January 9th, 2017 by The Morung Express

C M Y K

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monDAY • JAnuArY 09 • 2017

DIMAPUR • Vol. XII • Issue 07 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

P o W e R

Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dreams?

Taxi apps drive economic, social change in Saudi PAGE 09

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Road construction in Burma Camp plagued with delays and problems

o F

T R u T H

— Tim Burton

Djokovic makes statement in epic win over Murray in Doha

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Bandhs in Khm, Mkg, Medziphema & tuensang today

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 8 (MExN): With only a day left till the extended deadline for filing nominations to 6 municipal and town councils for the upcoming ULB elections, Kohima, Mokokchung and Medziphema are geared to experience bandhs on Monday, while a bandh is already in place at Tuensang. The Ao Senden called for a total bandh on January 9 in Mokokchung from 8:00am to 3:00pm, in protest against the decision of the Nagaland State Government to extend the deadline for filling of nominations to the Nagaland Municipal ustaad,..i want to take sick and Town Council elections. leave for ..for..till things are Total restriction on movement back to normal. of vehicles and public will be enforced during the bandh; however The Morung Express police, paramilitary, medical, magPoll QuEsTion istrate on duty, media and other Vote on www.morungexpress.com emergency services will be exemptsMs your answer to 9862574165 ed from the purview of the bandh. A press note from the Ao SenIs fencing of the den termed the decision to exIndo-Myanmar border tend the deadline as a “direct inin Tuensang an sult and disrespect to the people.” opportunity for Nagas to set aside their It further accused the Nagaland differences and with one State Government of “hurting the united voice work for the sentiments of the people especommon goal? Why? cially when the extended dateline touches Sunday, a sacred day for Yes no others Christians.” If the Naga public were to The bandh on January 9, it said awaken from their silence has been called “as an expression and voice out their rights, of extreme displeasure against the do you think 2017 will state government who have shown witness changes? total disregard to the sentiment of Yes 44% the people by extending the dateno 25% line for filling of nominations.” others 31% In Tuensang, a bandh called by Details on page 7 the CKS and the TVCU came into force at 6:00pm on Sunday and will continue to be enforced till 6:00pm Monday. The CKS PresiWe would like to remind dent informed that while governyou that Rejoinders to ment offices would be allowed to those statements/news remain open, movement of civilpieces that have not been ians would be restricted in order originally published by to prevent intending candidates the newspaper will not from filing their nominations. be carried either. This is The Angami Youth Organizain order to maintain im- tion (AYO) has meanwhile decidpartiality on an issue. We ed to make certain modifications seek your understanding and changes to the bandh called and cooperation! on January 9. A press note from The Morung Express the AYO informed that the bandh

Public Reminder

• Tribe bodies resort to bandhs to prevent filing of nominations • Mkg ‘total bandh’ called by Ao senden from 8:00am to 3:00pm • Partial bandh in Kohima called by AYo from 7:00am to 3:30pm • Bandh called by CKs & TVCu underway in Tuensang, till 6:00pm today

All party meet appeals for smooth conduct of polls

KOHIMA, JANUARY 8 (MExN): Meanwhile, an all party meeting, attended by the ruling NPF, its ally BJP and the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), held today appealed to all organisations who are opposing the upcoming ULB polls to pave way for smooth conduct of the polls and also allow nominations to be filed on the extended date of January 9. The meeting was convened by the Chief Minister at his residential office in Kohima. The meeting was attended by Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu, President of NPF; KG Kenye, MP, Rajya Sabha and Secretary General, NPF; Apong Pongener, Working President NPF; Visasolie Lhoungu, President, BJP (Nagaland); Imsu Yaden, Vice President, BJP (Nagaland); Eduzu Theluo, General Secretary, BJP (Nagaland); Medokul Sophie, General Secretary, NPCC and Moa Imchen, Secretary, NPCC. Home Minister, Y Patton was also present. The attendees discussed how Article 243T of the Constitution of India relating to women reservation in local bodies did not affect article 371A, informed a press note from the Chief Minister’s Office, reiterating the call for smooth conduct of the polls.

A lightning bandh was called by the Ao senden in Mokokchung on saturday afternoon to prevent intending candidates from filing nomination for the ULB elections. Bandhs are set to be enforced in Kohima, Mokokchung, Medziphema and Tuensang on Monday, January 9. (Morung Photo)

ADC & RO Kohima re-issues notice for nomination

would be partial and would be imposed exclusively in the area from TCP Gate to North PS Junction including D Block area. The AYO bandh will also be enforced in Medziphema. It further said that pedestrian and vehicular movements will not be allowed within the periphery of the main town area. It directed all shops within the restricted area to remain closed, however pharmacies and eateries (Bakeries & Rice Hotel) are directed to remain open. Pharmacies and eateries failing to remain open tomorrow will invite action, the AYO cautioned. However, all educational institutions as well as students attending classes and exams are exempted from the bandh. The AYO further asked the Assam Rifles to minimize vehicular movement going in or out from their camp which falls within the restricted zone. Meanwhile, the Chakhroma GBs’ Union has expressed shock at

KOHIMA, JANUARY 8 (DIPR): In pursuance to partial modification of the notification received from the State Election Commission, the Returning Officer, KMC issued notice for nominations stating that an Election is to be held of a member to Ward No. 1 (High School), 2 (Bayavü Colony), 3 (North Block), 4 (Naga Bazaar), 5 (Kitsubozou), 6 (D. Block), 7 (Daklane), 8 (New Market), 9 (Midland), 10 (Hospital Colony), 11 (PWD Colony), 12 (Chandmari Upper Colony), 13 (Lower Chandmari), 14 (Poterlane-Old Minister Hill), 15 (A.G Colony), 16 (New Minister Hill-Lerie-NST-Dairy Farm), 17 (Agri-Forest-Electrical), 18 (Paramedical), 19 (P.R.Hill) of the Kohima Municipality. The notice stated that the nomination papers may be delivered by the candidate or his proposer to the Municipal Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer at DC Office Kohima between 11:00am and 3:00om on January 9. Forms of nomination papers may be obtained at the place and times aforesaid. The nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny on January 10 at DC Office, Kohima. Notice of withdrawal of candidature may be delivered by a candidate or his proposer or his election agent (who has been authorized in writing by the candidate to deliver it) to the office specified in paragraph (2) above at his/her office latest by January 17 before 3:00pm. The notice further stated that in the event of the election being contested, the poll will be taken on February 1, between the hours of 7:00am and 3:30pm.

the way in which some intending candidates to the Chumukedima Town Council were “clandestinely made to submit their nominations at the DC’s Office Dimapur on January 7, instead of doing so at the Office of the EAC Chümoukedima as is normally supposed to be done.” It advised those candidates who had filed their nomination papers within the jurisdiction of Chakhroma area to immediately withdraw their nominations to “mitigate the anger of the public against them or else if they go ahead with their candidature in defiance of the public desire, we can foresee serious ramification and consequences even on the polling day and even in the days thereafter.” The Lotha Hoho also called for the withdrawal of nominations by candidates who filed from Wokha and Bhandari. A press note from the Lotha Hoho informed that a meeting of the general public of

Wokha town, surrounding villages, all Lotha frontal organisations, including Kohima Lotha Hoho and Dimapur Lotha Hoho, resolved that all the intending candidates, who have filed nomination for the ULB election at Wokha and Bhandari towns are to withdraw their nominations immediately. It may also be noted that the Angami Public Organisation (APO) had a meeting with the Nagaland Chief Minister on Sunday, but it was informed that the meeting failed to resolve the issue. The APO President informed that while the government had appealed for allowing conduct of the polls, the APO remains steadfast regarding its stand. Of the 32 Urban Local Bodies in the state, Kohima, Mokokchung, Mon, Tuensang, Medziphema and Changtongya are yet to see any nominations being filed. The remaining 26 ULBs have seen 567 nominations, which include 174 women.

Petrol bunks to stop accepting cards NAGALAND VISION 2030:

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (AGENCIES): Petrol bunks across the country will stop accepting debit cards and credit cards for filling fuel from midnight on Sunday as banks will now debit a Merchant Discount Rate of 1 per cent from petroleum dealers, said President of All India Petroleum Dealers Association Ajay Bansal. Talking to reporters after a two-day State-level convention of petroleum dealers here on Sunday, Bansal said each petroleum dealer was operating with a profit margin of 2 per cent. On Saturday, banks referred to the Reserve Bank of

India notification dated December 16 and said an MDR ranging between between 0.25 and 1 per cent will be deducted for each debit card transaction. An MDR of 1 per cent will be deducted for each credit card transaction. “We are operating on a very thin margin. We cannot afford this deduction. Hence we have no other go than stop accepting debit and credit cards,” Bansal said. When pointed that the dealers are going against government directions, Mr. Bansal said they have no other option. Bansal said the decision to stop accepting debit and credit

cards had been conveyed to Petroleum Ministry and Finance Ministry officials, he said. Bansal said petroleum dealers will however accept payments through Paytm and Bhim apps. “But we have to stop accepting Paytm if they impose charge for each transaction,” he said. There are as many as 28,000 petrol bunks where Paytm was being accepted. Bansal said the petroleum dealers are in favour of Central Government’s move towards cashless transactions. “But we cannot afford to pay from our margin. We want our profit margin (of 2 per cent) intact,” he said.

Rs 4,807 cr black income detected, and Rs 112 cr of new notes seized

C M Y K

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 8 (IANS): Following the demonetisation of high-value currency announced on November 8, India’s Income Tax Department has detected undisclosed income of over Rs 4,807 crore and seized new notes worth Rs 112 crore, an official source here said on Sunday. Since the demonetisation intended to eliminate black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing, the tax authorities carried out 1,138 search, survey and enquiry operations and have issued 5,184 notices to various entities on charges of tax evasion and currency dealing through hawala channels, the source said. The total undisclosed income admitted or detected till January 5 is over Rs 4,807 crore, he added. According to the official, cash and jewellery worth over Rs

609.39 crore has been seized during the same period, while the new currency seized is valued at more than Rs 112 crore. On Decmber 16, the I-T Department had announced it had uncovered concealed income to the tune of Rs 2,600 crore and had seized a total of Rs 393 crore involving nearly 300 cases. Briefing reporters here, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra said: “We have conducted searches and seizures in about 291 cases, carried out surveys in 295 cases. “We have seized currency notes over Rs 316 crore in raids, including Rs 80 crore in new notes. Besides, jewellery of Rs 76 crore has also been seized making for a total seizure of Rs 393 crore.” The head of India’s Income Tax Department also said that

3,000 notices have been issued on the basis of their analysis of deposits made since demonetisation was announced last month. Meanwhile, describing the currency deposited with banks following demonetisation as money that has lost its earlier “anonymity”, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said such deposits do not automatically become legitimate, and can now be identified with the owner for taxation purposes. “Black money does not change its colour merely because it is deposited in bank. On the contrary, it loses its anonymity and can now be identified with its owner,” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post titled “Demonetisation -- A look back at the last two months”.

Quality life in rural areas our Correspondent Kohima | January 8

70% of Nagaland State’s people live in rural areas. There has to be a clear strategy and approach for not only attending to their needs but to also plan the future of the State by including them. This was stated in the Nagaland Vision 2030 document released in December last year. “The crux of the Vision 2030 is based on transforming the economy of Nagaland through agriculture where the rural people, especially farmers who comprises 45.47 per cent of the total workers of Nagaland will have to play the central role,” the Vision document observed. The progression from subsistence oriented agriculture to a market oriented economy will entail not only improvement of the agricultural production technologies but also the entire gambit of improving their living environment, it stated, adding that it will involve improving the various infrastructure in the rural areas ranging from the physical to social infrastructure. “The rural areas of Nagaland will also have to keep up with the technological changes that are emerging in the world that can induce a paradigm shift in their outlook and way of living,” it observed. The Vision 2030 stated that improving the quality of life

A road within Tsupfume villlage in Phek district.

and services to be delivered to 14,07,536 people living in 2,84,310 households inhabiting 1238 villages spread across the mountainous terrain will not be any easy task. The task is made all the more difficult as 1,57,118 are identified as BPL households. For the way forward, it stated that poverty issues can be best tackled by first approaching the issues of productivity in agriculture that include livestock, fishery and even sericulture over and above food grain production. The Vision 2030 document has proposed the ‘Cluster Approach’ where convergence among the implementing departments becomes key to achieving goals. The convergence of the rural development department with the other agriculture and allied departments

is necessary in such a strategy which can be achieved through structural changes in the management of the agriculture and allied activities. Stating that transport, communication and connectivity are the basic necessity for any development, it stated that the rural people have realized this and over the years there have been great efforts to get their villages connected by roads. The recent advent of heavy earth moving machines such as bulldozers, JCB etc have caused frenzy for construction of roads resulting in network of roads in every nook and corner of the state. Under the MGNREGA programme, 18,431 rural roads such as link/approach roads were constructed and construction of 29,915 roads is ongoing. Many villages have moved beyond construction

of link roads to their villages and have started constructing agri link roads. “Such programmes should be rationalized in the next five years. Statistically the road connectivity in the rural areas seems adequate. The issue is the quality,” the Vision document stated, adding that in most cases the roads are basically formations cutting and therefore are only fair-weather roads. They are also prone to landslides due to the loose soil formation and heavy rainfall. The strategy in the next ten years will have to be improving qualitative aspect of the roads for which special attention needs to be given by coordinating the PMGSY and the MGNREGA as also drawing up a special rural roads programme under the state plan, it observed.

monDAY 09•01•2017

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

MeetiNGS & AppoiNtMeNtS

TSUD executive meeting

The 2nd Executive Council meeting of Tenyimi Students' Union Dimapur (TSUD) for the tenure 2016-18 will be held on January 9, 2:00 pm at TSUD office. Therefore, TSUD general secretary, A. Shyerhunlo Lorin has requested all the Executive Council members to attend the meeting without fail.

CPO session cum Chakhesang Day on January 10

The Chakhesang Public Organization (CPO) is all set to hold its 35th general session-cum-3rd Chakhesang Day on January 10 at Yoruba village. MP Rajya Sabha, KG Kenye will be the main speaker of the session. It is mandatory for area/ range presidents and colleagues, VCCs and members, pastors, GBs and VDB secretaries and members to attend the programme with not less than five members from each village. All the frontal organizations, presidents and colleagues, national workers, public leaders, church leaders, government officers and well wishers have been invited to the session. Present and former legislators, CPO executive council members, Jury Board members, former CPO officials and VCCs have been requested to reach Yoruba at 1:00 pm on January 9 for executive council meeting.

Rongmeis to celebrate Gaan-Ngai

The Rongmei Council Nagaland is all set to celebrate Gaan-Ngai, the premier festival of Rongmei Naga tribe on January 10 at Kohima Local Ground from 10:00 am onwards. MLA Dr. Neiphrezo Keditsu, Chairman, NSMDC will grace the festival as the chief guest. Gaan-Ngai, the post harvest festival is celebrated every year in the month of December/January by the Rongmeis from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland to create a platform for every Rongmei to come together after long year of working in the fields and storing

their foodgrains in the granaries. The festival will be marked by traditional dance, traditional instrumental, indigenous games, wrestling, Chakan Gaan-Ngai Miss Contest etc.

Mass social work for Sükrünye festival

A mass social work will take place on January 11 at Kohima Local Ground from 9:00 am onwards in view of the forthcoming Chakhesang Sükrünye Festival 2017. All the Chakhesang Hoho Kohima (CHK) village units and concerned members have been requested to come with broom, dao, and spade etc for the said social work. Sükrünye festival will be celebrated on January 14 at Kohima Local Ground under the aegis of CHK with the theme ‘Strengthening unity & harmony’. All the members of Chakhesang community residing in the state capital Kohima have been requested to be there at the various gathering points on that day by 9:00 am and march to the festival venue. All the members have been requested to come in traditional attire. The designated gathering points are: T.T stadium, Officer's Hill, PWD office junction, Keziekie Taxi Stand, CBCK Kitsubozou and TCP gate.

SASU 67th biennial general conference

The Southern Angami Students’ Union (SASU) will hold its 67th biennial general conference from January 27-29 at St. Paul School Phesama under the theme “Be an asset not a liability.” The speakers of the conference are: Khrupi Sothu, Secretary, Nagaland Public Service Commission, Dr. Dietho-o Yhoshii, ex-MLA, Dominic Meyieho, senior Assistant Professor, Assam Don Bosco University and Pr. Kelhoulelie Zatsu, President, Angami Christian Revival Church Pastors & Deacons Association. The conference will also be marked by debate, academic session, devotional service, induction of new team, wrestling (Naga style).

Indigenous beehive at Longkhum village in Mokokchung district.

Road construction in Burma Camp plagued with delays and problems Shiihrazhiio A Mao Dimapur | January 8

since foundation of sand and stone was already laid. “Delay (in the road construction work) is because of contractors’ negligence,” alleged N. Humtsoe, Chairman of United North Block B. Attempt was made to get in touch with the contractors but was not possible. Even now the construction is taking much longer time than expected. “The machines they are using are not even working effectively,” the chairman added. The current demonetization issue is also adding to the problem since the contractors are unable to pay the labourers in time causing the work to stop from time to time. Absence of provision for drainage system is another major problem in the project. “How long can the road survive without drainage system?” asked Asakho Mahi, a businessman and local resident. As soon as the RC bridge is constructed just across the Assam border, trucks and other heavy vehicles are expected to start travelling on this road. Despite this, there is still no action taken by the contractors to solve the issue of drainage system.

After a long time without any improvement in condition, the road from Burma Camp Bazaar to United North Block B is under construction. This is the road which is the gateway from Bokajan, Assam into Nagaland. “The construction is carried out with the plan to let heavy vehicles travel from this road, especially Manipur trucks,” said Luthrea Rai, a local resident. However, for the longest time possible, this road has been neglected by the state government and was in poor condition. The last time there was even a bit of black topping on the road was in 2006. “When I first arrived, there was only jungle, a few houses and the saw mill,” said Saku Latdem, a senior resident who has lived in the area since 1995. Lots of things have changed since that time, however, “the road condition has never improved until now,” he added. On October 29, 2016, the Gaon Buras and United North Block B Council members held a meeting with the contractors to begin the road construction. The writer is currently an intern The dusty and bumpy road in Burma Camp, Dimapur. The pathetic condition of the This was after nearly 10 months at The Morung Express road has become a major problem for the commuters as well as residents of the area.

Youths called to use their prime time efficiently

KohiMa, January 8 (DiPr): Rachü Youth Organisation (RYO) held its 52nd Youth Day-cumWrestling Meet 2017 at Phuzhü on January 7 with Solezhol Neikha, SP, District Jail, Phek as the chief guest. In his address, Solezhol called upon the youths to use their prime time efficiently and choose the right talent to excel in their fields. He maintained that youths are the beauty and assets of the khel and village. “Youths are the backbone of the village. They are the good morning of the day and like a spring season of the year,” he stated. He also asserted that one cannot become a professional sportsperson in one day and urged the wrestlers to use proper diet and regular exercises and

Solezhol Neikha, SP, District Jail, Phek speaking at the Rachü Youth Organisation’s 52nd Youth Day-cum-Wrestling Meet 2017 at Phuzhü on January 7.

compete with one another to the khel. ings to all those gathered with the spirit of sportsMeanwhile, Solezhol at the event and praised almanship and bring laurels extended New Year greet- mighty God for giving the

beautiful day to the youths. He further acknowledged the founding members who had a vision for the betterment of the future generation and formed the organisation (RYO). A one minute silent was also observed in memory of KV Pusa, former minister, who passed away recently. Meyiekul Noswe, president, RYO chaired the programme, Dzüvingol Sothu, Assistant Pastor, VCRC invoked God's blessing. Welcome address was delivered by Elho Kin, Secretary Report was given by Tepumekro Sothu, and administration of oaths was done by Meyoho Sothu. Eyongol Sothu, chairman, Rachümi panchayat gave away the prizes to the winners. Meanwhile, vote of thanks was pronounced by Er. Medoseho.

‘RetRoSpectively MARchiNG foRwARd’

Satoi Range Students’ Union holds 42nd Biennial General conference

Zunheboto, January 8 (Mexn): The Satoi Range Students’ Union (SRSU) held its 42nd Biennial General Conference at Ikiye Village from January 4 to 6 under the theme ‘Retrospectively marching forward’. On day one, Khetoholi Yeptho, Public Prosecutor, Zunheboto was the speaker. She emphasized that every village institution, students leader, educated person, government employee, public leader and right thinking citizen should have the courage to speak and voice out for right of the public, while adding that human rights guarantee right to life, free-

dom of thought and expression and equal treatment in the eye of the law. A press release from Nikato T Aye, President and Homugha Achumi, General Secretary of SRSU further informed that the speaker stated that with the progress of socio-economic development, legal right and awareness is the need of the hour and that the citizens should know their rights and responsibility. Pointing out the importance of Right to Information (RTI), the Public Prosecutor reminded that every citizen can seek information by filing an application at any government establishment under the RTI Act

and check corruption and misuse of power by certain individuals and institutions to promote transparency, accountability and ensure that the public is not deprived of their rights. It is the responsibility of the government agencies to furnish the information sought, she added. On the second day of the conference, G. Kaito Aye, MLA from 36 A/C Satakha attended the event as chief guest. Stating that students should be humble and sincere, he urged to start with humble beginning and pay respect to elders. The MLA also pointed out that the constituency needs more improvement

Zheito Chophy, former President, SKK and former President, ANCSU speaking as guest of honour at the SRSU Biennial General Conference on January 6.

in roads. Better infrastrucZheito Chophy, former ture, he stated, can only be President, All Sumi Stuattained through unity and dents’ Union (SKK) and good coordination. former President, All Na-

galand College Students’ Union (ANCSU) graced the occasion as guest of honour on January 6, the last day of the event. Zheito urged the students to be humble, sincere, God fearing and seek heavenly wisdom and put best efforts to succeed in their academic career. As an advisor of All Sumi Students’ Union (SKK), he highlighted the recent ‘Doing Right Mission’. The prime objective of the mission, he said, is also to check corruption in central, state projects, schemes allotted by the government for construction of roads, buildings and other infrastructures for the public. He asserted that funds al-

lotted should reach the public and not be misused. Maintaining that proper implementation of the schemes, projects is required for development in the area, he stated that fraudulent withdrawal of public fund without carrying out the civil works should not be allowed, the press release said. In this regard, he urged upon every citizen, students’ union to check the implementation of schemes, projects, and contracts etc. in their respective village along with the All Sumi Students’ Union to ensure quality works and also accountability and transparency

for the whole system in the area. Meanwhile, he said that contract works may be given to the contractors through open tender by the authorized MLA; however, it is the duty of the students’ unions, public leaders to cooperate and ensure quality works in their areas. On the opening day of the session, Ninoto Awomi, President, All Sumi Students’ Union also graced the occasion as speaker. SRSU also elected its new office bearers for the tenure 2017 led by Nikato T Awomi as President and Homugha Achumi as General Secretary during the general conference.

(Left & Middle) Tug of war and cultural performance presented at the Phoyisha Cultural Festival held from January 4 to 7 at Yisisotha village under Meluri subdivision of Phek district. (Right) Pochury women with their children attend the festival on January 5. Morung Photo/Chizokho Vero

MOnday 09•01•2017

NORTH-EAST 3

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Indo-Myanmar border trade hit by blockade

GuWahaTI, January 8 (Tnn): The crisis caused by the economic blockade in Manipur has affected the bilateral trade with the neighbouring Myanmar, and the concerns were echoed at a business meet here on Sunday. "The bilateral trade between Myanmar and India through Manipur has significantly dropped due to the ongoing blockade. The prevailing situation has really affected the bilateral trade. Hardly 25% of the bilateral trade is being carried out at present," said Myanmar's Border Trade Chamber of Commerce president Hla Maung on the sidelines of the two-day India-Myanmar Reverse Buyer Seller Meet, orga-

nized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here. The conclave concluded on Sunday. Fiftymember delegation each from Myanmar and India had business-to-business interactions on prospect and opportunities for promoting bilateral trade with the neighboring country through Northeast. "In fact frequent blockade in Manipur has already affected the bilateral trade. Situation has to improve for the sake of promotion of bilateral trade," Maung said. Manipur is hit by an indefinite blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) since November 1 against the government's creation of new districts. The situation in the state is

further aggravated by the counter blockade called by the Meitei groups. The state shares 398 km international border with Myanmar, and state's Moreh town is the hub of border trade with the neighbouring country. The volume of trade at the Moreh-Tamu border point is estimated to be around Rs 300 million, which is an increase from an estimated Rs 100 million about a decade back. Officials however, said that the volume of illegal border trade is several times more than the legal one. Altogether 40 items are included for border trade between India and Myanmar. India's export to Myanmar accounts about

38%. With Northeast being put at the centre-stage of India's Act East Policy for promoting trade link with South East Asian countries, Moreh along with other border points in the region has been identified as the strategic business location for cross-border business. ICC said that the twoday meet is aimed at bringing together buyers and sellers from both sides of the border. North Eastern Council member C K Das said the historical ties, common cultural linkages and shared boundary between India and Myanmar are factors that should work in favour of improved trade between the two countries.

Security forces escort over 500 loaded trucks into Manipur

Imphal January 8 (IanS): More than 500 loaded trucks and oil tankers were on Sunday escorted into Manipur capital Imphal from Assam by state and central paramilitary forces, beating a Naga-imposed blockade. The 511 trucks loaded with fuel and other consumer items, building materials and medicines were escorted over 220-km throughout the mountainous National Highway-37 from Silchar district in Assam to Imphal. Officials said that 531 more loaded trucks and oil tankers will be escorted similarly in the next trip. A report said supporters of Naga blockade in Manipur torched a truck loaded with rice bags near Kotland along the national highway on Sunday morning, but no arrest was made. The United Naga Council imposed

the indefinite economic blockade of the state on November 1 last year to protest the Manipur government's plan to create two new districts in the state. The UNC claimed several "lands of the Nagas" -- where they have been traditionally the inhabitants -- would be usurped by the new districts. Meanwhile, prices of consumer and other items have increased considerably, with traders maintaining that transporters are demanding extra fares since supply vehicles remain stranded for days at Jiribam district headquarters while waiting for armed escorts. The Manipur government had requested the Centre to intervene and facilitate tripartite talks to end the blockade, but there is no response as yet from New Delhi.

Sharmila camps in Thoubal to take on Ibobi Assam set to launch home-stay

Imphal, January 8 (Tnn): Rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu took her mission to fight chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the upcoming crucial assembly elections a step ahead on Saturday, getting herself a rented house for her stay in Thoubal, Ibobi Singh's home turf. Co-convener of her newly-floated party, People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), Sharmila went to Thoubal on her bicycle and chose

Bru repatriation to begin from mid-February aIzaWl, January 8 (pTI): The proposed repatriation of over 32,800 Brus lodged in six relief camps in Tripura is scheduled to begin from the second week of February, Additional Secretary for Mizoram's Home department Lalbiakzama today said. Lalbiakzama, who attended a meeting between the Ministry of Home Affairs and Mizoram government in New Delhi, told PTI over phone that the schedule for commencement of the repatriation of the 5,413 Bru families was fixed during the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs Mahesh Kumar Singla. Lalbiakzama said the Mizoram government would revise the proposal for expenditure to be incurred in the repatriation process and submit the revised estimate to the Centre. Earlier, the identification of bona fide residents of Mizoram was conducted at the six relief camps in Tripura was conducted during November 2 to 23 last year. The physical repatriation, scheduled to begin from November 30, could not take off due to various reasons like proposal to enhance expenditure on some payments and also because the Centre could not release the required funds due to demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

the room herself. "Today, I found a room on rent at Thoubal Wangmataba, the home constituency of the chief minister, for my temporary stay. It will also be used as PRJA Thoubal office. I'll move there within the next few days," Sharmila told TOI on Saturday. "After putting up there, I, along with my workers and supporters in Thoubal, will kick off our poll campaign," the 'Iron Lady of Manipur' said, adding that she had already begun can-

vassing there. Manipur will go to the polls in two phases - March 4 for 38 seats and March 8 for the remaining 22 seats, of which 11 are in the hills and as many in the valley, including Thoubal. The driving force behind Sharmila's intention of taking on the chief minister is his "failure to scrap the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur and fulfil the people's aspirations during his 15-year

regime." Sharmila ended her epic 16-year fast against the military act on August 9 last year and announced she would contest polls. PRJA convener Erendro Leichombam (33), who is contesting from the Thangmeiband constituency in Imphal West, said the party will field at least seven candidates, of which five have been finalised and have begun canvassing. As part of its unique strategy, PRJA has been

canvassing in religious houses and holding social interaction programmes at the village and district levels in addition to conducting group discussions with youths and students. On Thursday, PRJA members, led by Erendro and Sharmila, visited Gurudwara Sahib at Thangal Bazar in Imphal under Thangmeiband constituency on the occasion of the 350th birth anniversary of the 10th Guru Gobind Singh.

Centre’s move to kill 'ration' 3 trafficked children rescued in Assam in tea estates draws flak

GuWahaTI, January 8 (ThE IndIan ExprESS): The Congress in Assam has criticized the Centre’s move to do away with the British-era system of giving ration to tea estate workers and urged not to implement it. The Union labour ministry is planning to draw curtains on the age-old system of “cash and kind” wages for the plantation workers and make cash payments in their bank accounts mandatory. Under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, the wages of plantation workers include cash besides ration, healthcare and education services (in kind). The daily wage of a plantation worker in Assam, with effect from January this year, is Rs.137. He or she is also entitled to 35 kgs of rice and wheat every month at subsidized 54 paise per kg. The Congress asked the Centre to clarify if the money, to be given to the workers in lieu of ration which is viewed a part of their wages, would be on a par with market prices. “We oppose the Centre’s move to kill the system of ration. This is not just antipoor but also illegal,” Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora said. “As of now, it’s not clear how much

money a worker will get in lieu of ration. If the money is at the subsidized rate of ration, it will be a great injustice to the workers. We must not forget that the family members of workers also enjoy the fruit of the system. If the government implements the decision without examining these aspects, the miseries of workers will only increase,” Bora said. Assam has some 850 tea estates with the number of workers (permanent and casual) estimated at around nine lakh. Together with their family members, some 25 lakh-30 lakh people are the beneficiaries of subsidized ration. The influential Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) said it would oppose the Centre’s move tooth and nail. “Our stand is that the workers should keep getting ration provided by the management. A reason is that there is never any delay in getting it. Secondly, most workers spend their weekly wages in a day or two. Now, if a certain amount is paid in lieu of ration, many workers will misuse it on liquor or elsewhere,” ACMS leader Nabin Keot told Express. “If the government goes ahead with the decision by amending the Plantation Labour Act, it could trigger dangerous consequences across tea estates,” he warned.

haIlakandI, January 8 (pTI): Three children, allegedly trafficked and confined as bonded laboures, were rescued in a joint operation from three establishments in Assam's Hailakandi district. Acting on a tip-off that the minors were employed as child labourers, searches were conducted by the Labour Department, local police, and Childline and Child Welfare Committee, following which the children suspected to be aged below 14 years, were rescued, District Labour Officer Alimuddin Barbhuiya said today. The employers have been asked to provide documents to prove age of the children, rescued yesterday. "We are also looking into the need to subject the children to agedetermination test. If the children are found to be younger than 14 years, we shall file cases against the employers under Section 67 of The Factories Act 1948 which provides for a fine upto Rs two lakh and jail term extending to two years for employing children below 14 years of age, Barbhuiya said. The boys were produced before the District Child Protection Society and presently under its custody.

‘NE States can be developed by partnerships, not special packages’

TIrupaTI, January 8 (ThE hIndu): The development of the northeast lies in building sustainable partnerships but not in special packages, opined Assam Science Technology and Environment Council Director Dr. Arup Kumar Misra. Delivering a talk during a plenary session on ‘Science and Technology in Northeast India’, on the final day of the 104th Indian Science Congress here on Saturday, Misra said comprehensive development could be witnessed only when there was priority in building of skills and development of human resources. “This initiative, backed by establishment of more national institutes or laboratories, like what Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) had contributed, would augur well for the region,” he said. Misra said that mainstreaming of academic, industrial and developmental processes should be

done as a rule, but not an exception. He traced the history of the Northeast region to Ahom Era (12281826) elucidating on the traditional knowledge used in building historic monuments, bridges, gates etc., that still challenge the science and technology event today. “However, from 1960s, doctrine of geographical isolation gained momentum, followed by several other factors, pushing the development agenda of the region backwards,” he added. IIT-G Director Gautam Biswas stressed on the need to adopt vocational training in alignment with the existing courses, leading to enhancement of personal knowledge. He highlighted the four key factors for the present situation of the region — exodus of students to other States for education, search for better employment opportunities, socio-political influences and delay in conducting

exams and declaring results. Manipur University Prof. Arun Kumar, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology Director N.C. Talukdar, and North-Eastern Hill University’s Head of Department of Environmental Studies B.K. Tiwari suggested that regional institutions must focus their research in resolving local and regional challenges, in addition to using traditional knowledge for development. “There should be a strong linkage/interface between government and scientific institutions, with focus on societal demand based research i.e, science for society,” they remarked. The speakers concluded that an effective science and technology intervention could be done in the sectors such as forest, agriculture, biodiversity (conservation and utilisation of natural resources), water and climate change, with utmost priority.

17 Bangladeshi immigrants to be pushed back

GuWahaTI, January 8 (TnIE): Seventeen illegal Bangladeshi immigrants – three of them Hindus purportedly terrorized out of Bangladesh – will be deported by the authorities in BJP-ruled Assam on Monday. The deportation comes amidst stepped up protests by Opposition parties, besides groups and organizations in the State, against the BJP-led NDA government’s move to grant citizenship to the non-Muslim immigrants of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by amending the Citizen-

ship Act. Official sources said the 17 were among 54 immigrants of Bangladesh and Myanmar nabbed over the past few years for illegally entering India. They had been languishing in a detention camp in southern Assam’s Silchar Central Jail since 2015. “The decision to deport the Bangladeshi immigrants was taken after two rounds of talks with Bangladeshi officials. They will be pushed back through Karimganj sector of the border tomorrow (Monday) morning,”

Cachar Superintendent of Police Rakesh Roushan told Express. The three Hindus are Bhagabati Goala (50), Rahul Das (23) and Mou Das (18). They had purportedly fled the neighbouring country in the face of religious persecution there. Last year, the authorities in southern Assam had deported 10 Bangladeshis. The opposition parties in Assam are critical of the BJP’s alleged contradictory stand on the issue of illegal immigrants. “The BJP emphatically says it will drive out the illegal Bangla-

deshi immigrants. Then, it contradicts its position through its move to grant citizenship to the Bangladeshi Hindu immigrants by amending the Citizenship Act. How can both go side by side?” three-time former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of the Congress wondered. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is equally livid. “Assam shouldn’t be made a dumping ground by being forced to accept the immigrants,” Gogoi’s predecessor and AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who recently petitioned

President Pranab Mukherjee against the Centre’s move, said. The BJP views the Hindu immigrants as “refugees”. It asserts that they are the victims of partition, who fled to India in the face of torture and religious persecution in Bangladesh. As per the Assam Accord of 1985, the immigrants, irrespective of faith, who entered Assam after March 24, 1971, will be deported. The Accord was signed by the then Rajiv Gandhi government in the aftermath of the bloody Assam Agitation.

scheme to tap rural tourism

GuWahaTI, January 8 (pTI): Assam government will soon roll out a rural home-stay scheme that aims to tap tourism prospects in rural and semi-urban areas besides creating job opportunities. ‘Aamaar Aalohi (Our Guest)-Rural Homestay Scheme’ will give a new dimension and thrust to comfortable home-stay facilities of standardised services to tourists and to supplement the availability of accommodation in the rural tourist destinations, Assam Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. “The basic idea is to provide a clean and affordable place for foreigners and domestic tourists alike including an opportunity for foreign tourists to stay with Assamese families to experience local customs and traditions and relish authentic local cuisine,” he said. The scheme will be implemented by the state government’s tourism department through Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) at an estimated cost of Rs 16.29 crore.

In the first phase for the year 2017-18, 200 such home-stays will be set up with the highest of 40 in Golaghat district where the famed Kaziranga National Park falls. It will be followed by 25 in Barpeta, home to Manas National Park, 20 each in Majuli, Morigaon, Haflong-Umrangsu, 15 in Sonitpur and 10 each in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Hajo-Sualkuchi and Darrang. Besides providing standardised and supplementary accommodation in and around tourist areas, a primary aim of the scheme was to empower local community by creating tourism related employment and distributing economic benefits through tourism and to enrich sustainable and responsible development of eco and rural tourism, Sarma pointed out. He further said the scheme also aims to conserve nature, culture, heritage and traditions, to create positive environmental benefits for rural people and their surroundings and to increase the value for local culture.

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Bodies of two kidnapped men found Imphal, January 8 (pTI): Bullet-riddled bodies of a village chief and another villager, who were allegedly kidnapped yesterday, were found today in Nungkham Gamnom Village in Manipur's newly-created Tengnoupal district, police said. The bodies were found around 25 km from the border town of Moreh this afternoon. Suspected militants had kidnapped the two men yesterday. The deceased have been identified as village chief Khotmang Mate and villager Timpao Haokip, police said. The bodies have been sent for postmortem.

Encephalitis vaccination drive in Tripura from Jan 9 aGarTala, January 8 (pTI): The Tripura government has decided to undertake Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccination drive from January 9, officials said. The drive would be carried out between January 9 and 22 in four districts -- Unakoti, Gomati, South and Dhalai, member secretary of Health and Family Welfare Society Dr Sujit Chakma said here today. Altogether 5.11 lakh children, aged between 1 and 15 years, would be vaccinated in the four districts, he said adding that schools, primary health centres, community health centres and Anganwadi Centres have been designated places for the vaccination. In the second phase, children of these four districts aged between 9 and 12 months would be given JE vaccines. The dates for the second phase would be announced later. In the three years starting from 2014, 14, 28 and 28 JE cases were reported in the state respectively. Four died of the disease in 2015, the official said.

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monDAY 09•01•2017

business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

‘Money has lost anonymity post demonetisation’ New Delhi, JaNuary 8 (iaNS): Describing the currency deposited with banks following demonetisation as money that has lost its earlier “anonymity”, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said such deposits do not automatically become legitimate, and can now be identified with the owner for taxation purposes. “The fact that large quantum of high denominational currency has been deposited with the banks does not render this money to be legitimate cash,” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post titled “Demonetisation -- A look back at the last two months”. “Black money does not change its colour merely because it is deposited in bank. On the contrary, it loses its anonymity and can now be identified with its owner,” he said. The Finance Minister said the Revenue Department would be entitled to tax this money. “In any case, the amendment to the Income Tax Act itself provides that the said money, if voluntarily declared or if involuntarily detected, would be liable for differential

‘Black money assessment reports can’t be disclosed’ New Delhi, JaNuary 8 (PTi): The reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians in the country and abroad cannot be made public, country’s two premier institutes that conducted studies on the illgotten wealth on the Finance Ministry’s directive have said. The UPA government had in 2011 asked three institutes -- Delhibased National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad -- to conduct studies on black money. The study reports of NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM were received by the Ministry on December 30, 2013; July 18, 2014 and August 21, 2014 respectively. and high rates of taxation and penalty,” he said. Jaitley’s comments come after media reports earlier this week said that about 97 percent of the demonetised currency notes worth Rs 14.97 lakh crore have been deposited back as on December 30. The Reserve Bank of India has clarified that such estimates may not be correct because the aggregating of accounting entries

Replying to an RTI query, NIPFP and NCAER said they were not authorised to share the reports. “Under the Terms of Reference (ToR) with the Ministry of Finance, we are not authorised to share the report without their concurrence. Such concurrence is not forthcoming and our agreement with the Ministry of Finance prohibits us from disseminating this report,” the NIPFP said in reply to the RTI application. The NCAER, in its response, said: “The primary repository of the report is Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance” and the matter of sharing it should be dealt by the government. No response has been received so far from the NIFM, which also conducted a study.

made at the various currency chests still requires to be reconciled with the actual cash balances in order to eliminate accounting errors and double counting. The central bank is yet to release the figure of actual deposits of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 demonetised currency notes made up to the deadline for depositing on December 30. The government had earlier estimated that about

Earlier, the Finance Ministry had declined to share the reports submitted to it by the institutes about three years ago. The different estimates on the quantum of black money range between USD 500 billion to USD 1,400 billion. A study by Global Financial Integrity estimated the illicit money outflow at USD 462 billion. The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the studies included assessment or survey of unaccounted income and wealthandprofilingthenatureofactivities engendering money laundering both within and outside the country. The purpose of study was to identify, among others, important sectors of the economy in which unaccounted money is generated and examine the causes and conditions for it.

Rs 15.4 lakh crore was to be taken out of the system by way of demonetisation. Jaitley also said the large amount of cash with banks will strengthen the banking system, lead to lower interest rates and make more funds available for rural development and social welfare programmes. Noting that there was no social unrest while implementing demonetisa-

tion, Jaitley said the opposition protests have been ineffective. “The opposition disrupted a full Session of Parliament. Their exaggerated claims on the disruption of the economy have proved wrong,” he said. “It is a tragedy that a national party like the Congress decided to adopt a political position, opposing both technology, change and reforms. It sided with

black money-friendly status quo,” he added. Meanwhile, the offcial advance estimates for the Indian economy’s growth this fiscal were lowered on Friday even without the impact of demonetisation being taken into consideration. The country’s gross domestic product will grow at 7.1% in 2016-17 compared with 7.6% in 2015-16, according to the estimates of national income for 201617 released by the Central Statistics Office. While announcing its monetary policy review last month, the Reserve Bank of India acknowledged the demonetisation factor and lowered their GVA growth estimates for the current fiscal to 7.1% from the 7.6% forecast earlier. The Nikkei Purchase Managers’ Index (PMI) survey released earlier this month showed that demonetisation provoked a downturn both in Indian manufacturing and services growth in December. Besides, the output of India’s 8 infrastructure industries in November 2016 increased by 4.9%, but fell sequentially as compared to the 6.6% growth logged in October.

Govt to launch scheme Tech Review: ASUS Zenfone 3 Max - Long for women entrepreneurs lasting battery that charges other devices too hyDerabaD, JaNuary 7 (PTi): The Centre would shortly launch an exclusive scheme for women entrepreneurs, a senior official in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) said today. “It will be an exclusive scheme for women entrepreneurs. We have not yet finalised the contours (of the scheme). Hopefully, we will launch it before the end of the financial year,” B H Anil Kumar, a Joint Secretary in the Ministry, told reporters here. Earlier, he launched myloanassocham.com, a portal, industry body ASSOCHAM said, that provides MSMEs online access to funds at an affordable rate from a mix of banks and financial institutions. Kumar said the figures that the MSME sector contributes 8 per cent to the country’s GDP, 45 per cent of the manufacturing output and 40 per cent of the exports are based on survey reports of 2007. Those survey reports have been extrapolated. It’s a random survey, and it’s not clear how much of that figure is based on hardcore data, according to him. In this background, the Ministry is in the process of creating an MSME data bank based on which it can project the actual requirements of the sector, he said and asked these enterprises to register themselves. Reserve Bank of India, Kumar said, has issued guidelines for creation of committees for revival and rehabilitation of MSMEs which are facing stress. Banks are in the process of setting them up at State levels. Noting that 90 per cent of MSMEs in India are either based on proprietorship or partnership model, Kumar pitched for they putting in place a corporate structure so that an enterprise “does not die when entrepreneur passes away”. FiRe StatiOnS

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IANS

If you are looking for a mid-segment smartphone that stays for long as you surf, watch movies or play games, Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer ASUS has brought Zenfone 3 Max that has a 4,100mAh battery and also doubles up as a power bank for charging other devices. On top of it, the Rs 17,999 device packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 64-bit octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Here is what works for the device Although Zenfone 3 Max has the same design elements as other Zenfone devices, it sports a 2.5D contoured glass touchscreen, comes in a sandblasted full-metal, aluminum alloy body with chamfered edges, giving users a sturdy feel. Despite packing a 5.5-inch display, the smartphone weighs only 175 grams and is up to 8.5mm thick , making it one of the lightest smartphones with a huge battery. The fingerprint sensor positioned at the back is also integrated with the camera and can register up to five we4 woMen HeLPLIne

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separate fingerprints. A double tap opens the “PixelMaster” camera app and a single tap captures the photo which comes handy in situations when you do not want to miss a moment by juggling to unlock the device and then open the camera app. The full-HD display gives 75% screen-to-body ratio and delivers better sharpness. Side-to-side viewing and sunlight readability was also up to the mark. From multi-tasking to playing games, Zenfone 3 Max performed much like the Oppo F1s (that costs Rs 17,990) which is its nearest rival. The 16MP primary camera is fast and produced good amount of detail in pictures, capturing natural colours and skin tones. If you are a selfie lover, the 20MP front camera of Vivo V5 (priced at Rs 17,980) and 16MP “selfie” camera of Oppo F1s performed better, producing sharp faces, well-adjusted colour saturation with proper contrast and brightness, than the Zenfone 3 Max that has 8MP front shooter. For videos, an electronic image stabilisation (EIS) system in the Ze-

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nfone 3 Max counteracts hand movements, ensuring that videos captured are stable and shake-free. However, Zenfone 3 Max packs a larger battery than Vivo V5 and Oppo F1s. The high-capacity 4,100mAh battery lasted approximately two full days before shutting down on mixed usage, including social media apps, light gaming and other productivity tools, on a single charge. Even if you are hooked to screen every now and then, Zenfone 3 Max will easily last for a day. The smartphone also comes with an USB OTG cable that turns the phone into a charger to power up other gadgets. The smartphone also offers performance, normal, power-saving, super-saving and customised-power modes that enable users to regulate their usage according to their needs. What does not work? The design is plain and not very impressive. Images taken even in day-light conditions appear grainy when zoomed in. Conclusion: If you want a wellbuilt smartphone that will last longer, then the ASUS Zenfone 3 Max will prove to be good choice. MOKOKCHUnG

New Delhi, JaNuary 8 (PTi): Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Limited will soon launch a new ticketing app that will have several features added on the existing one for faster booking of tickets. Equipped with latest technology, existing IRCTC Connect will now become IRCTC Rail Connect to facilitate booking of train tickets in a faster and easier way, a senior Railway Ministry official said. IRCTC, which handles online train ticket bookings, will formally unveil the IRCTC Rail Connect App next week to cater to the growing demand of passengers to make the ticketing app more user-friendly and faster. The new ticketing app will be based on next generation e-ticketing system. It will be synchronised with the ticketing website also, which is missing in the current system. Travelers will continue to be able to search and book train tickets, check their existing reservations or cancel them, and get upcoming journey alerts in the new application. IRCTC Rail Connect will retain the passenger details for the recently-booked tickets, so that they don’t have to enter their details again and again.

Report cash deposits between April 1 and Nov 9, 2016: IT Dept to banks New Delhi, JaNuary 8 (PTi): The Income Tax Department has asked banks to report cash deposits in savings accounts between April 1 and November 9, 2016. The move seeks to analyze the banking transactions carried out in months before the demonetisation decision was announced on November 8. Besides, banks have also been directed to ask the account holders, who did not furnish PAN (Permanent Account Number) or Form 60 (for those without PAN) at the time of opening bank account, to do so by February 28 this year. As per a notification, the banks, cooperative banks and post offices will have to report to the tax department all cash deposits between April 1 to November 9, 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced the move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Further, bank officials have been told to document PAN or declaration of Form 60 received from account holders and maintain all records for transactions under Rule 114B of I-T Act. Rule 114B lists various transactions for which quoting PAN is mandatory. The notification said that people who have not quoted PAN, or did not furnish Form 60 at the time of opening account, will have to provide the same by February 28. Form 60 is a declaration form filed by an individual without PAN. Following the demonetisation move, the tax department had earlier asked banks and post offices to report to it all deposits above Rs 2.5 lakh in savings accounts and more than Rs 12.50 lakh in current accounts made between November 10-December 30, 2016. Also, cash deposits exceeding Rs 50,000 in a single day had to be reported. With an estimated about Rs 15 lakh crore in junked currency notes coming back into the banking system post demonetisation, the tax department has started analysing the bank deposit trends.

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Us dollars sterling Pound Hong Kong dollar Australian dollar singapore dollar Canadian dollar Japanese Yen euro thai Baht Korean won UAe dirham (Aed) Chinese Yuan

BUY (rs) 66.72 81.59 8.33 48.21 45.98 49.53 56.3 69.34 1.8 0.0534 17.58 9.29

seLL (rs) 69.72 85.52 9.27 50.57 48.23 51.94 59.47 72.71 2.00 0.0596 19.58 10.35

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Official ticketing app for faster booking of tickets

CROSSWORD # 3823

SUDOKU

Simple Rules - Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Game Number # 3818

Answer Number # 3817

ACROSS 1. . Engine supercharger 6. Dirty air 10. Stow, as cargo 14. Trail 15. Zero 16. Matured 17. Improvise 18. Desiccated 19. Outcropping 20. Playful 22. Not there 23. Not us 24. Exit 26. Lascivious look 30. Diminish 31. Attempt 32. Monster 33. Decree 35. Spanish for “Friend” 39. Repel 41. An apparition 43. Banana oil, e.g. 44. Not odd 46. Arid 47. Prefix meaning “Modern” 49. Estimated time of arrival 50. Former lovers 51. French for “Boat” 54. Care for 56. Winglike 57. From that time on 63. City in Peru 64. Indian dress 65. New Zealand native 66. Foment 67. Dash 68. Tapestry 69. On the left or right 70. Chinese mafia 71. Hangman’s knot DOWN 1. Russian emperor 2. Style of hairdo 3. Somersault

4. Be agitated 5. Course around a star 6. A rattler’s attack 7. Xylophone 8. Norse god 9. Contraption 10. Sorrowful 11. Gibe 12. Darlings 13. Borders 21. Cooks 25. Alumnus 26. Prospector’s find 27. Auspices 28. At one time (archaic) 29. Rejuvenate 34. Tottering 36. Holly 37. Pierce 38. 1 1 1 1 40. Urine component 42. Absurd 45. Experienced 48. Beginning 51. Anagram of “Basal” 52. Excuse 53. Domesticated 55. A type of small mammal 58. Angel’s headwear 59. Casino game 60. Lawn mower brand 61. Historical periods 62. Ascend Answer to Crossword 3822

monday 09•01•2017

NAGALAND

How tattoo artist Mo Naga is working towards saving the rich tradition of Nagas Shail Desai Firstpost

There was a good chance that Mo Naga would never have been associated with the world of tattooing. During his first year in college, he stumbled upon the art and decided to give it a go, more as a hobby than a profession. All that changed towards the end of his education when he discovered the rich tattooing tradition of the Nagas, which was gradually disappearing with time. It was then Mo decided to do something to keep a little piece of his people’s history alive. It had been eight years since Moranngam Khaling or Mo, one of India’s top tattoo artists, started studying Naga tattoos. Despite being a Naga himself, he had little idea of the relevance of tattoos in the community. But once he realised what it meant, he set up Headhunters’ Ink in a bid to revive the art. “I was trying to learn about traditional textiles in the north-east of India for a college project when I stumbled upon the tattoo tradition of the Nagas,” says Mo, who studied apparel design at the National Institute of Fashion Technol-

ogy, Hyderabad. “It changed everything for me. When I started researching in 2008, I realised that there was not too much information out there,” he says. Tattoos had both a symbolic and spiritual meaning for the Nagas back in the day. Before the Christian missionaries set up base in Nagaland, headhunting was practised by tribes such as the Konyaks, Noctes and the Kukus to name a few. After a raid on the neighbouring village, the warriors who returned with heads from the battle

would be rewarded with tattoos on the face and the body. Consequently, men with more tattoos had taken more heads and were considered to be the bravest of the lot. Each tribe had their own designs and patterns, which also made for easy identity, while women too had specific tattoos that symbolised events such as marriage and childbirth. Delivering a tattoo was a privilege, usually reserved for the wife of the Ang or the king, known as the Angya. The decline of tattooing started as the Nagas

WASA Games & Athletic Meet from Jan 11 Kohima, January 8 (mExn): The Western Angami Sports Association (WASA) games and athletics meet is scheduled from January 11 to 13 at WAPO ground, Sechü Zubza. During the three-day event, the villages under western Angami region, comprising four groups, will compete in football, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, sepaktakraw and athletics. The inaugural function would be graced by Zhaleo Rio, Member of Legislative Assembly, Government

of Nagaland, as the chief guest, while Lhouphrevilie Rino, president of Western Angami Public Organisation will be the guest of honour for the closing function. The inaugural programme would be chaired by Zhasau Sirie, general secretary, WASA, while Khriengulie Kuotsu, pastor, Sechü Zubza Baptist Church, will pronounce the prayer. WASA president Kobou Mezhünyü will deliver the welcome address and the Catholic Youth Asso-

ciation, Sechü Zubza will present a special number. The administration of oath to the players will be led by Khriesakuolie Khawakhrie, games & sports secretary, WASA. The selected players will represent WASA at the forthcoming Angami Sports Association meet, scheduled tentatively in the month of February. As for WASA wrestling championship, it will be held in the later part of this month tentatively on January 25 at Kohima Local Ground.

Shooting championship in Mkg from Jan 9 Dimapur, January 8 (mExn): A Training Camp followed by the 2nd JYO Shooting Championships organized by the Japukong Youth Organization is scheduled to be held at Japu Village from January 9 to 11. Following this, the 2nd Aonokpu Rifle & Pistol Shooting Championship organized by the Aonokpu Rifle & Pistola Shooting Club will be held at Aonokpu Village from January 12 to 14. According to a press release, the Nagaland Rifle Association in collaboration with the Aries Rifle & Pistol Shooting Academy, Dimapur is conducting the training camp in view of the 5th North East Zone Shooting Championship to be held in Shillong, Meghalaya in July, 2017. The tournaments will be held as per rules & regulations under National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) Match Book 2016, in Small Bore Rifle & Pistol. The following officials and shooters have been selected to conduct the Training Camp and Competitions:

1. Merang Jamir - Official 2. Sentiyanger - Official 3. Alem Langur - Shooter 4. Yangerlemba - Shooter 5. Chubawati Jamir - Shooter The above names are also permitted to carry the under mentioned weapons under Licence Nos. 0234/NL/DMR/ NDAL/2015 valid up to 12-09-2018; 1120/ NL/DMR/2012 valid up to 31-12-2018; and 1121/NL/DMR/2012 valid up to 3112 2018 along with ammunitions from Dimapur to Mokokchung and back via Assam. The details of weapons are as follows: 1. .22 Standard Pistol -B16386 2. Air Pistol -815086 3. Air Rifle -732597 The over all in-charge of the above mentioned arms and ammunitions will be Merang Jamir, President, Nagaland Rifle Association. The permit is valid from January 7 to 30.

Tigers by train: Thiruvananthapuram zoo big cats travel to Nagaland ChEnnai, January 8 (Tnn): A fierce roar was Karthika's way of expressing displeasure over the way her colleague Manikandan was garnering all attention. The 12-year-old tigress, however, calmed down as she was ushered in before her nine-yearold friend. It was the first train ride for the two big cats from the Thiruvananthapuram zoo and Karthika was all excited on Friday morning. So were passengers and others at the railway station in the Kerala capital. After all, it is not everyday that one gets to see tigers outside a zoo or a forest. The two were being transported to Dimapur in Nagaland in exchange for a Himalayan bear. Ensconced in their special coaches on the Kanya-

kumari Dibrugarh Vivek Express, the two were expected to reach their destination in the northeast, about 3,800 km away, on Sunday. Discounting the other fauna that usually exists on trains, these tigers are probably the first wild animals ever to travel on an Indian train on a confirmed ticket. And Southern Railway officials have ensured that the `historic' journey goes off well, providing them with amenities even better than what regular passengers get. Veterinarians travelling with the animals got Emergency Quota (EQ) tickets in AC coaches. At Visakhapatnam, where the engine changes position, the officials also moved the coaches with the tigers. "The change in engine location would have

meant the SLR coaches would have been closest to the engine. We wanted to keep them away from the shrill horn," said Sudheesh, senior divisional commercial manager, Trivandrum division. To ensure that the tigers, which are sensitive to heat, remain comfortable through the trip, water sprinklers have been provided inside the coach, he added. Railway Protection Force personnel were providing security for the special passengers, he added. Transporting the animals by train is easier than taking them by road as it takes 10 days and costs Rs. 6 lakh more, Sudheesh said. “Train is also more comfortable for the animals. It is a safer and quicker mode of transport,” he added.

took to Christianity, which discouraged the practice of headhunting and tattooing alike. As a result, the next generation was mostly oblivious to the art, and the last of the tattooed warriors and artists, who could talk about their experience, were now in their 80s and 90s. “All the knowledge was going away with the passing of this generation,” he says. The only way then, to learn more was for Mo to make the trip himself. So in 2012, Mo set up base in Guwahati and started trav-

elling through Nagaland to districts such as Mon, Tuengsang, Kiphre and Phek, which are known to have a rich tattooing heritage. He then visited Naga tribes in his home state of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and a few villages in Assam, while also making his way across the border to Myanmar. “During the course of my research, I have come across tribes who do not have any evidence left of their tattooing culture — all that remains now is in their memory and songs. A handful of old men and women knew about it, the

NPF 38th Wokha A/C Women Wing president resigns

rest had no idea that they were once a tattooing tribe themselves,” Mo says. After four years of tattooing using modern techniques, Mo was now in the midst of thorns, bamboo shoots and natural pigments that came from trees and fruits. And from the comfort of his tattoo parlour, he was now sitting in a faraway land amid men who had taken heads in the past. This was a generation that considered headhunting a way of life, and a few of them now felt uneasy living in a society which was a far cry from what they had experienced. Some had even taken to Christianity and believed that getting a tattoo was against the Bible. “There is a lot of conflict for this generation, yet they were quite excited to talk about their tattoos and why they had got them. Culture is constantly evolving. But if we can wear shawls that talk about wars and headhunting to church, why can’t we do the same with tattoos,” he says. One particular incident stands out for Mo during his travels. On a visit to the village of Sheangah Chingyu, he met an old lady who was the Angya and used to tattoo her tribe

members, but had stopped some 60 years ago. “Her eyes lit up when she heard that we were there to learn about the tradition. It was an honour for me when she agreed to deliver a tattoo on me. In fact, her eyesight was so poor that she didn’t connect the needle at times. It was a very spiritual experience, the moment will remain with me forever,” Mo says. There are hurdles along the way that Mo takes in his stride. All the money that he earns commercially goes back into the research that he’s conducting, which is an expensive affair most times. “Just getting to a village can be taxing at times. Then, the language that they speak there is so distinct that I need to get two to three translators to make sense of it, and then need to verify if the real message has come through,” he says. After seven years of trying to gain an understanding of the technique and the philosophy behind these tattoos, Mo decided that he was ready to finally deliver one on his own at the Hornbill festival last month. “It was a big, big moment; historical, not only because it was my first, but

also because for the first time as per my knowledge, a non-Naga was receiving one. It was a mixed feeling. I ensured that the designs were not the same as those present on the tribesmen who are alive, since those are sacred tattoos and I would not like to offend them,” Mo says. “It was only possible because more people joined the movement. It’s not one person’s initiative but something that we are trying to do for the community and the culture. We want to find a balance between protecting and promoting this Naga art,” he adds. While Mo is in the process of setting up his new studio back home in his village in Chandel, his ongoing project, Godna Gram in New Delhi, hopes to promote tattoo traditions from around India. “Through my journey, I’ve realised how hard it is for traditional tattoo artists to carry on this practice and survive today. I met some folks in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan who have quit their family tradition to become daily wage labourers. So there was an urgent need to study this art and give them a platform to promote themselves,” he says.

Maos celebrate chithuni festival

WoKha, January 8 (mExn): Thungbeni Jami, President of NPF 38th Wokha A/C Women Wing has tendered her resignation from NPF party. The resignation is from both the post of president and Active party membership.

V.K Range Students’ Union general conference concludes ZunhEboTo, January 8 (mExn): The 41st general conference of the V.K Range Students’ Union was held from January 4 to 7 at Mukha Village under the theme “Adapt to change and be the change”. Speaking at the closing ceremony, Parliamentary Secretary, IPR, Khekaho Assumi, urged the student community to be torch bearers in making the society where everyone can live in peace and harmony. The closing ceremony was marked by talent presentations and special numbers by the DGP Band.

Kohima, January 8 (mExn): The Mao Union Kohima (MUK) celebrated Chithuni festival on January 7 at the Naga Solidarity Park, Kohima attended by over a thousand people. Advisor MUK H. Lokho in his address shared the importance of Chithuni festival stating that “Chithuni is the celebration of the achievements of

the past year”. Dr. Loso in his exhortation to the gathering said celebrating Chithuni has significance as it was an opportunity to preserve our culture. The programme started with a Chithuni blessing, invoked by former President MUK M. Kaikho. President MUK L. Athikho delivered welcome address and

extended Chithuni greetings to gathering. Cultural items were presented by Mao Students’ Union Kohima and other cultural troupes. Vote of thanks was proposed by E. Krelo, the Convenor of the celebration committee. The programme concluded with closing prayer pronounced by Pastor MBCK Rev. Losii Mao.

Public SPace PRaYiNG MaNTiS aND THe NaGa MeN

o you thing the cannibalistic predator praying mantis really praying? If your answer is yes! You are truly right and if your answer is no; you are wrong within the perspective of current imbroglio on the 33% of women reservation where, the two gender lobbying groups are at loggerhead that ultimately stymieing the process of ULBs election. This tug-of-war is basically based on constitutional article 371A customary laws probity and the article 243T-1993 ratified by the state legislative in 2006 for women reservation in ULBs and other relevant representative system in the state. This is a very peculiar war between the husband and the wife just opposite to the Khasis matriarchal custom under re-codification in the interest of the Khasi women. The above equation seems to be wholly wholesome for the fact that in all the hierarchies in those public organizations that opposed the bill are male Christians, seemingly holier than thou had not augur well with their conservative attitudes against their own mother and sisters, which in other word projecting themselves as male centric or male chauvinism. Remember, the world is phenomenally changing in pursue of updated modern society, leaving behind their obsolete old tradition and practice in the interest of logistic modern lifestyle. So also, it’s time that we recalibrate our mindset and wake up from our deep slumber or else this backathong race will lead us to head hunting era again that’s just waiting for us.

True, the ensuing ULBs election cannot be a panacea for the govt. of Nagaland but why we become so myopic in adjusting ourselves with the fair sex from whom we all came about and so endeared to us. At time we praise them to the sky-high but never wanting to be equal partner speaks volume of our bitter-heart whereby, painted a very bad picture for ourselves. Nevertheless, the prevailing situation here in Nagaland, exposing to the world of our real being as ritualistic believers, praying and worshiping Christ as a social clothing is becoming a matter of serious thought provoking. To the best of our understanding the ratification of women empowerment had not mentioned any pruning of male’s rights or infringe upon traditional right of the male but in concurred with the constituted article 243T 1993 adjusting the ratio of representation between the two gender may not be too big an issue. Look, as of today the govt. has holistically propagated the virtue of customary laws and had constructed customary law courts in all the districts of Nagaland which itself shows that the vibrant customary laws is the oxygen in the judiciary system and not twisted at the whim and fancy of any individual or group’s interest. Of course, men are expected to be big hearted and continue to protect their women folk as was endowed upon by the creator Himself and similarly women are expected to honour and obey their men-folk as a rule then nothing can disturb the peaceful coexistence.

Well, believe it or not but certain primordial customary laws have freak and illogical enforcement that born out of rustic paganism ideas that become obsolete and defunct you may not heard of; for instance, in a certain village a quick-stand or one-night stand (pump and dump) was passively permissible during the seed sowing season April-May, where the pregnant women goes about asking for the identity of the would be biological father of the bastard child in her womb. And yet another freak law was; when a pregnant woman dies with unsuccessful delivery, the whole family abandoned her carcass in the house with all the belongings to find shelter elsewhere just to find themselves stigmatized by the very community they lived with. And another shocking custom was that; should a man slept with (Copulate) more than hundred girls, he gets the title of eagle-claw as a trophy for his lifetime achievement where, he can wear on both side of the headgear during festival dancing. Yes! These bad laws were done away with the advent of Christianity so also many more irrelevant laws should put to remedies with consensual agreement by the intellectuals of both the sex. Yes, I have to admit that there are many obsolete articles in my customary laws so also could be with other tribes, where I have authored 1) Zeliang customary laws 2)Zeme Customary laws 3) Zeme Cultural Heritage North east India co authored with Mr.Raitu Elu President of Zeme Council North East

India (Assam Manipur Nagaland) Where I’ve to write according to the prevailing stance of the laws being practice by my people and this was through the approval of various public organizations. Therefore, would it not be prudent for our sisters to address their grievances to the right forum in the first place instead of going to the legal court Similarly, had there been remedial measure in the first place, today’s embroilment would not have cropped up but self esteemed and over confidence, deriding the mandate of the people through autocratic enforcement was a thing of serious concern and this deep wound will take time to heal. Now, the vertical split ultimately led to boycott of the ensuing ULBs election was a matter of ideological clashes and difference and this shouldn’t be viewed as the end for still there’s a vast scope through negotiation. So also, it will be imperative for the govt. of Nagaland to give sufficient time before jumping into conclusion, means extent the time till such time of conduciveness with full support of the public. This is because no one is opposing the ensuing ULBs election but only the criteria of representation in the system. Please take note that this write up shouldn’t be reflected to any political party or public organization as the write up is purely individual opinion based on the current developments. N Haisoyi Ndang United Colony, Dimapur

The Morung Express “Public Space” is to provide space for diverse opinions to be expressed and heard. The opinions in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper nor the editor.

Monday 09•01•2017

IN FOCUS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express volume XII Issue 7 By moa Jamir

Of reservation & opposition

bserving the events unfolding after the announcement by the State Government to hold election to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Nagaland, one is acutely reminded of the following observation by the prominent 18th century English scholar Samuel Johnson that, "There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified and new prejudices to be opposed,” (The Rambler ). Once again, it brought direct confrontation between malecentric civil societies and tribe organisations, and the Nagaland State Government. Most of them, barring one or two have opposed the government’s move, taking refuge in constitutional provisions and seeing the impending election as an infringement against the time-tested traditions and culture of the Nagas. Such singular display of unanimity and unequivocal decision is seldom found in other issues. A cacophony of rhetoric and assertion of an ‘egalitarian’ Naga society, since then, have had adorned the news dailies as well as various social media platforms. In fact, their high-pitched opposition to the women reservation in its current form is inversely proportional to their deafening silence on several maladies inflicting the state of affairs in Nagaland. Ditkat and bandh accompanies the opposition and may escalate further. Women reservation is ridiculed as a neccessity in “curse caste system” prevalent in Indian society, not in inherently egalitarian Naga society, ironically opposing a policy mechanism to enable level playing field for active political participation of women. While the progressiveness of the ruling dispensation is driven largely by monetary factor coupled with castigation from courts, it was nevertheless, a welcome step, though roughly inconsistent with its dealing of other issues. “We have not been able to get the grants for urban local bodies recommended by the Finance Commission, and we are losing every year valuable funds, much needed for improvement of our urban infrastructure and facilities,” Chief Minister TR Zeliang lamented addressing the Central Executive Council (CEC) meeting of Naga People’s Front (NPF) in August, 2015. This has been a consistent stand of the State Government which affirms the notion. Consequently, it also went an overdrive to inaugurate a number of town councils. By the end of 2016, there were three municipal councils and 29 town councils, almost double the numbers to the then existing urban local bodies. It also explains the extension of nomination date of January 9 and an appetite for direct confrontation which itself could prove self-defeating to the whole process. Yes, there are concerns and rightly so. What would happen if sufficient empowerment does not occur in time frame? What if it is hijacked by tokenism? Can there be other ways to enable participation? Does it interfere with idea of free and fair elections? What would happen if one is elected this time and ready to fight the election next? Will it creates antagonism between sexes? There are many other concerns. But infringement Naga identity is not one. Culture is not simply reliving the past and reducing it to a static entity. It should evolve pragmatically in tune with to prevent itself from becoming an anachronistic entity. Does equal parameter exist between male and female in Naga society to negate demand for reservation? As consistently asserted in this column, if we rationally analyze the matter, there is only one reality – that women are not represented in decision making and political arena and the existing mechanism does not provide any platform to correct this reality. A progressive state’s policy is imperative and is pertinent to facilitate unrepresented entities to participate positively in the progress of the society and correct an inherited inequality. Going back to the Johnson's quote, one could say, ‘There are existing errors to be rectified, and existing prejudices to be opposed in Naga society.’ For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com

lEfT wiNg |

Lisa Rapaport Reuters Health

Heavy drinking tied to higher risk of heart attacks

lcohol abuse may increase the risk of heart attacks and other cardiac problems even in people who don’t have a family history of heart disease or other known risk factors, a study suggests. After accounting for established risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, obesity and diabetes, alcohol abuse was associated with a 40 percent higher risk of heart attack, the study found. Excessive drinking was also tied to a two-fold greater risk of atrial fibrillation, or an irregular rapid heartbeat, and a 2.3-fold increased risk of congestive heart failure, a chronic pumping disorder. Even though some previous research has linked an occasional or even daily drink to better heart health, these findings should put to rest any notion that drinking more is better for our health, said senior study author Dr. Gregory Marcus of the University of California, San Francisco. “Excessive drinking might be ostensibly `justified’ by some individuals because of the purported heart benefits,” Marcus said by email. “We have shown here that not only does excessive alcohol substantially increase the risk for atrial fibrillation and heart failure, but also heart attack, the one phenomenon that previous data has suggested might be mitigated by moderate alcohol consumption,” Marcus added. To assess the connection between alcohol abuse and heart problems, Marcus and colleagues analyzed data on more than 14.7 million California adults who had surgery, emergency or inpatient hospital care from 2005 to 2009. About 1.8 percent of the people in the study, or approximately 268,000 patients, had been diagnosed with alcohol abuse. The increased risk of heart attack, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure associated with alcohol abuse in the study were similar in magnitude to other well-recognized modifiable risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, researchers report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Completely eradicating alcohol abuse would result in more than 73,000 fewer atrial fibrillation cases, 34,000 fewer heart attacks, and 91,000 fewer patients with congestive heart failure in the U.S. alone, the researchers estimated. The study is observational and doesn’t prove drinking causes heart problems. Another limitation of the study is that the data on patients diagnosed with alcohol abuse problems didn’t specify how much individual people drank, the authors note. It’s also possible that some people in the study were excessive drinkers but not diagnosed as alcohol abusers in the data, which also limits the ability to specify the amount of alcohol that may be harmful. Even so, it’s possible that the current study with its broad population of hospitalized patients may have identified alcohol-related heart problems that previous research missed by focusing on a narrower subset of people, Dr. Michael Criqui, of the University of California, San Diego, writes in an accompanying editorial. Earlier studies may have found drinking protective against heart attack and other heart problems because they included patients with a stable, healthier lifestyle, Criqui writes. “Studies do

C O M M E N T A R Y

Michael Edwards openDemocracy

Welcome to another year of transformation We need your help to expand our coverage of deep-rooted personal and political change

n a winter’s night in 1955, a young preacher named Martin Luther King climbed into the pulpit of the Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Once there, he delivered a speech that would eventually lead to his own assassination, while breathing new life into the struggle to transform the world in the image of love and social justice. If his words are remembered at all these days it’s because of what they helped to launch—the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which heralded a decisive turn in the movement for civil rights. What King said has largely been forgotten, yet the content of his speech was revolutionary in ways that stretch far beyond the context in which it was delivered. As I listen to it now on a scratchy YouTube clip, the hairs on my neck stand up straight, the crowd of voices rising to a crescendo as King talks about the keys to the struggle for equal rights. “But it is not enough for us to talk about love,” he said, “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.” Love is the anchor or inward expression of social justice, I think King was saying, and justice is the outward expression of “love in calculation”— a conscious design for remaking the world in a different image of ourselves. Radical transformations are possible if love and justice reinforce each-other to create a permanent shift in direction among human beings and the institutions they create. “Only new selves could give birth to a new world, but only a new world could sustain the new human beings who constituted it, and who would sustain it in turn,” as Josiah Royce put it in the aftermath of the American Civil War almost one hundred years before. Then as now, there will be no end to patriarchy without deep-rooted changes in men’s behavior; no solution to climate change unless all of us reduce our consumption and carbon footprint; no decline in inequality unless we learn to share resources with each-other; no meaningful democracy until we work through our differences in a spirit of common purpose; no lasting peace if we continue to project our fears and insecurities onto other people. But turning these examples around, there must also be real, living forms of politics, activism and economics that grow from and reinforce the qualities we want to encourage. “We must be the change we want to see” is a favorite quotation falsely attributed to Gandhi, but it’s equally true that ‘we must see the change we want to be.’ And that means showing how real economies can deliver justice and wellbeing, and real politics can bring people together to break the logjam of vested interests. Unfortunately, such boundarybreaking experiments are in short supply, constantly constrained by the mantra that change is impossible because of (insert your favorite bogeyman): globalization, foot-

Antonio Caballero

loose corporations, human nature, the weakening of governments, corruption in politics, the decline of the public or too much time spent on social media. If we believe that only small changes are possible in our political and economic systems, then small change is all we’re going to see—another turn of the wheel with little or no forward movement. The challenges of uniting personal and social change were central to the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, expressed through civil rights, gay liberation, the rise of the women’s movement and the first stirrings of environmentalism. In the decades that followed, this spirit was less in evidence in politics and activism, though it remained alive among feminists and other radicals like Audre Lorde, June Jordan, and bell hooks. Elsewhere, the social and spiritual sides of activism began to move apart, perhaps exhausted by earlier efforts or beaten down by the arrival of the neo-liberal revolution and the celebration of self-interest and materialism that followed in its wake. But today, there’s a resurgence of interest in the possibilities of transformation and an upsurge in attempts to put them into practice, spurred on by two key developments: first, the failure of conventional approaches to make much headway against inequality and violence; and second, the urgency of problems like climate change which demand boundary-breaking solutions. That’s why we launched Transformation as a new section of openDemocracy in 2013. The goal of Transformation is to “publish great writing at the intersection of the personal and the political,” and there’s certainly an audience for the material that we’ve published: in the last three-and-a-half years our stories have been read by over two million people (40 per cent of whom live in the USA), and around 600,000 of them have returned to the site more than twice. Our contributors are diverse, with 65 percent of those returning our questionnaires self-identifying as women or trans-gender, 55 per cent as aged under 40, and 41 per cent as

LGBTQ. Most are activists (many of whom have never written for a major audience before), with good representation from academia and a few professional writers. With funding from a successful campaign in 2016 to raise more support from readers and the renewal of two grants from the NoVo and Hidden Leaf Foundations in the USA, we have enough money in the bank to see us through to the end of 2018, so we’ve decided to take the opportunity that’s provided by some mediumterm financial security to make some changes going forward. These changes are designed to expand our reach and strengthen the role of the site in community-building and debate—to engage with our audience in new and better ways and to identify areas that we haven’t covered in our publishing to date, or which need to be deepened. What’s the rationale for these changes? First of all, the data we collect from Google Analytics show that most of the pieces we publish are only read by between 1,000 and 3,000 people. These are respectable numbers given the type of material we cover, but it seems clear that simply publishing more of the same content is unlikely to grow our audience in the future. The articles with the largest audience comprise less than twenty per cent of the total, but they account for the great majority of reads. Therefore—and without closing down space for articles that we want to publish regardless of how many reads they might get—we want to find ways of commissioning more articles that reach a significant audience on key elements of the transformation debate. We think this means publishing less material overall in order to free up time to investigate the landscape of issues and authors, analyze where the gaps are, and engage in discussions about content with other organizations and websites so that we can strengthen collaboration and cross-posting. That’s the second key issue: publishing partnerships and other community building activities take a lot of time and energy to nurture, but the impact of a

thriving and well-connected field is going to be much larger than the impact of any one of its components in isolation. So we want to put more time and effort into helping to build a stronger and more influential ecology of communities, groups and organizations that work on the deep transformation of self and society. And that means seeing and using Transformation as more of a shared resource—for example by co-editing special themed content weeks with other groups or handing the section over to others to convene and publish their own material. Putting these ideas into practice requires stronger links with readers, writers and publishers, so we want to encourage you to contact us with your reactions, ideas and proposals. Unashamedly, Transformation was set up to challenge the reluctance of many progressive activists to take the personal dimensions of social change as seriously as the political, by showing that self-development isn’t (or doesn’t have to be) New Age narcissism. Rather, it means engaging in the daily struggle for dignity and justice in a different spirit that opens up more effective routes to action. At the same time, we’re also pushing back against the reluctance of many spiritual and self-help advocates to take the political dimensions of personal change as seriously as the inner life they espouse, by showing that love and compassion flourish more easily when new institutions are built on sharing and solidarity instead of the mindless pursuit of competition, growth and power. Rather than agreement or consensus, there’s a sense that readers, writers and editors are all navigating through territory that doesn’t have a map. Transformation is not another good-news magazine, but a place to engage with eachother about the realities and struggles of the radical imagination. All great stories are love stories in one form or another, but the story of love and justice has not yet been told. With your help we aim to put that right. Welcome to another year of transformation.

Colombia: the new killings

openDemocracy

0 rural leaders have been killed since the definitive bilateral ceasefire. The suspected killers are the same "dark forces" that have not stopped operating in Colombia under different names For almost 90 days, only one armed incident between the army and the FARC has been reported. But according to an investigation by La Silla Vacía, 20 rural leaders have been killed, one by one - six of them, members of the Patriotic March Party. "They are repeating the dose," says with macabre humour its president, Aída Avella, a survivor of the extermination of 3.000 members of the Patriotic Union 30 years ago. The killings have increased since October 2, when the No won at the plebiscite. But they began way back, when the peace talks with the FARC got under way. Every progress in the Havana agreements was matched with a death toll in the Colombian fields: regional and communal leaders, human rights activists, victims’ and displaced people’s lawyers (105 last year),

and many members of the Communist Party and the Patriotic March (124 in the last four years). Who kills them? No one knows. Hitmen on motorcycles. But in today's rural Colombia everyone rides a motorcycle, both the murderers and the murdered, and there are plenty of would-be assassins in a demoralized population after 50 years of dirty war. Who orders the killings? The "dark forces", President Virgilio Barco said, undaunted, 30 years ago - though he did not bother to explain who they were. And that is the reason why they grew. The then minister of his cabinet and future president César Gaviria counted more than 50 "dark" organizations, which began to be called "narco-paramilitaries": narco, because they were partners with the drug traffickers, and paramilitaries because they acted in a mutual-aid agreement with the military. Many years later, the names of some gang leaders began to be known: Castaño, Mancuso, Báez, Tovar Pupo... Some were extradited to the United States by Álvaro Uribe’s government, to be tried there for drug smuggling - and

not in Colombia for the killings in the rural areas. Others were thrown into Colombian jails and revealed some of the names of their partners in the Armed Forces - the most notorious of them General Rito Alejo del Río, and some of his friends in Congress, assembly members, governors and mayors: the parapoliticians, some of which also went to prison, after duly voting the government’s projects, as requested by Uribe. Now, it is the same story all over again. The perpetrators of this new wave of crimes are probably the same "dark forces" which have not stopped proceeding in the same way under different names. They are no longer called narco-paramilitaries, but "bacrim" that is, criminal bands: Black Eagles, Urabeños, Stubbles, Vichada Liberators, the Anti-land restitution Army. Their criminal structures, though, remain the same. And they are financed by the same old landowners of 30 years ago, and also the new ones who in the last 30 years have become rich exploiting the land which had been seized from hundreds of thousands of ru-

wRiTE-wiNg

ral families – the people that the supporters of No at the plebiscite (former president Uribe and his “little eggs”, i.e. the Fedegan ranchers, former attorney and presidential candidate Ordóñez) cynically call “the bearers of good faith". For although they can no longer deny that people were despoiled from their land (Uribe's advisor José Obdulio Gaviría simply called them “internal migrants”), they keep on denying that there were any despoilers. They do not want to give back graciously what they got through unfair means. If Juan Manuel Santos’s government, which after much effort has just signed a peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas for the third time, does not take the situation firmly in hand; if it does not seriously investigate who the leaders of the new killings are; if it does not find out whether they now have, again, the complicity of military chiefs, political leaders, notaries, and local authorities; and if it does not pursue them accordingly, the three-time signed peace will only last as much as a speech. Antonio Caballero is a Colombian writer and journalist. A public opinion leader in Colombia, he is one of the most read editorialists of Semana magazine

Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com

MonDAY 09•01•2017

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

‘Clarity is more important than money’

John Berger

fter winning the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1972, John Berger spoke out against the award’s historic roots in Caribbean exploitation: “This is why I have to turn this prize against itself” Since you have awarded me this prize, you may like to know, briefly, what it means to me. The competitiveness of prizes I find distasteful. And in the case of this prize the publication of the shortlist, the deliberately publicised suspense, the speculation of the writers concerned as though they were horses, the whole emphasis on winners and losers is false and out of place in the context of literature. Nevertheless prizes act as a stimulus – not to writers themselves but to publishers, readers and booksellers. And so the basic cultural value of a prize depends upon what it is a stimulus to. To the conformity of the market and the consensus of average opinion; or to imaginative independence on the part of both reader and writer. If a prize only stimulates conformity, it merely underwrites success as it is conventionally understood. It constitutes no more than any other chapter in a success story. If it stimulates imaginative independence, it encourages the will to seek alternatives. Or, to put it very simply, it encourages people to question. The reason why the novel is so important is that the novel asks questions which no other literary form can ask: questions about the individual working on his own destiny; questions about the uses to which one can put a life – including one’s own. And it poses these questions in a very private way. The novelist’s voice functions like an inner voice. Although it may seem somewhat inappropriate on my part, I would like to salute – and to thank – this year’s jury for their independence and seriousness in this respect. All four books on their shortlist demonstrate the kind of imaginative non-conformity I’m talking about. That they gave a prize to my book

gave me pleasure – because it represented a response, a response from other writers. G. took five years to write. Since then I have been planning the next five years of my life. I have begun a project about the migrant workers of Europe. I do not know what form the final book will take. Perhaps a novel. Perhaps a book that fits no category. What I do know is that I want some of the voices of the eleven million migrant workers in Europe and of the forty or so million that are their families, mostly left behind in towns and villages but dependent on the wages of the absent workers, to speak through and on the pages of this book. Poverty forces the migrants, year after year, to leave their own places and culture and come to do much of the dirtiest and worst-paid work in the industrialised areas of Europe, where they

form the reserve army of labour. What is their view of the world? Of themselves? Of us? Of their own exploitation? For this project it will be necessary to travel and stay in many places. I will need sometimes to take Turkish friends with me who speak Turkish, or Portuguese friends, or Greek. I want to work again with a photographer, Jean Mohr, with whom I made the book about the country doctor. Even if we live modestly as we ought to and travel in the cheapest way possible, the project of four years will cost about ten thousand pounds. I did not know exactly how we would find this money. I did not have any of it myself. Now the award of the Booker Prize would make it possible to begin. Yet one does not have to be a novelist seeking very subtle connections to trace the

five thousand pounds of this prize back to the economic activities from which they came. Booker McConnell have had extensive trading interests in the Caribbean for over 130 years. The modern poverty of the Caribbean is the direct result of this and similar exploitation. One of the consequences of this Caribbean poverty is that hundreds of thousands of West Indians have been forced to come to Britain as migrant workers. Thus my book about migrant workers would be financed from the profits made directly out of them or their relatives and ancestors. More than that, however, is involved. The industrial revolution and the inventions and culture which accompanied it and which created modern Europe was initially financed by profits from the slave trade. And the fundamental nature of the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world, between black and white, has not changed. In G. the statue of the four chained Moors is the most important single image of the book. This is why I have to turn this prize against itself. And I propose to do so by sharing it in a particular way. The half I give away will change the half I keep. First let me make the logic of my position really clear. It is not a question of guilt or bad conscience. It certainly is not a question of philanthropy. It is not even, first and foremost, a question of politics. It is a question of my continuing development as a writer: the issue is between me and the culture which has formed me. Before the slave trade began, before the European de-humanised himself, before he clenched himself on his own violence, there must have been a moment when black and white approached each other with the amazement of potential equals. The moment passed. And henceforth the world was divided between potential slaves and potential slavemasters. And the European carried this mentality back into his own society. It became part of his way

of seeing everything. The novelist is concerned with the interaction between individual and historical destiny. The historical destiny of our time is becoming clear. The oppressed are breaking through the wall of silence which was built into their minds by their oppressors. And in their struggle against exploitation and neocolonialism – but only through and by virtue of the common struggle – it is possible for the descendants of the slave and the slavemaster to approach each other again with the amazed hope of potential equals. This is why I intend to share the prize with those West Indians in and from the Caribbean who are fighting to put an end to their exploitation. The London-based Black Panther movement has arisen out of the bones of what Bookers and other companies have created in the Caribbean; I want to share this prize with the Black Panther movement because they resist both as black people and workers the further exploitation of the oppressed. And because, through their Black People’s Information Centre, they have links with the struggle in Guyana, the seat of Booker McConnell’s wealth, in Trinidad and throughout the Caribbean: the struggle whose aim is to expropriate all such enterprises. You know as well as I do that the amount of money involved – as soon as one stops thinking of it as a literary prize – is extremely small. I badly need more money for my project about the migrant workers of Europe. The Black Panther movement badly needs money for their newspaper and for other activities. But the sharing of the prize signifies that our aims are the same. And by that recognition a great deal is clarified. And in the end – as well as in the beginning – clarity is more important than money. This is the text of a speech given by John Berger, on accepting the Booker Prize for Fiction, at the Café Royal in London, 23 November 1972

From ‘Dreamers’ to nukes, Obama still has time to make a difference Josh Cohen

Reuters

iveting as President-elect Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprenticestyle cabinet selection process may be, we should not forget that President Barack Obama still has more than two weeks left in office. Although that's not enough time for Obama to take any new legislative initiatives, his administration is already taking some important policy steps. First, he has begun his promised retaliation against Moscow for its hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the private emails of Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta. And on Dec. 28, Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech emphasizing the necessity of a two-state peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians while also condemning Israel’s support for West Bank settlements which undermine the two-state solution. Kerry’s speech, which came after Obama refused to veto a United Nations Security Council demanding an end to the settlements, will not lead to concrete changes during the president’s final weeks in office. Nevertheless, it lays out parameters that Trump or other negotiators could refer back to while providing a boost to both Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates. Beyond these actions though, Obama can still use the powers of the presidency to burnish his legacy. Specifically, here are three steps he could take:

Pardon whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning This would surely be the single most controversial step Obama could take in January – but he should do it anyway. For one thing, time has shown that both Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. intelligence-gathering programs, and Manning, serving 35 years for providing government documents to WikiLeaks, revealed widespread government overreach to the nation. Even former Attorney General Eric Holder admitted that Snowden’s actions were a “public service,” while the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Obama’s former director of privacy and civil liberties for the White House National Security Staff have called for pardoning Snowden.

Humanitarian and fairness reasons for pardoning Snowden and Manning also exist. Manning has attempted to commit suicide twice; the UN special rapporteur on torture described Washington’s treatment of Manning as cruel, inhuman and degrading. Snowden, meanwhile, does not deserve to face a lengthy prison sentence - much less the possibility of the death penalty mentioned by Trump’s CIA director pick - given that the U.S. government itself recognized the value of Snowden’s disclosures by enacting numerous privacy reforms. Finally, pardoning both Snowden and Manning – not to mention other less visible officials who leaked information to journalists – also allows Obama to set an important precedent. One of the few stains on Obama’s record is his administration’s widespread use of the Espionage Act against officials who released information to journalists. Given the concern that a President Trump could be tempted to abuse the vast powers of the presidency – as well his evident disdain for the media – it’s critical Obama make a strong statement on the importance of the freedom of the press.

Pardon the DACA ‘Dreamers’ In 2012 Obama issued an executive order shielding approximately 750,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation. These young immigrants – dubbed “Dreamers” – were brought to the United States as children by parents who entered the country illegally. Many have spent a majority of their lives in this country yet now - through no fault of their own – they face deportation since Trump could rescind any prior execu-

tive orders during his first day in Office. Obama could save those granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status from the risk of deportation by simply pardoning them - something House Democrats have already asked him to do. As the House Democrats point out, “the Constitution specifically does not limit the pardon power to criminal offenses,” and even the Supreme Court has ruled that “Congress cannot interfere in any way with the president’s power to pardon.” This means Obama could still pardon the dreamers for any civil offenses. Pardoning Dreamers would not confer legal status upon them, but would nevertheless still shield them from deportation. This could provide Republican moderates in Congress the breathing space to work out some kind of permanent fix providing a path to citizenship for the young migrants. Obama has already deported more people than any prior president in history – the least he can do is protect the Dreamers from this fate before he leaves Office. Restart nuclear non-proliferation cooperation with Russia After Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) suspended cooperation with Russia’s nuclear energy company Rosatom. Given the risk that unsecured Russian nuclear materials could end up in the hands of terrorists, restarting scientist-to-scientist cooperation between DOE and Rosatom scientists is critical. This would certainly be a controversial step, particularly given Obama’s pledge to retaliate against Russia for Moscow’s cy-

ber-meddling in the 2016 election. Obama, though, could still pursue any cyber retaliation against Russia he chooses, and he could also make clear that allowing DOE and Rosatom to restart cooperation does not in any way imply Washington accepts Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Nevertheless, cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism is important enough for Obama to separate it from the myriad of other issues where Moscow and Washington remain at loggerheads. Ultimately, Americans should understand that Russian-American nuclear non-proliferation cooperation is not a concession or favor for Moscow, but rather represents a core U.S. national security interest. Furthermore, this might even be one policy Trump could support. The presidentelect has made improving the relationship with Moscow a core foreign policy goal - and Obama could certainly argue that nuclear non-proliferation cooperation fits within the president-elect’s agenda. Moreover, it also aligns with Trump’s plan to focus on combating Islamic State and other extremist groups. To be clear, reasons exist for Obama not to do any of these things. Some would be mostly symbolic. More importantly, it’s also possible that these actions could damage the surprisingly cordial relationship Obama has established with Trump, thereby damaging Obama’s attempt to lobby the president-elect to keep key provisions of Obamacare in place. The benefits to the country outweigh these risks, however, and Obama should act boldly in his final days. Josh Cohen is a former USAID project officer involved in managing economic reform projects in the former Soviet Union

The Morung Express POLL RESULTS

If the Naga public were to awaken from their silence and voice out their rights, do you think 2017 will witness changes? Why?

Some of those who voted YES had this to say: • Yes. This is what everyone is waiting for - the public to break the silence. The public silence means that we have sold out our rights to the politicians. Unless we break the silence against wrong policies and corrupt practices, how can we fight for Clean Elections? To strengthen the Clean Elections we need to first break out silence and voice out our rights. • Sure, if the slumbering Naga public wake up and voice out their rights in action, definitely 2017 will witness changes gradually. The culture of allowing a few crooks to deceive the mass must stop at all cost. The Naga general public has been taken for a ride by uncultured politicians and bureaucrats for too long. Nagas must firmly stand for their rights for justice and peace beginning from today itself. We can overcome corruption if the general public can stand together and voice out for our rights without fearing water cannon and tear gas! • Yes. With the 33% reservation for women to contest in the municipal and NLA elections being the first thing. • Yes, if the Naga public were to start demanding their rights, I think the situ-

44%

ation will change and the politicians and bureaucrats will not be able to ignore the depressing situation anymore. Currently, the silence of the public is making them take things for granted. It is time for public to stand up and say enough is enough. Yes. Its about time to awaken from our slumber Yes. Till now only a few dedicated organisations are in the battlefield. If all conscious Nagas get involved, definitely a change will be ushered in. It should be sort of revolution. Yes. They need to be informed. Nagas must discard "always" thinking and doing on tribal lines Yes. People are ready for change. And it will happen if more people get louder rights loud and clear definitely, from and truly determined. there on, there would be changes in our Yes, if only we are united as one. But Naga society so, let it be 2017. it's a long dream which hope we can achieve one day Some of those who Yes It will show the strength of our unity. voted NO had this to say: Yes because the voice and thoughts of • No, not the next year, but after the genthe public are for general and much eral election/selection. Hope and pray stronger than a political or an organithat a new wave will touch every heart zations voice.. of the Naga, and that will be the beginYes. If the Naga people voice out for out ning for us to go forward to claim our

31%

• •

• • • • •

•

25%

rights. Kuknalim. • No. money still is the driving force in nagaland. the last decade had made undeserving class filthy rich overnight. this class of people are the driving force in our society. so, until this class is wipe out, be 2017 or 2020 nagas will see no change. • No. Everybody hates corruption, however, only handful of people stands against corruption. The need of the hour in the Naga society is not the moral support but to walk the talk. • No... we need to take our dissent to the streets. • No! Nagas are good with silent screams on social media, already awake but too lazy to get out of bed, only barking like dogs in chain of self deceit and hidden corruptedness. The only way to witness changes will be when vigilantes start wiping out our corrupt lawkeepers and our two faced police force. • No way! I don’t doubt that the situation will improve if the Naga people were to awaken from their deep slumber. The problem is that they do not want to wake up from their sleep. It seems like they want to remain sleeping.

• Lets face the ugly truth, we are not ready for change, Naga are not willing to fight for change. We are only good at cribbing about others, criticizing those who do good and don’t care a damn about what is happening in our state. Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say: • Greater and better will be achieved if public continue to SLEEP • Honestly, if all the Nagas unite, in spite of personal or political differences. it can easily win/achieve our goal.bt someone always play a puppet role • We people doesn't realize and remain timid. If the Naga people awaken from our silence and voice out our rights, we have the power to change. • It has already awaken but sadly as mentioned above some are puppets who plays the other side of the coin and suppress the other part • 2017 news headlines are going to be dominated by 33% women reservation and women candidates for Municipal election. That's all. • Just by voicing out won't bring any change until We the Nagas UNITE and WALK THE TALK.

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.

monDAY 09•01•2017

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Face problem abroad? Tweet and tag me: Sushma neW DelHI, January 8 (IanS): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said Indians abroad facing problems can tweet to the respective embassy and tag her in the tweet, adding that she will personally monitor the missions' responses. The minister, who has been known for reaching out to citizens through Twitter, said a 'new pattern' is being adopted. "We are adopting a new pattern here. Pl (please) tweet your problem to the concerned Indian Embassy/ authority and endorse the same to @sushmaswaraj. "I will monitor their response to your tweets personally," she said in a series of tweets. The External Affairs Ministry had recently launched a 'Twitter Seva' to enable timely, transparent and largescale response to citizens' tweets in real time. The Twitter Seva service will be supported by 198 Twitter accounts of Indian missions abroad and 29 regional passport offices

13 upper caste, 97 Muslim candidates in BSP list luCKnOW, January 8 (PTI): The BSP on Sunday announced candidates for 101 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, completing the exercise for all but two of the 403 constituencies, fielding 12 more Muslim candidates this time to ensure Dalit-Muslim consolidation in a bid to wrest power from Samajwadi Party. Candidates for the two remaining seats in Sonebhadra district will be finalised after a decision is taken as to whether they are general or reserved for ST, the BSP said in a release in Lucknow on Sunday. Out of the 403 seats up for grabs, the BSP had prepared a final list comprising 97 Muslim candidates (12 more than 2012), 87 Dalits and 106 OBCs, besides earmarking 113 seats for upper castes — Brahmins 66, Kshatriyas 36 and others 11. Since Muslims account for nearly 20% of the voters in Uttar Pradesh, party supremo Mayawati decided to field more candidates belonging to that community, playing her Dalit-Muslim consolidation card to come back to power. With a weak Samajwadi Party, Muslims will look for alternatives and Mayawati wants to be at the right place at the right time, say analysts. Before releasing the fourth list of candidates, Mayawati presided over a meeting of party office-bearers, leaders, legislators, MPs and party candidates where she told them to fan out in their respective constituencies and work for the BSP’s victory.

PM Modi hits out at 'political worshippers' of blackmoney, graft

Bengaluru, January 8 (PTI): Castigating the opponents of demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said those terming the government's move as 'anti-people' were the "political worshippers" of graft and black money which were making the economy, polity and society hollow. "Friends you know we have undertaken a big responsibilty in fighting black money and corruption... Black money and corruption have gradually made our polity, economy, society and the country hollow. "It is unfortunate that there are some political worshippers (rajnaitik pujari) of black money who term our actions against it as anti-people," Modi said at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention here. "It is very saddening to see some black money supporters maligning the moves against corruption," he said while thanking the Indian diaspora for supporting the government's steps against corruption and black money. Emphasising the role played by overseas Indians in the country's development, the Prime Minister said they have made an "invaluable contribution" to the Indian economy by investing over 69 billion US dollars.

Modi has taken people’s money like a pickpocket, Yechury says

"For me, FDI has two definitions -- one is 'Foreign Direct Investment' and the other is 'First Develop India'," he said, asserting that "I can say with full confidence that 21st century belong to India." Referring to the earlier trend of brain drain, he said "we want to change brain drain to brain gain" and added that the government will soon launch a skill development programme 'Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojna' for the Indian youth seeking employment abroad. Welcoming the efforts of

Indian diaspora to strengthen the country's partnership with the overseas Indian community, Modi said "we don't see the colour of the passports, but the relations written by blood which matter the most." Encouraging all PIO Card holders to convert their PIO Cards into OCI Cards, Modi said "we have extended the deadline for PIO card conversions to OCI from 31 December 2016, until June 30, 2017 without any penalty." He also spoke about the various measures for welfare and safety of Indians

abroad, from carrying out evacuation of Indians in distress to other steps taken by his government in last two years, specifically mentioning the efforts of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in this regard. He also said that starting with Mauritius, his government was working to put in place procedures so that descendants of various Indian communities could become eligible for OCI cards, by addressing the difficulties of PIOs in Fiji, Reunion Islands, Suriname, Guyana and other Caribbean States.

neW DelHI, January 8 (PTI): In a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday alleged that he had taken away the money of people like a “pickpocket” and contested the claim about economic growth not being affected much. Taking to Facebook, Yechury charged Modi with helping black money hoarders to exchange it with white money and said the government was “playing fraud” by claiming that the growth rate would be 7.1 per cent despite the note ban. The scathing remarks from the Marxist leader come a day after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hailed scrapping of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes calling it as a “sacred movement” that would lead to a clean economy. Yechury wondered how the saffron party can claim “victory against black money” when the government had not produced data on money that was returned to banks and restrictions on withdrawals continue. “Modi behaves like a pickpocket, who has picked pockets of the people first, and now says he will come out with welfare schemes,” Yechury said in the post. Recalling that Modi had, in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, said that 90 per cent of black money was parked abroad, Yechury alleged that the Prime Minister was doing nothing on this front. Yechury expressed apprehension that the end result of demonetisation, with time till March 31 to exchange scrapped notes, could be that banks would have more currencies than they have printed. The defunct notes can be exchanged at designated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) counters after explaining reason for delay in depositing them by December 30. “This will ultimately see that black money will become white and counterfeit will turn legal currencies,” he claimed.

Sixteen women raped, assaulted by Traffic to Shimla and Manali restored after snowfall Chhattisgarh police personnel: NHRC • Almost all of the victims are tribals • NHRC finds a total of 34 victims mentioned in three police complaints. • 19 of victims yet to be examined, NHRC issues directive for their statements to be recorded. neW DelHI, January 8, (PTI): The National Human Rights Commission on Saturday sent a notice to the Chhattisgarh government over the alleged rape, sexual and physical assault of 16 women by the state's police personnel. Observing that the government is "vicariously liable" for the alleged crimes, the commission asked the government to show cause why the NHRC should not recommend interim monetary relief to the tune of Rs 37 lakh for the women. The commission also observed that it is of the view that prima facie, human rights of the victims have been "grossly violated". After examining the material available on record, including three FIRs, the NHRC found that found that there are in "total 34 victims mentioned in police complaints." However, the commission noted that statements of only 15 victims have been recorded by a magistrate, and

directed the Chhattisgarh Additional Director General of Police (CID) to get the statements of the other 19 victims recorded before a magistrate. The NHRC team itself examined several people in the matter, including the security personnel and some of the victims. The team was able to record statements of only 14 of the 34 women mentioned in the FIRs. The NHRC said, "Almost all the victims in these incidents, covered under the three FIRs, are tribals," noting that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was not invoked in any of the cases. Due to this, the monetary relief under the SC/ST (POA) Act was not paid to the victims. The commission thus directed the Chhattisgarh chief secretary to ensure that monetary relief, if any, under the act is paid to the victims at the earliest. The NHRC's statement clarified that the current directions are of an "interim nature and a final view will be taken in respect of other victims and also with regard to other issues involved in this matter in due course of time". A full bench of the commission considered the matter on February 22 last year after allegations emerged that Chhattisgarh state police personnel had sexually harassed and assaulted more than 40 women in five villages and gangraped at least two in the Bijapur district.

I'm still the boss, asserts Mulayam

Samajwadi Party chief Mulaym Singh Yadav addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday. Party leaders Amar Singh (centre) and Shivpal Yadav are also seen. (The Hindu Photo)

neW DelHI, January 8 (IanS): Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday said he remains the party President and Akhilesh Yadav was only the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. "I am the National President of SP and Akhilesh is the Chief Minister of UP," Mulayam Singh told the media here. He added that the decision taken by Akhilesh supporters to replace him by the Chief Minister as the party chief was null and void. Akhilesh Yadav continued to be the Chief Minister, he added, in a matter-offact statement that he did not recognize his son as the party boss that he (Akhilesh) claims to be. Mulayam Singh also said Ram Gopal

Yadav had been expelled from the Samajwadi Party and hence he had no right to call the national convention where Akhilesh Yadav replaced him (Mulayam) as the party chief. On January 1, the Akhilesh faction dislodged Mulayam Singh as the party President and designated the former Chief Minister as the "marg darshak" (mentor). Since then, both factions of the Samajwadi Party have approached the Election Commission to claim the election symbol "cycle" ahead of assembly elections in UP. Ram Gopal Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member, has emerged as a key strategist for Akhilesh Yadav in what has turned an initial family squabble into a full-fledged political battle in Uttar Praesh.

SHImla, January 8 (IanS): Traffic to popular tourist destinations Shimla, Manali, Chamba and Dalhousie that were cut off from the rest of Himachal Pradesh after snowfall were restored on Sunday after two days, officials said. The supply of essential commodities and transportation of struck tourists has started normalising. Even the electricity and water supply to Shimla and Manali has been restored partially. Major roads including the Shimla-Manali and Shimla-Chandigarh national highways have been opened for vehicular traffic, said an official statement quoting Public Works Engineer-in-Chief A.K. Kohli. Apart from this, popular tourist places of Kufri and Dalhousie have also been restored to traffic. More than 70 major roads have been opened by the department, he said. Shimla, which experienced 53 cm of snowfall, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was 6.9 degrees. Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, while it was 6.8 degrees in Dharamsala. However, Kinnaur district and towns in Shimla district like Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kumarsain, Kharapathar, Rohru and

Chopal are still cut off due to heavy snow, an official said The Met department forecast that western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would start withdrawing on Monday.

Life remains disrupted in J&K Life continued to remain disrupted in Kashmir Valley on Sunday as heavy snowfall blocked the Srinagar-Jammu highway for the third consecutive day. According to officials, the rail service between the valley and Bannihal town in the Jammu region will resume after track clearance on Sunday. The air and road traffic continued to remain shut as no flights operated to and from the Srinagar International Airport in the morning for the second consecutive day. Authorities at Srinagar airport said the visibility had improved on Sunday morning and flight operations were likely to resume in the afternoon. Traffic department officials said snow clearance operations in Bannihal and Patnitop sectors of the highway had started. Intending travellers should contact control rooms in Jammu and Srinagar to know the latest status of the roads. Inter-district road connectivity

A man walks Srinagar-Jammu National highway on Saturday. Kashmir remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third day on Sundayy due to heavy snowfall in many areas.

has been restored in the valley after snow clearance operations. Snow has also been cleared from all the main traffic arteries in Srinagar city, but people living in residential colonies and old city areas complained that lanes and bylanes were still impassable due to accumulated snow. Engineers of the state electricity department said power supply had been restored in Srinagar city and all other district headquarters. Helplines have been set up by the state health department so that patients can contact doctors in medical emergencies. The Met office has forecast

improvement in weather from Sunday onwards. 41 trains delayed, five cancelled due to fog At least 41 trains were running late and five cancelled due to dense fog in parts of north India on Sunday morning, a railway official said. According to the Northern Railway official, 14 trains were rescheduled. The cancelled trains included Sarai Rohilla-Chennai Central GT Express, New DelhiChennai Tamil Nadu Express, New Delhi-Islampur Magadh Express and New Delhi-Jayanagar Swatantra Senani Express.

PM's degree row: CIC allows inspection of DU records of 1978 neW DelHI, January 8 (PTI): The Central Information Commission has directed Delhi University to allow inspection of records related to all the students who had passed BA degree in 1978, the year in which, according to the University, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also cleared the examination. The Commission rejected the contention of the Central Public Information Officer of the University that it was a third party personal information, saying it finds "neither merit nor legality" in it. It directed the university "to facilitate inspection of relevant register where complete information about result of all students who passed in Bachelor of Arts, in year 1978 along with roll number, names of the students, father's name and marks obtained as available with the University and provide certified copy of the extract of relevant pages from the register, free of cost...." RTI applicant Neeraj had sought to know from

DU official fined for rejecting RTI query on Modi's degree neW DelHI, January 8 (IanS): The Central Information Commission (CIC) has slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on Delhi University's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) for rejecting an RTI application seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's graduation degree. The Chief Information Commission, M. Sridhar Acharyulu, in a recent order, pulled up CPIO Meenakshi Sahay of Delhi University and said the rejections reminded him of the saying "penny wise, pound foolish". The commission was hearing a plea filed by Delhi-based lawyer Mohammad Irsad, whose RTI query seeking inspection of Modi's degree was rejected on the ground that the Indian Postal Order the University the total number of students who appeared in Bachelor of Arts, Year 1978, besides result of all students who appeared in the examination along with their roll number, name of the students with father's name, marks and result pass or failed. Denying the information, the Central Public Information Officer of the University had responded that the information re-

(IPO) was not marked in favour of the Registrar of the university. The commission, directing the "public authority" to recover an amount of Rs 25,000 from the salary payable to Sahay, said that after hearing the story that thousands of rupees had been spent in a legal battle for a postal order of Rs 10, "the proverb 'penny wise, pound foolish' has to be rewritten as 'rupee wise and thousand foolish' ". Sahay in her defence argued that there was no malice in rejecting the RTI application and that she had to follow the policies laid down by the university. The commission did not find any merit or justification in her argument, stating that the fee was not a material factor to throw out an RTI request.

quested is treated as "personal information of the students concerned, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest". Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu, however, said, "With regard to question whether disclosure of such identification related information causes invasion of privacy, or is that unwarranted invasion of privacy, the PIO has not

put forward any evidence or explained possibility to show that disclosure of degree related information infringes the privacy or causes unwarranted invasion of privacy". During the hearing before the Commission, CPIO Meenakshi Sahay said there are 2,00,000 students in "this year's BA programme, and unless the subject of BA programme is specified, it will be diffi-

cult to give the information sought such as the number of students appeared, failed, passed, etc in the year 1978". She also said 1978 results were not in digitised form. Neeraj said it is the past practice of Delhi University to publish such results on the notice board and at times in newspapers also, which means the information sought was available with the public authority and was published or put in public domain without any limitations mentioned by the CPIO. The issue of 1978 DU degree records cropped up after Aam Aadmi Party raised questions about the degree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a controversy. "We have checked our records and it has been authenticated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree is authentic. He cleared the examination in 1978 and was awarded the degree in 1979," Delhi University Registrar Tarun Das had said last year after the row erupted.

MOndAY 09•01•2017

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Taxi apps drive economic, social change in Saudi DUBAI, JANUARY 8 (REUTERS): Saudi Arabia hopes its plan to bring a further 1.3 million women into the workforce by 2030 will be given a lift from ride-hailing apps Uber and Dubai-based rival Careem. The cars, which the government says should only be driven by Saudi men, offer women, who are banned from driving in the conservative Muslim country, an alternative to being driven to work by chauffeurs, male relatives or the shabby taxi system. Ride-hailing apps have come under intense scrutiny from governments and regulators across the globe as they disrupt traditional taxi businesses. But Saudi Arabia courted Uber and Careem, offering state investments, to support its Vision 2030 economic reform plan. With a budget squeezed by lower oil prices, the plan aims to draw workers away from government jobs by creating 450,000 private sector positions by 2020. Uber and Careem say they will create up to 200,000 jobs for Saudi men in the next two years. By offering women a way to get to work, it should also help meet the plan’s goal of increasing the female workforce by five percentage points in the next five years to 28 percent. “This is the next best thing to women being able to drive, because you are in control of

Women sit in a cafe in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (REUTERS File Photo)

your time, no more wasteful waiting around,” said Marwa Afandi, a 36-year-old marketing executive. With the workforces of Uber and Careem easily expected to overtake the 65,000 nationals employed by state oil giant Saudi Aramco, the kingdom has invested in both companies. Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund put $3.5 billion into Uber in June 2016 while statecontrolled Saudi Telecom Co announced on Dec. 18 it bought 10 percent of Careem

for $100 million. “The percentage of Careem captains who are Saudi has jumped from effectively zero to 60 percent in the last 12 months, and we aim to employ 70,000 Saudis by end 2017,” said Abdulla Elyas, co-founder of Careem. SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE Women already account for around 80 percent of Uber and Careem’s passengers, the companies say. “In a country where they

(women) cannot get behind the wheel we are offering both the women and the government a win-win solution,” said Zeid Hreish, Uber’s general manager in Saudi. A personal driver offers the most cache for middle- and upper-class women. But as these cost as much as 3,000 riyals (651.47 pounds) a month, around 20 percent of the average monthly household income, women are always looking for cheaper options. Some wealthier Saudi

women have never used the country’s existing taxi system because it is not seen as acceptable for them to travel in the older vehicles that are often provided. Uber and Careem offer an alternative because they require their drivers to use cars that are less than three years old. Uber works with car financing companies in Saudi Arabia to get deals to help its drivers buy newer cars. The use of the app for booking a car also allows a passenger to select a particular driver and some believe that the use of smart phone technology brings a better class of driver. There is little difference in price between a journey with Uber or Careem and a local taxi company but the industry does not feel threatened because it caters to a different market - road-side taxi hailers are usually lower income men and do not own smartphones. “We have very little overlapping demand with Careem and Uber,” said an assistant manager at a Jeddah-based limousine company, who wished not to be named. Careem is however, developing a subsidised rides programme for low-income working Saudi women with the Ministry of Labour.

flects how social attitudes are evolving in the conservative kingdom. Traditional social norms dictate local women cannot interact with men to which they are not related. However, the ride-hailing scenario has jumped ahead of such restrictions, aided by a zero tolerance policy for driver complaints operated by Uber and Careem. “I am comfortable in the car with the driver because we are getting a professional service from a company where the driver will be held accountable for any complaints made against him,” said Alia Shayef, a 42-year-old banker living in Jeddah. But some riders and drivers remain uneasy about the mixing of genders. An 18 year old university student in Riyadh said that since more Saudis became Uber and Careem drivers her father has forbidden her to use those apps. A Careem driver also admitted he does not take any female riders to avoid cultural clashes and any risk of complaint. The proliferation of ridesharing services has also done little to take away the yearning for women to drive. Some are concerned that it has made it even less likely that the government will ever allow women to get behind a steering wheel. EVOLVING ATTITUDES In June when Uber anThe high female engage- nounced the Saudi wealth ment with such apps also re- fund had invested in its busi-

ness some Saudi women took to Twitter to unveil their disapproval with the hashtag “Saudi women announce Uber boycott,” trending within hours of the news. JOBS FOR MEN The state investment is partly aimed at bolstering the employment of local men at a time of rising unemployment. The Ministry of Transportation in November said Uber and Careem must “limit the jobs to Saudi nationals” although legal non-Saudi drivers may continue to work for the companies. Working for a globally-recognised company such as Uber is a draw for tech-savvy Saudis, helping some overcome the stigma of being a driver. “Uber is a trend and people want to follow it, and be a part of the digital revolution,” said Abdulelah Bassyoni, founder and managing director of Saudibased digital consultancy Brain Technology. Despite this, both Careem and Uber say most drivers work part-time, alongside government jobs that they are reluctant to leave cause of the perceived security and benefits. Nasser, a 30-year-old Riyadh said he was working as an Uber driver to top up his government salary with extra cash. “It is crazy to think anyone would leave their government position, it is a blessing to have it,” he said.

Eat high-fiber diet to cut inflammation caused by gout Trump defends Russia outreach amid US intel criticism NEw YoRk, JANUARY 8 (IANS): Consuming a highfiber diet may significantly induce the action of gut bacteria to help reduce inflammation associated with gout and possibly help the treatment of arthritis, researchers have found. Gout is a metabolic disease in which monosodium urate crystals of uric acid -- a waste product in the blood -form in the body’s tissues or joints, causing inflammation and pain. The study found that the action of gut bacteria, influenced by different types of food, can affect inflammation in the body.

Diets that are high in fiber trigger bacteria in the gut to produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which induces neutrophil apoptosis and the resolution of inflammation. The findings may have important implications for the treatment of gout, and possibly for the treatment of arthritis, the researchers said. “By understanding the way foods interact with living organisms, we may be able to create diets that help people with the disease, as well as their health overall,” said Mauro M. Teixeira from the Federal University of Minas

Gerais in Brazil. For the study, the team used a high-fiber diet and treatment with SCFAs to prevent inflammation associated with the injection of monosodium urate crystals in the knees of mice. The results showed that injecting monosodium urate crystals affected a particular type of blood cells, easing inflammation, while improving anti-inflammatory cells in the knee joint, preventing knee damage and dysfunction. The high levels of uric acid in the body in people with gout, the kidneys are unable to flush them easily out of the body.

S Korean monk self immolates in protest SEoUL, JANUARY 8 (AGENCIES): A Buddhist monk is critically ill after setting himself on fire in protest at South Korea’s deal with Japan over its sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War Two. The 64-year-old man suffered third-degree burns and remains unconscious in hospital, officials say. He set himself alight during a protest on Saturday calling for the removal of President Park Geun-hye. The march in Seoul marks the 11th week of rallies against Ms Park. The monk, who is being treated at Seoul National University Hospital, left a note urging the authorities to arrest Ms Park for committing “treason” over a reparation deal agreed with Japan in 2015, police said. South Korea has long called for reparations for the nation’s “comfort women”, who were forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels. An agreement was reached between the

two nations in 2015 that Japan’s reparations - compensation and an apology - would “finally and irreversibly” resolve the issue. But critics have said the deal does not go far enough in holding Japan responsible for wartime abuses. Tensions between the two countries increased on Friday after Tokyo withdrew its ambassador to South Korea in a row over a statue representing sex slaves. Japan said the 1.5m-tall (5ft) bronze statue depicting a young, barefoot woman sitting in a chair, was a violation of the 2015 agreement. On Sunday Prime Minister Shinzo Abe demanded the removal of the statue from outside its consulate in the South Korean city of Busan. “The South Korean side should show its sincerity,’’ he said on Japanese TV. He said the 2015 agreement should be implemented regardless of leadership change as a “matter of credibility”. At the time of the deal, 46 former “comfort women” were still alive in South Korea.

NEw YoRk, JANUARY 8 (AP): U.S. intelligence officials are convinced that Russia meddled in the presidential race. But that hasn’t changed Presidentelect Donald Trump’s call for warmer relations with Moscow. Trump declared in a series of tweets on Saturday that “only ‘stupid’ people or fools” would come to a different conclusion. “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing,” he stated from Trump Tower, adding: “We have enough problems without yet another one.” American intelligence officials on Friday briefed the president-elect on their conclusions that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 election in order to help him win the White House. An unclassified version of the report explicitly tied Russian President Vladimir Putin to election meddling and said that Moscow had a “clear preference” for Trump in his race against Hillary Clinton. Trump has repeatedly sought to downplay the allegations, alarming some who see a pattern of skepticism directed at U.S. intelligence agencies and a willingness to embrace Putin. There has been no official comment from Moscow on the report, which was released as Russia observed Orthodox Christmas. But Alexei Pushkov, an influential member of the upper house of parliament, said on Twitter that “all the accusations against Russia are based on ‘confidence’ and suppositions. The

USA in the same way was confident about (Iraqi leader Saddam) Hussein having weapons of mass destruction.” Margarita Simonyan, the editor of government-funded satellite TV channel RT who is frequently mentioned in the U.S. report, said in a blog post: “Dear CIA: what you have written here is a complete fail.” During the election, Trump praised the Russian strongman as a decisive leader, and argued that the two countries would benefit from a better working relationship - though attempts by the Obama administration at a “Russian reset” have proved unsuccessful. At the same time, intelligence officials believe that Russia isn’t done intruding in U.S. politics and policymaking. Immediately after the Nov. 8 election, Russia began a “spearphishing” campaign to try to trick people into revealing their email passwords, targeting U.S. government employees and think tanks that specialize in national security, defense and foreign policy, the unclassified version of the report said. The report said Russian government provided hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. The website’s founder, Julian Assange, has denied that it got the emails it released from the Russian government. The report noted that the emails could have been passed through

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump delivered brief remarks to reporters at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, US. (REUTERS File Photo)

middlemen. Russia also used state-funded propaganda and paid “trolls” to make nasty comments on social media services, the report said. Moreover, intelligence officials believe that Moscow will apply lessons learned from its activities in the election to put its thumbprint on future elections in the United States and allied nations. The public report was minus classified details that intelligence officials shared with President Barack Obama on Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press after the briefing, Trump said he “learned a lot” from his discussions with intelligence officials, but he declined to say whether he accepted their assertion that Russia had intruded in the election on his behalf. Trump released a one-page statement that did not address whether Russia sought to med-

dle. Instead, he said, “there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election” and that there “was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines.” Intelligence officials have never made that claim. And the report stated that the Department of Homeland Security did not think that the systems that were targeted or compromised by Russian actors were “involved in vote tallying.” Trump has said he will appoint a team within three months of taking office to develop a plan to “aggressively combat and stop cyberattacks.” On Saturday, he said he wanted retired Sen. Dan Coats to be national intelligence director, describing the former member of the Senate Intelligence Committee as the right person to lead the new administration’s “ceaseless vigilance against those who seek to do us harm.”

Florida airport shooting suspect could face death penalty MIAMI, JANUARY 8 (AFP): US authorities have charged the Iraq war vet accused of shooting five people dead and wounding six at aFlorida airport with federal crimes that could carry the death penalty. The Justice Department on Saturday charged Esteban Santiago, 26, with firearms offenses and carrying out an act of violence when he opened fire at the busy Fort Lauderdale airport. Santiago, who had earlier shown signs of “erratic behavior,” arrived Friday on a flight from Alaska. At baggage claim he retrieved a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and ammunition that he had declared and stowed inside his checked luggage, then allegedly loaded the weapon in a bathroom and opened fire in the crowded baggage claim area of Terminal 2. Once his ammunition was exhausted Santiago lay on the floor with his arms

Esteban Santiago, is shown in this booking photo provided by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, January 7, 2017. (REUTERS Photo)

and legs spread out and proached him, witnesses peacefully surrendered quoted in US media said. when a sheriff deputy apThe hail of bullets sent

thousands scrambling for safety and shut down the airport, a major gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, for about 16 hours. If convicted of the charges Santiago could face the death penalty or life in prison, US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said in a statement. “Santiago started shooting, aiming at his victims’ heads until he was out of ammunition,” Ferrer said. FBI special agent George Piro said agents were looking into the motives for the attack, including “continuing to look at the terrorism angle.” Piro said Santiago appeared to be acting alone and that “every indication” is that he followed rules in flying with the weapon. Santiago is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Monday. A former member of the Puerto Rico and Alaska

National Guard, Santiago served in Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011. He ended his service in August. On November 7, Santiago walked into the FBI’s office in Anchorage, Alaska and complained that his mind was being controlled by national intelligence agencies, which were forcing him to watch Islamic State jihadist videos, authorities said. This “erratic behavior” led agents to contact local police, who took him for a mental health evaluation, Piro said. Anchorage police chief Christopher Tolley said Santiago came to the FBI office with a loaded magazine, but left his gun and newborn child in his car. Police took Santiago’s weapon for safekeeping at the time, but he was able to reclaim it on December 8. Tolley said it was unclear if that gun was used in the airport rampage.

Santiago’s brother, Bryan, criticized the way authorities handled his case. “They had him hospitalized for four days and they let him go. How are you going to let someone leave a psychological center after four days when he said he hears voices that the CIA is telling him to join certain groups?” Bryan Santiago told CNN, in a Spanish-language interview the network translated into English. “Not everyone has the same reaction when they return from war. Some are better, and some, not so much.” Authorities have not identified any victims, but three named in media reports were all getting ready to set off on cruises. They included Britishborn 84-year-old grandmother Olga Woltering, who was going on a family cruise with her 90-year-old husband, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Terry Andres, 62, was going on vacation with his wife of nearly four decades, Ann, the Palm Beach Post reported. Other victims included Michael and Kari Oehme, a couple in their 50s. Michael was killed while his wife was wounded in the shoulder, the Miami Herald reported. The shooting renewed anxieties about security at US airports. The Transportation Security Administration -- the agency responsible for airport security- lets passengers travel with unloaded firearms and ammunition as checked baggage. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents the Florida district that includes the airport, said the rules need to be reexamined. The incident should prompt a review of “whether or not you should be allowed to check a firearm at all”- as

well as how passengers should be able to retrieve checked weapons after landing, she told CNN. “If there is still exposure to the traveling public of someone who wishes to do them harm and, like this individual, was reunited with their firearm and was able to wreak havoc... it absolutely needs to be addressed.” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy rebuked the Republican-controlled Congress for not tightening gun laws. “Political cowardice is the accomplice of every mass shooter,” he wrote on Twitter. “The utter silence of Congress in the face of this carnage has become consent.” The Fort Lauderdale airport re-opened Saturday morning, and staff struggled to return nearly 20,000 pieces of luggage and other personal items abandoned by passengers who fled the shooting.

MonDAY 09•01•2017

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Giroud strikes late winner as Arsenal sneak by Preston LONDON, JaNuary 8 (reuters): Arsenal were again indebted to Olivier Giroud after the Frenchman's 89th-minute strike secured a 2-1 victory at second-tier Preston North End in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. Giroud has now scored four goals in his last four games including a late winner at West Bromwich Albion, an equaliser against Bournemouth in midweek and last weekend's extraordinary "scorpion" volley against Crystal Palace. His deflected effort at Deepdale was rough on Preston after the Championship side had bossed the first half and should have been ahead by more than Callum Robinson's early effort. Had another Robinson effort not been disallowed or Jordan Hugill got a touch when sliding in to meet a low cross with the goal at his mercy, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger might have suffered a first defeat in an FA Cup third round tie. They improved after the break though and after Aaron Ramsey had scored his first goal of the season a minute after the restart the visitors looked the more likely winners. "Someone reminded me yesterday that I have never been out in the third round in 21 years, but tonight, in the first half, it was close," Wenger said. "Preston played with enthusiasm and quality in the first half, they were quicker than us all over.

Musa impresses to put Leicester into fourth round

Olivier Giroud scores a late goal to win the match for Arsenal. (Getty Images)

"We were not at the races in the first half and we were beaten everywhere, we didn't win the duels and were outplayed. "But sometimes when you come out of the Christmas period and subconsciously think it's a bit easier it's more difficult in the FA Cup. At halftime we knew we could have

been out." Preston took the lead in the seventh minute when Aiden McGeady's dazzling turn and pass was not dealt with by Arsenal's defence and Robinson fired home. However, Preston could not build on their lead. Ramsey produced a stunning finish

to level it up after halftime. Preston then mounted a rearguard action which deserved a replay until Giroud popped up to sweep home from close range after a neat back flick by Lucas Perez. Four of Giroud's last six goals have come in the 86th minute or later and he has scored in each of his past eight starts.

Perisic gives revitalised Inter TNCA turns down offer to host U-19 Tests DeLHi, JaNuary 8 (tNN): said that the letter-head addressed in the fourth successive league win NeW Whether it is a part of the non-cooperation name of former BCCI boss N Srinivasan MiLaN, JaNuary 8 (reuters): Ivan Perisic scored at the end of each half as Inter Milan came from behind to beat Udinese 2-1 away on Sunday and notch their fourth successive Serie A win. Inter, who had not conceded a goal in their previous three outings, had an early let-off as goalkeeper Samir Handanovic sent a clearance straight to Jakub Jankto, who failed to take advantage. The Czech midfielder, however, made amends when his curling shot finished off a well-worked move to give midtable Udinese the lead after 17 minutes. Udinese twice hit the post but Inter snatched an equaliser on the stroke of halftime when Perisic swept in Mauro Icardi's pass from 12 metres. The Croatia winger struck again three minutes from fulltime as he headed in Joao Mario's free kick at the far post.

drive initiated by the ousted members of BCCI or not is tough to say, but the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has taken a blatant stand of not hosting two Test matches between India and England under-19 teams in Chennai. In a letter to BCCI, TNCA gave the reason of "various domestic programs scheduled during the period" for not hosting the Tests. "We regret to inform you that we are unable to host the matches in Chennai due to various domestic programs scheduled during the period," the TNCA official wrote. The board made suitable arrangement for the Tests, but it didn't go down well with the Lodha committee. Sources

such a star-studded occasion demands, US actress Eva Longoria will host the ceremony aided by German broadcast host Marco Schreyl. With his Ballon d'Or safely tucked away after his third Champions League title, thanks in major part to his 16 goals in 12 games, as well as Portugal's Euro 2016 success - the country's first major crown -- CR7 is seen as a shoe-in for the men's new FIFA title. About the only downside for the former Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon star was the fact he was off the pitch when Portugal sealed their win over France, having been stretchered off with injury in the first half in tears. He watched Eder's extra-time winner from the bench. - Best season Ronaldo himself acknowledged to sports daily Marca late

last year that it was a "fantastic season," indeed "perhaps my best on an individual and team level." His achievements will almost certainly see him once again shut out longtime rival Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid's French striker Antoine Griezmann for the FIFA award. His Euro 2016 final injury aside, the only other blip of sorts for Ronaldo, 31, was the fact he was named in the Football Leaks financial scandal. He and his entourage have strenuously denied claims that he has illegally stashed some 150 million euros in offshore tax havens and Swiss bank accounts. But it unlikely that issue will trouble the national coaches and skippers and journalists called upon to seal their FIFA choice. Zidane, meanwhile, will face challenges from Claudio Ranieri,

Mattek-Sands dethrones Sania Mirza as world number one in doubles

Gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands of USA react after receiving her medal. (Reuters File Photo)

LONDON, JaNuary 8 (reuters): American Bethanie Mattek-Sands will rise to number one in the world when the WTA doubles rankings are released on Monday. Mattek-Sands sealed top spot after winning her 23rd WTA doubles title in Brisbane on Saturday with partner Sania Mirza. She ended her Indian

partner's 91-week reign as world number one. "Being number one is something that you dream of from the time you pick up a racket," Mattek-Sands, whose daring outfits and knee-high socks mark her out from the crowd, told the WTA. "You're not given number one -- you have to earn it and I feel really proud of

myself for getting there." Mirza added: "I feel like I'm handing over the Miss World No 1 crown. Congratulations to her for becoming No 1. She has had an amazing year.", Mattek-Sands has won three grand slam doubles titles all with Czech Lucie Safarova -- the most recent coming at last year's U.S. Open.

watched him recently and think he is starting to understand English football better," Ranieri, whose side are dangerously close to the relegation zone, said. "Ndidi only trained two days with us, but he showed strong character and personality. A great performance." Ranieri selected a strong side and the Italian was rewarded with one of Leicester's best away performances of the season. "I'm very pleased. We made a good match against a big team who we lost to at home in the league. I loved our reaction to conceding a goal," he said. Everton have not beaten a top flight team in the third round of the FA Cup since 1988 and manager Ronald Koeman had some harsh words for his side. "It's unbelievable how we lost the control after 1-0 up, a sloppy attitude, and we were punished by two goals," he said. "I don't understand why we dropped back after we were ahead. We needed to continue with the same attitude but we dropped and that's really bad."

Draxler on target as PSG rout Bastia

as the TNCA president is equivalent to a contempt of Supreme Court order. "From the day the apex court passed the order, the officials of both TNCA and BCCI are removed from their posts. They don't need to resign from their posts. And if someone is still using the same letter head, it's not correct," a source close to the Lodha committee told TOI. Interestingly, TNCA isn't reading too much into the accusation. It is after all the prerogative of the state unit whether to stage the match or not. "The TNCA have prior commitments and there is no need to talk about anything else," a source close to the association added.

Ronaldo tipped for 2016 FIFA award Paris, JaNuary 8 (aFP): Following his success in Ballon d'Or, the Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is set to add another garland -- the Best FIFA Men’s Player -- on Monday in Zurich. After Champions League and Euro 2016 success for club and country last year, Ronaldo is the overwhelming favourite for yet another accolade for his bulging trophy cabinet. It could well be a double celebration for Real, with their manager Zinedine Zidane hoping to land the coaches title having led the merengues to European Cup glory -14 years after doing so as a player. Last year, FIFA ended its sixyear collaboration with magazine France Football for the Ballon d'Or award and is now to unveil its own brand new "Best" distinction. In accordance with the pizzazz

LONDON, JaNuary 8 (reuters): Ahmed Musa finally began to justify his $21 million transfer fee as he needed only five minutes to double his Leicester City goal tally in a 2-1 FA Cup third round victory at Everton on Saturday. The Nigerian, signed from CSKA Moscow to bolster the Premier League champions' attacking options, has struggled to shine in his first season, scoring only twice, but impressed at Goodison Park after coming off the bench to replace Leandro Ulloa. First he cancelled out Romelu Lukaku's 63rd-minute opener, bundling the ball over the line from close range, then five minutes later he exchanged passes with Danny Drinkwater before beating Everton keeper Joel Robles with a right-foot strike. It was Leicester's first away victory in all domestic competitions this season and Musa's contribution was particularly pleasing for manager Claudio Ranieri who gave a debut to 15 million pounds ($18.42 million) signing Wilfred Ndidi. "Musa was excellent. I've

surprise English Premier League winner with Leicester, and Portugal boss Fernando Santos for the top coach award. "Zizou" acknowledges he is still a novice as coach -- having landed the top job at the Bernabeu on replacing the sacked Rafa Benitez mid-season. But he promptly secured glory in Europe and added the European Super Cup and World Club Cup for good measure -- not bad going for a debutant. Ranieri, meanwhile, secured Leicester's first league crown against all the odds in a success that stunned the sporting world Zidane, 44, modestly says he does not expect to win. "It would be normal to give it to someone else -- I've just started" as coach, he notes. "It's all new for me. I have to keep working."

Paris Saint-Germain's midfielder Julian Draxler shoots the ball during the French Cup football match between against Bastia (AFP Photo)

Paris, JaNuary 8 (aFP): Paris Saint-Germain got their French Cup defence off to a dream start on Saturday with new recruit Julian Draxler scoring in a 7-0 rout of Ligue 1 rivals Bastia. Unai Emery's side advance to the last 32 of a tournament in which they are the two-time defending champions ensuring their Corsican rivals remain winless at the Parc des Princes. Making his competitive debut 23-year-old winger Draxler completed the rout scoring the final goal three minutes from the whistle. The German World Cup-winner completed his move this month from Wolfsburg for a reported fee of up to 42 million euros

($45 million). "Draxler had a good match, it will be good for his confidence," said Emery. PSG captain Thiago Silva opened the goal fest with a header on 30 minutes with Adrien Rabiot firing in the second from 25 metres out just before the break. It was all one-way traffic in the second half with goals Christopher Nkunku, Thiago Motta, Angel Di Maria and a Lucas penalty humiliating the visitors before Draxler struck. Emery's side, who went into the winter break in third place in Ligue 1, five points behind leaders Nice, are looking to complete a clean sweep of the domestic trophies in France for a

third season in succession. The Parisians were however hit when Brazilian captain Silva picked up a thigh injury in a challenge with goalkeeper Kevin Traff minutes before the break. The 32-year-old was treated pitch side for several minutes before limping off. Five other Ligue 1 sides also competing on Saturday advanced. Lille ended the adventure of minnows AS Excelsior -- a sixth-tier side from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion -- 4-1, as Guingamp beat Le Havre 2-1. Monaco on Friday advanced past second division AC Ajaccio 2-1, largely thanks to a goal from star forward Falcao.

Anderson powers N.Zealand to T20 sweep MOuNt MauNgaNui, JaNuary 8 (aFP): Corey Anderson bludgeoned 94 off just 41 balls as New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 27 runs in the third Twenty20 at Bay Oval on Sunday to sweep the series. Anderson, who put on 124 runs for the fourth wicket with Kane Williamson (60), hit a New Zealand record 10 sixes in his batting blitz as New Zealand posted 194 for four. Bangladesh in reply made 167 for six in their 20 overs. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar launched Bangladesh's reply by reaching 44 in the fifth over when Tamim was dismissed for 24. Bangladesh were 89 for two after 10 overs, but with Soumya having fallen for 42, they could not sustain the run rate. The tourists still had an outside chance of reaching their target at 120 for three after 14 overs when spinner Ish Sodhi produced a crucially tight over in which he took one for three, blowing out the required run rate to an improbable 14.44 per over.

Corey Anderson's (C) unbeaten 94 off just 41 balls included a New Zealand record 10 sixes during the 20/20 match against Bangladesh in Mount Maunganui (AFP Photo)

New Zealand captain Williamson said the blustery conditions meant the win was not as easy as it appeared on the scoreboard. - Power and Corey "Corey's knock was outstanding. It wasn't easy at times -- you had to adjust to the wind but I don't think the wind mattered to Corey," he said.

"He hit it to parts and hit it a long way and it was a good knock that set us up for victory." New Zealand, sent into bat, were on the back foot early, slumping from 34 for nought to 41 for three in the space of 11 deliveries. That brought Anderson and Williamson together and after taking a few overs

to settle in, with only 55 on the board at the halfway stage, they let fly in the second half of the innings which produced 139 runs. They also set a New Zealand fourth-wicket partnership record of 124, one more than the previous mark set by Colin Munro and Tom Bruce in the second game two days ago.

The big-hitting Anderson only faced 41 deliveries for the highest knock of his career while Williamson faced 57 balls for his seventh Twenty20 half-century. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who had the misfortune to see Williamson dropped off his bowling on 53 and 58, was unable to complete his fourth over because of injury, compounding his team's problems. Regular opener Imrul Kayes was also injured in the field. He dropped down the order during the Bangladesh innings and was not required to bat. Rubel Hossain was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with three for 31, including two wickets in one over when he removed Jimmy Neesham (15) and Munro, a century-maker two days ago, without scoring. Sodhi took two for 22 and Trent Boult two for 48 for New Zealand. The defeat left Bangladesh winless after three 50-over matches and three Twenty20s, with two Tests remaining on their tour.

MOnday 09•01•2017

EntErtainmEnt

Juhi Chawla seeks to raise awareness Keith Urban is the most about plastic’s harmful effects beaUtifUl man: Kidman

ctress, entrepreneur and social activist Juhi Chawla on Saturday sought to create awareness about menace of using plastic. “Using plastic has an alarming effect not only in society but in the world too. The Supreme Court says unless we examine a ban on plastic, the next generation will be threatened with more serious threats than the atom bomb. Plastic can’t decompose. We see plastics in streets, beaches, rivers and everywhere. Every piece that is made with plastic stays for next one thousand years. Every piece of plastic has toxic substances,” she said at the Rotary club here. “My brother-in-law mentioned to me that there are islands of plastics in the ocean. He also told me their size, and that’s when it shocked me the most. In the North Pacific Ocean, islands of floating plastic are almost the size of Africa,” she added. “We are damaging the environment to such a big degree and many of us don’t even know about it. Plastic is poisoning the water. Every day we are creating cancers for s c a r- w i n n i n g ourselves by consuming food in plastic. We actress Nicole must think about what kind of development Kidman gushed is this? “She asked, advising people to carry about her husa cloth or jute bag for shopping, not using plastic cutlery at parties, or plastic bottles, band and musician Keith which are damaging for tropical countries. Urban, saying he is the Source: IANS “most beautiful man she

has ever met”. The 49-yearold actress heaped praise on her husband as she collected a trophy for the Best Supporting Actress at the 6th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television

Arts International Awards in Hollywood, reported Femalefirst. In her acceptance speech, the actress said, “To the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, Keith Lionel Ur-

now a male face to endorse David Blaine Shot Himself in the Throat During a Magic Trick cosmetic brand maybelline

osmetics brand Maybelline New OMG! So excited to finally announce that York has appointed American I am part of the Maybelline Big Shot MasYouTube star cara campaign! Honestly I couldn’t be more honManny Gutioured thrilled! Thank errez as its first male ambassador. Gutierrez, you to Maybelline for taking a chance on me! I who has drawn more look forward to working than two million foltogether so much more.” lowers to his YouTube Gutierrez, who has channel since he started posting makeup tua Makeup Geek eye shadow palette and an torials in 2014, stars in the brand’s new That Ofra lip set named after him, is part of a new Boss Life campaign, reports theguardian.com. wave of “beauty boys” Gutierrez anmale-identifying makeup artists who post bold, nounced the news via an Instagram post, saycolourful and elaborate ing he was honoured and thrilled. He post- looks on social media. ed: “2017 you are off to an amazing start Source: IANS

eedless to say: kids, don’t try this at home. Street magician David Blaine accidentally shot himself in the throat, when he was really just trying to shoot himself in the mouth. Let us explain. Blaine’s “Beyond Magic” aired on British terrestrial digital television channel E4 last night, when a classic bullet-catching trick gone horribly wrong horrified a whole new TV audience. Today, the Internet is going bananas over the blooper. Blaine’s lone rifle shot was supposed to be nabbed by a metal cup

in his mouth. Unfortunately, the cup slipped off the grooves that attached it to a special gum shield, and Blaine nearly blew his

Parents should teach sons to respect women: SRK

B C M Y K

ollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has urged parents to teach their sons how to respect women. Asked about the recent Bengaluru mass molestation, Shah Rukh said: “It is completely wrong. I feel mothers and fathers should teach their sons how to respect women.” SRK spoke to media on Saturday at the Archana Kochhar Show, where he walked as a showstopper. The charity event was held to raise funds for free heart surgeries for 100 children at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute. “All women as daughters or mothers are close to my heart. It’s high time we realise and make sure that they are the most respected people on the planet. They are god’s creations. Irrespective of their field, they should be respected,” he said. Bollywood celebrities like Salim Khan, Shekhar Kapur, Akshay Kumar and Farhan Akhtar had earlier strongly condemned the incident that took place during the New Year celebration in Bengaluru. Source: IANS

head clear off. The self-fired bullet broke through the contraption and lacerated Blaine’s throat. The Disney-owned

broadcaster aired “Beyond Magic” in November. “Time just started to move really slow,” Blaine narrates over the scary action. “When the bullet struck the cup, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ear,” he said. “I felt an impact on the back of my throat.” “I was sure the bullet went right through my head and that I was dead,” Blaine added. “Suddenly I became aware of the pain and it brought me back.” “At that moment, I realized that the mouth guard had shattered again, and I was alive,” he concluded. Source: Yahoo News

revIseD TICKeT rATes (silver) : `.120 (Gold) : `. 200 (recliner) : `. 400

rince didn’t just leave a great musical legacy behind. It turns out, the singer also had an eye for real estate. The singer had acquired $25.4 million worth of real estate and other personal property before his death, ET confirms, in addition to a horde of cash and 67 gold bars. According to a file released by Carver County District Court, Prince also left behind 10 cars, including a 1993 Ford Thunderbird, 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1997 Lincoln Town car, 2004 Cadillac Roadsters XLR, a 2010 Mercedes Benz, 2011 Lincoln MKT, 1996 BMW Z3 Roadster, 2006 Bentley, 1985 Cadillac Limo, and a 1999 Plymouth Prowler. The value of Prince’s entire estate, which includes unreleased recordings and videos, has yet to be established, but is estimated to be worth between $100 million and $300 million. The singer died in April of an accidental Fentanyl overdose at age 57. His first posthumous release, “Moonbeam Levels,” premiered in November at a private listening party hosted by ABC News. Prince was honored at the 2016 American Music Awards that same month. Source: Yahoo News

younger, then turned on him completely, and then came back with a vengeance like, ‘Dad, that’s going to be my husband’,” Wahlberg told Ellen DeGeneres. “I said, ‘Over my dead body. Actually, over both of your dead bodies. I’ll just go back to jail.’ But then, not a word.” The 58-year host concluded: “So Justin Bieber is sitting there.” Then she asked: “Are you going to work together?” Wahlberg cryptically replied: “Maybe.” While it’s unclear what kind of project he’d like to work on with Bieber, he later did confirm that he wouldn’t be working on “any music”. Source: IANS

Now ShowiNg

Prince Left Behind $25 Million in Real Estate, 67 Gold Bars

mark Wahlberg to work Shraddha slams baseless reports about ‘live-in rumours with Farhan’ with Justin bieber?

ctor Mark Wahlberg seems to be hinting at a new project with Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer Justin Bieber. During his appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Friday, the actor said he had a “Canadian fellow” over for a family dinner, reports aceshowbiz.com. Wahlberg was asked about his 13-yearold daughter Ella. “I had a very successful friend who was there, and she’s a big fan. We invited him over for dinner,” Wahlberg said. “It’s a young man who’s been (on Ellen’s show) before. He’s a very nice young man, Canadian fellow.” “She liked him a lot when she was

ban. He’s got a gypsy heart, and travels the world where I go,” she said. Kidman and Urban, who shares two daughters together, tied the knot in 2006. Source: PTI

tardom has its share of ecstasy and agony. Shraddha Kapoor recently bore the brunt of being a celebrity, whose personal life is often scrutinised. The actorsinger slammed reports about her “rumoured live-in relationship with ‘Rock On ! 2’ co-star Farhan Akhtar. Talking about the false reports that even ended up dragging her father into the picture, Shraddha said, “I think this time it went little overboard. When you are writing something that is false and presenting it as a fact without confirming... I feel it’s extremely wrong,” Shraddha said. “For just the sake of gossips, tabloids can’t take such liberties. You can’t say something has happened when nothing of this sort has happened,” she added. Shraddha, who has been earlier linked to her ‘Aashiqui 2’ co-star Aditya Roy Kapur, also contemplated taking some action against those who published such false stories. “That point I felt sad. I wish if only some people (journalists) would be bit responsible in what they write as so many people read it. So it’s not right to paint an incorrect picture,” she said. “The link up rumours has not affected me at all but this time it did as it involved my family. If you paint a wrong picture and involve family it’s not fair,” she added. “When you put so much hardwork into films and if the focus shifts to other things like link ups and rumours it’s not correct. I would want my work to be spoken about more,” she added. Daughter of veteran actor Shakti Kapoor, Shraddha has succeeded in creating a niche for herself in the industry not just as an actor but as a singer too. She is now gearing up for the release of her next film titled ‘Ok Jaanu’ with Aditya which is slated to release on January 13. (With PTI inputs)

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THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Djokovic makes statement Westbrook's 17th triplein epic win over Murray in Doha

double leads Thunder win

First-placed Djokovic and second-placed Murray hold the trophies. (Reuters Photo)

C M Y K

DohA, JAnuAry 8 (reuTers): Novak Djokovic made an immense statement in his bid to rule men's tennis again when he defeated Andy Murray, the man who deposed him as world number one, 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an epic Qatar Open final in Doha on Saturday. Looking back to near his peerless best at times in a game of searing quality, the Serbian missed out on three match points and had to repel a roaring Murray comeback before ending the Briton's 28-match, five-tournament winning streak. In their first meeting since Murray won their season-ending climax at the ATP World Tour finals, the Briton ran into a rejuvenated Djokovic who, despite having problems with his racket hand and receiving two warnings for his behaviour, prevailed thrillingly in their 36th contest. The world number two said it was "the dream start" to 2017 in his build-up to the defence of the Australian Open title later this month and defeat provided food for thought for Murray, who lost for the 25th time against his old rival. "It was close, a very physical battle. All the way to the last shot, you never know with Andy. It's no strange occurrence for us to play three sets for three hours," Djokovic told Eurosport. "It means a lot. For the last three months of 2016, I haven't felt that confident on court and didn't play that consistent. But to start 2017 with a win over the world number one and my biggest rival was a dream start so I'm hoping I can get the best out of it."

Los AngeLes, JAnuAry 8 (AFP): Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook notched his 17th tripledouble of the season Saturday, leading the Thunder to a 121-106 home win over the Denver Nuggets. Westbrook, who leads the NBA in scoring and is averaging a triple-double, produced 32 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in the 54th triple-double of his career. His seven three-pointers were one shy of the career-high eight he delivered in a loss to Houston on Thursday, but the fiery point guard had plenty of help from the Thunder's big men in the convincing win over the short-handed Nuggets. "I think on both ends of the floor, we decided to go big," Thunder reserve center Enes Kanter of Turkey said. "And we did an amazing job on both ends. Not just offensively. Both ends we put matchup pressure on them." Oklahoma City's Kiwi center Steven Adams added 16 points and four blocked shots for a Thunder team that out-scored the Nuggets in the paint 56-48. Reserve Wilson Chandler paced the Nuggets with 24 points, but scored just five in the second half. "They went big," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "And we had no answers for the big guys." Malone said the ab-

Djokovic had looked out of sorts as he struggled to tame Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in Friday's semi-final and he started inconsistently again, also requiring treatment to a bleeding right thumb in the third game. Yet Djokovic began playing with an authority that he had not displayed all week and was so frustrated after losing one 29shot rally that he was warned for hitting the ball away petulantly towards his box. Still, he pressurised Murray, making his breakthrough in the eighth game as the Scot surrendered the crucial break with a mis-hit forehand. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, center, steals the ball and heads up the court in front of teammate Victor When Djokovic cashed in on a sloppy Oladipo (5) and Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay, right, in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklaservice game, in which Murray delivered homa City, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. Oklahoma City won 121-106. (AP Photo) two double faults, to take a crucial 4-3 lead sences of Nikola Jokic peted. We played hard." saw the Spurs break out of to six games with a 97-82 in the second set, he looked unstoppable. and Gary Harris made a - Spurs notch 30th win - a 60-60 tie to take a 73-64 victory over the Mavericks He seemed certain to wrap up the vicdifference. In San Antonio, rookie lead into the fourth period. in Dallas. tory serving at 5-4 but a couple of missed "Obviously Gary Har- reserve forward Davis BerKawhi Leonard finAnd the Boston Celtics backhands and courageous aggression ris would have been a key tans of Latvia scored a ca- ished with 19 in the victo- won their fourth straight from Murray led to him missing out on his guy to try and guard Rus- reer-high 21 points as the ry. LaMarcus Aldridge had with another display of three match points. The Briton pounced to sell Westbrook," he said. Spurs posted their 30th win 15 points, 12 in the second long-range fireworks. break serve -- a feat he has now achieved "And obviously, offensive- of the season, 102-85 over half, and pulled down 11 The Celtics drained in an impressive 112 successive matches. ly, we only had 18 assists the Charlotte Hornets. rebounds for San Anto- 18 three-pointers in a Djokovic received a point penalty for tonight. With Jokic out Bertans, who has aver- nio, who have won three 117-108 victory over the smashing his racket which handed the and we play through him aged 2.6 points in 9.6 min- straight and seven of their New Orleans Pelicans. 11th game to Murray and the Scot rammed so much, that he is able to utes per game, scored eight last eight. They have made 71 threehome his ascendancy by breaking again to generate some easy looks points in a crucial stretch The Atlanta Hawks ex- pointers in their fourtake the second set. for us. But our guys com- late in the third quarter that tended their unbeaten run game winning streak. Yet just when Murray seemed to be taking control physically, with Djokovic looking increasingly weary, the Serbian produced an inspirational game to break to love at 3-3. When he served for the match again, he made no mistake, crashing a forehand winner to seal victory. Zurich, JAnuAry 8 (AP): cially driven, neither in terms of come tied to the 2018 World Cup impressed voters in recent reFIFA is set to make the World Cup revenue or costs ... but the driver in Russia, though 25 of 34 sponsor- gional meetings of FIFA member bigger and richer, even if the price should really be the development ship slots are unsold. The research federations. of football and boosting football document predicted the equivaWhen the FIFA leader first proto pay is lower quality soccer. lent of $6.5 billion revenue from a posed 48 teams, it included an FIFA President Gianni Infan- all over the world.” World Cup champion Ger- 48-team tournament in the “16x3” opening playoff round. The 16 wintino hopes his ruling Council will agree Tuesday to expand the 2026 many is not in favor. It argued that format, which would send two ners would join 16 seeded teams in World Cup to 48 nations, playing in diluting the number of European teams from each group to a new a traditional 32-team group stage. and South American teams - which Round of 32 knockout bracket. FIFA members disliked “one16 groups of three teams. All 80 matches would play in and-done” teams going home beA decision could be delayed if won all 20 titles since 1930 - could some Council members demand “strengthen the imbalance” seen at an exclusive time slot. Currently, fore the “real” World Cup kicks off. 64 World Cup matches have 56 It would also stretch to a 39-day to know exactly how many quali- some tournaments. “The (German soccer federa- broadcast slots because the eight event with more short-notice travfying places each continent will get before agreeing to scrap the tion) fundamentally believe that four-team groups play their last el for fans. Africa and Asia could be the 32-team format. It has been suc- the current 32-team format is the matches simultaneously. FIFA predicts organizing costs big winners, and FIFA hopes new cessful, popular and profitable best option,” its president Reinsince 1998 and is locked in for the hard Grindel said last week. Ger- for “16x3” rising from $2 billion to teams would include another Icenext two World Cups in Russia many has no delegate at Tuesday's $2.3 billion, giving a potential prof- land, Wales and Costa Rica - overmeeting though Grindel is set to it rise of $640 million. achieving teams and feelgood stoand Qatar. Though a “16x3” World Cup ries at recent tournaments. The prize of 16 extra places, and join the FIFA Council in May. FIFA acknowledged the risk would still need a maximum of 12 Still, hapless Tahiti was outthe biggest increases to Africa and Asia, has “overwhelming” support of lower standards in a research stadiums, the demand for 16 more classed at the 2013 Confederations from FIFA's 211 member federa- document sent to members last top-quality training camps and ho- Cup, conceding 24 goals in three month, as first reported by The As- tels suggests FIFA would look for games. tions, Infantino has said. 2026 hosts with existing capacity. “The goal of expanding the Their promise of extra funding sociated Press. The “absolute quality” of socA North American bid from FIFA World Cup,” it has told memfrom Zurich could also be secured 10 minutes. by FIFA's forecast 20 percent rise cer, defined by high-ranked teams two or three of the United States, bers, “is to further advance the vi"I just had some soreness on my mus- in rights fees paid by broadcasters playing each other most often, is Canada and Mexico is currently sion to promote the game of footcles (today). You're never happy unless and sponsors. achieved by 32 teams, FIFA said, cit- favored in a contest that could ball, protect its integrity and bring the game to all.” you have won a tournament but I am real“Financially, the 48-team for- ing 10,000 tournament simulations start within weeks. Five options are open Tuesday, [Entry quotas for 2018 World ly happy I made it to the final," said world mat is the most appealing or suc- made to reach that conclusion. Still, Infantino promised voters including staying with 32 teams. Cup: Europe 14 (including host number 99 Medvedev, who was playing in cessful simply because the sportInfantino campaigned last Russia to qualify direct); Africa 5; ing element is prevailing and more World Cup places and fundhis first ATP tour final. "If someone asked me before the tour- every match is important,” In- ing raises before his election last year on a 40-team promise, in ei- Asia and South America 4.5 each; ther eight groups of five teams or North, Central America and Caribnament 'Will I be happy reaching the fi- fantino said two weeks ago. “The February. FIFA expects $5.5 billion in- 10 groups of four teams. Neither bean 3.5; Oceania 0.5] decision should not be finannal?' I would said yes."

FIFA set to approve bigger, richer World Cup

Bautista wins Chennai Open chennAi, JAnuAry 8 (reuTers): World number 14 Roberto Bautista Agut outclassed the aggressive Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 to win the Chennai Open title on Sunday. "I cannot be more happy than now. I played a great tournament," Bautista Agut, who won his fifth ATP tour title, said during the presentation ceremony. "I know it is very difficult to be a top-10 player but my goal is to be a better player every day." The second-seeded Spaniard, who was happy to play out long rallies in order to win points, oozed confidence as he comfortably held serve. He needed to break the 20-year-old Medvedev only once to clinch the opening set. The second set was a much more even contest with Medvedev threatening to turn the tide after edging out a thrilling 30-shot rally as Bautista Agut, a Chennai finalist in 2013, struggled to break the Russian's service. Bautista Agut, however, finally broke Medvedev shortly after the big-serving Russian received on-court treatment for a suspected hamstring problem, and wrapped up the match in an hour and

Fourth-tier Plymouth hold Liverpool youngsters I-League: Ten-man Bagan beat Churchill LonDon, JAnuAry 8 (reuTers): Fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle shut up shop and kept the door firmly closed to earn a superb 0-0 draw away to Liverpool's youngest ever starting XI in Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Anfield. Determined defending and unstinting effort kept the League Two team in the game against opponents lying second in the Premier League, almost 70 places above them. With a League Cup semi-final first leg to come against Southampton on Wednesday, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had made 10 changes from the side that drew at Sunderland last Monday and fielded five teenagers. Spurred on by almost 9,000 noisy fans who had travelled the 470 kilometres to Merseyside, Argyle defended stoutly while showing little ambition to go forward and test a Liverpool defence in which Joe Gomez returned after more than 15 months' absence with injury.

Sheyi Ojo and David Fox battle for the ball. Photograph: (PA Photo)

For much of the game they had only 20 percent of the possession, not managing a shot for 60 minutes and finally bringing a save from goalkeeper Loris Karius five minutes later. The home side, however, had few outstanding chances. Sheyi Ojo, 19, missed with a

header from six metres out early on, 17-year-old Ben Woodburn was denied by goalkeeper Luke McCormick and when Divock Origi put the ball in the net he was adjudged to have fouled his marker. Klopp waited until just over an hour had been played before making any substitutions. He sent on

Daniel Sturridge for Emre Can and the England international immediately put a shot just wide. Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino then replaced Ovie Ejaria, 19, and Woodburn, who succeeded Michael Owen as the club's youngest goalscorer earlier this season. A lively presence, the Welshman had nevertheless been denied further scoring chances by Plymouth's packed defence and tight marking. As pressure increased in the last 10 minutes, Sturridge sent a weak header and then a low drive wide, and McCormick clutched a deflection off a defender right on the line to earn a replay. Earlier Fulham reached the fourth round with a 2-1 win away to Cardiff City in a meeting of two Championship (second tier) sides. The winning goal was bundled in by 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, an England under-17 international, making him one of the youngest scorers in the history of the competition.

KoLKATA, JAnuAry 8 (iAns): A 10man Mohun Bagan rode a Balwant Singh goal to edge past Churchill Brothers 1-0 in an I-League football match at the Barasat Stadium here on Sunday. Balwant scored in the 28th minute in a match the visitors played without any foreigners. Bagan's U-22 player Subhashish Bose picked a second yellow card in the 63rd minute to be given the marching orders. Churchill got their best chance in second half injury time when substitute Angelo Colaco's strike hit the crossbar from the edge of the box. Bagan started better but lacked the cutting edge in their attacking. But theu went ahead two minutes before the half hour mark when Balwant powered in a header off a Pritam Kotal cross from the right flank. The hosts went into the break leading by the solitary goal. In the second half, Churchill fared better but failed to create any opportunity clear cut chances, despite being a man up. Bose was shown a second yellow card for a push on Seriton Fernandes after getting first booked in the 55th minute. The last minutes of the match were

tense for the home side as Churchill tried to wrest the advantage but Mohun Bagan managed to hold on. Elsewhere on Sunday, newcomers Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC played out a goalless draw, enabling both teams to notch their first ever I-League football points in Chennai. It was the visitors who started the game on a better note but Chennai fashioned the first real chance of the game in the 5th minute but couldn't finish it off. Five minutes later, Chennai's Lalnun Mawia had a free header at goal but it went straight at Minerva goalkepeer Ravi Kumar. The match soon settled into a midfield battle but it was Lalnun Mawia who had the best chance of the night in the 34th minute. Dhanpal Ganesh started the move, brilliantly winning a ball in midfield and played Haroon Amiri clear. Though his first cross was blocked, the second one fell to an unmarked Lalnun Mawia but his left-footer went straight to Ravi Kumar. The change of ends did not seem to have an effect as the home side seemed to be creating more chances. Mumbai FC defeated DSK Shivajians 1-0 in Mumbai.

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