March 9th, 2016

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

wednesdAY • MArch 09 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 66 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so

P o W e R

PAGE 02

T R u T H

— Aristotle

Female farmers in 90 nations face discriminatory land laws

Idea launches 4G in Dimapur

o F

Sharapova fails drug test, Nike suspends ties

PAGe 09

PAGE 12

Bringing women together Can Nagas break new ground?

Towards gender parity by 2030 Morung Express News Chizami | March 8

As the world moves to end gender disparity by 2030, women in Phek district of Nagaland State are already closing the gender gap.

Women leaders from Chizami, Enhulumi, Sumi, Lasumi, Losami and Zapami villages were honoured today at the International Women’s Day program hosted by the North East Network (NEN) at its Resource Centre in Chizami for their contribution to bringing women into decision making bodies and achieve gender parity in wages. These women have managed to make women’s voices heard in their village councils, and made sure that men and women are paid at par with each other for labour.

With the theme ‘Planet 50-50: Stepping Up for Gender Equality,’ the NEN Nagaland chapter brought together women from Meghalaya, Manipur, Telangana, Assam, Dimapur and Kohima to Phek district’s Chizami village, making it a significant and relevant platform to honour women leaders from neighbouring villages. It has been a decade since they have been providing this platform as solidarity towards the women’s movement for justice.

Acknowledging the “struggles of our mothers and grandmothers,” NEN’s Seno Tsuhah noted that gender parity can be achieved through women supporting and encouraging each other, but also through sup-

1.40 lakh govt employees in Nagaland Our Correspondent Kohima | March 8

Nagaland Home Commissioner, Neihu C Thur today said the state has 1.40 lakh government employees and consume about 70% of the nonrevenue resource of the state. Speaking at the 49th parting social of Kohima College here today, he said that the large number of government employees is a result of the lack of private industries in the state. Thur urged that time has come for people to think: “My land, my state, my people” and make a difference. Further, he encouraged the students to become pathfinders and contribute to the economy of the state.

Police constable run over Our Correspondent Kohima | March 8

C M Y K

In a tragic accident, a police constable of Kohima DEF posted at Peducha Check Gate was run-over by a speeding truck this morning. The victim was on duty by the road side when the truck going towards Dimapur ran over him, leaving the constable dead. The vehicle was reportedly over-speeding within the 150 meters security zone of the Check Gate. It was further informed that the driver of the truck has been arrested and the truck seized.

Women leaders from various villages in Phek were honoured for bringing women into decision making bodies and achieving gender parity in wages at the International Women’s Day program observed at the North East Network Resource Centre at Chizami village on March 8.

port from the community, government and churches.

Gender equality cannot be achieved through a “protectionist approach” but one that bases itself on diversity, social justice and human rights—that “every individual, every woman, while upholding community values, has the capability and she can live this to the full potential through meaningful spaces in the political, social and economic spheres,” she observed.

“What do we need to do in each of our spaces to take women forward?” Seno asked the woman and men gathered at the Resource Centre.

Gender inequality begins at home and must end there, said Guest of Honour, Lithrongla G. Chishi, IAS, Director, ATI, Government of Nagaland, thus responding to Seno. The attitude that men should not wash, cook or clean at home, reserving these jobs for women instead, is not imported from

outside. “Stop defining gender roles at homes, society, churches or the State in Nagaland,” asserted the Director, also calling for ending the silence in each of these institutions against gender and domestic violence.

“When we don’t speak out and stigmatise domestic violence, we set an example for our children to continue the culture,” she aptly noted.

Advocating women’s active participation in policy making from the village upwards, the woman who handles three departments for the Nagaland State Government said that “Women’s voices are required to make compact policies.”

She hoped that the North East of the sub-continent will become the first to establish the “50-50 gender parity” and set the precedent for the South Asian region in achieving a “harmonious and developed” society.

Today’s programme also saw the release, and

screening, of the film ‘Biodiversity & Livelihoods: through the lens of Chakhesang Women Farmers.’ The film, released by President of Chakhesang Public Organisation, Kekhwengulo Leah, is a collection of five short films documented by 13 women farmers from various villages trained in video documentation by the NEN. “It is an attempt to document women’s oral stories from their land, by them; an attempt to have women’s voices heard, of their contribution to the lives and livelihoods of communities,” informed NEN’s Wekowe-ü Tsuhah.

The CPO President informed, meanwhile, that they are planning a Chakhesang women leader’s summit soon. A solidarity message was shared by the Village Council Chairperson of Chizami village, Kewepelo Tsuhah, who even offered to give up his chair to a woman, if found capable.

Morung Express News Dimapur | March 8

While the environment in Nagaland today is ready for women to directly participate in policymaking, are they willing to break ground to make this difference? asked retired Chief Secretary, Banuo Z Jamir today.

“Are women truly and sincerely honest when we say that we want women legislators, lawmakers and policy makers?” she questioned, while speaking on International Women’s Day Celebration at Elim Hall, DABA, Dimapur today.

Under the theme ‘Pledge for Parity,’ the event was organised by Miqlat Ministry & Sisterhood Network in collaboration with NACWR, NSLSA & NSCW. Seven other panelists looked at the theme from other perspectives.

While men have broken into professions which were generally associated with women – like the culinary and fashion industries, Banuo noted that there is still resistance to women breaking into the one bastion still regarded as a male domain — electoral politics.

She opined that one reason could be because most women do not have access to the vast financial resources required to delve into this domain.

“Are we ready to pool in our resources and support these possible representatives and can we set pass our tendency to be critical of each other and join hands to support women candidate?” she posed.

She lamented that while male candidates, regardless of behavior or acumen, receive support, women are placed under constant scrutiny and judged from day one. “Unless we support women ourselves and change our mindset, the idea of giving special reservation will only perpetuate dependency,” she argued.

Banuo, however, stressed that women are required as legislators, law makers, policy makers. There are many issues, she said, which are not understood by men. “Not because

they ignore the issues intentionally - they do not understand, because they are not women.”

As an example, she recalled how the women’s toilet in a State Directorate was designed in the same way as the men’s toilet. “Everyone travelling between Kohima and Dimapur would have seen the lovely bamboo toilet for women - very well intended but definitely designed by a man.”

She further discouraged the tendency to look at history through a male point of view. Once women in history can stand alongside men, the picture looks very different, she stated, while urging that the contributions of women to Naga History be focused on.

Banuo also called for redefining the role of women, by not just empowering them but by appreciating and valuing roles which are traditionally considered to be that of women. She argued against looking at culture as a static entity. Culture she stated is what we pass on and redefined by future generations, thereby making it dynamic.

Banou further termed it “unfair to put the burden of the inequalities that we perceive today amongst men and women on the argument that men kept women under suppression and did not allow them to develop.”

She deemed it necessary to also consider the impact of the same knowledge and exposure on men as well.

“Just as women are going through the transition of empowerment; men too are being forced to go through changes - almost like a disempowerment because their role of protector has been to be re-defined,” she said, while urging against generalizations.

She however lamented that empowerment is often perceived as an aggressive encroachment into the male preserve. She urged women to show through “our conduct and achievements” that empowerment of women would mean equal partnership towards a stronger and more vibrant society.

NBCC Women Secretary, Visasieu Dolie meanwhile argued: “If we

are equal in the eyes of God, why not in the eyes of man?” She further questioned whether the role of women in reailty is given equal status and dignity.

However, she also put forth the biblical view that men and women are “created distinct from each other.”

“Any philosophy that denies or overlooks differences of a man and woman is blurring the parity debate in true sense,” she stated.

While Mayang Lima, District and Session Judge, Chairman MDLSA, Mon highlighted the legal avenues available for women; Edward N Bass, a teacher cautioned against discrimination becoming a norm. “Parity in society starts with yourself, family and society”, he said.

Shikuto Zalipu, General Secretary, GB Federation Nagaland claimed there are clear classifications regarding the role of women and men since time immemorial, and said any change should be discussed holistically at the grassroots level.

Hukheli Wotsa, President Women Hoho Dimapur said that without creating the necessary platform through legislative mechanism, change cannot be brought. She further stressed on the role of women as peace-builders over the ages.

Dr Sanjoy Barbora Associate Professor Tata Institutue of Social Sciences, Guwahati said: “We live in an unequal society or home reinforced through our institution we hold sacred or through tradition.” He encouraged confronting these issues through solidarity and changes in perception.

Dr. Asangba Tzüdir, Editor of Heritage Publishing House meanwhile called for interrogating and dismantling the male centric discourses, legitimated by oral traditions that have institutionalized patriarchy. Oral traditions and Naga worldviews need to be countered starting from the family, he said. Naga women, he argued should create their own spaces beyond the bounds of patriarchy, providing a new outlook and identity to the ‘new Naga woman’.

Nagaland, Mizoram have kept women away from legislatures ‘If township is upgraded, then

New Delhi, MArch 8 (iANS): Though socially advanced with high literacy rates, the northeastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram have an unenviable record of women’s representation in their legislatures, people in the know said on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. A full-fledged state since 1963, Nagaland has yet to elect a woman to its legislative assembly. Mizoram got statehood in 1986, but has since elected only two women to its legislature.

“We Nagas are known for our progressive approach. As a society we have a high literacy rate and English education. Yet, the socio-political fabric favours men over women -- to the extent that we are still waiting for our first female legislator,” Thomas Ngullie, an independent MLA and a former state information minister, told IANS. “The scenario must change, but we are not sure when it will. On the International Women’s Day, we must reflect on this,” said Rose Merry, a Di-

mapur-based educationist.

Mizoram has a better record, but only marginally. With 91.33 percent literacy as per 2011 Census, the state’s only female minister so far has been Lalhlimpui, who was elected to the assembly in 1987 and became a member of the cabinet of Chief Minister Laldenga, a former rebel leader.

Since Lalhlimpui, there was a 27year drought -- broken in 2014 when 35-year-old C. Lalawmpuii won the Hrangturzo assembly by-election as a Congress nominee.

One needs to mention though that Mizoram had got its first female lawmaker in 1984 when it was still a Union Territory. The lady who made it first to the legislature was K. Thansiami, who was elected on a Mizoram People’s Conference ticket.

Aizawl-based social worker R. Remruata said, “The social opposition to women getting an upper hand is so vocal that in 2011 the Congress-ruled Mizoram government had opposed the

Food Security Bill that sought to make woman the head of the family in the ration cards.” Both Mizoram and Nagaland are also perceived to have “male chauvanistic” life styles, he said.

Nagas had by and large opposed the 33 per cent reservation for women in state legislatures in the 1990s when the demand for the quota bill was at its peak.

The Naga Students’ Federation had written to the parliamentary select committee chairperson Geeta Mukherjee, saying the bill went against Naga tradition.

The Nagaland assembly had in 1997 passed a unanimous resolution moved by the then parliamentary affairs minister Zhove Lohe opposing the women’s quota bill.

In the 1970s, however, after the Emergency, Rano Shaiza was elected as united opposition’s lone Lok Sabha member from Nagaland, riding mostly on the anti-Indira Gandhi sentiment. Shaiza, who died last year, continues to hold the record of Nagaland’s first and only woman MP.

Still no Math teacher at GHS Diphupar Morung express News Dimapur | March 8

Students of Government High School, Diphupar, Dimapur took to the streets today highlighting the lack of a Mathematics teacher at the school. The protest march, initiated by the Diphupar Naga Students’ Union (DNSU), proceeded to the District Education Office, where the students met the Deputy District Education Officer.

According to the DNSU, the school has been running without Mathematics teachers since September 2015. The DDEO, while admitting the “embarrassing situation” assured the students to find a way out of the crisis at the earliest. Stating that there is an imbalance in the teacher-student ratio in government schools, the DDEO said that while some schools have teachers more than the required number, some are facing acute shortage of teachers. This, the DDEO said has been a failure on the part of the department.

Students of GHS Diphupar march in protest on March 8. The school has been running without a Math teacher since September 2015.

The DNSU was however unconvinced of the assurance, stating that assurances given by the department has rarely translated into action.

As a stop-gap measure, the DDEO informed that a Mathematics teacher from GHSS, Dimapur will be placed at GHS, Diphupar with immediate

effect as direct by the Directorate of School Education. The replacement will teach at GHS Diphupar till the department appoints a fulltime subject teacher hopefully by March end.

Meanwhile, the DNSU asserted that it will resume agitation if the department fails on its assurance.

dist will automatically come’ Morung Express News Shamator | March 8

Nagaland State Chief Minister, TR Zeliang, today gave a new lease of hope to the aspiration of the Yimchungrü tribe for a separate district headquarters.

The Chief Minister said the Nagaland state government was giving serious thought to the demand of the Yimchungrü people for creation of a separate district headquarters for the Yimchungrü people.

Zeliang was addressing a public reception after formally inaugurating the Shamator Town Council here at public ground, Shamator town, the administrative headquarters (ADC) of the Yimchungrüs.

Zeliang said the inauguration of Shamator Town Council is the first step towards attainment of district status and said with gradual build up of infrastructure and development, the aspiration for a separate district would be fulfilled.

“If township is upgraded, then district will automatically come. The key is in your hand”, he said and added that the public too must contribute if they want development.

Underscoring the need to maintain Naga unity and brotherhood, the CM said Naga Hills in Tuensang Area being the pioneer district in Naga history, the various tribes inhabiting the district should lead the Nagas to unite for a common cause.

“For peaceful resolution of the six and half decade old Naga political issue, the most important thing is to maintain Naga brotherhood and unity. If we do not have Naga brotherhood and unity, the Nagas will never be strong. We will also not be respected and taken seriously by other people”, Zeliang said. He also said it is high time for all Naga political groups to unite for the common Naga cause and learn to speak in one voice, as one people. “Many people now believe that our disunity is the main stumbling block to Naga political solution”, he said.

The chief minister also said of late, the state has witnessed flare up of tribal conflicts within the Naga family, especially in Tuensang and Kiphire districts. Zeliang said such conflicts would not only undermine the Naga political cause and unity but also cause serious setbacks to the economic development

Nagaland State Chief Minister, TR Zeliang; Minister for RD & REPA, CL John; Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs, Economics & Statistics, R Tohanba and others during the inauguration of Shamator Town Council at Shamator town on Tuesday.

of the ‘backward’ Eastern region. “It will also cause hardships to our children, especially to the school going children.

Ultimately, it will affect your future. I appeal to all tribes in Nagaland, particularly the tribes in Tuensang and Kiphire to maintain peace and harmony”, he said.

Earlier, the CM inaugurated the new ADC Shamator office complex. Guest of honour, minister for Rural Development & REPA, CL John, in his address also stressed on the need to maintain inter-tribal harmony among various Naga tribes, especially the Eastern Nagas.

Alluding to the recent violence in Tuensang and Kiphire districts, the Minister said further division within the family would only weaken the Eastern Nagas.

He said even the Konyaks speak 55 different dialects, yet they collectively go by the tribe name of Konyak.

John also said in the present context of Naga society with constant conflicts, the slogan “Nagaland for Christ” has become “Nagaland for Crisis.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs, Economics & Statistics, R Tohanba meanwhile thanked the CM for the latter’s concern for development of the Eastern districts. Tohanba in his address also appealed the various Eastern Naga tribes to learn the art of living together.

The Yimchungrü Tribal Council (YTC) submitted a memorandum to the CM at the event reiterating the aspiration of the Yimchungrü people for a separate district.

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wednesdAY 09•03•2016

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Idea launches 4G in Dimapur X CHANGE North East Youth NGO summit in Dimapur Morung News

Dimapur | March 8

Ranked no. 1 in customer satisfaction in the North East for the past six quarters consecutively among all operators in the region, Idea Cellular on Monday launched its 4G services in Dimapur, the first in northeast.

The 4G launching in Dimapur would soon be followed by other major towns of Kohima, Imphal, Tura and Senapati in March. Mokokchung would also be covered by May this year.

With the launch of 4G in NE, Idea has expanded its services to nine telecom service areas. Idea 4G LTE services currently covers over 300 towns in the country and

by June, 750 towns across 10 telecom circles would be covered.

During the programme, P. Lakshminarayana, COO – Corporate, Idea Cellular; Anish Roy, COO –East Service Area and Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Officer highlighted on the services of Idea Cellular.

Lakshminarayana said, “Since the last week of December 2015, Idea has rapidly rolled out its high-speed 4G LTE network to cover 9 major markets in India.”

According to a handout, Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular stated, “Idea customers with 4G devices can

Idea Cellular officials launching 4G service in Dimapur on Monday. (Morung Photo)

now start experiencing superfast speeds by simply upgrading their existing SIM cards to new 4G SIM cards.”

Idea has announced complimentary 4G SIM card upgrade with attractive 4G data tariffs starting as low as Rs 46. Idea has also

announced ‘ultimate plans’ which provides ‘Bundle of 4G data, unlimited voice calls and content subscription.’

With over 170 million subscribers, Idea is India’s 3rd largest national mobile operator.

Dimapur, march 8 (mExN): X CHANGE North East Youth NGO summit organised by CAN Youth, a Youth led Registered NGO based in Dimapur, Nagaland will be held in Dimapur from the March 15 to 17.

CAN Youth is organising the summit for the first time for NGOs that are run by the young people of North Eastern Region. This platform will create a youth movement by connecting the youths across Northeast to identify leadership within them, as an important component for sustainable development and long-term goals. A number of political leaders, engaging thinkers, intellectual, human rights leaders, social activist and youth icons of Northeast will be present.

CAN Youth Founder & Chief Functionary Jenpu Rongmei and Core Team Member Levi V Sumi in a press release said that the purpose of this summit is to create a forum for young NGO leaders to discuss current challenges in the society. It will strengthen the network and promote the emerging excellence NGOs and introduce the channel of recognition, platform to redress long – standing grand challenges of society among NGOs in North East. Strategies and

practices will be shared by experts from around the region and other states of India. Guaranteeing to the participants and delegates a learning experience.

Also keeping all Youth led/focused NGOs under the spectrum of unison, this summit offers a platform to the delegates to disseminate with topics concerning our region’s current issues.

The Summit will feature NGO presentation by founder/speaker of respective NGOs, plenary session by renowned figure and grassroots experts on community and public institution, motivational sharing by renowned social entrepreneur, social activist and bureaucrats, action plan, group activity, Closure Event of North East Changelooms Fellowship.

The summit under the mentorship of DC Dimapur Kesonyu Yhome IAS and Dr. Neel Konwar a psychologist, strategy, policy, learning-development from Guwahati. The Summit is supported by Youth Resources & Sports, Government of Nagaland, District Administration Dimapur, Bosco Institute Jorhat, CYC/ PRAVAH Delhi with Media Partner by The Morung Express.

Kohima College’s 49th parting social held LLIN distribution prog launched at Kiphire Village Morung Express News Kiphire | March 8

Thur and others at the 49th parting social of Kohima College on March 8. Section of gathering. (Morung Photo) Our Correspondent Kohima | March 8

The Kohima College Kohima today held its 49th parting social at the college auditorium with Neihu C. Thur, IAS, home commissioner Nagaland as the chief guest.

Established in 1967, presently the Kohima College house 1471 students.

Speaking on the occasion, Thur called upon the students to excel in their respective fields and be an asset to Naga society.

He also called upon them to have a clear and define vision, adding “The future belong to you.” “Believe in yourself,” he urged the students and at the same time told them to have commitment of “I can do it and I will surely do it.” Thur also called upon the students to have confident and exercise sincerity and hard

work to achieve their desired goal.

Meanwhile, Ralu has been conferred with the coveted title of “Student of the Year” while Vimeyiekho Vitso bagged as “Best Class representative.”

The College also honoured six other studentsAsenou Terhuja for bagging third position at the 10th Inter –collegiate debate competition organized by Sazolie College, Ralu for winning first position in the debate competition on clean election organized

by District Election Officer, Kohima, Temjenchila for bagging third position in the essay competition during ANCSU 17th biennial general conference, Eangchi Konyak for securing first position in the inter-college debate competition during vigilance awareness week, Vekuvolu for winning two Marathon

race (Ist position) during Digital Week and Run for Republic Day and Thenon Konyak for winning “Naga Orpheus Hunt Session 10.”

Earlier, welcome address was delivered by Kohima College principal Dr. Watijunshi Jamir. Thenon Konyak, Alen & Medo presented special numbers while annual report was given by Kohima College Students’ Union general secretary N. Lhepong Konyak. Asenuo Theruja and Vimeyiekho Vitso also delivered speech on the occasion. Rev. Ketouzo Theiinuo, senior pastor Cross Wonder Church Kohima prayed for outgoing students.

The function was chaired by Imtisenla Longkumer while vote of thanks was proposed by Kohima College Students’ Union assistant general secretary Chimongthii.

The Chief Medical Officer, Kiphire office today distributed Long Lasting Insecticide Net to Kiphire village after the launching programme held at Kiphire Village Council Hall with Dr Tinojungshi Chang ADC Kiphire as special guest.

Speaking at the inaugural programme, Dr Tino asked the villagers to keep ones surrounding clean so that diseases and sickness could be avoided. He also said that providing LLIN by the department is a step towards healthy living and asked the villagers to make judicious use of it.

The chief guest handed over the first LLIN to Head GB of Kiphire Village and to the chairman and secretary of the village.

Dr H Kumar, DVBO, NVBDCP Kiphire said that the product is incorporated with fiber, which can kill the mosquito and insects and will last for 5 years without washing or for washing 20 times. He also said that LLIN is safe for pregnant women as well as for babies and advice to use while sleeping inside or outside. He also advised to keep LLIN in clean place if not in use.

Dr Tinurenla AO Dy CMO Kiphire chaired the programme while Zhokuve proposed vote of thanks.

Officials distribute the Long Lasting Insecticide Net at Kiphire village. (Morung Photo)

Advertisement through AIR

Wives of Lotha Baptist Churches Association pastors with resource person at the end of the seminar for the Pastors spouses held at the Wokha Twon Baptist Church, which was organised by Lotha Baptist Churches Pastors Conference on March 7 and 8 at the Wokha Town Baptist Church. It was organised under the association with Dr. Ezamo Murry Emeritus Professor, Rev. Longshi Kithan, Lichilo Ngully Odyuo as the speakers. All together 60 wives from different places attended the training seminar.

Kohima, march 8 (Dipr): In connection with a communiqué received from the All India Radio which has been endorsed to the Information and Public Relations Department, the Chief Secretary’s office has asked all the Departments implementing centrally sponsored schemes to advertise their advertisements through AIR. The AIR Kohima has also been directed to attend the next AHODs/HODs meeting.

For further information log in to https://www.nagaland.gov.in

MEx File

Allotment of BSUP flats under JnNURM kept in abeyance

Dimapur, march 8 (mExN): In supersession of the press release issued by the Municipal Affairs Department, Kohima on March 3, the allotment of BSUP flats under JnNURM to the identified beneficiaries is kept in abeyance due to certain technical reasons. While informing this in a press release, the secretary to Government of Nagaland Dr Maongwati Aier, IAS said that the approved list of identified beneficiaries shall remain unchanged.

Further, directives in this regard will be issued in due course.

isations of Kohima village and its members to bear with the inconveniences caused.

Fire guts houses in Tsg TuENsaNg, march 8 (Dipr): Two houses in Tuensang were gutted by fire in New Colony where loss of property was estimated at approximately eight lakhs. The fire was caused by electric short circuit.

GHSS and GHS under DEO Dimapur meeting

Dimapur, march 8 (mExN): All the head of the institutions of the GHSS and GHS under DEO Dimapur are informed that there will be a coordination meeting on March 10 at 1:00 pm in the office of the Kohima, march 8 (Dipr): Prasar DEO. All concerned officers are requested Bharati India’s Public Service Broadcaster to attend the meeting positively. informed all the Departments under the Government of Nagaland handling various Central schemes to send their “progress cum report” in respect of IEC budget w.e.f May 2015 to January 2016 for the information of Dimapur, march 8 (mExN): A 3-day the Prasar Bharati. Also the Departments refresher training for peer educators (PEs) have been requested to provide advertise- of IDU-TI Projects under Nagaland State ments/customized programme campaigns AIDS Control Society is undergoing at to Doordarshan, Kohima for dissemination Bethesda Youth Welfare Centre. Training started on March 18 and will end on of information to the general public.

March 10. This training is to strengthen the knowledge and skills of the Peer Educators of IDU-TI Project on harm reduction activities and thus assuring quality service Kohima, march 8 (mExN): KVYO delivery through peer education and outCultural programme scheduled on March reach activities. The training is supported 9 has been cancelled due to certain incon- by EHA-Global Fund Round-9 HIV-IDU veniences and some natural occurrences Grant Project (HIFAZAT) and the Nagathat are considered to be inopportune in land State AIDS Control Society.

Angami tradition. Organising Committee Convenor, Thepfuhulie Belho and Secretary Kethosituo Mepfhuo in a press release stated that a solar eclipse is due to happen on this day, which also happens to be a new Kohima, march 8 (Dipr): Nagaland moon, both regarded as inauspicious, and State Social Welfare Board will be organizsince the programme has been earlier re- ing a career guidance programme for Nagascheduled on two occasions due to certain land Adolescent Girls Club (NAGC) Schools difficulties, the programme has been can- on March 14 at Mezhur Higher Secondary celled. Further, KVYO apologises for the School Auditorium at 11 am. This was incancellation and request all frontal organ- formed by Secretary NSSWB, Daisy Mezhur.

Prasar Bharati informs

PE training underway

KVYO cultural prog cancelled

Career guidance prog for NAGC

WednesdAY 09•03•2016

NORTH-EAST

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

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'Government failing to tackle Modi, Hasina to launch internet gateway crimes against women in Manipur' Imphal, march 8 (IaNS): Manipur legislators and government have been failing to take effective measures against the increasing crimes against women, said a network of social organisations on the occasion of International Women's Day. "During the recent budget session, the MLAs held a detailed discussion on the Manipuri pony. But they had no time to speak a word on the appalling crimes against women.

They are more interested in saving the pony than the women," Mangshatabam Sobita, the convener of United NGO Mission Manipur, said here in a statement after a meeting of the organisation.

United NGO Mission Manipur describes itself as a network of 235 peoples’ organisations in the state that opposes Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of

The state recorded as many as 85 heinous crimes against women in a short period from January 1 to March 5 , 2016 1958 and works to promote respect for human rights.

While the state recorded as many as 85 heinous crimes against women in a short period from January 1, 2016 to March 5 this month, the police performance in solving the cases has been far below the mark, said the Mission's statement.

"There were five rapes during this period and one victim was later murdered.

There was another attempted rape. Three women mysteriously died while two others committed 'suicide'. One woman was murdered and three others escaped with injuries. One six-year- old rape victim

was murdered. Three girls were molested and 22 others assaulted," said Sobita, providing details of some of the crimes.

The Mission's meeting resolved to demand funds for giving pension to various categories of women, compulsory education for girls till 20 years of age, and repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.

The activists also expressed the fear that in the absence of the state failing to act against criminals, the armed insurgent groups could start delivering their own summary "justice" to the accused.

In the past, insurgent groups were known to have

5 NSCN (K) cadres nabbed in Manipur Our Correspondent Imphal | March 8

Five cadres of the NSCN (K) were arrested by security forces during a massive operation carried out in Jiribam subdivision of Imphal East.

The NSCN (K) cadres were nabbed by personnel of 27 Assam Rifles during an operation conducted in an area between Lamkhai bazar and Hilgat around 1:30 pm yesterday. Some weapons were also seized from them, reports said Tuesday.

They have been handed to Jiribam Police Station.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Namthazang village near Saitu Gamphazol, which is located about 50 km southeast of Sapermeina in Senapati district, over the arrest of three village youths by po-

Police truck driver killed Our Correspondent Imphal | March 8

A Manipur Police driver died while the second driver was hurt after a major accident that occurred in Hamleikhong area of Ukhrul district on Tuesday. SW Mayanpui died when he was hit by a speeding Bolero jeep while M Molesh who was driving the riceladen truck was injured in the road mishap that took place around 12:30 pm after the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a turn. The second driver was killed on the spot when he jumped off the vehicle and got rammed by the jeep.

Mizoram disposes 42 of 45 domestic incident cases aIzawl, march 8 (pTI): Of the 45 cases of domestic incident report in Mizoram in the past three years, 42 were disposed of by courts, Dr Thanpuii, Vice President of the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or women's federation today said.

Addressing an official function on the occasion of the International Women's Day, Thanpuii said of the other cases like 55 claims of maintenance, eight rape cases and 130 domestic violence cases in the same period, 73 cases were referred to the Women Cell in the police stations.

Women activists said while there were 41,392 men in government jobs, there were only 18,220 women government employees (30.56 per cent).

In the Police force, there were only 568 women (5.74 per cent) in Mizoram.

lice.

Gaikhaling Kamei, Gaigempa and Namthalung were arrested by the police on their way to Patsoi in Imphal West to buy pig fodder around 7:30 am.

The trio were travelling in an auto when the incident happened.

The villagers protested against the arrest of the youths saying they were all

regd. No:3391

innocent. They demanded that the three villagers be released immediately and unconditionally.

Reports said there was an incident wherein houses of Namthazang village chief and secretary were damaged by unknown persons on March 3. It is said that the three youths have been blamed for the house attack.

DECLARATION

killed persons accused of committing sexual offences against women.

Such extra-judicial activities have now stopped, but there are enough signs that they may start again.

A few weeks ago, for instance, one banned underground organisation said that it may start taking drastic action against criminals.

The activists have also expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the three female members of the Manipur Assembly whom they accuse of remaining mute spectators to the crimes committed against women.

Another grievance of the activists has been the treatment of "juveniles" who committed heinous crimes. They say that some rapists who even murdered their victims were lodged as juveniles based on school certificates.

DECLARATION I, CH. ABON @ S. ABON W/o Chanchan Shimrah R/o H/ No.47, Diphupar Village, ‘D’ Khel, Dimapur, Nagaland do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that for all intents and purposes by the strength of this declaration it is hereby declare that the initials ‘CH’ and ‘S’ in its expanded form connotes my full name CHAWANGTINGDUIMAI ABON @ SHIMRAH ABON respectively.

agarTala, march 8 (IaNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will jointly launch 100 MW power supply to Bangladesh and third international internet gateway (IIG) on March 23, a Tripura minister said here on Tuesday.

The government earlier announced supply of additional 100 MW of electricity to Bangladesh from Tripura power plants and accordingly 47-km transmission lines were erected linking Tripura power grid to Comilla power grid in eastern Bangladesh.

To improve the internet capacity in northeastern states and other parts of India, New Delhi has set up

India's third IIG in Agartala availing the 10 gigabit bandwidth from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited.

"External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar that Modi and Hasina would jointly launch the power supply and inaugurate the third IIG on March 23," Tripura Power and Transport Minister Manik Dey told reporters.

"Swaraj requested Sarkar to join the video conferencing programme to be held simultaneously in New Delhi and Dhaka," he said.

The minister, who was recently in Dhaka and attended a series of meetings there to finalise the power

tariff, said: "In Dhaka, several meetings were held to finalise the power tariff. It was decided that the electricity would be supplied to Bangladesh at a price of Rs.5.5 per unit."

The Tripura government was ready to provide more power to Bangladesh if the central government has no objection, Dey added.

The Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. and the Power Generation Company of Bangladesh, both government-run companies, set up the 47-km transmission lines on their sides for electricity supply from the Tripura power plants.

During his visit to Dhaka on June 6-7 last year, Modi discussed with Hasina power supply from Tripura.

NAGALAND WRESTLING ASSOCIATION 25TH TOURNAMENT ANNIVERSARY, MARCH 10-11, 2016, KOHIMA

APPeAl & GeNerAl INFOrMATION

1. Except the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour all the rest having Car Pass including Patrons are to enter through North Gate. A Patron can bring a companion only.

2. Use of alcohol inside the Ground is strictly prohibited.

3. Anyone creating public nuisance inside the Ground will be appropriately punished.

4. Without ticket nobody is allowed to enter.

5. As far as possible, do not bring your vehicle in view of traffic woes and parking problems. Random parking be avoided.

6. The NSF office area is reserved for parking of the vehicles of organizers and NWA officials.

NeIKHrOlO KHAlO President, NWA

Z. lOHe Convenor Management Committee

dated: 19/02/16

I, Smti. Zacitsolu Vasa D/o Lt. Pukhwuyi of aged about 56 years do hereby solemnly affirm and declare on oath as under:1. That I have used my name as Zacitsolu and Zacitsolu Vasa in different documents, whereas the names pertain to one and the same person.

2. That for all future official purpose or otherwise, the name Zacitsolu Vasa shall henceforth be used by which name I shall be referred to.

I hereby declare the above statement as true to the best of my knowledge and sound mind. dePONeNT

Solemnly affirmed and declared before me on this day the 19/02/2016

1st Class Magistrate Chozuba, Phek dist. Nagaland

FELICITATION The Sotokur Union Tuensang extends heartiest congratulation to Mr. Kihomong Yimchunger S/o Shri. C. Mukamchim for successfully qualifying to the post of EAC in the recent declared NPSC result.

The Union wishes him good health and more success in his future endeavour.

(M. Yinkiu) President, SUTT

(A. Chunglekhum) General Secretary, SUTT

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1. Special coaching for N.P.S.C(Prelim-2016) UPSC,SSC and other competitive exam 2. Coaching for Class XI entrance examination (Science) 3. NERIST-I (Entrance exam -2016) 4. Spoken English 5. Computer courses 6. Typewriting 7. Stenography 8. Cutting &Tailoring 9. Embroidery 10. Knitting Contact Capital Training Institute Near T.C.P Gate, Kohima Mob: 9402831939

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

05/07/1979 – 29/02/2016

A heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all who extended their immense support in various ways during the prolonged illness and at the demise of our beloved NAVIZONUO ANGAMI on the 29th February 2016. We thank you all for your love, prayer, material and financial support and also your physical presence.

We deeply regret our inability to thank each and everyone individually, but we pray that the Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

Loving: Family me mbers

The Old Showuba Women observed the International Women’s Day on 8th March 2016 with grant celebration. The idea was initiated by the Old Showuba Village Council under the Chairmanship of Mr. Keron Yimchunger with a view to empower the women for their rights and duties. The council members also applause their women counterpart for their activities and contribution in maintaining the village as a disturb free area.

AdVerTOrIAl

4

WednesdAY 09•03•2016

Business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Canara Bank & NABARD organises FLC Jaitley rolls back proposal to tax provident fund Tseminyu, march 8 (mexn): Observing Pan India ‘Financial Literacy Week’, Canara Bank, Kohima Branch in association with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) organised a Financial Literacy Camp (FLC) on March 5 in Phenshunyu Village, Tseminyu block for the three surrounding villages Phenshunyu, Khenyu and Phentejon.

The programme was chaired by SA Kom, Branch In-Charge and attended, inter alia, by Bendang Aier, AGM, NABARD, Lanuteka Imchen, LDM and Nodal Officer Kohima District and Nungsangwaba Aier, Officer, Canara Bank Kohima.

Nungsangwaba Aier welcomed the 100 plus

Villagers with officials during the Financial Literacy Camp organised by Canara Bank, kohima Branch in association with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural development.

participants from the three villages and imparted the knowledge of various bank products and social security schemes launched by the Government and reiterated the

BMW Centenary Celebrations Commence

need for every individual to open a bank account.

The participants were also advised to submit their Aadhaar Number and link them with their bank account to enable easy,

transparent and quick delivery of government subsidies.

Bendang Aier, stressed on the importance of financial planning, savings with bank and judicious

new Delhi, march 8 (PTi): In the face of all round attack, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today completely rolled back the controversial proposal to tax the employees’ provident fund (EPF) at the time of withdrawal.

Taking the first opportunity available, he made a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha in which he also announced withdrawal of imposing monetary limit for contribution of employers to provident and superannuation fund of Rs 1.5 lakh for taking tax benefit. Jaitley, however, left untouched the proposal tax exempt 40 per cent of National Pension Scheme and services provided by EPFO to employees.

“In view of the representations received, the government would like to do comprehensive review of this proposal and therefore I withdraw the proposals in para 138 and 139 on my budget speech.

The proposal of 40 per cent exemption given to NPS subscribers at the time of withdrawal remains,” the Minister said.

The Minister had earlier indicated that he would address the concerns on retirement tax when he replies to the debate on Budget 2016-17 in Parliament.

use of one’s income. He also advised for creation of a Farmer’s club among the village folks to facilitate the flow of credit facilities and other financial assistance.

Due to the hardships faced by the village community to avail the banking facilities, Lanuketa Imchen, stressed the need to set up a Sub Service Point and appoint a Business Correspondent (BC) to work as agents of the bank.

A financial diary was distributed to each of the participants for preparing one’s budget and writing income and expenses.

Ke s i n g a Ke p p e n , Chairman of Phenshunyu village expressed gratitude on behalf of the participants and concluded the programme with a prayer.

SBI asks SC to bar Mallya from leaving India WaNted FOr SaLe

mumbai, march 8 (agencies): The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea filed by a consortium of 17 PSU banks seeking a direction that industrialist Vijay Mallya be restrained from leaving India.

The hearing of the plea is scheduled for Wednes-

day. “List it for hearing tomorrow,” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said, when Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for PSU banks, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing. Rohatgi said that the plea has been moved by 17 banks, in-

cluding State Bank of India, against Mallya whose various firms have taken loan from them. He also said that the dues run into thousands of crores.

On Monday, the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) froze Mallya’s $75 million severance pay from Diageo until all the cases on him

are dropped. The money to be paid by Diageo was part of the deal put in place to make Mallya quit the board of United Spirits Ltd (USL).

The DRT order came after SBI moved four applications before the DRT including one that sought his arrest and impounding of his passport.

NABARD announces ‘public issue of tax-free bonds’

munich, march 8 (agencies): BMW completed 100 years on Monday and to mark the occasion the company is holding a BMW Festival in Munich, under the motto ‘The Next 100 Years’. The German carmaker has seen an illustrious past and is now ready to continue building on its already stellar reputation over the next century.

The company iterates that its image has been defined by focusing on the future and by becoming pioneers in the industry. In its press release, the company quotes Harald Kruger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at the Centenary Event in Munich on Monday to have said, “At the BMW Group, we are always on a quest for the best solution. It’s part of our DNA. It’s also in the spirit of our collaborations, a recurring theme that permeates our corporate and leadership culture.”

The company defines its 3 most important qualities to be the capacity to learn and adapt, technological innovation, and a sense of responsibility toward society.

Kruger went on to state, “We have demonstrated on many occasions throughout our history that we are capable of learning fast and taking bold steps.”

The celebration event showcased the future of the company in the form of the BMW Vision Next 100 unveiling. The stunning concept features a futuristic shell adorned with narrow signature ‘kidney grills’ up front, reminiscent of some of the older classics, along with a pair of slender vertical headlamps on either side. The car has been designed based on an amalgamation of sportiness derived from coupes and elegance from sedans. The driver-centric car is highly customisable and is tailored to adapt to the changing requirements of the driver.

The BMW Next 100 event was attended by the CEO of Audi AG, Rupert Stadler as well as some Board Members from the Daimler group. Earlier, Mercedes-Benz had congratulated fierce rival BMW of its achievement and even offered BMW employees to come visit its Museum in Stuttgart with no admissions charged. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a video message which was broadcast at the BMW Next 100 event.

BMW imagines its future to be in the field of developing completely effortless, comprehensively available and tailor-made premium mobility solutions that will pander to the individual needs of every customer. In its view, the future will see a rise in completely self-driven vehicles and that with time, connectivity will become even more commonplace and that future technologies will be capable of learning to learn from people. On this topic, Kruger said,” Future mobility will connect every area of people’s lives. And that’s where we see new opportunities for premium mobility.”

Besides unveiling the BMW Vision Next 100, a live broadcast of the event was also shown at the Allianz Arena Football Stadium in Munich to an audience of 30,000 employees. Between 9-11 September, fans from all around the world will be able to attend the festival which spreads over Munich Olympic Park including the Olympic Stadium and Hall, the BMW Museum, BMW Welt, and the entire area around the BMW HQ. The Vision Next 100 will also go on a world tour called ‘Iconic Impulses’ which will stop in China, the UK and America. In London, the company will be showcasing Vision Vehicles of MINI and Rolls-Royce whereas at its last stop in Los Angeles, the BMW Motorrad Vision Vehicle will complete the quartet of brands.

The company will also publish 13 volumes of a special publication that will outline the company’s history and give insight into its future.

In his Budget for 2016-17, Jaitley had proposed to tax 60 per cent of the corpus of the EPF contributions created after April 1, 2016 at the time of withdrawal.

He proposed to exempt these from income tax if the amount was invested in pension annuity scheme.

The proposal came under immediate fire from both employee unions and political parties who said the government was taxing employee when they need the funds most. The government justified the move saying the attempt was to create a pensioned society and encourage employees to invest their savings in annuities.

A day after the Budget, it had indicated in a statement that it could consider imposing the tax only on the interest part of the corpus.

But today’s decision withdraws the proposal lock-stock-and-barrel. In his statement, Jaitley said a number of representations had been received from various sections of the society including MPs suggesting that this change would force people to invest in annuity product even if they are not willing to do so.

mumbai, march 8 (agencies): National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD or Issuer) - India’s apex development institution entrusted to provide credit and other facilities for the promotion and development of rural and agriculture sector - announces the public issue of tax-free, secured, redeemable, non-convertible bonds of face value of Rs 1,000 each in the nature of debentures, having benefits under Section 10 (15) (iv) (h) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for an aggregate amount of Rs 3,500 crores.

The Issue will open on March 9, 2016 and close on March 14, 2016 with an option for early closure or extension. The Bonds will be listed on BSE. 60% of the Issue Size shall be reserved for Category IV investors, i.e., Resident Indian Individuals and

HUFs through the Karta applying for an amount aggregating up to and including Rs 10 Lakh across all series of Bonds in the Issue. 15% of the Issue Size shall be reserved for each of Category I investors (Qualified Institutional Buyers) and Category II investors (Corporates) and 10% of the Issue size shall be reserved for Category III investors (High Net worth Individuals). Interest on Bonds will be exempt from levy of income tax, in the hands of the bondholders.

Allotment would be done on firstcum-first served basis.

NABARD is offering Bonds with 10 and 15 years option. The coupon rates for Category IV would be 7.29% and 7.64% for 10 years and 15 years respectively. For investors in Category I, II and III, it would be 7.04% and 7.35% for 10 years and 15 years respectively. The interest on Bonds

leisure

Daily Cross WorD ACROSS 1. WW1 plane 5. heart artery 10. Whip 14. humdinger 15. Channel selector 16. Within 17. By mouth 18. Conversion 20. Latticework 22. Estate 23. Neither ___ 24. Quarries 25. At any future time 32. An edict of the Russian tsar 33. Artist’s workstand 34. Implore 37. Short sleeps 38. Savory jelly 39. hoodwink 40. Coloring agent 41. Nimble 42. Edge on a cutting tool 43. Extrapolates 45. Tablet 49. Cup 50. Voluntary selfpunishment 53. Adolescent 57. Ousted 59. Weightlifters pump this 60. Canvas dwelling 61. Reversed 62. Egghead 63. Collections 64. Encounters 65. homosexuals

CROSSWORD # 3526

SUDOKU

shall be paid annually.

The Bonds proposed to be issued have been assigned a rating of ‘CRISIL AAA / Stable’ by CRISIL and “IND ‘AAA’ / Stable” India Ratings.

The instruments with these ratings are considered to have the highest degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations. Such instruments carry low credit risk.

The proceeds of the Issue shall be mainly utilised for direct lending to certain irrigation projects in India and refinancing irrigation projects.

For the aforesaid Issue, Axis Trustee Services Limited is the Bond Trustee. A K Capital Services Limited, Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, RR Investors Capital Services Private Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited are the lead managers to the Issue.

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.”

Game Number # 3513

Answer Number # 3512

9. Backside 10. About a US quart 11. Licoricelike flavor 12. Obdurate 13. Sharpens 19. drive forward 21. great affection 25. A reserve of money 26. Alright 27. Sexual assault 28. Varnish ingredient 29. Official tree of Canada 30. Willow 31. Record (abbrev.)

34. Pullulate 35. Type of sword 36. mousses 38. Eon 39. Condescending 41. go-between 42. Color of the sky 44. Restitution 45. Blots 46. Embankment 47. Concerning (archaic) 48. Small open pies 51. Buddy 52. Sea eagle 53. Blockhead 54. Region 55. Bloody 56. Terminates 58. Lyric poem

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CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

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

65.72 93.54 8.19 48.72 47.4 49.22 57.9

68.69 98.09 9.12 51.13 49.71 51.64 61.18

Euro

72.34

75.85

Thai Baht Korean Won UAE Dirham (AED) Chinese Yuan

1.79

2.00

0.0526

0.0587

17.31

19.29

9.77

10.88

WednesdAY 09•03•2016

NAGALAND

International Women’s Day celebrated in Nagaland Pledge for Parity: Walking the complementary walk

Nagaland Adolescent Girls Club presenting a musical recital during the IWD celebration at Japfü Christian College.

Morung Express News Kigwema | March 8

Under the theme, ‘Pledge for Parity’, the International Women’s Day was celebrated at Japfü Christian College (JCC), Kigwema.

In her keynote address, Daisy Mezhür, Director, State Resource Centre for Women (SRCW), mentioned the contribution of men in empowering women and asserted, “Gender equality and women empowerment will not take place without the support of our men.”

The status and position of Naga women and girls are always considered to be better than women and girls in other states, however, Mezhür affirmed that there is still a huge disparity between men and women in Naga society. “It’s good from far but when you come nearer it’s far from good,” said Mezhür, who also emphasized on sexual abuses in the State which is a major concern. She high-

lighted that sexual abuses occur not just in colleges, but in schools and homes, where in many cases the supposedly protectors of the girl child are often abusers. Urging for the economic empowerment of women in Naga society, Mezhür appealed to parents that the best gift they can give to their girl child is education and that to forge forward, women must support each other.

Speaking on Achieving Parity through livelihood intervention, R. Khrienuo Tachu, Additional Director, Women Resource Development highlighted the livelihood programs and schemes of Women Resource Development in Nagaland.

Dr. Visakhonü Hibo, Principal, JCC stated that the college established the Sexual Harassment/ Women Cell in 2010 with a motive to build a conscientious awareness among the men and women in the college and also carry across the

UGC’s desire where every men and women are able to pursue education with dignity. The cell highlights and educates on different forms of sexual harassment, especially to the men and boys, which Hibo referred as innocent acts like eve teasing which are widely accepted in the Naga society but can get people into trouble outside one’s own society. While wishing the students on the International Women’s Day, Hibo also urged them to break out of traditional mindsets, educate both men and women sensibly and “walk that complete complementary walk” instead of waging war against each other. Also appreciating the media, Hibo noted that the media played the constructive role of gender parity.

The event was organised by the State Resource Centre for Women, Nagaland State Social Welfare, Department of Women Resource Development, and Japfü Christian College.

In Longleng, women and girls celebrate IWD LongLEng, March 8 (MExn): In Longleng Town, the International Women’s Day was commemorated at Public Local Ground organized by District Task Force (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao) in collaboration with Phomla Hoichem. It was attended by women and girl students studying in various schools of Longleng Town.

Angphen Phom, Women Secretary, Phom

Baptist Christian Association (PBCA) was the guest speaker. Highlighting the importance of Women’s Day, she said the day is a celebration of women’s contribution to social, cultural, political and economic achievement, a press release from Deputy Commissioner of Longleng said. She further challenged the girl students present not to be comfortable and satisfied with be-

ing average in educational pursuit, but to strive hard to achieve excellence. She also exhorted the women to fully live out the beauty of womanhood by embracing life in oneness with God. After the formal programme, volleyball match was played between the following teams: Phenei Soti Club, Yingli College Women Team, Longleng Town Students’ Union, and Veteran team.

Watsü Mungdang announces essay winners MoKoKchung, March 8 (MExn): Watsü Mungdang celebrated International Women's Day at AKM conference hall in collaboration with Women Resource Development Department and Mokokchung District Legal Services Authority.

The programme also announced the winners

of the college level essay competition organized by the Watsü Mungdang on the topic "Value of Women is not merely that of a birth machine".

Imkongnukla of Patkai Christian College was declared the winner, Ekumsangla of Mokokchung College of Teacher Education secured second posi-

tion, and Bendangienla Amer of Clark Theological College won the third prize.

Five Consolation prizes were given to Tekatoshi of Discipleship Bible College, Satipong S. Longkumer of Jubilee Memorial College, Mereienla Jamir of Tetso College, Sashitola Aier of People's College, and Lanurenba of Fazl Ali College.

Mon Town participants pledge for parity

Mon, March 8 (DIPr): International Women’s Day 2016 was celebrated in Mon Town under the theme “Pledge for Parity” on March 8. It was jointly organized by Mon District Legal Services Authority (MDLSA) and the Konyak Nyupuh Sheko Khong (KNSK), the apex women’s organization of the Konyak.

Delivering the introductory speech on ‘Evolution of International Women’s Day and Pledge for Parity’, Secretary, MDLSA, Mon, Phuleto Yeptho said over the years, the UN has promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security and full re-

spect for human rights. He said in different regions, the focus of celebrations ranges from general respect, appreciation and love towards women for their achievements and contribution in the society.

He led the pledge for parity of women with men.

President KNSK, Lomei Konyak proposed the welcome address, where she briefed on the origin and significance of International Women’s Day. She asserted that March 8 is a special day because women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

Panel Advocate Limasenla spoke on the topic “Domestic Violence Act & Victim Compensation Act” while APP, Mon, Temsu Masen, spoke on “Women & Child Labour Act and Child Trafficking Act”. The other resource persons, Panel Advocate Shenyou Walim and Panel Advocate Dominic Kaiba spoke on “Maintenance Act CrPC 125” and “Right to Educa- As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, a tion (RTE) for Girl Child” woman is seen busy working at a brick factory in Dimapur on March 8, 2016. Photo by Caisii Mao respectively.

Later the World Vision felicitated 12 distinguished women of Mon district. Special number was presented by the Advisory Board, KNSK. The program concluded with interaction.

‘Work together in unity to create gender equality’ KohIMa, March 8 (MExn): On International Women’s Day, Mezivolu T Therieh (NJS), Chief Judicial Magistrate & Secretary, KDLSA, pledged to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, challenge conscious and unconscious bias against women and girl child, call for gender-based leadership, value everyone’s contribution equally and create inclusive and flexible culture.

She made the pledge during the IWD celebration organized by Kohima District Legal Services Authority (KDLSA) in collaboration with Mount Olive College, Kohima at the college.

Meanwhile, Guest

Speaker Imtiakum, Public Prosecutor & Ex-Officio Member, KDLSA, highlighted the brief history of International Women’s Day (IWD) and emphasized on the theme, ‘Pledge for Parity’. He stressed on how one should work together in unity to create gender equality and challenged the women to stand up for their rights. He also said that men seem to be aware of the unconscious bias in the work places that holds women back; however, no immediate efforts are made to identify and eradicate it. Further, the speaker stated there are no such laws or rules where women are to work at home and men to rule. He went on to

say that everyone – men and women – can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly.

Nyanbeni Lotha, student of Mount Olive College, shared her personal thoughts on the topic “My expectations as a girl child’’. She emphasized on how women are being projected only to get married, bear a child and administer the family. She focused on the need to change the mindset. As per the present scenario, one of the urgent needs of the hour, she said, was to change the mindset and encourage the women to believe in one’s own dreams and to hope in accomplishing them.

‘Education and awareness towards gender parity’ Morung Express News Dimapur | March 8

In an age of enlightenment when the term gender equality has become a common catchphrase, stories and images of atrocities against women continue to haunt and mar the society today. Education and awareness is the foremost way towards removing and preventing gender-based discrimination and violence against women, asserted Bambi Kevichusa delivering the keynote address at a programme commemorating International Women’s Day in Dimapur today.

The programme was organised by We For Women at The Garden, Naga

Shopping Arcade.

According to Kevichusa, who is the brand ambassador of We For Women, empowerment of women is not about women lording over men rather creating an environment where women are uplifted, enabled to contribute to the society and be appreciated. In that direction, the support of men is required, she added. On the significance of March 8, she said, “It is a day to not only celebrate womanhood but a day to reflect for women and men alike.”

Sh ou k a Ka k h e t o, ADCP (Crime), Dimapur Police Commissionerate, while speaking on the legal aspect of the rights of women, stated that the

principle of equality of women is enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Upholding the constitutional mandate, the State has enacted certain laws safeguarding the rights of women, he added. While regarding March 8 as a call to act, he said, “We all share an equal responsibility to fight for gender equality.”

A special lantern lighting ceremony was also organised to mark the occasion, besides performances from Moanungsang, 1st Naga Idol and Voices of Hope, a group led by Nise Meruno. It culminated with Ram Dhenu, a Guwahati-based live band performing a special concert.

PTYS apprehend two for peddling drugs ENCSU supports ANCSU demand PhEK , March 8 (MExn): The Phek Town Youth Society (PTYS) apprehended one Major Naro Mero of GPRN/NSCN and one Kuveyi Vero of Phek Town for supplying and peddling restricted drugs at Phek Town, a press release from PTYS Crime Branch convenor Khosheta Rhakho said.

PTYS said that the ac-

cused had been supplying the drugs in huge quantities before being caught. The consignments were bought from some pharmacies in the town. Therefore, the Society has requested the citizens, NGOs, churches of Pfutsero Town to keep vigil.

The PTYS, on behalf of the Phek Town, further cautioned not to take advantage of being a na-

tional worker to carry out “anti -social activities”. Any NPGs enrolling people like the one apprehended by the Society will invite non-cooperation from the PTYS and the general public, it added. The Society also requested the authority concerned to immediately discard him from all activities and functions of the government.

DIMaPur, March 8 (MExn): The Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) has extended its solidarity to the demand made by All Nagaland College Students’ Union (ANCSU) to the Government of Nagaland.

ENCSU Chairperson, Longre Chang and Joint Secretary, Nokchem Angth in a press release expressed surprise to see “many government officials playing with the student’s life.” The

Union stated that education should be the main priority of the government and it should not be politicized.

The ENCSU observed that government is failing to take action against erring officials and it is shame on the part of government to protect the guilty and letting the innocent students suffer.

The union also alleged that the education system in the state is already paralyzed. “When people are fighting for a single seat in

technical and medical field, the Government of Nagaland has a good hospitality to offer to the outsiders because of reasons best known by them,” it added.

It further asked all the colleges within its jurisdiction to follow ENCSU direction as the parent body of college students and also asked other organizations “not to interfere in any activities of the ENCSU without having proper communication.”

from the people but it cannot be made available due to non-availability of fund. He said there are 15,000 applications lying with the department.

ShaMator, March 8 (MExn): The Shamator Town Students’ Union (STSSU) has appealed to the Education Department to immediately revoke the transfer order of Assistant Apropos to the news item published on March 7 under the headline Head Master (AHM), Govt.

‘LLRPO clarifies on February 13 meeting,’ it is hereby clarified that the Higher Secondary School information regarding a statement allegedly made by the Kilo Kilonser Shamator and retain of the NSCN (IM) during the February 13 meeting was NOT based on him at the same school. the Lotha Lower Range Public Organization (LLRPO) press statement. Takukhumba, the AHM, was transferred to TotokThis information was based on an earlier joint statement issued by ten chingnyu by the School organizations of the Lotha community as published on March 5. We Education Department through an order dated express our sincere regret for any confusion it may have created.

The Morung Express 10th Feb. 2016, informed a release from STSSU Presi-

dent K Thsantong and General Secretary T Dopong.

“Transferring of government officials, especially from the educational institutions and that too from Shamator Town without their immediate reliever or replacement appeared to be inappropriate as the schools under Shamator were left very miserable where shortage of teachers and controlling officers are the most crucial problems being faced particularly at GHSS,” stated the students’ union.

It added that GHSS Shamator is the only school that imparts secondary education in the subdivision and “its students were deprived of what they were supposed to avail like the rest of the schools and colleges in the district from the concerned department owing to the lack of manpower.”

It further said that instead of posting adequate teachers and officers, the contrary act of the department has greatly hurt the sentiments of the students’ community.

NRE informs on solar and home lamp KohIMa, March 8 (MExn): Nagaland’s Department of New & Renewable Energy (NRE) has suspended giving solar lamp and home lamp

to the people of the state for the time being due to want of fund. NRE Director Er. TS Angami said that there is huge demand for solar and home lamp

ClarifiCation

Modern Institute of Teacher Education, Kohima observed International Women's Day on March 8. Speeches were delivered by Devanand Sinha, Vice Principal, Niutoli L Yeptho, Assistant Professor, Kiboto and Niekulu, Student-Teachers of MITE. Special number was presented by current event club of MITE.

Phek District Legal Services Authority observed International Women’s Day along with Chakhesang Mother’s Association & Phek Area Mother’s Association at Phek Town Council conference hall under the theme ‘Pledge for Parity’.

Women urged to access their rights DIMaPur, March 8 (MExn): Dimapur District Legal Services Authority (DDLSA) celebrated International Women’s Day at Zutovi village, Dhansiripar, Dimapur.

Neikuo Kanuo, Chairperson, DDLSA, who is also the District and Session’s Judge, Dimapur, in his keynote address stressed on the importance of celebrating Women’s Day. He termed it a day to appreciate and give respect to all the women who are the essence of “our” lives. “This

day is a day to honour the life, grit and determination of women,” he stated.

He also appealed to all the women to access their rights and also avail the benefits of Legal Aid. Panel Advocates Zacharia M Tetseo, M Glory Sema and Esther K. Aye also spoke on various topics covering Child Rights, Lok Adalat, Women Rights, Right to Information and Motor.

The programme was attended by STH of Zutovi Village and women from neighboring villages.

YTC condemns arson incident DIMaPur, March 8 (MExn): The Yimchungrü Tribal Council (YTC) has condemned the action of some youth who allegedly set on fire several timber (Fanta) belonging to one Chuba Yimchungrü at NH 202 below Tetheyo village on March 5.

A press note from the YTC Joint Secretary, Makezho Y said that “while Yimchungrüs are maintaining utmost restraint and putting all efforts for conducive and congenial relationship with its neighbor, such gesture have not been supplemented nor acknowledged.”

Terming the incident on March 5 as “totally absurd and uncalled for,” the YTC stated “this kind of act provokes unnecessary communal tensions to the already volatile situation.”

The YTC meanwhile acknowledged the intervention by the District administration of Kiphire and Pungro, and the security personnel, “in rescuing Chuba Yimchungrü who was detained by the youths.” It further appreciated “all good Samaritans of Tetheyo village who had deported the remaining timber to a safer place.”

The YTC also expressed opposition to “such illegal road blockade imposed on NH 202…” and called upon the government, civil organisations and “every right thinking citizen to condemn the illegal activities…”

Passes for eleventh Students’ union urges to revoke th session of 12 NLA transfer of AHM, GHSS Shamator KohIMa, March 8 (MExn): In view of the eleventh session of the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly to be held from March 15 to 19, car passes and official gallery passes will be issued from March 10 onwards as under: Ministers/Adviser (Cabinet Status)/ Parliamentary Secretaries and AHODs are to collect Car Passes and Gallery Passes from the Special Secretary (Home Department), Civil Secretariat, Nagaland, Ko-

hima; HODs/ Media are to collect Car Passes from Assembly Secretariat Reception Counter Gate No-I; MLAs/P.S./P.A. and other Department are directed to collect Car Passes from Reception Counter Gate No-II, Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat. N. Benjamin Newmai, Commission & Secretary, NLA Kohima in a press release further informed that car passes and gallery passes may be collected in advance to avoid eleventh hour rush.

wednesdAY 09•03•2016

IN FOCUS

6

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express volume Xi issue 66

By Dr. Asangba Tzüdir

Positing Naga Women The need for Challenging Traditional Worldviews

T

hroughout the course of human history women has been condemned as the ‘inferior’ and ‘weaker sex’ or the ‘undesirable sex’. The history of ideas and discourses especially from the west has categorized women as the “Second Sex”. The idea of women is constructed in male centric discourses both oral and written, which privilege male as essential, adequate and complete while women are considered inessential, inadequate and incomplete as compared to men. The man Aristotle who propounded that “man is a political animal” too follows a similar strain on his stand on women as the ‘defect of man’ or women as the ‘defective male’. Thereby man is the ultimate being, the complete model, while woman is the ‘other’ of being.

Women’s social position is defined in the discourses, which only delegitimizes the position of women. Simone De Beauvior’s “the second sex” is one of the earliest attempts that confronts human history from a feminist perspective where men fundamentally oppress women by characterizing them on every level, as the ‘other’ and thereby there is a never ending production of cultural binaries or dichotomies starting with men as the self while women as the ‘other’, and it is upon such binaries that dominant discourses are built and legitimated.

Under the feudal, the birth of a girl was considered a misfortune; from pre-natal selection to female infanticide to genital mutilation in the name of virginity and virtue, women as the ‘other’ has been further ‘othered’. Today, the many forms of violence inflicted on women only casts their life throughout on both mental as well as physical strain. Religion has subjugated and oppressed women; culture and oral traditions did more damage to the women as a ‘being’; media particularly the film industry keeps portraying women as an ‘object of pleasure’ for the ‘entertainment’ of man besides making her vulnerable.

Discourses have been built on violence, which has hijacked women’s spaces. One can take the Indian Sati practice and widow suicide. Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak sees the practice of sati as a discourse and space through which women can assert themselves from layers of subjugation. Beyond the act of burning herself to death due to the death of her husband, there is another layer of female oppression that this practice further subjugates women. Burning herself is seen as a form of liberation from desire for sex which otherwise might lead to committing ‘sin’. The understanding is that in being ‘clean’ and ‘sinless’ she can attain Moksa. In a similar strain, the coming of western education to our land became a ‘heroic’ project under the “white man’s burden” of saving the brown women from the brown men. Mary Mead Clark opening an ‘informal school’ for girls is one parameter. What then followed was that ‘spaces’ belonging to women through which women can assert their status and identity were ‘hijacked’. Thereby the point of reference shifts from cultural assertion to western education.

Such hegemonic discourses needs counter discourses that attempts to deconstruct male centric oral traditions and worldviews and voice out women concerns against unjustified control, domination, subjugation, injustices, misrepresentation and denial in political participation. In standing up against violence on women through oppressive cultural practices, a Somalian girl, Waris Dirie who was forced to undergo female circumcision as a young girl, which is a very brute process involving genital mutilation because an uncut women is considered as unclean and a whore. She stood up against the practice and later became a United Nations spokeswomen against the practice.

The challenges confronting gender parity today, is to interrogate and dismantle the phallocentric or male centric discourses legitimated by our oral traditions that have institutionalized patriarchy. This has lead to the production of gendered spaces that are politically, socially, culturally and morally justified thereby producing stereotyped spaces like ‘private’, ‘domestic’, ‘public’ which further legitimates patriarchal power and control and thus accorded an inferior status on women as the ‘weaker sex’ and subordinate to men and women becomes a victim of domestic and sexual violence.

Thus, in positing Naga women, towards assertive constituting, oral traditions and Naga worldviews need to be interrogated and countered starting from the family and impact a change beginning with mindsets. This countering will lend impetus to the various issues and challenges confronting women today. On another level, Naga women should create their own spaces beyond the bounds of patriarchy. This can be a way forward in giving a new outlook and identity to the ‘new Naga woman’. Only when there is liberation of the women selves, our society will see progress.

(Dr. Asangba Tzüdir is an Editor with Heritage Publishing House. He contributes a weekly guest editorial to the Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)

lEfT WING |

IANS

‘No one's being paid equally’

W

hether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally, says actress Emma Watson. Watson opened up about the pay gap in Hollywood while talking to Esquire magazine.

She has also appeared on the cover of Esquire to promote her organisation HeForShe, reports people.com.

She said: “We are not supposed to talk about money, because people will think you're 'difficult' or a 'diva'. But there's a willingness now to be like, 'Fine. Call me a 'diva', call me a 'feminazi', call me 'difficult', call me a 'First World feminist', call me whatever you want, it's not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens.' Because it doesn't just affect me.

"Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally."

Watson, who founded the gender equality organisation HeForShe in 2014, the year she was appointed a UN Global Goodwill Ambassador, also shared that she has experienced sexism. "I've had my ar** slapped as I've left a room. I've felt scared walking home. I've had people following me. I don't talk about these experiences much, because coming from me they'll sound like a huge deal and I don't want this to be about me, but most women I know have experienced it and worse," said the “Harry Potter” star.

The solution, she says, is for men to get involved.

"There's no point in me going, 'You all have to go away from having read this article and decide that you are a feminist.'

That's useless. The only thing that is going to make a difference is if men go away and speak to the women in their lives about what they are experiencing,” she said.

C O M M E N T A R Y

Jesse Franzblau Foreign Policy in Focus

Hillary’s dark drug war legacy in Mexico Clinton’s State Department overlooked human rights abuses and corruption while keeping a lucrative flow of contracts moving to U.S. security firms working in Mexico

M

exico, John M. Ackerman wrote recently for Foreign Policy, “is not a functional democracy.” Instead, it’s a “repressive and corrupt” oligarchy propped up by a “blank check” from

Washington.

Since 2008, that blank check has come to over $2.5 billion appropriated in security aid through the Mérida Initiative, a drug war security assistance program funded by Washington. Negotiated behind closed doors in the last years of the Bush administration, the plan was originally proposed as a threeyear program. Yet Hillary Clinton’s State Department pushed aggressively to extend it, overseeing a drastic increase of the initiative that continues today.

Much of this aid goes to U.S.-based security, information, and technology contracting firms, who make millions peddling everything from helicopter training to communications equipment to night-vision goggles, surveillance aircrafts, and satellites.

This aid comes in addition to the direct sales of arms and other equipment to Mexico authorized by the State Department, as Christy Thorton pointed out in a 2014 New York Times op-ed. Those sales reached $1.2 billion in 2012 alone, the last full year of Clinton’s tenure. Indeed, as the Mérida Initiative has grown, Mexico has become one of the world’s biggest purchasers of U.S. military arms and equipment.

But while sales have boomed for U.S.-based contractors, the situation in Mexico has badly deteriorated. The escalation of U.S. counter-drug assistance in the country has paralleled a drastic increase in violence, fueling a drug war that’s killed more than 100,000 people since 2006.

State Complicity High-profile human rights cases — such as the kidnapping and disappearance of the 43 students from the teacher-training college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero in September 2014 — sparked renewed attention to the devastating effects of the U.S.-funded drug war in Mexico. Yet, they didn’t come out of nowhere.

Forced disappearances like these were ballooning even as Clinton was pushing Mérida Initiative programs forward, with official records reaching upwards of 3,000 to 4,000 people a year in 2011 and 2012. According to the United Nations, these widespread kidnappings and disappearances often involve state authorities, and the problem is worsened by the government’s failure to investigate.

U.S. laws explicitly prohibit the delivery of aid to foreign individuals and units implicated in systematic human rights violations. But files released

by WikiLeaks revealed that Clinton’s State Department regularly received information on widespread “official corruption“ in Mexico, even as they were bolstering the flow of equipment, assistance, and training that ended up in the hands of abusive and compromised security forces.

Indeed, in 2009 and 2010 — the middle years of Clinton’s tenure at State — U.S. embassy cables boasted that intelligence and military cooperation between the two countries had never been better. Such cables, and the full archival orbit of declassified and leaked U.S. and Mexican records, demonstrate that Clinton’s State Department repeatedly cleared the delivery of

U.S. assistance training and equipment to security forces implicated in corruption or abuse.

One document from June 2011 recorded a visit of U.S. officials to the northern state of Tamaulipas in May 2011 to assess training needs for state security forces. The visit came as Mexico’s federal authorities were trying to cover up the discovery of mass graves from the recent San Fernando massacres in the region. Even as U.S. officials were reporting on the Mexican government’s complicity and cover-up of the massacres, the U.S. embassy recommended further training for Tamaulipas security forces.

The same document also reports that Mexican immigration agents had been fired for kidnapping migrants. Yet the delivery of biometric data equipment to the same agency continued unimpeded.

In the southern state of Guerrero, meanwhile, records from 2009 to 2010 show that the U.S. embassy cleared local and federal police, military officials, and investigative agents for training and assistance from units implicated in human rights violations. Even then, the U.S. embassy — and not to mention reputable human rights groups — knew about the direct involvement of government officials in abuses there.

Human Rights Watch reported in 2011, for example, on widespread cases of torture in Guerrero going back to 1994. The group noted regular abuses by police and military forces, including “cases of homicide, torture, and extortion” overseen by the judicial police chief in the northern part of the state.

The same report highlighted strong evidence of the involvement of military officials from Chilpancingo in cases of kidnapping and disappearances in 2010, as the U.S. embassy was clearing officials for training from the same military base.

After government security forces killed two students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training school during a protest in December 2011, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne sent a cable reporting that “the evidence of heavy-handed police tactics is strong and disconcerting.” It was the same school where, less than three years later, 43 students would be disappeared — and six others killed — after being attacked by local police forces.

The Beneficiaries In addition to training Mexico’s security forces, Clinton’s State Department bolstered Mexico’s wiretap capabilities, provided communications systems and computers, and installed information sharing software, biometric databases, and radar systems. It also peddled Blackhawk helicopters, surveillance aircrafts, satellites, and all-terrain vehicles, and built joint-intelligence fusion centers for targeting high-value cartel leaders.

The implementation and delivery of this equipment took place hand-in-hand with private contractors. Major players like General Electric, Honeywell, Motorola, Sharp, IBM, and Dell appear throughout records of these transactions, along with scores of others — including Science Applications International, Rapiscan, American Science and Engineering, RCA, and many more.

Several contractors benefited significantly from helicopter deliveries and services in particular. These played a prominent role in both the conduct and the promotion of the broader drug war effort.

Three Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, for example, were sent to Mexico’s federal police in November 2010. Just two weeks after their handover, they were deployed in the largest aerial operation conducted to date against the La Familia de Michoacán drug cartel. The U.S. embassy boasted in a secret cable that the operation — which reportedly led to the killing of drug kingpin Nazario Moreno

Gonzalez, or “El Chayo” — was a “needed win“ for then-president Felipe Calderón in his increasingly unpopular war against the cartels.

El Chayo’s killing was the first clear evidence the State Department could highlight to show Congress that Calderón’s strategy — and the U.S. intelligence and security aid behind it — was leading to results.

Yet the operation, which also caused large-scale civilian deaths, appeared to be in vain: The Mexican government reported that El Chayo was killed again, years later, in an operation carried out against the cartel in March 2014.

Nonetheless, the 2010 operation provided the justification to further ratchet up U.S. support. In May 2011, embassy staff accompanied Mexican federal police representatives to review an aircraft project in North Carolina and receive presentations from the AMCOM missile command and industry representatives. More aircrafts were subsequently delivered.

Sikorsky, along with other companies such as General Electric, continued to reap the benefits of the drug war in Mexico even after Clinton left the State Department. In March 2015, the department approved the sale of three Black Hawk helicopters to the Mexican military for $110 million. This followed a larger deal in April 2014 for 18 Black Hawks at $680 million.

Notably, several of the contractors that profited from U.S. security assistance in Mexico — such as General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and United Technologies Corporation, which owns Sikorsky — reportedly contributed to the Clinton Foundation.

And according to the transparency group Open Secrets, Clinton currently tops the list of all 2016 presidential candidates in campaign contributions from the military contracting industry.

Back to Business as Usual Naturally, Clinton herself was aware of how her department’s support for the Mexican drug war would look in light of the revelations about corruption and human rights abuses.

In January 2011, shortly after the release of a huge tranche of leaked diplomatic cables, Secretary Clinton apologized to her Mexican counterpart Patricia Espinosa for any “embarrassment” caused by the WikiLeaks documents, announcing her intention to get “beyond WikiLeaks” and reaffirm the U.S.-Mexico relationship. Clinton expressed optimism that they could create a better “narrative” than the waste, fraud, and abuse revealed in the cables and regular media accounts and “explain to Congress why foreign assistance money under ‘Beyond Merida’ should continue.”

Getting beyond WikiLeaks, of course, meant getting back to business as usual — and back behind closed doors.

While thousands of Clinton’s own emails have since been released, the secrecy continues — with much of the important information still heavily redacted. For example, the emails contain potentially important documents, such as a memo to President Obama with a report on Clinton’s trip to Mexico City and Monterrey. This document, however, is completely redacted, except for one line.

In his piece for Foreign Policy, John Ackerman argued that Clinton’s defense of the status quo in Mexico is “grounded in a vicious cycle of complicities between economic and political elites on both sides of the border.” Indeed, the record available for public scrutiny shows that Clinton’s State Department — rather than addressing human rights concerns over the Mérida funding — focused on ensuring that security assistance continued in the face of abuse, cover-ups, and ongoing impunity.

The empowerment of Women Will Be Central to Realising sustainable Global Development mary Robinson

Inter Press Service

“P

lanet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality” – the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day serves as a timely reminder that, despite incremental progress of recent years and the ambition of the new global development agenda, we must redouble efforts to achieve a world underpinned by gender equality. All women must be empowered to realise their full and equal rights. But what does it actually mean to step it up for gender equality?

For me, this requires targeted approaches to ensure that all women have a voice in the formulation of decisions that impact upon their lives.

This is particularly important when it comes to facilitating the engagement of grassroots women. To realise the “leave no-one behind” approach called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the commitment “to reach the furthest behind first”, grassroots women must be recognised as key actors in global sustainable development.

Grassroots women around the world hold a wealth of knowledge which we will need to manage the impacts of climate change and accelerate sustainable development. However, in order to properly value this knowledge and put it to use, women must be allowed to participate meaningfully in the design, planning and implementation of policies and programmes that impact on their lives. Ensuring women’s voices are heard and their needs acted uponis central to advancing climate justice.

The impacts of climate change are different for women and men.

Grassroots women are more likely to bear the greater burden in the face of climate change, particularly in situations of poverty. Climate change exacerbates existing patterns of inequality, including gender inequality. Grassroots women have limited access to productive resources; restricted mobility and little voice in decision makingleave them highly vulnerable to climate change. Climate policy, to be effective, must understand these underlying inequalities in order to address the different ways in which climate effects grassroots women.

Enabling the meaningful participation of women is not just the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do.

The global development sector has learned, sometimes the hard way, that programmes designed for vulnerable communities, without engaging with the women of the community, rarely achieve their desired outcomes. This important lesson is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal 5 https:// sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) which includes a target to: ‘Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life’. This need is particularly acute in the case of grassroots women. Unfortunately, the importance of including women in decision making and promoting women’s leadership is less well understood by the climate regime. Yet the majority of those on the front lines of poverty and climate change are women.

Some progress has made under the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In 2012 the Parties to the Convention adopted the Doha Miracle (Decision 23/CP.18), a decision to enhance the participation of women in climate change negotiations.Parties will review progress against the ambition this decision at COP 22 in November. When they do, however, they will see that only slight gains have been made in terms of equality of representation at negotiations. For instance, the latest UNFCCC Gender Composition Report highlights that only 36% of delegates were women at COP 20, and this figure drops to 26% when considering heads of delegations. In Lima Parties agreed to commence the Lima work programme on gender, a two year exploration of the gender dimensions of climate change and the Paris Agreement on climate change recognises the need for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

These are all signs of progress, but a lot more needs to be done to be done in order for women’s voices to be thoroughly included in the formation of climate action. A key next step is investment in training and capacity building for grassroots women in order to enable full and effective participation.

This is captured in SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) which includes a target which calls on States to promote capacity building mechanisms in small island developing states and least developed countries to assist women, youth and local and marginalised communities to take part in climate change-related planning and management. Operationalising this target will be critical to achieving a harmonised

WRITE-WING

and people centred approach to both the sustainable development agenda and the new climate agreement.

In 2015, the global community laid a foundation upon which we can build a safer world with opportunity for all. In concluding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, world leaders signalled a willingness to change course – to leave behind the unequal and unsustainable traditional development models and move towards a future free from poverty and want, with abundant clean energy and a healthy environment.

In 2016 we begin to plan and implement these two ambitious, universal international processes; we must ensure that women’s voices, and human rights, inform our actions. Grassrootswomen must not be seen simply as passive recipients of climate assistance. They are key actors in achieving their right to development. By acknowledging grassroots women as agents of change within their communities, valuing their knowledge and building their capacity to adapt, decision makers can develop sustainable, long term climate solutions at a local level which will strengthen whole communities.

As we “step it up for gender equality”, I call on all those in positions of influence to provide the platforms for grassroots women to speak to for themselves. Listening to, and valuing, their knowledge and experience will help to shape progress towards 2030 that is good for people, the planet and gender equality.

Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, (1990-1997) and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997 to 2002).

Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender.

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

WednesdAY 09•03•2016

Morung Express Learning

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

7

Morung Classroom: A-Z of Important Parliamentary Terms The Newspaper with an Opinion

Act: A Bill passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President.

Ad hoc Committee: A Committee constituted by the House or by the Chairman or by the presiding officers of both the Houses jointly to consider and report on specific matter and becomes functus officio as soon as the task is completed.

Adjournment of the debate: Adjournment on a motion adopted by the House, of the debate on a Motion/ Resolution/ Bill on which the House is then engaged to a future day or sine die as specified in the motion.

Adjournment of the House: An adjournment terminates the sitting of the House which meets again at the time appointed for the next sitting. An adjournment also signifies brief break of the sitting of the House which re-assembles at the appointed time on the same day.

Adjournment sine die: Termination of a sitting of the House without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting.

Agenda Paper: This is equivalent to the List of Business issued under rule 31(1) and contains items of business to be taken up by the House in the order in which they stand in it.

Appropriation Bill: A Bill passed annually (or at various times of the year) providing for the withdrawal or appropriation from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India of moneys by Lok Sabha and moneys charged on the Consolidated Fund for the services of a financial year or a part thereof.

Ballot : A method applied to determine the relative precedence of Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions, notices for Half-an-Hour discussions, Questions, Adjournment Motions, Calling Attention, or any other notice given by more than one Member simultaneously on the same subject for being taken up at the same sitting.

Bill: The draft of a legislative proposal which, when passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act. Budget: Annual financial statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India in respect of a financial year. The Budget is presented in Lok Sabha in two parts, namely, the Railway Budget pertaining to Railway Finance and the General Budget which gives an overall picture of the financial position of the Government of India excluding the Railways. [Article 112 and Rule 204] Bulletin: Bulletin means the Bulletin of the House. It is published in two parts, Part I containing a brief record of the proceedings of the House at each of its sittings; and Part II containing information on any matter relating to or connected with the Business of the House or Committees or other matter which in the opinion of the Speaker may be included therein.

Calling Attention: A procedure

TALK TO US The Morung Express Learning seeks to engage, inform and create space for young people - in or outside the spectrum of formal education. It is our earnest desire for this page to be interactive as well as educative, and we sincerely seek your feedback and contribution. Send us your opinion, poems, campus news and photos or any other suggestions to morunglearning@gmail.com or WhatsApp @ 8794005039 8415009200

Students of Jubilee Memorial College Mokokchung Town share a light moment as they leave for home after their class hour on March 7. (Morung Photo)

whereby a Member calls the attention of a Minister to a matter of urgent public importance, the Minister makes a brief statement thereon and thereafter the Members seek clarifications.

Casting Vote: The vote cast by the Speaker, or person acting as such in the House and by the Chairman or person acting as such in a Committee in the case of an equality of votes on a matter.

The Speaker in giving his casting vote may state his reasons for taking the side in whose favour he votes but he is not bound to give such reasons. He almost always votes in such a way as to maintain the status quo or to postpone the settlement of the question. [Article 100(1) and Rule 262] Demand for Grant: The estimate of expenditure in respect of a Ministry/Department not charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India, placed for approval before the House on the recommendations of the President. [Article 113 (2) and (3), Rule 206] Dilatory motions: Motions for the adjournment of the debate on Bills, motions or resolutions etc. or motions to retard or to delay the progress of a business under consideration of the House. Debate on such motions should be restricted to the matter contained in such motions.

Expunction: Deletion of words,

JNU Combined Entrance Examination 2016 for M.Sc Biotechnology Program Applications are invited for Combined Entrance Examination (CEEB) conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for admission to M.Sc Biotechnology Programme - Academic Session 2016-17.

JNU will hold the CEE for admission to 2 years M.Sc Program in Biotechnology on behalf of 31 participating Universities from all over India.

JNU CEEB 2016 Eligibility Criteria Eligibility for M.Sc Biotechnology Program: Bachelor’s degree under 10+2+3 pattern of education in Physical, Biological, Agricultural, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences, Pharmacy, Engineering/Technology, 4-years B.Sc (Physician Assistant Course); or Medicine (MBBS) or BDS with at least 55% marks Only those candidates who have passed the qualifying examinations in 2014 or thereafter including those who are appearing in 2016 are eligible to apply.

How to Apply Candidates can also download the Application Form from Website www.jnu.ac.in Application Forms can be submitted only

by Registered Post/Speed Post to Section Officer (Admissions), Room No.28, Administrative Block, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067 The candidates are also required to produce all originals of the above certificates/ documents for verification at the time of registration/admission.

Important Dates Closing of Online Application Process till

Should Mobile Phones be allowed inside the classrooms?

phrases or expressions from the proceedings or records of the House by an order of the Speaker or from the proceedings or records of a Committee by an order of the Chairman of the Committee or the Speaker as being defamatory or indecent or unparliamentary or undignified.

Finance Bill: A Bill ordinarily introduced each year to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the following financial year and includes a Bill to give effect to supplementary financial proposals for any period.

Financial Bills can be divided into two categories: (i) In the first category are Bills which inter alia contain provisions for any of the matters specified in sub- clauses(a) to (f) of clause (1) of article 110 of the Constitution. Such a Bill cannot be introduced except on the recommendation of the President and a Bill making such provisions cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha, and (ii) In the second category of Financial Bills are those Bills containing inter alia provisions which if enacted and brought into operation would involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India. Such Bills cannot be passed by either House of Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the consideration of the Bill. [Article 117] [To be continued...]

Source: http://parliamentofindia.nic. in/ls/handbook/chapter2.pdf

5.00 p.m. on 21st March 2016 Last Date of Submission of Completed Offline Application Form to reach JNU 23rd March 2016 Date & Time of Entrance Exam: 19th May 2016 (09.00 AM to 12.00 Noon) Common Law Admission Test CLAT 2016 LawCET The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is an all India entrance examination, conducted on rotation by 17 National Law Universities (NLUs) for admissions to their Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate degree programmes. CLAT 2016 will be conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. The candidates need to apply online for the Common Law Admission Test according to the CLAT 2016 application dates. For details of the CLAT 2016 examination and admission process candidates can visit the official website of CLAT www.clat.ac.in The last date for submission of Online Application Form is March 31, 2016.

SRM UNIVERSITY: B.TECH ADMISSIONS 2016 SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination (SRMJEEE) for B.Tech is common for SRM Group of Universities viz., SRM University, SRM University SIKKIM and SRM University HARYANA Important Dates: Last date for receipt of online application: 15th March 2016 Slot booking for Online examination: 26th to 30th March 2016 Online examination: 19th to 25th April 2016 For more information, check www.srmuniv.ac.in

The Traditional Marriage of Ao Nagas

“Classroom is a decent learning where text book is important. No doubt we live in the post modern era where students are so engrossed in mobile phones, but it deviate the students. The text book is floating around us not mobile phones. Classroom is like a church, the congregation is the students and the preacher is the teacher. Mobile phones in the classroom should be constraint.”

Eyingbeni Odyuo, BA 6th Semester (English Honors) Tetso College, Dimapur

“No what are teachers for and it will create many issues.

But yes if the teachers are not providing enough source of information needed.”

Vitoka Zhimomi

One part of me says that mobile phones should be allowed in college. Free Wi-Fi is available for all the students and the teachers. Students do not bring their laptops to college, so, free Wi-Fi becomes meaningless if phones aren't allowed.

One part of me also says that it's better we don't allow it. The students tend to use it during class lectures. They would use it during off periods to play online games or to update their apps. Again, if people are addicted to smartphones, we fail to develop good friendship with others.

So, basing on all that I've said, to be true to myself, I think it might be better not to allow it. But again, if you do not allow it, it will create a sense of apathy in the hearts of the students against the authority. So I'm neutral about it Akumsunep, BA Second semester Jubilee Memorial College

I personally feel that students should not be allowed to carry their phones inside the classroom because it will not help them develop their listening skills. If the students are too techno savvy their interpersonal relationship and communications skills will also be affected. Another problem which will arise if mobile phones are allowed is that, those who do not have high end phones will begin to compare with their peers thus affecting their self esteem and as a result pressuring their parents to meet their demands. School is a place where equality should be practice so having a set uniformity in school becomes very important. School is also a place where students are taught values, life skills and the importance of being disciplined in life.

Therefore it will be more advisable not allowing the students to carry mobile phones inside the classroom so that a healthy environment is created where everyone learns to respect and accept each other irrespective of rich and poor background.

Susan Lotha, Child and Career Counselor

Are educational institutes in Nagaland becoming too commercial?

Send in your thoughts to morunglearning@gmail.com or WhatsApp @ 8794005039

Marriage Day According to tradition there are certain rituals which are performed by close friends (usually two) of the groom on this occasion.

1. They bring three hearth-stones from the hills and plant them in the new hearth.

2. They also bring six pot-stands* and six bamboo cylinders**for storing water.

3. One of the friends brings a jug of rice-brew and keeps it in the house.

4. The groom's father brings a fine cock and keeps it in the house.

5. He also brings a basket of rice and keeps it in the new house.

6. The bride's family provides a woven basket (of bamboo and cane) which contains new clothes.

7. Other things like cookingutensils and the ingredients for cooking like salt, chillies and other spices are provided by both families.

Marriage Ceremony Marriage feasts are given in both the households on the appointed day. In the olden days, invitation to both the feasts would go in the form of a small parcel of betel-nut and leaves, distributed by a relative, and the invitation was conveyed verbally. When the day's festivities are

over, the formal departure of the bride begins. She is accompanied by a few of her friends and escorted to her new home where the boy will be waiting with his friends. No females from the boy's family are allowed to be present on this occasion.

The girl's friends carry a complete set of weaving tools for the new bride to her home. When she arrives, the boy's party receives her with appropriate songs of welcome. After that the boy's father kills the cock he had bought earlier and examines its entrails to predict the future for the new couple. Traditionally, from the day of the marriage for seven days the boy does not sleep with his wife. On the seventh day, the rice-brew which his friends have brought, is taken out and drunk, These seven days complete his last period of abstinence and on the eighth day only, he can consummate his marriage, and thus a new life begins for the couple. *Pot-stands: Traditionally, the Aos use earthen pots for cooking which have concave bottoms and need special holders to make them stable when placed on the ground.

These holders are woven out of bamboo strips and shaped like rings on which pots are placed. **Bamboo Cylinders: certain lengths of mature green bamboos are cut in which only the lowermost joint is left intact. Thus it becomes a cylindrical receptacle for water. Villagers arrange them in a basket and carry water in them from streams.

Taken from the Book “Ao-Naga Oral Tradtiion” by Temsula Ao, Heritage Publishing House, 2012.

The information regarding the traditional practices relating to marriage translated version from a monograph by Rev. Takosungba of Ungma Village by the author. and used with permission.

The Morung Express

On 6th March 2016, Air India operated what is claimed to be the world’s longest ‘all women crew’ flight from Delhi to San Francisco, covering a distance of 14,500 kilometers. Does this mean women in India are free and independent? Probably not, and if the incidents of violence against women along with issues of unequal wages are to be considered, certainly not. However, it is a beginning yes. We as a community still have a long way to go to create a world where there is no bias based on gender. Change cannot come in a day. We all need to constantly persevere and work together to bring in the change.

-Sosangmar, BA 4th Semester (Political Science Honours)

Step It Up for Gender Equality!

T

he word ‘domination’ is a commonly used word in English, yet its meaning is not as pleasant as its phonetic sound. It denotes all kinds of authority, implying the presence of a victim, and subsequently, a denouncement of the victim’s personal, social, political, and economic rights. If we take a glimpse down the pages of history, we will see that in fact, most conflicts and revolutions erupted due to the domination of one over another, or when this discursive authority is forcibly imposed on another. History has shown us masters dominating slaves, lords dominating serfs, and employers dominating workers.

Keeping this understanding of domination and what it entails in mind, let us delve into understanding the word ‘Patriarchy’.

Literally, ‘Patriarchy’ means ‘rule of the father’. Originally it was used to denote a social system based on the authority of male as the head of the household. Presently, it denotes ‘male domination’ in general by excluding women’s rights in decision making and domestic division of labour. Here we can see two contending classes and genders struggling over their status in society. Since patriarchy favors the male, the woman is denied her basic rights. This inferior status to women in society in relation to men is therefore, the product of the institution of patriarchy. In any case, the dominance of men and submissiveness of women are not directly based on biological differences. Broadly speaking, these are the products of the social institutions that have been based on a patriarchal culture. It endorses domestic division of labour in familial spaces and a biased economic system. Therefore, to truly ensure a woman her divine right, these exploitative systems must alter the nature of their workings. To deny a woman her basic right on the pretext of socio-cultural and traditional designs is to deny the rights of all humankind.

In the contemporary world, it has become necessary to draw a distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ to understand the issues concerning the status of women and grasp the seriousness of gender inequality. Sociologically, the term ‘sex’ is confined to biological differences that construct ‘male’ and ‘female’ with distinct physical features. But when we use the term ‘gender’, we enter the cultural realm referring to the ideas that construct images and expectation of both male and female. By the same token, it becomes evident that nature has divided humans into men and women but their status, role and contribution is defined by cultural expectation endorsed by stereotypes. This mode of thought should be challenged and altered in the light of growing social consciousness.

In no case do women differ from men in their talents, skills, and capabilities. With the development of technology and sweeping changes taking place in our society, women are capable of doing what men can do, and perhaps, even more efficiently. The legacy of art and poetry since the 1800s have portrayed women as an object of beauty, an entity of fragile constitution, and a commodity to be admired and possessed.

Her voice is systematically and forcefully denied expression. It is necessary to view men and women, the essence of humankind, as essential agents of change enjoying equal rights in all spheres of life without any hindrances.

One must understand that the voice of women is not a voice against men. It is a voice against the tyranny that enslaved women and deprived them of their share in education, health, opportunities as well as their adequate share in economic and political power. It is the voice of the survivors of rape crying out for justice. It is the voice of the suppressed reverberating in society so that they can have their say in decision making. This voice shall continue to strive for hope, equality, and understanding. As long as women are raped, sexually harassed, and paid lower than the men, we cannot claim to be a society which considers women as equals. It is the birthright of every woman to be respected in society and as well as within the confines of her home; to live as she desires, to endorse a lifestyle she willingly chooses and to participate in decision-making anywhere as a fellow human, without the fear of suppression.

This year, International Women’s day has been celebrated with great zeal and passion emphasizing on women’s rights.

It is celebrated to acknowledge the contribution of women to society. Let’s hope for the day when there will be no discrimination based on gender in any form. It will be a world where all women can live in peace and truly be free.

“Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College.

For feedback or comments please email: admin@tetsocollege.org”.

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

8

WednesdAY 09•03•2016

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

'Ensure women's safety for women-led development' neW Delhi, March 8 (ians): Ensuring women's safety in public places will go a long way in giving them equal space in the decision making process, say women MPs cutting across party lines as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for moving beyond "women development" towards "women-led development".

The women legislators also felt that reservation for women in assemblies can facilitate the process, as the bill for giving 33 percent reservation to women remains pending.

The prime minister, at the recently concluded National Conference of Women Legislators, said the country must think beyond "women development" and move towards "women-led development" and asked woman lawmakers to interact with panchayat and municipal representatives in their area as a step towards their "empowerment".

At the same conference, President Pranab Mukherjee said it was "unfortunate" that the bill to ensure 33 percent representation of women in parliament could not be passed.

Known to be an eloquent speaker and a lawyer, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Meenakshi Lekhi said women are already empowered, and what they need are opportunities.

"I have been saying for years, we women are already empowered, we

Sonia seeks passage of women's quota bill

Female labourers wearing helmets take a break from laying underground electricity cables in Ahmedabad on March 7. (REUTERS Photo)

need opportunity. Work needs to be done on giving security and respect to women, we will manage the rest," Lekhi told IANS. "If you can ensure women safety, there is nothing that is unachievable."

The MP's comments came as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics show rise in cases of violence against women over the years, with 3,37,922 cases of crime against women in 2014.

On similar lines, Communist Party of IndiaMarxist (CPI-M) leader and Rajya Sabha member T.N. Seema felt drawing more

women in public space is one way of ensuring safe public space for them, linking it to the need for passage of the bill for women reservation in assemblies and parliament.

"Women need to be part of the implementation and decision-making process, the problem is how to make it work. When we talk about this, the bill for reservation for women in parliament becomes important.

The experience of having more women in local bodies proves that," Seema told IANS. Seema, who holds a doctorate in Malayalam

literature, agreed that ensuring safe atmosphere for women is important to ensure higher women's participation in public life, and added that to create a safe atmosphere more women should come out in the public space.

"We cannot wait for a safe atmosphere to be created... Safety of women is also connected to the participation of women in public life. When there are more women in public sphere, safe atmosphere will be created for women," she said.

Congress MP from the upper house Vijaylaxmi

neW Delhi, March 8 (ians): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked the government to pay attention to the passing of Women's Reservation Bill in parliament that seeks to reserve one-third legislative seats in the country for women.

She accused the Narendra Modi government of "double standards" and said that maximum governance -- the catchphrase of the prime minister -- should ensure "freedom" for civil society and not just accelerated economic growth. "The long-awaited Women's Reservation Bill requires the government's attention," she said in the Lok Sabha during a debate to mark International Women's Day on Tuesday.

Taking a dig at the government on the prime minister's much talked about 'maximum governance', she said: "Maximum governance is more than just accelerating the economic growth. Surely, maximum governance involves expanding space for debate, for disagreement and for the expression of different points of view without inviting retaliation and retribution."

The Congress leader said that maximum governance should involve "giving freedom to

Sadho said not enough is being done for ensuring a safe atmosphere for women. "If there is atmosphere of safety, women will come out and have bigger role.

But not much is being done for it," Sadho told IANS. "What are you doing to make women feel safe?

Even I feel unsafe if I have to leave Delhi airport at 11 p.m., and my driver is not there," the MP confessed.

She questioned the utilisation of the Nirbhaya Fund, a Rs.10 billion corpus announced by the government in 2013 which was set up to support initiatives by the government and NGOs

working towards protecting the dignity and ensuring safety of women in India.

"There is money lying in the Nirbhaya fund, what is happening to that?

There were no provisions for women in the budget either," she said.

Sadho also felt that passage of women's reservation bill in this regard can make a difference.

"Passing the women's bill will make a difference.

I even suggested this to the (Lok Sabha) Speaker (Sumitra Mahajan), I told her you represent women, you must ensure the bill is

civil society, non-governmental organisations and activist groups", and that it should be anchored in "deepening of country's democratic and liberal values". Sonia Gandhi's remarks come in the backdrop of controversies over government action in the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad University cases.

"Surely, maximum governance does not mean having double standards in relation to women and their rights. Maximum governance means protecting, preserving and strengthening our social and communal fabric," she said. Making a strong pitch for the passage of the women's quota bill, she said, "Maximum governance also means giving us women our legitimate due - namely the much-awaited Women's' Reservation Bill."

In this context, the Congress chief also sought the intervention of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and said, "I believe we can expect in you, madam speaker, a strong ally for this cause." She said the Congress was proud of giving the country its first woman prime minister in Indira Gandhi, first woman president in Pratibha Devisingh Patil and the first woman Lok Sabha speaker in Meira Kumar.

passed in Lok Sabha," Sadho told IANS. A constitutional amendment bill to provide one-third reservation to women in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha was passed by the Rajya Sabha in March 2010 amid protests by some regional parties and collective support of the Congress, BJP and Left parties, remains pending.

Lekhi, however, has a different perspective on granting reservation to women, which she emphasised was her personal opinion and not that of her party.

"Reservation for women is a must, but my personal opinion is that reservation should not be in terms of reservation of a constituency. We need election laws amended so that all parties need to give 33 percent reservation to women within the party," Lekhi said.

"Law should be such that a party will not be given election symbol till they implement this... This way parties will have to look out for strong women candidates and groom them, it will not remain something for the politically privileged," she added.

US disappointed over India's denial Minister's son denied Row at Allahabad university of visas to US religious commission bail in molestation case escalates, Oppositionn targets Irani

Washington, March 8 (ians): Citing President Barack Obama's message on religious freedom during his trip to India last year, the US again expressed disappointment over India's denial of visas to a bipartisan US commission.

"We're disappointed by this news," State Department Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday when asked about denial of visas to US Commission on International Religious Freedom that was planning to visit India on March 4.

The State Department, he said, was "supportive of the commission and the important role they play in reviewing facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom around the world."

"As President Obama himself noted during his visit last year, we support the Government of India's commitment to promoting religious freedom and diversity," Kirby said.

"And his message during his trip to India was clear and it remains true."

"Our nations are stronger when every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free of persecution and fear of discrimination," Obama was quoted as saying in New Delhi during his visit last year.

Asked if the State Department had reached out to Delhi on this, Kirby said: "It's not a topic of conversation we don't have, and it's not a topic of conversation that we're afraid to have with our Indian counterparts."

However, the spokesperson declined to give any details of discussions with India or making a "broad-brush statement" about an assessment on religious freedom there.

Citing Obama's statement about "every society being made stronger when people are free to worship or not worship at all," Kirby said "that would apply in India as it does anywhere else around the world."

"I don't have a formal policy statement with respect to the state of religious freedom in India right now," he said. "As I said, we're disappointed by this decision."

Asked to comment on India's position that the USCIRF doesn't have any locus standi on commenting on India's religious freedom because India's constitution itself guarantees it, Kirby said the US wanted such issues to be "upheld, to be observed."

"And again, we support the work of the commission and what they stand for," he said. "We remain disappointed by the news."

hyDerabaD, March 8 (ians): Rejecting the bail petition of the son of an Andhra Pradesh minister in a molestation case, a city court sent him to police custody for two days.

The bail petition of Ravela Susheel, son of Social and Tribal Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu, and a petition by police seeking his custody for two days were taken up for hearing in Nampally Criminal Court, and the court allowed police to take custody of Susheel on March 9 and 10 for further questioning.

Susheel and his driver M. Ramesh were sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a magistrate on Sunday. They are currently lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail.

Both Susheel and Ramesh, booked under Nirbhaya Act, surrendered in Banjara Hills police station late Saturday night.

They had allegedly molested a woman in Banjara Hills area here on March 3.

The woman, a teacher, said in her in complaint that she was walking on the road when a car stopped near her and the occupants asked her to come inside and even tried to drag her in by holding her hand.

When the woman raised an alarm, locals beat up the duo and handed them over to police. Police booked only the driver for misbehaving but no arrests were made.

Police swung into action the next day following media reports about police attempts to hush up the case.

Denying the charges, Susheel claimed that he spotted a puppy on the road and got down from car to pick it up but the woman with no reasons started shouting and abusing.

Meanwhile, Susheel's father said in the state assembly on Tuesday that if his son is found guilty, he will get the punishment.

neW Delhi, March 8 (Pti): After Hyderabad varsity and JNU, Allahabad University was at the centre of a row that escalated today with eight Opposition parties targeting HRD Minister Smriti Irani over alleged harassment of its Student's Union President, accusing her of acting like ABVP's "patron saint".

"We are agonized over the fact that the first ever lady President of Allahabad University Student's Union Richa Singh, a PhD scholar, is being harassed by the administration...," the parties that included Congress, Left and AAP said in a joint statement.

CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy separately asked the BJP-RSS combine to "keep off" Allahabad University, alleging that RSS students wing ABVP was trying to "saffronise" it after "targeting" JNU and HCU, and sought action against those trying to "create tension" at its campus.

K C Tyagi of JD(U) raised the issue of the "authoritarian attitude" of Allahabad University Vice-Chancellor during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, saying Richa Singh had written to all MPs

on the matter and about gender insensitivity. "First we saw the sacrifice of Rohith, then the Kanhaiya episode and now Richa Singh episode is in the process."

Drawing parallel with dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in Hyderabad University and the JNU row involving Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest, leaders from the eight parties in the joint statement trained their guns on Irani, reminding her that she is a minister of the entire country and not just the RSS and BJP. Jairam Ramesh and Rajeev Shukla (Congress), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), K C Tyagi (JD-U), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Bhagwant Mann (AAP) and Jaiprakash Yadav (RJD) were signatories to the statement.

"A government, which refuses to learn that autonomy of education institution is foundation of democracy, is sowing widespread discontent in campuses by its blatant support to ABVP's goondaism," they said.

Noting that Richa Singh had won as an independent candidate in Allahabad University while all the other seats were won by ABVP, the leaders

claimed she was in the eye of the storm for protesting against a visit of firebrand BJP MP Yogi Adityanath to the campus.

"ABVP members allegedly attacked the protestors but instead of investigating the attack, an enquiry was set up on Richa Singh herself. Further, there is a move now by the Vice Chancellor to declare her admission null and void, using some technical grounds, in order to get rid of what appears to be the only thorn in ABVP's side.

"We are aghast that University administration across the region are hunting students, who have a different view than the ABVP," they said.

Alleging that the HRD Minister is acting like the "patron saint of ABVP", they said, "we wish to remind her that she is a minister of this vast, diverse country and not just the RSS/BJP. "It is her responsibility to encourage and protect all Constitutional freedoms in University campuses. If Richa Singh is made a victim of ABVP's diktats, on the heels of Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar, then the students of this nation will be forced to rise in revolt," the statement added.

Five key lessons about women and work in India Rohini Pande, Charity Troyer Moore and Jennifer Johnson IANS and IndiaSpend

W

hile marginally more women work in India than in Pakistan (27 percent and 25 percent, respectively), Pakistan’s female labourforce participation rate is growing and India’s is declining. The percentage of women working in Bangladesh is three times higher than in India, which ranks last among BRICS countries in terms of women’s labour-force participation -- among G-20 countries, it is second to last, behind only Saudi Arabia.

Why might this be? In the South Asian context, on International Women’s Day, our analysis of the state of women and work in India does not offer clear explanation. Countries often experience a dip in women’s labour-force participation as incomes rises and women drop out of

low-paying menial work, usually in agriculture. But typically as the economy develops further and education levels rise, more and more women enter the labour force.

India’s economy is well beyond the point when large numbers of women would be expected to enter the labour force, based on evidence from other developing nations. And this is no academic concern -- recent estimates project that closing India’s gender gap in labour-force participation would generate a 27 percent net increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

But despite the increasing number of women pursuing secondary and post-secondary education, India’s women keep dropping out. Since 2005, more than 25 million Indian women have left the labour force.

Working outside the home is associated with a number of positive em-

powerment outcomes for women. At the household level, women who participate in the labour force marry and have children later, and their children stay in school longer. Even the sisters of women who work marry later.

Critically, women who work have greater decision-making power within the household, and make more decisions jointly with their partners. In work we have conducted in northern Madhya Pradesh, we document a correlation between participation in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and higher self-reported levels of empowerment: Women who participate in MGNREGS report higher levels of decision-making power within their households and higher levels of mobility than women who do not participate.

On a macro-level, evidence that gender equality (and more specifically,

women’s increased laproportion of educated table, and broader ecoto 2012, women’s share report it is unsafe to live bour-force participation) rural women who want nomic trends and govin the manufacturing away from home (this contributes to economic to work is even higher: ernment policies matter. labour-force rose from time, in the context of growth is strong. Yet womUpwards of 50 percent The Operation Black15-25 percent, but the skills training), comen face discrimination and would like a job apart board initiative was gender wage gap across pared to only 32 perdisadvantage across all asfrom their domestic launched in the 1980s, sectors in manufaccent of male youth. And pects of work. They earn work. If all women who alongside a 50 percent turing was high-much female respondents less, they participate less, expressed a desire to quota for women teachhigher than in services. were more likely to retheir employment status work did so, Female Laers. Since then, the eduTo increase women’s port they would migrate is more tentative, and the bour Force Participation cation sector has grown labour-force participawithin their district than quality of the jobs they perRate (FLFPR) in India to employ the most tion and wellbeing, curmales. form is lower than men. would rise 21 percentage women outside of agrirent policies must take Effective strategies to The International Labor points (78 percent). culture. women into consider- increase women’s labourOrganization estimates • Jobs near home attract • Current initiatives such ation. force participation are that at the global level, 48% women. We conducted a as Skill India, Make in • Migration for em- poorly understood. Furof women’s productive popilot survey of rural, beIndia, and new genderployment remains an ther research is needed to tential is unutilized. low-poverty-line youth based quotas - from under-explored, less explore these questions.

The evidence on why in areas around Bhopal. corporate boards to the supported means to An event called Shrinkso few women in India In our study, 93 percent police force - can spur employ women. In one ing Shakti, co-hosted by work - and why even more of unemployed female positive change. But we EPoD survey, 62 per- EPoD’s Rohini Pande and women are dropping out youth said they would need to invest in skill cent of unemployed fe- journalist Barkha Dutt of workforce - is limited. At take a job if they could training and job supmale youth-similar to 68 on March 7 in Delhi, conEvidence for Policy Design, work from home or in port. More than half of percent of unemployed vened scholars, politicians, research has taught us five the village. In contrast women who would like young men-said they executives, journalists, key lessons about women to the national labour a job, particularly those would consider migrat- and more to discuss the and work in India: market, the MGNREGS in rural areas, say they ing for a job. Migration question. We will be ex• Women want to work. has seen increased pardo not have the skills reis difficult, however, and ploring the five points outNational Sample Survey ticipation from women quired for the work they women have particu- lined here in greater detail (NSS) data show that 31 over the last five years, want to do-for example, lar concerns that must through future columns. percent of women who and now employs slightleatherwork or textile be addressed. Despite With India poised to bespend the majority of ly more women (52 permanufacturing. reporting they would come the largest economy their time performing cent) than men (48 perFurther, the opportunibe willing to consider in the world by 2030, it candomestic duties would cent). ties that exist need to be migrating for work, 69 not afford to leave half of its like some kind of job. The • Social norms are muequitable. From 2010 percent of female youth workforce behind.

WednesdaY 09•03 •2016

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

9

EU welcomes Turkey plan to stop migrants

* EU leaders hold 15hour summit with Turkey in Brussels; * Turkish PM offers to take back all migrants for more aid * Officials say more time needed to work on bigger deal * NATO says ships patrolling Turkish, Greek waters (Recasts with summit end, Merkel, Tusk, Cameron) BrussELs, March 8 (rEutErs): European Union leaders welcomed Turkey’s offer on Monday to take back all migrants who cross into Europe from its soil and agreed in principle to Ankara’s demands for more money, faster EU membership talks and quicker visa-free travel in return.

However, key details remained to be worked out and the 28 leaders ordered more work by officials with a view to reaching an ambitious package deal with Turkey at their next scheduled summit, on March 17-18.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron among others hailed the surprise Turkish proposal at an emergency summit in Brussels as a potential breakthrough in Europe’s politically toxic migration crisis.

More than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond have flooded into the EU since early 2015, most making the perilous

Migrants sit in a tent as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border at a makeshift camp, near the village of Idomeni, Greece on March 7. (REUTERS Photo)

sea crossing from Turkey to Greece, then heading north through the Balkans to Germany.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told EU leaders that Ankara was willing to take back all migrants who enter Europe from Turkey in future, including Syrian refugees, as well as those intercepted in its territorial waters.

“With this gamechanging position in fact our objective is to discourage illegal migration, to prevent human smugglers, to help people who want to

come to Europe through encouraging legal migration in a disciplined and regular manner,” he told a news conference after the summit.

In exchange for stopping the influx, he demanded doubling EU funding through 2018 to help Syrian refugees stay in Turkey and a commitment to take in one Syrian refugee directly from Turkey for each one returned from Greece’s Aegean islands, according to a document seen by Reuters.

He also asked to bring

forward EU visa liberalisation for Turks to June from end-2016 and to open five more negotiating chapters in Turkey’s long-stalled EU accession process.

The EU leaders agreed to the earlier target date for visa-free travel provided Ankara meets all the conditions including changing its visa policy towards Islamic states and introducing harder-to-fake biometric passports.

They left open how much additional aid they would provide for refugees in Turkey and made only a

vague reference to preparing for a decision on opening more areas of membership talks - a particularly sensitive issue for Cyprus.

European Council President Donald Tusk, who chaired the summit, said the outcome would show migrants that there was no longer a path into Europe for people seeking a better life.

“The days of irregular migration to Europe are over,” he told a joint news conference with Davutoglu.

Merkel, who requested

the special summit to show results before regional elections in Germany next Sunday, said: “The Turkish proposal is a breakthrough, if it is implemented, to break the chain from getting into a boat to settling in Europe.”

Desperate to end the influx of Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others, EU leaders brushed off warnings from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees that the EU should not shut its doors and should be willing to take in hundreds of thousands more refugees from Turkey.

Davutoglu said the summit showed how indispensable Turkey was for Europe, and Europe for Turkey.

At a preparatory meeting with Merkel and Rutte on Sunday night, he demanded double the 3 billion euros ($3.29 billion) earmarked so far to support Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Diplomats said Merkel and Rutte pressed hard for a deal on the Turkish plan but met resistance from central European states opposed to taking refugee quotas, as well as from Greece and Cyprus which have conditions for the Turkish accession talks.

Three days after the Turkish government seized the best-selling opposition newspaper Zaman, the leaders said they had discussed the situation of the media in Turkey with Davutoglu.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he had insisted on a reference to

media freedom in the final European countries have statement. rejected the whole principle.

USE FORCE? NATO Secretary-GenPolish Prime Minister eral Jens Stoltenberg said Beata Szydlo, one of sever- the alliance had begun paal central European lead- trols in the Aegean to supers who has resisted pres- port efforts to locate misure to accept a quota of grant boats, overcoming refugees, said the Turkish territorial sensitivities in proposal, if honoured and Greece and Turkey to paimplemented, would be a trol in the waters of both big step toward solving the NATO states. migrant crisis.

“NATO is starting acThe EU leaders pledged tivities in territorial waters to help Greece cope with a today,” he told a joint news backlog of migrants strand- conference in Brussels with ed on its soil and welcomed Davutoglu.

NATO naval back-up in the “We are expanding our Aegean Sea to help stop cooperation with the EU’s people smugglers. border agency, Frontex, Merkel refused to en- and we are expanding the dorse border closures by number of ships in our deAustria and Balkan neigh- ployment,” he said, adding bours that have stranded that France and Britain had over 30,000 migrants in agreed to send ships to the Greece, but the statement Aegean. noted: “Irregular flows of Germany is leading migrants along the West- the NATO mission that ern Balkans route have now was agreed on Feb. 11, come to an end.” which also includes ships The German leader, from Canada, Turkey and facing a possible political Greece. Until now, ships backlash in three regional had been in international polls over her welcoming waters. of the refugees, said the Britain’s Cameron question of Turkish EU said he was sending a namembership was “not on val force to the Aegean to the agenda today” but stra- join the NATO force even tegic cooperation with An- though Britain is outside kara was in Europe’s vital the Schengen zone of passgeopolitical interests. port-free travel and has reGreek Prime Minister fused to take any share of Alexis Tsipras said the bloc the migrants from Europe. must speed up the process While Cameron of relocating asylum seek- stressed Britain would take ers from Greece to other no part in any common EU EU countries as promised asylum policy, further milast September. EU states grant chaos could damage have so far taken in only a his efforts to win a June reffew hundred of a promised erendum and keep Britain 160,000 people and central in the EU.

Bangladesh upholds the death penalty Female farmers in 90 nations face discriminatory land laws March 8 eastern and southern Affor Jamaat leader for 1971 war crimes tOrONtO, (thOMsON rEutErs rica, compared to less than

Mir Quasem Ali

dhaKa, March 8 (rEutErs): Bangladesh Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty for one of the top leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Mir Quasem Ali, for war crimes during the 1971 independence war with Pakistan, which included killing and torturing freedom fighters.

A war crimes tribunal set up in 2010 has sparked violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, that it is victimising Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political opponents.

Four opposition politicians, including three leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, have been convicted by the tribunal and executed since late 2013.

Mir Quasem, 63, is a member of central executive committee of the Jamaat,

the largest Islamist party in Bangladesh, and is one of its most powerful leaders as he is believed to be the chief financier of the party.

He is also a leading businessman in Bangladesh, running firms ranging from print and electronic media to hospitals.

About 3 million people were killed, according to official figures, and thousands of women raped, during the independence war in which some factions, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the breakaway from what was then called West Pakistan.

The party denies that its leaders committed any atrocities. Mir Quasem went into hiding after Pakistan occupation forces and their local collaborators surrendered on December 16, 1971, and reappeared years later as a Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

He was arrested on June 17, 2012 and convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death on November 2, 2014.

His appeal against the death sentence was rejected on Tuesday, chief state lawyer Mahbubey Alam told reporters, immediately after the verdict.

Khandker Mahbub Hossain, the principal lawyer of the defendant, told reporters that after receiving a copy of the full verdict he will consult Quasem and his family.

FOuNdatION): Women in more than 90 countries still lack equal rights to own land, hurting food production and efforts to tackle poverty, Rwanda’s former agriculture minister said.

Nations in eastern and southern Africa have considerably improved their laws to grant land ownership rights to female farmers, Agnes Kalibata said.

But many states in North Africa and South Asia continue to treat women as second class citizens when it comes to land ownership, she said.

“In Africa, six out of 10 women depend on the land for their livelihoods,” Kalibata told the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of International Women’s Day on Tuesday.

“They must have access to the means of production - the land itself. If we are going to have development across the globe, women need equal access to the land.”

Up to 30 percent of women have land access in

10 percent in northern and central Africa, she said.

Without formal land titles, women have a harder time feeding and educating their children.

Agricultural productivity also suffers as female farmers are less likely to invest in improving the land without formal ownership, making it harder to feed the 795 million hungry people worldwide.

During her tenure as Rwanda’s agriculture minister which ended in 2014, Kalibata helped enact legal changes that give a woman ownership of half the land her family owns. In many other developing countries, land titles are kept in the husband’s name.

She also made it easier for widows to inherit family plots when their husbands died. “Incredible things are going on in Rwanda when it comes to women’s land rights,” said Rena Singer, spokeswoman for the Washington-based rights group Landesa.

“If women can’t inherit land, we see the continua-

China “blind faith” in NKorea sanctions irresponsible BEIJING, March 8 (rEutErs): “Blind faith” in sanctions and international pressure on North Korea are irresponsible, China’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday, after the U.N. security council implemented a fresh round of economic curbs targeting the North’s nuclear programme.

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch last month triggering a U.N. Security Council resolution and tough new sanctions. “The final settlement of the Korean peninsula issue needs comprehensive action and the right medicine for the illness,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists.

“Blind faith in sanctions and pressure, actually, are not a responsible approach for the future of the Korean peninsula.” Wang made the remarks at a briefing as China conducted its annual parliamentary session.

Isolated North Korea has rejected criticism of its nuclear and rocket programmes, even from old ally China, and last week leader Kim Jong Un ordered his country to be ready to use nuclear weapons in the face of what he sees as growing threats from enemies.

The UN Security Council put in place its latest round of sanctions, drafted

by China and the United States, last week. Independent experts have frequently questioned China’s resolve to enforce sanctions against North Korea, whose economy is heavily dependent on China. China has said it will enforce the measures “conscientiously”.

“At this time with the situation on the Korean peninsula, there are swords drawn and bows bent in mutual hostility, and the air is saturated with the taste of gunpowder,” Wang said.

“As the largest neighbouring country of the

A woman picks coffee berries while holding a child at the Paradise Lost coffee farm in Kiambu, outside Kenya’s capital Nairobi. (REUTERS File Photo)

tion of inequality between genders. The only way most poor people get resources in their lifetime is to inherit - they don’t have the money to purchase land.”

Even in countries like

Rwanda with good land laws, lax enforcement and patriarchal customs can make it harder for female farmers to control their incomes, Kalibata said.

Governments need

to invest in education, so rural women understand they have the right to own valuable land assets, she said, as many remain unaware of new laws granting them access.

WELCOME TO

HANDICRAFTS EXHIBITION at HOTEL JAPFU KOHIMA

FROM:MARCH 4, 2016 - March 10, 2016 China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a news conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, in Beijing on March 8. (REUTERS Photo)

peninsula, China will not sit idly by and watch stability on the peninsula be destroyed on a basic level.”

South Korean and U.S. troops began large-scale military exercises on Monday in an annual test of their

defences against North Korea, which called the drills “nuclear war moves” and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive.

China has voiced opposition to discussions between South Korea and

the United States on possible deployment of a new U.S. anti-missile system to South Korea. China sees the terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system as a threat to its strategic deterrence.

Organised By Nagaland Industrial development corporation Ltd. Dimapur: Nagaland Sponsored By Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) Ministery of Textiles Govt. of India

10

wednesdAY 09•03•2016

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

MGM School Annual Sports underway DiMAPur, FebruAry 8 (Mexn): The 31st Annual Sports Meet of MGM Hr. Secondary School was inaugurated with a grand opening ceremony held in the school campus. The ceremony was graced by Dr. Joseph Mar Dionysius, the Archbishop of Calcutta Diocese of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The Archbishop encouraged the children to play in the true sportsmanship spirit and poured words of blessings for the students and staffs.

The sports will continue at the school ground and SEWAK ground until Friday.

Earth moves for jubilant Leicester City fans LonDon, MArch 8 (AFP): Leicester City's supporters celebrated a recent goal so jubilantly that a minor earthquake was detected in the city, a group of geology students said on Tuesday.

The group from the University of Leicester recently placed earthquake-monitoring equipment at a school close to Leicester's King Power Stadium.

When Leonardo Ulloa scored an 89th-minute winner in last month's win over Norwich City, fans' celebrations sparked a mini-quake with a magnitude of 0.3 on the Richter scale.

"A few days after we installed the equipment at the school and were analysing data collected, we noticed large peaks on the seismogram during football matches being held in the stadium nearby," said first-year student Richard Hoyle.

"A closer look showed us there was a strong correlation between the exact time Leicester scored at home and the occurrence of the large seismic signals.

"We concluded that our equipment was actually measuring small earthquakes produced by the sudden energy release by the cheering Leicester fans celebrating at the moment a goal was scored."

Modest Leicester have charmed neutrals by surging to the top of the Premier League table and are currently five points clear with nine games of the season remaining.

‘laknyed’

T

he above word ‘Laknyed’ is given in Phom dialect which in English can be translated into ‘foul-hand’ or ‘squalid-hand’, meaning ‘service charge’ for making one’s hands untidy or filthy from work with hand. It implies to a small price given in the form of ‘piece of meat’ or ‘meat of internal parts of the animal killed’ for making the hands dirty or wet from handling, cutting, cooking and serving of a cow or pig or such that slaughter at one’s house. It uses to give by the house owner or host of feast where the tame is slaughtered.

This word is also used to any charge/ price pay in return for service or one’s loyalty on assignment irrespective of the job is related to sordid hand or not.

It is similar to commission or gratuity.

However, it is given when the authorities or owners are having grateful to the workmen when the later was doing without expectation of any reward.

It is good to receive gratefully of any kind or monetary if the owner or authority pay us upon the good work and help rendered whatever it may be in recognition but it’s unwise to take provide with our own and take away a thing if the responsibility we undertook has not involved authorized wages or commission.

Here’s a story of what actually encountered at one village in Nagaland.

There was once a community working day in which the authorizing agency entrusted some members to steward a task for slaughter cow and serve lunch for the working community members.

But alas there were no internal parts like intestines, stomach, liver, kidney, heart etc., of a cow killed on that day when the authority look for it. It has been vanished. The entrusted party (say cooking party) had taken away all those internal parts of cow beef. They took out as kind of laknyed without the knowledge or approval of authorizing agency.

Such situation often happens in our society. We often think is privilege to handle public properties. We think lucky to be steward which involved responsibility to deal with public financial matters with an intention to gain own profit.

We are relatively corrupt people.

Those in public based offices or high ranking officials apart from their salary charge laknyed for carrying out their duties. Politicians amass wealth beyond their income by swindling manipulatively on the funds meant for development. Even village administration and those involved in developmental schemes at village level are unaccountable occurred omission in which he participates. Innocent masses are suffered.

Best policies are formulated along with targeted earmarked resources for development and lift poverty, and yet, at all level functionaries there is no simplicity among people. These resources before arrive destination; evaporates into thin air. With maximum charges at every point, the infra-structures we built are moderate which could have been extreme, and low for moderate.

Whatever we do, and little did we help, never make any commission or omission as part of service charge unless the owner or authority pays us for our loyal services. We should abide by austerity measure.

Bausha Pauwung Buchem, Agri Colony, Longleng

Warriors notch milestone as Cavaliers, Spurs upset

Los AngeLes, MArch 8 (AFP): The Golden State Warriors notched another milestone win in a season full of them as the teams reckoned most likely to challenge their NBA dominance -- Cleveland and San Antonio -- endured upset defeats.

One day after they were humbled by the lowly Lakers in Los Angeles, the Warriors on Monday rebounded with a 119-113 victory over the Orlando Magic to stretch their regular-season home winning streak to an NBA record 45 games.

The Warriors haven't lost on their home floor in Oakland, California, since January 27, 2015, and improved on the record of 44 straight home triumphs set by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls over the 199495 and 1995-96 seasons.

Stephen Curry scored 41 points. With seven threepointers he took his total for the season to 301 -- the first player in NBA history to hit more than 300 from beyond the arc. Klay Thompson scored 27 points for Golden State, who overcame a season-high 24 turnovers.

The Magic tested Gold-

Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors goes up for a shot against Evan Fournier #10 and C.J. Watson #32 of the Orlando Magic at ORACLE Arena on March 7 in Oakland. (AFP Photo)

en State's resolve, closing within two points at 111109 with 1:13 remaining.

But Thompson turned a broken play into his fifth three-pointer with 52.5 seconds left and the Warriors held on for the win. The celebration that ensued was a far cry from the post-mortems being conducted by Cleveland and San Antonio.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers were shocked 106-103 by the short-hand-

ed Memphis Grizzlies in Cleveland. San Antonio had their eight-game winning streak snapped as they fell 99-91 to the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Monta Ellis scored 26 points, including 21 in the second half, and Paul George added 23 for the Pacers, who took advantage of the San Antonio's early scoring struggles to take a double-digit lead, then thwarted the Spurs'

attempt to rally late.

Forwards Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points apiece for San Antonio. Australian Patty Mills contributed 17 off the bench, but the Spurs shot a season-low 35.4 percent.

The Cavaliers committed a season-high 25 turnovers, unable to apply any real pressure until the fourth quarter. James finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Relieved that we have specialist death bowlers: MS Dhoni KoLKAtA, MArch 8 (iAns): India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday said that the best thing about his bowling unit is that he knows from the start of the innings who will bowl the last over.

India have somewhat resolved the issue of death bowling in the last few weeks with newcomer Jasprit Bumrah taking the bulk of the workload. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have also hit the right areas in the last few overs.

Their efforts have resulted in India coming into the competition after back-to-back T20 series victories against Australia and Sri Lanka. They also clinched the Asia Cup T20 competition last Sunday. “What I am happy about going into the World T20 is that right from the very first over I know who will be bowling at the death and that is a big relief," Dhoni told media persons here. “As far as this preparation is concerned we have had the perfect scenario… We are on track but fitness will be one of the concerns, because of it you may lose one of the first 11,” he added.

60 wrestlers to vie for NWA 25th Anniversary title KohiMA, MArch 8 (Mexn): 60 wrestlers from the Nagaland Wrestling Association’s (NWA) 3 constituent assemblies viz., Anagami Sports Association (ASA), Chakhesang Wrestling Association (CWA), and Zeliang Wrestling Association (ZWA) will vie for the coveted title of the NWA 25th Tournament Anniversary scheduled to be held at Kohima Local ground on March 10 and 11.

ASA champion Er. Mhasilhousie Nagi, CWA champion Vechita Khesoh and ZWA champion Nlumrai Hegwang among other prominent wrestlers will compete for the title. Two NWA former champions – Vekhriyi Chüzho of CWA, the NWA champion in 2008 and Megosier Khate of ASA, the NWA champion in 2010, will also participate in the competition.

public discourse

Conflicts and our contribution on prevention

W

e are living through a time of uniquely contradictory trends.

The post cold war era may be summed up for many by one sentence; there is less immediate threat, but much more insecurity than ever before. We no longer fear a super power-driven world war, but are increasingly concerned with growing social tension and conflict.

Conflict arises whenever individuals/ groups have different values, opinions, needs, interests and are unable to find a middle way.

Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals/ groups arising out of a difference in thought process, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes perceptions. A conflict results in heated arguments, physical abuses and definitely loss of peace and harmony. A conflict can actually change relationships. Friends can become foes as a result of conflict. Difference in living standards, social discrimination, political inequality, insufficient democracy, disregard for human rights etc may be considered long-term causes of conflict.

There is no consensus on the utility of early warning in conflict prevention. Some analysts argue that failed opportunities for conflict prevention have occurred not because of insufficient time to respond, but because of a lack of political will to react to the warning.

As conflicts escalate, adversaries begin to make greater threats and impose harsher negative sanctions. There is often a greater degree of direct violence and all sides suffer heavy losses.

In some cases, these conflicts spiral completely out of control. Given the highly destructive role

"G

that escalation plays, it is important to develop strategies to limit and reverse this process.

Conflict Prevention refers to strategies used in the pre-violent phase. They may include measures to increase trust and establish predictability among the conflict parties. These strategies are intended to keep disputes from escalating into violence. While routine diplomacy takes place during peace time, preventive diplomacy can help address and manage escalating tensions.

Preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and other forms of preventive action intended to stop various kinds of conflicts before they escalate to widespread violence are the subject of intense debate.

Children are the most vulnerable group among populations living in regions affected by civil strife. In an environment of violence, children are vulnerable to fear, injuries, separation from family etc…. The condition of children, the status of their education and child protection issues in these civil strife-affected places have been overshadowed by the discourse on conflict and conflict-resolution.

Growing up in a hostile environment that is marred by everyday violence and insecurity, children live in a constant state of fear and lack basic rights to health, education and protection. Children suffering from trauma and living in civil strife affected places have difficulty in comprehend and learning and need constant psycho-social support to reach their full potential. However, don’t know whether such mechanism or structure is in place to offer such support or counseling to children in our state.

There is growing recognition that children

and youth need to be engaged in positive activities; and that they have much to contribute to peace processes, reconstruction and peace building initiatives. Children and youth have already been making effective contributions to various programmes, including those focused, for example, on rebuilding social relationships, developing cultures of peace, rehabilitating education systems, and promoting livelihoods and economic recovery.

Involvement in such activities can counter the traumatizing and destructive experiences of violence that conflict-affected children and youth have undergone. More broadly, it provides positive and constructive roles for youth that render them less susceptible to mobilization to violence.

Civil society organisations, rather than governments, are in a better position to deal with such indirect causes of conflict. Civil society is widely assumed to be an important actor for peace building. As such, substantive focus has been given towards building and strengthening civil society. In such environments, civil society is understood as playing an important role in reducing violence, and in facilitating the conditions necessary for building a sustainable peace.

Civil society has the potential to play an important and effective role in peace building during all stages of conflict, and has often contributed positively to the peace building process.

Violence is the most important factor limiting the ability for civil society to play a meaningful role in peace building. The correlation is simple: the higher the level of violence, the more that the space is reduced for civil society to act. As a consequence, coherent policy and

operational measures to reduce violence independently from civil society initiatives need to be systematically explored.

Civil societies/ NGOs displays impressive creativity in solving practical problems and play an important role in paving the way for the implementation of conflict-resolution measures.

Absence of effective, accountable and transparent institutions to redistribute resources in a fair and equitable manner and regulate tensions allows conflicts to often take violent form often. There is a need to put efforts by the government to identify and analyze sources of conflict; supports early responses to address the causes and consequences of instability and violent conflict; and seeks to integrate conflict mitigation and management. Should not fail to guarantee public security, respect for human rights and help the communities to reach a definitive solution to the issues that is affecting the community and discuss the issues and set new outline of partnership where governmental agencies, organizations, civil societies and NGOs collectively rise to the challenges posed by violence, complex emergencies.

We need to promote a culture of conflict prevention and contribute that enables the early identification of tensions, the correct assessment of one's own role in conflict situations, and timely, appropriate measures for conflict transformation and peaceful solutions. We need to be committed to a positive vision of peace that not only seeks to remove both direct and structural violence, but also to address the root causes of conflict, violence and fragility.

Lithsa Yingbidhongru Kiphire: Nagaland

can nagas Help THemselves

od helps those who help themselves", so the saying goes. The pertinent question that follows is: "Are the Nagas honestly trying hard enough to help themselves to allow God to chip in?" If this question is directed towards an individual helping himself/ herself honestly or dishonestly in monitory terms, the obvious response would be an emphatic "yes!" without a second thought. In fact the Nagas have achieved this awesome professional phenomena of 'selfhelp' to a crippling degree without God's assistance...so much so that the focus on "helping ourselves for our common good" in context of our Naga National Movement (NNM) has been blurred out beyond recognition.

Of late the Chief Minister of Nagaland has been making an effort to raise a rational noise on the Naga political issue to affirm that the NNM is not an exclusive preserve of the Naga Political Groups (NPGs) but that all Nagas hold equal responsibility as shareholders towards defining the best possible settlement options and the final outcome of it...in response to the February 24.2016 joint statement of five NPGs. The right thinking people of Nagaland would have no hesitation in endorsing this view.

While wholeheartedly saluting the supreme sacrifices made by all our NPGs in their own respective ways to finally achieve a breakthrough affording the GoI to acknowledge that our Naga history is a unique one deserving to be sorted out through political dialogue, a new stage has now been set to work out solution on an intellectual plane. It would have been most pragmatic that the best of brains from all the NPGs and if necessary including even the non-NPG sectors, should have been inducted to address our common problem needing a common effort to unwrap an honourable solution that will find a satisfactory acceptance amongst the Naga majority. Towards this end the civil societies too ought to have been roped in to provide all the necessary backup and moral support as a concerted united front for the final lap.

The latest noise that the Chief Minister has made is his "clarion call for Naga unity and brotherhood "(Local media March4.2016) "appealing to the Naga people and various NPGs to maintain unity and brotherhood so as to resolve the protracted Naga political issue with the GoI". All of these statements could make real sense if the Chief Minister were to put action where his mouth is, knowing full well that nothing substantial is about to happen if these statements are left to only paint a politically correct picture without any additional inputs in terms of action to achieve what is being said. The only unproductive endeavour thus far undertaken by the Government of Nagaland towards this end was to conduct a thoroughly meaningless "consultative meeting" with Apex Tribal Ho Hos and other civil societies/NGOs at Jothsoma, who were simply called in to endorse an equally meaningless pre-conceived resolution despite dissenting voices being raised during this so-called consultation. In this given instance neither the Apex Tribal Ho Hos nor the NGOs had been given any opportunity to consult their respective constituents before the meet. In another similar make-believe "consultation meeting" of no real consequence called by the NSCN (IM) at Niathu Resort, Dimapur, the Government of Nagaland irresponsibly represented by the 60 elected members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) along with the rudderless Naga Ho Ho and hordes of other equally unquestioning citizens, participated by blindly endorsing the "Framework Agreement" enacted between NSCN (IM) and the GoI... despite knowing absolutely nothing about the contents of this "agreement". Here too, no opportunity was given to the representatives to consult their respective constituents before their blind endorsement. No concrete acceptable result can ever be expected to emerge from such meaningless efforts where the true will of the people is nowhere involved. Instead of senselessly groping in the dark in this manner it is about time for the Government to do

a thorough brainstorming to streamline an action plan that would help speed up the process based on the true will of the people.

The first primary task that the Government ought to undertake is to determinedly define its legitimate role towards conflict resolution. The philosophy of "Equi-closeness" and "Equi-distance" no longer seems to be a relevant proposition. Rather than considering itself as a helpless "Facilitator" without facilitating anything meaningful for the past several decades, the Government of Nagaland (GoN) should now seriously adopt a more proactive role of "Equi-involvement" as its chartered priority without fear or favour for the greater good. Once this decision is firmly adopted, the possible action plan can then be worked out to generate the true sentiment of the people as a sounding board both to the GoI and all the NPGs including the NSCN (IM). Within the 69 long years of struggle not a single platform has ever been elaborately organised to register the overall will of the people concerning our Naga National Movement. Perhaps it is time that the Nagas should revisit our past history and positively learn what 1951 Plebiscite accomplished for the Nagas...It gave the Nagas the moral strength to withstand the Indian tsunami at the worst possible times of trial. Over the years the Nagas have weakened this National foundry by pilfering this moral strength through factionalism. While it may not be practically feasible to regenerate an exercise equivalent to that of 1951Plebiscite, similar potentiality can nevertheless be reinvented, even if on a varied degree, by acknowledging and unleashing the strength of our customary roots...the institution of our Village Council of Elders inclusive of the GBs to make a political statement.

Consider the possibility: Suppose we carefully and thoughtfully crafted out questionnaires relevant to our present political circumstance.

Questions such as: 1. Should the Nagas blindly endorse the "Framework Agreement" signed between NSCN (IM) and the GoI without knowing the

contents of this agreement?

2. Should the Nagas accept the existence of so many Factions with each Faction continuing to tax the people independently in the name of Naga National Movement?

4. Do the Nagas believe that there should be just one Naga National Government to bring about a permanent honourable settlement?

5. Should the Nagas stop paying "Tax" to all the NPGs until they unite?

These are just off the cuff questionnaires as an example. The Government is at liberty to frame their own questionnaires as they feel fit. The important perspective in this is that the people will get an opportunity to deliberate and ventilate their decision on the political issue that will define their future. Thereafter, have all Village Councils in Nagaland including the GBs carry out an open public discussion at their own respective villages first and resolve their perspective answers on each of the questionnaires given to them. Thereafter the GoN could create a mega platform for all VC/GBs along with their respective Tribal Ho Hos to participate. Even if the process takes a week every responsible sectors should be given ample time to express themselves. Then perhaps Nagas would have a definitive majority consensus on how we should pursue our future together. This would be a landmark process on which the people of Nagaland could stand firmly with the Government against any eventualities as never before. With the full active support of its people, the Government could then usher in the rule of law in a more confident manner beyond its present helpless posturing. The NPGs would be compelled to reassess their respective status and the GoI will also have a clearer picture of what the will of the people is all about.

This is just a simple daydreaming speculation of the possible action plan one may come up with if one really means business... rather than keep blowing in the wind.

Khekiye K. Sema IAS (Rtd) Upper Forest Colony, Kohima

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.

WEDNESDAY 09•03•2016

ENTERTAINMENT

Wonder Woman T

Jon Snow back in 'Game Of Thrones' only as a corpse he veil from the fate of Jon Snow’s character in "Game Of Thrones" has been lifted -- and he will not be back from the dead. British actor Kit Harington says he has filmed some scenes of “being dead” for the upcoming sixth season of "Game of Thrones".

The final episode of the fifth season showed Jon Snow, one of the main characters played

gushes about the iconic character’s strength

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he's a key part in finally bringing iconic super heroine Wonder Woman to life on the big screen. And that's not something Gal Gadot takes lightly, which the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star ill Wyman, a discussed in the April issue of Glamour. former memSpeaking of what was important to her when ber of the Engportraying Wonder Woman, the 30-year-old folish rock band the cused on her independence, noting: 'She is not Rolling Stones, has relying on a man, and she’s not there because of been diagnosed a love story. She’s not there to serve someone with prostate canelse.' And Gal, whose last name is pronounced cer.

'Gah-dote,' also gushed about Wonder WomHe is underan's 'emotional intelligence.' 'I think it’s a going treatmistake when women cover their emoment after tions to look tough,' Gal explained, adddiscovering ing: 'I say let’s own who we are and use it the disease as a strength.' in the early And the Furious 7 actress, who looked stages, reeffortlessly beautiful in a textured halterports aceneck and distressed jeans on the cover, discussed how showbiz.com. the powerful role has affected her views on feminism. She ex"Bill Wyman, former plained that so many misconceptions muddy up the main focus member of The Rolling of feminism, which of course, is equality.

Stones, has been diag'I want all people to have the same opportunities and to get the same salaries for the same jobs. I realize I’m doing what I want to do because of the women before me who laid the groundwork.'

She added: 'Without them I wouldn’t be an educated working mother who is following her dreams; I wouldn’t be here.'

But being in such a high-profile role, Gal knows she's going to have her critics, and she got a little taste after her casting was first revealed. Noting that she had read Internet comments 'in the beginning,' Gal shared: 'You want people to be happy! There were a lot of comments about the size of my breasts.' But the motherof-one didn't let the criticism of her body get to her, noting: 'I realized we can’t please everyone.'

The playful actress also shared that in one interview she responded to the criticism by saying: 'If you want it to really be true to the origin story, the [myth goes that] Amazons had only one breast; otherwise it would get in the way of the bow and arrow.'

The rising star, who served two years in the Israeli army, earning a spot as a combat trainer after excelling in a grueling three-month boot camp, also admitted that she never intended to be an actress. She had originally planned on being a lawyer, but became interested after being approached to compete in Miss Israel at age 18, which she won.

'Nothing I planned happened. But whenever opportunity arose, I was prepared and positive,' Gal shared. 'And all those things I didn’t get, all those "almosts" - if I got them, I wouldn’t be Wonder Woman,' she said, looking back on previous roles, such as when she tried out to be a Bond Girl in Quantum Of Solace. 'What’s mine is mine, and what’s not mine was never meant to be.'

Following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hits theaters March 25, Gal will reprise her role of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince in a standalone film, as well as in two upcoming Justice League films, due out in 2017 and 2019. Lynda Carter played Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970s.

by Harington, lying lifeless in the snow. Since then the audience is rooting for Harington to come back.

In an interview to TimeOut London, Harington on Friday shared that he did shoot scenes for the fantasy series, reports dailymail.co.uk. He said: “Look, I’m not in the show any more. I’m definitely not in the new series.”

B

Source: MailOnline

Will Ferrell & Doppelganger Chad Smith team up for Charity Benefit

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by novelist George R.R. Martin's bestselling series, will be back in April. English channel Star World Premiere will bring the much anticipated season six of the HBO series to India right after its US telecast in April this year. Seasons one to five are being aired on Star World and Star World HD. The show tells the story of families vying for a throne.

Former Rolling Stones member DIAGNOSED with CANCER nosed with prostate cancer," read the statement from Wyman's representative.

"He is undergoing treatment and is expected to make a full recovery as it was caught in the early stages. The Wyman family has asked for their privacy during this time."

Wyman was last seen in public on March 5, attending the wedding of Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall, the former wife of Rolling Stones' lead singer Mick Jagger, at St Bride's Church, in Fleet St, here.

At the time, the 79-yearold musician was accom-

Jimmy Kimmel to host 2016 Emmys

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he Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer has been mistaken for the Anchorman star for years and even started wearing T-shirts that read I'm not Will Ferrell because he was constantly being stopped and asked to sign autographs by film fans.

The pair played up to the joke and finally went head-to-head on television by competing against each other in a long-anticipated drum battle on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014 to raise money for charity.

When asked if he had filmed any scenes, he replied: “I filmed some scenes of me being dead.

It’s some of my best work.” However, he did offer a ray of hope with a reply to the next question; on whether he knows what will happen in the series.

“I don’t have a clue but I know how long I’m a corpse for, but I can’t tell you that,” he said. The sixth season of the show, inspired

They are now resuming their double act to host the all-star Red Hot Benefit Comedy + Music Show & Quinceanera. A quinceanera is an event held in Latin America to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday.

I have only one great regret in life and it's that I never actually celebrated

Zendaya to star in 'SpiderMan' reboot

my quinceane r a , Fe r r e l l jokes to Rolling Stone. Well, on April 29th at the Shrine Auditorium, with Red Hot Chili Peppers and a bunch of other really talented comedians and musicians by my side, we are going to right that wrong, and everyone is invited.

So much goodwill came out of one silly joke, Smith adds. We've been trying to find another way to get together and do some more good for our respective causes and I think we

have found it. I'm going to check with my own mother, because I don't recall any family photos of my own quinceanera either.

The Chili Peppers will perform at the event and recruit other music acts, while Ferrell will bring in comedians to perform at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles on 29 April (16).

Funds raised will go to Ferrell's charity of choice, Cancer for College, which helps cancer survivors get a college education, and Smith's favoured organisation Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which grants scholarships for music education.

Source: Contactmusic

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inger-actress Zendaya is all set to join Tom Holland in the "Spider-Man" reboot.

Her character details are not out yet, but it is being reported that she has not been signed to play the love interest. It has emerged that Zendaya was one of a handful of actresses who had been testing with Holland for the past couple of weeks, a source told variety.com.

"The character is neither Peter Parker’s love interest nor a lead role. She will, however, play a bigger part in future installments,” the source said.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has teamed with Marvel Studios to produce the sixth movie in its franchise. Jon Watts is directing the currently untitled “Spider-Man” film, which focuses on a teenage Parker’s high school days.

The film's plot details are still being heavily guarded, and production is expected to start this summer.

Holland’s Spider-Man will first make an appearance in the upcoming “Captain America: Civil War”.

Source: IANS

panied by his wife Suzanne.

It is the latest cancer scare to hit members of the band. Previously, the band's drummer Charlie

Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004 and underwent two operations to rid himself of the disease. Three years later, Keith Richards's wife Patti Hansen underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove a bladder tumor.

Wyman joined the Rolling Stones in 1962 before leaving the group in 1993.

He has since made some occasional guest appearances with the band. He is currently touring and recording with his own bluesrock band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.

Source: CNN

Hillstar NOW SHOWING

Ticket Rates PLATINUM - `320 GOLD - `150 SILVER - `80

Source: IANS

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he late-night host confirmed it Monday, tweeting, "I am hosting the #Emmys on Sunday Sept 18. Until then, have a great summer."

This will be his second time hosting solo, as Kimmel emceed the ceremony in 2012. "Jimmy Kimmel is the consummate showman," Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, said in a statement. "With Kimmel at the helm, expect to be at the edge of your seat for a bigger, bolder, and better-than-ever Emmy event."

His "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is ABC's longest-running latenight talk show, with 14 seasons.

The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on ABC on September 18.

Source: IANS

11:00 am | 2:00 pm | 8:00 pm

Winner of Naga Orpheus Hunt 2005 Thenon Konyak performs during 49th parting social of Kohima College Kohima on March 8.

(Morung Photo)

05:00 PM

12

wednesdAY 09•03•2016

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Sharapova fails drug test, Nike suspends ties

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LOS ANGELES, MArch 8 (rEutErS): Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova said on Monday she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she was taking for health issues, leading longtime sponsor Nike to announce it was suspending ties during the investigation. The 28-year-old Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion and the highest paid woman in sports, will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.

She is the seventh athlete in a month to test positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was only banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of January 1.

"I made a huge mistake.

I let my fans down and I let the sport down," said Sharapova, a teenage tennis prodigy who became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion. "I take full responsibility for it."

"I know that with this I face consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game," former world number one Sharapova told a news conference in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker, said it was "saddened and surprised" by the news and released a statement saying it was putting ties on hold with the player.

"We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues," it said.

The ITF's anti-doping program calls for a fouryear suspension for a positive test, but that ban can be reduced in various circumstances, such as for first-time offences or if the player shows no significant fault or negligence.

If a player bears no fault or negligence, there is no suspension.

TAKEN MELDONIUM FOR 10 YEARS According to Forbes, she earned $29.5 million in 2015, mostly from endorsements. Sharapova said her

Tennis player Maria Sharapova addresses the media regarding a failed drug test at the Australian Open at The LA Hotel Downtown on March 7 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

family doctor had been giving her mildronate, which is also called meldonium, for 10 years after she frequently became sick, had irregular EKG results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.

"It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance." WADA declined to comment until ITF issues a final decision.

Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks among other conditions, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is listed by WADA among its prohibited metabolic modulators, along with insulin, and some researchers say it can also help recovery.

It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Lat-

via and other countries in that region. Over the past month, Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov, Russian figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova, Ethiopia-born athletes Endeshaw Negesse and Abeba Aregawi, and Ukraine biathletes Olga Abramova and Artem Tyshchenko have all tested positive for meldonium.

Sharapova is the most prominent tennis player to test positive for a banned substance in recent years.

Croatia's Marin Cilic was banned for nine months in 2013 after testing positive for a prohibited stimulant, though the suspension was cut to four months on appeal.

Former world number one Martina Hingis retired after receiving a two-year suspension for a positive cocaine test in 2007, though the Swiss denied taking the drug.

WTA SADDENED BY NEWS Last year, the sport banned U.S. player Wayne Odesnik for 15 years after

his second doping violation, testing positive for steroids and other banned substances.

Sharapova is the biggest name in sport to test positive since New York Yankees baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez was banned for a year in 2013 after using performance-enhancing drugs and American cyclist Lance Armstrong was banned for life from racing in 2012 after a U.S. AntiDoping investigation.

Sharapova, one of the most popular figures in global sports, has long been a favorite with her sponsors. Cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc declined to comment on its endorsements.

Steve Simon, CEO of the Women's Tennis Association, said in a statement he was saddened to hear the news.

"Maria (Sharapova) is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity," he said.

"Nevertheless, as Maria acknowledged, it is ev-

ery player's responsibility to know what they put in their body and to know if it is permissible. The WTA will support the decisions reached through this process."

The news came a day after Sharapova's management team said she was going to make a "major announcement," which had many speculating that she was going to announce her retirement from professional tennis.

Sharapova, who has struggled with a series of injuries in recent years, has not competed since she lost to Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.

Renowned for her never-say-die approach, a gritty baseline game and high-decibel shrieking, Sharapova at 17 became the first Russian woman to win Wimbledon when she beat Serena Williams 6-1 6-4 in the 2004 final.

That victory also made her the third-youngest Wimbledon champion, behind only Lottie Dod and Hingis, and the fourthyoungest grand slam winner in the open era after Hingis, Monica Seles and Tracy Austin.

FORMER WORLD NO.1 JENNIFER CAPRIATI on TWITTER "I'm extremely angry and disappointed. I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what. I had to throw in the towel and suffer. "I didn't have the high priced team of drs that found a way for me to cheat and get around the system and wait for science to catch up. The responses are exactly what i am talking about. Everything based on illusion and lie driven by the media for over 20 yrs. Beyond unfair."

that have to be aware though."

CURRENT AMERICAN PLAYER RYAN HARRISON on TWITTER "Maria handled that so well. In my opinion, honest mistake from a great champion" FORMER TOP 10 PLAYER AND COACH BRAD GILBERT "Still stunned that nobody on Shazza team checked new list from WADA, players are responsible but this is big time oversight on team as well."

AMERICAN GREAT MARTINA NAVRATILOVA ON TWITTER AUSTRALIAN PLAYER MATT EBDEN "Hold your horses everyone - about "Doesn't look that innocent for Maria - I don't have all the facts, I hope Sharapova or whoever else took it, this it's an honest mistake, stuff was legal as Meldonium stuff but who knows?" far as I know till 2015."

BRITISH OLYMPIC HEPTATHLON FORMER PLAYER JAMES BRONZE MEDALLIST KELLY SOTHERTON BLAKE on TWITTER "I'm pretty sure if this was a track and "Wow. Classy of @MariaSharapova to field athlete they'd be getting a much hold a press conference for this and ad- rawer deal than Sharapova. However it is mit making a mistake. Definitely agree what it is. #Sharapova"

TAG Heuer, Porsche ends ties

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wiss watch brand TAG Heuer is dropping its sponsorship of Maria Sharapova, it said on Tuesday after the Russian tennis star said she had failed a drug test. "Maria Sharapova was under contract with TAG Heuer until December 31, 2015. We had been in talks to extend our collaboration. In view of the current situation, the Swiss watch brand has suspended negotiations and has decided not to renew the contract," the unit of French luxury

goods group LVMH said in a statement.

Luxury carmaker Porsche, a division of Volkswagen, said on Tuesday it would suspend tennis player Maria Sharapova as its brand ambassador in light of her admission that she failed a doping test.

"We regret the current news about Maria Sharapova. Until further details emerge and we are able to analyse the situation, we have decided to suspend planned activities," Porsche said in a statement.

Source: Reuters

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