he told McLaughlin she had beautiful eyes and asked her out for a drink before saying "don't blush, baby".

Ex-Australian skipper Chappell said CA needed to send a zero tolerance message on what he deemed "totally inappropriate" behaviour in a sport trying to gain traction with women.

"I wouldn't have a problem if Cricket Australia said to the clubs, `he's never to be contracted again in this country'," Chappell said in Sydney, where he participated in an Optus SMB Cricket Legends event alongside Tom Moody.

Chris Gayle

Ian Chappell

Gayle's behaviour fairly expected: Watson

A

ustralia allrounder Shane Watson has said he was not surprised by Chris Gayle's behaviour, adding that the controversial remarks made by the Jamaican during an interview with a female presenter were "fairly expected".

"I have played against Chris for a long time, since I started really, and that behaviour is fairly expected," Watson was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph. "People who know Chris Gayle will know those are the "And I also wouldn't have a problem if Cricket Australia said to the ICC, `what we're doing should be worldwide'.

"You'd have to talk to the individual countries then ... but I wouldn't have a problem if it was tabled at an ICC meeting that

sort of things he can do at times, and at an inappropriate time, obviously it gets him into a fair bit of trouble," he added.

Watson made it clear that Gayle had overstepped the mark with McLaughlin, and supported Cricket Australia's plans to make sure this would be Gayle's last edition of the BBL. "There is no doubt people have always loved coming along and watching him (Gayle) play because of the entertainment he can certain-

Cricket Australia said, `this is what we're doing and we would recommend that everybody else do the same'.

"How are you going to stop it otherwise?"

Gayle later apologised for any offence, saying it was a "simple joke".

But Chappell thought

ly provide. But there is always a line outside the game of cricket as well.

"In the end the people love the entertainment part of cricket, but there's also a respect, that part of playing the game on and off the field in the right spirit. There are people who will be making decisions either way (about Gayle's return). It's not just what you bring on the field, it's what you bring off the field as well, which is as important," Watson said.

(PTI)

he was "past help probably now", and said the focus should be on sending a message to up-and-coming male cricketers.

"If it was a one-off thing, yeah, slap him with a $10,000 fine and say `mate, don't do it again'," he said.

"But every woman I

spoke to [about Gayle] who's working at the cricket, you got the same answer from. They were quite adamant about it."

Gayle is expected to open for the Renegades on Saturday, when they host Melbourne Stars at Etihad Stadium.

Africa award winner Aubameyang staying at Dortmund

a b uJa , Ja n ua ry 8 (aFP): The Gabonese, who is the leading Bundesliga scorer this season, was reduced to tears after stopping Yaya Toure winning a fifth straight title on Thursday.

"I am staying at Dortmund," the 26-year-old Aubameyang, who has been linked with a bigmoney move to Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool, said after accepting the prize at a gala in Abuja.

"I am so happy. I am not someone who usually cries but it is quite an emotional moment.

"When you are standing alongside players like Yaya

a poll of African coaches, seven more than Manchester City's Toure. Ghana and Swansea City striker Andre Ayew was third on 112 points. "I am disappointed but that won't take anything from anybody," said Toure, the Ivory Coast captain. "I am sure Andre is also disappointed after what he did last year.

"This is not the time to complain. We will all go back and continue to work hard." Aubameyang dedicated his award to his country and Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba was among the first to congratulate him. "His genius is a major asset for the Pan-

Toure or Andre Ayew there is pride in winning such a trophy ahead of them because they are great players and I obviously admire them a lot."

The first player from Gabon to win the title said he hoped to scoop a second award next year with his rich run of form.

"I will really have to work a lot. Obviously, I think I have the skills and the talent to make it again next year but it will require lots of work and many sacrifices as well."

Aubameyang, who has scored 18 goals in 17 Bundesliga games this season, earned 143 points in

CAWA Wrestling Meet on Jan 12 PheK, January 8 (Mexn): The Chokri Area Wrestling Association will holds its 26th Wrestling Meet at K. Bawe village, Phek district on January 12. NLA Speaker Chotisuh Sazo will be the chief guest while guest of honour will be Er. Medozho Chuzho, Rtd. Senior Architect, Nagaland PWD, a press release received here informed.

thers in preparation for the next Africa Cup of Nations," said Bongo. Gabon will host the next next African championship in 2017.

"We have good players and a good national team in Gabon," declared Aubameyang.

Frenchman Herve Renard, who led the Ivory Coast to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, was named coach of the year.

It was his second such award after the 47-year-old also led Zambia to upset favourites Ivory Coast to lift a first-ever Nations Cup trophy in 2012.

Ivor y Coast were named team of the year.

62nd KVSA meet to end today Wrestling, Cross Country race to mark final day

Non-bailable warrant against Dhoni new DeLhi, January 8 (Pti): A local court in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur has issued a non-bailable warrant against Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for allegedly portraying himself as Lord Vishnu on a magazine cover. He has been ordered him to appear in the court on February 25. The Supreme Court in September last year had stayed criminal proceedings against him on a complaint lodged that had alleged that he hurt Hindu sentiments. The High Court had observed in August 2015: “A celebrity and a cricketer like Dhoni should know the consequences of hurting religious sentiments of people. He should have known the consequences of doing such ads.” The complaint, filed by social activist Jayakumar Hiremath, had alleged that Dhoni was seen on the cover of a business magazine as Lord Vishnu, holding several things, including a shoe in his hands. The High Court had said, “These celebrities are only signing ads without any responsibility. Their aim is to earn easy money without considering the problems it may create.”

Lehmann predicts fiesty India ODI series

Perth, January 8 (aFP): Australia's upcoming one-day campaign against India should be as feisty as ever, coach Darren Lehmann said Friday, adding the dynamic would be a good challenge for his young squad.

Asked about the mood of the five-match ODI series, which gets under way at Perth's WACA ground on Tuesday, Lehmann said he expected it would be "the same" as previous ones.

"They (India) are playing an aggressive brand of cricket as well so I don't see that changing over the next five games," he told reporters in Perth.

"India play the same way, so it's going to be an exciting series."

Matches in the past have seen tempers flare, with umpires intervening in Adelaide in 2014 as players exchanged terse words and pointed fingers at each other. The Perth game will be the first time top-ranked Australia have faced India since beating them in the

semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Sydney last March.

Lehmann said he was sure his 13-man squad -including uncapped fast bowlers Scott Boland and Joel Paris -- would handle the situation well given their experience with big

crowds and the pressures of domestic T20 cricket.

"So they'll be used to that now, which is a good thing for us," he said.

"International cricket is another step up for them, but I'm sure they'll handle it well. It will be a good challenge for them."

Lehmann said he was hoping for "a good, fast, bouncy track" in Perth ahead of matches in Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

"They (India) are a good one-day side, they made the semis of the World Cup -- they're a quality side," the coach said.

"So from our point of view, we've got to play well and start well against them."

KOhiMa, January 8 (Mexn): D. Khel annexed three Gold Medals on day four of the ongoing 62nd KVSA Meet, 2016 being held at Local Ground, Kohima.

D. Khel struck Gold in both men’s and women’s events in Basketball. In the men’s final, D. Khel beat L. Khel 46-42 in a keenly contested match, while D. Khel women scrapped passed T. Khel 26-17.

D. Khel also won Gold in women’s volleyball beating P. Khel in three straight sets by 25-23, 25-23 and 2522. In men’s volleyball, T. Khel clinched Gold beating D.Khel 25-12, 23-25, 25-22 and 25-8.

In the Athletics High

Medal tally

T. Khel – 13 Gold medal – 9 Silver medal – 8 Bronze medal = Total =30 D. Khel – 9 Gold medal – 3 Silver medal – 7 Bronze medal = Total =19 P. Khel – 4 Gold medal – 7 Silver medal – 3 Bronze medal = Total =14 L. Khel – 2 Gold medal – 10 Silver medal – 2 Bronze medal = Total =14

Jump event, P. Khel’s Vizetuolie Rame won Gold in the men’s event while in the women’s event, Dziesengunuo Solo of T. Khel won Gold.

Results of the events at Indoor Stadium such as Chess, badminton and Table tennis are awaited as the match continued till late evening on Friday.

Meanwhile the five-day meet of KVSA will conclude on Saturday with traditional Naga Style Wrestling for

Men and Cross Country Race. The wrestling competition on Saturday will start at 9 a.m. while the Cross Country race will begin at 12 noon. The closing ceremony will take place at 3.30 p.m. with P. Atuo Mezhur, President Nagaland Football Association, as the Guest of Honour.

2.Avituo Mere (P.Khel)-1.62 meters 3.Mhasisetuo Solo(T. Khel)-1.62 meters (Medal position was decided on Drops by competitors) High Jump(Women) 1.Dziesengunuo Solo (T.Khel)-1.27 meters 2.Dziivinchiinuo Rutsa( P.Khel)- 1.23 meters Results of day four 3.Vikuobeinuo Khrumo High Jump(Men) (L.Khel) -1.23 meters 1.Vizetuolie Rame(P.Khel)- (Medal position decided 1.62 meters on Drops by competitors)

Saturday 09•01•2016

EntErtainmEnt

The Eco-Friendly Architect

H

e is the founder of Zynorique, an architecture firm based in Kohima, Nagaland. Zynorique (pronounced as zai-no-reek) was started in April 2002,

by Architect Richard Belho and Associate Architect Kezhagwetuo (Ato) Peseyie. At present, it has seven Architects and four Civil Engineers and is actively engaged in various Governmental Projects as Architectural Consultants.

It also provides Architectural Services and conducts Skill Based training through their other wing Zynorique Initiatives.

Richard explains that the concept of forming Zynorique happened in Bangalore when he was sitting with a group of friends discussing about starting a Design Commune which would focus a part of their energy in helping people through their creativity. “As opposed to pure commercial Architecture, Zynorique till today is committed to working with the local youths hands on and creating change in our own small way”, he says.

Architect Richard’s concept of green and sustainable architecture is bringing about a much-required change in the State. A socially concerned architect, he believes in a philosophy of designing buildings to comply with the principles of social, economic and ecological sustainability.

The main objective of green and sustainable architecture, he says, is to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.

He further states that as far as Nagaland is concerned, we need to look at this issue seriously.

“Though we have been blessed with so much of Natural Resources, instead of being the caretaker of

C M Y K

such rich environment, we have started exploiting and destroying the land. Though Nagaland is located within Earthquake Zone V (highest), we blindly disregard the danger and keep building high rise buildings without proper quality control.

In a social context, constructing RCC boxes in villages is destroying the beauty and rich character of our Villages,” says Richard.

This eco-friendly architect also sees Bamboo as the Material of the Future.

Richard’s passion for ‘Bamboo’ stems from a reminder of his Late Uncle “Norman Putsure” with whom he worked very closely in promoting Bamboo.

He believes that bamboo can solve so many problems here in Nagaland. He states that the cost of construction has spiralled out of control for so many reasons and with all the corruption in place; it has become a challenge even for the Government to construct a decent school or hospital in remote villages.

With this belief, Richard is presently developing a building concept that will reduce foundation cost and carriage cost by utilising more of raw material available at site. “Bamboo Houses when designed properly has a unique charm and also it offers more safety in terms of Earthquakes. We have worked on reducing fire hazards with respect to Bamboo as building material and we are successful to quite an extent now. From 2016, we are going to supply prefabricated Cottages all over India. The first batch will roll out hopefully by the month of February 2016,” he shares.

Just to name a few of Richard’s activities with Bamboo, this eco-friendly architect is behind the construction of Bamboo Pavilion at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, Traffic Control Booth at Naga Heritage Vil-

Richard Belho is an exceptional man, making a real difference. He stands for many things.

He is an expert in bamboo, advocates protecting the environment, promoter of youth empowerment, and endorses organic foods.

To put it simply, he is working towards a better future of Nagaland.

Akangchila Longchar

lage, Kisama, Wayside Amenities in all districts, Gazebos in all District Headquarters, Bamboo Cottage at NBRC, Dimapur, North East Stall at NE-AGRI EXPO site, Dimapur, International Stall at NEAGRI EXPO site, Dimapur, Balcony at Nagaland University, Lumami, Office Complex, CIH, Medziphema, Bamboo Pavilion – Phase 2, Bamboo Structures Funded

by BMTPC, Bamboo Prefabricated Structures, Towers, Bridge and Cottage Accommodations, Bamboo Restaurant and Craft Gallery – Chapru, Wild Duck Bamboo Restaurant at Eco Village, Tsiepama.

Richard Belho is not just an architect. He has also been instrumental in numerous “Research & Development” activities and trainings related to bamboo handicraft items like Bamboo toys, bamboo jewellery items, hot pressed bamboo

boards, cold press roofing system, design and development of bamboo cutter, design of prototypes for Commercial Production in Handicraft Sector. He also made a proposal to introduce Designers Royalty fee in Handicraft Product to encourage and tap the creative potential of the Naga Youths.

This architect enjoys working as a struggling entrepreneur without the security of Government job.

He states that it helps him connect better with the majority of the people who are outside the 'system'.

The main advantage and the best feeling is the opportunity to work with people at different levels. However, he states that the most challenging aspect for him and anyone working in Nagaland is Human Resource Management since the average Naga is subscribed to an idea of “Easy Money”.

This innovative and enterprising architect has also gained much recognition through awards such as “Bamboo Pioneer Award”

by World Bamboo Organisation, “Young Designer Award 2012” by Indian Architect and Builders, and “Balipara Naturenomics Award 2015” by Balipara Foundation.

Richard’s dream is to make Nagaland excel in four areas- Organic Food Production; High End Bamboo prefabricated Structures and Highly skilled Bamboo Workers, Supply of Best Skilled Workers throughout the country, and Dream Tourist Destination.

As an enterprising entrepreneur himself, committed to numerous projects focused on upbuilding the society, Richard believes that entrepreneurs should be innovative and

Police security slashed for Shah Rukh, Aamir Khan

Footage from One Direction's shelved music video leaked

A

footage of British boy band One Direction's shelved music video for their single "Infinity" has leaked online. In the brief video clip, the band members are seen performing in what looks like a parking lot while the song plays in the

background, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Behind them is a massive white backdrop featuring their faces drawn among other images seemingly created by fans.

Written by Julian Bunetta, John Ryan and Jamie Scott, "Infinity" was first re-

M

leased in September last year as a countdown single preceding the release of One Direction's fifth studio effort.

Because of that reason, some fans expressed their disappointment on Twitter after it was announced that the song would be the group's next official single.

Angelina Jolie’s kids to join her in ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’

not dependant on subsidies and grants to start with. He propagates and endorses a production based entrepreneurship so that 80% of the income comes back to our State.

This architect feels that the tag ‘Entrepreneur’ has become very fancy these days and he is still yet to stumble across a very successful entrepreneur in Nagaland who is not dependent on Government support. “However having said that, I am encouraged to see a lot of younger generation who are managing to stand on their own feet and maybe the day is not far when we shall see real progress and development in the private sector,” he hopes.

This one man’s dedication and social commitment is finally tilting the balance towards ecofriendly architecture in Nagaland.

umbai Police has downgraded security cover for superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan and scrapped it for some others following an audit on threat perceptions, an official said on Friday.

Described as "routine", the annual review of threat perceptions has concluded that some film celebrities did not warrant the kind of security cover accorded to them.

Accordingly, Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan will now be entitled to two armed constables in two shifts, reduced from the earlier round-the-clock security by four armed constables and an escort vehicle.

The two had been provided 24x7 security after controversies following their comments on "intolerance" and increased threat perceptions to their lives, the official said.

Until now, police pro-

vided security to around 40 personalities including director Rajkumar Hirani, Farah Khan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ali Morani and Karim Morani. These have been totally withdrawn.

Besides the two Khans, security cover will continue for singer Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, actors Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, directors Mahesh Bhatt and his brother Mukesh Bhatt and a few others.

Sunny Leone is grounded, professional

Hillstar

A

A

ngelina Jolie has asked her kids Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and Knox to join her on-screen as members of the ancient Chinese cartoon clan in “Kung Fu Panda 3”.

Actress Angelina Jolie has asked her kids Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and Knox to join her on-screen as members of the ancient Chinese cartoon clan in “Kung Fu

Panda 3”.

The 40-year-old Oscarwinning actress, who will reprise her role as the Tigress, will have her children lending their voices to some of the other pandas featured in the film, reported E! online.

“They have some lines in the film,” Jolie’s representative said.

Though this will be

the first big screen performance for Knox, 7, with his mom, the rest of the kids have worked on the set with Jolie and dad Brad Pitt.

Pax and Zahara as well as Vivienne made cameos in the Disney “Maleficent”.

Shiloh, 9, and Maddox both worked on their father’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “World War Z”.

ctor Rajniesh Duggall is all praise for his co-star Sunny Leone, with whom he has shared screen space twice, and says the actress is very grounded despite being extremely popular.

Rajniesh first worked with the "Jism 2" star in last year's "Ek Paheeli Leela". The duo will team up again for their forthcoming romantic-drama "Beiimaan Love".

"Sunny Leone is very professional. It has been a great experience working with her. She is very well known, extremely famous, and yet very grounded. When on set, she is completely in the working-mode zone. We have worked previously so there was a good comfort zone between us," Rajinesh told PTI. The actor says "Beiimaan Love" is very dark and romantic unlike the duo's last outing.

"It was a challenging role to play.

It is a bold character and the film is about love, lust, revenge and drama. It is a dark romantic film. It won't be like 'Leela', which was spanning in different times. It is a very today's film."

Rajniesh, who made his debut with Vikram Bhatt's horror film "1920", will next be seen in "Direct

NOW SHOWING

11:00 AM | 05:00 pm | 08:00 Pm Ishq". He plays the role of Vickky, a flamboyant man, in the Rajiv S Ruia directed film. "I was initially offered the role of Kabir Bajpai, before Arjun Bijlani came on board to play the character. It was a soft, lover boy role which I didn't want to do anymore.

I said I will play the role of Vickky Shukla, who is an out-an-out masala 'dabangi' character, very flamboyant and charming," he said.

The actor, who was also seen in

bold romantic number "Mohabbat Barsa Dena Tu" from Bipasha Basustarrer "Creature 3D", says he wants to shed his image of a soft lover boy.

"It is a conscious decision to break free of the lover boy tag. I was endorsing a suitings brand for a long time and then I left it because I wanted to come out of the clean, complete man image. Hence I did 'Ek Paheeli Leela', the song 'Mohabbat Barsa Dena' and now 'Direct Ishq'," he said.

0200 PM

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saturDaY 09•01•2016

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Barcelona dominate UEFA's 2015 Team of the Year

LONDON, JANuARy 8 (REuTERS): Players from European champions Barcelona made up nearly half of UEFA's Team of the Year which was revealed on Friday, while Cristiano Ronaldo made the lineup for a record 10th time.

Eight players from La Liga were included in the final XI, voted for by 7.2 million UEFA.com users from a 40-strong shortlist. Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Neymar were the Barcelona players included, while Real Madrid provided Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez.

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and David Alaba while the only player to make the cut from Italy's Serie A was Juventus's Paul Pogba, one of three players selected for the first time along with Neymar and Rodriguez.

C M Y K

England's Premier League was not represented, despite its enormous financial clout and stellar names such as Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure, Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

Full team: Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany).

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain), Dani Alves (Barcelona and Brazil), Gerard Pique (Barcelona and Spain). Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain), Paul Pogba (Juventus and France), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid and Colombia).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina), Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal).

Platini pulls out of FIFA race, vows to clear name

PARiS, JANuARy 8 (AFP): Suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini vowed to clear his name of sleaze allegations and slammed outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter as he pulled out of the race to lead football's world body.

Platini told French sports newspaper L'Equipe that he would concentrate on fighting his eight-year ban from football, as he abandoned his bid to contest the FIFA election on February 26.

"I will not present myself for the presidency of FIFA. I am withdrawing my candidature," he said, in an interview to be published in full on Friday.

"I no longer have the time nor the means to go to the voters, to meet people, to fight against the other candidates.

"In withdrawing, I am dedicating myself to my defence."

Platini and Blatter were suspended for eight years

by FIFA's ethics committee over a $2 million payment made to Platini in 2011 for work carried out between 1999 and 2002.

A combination of pictures made on November 12, 2015 shows (from L-R) Gianni Infantino, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Jerome Champagne, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan and Tokyo Sexwale, the 5 official candidates for the FIFA presidency. (AFP Photo)

The 60-year-old Platini said his ban has made it impossible for him to put together a campaign to take on the sport's most powerful job.

"It is a question of the calendar, but not only that.

How can you win an election when you are prevented from campaigning?" he said.

Platini laid the blame for his plight squarely at the door of Blatter, 79, claiming that the veteran Swiss wanted his "scalp".

"Everything started because of Blatter, who wanted my head, who did not want me to go to (lead) FIFA," Platini was quoted as saying.

"He said often that I would be his final scalp, but he fell at the same time

as me."

- 'How did we get to this?' Platini said he will concentrate his resources on an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the FIFA electoral commission which "claimed that I had falsified accounts".

The Frenchman said: "I have fought like I have always fought in my life but I have not been given the opportunity to compete this time round."

Platini's decision to give up on his dream of becoming FIFA president leaves five declared candidates.

They are: Asian football head Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, South African politician and tycoon Tokyo Sexwale, former FIFA

vice-president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, and Jerome Champagne, a former FIFA assistant general secretary from France.

Platini, a FIFA vicepresident, and Blatter were banned from all footballrelated acivities by FIFA's ethics committee on December 21.

Platini insisted there was nothing illegal in his oral contract he said was agreed with Blatter. The salary agreement was however never disclosed in FIFA documentation until the payment was made in 2011.

"I'm struggling to understand. Why? How did we get to this? I did some work, I asked to be paid, I sent an invoice, I was paid,

I paid my taxes on that.

That was in 2011," he told AFP when the ban was announced.

"There was a debt that was settled, full stop! Then, in 2015, the Swiss court wanted more information.

"Then it took off at FIFA and a lot of people at FIFA are happy that this issue happened.

"And here I am, suspended from all footballrelated activity for eight years."

Platini repeated his suspicions that the timing of the ban was a deliberate attempt to prevent him from standing in February's election.

"What was the FIFA ethics committee doing between 2011 when I was paid and 2015? Was it sleeping?

Suddenly it wakes up," he scoffed.

"Ah yes, it wakes up in a FIFA election year when I'm a candidate. It's amazing!" Later Thursday, UEFA said in a statement emailed to AFP that it "continues to support the right of Michel Platini to due process and the opportunity to clear his name".

NBA: Big LA Lakers comeback falls short

SACRAMENTO, JANuARy 8 (AFP): The Sacramento Kings squandered a 27-point lead but dug deep late for a 118-115 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s last game in the California capital.

Kings guard Rajon Rondo made a running basket to put Sacramento up by one with 21 seconds left and then forced a Lakers turnover as a contest that looked like a certain blowout came down to the wire.

Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins then made two free throws and Lakers guard Louis Williams missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Bryant, the Lakers superstar who will retire at the end of this season, scored 28 points in his 34th and final regular season appearance in Sacramento.

Bryant returned from a three-game absence nursing a sore shoulder and scored 28 points — including a highlight-reel two-handed dunk that Lakers coach Byron Scott called a “young man moment.” Bryant, who led the Lakers to three playoff series victories over the Kings, made 10 of 18 shots from the field and six of eight free throws, and became the third player in NBA history — and at 37 the youngest ever — to score 33,000 points in his career. He took his tally to 33,010, but was on the bench for the night by the time the Lakers charged back into contention.

Rookie D’Angelo Russell scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles.

Although the Lakers fell to 8-29 — the second-worst record in the league — Bryant said the heart his young teammates showed late was encouraging. “They played so well, they worked really, really hard,” Bryant said. “It’s important for them to figure out how to close those games out without me on the floor.”

Bulls in tune The Chicago Bulls consolidated their second spot in the Eastern Conference with a sixth straight victory, downing the Boston Celtics 101-92.

Down 43-33 late in the second quarter, the Bulls outscored Boston 15-4 in the final four minutes of the frame to lead 48-47 at halftime. They rolled from there, continuing an impressive streak that has seen them score at least 100 points in their last nine games.

That’s a feat the Bulls hadn’t accomplished since the 1995-96 season when Michael Jordan led the team.

Shooting guard Jimmy Butler said the Bulls’ offensive output was rooted in improved defense.

“That’s what really won us the game,” Butler said.

“We were out there guarding, we rebounded, and we got a lot of easy baskets. When we’re playing like that, we look really good out there.”

Six Chicago players scored in double figures. Butler had a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists, Derrick Rose scored 18 and center Pau Gasol had his 19th doubledouble of the season with 17 points and 18 rebounds.

The in-tune Bulls had an appreciative audience in Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, a friend of Gasol’s who attended the game.

“He’s a basketball fan,” Gasol said.

Harden leads Rockets Down by five to Utah on their home floor at halftime, the Houston Rockets picked up the pace in the second half to beat the Jazz for the second time in four days.

Rockets guard James Harden scored 33 points in the 103-94 victory as Houston overcame the absence of center Dwight Howard, who sat out with tightness in his back.

Houston, who defeated the Jazz 93-91 in Salt Lake City on Monday, scored 64 points in the second half, connecting on 65.7 percent of their shots from the floor.

After the break, they produced 12 fast-break points, including 10 in the third quarter.

“I think we were playing for the most part pretty well defensively. Offensively we were too slow,” Harden said of the first half.

“We wanted to put an emphasis on pushing the basketball, getting stops and just running out.”

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