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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. X ISSUE 77
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Saturday, March 21, 2015 12 pages Rs. 4
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Kashmir attack kills six, including two militants
Emmy Rossum Avoiding New Neighbour Justin Bieber
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–Kris Kristofferson
Lawyers urged to curb violation of human rights [ PAGE 2]
Quick nuclear framework accord with Iran unlikely [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 8]
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It’s India vs Australia in 2nd semi-final! [ PAGE 12]
The dilemma of waTer scarciTy
Plenty of water; lack of infrastructure ails Kiphire Dimapur gripped by water shortage Morung Express News Kiphire | March 20
While depletion of water resources looms large in many parts of Nagaland, Kiphire district is fortunate. It has enough perennial springs and rivers to tide the citizens of this district even in the driest of times. Despite nature’s abundance, lack of adequate infrastructure to tap water from the sources has made its availability in this district, which pride itself of being surrounded by water in all corners, inadequate and seasonal. More than a decade after Kiphire was inaugurated as the eleventh district of Nagaland on January 2004; nothing much has changed in the infrastructural and development front. Decades old rusted pipes which was installed by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), when the district was an administrative sub-division under Tuensang district still shoulders the responsibility of supplying water to the district. And with increase in population which continue to grow and expand, the 500 odd consumers enjoying water supply from the PHE department is not even one third of the town’s population. It is learnt that the department’s current water supply capacity with 65mm in diameter pipe is not enough and need enhancement to a higher capacity of at least 200 mm dia pipe. Even as demand for water con-
and monthly bill of Rs 350, the convenience of having water supplied every day is a luxury that many cannot afford. Health hazard is another serious issue. The water quality supplied by private cable owners cannot be guaranteed as safe since there is no regulation in place to check on the water quality. Despite these collaterals, public
Nagaland CM welcomes ‘positive attitude’ towards reconciliation
eci’s verdict to decide NPf fate
koHIMA, MARCH 20 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister, TR Zeliang today welcomed the joint statement titled ‘Taking Responsibility for Nation Building’ issued by the Church and civil society leaders recently. A press note from the CMO appreciated the “positive attitude of the NSCN/GPRN and the GPRN/NSCN towards the above joint statement, and their expression of interest to find a way of coming together in their search for a solution to Naga political issue.” It further lauded the “untiring efforts of the FNR, as well as the interest and cooperation shown by the church and the civil society, and the positive attitude of the NSCN/GPRN and the GPRN/NSCN towards the peace initiatives.
With Election Commission of India (ECI) deadline for submission of arguments in written form from the two NPF party ending today, it’s a long wait in anticipation for the final verdict, not only for the Noke Wangnao and Dr Shürhozelie Leizietsu led NPF groups but also amongst the third party political players. Legal representatives of Noke Wangnao and Dr Shürhozelie Leizietsu NPF group have submitted the written documents as requisitioned; however the exact date on the verdict is yet to be ascertained. The ruling is bound to be delivered in a couple of days, sources said. As reports suggests, ECI’s verdict is being earnestly awaited, not only to settle the nearly three month long impasse
Christian MPs express concern at ‘atrocities’
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The only water reservoir at Kiphire. (Morung Photo)
nectivity increase every day, the department cannot provide, not due to lack of water resources but for the lack of infrastructure development. In the midst of such artificial paucity, citizens are left with no alternatives but to depend on private cable owners who supplies water with a heavy price. With a cost of Rs 4000 for installation (which is non refundable)
DIMAPUR, MARCH 20 (MExN): 19 Christian Members of Parliament met in New Delhi to chalk out an effective strategy to counter “attacks” against the Christian community in India. The parliamentarians hoped that the assurances given by the Prime Minister would be honoured. The MPs were of the view that the majority community is not communal but it is only a minuscule minority amongst the majority community which is so. They said attention should be amply focused on the work done by the Christian community that runs schools, colleges, hospitals, old age homes, and orphanages across the country and was deeply involved in the uplift of society as a whole. The meeting, which was held at Bishop’s House was also attended by Nagaland MP, Neiphiu Rio.
Morung Express News Dimapur | March 20
among the two NPF groups that paralyzed the State but also on matters of portfolio distribution. Since TR Zeliang received a full house support in his favour at the February 5 vote-of-confidence at a special assembly session called by the Governor, different political colors are waiting for a piece of the pie reportedly promised to them. Eight legislators from the Congress, who are actually the opposition party and four from the BJP all voted in support of TR Zeliang. Then there are also the Independent legislators. The Congress has already made their position known. They want at least two cabinet berths and a couple of parliamentary secretaries. The BJP, though biding their time in being vocal, are no less expecting the same. Sources said there is
still throng to the private suppliers for the water supply connection- because there is no other option or they are ignorant of the health issues related to water. “With water scarcity problem and demand for water supply growing each day, it has become difficult to accommodate all consumers,” Aseba, a private cable distributer told this correspondent. There are at least 1000 cable consumers in Kiphire town alone. And this figure is not even half of the demand we receive for water connection, he said. On the business venture of private water cable operators and water truck carriers, the PHE department is not complaining either. An official said private cable owners and water carrier trucks were in a way helping the department because we get “fewer disturbances/complaints as citizens get water despite the exorbitant price.” As citizens endure, the continuing rhetoric from the PHE department official is that Kiphire will overflow with water only if the infrastructure is improved. Even the river for the main water source-Mitrikyu, is just 15 kilometer away from town. And for those citizens who can’t afford the expensive water from private cable operators or have not been fortunate enough to be one amongst PHE’s 500 consumers, it back to the traditional wells- with cans and buckets and walking the long distance.
Morung Express News Dimapur | March 20
Dimapur is in the grip of a severe water crisis. With months of dry spells and decreasing groundwater levels, many parts of the city are experiencing water shortage like never before. Ring wells are drying up and even tube wells are unable to pump water in many parts of the city. Citizens of Dimapur are worried that the situation may get worse in the days to come. According to an independent survey, some of the worse affected areas are the city’s populous settlements. A resident of Signal Basti told this reporter that her ring well dried up in February and she now relies solely on the water pump. However, low power voltage is a problem in the area and she can operate the water pump only in the morning hours. In Burma Camp, one Biju Das buys four tins of “clean water” for consumption every day since the common ring well that his family draws water from doesn’t produce sufficient water anymore. Das said that he has to get up early to fetch water or else it becomes muddy after drawing five or six buckets. Even areas like Nagarjan, Thilixu and Chekiye, which generally do not experience much water shortage, are facing problems. In Chekiye village, not only are ring wells drying up, some residents are unable to pump water from their bore wells. The situation is worse in
the adjoining village Ikishe, where residents are reportedly reeling under severe water shortage. Severe enough that some women in these areas were reported to have disposed their flowers and green plants due to the water shortage. The crisis is looming large even in areas like Purana Bazar and 2 ½ mile areas, where water is generally found in abundance. With the ever increasing population in Dimapur and its surrounding areas, water has become a precious commodity. Till several years ago, the city hardly faced any water problems and most of the citizens depended solely on ring wells and hand pumps. Soon people began digging bore wells at an accelerated rate, causing ground water levels to decline. People are now reported to be digging up to 200 feet underground to get water. The present water crisis in Dimapur is no longer a regular dry season phenomenon. The city appears to be heading for serious water problems even in the near future. According to official records, only 33, 970 households in Dimapur have access to water supplied by the department of Public Health Engineering (PHE), which is less than 10% of the entire population. Many citizens opine that the monsoon will only bring temporary relief and that the government needs to start tackling the water shortage problem in Dimapur immediately.
already a rift formed in the Congress camp over ‘who should hold what’ in the portfolio allocation. The Congress is giving pressure for distribution of the portfolio at the earliest, it is learnt. The two NPF group at present have 19 supporters each, after three legislators from Noke’s camp, namely Deo Nukhu, Dr Bengjongliba and Shetoyi joined Dr Shürhozelie’s group. Earlier, spokesperson of Chief Minister TR Zeliang had informed that the date for the portfolio distribution will be set right after the 8th assembly session. Media Officer to CM, Karaibo Chawang when contacted, said the portfolio distribution will take place within a matter of days. Political commentators say that the deciding factor on the present political current will be dictated by the verdict of the ECI.
Varanasi bound train derails, killing scores of passengers
RAE BARElI/lUCkNow, MARCH 20 (IANS): At least 32 people were killed when the engine and three coaches of a passenger train derailed near Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh after the driver overshot a signal on Friday. Northern Railway spokesman Neeraj Sharma said in New Delhi that nearly 50 people were warded in hospitals. Doctors in Lucknow said many of them were in critical condition. Sharma put the death toll at 32. The horrific accident took place at Bachharwan railway station near Rae Bareli when the Dehradun-Varanasi Janata
Express, proceeding to Varanasi, jumped the tracks shortly after 9 a.m. The train was to halt at Bachharwan, a small station. But the driver didn’t stop. When he realized the folly and applied the emergency brakes, the engine and the coaches went off the tracks, officials said. An official statement said the train hit a sand bump, leading to the derailment. One of the three coaches which derailed was a sleeper class. The other two were general coaches. All were packed with commuters. Many passengers suffered serious injuries, primarily in the head. Oth-
ers suffered concussions, broken limbs and deep wounds. Some escaped with cuts and bruises. “The death toll could go up,” an official told IANS, adding that 12 bodies remained unclaimed until late in the evening. Northern Railway officials said that prima facie the train driver seemed to be at fault. “The train was to stop at the Bachharwan station but it did not. When he realized this, the driver applied the emergency brakes, leading to the derailment,” one official said. The railways ordered a probe into the accident. Details on Page 8
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Dimapur
Saturday
LocaL
21 March 2015
The Morung Express
Lawyers urged to curb violation of human rights
Legal services authorities of eight states of North East Region including Sikkim converge in Dimapur for training and sensitisation Morung Express News Dimapur | March 20
Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice HK Sema, said the March 5 lynching incident in Dimapur was a blatant violation of Article 21 of the Constitution and complete negation of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Justice Sema said in a democracy, there are criminal and civil procedures and laws to deal with any case or crime. “There is no law to take the law in your own hands. The March 5 incident is against Christian ethics and a complete negation of what Jesus preached,” he said. Alluding to an incident in the book of John where Jesus re-
KSSU seminar
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kohiMa, March 20 (MExN): The Kohima Sumi Students' Union (KSSU) will be conducting a seminar on March 21 under the theme 'Self-Reliant and Capacity Building' to be presented by YouthNet and will include registration by 'Pinnacle skills' for training to various courses (job placement) for the dropouts and unemployed. The seminar will be held at the Nagaland Christian Revival Church (Sumi) opposite Phom Baptist Church, Kohima.
ASUS elects new team kohiMa, March 20 (MExN): The Angami Students’ Union Shillong (ASUS) has elected a new team of office bearers for the tenure of 2015-2016 led by Megosielie Meyase as the president and Pelevizo Sechü as the vice president. The other executive members are Kevilhoubei Khezhie – general secretary, Visedelie Makritsu – assistant general secretary, Kekuosetuo Sachü – finance secretary, Vizhano Peseyie – statistical secretary, Vivotso Zhasa – games & sports secretary, Kelengunuo Mekro – asst games & sports secretary, Kezevinuo Sote – cultural secretary, Ketholenuo Dahou – editor-cum-library secretary, Jeremiah Sekhose – assistant editorcum-library secretary, Vikeduolie Khruomo – property secretary, Thejangulie Dzivichü – info & publicity secretary, Megotsowhe Chasie – advisor. The representatives to the Naga Students’ Union Shillong are Seyiesinuo Pienyü and Mhiesizokho Mechieo. Meanwhile, the new team has felicitated the outgoing team for rendering their services towards the union and further wished them success in their future endeavor.
bukes a crowd ready to stone to death a woman taken in adultery by saying “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” the retired judge said the March 5 incident is also a blatant violation of Article 21, which states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.” The legal luminary was speaking at the inaugural programme of the 3-day training and sensitisation of lawyers empanelled with legal services authorities of eight states of North East Region including Sikkim, which got underway at Hotel Acacia, Friday. Sema said human rights is a very important subject which
PuNgro, March 20 (MExN): A protest rally was held against the backdrop of government’s non-fulfillment of demand put forth where additional deputy commissioner, Pungro has been transferred without appropriate arrangement and posted Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) at Pungro on March 19. The Public Forum Pungro Sub-Division, Pungro Area College Students’ Union, Yimchung Beru Arih-Ako Pungro Unit and Pungro Town Students’ Union jointly organised the protest rally. Public Forum Pungro Sub-Division President S. Kiusumew in a press release said that a programme was held at local ground where thousands gathered showing their solidarity through display of placards. Leaders from different organisations
Wokha, March 20 (MExN): The newly constructed Government Middle School building at Pongidong Village in Wokha District under SSA Programme 2011-2012 was inaugurated on March 18.
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Commission, advised the young lawyers to go to remote areas and villages to represent the “voice of the voiceless and speechless.” He said the basic welfare schemes and amenities of the
training underway
kohiMa, March 20 (MExN): An intensive updating programme for the teachers of schools run by the Salesian Family (a group of religious congregations inspired by Don Bosco’s charism of working for youth) in the Province of Dimapur is underway. Jonas Kerketta, Christ King Hr. Sec. School, Kohima ina press release stated that starting on February 9, Fr Charles Maria SDB, South Asian Delegate for Youth Ministry and South Asian Coordinator for Education and Culture, has completed the animaProtestors take part in the rally called by the frontal organisations of Pungro area on March 19. tion of teachers in Kheti, spoke in the programme and sioner Office Pungro. organisations in its ultima- framed, the frontal organisa- Longding, Paglam, Mebo later the silent procession Subsequently, seven tum has cautioned that if the tions of Pungro area would (Arunchal Pradesh), Diwas held and culminated at days ultimatum was submit- demand is not fulfilled by the be compelled to take its own brugarh, Tinsukia, Doom Additional Deputy Commis- ted to the government. The government within the time course of action. Dooma, Sadiya (Upper As-
Deputy Commissioner Wokha A. Robin Lotha with others during the inauguration of newly constructed GMS building at Pongidong Village held on March 18.
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lives of other human beings?” Justice Sema asked. Sharing his vast experience as a legal luminary and defender of human rights, Justice Sema who was also former chairman of Uttar Pradesh Human Rights
citizens, yet the Fundamental Rights have seen some erosion over the years. The DC said it is the collective responsibility of the law enforcing agencies and the legal fraternity to secure opportunity of justice to all section of people. Stating that on many occasions, the weaker section has been deprived of access to justice, Yhome called upon all to rededicate themselves to the cause of justice for every citizen, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Director, Legal Cell for Human Rights, Guwahati, Ravi Sagar, in his introductory note the sensitization programme is visualized to strengthen the weakest and vulnerable section of society. He also said it a constitutional mandate to provide legal aid and justice to the poor and needy. Earlier, District & Session Judge Dimapur felicitated the guest speakers. Programme coordinator, Ms Felcita D’ Souza proposed vote of thanks.
sam), Dimapur Kohima and Zubza. Schools still to be animated are DBHSS Wokha and DBS Rephym in Nagaland, DBHSS Mao and DBS Mao Gate, DBHSS Maram, DBS Tamenglong, DBHSS Imphal, LFHSS Imphal, DBS Lamphel, DBS Langjing and DBS Khoupum Valley. In the months of July and August 2013 Fr. Peter Gonsalves SDB from Rome had visited the schools of the Salesian Family in Dimapur Province. Under the theme of “Educating Don Bosco Way”, he had familiarized over 2,000 teachers with the educative method of St. John Bosco popularly christened as the Preventive System of Education.
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GMS Pongidong building inaugurated National science day 2015 celebrated
Theme : ROLE OF WOMEN IN ELECTION
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all lawyers should be well versed with. He said terrorism is a powerful enemy of human rights as terrorism takes away one of the most fundamental of human rights – the right to live. “Who are we to take away the
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Pungro protest non-fulfillment of demand by govt Salesian family teachers’
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(From right) DC Dimapur, Kesonyu Yhome, Justice HK Sema (Retired Supreme Court Judge) and director, Legal Cell for Human Rights, Guwahati, Ravi Sagar, at the inaugural programme of training and sensitization of lawyers empanelled with legal services authorities. (Morung Photo)
government including electricity, health care services, water, shelter and essential commodities, which are denied to villagers, are also violation of human rights. He also said lawyers should not be primarily concerned about their fees but sometimes extend their services free of cost to the poor and needy and added that in the past he had also taken up cases of the needy free of cost. “I have reached the top in my profession not because of the fees of the rich but because of the prayers of the poor and needy,” the retired Supreme Court Judge said. He further urged the upcoming lawyers to adopt professional ethics and pursue their profession with missionary zeal, Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur, Kesonyu Yhome, who also addressed the inaugural programme, said that though the Fundamental Right and Directive Principles guarantee fair play and justice to all
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Sd/(N. MOA AIER) Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Nagaland, Kohima.
Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Nagaland, Kohima. Email: ceo_nagaland@eci.gov.in Toll Free: 1950 No. NL/SVEEP/GEN-1/2014-15, Dated20th March 2015.
The chief guest, Deputy Commissioner Wokha A Robin Lotha inaugurated the new GMS building, stating that it is not only the responsibility of teachers but also involves cooperation from parents and com-
munity particularly the support of Village Council, VDB and Churches in educating the students. He also urged the teachers to give their best in moulding the students. Yi b e n R . Hu mt-
soe, Teacher (Science), chaired the inaugural programme. Rev. Rapvuo Pastor,Pongidong Baptist Church read the Bible and offered dedicatory prayer. SSA (DMA) ADC Wokha P Zubenthung Humtsoe enlightened the gathering on Communitisation. SDEO Wokha T. Chonpenthung Odyuo, Chairman VEC, Chairman Pongidong Village Council, and VDB Secretary delivered short speeches. Students of GMS & GPS and a group led by the President, BYF A. Ben Lotha presented special songs. Head Teacher of GMS Khyopenthung James Kikon pronounced the vote of thanks, mentioning special appreciation to the land donor Elvis Humtsoe and family. In the meeting, Rev. Elhio Pastor of CRC Pongidong invoked the blessings of God, while Zubonthung Humtsoe Pastor Tsungza Baptist Church pronounced the benediction.
MokokchuNg, March 20 (DiPr): Organized by District Education Office, Mokokchung, National Science day 2015 was celebrated at Ongpangkong Salang, Mokokchung under the theme “Science for Nation Building”. To mark the occasion, 3 schools of the district participated in the science talent presentation. In the competition Mayangnokcha Government Higher Secondary School,
Dilong Government High School and Senayangba Government Higher Secondary School bagged the 1st, 2nd and 3rd position respectively. It may be mentioned that National Science Day is celebrated every year by schools, colleges and universities all over the country to widely spread message about the significance of scientific applications in day today life, display all
the activities and achievements in the field of science for human welfare, give an opportunity to the scientific minded citizens in the country and encourage people as well as popularize science and technology. Earlier the programme was chaired by Moanungla, G/T (Science), MGHSS and vote of thanks was delivered by R. Allemla Jamir, District Education Officer, Mokokchung
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NERIST invite nominees of Nagaland
kohiMa, March 20 (DiPr): North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) Arunachal Pradesh, has reserved l (one) Seat for 3 (three) years Degree Module in Civil Engineering for in-service candidate as nominees of Nagaland for the year 2015-16. Only those candidates already in Government service, and who have secured 60% or more marks in aggregate percentage in 3 years Diploma level in the relevant stream from an Institute which is
approved by AICTE are eligible. The candidate should not be more than 40 years (45 years in case of ST and PH and 43 years in case of OBC and women) as on 1st August2015. Interested in-service candidate can apply for the Module through proper channel so as to reach the undersigned latest by 21st March, 2015. Relevant Educational documents must be submitted along with the application. No application shall be entertained after 21st March, 2015.
Tening Mai to celebrate Kengia Festival
TENiNg, March 20 (DiPr): The Tening Village Heraka is organizing Tening Mai Kengia festival at Tening Village from March 21 to 24. The Kengia festival is celebrated during spring season before actual farming work starts and until the close of the Kengia festival no one goes to their field, all field work cease during this season of feasting. The Kengia festival is being celebrat-
ed specially for young generation to come together and get to know each other, and learned songs, dances etc. moreover this festival is being organised for the youth folk before they move out from the village to pursue their career. The Kengia festival is celebrated only by Tening people among the Zeliang community. The organizing committee convenor, Bam-
dibo Mariam in a press release, said that the Kengia festival is an enthusiastic festival where the young village boys and girls sit together around bon fire, and sing traditional songs and dance. The women folks serve the best wine and meat and make merry. The people believe that through this festival the villages get God’s blessings for the year’s activities.
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Kids of Blossoms Preschool, Mokokchung participates in the spoon race event during the Sports Day held on March 20. The sports was organised keeping in mind that the School focus on holistic development of every child. Some of the highlights were bursting balloons, spoon marble race, picking up chickpeas from the ground amongst sand gravel, rock picking up, track race etc. Blossoms Preschool is located at Mission Compound, Aongza ward, opposite to Pongentula GMS Mokokchung. (Morung Photo)
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The Morung Express
Saturday
21 March 2015
Dimapur
Hazare wants agri panel to look into farmers' issues Guwahati, March 20 (iaNS): Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said there should be agriculture commissions across the country to look into all the issues concerning the farming community. Hazare was speaking at the fourth annual convention of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in Assam's Dibrugarh district. "The BJP has promised 'achche din' (good days) ahead of the (general) elections. However, 'achche din' has come only for the capitalists and industrialists. The Narendra Modi led government at the centre has not done anything for the benefit of the common people after forming the
government," said Hazare. He said there should be agriculture commissions across India to look into all the issues related the farming community. The social activist, who arrived in Assam on Thursday to participate in the convention of the KMSS led by farmer leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi, also slammed the central government over the land acquisition bill. He said the farmers will be worst affected due to the bill. "Earlier, consent of 80 percent of the villagers were mandatory for acquiring lands. However, this was reduced making it easier for the administration to take any land from the farmer on the
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pretext of development projects," he said. Hazare also vowed to start a massive jail bharo programme to oppose the land acquisition bill. The KMSS, a prominent farmers' body in Assam, has decided to form a political party to change system in the state. KMSS leader Gogoi said: "The KMSS with its allied organisation will form a political party to change the system. The objective behind forming the political party is not merely to contest elections but to change the system of electoral politics through mass movement." The political party is In this Monday, August 25, 2014, file photo, a villager walks through floodwaters to collect drinking water from a hand pump in Burhaburhi village in the named Ganamukti San- Morigaon district of north eastern Assam state, India. A UN report released, March, 20, 2015, warns that the world will suffer a serious shortfall of potable gram, Assam, he said. water by 2030 unless people and nations dramatically change the way they use the resource. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)
Adjournment motion seeking to discuss CM's remark rejected ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ShilloNG, March 20 (Pti): Meghalaya Speaker Abu Taher Mondal today rejected an adjournment motion seeking to discuss the sweeping remarks made by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma accusing media houses as being mouthpiece of the militants and favouring only 'paid news'. Several dailies and vernacular newspapers published from here also carried blank editorials protesting the statement of the chief minister last week
on the floor of the House. "I am not admitting the adjournment motion," Mondal said while pointing out the lapses on the part of Opposition United Democratic Party legislator Paul Lyngdoh's motion which was received very late and against the rule to be admitted. "Subject to the provision of the Constitution, rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of the legislature, there shall be freedom of speech on the legislature of every state and no member state shall be li-
able to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or report given by him in legislature or any committee thereof," he said. Stating that the adjournment motion sought to raise a question of privilege against a member of the legislature (in this case the Chief Minister), the Speaker quoted Rule 57 sub-rule 7 to prevent any such attempt. Lyngdoh, who rejected it was a question of privilege, said, "It is a matter of public importance where I
thought it would be in the fitness of things the CM who is the leader of this House clarifies the statement that he had made on the floor of this House." He said, "Certain remarks have caused unnecessary heartburn amongst the members of the fourth estate." Defending his statement, Mukul said, "The chief minister is being attempted to be gagged," adding that such move will "go against our own rights and privileges and it goes against the provisions of
MCTS call centre inaugurated itaNaGar, March 20 (Pti): The health sector in Arunachal Pradesh received a major boost today with the inauguration of the Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) call center by state Health and Family Welfare Minister Rajesh Tacho here. The center is a joint initiative of Union Health and Welfare ministry, State Health Society and Piramal Swasthya (formerly known as HMRI). The objective of setting up of the MCTS call center is to undertake case specific monitoring to ensure complete Antenatal Care (ANC) services, delivery services and postnatal Care (PNC) services and monitoring of full Immunization services to pregnant woman and child through the database collected from
Mizoram has more ration card holders than its total population aizawl, March 20 (ENS): There are almost five lakh more names on Mizoram’s ration cards than the state’s total population. Replying to a starred question by opposition MLA Lalrinawma, Food and Civil Supplies Minister John Rotluangliana said there are currently a total of 15.91 lakh names on a total of 2.79 ration cards in the BPL, APL and AAY categories. According to the 2011 census, Mizoram’s population is 10.97 lakhs, meaning the amount of names on the state’s ration cards exceeds the state’s population figures by 4.94 lakhs people. The decadal growth rate in the 2001-11 period was meanwhile 23.48 percent. The Minister said the government hopes to solve the discrepancy when it completes the end to end computerization of ration cards, which is underway.
national health mission (NHM) web portal. Through a dedicated five-seat MCTS call center which is operationally managed by Piramal Swasthya, the aim is to have an effective monitoring system for high risk pregnant women and low weight birth babies in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality. The first ever innovative web based service was kick-started with the first phone call to a new mother at Wakro in Lohit district by Tacho followed by the second call to a new mother at Daporijo in Upper Subansiri by Health and Family Welfare secretary Indra Mallo. Mallo advised the new mother to avail the Chief Minister's Universal Health Insurance Scheme.
While briefing about the MCTS call centre, NHM Mission Director P N Thungon explained how the innovative call centre could help in reducing the mortality of mother and child as well as neonates and provide them with specialist health care. He further added that only outgoing calls would be operational now and helpline would also be started shortly for more effective tracking and rendering quality services in accessible areas of the state. Health and Family Welfare special secretary Dr T Thomas, Director of health services Dr K Nishing, Director of Family Welfare Dr G Tatu and Director medical education Dr M Jini were among others present on the occasion.
HC asks government to set up SIT to look into chit funds Chief Secretary and DGP would monitor the cases against chit funds and NBFCs aGartala, March 20 (Pti): The Tripura High Court has directed the state government to set up a Special Investigating Team with the Chief Secretary and the DGP as monitors to look into the activities of chit funds and non-banking financial companies operating in the state. The division bench of Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Utpalendu Bikash Saha yesterday directed that other administrative officers would also be included in the committee but the Chief Secretary and the DGP would monitor the cases against chit funds and NBFCs. A Public Interest Litigation was filed by some depositors of Response Group, an NBFC, in June 2013, seeking direction from the court to wind up the movable and immovable properties of the company and to release their deposits, lawyer Arun Kanti Bhowmik, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, said. The court's direction
came when the SP of West Tripura district and one Under Secretary of the government Arup Deb requested the court to refer the chit fund related cases to CBI as there were no efficient police officers in the state to deal with the economic offences. The state government had in 2013 requested CBI to take up 37 cases related to chit funds and NBFCs, but CBI took up only five cases including Rose Valley group.
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the constitutions itself." The Chief Minister had on March 10 made a sweeping remark while responding to a motion moved by Independent legislator John Leslee Sangma on the failure of the government to promote Tourism in Garo Hills region. "Media are the number one publicity houses of terrorist organizations," Sangma had said, referring to reports highlighted by media whenever bandhs and other activities called or carried out by the militant outfits.
The Angami Students’ Union (A.S.U.) and the Organising Committee of the 26th Biennial General Conference held from 13th to 15th March 2015 at Chiephobozou town, which was hosted by the Northern Angami Students’ Union (N.A.S.U.) would like to express our profound gratitude to one and all who has rendered their immense contribution towards the success of the conference. Our special thanks to: 1. Angami Public Organisation (APO), 2. Angamimiapfü Mechü Krotho (AMK), 3. Angami Gazetted Officers’ Krotho (AGOK), 4. Angami Sports’ Association (ASA), 5. Angami Youth Organisation (AYO), 6. All the frontal Organisations of Northern Angami, 7. Chiephobozou citizens, 8. Eno Niketu Iralu, 9. Eno Neitsalie Zhasa, IFS 10. Eno Kesonyü, IAS 11. Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo, 12. Eno Pheluopfhelie Kesiezie, 13. Dr. Vozovol Mekro,
BIG BOOK SALE
16-28 MARCH
9:00-5:30 (SUNDAY CLOSED)
Venue : O.M.BOOKS City Tower Junction, Circular Road Dimapur Contact : 03862-229370, 9862008081 Email : dimapur@ombooks.org
(ZAKIE KHATE) President, A.S.U.
GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYMENT & CRAFTSMEN TRAINING NAGALAND : KOHIMA
NO.DET-8/6/2006/44
Date, Kohima the 20th March 2015
NOTIFICATION
It is for the information of all those who had applied for on the Job Training at Nagaland Pulp and paper company LTD Tuli as publish in the Nagaland Post / the Morung Express on 12th Feb’2015, an interview for selection of candidates will be held as per the schedule given below at NPPC, Tuli at Kendriya Vidyalay Tuli for written test and NPPC Administrative Building for interview. SL. No 1 2 3 4
DISCIPLINE CHEMICAL ENGINEER (DEGREE) FINANCE (MBA) HR &ES (MBA) FORESTRY (GRADUATE)
DATE OF INTERVIEW 25.03.15 26.03.15 27.03.15 28.03.15
SL. NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
DISCIPLINE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (DEGREE) MECHANICAL ENGINEER (DEGREE) CIVIL ENGINEER (DEGREE) IT (DEGREE) ELECTRONICS (DEGREE) ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (DIPLOMA) MECHANICAL ENGINEER (DIPLOMA)
DATE OF WRITTEN TEST 31.03.15 02.04.15 04.04.15 07.04.15 09.04.15 11.04.15 11.04.15
All the candidates should bring their original documents in support of their candidature. Venue of written test :- Kendriya Vidyalay Tuli. Venue of Interview :- NPPC Administrative Building Time :- 10: 00 A.M Contact Person :- Sri. Ashribad Roy M/No. 9402824383 for information. THE LIST OF REJECTED APPLICANTS FOR WANT OF REQUISITE QUALIFICATION AND INCOMPLETE DOCUMENTS AS UNDER. Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Name
Trade
Mr. Atenjenba Ms. Nukshinungla Mr. Lanutemjen Ms. Watijungla Mr. Chenvodi Mr. Bendangniba Mr. Pangikokba Mr. Merennungsang
Finance Finance HR Finance Finance Carpentry Civil Engineer Turner
Sl. No 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Name
Trade
Mr. Imtilemba Ms. Katisangla M Mr. P. Bendangyapang Mr. Bendangniba Mr. Sriram Gupta Mr. Zanthui Zeliang Ms. Sentimongla Imcha Mr. Kaiwang Domta
Turner IT IT Carpentry Mechanical Mechanical HR & ES Civil
Sd/(MUTHINGNYUBA SANGTAM) Director, Employment & Craftsmen Training Nagaland, Kohima.
TRANSPORT SERVICE REQUIRED Christian Higher Secondary School, Dimapur, requires a transport service to convey its students to and from school. Interested party/parties may submit their rates to the School Office as per transit spots along with the terms and conditions. Last date of submission 31-3-2015. (MR. AHETO SUMI) Principal Christian Hr. Sec. School
14. Eno Kekhrielhouto Nakhro, 15. Eno Abeio Kire, 16. Eno Ruovilato Mor, 17. Eno Kevizakiesato, 18. Eno Nibu Nagi, 19. Eno T.L. Angami, 20. Eno Ameto Peseyie, 21. Eno M. Pillai, 22. Er. Richard Belho, 23. Dr. Vikethonyü, 24. Eno Kovi Meyase, 25. Eno Kethosituo Mepfhüo, 26. Eno Joseph Hesso, 27. Eno Atu Zumvü & 28. Eno Neimhalie Theünuo. (NEIZOKHOTUO BELHO) Convenor, Organising Committee
4
The Morung Express businEss China asks Jaguar Land Rover to recall Evoque SUVs Govt building five new crude reserves worth Rs 20,000 crore Dimapur
Saturday
21 March 2015
SHANGHAI, MArcH 20 (reuterS): China's quality watchdog has asked British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover to recall Range Rover Evoque SUVs, following a media report
which said the vehicles used faulty gearboxes. The Tata Motor Ltdowned (TAMO.NS) carmaker must take immediate measures to recall and repair defective vehicles
and extend their warranty period, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said on its website on Thursday.
AQSIQ said it had also asked the firm and its dealers to contact buyers to organise after-sales services like repairs, and had advised customs authorities to monitor imports of the Evoque SUVs. Chinese state television on Sunday criticised Land Rover for gearbox problems in some of its vehicles in a consumer show that also targeted other carmakers such as Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p. DE) and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T). Land Rover apologised to its customers on its microblog. Land Rover, which is among carmakers being probed in China for possible anti-competitive behaviour, in October forecast sales growth in China to roughly halve this year amid slower expansion of the world's largest auto market.
NeW DeLHI, MArcH 20 (AGeNcIeS): The government may rope in private refiners and state firms from West Asia to build five new crude reserves worth Rs 20,000 crore and is also considering tax incentives to attract foreign firms to build and use the assets. Collapsing oil prices and concerns that declining US dependence on oil supply from West Asia may make oil installations in the region more vulnerable to attacks has strengthened the case to guard against potential energy supply disruption, industry executives said. India's plan to build three reserves in the first phase is nearing completion with one having finished construction and waiting for the fill and the other two slated to be ready
towards the end of the year. State-run refiners Indian Oil CorporationBSE -2.24 % and Hindustan Petroleum CorporationBSE -1.61 % will purchase 1 million metric tonne (MMT) of crude supplies together to fill up the first reserve over the next three months, timing purchases in a way to prevent price spike, a government official said. The government has budgeted Rs 2,400 crore for filling the first reserve. In the second phase, the government plans to build five reserves, with a combined capacity to hold 12 MMT of crude oil, higher than 5 MMT in the first phase, which could act as a buffer for more than a month in case supplies to the country are disrupted. This gains significance giv-
en India's dependence on imports for nearly 80% of its oil requirements, mainly from the Gulf region, where a dropping US interest can make supplies from the region more vulnerable. Given the huge investment needed to build fresh reserves, the government wants private players to chip in. "We are exploring the option of private financing," a government official told ET. The government spent nearly Rs 4,000 crore to build reserves in the first phase. The funding can come from national oil companies of energyrich Gulf nations or the private refiners in India, who can use this to store their inventory for refining or trade, the official said. The Indian government, however,
will have the first right to access these reserves in case of supply emergencies, he said. For the plans to fructify, the government needs to first overcome a tax hurdle. The crude imported and stored in the reserves will attract local taxes, which could be an unnecessary cost and disincentive for private players. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPL), the state firm responsible for building oil reserves, has appointed a consultant to resolve the issue, so that private firms can fill in and draw out supplies as per their business needs without any tax implication, the government official said, hoping there could be a way out in the next few months.
SpiceJet assures to continue normal service Indian handloom, textile real
MuMbAI, MArcH 20 (AGeNcIeS): SpiceJet, which has been hit by an adverse court order, has assured passengers that it would continue services with the normal schedule. This assurance comes a day after the Delhi High Court pronounced its judgment relating to de-registration of six aircraft belonging to two lessors who had moved the court to take possession of the aircraft due to non payment on lease rental for a long period.
"These cases originated when the airline was in financial crisis in December 2014, before change of ownership and the infusion of fresh funding," SpiceJet said on Friday. It said discussions had been going on with the lessors for an amicable settlement, in parallel with the court proceedings, "SpiceJet fully expects the matter will be resolved shortly and positively with the lessors, and there will be no grounding of aircraft or disruption
of operations," SpiceJet said in a statement. The low cost airline which recently underwent ownership said it has reached an in-principle understanding with one of the two lessors already, and is in advanced discussions with the other lessor. It is exploring all legal remedies to safeguard its interest to maintain continuity of operations, the statement said. "SpiceJet would like to assure its partners and cus-
tomers that the situation of the airline is very different from what it was in late 2014, and that it has received its first tranche of funding already and is in the process of paying off creditors in a phased manner," it said. It said all taxes have been paid, all salaries are current, and several lessors who supported the airline during the crisis have already been paid off in full while payment plan discussions are actively ongoing with remaining lessors.
"Operations are normal, on-time performance now amongst the top 2 in the country, and confidence in the market is high." It claimed. As part of the revival plan, SpiceJet said it is in the process of adding more aircrafts to the fleet and expects to add 8-9 Boeings starting in April to take the active Boeing fleet to 25-26 aircraft in the summer, in addition to the 15 Bombardier Q400 aircraft that are owned by SpiceJet.
Twitter plans Dubai office; First in MENA region
DubAI, MArcH 19 (IANS): Popular microblogging service provider Twitter plans to open an office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will be its first office in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a report on Thursday. Twitter's plan to open the Dubai office, which was announced on Wednesday, was part of the company's efforts to better serve local users, partners and advertisers, and would be the latest in its efforts to boost its global offline presence, The Khaleej Times said in a re-
port on Thursday. In the past year, Twitter has opened several offices around the world, and the fourth quarter alone saw the addition of 13 new markets, resulting in a current sales presence in 73 countries worldwide. MENA is one of the fastest growing markets for Twitter worldwide and this announcement comes as a part of the company's increased investment and commitment to the region. “MENA is a key strategic market for us and our new Dubai office will serve as the focal point to help our development across the region,”
said Shailesh Rao, vice-president for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Emerging Markets at Twitter. “Dubai is a regional hub for many brands and advertising agencies and we are excited to build a team on the ground here (which) can work with partners directly, helping them get the most out of Twitter,” he added. Several factors have contributed to Twitter's growth in the Middle East, the most significant of them being changing demographics, according to the report. More than 30 percent of the MENA population
is in the age group of 15-29 years, representing over 100 million youth who have grown up with internet and social media. The Gulf region, and UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular, represented some of the largest groups of active internet users, and would most likely continue to be the driving centres for Twitter's ever-growing presence. Statistics have shown that 88 percent of the Middle East's online population uses social networking sites daily and Twitter is no exception. In fact, more people, brands and businesses are
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LEISURE
Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.”
SUDOKU Game Number # 3171
realising the potential of Twitter to connect themselves with a global audience. As a result, the platform itself is increasingly becoming an important part of the social culture in the Middle East. “Our vision is to make Twitter relevant for everyone, everywhere; 77 percent of our monthly active users are outside of the US. Our expansion and decision to set up office in Dubai is a natural step in being closer to our customers and partners, and provides a great opportunity for us to continue our growth,” said Rao.
luxury for us: British designer
MuMbAI, MArcH 20 (IANS): While many Indian designers are trying to hit international runways with their creations, here is one Briton who is fascinated by Indian handloom and textiles. Designer Natalie Jolliffe of brand Miss Bennett London says that such elements are "real luxury" for someone like her who hardly find such products in her hometown. Jolliffe, a frequent visitor to India since the past few years, says she has stocked her wardrobe with a lot of Indian handloom pieces. "I have taken them back whenever I have visited India. They are beautiful and it's something that we can't get in England at all. It's real luxury to us and we admire it," the designer told IANS on the sidelines of summerresort edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) here. The five-day fashion extravaganza that started on Wednesday is taking place at Hotel Palladium. Jolliffe the designer was here to present the spring-summer edition of her brand on the Jabong stage in front of Indian fashion enthusiasts. The collection is exclusively available in India on
DAILY CROSS WORD
CROSSWORD # 3181
Answer Number # 3170
online destination Jabong. com, at prices starting at Rs.299. The designer, who went to London College of Fashion to graduate in Fashion Management, has been in the fashion industry for 16 years. Her next big plan is to make Miss Bennett London a popular name on the global map of fashion. Is the Indian market a key focus? "I have been visiting India over the past 12 years, so I have seen a considerable change in terms of fashion here. The youth market here is huge. Most girls in India have iPhones and they know what the trends are and they are eager to adapt. "There aren't many brands to facilitate their need for fashion and that's one of the reasons why we decided to launch in India with Jabobg.com to give them more exciting options," she said. Her brand offers a mix of ensembles like crop tops, mini dresses enhanced with floral, marble and graphic prints mixed with elements like track pants and sneakers for the fashion forward young women looking for a DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:
distinct style statement. Jolliffe feels that the Indian youth are willing to experiment and Miss Bennett London can serve their taste. "We are focusing on the young and the trendy real teenagers...and those in her early 20s where she really wants to experiment with fashion. I think not too many brands are doing that, and that's the reason why we thought India is perfect market to bring our brand," she told IANS. Among Indian designers, she loves the works of Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and "many more". But a word of advise from her to fashion makers here is that "they need to focus is styling". "We can definitely bring the brand to India, but we would really want to see more magazine, bloggers and online portals showing customers how to wear things. We can bring products, but it's more about educating people of what to wear with what," she said. "I think that is very important for young customers in building their confidence in fashion," she added.
STD CODE: 03862 232224; Emergency229529, 229474
Metro Hospital:
227930, 231081
Faith Hospital:
228846
Shamrock Hospital
228254
Zion Hospital:
231864, 224117, 227337
Police Control Room
228400
Police Traffic Control
232106
East Police Station West Police Station
227607 232181
CIHSR (Referral Hospital)
242555/ 242533
Dimapur hospital
224041, 248011
Apollo Hospital Info Centre:
230695/ 9402435652
Railway:
131/228404
Indian Airlines
229366
CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862 282777/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC) WOKHA: 03860 242215/101 (O) 9862039399 (OC)
MOKOKCHUNG: 0369 2226225/ 101 (O) 9436012949 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 9862130954(OC)
Nagaland Multispe- 248302, cialty Health & 09856006026 Research Centre
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Xmas Movies MIRACLE ONTHIRTY FORTHSTREET CHRISTMAS VACATION RUDOLPH SANTA FROSTY CAROL NIGHTMARE BEFORE RALPHY RANDY ALAMP BUMPISHOUNDS REDRYDER MOVIES GRINCH THEWHOS ACHRISTMASSTORY MOERTOCOME
D
X D O V A H G G M I R A C L E
Q T H E W H O S D G K C G X T
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P I E H P L O D U R P H R T E
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U L O F W R F U E N P I F D R
R P C R U O F O R C P S A R T
A
Y Y O O R O V H A H A T N A S
C R T S V O M S M C N M R N H
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V Z R T W N O I T A C A V D T
I I E Y N T V P H L L S H Y R
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C K O J D H I M G A J S R P O
V T M L Z I E U I M E T G Q F
29. Permissiveness 34. Being the basic part
CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE
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C A R O L R S B N P H O V D U
E K G E I T P B E F O R E V J
R A L P H Y Z R E D R Y D E R
ACROSS
1. Flash 6. Tight 10. Gist 14. Heathen 15. Sea eagle 16. Brother of Jacob 17. Redress 18. Anagram of “Ties” 19. Vipers 20. Proposal 22. Prompts 23. Slaloms 24. Fast 26. Kick 30. Eastern newt 31. Sweet potato 32. Hodgepodge 33. Sage 35. Song of praise 39. Insert 41. Outflow 43. Creator 44. Sketched 46. Nights before 47. British rule in India 49. An uncle 50. A musical pause 51. Skewer 54. Bacterium
56. Encircle 57. Ephemeral 63. 62 in Roman numerals 64. Sediment 65. Confederate States 66. Greek liqueur 67. Largest continent 68. Sporting venue 69. Not closed 70. Lunch or dinner 71. Dispatches
DOWN
1. Resorts 2. A Maori club 3. All excited 4. Telephoned 5. Leg joints 6. Gave testimony 7. Creative persons 8. Pearly-shelled mussel 9. Very small 10. Mediator 11. Put out 12. Recorded 13. Impudent girl 21. Distorts 25. Dad 26. Verse 27. Forearm bone 28. Notch
STD CODE: 0370
Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: Oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home: Northeast Shuttles
100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202 08974997923
36. Overhang
Toll free No. 1098 childline
37. How old we are
MOKOKCHUNG:
38. Where a bird lives 40. By mouth 42. Decorative jugs 45. Fine or decorative clothing 48. Flotsam 51. Snow house 52. Confusion 53. Award 55. King with a golden touch 58. Ascend 59. Rubber wheel 60. Beasts of burden 61. Peel 62. Not nays Ans to CrossWord 3180
KOHIMA: 0370 2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC) DIMAPUR: 03862 232201/ 101 (O) 9436017479 (OC)
Chumukedima Fire 282777 Brigade Nikos Hospital and 232032, 231031 Research Centre
KOHIMA
FIRE STATIONS
ZUNHEBOTO: 03867 280304/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) TUENSANG: 8414853766 (O) 8414853519 MON: 03869 251222/ 101 (O) 9436208480 (OC) KipHire: 8414853767 (O) 8974304572 (OC)
STD CODE: 0369
Police Station 1:
2226241
Police Station 2 :
2226214
Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:
2226216 2226263
Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):
2226373/2229343
TAHAMZAM (formerly Senapati) STD CODE: 03871 Police Station: Fire Brigade
CURRENCY EXCHANGE CURRENCY NOTES
222246 222491
BUY(Rs)
SELL(Rs)
US Dollars Sterling Pound Hong Kong Dollar Australian Dollar Singapore Dollar Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen
61.27 90.33 7.64 46.63 44.06 47.81 50.14
64.04 94.73 8.51 48.94 46.24 50.17 53.40
Euro
64.92
68.07
Thai Baht Korean Won New Zealand Dollar Chinese Yuan
1.8
2.01
0.0526
0.0586
44.70
46.89
9.5
10.59
LOCAL
The Morung Express
Will always stand by NPF ideology: Noke-led NPF Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): The NPF under the leadership of Noke Wangnao and G. Kaito today stated “irrespective of whichever side the decision of the Election Commission of India may favour, we want to reiterate our stand that in case the ECI allots the party symbol in our favour, we continue to stand for reconciliation and unity of the party and come what may, we are all for the unity and strengthening of the NPF party.” A press release from Noke and Kaito stated that the ongoing political crisis all began because the then president of the NPF refused to recognise the democratic principle respecting the majority. “If the majority view was respected and the voice of the overwhelming majority of the NPF legislators was heard and acknowledged, the crisis would have been resolved there and then,” it added. Noting that they have always maintained from the beginning that the problem is within the NPF party and that the matter
has to be resolved within the NPF family, the group expressed belief in the ideals and principles of the party and stated it will always stand by the ideology of the NPF. Further, the two leaders reiterated belief in the commitment made by them and the party in the election manifesto of 2013. “Our manifesto has clearly committed that we will extend full fledged support as facilitator to the ongoing political dialogue for early resolution of the Indo-Naga which is honourable and acceptable to the people. We have committed to pave way for any alternative arrangement and we continue to stand by our commitment given to the people.” Meanwhile, pointing out that the 2013 mandate of the electorate of Nagaland is a mandate in favour of the NPF and its leadership, the release stated, “We cannot afford to betray the people’s trust and therefore our topmost priority is peace and progress as committed in our manifesto.”
Saturday 21 March 2015
Patton inspects Secretariat toilets; plans to privatize their upkeep Kohima, march 20 (NEpS): Nagaland Home Minister Y Patton has said he is contemplating to privatize cleaning and upkeep of the toilets of the Civil Secretariat Office and its complex. Making surprise inspection of the toilets in the Civil Secretariat Office and its complex here Friday, the Minister was shocked to see many toilets poorly maintained. Patton, accompanied by Home Commissioner Neihu C Thur and Home Secretary Lithrongla G Chishi narrated with shock that many toiletries, mirrors and faucets were found missing in many of the toilets. Even some of the toilets were locked down as they were carelessly used by visitors and staffs of the Secretariat. The Home Minister also expressed serious concern for the hundreds of Secretariat drivers as they are not given separate toilets. They do not even have their resting room or place. All
Home Minister Y Patton inspecting Secretariat toilet conditions on March 20, 2015. (NEPS Photo)
these drawbacks came to light after the Home Minister moved around and inspected the existing toilet conditions of the Secretariat Complex. Home Secretary Chishi said they were planning to arrange a large room for the Secretariat drivers in the basement with intercom facilities. It would be a sort of resting place with a TV set and Carom, Chess, Ludo, etc. would also be provided. She also
disclosed a plan to construct some rooms at the VIP Parking side for the VIP drivers. The Home Commissioner and Home Secretary also briefed the Home Minister about the water problem that the Secretariat was currently facing, besides the bad drainage systems in the Secretariat. The Secretariat currently has only two water bore wells and the Home Minister suggested for another
two more water bore wells. The Home Minister was of the opinion that the Secretariat staffs could not be entirely blamed for toilet conditions in the Secretariat. There are hundreds of visitors to the Secretariat offices daily and most of them lack “civic sense,” he said.. Patton also mooted the idea of having “Pay and Use Toilet” facilities in each block of the Secretariat Office and contemplating to privatize them. “Once it is privatized, the upkeep of such toilets in the Secretariat Offices will be there,” he said. At present, Civil Secretariat has 99 sweepers, out of which, only two are male. It also has 19 malis, out of which, only 3 are male. There are 20 chowkidars for the Secretariat Office, Kohima. “We need to employ more male sweepers,” Patton said. The Home Minister cautioned that he would make surprise visit to any office of the Secretariat to check the attendance of the employees.
NPBCA Crusade underway in Dimapur CAN concerned over attacks on Christians Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): “Evil is a mystery but God did not create the world to be what it is today,” said Rev. Dr. Robert Curnville, Evangelist referring to the evil of killing prevailing around the world. Delivering a sermon on the first day of the Nagaland Police Baptist Churches Association (NPBCA) Crusade 2015 at NAPTC Stadium, Dimapur on Friday, Rev. Dr. Curnville also harped on why God allows evil in the world. According to the speaker, evil comes from two sides; one from Satan and the other from within the hearts of human beings Elaborating on it, he said, “God did not create evil but it comes from Satan who absolutely opposed God.” He described Satan as the father of lies. Substantiating his point further, Rev. Dr. Curnville said evil comes from within the hearts of human beings and as they turn away from God, they rebel against Him. The
Rev. Dr. Robert Curnville (right) delivering sermon. (Morung Photo)
speaker also reminded the congregation about the sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Biblical Garden of Eden where they disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit thereby giving birth to evil on earth. “And we still ask why God allows evil on earth,” Rev. Dr. Curnville said. However, he said that the answer lay in Matthew 13 where Jesus talked to his disciples about The Parables of the Sower. Earlier, NPBCA Executive Secretary, Dr. Hukashe
Zhimomi in his welcome address expressed optimism that the crusade would leave a deep impact on the spiritual life of the congregation. DIG, Training & Border, Bendang Lemtur, IPS also delivered a short speech before the sermon. On Saturday, the crusade will begin at 5 pm. The crusade is being organised by the NPBCA in collaboration with Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and will culminate on Sunday.
Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): The Catholic Association of Nagaland (CAN) has stated it is exceedingly horrified at the “inhuman, undemocratic and appalling fanatical position” adopted by some members of the dominant religion, Hinduism, in the country. Expressing profound concern over the increasing acts of violence against Christians and the apathy of the Government of India in their wake, CAN in a release pointed out that since the new government came to power, several churches have been attacked in the country’s capital. “From North to South of the country, violence against Christians go unabated,” it lamented. CAN termed the most recent attack in West Bengal, where a 72-yearold nun was gang-raped, as “most detestable and despicable and utterly loathsome act a human being.” It reminded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi
told Church leaders on February 18 that every citizen has the right to follow any faith without coercion and he vowed to protect all religious groups in India and also asserted that his government would not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly. “The stated promises of the Honourable Prime Minister of India stands mocked and just a pie in the sky for the minor religions of the country,” CAN stated. CAN further urged the government of the day to uphold the principle of tolerance, democracy, secularism and collaborative governance with religious freedom as enshrined in the constitution of the country. It also extended solidarity and support to the fellow Christians in other parts of India who are suffering under the spell of religious intolerance instigated by the selfish political group.
The Association invited all Christians beyond any denominational divide to “remain steadfast in faith and draw strength from our Lord in this period of tribulation to endure sufferings and difficulties as Christ did upon the Cross.” Echoing the words of Christ on the cross, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, CAN solicited Christians to pray for the fanatical religious groups and for those wrongly motivated political leaders so “through our prayers the spirit of God may bring upon them a change of heart and attitude that would benefit humanity at large.” Meanwhile, CAN implored upon the Government of Nagaland and Governor of Nagaland to be the harbingers of religious tolerance and continue to plea with the Central Government to promote religious freedom and protection of religious minority groups in the country.
NatioNal RuRal DRiNkiNg WateR aND SaNitatioN aWaReNeSS Week ‘It is conscious responsibility to keep Dimapur clean’ Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): Stating that it is the collective and conscious responsibility to keep the community, and also Dimapur, clean, ADC Dimapur Elizabeth Ngully today urged students to keep their schools and surroundings clean and be ‘agents of change’. Speaking as chief judge at the prize distribution function of two-day essay cum painting competition held on the theme “Role of Water and Sanitation towards healthy living” at Little Star Higher Secondary School, Ngully highlighted the Top Ten Cleanest
schools award instituted in Kohima under the aegis of the NBCC Environment and Sanitation, which works in collaboration with churches of Kohima, PHED, Urban Development Department, KMC and many local frontal organizations and hoped the same could be replicated in Dimapur too. The competition was organized in observance of the National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness Week (March 16-22) by PHED, Dimapur district. In the essay compeition, Edwin Joy of Holy Cross Higher Secondary bagged the first prize, sec-
ond prize went to Khelito K Awomi of St. Paul Higher Secondary and third to Hukaho H Aye of Little Star Higher Secondary along with 3 Consolation prizes. In painting, Wricheek Biswas of Holy Cross Higher Secondary got first position, followed by Kivinoka Sumi (Second) and Namrata Sutradhar (Third) plus 3 consolation prizes. The prize money was Rs.5000, Rs 3000 and Rs 2000 besides consolation prizes of Rs. 1000 each. 161 students from 22 government and private institutions in Dimapur district partici- A rally to mark National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness Week was pated in the event. held in Dimapur March 20. More than 150 students participated in the rally, which was
organized by PHED, Dimapur district. Students holding placards that carried varied messages on water and sanitation and its importance on the overall health and well being of the society marched from Little Star Higher Secondary School to ADC Court junction and back to the school. The rally was led by Executive Engineer (Rural) L. Tongpang Longkumer and Executive Engineer (Urban) Imtikumzuk.
DC Phek urges to preserve water, stop burning forest As part of ‘National Rural Drinking Water & Sanitation Awareness’, painting competition among school students was held at Longkumer Kilem, Mokokchung on March 19. Altogether 28 students from 10 schools in the district participated in the competition. Indra Rao from Straight Way School was adjudged the winner while Sungjemlila and Moapong both from Town Higher Secondary School were adjudged second & third respectively. (DIPR Photo)
Students urged to participate in sanitation drive pErEN, march 20 (mExN): The PHED, Peren Division launched National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness Week at Govt Higher Secondary School auditorium with students from various schools, teachers and staffs. Er Ichirang Zeliang, SDO, PHED Peren delivered the objec-
tive of the campaign. Speaking on the occasion, Er. P. Khetoi Sema, Executive Engineer, PHED Peren Division, stressed on building and using toilets, sensitization of best practices of sanitation, personal hygiene and importance of hand washing with soap. He underscored the need to create awareness
among the masses about the conservation of water resources and active participation of grassroots level among the masses about safe drinking water. He also encouraged the students to take active part in the sanitation drive, who will be the messengers to spread the message to rural population.
phEK, march 20 (mExN): The weeklong National Rural Drinking Water & Sanitation Awareness Week under Phek District was observed at SIRD hall Phek Town with Deputy Commissioner of Phek Muroho Chotso as the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, the DC said that water and sanitation plays a vital role in human’s life and its environment. He said that with the increase in population, shortage of water has become one of the crises that humanity is facing at present. In order to prevent this, he said one should know how to preserve water
and know its importance. He also maintained that to protect our environment, one should also preserve its flora and fauna, stating one should stop burning of forest which not only harms the environment, but also the living creature. He further stated that keeping the environment clean is also an upmost important as it gives good life and urged the students and the village members gathered to inculcate sanitary practices in their lives. Er. Kitoshe Aye, Executive Engineer, Phek, highlighting the objective of the awareness programme, informed that it
was launched at the national level on March 16 in Haryana and will culminate in Kohima on March 22. He urged the WATSAN members to clean the water source on time as it will help the people to have clean water for their usage and it will also avoid any water borne diseases. He also highlighted the weeklong programme that will be held in the district such as cleaning of traditional well, essay & painting competition, and cleaning of surroundings. Virhelie, Hygiene & Sanitation Consultant presented a PPT on safe drinking water and sanitation.
Dimapur
5
MEx FILE ENLU appeals to CKS and TYC Kohima, march 20 (mExN): The Eastern Nagaland Legislative Union (ENLU) in its Consultative Meeting held on March 20 unanimously agreed to appeal to the Chang Khutlei Satshang (CKS) and the Yimchungü Tribal Council (YTC) to accept the proposal of the State government and attend the tripartite talk on March 23. “This is necessitated in view of the given situation and in the greater interest of the wellbeing of the ENPO area and its people,” stated a letter issued by health minister & ENLU co-convenor P Longon, which was addressed to CKS and YTC.
Electricity consumers directed to clear bills Kohima, march 20 (mExN): All electricity consumers under Electrical Sub-division No.-I, Kohima have been informed to clear their pending electricity bill latest by March to avoid disconnection and inconvenience. A press note issued by Er. Tsiamchi Ndang, Sub-divisional officer, electrical sub-division no-I, has requested all its valued consumers to cooperate with the department and clear their arrears at the earliest.
BJP condoles Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): The BJP Nagaland Unit has expressed heartfelt condolences on the demise of Kheshito Sumi, father of Vihoshe James Sumi, General Secretary (Adm) of the BJP state unit at his village on March 13. In a press note, BJP State Secretary (Media) Jaangsillung Gonmei informed that Late. Kheshito who died at the age of 91, was a retired Political Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner of Zunheboto and the founder of Kheshito Village. “The party prays for strength and blessings for the family he left behind at this time of grief,” the press note added.
Painting competition on World TB Day in Wka WoKha, march 20 (mExN): The Wokha District TB Forum (WDTBF) in collaboration with CYSA, TWS, YS, OH, WCSU, WDEA & Team Metamorphosis is organizing high school level painting competition commemorating World TB Day on March 24, beginning 8:30 am at District Planning & Machinery Cell conference hall, Wokha. A. Robin Lotha, Deputy Commissioner Wokha and Dr. KZ Ovung, Assoc. Prof., Mount Tiyi College will be special guest and theme speaker respectively on the theme “Reach the 3 Million, Reach, Treat, Cure Everyone” under EHA Axshya Project. In this regard, the Wokha District TB Forum has appealed to all the institutional principals/headmasters to send at least two students with teacher in-charge on the said day for participation in the competition. Cash prizes and certificates will be awarded to the participants who secure first, second and third winners respectively. For more information, call 8118919923, 9862130514, 9862950681 and 9615243511.
DTCC Dimapur clarifies Dimapur, march 20 (mExN): The DTCC Dimapur has made some clarification regarding the mandatory display of prohibitory signboards and signage under COTPA 2003. The DTCC in a press release stated that stakeholders have to procure the above items or order them from any vendor at their own expense as DTCC has nothing to do with the supply of the above items. However, for any clarification, the tobacco control cell in CMO office may be contacted @ 9856471061 or 961284482. Dr C Tetseo, DNO, NTCP stated that enough publicity has been given in the past and he also clarified that enforcement has nothing to do with town committees or village councils as it is a constitutional provision and defaulters will be penalised as per the law.
DEOs and SDEOs informed Kohima, march 20 (mExN): Director of School Education Zaveyi Nyekha has informed all the District Education Officers (DEOs) and Sub Divisional Education Officers (SDEOs) in the State to furnish the list of HM, AHM, JEO to his office on or before April 10, 2015 positively.
Kohima police arrest two Kohima, march 20 (mExN): The Mobile Unit and personnel of Sechu (Zubza) Police Station arrested one person on March 19 around 11:50 pm at Zubza. According to a press release from Atu Zumvü, SubDivisional Police Officer & PRO, Kohima Police, the personnel while performing mobile patrolling duty along National Highway-2 saw some commotion at Assam Oil Petrol pump located at Zubza, where several lorry trucks were parked. When the personnel went to the site for enquiry, one suspect was spotted getting inside a vehicle (Tata Sumo) bearing registration number NL01/2834 and attempting to flee. However, the police personnel caught hold of him and took him into police custody, the release said, adding the arrested person has been identified as Selongmong Sangtam (33). The release further informed that during preliminary investigation, Sangtam stated that he was acting on the direction of one Atong who is newly inducted in the NNC (Non-Accordist) as Tatar and was trying to ascertain whether the drivers have paid yearly tax to NNC (Non-Accordist) gov-
ernment for the year 2015. Meanwhile, on thorough verification of the seized vehicle conducted by the newly constituted anti-vehicle theft squad of DEF Kohima, the chassis and engine No. was found to be tampered and did not match with the vehicle documents, the release said. In this connection, a regular case vide Sechü (Zubza) P.S Case No. 0010/15 U/S 385/467 IPC was registered against the arrested person, who is remanded into police custody for conducting further investigation. In a separate incident, Kohima police took into custody one person for assaulting and obstructing a public servant while on government duty. Neise Chütso was apprehended based on an FIR received from an official of Fire Station Kohima, stating that while on government/public duty to douse jungle fire near Kisama petrol pump, he was assaulted by Chütso, the PRO of Kohim police said. A regular case vide Khuzama P.S Case No. 0008/15 U/S 332/333/352 IPC has been registered against Chütso and remanded into police custody for conducting further investigation.
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People, life, etc... Saturday | 21 March, 2015
Can Indie filmmakers save religious cinema?
A
Alissa Wilkinson
s “faith-based” films flooded into theaters last year, writers fell over themselves to declare 2014 the “year of the Bible movie.” It seemed as if the market—meaning Christian audiences to many—had finally come into its own, a decade after the runaway box-office success of The Passion of the Christ. Certainly, movies that reinforce beliefs their target audience already hold can make a lot of money, from political documentaries directed by Michael Moore or Dinesh D’Souza to films titled with declarations of religious certainty. God’s Not Dead, a drama about an evangelical student who clashes with a philosophy professor, earned $62.6 million on a $2 million budget. Heaven Is for Real, starring Greg Kinnear, cost $12 million and made $101.3 million. Son of God, which cut down the television miniseries The Bible to feature-film length, made $67.8 million, or three times its budget. And even Biblical epics that religious audiences found questionable, such as Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings, did respectable business abroad. But those numbers only tell part of the story. Left Behind, a remake of the bestselling apocalyptic novels, starred Nicolas Cage and had a $16 million budget but opened to dismal reviews and grossed only $14 million domestically. Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, universally panned, made $2.8 million, as did The Identical, with a cast including Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta. Grace Unplugged, a family drama, made about $2.5 million; The Song, which most critics ranked a notch above its peers, pulled in barely $1 million at the box office, as did Persecuted, a thriller that grossed $1.5 million. I watched the “year of the Bible film” happen from the inside, as the chief film critic at one of the oldest and most widely read evangelical publications in the world, Christianity Today. I’ve come to realize there is both widespread category confusion in the industry about what constitutes a faith-based audience and ignorance about a burgeoning religious movement in independent cinema—something that was especially apparent earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. In the movie business, “Christian” or “religious” usually gets conflated with the “faith-and-family” audience, sidestepping a wide swath of people of faith who aren’t looking for “safe” stories. One publicist informed me ahead of Sundance that the film she was representing wasn't “appropriate for Christians.” Another told me it would never have occurred to her to pitch me. Marketers, publicists, and distributors tend to view Christian moviegoers as a monolithically single-minded group staunchly opposed to any film that might garner more than a PG rating, and only interested in movies that depict Biblical stories, tell inspirational biographical tales (mostly about athletes, brave children, or war heroes), or explicitly reinforce their own beliefs. If you ask me, the most “Christian” film released in 2014 was Calvary, which premiered at Sundance in 2014. The movie starred Brendan Gleeson as a tough but loving priest facing his death in a remote fishing village. Rife with religious imagery and resonances, the film’s message about forgiveness and redemption is thoroughly consistent with Christian theology and features a bracing view of the havoc wreaked on generations of children by abusive ministers (by no means a problem exclusive to Catholics). Though it got left out of many “faith-based” discussions because it garnered an R rating from the MPAA for “sexual references, language, brief strong content, and some drug use,” it earned raves from secular and religious critics alike, garnering a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89 percent. Calvary, along with movies like the Oscar nominees Ida and Selma, is an explicitly religious exploration of widely asked questions that doesn’t point to easy answers. Several Christian critics writing for religious outlets (including myself) put all three of these films in our top ten lists for the year—while also facing significant backlash
from some readers who were horrified that we’d praise, let alone watch, a “blasphemous” film like Noah. But I noticed something interesting. For every angry reader who contacted me—and there were many, and they were caustic—another expressed gratitude. Many were Christians; some had grown up in church and left it behind; a few were indifferent to religion altogether. All, however, were looking for carefully crafted films that took the religious experience seriously. “The faith-film category has come to mean agendadriven, fear-driven, low-quality, low-budget, on-thenose, teaching, industrial films that willingly overlook excellence and story because they know they can,” Erik Lokkesmoe, the founder and co-president of Aspiration Media, told me. His company helped produce the 2015 Sundance premiere Last Days in the Desert, a film about the temptation of Christ starring Ewan McGregor in a dual role as Jesus and Satan. “They have trained an audience to expect trite, theologically thin, bumpersticker movies, designed for church outings.” Filmmaker Joshua Overbay was in the audience when Calvary premiered at Sundance last year. “I asked [director John Michael McDonagh] why he made such a blatantly ‘religious’ film,” Overbay told me. “He expressed his frustration with recent cinema’s failure to use the religious experience as a means for doing what cinema does best: examine the human condition. For him, the faith experience is filled with mystery, pain, and deep questioning: Why does evil exist? Is there a God? Is there a spiritual presence at work in the universe? And if not, how can we find meaning?” Rodrigo Garcia, writer and director of Last Days in the Desert, isn't religious, but said he saw his film as a way to work out his questions about what it means to live and to die. He told me that his Jesus is a man who goes into the desert to seek answers. “Some people who have seen the movie ask me, ‘Does the movie say that Jesus is the Son of God, or is not the Son of God?'” he said. “And I say, you know what? I don’t care. Jesus—the historical Jesus, the faith Jesus, and the literary Jesus, because Jesus is also a character of fiction—they’re all interesting to me. They all face an incredibly huge human conundrum.” Last Days in the Desert was the obvious “Bible film” at this year’s Sundance. But the festival’s lineup revealed a resurgence of interest in the religious: In Don Verdean, an affectionately satirical comedy, Sam Rockwell stars as a “Biblical archaeologist” who becomes a
pawn in a war between two rival local ministers. The Witch, a pristine horror debut from writer/director Robert Eggers, is a chilling circa-1600 story of the devil taking over a devout, Scripture-quoting family. I Am Michael, executive produced by Gus Van Sant, tells the true story of Michael Glatze (played by James Franco), a former gay activist who denounced homosexuality and became a Christian pastor. Other films like Z for Zachariah and Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl subtly draw on questions and motifs that animate Biblical narratives and questions. Acclaimed documentarians are in on it too, with Alex Gibney's Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Amy Berg's Prophet’s Prey, a film about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Even Jason Segal’s David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour—true to the author’s real-life preoccupations—spends a good deal of time talking about meaning, life, religion, and the human condition. One of the featured events at Sundance this year was a panel on faith-based films. Several attendees I spoke with were disappointed that panelists focused predominately, once again, on the “faith and family” audience—the same underlying market confusion I’d observed all year. One attendee, Ryan Daniel Dobson, is a Christian filmmaker developing a project based on the Biblical story of Hosea, in which the prophet is told by God to marry a prostitute, who repeatedly abandons him. A project like this will likely interest many people of faith, but not those looking for a “family film.” Like a growing number of Christians who work outside both the Hollywood system and the Christian film industry, Dobson sees films like God’s Not Dead as nearly antithetical to his understanding of what film ought to do and what faith ought to look like. “Several times ‘faith films’ were compared to superhero movies, where a studio can’t stray from what their fanboy audience wants, because it would guarantee a box office fail.” Dobson told me. “Several times, it was said, ‘We’re doing this for them’—the audience. I find that particularly heartbreaking when said on the grounds of a festival where stories are told with such honesty that it forces the audience to admit they might be wrong.” Most of the filmmakers who made this year’s spiritual indie films aren't even religious. The director Justin Kelly made his feature debut with I Am Michael, but faith isn’t exactly his hobby horse. “I never intended and still don’t to be talking about religion and sexual-
ity so much,” he told me. “The fact that the film is being seen as controversial means that these things come up, and it’s new and weird to me.” The film sidesteps the easy caricature of religious characters, a move Kelly attributes to meeting the men with whom Glatze had relationships. “All they cared about was how Michael would be portrayed, and they didn’t want him to be vilified,” Kelly told me. He found this mystifying at first, but their concern helped the director see how to depict characters he might not understand. “I thought, I have to be fair about this, in the same way that I would want him to be fair with me,” he said. Similarly, Don Verdean skewers the jargon that surfaces in American religion. But it isn't fundamentally critical of religion—rather, like many of the films at the festival (including Prophet’s Prey and Going Clear), the film is critical of misuses of power. Filmmaker Paul Harrill’s indie feature Something, Anything—in which a character experiences a spiritual crisis and seeks answers in a monastic life—has played at festivals all over the country. Harrill also doesn’t count himself among the traditionally religious, but articulates well the sentiment behind this resurgence. “Spirituality is part of many people’s lives, and I wanted to depict that on film with compassion and respect,” he says. “But the last thing in the world I wanted to make was some ‘faithbased’ movie, some advertisement or propaganda for a set of beliefs. If anything, I wanted to make a film that was an antidote to those kinds of movies.” The “Year of the Bible Film” didn’t conclude on December 31. Christian Mingle, named for the Christian online dating service, came out in January. Old Fashioned, a romance in which “chivalry makes a comeback,” was released on Valentine’s Day as the wholesome alternative to Fifty Shades of Grey. Multiple adaptations of the life of King David are in the works, as well as the long-awaited film Mary, Mother of God. And Christ the Lord, based on the Anne Rice novel, is slated to release in 2016. I receive publicity emails about several more “faith-and-family” movies every week. But it’s hard to say how many will be hits. Saturating the market has adverse effects on its usual channels for guaranteeing ticket sales. “When we started helping market films 10 or 12 years ago, all you’d have to do, because there were so few, is contact the pastor,” Tim Gray said. “We worked on 10 films this year. Pastors are tell me, ‘I can’t market a film every month. I can’t market a film every three or four months. It’s not my job. I can do maybe one or two a year, but it’s got to be one I believe in.’” Meanwhile, the “other” religious movies—the ones more broadly about spirituality or religious questions— may wind up having a wider reach than expected. They appeal to a certain segment within the religious community as well as to a broader audience. And for the most part, they haven’t been made for the box office returns— after all, it’s hard to get into Sundance and hard to get distribution. They’re not meant to be crowd-pleasers, but art-house films made for the love of the craft. “I’d like to think that movies that depict religious doubt, or movies that depict spirituality without endorsing it—maybe those stories could actually promote dialogue between believers and non-believers, who seem so polarized and so suspicious of each other these days,” Harrill told me. “And I think such films could be validating for the many people who quietly wrestle with questions of faith and doubt but are too confused or scared to express this part of their lives.” There will always be a market for “safe” family entertainment, and there will always be a place for ideologically rigid stories of certainty about the existence of heaven and God, just as politically polarizing ideological films will always exist. But good movies and real religion tend to explore the same sorts of things: pain, gladness, playfulness, fear, and existence. The number of filmmakers realizing the cinematic potential of these kinds of concepts only seems to be growing.
OMG, we are all writers! To Explain the World: the Discovery of
I
Will Hines
t's ironic that as technology gets more and more magical that the oldest of mediums — the written word — has come back so strongly. I communicate almost completely by typing these days. I recently emailed someone, "is there anyway we could talk with our voices to figure this out" before I remembered that I was sending that message over an actual phone. And that's not just me. When choosing how to communicate, everyone prefers WRITING. Sure, it's mostly in short bursts: Facebook status, twitter bios, YouTube comments, smart phone email signature, clever IM handles, inside jokes in passwords, tumblr re-blogs and gchats. But still, it's words. We are all writers, even if it's just 140 characters at a time. The last time culture was probably so tied to writing might be the pre-telephone era of the late 1800s. In London, the post (yeah that's right, I said "the post," which impossible to hear in anything but a British accent) would deliver letters up to five times a day. It was common then to receive a message, read it with the postman standing there, and dash off a quick note for him to take with him. It's not so hard to imagine Jane Austen dashing a quick "OMG — Mr. Darcy is SOEFFING CUTE. Enclosed: daguerreotype of kitten playing harpsichord." Other parallels between now and olden times: People had their own personal ways of signing letters. Poet John Keats would often end his with "I always make an awkward bow, John Keats." It's more elegant but not that different than my cousin's iPhone signature of "Sent from my pants." It isn't hard to see the pages of letters to the editor as a more formal version of an active comments thread on YouTube. "Yo, I read that Ralph Waldo Emerson essay and: DICKENS DIDIT FIRST!!!!!!!!!" or "George Eliot is a woman? Drawings or it didn't happen." Maybe fewer exclamation points and more serifs, but same snark. Taking the most optimistic outlook possible, is Facebook raising a generation of electronic letterwriters who will put Thomas Jefferson and Virginia Woolf to shame? At the very least, internet writers are much better at talking dirty with acronyms. Email has brought love letters to the masses. There is no seduction anymore that doesn't include at least some degree of correspondence. Even if that correspondence is just a 3 AM text that says "u up?" —
that counts as writing. And more likely, any modern courting involves some amount of textual healing. Start with favoriting each others tweets, or looking at someone's OkCupid profile, and then some Facebook messages, pretty soon you're exchanging fulllength emails with no virus protection. A unique aspect of modern writing: it's almost all done in public. The idea of secret diaries will vanish in favor of cleverly obtuse Facebook timelines. "Dad! I can't believe you correctly inferred my public journal!". The handwriting analysts of the past will be replaced with detective agencies who specialize in figuring the truth behind people's public online personas. They'll analyze the Facebook walls of one's ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend and try to read between the "like" and "comments" to see who they're falling in love with next. If Humphrey Bogart were alive, he'd open his movies with narration like "This dame walked into my office, a twitter feed as long as my arm. I knew I was in for a long night when I saw how many reblogs her tumblrs got." What does the future hold? I picture a smart phone that makes words appear over your head like comic book speech balloons. Or glasses that let you see someone's Facebook status when they come into your field of vision. E-mail that is physically implanted into your spinal fluid. Autocorrect that improves not just your spelling, but the quality of your jokes. Emoticons that have scent and weight. How long until Kindle features a section of eBooks which are just the collected electronic quips between two famous people? More than Denis Leary's tweets, I envision a much more comprehensive collection of all the funny, smart, dirty, caring things written between a straying husband and his co-worker, or a yearning young lady and distant paramour, set in chronological order — texts, tweets, and actual letters. The Tumblrs of Henry Miller and Anais Nin. Emily Dickinson's Hardcore Status Updates. Or at leastThe Super Hot Twitter DMs of Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes e.e. cummings couldn't do it. Autocorrect would screw him up and his name would get filtered out by Google SafeSearch. If you have any comments on this article please send them to me by: Facebook status, Twitter DM, Tumblr post, IM, gchat signature, e-mail, telegram, handwritten letter or stone table. Phone calls will go right to voice mail.
Modern Science by Steven Weinberg
T
here have been many accounts of the historical progression of our understanding of the world around us, especially focusing on the transformative developments that began in the 17th century, but few have had the unique selling point of Steven Weinberg’s To Explain the World. Weinberg is a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist, known for his research on elementary particles and the interactions between them, as well as on cosmology. In this sense, then, Weinberg’s chronicle of the long development of physics leading up to the role he has personally played in it is akin to Winston Churchill’s A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. To Explain the World is a sweeping narrative of the progression of ideas, from the geometrical proofs and beliefs on the nature of the cosmos proposed by ancient Greek philosophers, through the Golden Age of Islamic science in ninth-century Baghdad, to Copernicus’s heliocentric architecture of our solar system, Galileo’s discoveries through his spyglass, and Newton’s work on optics and the laws of motion. But Weinberg strives to show not just how our understanding of the cosmos has developed through history – a straightforward chronology of deductions and discoveries – but also to explore how humanity “came to learn how to learn about the world”. He masterfully explains how the emergence of the modern scientific method, the mechanism by which we interrogate the world and devise well-supported explanations we can be confident in, is itself a discovery. For me, the highlight of the book is the discussion of Nicolaus Copernicus and the transformative shift in our world-view in the mid-16th century. The Copernican Revolution is a well-known story: the classical heritage of the Ptolemaic Earth-centred cosmos with its complex geometrical system of epicycles and deferents for the
Book Review
Lewis Dartnell
paths of the planets was replaced by Copernicus’s sun-centric architecture for the solar system. Where Weinberg excels is in his explanation of why the Copernican model became preferred, despite having no observational support and not providing improved predictions. The Ptolemaic model was in fact pretty accurate at accounting for the exact motions of the planets in the night sky. But this accuracy required a great degree of fine-tuning in the cosmic clockwork: the arrangement of the centres of the planets’ epicycles had to remain fixed relative to the line between the Earth and Sun, and revolution about these epicycles had to take precisely one year. What Copernicus realised is that the need for this forced finetuning dissolves away if we accept that we
are watching the rest of the solar system from a viewpoint that is itself revolving around the sun, taking one year for each circuit. Copernicus’s model of the solar system is much neater than Ptolemy’s, and Weinberg explains how it is the classic example of an explanation gaining acceptance based on aesthetic criteria – the simplicity or elegance of the theory – without experimental evidence to support it over alternative explanations. Indeed, the first actual observational evidence that provided support to the suncentric Copernican world-view didn’t arrive for another 70 years. Galileo viewed Venus through his new spyglass and discovered that the visible disk of the planet has phases just like our moon, and in a way that can only be explained with the sun in the centre of the solar system. But Copernicus’s model still didn’t fit observations particularly well: we know now that the planets don’t revolve around the sun in perfect circles but in oval-shaped elliptical orbits, meaning that not only does their speed vary but also that the sun isn’t in the exact centre of the ellipse. Despite these strengths, I found To Explain the World unbalanced. For a book surveying “the discovery of modern science”, it avoids any treatment of biology and chemistry and is limited to the development of physics and astronomy from Thales to Newton. Weinberg revels in the mathematical details of Descartes’s study of light rays refracting through spherical drops of water, and provides numerous other data tables comparing historical calculations to the modern values. While his unparalleled expertise provided a unique perspective in his earlier book The First Three Minutes, a gem of popular science writing, I found that To Explain the World often lacked momentum and the flair of other similar narratives.
Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.
7
Morung Youth Express
Saturday
THE MORUNG EXPRESS
21 March, 2015
The role of the museum
T
he woman in a spotless white coat greeted us with a big smile. She looked genuinely happy to receive visitors even at short notice. Leading us to an inner room, the middleaged woman who I will call Betty, carefully carried out a big rectangular cardboard box into the room. She laid it on the table and opened it to show us its contents. First she removed the white paper on top and then she proceeded to remove the white cloth that lay below. “We have deliberately chosen to use white cotton cloth to cover all the textiles in our care. It is easy for insect droppings to show on the white colour if the textile should become vulnerable to an infestation of insects.” The garment in question was an old body-cloth brought from the Konyak region as part of the Haimendorf collection in 1936. The faded blue and orange body-cloth was so fragile that the caretakers had to keep it carefully under wraps after each exhibition. Several of the wool threads in the cloth had come away so it was not easy to see the v-shaped geometrical patterns on the cloth. This particular cloth was bought in the 1930s from the Konyak region. Betty used to work in the Welt museum in the heart of Vienna. In 2012, the museum had a long exhibition of Naga cultural life called, ‘Jewellery and Ashes.’ The exhibition was culled from the collection of Christoph von Fürer Haimendorf. Photographs, textiles and various cultural objects such as miniature log drums, spears, jewellery, women’s costumes, some skulls, and several videos of Naga life were on display for the public of Vienna. In addition, there was an extraordinary exhibit of an Ao Naga kitchen transported from Mokokchung district to the museum, complete with fireplace, utensils, kitchen imple-
ments, bamboo floor, a bamboo structure for drying meat and vegetables on top of the hearth, and a video showing the everyday former life of the kitchen. At one point in the video, a mouse could be seen running across the bamboo floor. In English the Welt museum means the World museum. It houses 200,000 ethnographic objects from all over the world including Africa, the Near East and Central Asia, Siberia, South-east Asia, North, Central and South America, China, Korea, Japan, Oceania and Australia, and from the Himalayan region. One of the many beautiful things that the Welt Museum had been doing was to preserve the Haimendorf collection of Naga textiles, artefacts and jewellery in a sterile environment where they were safe from the normal processes of decay. Betty devotedly looked after each cloth in her care. Visitors had to remove their shoes and wipe any traces of dirt and possible bacteria before entering the cellar rooms where the collections are stored. The museum was always open to Naga researchers and visitors, who were allowed to photograph the items, collect and use whatever information the museum had garnered on the items. Items that would have been lost to village burnings during the fifties, and what would have been forever lost to future generations by natural decay, have been rescued and preserved for many more generations.
In 2014, amid movements to close the museum, a frantic signature campaign was undertaken, but the museum has now been closed from November 2014 to the end of 2016 for what has been referred to as remodelling work. However, the huge space that was available for exhibitions has been taken away from the museum, so the wonderful exhibitions that were a major part of the Welt museum will become a thing of past history. This is a great loss as the opportunity for display and dissemination of cultural information has been taken away. The failed signature campaign for the Welt Museum shows what little chance cultural institutions have against governments convinced that the upkeep of such places is a loss of public revenue. We neither have the resources or technology available to house our cultural treasures in our museums. The artefacts in the Welt museum are stored in huge basement cellars where the temperature is carefully controlled, and damage by rodent intruders is meticulously monitored. There are separate compartments for the different regions which, interestingly enough, had many shared items of material culture. The scrupulous care rendered by the museum is something that would require a huge investment of money and manpower if we were to replicate it. At the same time, the temporary closing down of Welt museum sends out a signal that it is probably time for us to think of similar institutions to house and archive our cultural history and whatever material remnants we have of that culture. It would benefit researchers and storytellers. It would benefit younger generations of Nagas because the material evidences of our culture are fast disappearing from both urban and rural areas.
Five reasons why you Disinherited voices from the past must have a dog at home Vidhi Malla The Indian Express
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uch has been written about how we can take care of our dogs but little about the benefits of having pets at home. Well, there is definitely an emotional connect but there are medical reasons too. Here are top 5 reasons for having a dog or well a pet. 1) Lowers stress: Pets help lower blood pressure and stress. The companionship offered by a dog in addition to the opportunity to connect with other dog lovers and owners can help people. There have been innumerable reports linking pets to stress busting. In fact there are reports to suggest that employees who bring pets to work accumulate less stress throughout the work day. 2) More activity: Having a dog by default means you need to go out for a walk twice a day for atleast 20 minutes. This simply means a more active you. Walks and weekend pay dates with your pets help add physical activity in your schedule and lets you connect with other pet lovers. 3) Natural mood enhancers: They say, ‘Happiness starts with the wet nose and ends with the tail’. No mat-
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ter how tired or annoyed you are, unless you really hate animals and do not care about them, a pet is a definite mood changer. The best part of owning a pet is that no matter how many times a day they see you, a separation of even 15 seconds will ensure that they are all over you. 4) Fight depression: Dogs are the best therapists. Who else will love you unconditionally and still listen to your bickering without passing a judgment. For any pet their master is the best person in the world and come what may they will stand by their owners. I am not a doctor and I do not in anyway recommend not visitng a therapist if you need one. Having a pet and taking care of them creates a sense of responsibility and help people connect better. It makes people feel better and is a productive way of spending time 5) Early warning: Dogs can sense early warning signs whether it is a medical condition or a security concern. It is because of their danger sensing capacity that dogs make excellent service animals. So if you ever have anyone asking why you have or need a dog, you know what to tell them. Also, while pets are terrific, do check with your doctor if you have a medical condition.
ou might expect a great philosopher to look past our surface into the depths of the soul – but Ancient Greek thinkers were surprisingly concerned with appearance. Aristotle and his followers even compiled a volume of the ways that your looks could reflect your spirit. "Soft hair indicates cowardice and coarse hair courage," they wrote. Impudence, the treatise says, was evident in "bright, wise-open eyes with heavy blood-shot lids"; a broad nose, meanwhile, was a sign of laziness, like in cattle. Sensuous mouths fared little better. “The lips, when they are very big and blubbering, show a person to be credulous, foolish, dull, and stupid.” Today, we are taught not to judge a book by its cover. But while it is wise not to set too much by appearances, psychologists are finding that your face offers a window on our deepest secrets. Even if you keep a stony poker face, your features can reveal details about your personality, your health, and your intelligence.
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Amrita Madhukalya | DNA
n Mamang Dai's new book The Black Hill, set in 19th century Arunachal Pradesh, nature takes the role of a character that plays its part in events leading up to the tragic demise of Kajinsha, a Mishmee tribal hanged to death for the disappearance of Father Nicolas Krick, a French priest determined to make his way in the region with his sextant. Just as the sharp river bend stops the British soldiers from coming in to the villages by the droves with their 'guns and garrisons', the small mound behind the home of Gimur, Kajinsha's wife,
acts as a prop in their first encounter. The story is a fictional exploration of a heavily debated event that took place in what was then the princely state of Assam, says Dai. "A priest had come to the Mishmee village through the route around Pasighat. He was quite unusual, and collected river stones and wrote about the land. He also left several humorous notes. The ensuing events had left a fair bit of acrimony between the various tribes of the area over the years." Nature found its way into The Black Hill, as it does into her writings and poems, which, interlinked to the place's geography, paint rivers and mountains and forests as lush and yet mysterious. Nature is sacred and even worshipped in the region. Dai's writings also bring forth the conflict that the region has witnessed. She writes about places like the Sang river that do not find a mention in the government's geographical survey. Recalling how The Black Hill came about, Dai says she was on her way to the London Book Fair a few years ago when she took a detour and reached the Paris Foreign Mission — the very same mission that had sent the priest to India to make inroads into the region for the East India Company. Dai also visited the Dibrugarh jail in upper Assam where Kajinsha breathed his last. "Being the first tribal to be hanged to death must have felt horrible, and he was eventually made into a hero of sorts by the people," says Dai. Mishmee people, who remembered his legacy with some bitterness, are quite happy that the book finally talks about the event.
The Naga Blog is a forum on facebook where Nagas from Nagaland and around the world network, share ideas and discuss a wide range of topics from politics and philosophy to music and current events in Nagaland and beyond. The blog is not owned by any individual, nor is it affiliated to or associated with any political party or religion. The only movement it hopes to stir is the one raised by the voices of the Nagas every step of the way, amassing perhaps to mass consciousness one day. www.facebook.com/groups/thenagablog
TNB Blood Donation Initiative Nokho Nyekha Naga: Faith Hospital becomes the first hospital to directly co-ordinate with TNB in our 'TNB Blood Donation Initiative'. The hospital now will guide and assist the patients in finding the blood donors from our list of volunteers, as the last resort in saving a life - when the hospital runs out of blood / families who couldn't afford in buying it. Our deepest appreciation to Faith Hospital, Dr. Atoka Wotsa in particular. Nokchem Angth:Thank you Faith Hospital for recognizing some people hard and dedicated work. We are glad to know that. However, this initiative shouldn't be misused by anyone in any circumstances but should be utilized in proper manner. Just because TNB has Blood Bank, free of cost doesn't mean everyone should solely depend on this, if you are from good family background, I would love to suggest you to spend your own wealth and take this as Last Resort (like cited by the post master) but give to poor and especially old age and orphanage people. And also members who have already enrolled their name should not ignore patient request unless you are out of station or you got unavoidable circumstances. Atsung Imchen: TNB Voluntary Blood Donation Initiative - A heartfelt thank you note. Today there was a patient in Faith Hospital who urgently required O+ blood, the hospital blood bank returned empty and their families were worried like anyone of us would be if those dear to us were in such situation. Around afternoon one of our Administrators shared the news in the blog and some volunteers reached the hospital within hours saying they're a member of TNB. The doctor was pleasantly surprised that when the blood bank was out of blood and the patient's family was desperately searching for it, a simple post on the forum brought some strangers to their doorstep and saved a life. At times when you think all odds are against you and you’ve no one to turn to, out of nowhere when someone pops into the picture, someone who never knew you and does something so genuine, so pure that just thinking about it makes us feel good. Even if we were not the ones who donated the blood today, we feel GOOD, just the feeling itself is so overwhelming. So here is the mother of all CHEERS to ABENMO KATH who stepped in and did something we all should be proud of. We are humbled by your deed and will remain grateful to you. You just made a Family whole again and we hope with your help the patient recovers soon. Thank you Abenmo. The Administration would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who had donated blood in the past through this initiative; you guys give the meaning to this purpose. Our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Going forward we will try to highlight those who donate their blood through this initiative. How to Avail TNB Blood Donation Initiative and How it Works:1. TNB Blood Donation initiative is completely a voluntary participation, members who think they are physically fit to donate can mention their name, location and contact number in the document pinned on the top of the Forum, right below the TNB banner. One can edit the document and enter their names under the respective blood group. 2. TNB Blood Donation initiative can be availed only when the Blood Bank returns empty, patients relatives are unable to supply and when Individuals/Family are not able to financially afford the required blood. In short, this is the Last resort approach. Thank you. Imna Asen:Wow! Lol I wonder how the government feels about this whole thing.... a member of the group they want to ban helped save a life while they couldn't.... Sinyhunlo Asinlo Kent: Voluntary Blood Donation under the initiative of The Naga Blog is a real life saving and living mission. Through this mission many lives are saved and many come to know how to help the needy /poor and save life by donating their precious blood. We thank our senior members and Administrators for initiating this mission. We thank all those who have contributed to the success of this mission. May God bless the givers, receivers and all the members through this mission. Cheers! The Naga Blog A Anato Swu: Hope the I&B ministry take note of such and other related activities of TNB before they pass their verdict on our Govt's request to bar Nagas administered FB groups...Bless the donor and kudos to TNB admins for initiating such life-saving programmes. (The Naga Blog was created in 2008 by Yanpvuo Kikon. This column in The Morung Express will be a weekly feature every Saturday)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Naga Blog.
How your face betrays your personality and health
and dominance is surprisingly widespread, from capuchin monkeys – the wider the face, the more likely they are to hold a higher rank in the group’s hierarchy – to professional football players. Examining the 2010 World Cup, Keith Welker at the University of Boulder, Colorado, recently showed that the ratio of the width and height of the footballers’ faces predicted both the number of fouls among midfielders, and the number of goals scored by the forwards. It may even clue you in to a politician’s motives. Using volunteers to rate former US presidents on different psychological attributes, Lefevre found that face shape seemed to reflect their perceived ambition and drive. John F Kennedy had a thickerset face than 19th Century Chester Arthur, for instance. Such analyses of historical figures are perhaps best taken with a pinch of salt, however, and it has to be said that other traits, such as Assertive structure cooperation and intelligence, should “The idea is that our biology, be equally important for success. like genes and hormone levels, influences our growth, and the same Plump cheeks mechanisms will also shape our As you might expect, your health character,” explains Carmen Lefevre and medical history are also written at Northumbria University. in your countenance – and the detail Consider the face’s bone struc- it offers is surprising. The amount of ture – whether it is relatively short fat on your face, for instance, proand wide or long and thin. Lefevre vides a stronger indication of your fithas found that people with higher ness than more standard measures, levels of testosterone tend to be wid- such as your body mass index. Those er-faced with bigger cheekbones, with thinner faces are less likely to and they are also more likely to have suffer infections, and when they do, more assertive, and sometimes ag- the illness is less severe; they also gressive, personalities. tend to have lower rates of depresThe link between face shape sion and anxiety, probably because
David Robson | BBC
mental health is often closely related to the body’s fitness in general. Besides these more overt cues, very subtle differences in skin colour can also reveal your health secrets. Jones and Lefevre emphasise this has nothing to do with the tones associated with ethnicity, but barely-noticeable tints that may reflect differences in lifestyle. You appear to be in more robust health, for instance, if your skin has a slightly yellowish, golden tone. The pigments in question are called carotenoids, which, as the name suggest, can be found in orange and red fruit and veg. Carotenoids help build a healthy immune system, says Lefevre. “But when we’ve eaten enough, they layer in the skin and dye it yellow. We exhibit them, because we
haven’t used them to battle illness.” The glow of health, in turn, contributes significantly to your physical attraction – more so, in fact, than the more overt tones that might accompany a trip to the tanning salon. A blush of pink, meanwhile, should signal the good circulation that comes with an active lifestyle – and it might also be a sign of a woman’s fertility. Jones has found that women tend to adopt a slightly redder flush at the peak of the menstrual cycle, perhaps because estradiol, a sex hormone, leads the blood vessels in the cheek to dilate slightly. It may be one of many tiny shifts in appearance and behaviour that together make a woman slightly more attractive when she is most likely to conceive.
Looking smart As Jones points out, these secrets were hiding in plain sight – yet we were slow to uncover them. At the very least, this knowledge helps restore the reputation of “physiognomy”, which has suffered a somewhat chequered reputation since Aristotle’s musings. Tudor king Henry VIII was so sceptical of the idea that he even banned quack “professors” from profiting from their readings, and its status took a second bashing in the early 20th Century, when it was associated with phrenology – the mistaken idea that lumps and bumps on your head can predict your behaviour. But now the discipline is gaining credibility, we may find that there are many more surprises hiding in your selfies. Intriguingly, we seem to be able to predict intelligence from someone’s face with modest accuracy – though it’s not yet clear what specific cues make someone look smart. (Needless to say, it is not as simple as whether or not they wear glasses.) Others are examining the “gaydar”. We often can guess someone’s sexual orientation within a split-second, even when there are no stereotypical clues, but it’s still a mystery as to what we’re actually reading. Further research might explain exactly how we make these snap judgements. It will also be interesting to see how the link between personality, lifestyle and appearance changes across the lifetime. One study managed to examine records of personality and appearance, following subjects from the 1930s to the 1990s. The scientists found that although baby-
faced men tended to be less dominant in their youth, they grew to be more assertive as the years wore on – perhaps because they learnt to compensate for the expectations brought about by their puppyish appearance. More intriguingly, the authors also found evidence of a “Dorian Gray effect” – where the ageing face began to reflect certain aspects of the personality that hadn’t been obvious when the people were younger. Women who had more attractive, sociable, personalities from adolescence to their 30s slowly started to climb in physical attractiveness, so that in their 50s they were considered better-looking than those who had been less personable but naturally prettier. One possibility is that they simply knew how to make the best of their appearance, and that their inner confidence was reflected on subtle differences in expression. After all, there is so much more to our appearance than the bone structure and skin tone, as one particularly clever study recently demonstrated. The scientists asked volunteers to wear their favourite clothes, and then took a photo of their face. Even though the clothes themselves were not visible in the mugshots, impartial judges considered them to be considerably more attractive than other pictures of the participants. The finding is particularly striking, considering that they were asked to keep neutral expressions: somehow, the boosted selfesteem shone through anyway. Our faces aren’t just the product of our biology. We can’t change our genes or our hormones – but by cultivating our personality and sense of self-worth, they may begin to mirror something far more important.
Readers may please note that, the contents of the articles published on this page do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.
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Dimapur
NATIONAL
Saturday 21 March 2015
The Morung Express
Scores killed as Varanasi-bound train derails
Rae B aReli/luc know, MaRch 20 (ianS): At least 32 people were killed when the engine and three coaches of a passenger train derailed near Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh after the driver overshot a signal on Friday. Northern Railway spokesman Neeraj Sharma said in New Delhi that nearly 50 people were warded in hospitals. Doctors in Lucknow said many of them were in critical condition. Sharma put the death toll at 32. The horrific accident took place at Bachharwan railway station near Rae Bareli when the DehradunVaranasi Janata Express, proceeding to Varanasi, jumped the tracks shortly after 9 a.m. The train was to halt at Bachharwan, a small station. But the driver didn't stop. When he realized the folly and applied the emergency brakes, the engine and the coaches went off the tracks, officials said. An official statement said the train hit a sand bump, leading to the derailment. One of the three coaches which derailed was a
sleeper class. The other two were general coaches. All were packed with commuters. As the badly injured passengers screamed in pain, the first to reach the site were people from nearby villages. But two of the coaches were so mangled that rescue work could not take place until officials arrived with gas cutters to cut through the steel to take out the dead and the still living. When journalists too reached the place, furious locals raised slogans against the state and railway authorities, saying official rescuers took a long time to start pulling out the bleeding passengers. Some bodies were found under the coaches, apparently thrown off the train due to the impact of the crash. Some bodies were dismembered. Many passengers suffered serious injuries, primarily in the head. Others suffered concussions, broken limbs and deep wounds. Some escaped with cuts and bruises. One doctor said at least a dozen of those admitted to hospitals in Lucknow were battling for life. Some
Rescue workers gather at the site of a train accident near Bachhrawan village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Friday, March 20, 2015. Police and rescue workers used gas cutters to rip apart the wreckage to find people who were feared to be trapped after three coaches of a passenger train derailed in northern India. (AP Photo)
passengers were treated medically in Rae Bareli. The more serious cases were rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow. "The death toll could go up," an official told IANS, adding that 12 bodies remained unclaimed until late in the evening. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was visiting Lucknow, met some of the injured in
hospital. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in whose Lok Sabha constituency the accident took place, mourned the loss of lives. Northern Railway officials said that prima facie the train driver seemed to be at fault. "The train was to stop
at the Bachharwan station but it did not. When he realized this, the driver applied the emergency brakes, leading to the derailment," one official said. The railways ordered a probe into the accident. The railway ministry announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh to families of each of the dead, Rs.50,000 to the seriously injured and Rs.20,000 to those who suffered minor injuries.
The Uttar Pradesh government announced similar compensation. The accident disrupted train services on the important New Delhi-Lucknow-Varanasi sector. A special relief train was rushed from Lucknow. Officials said six doctors and 20 ambulances were also sent to the accident site. Buses were also despatched to the place to ferry the stranded passengers.
Railways order inquiry into Rae Bareli train accident
new Delhi, MaRch 20 (PTi): Railways today ordered an inquiry into the Rae Bareli train mishap in which 32 passengers have died, and the ministry has sought a report from the Railway Safety Commissioner within a month. "The incident is tragic and a probe by Railway Safety Commissioner has been ordered. Railways has also announced compensation for the victims," Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Kumar Sinha said. Sinha said that the commissioner has been asked to submit his report within a month. Sinha, alongwith Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was talking to reporters after meeting the injured at the Trauma Centre here. Around 150 people were also injured in the incident, when the engine and two adjoining coaches of the Dehradun-Varanasi Janta Express derailed near Bachrawan Railway Station in Rae Bareli district. Singh while condoling the death of those killed in the accident, said, that railway officer and employees had "acted promptly" after the accident. "The casualty could have increased but the action of the Railways was prompt," he said. Railways have also ordered a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the accident. While Rs 50,000 will be given to those injured seriously, Rs 20,000 will be given to people with minor injuries. As news of the accident reached Lucknow, around 100 beds were reserved in the city's hospitals to cater to the injured, officials told IANS.
Twenty-two people were killed when a passenger train rammed into a stationary train in Sant Kabir Nagar district, also in Uttar Pradesh, on May 26, 2014.
Paper planes, parents help pupils outsmart state exams Mine Bill passed in Rajya Sabha PaTna, MaRch 20 (ReuTeRS): Images of students blatantly cheating on school-leaving examinations under the noses of supervisors have gone viral, inviting ridicule on Twitter and exposing flaws in the much-maligned education system of Bihar. On Thursday, the Hindustan Times published a photo of dozens of men clambering up the wall of a four-storey test centre in Bihar state, perched on window ledges as they folded answer sheets into paper planes flown into classrooms. "Should we shoot them?" asked Prashant Kumar Shahi, Bihar's education minister, addressing a news conference after television news channels aired the incriminating photo and raked up the scandal.
"On average, four or five persons are helping each student use unfair means," Shahi said, adding it was impossible to curb cheating if parents encouraged their children. Exams held by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) are viewed as make-orbreak tests that could transform the lives of millions growing up in poverty. Copying is rampant during state-run standardized tests and invigilators look the other way when pupils consult peers via WhatsApp messages on phones or jot down answers from notes smuggled into classrooms. More than 1.4 million students are taking the tests this week, crammed into 1,217 examination
centres in Bihar. Supervisors stationed at notorious test centres vie for the postings, enticed by the prospect of bribes from parents eager to have their wards scrape through. Cheating has been on the rise since the state government offered cash rewards of 10,000 rupees to lower-caste students who were able to answer about half the questions on their tests. This year, more than 1,000 students were caught cheating in three days and have been expelled. The tests end on March 24. Attempts to chase away family members lurking outside test centres on Thursday backfired, with stone-pelting mobs forcing police to beat a retreat. BSEB Secretary
Srinivas Chandra Tiwari told Reuters of plans to hold awareness workshops for students and parents, where attendees would be counselled against unfair means. But many parents blame the government and indifferent teachers for Bihar's failure to curb cheating. The state go+vernment has been accused of hiring more than 400,000 teachers on contract without checking their proficiency. In the last two years, more than 12,500 teachers failed competency tests, unable to solve questions designed for fifth-graders. "Why blame only the students? Are schools imparting proper teaching? They lack quality teachers," said Sanjeev Kumar Singh, whose son is taking the tests this year.
Women lawyers move SC against IAS officer in Pune arrested for rape Preliminary investi- light recently when the girls MaRch 20 Dec 16 gangrape case advocates Pune, (ianS): A senior IAS offi- gations revealed that the complained to their munew Delhi, MaRch 20 (PTi): An association of women lawyers today mentioned in the Supreme court a petition seeking action against two advocates for making derogatory remarks on women in a BBC documentary on December 16 gangrape case. The Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association in its petition sought restriction on the entry of advocate M L Sharma and A P Singh, who had made derogatory comments on women in the documentary and had also appeared for the accused in the December 16 gangrape case, in the apex court premises. "The present petition is
necessitated due to the ignominy and the direct attack on the dignity of women, especially women lawyers practicing in Supreme Court who have suffered due to the statements made and publicized by two male lawyers, and specially the respondent no. 1 (Sharma), who regularly practices in the Supreme Court," it said. The petition said the comments made by the two advocates in the BBC documentary, "India's Daughter" are "inhumane, scandalous, unjustifiable, biased, outrageous, ill-minded" and are a "direct affront to and in violation of the dignity of women", especially those practicing in the Supreme court.
cer, arrested on the charges of raping four minor girl students, was sent to police custody till March 30 by a magistrate here on Friday. In a separate action, the Maharashtra government suspended the officer, Maruti H. Sawant, Director-General, Maharashtra Council of Agricultural Education & Research (MCAER), Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said in Mumbai Friday evening. According to police, Sawant was nabbed from his home and late Thursday booked under laws pertaining to rape and molestation of at least four minor girls aged between 8-10 years recently.
Anti-black money bill tabled in Lok Sabha new Delhi, MaRch 20 (ianS): A bill on unearthing black money and punishing those with ill-gotten wealth stashed abroad was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the last day before parliament goes into its scheduled month-long recess. The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015, proposes a short window to overseas income tax assesses to declare their assets, pay tax and a penalty and thus avoid imprisonment. It provides for a maximum of 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for evading tax on foreign assets. There will also be a penalty at the rate of 300 percent of taxes on the concealed income and assets. Under the proposed legislation's provisions, concealing foreign income and assets will be non-compoundable and offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission for resolving disputes.
The new legislation will provide that income in relation to any undisclosed foreign asset or undisclosed income from any foreign asset will be taxable at the maximum marginal rate. A beneficiary of foreign assets will be mandatorily required to file returns, even if there is no taxable income. It also seeks to make non-filing of income tax returns or filing returns with inadequate disclosure of foreign assets liable for prosecution with punishment of rigorous imprisonment up to seven years. The bill will now be taken up for discussion after Lok Sabha resumes sittings next month and could thereafter be referred to the parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny before being taken up for passage. An Indian Express report last month said that 1,195 Indians were in the list of clients who held accounts in HSBC Bank's Geneva branch from 20062007.
Reacting to the report, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government has completed assessment of 350 foreign accounts while tax evasion proceedings have been initiated against 60 account holders. India has strongly advocated the fast implementation of the automatic exchange of tax information globally, within the timeframe agreed to by the G20 countries, in the backdrop of media reporting names of Indian account holders in HSBC Bank's Swiss branch. At the G20 Brisbane summit last November, leaders endorsed a new global transparency standard by which more than 90 jurisdictions will begin automatic exchange of tax information, using a common reporting standard by 2017-2018. India has no official estimates of illegal money stashed away overseas, but the unofficial ones range from $466 billion to $1.4 trillion.
victims include two minor girls studying in Class 2 and one each in Class 3 and Class 7, who were lured by Sawant with chocolates, sweets and Rs.15 over the past couple of months. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhakar Pathare told media that the police are recording the individual statements of each victim whom he lured with offers of food to his building basement and then sexually assaulted them. Sawant is being interrogated to ascertain whether there are any more victims of his sordid acts, committed in the Hingne-Kurd area of the city. The matter came to
nicipal school counsellor, who in turn informed the principal. The principal brought it to the notice of a local municipal corporator Shrikant Jagtap of Sinhagad area, who finally alerted the police on Thursday. Besides Indian Penal Code sections, Sawant has also been changed under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Pathare said. Sawant, 58, a promotee IAS officer of 1998 batch is due for retirement in the next few months and has earlier held senior postings in social welfare, agriculture and sports departments.
new Delhi, MaRch 20 (ianS): The bill on the development of mines and minerals, paving the way for auction of blocks for prospecting, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Friday even as the opposition parties, notably the Congress and Left Front, wanted it referred again to the select committee. The bill was pressed for voting -- 117 members were in favour and 69 against it. Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also moved a couple of amendments to the bill based on the recommendations of the relevant select committee. The bill in the amended form will now be discussed in the Lok Sabha. Once it gets presidential consent, the new legislation will replace the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance of 2015), promulgated on January 12. The original bill was approved on March 18 by the Lok Sabha, which will discuss now discus the amendments. The taking up of the bill in the upper house had to be deferred on Thursday as the opposition parties said that mineral-bearing states had not been consulted in preparation of the bill and wanted the select committee, which had sent it back without changes on March 18, to take a re-look. The select committee, nevertheless, wanted the government to consider issues like the impact of mining activities on the en-
vironment, rampant illegal mining, lack of scientific mine closures, land acquisition and resettlement and use of windfall profits for local and tribal welfare. Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the new act will allow states to have a say in auction and all revenues will go to them. "Mining contributes over 2 percent to the GDP but is in deep crisis. It is one of the biggest employers. A revival will give jobs to our youth." He said there was also an urgent need for a transparent system since iron ore production, for example, had declined to 152 million tonnes in 2013-14 from 218 million tonnes in 2009-10. Primarily, the new bill seeks to introduce a regime of auction to grant prospecting licences, like for coal blocks. It proposes that there will no renewal of mining concessions, unlike the original act of 1957. But it proposes a licence for 50 years, as against 30 now. The government has already identified 199 mines for auction. The proposed legislation also calls for the setting up a District Mineral Foundation where mining takes place that will address the grievances of the people affected by mining, with a contribution not exceeding a third of the royalty rate. Another body, the National Mineral Exploration Trust, shall be appointed by the central government for regional and pan-India planning.
Some opposition parties, led by Biju Janata Dal, opposed it saying it infringed on the rights of states -- a stand earlier supported by the Congress and Trinamool Congress. The opposition had also prevented its introduction in the Rajya Sabha where the treasury is in minority. But on Friday, the Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party supported it. Among its other salient features, the new act, once in force, will add a new schedule to include mining of bauxite, iron ore, limestone and manganese ore, now called notified minerals, under its purview. The new act will call for state governments to grant mining leases and prospecting license-cum-mining leases for notified and other minerals, with the central government's approval, which will prescribe the terms and conditions for selection of bidders as also the procedure for auction. The central government may also reserve some mines exclusively for some specific purposes, as also set the eligibility conditions for the same. To plug another loophole that leads to arbitrariness, the central government will be permitted to increase the area allowed for mining, instead of granting additional leases. Presently, while 10 sq km is set as maximum limit for prospecting per lessee, a leeway is given to alter this.
Kashmir attack kills six, including two militants JaMMu, MaRch 20 (ianS): In the first terror attack after Jammu and Kashmir got a new government on March 1, a civilian and three security personnel were killed on Friday when two guerrillas stormed a police station before being gunned down. After the seven-hourlong siege ended, Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed blamed "nonstate actors" for the audacious attack on the Rajbagh police station in Kathua district, just 15 km from the Pakistan border. "This was carried out by non-state actors who are against peace and lifting of the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act)," he said. "It is time Pakistan realized this as they are also battling these elements. "Yeh Islam nahi hai. (This is not what Islam teaches)," he added. "We will not be deterred in our resolve to usher in permanent peace in the state by
Indian army soldiers walk to take their positions during a gunfight between suspected militants and security forces in Kathua district, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Jammu, India, Friday, March 20, 2015. Suspected rebels wearing army uniforms stormed an Indian police station in Kashmir, sparking a four-hour gun battle near the border between Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the disputed Himalayan region. (AP Photo)
these acts." The attackers, armed with automatic weapons and grenades and dressed in military fatigues, barged into the station complex after killing the lone guard
at the main gate in a near repeat of a September 2013 attack in the same district. The 6 a.m. strike took everyone by surprise. Once the attackers sneaked into the complex, on the Jam-
mu-Pathankot highway, they started firing at a building held by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), killing two of its men. A civilian was also killed. Ten others, overwhelmingly security personnel, were wounded and rushed to hospitals. Inspector General of Police Danish Rana announced the death of the two militants, whose nationality was not known. An intelligence officer stated they may have crossed into Kashmir from Pakistan. The injured included seven CRPF personnel, a police constable, a civilian and Deputy Superintendent of Police Diwakar Singh, who sustained a bullet wound on his shoulder, Rana said. Police, paramilitary and soldiers rushed to the site but they were cautious as many CRPF men were inside the building which the militants had entered. Amid covering fire
from security forces from the outside, the trapped CRPF personnel managed to leave the building. This took time. It was finally around 1.30 p.m. that the authorities made the final assault on the now isolated building, killing the two attackers. A thorough search was then made of the building. As the gun battle between the militants and security forces raged, traffic on the highway was halted. All schools in Kathua were hurriedly ordered shut. All school examinations scheduled in the district were postponed. This was the first terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir after a coalition government of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party took power on March 1. In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: "We share the grief of the families of the police officers and the civilian killed by the terrorists."
InternatIonal
the Morung express
Saturday 21 March 2015
Dimapur
9
Quick nuclear framework accord with Iran unlikely LAUSANNE, MARCH 20 (REUTERS): Six world powers are unlikely to reach a framework agreement with Iran on its nuclear work in the coming days as the sides are still far apart on key issues, a senior European negotiator said on Thursday, blaming Tehran for failing to compromise. "Contrary to what the Iranians are saying with regard to 90 percent of an accord being done, that's not correct," the negotiator told reporters on condition of anonymity. "We are not close to an agreement." President Barack Obama said in an Iranian New Year's message on Thursday to Iran's leaders and people that the two countries "have an historic opportunity to resolve this issue peacefully - an opportunity we should not miss." Iran and six world powers are seeking a comprehensive agreement to curb Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions. The powers aim to complete the framework of a final deal by the end of March and reach a full agreement by June 30. A senior U.S. State De-
partment official on Thursday denied reports there was a draft nuclear deal in circulation among six world powers and Iran. An Iranian official echoed the denial. Several Western officials had privately spoken of a document with brackets highlighting areas of disagreement. One major stumbling block is that Iran is pressing world powers to agree to start easing some restrictions on its atomic programme earlier than Western countries are willing to accept, Western and Iranian officials said. The current round of talks in Switzerland may need to continue beyond Friday, the State Department official said. "We are pretty far away. There are a lot of issues that still need to be resolved. The Iranians must make substantial concessions," the European negotiator said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the sides were working on difficult issues. "We're pushing some tough issues but we made progress," Kerry told reporters, adding that it was unclear when the U.S. delegation would return to
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, walks outside the hotel during a break from a bilateral meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for a new round of Nuclear Talks, in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday, March 19. (AP Photo/Keystone,Laurent Gillieron)
Washington. In Washington, a senior Treasury official said the Obama administration would work with Congress to impose further sanctions on Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached. U.S. lawmakers have been concerned the White House would cut Congress out of any deal, and would treat Iran too lightly.
Obama, noting opposition in both countries to an agreement, said in his message to Iranians: "Together, we have to speak up for the future we seek," and added: "This year, we have the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future between our countries." Despite the gaps between the two sides in Lausanne, there have been some
areas of rough agreement. One of the central issues under discussion from the beginning was the number of centrifuges Iran would be permitted to operate. Western officials have said that number of would likely be around 6,000 if an agreement is reached. Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation chief Ali Akbar Salehi, who is close to Iran's
Supreme Leader, said on Tuesday that an accord was 90 percent agreed with only one issue unresolved. Highlighting tensions after five days of talks, Salehi and Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif were captured by a Reuters photographer in a heated argument on the lawns of the luxury hotel overlooking the French Alps.
STICKING POINTS Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Baidinejad confirmed there were a number of sticking points. "Contrary to what many think, that we are only discussing one issue, it is not correct," he told reporters. "We are discussing many issues and nothing is agreed until everything is agreed." He cited research and development into centrifuges as a sticking point. "We are still discussing R&D along with other issues, technical and political issues," he said. U.S. and European officials worry that Iranian research into more advanced centrifuges, the machines that purify uranium for use as fuel for reactors or, if very highly enriched, in bombs, could give it the capability to quickly produce an atomic arsenal. Tehran denies harbouring any such ambitions. The European negotiator said that if Iran does not give in on this issue, there will be no nuclear deal at all. Western officials said the duration of a deal was also an unresolved point. Obama told Reuters in an interview this month that Iran would have to
accept limits on its nuclear activities for at least 10 years under any deal. France is pushing for at least 15 years for the agreement, followed by a 10-year period of intense monitoring by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency the European negotiator said. Western officials said the United States was also pushing for restrictions on sensitive nuclear work by Tehran to be in place for more than a decade. One diplomat, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral win earlier this week, said French negotiators had again adopted a tougher stance. Another major stumbling block is Iran's demand that all U.N. Security Council sanctions, including those targeting its nuclear programme, be lifted immediately. "They insist they have to go immediately. No way. It is out of the question," said the negotiator. The United States has been calling for a written political agreement to be signed by the end of March. But Iran has rejected the idea of a written interim deal before a final deal by June 30.
Triple suicide bombings rock Yemen ‘Business as usual’ will create a thirsty planet in 15 years, says UN been accused of backing the Huthis. President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi escaped Huthi house arrest in Sanaa last month and fled to the southern city of Aden.
Houthi fighters stand near a damaged car after suicide attack in Sanaa, Yemen on Friday, March 20. Triple suicide bombers hit a pair of mosques crowded with worshippers in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Friday, causing heavy casualties, according to witnesses. The attackers targeted mosques frequented by Shiite rebels, who have controlled the capital since September. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
SANAA, MARCH 20 (AgENCiES): At least 137 people were killed and 345 others wounded on Friday in triple suicide bombings that targeted mosques attended by Shia Huthi militiamen in the Yemeni capital, witnesses said. One bomb exploded inside Badr mosque in southern Sanaa, and was followed by another at the gate as worshippers fled, witnesses said. The third suicide bomber targeted Al-Hashahush mosque in
northern Sanaa. The Huthi militia's AlMassira television said hospitals in the capital had made urgent appeals for blood donations. This is the second such incident of bombing this year. In January, a car bomb killed 40 people and wounded dozens more at a police academy in Sanaa as recruits lined up to register. Yemen's top security body blamed al-Qaida for that blast although a lead-
er of the jihadist network denied responsibility. The Huthis overran Sanaa in September and have since tightened their grip on power. Their attempts to extend their control into other areas have been met by deadly resistance from Sunni tribes and alQaida. Yemen, a front line in the US war on al-Qaida, has descended into chaos since the 2012 ouster of longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has
Islamic State affiliate takes credit for attacks A group claiming to be a Yemeni branch of the Islamic State group says it carried out a string of suicide bombings in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that killed a total of 137 people and injured 345 others. The group posted an online statement saying that five suicide bombers carried out what it described as a "blessed operation" against the "dens of the Shiites." The bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques, located across town from each other, during midday Friday prayers. The claim, posted in an online statement, could not immediately be independently confirmed and offered no proof of an IS role. It was posted on the same website in which the Islamic State affiliate in Libya claimed responsibility for Wednesday's deadly attack on a museum in Tunisia.
tor it becomes very easy to reach the plots."
A boy returns home carrying a 20-liter container of fresh water, which cost 5 Kenyan shillings (5.5 U.S. cents) to fill from a private tap in the street, in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya on March 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
LONDON, MARCH 20 (REUTERS): The planet faces a 40 percent shortfall in water supplies in 15 years due to urbanisation, population growth and increasing demand for water for food production, energy and industry, the United Nations said on Friday. Competition for water between water-thirsty sectors means better management is essential to ensure everybody gets the water they need, said the World Water Development Report. With "business as usual" the world is facing a "collapse in our global socioeconomic system,"
Richard Connor, lead author of the report, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. By 2050 two thirds of the world's population will be living in cities and demand for water is expected to increase by 55 percent, mainly from demands related to growing urbanisation in developing countries. Urbanisation means that access to safe water and adequate sanitation, although typically higher in cities, has decreased in the fastest growing urban areas. One example is sub-Saharan Africa, where urban-
isation - often unplanned - is happening most rapidly. Here the proportion of people who have piped water on their premises has fallen to 34 percent from 42 percent since 1990. "The spontaneous urbanisation, which creates slums, makes it very difficult because of the layout of the slums to provide water," Joan Clos, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview from Nairobi. "Once you have a street then for the water opera-
MORE PEOPLE, MORE FOOD By 2050 the world will have to produce 60 percent more food and the global water demand for industry is predicted to increase by 400 percent, said the report, published ahead of World Water Day on March 22. The growing population will also need 70 percent more energy and water is required to produce almost all forms of it. "You have to manage water. If you're using less water because of your proper irrigation and soil management in agriculture that allows more water to be available for other users," Connor said. "Every sector has to pitch in and do its best to be water efficient." Investing in sustainable water management, although costly, pays off: a $15 to 30 billion invested in improved water resources management in developing countries can have an annual income return of $60 billion, the report said.
"LIVE LIFE WITH HONOUR AND DIGNITY"
'LET NOTHING STOP YOU FROM REALISING YOUR DREAMS'
JOIN THE
INDI AN NAVY ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RECRUITMENT DRIVE SCHEDULED AT KOHIMA ON 31 MARCH 2015 FOR SAILOR ENTRY, SENIOR SECONDARY RECRUITS (SSR) - 02/2015 BATCH
YOUR CHILD’S FIRST RIGHT, OPENS DOORS FOR A LIFETIME
The Chief Registrar of Births & Deaths and Secretary, Economic and Statistics, Nagaland, Secretariat, KOHIMA - 797 001 Phone/ Fax: 0370-2290592
The Director of Census Operations, Directorate of Census Operations, Nagaland, Bayavu Hills, KOHIMA - 797 001 Phone/ Fax: 0370-2260009 Email: dco-ngl.rgi@nic.in
DAVP 19109/13/0026/1415
Registrar of Births & Deaths & Head Teacher Govt. Primary School
ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS Unmarried Male Indian Citizen from Nagaland meeting following eligibility criteria are invited to participate in the Recruitment Drive. Educational Qualifications. Candidates should have qualified 10+2 /equivalent exam with Maths and Physics as compulsory subjects; optional subjects Chemistry/Biology/ Computers. Age. Candidates should have been born between 01 Aug 1994 to 31 Jul 1998 (Both dates inclusive). SELECTION CRITERIA Selection of recruits is based on the order of merit depending on their performance in Written Test, Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and fitness in the Medical Examinations. Written Test: The question paper will be objective type and will comprise of four sections i.e. English, Science, Mathematics and General Knowledge. Syllabus can be obtained from website www.joinindiannavy.gov.in. Physical Fitness Test (PFT): PFT will consist of 1.6 Km run to be completed in 7 minutes, 20 squat ups (Uthak Baithak) and 10 Pushups. Candidates undergoing PFT will do so at their own risk. Candidates are to bring their sports shoes and shorts for PFT. Medical Standards and procedure for Medical Examination: As prescribed in current regulations applicable to sailors on entry. Final Enrolment Medical Examination: All select list candidates who are issued with a call letter for Final Medical examination will have to undergo a Final Enrolment Medical examination at Chilka prior to enrolment. Candidates found “unfit” during this medical examination will not be enrolled for training. No “appeal” is permitted
for further review after the final enrolment Medical Examination at Chilka. Tattoos. Permanent body tattoos are only permitted on inner face of forearms i.e from inside of elbow to the wrist and on the reverse side of palm/back (dorsal) side of hand. Permanent body tattoos on any other part of the body is not acceptable and candidate will be barred from recruitment. SELECTION PROCEDURE The selection procedure is available on internet website www.joinindiannavy.gov.in. List of Documents: The following documents are to be brought at the time of Recruitment Drive, punched together: Original and one attested copy of Matriculation certificate. Original and one attested copy of 10+2 / equivalent examination mark sheet and certificate . Original and one attested copy of NCC certificates, if any. One self-addressed envelop of size 22 x 10 cms with Rs 10/- stamp affixed. Original and one attested photocopy of Domicile Certificate. Seven recent colour pass port size photographs. Note. Attesting Officer’s name with office address and seal should be clear and legible. VENUE Eligible candidates are to report at the following place with all documents mentioned above. REPORT AT 0630 HRS ON 31 MARCH 2015
2 Assam Rifles Ground, Kohima Nagaland
Details available on website www.joinindiannavy.gov.in davp 10701/11/0077/1415
10 SPORTS/Public diScOuRSE The Morung Express Djokovic reaches Indian Wells semis Champions League: Real Madrid to face Dimapur
Saturday
21 March 2015
INDIAN WELLS, MARCH 20 (AP): Novak Djokovic didn't have to hit a ball to get into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday when opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew because of a back injury. Tomic's withdrawal was announced about five hours before he was to play the topranked Djokovic, a three-time champion at Indian Wells who won his first three matches in straight sets. He had beaten Tomic each of the three times they've played. Fans on stadium court jeered the news. Djokovic's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who defeated No. 12 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4 for his 497th career victory. His wins are the most by any Brit in the Open era, overtaking Tim Henman who had 496 career wins. Murray dropped serve just once against the left-hand-
ed Lopez while serving for the match at 5-2 in the second set. He improved to 10-0 against Lopez all-time. On the women's side, Jelena Jankovic reached the semifinals when qualifier Lesia Tsurenko retired in the second set with a foot injury. Jankovic, the 2010 champion, was only on the court for 46 minutes when Tsurenko called it quits trailing the Serb 6-1, 4-1. "In the second set she started limping, and I saw that she had some problem," Jankovic said. "That's the time as well I lost a little bit of my focus. I was kind of looking at what she was doing." Jankovic will meet 24thseeded Sabine Lisicki, who beat defending champion Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4). Not expecting to go so deep in the tournament, Jankovic said she had to double-check on when her semifinal is scheduled. "I had to ask because I was
going to do some shopping," she said. Pennetta saved a match point in the 10th game of the second set, and then Lisicki staved off two match points in the 10th game of the third set, eventually reaching her first semifinal of the year. She dropped to her hands and knees after match point. "I really want to show everyone how well I can play," the German said. "It's such a great feeling." Tsurenko hurt her ankle two days ago when she upset Eugenie Bouchard, one of three seeded players she beat in the desert. After losing the first set against Jankovic, a trainer wrapped her right ankle. Top-ranked Serena Williams plays No. 3 Simona Halep in a semifinal on Saturday. Williams is back in the desert after ending her 14-year boycott of the tournament she last won as a teenager in 2001.
Atletico in repeat of last season's final
6th Silver Cup T20 Cricket Tournament KoHIMA, MARCH 20 (MExN): Kohima 111 runs losing all wickets in 19 overs with ShamCapitals, Eighties CC Wokha and Flamingos CC bu scoring highest 34 runs. Eighties CC bowler Dimapur today became the last three teams to Mharemo claimed 3 rival wicket. Chasing the book berth for the quarter finals of the 6th Silver target, Eighties CC achieved it in 14 overs losing Cup T20 Cricket Tournament organised by Ne- 4 wickets with Ezanthung scoring highest 58 runs pali Baptist Church Kohima Youth Department. and Renjanthung 28 runs. Shambu claimed two Playing the first match of the day, Kohima rival wickets for NBCK YD. Ezanthung received Capitals defeated United CC by 72 runs. Win- the man of the match. In the last pre-quarters, Flamingos CC Dining the toss, they set a target of 179 runs losing 7 wickets in complete 20 overs with Chin- mapur humiliated Friends CC by 10 wickets. Electing to bat glen contributing first, Friends CC highest 51 runs QUARTER FINALS FOR MARCH 21: scored 65 runs in and Pete 38 runs. 1. Bashers vs Eleven Weavers @ 7am United CC bowl- 2. Kohima Hornbills vs Sparks CC Dimapur @ 10am 16.5 overs with Zakir and Meak scorers Sepichem and 3. Eighties CC Wokha vs Bluestar Dimapur @ 1pm ing 14 and 13 runs. Heka claimed two rivals wickets each, but while chasing the tar- Chasing the minimal target, openers for Flaminget United CC managed to score 107 runs los- gos achieved it in 5.3 overs P. Thrinadha Rao and ing 8 wickets in 20 overs. Chinglen of Kohima Tejosel contributed 28 and 16 runs while 22 runs Capitals was adjudged the man of the match came through extras. Flamingos bowler Vicky Hanse was adjudged man of the match for claimfor his 3 wickets. In the second match, Eighties CC Wokha won ing four rival wickets. He also became the owner against NBCK YD by 6 wickets. Winning the toss, of Blue Cap of the tourney for becoming the highNBCK YD elected to bat first and set a target of est wicket taker so far with 8 wickets.
KYF conducts sports meet
DIMAPUR, MARCH 20 (MExN): The Keyake Youth Fellowship conducted its first Sports Meet from March 20 to 21 under the theme ‘Fellowship through Sports.’ The inaugural programme was graced by Pangloi Konyak, Personal Secretary to Minister RD & REPA, who in his speech encouraged the youth to forge ahead with strong conviction be it in the field of Sports, spiritual activities, studies etc.
Konyak also challenged the youths to take up sports as a profession and not just as a mere hobby and also wished that the 1st Sports meet of the Keyake Youth Fellowship will usher in greater responsibility to propagate a spirit of oneness and peace through sports. The 1st sports meet 2015 of Keyake Youth Fellowship witnessed five churches competing for the 1st coveted prizes.
The group formations are shown on an electronic panel after the drawing of the matches for the Champions League 2014/15 quarterfinals at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, March 20. (AP Photo)
NYoN (SWItzERLAND), MARCH 20 (AP): " Real Madrid will take on crosstown rival Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and that could be bad news for the 10-time winners. The defending champions, who were routed 4-0 by their local rivals last month, were drawn Friday to face Atletico in a rematch of last year's final. Also, 2013 champion Bayern Munich will face FC Porto, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will meet again after playing in the group stage this season, and the final match-up pits Juventus against Monaco. Madrid won its record 10th title in the continental competition last year with a 4-1 victory over Atletico, which has dominated their most recent match-ups. Atletico and Real Madrid will be facing each other for the seventh and eighth times this season, with Real Madrid yet to
register a win. Last month, Madrid was handed its biggest defeat in four years as it slumped to a 4-0 loss at Atletico in the Spanish capital derby. The first leg will be played at Atletico's ground on April 14, with the return game on April 22. "They're (Atletico) a side who know how to compete, they let in few goals, are good from dead balls and get the best out of each situation," said former Real Madrid player Emilio Butragueno, now a director of institutional relations at the club. "You never know if it's an advantage playing the second leg at home. We have to be at our best because we know exactly the difficulties that we're going to face." This year's final will take place at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on June 6. PSG will be without its main striker against Barcelona for the first leg at the Parc des Princes after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was
suspended for one game following his sending off against Chelsea in the previous round. PSG beat Barcelona 3-2 at home in the group stage but lost 3-1 at the Camp Nou. The teams also met in the quarterfinals two seasons ago, with Barcelona progressing on away goals. After reaching the quarterfinals for the 14th time, Bayern will be favored against an unexperienced Porto side, which beat the German giants in the 1987 European Cup final. "The draw is the draw. All teams have a special quality," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. "Porto have a great team and a beautiful stadium. They are very strong physically and attack with a lot of pace. In the quarterfinals you can't expect an easy match." Porto won the 2004 trophy under coach Jose Mourinho by defeating Monaco in the final. "The atmosphere in Porto is very heated," Bayern
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. "With these fans it won't be easy for us, but we have played in many different stadiums with varying atmospheres and we will know what to expect." Juventus, which made it to the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons, wanted to avoid Bayern. Its hopes were fulfilled with a relatively easy draw. "Juventus are among the biggest sides," said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim, whose side survived an Arsenal onslaught to progress on away goals. "They are the favorites. We're lucky to have the second leg at home. We'll try to make the most of this quarterfinal." Juventus will, however, be diminished against the Principality side, missing France midfielder Paul Pogba until early May after he picked up a thigh injury in the second leg of the 5-1 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund.
Nagaland heading for Opposition-less government Not healthy in democratic government
W
hen press people asked Chief Minister TR Zeliang as to when he would fill the vacant Cabinet posts in his Council of Ministers. “Any time after the Assembly,” he told the good-tempered journalists who still wanted to know about the Congress’ joining his Ministry. The suave Chief Minister gave his final nod approving the Congress’ joining the DAN government. “It will now be a party-less government in Nagaland,” he said. Everyone has been nervously watching at every move of TR and things now become crystal clear that the Congress will be a part of his DAN government in Nagaland. In fact, hours after winning the “Confidence Motion” with 59 Members in the House of sixty voting in favor it, TR,
while talking to the press at his official residence, only hinted that there would soon be “a party-less government” in Nagaland. CLP leader Tokheho Yepthomi has already stated that they would now join the DAN government in the state, and according to sources, at least two Cabinet posts will go to the Congress while the rest may be awarded with Parliamentary Secretary posts. The Congress has eight MLAs. The BJP, an important ally of the ruling DAN since its inception in 2003, has four MLAs. There are diametrical political ideologies between these two giant national political parties not only at the Center but also everywhere in the country. Dynamic Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads the current BJP-led NDA government at the Center while the Congress plays main Opposition. In fact, the Congress, which led the 10year old UPA government at the Center, suffered humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP in the last 16th Lok Sabha elections. They had even double humiliations as the strength of the Congress MPs did not qualify them
Christians are to practice the way of Christ
I
s anything impossible to be resolved in the way of Christ? Is election imbroglio in Nagaland impossible to be resolved in the way of Christ? There are cases that in election certain candidates spent amount of money to the term of 30/40 crores. With such economic burden the elected candidates will be serving as MLAs or Ministers within their tenure of office. If such extraordinary problem is allowed to be continued the future will be uncertain. Offering money or goods and accepting it during election is a matter of bribery. The candidates bribe the voters for their favour and the receipients have obligation. It is not a good practice but it is a bad thing which is mutually done by the candidates and the voters. Should we allow ourselves to continue to do bad thing? Righteousness is beautiful before God and before humankind too and it is the way of Christ. So give up nefarious practice and opt for righteous way in election. Let us be prepared to do anything in the way of Christ. The electorate should cast their righteous votes, holy votes and not stained votes. Every church congregation should take the responsibility to see that their church members behave the way of Christ. Every village should be aware of the importance of doing anything in the way of Christ. Rev. L. Suohie Mhasi
to have “Leader of the Opposition” tag in Parliament, though they still emerged as the largest Opposition party among the Opposition parties. The fundamental question arises is can the Congress and the BJP go together in the same boat in any state or for that matter in Nagaland. It is very unlikely but the case in Nagaland becomes rare. And when the press people asked TR as to how two political parties having history of bitter political rivalries in the country would allow their party MLAs to be part of the same government in Nagaland, his reply was more classic saying “National issues are different from local issues.” There should not be any problem having both the Congress and the BJP in his DAN government in Nagaland, he replied. We all have to remain fingercrossed and watch how TR is going to play his magic wand till such time formal induction of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries take place. In all likelihood, there will be some reactions after the induction ceremonies. It is also understood that TR has to fulfill whatever he had a deal with
Congress because the party’s (Congress) crucial role played at the time of “Confidence Motion” changed the entire political equation in the state. The survival theory as TR thought of by taking the support of the main Opposition Congress during his trial time might be politically correct but he cannot overlook the importance of BJP as they are currently at the helms at Delhi. After taking the Congress to his boat, Nagaland Chief Minister, who is also Minister in-charge of Finance, will not be that lively in re-pleading with the ruling Central BJP leaders to rescue the state from its financial quagmire. He, while presenting the Vote on Account on the Floor of Assembly on March 17, highlighted his passionate pleadings with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister on many occasions to rescue the state from its precarious financial position. So, his magic wand should be watched in what manner the Central BJP leaders will be convinced for taking the Congress into the ruling DAN fold. Bottom Line: Actually if there is party-less government in Nagaland, then it should
not be the problem. The problem is Opposition-less government which is not healthy in a democratic system of government. In the last SC Jamir Congress ministry in Nagaland, only one Independent MLA Mavil Khieya was acting all along as the “lone Opposition” in the House of Sixty. Numerically, a single opposition MLA in the House of Sixty sounds funny but Khieya not only kept the 60-Member House a goodhumor atmosphere but also could embarrass then Leader of the House Jamir and his Deputy Neiphiu Rio, who was Home Minister. Many legislators, media personnel, state officials and publics appreciated Khieya for his bold role as single Opposition Member in the 60-Member House. Had Khieya not been there as lone Opposition, we would have dormant government then in Nagaland. But in the present case where TR is going to run a new form of Opposition-less government will not healthy at all. Because, in a democratic form of government such as ours, the role of opposition is a must so that the welfare state does not suffer. In the
absence of Opposition, no government can function effectively. Yepthomi, CLP leader, without doubt, is the most vocal opposition face in the Assembly. He is well-versed with many areas of governmental and administrative loopholes. He did his homework well before coming to any Assembly Sessions. His suggestions on important issues during Assembly Sessions were always taken seriously and even majority Members in the Treasury Bench appreciated his in-depth knowledge in many areas concerning the state. His and other Congress MLAs’ joining the ruling DAN will be the beginning to end the charm of democracy till another real opposition emerges. Yes, many might have perceived that the legislators belonging to NPF (N) would act as Opposition in the Assembly. But in all likelihood, such thing may not happen because they had categorically stated on the Floor of the House minutes before voting in favor of “Confidence Motion” on February 5 that they would not go against their “own government.” Oken Jeet Sandham
5th March-Ugly Wakeup Call
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hen parents fail, children falter and fall. They get hurt, they hurt others. When ‘good ‘ people are too cozily comfortable in their comfort zones and too selfishly content being safe and comfortable, and doesn’t bother , ‘bad’ people rudely rocks everybody’s boat, to sink together. When elders and leaders in position and power mandated to lead, guide and deliver; delays/fails, common people are entrapped/engulfed by anger and frustration. Explosions of years of pent-up angers can be disastrous for all. It can be suicidal. In my experience of years of engaging with women and children who were/are victims of brutal rape and violence, I have seen on very rare occasions, jus-
tice delivered. And I have also seen far more frequent failures of law enforcement and criminal justice system to deliver speedy justice to the poor voiceless victims and punishment to criminals as per law. After all the hue and cry for a day/days by public, poor voiceless traumatized victims fade away from the memory of the public and the duty-bearers. Within no time, Criminals walk about again, free and without remorse/repentance to victimize the vulnerable once again. Such failures of systems in many ways have created loss of confidence in the systems that are there to protect, promote and deliver justice. Emboldened/ empowered by weak systems, crimes continue, criminals grow in number; innocents live in fear in their own homes, in their own streets. While Poor victims and
families live in constant fear and despair and wait, wait and wait for justice in agonizing pain for years together, in most occasions they never get to see the face of justice. This is the unacceptable, but compromised, unfair sad reality we live in today. Though the inhuman and insane mob violence of taking law into one’s own hand can never be justified by any sensible human, one cannot deny the fact that, among thousands there is genuine anger burning deep, whether out in the streets/elsewhere. Young bloods are boiling, watching and waiting. They are angry for many things, many reasons, not just this rape, not just this ‘rape accused’. They are angry at lot many people they are suppose to look up to; parents/ teachers/elders/leaders, many of whom have failed them time and
again, in so many ways, for too long. Many are disillusioned, losing hope, feeling cheated. A trigger point, a misguided push, is all it takes. All these, at times make a deadly combination of crazy numbing of human rationality and values of/for life. Common people are in desperate need to be assured, shown by prompt action that speedy justice is possible and available for every single law abiding citizen that goes knocking at the doors of law keepers and givers of justice. While condemning ( though we all know no amount of condemnation can ever bring back lost lives and damage done) the 5th March most unfortunate, unimaginable, and most brutal mob fury which killed,injured,damaged; is an ugly wakeup call to be heeded, to usher in reformations. These are the ugly signs of troubled times,
a killer monster of our very own creation. This, all of us duty bearers cannot afford to ignore. If we can accept with humility, repentance, wisdom and courage to own up responsibility for our failures/blunders with grace, perhaps there could be some saving grace. If the high and the mighty with the privilege and opportunity to do the greatest good, can feel the pulse, the heartbeat and heartburn of the common people, if their ears and minds can come down a little closer to the grassroots, surely better days are ahead. This small note is an expression of gravest concern of what has happened and what may happen again (God forbid, but the devil willing) in future with greater fury if the ills in society are not addressed at the earliest in all honesty and fairness by young and old. (K. Ela, a concern citizen)
Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.
Entertainment
The Morung Express
Saturday 21 March 2015
Dimapur
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Sinitta not surprised by Zayn Malik leaving tour
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Sinitta isn't surprised Zayn Malik had to take a break from the One Direction tour and believes the band's "non-stop" schedule is partly to blame.
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emaking k-dramas into American TV shows is getting to be a trend, although American viewers have yet to see any of the remade dramas in question. Will the stories that succeeded as k-dramas work in an American format? No one knows. But despite the lack of proven results, American producers keep watching k-dramas looking for the key to the success of Hallyu productions. “Gift’s Gift - 14 Days” is the latest k-drama that is up for an American remake. The time travel thriller starred Lee Bo Young as a mother who gets to travel 14 days back in time to save her child's life. The drama features plenty of
plot twists and turns as she struggles to prevent the tragedy from taking place. According to DramaFever, Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency recently finalized a deal with SBS to remake the drama. The original scriptwriter Choi Ran will reportedly work as an executive producer on the American version, but there is no word yet on whether the American version will have a limited number of episodes as the k-drama version did. CAA does have a great television track record, as the agency was responsible for the American television series, "Lost," "House" and "CSI." Before "God's Gift - 14
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The latest K-drama to go Hollywood
Days," the last k-drama to be signed up for an American remake was "You Who Came From The Stars," which costarred Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun. ABC TV describes the American version as an "epic supernatural love story about a world-famous pop star, Lark, and her anti-social neighbor, James,
who happens to be from another planet." Other k-dramas being adapted include the dramas "Nine: Nine Time Travels," starring Lee Jin Wook, "Good Doctor," which starred Joo Won," "Reply 1997" and the variety show "Grandpas Over Flowers.
initta isn't surprised Zayn Malik had to take a break from the One Direction tour. The 'Night Changes' hitmaker returned to the United Kingdom after being "signed off for stress" following media speculation about his personal life and Sinitta - who regularly appears on the talent show which founded the band - thinks the group's "nonstop" schedule is partly to blame. Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the London premiere of 'Cinderella', she said: "All I know is that the guys have worked nonstop, tirelessly since they left the show. You know, it's got to build up. "You see a lot of young artists go and do that. They go and go and go and go, and you've got
your youth and adrenaline to run on, sometimes you just need a break." Despite understanding the 22-yearold singer needs some time away from the touring commitments of the group, - which also features Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson - the 51-year-old singer believes the pop star should enjoy life more whilst he's young. She said: "I would strike while the iron is hot. You're not young very long. You're a long time old." When asked if she had a message for Zayn, she added: "We love you, Zayn - get well soon." Zayn has been at the centre of much media speculation recently after he was photographed partying with a female fan in Phuket, Thailand.
Zayn Malik takes a break from One Direction’s tour
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inger Zayn Malik has decided to take a break from his band One Direction’s tour following rumours that he cheated on Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards. Malik was accused of two-timing his girlfriend after he was spotted holding hands with a blonde girl outside Seduction club in Phuket, Thailand. He also posed for a picture with his hand around her waist inside the nightclub while he and his bandmates were in the country for the Asian leg of their On the Road Again roadshow, reported Ace Showbiz. “Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate. The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta,” a representative said. After finishing their Asian leg, One Direction will play in Johannesburg and Cape Town. It’s unclear if Malik will reunite with the band during their South African concerts.
Brooklyn Beckham proudly reveals his first fashion campaign
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rooklyn Beckham has flooded his Instagram account with the fruits of his first fashion campaign. The 16 year-old, who is the eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham, was signed up by Pol-
ish brand Reserved back in January to be the face of its sports-inspired menswear line, YFL. He now stars in a behind-the-scenes video on the Gdansk-based brand's website and models its
new-season baseball caps, sweatshirts and Tshirts. He joins fellow celebrity offspring Georgia May Jagger in modelling for the label. This dalliance in front of the camera isn't the
teenager's first, however. Last year he appeared on the cover of Man About Town magazine when he was just 15. We bet it's certainly more glamorous than his job at a coffee shop in West London,
where he works part-time at the weekends. Beckham Junior is following in the footsteps of both his parents in dabbling with modelling; father David has been the face of Armani underwear,
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Police sunglasses, Breitling and Belstaff to name just a few brands. Of course, his little brother Romeo has also made headlines with two campaigns for Burberry already under his 12-year-old belt.
Emmy Rossum Avoiding New Dolce and Gabbana clarify anti-IVF remarks Neighbour Justin BieBer
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he Shameless actress was hoping to offer the Baby singer a friendly welcome to the neighbourhood after learning he had moved in next door, but she quickly realised she won't be hanging out with the pop star anytime soon. In an interview with U.S. DJ Sway on Tuesday (17Mar15), she said, "Justin Bieber just moved into the house next door to me. He's my new next door neighbour. I went over to kind of offer him a neighbourly hello, and I'm not going to do that again, because he has, like, a ton of bodyguards there, and they're really scary." She didn't even get to exchange pleasantries with Bieber, who was pulling up to his house as she knocked on
the door. She added, "He didn't wave (to me), but I saw him. He pulled up in his Bentley and just went inside. He was actually rapping (Jay Z and Kanye West's N**gas In Paris) as he got out of the car."It was so surreal to me, that I was like, 'I'm not going to go ask for a cup of sugar over there'." And when the DJ asked Rossum if she'd like to get invited to one of Bieber's upcoming house parties, the actress said, "I don't think he's going to invite me. I think I'm too old for his demo (demographic). I'm 28. I think he wants young girls. And I'm not single, but I don't think Bieber cares if a girl has a boyfriend. I don’t think that’s a prerequisite for partying with
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talian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who were panned by celebrities for their controversial comments against in-vitro fertilisation, have defended their remarks, saying it was a "private point of view". Dolce had called children conceived by same-sex parents via IVF "synthetic", while Gabbana had said, "The family is not a fad. In it there is a super-
Bieber." Rossum's revelation comes as Bieber's former Calabasas, California neighbour, whose house he pelted with eggs, slapped the pop star with a lawsuit, claiming his bad boy antics caused him emotional distress.
natural sense of belonging." Celebrities urged a boycott of Dolce & Gabbana products in response to their comments. The designers, who were a couple for 20 years, have now clarified their stand in an interview with CNN. "I respect you because you choose what you want. I respect me because I choose what I want... This just my point of private view," Dolce said. The two appeared to
disagree over IVF with Gabbana seeming more open to the idea while Dolce explained that his Sicilian background ingrained in him a belief in the strong, traditional family. The duo's comments to an Italian magazine sparked controversy with stars like Elton John, Ryan Murphy and Madonna criticising him. John and Murphy even called for a boycott of the brand.
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I am a survivor of sexual assault, rape and incest, tweets Ashley Judd
indian textile day at LFW sees innovative use of traditional fabric
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he Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) dedicates a day to Indian textiles in every outing and the second day of the summer-resort edition 2015 on Thursday saw felicitation of designers promoting their use and a pitch for greater use by corporates and youth. The day started with prominent designers Raghavendra Rathore, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Anita Dongre being lauded by Textile Commissioner Sajay Kumar Panda for their continuous contribution to promote Indian textile and handloom, as well as discussions on how they can be popularised as a new style statement among fashion-conscious youth. Mukherjee, one of most influential names in the world of fashion, appealed to all corporates in India to set aside a day for Indian wear. He said it would be great if Indian youth could wear textiles and make a revolution. The felicitation ceremony was followed by the first show of the day by young designers Ujjawal Dubey, Divya Seth, Mayank Anand and Shraddha Nigam. With two timeless fabrics as their base, Mayank and Shraddha presented their "Chauraha" collection at the ongoing edition at Hotel Palladium here. The duo used fabrics like Dhonekali from West Bengal that is normally found in the pallav. They also showcased a modern interpretation of the gamcha, an unstitched fabric or garment mostly used in north India in the summers to
protect the wearer from heat and dust. The designing duo used them in a colour palette of black, white and red checked pattern along with hand woven cotton that created a fashionable stir on the runway as the models glided down. From interesting draped tunics and dresses to cowl pants and striking tops, the collection made optimum use of these two very humble textiles. Divya Seth gave eco-organic fabrics a deluxe royal touch through her line "Sultana on Safari". Aimed at the jet-setting global traveller who believes in sustainable fashion, the designer kept her fabric choice pure handspun and woven Khadi, organic silk and silk chiffon, which were given an innovative touch with traditional reinvented Kalamkari and Ajrakh in natural dyes. Ujjawal's 'Antar-Agni' label offered men's and women's wear collection. The designer opted for handwoven khadi, linen net, linen satin blends, cotton linen and added faux leather and organza for accents on clothes. Detailing gave the men's wear a new age feel as wide salwars, one-button collarless jackets, long knee length Sherwani, and cross-over kurta revealed some comfortable options. The women's wear looks started with a relaxed panelled anarkali with an organza inset at the sides, moved to a cross-over top worn with slashed and layered pants, a cowl draped toga top and a very innovative pant-skirt.
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ollywood actress Ashley Judd has opened up about her own experience with rape in a powerful essay published on Mic.com amid her current fight against Internet trolls. Judd, 46, decided to speak out about gender violence after receiving vulgar comments in response to a March Madness tweet she wrote earlier this week. She later said that she would be pressing charges, reported Us magazine. What happened to me is the devastating social norm experienced by millions of girls and women on the Internet. Online harassers use the slightest excuse (or no excuse at all) to dismember our personhood,” she wrote.
“My tweet was simply the convenient delivery system for a rage toward women that lurks perpetually. I know this experience is universal, though I’ll describe specifically what happened to me.” In the essay, titled “Forget Your Team: Your Online Violence Toward Girls and Women Is What Can Kiss My Ass,” the University of Kentucky fan explained that her tweet about the Arkansas Razorbacks “playing dirty” turned into tweeters name calling her. Others went as far as threatening rape. Judd then recalled her own past, and explained why she won’t stand by the abuse any longer — and neither should anyone else.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault, rape and incest. I am greatly blessed that in 2006, other thriving survivors introduced me to recovery. I seized it. My own willingness, partnered with a simple kit of tools, has empowered me to take the essential odyssey from undefended and vulnerable victim to empowered survivor,” Judd wrote. “Today, nine years into my recovery, I can go farther and say my ‘story’ is not ‘my story.’ It is something a Higher Power (spirituality, for me, has been vital in this healing) uses to allow me the grace and privilege of helping others who are still hurting, and perhaps to offer a piece of education, awareness and action to our world.”
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It's India vs Australia in 2nd semi-final! Australia beats Pakistan by 6 wickets Kohli is a big occasion player, says MS Dhoni
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SYDNEY, MARCH 20 if it was a case of poor shot the Test series in Australia. "Not that he has got (PTI): It has been a lull after selection rather than good storm for Virat Kohli in the bowling from the opposi- century every time when tion, Dhoni didn't agree. he has gone out to bat but Australia's Shane Watson, left, celebrates with teammate Glenn Maxwell after they defeated Pakistan by six wickets in their Cricket World Cup quarterfinal ongoing ICC World Cup but "I don't think poor shot maybe we are relating to his skipper Mahendra Singh match in Adelaide, Australia, Friday, March 20. (AP Photo) Dhoni stood firmly behind selection is the case. He is the Test series, and expect ADELAIDE, MARCH his deputy expressing con- a dominant batsman, he that he scores a hundred 20 (AP): Shane Watson fidence that he will come loves playing his strokes. I in each time he is out there made the most of an early good on a big day as he is a don't think he has batted in the middle," the skipper reprieve to guide Austrabadly at all," skipper bat- wants to put an end to this "big occasion player". dampen their chances ADELAIDE, MARCH lia to a six-wicket win over ted for Kohli during post- unnecessary expectations. Kohli, who had four against India, Clarke said 20 (IANS): After beating Pakistan with an unbeaten match press conference For Dhoni, he is happy that Test hundreds in fourhe hopes it will not but asPakistan quite convinc64 in the Cricket World Cup match Test series scored a after the quarterfinal win Kohli is "focussed on the serted he is satisfied with ingly in a cricket World quarterfinals on Friday. process". "He is concenhundred in the Cup opener over Bangladesh. the spinning armoury at Cup quarter-final at the Pakistan won the toss "In fact Dhoni feels that trating on process. And he against Pakistan but since his disposal. Adelaide Oval here on and batted but was all out it is unfair to expect Kohli is a big occasion player and then have had scores of 46, “I hope not. I think -Friday, Australia skipfor 213 in the 50th over, fire every time he goes out would fire on a big day," the 33 no, 33, 44 no, 38 and 3 in we obviously didn't pick per Michael Clarke said with recalled paceman to bat just like he did during skipper added. the next six games. Asked Xavier Doherty today, but they need to assess the Josh Hazlewood taking he's been a really good 4-35 for Australia. strengths and weaknesses spinner for the AustraThe Australians lost of India whom they face in opener Aaron Finch (2) lian team over the last few the semi-final of the tourwith the total on 15 and years. So if the wicket does nament. withstood a torrid spell spin, I think the selectors Australia will lock from Wahab Riaz (2-54) have that option," he said. horns against the defendin the middle of the chase. “Obviously we have dent from his body language and his coning champions at the Syd- they were throughout to overcome them come Riaz was unlucky to have stant interaction with the players. It is his Glenn Maxwell, who ney Cricket Ground (SCG) the start of the summer. Thursday. two catches put down, esconfidence in the players' ability which is on March 26. “They've spent so bowled tonight and And I said that leading pecially Watson on 4. At helping them perform to their full potential “I think obviously In- into the World Cup, that much time in Australia, picked up a couple of that point, Australia was and this is what gives them the belief to go dia are a completely dif- I thought India were go- they know the conditions wickets. Hopefully I can 83-3, Riaz was firing at 150 all the way and retain the cup," added Kapil ferent opposition to Paki- ing to be extremely tough quite well. The game on bowl a few overs, and kph, and the allrounder on Dhoni's new approach to motivate his we've got Steve Smith as stan. They have different team to beat." The skip- Thursday is going to cerwas shaky. boys. Dhoni, who achieved the unbelievwell," he added. strengths. Also different tainly be a challenge, and per also looked wary of able feat of leading India to 100 ODI wins Meanwhile, Steve "We've got spinning weaknesses as well. So the fact that the Indians we -- I say it all the time, as captain, surpassed Hansie Cronje's wins Smith was batting serenewe need to assess them," now were accustomed to but we're definitely going options, but we'll wait and of 99 as South African skipper. He is only bely, proving to be the rock Clarke said at the post- the conditions in Austra- to have to be at our best to see what the pitch is like. hind Australian greats Ricky Ponting (165) Australia needed. Watson match media conference. lia after being here for over beat them.” Asked if going However,I am extremely and Allan Border (107) as 'Captain Cool' weathered Riaz and forged "They're obviously four months and it would into the semi-finals with- satisfied with the options gears up for his fourth ICC title. Dhoni is an 89-run fourth-wicket playing a lot better than certainly be a challenge out quality spinners can I have,” concluded Clarke. also the only captain to win all three ICC stand with Smith (65), and tournaments - World T20 (2007), World an unbeaten 68-run stand Cup (2011) and Champions Trophy (2013). mistiming a bouncer and well's miscued, thick top Shehzad (4). with Glenn Maxwell (44 not ally tested us out." Pakistan captain Mis- fending to short-leg in the edge was dropped by SoMisbah had a let-off NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 (PTI): Laud- Kapil was quick to highlight Sourav Ganguout), who was also dropped early in his innings off Riaz. bah-ul-Haq said batting let 11th. He then greeted Wat- hail Khan running in from before he'd scored when a ing Mahendra Singh Dhoni's brave leader- ly's contribution to Indian cricket and said delivery from Hazlewood ship, cricket legend Kapil Dev feels it is the that Dhoni has carried forward the mettle. Watson hit the winning his team down again, as it son with perfectly directed third man. "The current players in the team have From then on, it was all brushed his thigh pad and Indian captain's confidence in his players' runs with a boundary in the did in the opening two loss- short-pitch deliveries and ability that makes them believe they can performed exceptionally overseas. Full 34th over, taking the Austra- es in the pool stage against glares. He was desperate- Australia. Watson hit seven grazed his leg stump, mak- retain the World Cup. credit goes to Sourav Ganguly who made ly unlucky not to get his boundaries and a six in his ing the bail flash without lian total to 216-4 and en- India and West Indies. India, who are undefeated in the tour- the country believe that team India can "We're obviously disap- wicket in the 17th, when 66-ball knock, his second dislodging it. suring a semifinal against nament so far have won 11 straight games He shared a 73-run over two editions of the 50-over showpiece perform well overseas. Sourav had turned defending champion India pointed, Australia bowled Watson hooked to Rahat half century since a recall team India's fortune in the overseas games in Sydney next week. "Ex- really well," he said. "At one Ali, who put down a regu- after he was dropped for partnership with Haris So- event, decimated Bangladesh in the quar- and Dhoni has led his team well to carry tremely happy, a close game stage, 270 or 280 was pretty lation chance at deep fine against Afghanistan, and hail (41) for the third wick- terfinals to storm into the last-four stage. on from where Sourav left," added Kapil. in the end — the way Shane much on, but we kept los- leg at 83-3. It was a genu- Maxwell clobbered five et. But just as confidence Kapil, who led India to their first World Much to everybody's surprise, India ine game-changer, with fours and two sixes in his was growing, Misbah at- Cup triumph in 1983, credits Dhoni for turned around their fortunes in the quaWatson hung in there was ing wickets." Riaz's bowling was the Watson and Smith surviv- 29-ball innings. tacked part-time spinner the clinical show. "This Indian side is truly drennial extravaganza after a below par fantastic," Australia captain Hazlewood justified his Maxwell (2-43) and was Dhoni's team, he is a leader in the actual showing in the Test series against Australia Michael Clarke said. "That's highlight of the game for ing the next few overs, and pressure of the finals. You're 1992 champion Pakistan. steering Australia back on recall with a four-wicket caught on the boundary. sense of the word. Most of the boys have and the tri-series that followed. Kapil laudburst. Misbah's decision to Five of the Pakistan played under him for some time now and ed the selectors for backing a young side under the pressure all the Misbah vowed his attack, course for the win. Smith's assured 69-ball bat backfired as Pakistan batsmen got decent starts seem to have a real connection with the in testing conditions in Australia and New time, whether with the bat, without the injured Moin the field, or with the ball." hammad Irfan, wouldn't knock ended when he was slumped to 24-2 in the sixth but didn't go on with it, skipper," Kapil Dev said. Zealand. "The selectors have a magnificent Clarke praised Riaz, be intimidated by the Aus- adjudged lbw to Ehsan Adil over, with Mitchell Starc re- with Sohail leading the India have also managed to bowl out job this time, they have shown full trust on tralian batsmen, and would at 148-4 in the 27th. moving in-form opener run-scorers with 41 from 57 all their oppositions in the seven matches Dhoni's leadership skills and handed him a who bowled with venom. The reintroduction of Sarfraz Ahmed (10) in the balls before he was caught gone by as the bowling unit led by Mo- team full of young blood to perform against "You catch Watto at fine match aggression with agleg, it could have been a lot gression. Riaz removed Da- Riaz to the attack should fifth over, and Hazlewood behind off Mitchell John- hammed Shami has looked potent. Kapil the world's best. It will be interesting to see tighter," Clarke said. "Wa- vid Warner (24) in the ninth have yielded an immedi- taking his first wicket in the son in the 27th to make the said that Dhoni is an excellent leader. how team India performs in this crucial "Dhoni's hold on the team is very evi- stage of the tournament," he said. hab bowled really well. Re- over, and had Clarke (8) out ate breakthrough but Max- next over to dismiss Ahmed score 112-4.
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We need to assess India's strengths, weaknesses: Clarke
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Dhoni's brave captaincy key to India's success: Kapil Dev
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United is my last job in football, says Van Gaal C M Y K
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LONDON, MARCH 20 (REUTERS): Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will retire from football when he leaves his job at Old Trafford, he was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph on Thursday. “This is my last job. For sure," he said in an interview published on the newspaper's website (www.telegraph.co.uk). "I have to pay attention to my kids, my grandchildren but also to my wife. They deserve it. Now I cannot pay that attention." The 63-year-old Dutchman, whose United contract runs until 2017, has managed some of the world's top teams including Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, and guided the Netherlands to the World Cup semifinals in Brazil. “It is an honour and a challenge to be coach of United
because I was trainer-coach of No. 1 (team) in the Netherlands, No. 1 in Spain and No. 1 in Germany," he said. "I had a choice to be manager of different clubs (like Tottenham Hotspur). I have chosen the No 1. I am very proud. I don’t think there are many other coaches who can say that." Van Gaal, who won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, said he had always set out goals. "Everything that I’ve reached I’ve set in advance -that I go to the Premier League for example," he added. "I said it a year before (the World Cup) to my federation, and everybody was ‘aghhh, it is not possible’. I said: ‘I go after the championships’. One experience in the world championship is, for me, enough.” At United his ambition is to
build a team capable of winning the Champions League and Premier League. “That’s our goal, yes, and it depends on how we end this season," he said. "We have to qualify for the Champions League and we have many tests next year. That also develops the level of your team, and of course how many players can come in to improve our selection.” Once Van Gaal has finished with the rebuilding job at United he plans to retire to the Algarve with his second wife Truus, who he said had wanted him to quit for the last five years. "I have a paradise in Portugal. I want to quit to go there, play golf, eat fantastic food. There are very good wines in Portugal. There is the beach, the very beautiful weather."
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