20 Dec 2021

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXII No. 18

DIMAPUR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

New Omicron cases in UK triple to more than 10k; death toll jumps to 7

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INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9

India’s Omicron outbreak grows

Prepare & hope situation does not get as bad as in UK, says AIIMS Chief

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): India’s Omicron case tally jumped to 151 on Sunday, as the government warned that the highly transmissible coronavirus variant could cause more than a million new infections a day.

With nine new cases being reported on Sunday the tally rose to 151. At the same time, the daily COVID-19 caseload has begun rising in some areas as the country braces for a third wave of the ongoing pandemic.

According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories-- Maharashtra (54), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1),

State logs nil cases, deaths DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Nagaland on Sunday recorded nil Covid-19 positive case and zero deaths.

The total caseload as on December 19 stood at 32169 while the death toll also remained unchanged at 701.

Further, a total of 13,29,202 persons had been inoculated till December 19, including 757668 first dose and 571534 second dose.

Meanwhile, India’s Covid-19 caseload surged to 34,740,275 after 7,081 new cases were reported on Sunday. The death toll has climbed to 4,77,422, with 264 daily fatalities, the Centre’s data stated.

Reserved berths for women in longdistance trains

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): In a bid to make Indian trains safer for women, the Indian Railways has now announced that long-distance trains will soon have reserved berths for women. The move is expected to improve the journey of women passengers in long-distance trains of Indian Railways.

Announcing the decision Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that in order to ensure the comfortable and safe travel of women passengers in long-distance trains, Indian Railways has allotted special berths for women and several other facilities.

(Cont’d on p-8)

This is it!

"Well it's a very big government and very small fund available."

K Y M C

A worker checks a monitor inside a COVID-19 facility at Commonwealth Games Village in view of the Omicron cases, in Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).

On Sunday, Delhi reported its highest singleday case tally in about six months. For the first time in 10 days, the national capital also reported one death due to COVID-19.

As per an update from the World Health Organisation earlier this week, 89 nations have reported cases belonging to the new heavily mutated variant. On Sunday, Iran joined this list after an Iranian man from

Tehran tested positive after returning from the United Arab Emirates.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Sunday said that India should prepare and hope the Covid-19 situation in the country does not get as bad as in the United Kingdom. His statements came as the UK reported more than 10,000 new cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus in the highest daily surge so far.

“We should prepare and hope that things should not be as bad as in the United Kingdom. We need more data. Whenever there is a surge in cases in other parts of the world, we need to monitor it closely and be prepared for any eventuality,” he told ANI. India has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of Omicron infections since confirming its first case on December 2. Most cases detected so far were travellers coming from abroad, but a significant number of infections have been found in people with no history of travel – triggering fears that the variant is spreading locally.

Authorities in several states have re-imposed restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of Omicron.

The Health Ministry has warned that the new variant could result in a third wave of infections and urged people to avoid social events and follow Covid-19 protocols during the coming festive season.

“If we look at the scale of spread in the UK, if there is a similar outbreak in India – given our population – there will be 14 lakh [1.4 million] cases every day,” Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said. The government also advised people to avoid unnecessary travel, crowds, and adhere to Covid-19 protocols, particularly during new year celebrations.

India may need to adopt a hybrid model of testing: A hybrid model of testing, involving a combination of available testing methods, can increase the number of people tested for coronavirus and also sharpen the accuracy by administering selective tests based on symptoms, according to a study.

As Omicron is detected in more states in India and around the world, a report

by IndiaSpend said that India will now have to adopt a hybrid testing technique- deploying both Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) and real-time

World badminton C’ships: India gets silver and bronze SPORTS, PAGE 12

Oil operations only after Naga political solution: WC, NNPGs

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) has maintained that till solution to the Naga political issue is secured, any effort to explore or extract petroleum products “independently or in collaboration with any company will not be in the best interest of the Naga people” but would prove a “big hindrance and an impediment”.

WC in a release, also said it is very clear that long term interest of the Nagas is all that matters and so, advised the government of the day, to desist from “gnawing away at the core issues of Indo-Naga settlement”.

It said time was not right for the state government to frame any policy on extracting petroleum resources and that it (WC) was very clear that all natural resources belong to the people and will be utilised (Cont’d on p-8) only after the government of

India “officially announce acceptable and honourable political solution.”

WC said exploration of oil and natural gas on the eve of political solution must be avoided and reiterated that the Agreed Position signed with the government of India on November 17,2017 “has sufficient legal and constitutional provisions to safeguard the land, political and historical identity of the Nagas.”

WC in a release, said till such time an effective administrative system came into force, no petroleum products should be explored or extracted.

WC said though physical integration of all Nagas and their ancestral lands “cannot happen at the moment” yet the principle of honourable and acceptable solution would be applied on all Naga areas of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

It said Nagaland-Assam boundary will also be settled

through neutral high-power commission that is derived from Indo-Naga political agreement.

Further WC also said even the special status and privileges of Nagaland state as well as identity of Nagas as a whole “will be compromised.”

WC mentioned that from the very first round of political negotiations, it (WC/NNPGs) and the government of India in 2017, it had held a series of consultations and briefings with Naga tribes on what was the best for the people.

WC said that the Agreed Position had set the parameters of the negotiations and copies of the status of negotiations made available with all elected representatives in Nagaland as well as apex tribal bodies and other stakeholders since the issue and matter is of the Nagas by the Nagas and for the Nagas.

(Cont’d on p-8)

Rio stresses unity among Nagas Organizations welcome Cab decision on dist creation Correspondent

KO H I M A , D E C 1 9 (NPN): State chief minister Neiphiu Rio said there was a dire need for unity among the Nagas for the State to progress.

Extending greetings at the 50th anniversary of Botsa Baptist Church (BBC) on Sunday, he observed that there were too many divisions both among the overground and underground armed groups in Naga society.

Rio called upon all to forgive each another in order to live in peace and stand united to overcome

Rio speaking at the jubilee celebration on Sunday. (NP)

those trying to divide the society.

Quoting from Mark 3:24-25 that states “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can-

not stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand,” Rio said Nagas would not progress as long as there were divisions.

He said people could overcome external forces and enemies, but no one could win if there were enemies from within.

If the people were united, together they could overcome the forces attacking them, he added.

Thanking people of Botsa for their continued support, Rio said he started his career as an area council member representing Botsa.

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Several organizations have welcomed the recent Cabinet decision to create three new districts— Tseminyu, Nuiland and Chümoukedima.

WSH: Western Sumi Hoho (WSH) expressed deep gratitude and appreciation to the chief minister Neiphiu Rio, for recognizing and fulfilling the most cherished dream of the citizens of Niuland by upgrading Niuland Sub-division to a full-fledged district.

WSH president Shikaho Zhimomi and general secretary Kisheto Chishi (Cont’d on p-8) said the hoho had for long

been concerned and vocal about the need for the upgradation of Niuland sub-division since the strategic location of Niuland, as border area, has all the potential to destabilize and compromise the security of not just Niuland citizens but also the State.

By upgrading Niuland as a district, WSH said Rio has addressed the most pressing concern of the hoho.

Further, WSH also conveyed heartfelt gratitude to PHE minister Jacob Zhimomi for his untiring effort to fulfill the aspirations of Niuland citizens

and succeeding in having Niuland recognized as the 14th district of Nagaland.

WSH said that the able leadership of Jacob Zhimomi has been recognized by the chief minister and therefore Niuland today was the recipient of the best Christmas gift ever.

This, WSH said will go down in history as the most historic red-letter day for the citizens of Niuland to be gratefully cherished and remembered for generations to come.

Ex-MLAs: Former minister Nillo Rengma and ex-NLA dy. speaker Er. Levi Rengma have ex-

pressed gratitude to chief minister Neiphiu Rio and his cabinet colleagues for the creation of Tseminyu district.

They also expressed gratitude to all the 60 MLAs and the various Naga CSOs for their unflinching support to the Rengma people.

They said that Rio took a conscious decision for the welfare of the Rengma people, for which history will remember his deeds.

With Tseminyu district centrally located, they said it will benefit all Nagas and can also become the epicenter of Naga unity.

(Cont’d on p-8)

Oting killings: Cong challenges state govt to approach SC Mon bags natl award for Covid-19 management DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee president K Therie said he continued to hold NDPP government responsible for the loss of innocent lives at Oting, alleging that the massacre was a fallout of a gameplan to derail the ceasefire.

In a statement, Therie challenged the State government to first arrest the killer 21 Para Special Forces personnel and continue investigation if it was honest, pointing out that Supreme Court’s verdict in the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights Vs Union Govt

of India, November 1997, was clear that Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) could be used only when prohibitory orders were violated and, secondly, if people possessed power to cause death.

However, he claimed that these were not the causes of the Oting massacre as the victims were innocent people– mine workers returning home for Sunday. Asserting that AFSPA could not be used on mere suspicion, he said it was an instrument of law that did no act on its own, adding that the direction was allegedly against NSCN (K). However, law

and order being a State subject, he alleged that direction was given by the State government. “Perhaps, because WC of NNPGs is pressing GoI for implementation of solution,” he added.

If the 21 Para were taking shelter under AFSPA, Therie said the state government should approach Supreme Court, pointing out that the law was very clear that if an offence was committed even by army personnel, there was no concept of absolute immunity from trial by criminal court.

He accused the state government of trying to pro-

tect criminals with AFSPA and declared that this would not be allowed.

Claiming to make honest submissions to get justice for the lost souls and the bereaved family members, Therie clarified that there was nothing personal in him pointing fingers at the office and chair that belonged to the people. He said he only wanted justice for the victims and their families and ensure safety to future generations.

“I also want to see that the bereaved family members are at peace... They may not take vengeance, but Nagas deserve justice,” he said.

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Mon district administration has been awarded Silver under “Category 6 - Use of ICT in the Management of COV1D- 19” scheme of National Awards for e-Governance 2020-21.

According to deputy commissioner Mon Thavaseelan K the award will be presented during the 24th National Conference on eGovernance at Hyderabad scheduled on January 7 and 8, 2022.

The project titled “Technology in Aid to Administration” was initiated to reduce the hardships and inconvenience caused to the

public while enforcing COVID -19 appropriate measures to minimise exposure to Corona virus. The project had reducing hardship of people, increasing effectiveness of administration and keeping people safe from COVID as the objectives.

Some of the technologies used for the objectives were i) use of online epass portal for movement of people, ii) Geo fencing to monitor movement of those under quarantine, iii) contact tracing using Deep Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics, iv) Clappia App/web portal for management of quaran-

tine centres and tracking of quarantined people and v) use of online web platform to address the grievances of people and connecting those requiring assistance with people who were willing to help.

The award has been instituted by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances under the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, and is presented every year for exemplary implementation of e-governance initiatives to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-governance initiatives.

FNR, 26 organizations demand repeal of AFSPA, justice for Mon victims Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (NPN): Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and 26 other organisations have demanded immediate withdrawal and repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and justice to the victims of Oting and Mon incidents.

A public declaration adopted at “Memories of Oting and the Nagas”, a public lamentation programme for the innocent civilians killed

by Indian security forces at Oting and Mon, also demanded disciplinary action against the commanding officer and personnel of 21

Para Special Forces involved in the killing of 13 civilians and injuring at least 14 others at Oting on December 4 and against the commanding officer and personnel of 27 Assam Rifles involved in the shooting that killed 1 civilian and injured at least 18 others at Mon town on December 5.

The declaration also expressed outrage at the senseless and arbitrary killing of innocent Naga civilians and termed it as the gravest infringement upon human dignity, while insisting on the Government of India to act responsibly.

Noting that the tragedies at Oting and Mon presented an opportunity

Participants lighting the lamp in memory of the victims.

for Nagas to self-reflect and discern together so that the present crisis could be publicly redressed, the public declaration implored Naga political groups (NPGs) to shed their differences and take positive steps to reconcile, unite in purpose and cooperate in the common interest of shared Naga his-

torical and political rights.

It also called upon all Naga leaders– overground and underground– to rise above party politics and selfinterests by demonstrating statesmanship and healing leadership using nonviolent means, while exhorting Naga public to hold their leaders and themselves ac-

countable, and resist all forms of tribalism and other forms of isms that divide the Nagas. FNR convener Rev Dr Wati Aier later read out the public declaration.

The event was held at Christian Higher Secondary School here on Sunday under the aegis of FNR. Earlier, addressing the gathering, FNR member Dr Aküm Longchari said whatever had happened at Oting indicated that there was utter disregard for the right to live and personal liberty, noting that the incident was a blatant display of force and unjustified abuse of power.

He termed the Oting incident as the greatest assault on

humanity, adding that without the right to life, all other rights could not be secured.

He observed that there was a clash between two truths– people’s truth and people in power’s truth. He pointed out that one truth wanted to bring light to fact, but the other truth wanted to keep the fact hidden. He stressed that the story of Oting must be narrated so that the experiences and accounts of the survivors became a living memory.

On Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Longchari said that in the past 63 years the Act did not achieve its purpose, noting that it was not only a colonial-legisla-

tion. Asserting that Nagas only wanted peace, he however clarified that they did not want peace that was imposed upon them, but an inclusive one that emerged based on justice. “We want peace that is just and dignified,” he stressed. He said it was time for Nagas to reach out to one another and stand united in solidarity.

Nar rating the December 4 Oting incident, Nyawang Wangsha from Oting claimed of having witnessed security forces killing a person lying on the ground and hunting down two others who were hiding and allegedly shooting them point blank.

(Cont’d on p-8) K Y M C

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NEISSR holds annual Youth Knit 2021

Participants with the resource persons after the annual Youth Knit 2021.

DIMAPUR: North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR), Dimapur organized its annual Youth Knit 2021 on December 13, under the theme “Youth towards excellence” initiated by the Youth Development Forum with an aim to motivate and influence the youth to bring about positive change within themselves and the society through inspirational talks.

The resource persons for the event were promoter, Nagaland Education Consultancy, Steve Chophy and state president National Student Union of India (NSUI) Nagaland, X Chophika Sumi.

Steve Chophy in his inspirational talk shared his life testimony saying that he had gone through many obstacles yet he never gave up. He encouraged the students to cultivate a positive mindset, positive approach and to have positive outlook in life and mentioned, in order to excel in life, a positive mind with strong principles is what one should maintain.

He stressed on youth empowerment, personality development, and the impor tance of career guidance. He added that students should not opt for common courses, but encouraged them to opt for professional courses. He also encouraged the youth

to have career alternatives in life, and not to be dependent only on white collared jobs.

X Chophika Sumi, talked about the similarities between the Greek city state and the Nagas having own autonomy with different rules according to tribes. He stressed upon youth empowerment and encouraged the need of political consciousness a m o n g t h e yo u t h s i n Nagaland. He mentioned about the importance of being self-reliant before joining active politics.

Based on his experiences, he advised the youth not to join politics with the sole intention of earning livelihood, but to be part

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Awareness on prospect of spices production

of the system in order to bring changes within the system. Quoting late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he said “India is an old country, but a young nation” and further added that youth should not shy away from joining politics because politics determines and governs every aspect of our lives.

Earlier, youth forum co-convener, Johilo Kath introduced Youth Knit.

He informed that Youth Knit is conducted to have a better understanding of youth empowerment and to explore the potentials of being an inspirational youth of today’s generation.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 201920, shows that 24.7% are unemployed. Reasons for the high percentage of unemployment rate could be that Nagaland embraced the moder n education system very late due to its geographical isolation, lack of professional training i n s t i t u t i o n s, l a c k o f employable skills, conflict, lack of private sectors, and most importantly lack of right aptitude and attitude towards work culture.

(L) Participants at Beisumpuikam village. (R) Participants at Renthan village.

DIMAPUR: Day-long awareness programme on prospect of spices production was conducted on December 11 and 13, at Renthan v i l l a g e, Wo k h a d i s t r i c t a n d Beisumpuikam village, Peren district for the livelihood improvement of NITI Aayog identified aspirant villages.

In a press release, nodal officer, Dr. C.S. Maiti (AICRP on Spices) stated that the resource person, department of horticulture, assistant professor, Dr. Graceli I Yepthomi,

encouraged the farmers to grow spices since it was not given much importance and also remunerative besides having many health benefits and potentiality.

She also explained on how to grow vegetables and spices together organically and the storage methods of seeds for the next season after which inputs like spices and vegetable seeds, portrays and sprayers were distributed to the beneficiaries of those aspirant villages. During the programme, the farmers shared the

problems to which the resource person provided helpful suggestions and assured them to provide more farm inputs to increase their production and profits in the coming days.

The training was aimed at imparting technical know-how on spices and horticulture production to improve livelihood of poor families by generating extra income and enriching resources. Altogether 10 selected families of each aspirant village participated in the training-cum-input distribution programme.

Sanny Pongener appointed as member of Central Silk Board KOHIMA: Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, In a letter, deputy secretary (Tech) R K Sinha, has nominated Sericulture director, T Sanny Pongener, as had extended its hearty welcome to Pongener and also a member of the Central Silk Board for a period of three expressed its hope that the Board would be benefitted by years under section 4(3)(i) of the Act. his experience in the sericulture sector.

Poetry book ‘Serendipity’ released

Elongshila Jamir and Prof. J Longkumer during book launch.

mentioned that Elongshila, though a shy and quiet girl, has shown so much interest and hard work in writing and editing books while she was working as an intern at the publishing house. She added that it is a joy to celebrate her dream as a writer. A book review was given by assistant

ICAR-KVK Peren organizes prog on PM’s address DIMAPUR: ICAR Research Complex for N E H Re g i o n , Ja l u k i e organised programme on Prime Minister’s address on natural farming cum farmers scientist interaction on December 16, with chairman, Samziuram Village Council, Nlumlu, as special guest in presence of principal Scientist & Head, KVK Peren, Dr. K.L Meena, farmers and staffs of KVK. Webcasting on natural farming were broadcasted followed by farmers scientist interaction where various advisories on agricultural crops, soil protection and livestock were highlighted to participants by scientist of KVK Peren. Altogether 128 attended the programme.

K Y M C

Can Youth members during advent Christmas celebration.

were wrong doings against the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave his blood to clean our sins”.

Mhonjan Lotha, said adolescents’ groups have lots of dreams, confusion and excitement and it’s also the time for craving for

both negative and positive vibes. He mentioned that adolescents’ group has great potentials to do anything for good cause. He mentioned that the young individual can make Christmas a special for others by giving them a small gift to the

The Nagaland Food & Civil Supplies Field Staff Association deeply mourned at the untimely demise of Shri.

Mayangtemjen, Deputy Director of Food & Civil Supplies, Nagaland on 17/12/2021 at Kolkata. The Association have lost a bonafide member, a very humble and dedicated officer. It would be very difficult to fill the void created by his demise, the Association can communicate at this state is our Heartfelt Condolences and we pray for his loved ones to find strength to bear this unsurmountable loss. May his Soul “Rest in Eternal Peace in Heaven”.

Renthungo Humtsoe K. Mhonthung Publicity Information Secy President NF & CSFSA NF & CSFSA

In Remembrance of

dp-6062/21

difficult circumstance’s family with all their heart.

On the other hand, Can Youth celebrated the pre-Christmas in a blessed way by bringing the children from parts of Dimapur together at one place guiding them not to choose the negative path but instead go for spending time at church or visiting elders and helping the needy around them.

Can youth chief f u n c t i o n a r y, J e n p u Rongmei, called upon to celebrate this Christmas by giving a gift to ourselves and the gift is “True to ourselves”. He said that if we are truthful to oneself it will give a pathway for the value of leadership, success, honesty, respect, relationship, friends and parents.

CondolenCe Message

Late N. SupoNg Lemtur on his 1st Death Anniversary

Those we love don't go away They walk beside us everyday Unseen, unheard but always near; Still loved, still missed, and always dear.

Your loving Wife, daughter and family members

20th December 2021

Acknowledgement Her Journey A golden heart stopped breathing, Hardworking hands put to rest, On earth, she toiled, In heaven, she rests. God broke our hearts to prove to us, he only takes the best.

We convey our heartfelt and sincere gratitude to each and every individual, groups, churches, friends, neighbours and well-wishers for supporting us physically, morally, financially and upholding us spiritually at the sudden demise of our beloved Lt Imjungsangla on 13-12-2021.

We regret our inability to thank each and everyone personally, but we humbly pray to our Almighty God to bless you all abundantly.

Loving family dp-6063/21

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DIMAPUR: Can Youth under its project development 4 adolescent organized advent Christmas celebration on December 18, with the adolescents’ clubs at Can Youth office with Northeast Small Finance Bank business development executive Tianungla and Can youth advisor Mhonjan Lotha, as special guest.

On the occasion, Tianungla said that these are the happiest days we find on the eve of Christmas where all families and friends come together to celebrate it, she however said, “in today’s generation as because of our misconception, more often we can see people dedicating their days only at partying, consumption of alcohol, fights, etc. which

b o d i e s h a s b e e n we l l de picted and that the poet has been true to her emotions confessing about her truest feelings.

In the author’s note, Elongshila Jamir shared that it is her hope that the book would resonate and comfort the readers and would be someone’s reason to start reading, singing or writing their ow n S e r e n d i p i t y. T h e programme was also graced with invocation by secretary The Lighthouse Church, Edward Odyuo and book d e d i c a t i o n p r aye r b y pastor Wabang Longchari, Founder & Director Sinai Ministry.

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Can Youth celebrate advent Christmas

professor and a writer Inakali Assumi. In her review of the book, Assumi said that, “Serendipity is a narrative that moves on from personal and honest revealing of hidden emotions in a nostalgic manner to a sudden wave of explosion, a strong voice of a woman that suddenly

emerges to assert her place in a patriarchal society. It is a personal journey of an individual, particularly of a woman, the journey of inner growth and selfacceptance and self-love.

It is a journey of struggle, the quest for one’s identity which sometimes gets lost in the maze created by society. It is a beautiful jour ney of victor y, of overcoming all odds and finding the Self ”.

She also mentioned that the subjugation of women in a patriarchal society has been depicted ver y well by the poet and the continual issue of objectifying women’s

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Team Tribal Roots organised a free medical camp-cum-health awareness at Shaki Village under Wokha district on December 13. Three doctors from Kohima and the medical officer, Wozhuro PHC rendered their valuable service during the camp. A total of more than 40 patients turned up for various check-ups and medications were provided.

D I M A P U R : “Serendipity”, a debut book by Elongshila Jamir was released by SASRD N a g a l a n d U n ive r s i t y, Medziphema campus, Prof.

J Longkumer on December 18 at Cafe Leon, Dimapur.

She marked Elongshila Ja m i r ’s f i r s t f o r ay e d into the realm of poetry as a published poet is a celebration of discovery, self-acknowledgement and acceptance, inspiration, faith and that “Serendipity” captures the promise of a budding poet whose art is simple yet unafraid, raw yet potent; poetr y that resonates with us and assures us that her voice will be one to be reckoned with.

Dr. Lanusangla Tzudir in the publisher’s note

K Y M C

nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Is the state govt doing enough to tackle the new virus Omicron?

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

51st Ura Academy: awards to HSLC, AWO visits grace mission orphanage HSSLC toppers; Dr. Shürho book released

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Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu along with Prof. D Kuolie, Daso Paphino and other officials of Ura Academy with the award recipients on Thursday.

Angami Women Organization at Grace Mission Orphange, Virazouma Village.

Q: Will creation of more

district improve governance ?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST DECEMBER 20

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Hazy sunshine

25 11

Aizawl

Sunshine and nice

Guwahati Hazy sunshine Imphal

Mostly sunny and nice

21 9 25 10 23 6

Itanagar Pleasant with plenty of sun

23 10

Shillong Mostly sunny

17 4

Mostly sunny

19 6

Dimapur Pleasant with sunshine

24 10

Kohima Mkg

Pleasant with plenty of sun

Tuensang Cooler with sunshine Wokha

Plenty of sunshine

Zunheboto Sunny

22 8 14 3 19 10 18 6

Angami Women Organization with members of Nagaland Outreach Children’s Orphange, Seithekema ‘C’ DIMAPUR: Angami Women Organization (AWO) visited Grace Mission Orphanage (GMO) that has 28 inmates on December 17, at Virazouma Village and Nagaland Outreach Children’s Orphanage at Seithekema

‘C’, Dimapur that has 17 inmates respectively.

In a press release from Angami Women Organization general secretary, Chozhüle Kikhi stated that as a gesture of Christmas love, food items were given

to the two orphanages. Also, each child from both homes were given a warm blanket, which was fended from the offering collected in an advent Christmas programme organized by the Angami Gazetted Officers’ Krotho

(AGOK) on December 14, to commemorate 50 years of Angami Public Organization (APO) existence.

Songs were presented by children while sharing and praying for one another marked the occasion.

DIMAPUR: The 51st Ura Academy seminar was held on December 16, at Ura Academy Badi.

A press release issued

by Ura Academy stated that on the occasion, awards were given to top scorer in NBSE’s HSLC, HSSLC Tenyidie and Music subject and Nagaland University Tenyidie honours top one.

A book translation in English of “Apuo Kekhrie” written by Dr. Shürhozelie in 1992 was also released by professor D Kuolie.

Various excellence awards were presented where Niesasienuo Keyho from Baptist High, Kohima and Nusakulu from Government High School, Thuvopisu, were conferred the Dr. Neilhouzhü Kire

Angami Award (HSLC – Tenyidie subject toppers).

They received citations with cash of Rs. 10,000 each.

Neishekhonuo Thami from Mezhür Higher Secondary School, Kohima, was conferred the Rüzhükhrie Sekhose award (HSSLC – Tenyidie subject topper), who received a citation and cash award. Shekrolu Vero from Oriental College, Kohima, was conferred the A Kevichusa Award (undergraduate Tenyidie honours topper) and received a citation and cash of award.

Boremo Ngullie from Northfield Kikha was conferred the Nini Vinguriaü Lungalung Award (HSSLC topper in music), who also received a citation and cash award.

The vice president of Ura Academy, Daso Paphino also spoke on the programme.

The programme was chaired by president Ura Academy Rüpfhünuo, Dr. Metseilhouthie Mor; invocation prayer was pronounced by Rev Ketsozeho Sale; exhortation by president Ura Academy, Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu; welcome address was delivered by advisor Tenyidie Kephrünuoko Krotho, Kikruneinuo Liezietsu; special number were presented by Ato Nienu and Kekhriezonuo Celine Mere, vote of thanks was delivered

by Medongulie Tseikhanuo while benediction was proposed by Rev Neikedozo Paphino.

OTS celebrates 30th anniversary YouthNet founder addresses HASSU’s 14th conference DIMAPUR: Oriental Theological Seminary (OTS) celebrated its 30th anniversary under the theme “Invigorating Heritage” on December 15.

In view of the ongoing pandemic, the number of invitees were limited to families of the founding members, board of governors, life patrons, pioneer teachers and staffs, land donors, representative secretaries from Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) headquarters and sister school Shalom Seminary.

Alongside the elderly leader, Rev. Dr. V.K. Nuh, then president of NBCC when OTS was founded, highlighted on how the pioneering leaderships were brought together and how Bade villagers generously donated the prime land on which the institution sits today. Further, Rev. Nuh challenged the OTS community to be mindful of the importance of imagining

and crafting contextually relevant theologies.

This idea of relevancy that must be indispensably rooted in the living realities of its people, the context in which they learn and serve, was further poignantly emphasized by the chair of the board of governors, Pheluopfelie Kesiez, in his exhortation on the imagination of the future of the institution.

The two-hour ceremony was blessed by melodious singings from students and brief but profound introspective papers read by the founding principal and emeritus professor Rev. Dr. Wati Aier and the first academic dean and current general secretary of NBCC Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho.

Further highlights of the evening were the various recognitions accorded to the pioneer leaders, teachers and staffs. Amongst them are: The Oriental Theological Seminary Foundation Honor accorded to Rev. Dr.

V.K. Nuh by instituting a faculty chair in his name on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the seminary; the Commission Honor to Rev. Dr. Pongsing Konyak; the Patronage Honor to late N. Bendang Longkumer, Rev. S. Thong, Er. Obang Longchari and Er. Njilo Kemp; Pioneer Honor to Rev. Dr. Wati Aier, professor Alongla P. Aier, Fr. Joe Ngamkhuchung and Rev. Dr. Koshy P. Varughese, late Sentiyanger Jamir, Bendang Pongen and Rev. J. Thungjamo Lotha; and the Honor for Land accorded to Bade Village for benevolently donating land owned by the community to the seminary and to Ciekhwuprü Swuro, Kedutsolo Wetsah, late Khalo Khutso, Khwelhizü Kapfo, late Lhiwetso Thopi, Mesenyi Wetsah, Neitshüsolo Thopi, Shevotso H. Keyho, Thepupra Yosa, late Zewelhi Medo, Zhielo Khutso, and late Züvehü Tamo for selflessly donating personal land.

DIMAPUR: The 14th conference of Highway Area Sumi Students’ Union (HASSU) was held on December 15, at Diphupar-B Sumi Baptist Church under the theme “Integrity with Progress”, comprising of 21 villages in the union.

The speaker of the conference was founder and chair governing council YouthNet, Hekani Jakhalu.

Jakhalu in her speech reminded that according to census 2011, the youth as defined by the age group 15-35 constituted significant 40.2% of the population or around 8 lakhs. “Over the next 15 years this group will be at the centre and be the main drivers in every aspect - social, political and economic of the State.

Nagaland in 2030 will be defined by how the youth today shape up, moulded by the opportunities and platforms they will or will not get advantage of in the years ahead”, she stated.

Nagaland has the high-

Hekani Jakhalu speaking at the programme. est rate of rural unemployment amongst all the North Eastern states - 15.9% of the labour force. The urban unemployment rate is also at a high 11.6%, one of the highest in the country and also noted Nagaland has one of the highest school dropout rate in India, which she considered as a personal challenge to improve the conditions and has been working proactively towards it. Against the backdrop of the statistics shared, she mentioned opportunities were limited and only people with merit will shine. If Naga youth has to progress

and “New Nagaland” is to develop only meritocracy will work as there was no other substitute. She encouraged the youth to focus on excelling in whatever area they choose to follow and shun away from petty politics and wasting time, saying it was high time for a self-sustainable economy that Nagas build with a focused approach which is achievable target.

She shared her experiences of YouthNet working with 500 Cr Japanese International Development Corporation funded Nagaland Forest Management

Program in Dimapur and Zunheboto districts, where only youth with high merit and credible experience were hired to implement the project.

She stressed on the need of having a conducive eco-system for private enterprises to thrive and thus open up employment opportunities for which peace in the region was critical for future investments by private investors. She further stated that infrastructure especially road will be the first point of opening up avenues for development and HASSU needs to identify important roads and push on developing those areas by collectively pursuing it, as good road assures growth in the region. As YouthNet works on building youth, so that they have a better quality of life and future, she committed to helping 100 youth under HASSU on skill development, capacity building and various training programs, which would

improve their capacity to be more productive in various walks of life. She also committed to working with HASSU on various areas of youth development like setting up sports clubs and coaching camps to identify and nurture youth in sports, which is equally important to build up their leadership skills. On entrepreneurship, she encouraged HASSU to work on clusters approach for enterprises focusing on handicraft, handloom and agro-based business, which was inherent strength of the region for instant growth.

Western Sumi Students Union ((WSSU) president Kughaho Achumi also exhorted the students.

Earlier in the programme, Minister Jacob Zhimomi, as chief guest stated that the young and dynamic youth of our nation was our greatest strength today, and shared about governance and employment opportunities in various sectors and the way forward.

Phek Government College bids farewell to retiring principal DIMAPUR: The faculty, staff and students of Phek Government College (PGC) held a farewell programme for the retiring principal Dr. Vizovol Mekro on December 18, at the academic building PGC. Speaking on the occasion, vice principal Shepalu Suyie congratulated Dr. Vizovol Mekro for successfully completing his service years and acknowledged the many contributions of Dr.V. Mekro during his time as a teacher and an administrator.

Suyie lauded retiring principal for his unfailing support for the college development both academically and in infrastructure as well.

Recalling, the period

Dr. Vizovol Mekro delivering farewell speech. when the now retiring principal first joined the college, Suyie said that the college was at its nascent period gearing for NAAC accreditation, the principal joined at the right time with his vast experience and thus helped the college achieve its wishes for NAAC accreditation.

The vice principal also

congratulates Dr. Vizovol Mekro for receiving the Governors Commendation Award 2021 bringing laurels to the college.

Dr. Vizovol Mekro while addressing the audience in his farewell programme fondly recollected his first interaction with PGC when he was still teaching at Science Col-

lege Jotsoma. He also thanked the faculty, staff, students and the local community for making his stay at PGC a pleasant and memorable stay.

Dr. Vizovol Mekro while appreciating the beauty of Phek and its surrounding areas, challenged the faculty and staff to work harder while being posted at this beautiful place and make PGC a “Jewel in the East”. He also encouraged the college to carry on the many activities that were kick started during his time at PGC. A special message from the Minister for Tribal Affairs and Higher and Technical Education, Government of Nagaland, Temjen Imna Along was

also read out by the vice principal. The minister lauded and congratulated the retiring principal for successfully retiring in good health and hope that he will continue to work for the upliftment of higher education in the state.

Short speeches and facilitations to the retiring principal Dr. Vizovol Mekro were delivered by Zholhuta Khesoh, Nusata Rhakho, Dr. Medongulie Zatsu and Boboi on behalf of the students, ministerial staff, IQAC and the faculty respectively.

The programme was chaired by assistant professor Dr. Levinu Sakhri and was attended by the students, faculty, staff and local community bodies.

Wokha District Bharat Scouts & Guides Association (WDBS&GA) on December 18, served a coffee and bread to the police personnel on duty, traffic police, nursing home staffs and patients, local street vendors etc. in and around Wokha Town. The association encouraged and appreciated their hard work and relentless service to the public during Christmas season.

KBAN education department holds 8th Children Festival DIMAPUR: The 8th Children Festival organised by Education Department, Kuki Baptist Association Nagaland (KBAN) which commenced on December 17 at KBC Inbung, culminated on December 19.

The main highlight of the festival was the grand finale of “Kids Voice for Christ 2021”, which was graced by inspector, Nagaland Police, Lucy Doungel, who encouraged the children and spoke about the harmful effects of KBAN members and participants during the 8th Children Festival at Inbung village. smartphones.

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Master Tongminlal Haokip of KBC Ahthibung bagged the “Kids Voice for Christ 2021” title. More than 400 participants from 16 Kuki Baptist Churches of Nagaland took part in the 3-day fiesta.

In this regard, the education secretary KBAN, Neisi Hengna and education chairman, Chungminthang Singson, expressed its gratitude to every individual, churches and organisations.

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4

NORTHEAST

Assam Cong accuses Himanta of land grabbing

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): The Congress on Sunday accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family of “grabbing” 18 acres of land meant for the landless, and demanded his immediate dismissal along with a Supreme Court monitored probe by a special investigative team.

Addressing a joint press conference, Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Gaurav Gogoi and Gourav Vallabh alleged that Sarma misused his official position to illegally transfer government land for landless people in favour of RBS Realtors from 2006 to 2009, when he was a powerful minister in the then Congress government.

The Congress leaders were accompanied by party MPs Ripun Bora and Abdul Khaleque, who alleged that the chief minister was aiding the land mafia in usurping the land for the landless.

They said they would raise the matter in parliament as well as on the streets.

There was no comment from Sarma or his family, and neither from the BJP over the allegations.

Vallabh and Singh alleged that the Assam chief minister, on one hand is showing high-handedness by evicting poor and de-

Gourav Vallabh was accompained by party MP Ripun Bora and Jitendra Singh prived families on the grounds that no one has the right to illegally take over government land, but has himself handed over such land worth crores to his family members.

They said as per independent investigations, real estate company RBS Realtors, co-founded by Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, is allegedly occupying around 18 acres of government land intended for landless individuals and institutions.

“We demand that Sarma, who along with his family, is involved in usurping land for the landless people, should be immediately sacked from his position,” Vallabh told reporters.

“A sitting chief minister, whose family is directly involved in land grabbing,

has no right to remain in power. He must be immediately sacked from his position,” he said, adding that he hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sack such a “land mafia chief minister”. The Congress leader added that the “EC/IT/CBI/FSIO are expected to investigate all such friends who have no right to constitutionally and morally hold the positions they are occupying”.

Jitendra Singh, who is AICC in-charge for Assam, said the Congress hoped Modi who has said that he would not allow anyone to indulge in corrupt practices, will carry out an independent investigation into the alleged land deals and cancel the same.

“We want that the prime minister should con-

duct a probe by an SIT under the monitoring of a sitting Supreme Court judge,” he said.

Singh further alleged that one has seen that probe agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax (IT) department have acted like BJP functionaries by initiating action against political opponents of the saffron party, and should now investigate people who are corrupt in the BJP too.

Taking a dig at the ruling party, Gogoi asked what “washing machine does the BJP have that when it takes leaders from other parties who are facing corruption charges, turn clean after they join the BJP?” He alleged that Sarma was facing corruption probes against him in Louis Berger and Sharda scams before joining the BJP, but turned “clean” after joining the saffron party.

Gogoi said the Congress has four demands for the Modi government -- an SIT be constituted immediately under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the matter and the SIT must carry out its investigation in a time-bound manner”.

He said the ED, CBI,

IT, Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and all other investigative agencies must be asked to file a complaint and initiate an investigation of all such similar unlawful land transfers in the state of Assam.

Giving more details, the party leaders alleged that RBS Realtors Private Limited acquired most of the 18 acres in two stages, first in 2006-2007 and then in 2009.

“Individuals that are landless and needy are granted ceiling surplus land by the Assam government and are prohibited from selling that land for a 10-year period, but in 2009, a total of 11 bigha three katha and four lessa (3,01,674 square feet or 6.92 acres) of ceiling surplus land in Bongora intended for and allotted to supposedly needy individuals by the government of Assam, was bought by the company, violating the 10-year lock-in period,” they said.

The Congress demanded that all unlawful land transfers to the aforementioned realtors must be immediately cancelled and provisions made to provide alternative land to the landless and needy people whose land was unscrupulously taken away.

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

CRPC 144 in M’laya govt directs all employees Lahorijan for to get vaccinated before Christmas eviction drive today SHILLONG, DEC 19 ( even provide for disincenDIPHU DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Land Revenue department of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, district administration and police have made massive arrangements to carry out eviction in Dudu colony of Lahorijan locality, Bokajan subdivision today.

Dudu colony, where eviction will be carried out, is bordering Dimapur city of Nagaland and located in the interstate borderline of Nagaland and Assam. According to official records, around one hundred sixteen illegal constructions will be demolished today, even as owners of five doubtful properties have obtained a stay injunction of Guwahati High Court.

Meanwhile, authorities have completed all necessary preparations for the eviction of the illegal settlers from the revenue land of Karbi Anglong autonomous council. Power connection of the targeted area has been snapped, business establishments located within the periphery of seven hundred meters from the national highway 39 have been closed, and section 144 of CRPC has been promulgated in the whole area by the local administration.

AGENCIES):The Meghalaya government has directed all its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before December 23, reports The Sentinel Assam. Chief Secretary Rebecca Vanessa Suchiang issued an order requiring all government employees who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 are to get themselves vaccinated before December 23.

Following a Meghalaya high court order on December 6 directing the state to adopt an aggressive policy in conducting awareness drives and attempting to persuade people to vaccinate themselves.

“It appears that there are reservations in certain quarters regarding vaccination. The state should adopt an aggressive policy in undertaking awareness drives and trying to convince people to vaccinate themselves, not only for their own benefit, but also for the protection of others,” court had observed during the course of hearing a PIL on December 6 last. The High Court of Meghalaya has said “the state should not relent on the vaccination drive or trying to persuade people to take the vaccination or

tives upon refusal.”

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh said, “It may serve the state well if the district councils and other authorities, including the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority, also undertake a campaign to educate people and convince them to take the vaccination”.

If some individuals are not eligible due to medical reasons, their case will be reviewed by the District AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunization) Committee, which is present in all districts, official stated. Only an individual may be exempted from receiving the COVID vaccine based on the committee’s recommendations and certification, the official added.

The chief secretary also issued an immediate effect to all government departments to follow protocol.

Meanwhile, on December 18, 6 COVID-19 cases brought the total number of active cases to 118, while 14 further cases of recovery brought the total number of recovered cases to 83148 in the state, which has so far recorded 84744 confirmed cases, including 1478 fatalities.

‘Manipuri women facing problems due Manipur Congress questions BJP leaders’ silence on AFSPA to deprivation of landownership right’ Correspondent

Correspondent IMPHAL, DEC 19: A one-day state level public consultancy on ‘women land rights’ held in Imphal on Sunday that discussed observed that women of Manipur were facing hardships in availing benefits of various women-oriented welfare schemes of the government as they were deprived of land ownership rights.

Resources persons of the programme alleged that women of the state have no right to own land even as the Manipur government always talked about women empowerment. As such, women empowerment remained only on paper.

“There is the need for taking up necessary steps to give the land ownership right to the women if the government is sincere enough to empower the women,” advocacy coordinator of Ekta Parishad Manipur L Mamta Devi said.

She alleged that as a tradition, only the menfolk were the owners of the land. In due course of time, there was the need for reformation to give the land ownership rights to women.

The Central as well state government implemented various welfare schemes for the women, some of which needed land in the name of the women beneficiaries.

She said that when a woman applied for availing benefits of a certain welfare scheme, she has to produce documents like land patta which should be in her name.

On the other hand, in the Manipuri society, men being ownerships of lands have been a tradition.

In this matter, there was an important to be taken by the state women commission. The voices of the women were to be heard by the commission and it has to approach the government to address it,

she said.

She then drew the attention of the pertinent authorities of the state government, particularly the state women commission to examine pros and cons of giving land ownership rights to the women.

Members of women right bodies from across the five valley districts of the state participated in the consultancy programme.

The advocacy coordinator said that the main objective of hosting the programme was to hear the grievances of the women participants on difficulties faced by them due to the lack of land ownership rights.

The suggestions and comments given by the participants as well as by the resource persons will be incorporated in a recommendation to be prepared for onward submission to the pertinent authorities of the state government, she added.

IMPHAL, DEC 19: Manipur Congress on Sunday asked why BJP leaders remained silent even as people across the northeast region voiced against Armed Forces (Special) Power Act 1958 Continuing its campaign against the draconian Act, youth and student wings of the opposition carried out rallies at different parts of the state today.

At one of the rallies carried in the Thongju Assembly segment of Imphal East district, they also protested against the uncontrolled price hike.

Flagging off one of the rallies in Imphal East, MPCC vice president Tongbram Mangibabu came down heavily on the ruling BJP leaders in the state for not saying anything on the repeal of the Act. He said that even though it was not from the entire state, the then Congress government did remove the Act from seven Assembly segments under Imphal Municipal Corpo-

NFR flags off two vistadome train services

Assam CM flagging off one of the Vistadome train services from Guwahati.

MALIGAON, DEC 19: In order to transform trade and tourism in North East region through rail connectivity and to promote cultural heritage of the Northeast; two more Vistadome train services were flagged by (Northeast Frontier Railway) NRF off on Sunday.

A press release by Chief Public Relations Officer ( CPRO) Guneet Kaur of NFR stated that the Vistadome train services between Guwahati to Naharlagun and Naharlagun to Tinsukia were flagged off by chief minister of Assam Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Darshana Jardosh, minister of state of railways and textiles at Guwahati Railway Station at, while chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu flagged off the other vistadome service at Naharlagun station. Both K Y M C

the locations were connected via video link.

At Guwahati, Chandra Mohan Patowary, minister of transport, industries & commerce, govt. of Assam; Bimal Bora, minister of sports & youth welfare, cultural affairs, power and tourism, Govt. of Assam, Queen Oja, MP (Lok Sabha) and Anshul Gupta, General Manager of N. F. Railway were present.

At Naharlagun station, MP (Rajya Sabha) Nabam Rebia and MLA Techi Kaso were also present. Moreover, existing Vistadome service between Guwahati and New Haflong have been decided to extend up to Badarpur to fulfil demand of tourists.

The Vistadome coaches are equipped with state of the art glass windows and all glass roofs for providing view of the open sky, moun-

tains, tunnels, bridges, hills, tea gardens and lush green forests to the tourists. It will also have observation lounges for the purpose of site seeing. The rotational seats of the coach are designed to provide added comfort to passengers. Coaches are also provided with digital entertainment system and Wi-Fi facilities. Tourist can enjoy the entire travel by enjoying infotainments like movies, music videos etc. Wi-Fi based passenger information system is also provided. For safety of passenger, CCTV cameras and fire alarm system are also installed.

The regular services of train number 12087/12088 Naharlagun – Guwahati – Naharlagun Shatabdi Express with Vistadome coach will resume w.e.f. 20-122021. The train will run three days a week leaving

from Naharlagun on every Monday, Tuesday and Friday and from Guwahati on every Monday, Thursday and Sunday. The train will depart from Naharlagun at 6:45 am to reach Guwahati at 12:30 pm and from Guwahati at 1:45 pm to reach Naharlagun at 7:45 pm . The train will cover a distance of 343 Kms and have stoppages at Harmuti, Viswanath Charali, Rangapara North, New Misamari, Udalguri, Tangla and Rangiya stations.

The regular services of 15907/15908 Tinsukia – Naharlagun – Tinsukia Vistadome Express will resume w.e.f. 21-12-2021.

The train will run five days a week leaving from Tinsukia on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and leaving from Naharlagun on every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The train will depart from Tinsukia at 4 pm to reach Naharlagun at 9:45 pm and from Naharlagun at 05: 30 am to reach Tinsukia at 10: 40 am. The train will cover a distance of 225 Kms and have stoppages at New Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Dhemaji, Bordoloni, Gogamukh, Boginadi, North Lakhimpur and Harmuti stations.

ration.

The then chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh had removed the Act even as the then Congress government at the Centre was against the state government’s decision.

It showed that the then Congress government in the state acted on the sentiment of the people and not in the interest of its leaders at the Centre.

But, despite being in power, BJP leaders in the state have no guts to talk even against the Act, for fear of its leaders at the Centre, the MPCC vice president alleged.

He said that repeal of the Act was one of the election promises of the party (BJP). However, even after nearly five years in power, its leaders had done nothing to repeal the Act. Even as the people of the entire northeast, including Manipur, renewed the demand for repeal of the Act following the recent mass killing involving Central security forces in Nagaland, he said that the state BJP leaders remained silent.

26 pvt colleges of BTR to be made govt institutes GUWAHATI, DEC 19 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said 26 private colleges in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) will be brought under the government control in the first phase of provincialisation.

Sarma held a meeting with a delegation of All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) regarding development of the educational sector in the BTR as per the Bodo Accord. “As per the request of the delegation, it was decided that 26 venture colleges would be taken up in BTR in the first phase for provincialisation,” a statement from the CMO said. The Higher Education Department will check the status of the colleges, infrastructure, qualification of existing faculty, need for fresh recruitment and take appropriate action in this regard, it added. “Decision was also taken in the meeting for creating adequate Bodo language teacher posts in schools in Bodo areas as per NEP 2020. Single cadre post creation will be done in all government and provincialised colleges,” CMO said.

A rally by a group of MPYCC and NSUI members against AFSPA targeting Imphal Raj Bhavan on Sunday.

The MPCC vice president said that Manipur Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (MPYCC) organized today’s rally to make people aware of the anti-people, anti-poor policies and programmes of the BJP in power.

BJP-led governments at the Centre as well as in the state were doing only lip service and nothing else except lying to the people.

He said that people had voted the BJP to power believing in the false promises its leaders had made during

the election campaigns.

“Wake up now,” he told the people, saying that “it is not the time to remain sleeping. BJP is pushing you into the pool of woes,” he said.

He said that democracy of the country is at stake under the BJP rule. The Constitution of the country is being desecrated by them.

The saffron party turned the country into a capitalist society where the poor became poorer and farmers were being executed in order to safeguard the in-

terests of corporate people, he said.

On the other hand, a group of members of Manipur Youth Congress Committee (MPYCC) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) carried out a rally demanding repeal of AFSPA in the heart of the capital city.

At a rally that converged at Imphal Raj Bhavan , they submitted a memorandum to the state Governor demanding for the repeal of AFSPA from the state.

Lucky Ali and Papon to perform at TTAADC event in Tripura

AAPSU sets deadline for census of Chakma-Hajong

Lucky Ali

Papon

AGARTALA, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Lucky Ali and Papon are all set to perform at a musical concert organised by the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council ( TTAADC). Notably, this will be the first time in the history of Tripura, TTAADC administration is going to organize ‘Festival of Indigenous Tiprasa’ (FIT) at Khumulwng Stadium in West Tripura district about 19 kms from Agartala city, reports The Sentinel Assam.

The TTAADC administration shall be organising a live performance “Pageant of Indigenous Tiprasa’21” on the Khumulwng stadium in West Tripura district.

The live performance is being organised by the Sports activities and Youth

Affair division of the TTAADC. The event will be held on December 19 and December 20. Taking to his Twitter handle Chairman of T.I.P.R.A wrote, “Let this year which has seen immense hardship due to covid end with a festive spirit ! With the youth festival followed by tring and then Christmas is a time to celebrate happiness and togetherness . Everyone is invited.”

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) is an autonomous district council administering the Tipra-dominated areas of the state of Tripura, India.

Its council and assembly are situated in Khumulwng, a town 26 km away from Agartala, the state capital.

ITANAGAR, DEC 19 (PTI): The All-Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) Saturday gave a 15-day ultimatum to the state government to carry out the census of the Chakma and Hajong refugees.

AAPSU general secretary Tabom Dai told reporters here that the “enumeration process came to a halt” after the state government received a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office on December 7.

“The enumeration process of the refugees should continue as usual,” Dai said, urging the Arunachal Pradesh government not to succumb to “intervention from external forces”. He said the census of Chakmas and Hajongs is a regular administrative exercise to maintain data required for the safeguard of indigenous people.

Earlier, the Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI), in a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, had alleged racial profiling of 65,000 Chakmas and Hajongs in Arunachal Pradesh.

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5

NATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Mamata misusing agencies to Must find ways to help people of Afghans: India remain relevant in KMC polls: BJP NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): India on Sunday pitched for finding ways to help the Afghan people, while reaffirming the need for an inclusive government in Kabul.

In his opening remarks at the third IndiaCentral Asia Dialogue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that there is a need to ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The dialogue, hosted by India in Delhi, is being attended by foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“We all share deep rooted historical and civilisational ties with Afghanistan. Our concerns and objectives in that c o u n t r y a r e s i m i l a r,” Jaishankar said.

He listed a tr uly inclusive and representative g ove r n m e n t , t h e f i g h t against terrorism and drug trafficking, ensuring unhindered humanitarian

External Affairs minister Jaishankar with counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. (Twitter)

assistance and preserving the rights of women, children and minorities as key priorities in Afghanistan.

“We must find ways of helping the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

Jaishankar said India is committed to take its ties with the Central Asia to the next level. He floated a ‘four C’ approach focusing on commerce, capacity enhancement, connectivity

and contacts to further expand the cooperation between the two sides.

“Our meeting today comes amid a rapidly changing global economic and political situation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted an enormous setback to global health and to global economy,” Jaishankar said.

“It has changed t h e way we i m a g i n e d

societies, supply chains and governance. It also highlighted the inadequacies of multilateral structures to meet new and emerging threats,” he said.

The external affairs minister underlined the need for having diversified supply chains and more regional solutions to various challenges.

“India will be your steadfast partner,” he said.

In the last few years, India has been focusing o n e x p a n d i n g ove r a l l cooperation with the energy-rich Central Asian countries, considering them to be part of its extended neighbourhood.

The upswing in India’s engagement with the region followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind tour of the five countries in July 2015 that resulted in the expansion of two-way ties in a range of areas.

T h e r e c e n t developments in Afghanistan reinforced the impor tance of the Central Asian countries with three of them -Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- sharing borders with the war-torn nation.

The national security advisors of all the five Central Asian countries attended an India-hosted regional dialogue on Afghanistan on November 10. NSAs of Russia and Iran also participated in it.

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): While the polling for Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections on Sunday is underway, the BJP has alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress (TMC) was ‘misusing’ every agency from the State Election Commission to police and civil administration to remain relevant in the polls.

C o - i n c h a r ge We s t Bengal BJP, Amit Malviya said, “Widespread electoral malpractice, rape threats and intimidation, misuse of every agency from the state election commission to police and civil administration, Mamata Baner jee and her TMC have done it all to remain relevant in KMC polls, yet they are not sure of their performance.”

“This is happening in Kolkata, not some far flung district of Bengal.

TMC goons threatened

Mamata Banerjee

BJP candidate’s wife with rape and murder after KMC polls in front of her eight year old daughter.

Kolkata Police, obviously under instr uction from home minister Mamata Banerjee, did nothing,” he said referring to a complaint dated December 12 of a BJP candidate.

Malviya also claimed that a day before polling the West Bengal State Election Commission issued a notification allowing Z+ protectee to take armed security men inside the polling booth

Women marriage age row: JIH objects, Will ensure scientific evidence sent to courts at earliest: HM PC says don’t implement in 2022 NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): After the g ove r n m e n t c l e a r e d a proposal of increasing the age of marriage of girls from 18 to 21 years, a controversy has erupted with a Muslim body objecting and the Congress saying that it should not be implemented in 2022. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has expressed its concer n over the move to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21 In a statement, the JIH President Sadatullah Husaini said: “We do not think it is a wise move to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21 in India. Currently, there is a global consensus that the legal age of marriage for women should be 18 years.”

He said the government feels that increasing the age to 21 will increase the age of motherhood, lower fertility rates and improve the health of mothers and newborns.

However, data does not support this approach.

“The poor health indicators of mothers and young infants in our country are because of poverty and malnourishment. Raising the age limit will have no bearing on these health indicators if poverty and

P Chidambaram

poor access to healthcare remain at existing elevated levels. Fertility rates are falling even in states with high rates of early marriage.

So assuming that raising the legal age of marriage for women to 21 is going to improve the lot of women is erroneous and not backed by empirical data,” he added Ina tweet Husaini said, “The government should not pass the law in haste, but evolve a consensus on the issue by initiating a dialogue with community leaders and subject matter experts from the associated domains.”

The Congress has also said that it is early to introduce the law and before that creating awareness is necessary. P. Chidambaram said, “There is a debate on the wisdom of raising the age of marriage to 21 for girls and making it the same

‘No visible sign of sacrilege’, says police after man beaten to death in Punjab

Policemen stand guard outside the office of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

AMRITSAR, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): A day after a man was lynched in Amritsar for attempted sacrilege at Amritsar’s G o l d e n Te m p l e , a n unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by locals at Nizampur in Punjab’s Kapurthala district on Sunday for allegedly disrespecting the ‘Nishan Sahib’ at the village Gurudwara.

Inspector-General, Jalandhar Range, GS Dhillon Sunday said that as per investigations there was no visible sign of sacrilege and police is investigating the allegations.

Addressing a press conference here, Dhillon said, “No visible sign of sacrilege at Gurdwara sahib was found. An FIR has been registered under section 295A.”

“Information about the attack on police, and man killed being verified.

If it appears to be murder then FIR to be registered accordingly,” the IG said.

“As it was a sensitive issue, police used restraint.

Those people who managed to do this were more in number than the police. People’s emotional sentiments were high after the incident at Golden Temple,” the IGP added.

A video of people beating up the man who allegedly attempted sacrilege with the Nishan Sahib has gone viral on the Internet. He was later handed over to the police but some people reportedly insisted that the man be questioned in front of them and the man was allegedly beaten to death in an ensuing scuffle.

as it is for boys. My view is that the age of marriage should be common for both girls and boys at 21 years. But the amended law should come into force on 1-1-2023 or later. The year 2022 should be used for a massive educational campaign on the benefits of marrying only after a boy or girl attains the age of 21 years.”

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind argued that the move goes against the law of nature and will create psychological, medical, social and human rights issues. It is evident from surveys that some women who become a first time mother after the age of 30, might face a lot of problems.

The increase in the age limit will also impact on the nature of our country’s population, in the long run, which has now more number of younger people, say the Jamaat leaders.

“Certainly, the young population is a most valuable asset for a country. Once the proposal becomes law, it will negatively affect the tribal communities and subject them to more harassment a t t h e h a n d s o f l aw enforcement machinery,” it said.

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the government will tr y to ensure that scientific evidence is sent electronically to courts and police stations at the earliest.

On the second day of his Maharashtra visit, Shah formally inaugurated the Camp Complex of the 5th Battalion of the NDRF in Pune, inspected the new campus of the CFSL and inaugurated its new building.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah said that the Government of India has developed many softwares, which are also being linked

Amit Shah

to the courts and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), so that no person or prosecutor in the court will be able to say that the FSL report is yet to be received.

“The report will reach the court records directly and a copy will go to the police station and a copy will go to the Home Department

world class and today the Gujarat FSL is known as one of the best in the world.

He pointed out that the biggest drawback in the spread of FSL was the lack of a specialised human resource force, there was no such course designed for this field. “In the field of forensic science, not a single college, university was established in the country. The country’s first forensic science university was established in Gujarat.

Our target is that in every state, the state government should establish one college each and with this university they should be associated with the college of forensic science,” he said.

SDPI leader, BJP functionary killed in Kerala; CM condemns

A L A P P U Z H A / THIRUVANANTHA PURAM, DEC 19 (PTI): Kerala’s coastal Alappuzha district was rocked by back-to-back killings of two party leaders, the first belonging to the SDPI and the second to the BJP, leading to clamping of prohibitory orders by police on Sunday.

Following the killing of an SDPI state secretary, a BJP leader was hacked to death subsequently in 12 hours and prohibitory order under CrPC Section 144 was imposed in the entire Alappuzha district on Sunday, district officials said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday condemned the killings and said steps will be taken by the police to nab the culprits and those behind them.

The Chief Minister said such heinous and inhumane acts of violence were dangerous to the country and that people should keep away from such groups and their hateful activities.

K S Shan, the state secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Kerala, was brutally attacked on Saturday night while he was on his way back home and his party alleged the RSS was behind it.

India’s Omicron count rises to 145

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, DEC 19 (PTI): India’s Omicron COVID count rose to 145 on Sunday after a 45-year-old NRI and a teenage boy, who recently arrived in Gujarat from the United Kingdom, tested positive for the variant.

According to central and state officials, omicron cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories -- Maharashtra (48), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).

O n S a t u r d a y, Maharashtra had reported eight more cases, Telangana’s tally jumped from eight to 20, while Kar nataka and Kerala reported six and four cases respectively.

In Gujarat, the nonresident Indian tested positive for the coronavirus infection in the RT-PCR test carried out at the Ahmedabad international airport soon after he arrived from the UK on December 15, a health department official said on Sunday.

“The man’s sample was later found infected with the Omicron variant,” Anand district health officer Dr M T Chhari said.

He was scheduled to reach the state’s Anand city

of the state. The day this system is established, many delays will be eliminated and using science we will be able to increase proof of conviction,” he said.

He pointed out that so far, there are seven Central Forensic Scientific Laboratories (CFSL) in the country and said, “If we have to strengthen the internal security and judicial system of a country like India in this area, then we still have to do a lot of work”. He mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had planned intensively to make the Forensic Science Laborator y of Gujarat

A BMC health worker collects swab sample of an outstation passenger for COVID-19 test, at Dadar railway station, in Mumbai. (PTI)

from Ahmedabad.

“But, after he tested positive for the coronavirus, he was taken to the Ahmedabad civil hospital from the airport. The patient is currently recovering at the Ahmedabad civil hospital,” Dr Chhari said.

H i s c o - p a s s e n ge r s and other contacts have tested negative for the viral infection, the official said.

A 15-year-old boy from Gandhinagar was also detected with the Omicron variant after returning from the UK, G a ndhina ga r Municipal Commissioner Dhaval Patel said.

Maharashtra on Saturday reported eight new infections of the Omicron variant of coronavir us which took the total of such cases in the state to 48, the health department said.

Twenty-eight of these patients have already recovered or have been

discharged after testing negative for COVID-19 in subsequent tests, it said.

Of the six cases re por ted in Kar nataka on Saturday, one was a passenger from the UK, while five others were from COVID-19 clusters in two educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada district, officials had said.

In Kerala, the two cases of the new variant of the coronavirus were detected from Thiruvananthapuram in patients aged 17 and 44.

One case was detected in Malappuram in a person aged 37 and another was a 49-year-old patient from Thrissur district.

While Omicron was first reported in South Africa on November 24, India’s first two cases of the this heavily mutated version of the coronavirus were detected in Karnataka on December 2.

Shan succumbed to his injuries at a Kochi hospital around midnight, police said. Hours later, BJP’s OBC Morcha state secretary Ranjeet Sreenivas was hacked to death by some assailants who barged into his house on Sunday morning, police said.

Police said it suspects the fatal attack on Sreenivas, also a member of the BJP state committee, was in retaliation to the killing of Shan.

State Police Chief (SPC) Anil Kant, told the media, that senior police officers were camping in the district and additional forces have been deployed there.

Angry at low price, farmer sets garlic crop on fire in MP MANDSAUR, DEC 19 (PTI): A farmer set his his garlic crop on fire after he failed to get a good rate for it at a agricultural produce market in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Sunday.

The incident occurred at Mandsaur Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti on Saturday and the farmer has been identified as Shankar Singh, a resident of Mahidpur in Ujjain, they added.

Mandi inspector Jagdish Babar said the garlic crop of the farmer was auctioned at around Rs 1400 per quintal since the quality was poor, adding that over 8,000 sacks of garlic had arrived at the market on Saturday, which were sold between Rs 1,000 to Rs 12,000 per quintal depending on the quality.

“Angry that his crop fetched a low rate, the farmer set some 50-60 kilograms of garlic on fire.” Babar said, adding that average quality garlic was sold between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,500 per quintal.

Singh, talking to reporters, claimed he had set on fire 150 kilograms of garlic as he had spent Rs 2.5 lakh cultivating it and was getting only Rs 1 lakh when selling it.

“On December18, 2021, a day before KMC polls, WB State Election Commission issued a notification allowing Z+ protectees to take armed security men inside the booth. No such mention in order of November 26, 2021. One wonders who are they making it convenient for? Mamata Banerjee and her nephew?,” Malviya tweeted sharing a copy of both the orders.

Sharing a video where a person is reportedly seen putting paper on a CCTV camera inside a polling booth on Twitter, Malviya said, “The court ordered CCTV cameras to be put in all polling booths for the KMC election. But TMC goons have pasted stickers on them. What is the WB State Election Commission doing to stop this malpractice and consequent attempt to rig polls? This is a gross violation of court order.”

Govt calls meeting of party leaders of 12 suspended MPs

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): In a bid to end the logjam in the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentar y Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has called a meeting on Monday of opposition parties whose MPs were suspended last month for the Winter Session.

Joshi has called a meeting with the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, Communist Party of India-Marxist, and Communist Party of India in a bid to end stalemate in the house which has been continuing since day 1 of the session.

Chairman, M. Ve n k a i a h N a i d u h a d suggested that both the parties should resolve this issue as the Rajya Sabha could not function properly this week.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal had sought an apology from the suspended MPs. Even after attacking marshals and misbehaving with the female marshals, senior Opposition members are unrepentant, he alleged. “ T h e g ove r n m e n t is ready to consider their request provided they apologise,” he had added.

Manjhi uses profanity for Brahmins, backtracks later PATNA, DEC 19 (PTI): Bihar’s outspoken former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has ended up with his foot in the mouth, much to the embarrassment of the ruling NDA in the state of which he is a part.

The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader, who is on the wrong side of 70, is in news for having blurted an expletive against Brahmins while making a clumsy attempt at Dalit radicalism on Saturday night.

At a function of “Bhuiyan-Musahar” c o m mu n i t y, t h e m o s t backward among Dalits, Majhi sought to admonish Dalits for taking up rituals of caste Hindus by whom, he claimed, they continue to be looked down upon.

He, however, backtracked later, asserting he had used that word to fellow Dalits to instil selfrespect in them.

Video footage of the function has gone viral on social media in which Manjhi, a party-hopper who now heads his own outfit HAM, can be heard uttering the word “haraami” (bastard) for the priestly class who, according to him, refuse to take food offered by Dalit clients but have no qualms in accepting cash

from them.

His ungainly attempt at, perhaps, doing an Ambedkar or a Kanshi Ram, has put Manjhi, whose son is a minister i n t h e N i t i s h Ku m a r government, in a tight spot.

Brahmins, a large section of whom may take offence to the indiscreet remark, are by and large supporters of the BJP, the largest constituent of the NDA to which Manjhi owes his belated prominence.

A former sidekick of Kumar by whom he was nominated for the highest seat of power in the state in 2014, Manjhi found his standing soar when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that his unceremonious removal next year was an insult to the “Mahadalit”.

Shivanand Tiwary, the Brahmin face of opposition RJD, denounced the use of the intemperate ion 2014

by Manjhi, while offering a socialist interpretation.

“When some people complained to Gandhi about Ambedkar’s harshness in criticizing caste Hindus, the Mahatma had said it was a surprise t h a t D a l i t s we r e n o t getting violent given the long history of inhuman treatment meted out to them,” Tiwary said.

6

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post VOL. XXXII NO. 18 DIMAPUR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Special category treatment

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t a time when states in the north east expressed outrage against the Armed Forces (Special Powers)Act 1958 in the light of the December 4 Oting massacre by a unit of the 21 Paras; chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) Justice Arun Mishra’s remarks only reflected an ambivalence on the Act. Justice Mishra had said that it would be wrong to generalise that human rights get violated due to imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the Northeast. Justice Mishra had said this to media in Guwahati on December 17 after a two-day public hearing on the complaints related to human rights violations in the five northeastern states. It is known that AFSPA has become synonymous with violation of human rights even resulting in deaths either under custody or fake encounters because the uniformed personnel have been given unbridled powers with no accountability while acting on behalf of the Centre. The Act has been described in many terms- draconian act, anti-human law etc but despite all that including stricture by the courts, The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 is still in force. The AFSPA is presently in force in the States of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur {excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area}, Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of the eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering the State of Assam. It was revoked from Tripura when the state decided that the situation had improved. Meghalaya also revoked the act in 2018 although some outfits are still actively engaged in extortion. Draconian laws have been in force in erstwhile Naga Hills even as early as 1953 through the Assam Maintenance of Public Order(Autonomous district) and subsequently, a more harsher law titled the Assam Disturbed Areas Act of 1955.Nagas were already facing the brunt of brutalities under a free India under these two laws and later, the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers)Act 1958. The Oting incident on December 4 when 14 civilians were massacred is clearly nothing but a display of the direct role of AFSPA on the minds of the uniformed personnel. The 21 Paras were sent to Oting on a special mission or surgical strike and not to direct traffic or stop vehicles to frisk passengers. The 21 Paras is a special unit trained and armed to kill and operates beyond the jurisdictions of army corps in the northeast. It was based at Jorhat (Assam) a zone under 4 Corps and operated in Oting(Nagaland) under 3 Corps. Successive governments in Nagaland have not recommended extension of the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) to facilitate AFSPA 1958. Since the state government or cabinet had not recommended extension of the DAA, it would only be the governor.

The special powers of the governor with respect to law and order is an overriding factor in Nagaland that contravenes the constitutional powers of the cabinet. It is time that the state government challenge the extra constitutional powers of the state governor and ensure that the latter acts as per the constitution in letter and spirit- on the advice of the council of ministers. Perhaps this should be discussed at the one-day session on December 20.

DailyDevotion The Focus Of Our Message

I did not come to bring peace but a sword. —Matthew 10:34 Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him.

God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.

If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).

There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial.

Jesus Christ came to “bring…a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.

Quotes

“Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness.” ~ Marie Forleo

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Peak Inflation: More taxes to check high deficit

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he highest wholesale price inflation in decades at 14.23 percent may result in high deficit leading to levying of more taxes.

The government expenses are certain to rise even if it wants keep the deficit low at least on papers around 6 percent. It is a difficult task but necessary as per international norms. The budget would be interesting to watch as the consultations with agriculture, industry, kisans and financial institutions begins.

An interesting aspect is that all these groups want check on inflation but all the same struggle for having better prices that contribute to an inflationary trend.

The government has also started the process of domestic production of semi conductors, and batteries for the car industry. This is the contrived solution to counter international rise in prices. But it is not sure that steps taken to acquire lithium mines or increase semi-conductor manufacturing or edible oil production would be a solution.

The price rise is heightened by muted factory output at 3.2 percent. This has led Asian Development Bank to scale down

India’s growth estimate to 9.7 percent, almost close to the rates of the RBI at 9.5 percent.

It is the highest since 2005 and surpasses the recent October figures of 12.54 percent. This is spiked by high petroleum products, gas prices at 39.81 percent, mostly due to high component of excise and other taxes. The manufacturing prices are also high at 11.92 percent causing a severe crisis like situation in the textile sector.

Domestic edible oils have spurred at a very fast rate at over 50 percent in the last one year. Even commonly used mustard oil shot up to Rs 214 a litre from approximately Rs 85 to 90 a litre.

The RBI is concerned of the impact of high toll, fee, excise and other charges for the rise in commodity prices. The rising prices are making most commodities unaffordable as there has also been loss of jobs or cut in wages. The food grain prices rise by 4.88 percent, not low but moderated by free food grain doles through public distribution system. Else the food grain prices too could have soared to a high.

One interesting aspect

is that high prices show GDP look brighter. Inflation-engineered high expenses show the growth in “positive” light though in reality it depresses purchasing power and adds to many other woes including contraction of wages a normal for many industries.

Inflation naturally adds to the problem. It becomes difficult to afford high prices at low wages.

Food inflation especially in staples like pulses and edible oil is the last thing any political party wants in the run up to a crucial election. With just weeks Shivaji left for the elections in five states, including the all-important state of Uttar Pradesh, it is no wonder the central government has started taking measures to control prices through various measures.

The uncertainty of kharif product due to a not so well distributed monsoon has made the government jittery about uncontrolled inflation in the days to come. Sustaining the free dole for long is not practically possible but withdrawal also has political implications.

The high fuel prices are being tried to be countered with more battery-powered

cars and being self-sufficient in producing lithium batteries. It aims at saving about Rs 2.5 lakh crore in import of crude! But the new effort is capital intensive, expensive and has high prospecting cost. It plans to buy 12 lithium and cobalt mines abroad. The National Aluminium Co Ltd will hold a 40 percent stake in the joint venture called Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, with Hindustan Copper Ltd and Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd controlling 30 percent each.

Apparently a wise move but lithium is not widely availa b l e. I t s mining and Sarkar processing costs are very high. The Khanij Videsh is two-yearold and so far it could not achieve the kind of success it was expected.

Chinese companies control most such mines in Australia, Chile and Argentina. Australian Prime Minister Scot Morrison had discussed about Indian participation in critical metallic sectors. The progress is slow.

Apart lithium production cost is high and with rising shipping costs overall cost becomes oppressive. It would not be easy to produce lithium and lithiumbatteries at affordable cost

or save on foreign exchange.

Apart lithium reserves are not high and the prospective mines may not necessarily produce as much lithium as the world demands.

A caution is needed before rushing for such a venture.

Though the new battery industry is trying hard for a fillip, it seems that battery powered cars may not be an economic solution.

Overall so far despite all its complexities petroleum remains the versatile fuel and for long the world may not get rid of it howsoever it may like.

Most efforts often are crisis-led solutions and ignore the problems as the implementers are competing for kudos and high profits.

India should better move slowly on battery production and electric cars. So far 20 companies have shown interest in producing lithium batteries.

Lessons must be drawn from semi-conductor crisis.

There is also the problem in getting the chip essential for manufacturing semi conductor. It has hit the passenger vehicle industry hard. Automobile production has reduced by 19 percent to 12.88 lakh units from 18.88 lakh units.

Scooter, mobikes, threewheeler productions have all been affected because of the chip scarcity. Federation of Automobile Dealers Association president V Gulati says that automobile sales remain in the negative zone.

The government’s Rs 76000 crore manufacturing programme may give it a boost but again the basic issue of how to have the chip would remain. It seems that globally chips itself are in shortage.

Similarly there is 20-30 per cent year-on-year rise in prices of edible oil. A public distribution department note says despite cut in import duty, a sudden spurt in prices edible oils/ oilseeds has been observed which may be due to alleged hoarding of it by the stock holders. Thus, all edible oils have seen significant increase across the country.

The average retail prices Rs 132 to Rs 177 a litre.

So there can be programmes but solving the crisis in critical areas may not be easy. The impending shortages and cartelization may result in overall price hikes. If the fuel crisis is not solved it is likely that inflation in Indian situation would continue to be a bane.

Post-mortem

Environmental pollution is the biggest problem of the 21st century

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oday the situation is that we are not getting clean drinking water, not getting clean air to breathe and not getting clean food to eat. Due to these reasons the average age of a human being is decreasing.

According to the IPCC report, pollution has reduced the average human lifespan by 9 years. In a gathering of intellectuals I asked about the biggest problem facing the world. Topics like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, corporate and politics kept revolving in response but environmental pollution does not seem to be a major problem to our people yet.

Through this article I will try to make the readers aware of this.

According to the great scientist Stephen Hawkins, the earth cannot live more than a thousand years because of pollution. According to the IPCC report, as global temperatures rise over the next 20 years, global warming will cause many cities around the world to be submerged due to more snow. The air will become so polluted that we will not be able to breathe in the open. We have to make some artificial arrangements for breathing. It would be normal for the earth’s temperature to reach 50 c C. Due to such temperature and pollution, the earth will not be habitable for human beings

and animals. Despite the fact that environmental pollution is such a big problem, it does not seem to be a problem to the people and a large number of the population is unaware of it. Our thinking is limited to politics, fashion, film and other means of entertainment.

The first duty of the government in this direction is to make the people aware of this sincerely.

Each program should be led by the government and religious leaders. The efforts of the government alone can never yield great results. As much as there is a need for government leadership, there is also a need for the cooperation of big people.

The Big Bang of Science, according to the Black Hole Theory, formed the solar system and the Earth millions of years ago after the explosion. Millions of years later, signs of life appeared on Earth. Millions more years later, all the flora and fauna of the earth came into being. The beautiful association of flora and fauna on earth has been going on for millions of years. Nature has made every animal and plant dependent and complementary to each other.

According to the law of nature, no one is allowed to disturb the natural balance. But the most intelligent man on earth ignored the laws of nature and its balance

Every effort has been made to spoil it. In the name of development, the earth, the sea and the atmosphere have been polluted in every possible way to make human life comfortable. In the race for growth and advancement, corporates have used science and technology for the betterment of human beings, rather than for their own good.

Earth’s temperature usually rises by 1 centigrade after one million years. Through factories in the name of development, through modern farming concepts, through our fashion brands, through the manufacture of munitions, through nuclear explosions, with modern means of transportation, plastics, cement, Destroyed the environment in medicine, building industry and many other ways. For all these reasons, carbon emissions are increasing and the earth’s temperature is rising.

There have been and will continue to be a number of global summits to reduce carbon emissions. Each summit sets a deadline for reducing carbon emissions, but no country seems to be moving in that direction. Each convention is requested to extend the fixed period. The 20 countries with the highest carbon emissions in the world, including India, have

A week-long observance of ‘National Consumers Day’

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very year 24th December is observed as ‘National Consumers Day’ in India. As part of a week-long observance of National Consumer Day, the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) continues the campaign, ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ which means ‘wake up consumer, be aware’ to create consumer awareness through adverts, audio-visual campaign and consumer education. It is important to know the basic rights of consumers such as; a) The right to be protected from all kinds of hazardous goods and services, b) The right to be fully informed about the performance and quality of all goods and services, c) The right to free choice of goods and services, d) The right to be heard in all decision, making processes related to consumer interests, e) The right to seek redressal, whenever consumers rights have been infringed, & f) The right to complete consumer education.

NVCO President Adv. Kezhokhoto Savi who is also a recipient of National Award for Consumer Protection said that on 24th December 1986, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the President of India and the enactment of this Act is considered as a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country. However, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 which replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into force from 20th July 2020. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified Rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and punishment for manufacturer or sale of products containing adulterated/spurious goods. The Act includes establishment of the Central Consumer Protec-

tion Authority (CCPA) to promote and enforce the rights of consumers. The CCPA will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints/ prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 introduces the concept of product liability and brings within its scope, the product manufacturer, product service providers and product seller, for any claim for compensation. The Act provides for simplifying the consumer dispute adjudication process in the consumer commissions, which include, among others, empowerment of the state and district commissions to review their orders, enabling a consumer to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer commissions that have jurisdiction over the place of his residence, video conferencing for hearing and deemed admissibility of complaints of the question of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days.

An Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism of Mediation has been provided in the new Act. This will simplify the adjudication process. A complaint will be referred by a consumer commission for mediation, wherever scope for early settlement exists and parties agree for it. Mediation will be held in the Mediation cells to be established under the aegis of the consumer commissions. There will be no appeal against settlement through mediation.

Once again the President of NVCO Kezhokhoto Savi, Advocate appealed the state government to implement the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 at the earliest.

Press & Media Cell, NVCO

been talking about extending the term every time. We have polluted the sea water in many ways. This endangers marine life.

Through mining we have eroded the earth’s crust, we have wasted its absorption capacity by using the ground water excessively and using chemical fertilizers. We have transformed the Earth’s upper atmosphere into many large galaxies through nuclear explosions and carbon emissions. Australia, whose clean air was packed in sliders and sold abroad, now has the highest number of skin cancer patients in the world, due to atmospheric humidity. Land, oceans and forests are the most polluting resources. We have lost the absorption capacity of land and sea. We also destroyed the third natural resource by cutting down the forest. In order to reduce carbon emissions, all countries have to be bound by the UN. Veto power should not be used for humanitarian purposes. Pollution particles should be eased by planting as many trees as possible. By planting ten trees in our house we can increase our average age by seven years. One tree is capable of absorbing 20 kilograms of dust particles, 70 kilograms of carbon particles, 85 kilograms of mercury, lithium, nickel, cadmium and silicon annually. Plants provide

oxygen to all living things based on the carbon dioxide we release.

Environmental pollution will take us back to the Ice Age. Sulfur and nitrogen particles combine with water particles to cause acid rain which is a catastrophe for vegetation. The level of carbon particles in the air a few years ago was 311 PMM which is now 388 PMM which is expected to increase to 470 PMM in another 20 years.

European countries have decided to run electric cars to reduce carbon emissions. We are using coal as the most forbidden source to generate electricity.

Wind and solar energy should be used for this purpose. Germany, devastated by the world wars, is doing its best to pollute the environment. The country has spent 57 57 billion working in this direction. Australia has spent only 2 2 billion on this work. Germany has set up council-level committees to get people’s support. The efforts of the Government of India in this direction are also not commendable. School children are staging demonstrations to wake up governments. Despite all this, the performance of governments is disappointing. Only public awareness and people’s struggle can compel governments to make sound decisions.

Vijay Garg Retired Principal

Reader’s Post

Sir,

Christmas hassle at Kohima

During the Christmas season we like to listen to Christmas songs but when we switch on the music players, there is often no electricity. Taking baths everyday has become a luxury due to scarcity of water. Going to the market takes the whole day due to traffic problems. We are at least grateful to Covid-19 for making everyone wear masks, which is protecting us from Air pollution. The garbage collection was started sometime in 2011, yet there is still a lot to improve upon.

It will be helpful for the citizens of Kohima if the following few steps can be taken up by the Authority.

1. Provide some bye-passes and arterial roads wherever possible in the town to ease congestions.

2. Provide adequate footpaths for the pedestrians.

3. Construct some water reservoirs to collect water from the streams during the rainy season for construction works and washing purposes year round.

I believe such small steps will ease our problems and make Kohima a better place to live.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year-2022 Er. Y. Chuba Ao, Former K.M.C. Advisor, Kohima

Sir,

What a great vision move of N.S.F

I would like to note the activities of NSF and a big appreciation for giving all their hearts for Nagas on the situation that is going on and on several issues. What a great vision move, may God be with I once again give my hearty appreciation to NSF for organising ‘Mega Rally’ where our neighbours participated You have raised the great head of student bodies Thank you. Long Iive NSF H. Hoshito Sema, Retd government servant, Dimapur

Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

India is an idea that stands for the protection of humanity: PM

the flame of freedom burning for the longest time in the history of India.

This is because India is not just political power.

India is an idea, a family that stands for protecting the interests of humanity,” PM said.

On the occasion of Goa Liberation Day celebrations, the Prime Minister inaugurated multiple development projects at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium here on Sunday. He felicitated the freedom fighters and veterans of ‘Operation Vijay’ at the function.

KCR gearing up for showdown with Centre

HYDERABAD, DEC 19 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is gearing up for a direct fight with the Narendra Modi government at the Centre over the ‘raw deal’ being meted out in the state, especially in paddy procurement.

After two rounds of sitin, including the one led by the Chief Minister himself in Hyderabad last month, demanding the Centre to lift entire paddy produced in the state, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief has asked his party cadres to widen the scope of the fight by staging protests in every village against ‘anti-farmer’ policies of the BJP-led NDA government.

Unlike the first phase of protest, which was confined to ‘dharnas’ in all the 119 Assembly constituencies, and the subsequent mega dharna led by KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, in Hyderabad,

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addressing the meeting.

(Photo: Twitter)

the third phase will include demonstrations and burning of effigies. At a meeting with ministers, TRS state legislators, MPs and other leaders on December 17, KCR had declared an open war with the Centre.

“The party cadres have been told to burn effigies of BJP-led Centre and Union ministers who are speaking lies and spreading misinformation over the issue of paddy procurement,” a senior party leader had said after the meeting.

you are speaking to me.”

The entire countr y knows that whenever the BJP is about to lose an election in any state, the frequency of the misuse of various enforcement agencies by the BJP rises, alleged UP’s former chief minister Yadav.

“The BJP is following the Congress’ way. Like Congress, it is rearing to use the central agencies to instil fear (rival among political parties),” said Yadav.

“Seeing the atmosphere in the state, I can say that the Yogi government will not last, The people have made up their mind for a ‘yogya’ (able) government,” said Yadav.

“No government could be more ‘anupyogi’ (useless) than this government, It has ruined Uttar Pradesh,” he asserted.

Parl panel seeks CBI’s view on need for law to define its mandate NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): A parliamentary panel has sought views of the Central Bureau of Investigation on the need to amend existing laws or bring out a new legislation in order to clearly define its mandate and vest more power to it.

H i g h l i g h t i n g ove r 1,000 vacant posts in the federal probe agency, it asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prepare a roadmap as to how and by when it plans to fill up such a large number of vacancies.

In a report, the panel also hoped that the government provides adequate funds to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for strengthening surveillance capabilities and for setting up a centralised surveillance database.

Agreeing with CBI’s view that withdrawal of general consent by states impedes its investigation, the panel in its earlier report had recommended to the government to assess if there is a need to amend the existing

laws or bring out a new law altogether in order to clearly define the mandate of CBI and vest more powers in it.

It was informed that state governments have withdrawn general consent under section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act to CBI for conducting investigation in the state (not being a Union Territory or railway area) and they are now giving the requisite consent case by case basis.

“The committee is concerned to note that CBI has not submitted its views as to whether there is a need to amend the existing laws or bring out a new legislation altogether in order to clearly define the mandate of CBI and vest more powers in it. The committee would like CBI to state its opinion regarding the same,” said the report tabled in parliament on December 10. The assertion was made by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel,

Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, in its report titled ‘Action taken on one-hundred sixth report of the Committee on demands for grants (202122) pertaining to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions’.

The panel, had in its earlier report, said that the CBI was in grave need of cadre restructuring and recommended to the government to undertake it at the earliest. In its action taken report, the personnel ministry informed that approved cadre strength of CBI in all ranks is 7,273 and the strength of this bureau has been increased at various occasions, but overall re-

‘No post permanent’: K’taka CM triggers rumour of his exit Maha priest pours petrol on self,

HAVERI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in an emotional address to the people of his constituency Shiggaon in this district said nothing is permanent in this world including posts and positions, fuelling speculation in some quarters about his possible exit.

“Nothing is eternal in this world. This life itself is not forever. We don’t know how long we will be here in such a situation, these posts and positions are also not forever. I am aware of this fact every moment,” he said.

In an expression of gratitude to the people of his constituency, Mr Bommai

Basavaraj Bommai

said he is only ‘Basavaraj’ for them and not the chief minister.

Bommai was addressing people after inaugurating the statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, the 19th Century queen of Kittur in

Belagavi district, who fought against the British.

“I have always been saying that outside this place (Shiggaon) I was Home Minister and Irrigation Minister in the past, but once I was in, I remained just ‘Basavaraj’ for you all.

Today as a chief minister I am saying that once I come to Shiggaon, I may be Chief Minister outside but amongst you, I will remain as the same Basavaraj Bommai because the name Basavaraj is permanent and not the posts”, he said.

There have been rumours in some quarters that Bommai is likely to be replaced.

The chief minister is reportedly suffering from knee related problem, and may undergo treatment abroad but there was no official word on this.

“I don’t have great things to say. If I could live up to your expectations, that’s enough for me. I believe that no power is bigger than your love and trust. I try my best not to talk to you in an emotional way but sentiments overwhelm me after seeing you all,” Bommai said in a choking manner.

Bommai took over as Chief Minister on July 28 after BS Yediyurappa resigned on the day he completed two years in office.

Mamata should not divide Oppn directly or indirectly: Baalu

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): Emphasising the need for unity among the Opposition parties to take on the “common enemy”, the BJP, DMK leader TR Baalu has said TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee should not divide the Opposition directly or indirectly.

Baalu, the leader of the DMK in the Lok Sabha, was among the selected leaders invited by Congress president Sonia Gandhi TR Baalu to her residence here last week to discuss Opposition that the Opposition unity will strengthen further and strategy in Parliament.

He said he is hopeful the parties may project a

single candidate for the presidential polls next year.

Terming the ruling BJP the “common enemy” for the Opposition, Baalu, in an interview to PTI, said, “Opposition leaders should meet more often to discuss issues related to national politics with mainly one single agenda -- to fight and defeat the BJP.” Responding to a question on a leader who can unify the Opposition, he said it can be decided at an appropriate time and for the DMK, the call will be taken by its president, MK Stalin.

also said that Sathiya Narayanan had informed her that she was burdened with sins and that he had freed her. She moved out of the place and got married in 2018.

Her husband, according to her, went abroad in search of a job and Sathiya Narayanan called her in March 2020 and threatened her to meet him. In the complaint, she said, “I went to meet him and he raped me repeatedly stating that I would send my naked photos to my husband.”

In July 2020, the victim came to know that she was pregnant and Sathiya Narayan and Pushpalatha wanted her to abort the fetus which she did not support, and gave birth to a baby in January 2021.

She said that her husband visited the family and returned in November after which Sathiya again called her to meet him and she had no other means but to inform her husband.

After this, she lodged a complaint with the police who promptly arrested both Sathiya Narayanan and his wife Pushpalatha.

Both have been remanded in judicial custody.

“Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and our very own MK Stalin can bring various Opposition parties to the table to discuss issues related to national politics,” Baalu said.

He also suggested that there should be a common stand of the Opposition parties in Parliament to take on the BJP-led NDA government.

Asked about Banerjee’s remarks that there is no UPA, Baalu said a division in the Opposition would only serve the purpose of the BJP.

sets self on fire inside Church

NASHIK, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): A priest tried to immolate himself inside a church in Nashik in Maharashtra on Sunday when people present rescued him in time and rushed him to a nearby hospital, an official said.

The incident took place during a prayer session at St Thomas Church in Shalimar Chowk, he said.

“The priest, identified as Father Anant Apte (61), poured petrol on himself and tried to set himself ablaze.

However, people present there quickly doused the flames.

He has received 15 per cent burns and is undergoing treatment at the district hospital. He has claimed he was being harassed by some of his seniors,” the official said.

MISHILIMI CHRISTIAN CENTENARY December 21, 2021

Theme: “Proclaim the Liberation” (Isaiah 61:1-3) Speakers Rev. Hotokhu P. Zhimo Executive Secretary, SABAK Pughoboto Rev. Vitoka Kinnimi Executive Secretary, NCRC Sumi Hq. Pughoboto Rev. Henito Sheqi Pastor, Baptist Church Chisholimi Greetings Ino. Thungchabemo Tungoe Addl. Deputy Commissioner, Pughoboto Ino. Y. Viqheho Swu Hon’ble MLA 13th A/C, Pughoboto # Organizing Committee MCC invites all Church leaders irrespective of denomination under Pughoboto sub division, In-laws and well wisher to centenary celebration.

Come and witness God’s faithfulness and also receive blessing from this very special occasion.

Dc-1357/21

Media & Publicity Mishilimi Christian Centenary

structuring in a holistic manner has never taken place.

“With regard to increase in manpower in CBI is concerned, it is mentioned that a proposal for cadre review/restructuring of CBI is already under consideration in consultation with CBI for creation of 734 additional posts in different ranks,” it said. It stated that departmental CBI officers play a very important role in investigations, but at the same time, officers on deputation from states/central police organisations/central armed police forces/banks, among others, at various levels bring fresh and new ideas based on their experience in different fields.

The ministry pointed out that the deputation reserve has been reduced at various levels.

“In case, only direct recruitment quota is prescribed for various technical posts of CBI, it will affect career progression of staff due to limited number of posts available in hierarchy,” the

report said. To which, the panel observed that the CBI has apprised it that there are as many as 822 vacancies in executive ranks, 88 vacancies for law officer, 97 vacancies for technical officer, as on January 31, 2021.

“The committee recommends CBI to prepare a roadmap as to how and by when it plans to fill up such a large number of vacancies.

The Committee also hopes that cadre restructuring exercise is initiated soon,” the report said. Referring to its earlier report, the panel had recommended the Personnel Ministry to provide adequate funds to CVC for strengthening surveillance capabilities and for setting up a centralized surveillance database as it believed that increased surveillance would lead to better vigilance.

The ministry said additional requirement of funds, if any, to cater to the needs of CVC, will be taken up with the Finance Ministry at the supplementary/ revised estimates 2021-22 stage.

OFFICE OF THE

KHENSA STUDENTS' UNION FELICITATION

The Office of the khensa Students' Union would like to express our heartiest congratulations to Ms. Khatysangla Kichu, D/o mr. B. Aoyanger for achieving Gold medallion in master of Arts (Psychology) from Nagaland University, kohima campus, meriema.

The Union further wish her success in all her future endeavor.

Sd/President, KSU

Sd/Information and Publicity Secretary, KSU

mkc-483/21

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday pledged his support to journalists whenever there is any injustice or violence against them. He talked about media freedom in a tweet where he shared reports about attacks on journalists in the country.

“Sad! Many media colleagues only show the face of only one person, suppress the voice of the opposition and do not allow it to reach to the public. Did that person ever raise a voice for you?” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader has been accusing the media of siding with the Prime Minister and the ruling BJP and of not giving space to the voice of the opposition.

“Do whatever you feel is right, but if there will be injustice or violence against you, then I will always be with you in future, as I have been in the past,” he said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag “#PressFreedom”.

under Portugal at a time when other major parts of the country were ruled by the Mughals.

“Countless political storms and turbulence have been witnessed by Goans.

But even after centuries of the distance between time and the upheaval of power, neither Goa has forgotten its Indianness, nor has India forgotten its Goa. This is a relationship that has only grown stronger with time.”

“The people of Goa also did not allow the movements for liberation and Swaraj to stop. They kept

Akhilesh Yadav

C H E N NA I , D E C 1 9 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu Police have arrested a selfstyled godman Sathiya Narayanan and his wife Pushpalatha after he was charged with sexually abusing a woman devotee. Police said that Pushpalatha had helped Sathiya Narayanan rape the woman when she was 16 years of age. The arrests were made on Saturday.

The police said that objectionable photos of the girl were taken. She was threatened that if she raised a complaint, her photos would be circulated in the public domain.

The accused and his wife own a temple, ‘Shirdipuram Sarva Shakthi Peedam Sai Baba Koil’, in Chennai.

The victim in her complaint said, “I was staying with my grandmother while I was in Class 12 and we frequented the temple.

On April 12, 2016, I was asked to get the sacred ash.

When I went to the temple Pushpalatha gave me juice and after two hours, I was lying naked in the bed with Sathiya Narayanan and Pushpalatha by my side.”

In the complaint, she

Felicitation the Dimapur longjang Pongen telongjem (DlPt) would like to congratulate its bonafide member Mr. Moarenba Pongen, on being promoted to the post of "Addl. Commissioner of Excise, Govt. of Nagaland (and not to the post of Asst. Commissioner of Excise, Govt. of Nagaland) as published on December 19th 2021. The error is highly regretted.

Meanwhile DLPT wishes the very best to Mr. Moaren Pongen on his future endeavour.

Pangerlemba Pongen limasanen Pongen President Secretary

DP-6066/21

Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul to media

Narendra Modi seeks blessings of a Goan freedom fighter in Taleigao, Sunday. (PTI)

Modi offered five infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 650 crore to the service of the nation, which includes a renovated Fort Aguada Jail Museum, a super speciality block at Goa Medical College, the new South Goa District Hospital, an Aviation Skill Development Centre at Mopa Airport and a Gas insulated Substation at Dabolim-Navelim, Margao.

He laid the foundation stone for the India International University of Legal Education and Research of Bar Council of India Trust at Goa. Modi released a Special Cover and Special Cancellation to mark the commemoration of the Indian Armed Forces freeing Goa from Portuguese rule.

The Prime Minister released ‘My Stamp’ depicting the Hutatma Smarak at Patradevi, which salutes the great sacrifices made by the martyrs of the Goa Liberation Movement.

Modi also distributed awards to the best Panchayat/Municipality, Swayampurna Mitras and beneficiaries of the Swayampurna Goa Programme.

LU C K N OW, D E C 1 9 (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath of getting his telephones tapped and listening to his talks every evening.

Yadav made the allegation while dubbing Adityanath as the most “anupyogi’ (useless) chief minister and seeking to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll formula “UP+Yogi=Upyogi”, aimed at asserting the utility of the Adityanath government for UP’s growth.

A day after a string of Income Tax Department’s raids and searches at some SP leaders’ offices and residences, Yadav also alleged that wary of its impending defeat in the upcoming assembly elections, the BJP government would be misusing various enforcement agencies more and more to persecute SP leaders in days to come.

“All our telephonic conversations have been heard. This ‘anupyogi’ chief minister himself listens to the recordings of some people every evening,” Yadav alleged. He also asked reporters to “remain alert, if

OFFICE OF THE

KHENSA STUDENTS' UNION FELICITATION

The Office of the Khensa Students' Union would like to express our heartiest congratulations to Ms. Alemmenla Walling for achieving the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Linguistics and Phonetics under the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad on the topic “The Morpho-Phonological Interface in Khensa-Mongsen (Ao): A Descriptive Study” under the supervision of Dr. T. Temsunungsang, EFLU. The union further wish her success in all her future endeavors.

Sd/President, KSU

Sd/Information and Publicity Secretary, KSU

mkc-484/21

GOA, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is an idea, a family that stands for protecting the interests of humanity.

Addressing a gathering at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium here on the Goa Liberation Day celebrations, Modi said, “India has a spirit where the nation is above the `self` and is paramount. Where there is only one mantra - nation first. Where there is only one resolve - Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.”

“The land of Goa, the air of Goa, the sea of Goa, have been blessed with a wonderful gift of nature.

And today, this enthusiasm of the people of Goa is adding to the pride of liberation,” the Prime Minister said. “I also had the privilege of paying homage to the martyrs at the Shaheed Memorial at Azad Maidan.

After paying homage to the martyrs, I also witnessed the cell parade and flypast in Miramar. I got an opportunity to honour the veterans of Operation Vijay,” Modi said.

He said that Goa came

7 Yogi getting my telephones Self-styled godman arrested for tapped: Akhilesh Yadav raping woman with wife’s help

NATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Su doku

KAKURO

No. 10131 Yesterday’s solution No. 10130

No. 4753 Yesterday’s solution No. 4752

No. 3777 Yesterday’s solution No. 3776

ACROSS 1. Court cases (6) 7. Trike (8) 8. Painful (4) 10. One after the other (2,1,3) 11. Of high mountains (6) 14. Born (3) 16. Of the foot (5) 17. Golf pegs (4) 19. Strength (5) 21. Girl’s name (5) 22. Belief (5) 23. Surrender (4) 26. International telegraph service (5) 28. Shade of brown (3) 29. Stadia (6) 30. Jolly (6) 31. Among (4) 32. Capsize (4,4) 33. Road (6) DOWN 1. Upper garment (1-5) 2. Loves deeply (6) 3. Cook slowly (4) 4. Surgical knife (7) 5. Pungent (5) 6. Cant (5) 8. Of sound mind (4) 9. Fish eggs (3) 12. For every (3) 13. Without clothes, nude (5) 15. Flows out slowly (5) 18. Senior (5) 19. Cooking vessel (3) 20. Opposite of dry (3) 21. Six-sided figure (7) 22. Number (3) 23. Posh food (6) 24. Girl’s name (4) 25. Join up (6) 26. Army vehicles (5) 27. Horizontal (5) 28. Male cat (3) 30. Jam containers (4)

Organizations welcome Cab decision on dist creation

(From p-1) T h e d u o a l s o ex pressed deepest appreciation to advisor and MLA, R. Khing and the Rengma organisations-- Rengma Hoho, Rengma Mothers’ Association, Rengma SeloZi, Rengma Students’ Union and Council of Rengma Baptist Churches.

CCCPO: Chümoukedima Circle Chakhroma Public Organisation (CCCPO) conveyed its sincere appreciation to the state government for declaring Chümoukedima as the 15th district of the State.

CCCPO president Neikhriehu Kensa and secretary Khriebuli Peseyie said it spoke volumes about the concern and care the

present dispensation has for the people who go through horrendous experiences of traffic problems just to visit the district headquarters for urgent works.

CCCPO said that the sagacity of the government of the day was most admirable considering that Chümoukedima district have vast swathes of open spaces yet to be developed.

With the active participation and cooperation of all stake holders, CCCPO said the district can become a role model for others to emulate if and

when futuristic and visionary habitations can come up in a planned manner.

It said that the organisation would look forward to work closely together with all communities in the district so as to make it a place where peace, goodwill and harmony prevails amongst the different communities for all times to come.

CCCPO assured the government its unstinted support in all endeavours in order to make the lives of all denizens easier and more comfortable.

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dp-5993/21

Crossword

Amazon,” it said in the letter. “The order of the regulator CCI is more than enough for the government to act.” The CAIT added that violations by Amazon has caused collateral damage to traders as more than two lakh shops, majorly of mobile trade, have been closed due to “vicious tripartite nexus comprising Amazon, brand owing companies and various banks including government banks”. “CCI order for imposing 202 crore penalty on Amazon exposes fraudulent and mischievous attempts by it to control e-commerce and retail trade. No more evidence needed after CCI order,” CAIT General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said in a tweet.

(From p-1) According to the minister, long-distance trains such as Garib Rath, Rajdhani, Duronto and fully AC Express trains will have six berths in sleeper class reserved for women.

The births will be available for all women passengers irrespective of factors such as age.

Moreover, women passengers can also book berths even if they are travelling with a group of women. In every sleeper coach, 6-7 lower berths will be reserved for women while in the 3AC coaches, 4-5 lower berths will be reserved.

3-4 berths will also be reserved in 2AC coaches for senior citizens and women above 45. Pregnant women below 45 can also reserve seats to ensure that she has a comfortable train journey. He also said that Indian Railways is making special arrangements for the security of women and all passengers. “Police and public order are state subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and District Police have been given special instructions to provide better security to the women passengers,” he was quoted as saying by News18.

(From p-1) Therefore, WC said its status paper either in part of whole, is not shrouded in mystery and which is the difference between WC, NNPGs and others.

WC said as per negotiations, a bicameral legislature called Tatar Hoho would emerge, comprising of representatives of all indigenous Naga tribes and non-Naga indigenous stakeholders in the upper house, which will be based on Naga customary system –Nagaland Federal Hoho- or House of Elders, “perpetual in succession”.

According to WC, the Tatar Hoho will have absolute legislative powers on all subjects under “Land and its Resources” in accordance with the practices and procedures of Naga customs and traditions.

It said the lower house will be known as “Leacy Hoho” comprising of democratically elected members through adult suffrage. WC the Agreed Position also envisages the principle of “mutual coexistence” between the government of India and the Nagas.

While expressing appreciation of the “magnanimous role of the Nagaland state government as facilitators in the Indo-Naga political dialogue”, WC said the focus must continue for facilitating genuine political transformation and ending the “Indo-Naga conflict” through solution.

WC urged upon all sensible Naga leader to ensure that future generations do not suffer from blunders committed today and that it was time to instil hope and not “politically motivated venom into the veins of our people”. WC maintained that Nagas should protect and preserve people’s natural resources and therefore appealed on all people to “be vigilant against oil prospectors who are nothing but insatiable, remorseless profiteers.”

dp-6067/21

NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): Confederation of All India Traders on Sunday urged the Centre to take immediate action against e-commerce giant Amazon by asking it to suspend its e-commerce portal.

The traders’ body’s letter to the Centre comes just two days after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 202 crore on Amazon and suspended its approval for its deal with Future Coupons. “Since this act (by Amazon) violates FEMA and FDI policy, the Enforcement Directorate has nothing more to do - the evidence is right before it in the form of CCI order, therefore the ED should take immediate action against

Reserved berths for women ...

He also acknowledged the solidarity and respect shown by all Naga tribes during this time of grief Short speeches were also delivered by Eastern Nagaland Women Organisation Dimapur president N Langmei Phom, Dr Visier Sanyu and others.

A video of one of the survivors, James, interacting with FNR members was also played on the occasion.

Highlights of the programme included a song

by Nise Meruno dedicated to the people of Oting and Nagas in general, songs

by Rev Dr Wati Aier presented by Oriental Theological Seminary Choir, Cantamus Choir and others and poetry reading by Dr T Keditsu.

Peace activist Niketu Iralu led in lighting the lamp in memory of the Oting victims.

Earlier, invocation was offered by Christian Forum Dimapur chairman Rev Moses Murry.

Oil operations only after Naga political solution...

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CAIT urges Centre to suspend Amazon’s e-commerce portal immediately

(From p-1) He recalled how Botsa used to be a thick jungle then, adding that the name could be loosely translated as “dense jungle” in Tenyidie dialect.

He said the place had now transformed tremendously and people in the area also had made a lot of progress.

He acknowledged that Covid-19 pandemic had affected the State, but pointed out that God had protected the people from destruction unlike other places where there were higher infection and death toll.

He urged the people to live a “Christ-centric life and obey His teachings”. Later, sharing the jubilee message on the theme “Shout Aloud”, Angami Baptist Church Council executive director Rev Dr V Atsi Dolie asked the people if they were ready to shout aloud with a clear conscience and without hesitation. He said as long as people did not possess a guilt-free conscience, it was hard for them to make audible noise as their own conscience would not allow them to do so. He said the path to a clear conscience began with truly forgiving each other. He urged the people to overcome their differences as they celebrated the jubilee and also make amends with their fellow human beings.

The service was chaired by BBC associate pastor Ruokuovilie Zumu, while Nerhema Baptist Church pastor Rev Vilanyü Üsou read from the Bible and invoked God’s blessings. Special numbers were presented by BBC youth, Gorkha Baptist Church, Botsa and Tsiemekhu youth.

Rev Peihwang Wangsa of Konyak Baptist Bumeinok Bangjum (KBBB) said the funeral was originally scheduled for December 5 at the helipad, but had to be postponed till the next day at the requests of legislators who said chief minister Neiphiu Rio would reach Mon on December 6.

But though the funeral was postponed, the villagers were not informed of the new schedule and hence they had gathered at the helipad in large numbers on December 5 and, upon hearing about the postponement of the funeral, they started attacking Konyak Union office and also attempted to set the 27 Assam Rifles camp on fire, which lead to the killing of another civilian and injuries to several others.

In his speech, Konyak Union Dimapur president Mosa Konyak emphasised it was the opportune time for Nagas to unite and fight against the perpetrators till justice was served.

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Bhupender Yadav in a reply to the Rajya Sabha earlier this week had said that the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code is the only code on which the least number of 13 states have pre-published the draft rules.

The highest number of draft notifications are pre-published on The Code on Wages by 24 states/ UTs followed by The Industrial Relations Code (by 20 states) and The Code on Social Security (18) states.

Yadav explained that labour is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and under the Labour Codes, rules are required to be framed by the central government as well as by the state governments.

The central government is pursuing with the re-

Rio stresses unity among Nagas

(From p-1) He claimed that six persons were killed in front of him, while eight were injured.

He said the SDPO and he escaped unharmed.

He said several rounds of bullets were fired at him, the SDPO and his entourage while they were returning from the site after the first shootout had taken place.

Condemning the act, Wangsha noted that those who had carried out the shooting were not Indian Army personnel and termed them terrorists.

He questioned all armed factions who considered themselves national workers, but were not present when Nagas needed them the most.

H e s a i d I n d i a ’s “Christmas gift” to Nagas were in the form of bodies and injuries, lamenting that many would be spending their Christmas in hospitals and graveyards.

Speaking about the December 5 incident,

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NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions, are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year as at least 13 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, a senior official said.

“The four labour codes are likely to be implemented in the next financial year of 2022-23 as a large number of states have finalised draft rules on these. The Centre has completed the process of finalising the draft rules on these codes in February 2021. But since labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre wants the states to implement these as well in one go,” the official said.

Union Labour Minister

It compared the mixing of RAT and RT-PCR tests with three other methods – Baseline, 70 per cent RT-PCR and improved RAT+RT-PCR. While baseline looks at administering an RT-PCR test to 25 per cent of all suspects and a fifth of symptomatic RAT-negatives, the 70 per cent RT-PCR method involves administering an RT-PCR test to 7 out of 10 people, while offering the remaining three a RAT test. Improved RAT+RT-PCR involves offering an RAT test with higher sensitivity. Data showed that six times as many people can be tested using a hybrid method as compared to a baseline.

Similarly, while it may have the lowest sensitivity among all four methods, over five times as many people can be tested combining RAT and RT-PCR tests. RAT tests also cost lower than RT-PCR.

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Representational image

maining state governments to frame the rules under all four Codes, he had said.

Centre has notified four labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, on August 8, 2019, and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on September 29, 2020. However, the Centre as well as states are required to notify rules under the four codes to enforce these laws in respective jurisdictions. Under the Codes, the power to make rules has been entrusted to the Central Government, State Government and appropriate Government and there is a requirement of publication of Rules in their official Gazette for a period of 30 or 45 days for public consultation.

As per the minister’s reply, draft rules are pre-published by 24 states on The Code on Wages. Similarly, 20 states have pre-published draft rules on The Industrial Relations Code and as many as 18 states have pre-published draft rules on The Code on Social Security while 13 states have pre-published draft rules on The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.

India’s Omicron outbreak grows FNR, 26 organizations demand repeal (From p-1) of AFSPA, justice for Mon victims Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) if it is to swiftly detect Omicron.

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4 labour codes likely to be implemented by FY23

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

BUSINESS/STATE

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New Omicron cases in UK triple to more than 10k; death toll jumps to 7 L O N D O N, D E C 1 9 (PTI): More than 10,000 new Omicron cases have been reported in the UK in the highest daily surge so far, as the number of overall COVID-19 infections stood well above 90,000 cases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed an additional 10,059 cases of the new variant on Saturday, more than three times as many as reported on Friday (3,201), taking the total number of cases to 24,968.

A total of 90,418 infections have also been reported, as the UK’s COVID-19 daily deaths tally stood at 125, up on Friday’s count of 111, but down on the 132 reported last Saturday.

The death toll from t h e O m i c r o n va r i a n t jumped from one to seven.

“We’ve shown in the past as government in dealing with this pandemic that we will do what is necessary, but it’s got to be backed up by data,” UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said

Pedestrians walk past a sign asking commuters to “Wear a face covering” at Liverpool Street train station. (AFP)

in reference to reports that the government is planning tighter lockdown restrictions due to the Omicron surge.

“We are watching the data and discussing it with our scientists and our best advisers almost on an hourly basis. We will monitor very carefully, and keep the situation under review,” he explained.

Ministers have received a briefing on the latest COVID-19 data and a meeting of the Cabinet

Russia officially withdraws from Open Skies Treaty M O S C OW, D E C 1 9 (IANS): Russia has officially withdrawn from the Treaty on Open Skies, the Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.

“Decades of fr uitful implementation of the treaty showed that it has served well as a tool for strengthening confidence and security, creating additional opportunities for an objective and unbiased assessment of the military potential and military activities of the participating states,” Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued on Saturday as saying.

The Ministr y mentioned that during Russia’s participation in the Treaty, the country has conducted 646 flights, and allowed for 449 flights to be carried out over its territory among the 1,580 total flights made.

“Unfortunately, all our efforts did not allow us to

preserve the treaty as it was intended by its authors,” the Ministry statement said.

“The entire responsibility for the degradation of the agreement lies with the initiator of the collapse of the Treaty on Open Skies: the United States of America,” it added.

After the formal US withdrawal in November 2020, the Foreign Ministry said this January that the country had started domestic legal procedures for the official pullout from the Treaty.

On June 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to quit the Treaty.

The multilateral pact, which came into effect in 2002, allows its states-parties to conduct short-notice, unarmed reconnaissance flights over the others’ territories to collect data on military forces and activities.

Office Briefing Room A emergency committee will be held over the weekend to assess if further measures are to be brought in.

“I think if new restrictions are brought in, and by the way, it’s inevitable, there must be a major package of financial support for our hospitality, culture, and retail sectors,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said, who declared a “major incident” in the UK capital to help deal with the city’s massive surge in the coro-

navirus cases.

“I’m afraid over the last few days we’ve seen a major surge of Omicron.

Although those in hospital is less than what it was this time last year, including those on ventilators, the number of positive cases is way above. In the last 24 hours, we’ve had almost 30,000 confirmed new cases, and in the last seven days, more than 130,000 confirmed new cases. So, the direction of the travel is only going one way,” he warned.

Current Plan B rules for England include Covid passes for certain events, face-masks in more places and people being urged to work from home if they can.

Other parts of the United Kingdom have similar rules in place, but Scotland has gone further by asking people to limit social contact to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas. Wales has also ordered nightclubs to close post-Christmas from December 27.

SL Navy arrests 43 Indian fishermen for poaching

UK Brexit minister quits warning against ‘coercive’ COVID measures

C O LO M B O, D E C 1 9 (PTI): The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 43 Indian fishermen and seized six trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country’s territorial waters, an official statement said on Sunday.

The Navy arrested the fishermen in seas Southeast of the Delft Island in Jaffna on Saturday.

“A special operation conducted by the Navy in seas Southeast of the Delft Island, Jaffna on the night of 18th December 2021, led to seizure of 6 Indian fishing trawlers poaching in Sri Lankan waters, with 43 Indian fishermen aboard,” the Navy said in a statement.

The arrests were made by the Fast Attack Craft of the 04th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla (4 FAF) attached to the Northern Naval Command, it said, adding that the operation was carried out while adhering to the COVID-19 protocols.

Arrangements are being made to hand them over to relevant authorities for legal action after conducting Rapid Antigen Tests of the apprehended Indian fishermen, it said.

LONDON, DEC 19 (PTI): Brexit minister, Lord David Frost, has resigned as the man in charge of overseeing matters related to Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) amid opposition to “coercive” lockdown restrictions due to a surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Lord Frost, who led the UK’s negotiations over the EU Withdrawal Agreement and has carried on talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol that governs arrangements between EU member-state Ireland and UK’s Northern Ireland, handed in his letter of resignation to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday.

The letter reveals that a plan for him to leave the post in the New Year was already agreed between them but that was brought forward after the ‘Mail on Sunday’ reported on his exit.

“We agreed earlier this month that I would move on in January and hand over the baton to others to manage our future relationship with the EU. It is disappointing that this

MANILA, DEC 19 (AP): The governor of an island province in the central Philippines said Sunday at least 72 people died in the devastation wrought

by Typhoon Rai in more than half of the towns that managed to contact him, bringing the death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the country this year to at least 146.

Gov. Arthur Yap of Bohol province said 10 others were missing and 13 injured, and suggested the fatalities may still considerably increase with only 33 out of 48 mayors able to report back to him due to downed communications.

Officials were trying to confirm a sizable number of deaths caused by landslides and extensive flooding elsewhere.

In statements posted on Facebook, Yap ordered mayors in his province of more than 1.2 million peo-

People at the sight of the blast in Karachi.

gesting that the blast might be linked to terrorism.

Another victim of Karachi’s Shershah blast suc-

Lord David Frost

plan has become public this evening and in the circumstances I think it is right for me to write to step down with immediate effect,” reads Lord Frost’s resignation letter.

“Brexit is now secure.

The challenge for the Government now is to deliver on the opportunities it gives us. You know my concerns about the current direction of travel. I hope we will move as fast as possible to where we need to get to: a lightly regulated, lowtax, entrepreneurial economy, at the cutting edge of modern science and economic change,” he writes.

With reference to media reports of his opposition to the increasing lockdown curbs related to

Typhoon deaths in Philippines top 100, mayors plead for food

A woman walks past clothes that are left to dry on toppled trees due to Typhoon Rai in Talisay. (AP/PTI)

ple to invoke their emergency powers to secure food packs for large numbers of people along with drinking water.

Both have been urgently sought in several hard-hit towns.

After joining a military aerial survey of typhoon-ravaged towns, Yap said “it is very clear that the damage sustained by Bohol is great and all-en-

compassing.”

He said the initial inspection did not cover four towns, where the typhoon blew in as it rampaged through central island provinces on Thursday and Friday.

The government said about 780,000 people were affected, including more than 300,000 residents who had to evacuate their homes.

Death toll in Pakistan’s Karachi blast climbs to 17 K A R AC H I , D E C 1 9 (PTI): The death toll in the powerful blast that ripped through a building of a private bank in Pakistan’s financial capital of Karachi has gone up to 17 after another injured person died at a hospital on Sunday.

The blast took place in a gas pipeline running through a sewage drain on Saturday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 15 others while causing immense damage to the building constructed atop the drain, a spokesperson for the Karachi Police said.

The spokesperson said that there was no lead sug-

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INTERNATIONAL

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

cumbed to his injuries at a hospital Sunday morning, pushing the death toll from the explosion to 17, Geo

News reported.

The dead also included the father of Alamgir Khan, a member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf party.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a tweet: “My heartfelt prayers [and] condolences go to all the families of victims of the twin blasts at Sher Shah Paracha Chowk, Karachi. I am especially saddened to hear of the loss of our MNA Alamgir Khan’s father who also perished in the blast. May Allah give him the strength to bear this loss.”

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed the commissioner Karachi to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report over its findings, a spokesperson of the chief minister said.

“Police officers should be included in the inquiry so that all aspects [of the blast] can be investigated, “ the chief minister said.

The explosion occurred a day before Pakistan was hosting the 17th extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign minister in Islamabad to tackle the situation in Afghanistan.

At least 64 other typhoon deaths were reported by the disaster-response agency, the national police and local officials. Most were hit by falling trees and collapsed walls, drowned in flash floods or were buried in landslides.

Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the southeastern provinces first pounded by the typhoon, separately reported 10 deaths just from a few towns, bringing the overall fatalities so far to 146.

President Rodrigo Duterte flew to the region Saturday and promised 2 billion pesos ($40 million) in aid.

He met officials in Maasin City in Southern Leyte province where he was born. Duterte’s family later relocated to the southern city of Davao, where he served as a longtime mayor before rising to the presidency.

“The moment I was born into this world, I told my mother, `Let’s not stay here because this place is really prone to typhoons,’” Duterte told officials.

At its strongest, the typhoon packed sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 270 kph (168 mph), making it one of the most powerful in recent years to hit the disasterprone archipelago, which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. Floodwaters rose rapidly in Bohol’s riverside town of Loboc, where residents were trapped on their roofs and in trees.

They were rescued by the coast guard the following day.

On Dinagat Islands, an official said the roofs of nearly all the houses, including emergency shelters, were either damaged or blown away entirely.

COVID-19, the letter adds: “We also need to learn to live with COVID and I know that is your instinct too. You took a brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again.

“Sadly it did not prove to be irreversible, as I wished, and believe you did too. I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”

The resignation adds to a building tide against Boris Johnson’s leadership at Downing Street, coming in the wake of nearly 100 parliamentarians rebelling against the government’s COVID Plan B in Parliament earlier this week.

Under the measures, which were passed with the help of the Opposition Labour Party’s backing, face masks are compulsory in indoor settings and large venues must check for full vaccination status before allowing entry. There is also growing speculation of a Plan C in the works to further tighten restrictions in an effort to tackle the Omicron spread.

Kim Jong-un’s sister reportedly promoted SEOUL, DEC 19 (IANS): Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister, is believed to have been promoted to a higher official position, according to a state media report.

In Saturday’s report on a memorial event for late former leader Kim Jongil held the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) listed Kim Yo-jong alongside members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party as having attended the ceremony. Kim Yo-jong was listed between eight sitting members of the Political Bureau and other alternate members, suggesting she may have been named a member or an alternate member of the organ, Yonhap news Agency quoted KCNA as saying.

Imran Khan asks US to delink Afghan citizens from Taliban NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the US to delink the 40 million Afghan citizens from the Taliban and take urgent action to send humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country, Samaa TV reported.

He made the remarks while addressing the extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Imran Khan

He said that the last extraordinary session of the OIC was called to discuss Afghanistan 41 years ago.

Khan opined that if the world doesn’t act now, Afghanistan will be the big-

gest man-made crisis.

“If foreign aid dries up, foreign reserves are frozen, the banking system freezes, any country would collapse, let alone Afghanistan.”

He said that the US has set conditions of human rights, women rights and inclusive government before foreign aid flows to Afghanistan. “Every society’s idea of human rights and women’s rights are different.

When we are talking about human and women rights, we have to be sensitive of cultures.”

Hamtramck will become first Hong Kong votes for legislature with only loyalists approved city in US with all-Muslim govt NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (IANS): Hamtramck will become the first known city in the US with a government made up entirely of Muslims, according to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which says it has no record of any other such administration, CNN reported.

In the 99 years since its incorporation, every mayor of Hamtramck has been Polish American. That ends January 2, in Hamtramck’s centenary year, when Amer Ghalib will be inaugurated, along with an entirely Muslim city council.

For decades, HamK Y M C

tramck was known as Michigan’s “Little Warsaw,” a city of just two square miles of tightly-packed houses and factories, spitting distance from downtown Detroit.

Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla visited once, back in 1969, before he became Pope John Paul II. A statue of Wojtyla, arms outstretched, still casts a shadow over what’s now called Pope Park, where a huge mural of Polish folk dancers stretches almost an entire city block, CNN reported.

Mayor-elect Ghalib was born in Yemen and

came to the United States alone as a young man, with a smattering of broken English and little else. He’s now 42, works in the medical field and is studying to become a doctor.

Hamtramck’s heyday had apparently passed. The city was decaying. Many factories had closed. Many second and third-generation Polish Americans had moved to the Detroit suburbs and beyond in the past two decades. Immigrants, largely from Yemen and Bangladesh, took their place and Hamtramck, locals say, is now majority Muslim, CNN reported.

HONG KONG, DEC 19 (AP): Hong Kong was voting Sunday in the first election since Beijing amended the laws to reduce the number of directly elected lawmakers and vet candidates to ensure that only those loyal to China can run.

The semi-autono mous territory was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019, but they were crushed by security forces, followed by the imposition of a sweeping national security law that silenced most of the city’s opposition activists and led others to flee abroad.

L ow t u r n o u t wa s widely expected, and seven hours after voting began,

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam poses as she casts her ballot at a polling station, Sunday. (AP)

some 839,563 registered voters, or 18.77%, had cast their ballots.

Warton Leung, who did not intend to vote in Sunday’s election, said

that the lack of choice in candidates dampened enthusiasm for voting.

“Although there is a chance to vote for proestablishment and democ-

racy candidates, there are few democratic choices, so Hong Kong people do not feel enthusiastic when it comes to voting,” he said.

Others, such as Yu Wai-kwan, saw the election as a chance to vote for a better Hong Kong.

“I am voting to choose a new bunch of people to make Hong Kong a better place,” Yu said.

“I am a patriot, and I just hope for peace and quiet, and to have a good livelihood.”

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam visited a polling station Sunday morning and said she had “no particular expectation” about the turnout. “I would

say that the government has not set any target for voter turnout rate, not for this election, not for previous elections, because there is a combination of factors that will affect the voter turnout rate in any election,” she said.

Three protesters from the League of Social Democrats staged a small demonstration across the street from the polling station, chanting “I want real universal suffrage.” Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Minister Erick Tsang warned that foreign forces may be attempting to undermine the elections after overseas activists urged a boycott of the vote.

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INFOTAINMENT

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Infinity NxT grand finale held

The 5 artistes who were selected for the programme and who successfully completed the program. (L–R): Joshua Shohe, Temsu Clover, Rylo, Sarah Yepthomi, Nikato Tamang.

I

nfinity NxT Showcase - the grand finale of the Infinity NxT programme was held on December 18, 2021 at Hotel Lake Shilloi, Dimapur.

The evening began with CEO of Infinity I n c. , A s a l i e Pe s e y i e, delivering the introductory speech. Asalie expressed his gratitude to TaFMA and the government of Nagaland for supporting

t h e p r o g r a m m e, t h e mentors for sharing their t i m e, k n ow l e d ge a n d experiences and the 5 young artistes who successfully completed the programme.

Asalie briefly explained the concept of the programme and what it’s aims and objectives were; creating the next generation of stars.

The 5 young artistes then took the stage, each

performing their original song which they had written and composed as one of the many projects they had to execute during the programme.

The programme concluded with the distribution of the certificates to the 5 artistes for successfully completing t h e p r o g r a m m e. N i s e Meruno who was one of the specialist mentors,

handed out the certificates to the artists.

Infinity NxT is an artist development programme, conceptualised and managed by Infinity Inc. and powered by Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA).

The aim of Infinity NxT is to provide all round development to the young upcoming artistes of Nagaland to propel them to the next level.

Mentors held workshops along the course of the programme on different subjects such as music production, song writing, styling, marketing and branding, performance, videography and much more.

The chief mentors of Infinity NxT were Asalie Peseyie, Kekhrie Ringa and DJ Ina. The specialist mentors were some of the biggest names in the music industr y, Alobo Naga, Nise Meruno, Mar Jamir, Angelina Pongener, Kevi Pucho, Sesi Yhoshü Dimasha and Yanpvuo Kikon were all part of the programme as they held workshops in their field of expertise.

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

De Operettas Music Institute Kohima hold 2nd annual recital

(L) Students and teachers of De Operettas Music Institute during its second annual recital in RCEMPA on Saturday. (R) Ajeen Longchari Sucha addressing the second annual recital of De Operettas Music Institute Kohima in RCEMPA on Saturday.

D

e Operettas Music Institute Kohima held its second annual recital, culminating the 2021 session of the institute on December 18 at RCEMPA Jotsoma.

Managing director of the institute, Surhuveyi Tetseo, informed that the students performed 27 varieties of items during the recital. For 2021 session, total of 74 students were enrolled a l o n g w i t h 1 0 mu s i c teachers. Meanwhile, the admission for next year session will start from January 11 onwards, he added.

Master of music in Vocal Pedagogy, Ajeen Longchari Sucha graced

the recital as special guest.

In her address, she said the recital are platform for children to exercise their ability of a yearround learning. “It is a time to perform as artist in confidence and exhibits the lessons to them by the teachers”, she added.

Sucha congratulated the institute for moulding the students in the right direction and added that she was inspired and impressed to see the outcome from the institute.

She expressed confidence that the institute would grow in the days to come.

To the teachers, she encouraged that their hard work bore fruit which is evident in the recital, but

said that should not stop there.

Saying that the growth in both teachers and students are important, the special guest encouraged practice culture, which needs to be improved in the Naga society. “We need to build quality, sincere and hardworking musician in our land”, she added.

She further urged all the performers to take a serious thoughts about “originality”. On this note, she encouraged them to write songs and translate songs in their own style.

These past few years has brought a lot of changes in the music world of Nagaland, she

remarked that it is now time to bring in some originals in the music.

She also pointed out that the most important thing a musician must remember is “who created music and for what?”.

She went on to reply that God created music for His glory and for man to worship Him. ‘Therefore, musicians must remember that music belongs to God and we are to use it for His glorification’, she stated.

She also warned parents of beware of what their children are singing or listening, saying that “not all music out of are good”.

Earlier, the recital was led by Avinuo Khoubve and Vetho Ringa.

Brit Awards: Adele, Ed Sheeran, Dave, Little Simz lead nominations Queen lead guitarist Brian May tests positive for Covid T

Contest winners” received nods for international group and song of the year.

The awards courted controversy this fall after revealing plans to drop gendered categories and institute just single best British ar tist and best international artist awards.

The r ule change prompted concerns that

female artists, many of whom are already at a disadvantage in a maledominated industry, are more likely to miss out on awards.

For two consecutive years, the best song category, which is chosen from a shortlist of 10 nominees, has only fielded one female lead artist on a track: Dua

Lipa in 2021 and Mabel in 2020. And in 2020, two supposedly gender neutral award categories “best group and best album” didn’t nominate a single female artist.

One vocal critic for the move was Queen’s Brian May, who said the decision had been “made without a lot of thought.”

“I don’t know what the long-term consequences are,” May said. “A lot of things work quite well and can be left alone. I think some things need to go back.”

In a statement, Brit Awards organisers “under the new leadership of Polydor co-president Tom March” said the change was made to celebrate “artists solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them, as part of the Brits’ commitment to evolving the show to be as inclusive and as relevant as possible.”

Last year’s Brit Awards, held in May, were one of the first major live events to take place in Britain amid the pandemic, carried out as part of a government pilot project for live events.

This year’s awards will be held on February 8.

(IANS)

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rian May, the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen, has tested positive for Covid-19.

He shared the news on Instagram: “Yep. The shocking day finally came for me. The dreaded double red line. And yes - definitely NO sympathy please - it has been a truly horrible few days, but I’m OK.” “And I will tell the tale. PLEASE take extra care out there, good folks.

This thing is incredibly transmissible. You really do NOT want it messing up YOUR Christmas. With love - Bri.” He also posted a photo of his test result, variety. com reported.

The news comes as the number of Covid cases continue to rise. The new variant of the virus, Omicron, continues to

‘Spider-man’ mania sets opening-day ‘Drive My Car’ continues its winning spree, named best film by LA film critics pandemic record for theaters

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as his girlfriend, MJ. The movie is playing exclusively in theaters.

The film’s early success was welcome news for cinema chains, including AMC Entertainment Holdings(AMC.N), Cinemark (CNK.N) and Cineworld’s Regal chain.

Cinemark said “No Way Home” delivered its biggest opening night sales of all time.

Shares of AMC, a socalled meme stock favorite among retail investors, jumped 23.5% to $30.19 in an active trading session on Friday. Shares of Cinemark rose 2.9% at $16.63.

The returns show that the film is drawing many moviegoers for the first time during the pandemic, even with the spread of the new Omicron variant, said Shawn Robbins, chief

analyst with BoxOfficePro. com.

“This is also an example of having the right content at the right time with the holiday corridor beginning full swing,” he said.

Robbins predicted “No Way Home” will finish the weekend between $190 million to $240 million at domestic theaters.

The biggest opening of the pandemic so far was superhero film “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which took in $90 million domestically over its first three days in October. “ N o Way H o m e ” received a glowing reception from movie critics. As of Friday, 95% of 220 reviews were scored as positive on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

(Reuters)

a c h i e v e m e n t aw a r d .

This year’s winners will be honoured alongside Brooks at a ceremony in 2022.

Last year, LAFCA named director Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’

and television shows also continue following Covid safety protocols.

Brian May co-founded Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercur y and drummer Roger Taylor, and helped write some of their most anthemic songs including ‘We will rock you’ ‘Hammer to Fall’, ‘ W h o Wa n t s t o L ive Forever’ and ‘I Want It All’.

(IANS)

Happy 75th Birthday “She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Proverbs 3:15

best picture, according to ‘Variety’. Chloe Zhao won best director for ‘Nomadland’, which went on to earn her two Academy Awards, for best director and best picture.

(IANS)

Ao STUDenTS' UnIon DIMAPUr FeLIcITATIon

dp-6064/21

“S

pider-man: No Way Home” took in $50 million at U.S. and Canadian movie theaters on Thursday, the third-highest total for preview showings ahead of what is expected to be a massive weekend at cinemas that have struggled through the pandemic.

T h e o p e n i n g d ay sales set a record for the COVID-19 era. Box office a n a ly s t s p r e d i c t t o t a l domestic receipts for “No Way Home” through the weekend could reach as high as $240 million, which would land it in the top five movie debuts of all time.

The big-budget superhero movie coproduced by Sony Corp (6758.T) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) stars Tom Holland as the web-slinging superhero and Zendaya

he Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has named Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s breakout drama ‘Drive My Car’ as the best film of the year, with Jane Campion’s ‘The Power of the Dog’ taking the runner-up slot.

LAFCA announced its list of best achievements in film in 2021 through its Twitter account. In the best director category, LAFCA flipped the ranking, placing Campion ahead of Hamaguchi, who was voted the runner-up, reports ‘Variety’.

With its best film win, ‘Drive My Car’ has become one of 14 films to win the top prize from the LAFCA and New York Film Critics Circle. Each of these films has gone on to become a best picture nominee for the Oscars.

Other big winners included Simon Rex in ‘Red Rocket’ for best actor, Penélope Cruz in ‘Parallel Mothers’ for best actress and Ariana DeBose in ‘West Side Story’ for best supporting actress.

The honour of being best supporting actor was shared by Vincent Lindon for ‘Titane’ and Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee for ‘The Power of the Dog’, who recently also won the same title at the 2021 New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Mel Brooks received LAFCA’s 2021 career

push the daily caseload to a new pandemic record.

On Thursday, more than 88,376 Covid cases were confirmed in the UK, with over 11,000 cases of Omicron identified.

Yet, without official g ove r n m e n t g u i d a n c e asking businesses to close, cinemas and live theaters remain open and, as was the case throughout much of the pandemic, production of movies

The Ao Students' Union Dimapur would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Miss Matsunginla Imsong for being appointed as the Deputy Speaker of Dimapur Naga Students' Union for the tenure 2021-2023.

ASUD wishes her continued success as she ventures ahead.

Temsukaba Aier T. Lanuwapang President General Secretary

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he Brit Awards, one of Britain’s biggest music events, have unveiled their 2022 nominees, with the likes of ABBA, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Måneskin and Olivia Rodrigo up for awards.

Adele and Ed Sheeran picked up four nominations each with both getting nods for album of the year, artist of the year, best pop/R&B act and song of the year. Also scoring four nominations were British rapper Dave (album and artist of the year, best hip hop/rap/grime act and song of the year) and British singer-rapper Little Simz, reports variety.com.

‘Good 4 U’ singer Olivia Rodrigo has been nominated for international artist and song of the year awards, while ABBA is up for international group of the year and Italian glam rock band Maneskin “the 2021 Eurovision Song

~Mrs Vikhuli Achumi~ Standing on the promise of prayers You are truly a gift from God to us.

From your loving husband, children, in-laws, grandchildren and great grand children.

K Y M C

SPORTS

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Aus in control of 2nd Test; need six wkts to win

ADELAIDE, DEC 19 (IANS): Australia maintained their firm control on the second Ashes Test, taking out four England wickets before the fourth day of the second day ended at the Adelaide Oval.

After half-centuries from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne enabled the hosts to declare with a lead of 467 runs, Australia then took out England’s top four, including captain Joe Root on the final ball of the day to leave the visitors at 82/4 in 43.2 overs.

With day five left, Australia now need six wickets to go 2-0 up in the five-match series while England need to bat three sessions to save the match.

After setting a target of 468 for England, Australia took only 12 balls to take out the first wicket. Haseeb Hameed fell for a duck, gloving a ball behind to keeper Alex Carey that bounced off a length from Jhye Richardson.

Rory Burns and Dawid Malan survived till tea break and 40 minutes after the interval, Nathan Lyon got one to turn away and take the outer edge of Malan’s bat, to be put down

by Steve Smith at first slip.

But in the next over, Malan couldn’t make the most

England’s Joe Root, right, falls to the ground after he is struck by a delivery from Mitchell Starc during the fourth day of the 2nd Ashes cricket test match in Adelaide. (AP/PTI)

of the dropped chance, trapped lbw on the front pad by Michael Neser, and burnt a review as well, ending the 44-run stand for the second wicket.

Burns, looking comfortable for the first time in the series, was given out caught behind against Cameron Green but got to change the decision as the ball flicked his back leg on the way to keeper Alex Carey. But Richardson, who troubled the opener with cross-seam deliveries, came back to take out

Burns for a fighting 34, nicking to Smith for a low catch at second slip.

Joe Root and Ben Stokes fought hard to survive till stumps but a blow to the abdomen, where he was hit during the practice session before the start of the day, caused Root a lot of discomfort. After the blow, Root wasn’t moving well and nicked behind to Carey off Starc at the stroke of stumps.

Earlier, Head and Labuschagne notched up half-centuries to help Aus-

tralia recover from 55/4 to reach 230/9 and swelling the lead beyond 450 in the process. The start of the day wasn’t rosy for the hosts. In an action-packed first session, England bossed the first half while Australia took charge in the second hour.

Resuming from an overnight score of 54/1, nightwatchman Neser was nearly run out on the first ball of the day. In the next over, Neser was bowled through the gate by James Anderson getting one to

La Liga: Sevilla beat Atletico Madrid 2-1

M A D R I D, D E C 1 9 (IANS): Sevilla kept themselves in the race for the La Liga title thanks to a late goal from Lucas Ocampos which gave them a 2-1 win at home to Atletico Madrid.

The win on Saturday night leaves Sevilla five points behind league leaders Real Madrid, who play away to Cadiz later on Sunday.

Sevilla took the lead through a powerful shot from Ivan Rakitic and were in control until Felipe headed home from a corner 12 minutes before halftime.

Atletico lost Manuel Llorente through another muscle injury before the break, but despite losing a key player, Atletico improved and looked as if they could take at least a point until Ocampos scored from close range with just three minutes to go.

Barca coach Xavi Hernandez again showed his faith in youth, but handing a debut to B-team mid-

Lucas Ocampos of Sevilla celebrates after scoring their team’s second goal.

fielder Ferran Jutgla, while keeping Gavi and Abde Ezzalzouli in his starting 11, Xinhua reports. That faith was rewarded when Ferran headed in the opening goal from a corner in the 16th minute, before Gavi worked space to fire home his first goal for the club three minutes later as their side totally dominated the first half.

Elche fought back in the second half, as Barca suffered another dip in intensity and two goals from

substitutes Tete Moriente and Pere Milla in the 62nd and 63rd minutes levelled the score before Nico Gonzalez (another teenager) netted a vital winner for Xavi Hernandez’s side.

Rayo Vallecano remain in the battle for Europe and moved above Atletico into fourth place, after their steamrolling 2-0 win at home to Alaves thanks to first half goals from Sergi Guardiola and Catena. The team from the south of Madrid have

won eight and drawn two of their last home games, while the defeat ends a miserable week for Alaves, who were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by lower league Linares on Tuesday (December 14).

Villarreal’s season seems to be recovering, while Real Sociedad’s league campaign continues to fall apart as they suffered their fourth defeat in five matches in the Anoeta Stadium, going down 3-1 to former player, Unai Emery’s side.

The game was level at the break after Gerard Moreno had levelled for Villarreal after Alexander Isak’s opener for Real Sociedad. However, everything changed when Mikel Oyarzabal was sent off for a bad challenge on Yeremy Pino.

Moreno headed Villarreal ahead from a corner in the 68th minute and Samuel Chukwueze rounded off a good day for the visitors with a goal on the break in the sixth minute of injury time.

jag back in.

England got their second wicket in just three balls as Stuart Broad extracted a thick outside edge from Marcus Harris’ bat and keeper Jos Buttler took a flying one-handed screamer of a catch to his left. Broad almost had Smith dismissed for a golden duck if not for Buttler dropping the catch to his right.

On the very next ball, Broad rapped Smith on the pads, which was adjudged not out. England took the DRS but Smith survived as replays showed impact as umpire’s call. But the Australia captain couldn’t make the most of the twin lives as he gloved behind to a diving Buttler off Robinson.

Head and Labuschagne stitched a counterattacking partnership for the fifth wicket to ensure Australia didn’t lose any other wicket in a see-saw session. Head was the more aggressive of the two, striking boundaries while Labuschagne took his time to get going.

Post dinner, Head began by smashing past Chris Woakes for four and then pulled for two through mid-wicket to bring up a half-century at his home

ground. But in the next over, Head went for a pull against Robinson, only for a brilliant diving effort from Stokes at deep mid-wicket to send the left-hander back to the pavilion.

Labuschagne continued to march and reached his half-century with a single through square-leg off Robinson for the second time in the match. But in the next over, Labuschagne fell as he slog-swept straight to deep mid-wicket off Malan.

An arm ball from Root saw Carey chop onto his stumps. Richardson and Starc slammed a six each but when the duo got out in successive overs, Australia declared their innings for the second time in the match, ending England’s agony on the field, only to pile more pain by the time stumps arrived.

Brief Scores: Australia 473/9 dec in 150.4 overs and 230/9 dec in 61 overs (Travis Head 51, Marnus Labuschagne 51, Joe Root 2/27, Dawid Malan 2/33) against England 236 all out in 84.1 overs and 20/1 in eight overs (Rory Burns 34, Joe Root 24, Jhye Richardson 2/17), England need 386 runs to win.

11 EPL clubs to meet as Covid wreaks havoc with fixtures

LO N D O N, D E C 1 9 (IANS): The Premier League clubs are expected to meet on Monday to discuss whether or not the competition should continue or take a break after a weekend in which six of the 10 scheduled matches have had to be postponed due to outbreaks of Covid-19 at several clubs.

Saturday’s match between Burnley and Aston Villa was the latest to fall victim to the virus and was cancelled just two-and-ahalf hours before the scheduled kick off after further cases of the virus among the visitors’ squad.

“After reviewing all the new information provided

by Aston Villa this morning and receiving separate medical advice, the board approved the request as a result of the club not having enough players to field a team. This decision was based on the number of Covid-19 cases, injuries and illness,” explained a statement issued by the Premier League.

Matches between Manchester United and Brighton, Southampton and Brentford, Watford and Crystal Palace, West Ham and Norwich and Everton and Leicester had all previ-

ously fallen by the wayside because of outbreaks at various clubs. Meanwhile the matches between Newcastle United and Manchester City, Wolves and Chelsea, as well as Tottenham and Liverpool are still scheduled for Sunday, although with Liverpool and Chelsea also reporting cases of Covid-19, there is still time for that to change, Xinhua reports. “The board assesses applications to postpone matches on a case-by-case basis, based on existing rules and Covid-19 postponement guidance issued to all clubs.”

“It will assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match. The board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club representatives may come into contact with,” said the Premier League, who added that new protocols, which include “more frequent testing, wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing and limiting treatment time,” have all introduced.

Indian team has first full training session; Dravid gives batting tips to Kohli

Covid-19: CSA postpones final practice match

CENTURION, DEC 19 (IANS): The Indian cricket team had its first full training session here in nearly a week as captain Virat Kohli and head coach Rahul Dravid marshalled their players at the SuperSport Park, with the latter giving tips to key batters.

India will take on hosts South Africa in a three-Test series beginning here on December 26 (Boxing Day), hoping to clinch their maiden series win in the longest format of the game here. But with no warm-up game slotted due to the tight schedule, the team will have to quickly adapt to the pitches and also acclimatise to the altitude. The venue is at a height if 1400 metres.

On Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of Team India being escorted in two buses by police vehicles to SuperSport Park, where they were seen being led by Dravid

Rahul Dravid sharing batting tips with Virat Kohli.

and Kohli onto the ground followed by Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday.

The team had a warmup session where they did a bit of jogging and stretching before getting down to business. Kohli was seen receiving batting tips from Dravid, with pacer Jasprit Bumrah -- returning to play Test cricket after being rested for the two-Test series against New Zealand -- going full tilt at the nets.

Mohd Shami, Ashwin and veteran pacer Ishant Sharma too bowled at the nets, with the skipper fi-

nally leaving the ground after the session, giving a thumbs up to the players as he hastily made his way out with a huge kit bag lugged on his back.

Posting the video, the Indian cricket board tweeted, “Getting Testmatch ready. Snippets from #TeamIndia’s first practice session ahead of the first #SAvIND Test.”

O n S a t u r d ay, t h e BCCI had posted a video of the players going for a light workout, which included a game of foot volley.

JOHANNESBURG, DEC 19 (IANS): Ahead of the Test series against India, Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Sunday postponed the final round of matches in the four-day franchise series due to rising Covid-19 cases in the country. The CSA four-day franchise series, South Africa’s premier domestic competition, will be rescheduled for 2022.

Pholetsi Moseki, CSA’s acting CEO said that Sunday’s four fixtures had been postponed as a safeguarding measure in light of rising Covid-19 cases in the country over the past few weeks, an ESPNcricinfo report said.

“Ultimately these games being played outside a biosecure environment made it difficult for us to continue with them,” Moseki added.

Notably, this is the third group of matches that have been pushed back after Division 2 fixtures between December 2 and 5, and between December 16 and 19 were also postponed.

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder India thrash Japan 6-0 in Asian Champions Trophy Hockey beat Los Angeles Clippers

Gilgeous-Alexander (right) scored 18 points in the Thunder’s victory over LA Clippers.

OKLAHOMA, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned a dramatic win for the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets were beaten, reports BBC Sports.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Thunder a 104-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Warriors, playing a fifth game in eight days, were without Stephen Curry as they suffered a 119-100 defeat by the Toronto Raptors.

A weakened Nets K Y M C

were beaten 100-93 by the Orlando Magic.

The Eastern Conference leaders had 10 players in the Covid-19 health and safety protocol, with rookie Day’Ron Sharpe being ruled out for Covidrelated reasons just before the game.

Kevin Durant was going to be rested against the Magic but he was also sidelined under NBA health and safety protocols.

Orlando let a 17-point lead slip but eventually won to stop a seven-game losing streak.

The Warriors - second in the Western Conference

- rested Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr as they had been sent home by coach Steve Kerr and Toronto capitalised to secure a home win.

Fred VanVleet scored a game-high 27 points for the Raptors, whose game against Chicago Bulls on Thursday had been postponed for Covid reasons.

Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons suffered a 14th consecutive defeat as they were beaten 116-107 by the Houston Rockets, while the Boston Celtics earned a 114-107 victory over the New York Knicks.

DHAKA, DEC 19 (PTI): Defending champions India crushed Japan 6-0 to remain unbeaten in the round-robin stage of the Asian Champions Trophy men’s hockey tournament on Sunday.

Harmanpreet Singh (10th and 53rd minute) scored a brace, while Dilpreet Singh (23rd), Jaramnpreet Singh (34th), Sumit (46th) and Shamsher Singh (54th) also registered their names on the scoresheet for India at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium.

India, who have already sealed a semifinal berth, ended the round-robin stage of the five-nation tournament at the top of the standings with 10 points, ahead of Korea (6), Japan (5), Pakistan (2) and hosts Bangladesh (0).

India end the group stage of the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Dhaka 2021 with a BANG! •A clean sheet & a six… https://t.co/3QqMs7UVau — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) 1639912716000 This was India’s third win on the trot. Held to a draw by Korea in their lung-opener, the Manpreet Singh-led side turned things around defeating Bangladesh 9-0, while also getting the better of arch-rivals Pak-

Indian players celebrate a goal against Japan in the round-robin stage of the Asian Champions Trophy men’s hockey tournament in Bangladesh on Sunday.

istan before easily overcoming the Japanese challenge.

India’s semifinal opponent was yet to be decided.

The dominant victory will be a huge boost for India as they head into the business end of the tournament full of confidence.

They completely outperformed Japan, the Asian Games gold medallists, in all departments. India dominated the first half.

They earned two back-toback penalty corners within the first six minutes of the first quarter but were unable

to convert either. Soon after Japan also wasted a penalty corner as their striker fired the shot wide.

India kept on attacking and received another PC, this time Hardik Singh injecting the ball to perfection for Harmanpreet to flick it home and give the holders a 1-0 lead.

The scoreline could have been 2-0 towards the end of the first quarter had veteran Lalit Upadhyay not missed a sitter. Just after the five-minute mark in the second quarter, Japan were

handed a PC, India referred the decision but the TV umpire found no conclusive evidence to deny Japan.

In the 23rd minute, the trio of Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Dilpreet combined well as Dilpreet doubled India’s lead.

Japan, too, attacked but the Indian defence foiled their attempts as the Olympic bronze medallists headed into the break with a two-goal lead.

Japan began the second half on the offensive but it was India who scored

their third goal courtesy Jaramanpreet’s clean strike.

A crucial PC coming their way in the 36th minute, Japan looked to capitalise on the chance but India keeper Suraj Karkera, who shone in the absence of regular custodian P Sreejesh, pulled off a superb save to deny them.

Japan tried to up the ante as they attacked in numbers. With India a man down, Japan looked to create an opportunity with Kenta Tanaka breaking the Indian defence with a solo run, but, once again, Karkera foiled the attack.

Japan continued to test the Indian defence but the backline stood tall.

India inflicted further pain on Japan as Sumit scored in the first minute of the final quarter. Harmanpreet then made it 5-0 by smashing the ball in the top right corner of the goalpost for his second of the match.

Two minutes later -- juniors Shamsher and Shilanand -- combined beautifully as the former scored India’s sixth goal. Japan tried their best to score but were unable to penetrate the Indian defence. Such was India’s dominance that they defended all five penalty corners awarded to their opponents.

K Y M C

12

World Badminton C’ships: India gets silver and bronze

From left, silver medalist India’s Kidambi Srikanth, gold medalist Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, bronze medalist Denmark’s Anders Antonsen and bronze medalist India’s Lakshya Sen pose on the podium. (AP/PTI)

HUELVA (SPAIN), DEC 19 (PTI): Kidambi Srikanth’s fine run in the BWF World badminton Championship ended with a silver-medal finish after he lost the men’s singles summit clash to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in straight games here on Sunday.

Srikanth went down 15-21, 20-22 in 43 minutes.

Former world num-

ber one Srikanth lost the first game after leading 9-3, as his opponent from Singapore staged a fine comeback.

The Indian lost the first game in just 16 minutes.

Srikanth fought better in the second game but Yew was too good on the day, emerging the winner.

The 24-year-old Yew stunned world number

Senior National Hockey: Top four teams to vie for final berths PUNE, DEC 19 (IANS): Top four teams -- Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Punjab -- will battle it out for a place in the final of the Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship, here on Monday. The first semifinal will witness Uttar Pradesh Hockey taking on Hockey Karnataka. Both teams are coming off hardfought wins. Uttar Pradesh Hockey edged past Hockey Haryana 2-1 in the quarterfinal on Saturday.

Speaking about their semifinal match, Uttar Pradesh Hockey coach Paramjeet Singh said, “The team is in good rhythm, and we are focused on maintaining it. It will be a challenging semifinal, but the boys are confident, and hopefully, we will do well to qualify for the final.” Their opponents Hockey Karnataka, who are currently the second-highest goal-scoring team in the tournament (35 goals) will look to capitalise on their fine run of form. Hockey

Karnataka coach Pradeep Kumar RP said that his team is expecting a tight match and they are prepared for it both mentally and physically.

“Firstly, Senior Nationals is not an easy tournament, every team has solid players, and of course, Uttar Pradesh Hockey is a strong team. We are expecting a tight match, anybody who makes mistakes will lose, and that’s how it is going to be on Monday. My boys are doing really well, they’ve improved match-by-match, and I think we are set for the semis. The boys are mentally prepared, and physically as well, they are in good shape,” he said.

In the second semifinal, Hockey Maharashtra will square off against Hockey Punjab. Hockey Maharashtra coach Edgar Joseph Mascarenhas said, “I always tell my boys to play till the final whistle, and have faith in themselves.

Our goalkeeper Akash Chikte is doing really well and he will be our key player.”

one and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the first round of the men’s singles event at the prestigious championship.

Nevertheless, Srikanth still etched his name in the history books by becoming the first Indian man to reach the finals of the championships after his come-from-behind win over compatriot Lakshya Sen on Saturday.

SPORTS Not satisfied with bronze, says Lakshya Sen NEW DELHI, DEC 19 (PTI): Not satisfied with a bronze medal in his maiden World Championships, Lakshya Sen has vowed to go for the gold next time, even as the young shuttler trains his eyes on the All England Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 20-year-old from Almora signed off with a creditable bronze after losing an extremely close semifinal 17-21 21-14 2117 to seasoned compatriot Kidambi Srikanth on Saturday.

“It has been a long tournament and it is difficult to take such a loss when you are so close. I, at least, got a bronze, but I am not happy. I’m not very satisfied with the performance in the semifinals,” Sen, who squandered a slender 15-13 lead in the decider, told PTI. “I played a lot of good matches, faced some tough opponents, even in the semifinal it was a close match, it could have gone in anybody’s favour. The medal is something to look forward to... next time I will go for the gold.” With this medal, Sen joined his mentor -- the legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983) and B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019) -- as the Indian medal winners at the showpiece.

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Yash Dhull to lead India in ICC SAFF U-19 Women’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 C’ship: India beat Nepal 1-0

MUMBAI, DEC 19 (IANS): Delhi lad Yash Dhull will lead the 17-member Indian squad in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 to be played in the West Indies from January 14 to February 5 across four host countries. SK Rasheed of Andhra Cricket Association will be Dhull’s deputy, the BCCI said in a statement on Sunday.

“The All-India Junior Selection Committee has picked India’s squad for the upcoming ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in the West Indies from January 14 to February 5, 2022 across four host countries. The 14th edition of the tournament will see 16 teams competing for the trophy in 48 matches,” the statement read.

India are the most successful team having won four titles in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018. India have also been runner-up in 2016 and in the previous edition of the tournament held in 2020 in New Zealand.

The format will see the top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the Super League while the remaining teams feature in the Plate across 23 days of competition.

India U19 are placed in

Yash Dhull

Group B. India U19 squad: Yash Dhull (Captain), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, SK Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dinesh Bana (WK), Aaradhya Yadav (WK), Raj Angad Bawa, Manav Parakh, Kaushal Tambe, RS Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, Vicky Ostwal, Ravikumar, Garv Sangwan Standby players: Rishit Reddy, Uday Saharan, Ansh Gosai, Amrit Raj Upadhyay, PM Singh Rathore.

India’s fixtures at ICC U19 World Cup 2022: India vs South Africa - January 15, Providence Stadium, Guyana (19:30), India vs Ireland - January 19, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago (19:30), India vs Uganda - January 22, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago (19:30).

DHAKA, DEC 19 (IANS): The Indian U-19 Women’s team progressed to the final of the 2021 SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship after defeating Nepal 1-0 in their last group stage match at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium, here on Sunday.

Priyanka Devi scored the match winning goal for India in the 66th minute. The final of the tournament will be played on Wednesday.

India head coach Alex Ambrose made two changes to his starting XI from their last game against Bangladesh - Nitu Linda and Lynda Kom coming in place of Kritina Devi and Santosh, respectively.

It was India, who seized the initiative early, but they failed to capitalise on their chances. Captain Shilky Devi floated a ball from the left in the 19th minute, passed it to Sumati who missed an open chance to find the back of the net.

India’s combination play threatened the Nepal backline from the start. A ball was played over the top and Lynda Kom chased it down in the 25’ minute. She put in a cross towards Sumati which was directed towards the goal but Nepal goalie Anjana saved it perfectly.

Nepal looked to strike back, but were struggling to create chances and keep possession in dangerous areas as the Indian team stood firm and forced them to go for long-range efforts, which were easily dealt with by Indian keeper Anshika.

In the 36th minute, Amisha Baxla went for a firsttime shot but failed to connect it properly, as the ball went over the bar.

The best opportunity India had in the game was on the 42nd minute when Priyangka Devi worked a freekick from the edge of the box to move the ball towards the centre as Shilky Devi laid it off for Priyangka Devi, who pulled the trigger, but was way off target.

The first half of the game was a rather quiet affair, with both teams creating many chances but failed to disturb the scorers.

Over 10 minutes into the second half, a corner was played in from the left by Mariyammal, which fell straight to Lynda Kom in the 6-yard box, but she failed to connect with her header and the ball rolled into the arms of Anjana again.

ISL: Kerala Blasters FC shock Mumbai City FC 3-0 Nadal ‘can’t guarantee’ his GOA, DEC 19 (AGENCIES): Kerala Blasters FC stunned high-flying league leaders Mumbai City FC 3-0 to register their second win of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season as centre-back Mourtada Fall was sent off for the Islanders at the PJN stadium in Margao, Goa on Sunday.

Sahal’s (27’) opened the scoring for the Blasters in the first half. Alvaro Vazquez (47’) then doubled the lead just after the restart.

Mumbai City FC then went down to ten men when Fall saw red (50’). Pereyra Diaz then converted from the spot to make it 3-0. The Blasters could have added to the score but managed to keep a clean sheet to inflict just the second defeat of the season on the Islanders.

Mumbai City FC started on the front foot and had a great chance to take the lead in the 5th minute when Igor Angulo’s header from a Mandar Rao Dessai cross was a rather tame one, allowing Prabhsukhan Gill to make an easy save.

S i x m i nu t e s l a t e r Vazquez tried his luck from

Alvaro Vazquez (left) celebrates after scoring Kerala’s second goal.

distance to catch Mohammad Nawaz off his line but the Mumbai City FC custodian recovered in time to push it away.

The Blasters disrupted Mumbai City FC’s passing rhythm with their incessant pressing and forced mistakes from the defending champions.

Ivan Vukomanovic’s side then managed to make one of their chances count in the 27th minute when Jorge Diaz who managed to get behind the Mumbai City FC defence and found Sahal with a cross.

But the Kerala Blasters FC youngster, who had a lot to

do, volleyed the cross past Nawaz emphatically to give the Blasters the lead.

Mumbai City FC tried to produce a sustained spell of pressure but the Blasters were able to thwart their efforts. Lalengmawia had a chance to equalise in the 39th minute but unlike Sahal at the other end, he skied his volley.

The Islanders grew a bit frustrated as the half wore on as the Blasters were able to preserve their lead going into half-time.

Ivan Vukomanovic’s side made a dream start to the second half when Vazquez doubled their ad-

vantage with a superb finish two minutes after the restart.

Mumbai City FC who were stunned by the Blasters’ quick start in the second half, invited more trouble when Fall fouled a Blasters player inside the box to concede a penalty and also collect a second yellow card.

Pereyra squeezed in his spot kick past Nawaz in the 51st minute to put the Blasters 3-0 up and completely in charge of the match against the ten men of Mumbai City FC. Des Buckingham responded with a double substitution bringing in Ygor Catatau and Hmingthanmawia and the Islanders regained their composure.

Bipin Singh missed a big chance to get his team on the scoresheet but instead of chipping the ball over the goalkeeper, panicked and shot over in the 65th minute.

Four minutes later, Mumbai City FC had another chance to score when Mehtab Singh rose the highest in the box but couldn’t keep his header on target.

participation at Aus Open

M A D R I D, D E C 1 9 (IANS): Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who made his comeback in an Abu Dhabi exhibition after four months on the sidelines due to injury, said he cannot guarantee he will make the trip to Melbourne for next month’s Australian Open.

Though the 20-time Grand Slam champion returned to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, he wasn’t at his absolute best and suffered two close defeats against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov at the exhibition event.

The 35-year old was knocked out at Roland Garros in the semi-finals and was forced to pull out of Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, and the US Open due to foot injury.

“The idea is to go there and try my best there in Australia...Being 100 percent honest, I can’t guarantee it. I need to speak with my team,” skysports.com

Rafael Nadal

quoted Nadal as saying.

“It’s been more than six months since the last real official match. Things are difficult and I accept that...

I was able to compete in both matches and even had my chances, so if we put that in perspective it’s a very positive thing.

“I went through this process, unfortunately, a lot of times in my tennis career but I need to practice and I need to be healthy enough to go through this process.

If that happens, I’m confident that I will be back,” he added.

Mark Waugh, Vaughan praise Footage of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai posted online Woods Jr’s golfing skills

Charlie Wood with his father Tiger Woods.

ORLANDO (FLORIDA), DEC 19 (IANS): Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh and his England counterpart Michael Vaughan have lavished praise of Tiger Woods’s 12-year-old son Charlie’s golfing skills.

The PGA Tour posted a video of Charlie, son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, in which he can be seen playing a tee shot with impeccable ease.

The video immediately

went viral, with the likes of Mark Waugh and former England skipper Vaughan appreciating the youngster’s skills.

Former Australian opener Waugh tweeted, “Fair to say he drives it better than his old man (Tiger Woods). (Man shrugging, Grimacing face emojis).”

Vaughan’s attention got divided while watching the second Ashes Test currently underway in Adelaide, and he tweeted his

appreciation for Charlie’s skills with the golfing club, saying, “Loved this video”.

Tiger Woods, who suffered serious injuries in a car accident in February this year, partnered his son Charlie at the PNC Championship currently underway in Orlando, Florida.

The 36-hole event sees a field of major champions play alongside their children or parents.

Team Woods ended the first round on 10-under, three shots off the lead.

“It just couldn’t get any better than that,” said Woods after he returned to competitive golf for the first time since the crash.

“It was awesome. It was a boatload of fun for all of us. Charlie and I had a great day playing with the Thomas family (Justin and his father Mike),” Woods said after the round.

Woods’ recovery from the accident is still ongoing. Last month, he posted a video of him practicing the swing, saying that he was “making progress”.

BEIJ ING, D EC 19 (AGENCIES): Fresh unverified footage of Peng Shuai was posted online by a state-affiliated journalist on Sunday as international concern persists for the Chinese tennis star after she publicly accused a former vice-premier of forcing her to have sex, reports The Times of India.

Qingqing Chen, a reporter for the state-owned Global Times, tweeted a video of Peng appearing to speak with Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming.

Chen said the video was sent to her by a “friend” and that it was taken at an event to promote cross-country skiing in Shanghai.

The seven-second clip shows the tennis player smiling and listening as Yao speaks indistinctly.

Chen also posted a photo of Peng posing with Yao and two other Chinese sports figures -- Olympic sailing champion Xu Lijia and retired table tennis player Wang Liqin.

The Shanghai stop of the cross-country ski tour took place on Saturday, according to the state-run CGTN news site.

Twitter is blocked in China and only people with a VPN-type workaround can access it.

However, many Chinese diplomats and official state media have accounts to defend China’s point of view.

A friend sent me this video showing Chinese tennis star player Peng Shuai talked with Yao Ming, one of the most bel… https://t. co/Pbd6sL4Hyh — Qingqing_ Chen (@qingqingparis) 1639895129000 Peng, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, took to Chinese social media in early November to allege that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli -- who is in Photo of Peng Shuai speaking to Chinese basketball his 70s -- forced her into sex icon Yao Ming. during an on-off relationThe foursome were Skiing China City Tour” ship spanning several years.

H e r m e s s a ge wa s standing next to a banner with Shanghai’s Yangpu for the “FIS Cross-Country bridge in the background. quickly scr ubbed from

the Chinese web, but not before screenshots were posted on Twitter, sparking a worldwide outcry.

The Women’s Tennis Association has called for Peng’s allegations to be investigated fully and transparently.

The sporting body announced earlier this month that it was suspending all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, over concer ns about Peng’s safety.

State media have previously published other images of Peng at a Beijing tennis tournament as well as a screenshot of an email allegedly written by the player saying “everything is fine”.

Peng also participated in late November in a 30-minute video call with Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee.

But the WTA and fellow tennis players have continued to call for more transparency from Beijing over Peng’s whereabouts.

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