The Morung Express by The Morung Express

C M Y K

Dimapur

LOCAL

Saturday 8 November 2008

The Morung Express

‘A time to strengthen relations’

Chumukedima celebrates ‘Tokhu Emong’

Our Correspondent Kohima | November 7

John Yengkhom

AS ALL Naga Lothas today celebrated their post harvest festival – Tokhu Emong – across the state, the Lotha community in various areas of the state capital, Kohima, also celebrated the same with much prompt and gaiety. Marking the festival, the Lothas of Agri-Forest/Electrical colony today celebrated the festival at the official residence of Mhathung Kithan, IAS. In the programme, Additional Commissioner of Nagaland, K N Ngullie spoke on the significance of Tokhu Emong. Stating that the festival is a time to reinforce friendship and to strengthen relations, he encouraged the gathering to renew their love and respect for elders and others. Speaking in tune with the former, E H Lotha, Joint Director, Agri, also said that Tokhu Emong is a time when misunderstandings are forgiven in true spirit and the bonds of friendship are strengthened. He also called upon the gathering to be proud of one’s own identity. “If you are not transparent of your identity, the defect lies in you,” he said and encouraged the community to be proud of their identity (Kyong) and work with a positive attitude towards the welfare of the society. The programme was also marked by various entertainment items, followed by the Tokhu feast. The Tokhu Emong is the harvest festival of the Lothas and is celebrated on the seventh of November every year. During this festival, the entire village takes part in the celebration. Every household has food and drinks prepared for the feast. Friends, families and neighbours are invited to each other’s house. The main features of the feast are community songs, dances, feast, fun and frolic. Everyone is attired in their beautiful traditional dresses and costumes according to their social status. Gifts of food and drinks are exchanged during the festival. It is also a time for strengthening relations, making friends and forgiving each other with open hearts.

Dimapur | November 7

A two and a half year old girl, Senthanro Khuvung strikes a conﬁdent pose in her colourful Lotha traditional attire, as she celebrates Tokhu Emong in Kohima, November 7. (Morung Photo)

MEx File

‘TOKHU EMONG’ was today observed with much pomp and gaiety at Chumukedima with people thronging the 1st NAP Auditorium to celebrate the festival of the Lotha community and maintain the age-old practices of the Lothas. Chumukedima witnessed more than a thousand people at the 1st NAP Auditorium all gathered for the celebration, which was organised by the Chumukedima Lotha Hoho. The chief guest at the function, E T Ezung, former Speaker of Nagaland Legislative Assembly, mainly spoke about reconciliation, saying, “The fest itself during the post-harvest period reconciles among the members themselves.” Further encouraging the gathering that it was time to be united in that same prism, “where we also look forward to celebrate the age old tradition,” Ezung asked the crowd to revive, especially keeping the spirit of reconciliation. Later in the evening, SP (Border) Philip Humtsoe, as guest of honour, gave away

Guest of honour, Philip Humtsoe, SP Border, taking a sip of local brew at the Tokhu Emong celebration held at 1st NAP Auditorium, Chumukedima, on Friday. (Morung Photo/ John Yengkhom)

the prize to this year’s Miss Tokhu Emong. The winner and runners-up are Mhalo Jami, Myingthunglo Humtsoe and Epipeni Ngullie. Altogether, 18 contestants participated at the pageant.

Other highlights of the program included special number by LSU, Patkai, speech by Chairman of Lotha Hoho, Chumukedima, tugof-war, and narration of a brief history through a pre-

sentation of skit. Besides Chumukedima, the Tokhu Emong celebration extended to areas in and around Dimapur and at places like Diphupar A and B, and Khushiabill, besides the whole of the state.

DEOs to select best performing VEC/WECs

Kripa’s OST drop-in centre shifted

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The District Education Officers will be selecting two best performing VEC/WECs from their respective districts for a state-level award. The selection of the best performing VEC/WECs are to be recommended by the district level selection panel as per the modalities, guidelines and checklist circulated to all the DEOs and DIS earlier. Informing this in a release, Nukshilepba, Nodal Officer for Communitisation, added that the selection list should be sub-

Dimapur shops to remain open on Sundays DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): In view of the ensuing Christmas and New Year season, the Dimapur Municipal Council has issued an order that all the business establishments of Dimapur Town are to keep their shops open on all Sundays until January 5. This order shall come into force with immediate effect, DMC Chairperson K Khekaho Assumi stated in a notification received here.

mitted to the office on or before November 13, 2008, along with the relevant documents for onward submission to the government. The documents should also include list of the members of the district-level selection panel and justification note on the performance of the best two selected VEC/WECs supported with the check list and inspection report on format A&B collected by the DISs and SISs on their inspection to the communitised schools, the release added.

Free eye screening on Nov 8, 9

C M Y K

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Lions Club of Dimapur has organised a free Eye Screening Camp. The two-day Camp will be held on Saturday and Sunday, i.e. November 8 and 9, 2008, at the Lions Club of Dimapur, Midland, in association with the Jorhat Lions Eye Hospital. S Imtisungit Jamir, MLA of Dimapur-II, will formally inaugurate the camp tomorrow at 10:00 am. Requesting all the patients to report to the Club premises at 7 am for registration, Lion R Khadria, Chairman for Sight Conservation & Work with Blind, Lions Club of Dimapur, in a release informed that the registration forms are available at the Club. The release further requested all the Lions and Leos to be present on the occasion.

NU essay competition on National Education Day KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 7 (DIPR): Nagaland University will be observing the National Education Day on November 11, the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, an eminent educationist. To mark the occasion, the University has organised an essay writing competition for the students, and the same will be evaluated on the spot. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third position holders in the competition, besides five consolation prizes. Graduate students, including students from affiliated colleges of Nagaland University, are invited to participate in the Essay Writing competition. Interested students may send their names through their respective Heads of Department/Principal.

DABA English Worship brings United Praise on Nov 9 DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Dimapur Ao Baptist Church (DABA) English Worship in association with Nagaland Post, Music Ground, Global Chapter and Real Attitude Magazine, has organised an evening of special worship ‘United Praise Love Conquers All’ on November 9 at DABA, Duncan, starting from 3 in the evening. The special guest for the programme will be Maongwati Aier, DC Dimapur, and Geoffrey Yaden, Editor of Nagaland Post. Sashi and Asen of Higher Ground will make a special appearance. Blended 4 Him, Kids Worship Centre, Tali Angh, Alobo (DSBA), Town Baptist Church, Maongla Mozer, Tiameren (Unhindered), Dew Drops, DABA English Worship Team and many others will be taking part in the programme.

Visitors look at the moon through a telescope mounted at the Alempang Recreation Ground, on Friday night. The Alempang CYE had organised a 'Fete' festival at the ground, from November 3 to 7, to raise funds for procuring a sound system. (Morung Photo/Limalenden)

DSE on annual collection of School statistics DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Directorate of School Education, Nagaland, has notified all concerned schools, including the Navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalayas and those affiliated to the CBSE and ICSE, on the department’s annual collection of school statistics, as applicable on September 30, 2008. The statistics are regarding enrolment, teachers and infrastructure, and are required in the District Information System for Education (DISE) format, which is mandatory throughout the country. In this regard, all private schools in Dimapur district have been notified to collect the said formats from the office of the District Education Office Dimapur, Room No. 3, 1st floor, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Distribution and collection of the formats will be entertained till November 26, 2008. Further, Maongwati Aier, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman DMA-SSA, Dimapur, has requested compliance with the notification so as to avoid any untoward situation.

Rio to grace NSCF Zbt Raising Day ZUNHEBOTO, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will grace the occasion of Senior Citizen Forum, Zunheboto District Unit’s Raising Day on November 14, after the Ahunah feast. NSCF Zunheboto District President, H S Rotokha, has informed that all elderly persons in the district above 65 years of age attend the function.

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Drop-in Centre of the Opiate Substitution Therapy (OST) project, supported by NACO/EHA and implemented by the Kripa Foundation, has been shifted to the main PWD junction and will function at the new location from November 8. Ketho, Program Manager, explained, “In order to provide quality service and easy accessibility of the program to the injecting drug users (IDUs), we have strategically planned to change our office location.” He added that all concerned individuals who want to avail the free OST treatment, may meet the Medical Officer of Kripa Foundation from 11 am to 12 noon on any working day.

Notun Bosti Council meet postponed

Citizens of Kohima brave the cold while trying to remain awake until the counters open the next morning, near the BOC area. With the dearth of supply of gas cylinders, obtaining a ‘reﬁll’ is cause for much worry. Consumers often hire labourers to ‘stay awake’ and guard their gas cylinders. (Photo courtesy: KT Thomas)

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Notun Bosti Council’s annual general meeting scheduled for November 8 has been rescheduled for November 15 at 9:00 am at the Community Hall. The Council Secretary, in a press release, has informed that the meeting was postponed due to the mass social work organised by the state government.

‘Mark this milestone to plan and move ahead’ Mount Hermon School Kohima completes 25 years

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(Left) Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations at Mount Hermon School, Kohima, on Friday. (Right) Young schoolchildren of the school sing during the celebration. (Morung Photos) Our Correspondent Kohima | November 7

MARKING ITS 25th year since establishment, Mount Hermon School Kohima today celebrated its silver jubilee at the school premises with Minister for Urban Development & Higher Education, Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu, as chief guest. “Silver Jubilee is a joyous moment, a historic moment in the history of the school; a time to look back and see how much you have achieved during the last 25

years,” the minister said, adding that it’s a time to congratulate the pioneers of the school for taking initiative in establishing the school. “You have done very well,” he said and encouraged the school to mark this milestone to plan and move ahead, taking into account their past successes and failures as lessons. The minister also opined that celebration of jubilee should not be restricted to a day but throughout the year by way of making plans and initiations towards higher goals. Reminding of the com-

petitive era, the minister said complacency has no place in competition and called for the school not to remain complacent but to aim for greater heights. Also stating that private schools were faring comparatively better than government schools, he encouraged the school(s) to improve further. He further suggested that schools form teacher-parents associations, and called for more participation of parents and public leaders so as to help in the improvement of the education and progress of students.

Earlier, Sorei Raman, AdministratoratMHS,welcomed the gathering and Rev. Zhabu Terhuja, general secretary of NBCC, released the jubilee souvenir magazine. Special numbers by the school senior/ junior choirs, tiny tots, MHS staff and student alumna, unveiling of the school’s new uniform, including presentations and short exhortations by various dignitaries marked the jubilee programme. The vote of thanks was proposed by Eshia Raman. Located at Keniezou colony, Kohima, Mount

Hermon School Kohima was established in the year 1983 by Mr. and Mrs. R Sorei, and was named by the founder’s parents. At the initial stage, the school started with two small rented rooms, which gradually increased in the 25 years, and at present has its own well-established building and hostel that caters to various needs for the allround development of the students. Today, the school is run by Sorei Raman, as administrator, and Lanshung as the headmaster, and employs 35 teaching staff.

LOCAL

The Morung Express

Saturday

8 November 2008

Opposition Party has its ‘signiﬁcant role’ in democracy DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): “The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has been consistent in voicing its views and observations on the state of affairs in Nagaland solely in the interest of the people,” stated a press note issued by Zachilhu Vadeo, vice-president, Admn of NPCC, adding “For maintaining healthy democracy, the Opposition Party has it significant role to comment on commission and omission of the Government of the day as people’s interest have to be safeguarded at all cost.” “The Government, on the other hand, is bound to accept wrongs and lapses committed on its part and rectify wherever necessary. But, in complete deviation, the NPF Government has shrieked its true responsibility and began

to bark at everything without rhyme or reason,” it stated. On this issue, the NPCC had made a strong comment that “there is no logic to have a palace like building to accommodate the State DGP by incurring huge and wasteful expenditure and further, felt that such wasteful expenditure instead be utilized for raising police housing complex (security reason, etc) or some other useful and beneficial purposes. As Opposition, I think it is not wrong to offer our pragmatic comment! In the midst, with the heralding of full moon, one Shilumar, the Associate Press Secretary, whose foolish act had forced his NPF Party to tender public apology, has once again, come out with an irrelevant and unsubstantiated statement against the Congress Party by toeing in line

with the NPF’s usual habit of parroting on falsehood.” “In peacock character, the NPF Party have started trumpeting about developments being rendered to the people. But in reality, at the grass root level, the villagers and poor and needy sections of the society have not been benefited in anyway. Their conditions and states have not been enhanced nor their plights have been assuaged. Though they are boasting about their achievements, it doesn’t carry any meaning unless it percolate to the lowest level – village and common man. So to be precise, in NPF the public have only seen prosperity and development of the privileged few who filled up their belly at the expense of the public and thus the major section of the people of Nagaland

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): All concerned are informed that the KUDA (Dimapur) Angami Students’ Union is organizing a seminar on November 8 at 9:00 am at Lions Club Hall, Nepali Bosti. It will be held under the theme ‘Tsieteiu nu Angami Kephrünuoko Chiekeshü’ with Pekrüsetuo Terhuja as the chief guest and T L Angami and Nibu Nagi as resource persons. K(D)ASU President Keneiselie Zatsu in a press release informed that all Angami students must attend the seminar positively, failing for which the Union will be compelled to take necessary action.

PUK meeting on Nov 8 KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 5 (DIPR): The 22nd Phom Union Kohima (PUK) annual meeting will be held on November 8 next at 9:30 am in the residence of Union Treasurer (Below Directorate Of School Education, Bayavü), B.I Angh. Parlimentary Secretary, RD & REPA, Pangnyu Phom and Parliamentary Secretary, Transport & Communication and Mechanical, Dako Phom will address the union. General Secretary, B. Chingmei has requested all the Phoms residing in and around Kohima to attend the meeting without fail. Meanwhile, the PUK has congratulated the new team of office bearers of the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO), led by President, Mangko Phom. The PUK has further wished them success in their endeavors.

KTSSU seminar on November 8 Our Correspondent Kiphire | November 7

WITH A VIEW towards moulding and empowering students to play the main role in society, the KTSSU is organising a seminar on November 8 under the theme ‘The role of students in present society’. The resource persons will include R Y Mosses, Lecturer of History, Head of the Department, ZPC, and Kirithong, Finance Secretary of USSC. In order to make the seminar successful and to benefit the student community, the KTSSU has directed all the heads of institutes to cooperate with the Union and send students studying in class 8 and above to attend the seminar. The KTSSU further expressed satisfaction with Dr. Kumar.

KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 7 (DIPR): In view of the mass social work to be held on November 8, 2008, Deputy Commissioner, Kohima, Sachopra Vero convened a meeting of the Colonies Panchayat Chairmen, Youth presidents, GBs, KMC members and Sector Magistrates this afternoon at DC’s Conference hall. Addressing the gathering the Deputy Commissioner said that the social work has been organized keeping in view of the upcoming Hornbill Festival, the Korean Music festival and other associated festivities. He directed all the Panchayat Chairmen, GBs, Youth Presidents to actively participate in the social work and also to mobilize their respective colony public to do the same. He said that unauthorized pigsties, temporary urinals and toilet sheds on the roadside should be removed.

Your daily Meetings, Appointments, Information and Reminder column

CSUD10th general meeting November 8

are left high and dry,” the note stated. “In a true sense, the NPF leaders, being well of and affluent and their cups runned over, they have started leading a hi-fi Nano technology life. Therefore, brushing aside common people’s welfare and predicaments, this privileged NPF people have envisaged their policies and programs on latest gadgets, luxurious and expensive cars, palatial building with hosts of servants and orderlies, bank accounts and fast money making insurance policies so on and so forth. Are these westernized changed policies and programs of the DAN/ NPF Government accrue any benefit to the people of Nagaland? The NPCC leaves everything to the people to Students of Bethesda higher Secondary school fully clad in have their own judgment,” the traditional attire during the parents’ day celebration on the note concluded. November 6 last. (Morung Photo)

Rainfall

Mon

Temp

No rainfall Normal

Cloud cover

Relative humidity Max% Min%

Wind speed km/hr

Wind direction Southernly to Southeasternly South westernly Westernly to North easternly Southwesternly to Southernly Southwesternly to Southernly Southernly Easternly Easternly

Clear sky

3-4

Mokokchung Tuensang

-do-do-

Normal Normal

Clear sky Clear sky

90 97

38 35

3-4 1-2

Zunheboto

-do-

Normal

Clear sky

3-4

Phek

-do-

Normal

Clear sky

2-3

Wokha Kohima Dimapur

-do-do-do-

Normal Normal Normal

Clear sky Clear sky Clear sky

93 89 94

38 38 42

3-4 4-5 3-4

Agro advisories for the farmers

• It is reported that the sky will be clear with no rainfall in all the districts. Therefore light irrigation should be given and practices like threshing, application of fertilizer, pesticide,

insecticide can be carried out. • Weeds serve as the alternate and associate hosts of several insect pests. Weeds support the growth and development of insect pests by providing nutrition and substrates for oviposition. Hence removal of weeds

FELICITATION The Nsunyu Students’ Union congratulates Dr. Kenalo Kath, its former Vice President for being selected to the post of Veterinary Assistant surgeon (Class I gazetted) under Veterinary and Animal Husbandry through NPSC Examination. The Union further stated that his brilliant achievement has not only inspires the students but also delivered positive response to the Union’s Motto “Seek, Strive & Serve” Further the Union wishes him success in his future endeavors. Haiwalo Kath President, NSU.

V.J’s Coaching Centre

D.C Court Road, Duncan Dimapur Offers Coaching for the Repeaters of

Class X/XII Arts/XII Sc/XII Com

Admission starts for Regular students those Who got through in selection test

(Class X New Course)

Hostel attached for both Boys & Girls (Separately)

For details contact the ofﬁce or call: 03862-234272/9436600530

directly controls the population buildup of pests and weed management should be carried out from the start of the season to minimize competition for limited soil moisture • Monocropping helps in the sustenance of insect pests

ENPU Phek general meeting November 8

It is to inform that the Eastern Nagaland People’s Union (ENPU) Phek that the 2nd general meeting has been convened on November 2 at 10:00 am at its Union Treasurers. President O Akong Chang has requested all the Eastern Nagas Ofﬁcers, Senior Leaders to attend the meeting along with their respective Tribal Shawl. President further informs that those who have not yet submitted their registration fee and membership are also requested to submit before the session. CMS Parents’ Day November 8

Christina Memorial School is organizing the Parent’ Day celebration on November 8 at 10:00 am in the School Auditorium by a Fete in the school premises. All parents and past pupils are invited to attend the celebrations. HASSU meeting November 8

It is to inform that the Highway Area Sumi Students’ Union has convene a meeting on November 8 at 10:00 am at the union banker’s residence for the setting the annual general programme. Therefore, all the HASSU executive members, advisors and unit president are requested to attend the meeting without fail. KLSU Freshers Day November 8

Kohima Law College Students Union will hold is Freshers Day on November 8 at Japfu Hotel from 11:00 am with L.S Jamir, Advocate Guwahati High Court Kohima Bench as the asked all heads of department ment have been directed to to direct employees to partici- carry out emergency repair Chief Guest. The Union therefore requests all the students to pate in the social work. of all roads in Dimapur with attend the Freshers Day positively without fail. Further, the Medical De- special focus for improve- HRUD general meeting November 9

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): In view of the Tokhu Emong festival, the Deputy Commissioner’s office of Chumukedima has informed that a mass social work will be undertaken on November 8 from 7:00 am onwards. In this regard, all government departments will mobilise their trucks and report to the DMC office by 7:00 am on the said day. DC Dimapur, Maongwati Aier, has also informed that the DMC would be responsible for mobilising labour and public to take part in the mass social work, and

partment is to undertake the cleanliness drive by physically inspecting all hotels and restaurants, and ensuring hygienic conditions. All business establishments, especially within New Market area and Hongkong Market, have been directed to paint their respective shops. Unauthorised pigsties and temporary urinals in public places are also to be removed, while the BRO and R&B Depart-

ment of road stretches in Dimapur town. Meanwhile, the Rutsa Youth Organization (RYO), P Khel, has organised a mass social work on November 8 at Mimialeikou (Rutsa banana plantation field). The RYO on a press release has informed that it will provide refreshments and transportation facilities, and requested all RYO members to participate in the mass social work.

Paintings and renovations of shop establishments by shopkeepers and the house owners, particularly within the main bazaars in the town, are to be carried out. The trucks assigned by the Kohima Minicipal Council

shall pick garbage from all the colonies. The meeting also deliberated at length on the measures to be taken up to keep the Capital Town clean. Discussions were also initiated by the representa-

tives from various Colonies where they outlined various grievances faced by the public of their respective Colonies and urged the Deputy Commissioner to look into the problems and instigate solutions.

exhortation stressed on the triangular role of parents, teachers and students in achieving academic goals. A special prayer was said by Pr. James Gonmei and benediction offered by Edwin Ram-

rar. Gwangphun Gangmei, Associate Secretary of Zeliangrong Baudi, spoke on behalf of parents. The programme included cultural parade, choreography, short speech, songs and recitation.

Weather forecasting for 8 Districts of Nagaland from Nov 8-12, 2008 Districts

The Chang Students’ Union Dimapur 10th general meeting will be on November 8 at the residence of N. Leimba’s (treasurer) residence at Residency Colony starting from 10:00 am. The absentness will be ﬁned Rs. 60. Therefore, all concerned members are requested to attend the meeting without fail.

Dimapur to go on huge cleanliness drive

Adventist School celebrates Parents’ Day

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Nagaland Adventist School on November 5 celebrated its annual function-cum-parents’ day at its school premises. T D Chiru, SDO (Agri), was the chief guest and Pr. Moses A Shimray, Director of Seventh Day Adventist, was the guest of honour. Chiru emphasised on providing desirable environment at home and at school in order for a child to grow morally, spiritually, intellectually and physically. G Palmei, Headmaster, in his

STARTING LINE-UP

Kohima DC convenes meeting on social work

K(D)ASU seminar on Nov 8

Dimapur

throughout the year and bring about great damage by them. It is advisable to rotate the crops. Especially, monocropping of tomato and brinjal is not advocated Completion of sowing of mustard latest by first week of November to minimize incidence of Alternaria blight and aphids which are serious pest of mustard. Collection and destruction of gregarious stage larvae twice a week during vegetative stage of mustard and if possible irrigate the crop at fourth week after sowing to reduce the painted bug incidence. Mustard saw fly is active during the seedling stage of the mustard crop. Larva is greenish black with wrinkled body and eight pairs of pro-legs. It causes

numerous shot holes and even riddled the entire leaves by voracious feeding.They devour the epidermis of the shoot, resulting in drying up of seedlings and failure to bear seeds in older plants. Maintain clean cultivation. Applying irrigation in seedling stage is very crucial for sawfly management because most of the larvae die due to drowning effect. For cabbage, shallow hoeings should be done to remove weeds and loosen the soil for proper aeration.To produce solid heads,the plants should be earthed 5-6 weeks after transplanting and heavy irrigation should be avoided at the time of maturity of the heads. Imtisenla Walling Agromet ﬁeld Unit ICAR, Medziphema

ENTREPRENEURSHIP CAPACITY BUILDING FOR YOUTH BY EA & GON The Entrepreneurs Associates (EA) in collaboration with the Government of Nagaland (GON) is providing a special Entrepreneurship Skills Training capsule to youths and first generation entrepreneurs under the “Year of Capacity Building 2008” Nagaland. The training is for 3 months/ 90 hours of motivational and shared learning inputs along-with hands on experience training. EA intends to provide micro loans /financial support to trainees who exhibit excellent entrepreneurial skills to start up self employment activities/ business and also provide jobs to interested trainees. We believe this is a rare and great opportunity for our youth to get jobs and take up self employment activities under the “Year of Capacity Building 2008”. There would be selection of candidates as seats are limited and only shortlisted will be called for interview. Applications must be submitted to Entrepreneurs Associates, Next to Traffic Police Point, NH 39, Kohima, on or before 17th of November 2008 with their bio-data, correspondence address, contact telephones and 3 passport photos. Administrator Office of the Entrepreneurs Associates Next to traffic Police point, PWD Junction, NH 39, Kohima 91-370-2242665/2244606 eanaga@rediffmail.com

GPRN/NSCN Lotha Region celebrates Tokhu Emong

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): Along with the rest of the Lothas, the GPRN/NSCN Lotha Region celebrated Tokhu Emong at Khehoi Designated Camp with great joy and thanksgiving. Traditional Lotha pleasantries were exchanged and folk songs presented. The celebration also included a solemn reiteration from the

members present to steadfastly stand for the unification of all Nagas to end the long pending Indo-Naga political issue. M Mhabemo Humtsoe, Secy. Org. Committee, through Publicity Cell, GPRN/NSCN said that the celebration came to a close with a hearty feast which was prepared by the organizing committee.

Jan Shikshan Sansthan (Institute of People’s Education) Dimapur, requires Director. Qualification: Essentials 1. Minimum Second Class Master’s Degree from a recognized University/Institution or equivalent. 2. Seven years experience in a supervisory capacity, preferably but not necessarily in the field of education or Social Sciences. 3. Working knowledge of the local language. Desirable: 1. Experience in Administration/ Management. 2. Experience in guiding/ conducting of research or evaluation. Age: Minimum 40 years and maximum 55 years as on the date of receipt of application. Emoluments: Consolidated salary of Rs. 18,000/- per month (All inclusive). No other allowances will be paid. Contract: Initially for one years and extendable for two more years on satisfactory performance and by mutual agreement. Outstation candidates called for interview will be reimbursed to and fro second AC train fare. Apply within 30 days from the date of publication of advertisement to Chairman, Jan Shikshan Sansthan. House No. 133, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur 797112, Nagaland. Contact: - 03862225172 (O). With complete bio-data indicating name, date of birth. The division and percentage of marks, work experience particularly relating to education and related activities, extra curricular activities and two references. Affix passport size photo duly signed.

NAGALAND HANDLOOM & HANDICRAFTS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD, DIMAPUR

(A GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND UNDERTAKING) LIST OF THE SELECTED SOCIETIES/SHGS/INDIVIDUAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE SPECIAL HANDLOOM EXPO AT LOCAL GROUND ZUNHEBOTO TOWN FOR 15 DAYS W.E.F 12TH NOVEMBER 2008. Sl/No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

Name & address M/s People Mov. For Tranformation SHG, Mkg. M/s Sungyu SHG, Mkg. M/s Aboli, Thilixu New M/s Hukali, Thilixu New M/s Kashini, Thilixu New M/s Mughali Sumi M/s Ahoni, Toluvi village M/s Kewekhro MPCS Enhelumi village M/s Inakali Achumi, Thahekhu village M/s Tali Longkumer, Local Decorative, Dimapur M/s Totivi, Chekiye village M/s Zhetoli Chishi, Thilixu M/s Aonglenden Weaving Society Mkg. M/s Yongang SHG Kumlong ward Mkg. M/s Yongkum SHG, Dimapur M/s Longchara Changtongya M/s Mother’s Hope Dimapur M/s Alilenden Society Mkg. M/s A & A Collection Dimapur M/s Chuba Fashion House Mkg. M/s Longpakiu Mkg. M/s Medemtsur Mkg. M/s Temulonger Mkg. M/s Handloom Centre, Bank colony, Dimapur M/s Handloom SHG Unit, Mkg. Delong ward M/s Akhoya Ladies Society Mkg. M/s Lidiya SHG Ghotovi village, Niuland M/s Ayoklar MPCS, Kubza, Mkg. M/s W. Indrashakhi Devim Braharmapur Bamon Leikai, Imphal M/s Kh. Renubala Devi, Malom Tulihal, Imphal M/s S. Memcha Devi, Malom Tulihal, Imphal M/s B. Thouranishabi Devi, Bamon Leikai, Imphal M/s T. Dhiraj Singh, Wangkhei Tokpam Leikai Imphal M/s M. Premila Devi, Wangkhei Imphal M/s N. Romila Devi, Wangkhei Imphal 36 to 55 reserve for participants for Zunheboto District

Terms & conditions a)

b) c) d)

Year of Capacity Building 2008 Government of Nagaland

The Hoshepu Range Union Dimapur (HRUD) has called a general meeting at its banker’s residence at Thilixu village on November 9 next at 2 pm. in a press communiqué, K Vika Zhimomi informed all members to attend the meeting without fail.

The selected participants from Dimapur and surrounding areas are requested to report to the Head Ofﬁce compound at Half Nagarjan by 7:00 am along with their exhibits to proceed to Zunheboto by the charted Bus provided by the Corporation. The selected participants from other district/state are requested to report to the exhibition Ground latest by 11th Nov.08 at their own conveyance. The Bus fare shall be reimbursed by the Corporation on producing the Bus tickets. The participants are hereby directed to bring their banner/signage for display in their respective stall. The participants are hereby directed to keep their exhibits in their respective stall under lock & key. The ofﬁce shall not be held responsible in case of any losses/thief.

Tel- 03862-224591, 230130 Fax-03862-224591

( N. Hushili Sema ) Managing Director

C M Y K

Dimapur

Saturday 8 November 2008

Loans will get cheaper

BUSINESS

The Morung Express

IMF forecasts economic decline in developed world

as banks cut interest rates

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): Measures initiated by the RBI will finally translate into cheaper home and car loans, besides other consumer loans, as public sector banks slashed interest rates. State Bank of India cut its benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR) by 0.75 percentage points, from 13.75% to 13%, on Thursday, as did Oriental Bank of Commerce. Other public sector banks — Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank and Dena Bank among others — announced a similar rate cut on Wednesday. Citibank too cut its PLR by 50 basis points, to 15%. This will lead to reduction in both fixed as well as floating rate home loans. Home loan, car loan and other loans like personal/consumer will become cheaper as most of the public sector banks, including the State bank of India, Orien-

tal Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank and Dena Bank among others, have cut their benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR) by 0.75 percentage points to 13% from 13.5%.Among foreign banks, Citibank has reduced its benchmark prime lending rate by 50 basis points to 15%. In a statement, SBI said that the bank has lowered its BPLR by 75 basis points (100 basis points is equal to one percentage point) to 13% per annum effective from November 10, 2008. The bank also reduced its deposit rate by 50 basis points for maturities of 91 days to up to five years and by 25 basis points for maturities of five years and over — effective from December 1. This will lead to reduction in both fixed and floating home loan rates by 75 basis points. Now, the fixed rate will come down to 12% on loan up to Rs 30

lakh and to 13% on more than Rs 30 lakh. In case of floating rate, existing customers are also set to pocket some gain. The interest rate for them will come down by 75 basis points. Now, the floating rate for up to Rs 30 lakh loan of 15 to 25 years will come down to 10.25% from 11% and on more than Rs 30 lakh to 11.5%. On the home loan amount of less than Rs 30 lakh for up to 5 years, the rate has come down to 9.75% from 10.5%. However, the rate on the loan up to Rs 30 lakh for 10 to 15 years will come down to 10%. This will translate into lowering of equated monthly instalment (EMI) on Rs 50 lakh loan for 20 years by Rs 2,527 to Rs 49,082. The lending and deposit interest rate cuts by government-owned banks follow their assurances to finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday that they would cut rates as RBI slashed key rates to lower the cost of funds for commercial banks.

A man reacts after watching a display screen on the facade of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai,India,Thursday,November 6.The BSE Sensex fell 3.8 percent on Thursday on global recession fears according to news reports.(AP Photo)

NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 7 (AP): The economies of the United States, Europe and Japan are expected to contract in 2009 as part of the first annual decline by the advanced economies since World War II, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. Governments should adopt economic stimulus packages to counteract the slowdown, the IMF said, while central banks "in some countries" should cut interest rates further. The fund didn't specify which countries. The development of stimulus packages "should be one of the highest priorities for governments to pursue at this stage," said Olivier Blanchard, the fund's chief economist. "We see room for additional fiscal stimulus in the U.S.," as well as in Europe and China, he added. Conditions have deteriorated so much in the month since the IMF released its semiannual World Economic Outlook that the fund cut its forecast for the developed countries' economies to a decline of 0.3 percent, from a previous estimate of 0.5 percent growth. Overall, the IMF now expects the

world economy to grow at a 2.2 percent pace in 2009, down from its projection last month of 3 percent. The U.S. economy will shrink by 0.7 percent, down from last month's forecast that it would grow by 0.1 percent, the IMF said. The 15 countries that use the euro will decline by 0.5 percent, down from last month's projection of 0.2 percent growth, the IMF said. The slowdown stems from two primary factors, including "a dramatic fall in confidence by consumers and firms," Blanchard said. "After holding up for a long time, they simply have gotten scared and decided to spend less." The second cause has been the "migration of the financial crisis to emerging markets," as major international banks continue to cut back on debt, Blanchard said. The sharp drop in commodity prices also contributed. Oil, for example, has fallen by more than half since reaching record levels of $147 a barrel in July. Adjusting for changes in population, Blanchard said the slowdown is comparable to the recessions of the 1970s and early 1980s. The IMF expects an economic recovery to begin in late 2009.

PUBLIC DISCOURSE

What I think of and what I want to say to our people Nagas S

C M Y K

ince, when we were very small we all heard or we all knew that we, Nagas were fighting for our freedom against the occupational forces of India and Myanmar. When we were very young and small the first two things that our elders told about us and we believed were (1). The Nagas are a chosen people of God like the Israelites (2) . The Nagas are one of the bravest people and the fiercest fighters in the world. Simply believing in these two things we were full of confidence and felt no inferior to anybody. When we grew up, we heard or we learnt about big big world powers and countries but that did not deter us. We believe God and we believe in ourselves as a people. We know ourselves and we know our hearts that we are afraid of nothing, we are a brave and a freedom lover people. Yes, when I was a small boy I love fighting as a brave Naga boy. I admired fighters, the fighters and the heroes of the people. When we read world history we learnt about many great men and heroes of the people and we wanted to become like them. The story of like Shivaji Maratha the great really inspired us, the story of Rajput Warriors were interesting and inspiring and the story of Ashoka the great how his heart was filled with remorse after seeing the enormous loss of innocent lives at the battle of Kalinga and made him a turning point in his life was a thing that touched and moved our hearts too. While we were in schools we were not being privileged to read and learn of our own Naga history because it was not included in the text book. We learnt it when our elders narrated to us. When we heard the story of the many battles of Naga Army against our enemies we were unable to remain quiet and we waited for an opportunity to join the underground. The many learning of Indian history could not change our hearts and our mind. We read, we learnt and we wrote in our examination, Mahatma Gandhi as our National Father and Subhash Chandra Bose as our National Hero and many others about the Indian freedom movement. But instead of feeling and becoming Indian we avowed ourselves to become a freedom fighter of our own country Nagaland after learning and taking example from how they fought for their country. So, even in such an adverse environment we boldly faced and grew up with full Nationalism spirit. We believed that the worthiest thing and the costliest life for us is to join underground and fight for the people and for our freedom. We did not care whether we live long or short, we did not care whether we would become big officers or just mere soldiers. We just wanted to be worthy son of our country, give our all for the Motherland. Just the name a brave and a truthful fighter was what we wanted to be. When we first joined the National service we were com-

pletely ignorant of the rivals and animosity between some tribes among us. Either we did not join to fight for a political ideology whether it be socialism, communism, capitalism, monarchy system or anything it may be. The important thing for us is to fight for the people and for our freedom. We believed our leaders and we followed them. We believed our leaders like that of Mahatma Gandhi for India, Moses and Joshua for the Israelites etc. But then today, our fighting is completely different from of what we dreamed and wanted to be. We fight and kill one another. Yes, in any country there used to be spies and traitors who work against their country for money. Those people deserved to be eliminated for the security of one’s country but our case of killing is not that. Yes, among the different underground groups some stand and politics may be higher than the others, one group may be little better than the other but then today, the fight between them is a fight of melee. Defection, attack and killing are almost a daily happenings and the reason of defection is just simple, some foolish and some were compelled. It is needless to say all of these, if I am to say in detail it will go too long. In short, they are all one and same, because NSCN –K cadres are the product of NSCN- IM and likewise IM cadres are the product of K.Similarly, NNC groups too are not exceptional. Even then the publicity department of each group claims this and that and make a paper war with make up stories. I can say there are some in the IM who actually hate IM and glad to hear the bad news of the IM and likewise there may be some in the K – Group. Very very funny things are there, everything is a joke. Defections and killings are all like jokes. Then, who are to be blamed for the present situation? Whom shall we blame for the killing – the cadres who involved in the killing or the leaders who directed them to kill. Whom shall we blame for the defection – the cadres who make it a habit of defection or the leaders who are supposed to lead them. These are very important questions we need to ponder over. Too many precious lives had been lost in this mad war. Each factional group claims that they uphold the national rights and the national principle. Standing in their rights they keep on fighting and destroyed precious innocent lives without any qualm of conscience. In one of the Naga Hoho meetings, Father Abraham Lotha said, “Those who do not feel the pains of the people do not have the rights to fight for the people”. I came across it in the Newspapers. It really touched my heart, it pricked my soul. Today, the question before us is: Shall we remain faithful and brave soldiers under those factional groups and continue on killing our own Naga people? No, it is impossible for me.

DAILY CROSS WORD

LEISURE W

D S

I shall not be part of the policy and a group of the destroyers of our nation, again. How can we fight, kill or be killed like irrational animals? It is not the question that I am afraid to fight and die but it is impossible for me to fight and kill in such a mad war. As for me, whether I live or die it depends on how I live with God but I fear the sin of killing in such a war. I do not want the post of battalion commandership or the post of a powerful place in those factional groups. I do not covet the kind of “Award” that they earned from such battlefields. I prefer to be just a soldier, a truthful soldier of Nagaland that really fight for the cause of the people. Therefore, today, I am a wanderer, wandering to find a place to fight for my people Nagas which I believe is God’s will for me in this world. As of now, I feel the best I can do for the Nagas is to stay away from such warring groups and be with the people. Especially I support and put my hope in the present ongoing efforts of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) to achieve a real Reconciliation, Unity and Peace among us. It is not the time to blame of one another, whatever it may be it is a time to come closer. Otherwise I am totally against the activities of the two NSCNs and I fail to understand why NNC groups justify ‘Shillong Accord’ and claim it as God’s given peace. But, who am I to speak of these things? I am nobody and I admit that I am the weakest. The best is let all we underground realize our mistakes and humble ourselves before God and the people and ask for forgiveness. Time is not too late, the Israelites did foolish thing when they complained against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt. They did foolish thing when they made the Golden calf and even after they reached the promised land they did evil in the eyes of the Lord after the death of Joshua and the elders who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. They served the Baals and the Asherahs, they followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. Because of their sins they were subject to the kings of other peoples around them. But the Lord is merciful and forgiving whenever they cried to the Lord He raised up for them deliverers. Today, none of us should claim righteous and point fingers at others. We all have gone astray from God and we all have failed to carry out what we owed to the people and the Nation. The only way for our Naga Salvation is when all underground groups realize their mistakes and agree to come together under the umbrella of one organization and unitedly fight for our common goal. When such a good time (total unification) for the Nagas is arrived, the dictatorial style of underground government and the culture of dictating and ruling the people by the guns should be completely put to stop. The people should not throw to the underground alone the responsibility of “Fight-

R O Z F N Y V L E M M K N S A S G O D O L P H I N D C E R P

SUDOKU

The Morung Express number game

Sudoku # 1129

CROSSWORD # 1146 1

14 17

O Q O S E I P P U P S J Z M T

H N W L S K M B T E A P P P G S K C N R G P I I I A N M R I

S E F O L J E V K M N R U Q C R F R I A U P S W N E H X R B

11 12

E S E Q I X J R L X S I B R L

N H W I E X L K R M G G D B C Q K C K T E N U I G S E L A F

ACROSS

S R H C S O T E X T M X R E S I T K I M E L T R U T T D S S J

I A H A A C A M E L E A I L

X W O C H E E T A S J K N Z U L L V W G A D L S E K A N S K

Bunnies Camel Cats Cheetas Chick Cow Deer Dogs Dolphin Eagles Foxes Hamsters

Horses Kittens Lions Monkies Pandas Puppies Reptiles Sealion Snakes Tigers Turtle Whale

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.”

Yesterdays answer Sudoku #1128

1. Cat I turn, I turn again, quite silent (8) 5. At present payment it’s under control (2,4) 9. Where to find a farm-dwelling first nighter? (2,1, 5) 10. Not straight cuts obviously (6) 12. One is firmly resolved not to do so (9) 13. Quietly impel to clear for undesirable persons (5) . 14. Impossible list? (4) 16. Oil adrift with the rest upset when it lingers (7) 19. Danced, but only a pair instead of 500 (7) 21. A stake in some pleasant environment (4) 24. French and German articles below (5) 25. Become loquacious in the extreme (9) 27. Poetic plaice in place (6) 28. Cosmetic combination of sauce and glue apparently (8) 29. Father’s not early enough for my dental liking (6) 30. Things for sweethearts to go into (8)

ing for our Freedom”, all Nagas should actively involve and shoulder the responsibility together. All tribes, villages should send their capable men to the underground as their representatives and the most capable persons and the God fearing leaders from among us should lead the National Movement so that there should not be question of a tribe dominating a faction or 2/3 tribers over another faction as it is now. There should not be murmuring again among us that, some tribes blaming others and some tribes taking advantage of their position. Here, we have not enough space to mention all that, what we think important to change and do but we all must know that just bringing together all underground groups into one alone is not sufficient. Unless we are all changed, the people involvement and participation in the National Movement is greater than now, directly or indirectly and we walk righteously and put our trust in the Lord our God, our togetherness may not last long as we desire. And, if in case efforts to bring the Nagas together is not succeeded because of the underground groups, the Naga public must find a means and adopt a course of action to put it right. It is inevitable because of the love of Nagas and to strengthen ourselves i, e our fight for freedom. In my concluding words I would like to make a Call to our over ground Naga Leaders particularly the Public Leaders, Social Leaders, Church Leaders, Intellectuals, Student Leaders etc. Let the role of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation in the India Freedom Movement be a reminder to all. He did not join early in the Indian National Congress as most of we Naga underground did. We joined at a very young age whereas the advent of Gandhiji in the political scene of India was in 1919 i,e after when he was about 50 year of age. He studied law and after qualifying himself for the Bar, he practiced for sometime in India, then he went to South Africa on contract for one year. Gandhiji was shocked to see the humiliating treatment of the Indians in South Africa on account of their race and colour. He started a struggle for raising the social status of the Indians there. He was a social leader as you are today, it was only when the situation compelled and on account of his love for the people of India he began to lead the India Freedom Movement. Today, we look up to our over ground Naga leaders for guiding and leading us. If you really love the Nagas, if you really are concern for the Nagas and if you really believe the Nagas as a People, it is the time for you to rise up and lead us. It is the time for you to intervene and save us from the hands of our underground leaders, the leaders who some of them want to kill us and the leaders who some of them want us to kill others until we completely destroy ourselves. (Maj. Z.D. Akho)

DIMAPUR

Civil Hospital: Metro Hospital: Faith Hospital: Shamrock Hospital Zion Hospital: Fire Service: Police Control Room Police Trafﬁc Control East Police Station West Police Station CIHSR (Referral Hospital)

STD CODE: 03862

232224; Emergency- 229529, 229474 227930, 231081 233044, 228846 228254 231864, 230889 232201 228400 232106 227607, 228400 232181 242555/ 242531

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

STD CODE: 0370 2244279 2244923 2242897 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202

CHEVROLET CAR PRICE LIST

DOWN 1. Steal an article that is in with five (6) 2. Taken by the gambler (6) 3. This results from the efforts of an adder (5) 4. Trusting declamation about Samuel’s guardians (7) 6. Fresh run on the Fleet Street presses (9) 7. Various changes to a dress (8) 8. Dole out, to do without? (8) 11. Undress in the Isle of Man (4) 15. in tune with a line in hypocrisy (9) 17. Become smart like a tree on a hill (6,2) 18. A heap on the beach made-by broken hands, unfortunate (8) 20. A penny drinks to be beaten (4) 21. Rising centre of small-scale industry (3-4) 22. A foreign cleaner? (6) 23. Posts synonymous with 21. across (6) 26. The substance of the spper’s transgression (5)

Answers to CROSSWORD #1145 Across: 1. Citrus, 4. Psalm, 7. Wash, 8. marc, 10. Inert, 11. Olympia, 12. Late, 14. Latch, 16. Mauve, 18. Tree, 19. Cold, 21. Teeth, 22. Wrath, 25. Item, 28. Achieve, 29. Anger, 30. Emit, 31. Dish, 32. Holly, 33. Tartar. Down:1. Camel, 2. Tarot, 3. Swimsuit, 4. Phial, 5. Avert, 6. matched, 9. Clement, 13. Air, 15. Archive, 17. Eyesight, 18. Towpath, 20. lie, 23. Angel, 24. Hardy, 26. Tempt, 27. Motor.

CAR MODEL

SPARK 1.0 BASE SPARK 1.0 PS SPARK 1.0 LS SPARK 1.0 LT U-VA 1.2 BASE U-VA 1.2 LS U-VA 1.2 LT SRV 1.6 OPT. PACK AVEO 1.4 BASE AVEO 1.4 LTD EDI AVEO 1.4 LT OPT.PACK TAVERA 2.5 LT 9S BS3 TAVERA 2.5 SSD1 7S (C) BS3 OPTRA ROYAL 1.6 LT (PETROL) OPTRA MAGNUM 2.0 LT ACC (DIESEL) CAPTIVA 2.0 LT VCDI

PRICE

268,648 289,992 304,641 334,123 401,639 444,184 483,975 790,100 606,461 661,631 754,930 877,748 993,249 967,686 1,074,547 1,812,688

For details contact: Urban Station, Near NSC Petrol Pump, 6th Mile Dimapur. Ph No : 240994 CURRENCY EXCHANGE

CURRENCY NOTES US Dollars Sterling Pound Hong Kong Dollar Japanese Yen /1000 Malaysian Ringtt Singapore Dollar Thai Bhat / 100 U.A.E. Dirhams Euro

BUY(Rs) 46.62 72.87 5.19 467.09 12.26 29.25 130.25 12.21 11.95

SELL(Rs) 49.17 77.05 7.13 517.86 15.19 34.29 141.75 14.27 14.01

LOCAL|REGIONAL

The Morung Express

Saturday 8 November 2008

Dimapur

‘Foreign elements involved in blasts’

KOKRAJHAR, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said that “foreign elements” were involved in the October 30 serial blasts in the state in which 84 people were killed. “As the government has found clues of involvement of foreign elements, action will be taken against any outfit whether it is HUJI or the ULFA... none will be spared”, Gogoi said after distributing cheques of rupees three lakh to the relatives of the victims died in Kokrajhar blast.

“The foreign elements have to be identified and the high level investigating teams and agencies from various angles and stages have started investigation in the right direction”, the chief minister said. “Further investigations are on and the government is determined to stamp out terrorism from the state”, he said. The government has decided to gear up its counter-insurgency activities and police has been asked to keep a “responsible vigil as any lapse will amount to strong action”, he said.

Gogoi visits blast sites in Kokrajhar

Chemical mix of bombs hints at Huji-Ulfa joining hands NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): The NSG’s forensic report on the recent Assam blasts points to the use of up to 6 kg of RDX in each of the three bombs that went off at Guwahati, besides the packing of 2 kg of RDX each in the remaining six bombs detonated across Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon on October 30. The plasticbound explosives comprised a mix of RDX and ammonium nitrate, besides traces of other highly incendiary chemicals, and were triggered by programmable timer device (PTD) using ABCD switches. PTDs can be programmed to go off anytime within few minutes and six months. Though PTDs were earlier used in the undetonat-

ed Surat bombs, they never went off due to some fault in the integrated circuit chips. PTDs are also known to be used by J&K-based terror outfits, especially using ABCD switches, as well as by Ulfa. In fact, Ulfa had used similarly-designed PTDs in a blast at Ganeshgudi in January 2007. The forensic report only furthers the intelligence agencies’ theory pointing to the joint involvement of jihadi terror outfits such Huji and local insurgent group Ulfa. This angle has also been confirmed by the confessional statements of the ATTF militants arrested for their alleged role in the October 1 Agartala blasts. The detained bombers have revealed that they had been trained by Ulfa and ISI

Students took part in a Silent Peace rally protesting against the terrorism organized by the State Level Advisory Committee for Students and Youth Welfare, Assam in the streets of Guwahati on November 7. (UB Photos)

experts in the making and planting of bombs at their Satchari camp in Sylhet, Bangladesh. However, the composition and triggering mechanism of the bombs used at Agartala was different. The bombs comprised mainly ammonium nitrate and fuel oil and were acti-

vated using mobile phones. All the bombs used in Assam were far more sophisticated and deadly, pointing not only to the role of Ulfa which has the expertise in bomb assembly but also the presence of a sinister driving force such as the ISI or its protege HuJi. The leads so far indicate

the involvement of HuJi as the mastermind, with Ulfa playing the logistical cousin thanks to its strong network across Assam. The growing nexus between Northeastern insurgent groups and jihadi terror outfits was also the focus of the security review taken by the Centre on Tuesday

along with chief secretaries and DGPs of eight NE states. Concerns shared at the meeting included the penetration of Northeastern insurgent groups by Bangladeshi outfits like HuJi and DGFI, with the latter allegedly training the insurgents in bomb-making through Ulfa.

Uproar over border dispute

Newmai News Network Shillong | November 7

THE ASSAM-Meghalaya border dispute issue dominate during the first day of the autumn session of the Meghalaya Assembly which kick-started today with the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) government accusing Assam of encroaching large tract of land in West Khasi Hills , Ri Bhoi and Jaintia Hills districts in Meghalaya. During the question hour today, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Hopingstone Lyngdoh stated that Assam has encroached into 108 villages in Langpih areas in order to club them under the proposed Rabha-Rasom Autonomous Council, beAfter winning the Miss Kut tittle on 1st November 2008 sweets and gifts being distribut- sides mentioning 24 villages ing by Miss Minerva Moirangthem to the Dewlaland Orphan Home, Imphal on November in Nongtung and 14 other 7. (UB PHOTOS) villages in Nongwah under

Ri Bhoi district. Accusing Assam of encroachment in areas starting from Mawsikar-KyrshaiHahim stretch, Lyngdoh also stated that the government of Meghalaya will set up a police station in Langpih in one month’s time, a pointer he gave to protect Assam further intrusion into Meghalaya. Talking about Langpih, the place which has created a big uproar in Meghalaya because Assam also laid claims, Lyngdoh stated, “this area was under the erstwhile United Khasi and Jaintia Hills district Council and it belongs to us”. However, it is his statement that the two disputed blocks in Karbi Anglong in Assam being looked by the Deputy Commissioner of Jaintia Hills that generated more questions from the opposition bench. Although it

is a known fact that the two disputed blocks are presently under Karbi Anglong district, the Deputy Chief Minister’s statement prompted the leader of the opposition to question the veracity. “Has the Deputy Chief Minister done his homework and check the papers?” questioned the leader of the opposition D.D.Lapang but Lyngdoh was firmed with his stand. Vivid in his statement that the government is committed to solve the problem with Assam in a peaceful manner, Lyngdoh said, “Hopefully the Chief Secretaries of the two states will come out with the report in six months’ time”. It may be mentioned that the two states had formed a committee headed by the chief secretaries of Assam and Meghalaya to address the vexed issue.

Minor dies after Vitamin A Tripura demands exerting pressure on Bangladesh

Newmai News Network Guwahati | November 7

In the worst reminder of the vitamin ‘A’ vaccination tragedy in 2001, one minor kid died after being administered with vitamin ‘A’ vaccine at Assam’s Cachar district on Thursday night. The fresh incident took place at Katigora village near Indo-Bangladesh border in Cachar district of the state, sources said and added that another ten children also fell sick after administering the similar vaccine the same day. In 2001, 14 children died all over the state after being administered vitamin ‘A’ vaccine. The tragedy took place in the month of November and a total of 953 children after being administered the similar vaccine. Cachar Deputy Commissioner Goutam Ganguli said that he had already ordered a magisterial inquiry over the incident and added that a detailed

reported is expected within next 24 hours. The three-year-old kid Javed was administered vitamin ‘A’ vaccine on November 3 last along with other kids at the local primary health centre. Almost all the children fell sick immediately after administering the vaccine. “Although all the kids were released the next day, the condition of Javed deteriorated and he died late Thursday night,” said the sources. Ganguli said, “We are yet to ascertain whether it is the vitamin ‘A’ vaccine or something else. The children were administered similar vaccine and they fell sick. However, almost all the children were released simultaneously the next day.” On October 22 last four children died and another eight fell sick after they were administered with measles vaccine at the local Primary health centre (PHC) at Nimua village in lower Assam’s Baksa district.

AGARTALA, NOVEMBER 7 (UNI): The Tripura government has placed the detailed list and locations of Northeastern militants’ hideouts in Bangladesh while demanding the Centre to exert pressure on the neighbouring country to demolish these hideouts. Talking to newspersons here today, Tripura Chief Secretary Shashi Prakash said Northeastern militants were still using their hideouts in Bangladesh for guerilla training and terror planning against India. Prakash had placed the demand at the high-level security review meeting on November 5, chaired by National Security Advisor M K Narayanan on the Northeast with police chiefs and chief secretaries of the region. According to report, as many as seven militant camps were active in different locations of Bangladesh. While earlier the number was more than 50, after sustained pressure from Indian authorities, Bangladesh had demolished most of them in the past two years, Prakash pointed out. Referring to the decisions of the

meeting, he stated that the meeting had resolved to effect better coordination among the police and internal intelligence agencies in the Northeast, besides frequent exchange of information regarding militants’ movements in the region as well as increasing the strength of the BSF in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. “Bangladesh is not pro-active against the anti-Indian forces, which has now become a major security concern in Northeastern states and despite repeated demands from NE states, the issue has not yet been resolved,” Prakash underlined. It was also revealed in the meeting that the serial blasts in Assam were reportedly carried out by Bangladesh-based HuJI in coordination with local outfit ULFA while the attacks in Agartala were attributed to the All Tripura Tiger Force-ULFA combine. The report also stated that global outfits like Pakistan-based ISI, AlQaida and Bangladesh-based HUJI activists were using Sonamura, Agartala and Kailashahar of North Tripura and Karimganj and towns of upper Assam for entering India

BSF arrests 41 Bangladeshi nationals

Meanwhile, the BSF has arrested 41 Bangladeshi nationals during the past one month while they were crossing the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura illegally and seized huge quantity of contraband goods from their possession. BSF officials here today said the arrested infiltrators included a suspected fundamentalist of the outfit Islamic Foundation of Bangladesh, Ghulam Kabiriya (25) of Brahmanbaria. Huge quantities of contraband goods, including Ganja, sarees, forest produce, garments, rice, fertilisers and Phensidyl, worth Rs 4.95 lakh, was seized during the period. The officials underlined that the authorities had made redeployment of the force following recent blasts in Agartala and Assam while the best sophisticated technical and electronic gadgets, including those for night surveillance, had been placed. The BSF also intensified patrolling along with setting up of sophisticated gadgets to stop outsiders intruding into Indian territory, the officials added.

‘Lack of trust among ethnic communities cause for militancy’

IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): While militancy and violence threaten to tear apart Manipur taking a toll of 310 persons so far this year alone, senior citizens have blamed lack of trust among ethnic communities for the sorry state-of-affairs. In an interaction with newsmen, the 70-plus citizens, including some former government officials, all agreed that one of the main reasons for the militancy in the state was the lack of trust and fraternal bond among different communities. They all lamented that the level of social interaction among different ethnic groups had come down drastically. ‘’We grew up in an environment of peace and security till we reached our middle age, but the irony is that in our sunset years we are having to con-

tend with this problem,’’ they said. Almost the who’s who of Manipur society, who meet everyday at Bir Tikendrajit Park where the interaction took place recently, said one way to restore normalcy in the state was to build up trust among different ethnic communities. K Tomba Singh, a former minister, said the disintegration of moral and spiritual values had led to present violence in the state. ‘’Life in Manipur today can be compared to a war like situation. One does not know what will happen today,’’ he said. Lack of moral and human values would only lead to more conflict, he felt. Singh said be it government or other organisations, lack of leadership and leaders working for their personal gains were the root causes of present prob-

lems in Manipur. Misuse of power by these ‘leaders’ had greatly contributed to building unrest among the public. Former finance minister Laishom Lalit said utter failure to maintain law and order had greately increased the conflict amongst various groups and added that it was now time for peace talks with non-state actors on an immediate basis. ‘’Holding dialogues for peace with different groups is the only way to bring about a solution to the problems,’’ he said. Hijam Heramot, former registrar of Manipur university, said corruption was the root cause for conflict in the state and pointed out that the nature of violence in the state would reduce once the level of corruption decreased.

KOKRAJHAR, NOVEMBER 7 (UNI): Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today visited the blast sites in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar town and handed over ex-gratia payment to families of victims of 30/10 serial blasts in the district. He visited the sites amidst unprecedented security, accompanied by Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary and other Cabinet ministers. Later, he handed over the cheques of Rs three lakh each to the next to the kin of 18 people killed in the three blasts in this district headquarters town. Two other deceased hailed from Dhubri district and their families could not reach on time. They would be given the ex-gratia later. Gogoi, appealing for restrain and cooperation to nab the perpetrators, said, '' The hand of external agencies cannot be ruled out and we are working on all possible leads to nab the culprits.'' He also urged the political parties not to play political games at this hour of disaster, with BTC chief Mohilary affirming that the alliance between the Congress and his Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) had not been affected following the serial blasts and scotched the rumours regarding the drift in the aftermath.

Ulfa has for long been associated with Bangladesh, which provides shelter to its leaders and houses its training camps, and has proven links with HuJi. The review meeting on North-east security here on Tuesday had agreed to strengthen sharing of intelligence not only among

the various intelligence agencies active in a state but also create an interface with the state police. The setting up of an inter-state intelligence coordination group was also cleared to enable free flow of information among the 8 north-eastern states for coordinated action.

NPO Senapati issues memorandum on NLCRP project DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Naga People’s Organisation (NPO) Senapati in its Executive meeting held on November 6 at its office chamber at 12:00 noon has taken a strong decision that “No inauguration regarding the drinking water NLCRP project in Senapati district will be conducted by State Government until and unless the project is fully complete and the water is ready for use by the consumer.” Simon Chawang, General Secretary NPO, Senapati in a release said that therefore, the concern department (PHED) should conduct smooth inquiry and make sure that the project is implemented and completed by concern contractors before the inauguration is taken up.

Centre releases 332.22 crore to Meghalaya SHILLONG, NOVEMBER 7 (UNI): The Centre has released Rs 332.22 crore from the distribution of Net proceeds from Union taxes and duties up to October this year to Meghalaya. Informing this to the House during the Question Hour today, state Finance Minister Conrad K Sangma also clarified that the amount released during 2003-04 was Rs 225.08 crore. Sangma, who was replying to a volley of qyestuibs raised by Congress Legislator Friday Lyngdoh, said the amount received from the Net proceeds has been fully utilised.

Two militants killed in Manipur IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): Two militants were killed by police commandos in Imphal East district of Manipur, official sources said today. Sources said commandos, attached to Imphal East district police, raided Sabal Leikai area last night following reports that some militants were moving there. As they intensified the search operation, they were fired upon by the militants, sources said adding that in the ensuing encounter two militants were gunned down. One nine mm pistol, three rounds of ammunition, demand letters of militant outfits--Kuki Revolutionary Army-United (KRA-U) and People’s United Liberation Front (PULF)--were recovered from the spot, sources said. The bodies have been sent to Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital for post mortem. Over 320 persons including civilians were so far killed in militancy-related crimes this year in Manipur.

Call for Miss Barak 2008 aspirants DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): To promote peace and social harmony in NE region, the Youth Hope Foundation of Senapati district in Manipur is organizing Miss Barak 2008 for the first time at the inter state level, inviting participants from seven sisters state of northeast India under the theme, “Peace through Culture and Identity.” Miss Barak 2008 will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1, 00, 000 while 1st and 2nd runners-up will receive Rs. 50, 000 and Rs. 30, 000 respectively. Indigenous food feast will also be held from December 18 and 19 concluding with the mega event. For detailed information contact, 9862061749 and 03871201444. This was stated in a press note issued by P Luihing, president, K Losii, general secretary and Domonic, finance secretary, Youth Hope Foundation.

Mizo Church warns against unfair campaigning

Commuters walking towards destination during TMPK (Takam Mising Porin Kebang) activist staging economic road blockade programme at Lakhimpur to Arunachal Pradesh Kimin PWD road at Pahumora against ﬁring played on the Assamese by the Arunachali at Dimo in Dhemaji district in Lakhimpur on November 7. (UB Photos)

AIZAWL, NOV 7 (NNN): Thuampui Presbyterian Church has come out with a press statement today warning political parties in Mizoram not to resort to unfair means and methods of winning votes in Aizawl East-I constituency, saying any party indulging in ‘dirty politics’ will be publicly revealed by the church. According to its statement, the church will also take strong action against any of their members who receive any donation or sorts from MLA candidates in Aizawl East-I constituency. The church will also reveal the name of any MLA candidate who use unfair means to win votes through the media, the statement added. This warning was issued so that free and fair election could be conducted in Aizawl East-I constituency, according to the statement.

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2008 VOL. III ISSUE 310

An Idea Called Obama

n the euphoria that has swept the world since the historic victory of Barack Obama in the just concluded US presidential elections, it will be wise to make a distinction between Obama the man and Obama the idea. This is necessary because the world-wide support and curiosity was primarily based upon supporting Obama the man or upholding Obama the idea or both of them put together in the broader context of wanting a better future. This ideological formation is imperative because while Barack Obama does embody both the man and the idea, the fulfillment and implementation of his promises and hope will be influenced by either the man or the idea. It is here that one comes to appreciate the fact that hope alone is never a strategy. Therefore, while it is only right to acknowledge that Barack Obama was ferociously efficient, charismatic and strategic in communicating and helping people understand the idea of hope and change, he was most effective when he assumed the role of the critical yeast in uniting people. Like yeast which gels dough together, Barack Obama was the critical yeast in bringing a polarized nation together at a time when a decisive mass of people were no longer willing to sustain and support a dogmatic status quo. When he assumes office, Barack Obama will need to be more than just the critical yeast, he will need to be a leader that will shape a new destiny for his nation, and a statesman that will bridge the nations of the world towards a shared humanity. The idea of hope and change presented itself as an anti-thesis to a violent, suffocating and uncaring world; and it is this idea that caught the public imagination of not just Americans, but the people of the world. It is here that an ideological formation is created between those who support Obama the man and those who uphold Obama the idea. There in lies the irony; and one that will need to be understood and addressed once Obama assumes formal office. The expectation one creates of Barack Obama, maybe formulated along the lines of this perceived dichotomy of Obama the man and Obama the idea. While Obama reflects both the man and the idea, it is quite evident that real politik will have greater influence on the man, than the idea. For instance, this is quite clearly demonstrated in Barack Obama’s willingness to stop the war in Iraq, while reinforcing the war in Afghanistan. This naturally contradicts the values of hope and change, and yet Obama the man is bound by the politics of war and peace and hence limited in fully exercising the idea. This stand to strengthen the war in Afghanistan is obviously being strongly criticized by those who uphold Obama the idea. Barack Obama will have to learn to balance between the idea and the man; because the expectation arising out of this ideological formation will have diverse implications both for Barack Obama and the people. For those seeking genuine change and transformation, it is critical that the understanding of Obama the idea prevails over real politik. If not, the beacon of light that has been lighted by this historic wind of change will be extinguished by the principalities of the status quo. The great inspiration one can take from Obama the idea is the fact that through this once unimaginable victory of an African-American to the White House, it has sparked the possibilities of a new dawn for African-Americans as they begin to address their tragic and oppressive legacy of slavery and discrimination with renewed confidence and demeanor, so that the journey to healing can begin.

LEFT WING |

Source: IHT

Obama’s mission to the world

arack Obama's election has been greeted with good will and great expectations around the world. South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said, "We have a new spring in our walk and our shoulders are straighter. It is almost as when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa in 1994." In a letter to Obama, the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said the French and others around the world "welcome the election of a man committed to dialogue between peoples and communities and cooperation among nations." Obama will need this good will. But he also will have to know how to make the most of it. Above all, he must have a clear strategic vision, and orient his administration's policies toward the realization of that vision. A sense of strategic purpose is what President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney most fatally lacked. Instead of empowering America's allies and weakening its enemies, they did the opposite. The new order they brought to Iraq has been a geopolitical gift to Iran - and a cause of anxiety to Arab governments, Turkey and Israel. It falls to Obama to use the tools of dialogue and cooperation lauded by Kouchner to meet the challenge from Iran. Iranian officials have expressed interest in a deal that would involve not only Iran's nuclear program, but also its security concerns and its regional role. It is technically possible to guarantee Iran the right to develop nuclear power while precluding its production of nuclear weapons. To determine whether Iran's leaders are serious about such a bargain, Obama will need to authorize old-fashioned direct diplomacy with them. Multilateral diplomacy will be needed to reach another strategic goal: extricating the United States from a yawning quagmire in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This means engaging not only those two neighbors, but also India, Iran, Russia, the Central Asian countries and China. This will be a complex, difficult process. But the alternative is an open-ended NATO military commitment in Afghanistan, and the danger that nuclear-armed Pakistan devolves into a failed state. Obama will also have to keep a pledge to plunge immediately into the hard work of brokering a twostate peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians as well as a peace accord between Israel and Syria. To create a congenial atmosphere for these new departures in statecraft, Obama should speak to the world's Muslims. They, and others, need to hear that America has no interest in a clash of civilizations but, on the contrary, stands ready to cooperate with all peoples in coping with common threats to the planet.

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

M K Bhadrakumar

An Indian hymn to Obama

heard as a small child my late mother narrate how for some obscure reason that I could not comprehend, "untouchable" women like her mother were not allowed to cover their breasts, once upon a time. The memory stealthily came up when I saw drops of tears welling up in the big beautiful eyes of Reverend Jesse Jackson and pouring out, as if a dike somewhere burst, when he heard of his fellow-African American Barack Obama's presidential victory speech. I understood - and more important, it isn't a mere Indian memory. Jackson would recollect how in his lifetime as recently as 50 years ago, a black American risked being strung from a tree for glancing at a white woman. Equally, he would know racial prejudice is deep-rooted in American life and Obama's victory cannot make it disappear. America remains riddled with racist outcomes. As a politician, Jackson would know Obama's victory is primarily because despite being a black American, he could project himself as capable of uniting a fragmented nation. Indeed, a rare moment comes when a politician epitomizes the promise of change. Caste or color becomes irrelevant. There is no other way to explain how a black man born to a Muslim goat-herd from Kenya and an atheist farm-girl from Kansas walked away with such a stunning victory. If Obama is a superstar, it is despite being a pragmatic politician. To be sure, Wall Street firms and big corporate houses generously funded his campaign and his war chest kept overflowing. But, then, he also revealed a talent for motivating people who thought they were powerless. He is no doubt highly cerebral, but he is not an aloof intellectual. He possesses astonishing networking skills and a capacity to charm people into supporting him. And, he has self-discipline, which meant there were no skeletons in his cupboard. But all that still does not explain his success. The real paradox of his success lies in that he is seen as the ultimate "outsider", not tainted by the Washington establishment. He appeared at a time when the American people were desperate for change and were fed up with the way Washington and American politics was run. Obama has not benefited from the patronage of a political machine. He actually began his operations on a shoestring. People found that extremely attractive. He offered freshness amid the tired old faces of seasoned politicians. No doubt, it was Obama's good fortune that this election rounding off the disastrous George W Bush presidency. Obama found himself on the right side of history. When he posed his opponent John McCain as Bush's alter-ego, the choice before the American people worked decisively in his favor. So, was Obama a smart politician who helped himself to good fortune? The answer will be "yes" and "no". For, his leadership qualities, too, are never in doubt. Anyone who read his poignant memoirs - Dreams from My Father - could tell he is first and foremost a great human being. The book

is awash with emotions to which any clever politician would be wary of admitting. Obama comes across as someone with a genuine capacity for human compassion. It is a level of empathy that is only possible for someone who experienced deprivation and great sorrows. He could even forgive his brilliant but deeply flawed father. Second, Obama is a man of convictions. That is also his claim to lead America when it is losing faith in itself. Obama believes in the American dream. He realized the dream himself and insists it is still a realizable dream. More than that, he believes in America as a great nation. And, of course, he distinguishes America from the Bush era. Therefore, what we have seen on election night is an extraordinary confluence of Obama's political personality and America's hanker for change. Clearly, the conservative era that began with Ronald Reagan in 1980 is ending. The three pillars of "Reaganism" have irreparably cracked: blind faith in the market; the "percolation" theory; and "small" government. The pendulum is swinging back to interventionist government, social justice and support for the dispossessed. Equally, Republican philosophy rested on a pillar of a robust approach to national security. Incrementally, as time passed, it got warped as the grotesque Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military intervention, unilateralism and shock and awe took hold. That made America much disliked. Obama is better placed than any of his predecessors in the White House to grasp how the world sees America. He is the antithesis of Bush, who was unable or indifferent (or both) to comprehend how America under his presidency looked on the world stage. In his childhood, Obama saw America

from the "other end" of the tunnel, from Suharto's Indonesia. His background will help him weigh the usage of American power in hapless lands abroad. It will help him handle better the inexorable decline, even if in relative terms, of US global power. He might appreciate what it means to prefer diplomacy to muscle power or consensus to unilateralism. We may expect him to lead America gently back to its preferred method of conducting foreign policy. It is also necessary to touch briefly on the collapse of a third pillar of the Republican philosophy that paved the way for Obama's triumph. This is the waning of conservative social views. McCain brought in Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to unleash a "culture war". For decades, Republicans got away with tarnishing their Democratic adversaries as mavericks on social issues. Palin tried all her tricks but the tricks stopped working. Young people are becoming relaxed in their social views and a generational shift is underway. This may only be the middle of the story and not the end, but America is getting ready for a time in the next 25 years when white people will be a minority among other ethnic minorities. All said, Obama's principal challenges will be in managing the economic crisis, and it will most certainly dominate his presidency. The challenges lie on several fronts. The economic crisis is both cyclical and structural. One, the economy is in recession. Consumers are drastically cutting back; house prices are still falling. Companies find it hard to borrow and are cutting back on investment. Unemployment is rising. The interest rate has been pared down to 1%, but it is still not having an effect. The public mood is ugly - a mixture of anger and fear. Obama

needs to draw deep into his reservoir of optimism to help his people recover from their gloom and loss of self-confidence. Of course, the American economy will recover from the present crisis. The political challenge for Obama will be to make that happen during the life of his administration. But the systemic challenge is a much harder nut to crack. Simply put, the US economy has been living far beyond its means. This is showing up as the huge current account deficit and as a large fiscal deficit. Household savings are very low - at or close to zero. The proportion of the gross domestic product consumed - rather than invested - is too high at 70%. This pattern of living has meant borrowing, and borrowing big. It is a bizarre situation that the world's biggest economy and the people with the highest standard of living in the world have to borrow to simply get going. The crunch time has come. The US is dangerously ending up with obligations to its big lenders such as China. Conversely, these lenders are landed with the opportunity to buy real assets - land, office blocks, companies, and so on. The implications of lenders like China "buying up" America are profound not only for US global standing, but also for the international system as a whole. Yet, America needs more money. Much of the infrastructure is second rate or crumbling. The education system calls for renovation. Almost half the population has no health cover. A completely new social security system needs to be put together as the 1960s generation (the "baby boomers") is becoming pensioners. The disparities have reached unacceptable level - 1% of Americans holding 21% of the wealth while 50% of the population holds only 13%. The US economy, in other words, has hit a wall. A deadend has come. A complete change of course is necessary. Yet the economy remains huge and powerful. The question is to provide the country a more sustainable future. Obama's challenge is on the one hand to shepherd his countrymen through the present downturn. At the same time, he needs to explain to them that physical resources are finite. He must underscore that America needs to get to save again both at the national and family level. He is striding a political minefield. He will have to sound convincing when he says he does not hold a magic wand to wave the situation away. Policies, after all, take time to have effect. But popular expectations are soaring. Great statesmen transmute as men of history when they overcome huge challenges. Can Obama reach the stature of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt? His chances are just over 50%. Jesse Jackson, too, seems to think so. Those were pearls that were his tears. Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.

A Note On Naga Reconciliation US President Elect and

he Naga freedom struggle is more than fifty years old .By any standard fifty years is long enough and no nation can sustain such a prolonged struggle unless its people endorses its effort and make the necessary sacrifices. At the initial stage of Naga struggle for freedom, it was a people movement where every Naga played a role to sustain it. Though there was oppression and hardship the people were contended with the struggle.. Many villages were burned down to ashes and were deserted. Nagas were butchered like animals by the aggressors but the patriotism of the Nagas did not cool down. The struggle kept on continuing amidst uncountable tortures and destruction. But today the present scenario has changed. Instead of fighting against the aggressors, we have been fighting among ourselves. The divide and rule policy sown by the enemy has been able to hypnotize the Nagas, it has played havoc with thousands of lives. The enemy has planned well to sabotage the Naga freedom struggle and their plan is working aggressively. We have to rise up to the occasion and take a unified stand irrespective of factions, tribes, geography etc. Otherwise we have to dig our own grave. The Naga struggle has sustained upto this day because of the people’s support and sacrifices. But today the common people are in a dilemma whether to continue their support to the struggle or not. The tide has change and the people are the one who suffer the most. In the name of sovereignty, we have been killing each other. Now people are even afraid to talk openly about the Naga struggle for fear of their lives. The public is in doubt whom to support and whom not, they are left with no choice. Taxes, extortions, violence, and corruptions are increasing day by day. The Naga struggle is gradually decaying and if this trend continues it will lead to nowhere but will create further problem which will subsequently lead to our downfall. Unity is absent not only within the so called Naga freedom fighters but also amongst the Naga public. We can hardly find brotherhood and fraternity among ourselves and not only that ‘Ism’has shown its ugly face in our Naga society and if not deal properly it will create havoc. Unity is a must to achieve the desire goal. There will be no permanent solution until and unless every section of Nagas are united. For the sake of the Naga nation, Nagas have endured untold miseries and hardships in the hands of the aggressors. Human rights violation of the greatest magnitude was perpetuated without an iota of qualm. Thousands have fallen prey to the enemy’s bullet; thousands tortured and maimed for life.. Women folk are rape and molested; villages raze to ground, crops, and properties worth billions of dollars destroyed. All these sacrifices have been done so that we can live freely in our own land without unwanted interference from outside. But today the situation has completely changed. It seems all

this sacrifices made by the Naga patriotic has gone futile, meaningless.. Is this all, what we can give them in return for their sacrifices? Let’s all take a break and think deep where we have gone wrong. As human, mistakes are made, but instead of blaming one another lets solve it amicably and peacefully. Bloodsheds will only escalate the situations. The theme of the Naga nation is “Nagaland for Christ”. So as people of Christ, let us be practical and true to ourselves. Everybody wants peace and progress, it will come only when every Naga join hands and learn to help one another. There is an urgent need for a movement to reconcile every Naga brethrens, a movement back by the Naga society which can transcends all barriers and bring the warring brothers under one roof. Whether over ground or underground a consensus must be reach to achieve greater height. When there will be reconciliation and unity among the Nagas, the Naga struggle will get greater coverage, more public support and more fire power. When all these team together, there will be much more pressure on the aggressors and it will compel them to go in line with Naga people’s desire. We are at the crossroad of life. There are many who carry scars and wounds that are not visible from outside, they are in desperate need of professional diagnosis and treatment. The voice for peace is becoming louder and louder than ever before. It is a situation which should be handle delicately. There should be no room for ego, ism, and hatred. Burying all hatchets, let’s march ahead with a new vigor. One nation, one people, and one solution must be our mantra to achieve our goal. Divisiveness and factionalism will only create more problems and will do no good to anyone. So let’s solidified the bond of oneness and move forward to heal and to bring reconciliation among the different factions of Nagas. Life may not be smooth sailing but if we fight under one banner it may be easier and will gain greater mileage. Let us work hard in a true Christian spirit for the reconciliation and unification of our nation, so that peace and development will prevail over our land. The recent reconciliation football match played between the civil societies and the Naga national workers (from different factions) have given a ray of hope to plaster the cracks that have formed in our relationship with one another. The role played by the church and the NGO’s is laudable and appreciable but I believe and hope that there is still much to be done and much to be achieved. So let’s be strong and let us paint our globe with the colors of love, peace, joy, and harmony. Thomas Kinkade eloquently said “When we learn to say a deep, passionate yes to the things that really matter, then peace begins to settle onto our lives like the golden sunlight sifting to a forest floor”. KUKNALIM Vilasetuo Suokhrie

Trickling Tears on a Blackman Cheeks

he victory of American President elect Barack Obama is certainly a victory which has set to change the course of American history and probably mankind. Victory of a man of Kenyan roots from a race commonly branded as the symbol of slavery. This is indeed the happening of an impossible to a possibility. His campaign slogan ‘Change’ has come to the United States of America. But why was a world renowned civil right activist, Reverend Jesse Jackson in tears as laughing and tearful Americans greeted the new American Presidential victory celebration? A small flag made of red, blue and 50 stars in his hand clearly testified that he belongs to a great country where equality, freedom and liberty reign. Then, why? Was he thinking of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and all those who had have believed in the principle of liberty, freedom and equality, and paid the price for these three lofty words across the successive eras? While honoring the sentiment of the Native Americans, and though I still only want to be a Naga, it is always amazed thinking at the rising of USA and becoming a truly powerful nation. The most admirable in the spirit of Americans is their belief, courage and unflinching determination. It begins with, centuries ago, the daring courage of their pioneer immigrants to sail across the Atlantic Ocean solely depending on at the mercy of nature particularly wind and stars in search of a better fortune for some and for others to escape from persecutions, humiliations, etc from their motherlands in Europe. These exiles perhaps believed they could build a prosperous and powerful nation. They, in spite of belonging to different nationalities, socio-politicoreligious backgrounds, believed they could live together as a nation on the strength and ideals of equality, freedom and liberty further fundamentally strengthened by their trust in God. They believed there could be emancipation, compassion and equality in their land. They believed they could land on the very moon. They perfectly succeeded in all. And now they believed in Change. They have changed their moral law and jubilantly gave their landslide mandate to a gentleman whose race sadly synonyms the former slavery to be the Commander in Chief of their armed forces. It reaffirmed that it is no longer necessary for Canaan , son of Ham to serve Shem and Japheth or to feel inferior to his brothers (Genesis 9:25 -27). After all, the price of redemption had been paid two thousand years ago by the Messiah, and He kept His promise ( St. John 16:14 ). This unquestionably is the era of the Comforter. The seed sown by the founding fathers of the United States by placing their trust in God and believing God also would bless their land, has sprouted out in erecting a new remarkable milestone. The High Priest is surely glorified. Furthermore, in 19th century, the American missionaries believed the head hunter-Nagas (living in Indo-Burma regions) deserved to know the greatest message of Love. They believed Nagas could excel in education. They had the courage to sail for months to cross the deep oceans and walked through deep forest and mountains passing unknown and unfriendly peoples, and languages. They had the courage to pick up and compassionately return their attackers’ spear. They had succeeded much to the benefit of Nagas. And they asked for nothing in return. May God continue to bless America that many other nations particularly the politically, materially, and spiritually downtrodden nations would be bless through her. And may the gracious God also bless the land of Nagas like He blessed America . Keviphotsü

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SATURDAY

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

8 NOVEMBER 2008

PERSPECTIVE NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

India’s dynamic political duo Raja Murthy

hile Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has scotched speculation of general elections before May 2009 as scheduled, the countdown begins on his unprecedented partnership with Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, who acts as a de facto prime minister. The Manmohan-Sonia partnership will be increasingly scrutinized as six provincial states - Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - go to local polls from November 14 in what is being described as India’s biggest elections before the general elections that will decide the future of India’s most curious political jugalbandi ever. Jugalbandi in Indian usually means a harmonious fusion of two musical forms, sometimes as diverse as a Western guitar and an Indian sitar being performed together on stage. In expanded cultural terms, jugalbandi can mean a fusion of food, art or cinema. In politics, Manmohan and and Sonia have made for a remarkable match - a Sikh economist and an Italian-born Roman Catholic housewife together leading, as political novices, the world’s largest and most complex democracy. India saw a staggering 240 political parties contesting the last general elections four years ago, compared to the two political parties in the world’s most powerful democracy that went to the presidential polls on Tuesday. That the Manmohan-Sonia jugalbandi has survived nearly a full parliamentary term without ugly discordant notes such as power squabbles between them is noteworthy by itself. The pair has survived despite sustained criticism of policy decisions such as the India-United States civilian nuclear deal signed with US President George W Bush. In July, the government scraped through a parliamentary vote of confidence over the deal. In 2004, Sonia was poised to take over as prime minister but sensationally handed the prime minister’s post to former finance minister Manmohan. “I would follow my inner voice,” she told the Congress Parliamentary Party in May 2004. “Today, it tells me that I must humbly decline this post. The post of prime minister has not been my aim.” She stunned the country, as well as baffled opposition leaders such as Sushma Swaraj, who had lined up a barrage against Sonia only to find that the enemy had won the battle by strategically taking the moral high ground. While Sonia renounced the post after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party threatened to take to the streets to protest against a “foreigner” becoming prime minister, her “inner voice” seemed to have no objections to her retaining actual power with key posts such as chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. She became the most powerful woman in India since her mother-in-law and assassinated prime minister Indira Gandhi, and was ranked among the seven most powerful women in the world in a Forbes magazine list. Since then, her critics have accused her of destroying constitutional credibility and undermining the post of prime minister by overruling cabinet decisions and violat-

ing protocol by taking precedence over the prime minister. A senior parliamentarian revealed to Asia Times Online, on condition of anonymity, that protocol violations have stretched to the extent that an unwritten directive has been sent to the governmental administration that Manmohan cannot visit a major disaster-affected or a terroristhit area before Sonia has dropped by for inspection. “That real power should come from an extra-constitutional source has led to setting a very bad precedent,” he said, “and undermines the constitutional authority of the prime minister.” Whether Sonia herself authored such alleged unofficial “directives” or not, the Manmohan-Sonia alliance essentially involved India having a prime minister sitting in the driver’s seat but with the steering wheel in someone else’s hands. Yet credit can be given, though, that both Manmohan and Sonia have spared India the embarrassment of the kind that Maha-

elections in key states such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. This correspondent was among the critics of Sonia during her political debut. In a national newspaper article entitled “Campaign of the ghosts”, ahead of her first entry to parliament in 1999, I wondered whether she was merely a puppet dangling in the hands of infamous power brokers in the Congress. Since then, Sonia has handled such questions with surprising equanimity. In one of her rare television interviews, she was asked to respond to communal leader Bal Thackeray - the Hitler fan - mocking her that she would unknowingly read out a grocery list in an election rally if it was handed to her as her written speech. I expected Sonia to react furiously. Instead, she giggled and looked genuinely amused. Senior newspaper editor and leading columnist Vir Sanghvi, who had conducted the interview, has a different take on the Manmohan-Sonia partnership. Sanghvi, a

rashtra state, of which Mumbai is capital, suffered between 1995 and 1999 when the communal and violent Shiv Sena party was in power. Shiv Sena chief minister Manohar Joshi was first “nominated” and then periodically humiliated by party president and de facto chief minister Bal Thackeray, who himself was banned from contesting elections for instigating communal riots in Mumbai in 1992 that killed over 1,000 people. Thackeray took pains to show the world who exactly was the boss. Serial protocol violations included important visiting dignitaries first paying homage to party boss Bal Thackeray at his residence, and then condescending to call on the chief minister. Chief minister Joshi’s public outbursts protesting such indignities were meekly followed with his contrite public declarations of loyalty to Thackeray - a former newspaper cartoonist who openly admits being an admirer of Adolf Hitler. India, in the past four years, has luckily been spared the circus that the financial capital Mumbai suffered a decade ago. The difference has been Sonia Gandhi. She has handled extraordinary power with sufficient dignity and calm, even though the century-old Congress party appears to be in terminal decline under her presidency, after routs in provincial

family friend of the Gandhi family, wrote in May, “It is fashionable to portray the prime minister as her cipher, but the truth is that she seems in awe of him, always defers to his intellect and experience, and rarely involves herself in administrative matters. For instance, at least three members of the present council of ministers would never have been sworn in if it was up to Sonia.” While family-loyalist Sanghvi’s claims of the Manmohan-Sonia partnership “working” because “she trusts his judgement” can be taken with a due pinch of sodium chloride, the fact remains that Sonia is careful to at least publicly show Manmohan courtesies as a prime minister. For example, she respectfully stands in line with cabinet ministers and party leaders while seeing him return from official visits abroad. The downside is that Manmohan returns the compliment, raising howls of protests at the protocol violation of the country’s prime minister going to the airport to receive a party leader. But significantly, the pair is yet to issue any public statement contradicting or criticizing each other. They convey the impression of respecting each other. Similarly, the Sonia-Manmohan jugalbandi has worked because both have allies across party lines. “I have great respect and personal regard for her,” Suresh Prabhu, an opposition party

member of parliament and a former union minister, told Asia Times Online. “I find her a warm and wonderful human being.” So, too, with 77-year-old Manmohan Singh. Firebrand Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh declared last week, “I have great regards for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whether he remains in power or not. Yet, there are several events in the Congress that happen without the knowledge of the PM to the extent that his own party members do not regard his words or listen to his writ.” That the scholarly Indian prime minister is not considered first among equals is due to the unusual fact that a European woman rules India’s oldest political party and directs the world’s largest democracy. The 61-year-old Sonia, who grew up as Sonia Maino in the small town northern Italian town of Ovassanjo, 80 kilometers from Turin, had her life dramatically changed in 1968 when she married Rajiv Gandhi, son of India’s then-prime minister Indira Gandhi. The couple met as fellow students in a language school at Cambridge University in England. “My journey from the placid backwaters of a contented domestic life to the maelstrom of public life has not been an easy one,” Sonia said while delivering the 14th annual Nexus lecture at the Nexus Institute, The Hague, Netherlands, on June 9, 2007. “Yet, despite its sorrows and difficulties, I have found in my new existence both fulfillment and a larger sense of purpose. The family to which I first pledged my fidelity was in the confines of a home. Today, my loyalty embraces a wider family - India, my country, whose people have so generously welcomed me to become one of them.” While Sonia calls India “my country”, she applied for Indian citizenship only 15 years after her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi in 1968, and continued using her Italian passport even after she moved into the household of her mother-in-law and prime minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Sonia’s circumstantially forced citizenship makes even more remarkable India’s nearly five-year acceptance of the jugalbandi with the prime minister. She was still an Italian citizen when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards on October 31, 1984, and it was Sonia who cradled her head in the car rushing to hospital in New Delhi. She applied for Indian citizenship only after very reluctantly and tearfully letting her husband be sworn in as prime minister after his mother’s violent death. She was terrified about her husband meeting a similar fate. Sonia’s worst fears came true in 1991 when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Chennai, while campaigning in the general elections he was widely expected to win by a landslide. After a reclusive seven year period of mourning and devoting herself to taking care of her two children, Rahul and Priyanka, Sonia formally entered politics in 1998 and was elected to parliament in 1999. Five years later, she withdrew her chance to become the fourth Indian prime minister from her family - after Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi. As a result, India was put in the curious position of having a prime minister first answerable directly to his party leader, not to the people.

China Tackling Tibet and Taiwan - Differently

Antoaneta Bezlova Inter Press Service

hinese negotiators have, this week, discussed Tibet’s quest for genuine autonomy with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and also pushed forward the agenda to establish economic rapprochement with Taipei. Beijing has been seeking reunification with Taiwan for as long as Tibet has pursued a promised right to self-determination. Tellingly, the two negotiations got very different treatments in the state-sanctioned Chinese press. The Taiwan talks, which sought to build foundations for closer engagement over the Taiwan Strait, were covered extensively in the mainland media. Negotiators signed several agreements bringing the former arch-rivals -- that fought a civil war in the 1940s -- closer together by establishing direct air, postal and shipping links. “China has been waiting for this moment for 60 years,” said the 21st Century Business Herald, terming the visit of China’s chief Taiwan negotiator Chen Yunlin to the island “a milestone”. “The future of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as one entity is bright,” it added. By contrast, talks with representatives of the Tibetan government-in exile went by unmentioned by any major media but the state news agency Xinhua. When it did report on the visit of the Dalai Lama envoys and their dialogue with Chinese officials, the agency struck a harsh note, saying the Tibetan spiritual leader should “face reality”. “It is impossible for Tibet to become independent, semi-independent, or independent in a disguised form,” the report said, citing remarks by Du Qinglin, head of a government department in charge of the negotiations. “The Dalai Lama should respect history, face reality, comply with the times and correct his political stance fundamentally.” Du held the talks in Beijing with Lodi Gyari and Kelsan Gyalsten, two envoys of the Tibetan-government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. They were taken to visit a model minority area in the Muslimpopulated Ningxia Autonomous Region. But, despite the longer than usual time for

discussions, no breakthrough was made, giving rise to even more doubts about the success of the Dalai Lama’s “middle path” doctrine of pursuing autonomy. Tibet and Taiwan are both grappling to find solutions to decades-long standoffs. Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since 1949. The Nationalist troops of Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island after losing the civil war against the communists on the Chinese mainland. Beijing continues to see the island as a breakaway province

and has warned that it would use force to prevent Taiwan from declaring formal independence. For Beijing, the latest talks are a breakthrough because they included a visit to Taiwan of Chen Yunlin, chairman of China’s semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, whose goal is to reunify the island and the mainland. Chen is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Taiwan in a half century. He also met with Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou. Ma assumed power five months ago, promising a new era of peace and economic normalisation with China, after years of tense relations under his pre-

decessor Chen Shui-bian. Beijing, which hopes that an economic thaw across the Taiwan Strait would facilitate future reunification, has welcomed his administration. The latest talks however, were dogged by rowdy protesters and faced vocal opposition from supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party, which favors independence. Polls conducted by the Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees Taiwan’s China policy, found that 30 percent of the interviews considered Ma Ying-jeou’s

opening up to China too fast in early October, compared with 19 percent who felt that way in March. Beijing had once proposed the “one country, two systems” formula, practised in the administration of Hong Kong as a possible model for Taiwan. The doctrine allows Chinese sovereignty to be applied to a territory, with foreign affairs and defence issues handled by the central government while domestic matters are left to a local administration. The same model, though, is being denied to Tibet. Du Qinglin ruled out a Hong Kong-style solution to the Tibetan question, saying China would not allow Tibet the wide degree of autonomy it has grant-

ed territories such as Hong Kong and the former Portuguese colony of Macau. “It is a fundamental political system of China… It does not allow the promotion of ethnic separatism under the banner of ‘genuine ethnic self-governance’,” Du said. “We will never allow someone to hold a banner of ‘real autonomy’ and damage the national unity,” he added. For the Tibetans, the stand-off over their right to self-determination has continued ever since the 15th Dalai Lama fled his homeland in 1951 for India and set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala. For more than 50 years the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has toured world capitals, trying to promote the Tibetan cause and seeking negotiations with Beijing. He has championed a “middle path” policy, which advocates genuine Tibetan autonomy as opposed to political independence. But China has repeatedly accused him of leading a campaign to split off the Himalayan region from the rest of the country. The two sides have held seven rounds of talks before the current one with little progress to show for it. Relations soured this year when peaceful demonstrations against Chinese rule in Lhasa, in March, turned violent, leading to scores of casualties on both sides. Beijing blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for the riots. As the current talks were about to begin in the Chinese capital, the authorities announced they had sentenced 55 people for their involvement in March’s anti-government protests. Adding to the gloomy prospects for the dialogue, the Dalai Lama has voiced his frustration with the lack of progress in negotiations, saying Tibet was “now dying” under China’s iron-fist rule. “My trust in the Chinese government is now thinner, thinner, thinner,” he told reporters during his visit to Japan this week. “I have to accept failure”. The future of his “middle path” policy will be the focus of a special meeting, in Dharamsala, on Nov. 17, of around 300 delegates representing the worldwide exiled Tibetan community. Younger and more radical forces among the community have increasingly been calling for a tougher stance against Beijing.

The issues of Climate and Global Warming have today become the greatest challenge to the human strive for its continued and dignified existence. Together, they impact every aspect of life on earth and constitute a threat like never before in human history. Therefore in our humble attempt to create public awareness that will result in public action, the Morung for Indigenous Affairs and JustPeace in partnership with LEAD, is introducing the weekly Climate Change Corner, which will be published every Saturday. Hope you will find it useful.

NAGA IDLE : Performance found lacking Ango Konyak, Climate Change LEADer, Nagaland

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A cheesy title” some might say. But I figured this was more likely to catch your attention as opposed to if my article were titled ‘Climate Change in Nagaland.’ So now that the cat is out of the bag as to the focus of this article, I hope you will continue reading because, though my tactics may be a little underhanded, the heading is certainly not unwarranted. (In any case, did you really expect something else in Climate Change Corner? Aw….come on!!!) We have been idle about this pressing problem long enough and we need to give it the due importance and urgency it necessitates. The truth is many of us are really not that interested in the issue of Climate Change. For one, we think we know the facts… global warming, pollution, green-house effect, ya-da-ya-da-yada, you’ve heard it all right? We human’s (and particularly we Naga’s) have this convenient ability to separate ourselves from any catastrophe whether it’s watching a flood or earthquake on the news or reading about HIV or hearing about the latest accident…most of us will shake our heads, maybe sympathize a little, but will most often think… “It’ll never happen to me”. Call it defense mechanism, call it ignorance or indifference, I call it Intended-Oblivion. It’s the same thing as an ostrich burying its head in the sand, it may feel separated and safe from danger but it does not make the threat go away. We’re the ostrich when it comes to the issue of Climate change. Tick the excuse that sounds most familiar to you. a) Its an issue for the developed countries and the metro cities. b) Its for our governments and NGO’s to take care of. c) This is Nagaland, these don’t affect us. d) I don’t care, it does not affect me. What if facts and data show otherwise? Fact: In recent years we’ve witnessed the highest average temperature recorded in history (10 years in the last 18 years, 2005 was the hottest). [Note: It took only a few degrees to shift us of the last ice age and a few degrees may be all that separates us from the next catastrophe.] Fact: Record shows that Green house gases did not go above 280 ppm over the last 650,000 years. We are now over 400 ppm. [Note: Scientist are referring to it as being dangerously close to the tipping point, a point where we lose control over the climate.] Fact: UN estimates that by the middle of this century there may be 150 million Environment Refugees at any given time from Climate Change. [Note: If the sea levels rise by just 1meter there will be 23 million displaced in the USA; 144 Million in China; 12 million in Netherlands; 63 million in Bangladesh.] Fact: Population growth is at its highest. It simply means more people, more pollution - less natural resources. [Note: The world hit the 1 billion mark in 1800; it hit the 2nd billion in 1930 – within 130 years; 3rd billion in 1960 after only 30 years; the present population is at 6 billion.] Fact: 70 countries in the world no longer have any intact or original forests. These are just some of the basic facts. If you’re still not convinced it affects you, do yourself a favor – Pop that bubble and look around you. Notice the everyday traffic jams, the sizeable increase in number of houses and people in your town? Noticed that more of our children suffer from asthma? What if I told you 30 – 60 % of all elementary school children suffer from asthma today. What if I told you the pollution you’re breathing in may be the cause for your headache, drowsiness, lethargy? Noticed how each year people talk about this being the hottest summer? Notice your local grocery stores and the all the latest products that’s available to us Nagas today? Do you know that a lot of chemical very common in today’s world – plastics, artificial colors, pesticides are high on the list of suspect agents that promote cancer and increase chronic degenerative diseases? Do you know for every truckload of product with lasting value imported in, we’re producing 32 truck load of waste? In the last 2 -3 years our news channels and newspapers have been swamped with so many incidents of natural disasters – floods, landslides, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes etc. Yet we refuse to see the link. Most intelligent species, are we? Kenny Ausubel, founder pioneer says this “When we talk about saving the environment in a way it’s misleading because the environment is going to survive. We’re the ones who may not survive.” Climate Change should be addressed and addressed with the urgency you would a National threat. If our headlines tomorrow flashed ‘National Emergency’ we’d all sit up and take notice. We’d think of our families and children and our concern will be their safety and future. Guess what? Climate change is not a National threat, it’s an International threat. A threat that knows no boundaries and affects us all…. including us here in Nagaland. Then why aren’t we mobilizing? Why isn’t it treated like the threat it is? The biggest problem today is not Climate Change. The problem is awareness or lack of it, in this case. It is this lack of awareness that has caused such reckless and callous conduct in the first place. But awareness can cut and repair the damages. Awareness can lead to more environment- responsible public policies. Awareness can result in more responsible citizens. Awareness can make our politicians and policy makers sit up and take notice. In fact awareness can start at all levels, any level. Our children can recognize hundreds of brands and logos; can they identify 10 plants around them? Can you? There is very little time but there is still hope. We have been IDLE but that can change. The movement has already begun. My fellow Climate Change LEADers and I are proof of that change. The change has started and the solution is simple … It’s about caring. Join us. Start caring today. The Climate Change Leaders (CCL) programme is sponsored by EHDRC, LEAD India (www.leadindia.org ). There are 8 CCL’s in Nagaland and 30 in the North East Region. The Nagaland CCL’s invite you to respond to this article on-line at www.morungexpress.com or email ccl.nagaland@gmail.com

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.

C M Y K

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Saturday 8 November 2008

NEWS FILE Hizbul Mujahideen commander apprehended

JAMMU, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): A self-styled district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen has been apprehended by army troops in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said. During an operation, troops of 11 Rashtriya Rifle apprehended Ghulam Ali, district commander of HM outfit from Navapachi of Kishtwar district last night, they said. A resident of Kadeena of Kishtwar district, Ali had crossed over to PoK in 1992 and underwent arms training for a couple of years before returning to Indian side, they said, adding he uses three alias names – Kamal Din, Bakhtar and 4444. Since his return, he had been operating in Doda, Kishtwar and Anantnag districts of the state, they said, adding at present he was operating as district commander of HM outfit. A large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives have been recovered from his possession, they added.

Minor accident at AI ﬂight, passengers safe MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): An Air India flight from Jeddah had a minor accident today while landing at Kozhikode airport as the aircraft’s right wing tip hit the runway while landing, an Air India spokesperson said. “All 159 passengers on board are safe and Air India engineers are assessing the damage to the aircraft,” the spokesperson told PTI here today. The incident occurred at 0915 hrs when the Air India flight 962 from Jeddah was landing at Kozhikode, the spokesperson added.

Orissa govt to raise Special Task Force against organised crime BHUBANESWAR, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): Orissa plans to raise a Special Task Force on the same lines as Maharashtra to check the rise of organised crime in the state. “The state government is planning to raise a Special Task Force, with around 200 to 250 policemen. It will check inter-state crime, drug offences and money laundering cases, among others,” a senior state police officer told reporters. He said the special force would be formed on the lines of anti-terrorism squad of Maharashtra, which has been formed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). “Besides, Orissa is also planning to go for an anti-organised crime legislation on the lines of MCOCA,” the officer added.

Lt Col confesses role in Malegaon blast MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): The serving Indian Army officer Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit, who was recently arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for questioning in the Malegaon blast case, has reportedly confessed his role in the revenge attack. According to reports, Purohit told the ATS officials that he prepared the blue print of the conspiracy and provided ammunitions for the September 29 ‘revenge’ attack in Malegaon, which claimed the lives of at least six people. The 37-year-old officer has confessed to providing the logistics and

explosives to a radical Hindu outfit ‘Abhinav Bharat’, who carried out the blast. Lt Col Srikant Purohit was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS on Nov 5 in connection with the September 29 Malegaon blast. The Army officer, who came under the scanner for his alleged role in the blasts, was stationed at the Army Education Corps Training College and Centre at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh. It is reported that the ATS officials are now planning to question another serving officer in connection with the case and sought permission from the Army in this regard.

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): Expressing serious concern over the alleged involvement of a serving Army officer in the Malegaon blast, the Centre today said necessary action will taken against him by the Defence Ministry on the basis of the Maharashtra police’s investigation report in the case. The government said it would go to the root of the September 29 blasts that claimed six lives and in which a Lieutenant Colonel was suspected to be involved. “This incident is a matter of serious concern for all of us. We are very determined to go to the root of the whole thing,” Antony told reporters here soon after an Awards function for Defence PSUs. “We are awaiting the (Maharashtra police) report (in the case)....We will take all necessary action on the basis of the report,”

Antony said, when asked to react on the involvement of a serving Military Intelligence officer in the blast. Evading a direct reply on the involvement of more serving officers, including one holding a senior rank, Antony said the Army was fully assisting the investigation “without any hesitation” and so was the Defence Ministry. “On the part of the Army, without any hesitation, they are fully assisting and cooperating with the investigating agencies. We are waiting for a report from the Maharashtra police and I can tell you, we are taking it seriously,” he added. Pointing out that the Maharashtra police and the domestic snooping agency, the Intelligence Bureau, were investigating the whole issue, Antony said the inquiry by the agencies outside the MOD was going on.

We will take all necessary action on the basis of report: Antony

Hindu outﬁts gear up to provide legal aid to Malegaon accused PUNE, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): ProHindu organisations have decided to start a Legal Aid Firm to support the right wing forces accused in the Malegaon bomb blasts, a leader of Abhinav Bharat and Hindu Mahasabha said here today. An account has already been opened with a private bank here to offer monetary help to all those Hindus being wrongly hunted for alleged terrorist acts, Himani Savarkar, told PTI. Asked about reported confessions made by Lt Col Prasad Purohit regarding hatching the Malegaon blast conspiracy, Savarkar said, the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) personnel were harassing the accused and extracting statements under duress. Alleging that she was not allowed to present a copy of ‘Bhagwad Gita’ to Sadhvi Pragya when she was brought to the Nasik court a few days back, she said, “This is terrorism in police uniform.” Savarkar, who left for New Delhi last night, said Hindu outfits would engage best legal talent to defend the wrongly accused community members in the Malegaon case and they would also consult Supreme Court lawyers for the purpose.

Margaret Alva could face Congress heat NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): AICC General Secretary Margaret Alva, who created a flutter by alleging sale of party nominations in recent assembly polls in Karnataka, could be in for trouble. Party sources on Friday said that Alva’s case could be referred to the Central Disciplinary Action Committee of the party headed by Defence Minister A K Antony. Alva, who has been sulking since her son Nivedith was not given nomination in Karnataka elections, had created an embarrassment for the party yesterday as she alleged adoption of “different yardsticks” in deciding party nominations for upcoming elections in six states. She had wondered why her son and grandson of former Union Minister C K Jaffer Sharief were not given nominations while relatives of two dozen leaders were given tickets in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. “Were my son and Jaffer Sharief ’s grandson anti-national, terrorists or smugglers?” Alva had asked. She is also apparently upset over the appointment of her bete noire R V Deshpande as state party chief. AICC General Secretary Prithviraj Chavan, who is in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka and who appeared to be in Alva’s firing line, has already dismissed her charges as “unsubstantiated and born out of frustration”. Chavan had said, “as long as Alva is General Secretary, I will not comment on her unfortunate statement. Since she is General Secretary of the party, any decision on it will be taken by the Congress high command and Central Disciplinary Action Committee”. Antony, when asked for a reaction on the Alva issue at a Defence Ministry function in New Delhi on Friday, merely said politics should not be mixed with issues relating to defence. “No politics in defence. It is matter of defence function. In the last two years (that I have been Defence Minister) I have not mixed defence and politics,” he said.

Kashmiri migrants return Curfew like restrictions in Srinagar for second day running from exile to contest polls

NAGROTA, JAMMU, NO- votes scattered all over the VEMBER 7 (CNN-IBN): country. “I am trying my When candidates of the best to get the maximum Jammu and Kashmir Na- votes and if there is a strike tional Democratic Front go (electoral boycott by other out campaigning, some of parties) then I have a betNEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): The them may feel nostalgic. The ter chance. We have people Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on petiFront is a party of Kashmiri (migrants) in Kanpur, Bantions filed by gay rights activists seeking decriminalisation migrants, and some of its can- galore, Chandigarh, Ludhiof homosexual acts among consenting adults in private. didates are returning to the ana and I will be reaching A Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice state after two decades. Rake- out to them,” said Handoo. S Muralidhar asked the Centre and anti-gay rights activsh Handoo left Jammu and The party has fielded 15 ists, including senior BJP leader B P Singhal, to file their Kashmir 20 years ago and has candidates in Kashmir but response in the matter by next Monday. The petitioners pleaded that the criminal provision against homosexual now returned to contest elec- the disconnect is evident as behaviour should be scrapped for consenting adults who tions from his birthplace in most of them have been livindulge in such acts in private. They contended that SecHazratbal constituency. ing outside the Valley. “Most tion 377 of the Indian Penal Code which provide punish“I am not ready to leave of our constituencies belong A policeman stops a milkman at a check post in Srinagar, November 7. Thousands of ment upto life imprisonment is violative of their fundaKashmir at any cost. That is to their constituencies and troops in riot gears are warning people to stay indoors in an attempt to block a pro-inmental right. The Centre, however, opposed the petition the main reason I am con- believe in co-existence,” dependence rally called by separatists for a second straight day in the Indian portion of saying that such behaviour is immoral and cannot be altesting the elections. I want says A K Deewani, work- Kashmir. (AP Photo) lowed in Indian society. The separatists had ear- Mosque on Friday where the to put my flag in the land ing president of the party. In SRINAGAR, NOVEMwhere I was born; I want to the 2002 elections, a Kash- BER 7 (AGENCIES): Strict lier called for the march to the joint coordination commitkiss that land,” said Han- miri Pandit won from the curfew like restrictions re- grand mosque in the old city's tee would announce its future doo. Handoo represents the Habbakadal constituency mained in force for the sec- Nowhatta area Thursday, a resistance programme," Mirond day Friday in Jammu move scuttled by the authori- waiz Umer Farooq, the chairJammu and Kashmir Na- in Kashmir, as it had a sub- and Kashmir summer capital tiesthroughstrictenforcement man of the moderate Hurritional United Front, the first stantial migrant vote. This Srinagar after the separatist of section 144 of the criminal yat group, who also heads the ever political party floated time around the Front is joint coordination commit- procedure code, under which committee, had told reporters by the Kashmiri migrants. again hoping for a poll boy- tee re-scheduled its proposed assembly of four or more peo- here Thursday evening. "Section 144 of criminal KANKER (CHHATTISMarkole entered politics Handoo’s has pinned his cott and the scattered votes march to the Jamia Mosque ple is banned. "The people in the old city to Friday. should assemble at the Jamia procedure code is in force GARH), NOVEMBER 7 as a post-graduate student hopes on the 70,000 migrant of migrants. (PTI): Though from the when she stood for student same Gond tribe, Sumitra union elections in her college Markole (BJP) and Preeti here. She held several posts Netam (Congress), contest- at the panchayat and district ing against each other from level since then. BJP’s decithis Naxal-dominated as- sion early this year to give 33 BHUBANESWAR, NOVEMBER 7 that she developed an idea that since adra does not shed a tear even after sembly constituency, are a per cent reservation to wom- (CNN-IBN): Obsessed with the desire she does not have a male child the cer- the brutal killing of her three daughclass apart. While Markole is en in the party cadre saw her to give birth to a son, 31-year-old Sub- emonial last rites in her family cannot ters. On Wednesday, she first took her a local who has lived in Kank- becoming a state vice-presi- hadra Das, a frustrated mother killed all be done by her daughters and she was 7-year-old elder daughter Padmini to a pond behind her house while she was LUCKNOW, NOVEMher three daughters in Purshottampur frustrated of this fact.” er all her life, Netam is the dent in the organisation. Female infanticide and foeticide sleeping and drowned her in the pond. BER 7 (AGENCIES): Aldaughter of a former Union And now she has been village of Orissa. Later she went to the minister who was bred and given the BJP ticket from police and confessed her crime. Subhad- are widely prevalent in many districts A little later she similarly killed her sec- leging that the UPA govbrought up in Delhi. Kanker, replacing the sit- ra said, “After killing my three daugh- of Orissa. Last year in Nayagarh police ond daughter 4 year old Sumitra. When ernment was meting out Kanker is one of the 12 ting BJP MLA Aghan Singh ters I tried to commit suicide by getting unearthed a mass grave containing re- police found the two dead bodies in the step-motherly treatment to Naxal-affected districts of Thakur. Asked what will be drowned in the pond. But even after at- mains of 25 newly born babies. Social village pond, Subhadra was interro- the state, the Uttar Pradesh Chhattisgarh and is located her agenda if voted to power, tempting thrice I could not kill myself.” activists say these killings are prompt- gated and she revealed that just a week government has come out Police say there was no pressure ed by religious beliefs. Social activist back she had killed her nine-month-old with statistics claiming that around 140 km south of Raipur. Markole lists providing qualthe Centre was not releasThis Scheduled Tribe reserved ity education as her first pri- on Subhadra from her husband or Kendrapara Dipti Ranjan Dash says, daughter by strangling her neck. This murder was not known to others ing funds for accomplishing constituency is witnessing a ority followed by health and other family members to give birth to “There are various customs like ‘pind keen contest between Markole employment to locals. “We a male child. Sub-divisional police of- daan’ which are performed only by as everyone believed the infant died of ill- various developmental projand Netam, both of whom are have no industry here unlike ficer (SDPO), Kendrapara Jaydev Sa- sons, and it is customs like this which ness. What is shocking is that Subhadra ects in the state. “The state government confessed to doing such inhuman acts in contesting an assembly elec- Jagadalpur which has some rangi says, “The motive of the murder encourages such inhuman acts.” is being given a step-mothtion for the first time. factories,” she laments. This could possibly be why Sub- frustration for want of a male child. as we found from the investigation is erly treatment and statistics confirms it. Due to political reasons, the Centre is not giving out the state’s share for carrying out various developmental schemes,” the Is this a political strategy? Is this cannot change his spots”. NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 heart of New Delhi. He also talkstate government’s planning image makeover deliberate, to win “However moderate a image department officials alleged (AGENCIES): As the BJP brac- ed about technology and spoke wider political and social support as he may try to project, the country while releasing the data. The es for assembly and national elec- about his visit to the Microsoft he leads the BJP to elections in six knows he is a fanatic, rightwing, ret- state received only Rs 11, 053 tions, its prime minister hope- head office in the US. states starting November 14 and later rogressive, divisive,” said Tiwari. crores from the Centre as ful L K Advani is shedding his Before the programme beto the Lok Sabha? BJP leaders admit “Even in his attempt to look secular, against Rs 15,989 crores for Hindu hardliner image to pres- gan, organisers introduced Adthat Advani is cultivating the image he embraced the worst communal- 2007-08 and that too when ent himself as a moderate leader vani – the man who would be of a moderate politician, with a view ist of South Asia, (Mohammed Ali) the state provided its share of a la Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Almost India’s prime minister if the to stepping into the shoes of Vajpayee, Jinnah.” Tiwari’s reference was to Rs 3, 557 crores, they said. suddenly as it were, the man who BJP-led coalition wins the nahis long-standing colleague who was Advani’s surprising endorsement of will be 81 on Saturday is attend- tional elections next year – as Replying to the Conprime minister from 1998 to 2004. Jinnah during his 2005 visit to Paki- gress’ allegations that cening more and more youth-orient- someone who “loves chocolates, Everyone agrees that the 2009 stan, comments that drew angry re- tral funds were not released ed events, some apparently insig- movies, cricket and always carparliamentary election will perhaps sponses from Hindu hardliners who to the state as it did not pay nificant, regaling the audiences ries an I-pod” on him. be the last chance for Advani to be- once worshipped the BJP veteran. In some recent events, Adwith anecdotes from his eventful its share, the officials said the come prime minister – a dream he is Other critics are far less charita- funds were even not released political career. The new Advani vani has spoken freely and frankknown to have had for long. Like Va- ble. They argue that Advani remains for a number of schemes in is funny to the extent of making ly about the shortcomings of his jpayee, Advani is now appearing to at heart a Hindu hardliner but realises which states’ share was not generation. On these occasions, youngsters roar in laughter. On October 20, after launch- he has avoided hardcore politi- worst Hindu-Muslim violence since be making the right noises to woo the that he needs to moderate himself to needed. According to the ing Indiabanao.org, to inspire cal issues. Advani seems to be 1947. When Hindu-Christian vio- large urban educated middle class become an acceptable national leader. data released, Rs 1,959 crores and involve the young in social consciously taking steps to make lence erupted in Orissa in August, whose support will be crucial in any Said one BJP leader who declined to was not released under the be named: “He does not attend RSS Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrifiand political events, Advani himself more acceptable to all Advani tried to broker peace between electoral battle. The BJP denies Advani is chang- (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) cation scheme (RGRES), Rs narrated how he and Vajpayee sections of the people, in contrast leaders of both the communities. But watched a movie at Old Delhi’s to the 1980s when he emerged as a criticism persisted that he was not ing. “People and his critics have meetings as frequently as he used to 1,081 crores under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna Imperial cinema after being committed Hindutva politician. condemning Hindu right-wingers started understanding him only now earlier. All of us have noticed it.” This is the same Advani who (PMGSY), Rs 878 crore unToday, he rarely talks about attacking Christians. Again, when a because of his (projection as prime routed in a local election. “Only when the movie started we rea- his once favourite theme – the Hindu ascetic was accused of bomb- minister),” said his confidant and joined the RSS in the 1940s, the Jana der (NREGS) and Rs 602 lised it was Raj Kapoor’s Phir emotive campaign to build a ing a Muslim gathering in Malegaon former BJP president M. Venkaiah Sangh in 1951 and finally supervised crore under the National RuSubah Hogi,” laughed Advani at Ram temple at the site of the in Maharashtra killing five people, Naidu. “He is very firm in his ideol- a movement that led to the razing of ral Health Mission (NRHM) the irony, addressing hundreds Babri mosque in Ayodhya, a Advani declared that she must be ogy.” Congress spokesman Manish the Babri mosque in 1992, an event by the Centre in 2007-08. Tiwari called him a “leopard (who) whose aftermath is still being felt. In the current fiscal, Rs packed in an auditorium in the movement that sparked the punished if she is indeed guilty.

Verdict on decriminalisation of homosexual acts reserved

C M Y K

The Morung Express

Two tribal women in fray from Kanker

Desire for male child leads woman to kill daughters

Lal Krishna Advani at 81: mellow and moderate?

throughout the city and no violations of the law would be allowed," a senior police officer said here. Traffic, shops, educational institutions, banks and other business establishments remained closed in the city even as attendance in government offices was marginal because of non-availability of transport and curfew like restrictions. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who continued to remain under house arrest in his uptown Nigeen residence, told reporters that the separatists' poll boycott programme had been finalised. Jammu and Kashmir goes to the polls November 17 to Dec 24 to elect a new state assembly. "There will be a Lal Chowk Chalo march on Dec 24 when polling is scheduled in Srinagar city. From Lal Chowk the people will proceed to the office of the United Nations Observers Group (UNMOG) in Srinagar and present a memorandum there," the Mirwaiz said. "People will also march to the other district headquarters in the valley on the dates the authorities hold polls there."

Maya alleges UPA biased against UP 18,486 crores was to be released by the Centre to the state but Rs 6,071 crores were only released till date, the data pointed out. Owing to the delay in the release of funds, development projects in the state are being affected badly, the officials said. While only Rs 2,621 crore was released by the Centre against Rs 8,225 crore meant for carrying out various schemes under the rural development programme, Rs 1,520 crore was yet to be released for ‘Education for All’ project, the data showed. The Centre also did not sanction the government’s scheme for electrification of ‘majras’ (small villages) under RGRES, the officials said. According to the data for the current fiscal, Rs 38 crore only had been released against 71.68 crores for modernisation of Arabic madarsas, while a mere Rs 4.28 crore was sanctioned for post 10th scholarship gainst Rs 17.16 crore. Merit-cum-means scholarship also received only Rs 6.94 crore against a stipulated amount of Rs 19.58 crore, the data claimed. Similarly, no funds were released against Rs 40 crore for the Taj Trapezium scheme. The midday meal scheme could get only Rs 185.01 crore from the Centre against Rs 672 meant for the purpose, the data showed. No money had been released from the Rs 36-crore fund meant for secondary education schemes, the officials claimed.

INTERNATIONAL

The Morung Express

Congo slams United Nation at start of peace summit

Congo's President, Joseph Kabila, arrives for Special Consultative Meeting on conﬂict in the Eastern Republic of Congo, at an hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

NAIROBI, NOVEMBER 7 (AFP): DR Congo President Joseph Kabila’s regime on Friday accused UN peacekeepers of doing nothing to stop killings by rebels in his country’s strife-torn east as regional leaders met here for a peace summit. The emergency summit, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was expected to address, began with highlevel bilateral talks in Nairobi after new fighting shattered a week-old ceasefire and displaced thousands in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east. “People are being slaughtered and MONUC did

nothing,” Kabila spokesman Kudura Kasongo said in Nairobi. Congolese rebel forces captured another town in Nord-Kivu province on Thursday, as the UN peacekeeping force’s inability to stop the violence became ever more salient. Human Rights Watch said Thursday that rebels and pro-government militia had killed at least 20 civilians in recent fighting. “We will be discussing the way forward in the resolution of the Congo problem,” Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Thursday, adding he believed the summit would yield “a clear direction how to resolve this

crisis.” The presidents of the DRC, Rwanda and Kenya were among those attending the summit, as well as the UN’s newly-appointed envoy to Congo, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. One of the main goals of the meeting is to rekindle dialogue between Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, whose government has been accused of supporting the rebels, which it has repeatedly denied. At a meeting in Nairobi a year ago almost to the day, their two countries committed to a plan aimed at stabilising the eastern DRC but both

sides have failed to deliver. The agreement says Kinshasa will disarm Rwandan Hutu rebels wanted over the 1994 genocide and operating in eastern Congo while Kigali stops supporting armed groups, including Congolese rebels using Rwanda as a staging ground. Congolese Foreign Minister Lambert Mende said Thursday he hoped the summit would “prepare the ground for much healthier and balanced relations between our two countries.” Kagame has vehemently denied any involvement in the latest round of fighting and lambasted what he says is a

misguided approach by an international community shirking responsibility. Kinshasa has never exercised any real authority in eastern DRC and its regular troops fled in the face of Laurent Nkunda’s offensive, allowing the rebels to seize key towns and threaten the regional capital Goma. On Thursday, rebels appeared to have successfully fought off a two-day offensive carried out by pro-government Mai Mai militia on the town of Kiwanja and captured another town in the region, Nyanzale. Residents of Kiwanja accused rebel forces Thursday of murdering ci-

vilians as they drove back the Mai-Mai. An AFP photographer counted eight bodies in civilian clothes. The mission in Congo (MONUC) is the UN’s largest peacekeeping force with 17,000 troops but it has only a few hundred in the areas affected by the latest violence and has been unable to curb the fighting and displacement. MONUC spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel JeanPaul Dietrich said Thursday that armoured personnel carriers were dispatched to Nyanzale to halt the fighting “with orders to fire if necessary.” Remedies to MONUC’s impotence will also be discussed in Nairobi as tens of thousands of civilians remained without shelter and little to eat. The DRC is a country five times the size of France, host to a myriad of armed groups, Congolese and foreign. An estimated 1,200 people die every day of conflict-related causes. In an apparent olive branch to Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), Congolese Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito said Thursay he was ready to talk directly with the rebels. Nkunda was not invited to the summit in Nairobi and his spokesman said Thursday he expected no diplomatic breakthrough. “Nothing is going to come out of it, there have already been so many conferences of the same kind,” Bertrand Bisimwa told AFP. With peace still stuck in the starting blocks a year after all required agreements were signed, analyst Francois Grignon said that Obasanjo’s appointment should boost hopes. “Obasanjo is a former head of state and has the authority to check Kagame and Kabila... to pick up his phone and call the UN Security Council,” said Grignon, head of the International Crisis Group’s Africa Programme.

Traditional medicine passes WHO BEIJING, NOVEMBER 7 (REUTERS): Health representatives from more than 70 countries gathered in Beijing on Friday to swap ideas on how to make traditional medicine, ranging from acupuncture to leech treatment, more widely available. The two-day World Health Organisation (WHO) event, built around seminars on regulatory standards and folk medicine in cultures from South Africa to Japan, is expected to end with member countries agreeing to expand traditional medicine in their health care systems. WHO officials at the event said blending traditional and Western medicine could make each more effective. “Integration of traditional medicine into national health systems will not only bring benefits to patients,

but will also ensure safety and proper use,” assistant WHO director-general Carissa Etienne told reporters at a briefing. Speakers also called for research on traditional medicines, which WHO directorgeneral Margaret Chan called “a valuable source of leads for therapeutic advances and the discovery of new classes of drugs”. Herbal and other treatments have sometimes been found effective in studies. Artemisinin, a plant ingredient used in southern China for centuries to fight malaria, became regarded as the best treatment for the disease after research proved its ability to clear parasites quickly. Traditional medicine is used throughout China and in other developing countries, even with access to Western-style health care grow-

ing. Leech therapy is used in parts of India to treat pain and skin diseases, and hospitals in China often offer both Western treatment and traditional cures like acupuncture or herbal antidotes. In Canada and Germany, according to the WHO, more than seven in ten people have tried folk treatments as alternatives or supplements to modern health care. Revenue from traditional medicine in Europe reached more than 3 billion euros ($3.82 billion) from 2003 to 2004, according to Zhang Xiaorui, WHO coordinator on traditional medicine. The number for China was $8 billion, she said. “There are many examples where fast and effective traditional medicines have existed,” said Hans Hogerzeil, the WHO’s director of medicines policy and standards.

Russian soldiers dressed in Red Army World War II uniforms march at the Red Square during a parade in Moscow. The parade marks the 67th anniversary of a November 7 parade on Red Square, when soldiers went directly to the front during World War II. Russian soldiers in World War II uniforms have marched across Red Square on what was for decades a holiday celebrating the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. (AP Photo)

Saturday 8 November 2008

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Migraines cut breast cancer risk 30 percent CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 7 (REUTERS): In a puzzling twist, women who have a history of migraine headaches are far less likely to develop breast cancer than other women, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. The study is the first to look at the relationship between breast cancer and migraines and its findings may point to new ways of reducing a woman’s breast cancer risk, they said. “We found that, overall, women who had a history of migraines had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who did not have a history of such headaches,” said Dr. Christopher Li of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, whose findings appear in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. Li said the reduction in risk was for the most common types of breast cancers -- those driven by hormones, such as estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, which is fueled by estrogen, and progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer, which is fueled by progesterone. Hormones also play a role in migraines, a brutal type of headache often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and heightened sensitivity to light and sound. Women are two to three times more likely than men to get migraines. While it is not exactly clear why women with a history of migraines had a lower risk for breast cancer, Li and colleagues suspect hormones are playing a role. “Women who have high-

er levels of estrogen in their blood have higher levels of breast cancer,” Li said in a telephone interview. And he said migraines are often triggered by low levels of the hormone estrogen, such as when estrogen levels fall during a woman’s menstrual cycle. Women who get migraines “may have a chronically lower baseline estrogen. That difference could be what is protective against breast cancer,” Li said. For the study, Li and colleagues analyzed data from two studies of 3,412 postmenopausal women in the Seattle area, 1,938 of whom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,474 of whom had no history of breast cancer. Women in the study provided information on their migraine history. They found women who had reported a clinical diagnosis of migraine had a 30 percent reduced risk of developing hormonally sensitive breast cancers. “Migraines are typically most severe among premenopausal women,” Li said. “This study was all postmenopausal women.” He said that suggests the protective effect seen in women who get migraines may have a lasting effect at reducing breast cancer risk. “While these results need to be interpreted with caution, they point to a possible new factor that may be related to breast-cancer risk,” Li said in a statement. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide, with an estimated 465,000 deaths annually, according to the American Cancer Society.

Strange play in infancy may point to autism WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 7 (REUTERS): Babies who were later diagnosed with autism played with toys in unusual ways, spinning or rotating them more than other babies, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. Their findings, reported in the journal Autism, might help doctors and parents identify children at risk of autism and start to help them earlier, the researchers said. Babies who went on to develop autism also stared noticeably at objects such as bottles or looked at them out of the corners of their eyes, Sally Ozonoff of the University of California Davis and colleagues found. “There is an urgent need to develop measures that can pick up early signs of autism, signs present before 24 months,” Ozonoff said in a statement. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that all infants be screened for autism before they turn two, and most pediatricians look for the classic social and communication symptoms. “The finding that the unusual use of toys is also present early in life means that this behavior could easily be added to a parent checklist or quickly assessed dur-

ing a visit to a pediatrician’s office,” Ozonoff said. “The earlier you treat a child for autism, the more of an impact you can have on that child’s future.” Ozonoff and colleagues studied 66 1-yearold babies considered at high risk of autism, mostly because they had siblings with autism. Nine of them were eventually diagnosed with autism, and seven of these spent significantly more time spinning, rotating and looking sideways at objects than the other children. No one knows what causes autism, which is marked by impaired social interaction and communication and can range from mild symptoms to profound behavioral difficulties and mental retardation. Autism and related disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome affect an estimated one out of every 150 U.S. children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Most evidence suggests it is caused by a combination of genetic and early environmental factors -- perhaps even before birth. It is usually diagnosed by age 3. “About a third of parents notice signs before a child’s first birthday,” Ozonoff said.

tional Economic Council under President Bill Clinton. Ahead of a White House meeting with Bush on Monday, Obama appointed Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, the first senior official to join the next administration. Emanuel, 48, is a veteran of Clinton’s White House credited with masterminding the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2006. He has a reputation for being a bare-knuckles operative and a fierce Democratic partisan who has the nickname of “Rahmbo.” The appointment stirred the first post-election attacks from the demoralized Republican Party. “This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center,” said John Boehner, the Republican minority leader in the House. Bush said he had directed “unprecedented” cooperation between the White House and Obama before the Democrat is inaugurated on January 20, in the first presidential handover since the September 11 attacks of 2001. “In the coming weeks,

we will ask administration officials to brief the Obama team on ongoing policy issues ranging from the financial markets to the war in Iraq,” Bush said at the White House. Obama said in a statement that he looked forward to meeting Bush, whom he lambasted on an almost hourly basis on the campaign trail. “I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation,” he said. Aside from the listing US economy, one of Obama’s most urgent priorities will be to wind down Bush’s war in Iraq and redirect the military focus to hunting down Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The president-elect, who has spent the past two days catching up with his young family and thanking his campaign staff in Chicago, is already receiving classified CIA intelligence as he prepares to take over. Obama received his first national security briefing from Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence, at the FBI building in Chicago Thursday.

Barack Obama touch base with world leaders

A student wears a mask of newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama during a picket on what they called a welcome protest Friday, November 7, in Manila. The students called on President-elect Obama to be true to his words that he will bring change to the American economy and to the world including the Philippines. (AP Photo)

CHICAGO, NOVEMBER and other problems with top since his election triumph. istration, Obama spoke by 7 (AFP): Barack Obama dis- world leaders ahead of his After making the first key telephone with the leaders of cussed the financial crisis first public comments Friday appointment to his admin- Australia, Britain, Canada,

France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, hastening the shift in political gravity away from President George W. Bush. The financial crisis, the Afghanistan war, climate change and the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises dominated the talks, according to accounts from the various capitals. Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak agreed to work together to tackle North Korea’s nuclear disarmament and the financial turmoil, said Lee’s spokesman in Seoul. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he and Obama discussed “our resolve to act together on dealing on the global financial crisis and also working closely together on the great challenge of climate change.” Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to work “closely” on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, Afghanistan, climate change and the financial crisis, her government said. Reforming the financial system also featured strongly in Obama’s talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister Gor-

don Brown of Britain and a 10-minute telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, their spokesmen said. Aso also raised Afghanistan, climate change and North Korea, the Japanese foreign ministry said. Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the US president-elect discussed immigration and drug smuggling on the restive southern border, the Mexican foreign ministry. Most of the world leaders will attend the emergency summit on the economic crisis in Washington on November 15, but Obama has not yet announced whether he will take a role in the event. Obama was to convene his economic advisers on Friday before his first press conference (at 1930 GMT) since his triumph in Tuesday’s election against Republican John McCain. Several names mentioned as potential Treasury overseers to command a 700billion-dollar bank bailout were to attend the meeting, including former treasury secretary Larry Summers, ex-Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker and Laura Tyson, chairwoman of the Na-

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SPORTS

Saturday 8 November 2008

The Morung Express

AC Milan strike late in UEFA Cup

LONDON, NOVEMBER 7 (REUTERS): Brazilian Ronaldinho struck deep into injury time to give favourites AC Milan a 1-0 UEFA Cup group stage win at home to Braga on Thursday while twice winners Sevilla suffered a 1-0 defeat at Standard Liege. Ronaldinho came off the bench just after the hour mark to help the Serie A leaders finally break the resistance of their Portuguese opponents with a sweetly struck shot from Gennaro Gattuso's pass. On a good night for the Italian league's top two, Udinese won 2-1 at Spartak Moscow and in a clash of former winners, CSKA Moscow deepened Feyenoord's woes with a 3-1 win in Holland. Seven-times European champions Milan top Group E on six points, ahead of VfL Wolfsburg who joined Braga on three points after making their UEFA Cup group stage debut in style by thrashing Heerenveen 5-1. In Belgium, Dieudonne Mbokani's coolly finished first-half strike proved the undoing of 2006 and 2007 champions Sevilla as Standard followed up their fine first-round victory over Everton with an opening Group C win over the Spaniards. They join Sevilla on three points alongside Sampdoria and VfB Stuttgart after the Germans left it late to beat Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade 2-0 thanks to Mario Gomez's fourth and fifth

goals of the competition. Brazil striker Vagner Love also made it five goals in four games as 2005 champions CSKA Moscow won 3-1 at Feyenoord to consign the twice winners to a second successive defeat. Lech Poznan and AS Nancy drew 2-2 in the other Group H match. After their Champions League sides failed to win midweek, it was a better night for English clubs with Tottenham Hotspur easing past Dinamo Zagreb 4-0, Aston Villa edging Slavia Prague 1-0 and Manchester City FC beating Twente Enschede 3-2. Tottenham, unbeaten in four matches since Harry Redknapp took over from former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos, got their UEFA Cup campaign back on track thanks to a Darren Bent hattrick. The striker scored two goals in the first half and slotted home another late on after Tom Huddlestone fired home a volley from outside the box just before the hour. After defeating Spurs in Ramos's final game in charge, Udinese maintained their 100 per cent Group D record when Italy striker Fabio Quagliarella struck either side of a Clemente Rodriguez equaliser for Michael Laudrup's Spartak Moscow side. Manchester City, who have won just once in their last six Premier League outings, again looked vulnerable in defence before outlasting former England manager

Kuzhovesa Soho Phek | November 7

AC Milan Brazilian forward Ronaldinho celebrates after scoring during the Group E Uefa Cup soccer match between AC Milan and SC Braga, at the San Siro stadium in Milan on November 6. (AP Photo)

Steve McClaren's Dutch visitors. "We're trying really hard to get out of that," Shaun Wright-Phillips, City's opening scorer, told ITV. "We've been told about it by the boss and we keep letting it happen so it's something we have to

work on." Racing Santander and 1997 winners Schalke 04 drew 1-1 in the other Group A fixture while Ajax Amsterdam were the sole Dutch winners after beating Zilina 1-0 in a Group F topped by

Villa. Former winners Galatasaray won 2-0 at Benfica in Group B where Hertha Berlin played out a 0-0 draw at Metalist Kharkiv. In Group G, FC Copenhagen grabbed a late 1-1 draw at Valencia and St Etienne beat

Rosenborg Trondheim 3-0. The top three teams from each of the eight groups progress to the first knockout round where they will be joined by the eight sides finishing third in their Champions League groups.

Maradona can't count on Messi for Argentina

Argentina's Boca Junior's Ezequiel Munoz, bottom left, battles for the ball with Brazil's Internacional's Nilmar during a Copa Sudamericana soccer game in Buenos Aires on November 6. (AP Photo)

Hammers owner ponders sale

LONDON, NOVEMBER 7 (AGENCIES): West Ham owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson may put the club up for sale in the near future, according to the club’s vicechairman. The Icelandic billionaire has suffered heavily in the current financial climate, reportedly losing around £230 million last month through his other business interests. There have also been difficulties for West Ham, with the Tevez affair potentially costing the club £30 million in compensation to Sheffield United. And, “because of the global crisis and the complications in Iceland”, vice-chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson has admitted Gudmundsson could be ready to sell. “He is evaluating all his business interests, including West Ham,” he told The Indepen-

dent. “West Ham is a well-run club with no debt and is one of Mr Gudmundsson’s most important investments.” He added in The Daily Telegraph: “He needs to review in light of what is going on. “If you give a call to the owners of all clubs, 60 to 80 percent would be considering their stance in the present climate.” The Telegraph reports that no bids have yet been received as potential investors are waiting to see if the club succeeds in reducing the compensation owed to Sheffield United. A High Court ruling next week will determine whether they can continue with their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Sheffield United filed an injunction to prevent it.

Meanwhile, Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola has hailed Arsenal for the way they approach the game. Arsenal have faced widespread criticism this week after Arsene Wenger attacked Stoke for their physical approach, but Zola believes The Gunners play the game in the right spirit. “What Arsenal are doing is great,” he told The Daily Express. “They are entertaining and getting good results, although they’re very young.” “That is the football I like. Some people might think you can get better results from more direct football, but playing the Arsenal way makes all players better. All of us have to make sure it remains an entertaining game. It is not a war where you have to win at all costs. It’s important interests don’t get on top of the spirit of the game.”

BARCELONA, NOVEMBER 7 (AP): New Argentina coach Diego Maradona won't be able to count on Lionel Messi for the national team's upcoming games due to a pre-existing agreement between the Argentine federation and Barcelona. Maradona met with the Barcelona player on Thursday during a European tour the former Argentina player is using to speak with players who will make up his national squad. "We can't count on Leo because of the clause with Barcelona because we can't ride roughshod over anybody," Maradona, who spoke with Messi for about 40 minutes alongside Argentina manager Carlos Bilardo, told reporters. Messi, one of the world's best attackers, is not available for Maradona's first match in charge -- a friendly against Scotland on November 19 -- due to a deal between the Argentine football federation and Barcelona that allowed the 21-year-old to help lead his country to gold at this summer's Olympics. Messi will also be unavailable for a friendly against France in February. Maradona, who was travelling to Liverpool later on Thursday to meet with Javier Mascherano, said the short trip to Barcelona had served its purpose. "(I wanted) to speak with Messi and tell him everything we thought, and we have said all we need and we leave happy," Maradona said. Maradona said Messi told him he wanted "to play every game." "That leaves everyone feeling calm," Maradona said. Maradona had hoped to meet with Barcelona president Joan Laporta to discuss the issue but he is in Brussels, Belgium, and doesn't return until late Thursday. Still, Laporta had already sent out a warning to the 48-year-old former footballing great that Barcelona would not allow Argentina any extra leverage just because Maradona is now in charge. "Barcelona, the Argentina national team and Maradona as coach, we have a great responsibility which is to look after Leo Messi, who is looking to achieve the same footballing successes that Maradona himself obtained," Laporta said from the European parliament, where he was taking part in an anti-racism function. Laporta left the door open to further dialogue, however. "It's great news for football and for Argentina," Laporta said of Maradona's appointment. Maradona, who took over for the departed Alfio Basile on Tuesday, dined with several of Real Madrid's four Argentine players following a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Wednesday. His first trip abroad on official team business was already causing a stir among squad members after Maradona said he would strip Javier Zanetti of the captain's armband in favour of Mascherano. Mascherano said he was uncomfortable with the decision. The former Boca Juniors and Napoli player will also meet Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez while in England before continuing on to Munich, Germany. Maradona's first competitive game in charge, when he can count on Messi, will be a South American World Cup qualifying match at Venezuela in March.

England focused on India contest: Kevin Pietersen MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 7 (AFP): England will try to make a fresh start during their tough one-day series in India following their disappointing Stanford defeat, captain Kevin Pietersen said Friday. England slumped to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the winners-take-all 20 million dollar Twenty20 Stanford Superseries in Antigua last week, prompting widespread condemnation from fans and critics. They are now set to play seven one-day internationals against the hosts, starting on November 14 in Rajkot, followed by a two-Test series. "Last week wasn't special but it absolutely has no bearing on what will happen here in India," Pietersen told reporters here. "This series is going to be very difficult. Beating India in India is tough. We drew the Test series last time but we got smashed 5-1 in the ODIs. We are just looking to improve." Pietersen, 28, said his players were drawing confidence from the 4-0 one-day whitewash of South Africa at home in August. "We would've won 5-0 if it had not rained in the final ODI in Cardiff. To beat South Africa

Virender Sehwag named vice-captain of India team

NEW DELHI: Virender Sehwag is India's new vice-captain. Sehwag has been promoted as Dhoni's deputy and will do the job in both Test as well as One-Day cricket. With the departure of Anil Kumble the move appears to be aimed at integrating the leadership group through all formats of the game. Yuvraj Singh, who was Dhoni's deputy in One-Day cricket has been relieved of those duties to allow him to regain his batting form. The Delhi opener has in fact been vice-captain under Rahul Dravid and has even led India in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad that India won by 259 runs in December 2005. He is also the captain of the Delhi Daredevils team in the Indian Premier League (PL) and the Delhi Ranji team. England's cricket team captain Kevin Pietersen, left, exercises with teammate Paul Collingwood during a practice session in Mumbai on November 7. The England team is in India to play seven one-day international and two test cricket matches against host India beginning November 14. (AP Photo)

4-0, it's something we haven't done before. We are learning how to win," he said. Pietersen, on his first full tour as captain after taking over from Michael Vaughan during the South Africa series, also said his team will look to break the confidence of India captain Mahendra Dhoni. "Dhoni is a free customer when he goes out. He doesn't get too emotionally

Neikute Kapfo wins 1st Phek Open Marathon

wound up by the looks of things. "At the end of the day the players who play with him just want to do well. In terms of his captaincy he oozes confidence in the dressing room. We just need to try and keep that confidence down." England coach Peter Moores also said the Stanford games were history and his players were focused on

the Indian contest. "The key is to get consistent runs and our batters have to fire. That was one thing that worked very well against South Africa," he said. "With extra pace of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff and the bounce that they can create from their height gives us a chance to take wickets in the middle. That could be

really important." England already have an injury concern with paceman Ryan Sidebottom nursing a calf problem he picked up in Antigua. But Moores said even if Sidebottom failed to recover in time, the team still had four bowlers in the pace attack. He also conceded that Sachin Tendulkar's absence from the Indian squad for

the first three one-dayers would be a "bit of a bonus" for the tourists. Tendulkar, the world's most prolific batsman, requested to be rested for the games in Rajkot, Indore (Nov 17) and Kanpur (Nov 20). The remaining four matches will be played in Bangalore (Nov 23), Cuttack (Nov 26), Guwahati (Nov 29) and New Delhi (Dec 2).

NEIKUTE KAPFO of Losami Village today emerged as the champion of the 1st Phek District Open Marathon Race Competition 2008 with a performance of 56.26 minutes covering a distant of approximately 16 kilometers here at Phek Town, organized by the Veteran Sporting Club (VSC) Phek. Kudulhuyi of Thuvopisu Village with a performance of 56.40 minutes and Vesuta of Runguzumi Village with a performance of 56.56 minutes were adjudged as the 1st and 2nd Runners up respectively in the today’s competition. The winners walked away with a cash of 25,000/-, 15,000/- and 10,000/- respectively. Flagging off the competition, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Phek Z.Thele, wished all the participants a prosperous take off till they reach their destiny. According to the VSC General Secretary Kuveduyi S.Venuh, all together 96 runners participated in the competition from the different corners of the district, Venuh further added that through the selection Board recommendation the 3 declared winners were subsequently selected to represent the district during the forthcoming State Level Marathon Race competition scheduled to be held on 7th December 2008 at Kohima. Distributing the award to the winners in a simple function at Phek Town Public Ground, DC, Phek Z.Thele, congratulates all the three winners and further wished them a better pursue in their upcoming endeavors, he also encouraged the losers not to be dishearten rather take up as a challenge. Meanwhile, on learnt Neikute’s victory, the Losami Students’ Union (LSU) President, Kozote Akami, on behalf of the denizens of the Losami community congratulates Neikute Kapfo for being emerging as the champion in the historic event competition which was organized first of its kind in the history of the district. “Your achievement indeed brings laurels and fame towards the community, we salute and honor your excellent performance” exclaimed Akami. Urging him (Neikute) to be more dedicative, he further wished him “Best of Luck” in his upcoming venture. The VSC, General Secretary Kuveduyi, in his short address, expressed heartfelt thanks to every individuals, associations, department etc. for rendering their tireless efforts throughout the competition. He prayed that Almighty bless them in manifolds.

Day 6: CWA wrestling camp Our Correspondent Phek | November 7

THE ONGOING month long wrestling coaching camp of the Chakhesang Wrestling Association (CWA) which is underway at Phek enters the 6 day. Addressing the campers on 6th Nov.’08 at 2.PM, here at Phek town Local ground, Project Director, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Phek, Nuposo, urged the wrestlers to maintain discipline and dedicative in their future pursue. Challenging the elderly people who were being witnessing the training in good number, he said, the present scenario is competing from best among the best therefore, parents should stop sending the youths involving in anti social activities, specially the alcoholics and the drug abusers to this kind of training so as to avoid arising of social problems in our society. Congratulating the CWA, for conducting the camp in a fruitful manner in spite of financial difficulties, he said, this is indeed a commendable mission and I do expect that this mission would bear fruits and solve out the social problems in its later consequences. Calling upon the officers and well wishers of the community to contribute their due shares towards the CWA initiatives, he said, this kind of innovative initiatives is building up a good road to tackle up the social issues in our society. He also donated a huge sum of cash to the CWA. The CWA Finance Secretary, Kuve-o Vadeo stated that, the performance of the campers were found to be improve in high volumes, under the guidelines of coaches Hukhonieyi Soho & Huvesu Puro, both former Nagaland Wrestling Champions. Discipline motivation is in great progress, Vadeo said, adding that daily schedules were strictly enforced upon. Meanwhile, regarding the Naga Style Wrestling Competition from among the registered campers scheduled at the CBCC, Golden Jubilee, Ground Pfutsero, on 20th November 2008, vadeo disclosed that following persons were conformed to sponsored the cash award for the four best Naga Style wrestlers for the said competition, 1st prize- Thupuzhoyi Tunyi, DSP, Reserve, Kohima, 2nd prize- Dr. Neisatuo Mero, Dentist, Pfutsero Hospital, 3rd prize- Neichute Duolo, Coordinator, Entrepreneur Associates, Nagaland and 4th prize- Sanyi Dukru, President, Phek district Timber Association (PDTA).

Zunheboto District level half marathon on Nov 10 ZUNHEBOTO, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The District Sports Council, Zunheboto has informed all participants and citizens of Zunheboto Town that the District Level Half Marathon will be held on November 10. The half marathon which is being conducted under the sponsorship of Hukiye Kugha, Vice Chairman, DSCZ and members of DSCZ will be flagged off at 6:30 am at Centennial Gate, near ZTC office. In connection to this, all private and government vehicles plying via Zunheboto till Shoixe are directed to clean up the highways before 6:00 am. The age limit of the participants should be between 18 to 35 years. The responsibilities for the conduct of the following functions are: Security and Traffic: Superintendent of Police Medical Coverage: CMO and Medical Superintendent, Civil Hospital. Registration and Screening: District Sports Officer. Monitoring and Assistance booth official has been entrusted to ZTC, CCFZ, STH, SKK and DSCZ. Meanwhile, the DC and Chairman, DSCZ has requested the various departments, dignitaries, organisation and unions to take up the responsibility as entrusted.

World Cup hosts told to hasten preparations by ICC ISLAMABAD, NOVEMBER 7 (AP): The International Cricket Council has told the four 2011 World Cup hosts to speed up preparations to organize the tournament. Pakistan Cricket Board director General Salim Altaf received the directive after attending a two-day meeting of the World Cup organizing committee in New Delhi earlier this week, held under the chairmanship of ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.“The ICC reminded us that we are behind schedule on the organization of the World Cup,” Altaf said. “Normally, the central secretariat of the World Cup starts functioning three years before the event and we are already 10 months behind schedule. “The ICC has issued clear-cut directives that the World Cup secretariat should start functioning soon, and Lahore has been chosen as the city for this purpose.” Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will co-host the World Cup, which Altaf said will probably be held from Feb. 20-Mar 31 in 2011. The 14 teams will be divided into two groups. Dhaka will host the opening match, Lahore and Colombo the semifinals and Mumbai the final. In all, 15 venues will host matches.

C M Y K

Ent/Tabloid

The Morung Express

11 PRIME TIME Saturday

8 November 2008

Nahla Aubry is a Bundled-Up Baby

06:00 - Seinfeld; 06:30 - The Simpsons; 07:00 - Last Comic Standing; 08:00 Beauty And The Geek; 09:00 - How I Met Your Mother; 09:30 - Samantha Who?; 10:00 - Jimmy Kimmel; 11:00 - The Moment Of Truth; 12:00 - Blood Ties; 13:00 - The Unit; 14:00 - Beauty And The Geek; 15:00 - Last Comic Standing; 16:00 - Who Wants To Be A Superhero ?; 17:00 - Most Daring; 18:00 - Jimmy Kimmel; 19:00 - Smallville; 20:00 - Prison Break; 21:00 Shark; 22:00 - Criminal Minds; 23:00 - Most Daring; 00:00 Who Wants To Be A SuPerhero ?; 01:00 - Smallville; 02:00 - Prison Break; 03:00 - Shark; 04:00 - Criminal Minds; 05:00 - Stacked; 05:30 - How I Met Your Mother

‘It was my job to be seen and not heard,’ reveals Nicole Kidman in an explosive interview about her marriage to Tom Cruise

F H

alle Berry carries daughter Nahla Ariela, almost 7 months, into their hotel in Vancouver, Canada on Wednesday. The 42-year-old actress had just returned from a long day of shooting her latest movie, Frankie and Alice. Halle is starring and co-producing the psychological drama, which follows a young woman struggling with multiple personality disorder. Halle, who plays both Frankie and Alice, is torn between who she is and a racist Caucasian alter-personality that preys upon her mind.

or years, Nicole Kidman maintained a dignified silence over her ill-fated marriage to Tom Cruise. But the actress has finally spilled on life as Mrs Cruise, revealing she lived in her husband's shadow and sensed it was her job 'to be seen and not heard'. The former Hollywood golden couple, who are parents to Isabella, 15, and Connor, 13, separated just after their 10th wedding anniversary in 2001. She told Glamour magazine she felt stifled during the high-profile marriage: 'I felt I became a star only by association. I didn't think [my early movies] were very good, which is why I would always cower in the background. I thought, I don't de-

serve to be here. We would go to the Oscars and I would think, I'm here to support him.I felt it was my job to put on a beautiful dress and to be seen and not heard.' Kidman and Cruise first met while making the film Days of Thunder when she was just 22, and subsequently starred together in Far and Away and the sexually explicit Eyes Wide Shut. But it was after the split that her career really soared with an acclaimed role in Moulin Rouge and a 2003 best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Her next movie, the highly-anticipated Baz Luhrmann directed drama Australia, is due to be released later this year. The 41-year-old is now married to coun-

“I'm crazy about her”

day after Lewis Hamilton's girlfriend declared her love for him in a gushing YouTube video, the Formula One World Champion has returned the gesture. The racing driver admitted he is 'crazy' about Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger at his triumphant homecoming at the McLaren HQ in Woking yesterday. Hamilton, 23, praised his 30-year-old girlfriend for being a tremendous support during his Formula One campaign since they started dating in May. Appearing at an awards show in Berlin last night, the couple couldn't keep their eyes off each other as they posed on the red carpet together. Speaking about Scherzinger at the McLaren Technology Centre on Wednesday afternoon, Hamitlon said: 'My girlfriend is the one attracting all the attention. I may have to just shove her aside. 'I'm crazy about her. She's been incredible, so supportive for me. She's good for me, she adds to me.' After just a day on British soil, the couple jetted off again to Berlin on Wedesday evening for the Das Goldene Lenkrad awards. Hamilton was in Berlin to present the golden steering wheel trophy to Daimler AG chairman Dieter Zetsche for the company's electric powered car. After their brief appearance in Germany, it was back to London again for the jet-setting pair, who are scheduled for a Q&A session with the press later today. The couple's whirlwind visit to Berlin came after a busy two days which saw Hamilton thank McLaren staff at their HQ in Woking and him return to him hometown of Stevenage for a roast dinner cooked by his stepmother Linda. On Tuesday, Schezinger posted a brief video declaring the love for Hamilton on YouTube. In the video, she said: 'Congratulations baby - I love you, I love you, I love you. 'And anyone who’s not a Formula One fan then go be a Formula One, and all you Formula One fans out there - be a Pussycat Doll fan, yeah. 'Anyways it’s all about the love, and good times and good times call for thanks, gratitude and celebrations so we’re so thankful I love you, congratulations baby.' In between the congratulations and jet-setting, Hamilton and Scherzinger have managed to have some quiet time together. After flying in from Sao Paulo on Monday night, the pair snuck out to see the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. The following morning, Hamilton showed off his childhood haunts in Stevanage to his Hawaii-born girlfriend. The couple have been dating since May after meeting at the MTV Europe Music Awards six months previously.

‘Palin didn’t know Africa was a continent’

arah Palin may have lost her bid to be Vice President - but she was still the talk of America last night. She apparently did not know that Africa was a continent, not a country, and was also unable to name the nations in the vitally important North American Free Trade Agreement. There are only three. Her own, its northern neighbour Canada and its southern neighbour Mexico. The 44-year- old former Republican running mate's lack of general knowledge - and a storm over her designer wardrobe - emerged as she returned to her home state of Alaska. Extraordinary details of bitterness and jealousy between the Alaska governor and John McCain were laid bare following their White House defeat. McCain aides complained that Mrs Palin refused to be coached before TV interviews - - even after it emerged she wasn't sure about Africa's status in the world. Republican bosses also complained that Mrs Palin and her family spent even more on new clothes and shoes than previously reported. One McCain aide described the Palin family shopping spree in some of America's most exclusive department stores as 'Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.' According to Newsweek magazine, a party donor who agreed to foot the clothes bill was expecting to pay out up to £15,000. He was stunned when he received the bill for nearly £100,000. And that wasn't even the whole tab, it was revealed yesterday. Mrs Palin also allegedly leaned on some of her lowlevel handlers to put thousands of pounds

Dimapur

worth of additional purchases on their personal credit cards. Mrs Palin denied the claims yesterday, laughing of suggestions that she lived a 'diva lifestyle' in Alaska.The Republican contenders for president and vice-president barely spoke to each other in the lead-up to election day and indulged in a sixweek-civil war, it was claimed. The ill-fated pair began to fall out only a fortnight later in mid-September, insiders revealed yesterday. Mrs Palin's aides hit back, claiming she was naive about designer labels and outraged when she found out how much her suits and dresses cost. Spending by staff was reimbursed, they said. They also revealed she was enraged by leaks from officials dubbing her a 'whack job' - slang for mad. Last week's hoax call from a Canadian comic who convinced her she was talking to French leader Nicolas Sarkozy caused fresh aggravation because she conducted diplomacy on the hoof - and then failed for three days to tell the McCain team she'd been hoodwinked. The Alaska governor tried to counter backlash against her shopping spree by appearing in jeans on more than one occasion - including on the day she voted There was a striking metaphor for the doomed partnership when the pair went their separate ways on Wednesday afternoon. Mr McCain, 72, drove himself away from their hotel base in Phoenix, Arizona, in his own Toyota. But Mrs Palin and 18 family members left in a motorcade stretching to a dozen vehicles flanked by a dozen police motorcycle outriders.

try singer and fellow Australian Keith Urban, with whom she has a 4-monthold daughter, Sunday Rose. Kidman says she is now happier than ever: 'I'm in a place of gratitude and humility. I touch wood every day. The journey of life - we all go through it. You have love, you lose love, you find new love. To have love again is a beautiful thing.' Cruise, 46, now has a two-year-old daughter Suri with new wife Katie Holmes, who is 17 years his junior. The devout Scientologist has been accused of being a controlling husband in his current marriage, with his detractors maintaining an unofficial 'Free Katie' campaign throughout their relationship.

Simon hands exgirlfriend $10million

imon Cowell gave ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour a $9.6million (£6m) 'goodbye gift' as part of their split, it has been revealed. The X Factor supremo and his girlfriend of six years ended their relationship six weeks ago. But according to American magazine Life & Style Cowell gave Seymour $5m in cash, in addition to a $4.6m mansion in Beverly Hills as a parting gift. Terri now owns the luxury Los Angeles apartment that Cowell, who is worth £130million, bought for her when she moved out of their shared home this summer. It features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and an impressive view. 'Simon thinks the world of Terri, and that isn't going to change. He also understands her reason for ending it,' a source told the magazine. Seymour wanted to marry and start a family, whereas Cowell recently said: 'I don't want to marry anyone, because whoever marries me will end up hating me.' The stunning 34-year-old TV presenter is now believed to be dating 35-year-

06:00 - Animal Planet Safari; 07:00 Teleshopping; 08:00 - Lords Of The Animals; 08:30 - All New Planet’s Funniest Animals; 09:00 - Corwin’s Quest; 10:00 - All New Planet’s Funniest Animals; 10:30 - Young And Wild; 11:00 - O’shea’s Big Adventure; 12:00 - Big Cat Diary 4; 13:00 - Animal Planet Personalities; 14:00 - Animal Planet Safari; 15:00 - Max’s Big Tracks; 16:00 - Eye Of The Hunter; 17:00 - Corwin’s Quest; 18:00 Lords Of The Animals; 18:30 - All New Planet’s Funniest Animals; 19:00 - O’shea’s Big Adventure; 20:00 - Big Cat Diary 4; 21:00 - Max’s Big Tracks; 22:00 - Animal Planet Safari; 23:00 - Eye Of The Hunter; 00:00 - Lords Of The Animals; 00:30 - All New Planet’s Funniest Animals; 01:00 Teleshopping; 02:00 - Petsburgh Usa; 03:00 - Monkey Business; 04:00 - Petsburgh Usa; 05:00 - Monkey Business 04:30 - Deewane; 08:30 - Maa Vandevi; 12:15 - Dulhe Raja; 16:00 Major Saab; 20:00 - Volcano; 22:20 - My Lucky Star; 00:40 - Don; 04:45 - Dum 06:00 - Telebrands; 07:00 Planet Food; 08:00 - Wild Africa; 09:00 - A Baby Story; 09:30 Amazing Baby Videos; 10:00 Fight Quest; 11:00 - A Haunting; 12:00 - Dirty Jobs; 13:00 - The Beauty Of Snakes; 14:00 Discovery’s Biggest Shows; 16:00 - Wild Africa; 17:00 - A Haunting; 18:00 - Man Vs. Wild; 19:00 - Wild Africa; 20:00 Wild India; 21:00 - Discover India; 22:00 - Man Vs. Wild; 23:00 - Man Made Marvels; 00:00 - Planet Earth; 01:00 - Telebrands; 02:00 - Man Made Marvels; 03:00 - Extreme Machines Ii; 04:00 - Man Vs. Wild; 05:00 - Man Made Marvels 06:00 - Seva Ganga; 06:30 Vignan Shashwat Sukh Ka; 07:00 - Sangam; 07:30 - Raja Ki Ayegi; 08:00 - Kyunki Saas Bhi; 08:30 - Baa Bahoo Aur Baby; 09:00 - Shararat; 09:30 - Ab Tak Ka Safar; 10:00 - Bal Prithvi Raj Chauhan; 13:30 - Bidaai; 15:30 - Movie; 19:00 - Jai Maa Durga; 20:00 - Aaja Mahi Ve; 21:00 - Prithviraj; 21:30 - Baa Bahoo Aur Baby; 22:00 - Star Voice Of India; 23:30 - Ab Tak Ka Safar; 00:00 - Kasturi; 00:30 - Ab Tak Ka Safar; 01:00 - Bidaai; 01:30 - Kis Desh Mein; 02:00 - Shararat; 02:30 - KayamAth; 03:00 - Ab Tak Ka Safar; 03:30 - Kahaani Ghar; 04:00 - Kyunki Saas Bhi; 04:30 - Raja Ki Ayegi; 05:00 - Jai Maa Durga 04:55 - Faithful; 06:30 - Good Will Hunting; 08:50 - Spy Kids; 10:40 - Fx Ii; 12:50 - Romance And Cigarettes; 14:50 - Partition; 17:05 - The Death And Life Of Bobby Z; 19:05 - Miss Potter; 21:00 - Scoop; 22:55 - Ladder 49; 01:10 - Tom Yum Goong; 02:55 - Romance And Cigarettes; 04:35 - Fx Ii 0:00 - Wwe: Smackdown; 2:00 - Sportsnight; 2:30 - Icl Hl’s Lahore V Dhaka; 3:30 - Wwe: Ecw; 4:30 - Icl Hl’s - Lahore V Dhaka; 5:45 - Hong Kong 6’S; 15:30 - Wwe: Smackdown; 17:30 - Wwe:vintage Collection; 18:30 - Icl 20-20 - Preview: Kolkata V Hyderabad; 19:30 - Icl 20-20 : Kolkata V Hyderabad; 22:30 - Icl 20-20 - Review: Kolkata V Hyderabad; 23:00 - Wwe:vintage Collection 04:00 - Black August; 06:30 - The Making Of Gladiator; 07:15 - Flags Of Our Fathers; 10:00 - Passenger 57; 11:45 - S.S. Doomtrooper; 13:30 - The Making Of The Da Vinci Code; 14:00 - The Hitcher; 15:45 - The In Crowd; 17:45 - Hollywood One On One; 18:15 - Happy Feet; 20:30 - Mumbai Calling; 21:00 - Evan Almighty; 23:00 - The Hunt For Eagle One: Crash Point; 00:45 - Spark; 02:45 - Not My Life; 04:30 - The Adventures Of Brer Rabbit

old Hollywood actor Stephen Dorff, whom she met in September. Cowell, who is one of TV’s highest-paid stars, has given her new love his blessing and has privately said he is delighted to be free of the relationship. 'Simon has basically been waiting for Terri to announce the relationship is over for months,' a friend revealed.

The secret behind Minnie’s secret

06:00 - Global Telemall; 07:00 - Enjoying Everyday Life; 07:25 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 07:30 - Jagran; 07:55 - Exposure Jhalak; 08:00 - Teleshopping; 08:25 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 08:30 - Jai Jai Tridev; 09:00 - Saat Phere; 10:30 - Ek Se Badhkar Ek - Chota Packet Bada Dhamaka; 12:30 - Movie; 20:00 - Ek Se Badhkar Ek - Chota Packet Bada Dhamaka; 21:00 - Naaginn; 21:30 - Aladdin; 22:00 - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009; 23:55 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 00:00 Asian Sky Shop; 00:55 - Exposure; 01:00 - Asian Sky Shop; 02:00 - Shabhash India - Childrens Special; 02:30 - Rakhi; 04:30 - Urja; 05:00 - Ramayan; 05:30 - Narseva Narayan Seva 06:00 - Mann Mein Hai Visshwas; 07:00 Telebrands; 07:30 - Teleshopping; 08:50 Box Office Muzic Hitz; 09:00 - Cid; 10:00 Indian Idol 4; 14:00 - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai; 18:00 - Khushi Ki Duniya; 18:30 - Comedy Circus; 20:00 - Boogie Woogie; 21:00 Indian Idol 4; 22:00 - Comedy Circus; 23:30 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 00:00 - Telebrands; 00:30 - Teleshopping; 01:00 - Boogie Woogie; 02:00 - Arslaan; 03:00 - Aahat - 3; 04:00 - Comedy Circus; 05:00 - Cid 6:00 - Numb3rs; 7:00 - The Amazing Race; 8:00 - 2007 Lg Action Sports Championships; 9:00 - David Blaine: Frozen In Time; 11:00 - Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!; 12:00 Numb3rs; 1:00 - House; 2:00 - Cashmere Mafia; 3:00 - Suspect Zero; 5:00 - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; 6:00 Afterworld; 6:30 - Ultimate Guinness World Records; 7:00 - The Amazing Race; 8:00 - The Marksman; 10:00 - Axn Xtreme: India Vs Pakistan; 11:00 - 24; 12:00 - Moonlight; 1:00 Cashmere Mafia; 2:00 - House; 3:00 - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; 4:00 - 24; 5:00 - Moonlight 05:30 - Mr Bones; 07:00 - Charlie Chaplin; 07:30 - Infomercial; 08:00 Under Suspicion; 10:30 - Rushmore; 12:30 - Legend Of The Red Dragon; 14:20 - Air Force One; 17:00 - The Juror; 19:30 - The Hollywood Reporter; 20:00 - Lords Of Dogtown; 22:30 - Howards End; 01:40 - Legend Of The Red Dragon; 03:00 - Rushmore; 04:30 - Under Suspicion

innie Driver has kept the father of her baby a secret because he reportedly left her when she told him she was pregnant. The 38-year-old actress - who gave birth to son Henry in September - has so far refused to reveal the identity of Henry's dad, but insiders claim it is the TV writer she had been dating around the time she conceived. A source

close to Minnie told a N newspaper: "She was dating a TV writer. She told him she was pregnant, and he just left her. That's why she's been very quiet about the situation." It was previously claimed musician Craig Zolezzi was the father of the baby, but Minnie has always refused to comment on the rumours. However, she recently insisted she wants the father to play a big part in Henry's

upbringing. She said: "I'm just unorthodox. I'm taking full responsibility for being a mother but he will still play some part. I'm not married and I'm not getting married to this person. So I don't know what's going to happen. I sort of just take it moment by moment. Everyone's grown up, everyone is cool. You just want to create as happy and loving an environment as you can."

06:00 - Dream Hotels; 06:30 Indian Rendezvous; 07:00 Europe’s Richest People; 08:00 - Globe Trekker 10; 09:00 - A Matter Of Taste With Vir Sanghvi; 09:30 - Uttaranchal; 10:00 - Trinny And Susannah Undress; 11:00 - Monster House; 12:00 - Biker Build-Off - The Series; 13:00 - I Do, Let’s Eat!; 13:30 - Indian Food Made Easy; 14:00 - 1000 Places To See Before You Die; 15:00 - Hotel By The Bay; 15:30 - I Do, Let’s Eat!; 16:00 - Europe’s Richest People; 17:00 - Nigella Express; 17:30 Passport To Europe WitH Samantha Brown; 18:00 - A Model Life With Petra Nemcova; 19:00 - Adventures Of The Ladies Tailor; 19:30 - Feast India; 20:00 - Nigella Feasts; 20:30 British Biker Build Off; 21:00 - Highlife Unlimited; 22:00 Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations; 23:00 - La Ink; 00:00 Miami: On The Beach; 01:00 - Highlife Unlimited; 02:00 - Globe Trekker 10; 03:00 - Nigella Feasts; 03:30 - Madhur Jaffrey’s Flavours Of India; 04:00 - Trinny And Susannah Undress; 05:00 - While You Were Out 3

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DEBUTANT KREJZA Harbhajan joins the elite keeps Aussies aﬂoat

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Australian bowler Jason Krejza, center, celebrates after dismissing Indian batsman Ishant Sharma, left, as captain Ricky Ponting, right, congratulates him on the second day of the fourth and ﬁnal cricket test match between India and Australia in Nagpur on November 7. (AP Photo)

NAGPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (AFP): Debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza kept alive Australia's hopes of levelling the series with an eightwicket haul in the fourth and final Test against India here on Friday. The tourists were 189-2 in their first innings at stumps on the second day in reply to India's 441, with Simon Katich batting with a

dle

solid 92 and Michael Hussey on 45 not out. India lead 1-0 following their 320-run win in the second match in Mohali. The Tests in Bangalore and New Delhi were drawn. Krejza, 25, became the sixth bowler to grab eight wickets in a debut after Australians Albert Trott and Bob Massie, West Indian Alf Valentine, Indian Narendra

Hirwani and South African Lance Klusener. He finished with 8-215 off 43.5 overs -the most runs conceded in a debut innings. But his last five wickets came for just 15 runs off 26 deliveries in the afternoon, which helped his team restrict India. Australia suffered a setback after making a decent start when Matthew

Hayden (16) was run out, failing to beat debutant Murali Vijay's direct-hit from mid-on at the non-striker's end. Skipper Ricky Ponting (24) looked set before being bowled by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, picking the wrong delivery to cut. It was the 10th time he had fallen to the Indian. Harbhajan, who shared the new ball with Za-

heer Khan, also became the third Indian after retired Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619) to claim 300 Test scalps. Katich and Hussey then denied India further success as they applied themselves remarkably well to put on 115 runs for the unfinished third wicket. Katich has so far struck eight fours in his

120-ball knock. India earlier looked set to cross the 500-mark following a 119run stand for the sixth wicket between retiring Sourav Ganguly (85) and new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (56) before Krejza struck. The hosts were 422-5 when Krejza removed Ganguly and Dhoni in the space of three balls. Both batsmen were beaten by turning deliveries, with Dhoni losing his leg-stump and Ganguly edging to slip fielder Michael Clarke. Left-handed Ganguly missed out on a rare feat of scoring a century in the first and last Test, hitting one six and eight fours in his 153-ball knock. Mohammad Azharuddin is the only Indian to have achieved the landmark. Ganguly made 131 on his debut in 1996 against England at Lord's. There was no hint of collapse in the morning as India did not lose a wicket in the twohour session, adding 93 runs to their overnight total of 311-5. Ganguly, who scored a century in Mohali, extended his impressive run in the farewell series as he cut and drove fluently. He used his feet well against Krejza, once stepping out to loft the bowler over long-on for a six. But Krejza came back strongly after the lunch break, sparking a collapse which saw the hosts lose their last five wickets for 19 runs. The spinner was on a hat-trick when he bowled Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra in his 43rd over before finishing the innings in the next over with the wicket of last-man Ishant Sharma.

Hamilton living life to the full after F1 title win LONDON, NOVEMBER 7 (REUTERS): If Lewis Hamilton was grinning all the way to the bank before he became Formula One's youngest champion, he is now smiling in his sleep as well. The 23-year-old McLaren driver said on Thursday that he could not be happier with life since he won the title in Brazil on Sunday. Denying reports that he had become engaged to his glamorous American girlfriend, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, Hamilton left

no doubt that he was enjoying the considerable rewards of his success. "I definitely sleep with a bigger smile on my face," the Briton told reporters at a promotion for McLaren team sponsors Vodafone. "My life is progressing and getting better and I'm enjoying it more and more every day. I couldn't be happier." Hamilton revealed that he had wasted no time in taking Scherzinger on a night-time jaunt around Stevenage, the town outside London where

he grew up and where the local council have plans to name a road after him. "I have been back there just to see where it all started," said the Briton, heavily criticised before the season started when he said he was moving to Switzerland to avoid public attention rather than the more obvious tax reasons. "We went for a quick cruise, probably it was around half an hour drive through Stevenage... past my old church, past my old school and past my

house and then off to the cinema and then for a roast dinner that night. "It was very special for me. I'm pretty sure no one expected me to be around and that's why we probably didn't get seen," said Hamilton. The youngster tipped to become Britain's highestearning sportsman made it clear he would not be going back on his decision to live abroad. "I'm not going to say I miss living here. My family and team are here and every once in a while I do get the

chance to come back and visit the place," he said. "But I'm happy where I am. "I don't know what the future holds for me or where I plan to live. I love being in the United States, being around in Europe and I love Australia. "I don't know where I am going to be in 10 years time, but one thing's for sure -- this is where I grew up and Britain will always be home." Ferrari's former champion Kimi Raikkonen and Renault's Fernando Alonso were criticised in the

past by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone for not doing enough to promote the sport and Hamilton recognised it would be hard for him to lead a normal life now. "As world champion I guess you pick up a lot more responsibility. So I can expect it to be busier," he said. "Keeping a low profile is a great thing. You get to live your life, have such a busy season and then quieten down a little bit. "But I expect it to be busy. If it's quiet, that will be a bonus."

Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh reacts after dismissing Australia’s Ricky Ponting, his 300th test wicket, during the second day of the fourth and ﬁnal cricket test match between India and Australia in Nagpur on November 7. (AP Photo)

NAGPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): Harbhajan Singh on Friday became the third Indian and 22nd cricketer in the world to claim 300 or more wickets in Test cricket when he dismissed Australian captain Ricky Ponting on the second day of the fourth and final Test here. The Punjab offie, who is playing his 72nd Test, is behind just-retired Anil Kumble (619 from 132 Tests) and Kapil Dev (434 from 131 Tests). He is only the fifth spinner to join the

300-wicket club after Muttiah Muralitharan (756), Shane Warne (708), Kumble and Lance Gibbs (309) and second Indian spinner after Kumble. By claiming the wicket of Ponting, whom he has dismissed for the 10Th time so far, Harbhajan has claimed his 200th wicket on India soil. The feisty off-spinner, who made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore in March 1998, has also 195 ODI wickets to his kitty from 175 matches.

MDFA results

Friday, Nov. 7 Artang YA beat Moanungsang MSC 1 - 0 Saturday's ﬁxture. 1:30 PM Majakong YA vrs Brotherhood FC

Nagaland Sepak Takraw No immediate plans to retire: Sachin Team bags Silver, Bronze

Holshe Khrie O, Coach along with the players of the Nagaland Women Sepak Takraw Team at Imphal in Manipur.

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DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 7 (MExN): The Nagaland Women Sepak Takraw Team won the silver medal while the Men Sepak Takraw Team clinched the bronze medal in the team event of the ongoing 19th Senior Na-

tional Championship, held at Imphal in Manipur. Nagaland Women Team lost to Manipur Team in the final by 21-15 and 2116 while the Nagaland Men Team beat Assam in the match for the third place.

“Man’s Team got the first ever Bronze Medal in the Senior National for team event by beating Assam in deciding match,” informed Holshe Khrie O, Coach of the State Sepak Takraw Team in a press release.

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7 (PTI): Two of his celebrated peers, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have decided to walk into the sunset after glorious careers but Sachin Tendulkar says his body is "doing fine" and he has no plans to retire in the immediate future. "My body is doing fine and at the moment I am not thinking of any plans to retire. Normally I prefer to think of the present, not of what I am going to do in the next four, five of six years of my life," he said. "If I think it is time to hang up I will let everybody know. There is nothing to hide in it. I know it will make news but that I don't think it is a negative news that I have to hide from everyone," he added. Tendulkar was non-committal when asked if he was thinking of playing in the 2011 World Cup which will be held in the sub-continent. "I normally prefer to think of which match I am going to play next and what sort of planning I should do and which bowling attack

would be used on me. "Even if I have to play in 2011 World Cup it is 700 days to go. For now my focus is on the next four days against Australia," he told a news channel. Tendulkar, who hit his 40th Test hundred in Nagpur, said he will miss Sourav Ganguly with whom he shared a special understanding on the filed while batting. "I will definitely miss him. It happened many a times with Sourav that when we were on the wicket and between the overs we used to know looking at each other's face that there is a lot of stress and the situation is important or whether it is necessary to relax. "When you go to play the next ball then it is important to have 100 per cent concentration. But when you do not need 100 per cent concentration it is important to relax. So at that time I use to try to speak to him in Bengali whether it was correct or not. So the atmosphere gets relaxed and we play our natural game," he said of his 12-year association

with Ganguly. Talking about the captains under whom he has played in the 19 years of his international career, Tendulkar said Rahul Dravid was different from a Ganguly or a Krishnamachari Srikkanth in that he was a serious sort who wants to maintain peace in the dressing room. "Rahul is a serious sort of a player. He is focussed and he likes to maintain peace in the dressing room. So he was a different captain. There is a Srikkanth who used to crack jokes and laugh and there is Rahul who is focussed and serious. "Srikkanth used to joke with me then (when I first played under him) and also when I became 35-year-old. When there is tension in the dressing room he would crack some jokes to try to make a relaxed atmosphere and prepare everyone for the game. He used to prepare in a different way. "Like Srikkanth, Sourav also used to entertain teammates. He used to crack different jokes and try to ease off pressure."

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