5 MAY 2023

Nagaland Post

As Manipur burns, Centre takes over security of State

Govt issues ‘shootat-sight’ order for ‘extreme cases’ 55 columns of AR, army deployed; RAF airlifted

IMPHAL, MAY 4 (AGENCIES): After violence and arson engulfed several districts of Manipur for days, indicating a clear failure on the part of the Biren Singhled government to take preventive measures, the Centre on Thursday promulgated Article 355 in Manipur to take charge of the security.

The order signed by the Governor of Manipur empowered the state’s magistrates to issue “shootat-sight orders in extreme cases whereby all forms of

State help line to evacuate people stranded in Manipur

DIMAPUR, MAY 4

(NPN): State home department on Thursday said it was maintaining a close watch on the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur and the safety and security of people from Nagaland presently in Manipur and Imphal city.

The home department said information was also being obtained for making arrangements for those from Nagaland requiring evacuation.

In this regard, the department activated helpline numbers at PHQ Nagaland and NSDMA.

Anyone requiring any assistance could contact: State Police Control Room, Kohima—Landline (0370 2242511); Fax (0370 2242512); Mobile/ Whatsapp (08794833041) and Email (spcrkohima@ gmail.com); NSDMA (0370 2381122 and 0370 2291123).

The department has requested all to maintain calm and not believe in rumours.

GPRN/NSCN clarifies on alliance with ZUF

DIMAPUR, MAY 4 (NPN): GPRN/NSCN has clarified that it had never signed any merger agreement with Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) led by chairman S Kamson but only decided on an alliance to protect and safeguard common Naga political and historical rights and identity, and declared that it would remain so.

(Cont’d on p-8)

This is it!

“Why is he promising about the same things we said for over a decade?”

persuasion, warning, reasonable force, etc. had been exhausted”.

The State government also issued ‘shoot at sight’ order in “extreme cases” to contain spiralling violence in Manipur between tribals and the majority Meitei community which has displaced over 9,000 people from their villages. Around 80 people were injured in the violence following Wednesday’s rally.

According to Impact TV report, at least 12 deaths

were reported in the aftermath of the violence in the valley. The bodies of the 12 were kept at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal (RIMS) morgue, the report said. Some of the injured were being treated at a private nursing home in Kohima sources said.

Internet services were suspended for five days since Tuesday so as to prevent rumour mongering in social media. Video clips that went viral on social media

showed mobs rampaging and indulging in arson and violence.

Violence was started on April 28 when groups of people called for a 12-hour bandh in Churachandpur on the eve of the visit of chief minster Biren Singh over the issue of land survey.

The situation worsened from May 4 during the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ where tribals from ten districts gathered to protest the inclusion of ST status for the

majority Meitei community. According to reports, Centre on Thursday appointed retired IPS officer and former CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh as security advisor to chief minister.

Kuldiep, who also headed the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in an additional capacity, as its director general, has reached Imphal. The government also appointed Ashutosh Sinha, ADGP (Intelligence), as the overall operational

Manipur violence: Organisations appeal for peace

DIMAPUR, MAY 4 (NPN): Various organisations, including church bodies have expressed deep concern over the violence in Manipur and appealed to the people to maintain peace and tranquillity.

CFD: Christian Forum Dimapur (CFD) has strongly condemned the violence, killing and atrocities on the people in Manipur.

The forum said it was extremely distressing to see innocent people being targeted and persecuted on the basis of their religious and ethnic identity.

It pointed out that the right to practice one’s religion was a fundamental

human right and it was unacceptable for anyone to be subjected to violence and discrimination because of his or her faith.

CFD expressed sorrow that without any provocation many churches had been burnt and partially damaged, and that the sacred objects were desecrated. It urged the Centre and the Government of Manipur to contain the violence immediately.

The forum said it expected a decisive action to put an end to this senseless violence and ensure that those responsible were held accountable for their actions. The forum declared

that it stood in solidarity with the Meetei and Kuki communities, while calling on all people of conscience to join it in condemning these heinous acts. It emphasised that only through dialogue, unity and solidarity, such hatred and intolerance could be overcome.

“We believe that dialogue and cooperation are essential for building a peaceful and just society, and we are committed to supporting efforts to promote these values,” stated a press release issued by CFD chairman Rev Moses Murry and secretary Fr CP Anto.

United Christian Forum of North East India

(UCFNEI) and the North East India Christian Council (NEICC) have expressed concern over acts of unrest in Manipur, which have encompassed large-scale violence, arson, demolition of property and desecration of religious places.

“We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint and work towards a peaceful resolution to the situation,” UCFNEI said in a statement. As a Christian organization, the forum said they believe in the value of human life and the importance of respecting the dignity of every individual.

Govt sets up panel to restructure police force: Patton

Correspondent

KOHIMA, MAY 4 (NPN):

State deputy chief minister, a minister in-charge of home, Y Patton on Thursday informed that the State government has set up a High-Level Committee (HLC) to look into restructuring, reorganization, recruitment and training of the state police and make it more efficient on functional and operational lines.

Informing this at a press conference here at PHQ conference hall, Patton said that the HLC will be headed by the Director General of Police (DGP).

While pointing out that the

state police have grown in numbers and stressed on the need to restructure and make it more efficient.

With Nagaland Police being predominantly armed police centric, which had been a requirement in the past, Patton, however, said that with change in times

there was a need to re-orient and re-focus on investigation and related functions like forensic and prosecution. He also stressed that there was a pressing need to rectify on some situations so that faith and trust of the society would be enhanced. He maintained that

modern policing was more about establishing the supremacy of the law through investigation and law enforcement rather than by brute force. Patton stated that the criminals should know that they would be brought to book and for that, the Nagaland Police needed to be ready and prepared.

200 BGs withdrawn: On withdrawal of police personnel attached as bodyguards and static guards, Patton informed that around 200 personnel have been withdrawn so far. Though it was an ongoing exercise, he said that the department will also rationalize static guards on duty.

commander to control the situation and bring normalcy in the state.

Underlining the gravity of the violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday spoke to Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh and took stock of the situation in the state.

Situation tense: Meanwhile, the Imphal-Churachandpur road was secured by police and security personnel. From Churachandpur to Imphal, the torching

of churches and casualties bear mute testimony to the rupture of ethnic ties between tribal Kukis and the non-tribal Meitei majority.

According to reports Vungzagin Valte, MLA of Thanlon constituency under Pherzawl district was attacked by a mob while returning to his official residence after meeting the chief minister on Thursday afternoon. Valte and his driver were attacked and critically injured. Both were rushed to

RIMS, Imphal. In Imphal, the streets wore a deserted look Thursday with only essential services running. ST demand sparks viole nce: Earlier, clashes broke out on Wednesday and intensified overnight with counter-attacks being mounted by rival communities in retaliation to earlier attacks, after the tribal groups organised a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to protest moves to accord scheduled tribe status to the Meitei community.

Tribals in Manipur object to demand by Meiteis for ST status over the plea of ‘protecting the lands’ from immigrants. Giving ST status would place them more at a disadvantage as ST quotas were filled up by candidates from majority community in the absence of qualified ST candidates. The other issue is land survey that has led to demolition of homes belong to a tribal community.

SC disposes of plea concerning movement of people belonging to Mao tribe on NH-2

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (PTI): Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a plea seeking directions to the Centre and the states of Nagaland and Manipur to take appropriate steps to safeguard the freedom of movement of people belonging to the Mao tribe along National Highway-2, after it was informed that the problem has been resolved.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the Home Ministry (MHA) had interacted with the state government and now their movement

was not hindered. He told the bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, about the instructions received from the director (NE division) MHA.

“Counsel for the petitioner submitted that though as a result of the intervention by this court at this stage the issue has been presently resolved, it was festering for over a decade as a consequence of which... movement of persons belonging to the tribe in question was being thwarted,” the bench said. “Since at this stage the problem seems to have resolved, it is not neces-

sary to keep the proceedings pending any further,” the apex court said. While disposing of the plea, it granted liberty to the petitioner or any other aggrieved person to approach the chief secretary of Nagaland or, as the case may be, MHA (NE division) so that appropriate steps can be taken to resolve any recurrent issue. The court was hearing a plea which had sought directions to the MHA and the states of Nagaland and Manipur to take steps to protect and safeguard freedom of movement of people from the Mao tribe.

Pork back on sale from May 8, but at higher rate

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, MAY 4 (NPN): Pork Butchers Union Dimapur (PBUD) has informed that the union has decided to open all the pork butcher shops and allow sell of pork starting May 8 at higher rate since the state government had failed to address their issues. PBUD closed down pork butcher shops in Dimapur from April 24 in protest against Assam government’s ban on transportation of pigs through the state of Assam from March 13, 2023.

Addressing a press conference at its office here on Thursday, PBUD president Shikato Swu, lamented that

NFSA urges state govt to recruit more staff for forensic lab

DIMAPUR, MAY 4 (NPN): Nagaland Forensic Science Association (NFSA) has appealed to the state government to recruit more staff for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Nagaland. In a press note, the association asserted that urgent attention and development was required in the field of forensics, saying it was a matter of priority today to tackle increasing crime rates.

NFSA stated that a proposal for creation of nine Scientific posts for FSL was published in local dailies on September 27, 2018 and accordingly the department submitted the

Rules in between 2018-2019. However, NFSA laminated that even after more than five years, there was still no advertisement released for those said posts.

It stated that FSL Nagaland was set up in 1982 with only Fingerprint and Photography Divisions at Razaphe Village, Dimapur, which was later shifted to the new three storey building at Kachari Goan, Dimapur in September 2018 with additional five new departments created. However, NFSA said so far there had been no recruitments. The association expressed dismay that there was no advertisement of the

said posts in the recently released NPSC-CTSE vacancies affecting the eligibility age of the aspirants.

Therefore, the association has urged the state government and responsible authorities to take up the issue at the earliest.

Citing the recent development in the field of forensic science in neighbouring states like Manipur and Mizoram, the NFSA stated that their forensic science laboratory had a total of 15 Scientific/Technical staff.

It said that Tripura has 26 technical staffs, six scientific officers, six scientific assistants in three District Mobile Forensic. Besides,

NFSA said that recently Sikkim and Tripura Forensic Science Laboratory recruitment of scientific officer was announced through respective state public service commission.

NFSA also reminded the state government that Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 8, 2022, during a meeting with chief ministers, chief secretaries and DGPs of all North Eastern States, said that every state should have one fully functional FSL and that the Government of India was ready to give financial assistant of 50% towards that endeavour.Stating that forensic was one of the three legs of

Justice Delivery System, the association has, therefore, urged the state government and Centre to process more recruitments of technical staff to make the FSL fully functional so that the state could effectively take up and examine all the present and future crime cases within the state.

Meanwhile, NFSA has lauded home minister Y Patton and DGP Nagaland Rupin Sharma, under whose initiatives three Mobile Forensic Vans were flagged off on May 1, 2023, which it said was a crucial and much needed preliminary step for proper scientific investigation of crimes.

there had been no response from the state government despite submitting several appeals and memorandums.

Swu stated that the union held a meeting on May 4 and decided to serve ultimatum on state government to come up with a solution till May 6, failing which the union would have

no option but to start selling pork meat at higher rates from May 8. On the decision of the union to lift the ban, PBUD president stated that its members were facing numerous problems since selling of pork meat was their only source of income.

DCCI flays May 3 incident at wholesale fish market

DIMAPUR, MAY 4 (NPN):

Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has vehemently condemned the May 3 incident that occurred at wholesale fish market, Signal Bosti, where some unidentified miscreants allegedly poured chemical-like liquid in 34 fish containers thus contaminating the fish.

DCCI president Akashe Zhimomi said the video clip of the incident indicated that it was the “handiwork of some factions” as taxation was involved. “Had the heinous act gone unnoticed, one can only imagine the health damage done to innocent consumers and

subsequent public uproar,” DCCI president stated.

Expressing shock at this turn of events, DCCI said never in the history of Naga political struggle, had any faction ever resorted to “such abhorrent and outrageous tactics at the cost of public health and lives”.

Stating that the act deserved to be condemned by all, DCCI appealed to Commissioner of Police Dimapur and the competent authority to take up the matter with “outmost seriousness” and bring those perpetrators to book at the earliest “before things spiral out of hand.”

(L-R) Flames rise from structures, security forces conduct flag march in Imphal and a camp set up by Army and Assam Rifles for the people who have been evacuated.

Y. Patton with DGP and other senior officers addressing the media.

PBUD president Shikato Swu with members briefing the media. (NP)

(Cont’d on p-8)

(Cont’d on p-7)

DIMAPUR: As part of the academic curriculum and extracurricular activities, educational institutions and other organisations organised various programmes for the students and faculty.

NAGALAND UNIVERSITY

i nspiration from one another. He encouraged the gathering by joining in the call for a more inclusive and sensitive approach to women everywhere for a balanced development.

MGM COLLEGE SAO CHANG COLLEGE

Prof. G.T. Thong, Dr. Ariya Svetamra Dr. Arratee Ayutacorn with NU professors and lecturers.

NU: A one-day international seminar on “Women and Development: Reflections from Thailand & Nagaland (India)” was jointly organized by the Women’s Studies Centre and Department of Education, Nagaland University (NU) on May 4 at Kohima Campus, Meriema. The seminar was organized in three segments, comprising

of the inaugural session followed by two technical sessions.

Pro-Vice Chancellor, Kohima Campus, NU, Prof. G.T. Thong in his keynote address lauded the organizers for facilitating such a platform for knowledge sharing, advancement of knowledge and cross border research, to look beyond one’s own borders and draw

Sharing reflections from Thailand on the mentioned theme, the two international speakers from Chiangmai University in Thailand, Dr. Ariya Svetamra presented a paper on “Community based Tourism and Empowerment of Ethnic Women in Upper North Thailand” and Dr. Arratee Ayuttacorn on “Women’s Negotiation on Land Dispossession”. While the speakers from Nagaland University shared reflections from Nagaland through the variety

AIDA DON BOSCO

AIDA: Child Friendly City Initiatives of ANMA Integrated Development Association (AIDA) - Don Bosco, Dimapur in collaboration with Social Work Department, St. Joseph University (SJU), Ikishe, Chumoukedima organized a youth creative activity in photography competition

of papers presented. Prof. Jano. L Sekhose presented on “Navigating the world of Naga Women Down the Ages and Beyond”, Prof. Lungsang Zeliang on “Visualizing Naga Women’s representation in Education” and Dr. Petekhrienuo Sorhie on “Localizing SDG5 in Nagaland: Issues and Challenges”.

The paper presentations were followed by deliberation and discussion session on various pertinent socio-economic and cultural barriers that impede development of women in particular and society in general, wherein ideas, perspectives and opinions were exchanged both from the context of Nagaland and Thailand.

cum exhibition under the theme, “For Every Child” on May 4 at SJU.

AIDA said the programme was organised with the objective to create responsiveness on the rights of children through active involvement of the youth among the peers and in the community at large.

MGM: MGM College

Evangelical Union on May 3 conducted a farewell fellowships program for the outgoing 6th semester students with Nagaland EGF secretary, Vepu as guest speaker. At the programme, the welcome address was delivered by college princi-

SCC: A seminar on “scope of entrepreneurship in floriculture” was organised by Sao Chang College, Tuensang under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) on May 2 at the College Conference Hall. The college informed that 20 participants each from the four major tribes under 3rd NAP Saksi Sector, Tuensang were invited as participants. Resource Persons for the seminar were sub- divisional agriculture officer, Longkhim, R. Akila Rothrong and a local flower grower and entrepreneur, Arenla Sangtam.

LFIC: National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of Livingstone Foundation International College (LFIC) conducted a survey on the topic, “Youth not in formal education and regular employment” on May 3 at Murise Village. The college informed that the main objective of the survey was to gather information about the challenges faced by the youths in finding employment or pursuing education.

A total of 23 students, four NSS teacher representatives, and NSS programme officer, Jemsungba Walling conducted the survey which was participated in by the villagers, resulting in a coverage/ sample of 70 households, out of which 23 youth data were collected aged between 15 and 29, who were not in employment or formal education.

Late MOATeMSU

Born : 01/03/1969 Died : 01/05/2023

We the family members of Late Moatemsu (Waromung) wish to express our sincere thanks and deep gratitude to all our relatives, neighbours, unions and churches for physically, spiritually and financially supporting us during our period of sad bereavement.

We regret our inability to thank each and everyone personally but it is our prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

Loving Wife, Son, Daughters and Relatives

Around 100 students and teaching staff from St. Joseph University attended the programme.

NEISSR: North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR) held its first NEISSR fest with the inaugural cum cultural day under the theme, “Engage, Energize, Evolve” on May 1. The fest organised by the Students’ Council for Social Change (SCSC) NEISSR in collaboration with the Peace Forum, Youth Forum, Community Forum and IQAC cell NEISSR, with an aim to bring together the students to discuss, participate, and exchange ideas to bring about changes in the society, would culminate on May 5

During the pro -

pal Rev.Fr.Dr.P.SVarghese and farewell address was delivered by president, MGM college EU, Haihangsape which was followed by words of encouragement from vice principal, vote of thanks by secretary, MGMEU, Luthoki Dozo and benediction by Dhozimong.

gramme, the special guest, Dr. Fr. Pappu Samy, who served as the parish Priest, Kohima Diocese and US, stated that culture was the lovely aspect of human life, dignity, respect and appreciation within the social unit. He further encouraged students to practice and preserve one’s culture and other culture as well.

In his speech, NEISSR principal, Dr.Fr. C P Anto spoke on the importance of culture in the society. He appreciated the cheering and encouraging attitude of the Naga culture as it ignites the young minds to feel appreciated and build confidence.

ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY

SJU: One day seminar on “Fully-Alive Future Lectures: Create A Brave New World” was organised by the English department of St. Joseph University in collaboration with Institution’s Innovation Council on May 2 at the SJU Auditorium Hall. The seminar focused on different scopes of various professions with content entrepreneur, Ajit Kumar, reporter, Kekhriesenuo Kiewhuo and artist, Kheito Assumi as the guest speakers.

In a separate event, SJU PG II students of the department of Psychology and Counselling along with two faculties participated in a community outreach program conducted in association with Gracious Life Foundation (GLF) at Diphupar A, Dimapur on May 3. The resource persons of the programme were founder and director GLF, Lisali M. Humtsoe, and co-ordinator and counsellor GLF, Sukum Aier.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We the family of Late Emilo Ngullie wish to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation towards all individuals, friends, well wishers, churches, forum and organizations for your support through prayers and kindness extended to us during our time of bereavement.

We sincerely convey our thanks to:

1. Kohima Lotha Baptist Church

2. KLBC Women Department

3. KLBC Youth Department

4. KLBC CNY Department

5. Faith Harvest Church Kohima

6. Tsungiki Baptist Church

7. Tsungiki Baptist Church Women Dept.

8. Tsungiki Baptist Church Youth Dept.

9. Nazareth Prayer and Healing Centre Tseminyu

10. Kohima Tsungiki Khumshum

11. Kohima Tsungiki Youth Forum

12. Wokha Town Tsungiki Ekhung

13. Doctors and Nurses of GNRC Hospital Guwahati

14. Doctors and Nurses of B. Borooah Cancer Institute Guwahati

15. Dr. S. Ejanbemo Ezung, B. Borooah Cancer Institute Guwahati

16. Female Medical Ward Staff NHAK

17. Rev. Moa Longchari Cancer Foundation (RMLCF)

18. Officers and Staff of R.C.S

19. Mrs. and Dr. L.S Moses Retd. Director Veterinary

20. Mr. & Mrs. E. Mhonbemo Patton, Principal Accountant General

21. Mr. & Mrs. Temsu Phom, Junior Engineer Tribal Affairs

22. Miss Nzanbeni Tsopoe Vice-Principal Chandmari Higher Secondary School Kohima

23. Friends of Medikhrü Complex Kohima

ACKnOWLeDGeMenT

Late

24. Friends and Neighbors of Lower Bayavü Kohima Words are inadequate to express our gratitude to each and every individual, but it is our humble prayer that our Almighty God bless each one of you abundantly.

Loving family members

Remembering our beloved

Dr. Kereilhouvi Solo

On his 2nd Death Anniversary 05.05.2021

Another year since the lord called you home. We feel your presence besides us everyday still guiding and loving us always. With a grateful heart we remember the love and happiness you gave us, the sacrifices you made for us, our times shared as family .You were our nurturer, our rock in strife, our guiding light, our everything. Your life was a blessing and you are always loved beyond words and deeply missed everyday. You will remain forever alive in our hearts.

K-959/23

Wife, Children and Grandchildren

Born in the year 1977

Died on 30/04/2023

We the family members of Lt. Kerikhole Tsukru express our profound and heartfelt gratitude to all those who stood by us and shared our grief and sorrow, spiritually, physically, financially and prayers during this time of sadness. We regret that we could not mention each one of you and have nothing to give you in return. But we pray that Almighty God bless upon you all abundantly. We would like to thank :

1. Angami Students’ Union Guwahati

2. Naga Students’ Union Guwahati

3. Naga Christian Fellowship Guwahati (NCF)

4. Christian Revival Church 5th Mile Model Village Dimapur

5. Baptist Church 5th Mile Model Village Dimapur

6. Village Council 5th Mile Model Village, Dimapur

7. Chakhro Khuzama Union

8. Cyber Crime Police Station PHQ, Kohima

9. Crossway Church Dimapur

10. Crossway Church Women Department

11. Crossway Church Youth Department

12. Ward-19 Council Kohima

13. Khedi Market Kohima

14. Victory Group Khuzama

DP -1887/23 DP -1935/23 DP-1940/23 STATE 2 NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023

15. Kezekevi Krotho (Rachu Kiku) Khuzama Loving Husband, Family Members and Relatives

Various programmes organised for students, faculty

LFIC

NEISSR

Guest speaker Vepu with students and faculty members.

Guest speakers, students and faculty after the seminar.

Participants attending a programme at SJU.

NEXT POLL

Paiwang holds meeting for MMC approach road

DoSE formulating manner of admission ANPSA calls on chief minister

DIMAPUR: Minister, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (EF&CC) and Village Guard, C.L. John called on Union Minister MSME, Narayan Rane on May 3 and highlighted Nagaland’s potential for development timber-based manufacturing hubs and the dovetailing of this with the Central government’s

Correspondent

KOHIMA, MAY 4 (NPN): Minister, Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) P. Paiwang Konyak on Thursday held a joint meeting with Mon Village Council and representatives from Konyak Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and finalised the new alignment of approach road to Mon Medical College (MMC).

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mon, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mon and officials from medical department, land record and survey officer.

During the meeting, Paiwang briefly highlighted the gathering on how the present site for the medical college was acquired. He urged the concerned departments, contractors,

CSOs and Mon Village Council to coordinate, collaborate and work together for smooth and early construction of both the approach road and the medical college.

It may be mentioned that the minister cancelled the ongoing construction of approach road which was not found to be “feasible” during his April 11 inspection.

NBCD to conduct social work

NEWS IN BRIEF

CoE NLA meeting: Advisor and chairman of the Committee on Estimates (CoE), K Tokugha Sukhalu has convened a sitting of the committee on May 11, 11 a.m. at the Committee Room of the Assembly Secretariate, Kohima. All members of the committee have been requested to attend the meeting.

NU to offer MA in Antho: Nagaland University (A Central University) vice chancellor has informed that the university has introduced M.A. Degree in the Anthropology Department in addition to M. Sc Degree with effect from Academic Session 2023- 24.

DPRO office Kiphire bids farewell: Office of District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) Kiphire organised a farewell programme for its retiring Sr. HA, Mongchon on May 2 at Bailey Bridge, Zinki River.

NSCN (Akato) greets: NSCN/GPRN (Akato) has conveyed warm “Miu” festival greetings to Khiamniungans Nagas and hoped that prosperity, strength and good health prevail upon Khiamniungans brothers and sisters, so as to enable them to continue to strengthen the bond of oneness and love amongst Naga families.

DIMAPUR: In continuation to the Directorate of School Education’s (DoSE) notification, the Principal Director of School Education has informed all concerned that the modalities for the implementation of the provisions of the ‘Nagaland Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (manner of admission of minimum 25 % children in Class I or pre-school at the entry level for the children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections) Rules, 2016’ are being formulated by the department. According to a DIPR report, all concerned have been informed to wait for the notification regarding the modalities for the implementation of the provisions of Section 12 (1) (C) of the RTE Act, 2009. Till such time, it informed that this office notification shall be kept on hold.

DIMAPUR: All Nagaland Private Schools Association (ANPSA) held a meeting with chief minister, Neiphiu Rio on May 3 at CM’s residential office, Kohima. A press release by ANPSA stated that the meeting which was also attended by the deputy chief minister, T.R. Zeliang,

chief secretary and other officials addressed “a range of critical issues”.

The ANPSA central office bearers thanked the chief minister for his commitment to implement appropriate measurers in response to the concerns raised during the discussions. The association also

thanked the chief minister for instituting the Chief Minister’s Meritorious Students Fellowship for meritorious students of Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). All Nagaland Private Schools Association said this fellowship could be the first of its kind in the country.

IDAN holds consultative meeting with stakeholders

DIMAPUR: As part of its series of consultative meetings with different entities in the business and development ecosystem of Nagaland, Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) held its second consultative meeting with various stakeholders and representatives in the fields of business and healthcare in Kohima on May 4.

A press release from IDAN stated that one of the highlights of the meeting was the possible signing of a tripartite MoU between Indrayani Biotech, Sri Sankardeva Netralaya and IDAN to set up an Eye Care Hospital in Nagaland.

Look East Policy. A press release by EF&CC department informed that John also discussed organising national level vendor development program in Nagaland.

To this, the union minister assured all assistance and promised to visit Nagaland, stated the release.

TO Dimapur informs pensioners: Office of the Senior Treasury Officer (TO) Dimapur has informed that office of the Senior TO Chümoukedima was fully functional for payment of monthly pension salary. It has asked all pensioners opting to draw their monthly salary from Chümoukedima Treasury to apply for transfer through proper application.

Zunheboto DPDB meeting: Zunheboto District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) meeting has been convened on May 10, 11 a.m. at the Conference Hall of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zunheboto office. All members have been asked to attend the meeting.

SCMP holds meeting in Kohima

DIMAPUR: Seemanta Chetana Mancha Purvottar (International Border Awareness Forum of Northeast) held an organisational meeting on May 2 at Kohima and adopted several resolutions for the welfare of the people living in the Indo-Myanmar border area.

A press release by SCMP informed that during the meeting, S. Kihomong

Yim was appointed as the president of the Nagaland state committee.

The meeting was attended by national co-convener, Seema Jagran Manch, Pradeepan; SCMP northeast committee member and in-charge of Nagaland and Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Ankur Gogoi and officials from five districts of Nagaland.

Changtongya SDDCF meeting held

The meeting between IDAN, Indrayani Biotech and Sri Sankardeva Netralayais was the outcome of the CSR Conclave 2022, wherein the investor shared their interest in starting an Eye Care Hospital in Nagaland. After series discussions over the past few months, the investor was keen to sign a MoU with the Government of Nagaland and looking to start work with the support of the government.

Chairman IDAN, Abu Metha, believed that this will not only benefit the people of Nagaland in

Indian Army organises various activities

DIMAPUR: Indian Army and Assam Rifles battalion under the aegis of HQ IGAR (N) organised various activities and programmes for students and villagers in different locations across the state.

Jakhama Military Station: One day orientation cum training camp for the NCC cadets of NCC Group, Kohima was conducted by the Indian Army on May 3 at Jakhama Military Station. PRO Defence said the training was conducted to give an insight of the life of a soldier and motivate the cadets to join Army. 75 cadets of St Joseph College, Japfu Christian College and Loyola Higher Secondary School affiliated to 1 Naga Girls NCC Battalion, Kohima and 24 (I) NCC Company, Kohima attended the orientation camp. The NCC Cadets were shown various military activities to include physical training, mountain craft training and lectures on opportunities to join Indian army as officers, Agniveer was also held during the camp.

by friendly volleyball match. Various fun games were organised which were participated by all students. A motivational movie was also screened based on history and contributions of Assam Rifles as the oldest force in the North East protecting people and helping youths. The event culminated with musical evening, camp fire and feast. A total of 90 students and seven teachers from two schools of Meluri town participated in the event.

Ziphu village: Assam Rifles organised a medical camp at Ziphu village, Phek district on May 3. A medical team conducted a free medical camp during which a total of 62 patients availed check-up services and given necessary medical care. The medical team including medical officer also educated the villagers on health, hygiene and sanitation related issues and common health hazards. The medical camp was a success in building inroads between Security Forces and the civilians of remote areas.

terms of providing advanced technology-backed expert care within the state but also boost employment.

At the meeting, Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI) highlighted the organization’s strength and reach, their plan and shared their market insight and recommendations to IDAN chairman.

The team’s latest proposed event was initiated together with Assam Chamber of Commerce to host the first North East

Chamber of Commerce

Meet with the objective to set up a federation to build a healthy business ecosystem across various states of Northeast Region.

In the meeting with the Nagaland Flower Growers’ Society (NFGS), the Metha emphasized that it is time to convert the passion for flowers into a prosperous livelihood, employment generation and contribute to the overall economy.

One of the key takeaways of this meeting was the need and potential of setting up a permanent flower

market, which will not only provide permanent revenue to the growers but also act as a tourist attraction destination.

The meeting concluded with a meeting with the Naga Private Practitioners Association (NPPA). Metha acknowledged the inputs and insight received and highlighted the need to work collaboratively as partners to address the “wealth drain” due to a large number of their patients moving out of the State seeking access to better health care.

Chessore Village’s multipurpose hall inaugurated

DIMAPUR: Changtongya Sub-Divisional Departmental Co-ordination Forum (SDDCF) meeting was held on Wednesday at the office of the SubDivisional Officer (Civil)

with Nukluktoshi, MLA, as the special guest.

According to a DIPR report, Nukluktoshi called upon the government employees of the sub-division to extend cooperation for

the development of the division.

The chairperson of the meeting, SDO (C) briefed the members on the working system of Changtongya SDDCF.

Meluri: Assam Rifles organised a visit to “Company Operating Base” for school students under, “A Day with Company Commander” initiative at Meluri, Phek district on May 3. A company tour was organised for students followed

Lungha village: Mon battalion of Assam Rifles distributed water tanks and solar street lights to Lungha village of Mon district, with an aim to take a step closer to resolve the water shortage and electricity issues of the village.

DIMAPUR: Chessore Village multi-purpose hall constructed by Rural Development (RD) department was inaugurated on May 3 by Tuensang District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) project director, T Achila Quinker.

A press release by the department informed that Quinker congratulated the staff and officers of RD Block Chessore, Chessore Village Council and Village Development Board (VDB) for successfully completing the project and stressed on

proper and timely maintenance and utilisation of the hall properly. She also requested and encouraged the officials and village authorities to focus on other developmental projects with the same zeal to see more transformation.

Block Development Officer (BDO) Chessore/ deputy director RD, S Lakiumong Yimkhiung

informed that funds were allocated from MGNREGA, BRGF, GIA, XV Finance Commission and donations by individuals

for the construction and completion of the project. The multipurpose hall was dedicated by Chessore Village Baptist Church (CVBC) Pastor Doki Allen while the project director, DRDA Tuensang unveiled the monolith. The church staff of CVBC presented a special number, brief report on the building was given by GB, A Yansomong, vote of thanks by VDB secretary, Chessore Village, Solung and benediction by CVBC associate women Pastor Tsusola.

Paiwang Konyak, DC and SP Mon during the meeting on Thursday. (NP)

DIMAPUR: Notun Bosti Council Dimapur (NBCD) has informed that a mass social work would be held on May 6, 6 a.m. onwards within the colony jurisdiction.

All residents and business establishments under Notun Bosti Colony have been asked to clean their respective surrounding areas and drainage.

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio, Dy CM TR Zeliang, chief secretary and members of ANPSA.

C. L. John calls on Union minister Narayan Rane

Union minister Narayan Rane with C. L. John.

DRDA project director, T Achila Quinker with village leaders and other officials.

Nukluktoshi, MLA with officials and Changtongya SDDCF members.

Abu Metha with reprersentatives Indrayani Biotech and Sri Sankardeva Netralaya.

Mnp Naga MLAs appeal to shun violence immediately

IMPHAL, MAY 4 (AGENCIES): Amid the escalating violence in Manipur, Naga legislators of the Manipur Legislative Assembly on Thursday appealed to the public to halt all forms of violence immediately, reports Imphal Free Press.

Speaking to mediapersons at CM’s secretariat in Imphal on Thursday, Water Resource Minister Awangbow Newmai, on behalf of the legislators, urged the public to stop communal violence that has engulfed the state.

Expressing deep concern over the volatile situation in Manipur, the Naga legislators, including Awangbow Newmai, J Kumo Sha, Ram Muivah, Leishiyo Keishing, Kashim Vashum, and Janghemlung Panmei, vowed to extend all possible assistance in restoring normalcy.

Newmai said the incidents of violence would hinder the state government’s

Biren Singh, CMs of NE appeal for peace and calm

DIMAPUR/AIZAWL/ SHILLONG/IMPHAL, MAY 4 (NPN/AGENCIES): The chief ministers of Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram have expressed concern over the situation in violencetorn Manipur and appealed for peace.

Urging people to maintain peace, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, “Precious lives have been lost, besides damage of properties, which is very unfortunate.” However, the details of the deaths were not immediately available.

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio said: “I am deeply disturbed about the unrest in Manipur. I appeal to the people of Manipur for peace and harmony.”

He also informed that the Nagaland government has activated helpline nos. for the people from Nagaland presently in Manipur and Imphal City.

Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma also expressed grave concern over the deteriorating law and order scenario in Manipur and appealed for peace.

efforts to include Manipur in the global race of development.

Saying that “there are no problems that cannot be solved through discussion”, the Naga legislators appealed to all concerned parties to resolve the issues across the table.

They appealed to all the stakeholders, the public, all the communities to come together and sort out the problems happening in the state.

“Whatever loss is happening due to the violence, it

Meiteis, Kukis clash in Shillong; 16 arrested

Correspondent

SHILLONG, MAY 4: Meghalaya

police have arrested 16 persons belonging to ethnic Kuki community and Meitei after they were indulging in a group fight here on Thursday evening following the ethnic violence between the two communities in Manipur.

A police official said the group fight between the two communities at Nongrim Hills near Mizo Morden School was reported to Laitumkhrah Police Station at about 05:30 pm this evening. “Police rushed to the area and found two persons of one community manhandled by another community,”Sylvester Nongtnger, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills said.

To prevent the situation from getting aggravated, Nongtnger said, police have apprehended and bound down 16 persons under Section 107 CrPC of both the communities for formenting trouble.

The Meghalaya Police has further warned of taking stringent measures against those wanting to vitiate the peace in the city.

is a loss for everyone. There is no winner in this kind of activity and violence,” Newmai said. When queried, he said there had been no security lapses in the violence-hit areas, as the government took precautionary measures, but the situation got out of control as rumours were spread everywhere. As several structures were set on fire at various places in the state, Newmai added that the government is working for the welfare of the people of Manipur.

Singh said the violence was the result of “misunderstanding” in the society.

“The state government is taking all steps to maintain the law and order situation and additional paramilitary forces have been requisitioned to protect the lives and properties of the people,” he said.

“Central and state forces have been directed to take strong action against individuals and groups who are indulging in violence,” he said.

Taking to twitter,

12-year-old girl raped, killed in Assam; accused injured in police firing

TINSUKIA, MAY 4

(PTI): A 12-year-old girl was raped and killed in Assam’s Tinsukia district, police said on Thursday. The accused, who fled to Arunachal Pradesh, was later critically injured in police firing when he tried to escape from custody after his arrest from the neighbouring state, a senior officer claimed.

The rape and murder of the minor, which took place in Margherita, led to a public outcry with thousands hitting the streets in the town with a demand to arrest the culprit immediately.

Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Gaurav Abhijit Dilip said the incident took place on Tuesday and the body of the victim was recovered

Whistle-blower in APPSC paper leak scam dies

were held against it. Subsequently, CBI took over the probe and arrested more than 50 people in the case.

from a septic tank on Wednesday.

“The families of the victim and the culprit are known to each other. The mother of the girl and the wife of the rapist are maids. On Tuesday, both women went to work together and kept the girl at the culprit’s house,” he added.

When they returned from work, the girl was not there and the accused claimed that she had gone home, the SP said.

“After her mother could not find her at home also, she filed an FIR and police started an investigation. The accused had fled by then. We picked up his wife and she confessed during interrogation about her husband’s crime,” he added.

The SP said as per

information of the wife, the police team recovered the body of the victim from the septic tank of the accused’s house.

“We have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and I am heading it. We have formed five teams, which have launched search operations along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to nab the culprit,” he added.

Later on Thursday evening, the accused was arrested at Deomali town in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, Dilip said.

“When a police team was bringing him back to Tinsukia, he tried to escape from custody. Police asked him to stop, but he did not. With no option left, police fired at him,” he added.

Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga said he was pained by the incidents of violence and urged all to shun any form of violence. He also had a telephonic conversation with his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh and wrote to him urging for restoration of peace.

Zoramthanga said that besides speaking to Biren Singh he has also spoken to a senior officer in the union home ministry, who assured him of more Central Armed Police forces for Manipur.

He has also instructed Mizoram Home Minister

Lalchamliana and home commissioner and secretary H Lalengmawia to convene a meeting to deliberate steps for the safety of the Zo Hnathlak (Kukis) community in the neighbouring state, Zoramthanga said in a post on his official Instagram account. “I believe that our talk (with Biren Singh) will yield positive results. We also agreed to make a joint statement to ensure the safety of the innocent people and our brothers,” he said and urged people to maintain peace and tranquillity. The Kukis in Manipur are Zo kindred tribes who share ethnic ties with the Mizos.

Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed concern over the situation in violence-torn Manipur, and urged the prime minister and home minister to take steps to restore peace in the northeastern state.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also urged the people of Manipur to stay calm and uphold peace.

“I am deeply concerned

about the situation in Manipur. Politics and elections can wait but our beautiful state of Manipur has to be protected first. I urge PM (Narendra) Modi and Amit

Shah (home minister) to take steps to restore peace there. If we burn humanity today, we will cease to be a human tomorrow,” Banerjee tweeted.

Correspondent

SHILLONG, MAY 4: The Meghalaya government on Thursday decided to evacuate more than 200 students studying in different educational institutions in Manipur, following the violent incidents.

The government took this decision following an emergent meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma with senior government officials.

“We are making arrangements in terms of different transportation, especially air transportation so that we can safely evacuate at the earliest to our state,” Sangma said, even as he urged the students not to fear.

He said the govern -

ment will also create a helpline number that students can reach 24/7 . The Chief Minister said that the state government officials are in continual contact with the administration of Manipur.

“The recent incidents that have been taking place in the state of Manipur have been very disturbing and at this point in time I would urge to all citizens of Manipur state, all our brothers and sisters there, that we should maintain peace and harmony. I would like to appeal for peace and I would like to urge that whatever the complications may be there, we should try and resolve those matters in an amicable manner,” the Chief Minister said.

Sarma lays base of projects worth ₹2,500 Crore

Correspondent

BOKAJAN, MAY 4: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday laid the foundation for as many as 46 projects under Public Works Department (PWD), Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Health & Family Welfare Departments, among others, totalling approximately ₹ 2,500 crore at a ceremony held at Diphu.

Addressing the event, Sarma said that the projects are aimed at fulfilling the promises made by him during the campaigning for last year’s elections to the 26 member Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC).

The numerous road projects, including the improvement and upgradation of the 75-km long road connecting Hamren with Howraghat at a cost of ₹922 crore, construction of a new deputy commissioner’s of-

fice complex at a cost of ₹26

crore, to name a few, would prove decisive in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the residents of Karbi Anglong, the Chief Minister stated. Speaking about the project for construction of as many as 124 Model Anganwadi Centres at an aggregate cost of 300 Cr and the 895 Cr allotted for Jal Jeevan Mission, Sarma said

Nityanand Rai inaugurates ICP at Dawki

these projects manifest the commitments of the current dispensations in the State and at the Centre towards upliftment of the residents in the remote areas of Karbi Anglong. The CM also added that in the coming days, beneficiaries of Orunodoi scheme would be paid a sum of ₹1400 per month. He also spoke about social sector schemes such as Ayushman

Bharat and appealed to the members of the general public to make efficient of the facilities being provided by the government.

The Chief Minister also lauded the role of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Chief Executive Member (CEM) Tuliram Ronghang for the unprecedented level of development being witnessed recently in Karbi Anglong.

Later in the day, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma who attended the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Karbi Students’ Association held at Dillai near Diphu as Chief Guest, praised the Karbi Students’ Association for its role in the socioeconomic uplift of the Karbi society.

He also appealed to the members of the civil society organizations to work towards socio-economic uplift of the Karbi society.

AFFIDAVIT (Correction of name)

Regd. No. 5409 Date: 03/09/2022 I, Mr. SANKAR PRADHAN alias SANKAR MECH NCE, DEP SP Office Kohima, Nagaland do hereby solemnly affirm and declare on oath as follows:

ITANAGAR, MAY 4

(PTI): The whistle-blower in the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper leak scandal, Gyamar Padang died at a hospital in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness, his family said here on Thursday.

Padang, who was in his twenties, was under treatment at the Asian Institution of Gastroenterology Hospital in the southern city and died on Wednesday, they said.

Padang was a candidate in the assistant engineer (civil) mains examination conducted by APPSC.

He had lodged a complaint at the Itanagar police station on August 29, 2022, claiming that the question papers of examinations held on August 26 and 27 were leaked.

Based on his complaint, Itanagar Police registered an FIR on September 10, 2022 and launched an investigation. The probe was handed to the special investigation cell of the police. The APPSC fiasco had created an uproar in the state and massive agitations

So far 54 individuals, including 41 government officers, have been arrested in connection with the APPSC paper leak case. Out of the 41 government officials found to be involved in the malpractices 19 employees, whose services were yet to be confirmed, were terminated. Disciplinary actions were initiated against 22 regular employees.

Padang’s death was condoled by state political leaders, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein.

“Saddened by (the) passing away of Shri Gyamar Padang Ji. Padang Ji shall be remembered for his courage and principles.”

Khandu tweeted.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who represents Arunachal West Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha, said that he was deeply shocked to hear the news of Padang’s death.

“His attitude and commitment for a better future of Arunachal Pradesh will continue to inspire the youth of the state,” Rijiju said in a social media post.

“The whole state is deeply saddened by his untimely demise. I extend my deepest condolences to his family members and pray for his departed soul”, the union minister said.

“Gyamar Padang will be remembered forever for his courage to stand up against the malpractices in the system,” Mein tweeted.

Correspondent

DAWKI (MEGHALAYA), MAY 4: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Thursday inaugurated the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Dawki on the India-Bangladesh border. This land port is the third ICP long the IndoBangla border after Agartala in Tripura and Petrapole in West Bengal. Dawki ICP is now the country’s 10th land port. Dawki is about 84 km from Meghalaya’s state capital Shillong.

Rai inaugurated the ICP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and other officials.

“The Land Port will certainly strengthen the relations of India and the neighbouring Bangladesh,” Rai said.

Stating that the ICP would bring the people of Bangladesh and India closer, the Union Minister said, “Both the countries share a similar past and with India’s cooperation, Bangladesh is on the path of progress.”

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi

has left no stone unturned to accelerate development in the Northeastern region, Rai said, “Even for Meghalaya, be its culture, health, lifestyle, etc. the Government of India has taken care of each and every aspect. It has been working towards making Meghalaya a strong State.” He said the Land Port is expected to boost the tourism and business sectors of Meghalaya as well as the country.

“It has been made keeping in mind the two countries’ requirements. It has a good infrastructure, a slew of facilities such as godown, canteen, cargo for tourists and electric substation, among others are also available here. The aim is to bring together all the agencies and stakeholders under a single roof,” the Union Minister added.

Rai highlighted the sense of brotherhood that India and Bangladesh share. “With time the ties have only gotten stronger. Dawki is well connected now. This network will help in advancing the health and education sectors as well in the gatishakti mode,” opined the Minister.

Beholding the beauty of Meghalaya, especially Dawki, Rai said, “I have been admiring the charm of Dawki since the moment I reached here yesterday. The scenery, the hills, the trees and everything I turn to, I only see beauty in it. So beautiful! I salute you.”

The work to build the Dawki ICP began in 2017 and has missed deadlines for its formal opening. Built at a cost of Rs 250 crore, the ICP

spreads over and area of 23 acres and has a built up area of 7420 sqm.

Apart from the construction of the ICP there is a massive effort to build roads that assist trade with Bangladesh. The ShillongDawki National Highway project has hit road blocks, but the state and central government are pushing hard to remove the hurdles so that this crucial highway could be built at the earliest.

SUMMON FOR SETTLEMENT OF ISSUE (ORDER-V, RULE - 1,5,20) IN THE COURT OF SEYIELENUO MEZHü CIVIL JUDGE SENIOR DIVISION DIMAPUR : NAGALAND

SUIT NO. : Title Suit No. 01/2023

PLANTIFFS : Yasin Khan

DEFENDANTS : Mehboob Khan Durani@ Mehboob Khan & 3 Ors.

To,

1. Feroze Shah Khan, S/o. Lt. Hazi Maligul Khan, R/o H/No. 10, M.P. Road, Hazi Park Area, Dimapur, Nagaland

2. Rahim Shah Khan S/o. Lt. Hazi Maligul Khan, R/o. H/No. 10, M.P. Road, Hazi Park Area, Dimapur, Nagaland

3. Nureja Khan, D/o. Lt. Hazi Maligul Khan R/o H.No. 10, M.P. Road, Hazi Park Area, Dimapur, Nagaland ...... Proforma Defendants.

Whereas the above named plaintiff has instituted a suit against you for joint right, title and interest, recovery of possession and permanent injunction.

You are hereby summoned to appear before the Court in person or by pleader duly instructed and able to answer all material questions relating to the suit on this 30th day of May 2023 without fail.

Take notice that in default of your appearance on the date mentioned the suit will be heard and determined in your absence.

Given under my hand and the seal of this Court this 27th day of April 2023.

1. That I am a bonafide citizen of India.

2. That in Some of the documents my name has been recorded as SANKAR PRADHAN and in some of the documents including Service Records my name has been recorded as SANKAR MECH hence, the stated name represents the same person i.e. myself.

3. That henceforth I herewith rectified the same and declare that my correct name will be SANKAR PRADHAN respectively for all official purposes.

4. That the above statements made in para 1-3 are true to the best of my knowledge and no material facts has been concealed herein and I signed this affidavit before the competent authority on 3rd Sept. 2022. DEPONENT Solemnly sworn before me by the deponent above mentioned name on 03/09/22 at Kohima NOTARY PUBLIC/MAGISTRATE K-957/23

DECLARATION

Regd. No. 13/73 Dated : 23.04.2013 I, Ms. T. Chubasenla Yimchunger, D/o T. Meren Yimchunger, permanent resident of Sotukur Village, Tuensang, presently residing Penli Ward, Mokokchung Town, District – Mokokchung, State:- Nagaland, do hereby solemnly affirm on oath and declare as follows:-

1. That I am a bonafide citizen of India and resident of the above mention Address.

2. That, in my academic documents my name and my father’s name has been erroneously entered and recorded as T. CHUBASENLA AO and T. MEREN AO respectively.

3. That, my correct and actual name and my father’s name is T. CHUBASENLA YIMCHUNGER and T. MEREN YIMCHUNGER which is true.

4. That this affidavit is made to declare that when the name T. CHUBASENLA AO and T. YIMCHUNGER and T. MEREN YIMCHUNGER is the same and one person and that is me and my father’s name.

5. That this affidavit is also made to declare that as when the name T. CHUBASENLA AO and T. MEREN AO appears, it should also be read and understood as T. CHUBASENLA YIMCHUNGER and T. MEREN YIMCHUNGER

6. That the statements made in para 1 to 6 are all true and correct to the best of my knowledge and nothing material is concealed therein. DEPONENT Solemnly affirm and declare before me by the above named Deponent on this day the 23rd April, 2013 at Mokokchung.

MAGISTRATE : NOTARY PUBLIC MOKOKCHUNG : NAGALAND MKC-160/23

Regd. No 283/2023

AFFIDAVIT

Date: 04/05/2023

I, Shri. K YANKIUMONG YIMCHUNGER, S/o Lt. KECHAM YIMCHUNGER, resident of H.NO- 196, Chümoukedima Town, District- Chümoukedima in the state of Nagaland do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:-

That I am a bonafide and law abiding citizen of India residing in above mentioned address..

1. That my and my father’s true and correct name is ‘K. YANKIUMONG YIMCHUNGER’ as my name and ‘KECHAM YIMCHUNGER’ as my father’s name which is mentioned and recorded in all my documents and records.

2. That due to clerical mistake my and my father’s name is inadvertently entered and recorded as ‘K YANGKIUMONG YIMCHUNGER’ and ‘K YANKIMONG’ as my name and ‘KECHANG ‘ as my father’s name in my service documents and records, which is incorrect.

3. That, the names ‘K YANKIUMONG YIMCHUNGER’, ‘K YANGKIUMONG’ and ‘K YANKIMONG’ refers to the name of one and the same person. i.e. my name only likewise ‘ KECHAM YIMCHUNGER’ and ‘KECHANG’ refers to the name of one and the same person i.e. my father’s name only.

4. That, this affidavit is made to declare my and my father’s true and correct name as ‘K YANKIUMONG YIMCHUNGER’ as my name and ‘KECHAM YIMCHUNGER’ as my father’s and henceforth shall use the same in all my future correspondence and records and also as a piece of evidence before any concern authority.

5. That the statement made in this affidavit are all true and correct to the best of my knowledge belief and nothing materials has been concealed therein.

And I have signed this affidavit on this 4th day of May,

at Dimapur, Nagaland.

(SMTI

Naga MLAs at a press conference.

Himanta Biswa Sarma at Diphu.

Gyamar Padang

Nityanand Rai visited Meghalaya Frontier BSF and interacted with field commanders and troops on ground.

SNIPPETS

SCO meet: India-Russia review ties

Monkeys

chase man to death in UP

BADAUN (UP), MAY 4

(IANS): A troop of monkeys attacked a 45-year-old man and chased him to his death from the terrace of a house in Niranjan Nagla village under the jurisdiction of Usawan police station. The incident took place when the victim, Desh Raj’s neighbour, arranged a food service for a marriage ceremony in the courtyard of the nowdeceased’s house, which attracted the monkeys to the terrace. Police rushed to the scene on receiving information and sent the body for post-mortem.

Six killed in autobus collision

CHENNAI, MAY 4 (PTI): Six persons including two children, all from one family, were killed when the auto in which they were travelling collided with a government bus at Manamai village near Mahabalipuram, about 57 km from here, said police on Thursday.

Farmer trampled to death by elephant in TN

ERODE(TN), MAY

4 (PTI): A 50-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the district on Thursday morning. According to forest officials, a male elephant strayed into a private farm land at Adasapalayam at 9 am and started damaging the standing crops. Sidheswaran, who was engaged in farming along with others was attacked and killed by the jumbo.

KCR inaugurates BRS

central office in Delhi

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(IANS): Bharat Rashtra

Samithi (BRS) President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar

Rao inaugurated the party’s central office at Vasant Vihar area of the national capital on Thursday. KCR, as the BRS chief is popularly known, hoisted the party flag in the office premises of BRS Bhavan and later participated in puja. Amid chanting of Vedic hymns, he inaugurated BRS Bhavan at the auspicious time of 1.05 p.m. by cutting the ribbon. After inaugurating the BRS building, he occupied the BRS chief’ seat in his chambers on the first floor and took charge by signing the documents.

ED arrests Jharkhand IAS officer

RANCHI, MAY 4 (PTI):

Jharkhand IAS officer

Chhavi Ranjan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday after a day-long grilling in connection with his involvement in alleged illegal land deals, an official said.

The 2011-batch officer of Jharkhand cadre has been taken into ED custody, he said. Ranjan, currently serving as director of the state’s Social Welfare Department, had reached the office of the probe agency around 10.45 am.

Bank loses Rs 5.66 L in gunpoint robbery

JAIPUR, MAY 4 (PTI):

Two armed suspects allegedly robbed Rs 5.66 lakh from a gramin bank on Thursday after taking its employees hostage at gunpoint here on Thursday, police said. The incident took place in Jaisingh Pura Khor police station area of Jaipur, they said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Amer) Chand Singh Rawat said the robbery took place in Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank located in Saipura.

Taking three bank employees hostage, the two suspects robbed Rs 5.66 lakh at knife and pistol point and fled away.

BENAULIM (GOA), MAY 4 (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday carried out a comprehensive review of India-Russia ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’ in the backdrop of Moscow’s increasingly frosty relations with the West over the Ukraine crisis.

The two foreign ministers held an hour-long meeting at a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a conclave of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

A Russian readout of Jaishankar-Lavrov talks said the two sides agreed to continue working towards building a “fair multipolar system of interstate relations”. Lavrov arrived in Goa this morning on a twoday visit, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an unsuccessful attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin. “Comprehensive review of our bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Appreciated Russia’s support for India’s SCO presidency. Also discussed issues pertaining to G20 and BRICS,” Jaishankar said in a tweet. The Russian read-

out said the two foreign ministers “praised the dynamics of cooperation in key areas of the special and privileged strategic partnership” between India and Russia.

“A trust-based exchange of views on the main issues of bilateral relations, including the schedule of upcoming contacts, as well as topical issues on the global and regional agenda took place,” it said.

“The intention to further strengthen coordination to develop common approaches within the framework of interaction at the most important international platforms, including the SCO, BRICS, the UN and the G20 was confirmed,” it added. It is not immediately known whether trade-related issues figured in the talks.

India has been pressing Russia for urgently ad-

dressing the trade imbalance that has been in favour of Moscow. India’s trade deficit with Russia jumped significantly in the last few months after it procured significant volumes of discounted crude oil from that country in the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis. India’s economic engagement with Russia has been on a major upswing in the last one year, largely due to its procurement of discounted Russian oil. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been pushing for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Russia has been firmly supporting India’s SCO presidency as well.

Jaishankar also held a separate bilateral meeting with Uzbek foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov. “Wel -

BJP’s hate politics responsible for Manipur violence: Congress

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (PTI): The Congress on Thursday alleged “Manipur is burning” as the BJP has created fissures among communities with its “politics of hate”, as Rahul Gandhi called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on restoring peace and normalcy in the state.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appealed to the people of Manipur to exercise restraint and let peace prevail.

“Manipur is burning. BJP has created fissures among communities and destroyed the peace of a beautiful state,” Kharge said on Twitter.

“BJP’s politics of hate, division and its greed for power is responsible for this mess. We appeal to people from all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a chance,” he said.

In a tweet, Gandhi said he was deeply concerned about Manipur’s rapidly deteriorating law and order situation.

“The Prime Minister must focus on restoring peace and normalcy. I urge the people of Manipur to

Mallikarjun Kharge

stay calm,” he said.

In a video statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP got a resounding mandate in Manipur in 2021, a doubleengine government was installed in 2022 but less than 15 months later “the entire state is in flames”.

“The society is in foment, internet and social media is suspended, the chief minister is under siege, MLAs resigning right, left and centre and what the prime minister and the home minister doing, they are busy going around polarising Karnataka,” Ramesh alleged. “It is really tragic what has happened in Manipur. All sections of Manipur’s diverse society are unhappy, up in flames, youths dissatisfied, tribals

NYT running smear campaign against India: Anurag Thakur

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(PTI): Union Information and Broadcasting Minister

Anurag Thakur slammed

The New York Times (NYT) chairman A G Sulzberger on Thursday for his claims that journalists are treated as terrorists in India.

Speaking at a UNESCO event on World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, Sulzberger said in India, authorities have raided newsrooms and treated journalists essentially as terrorists. Thakur asserted that the law took its own course in India in case of any wrongdoing and no one can claim immunity citing the status of being a media organisation.

“In India law takes its own course if someone does something wrong, newsroom or no newsroom. Mere claiming the status of a newsroom does not grant immunity from unlawful deeds,” he wrote on Twitter.

Thakur wondered how any investigation amounts to an attack on the press.

“Is it prudent to be a loose mouth and say journalists in India are treated as terrorists?” the minister

dissatisfied, non-tribal communities dissatisfied. This is a betrayal of the people’s mandate,” he said.

Ramesh called for sternest action to restore peace, normalcy and tranquillity in the state.

He also alleged the Congress cadres and leaders as well as critics of the chief minister “were being attacked” in the state.

“How long can the country see this insensitivity to the suffering of the people of Manipur. I feel very very anguished and pained by what is happening,” he said.

In a tweet along with his statement, Ramesh said. “The reality of the ‘DoubleEngine’ Government: Set fire to the State. Stay silent at the Centre. In less than 15 months of BJP forming govt, the entire state of Manipur is in flames. But HM Shah and CryPM Modi are busy campaigning in Karnataka.”

The Manipur government on Thursday issued ‘shoot at sight’ order in “extreme cases” to contain spiralling violence in the state between tribals and the majority Meitei community.

comed FM Bakhtiyor Saidov of Uzbekistan on his first visit to India in this capacity. Appreciated Uzbekistan’s strong support for India’s SCO presidency.Also recognized our long standing multilateral cooperation,” the external affairs minister tweeted. “Confident our bilateral partnership in different domains will continue to grow,” he added.

The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. India has shown a keen interest in deepening its securityrelated cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea against ‘The Kerala Story’

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain for a third time a petition challenging the CBFC certification granted to controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’, saying courts must be very careful while staying exhibition of films.

The top court observed producers have invested money in the film and actors have dedicated their labour, and it is for the market to decide if the movie is not up to the mark.

The film on alleged radicalisation and conversion of young Hindu women to Islam in Kerala, before inducting them into terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS), is scheduled for release on May 5.

The plea seeking a stay on its release was first mentioned on May 2. The apex court refused to entertain the plea which said it is a “worst kind of hate speech” and an “audio-visual propaganda”.

On May 3, the matter was again mentioned for urgent listing but the apex court declined to entertain it and asked the petitioners, including ‘Jamiat UlamaI-Hind’, to move the high court.

JAMMU, MAY 4 (PTI):

An Army helicopter crashed after a “hard landing” in a forested area in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday following a technical fault, killing a technician and injuring the two pilots on board, officials said.

The advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv on an operational mission came down on the banks of a river in Marwah area, cut off from the district headquarters due to heavy snow.

A court of inquiry has been ordered and further details are being ascertained, the Army said in a statement.

Thursday’s crash was the fifth involving Army helicopters in Jammu and Kashmir since 2021.

In a statement, the Udhampur-based Northern Command said, “At about 1115 hours on 04 May 2023, an Army Aviation ALH Dhruv helicopter on an operational mission made a precautionary landing on the banks of Marua river in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.”

The pilots had reported a technical fault to

the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and proceeded for a precautionary landing, it said.

“Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing. Immediate rescue operations were launched and Army rescue teams reached the site,” the statement said.

The injured were evacuated to the command hospital in Udhampur, where the technician – Craftsman Pabballa Anil - succumbed to his injuries, the Army said. General Officer Commanding-in-chief of

Today, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the petitioner, mentioned the matter out of turn, contending the acting chief justice of the Kerala high court said he will assign a bench but the bench could not take up the matter.

“Your lordships had said that we can approach the HC to look into urgency of matter and constitute a bench. Bench was constituted by they said they could only take up tomorrow,” Ahmadi said.

Taking note of his submissions, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the high court has already applied its mind and passed a very detailed order declining to stay the movie.

The bench said the Central Board of Film Certification has already certified the film. “Look at it from the perspective of the film

producer. How many times does he face challenges? At the end, somebody has invested money and the actors who have acted in the film have dedicated their labour. We must be very careful about staying exhibition of films. The market will decide if it is not up to the mark,” the bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was moved in the Kerala High Court on Tuesday against certain statements in the teaser and trailer of the film. It sought setting aside the certificate for public display given to the movie by the censor board.

The high court had, after hearing brief arguments, listed the matter for hearing on May 5, the day set for the release.

the condition of both the pilots was “stable”. Locals in the area rushed to the site and helped rescue the injured men. Some videos showing Kashmiri-speaking locals comforting the injured while they awaited evacuation to hospital drew praises on social media.

The wreckage of the helicopter was found on the banks of the river, said Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Khalil Ahmad Poswal. He had earlier put the time of the incident at around 10.35 am.

the Northern Command Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi paid rich tributes to the technician.

“#LtGenUpendraDwivedi, #ArmyCdrNC & All Ranks #NorthernCommand offer tribute to supreme sacrifice of CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil, in the line of duty during operational flying of ALH MK III near #Kishtwar #JammuKashmir & offer deepest condolences to the bereaved family,” the Army’s Northern Command tweeted.

Pabballa Anil, 30, hailed from Rajanna Sircilla district in Telangana. Defence sources said

For people in the area, helicopters are the only mode of transport during winter. Helicopters are also the only source of supplies, including rations. There was some confusion earlier in the day over how many people were on board.

The helicopter crash in Kishtwar district was the fifth such incident in Jammu and Kashmir since 2021.

On January 25, 2021, Army helicopter Dhruv crash-landed in Kathua district’s Lakhanpur near Punjab border, killing one pilot and injuring another.

Anurag Thakur

asked. He accused the NYT of running a “smear campaign” against India and using the UNESCO podium to “distort facts”.

“Unable to digest the global rise of India and its turning into an economic powerhouse, certain old world media houses have been running a systematic smear campaign against India,” Thakur tweeted.

“NYT, which has carved a niche for itself for writing fact-free and fabricated anti-India stories, shamelessly misused the podium of UNESCO to distort facts,” he added. The minister said it has been difficult for him to differentiate whether the newspaper is “The New York Times or New Distort Times”.

Govt asks edible oil firms to cut oil prices BJP dares Cong to ban Bajrang Dal in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(PTI): The Centre on Thursday asked edible oil companies to cut the prices of cooking oils in line with the fall in global prices for the benefit of consumers.

A major importer of edible oils, India imported cooking oils worth Rs 1.57 lakh crore during 2021-22 marketing year (NovemberOctober).

It buys palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia while soyabean oil is being imported from Argentina and Brazil.

“The decline in the price of edible oils should be passed on to consumers expeditiously,” Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said during a meeting with leading industry representatives here.

Representatives from Solvent Extraction Association of India (SEA) and Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) were present at the meeting to discuss further reduction in the retail prices of cooking oils amidst a fall in the global prices, an official statement said.

Mother Dairy, which sells cooking oils under Dhara brand, on Thursday said it has reduced the maximum retail prices by Rs 15-20 per litre and the new stock will hit the market next week.

As per the government data, the retail price of packed groundnut oil on Thursday stood at Rs 189.13 per kg, mustard oil Rs 150.84 per kg, vanaspati Rs 132.62 per kg, soyabean oil Rs 138.2 per kg, sunflower oil Rs 145.18 per kg and palm oil Rs 110.05 per kg.

SC declines plea against automatic disqualification of convicted MPs/MLAs

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea challenging the validity of the provision mandating “blanket and automatic” disqualification of legislators upon conviction and sentence.

Counsel for petitioner Aabha Muralidharan, contended before Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that the provision restrains a lawmaker from freely discharging the duties cast upon him/her by the voters of the constituency. The bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, told

counsel that the court is not inclined to entertain the petition and “let the aggrieved party come before us”.

The bench asked the counsel, “How are you as an individual affected? When you are disqualified due to the provision, then we can look into it” and asked the lawyer to either withdraw your petition or it will dismiss it. The plea prayed that automatic disqualification under Section 8A(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, should be declared as ultra vires of the Constitution, for being arbitrary, illegal, and violative of fundamental right to equality.

JAIPUR, MAY 4 (PTI): At-

tacking the Congress over its poll promise to ban Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, the BJP dared the party on Thursday to ban the right-wing outfit in Rajasthan, where it is in power, and see the fallout of its action.

The Congress in its manifesto for the May 10 elections in Karnataka said it is committed to take firm action against individuals and groups spreading hatred on grounds of caste and religion. It named Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India, saying it will take “decisive action as per law including imposing a ban” on such outfits if voted to power.

“Sonia Gandhi says in Karnataka they will ban Bajrang Dal,” Rajasthan BJP president CP Joshi said at a Jan Aakrosh Mahasabha in Sawai Madhopur in an apparent reference to the Congress manifesto.

“If Sonia Gandhi has the guts, then ban Bajrang Dal in Rajasthan. She will know the strength of Bajrang Dal, the devotees of Hanuman ji. If this is done, then not only Rajasthan but

in the whole of India, Congress will be wiped out,” he added.

Joshi alleged the Congress encourages PFI-like terrorist organisations and bans Hindu festivals, according to a party statement.

In an unrelated matter, the state BJP president wrote to Governor Kalraj Mishra, complaining about a video against Prime Minister Narendra Modi played on TV screens at a relief camp organised at a Panchayat Samiti campus in Dausa. A video displaying “Modi Hatao-Desh Bachao” was screened at the camp.

BJP workers objected to its screening and raised slogans against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Joshi also demanded that Gehlot take action against the administration officials and the Congress representatives responsible for the screening of the video.

In the letter, Joshi said the act by the officials “at the behest of the Gehlot government” is not only unethical but also a violation of the duties of a public servant.

EAM S. Jaishankar interacts with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting, in Panaji. (PTI)

1 killed, 2 injured as Army helicopter crashes in J-K

Wreckage of an Indian Army helicopter after it crashed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, Thursday. (PTI)

Pawar play again

Statehood Days celebrations in all Raj Bhavans - A refreshing move

Pawar — the wily politician and grand old man of Maharashtra politics — has shown why he remains among the most astute and perceptive politicians India has seen. He has a fascinating quality of being in two places at one time or the ability to prevail over friends and foes alike. In the latest instance, Pawar stunned his party and especially his ambitious and rebellious nephew Ajit Pawar by announcing his resignation as the president of Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) , a party he helped form on 10 June 1999, along with P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar. According to media reports, Pawar had been pondering on resigning as a means to scuttle moves by his nephew to split the NCP and take over as party chief. However the wily uncle pre-empted the move by announcing his resignation. He did not announce it at a meeting with party leaders nor did he give any inkling about what he was going to do. Pawar dropped the bombshell at an event where he was to launch his autobiography on May 2. Pawar has been the main driver behind the formation of Maha Vikas Aghadi or Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in 2019. WHen his nephew ran away with some dozen MLAs to join the Fadnavis BJP government and sworn in as deputy chief minister in December 2019 in an overnight coup; Sharad played his cards. Within 80 hours of taking oath as the deputy chief minister, Sharad unmasked Ajit’s ambition by making him switch sides twice in three days. While Pawar is crystal clear about his resignation and the announcement, party people have a different story to narrate. While others questioned the announcement as a pre-planned political stunt, since the announcement came following Pawar’s daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule’s remark hinting at two biggest-ever political explosions to happen in Delhi and Maharashtra. According to media reports, party veterans see the enior leader’s masterstroke as a move to hold back his nephew and leader of NCP, Ajit Pawar from joining hands with BJP. The succession in the NCP is still a matter of speculation but it is most likely that Sharad’s daughter Supriya Sule will be the next NCP president. The troublesome nephew is also likely to be made as state party president , thus paving the way for him to be the next chief minister if the MVA retains power. Pawar wants a bigger role than being chief of a party while vacating the chair for his daughter and the state chief for his nephew. In the end, what has been played out within the NCP over the years is the fact that the dynastic party shows no interest in at least moving a small step by infusing no family leaders at the helm. Ajit has shown he has no qualms about betraying his uncle and the party for the sake of power. That’s why some see his recent overtures to BJP as a desire to get back to power as deputy chief minister again while Fadnavis upgrades himself to chief minister and Eknath Shinde as the second deputy chief minister. Pawar may not be NCP chief anymore after resigning from the post but he ensures that he will remain pivotal in national and Maharashtra politics.

Sharad

Indian politics have always been based on a high scale nationalistic commitment. It also revolves around ethics and religious values based on pluralism and mutual respect and tolerance. Yet there have been challenges and some shortcomings. But when it comes to efforts made by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and his government in the last nine years we must say a lot has been achieved. A new initiative undertaken by our party-led government deserves special mention here. The government of India has rightly decided that all the states shall celebrate not only their own statehood day but also the statehood days of other states in order to promote Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Therefore, from now onwards, Raj Bhavans across the nation will commemorate

statehood days of all the states. This was a refreshing move and long overdue. Imagine ‘Nagaland Statehood Day’ - December 1is being celebrated every year at Raj Bhavans in Gandhinagar and Hyderabad. Similarly, Shillong or Imphal will organise programmes with regard states such as Uttarakhand or Karnataka. What a better way of knowing each other and each of our states. Compare this with what we had even 25 years back. Nagas and Mizos in Mumbai airport would be asked whether they are carrying valid passports as our people looked different. This transformation in style and manner is a silent revolutionary type step and thanks to the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. On Sunday, April 30, 2023 India and the rest of the world participated

in a mega event, the 100th episode of Mann-Ki-Baat. People’s enthusiasm and excitement for the event across India and in states such as Meghalaya and Nagaland was worth applauding. Interacting with our party workers and hundreds of fans and admirers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion in Garo Hills of Meghalaya and later through social media have convinced me that the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme has successfully brought about “behavioural changes” among people on simple and daily chores of life. As the Prime Minister spoke about subject matters related to people’s commitment to promote exports of handicrafts and local products, everyone was excited.

It may be relevant to state that the Prime Minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme through the

last 100 episodes has been like a spiritual journey for him. Only a man with a unique communication skill and deeper understanding of Indians and their lives can establish such unique dialogue with citizens on such a massive scale. As the Prime Minister Shri Modiji referred to our sister from Manipur, Vijayashanti Devi, and her unprecedented skills in making clothes from lotus fibres, a large number of women gathered were happy to know about such a possibility to earn revenue. I was happy to note that a large number of women enthusiasts in the crowd endorsed the Prime Minister’s spirit and the theme –‘Vocal for Local and now Local for Global’. It is truly high time the multi-pronged potentials of north east products and handicrafts are marketed well across India and the rest of the world.

DailyDevotion

Vicarious Intercession

…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… —Hebrews 10:19

Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”

Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic “understanding” of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God’s interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.

Am I stubborn or substituted? Am I spoiled or complete in my relationship to God? Am I irritable or spiritual? Am I determined to have my own way or determined to be identified with Him?

By Oswald Chambers

Quotes

Some products from Nagaland are already going around the world and are in high demand.

People also applauded the initiatives of Jammu and Kashmirbased Manzoor Ahmed and his ‘Pencil Slates’ project. The fact that Shri Ahmed is able to provide employment to 200 people is all the more encouraging and positive things. These projects ought to be emulated. I will here refer to the message from Home Minister Amit Shah ji and BJP national president J P Naddaji that Prime Minister Modi ji’s Mann Ki Baat messages actually will go a long way in strengthening India’s social democracy and create bridges to bring peace and prosperity among different sections of people and between different states and regions.

M Chuba Ao BJP National Vice President

7 ways to reduce pollution in Indian cities

It is not an exaggeration to say that one of the most serious and difficult concerns we currently confront is global pollution. India is the world’s pollution capital, with 35 of the 50 cities with the worse air quality in the world being located there. Even though this ongoing plague has continued to have a negative impact on people’s health, officials have found the problem to be too overwhelming due to its sheer size, scope, and complexity. Finding that delicate balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability becomes especially difficult for the major economy that is currently developing at the fastest rate in the world, with aspirations to reach the $5 trillion mark as soon as feasible.

Even as pollution is a country-wide menace, how can we contain and reduce pollution at least in the Indian cities and urban locations? More specifically, since transport-related emissions are some of the biggest contributors to city pollution, what are some of the ways to reduce pollution and related effects in Indian cities?

Not just aspirational, but a pragmatic decarbonisation of the transport sector, both passenger and freight

First, pragmatic decarbonisation of the transport sector, through the use of much lower carbon fuels, should become a top and immediate priority for the authorities. We must be mindful of the fact that India’s transport sector is responsible for 13.5 percent of the country’s energyrelated CO2 emissions, with road transport accounting for 90 percent of the sector’s final energy consumption. Furthermore, it has been estimated that transportation sources are responsible for approximately

a third of PM pollution, perhaps the most harmful pollutant to human health which also contributes high to nitrogen oxides emissions in the country. Nonetheless, the scope of the decarbonisation programme must be extended to both personal/private vehicles and heavy duty vehicles (HDVs). For private vehicles, relaxing policy norms for uptake of alternative fuels such as auto LPG as compared to traditional carbonbased and heavily polluting petrol and diesel must drive the decarbonisation programme. Notably, auto LPG has a global warming potential (GWP) of zero as opposed to methane’s 25 and carbon dioxide’s 1. Moreover, not only does it produce a lower amount of carbon dioxides per unit of heat produced, with a low carbon-hydrogen ratio, it lets off negligible amounts of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Similarly, since India has seen rapid growth in freight road transport in recent decades on the back of rising demand for heavy duty vehicles, especially the ICE-based HDVs, there has been a spillover effect in the form of higher demand for fossil fuels and thereby higher pollution. We need to contain this demand for HDVs, especially the long-range trucks and the resultant use of fossil fuels.

Strive for full-fledged electrification of railways

Second and flowing from the first, we need to achieve full-fledged electrification of our railways. This would release the pressure and load on the freight road transport in the country. While 54% of conventional passenger demand and 65% of freight demand is today carried out on electrified railways, we need to invest more to increase this electrification footprint.

Incorporate transit-oriented development models in urban planning

Third, with transportation increasingly constituting the fulcrum around which a city life today operates and evolves, we must contemplate and develop urban planning strategies predicated on transit-oriented development models. This means designing or redesigning (existing urban units) our urban spaces in a way that concentrates housing, jobs, and services around public transport hubs while facilitating easy and safe movement of pedestrians and non-motorized modes of mobility such as bicycles. Copenhagen with its five-finger plan and Brazil’s Curitiba are exemplary models for transit-oriented urban development.

Disincentivize high carbon liquid fuelled private transport through policy

Fourth, simultaneously, we must disincentivize through policy - such as increased taxes and new regulations - the use of private transport vehicles. For instance, there could be more road tax and parking charges for usage of private vehicles, particularly those which run on high carbon liquid fossil fuels with an eye on restricting the presence of personal vehicles on roads. Also, people should be encouraged to undertake the pooling of their personal vehicles. Expand railway’s Roll-on Roll-off (RO-RO) service to Delhi to other cities

Fifth, we could consider replicating the RO-RO service offered to Delhi by the Indian Railways to the other major cities in the country. Given that traffic congestion stemming from stop-and-go traffic flow increases emissions, taking the heavily loaded trucks and lorries onto

railway wagons under the RO-RO service and off the roads would go a long way in addressing city emissions. While questions have been raised over the financial feasibility of this exercise, it is not impossible to find a way out. In addition, we should deploy and operate smart traffic systems on our city roads.

Implement an emissions trading system

Sixth, we should widely encourage market-based emissions trading mechanisms in which the government sets a cap for emissions and allows companies to buy and sell permits to stay below the cap thereby keeping pollution under control. This involves emitting firms obtaining and surrendering a permit for each unit of emissions. Those lacking enough permits must have to reduce emissions or buy permits from another firm. Gujarat has introduced world’s first emissions trading system for particulate pollution. This must be replicated across the country.

Afforestation and foster green habits and practices

And seventh, we must make our cities greener through the planting of more trees and enough vegetation in order to provide a filter and sink for city pollutants. Also, green buildings should be encouraged in terms of their design and material of construction while employing renewables such as solar power and green appliances within. At the same time, city people should use green and recyclable materials in their daily lives.

In sum, these are seven very effective ways to reduce pollution levels in our cities. Suyash Gupta, Director General, Indian Auto LPG Coalition.

Myanmar military’s engagement with Bangladesh-Japan-India’s strategic troika

(From previous issue...)

It must be supported by deterrents because deterrents are what give diplomatic actions bite. Some international experts have also contended that the military balances are likely skewed in favor of Myanmar, making it challenging for us to demonstrate an effective level of deterrence. However, Bangladesh made an effort to make sure that its diplomatic actions have a solid foundation.

In an effort to deliver protest notes to the Myanmar ambassador, foreign ministry has so far used diplomatic channels. It hasn’t changed anything. In addition to civilian diplomacy, the Bangladesh government has taken a step forward in solving the border and Rohingya crisis through successful military diplomatic activities. IT must be of no surprise that in special circumstances, a country’s military diplomacy plays an in strumental role in managing foreign relations.

Relations between the two countries are now at a chilly level, with rounds of talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar surrounding the Rohingya crisis and Myanmar’s last-minute bungling of repatriation. In such a context, Bangladesh is looking for a possible solution to this crisis in military diplomacy.

Just like political diplomacy, military diplomacy has had positive discussions with Myanmar’s military leadership to resolve the Ro-

hingya crisis, and in terms of defense cooperation, the relationship between the two countries will accelerate and strengthen mutual trust with this friendly country.

The Bangladesh army and border guard have seen success in military diplomacy before. In May 2014, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member Naik Mizanur Rahman was killed in firing by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP), causing intense tension on the border between the two countries.

Later, on the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the then BGB Director General (DG) took the initiative to develop bilateral relations with Myanmar Border Guard Police. In June of that year, he led an 8-member Bangladesh delegation to a meeting of the BGB and Myanmar Police Force (MPF) chiefs in Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw. This was the BGB’s first meeting with the Myanmar Police Force (MPF). The meeting was considered as a milestone in the development of the border forces of the two countries. BGB and BGP worked together for a long time by accepting the land border agreement during the visit of the then BGB Director General. This brings relief to Bangladesh’s 261 km border with Myanmar. Based on that meeting, Myanmar then expressed good neighborly behavior with Bangladesh.

A Myanmar military commander has visited Bangladesh Army chief General in Dhaka in an apparent attempt to improve relations and boost regional security on October 27, 2022.

According to ISPR statement, the Myanmar military’s special operation commander, Lieutenant General Phone Myat, explained the situation in Myanmar and how the junta was trying to maintain law and order while working with friendly countries.

The statement said Bangladesh army chief discussed improving military relations, discussions between commanders and training exchanges. He called for Myanmar to work with Bangladesh to ensure regional security and the rapid repatriation of the Rohingya community. Myanmar’s delegation expressed interest in cooperating in professional growth and training exchanges, increasing friendship and solving problems bilaterally, the statement said.

Army chief General Shafiuddin stated in September that Bangladesh’s armed forces were prepared to act if Myanmar’s troops continued to fire across the border while pursuing the Arakan Army. He claimed that he complained strongly to his colleague in Myanmar about the shelling, gunfire, and interference with jet and drone flights that resulted in the death of a Rohingya refugee and injuries to others in the

Bandarban district.

Tatmadaw, the military of Myanmar, has been engaged in combat with the AA in northern Rakhine State, close to the Bangladeshi border. Since August, Bangladesh has complained to the international community about fighter jet and drone flights over its territory as well as mortar and machine gun rounds that cross the border.

Mohammad Ikbal, a 17-year-old Rohingya teenager, was killed by at least three mortar rounds that were launched into Bangladesh on September 16. Six other people were also hurt. The visit was welcomed and is a great development. A battalion-level flag meeting between Border Guard Bangladesh and Myanmar Border Guard Police on Sunday decided to improve bilateral relations between the two countries, while the Myanmar side regretted the recent incidents of shelling along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.The meeting stressed the need to take necessary steps to boost communication, confidence, and trust between the border guarding forces of the two ‘friendly countries.’ Although it has a long history, military diplomacy is currently being addressed in several nations. The Rohingya issue and the most recent border dispute have a negative impact on the peace, security, and stability of the region. Regional peace and security

will be threatened by the Rohingya repatriation’s delay. Military influence and diplomacy may play a decisive role in ending the Rohingya Crisis. Additionally, given that Myanmar is currently governed by a military government, the military’s position will be able to strengthen bilateral ties. Bangladesh foreign ministry can therefore develop plans and measures to end the Rohingya issue with this goal in mind. The solution to the border conflict between Bangladesh and Myanmar lies in multilateral diplomacy. Strengthening military diplomacy is necessary in this regard.

Although Bangladesh and Myanmar share a border of 271 kilometers, the Rohingya refugee crisis has been a long-standing bilateral issue between Myanmar and Bangladesh. But in order to assist in resolving this regional humanitarian crisis, both involved parties must participate in meaningful political dialogue.

To establish a long-lasting political solution, Myanmar and Bangladesh could use military diplomacy as a tactic.

Basically, there should be regular exchanges of visits, training sessions, and joint exercises between the military forces of Bangladesh and Myanmar. These will lessen mistrust while boosting assurance and comprehension. Additionally, this may assist in resolving the region’s ongoing Rohingya refugee problem.

Bangladesh and Myanmar must forge militarydiplomatic ties in order to successfully handle the Rohingya repatriation process. The Rohingya situation might be resolved with the use of military diplomacy and clout. The military role will be able to promote bilateral relations because Myanmar is governed by a military regime.

Military diplomatic communication is an effective strategy in strengthening relations with neighboring states. As Myanmar is Bangladesh’s only neighboring country after India, its strategic importance is undeniable for Bangladesh. It has tried all kinds of bilateral and multilateral efforts to deal with the ongoing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, but so far, no promising results have been achieved. The influence of the military on state power in Myanmar is immense. Apart from that, the current Rohingya crisis falls within the ambit of the army. As a result, any move to deal with the crisis without involving the country’s army is bound to fail. Had there already been a close professional relationship between the Bangladesh and Myanmar armies, that relationship could have been put to good use in de-escalating the current crisis.

Dr Arpita Hazarika.

The author is a Gauhati University, Assam, Indiabased researcher.

(Concluded)

“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.”

~ Wilma Rudolph

SNIPPETS

70 livestock perish in J&K road mishap

JAMMU, MAY 4

(IANS): A truck carrying sheep and goats fell into a gorge on Thursday on Jammu-Srinagar highway killing all the livestock.

Officials said that a truck carrying sheep and goats went out of the driver’s control at Domail in Udhampur district killing all the 70 livestock it was carrying.

Two killed in J&K’s Ramban hotel fire

JAMMU, MAY 4

(IANS): Two persons were charred to death and five were injured on Thursday in a hotel fire in J&K’s Ramban district. Police said that the fire started in Maa Shanti hotel in Sanawar tourist resort of Ramban district today morning.

Fire quickly engulfed the entire hotel. Two persons were killed and five were injured in this incident.

Gangster killed in STF encounter in UP

MEERUT (UP), MAY

4 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) shot dead dreaded gangster Anil Dujana in an encounter here on Thursday afternoon. The gangster was in the list of most wanted criminals in the state. He had been in jail since 2012, but was granted bail in 2021. Dujana had 62 cases registered against him, including that of murder and extortion. He carried a reward of Rs 50,000 and was booked in several charges, including National Security Act (NSA) and Goonda Act.

Girl abducted, gangraped by three minors

BULANDSHAHR, MAY 4 (IANS): A 15-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and gangraped by three minors in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. The three accused are absconding and the police are conducting raids to arrest them. According to complaint filed by the girl’s uncle, the incident took place on Wednesday when the victim had gone out of her house to dispose of cow dung.

2 terrorists killed in Baramulla encounter

SRINAGAR, MAY 4 (IANS): Two LeT terrorists killed in an encounter between terrorists and security forces at Drach area in Wanigam Payeen Kreeri area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district have been identified, officials said on Thursday. Police said incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one AK 47 rifle and one pistol was recovered from the killed terrorists.

Decision to quit as NCP chief for party’s future: Pawar tells cadres

has always said national politics interests her.

Developments in NCP won’t impact MVA, says Uddhav

MUMBAI, MAY 4

(PTI):

of days’

MUMBAI, MAY 4 (PTI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said his decision to step down from the post was taken for the future of the party and to create a new leadership. His assertion came even as party workers continued to demand that Pawar reconsider his decision. NCP leaders, on condition of anonymity, said Baramati Lok Sabha MP and Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is likely to be the party’s national chief while Ajit Pawar will take charge of the Maharashtra unit. A committee set up by 82-yearold Pawar will meet at 11am on Friday to decide on who will head the NCP next.

As per party leaders, the mantle of NCP chief is likely to remain within

Sharad Pawar

the Pawar family as giving the reins to someone from outside may lead to rifts and power tussles in the outfit formed in 1999. These leaders asserted Sule, a three-term LS MP, had established herself as an effective parliamentarian and has contacts with leaders of parties across the political spectrum, whereas Ajit Pawar has good hold over the state unit and is widely acknowledged as an able administrator. Moreover, these leaders added that Ajit Pawar had recently spoken about his chief ministerial dreams, while Sule

Incidentally, senior NCP leader and former state minister Chhagan Bhujbal had said Sule should take up the party’s national mantle and Ajit Pawar must head the state unit, though the MLA from Yeola in Nashik was quick to add that this was his personal opinion.

Speaking outside the Y B Chavan Centre in the city, where his supporters have been camping to demand his continuation as the party chief, Pawar said he would take a final decision in the next couple of days and the sentiments of party workers will not be ignored.

“I respect your sentiments. I should have discussed my plans with all of you and taken you into confidence. But I know you wouldn’t have allowed me to take the decision (of stepping down as party chief),” the former Union minister

told his supporters. He said some party colleagues from outside Maharashtra will meet him on Friday to discuss the issue. “I will take a final decision in one or two days,” Pawar said. As emotions ran high among his supporters, Pawar tried to pacify them outside the YB Chavan Centre. The party cadres gathered at the place urged Pawar to appoint a working president of the party, while he himself should continue in the post.

Some of them said Pawar should helm the party at least till 2024 as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are due, while others said if he did not reconsider his decision, they would resort to hunger strike. Pawar on Tuesday sprang a surprise by announcing his decision to quit as president of the party he founded and headed since 1999 when he left the Congress to chart his own political course.

EAM holds talks with Chinese counterpart

BENAULIM (GOA), MAY 4

(PTI): External Affairs Minister

S Jaishankar on Thursday conveyed to his Chinese counterpart

Qin Gang the importance of resolving the eastern Ladakh border row and ensuring peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for normalisation of bilateral ties.

Jaishankar held nearly onehour talks with Qin at Taj Exotica Resort in this sea-side village on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

In a tweet, the external affairs minister said the focus remained on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. “A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship.Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” he said. Jaishankar said the discussions were also held on issues relating to the SCO, G20 and BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-ChinaSouth Africa).

People familiar with the talks said the discussions cen-

tred around the border row and Jaishankar insisted on its early resolution. There was no official readout on the meeting from the Indian and Chinese sides.

The meeting between the two foreign ministers was their second in the last two months.

The Chinese foreign minister visited India in March to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers. On the sidelines of the meeting, Jaishankar held talks with Qin during which he conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the state of IndiaChina relations is “abnormal” because of the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh. Last

week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at a meeting that China’s violation of existing border agreements “eroded” the entire basis of ties between the two countries and that all issues relating to the frontier must be resolved in accordance with the existing pacts.

The meeting on April 27 took place in New Delhi on the sidelines of a conclave of the SCO defence ministers.

Days ahead of the meeting between the two defence ministers, the Indian and Chinese armies held 18th round of talks on ending the border row.

Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, on Thursday expressed confidence that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar’s decision to step down as the party chief will not dent the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.

Addressing a press conference here, the former Maharashtra chief minister assured that he will not do anything that hurt the opposition alliance’s unity.

Thackeray also said he was not opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi but was against dictatorship, and urged all political parties to come together to defeat it.

“The developments in NCP won’t dent the MVA,” Thackeray said. He, however, declined to comment on Pawar’s decision to step down as the party chief.

Pawar on Tuesday

sprang a surprise as he announced his decision to step down as the NCP president, jolting his party and the opposition alliance.

The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP and Congress are partners in the MVA. The government headed by this alliance ruled Maharashtra from November 2019 to June 2022.

MVA leaders earlier expressed shock over Pawar’s decision and said his guidance was needed at this juncture. Pawar was instrumental in the formation of the unlikely alliance of his NCP, Congress and

their then ideological foe

Shiv Sena in 2019.

On PM Modi, Thackeray said, “My fight is not against any individual, but the tendency. This is why leaders of all political parties and people should come together to defeat dictatorship.”

Slamming the PM for urging the people of Karnataka to say ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ when they cast their vote to “punish” the Congress for its “culture of abuse”, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up attack on the opposition party over its election manifesto promise of banning the Bajrang Dal.

Thackeray said his father Bal Thackeray’s voting right was revoked for talking about Hindutva in an election speech in 1987.

He also wondered that if the PM has given the call to say ‘Jai Bajrangbali’, then there must be some change in the election law on religious propagation.

Manipur violence: Organisations appeal for peace

(From p-1)

“We call on all members of society to refrain from engaging in violent acts and to instead engage in peaceful dialogue to address their concerns,” it added.

It also called for the authorities to take appropriate measures to bring perpetrators of crime to justice and to address the underlying issues that have contributed to the situation.

NEICC: In another statement North East India Christian Council expressed serious concern by the violence that has resulted in loss of properties and precious lives.

In a statement, NEICC president Rev. R. Lalnunzira and general secretary Rev. Dr. Ramengliana also condemned the attacks on places of worship and appealed all for peace and to maintain restraint.

The council termed the incidents as “shameful and most undesirable” as one people of the North East India and urged the government authorities to take urgent steps to contain the situation

The council also appealed to the civil society to shoulder responsibility in alleviating the

Scribe roughed up at Jantar Mantar; IWPC demand probe

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (PTI): Associations of mediapersons on Thursday demanded a probe into the allegations that Delhi Police personnel roughed up a female journalist covering the wrestlers’ protests against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.

In a joint statement, the Indian Women’s Press Corps and the Press Club of India demand a probe into

the matter and said strict action should be taken the erring police personnel for their treatment of journalist Sakshi Joshi.

Joshi has alleged she was “manhandled” by Delhi Police personnel on Wednesday night at Jantar Mantar where she was covering the protests by the wrestlers demanding action against WFI chief Singh.

Mahila Congress chief Netta D’Souza, Shiv Sena

Cong wins big in Shimla civic polls

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the party workers on Thursday for a big victory in the Shimla Municipal Corporation polls, saying people have reposed their faith in the party due to the fulfilment of the guarantees given by the Himachal Pradesh government and hoping that Karnataka will do the same.

“Many congratulations to all our lion-hearted workers, leaders and members of the state for the big victory of the Congress in the Shimla Municipal Corporation polls,” the former party chief said in a tweet in Hindi. “The Himachal Pradesh government has fulfilled the promises given to the people and that is why Shimla has reposed its faith in the Congress. Now, it is the turn of the five guarantees in Karnataka,” he added.

The Congress also tweeted, saying the party has registered a landslide victory in the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) elec -

tions. “Congratulations to all the newly-elected members. Service of the people -- the resolution of the Congress,” it said.

Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The historic victory of the Congress in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections is the victory of the party’s policies and its dedication to people. We thank the people of Shimla for this trust.”

“My best wishes to all the hard working Congress workers. In Karnataka too, the Congress has given guarantees of progress. We appeal to the people of Karnataka to form a Congress government with a big majority,” she said in a tweet in Hindi. Another Congress general secretary, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said, “The Congress government implemented guarantees in Himachal. Result: Congress wrests Shimla Municipal Corporation....”

“The Congress will implement its 5 guarantees

in Karnataka too. Change is here. Congress is here,” he tweeted. The Karnataka Assembly polls are scheduled to be held on May 10.

The ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh swept the SMC polls on Thursday with a two-thirds majority, by winning 24 of the 34 wards, wresting the prestigious civic body from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP captured nine wards, while the CPI(M) managed to win one, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi said.

Both the BJP and Congress had fielded 34 candidates each and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had put up four.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had fielded 21 candidates, failed to get results in the polls held on Tuesday. All the nine independents were also defeated.

A total of 102 contestants were in the fray.

The Congress had won the Assembly polls in the hill state in December 2022, winning 40 of the 68 seats.

(UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate condemned the alleged roughing up of Joshi by Delhi Police.

A scuffle broke out between the wrestlers and Delhi Police personnel on Wednesday night when AAP leaders brought folding beds to the protest site. In a video being circulated on social media platforms, some of the pro-

testers can be heard accusing a police personnel of attacking two wrestlers under the influence of alcohol. “Sufficient women officers were on duty during the night. On the medical examination, no police personnel were found drunk. Five police personnel sustained injuries during the night scuffle,” Delhi Police said on Twitter giving an update on the incident at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday night.

state of affairs.

Further, the council called upon all member units to extend help to the victims and to continue to pray fervently for peace and harmony in the region.

NPMHR: Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) has appealed to the better nature, good sense and enlightened self-interest of the people to bring an immediate end to the acts of killing and vandalism.

In a statement, the organisation called upon community leaders and legislators to immediately take action to de-escalate the volatile situation and resume dialogue and negotiations with the stakeholders.

Noting the seemingly endless cycle of violence, it also mourned the loss of lives and communal fraternity in a region that had been long vitiated by wanton injustice and use of force.

According to NPMHR, the issuing of shoot-on-sight orders smacked of the familiar and dangerous high-handedness of a State that had historically proven to be insensitive to the needs and demands of its own citizens.

“This unwillingness to listen

and negotiate has birthed the very instability and societal fragility that the State is now trying to deal with in ‘fire-fighting’ mode,” the statement pointed out.

NSA: Naga Scholars’ Association (NSA) through its executive council violence cannot be condoned or justified by any means. NSA maintained that violence and hatred can never be the solution to any issue as it would only lead to more conflicts, mistrust, and unrest in the long run.

NSA said it “unequivocally” condemned any form of violence and mob activity that disrupted the peace and stability of the community.

It stressed that the need of the hour was to work together by disregarding prejudices, and with informed minds build a society, that was based on mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance.

NSA has, therefore, strongly appealed to the higher authority for an immediate restoration of peace and order in the region. It also called for taking cognizance of the enormous losses of both the individual and public properties and redressing the grievances of those who suffered during the violent clashes.

‘Will take final call in couple

Uddhav Thackeray

S Jaishankar meets State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China in Panaji, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI)

One day ‘BizAmp’ held at Agri Expo

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, MAY 4

(NPN): Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in association with NSIC Venture Capital Fund Limited, organised “BizAmp- Amplifying businesses of Northeast region through SRI Fund”, on Thursday, at Agri Expo Hall, Chümoukedima, with secretary, ministry of MSME, government of India, BB Swain, as the chief guest.

Addressing the gathering, Swain stated that the Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund was an attempt by the ministry to get more MSMEs and entrepreneurs to benefit from the fund, which had done remarkably well. He also expressed his appreciation on acquiring 42 daughter funds after only 18 months of starting in the region.

Speaking on the presence of significant credit and equity gap in MSME sector, he stated that the SRI fund was essentially created

BB Swain (NP)

to deal with the concept of equity gap.

He also added that the ministry has been looking into the equity funding which was going to the MSMEs, also that many financings had gone to business houses in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Bangalore, which had obviously more takers.

Swain expressed hope that the panel discussion session would benefit representatives and make them fit enough to be investors and that the program should be the beginning of this activity and keep on expanding such activities.

He however added there were still many spaces left to be covered, and thereby appealed the representatives to spread, keep going and to identify the scheme and focus, so as to utilize the scheme and come up with more targets.

He also spoke on MBM VIKAS to be launched in September, which would target the smallest sector, including handicap, those in pottery, carpentry, etc., looking into around 120 trades.

He noted that this will be first time the central government would bring in a scheme that would deal in an end to end kind of service, starting with credits, guarantors, tooling, training, etc.

Terming entrepreneurs as the “bravest people” who take risks, and create jobs for people of the country, Swain lauded the entrepreneurs.

Delivering a short speech, CEO & director, NVCFL, Saravana Kumar, spoke on how the eight North Eastern states would benefit through the SRI

Fund.

He noted that the SRI Fund’s BIZ AMP event at Dimapur was aimed at promoting entrepreneurship opportunities for MSMEs in the North-East Region.

Kumar added that NER has huge business opportunities in sectors such as tourism, bamboo and rubber cultivation, medicinal plant extraction & related to health care sector, pharmaceuticals, handloom, muga silk weaving, wool spinning & textiles, coir processing, honey bee manufacturing, floriculture, horticulture, sericulture, coffee & tea production, ethanol, sugar manufacturing, spices, pulp & paper, wine manufacturing, malt production, wooden products, furniture making, footwear, chemicals manufacturing, fruit processing, bidis manufacturing, candle making, fishery, poultry, piggery, animal husbandry, handicrafts, personal care products, food processing, frozen food manufacturing, green energy production, retail

DCCI flays May 3 incident at wholesale fish market

(From p-1)

The chamber also urged the district administration and CP office to reveal the identity of the perpetrators in print/social media for their reprehensible act.

DCCI affirmed full support to the fish association’s call for indefinite ban starting May 5 until the matter was resolved.

Meanwhile, DCCI said it

had been receiving complaints that prices of poultry products (chickens) have increased in the last few days. It stated that abnormal increase in prices of poultry products (both wholesale/retail) was attributed to ban on import of pigs from other states including Assam.

In this regard, DCCI has requested the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) to strictly monitor and ensure

that poultry products were sold as per the rates fixed by DMC and not to let unscrupulous poultry traders take advantage of the situation.

Meanwhile, DCCI has reminded the business community to install CCTVs in their respective office/ godown/shop so that unwanted elements could be apprehended with the help of the police.

As Manipur burns, Centre takes over security of State

(From p-1)

Arson on Church: At least 11 churches spread over Imphal East-West, Kakching Thoubal, Bishenpur and Churachandpur were reportedly torched and vandalised. Religious places and houses were also vandalised.

The spotlight on those groups targeting churches has raised serious concerns on why religion has come to be an issues in an otherwise religiously peaceful state.

Fifty-five columns of the Army and Assam Rifles had to be deployed to contain widespread rioting that broke out across Manipur. The Army also kept some 14 columns on standby

for deployment in case the situation flared up once again, a defence spokesperson said.

The Centre, which is monitoring the situation in Manipur, also dispatched teams of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised force to handle riots, for deployment in violence-hit areas of the state.

The army and Assam Rifles staged flag marches in Khuga, Tampa, Khomaujanbba areas of Churachandpur. Flag marches were also carried out in Mantripukhri, Lamphel, Koeirangi area of Imphal Valley, and Sugnu in Kakching district on Thursday, the defence spokesperson said.

sector, education, travel sector, plastics manufacturing, IT/ IT enabled services, etc.

He maintained that the government of India had launched SRI fund with an outlay corpus of Rs. 10, 006 crore, concentrated towards financing an infusion of capital of MSMEs through daughter funds.

He further added that the SRI fund managed by NVCFL is an Alternative Investment Fund (AFI) providing growth capital to MSMEs through equity/ quasi-equity/ equity-like structured instruments. “As on March 31, 2023, the fund has made a capital commitment of Rs. 5,120 crore to 42 empanelled daughter funds”, he added.

Eearlier, the programme was chaired by Gugu Haralu, welcome address delivered by NSIC CMD, chairperson, NVCFL, & jt secretary, MSME, Mercy Epao and keynote address delivered by addl development commissioner, ministry of MSME, Dr Ihita Ganguli Tripathy.

Pork back on sale from May 8, but at higher rate

(From p-1)

Asked whether the union has fixed the proposed rate of pork, he said that the union did not have any authority to fix the rate, adding that DMC was the responsible authority.

He, however, said that it would not be possible to sell pork meat at the present rate fixed by DMC, which is Rs 200 for wholesale and Rs. 280 for retail.

PBUD cautioned that government’s failure to come up with a solution would compel the union to sell the meat with a difference of Rs 100 between wholesale and retail price per kilo.

The union said that wholesale price in Assam was ranged from Rs. 240-250.

Asked why pork was being sold at Rs 300 per kilo when DMC had set the retail price at Rs. 280, PUBD president said that the butchers had no option since they had to pay tax to seveneight groups.

PBUD vice president, Hotoshe Zhimo, also lamented that the state government failed to check the rates of other meat sellers and only fixated on pork sellers. He expressed regret that no individual or organization voiced out against rise in price of other meat sellers.

Meanwhile, the union has informed that helpline numbers would soon be set up for customers to file complaints against butchers tampering weighing scale.

(From p-1)

In a statement, the GPRN/NSCN led by MB Neokpao Konyak and N Kitovi Zhimomi clarified that the situation of 2019 was different from 2023, but the vision and goal of both the organisations was to secure Naga people’s history, political Identity and aspirations. It asserted that Nagas were the masters of their own land and Zeliangrong Nagas strengthened this powerful truth.

The organisation said the clarification was issued so that ZUF members in particular and Zeliangrong people in general could have clarity on the official position between GPRN/NSCN and ZUF.

According to the statement, the alliance between GPRN/NSCN and ZUF was signed in New Delhi on October 28, 2019. It claimed that the negotiations between the Centre and NNPGs had

traversed much depths and heights on all crucial matters and on the table was a workable, acceptable and honourable solution for all Nagas.

GPRN/NSCN said the ZUF too had closely followed the Naga peace process and explained that the political situation and environment favoured an alliance between the two organisations. It pointed out that as per the understanding, ZUF chairman would be a part of Naga delegation on political negotiations to air the problems of Zeliangrong people living in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur.

GPRN/NSCN claimed that the ZUF representatives enjoyed the confidence and hospitality of WC, NNPG convener and co-convener to date. It mentioned that a very strong bond was maintained because Zeliangrong family was an integral part of the Naga vision.

Govt sets up panel to restructure police force: Patton

(From p-1)

Unauthorized absence: Taking note of some personnel on unauthorized absence from duty, Patton said that such acts of misconducts has affected the command and control and more so when senior officers follow the same. In this regard, Patton directed DGP to report such unreasonable actions so that appropriate actions could be initiated against them.

War against drugs:

With regard to state police initiative on ‘War on Drugs’, Patton informed during that during the last four months, systematic efforts had been undertaken to arrest criminals and disrupt drug peddling and trafficking networks.

In continuance of Prime Minister and Union Home Minister’s ‘Nasha Mukt Abhiyaan’, he said the police registered 101

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cases and arrested 143 persons, which included six police personnel.

Though the traffickers have been put under preventive detention, Patton also said that the DGP has been asked complete the departmental inquiry against those personnel arrested in order to send across a strong message of ‘zero tolerance’. He also said that the DGP has been asked to screen out police personnel with substance abuse and initiate suitable disciplinary action.

He also said that the state police had set up an Anti-Narcotics Task Force both at the state level with state-wide jurisdiction and in districts to focus on drug menace.

Meanwhile, Patton also took note of the issue of shortage of vehicles for deployment particularly during law and order

VacaNcy

situation. He directed the department to withdraw vehicles which were attached to retired officers and also at the same time appealed the retired officers to cooperate with the exercise.

The press conference was attended by DGP Rupin Sharma and other senior police officials.

It may be mentioned that the HLC headed by DGP Rupin Sharma include-- ADGP (Adm) Renchamo P Kikon, special secretary (home) S.R Saravanan, ADGP (L&O) Sandeep M Tamgadge, IGP (NAP) Liremo Tsopoe, IGP (Trg & Bdr) Jasbir Singh, IGP (INT) Martin Pienyu, IGP (Range) Limasunep Jamir and DIGP (Range) Kohima Rothihu Tetseo.

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SNIPPETS

Deadly bus crash with truck kills 17 in Egypt

CAIRO, MAY 4 (AP): A passenger bus has slammed into a slowly moving truck on a highway in southwestern Egypt, killing at least 17 people, officials and local media said Thursday. The crash took place late Wednesday in the New Valley province, according to its governor, Mohamed el-Zamlout. Twenty-nine others were injured, said the Health Ministry, adding that 26 ambulances were dispatched to the accident scene to transfer victims to nearby hospitals and morgues. It was unclear who outside the bus had been hurt or killed, and authorities didn’t elaborate on what caused the crash.

Seven teachers shot dead in Pak school

ISLAMABAD, MAY 4 (IANS): At least seven teachers were shot at a school on Thursday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s

Upper Kurram Tehsil, law enforcers said, with emergency being imposed in all the hospitals of the area after the latest incident of violence in the northwestern province, media reports said. The local police said an unidentified gunmen shot seven teachers in the staffroom of the tehsil’s high school. The teachers were in the building for performing their exam duties, The News reported.

8 die in overnight fire in Czech city of Brno

PRAGUE, MAY 4 (AP):

Eight people have died in an overnight fire in the second largest city in the Czech Republic, police said on Thursday. The fire broke out about two hours after midnight in Brno, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Prague. Czech public television said those who died were likely homeless people in a shelter. The rescuers said they didn’t find any injured people. Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of the blaze.

Denmark to boost military spending to upgrade facilities

COPENHAGEN, MAY 4

(AP): Denmark’s centrist government wants to spend 38 billion kroner ($5.6 billion) over the next decade to modernize military facilities, renovate shabby and dilapidated buildings, increase the number of soldiers and upgrade outdated computer systems. Acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called it “a very serious situation” and said that previous governments and senior defense officials haven’t prioritized spending money on such facilities.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy convinced Putin will face court justice

THE HAGUE, MAY 4 (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he was convinced that Russian President Putin would face an international war crimes court when Ukraine wins the war that has been raging for over a year.

In a speech titled “No Peace without Justice for Ukraine” given in The Hague, the city that hosts the International Criminal Court, Zelenskyy said that Putin “deserves to be sentenced for these criminal actions right here in the capital of the international law.”

“And I’m sure we will see that happen when we win. And we will win,” he said. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, relating to the abduction of children.

The ICC cannot prosecute the crime of war aggression itself. Zelenskyy’s speech was an appeal for a full-fledged tribunal to prosecute that overarching crime, a heart-felt plea for a special tribunal for aggression.

“If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings

of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct that shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law.”

Zelenskyy’s speech came a day after he denied that Ukrainian forces were responsible for what the Kremlin called an attempt to assassinate Putin in a drone attack on Moscow. The Kremlin promised retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act.

Putin’s spokesman on Thursday accused the United States of being behind the alleged attack.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily conference call that the Kremlin was “well aware that the decision on such actions and terrorist attacks is not made in Kyiv, but in Washington.”

“And then Kyiv does what it’s told to do,” Peskov said, without offering

evidence for his claim.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military claimed three Russian drones that hit the southern city of Odesa early Thursday had “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin” written on them, seemingly referring to the strikes in Moscow. Also, Kyiv was the target of an air attack for the third time in four days.

In total, Ukraine’s Air Forces intercepted 18 out of 24 Iranian-made drones launched by Russian forces in various regions. No casualties were reported. Zelenskyy was welcomed outside the ICC building by the court’s president, Poland’s Piotr Hofmanski. Staff crowded at windows to get a glimpse of Zelenskyy’s arrival and raised a Ukrainian flag next to the court’s own flag outside the building.

Judges at the ICC last month announced they had found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights were responsible for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

But the chances of Putin standing trial in The Hague are remote. The court does not have a po-

Oppn in Kenya calls off street protests

protests over the high cost of living and alleged electoral fraud and had vowed to resume demonstrations on Thursday unless their demands are addressed.

Taiwan trade chief warns against ‘unnecessary fear’ of China

WASHINGTON, MAY 4

lice force to execute its warrants, and the Russian leader is unlikely to travel to any of the ICC’s 123 member states that are under an obligation to arrest him if they can. The ICC said in a March 18 statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has made repeated visits to Ukraine and is setting up an office in Kyiv to facilitate his ongoing investigations.

However, the ICC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute Putin for aggression — the unlawful invasion of another sovereign country. The Dutch government has offered to host a court that could be established to prosecute the crime of aggression and an office is being established to gather evidence.

The new International Centre for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression should be operational by summer, the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, said in February.

Israelis protest against Netanyahu legal plan

(AP): Taiwan’s chief trade representative says his country’s semiconductor makers will expand production in the US as much as they can afford to do so, but he insists Taiwan remains an ideal place for that production and other US trade, business and investment, despite tensions with China.

John Chen-Chung

Deng spoke to The Associated Press on a visit this week to Washington, where he is leading a Taiwanese trade delegation and meeting with US trade officials.

Deng’s visit comes at a time of intensifying efforts to harden the US and Taiwanese militaries and economies against any threat from rival China. As part of this, President Joe Biden and Congress are moving to boost semiconductor production on US soil in the event of any conflict disrupting exports from Asia, especially from Taiwan.

Semiconductors make electronics ranging from phones to electric cars to advanced weapons run, and Taiwan produces more than 90 per cent of the world’s more advanced semiconductors.

At the same time, Pentagon leaders have been touring the Indo-Pacific to rally regiona l allies in

bolstering military defenses and deterrence. A House committee last month wargamed a hypothetical attack by China on Taiwan and US positions as part of a bipartisan congressional effort to find specific ways to boost deterrence.

Deng said Americans should see these efforts as ensuring that Chinese President Xi Jinping will never feel confident enough to invade Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

“We should avoid any exaggeration or rhetoric which doesn’t reflect the true situation, that creates fear ... unnecessary fear,” said Deng. He said the US business community in Taiwan assures him it is still expanding and hiring.

He cited the experienced workforce and support industries that Taiwan offers for semiconductor producers and for Google, Amazon and other US businesses on its soil.

Relations between

the US and China have hit dramatic peaks in tensions over the past two years as Xi’s government asserts China’s growing strength economically, diplomatically and militarily. That includes China underscoring its broad territorial claims in the region. China, for its part, accuses the US of meddling in its internal affairs and pursuing a containment strategy against China to prevent its rise.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations. They are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment. The Chinese Communist Party regularly flies fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan to enforce its stance that the island is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The Biden administration and Republicans and Democrats in Congress broadly support strengthening the US and Taiwanese positions in the region to discourage any Chinese invasion of the island. For Taiwan, that swell in US support overall has also brought renewed focus from Washington on the island’s decades-old appeals to the US to overhaul its tax and trade policies toward the island.

Russia accuses US of being behind alleged Kremlin drone attack

NAIROBI, MAY 4 (IANS):

The main opposition coalition in Kenya, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance Coalition Party, has called off street protests that they had scheduled for Thursday after the government agreed to one of their demands to engage in bipartisan talks.

The coalition had demanded that the government drop one of the lawmakers it had selected to represent it in the parliamentary talks before they started, noting that the member belonged to the opposition coalition, reports Xinhua news agency.

The government replaced the MP with an agreeable one prompting the coalition to call off protests, which it had resumed after a three-week break. Regarding its voe to call off the protests, the coalition said it “took this step follow-

ing the decision by Kenya Kwanza (a Kenyan political alliance currently headed by President William Ruto) to accede to one of our demands that informed the resumption of mass action”.

The opposition said instead of holding the protests, they have summoned their seven-member delegation to the bipartisan committee for fresh instructions to inform further engagement with the Kenya Kwanza side.

“As a party, we express deep gratitude to all Kenyans who have participated in the demonstrations in defense of justice and democracy in our country. We also wish to reiterate that we will not hesitate to resume mass action at the slightest indication of lack of goodwill and honesty on the Kenya Kwanza side.” The opposition has been holding

On Tuesday, at least two vehicles were burnt and fuel stations vandalised in Nairobi as the coalition held street protests to push the government to act on the high cost of living and electoral injustice. The protests that followed collapsed talks with Ruto’s government over their grievances and slowed down activities in the capital.

Kithure Kindiki, the cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, said 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the robberies, arson, and malicious damage of property within Nairobi, while 32 have been arrested in different parts of western Kenya.

All suspects will be arraigned in court, said Kindiki. There was a heavy presence of police across the Nairobi central business district during the demonstrations on Tuesday, with officers blocking roads leading into the city centre to prevent opposition supporters and their leaders from getting in.

Iranian president meets Palestinian officials in Syria

DAMASCUS (SYRIA), MAY 4 (AP): Iran’s president met senior Palestinian officials in Damascus and expressed his country’s support to them on Thursday as Tehran and Syria signed a series of agreements.

Damascus-based Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Majid told The Associated Press that the delegation briefed Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi on the situation in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.

Iran has been a main backer of some Palestinian factions supplying them with weapons and money.

“The Palestinian leaders thanked Iran for its support to the resistance and the Palestinian cause,” Abdul-Majid, who attended the talks, said after the meeting.

He added that Raisi confirmed to the Palestinian officials, including top leaders from the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that Iran will continue supporting the Pal-

estinians.

Raisi began a two-day visit to Syria during which the two countries signed a series of long-term cooperation agreements on oil and other sectors to bolster economic ties between the two allies.

Raisi held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and visited holy shrines for Shiite Muslims near the capital Damascus.

Tehran has been a main backer of Assad’s government since a 2011 uprising turned into fullblown civil war and has

played an instrumental role in turning the tide of the conflict in his favour.

Iran has sent scores of military advisers and thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the Middle East to Syria to fight on Assad’s side.

Tehran has also been an economic lifeline for Assad, sending fuel and credit lines worth billions of dollars.

Syrian government forces have regained control of large parts of the country in recent years, with the help of its two

main allies — Russia and Iran.

With Arab governments that once advocated Assad’s downfall now slowly making amends with Damascus, Iran appears to be hoping to reap the rewards for its decadeslong support of the Syrian president with investment and economic opportunities to help alleviate its own ailing economy.

Syrian state media said Raisi and Assad signed agreements and memorandums of understanding related to several sectors, including oil, agriculture, railways and free trade zones.

Iran’s state-owned railway company has long aspired to expand its network through neighbouring Iraq and Syria, linking it to the Syrian port of Latakia on the Mediterranean Sea to boost trade.

Syria’s opposition and Tehran critics see this as another Iran attempt at growing its political influence.

TEL AVIV, MAY 4 (AP): Israelis blocked roads and demonstrated on Thursday against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, hoping to ramp up pressure on lawmakers after parliament reconvened this week following a monthlong recess.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure and the opposing sides are trying to reach a compromise agreement. But in a sign of the mistrust of his intentions, tens of thousands have continued to protest every Saturday night since. Thursday’s midweek protest was smaller, but demonstrators are hoping to remind legislators of their presence and their past ability to disrupt the country over their opposition to the overhaul.

Dozens of protests under waves of Israeli flags choked off major roads and intersections in seaside Tel Aviv, including briefly its main highway. Demonstrations took place outside the homes of Israel’s ceremonial president and the country’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

US denies involvement in Kremlin drone attack

The White House on Wednesday denied any involvement in an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, after Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of guiding Ukraine to launch the assault, reports AFP.

blamed Ukraine for those attacks too.

“Attempts to disown this (attack on the Kremlin), both in Kyiv and in Washington, are, of course, absolutely ridiculous. We know very well that decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are made not in Kyiv but in Washington,” Peskov told reporters. The Kremlin has said it reserves the right to retaliate. Peskov said on Thursday an urgent investigation was under way and that any response would be carefully considered and balanced.

A flying object exploding in an intense burst of light near the dome of the Kremlin Senate building in Moscow, Russia. WASHINGTON/ MOSCOW, MAY 4 (AGENCIES): Russia said on Thursday that the United States was behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin that aimed to kill President Vladimir Putin, while Moscow’s forces fired more combat drones at Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, without providing evidence, said Ukraine had acted on U.S. orders with the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin citadel in the early hours of Wednesday.

Kyiv has denied involvement in that incident, which followed a string of explosions over the past week targeting freight trains and oil depots in western Russia and Russian-controlled Crimea. Moscow has

Likelihood of El Nino developing later this year rising: WMO

GENEVA, MAY 4 (IANS):

The likelihood of El Nino developing later this year is increasing, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

This would have the opposite impacts on weather and climate patterns in many regions of the world to the long-running La Nina and would likely raise global temperatures, according to the WMO’s El Nino /La Nina Update, which is based on input from WMO Global Producing Centres of LongRange Forecasts and expert assessment. The unusually stubborn La Nina has now ended after a three-year run and the tropical Pacific is currently in an ENSOneutral state (neither El Nino nor La Nina), reports Xinhua news agency.

There is a 60 per cent chance for a transition from ENSO-neutral to El Nino during May-July 2023, and this will increase to about 70 per cent in June-August and 80 percent between July

and September, according to the WMO update. “We just had the eighth warmest year on record, even though we had a cooling La Nina for the past three years and this acted as a temporary brake on global temperature increase,” WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said.

“The development of an El Nino will most likely lead to a new spike in global heating and increase the chance of breaking temperature records,” Taalas added.

According to the WMO’s State of the Global Climate reports, 2016 was the warmest year on record because of a very powerful El Nino event and humaninduced warming from greenhouse gases.

The effect on global temperatures usually plays out in the year after its development and so will likely be most apparent in 2024.

El Nino occurs every two to seven years on average, and the episodes usually last nine to 12 months.

Separately, Russia’s foreign ministry said the alleged drone attack “must not go unanswered” and that it showed Kyiv had no desire to end the 15-month old war at the negotiating table.

“We had nothing to do with this,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, on MSNBC. “Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple,” he added. Russia alleges that Ukraine carried out a “terrorist attack” overnight Tuesday into Wednesday with two drones, aiming to kill President Vladimir Putin, a charge which Kyiv has denied. Peskov, Putin’s longtime press secretary, said earlier Wednesday that “decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington.”

“Kyiv only does what it is told to do,” he added.

The incident at the Kremlin comes amid several other recent explosions and trail derailments on Russian and occupied Ukrainian territory.

VACANCY NOTIFICATION

Applications are invited by the Authority from interested and eligible candidates for appointment of one Ombudsman on contract basis under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Redressal of Subscriber Grievance) Regulations, 2015 notified under the PFRDA Act, 2013. The Ombudsman shall presently operate from the office of the Authority at New Delhi. Such Ombudsman is required to discharge his/her powers and functions in the manner and as specified under the aforementioned Regulation and he/she shall receive, consider and facilitate resolution of complaints or grievances received from subscribers, covered under the provisions of the PFRDA Act, 2013.

The complete details of eligibility criteria, qualifications, disqualifications, mode of selection, remuneration payable, terms of appointment and application form etc. are available on PFRDA's webiste www.pfrda/org.in and website of NPS Trust i.e. www.npstrust.org.in. The last date of receipt of application is May 18, 2023 (18:00 hrs) Ashish

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

John Chen-Chung Deng

Police officials chasing the agitators in Nairobi.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Damascus, Syria. (AP)

Ed Sheeran copyright trial moves into deliberations stage

The Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial wrapped up testimony at the end of the court day, as the judge sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.”

U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton’s instructions may have left a high bar in the jury’s minds for just how much evidence the plaintiffs’ attorneys needed to have established to prove that Sheeran and his co-writer actually copied Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when they wrote the pop hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’, reports ‘Variety’.

According to Insider, Stanton told jurors that the lawyers for the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, needed to

“prove by a preponderance of the evidence... that Sheeran actually copied and wrongfully copied ‘Let’s Get It On’” - as opposed to the coincidental, negligible similarities argued by Sheeran’s attorneys.

The judge asked jurors to immediately begin discussing the case behind closed doors, saying that “it’s good for them to get a little bit of deliberations in” and reassuring everyone involved that “we’re not going to spend the night.”

As per Variety, the jurors’ time together lasted well under an hour before they were dismissed and asked to return Thursday morning.

In closing arguments, Sheeran attorney Ilene Farkas referred back to the other side’s contention that the singer’s concert mashup of the two songs

Anupam

to play

sexagenarian

triathlete in

‘Vijay 69’

National Award-winning actor Anupam Kher, who is known for his roles in films such as ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, ‘Tridev’, ‘Lamhe’, ‘Special 26’ and several others, will headline the upcoming streaming film ‘Vijay 69’. This will be Kher’s 537th film.

Indian American director to helm film about ‘gun crises in the United States’

Poppy Delevingne will star in ‘The Gun on Second Street’, a new drama from the Emmynominated Indian American writer, producer and director Rohit Karn Batra, reports ‘Variety’.

Too Little Sleep

It can leave you grumpy and distracted the next day, making it hard to focus. But long-term sleep loss is linked to dementia, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. You can also add problems with your immune system, depression and anxiety, and ongoing pain to that list. Adults need anywhere from 7-9 hours of shuteye a night. Kids and teens need even more. Talk to your doctor if you have trouble getting enough sleep. Treatment may help. It might include lifestyle changes, medication, talk therapy, or a mix of all three.

Not Drinking Water

First

Your body sends out signals when you’re hungry or thirsty. But it’s easy to confuse the two. Both sensations can give you a headache or make you feel tired and dizzy. The next time you feel like snacking, try gulping a glass of water first. Other signs you need more fluid include dry eyes or skin, dry mouth, dark pee, or not peeing very much.

Sitting Too Much

Higher rates of death from heart disease, cancer, and other health-related causes are linked to lounging for more than 6 hours a day. Break up your sitting spells with 1-2 minutes of walking every half hour. There’s some evidence at least 1 hour of physical ac-

tivity a day might make up for some of the side effects of sitting too long. Or think about getting a standing desk. If you use a wheelchair or have other mobility issues, ask your doctor or a physical therapist what activities are right for you.

Brushing Too Soon After You Eat

Wait an hour to brush after a meal or drink, especially if it’s something acidic. Acid can soften the enamel, or protective coating, on your teeth. You can swish water around your mouth or chew a piece of sugar-free gum while you wait for it to harden back up. Acidic foods and drinks include fruits like oranges and lemons, sour candies, and carbonated water or

constituted ‘a smoking gun’ and ‘a confession’. Said Farkas, according to the New York Post, “He did a mashup one night. That’s a plaintiff’s confession, their smoking gun?...Simply put: the plaintiff’s ‘smoking gun’ was shooting blanks.”

“Not only do we have a smoking gun, but we have

bullets for that smoking gun,” said Ben Crump, an attorney for the plaintiffs, as both sides did their best to thoroughly exhaust the metaphor.

‘Variety’ further states that there were amusing moments during the closing day of testimony, news accounts suggest. (IANS)

The film will follow the life of a sexagenarian man, played by Kher, who decides to compete in a triathlon contest at the age of 69. It will be directed by Akshay Roy, who has previously helmed ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’. Making the announcement, Kher tweeted: “It’s good to be 69 years young! Super excited to be starring in @ yrfentertainment’s #Vijay69 in the lead: a quirky sliceof-life film for OTT about a man who decides to compete in a triathlon contest at the age of 69. Let’s put the show on the road! Jai Ho! My #537th.” (IANS)

The film is described as “an allegory of the gun crisis in the United States”. Its plot follows two Pittsburgh police partners and best friends who are called to an uneventful domestic violence dispute on Second Street.

This, according to ‘Variety’, quickly escalates to a violent confrontation as Officer TJ Meadows III shoots and kills his partner, Officer Kevin Cooper, with his backup gun.

Years later, no longer a cop and still traumatised, Meadows moves back to Pittsburgh and finds his way to his partner’s widow, Kacie (Delevingne). They slowly fall in love as Kacie

confronts the history she’s been avoiding, including telling her 15-year-old son, Ralph, TJ’s back-story.

The film, adds ‘Variety’, is produced by Guy J. Louthan of Ransom Films with Rikin Shah serving as one of the executive producers. It will be introduced to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival this month. Casting is now underway.

Delevingne most recently starred in Sky TV’s ‘Riviera’. Prior to that, she starred opposite Antonio Banderas in NatGeo’s ‘Genius: Picasso’. She can also be seen on the big screen in Fox’s ‘Kingsman: The

Golden Circle’ directed by Matthew Vaughan and Guy Ritchie’s ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ starring Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law and Eric Bana for Warner Brothers, notes ‘Variety’. Batra directed (his first film), wrote, and -- together with Louthan -- produced the 2019 international crime drama ‘Line of Descent’ starring Brendan Fraser, Abhay Deol, Neeraj Kabi, Bollywood veteran Prem Chopra and Gopal Datt. Previously, his ‘Roundabout’ won the Jury Prize at the Palm Beach International Film Festival for Best Short Film. (IANS)

Mistakes Even Healthy People Make

soda (regular or sugar-free).

Using a Cotton Swab in Your Ear

You may end up pushing wax deeper into the ear canal. And you could puncture your eardrum if the swab goes too far. That can cause hearing loss. Your ear is pretty good at cleaning itself. But it’s possible to make more wax than normal. If that happens to you, ask your doctor what to do. They’ll tell you how to safely get rid of the wax.

Cleaning With Peroxide or Alcohol

It might seem like a good idea to douse your wound with a powerful antiseptic. But that can hurt your healing skin even more. The best way to clean minor cuts or scrapes is simple: use mild soap and running water. Then put a layer of petroleum jelly on it to keep it moist. You don’t want a scab to form -- dry skin takes longer to heal. See a doctor if you can’t stop the bleeding on your own. You may need stitches

Not Wearing Sunscreen All Year

Ultraviolet (UV) light is the main cause of skin

cancer. And the sun’s UV rays shine year-round. For those with light skin, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to get sun damage. But no matter your skin color, it’s a good idea to wear sunscreen anytime you go outside, even if it’s cloudy. Be extra careful around snow, sand, or water. They can reflect the sun’s rays. Use sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Cover all areas of exposed skin, including your lips and ears.

Avoiding Vaccines

Flu shots and other vaccines protect you from lots of diseases. But your health isn’t the only thing on the line. Vaccines lessen the odds you’ll spread diseases to others. That’s important because certain groups are more likely to get very sick, such as babies, young children, older people, and those with certain health conditions or weakened immune systems. The vaccines you need change as you age. Ask your doctor which ones are best for you and your family.

Looking at Your Phone Before Bed

We all use digital devices for fun. But engaging with your phone at night can make it harder for your brain and body to relax. Smartphones and tablets also give off blue light. Too much of this “daytime” light can confuse your body’s clock and delay the release of sleep hormones like melatonin. Try putting your phone in another room if you can’t skip bedside scrolling. You can buy an old-fashioned alarm clock to wake you up.

Not Checking for Drug Interactions

Some things can change how your medication works. That includes food, supplements, and other drugs. Some of these interactions can make your medicine less effective or cause unwanted side effects. Always read the warning labels that come with prescription or overthe-counter drugs. Your pharmacist can also let you know what to avoid.

Not Cleaning Your Water Bottle

Your reusable water bottle helps you make less trash. But it can attract germs if you don’t wash it. You should clean it with soap and water every day, or at least on the days that you use it. Rinse all the soap off and let it dry overnight. Run it through the dishwasher if possible. You can also sanitize your bottle by filling it with about 3-4 tablespoons of white vinegar and water. Let the mixture sit in your bottle overnight. Rinse and dry in the morning.

Drinking Diet Soda

Sugar-free soda is low in calories. But it doesn’t have any other health benefits. Some experts warn against drinking any amount of artificially sweetened soda. But research on the health effects of artificial sweeteners is ongoing. It’s probably OK to have one diet soda a day, but your doctor would prefer you drink water when you’re

thirsty. Add a splash of fruit for flavor. Try tea or black coffee for a caffeine boost.

Ignoring Your Mental Health

Everyone gets overwhelmed sometimes. But ongoing mental stress can cause lots of health problems. It can weaken your immune system and raise your chance of illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and depression or anxiety. There are lots of healthy ways to relax, including exercise, meditation, and connecting with friends or family. Your doctor or a mental health professional can give you some ideas, too.

Vaping

E-cigarettes probably aren’t as bad for you as regular cigarettes. But they’re not harmless. Vaping exposes your body to nicotine. And

you can get uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when this addictive chemical leaves your body. Nicotine also raises your chances of a heart attack. More research is needed, but there’s some evidence vaping is linked to chronic lung disease and asthma. If you smoke or vape, ask your doctor about ways to help you quit.

Not Telling Your Doctor the Truth

If you’re like lots of other people, you might keep things from your doctor. But you’ll get better care if you give your doctor more information. If you smoke, don’t exercise, or don’t want to change your diet, be honest about it. Your doctor shouldn’t judge you. Instead, they should work with you to find ways you can stay healthy.

OFFICE OF THE UNGER STUDENTS’ UNION, UNGER VILLAGE, MOKOKCHUNG FELICITATION

State College of Teacher Education Kohima with immense joy and pride would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to our colleague Dr. Khriezonuo Belho on being awarded Doctorate Degree (Ph.D) by Department of Education, Nagaland University, for her study titled 'A Study of Child Education at Secondary Level in Kohima District of Nagaland'. Your hard work and perseverance have paid off and your notable achievement is appreciated and applauded by us all. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavours.

Principal & Faculty of State College of Teacher Education, Kohima

The Unger Students’ Union with immense pride and honour, extends our heartiest congratulations to Dr. Latonglila Jamir, D/o. Lt. Chubanungba Jamir for successfully clearing the open recruitment to Teaching posts under Nagaland University in the post of Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Nagaland University. The Union further wishes her success and good health in her future endeavours.

Sentimeren Jamir Chubawati Imsong President General Secretary

90

Gray hair is a Crown of

Man City back at top as Haaland breaks record

Chelsea on Wednesday night. West Ham offered stern resistance in a close first half, but coach David Moyes will have been disappointed at the defenders that allowed a fit-again Nathan Ake to nod City ahead in the 50th minute from a Riyad Mahrez cross, reports Xinhua. Phil Foden added a third goal for Pep Guardiola’s side with five minutes left to play after his volley from the edge of the area took a big deflection on its way to the back of the net.

PSG condemn fans’ ‘insulting’ actions outside Neymar’s house

La Liga: Atletico Madrid move second in standings

MADRID (SPAIN), MAY

4

PSG fans called for the board to resign.

PARIS, MAY 4 (IANS): Ligue 1 club Paris SaintGermain has condemned the actions of a group of individuals who hurled insults at Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland celebrates at the end of the match between Manchester City and Arsenal.

LONDON, MAY 4 (IANS): Manchester City

striker Erling Haaland broke the Premier League scoring record in a single season on Wednesday in his side’s 3-0 win at home to West Ham United, which takes them back to the top of the Premier League.

Haaland scored his 35th league goal of the campaign to beat the record, jointly held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, after a pass from Jack Grealish put his side 2-0 ahead in the 70th minute of the game. City needed to win to go back to the top after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over

Liverpool moved a step closer to ensuring at least a place in next season’s Europa League, with a narrow 1-0 win at home to Fulham. Mohamed Salah’s 39th-minute penalty after a foul on Darwin Nunez separated the two sides and gave Liverpool their fifth consecutive league win.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are now seven points behind fourth-place Manchester United, but five points clear of sixth-place Tottenham.

Videos on social media showed a collection of fans, known as the PSG Ultras, were on Wednesday chanting for the board to resign outside club headquarters before further clips showed a group of supporters visiting the home of Neymar and calling for him to move on.

They hurled insults at Messi after he was reportedly handed a two-match suspension by the club for taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

“Paris Saint-Germain most strongly condemns the intolerable and in -

Frankfurt shock Stuttgart to advance into German Cup final

comeback four minutes later when Daichi Kamada made it 2-1 after unleashing a low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.

sulting actions of a small group of individuals that took place on Wednesday,” the club’s statement read.

“Whatever the differences of opinion, nothing justifies such actions. The Club gives its full support to its players, its staff and all those targeted by such shameful behaviour,” it added.

Messi’s contract with PSG is set to expire on June 30 this year, and his reported trip to Saudi Arabia comes amid multiple reports that the 35-year-old won’t stay at the Parisian club.

Neymar has played just 20 times for PSG in the French league this season, scoring 13 times, before being ruled out for the rest of the season in March with an ankle injury.

Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada celebrates his goal with Christopher Lenz during a German Soccer Cup semi-final match at Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart.

BERLIN (GERMANY), MAY 4 (IANS): Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind with three second-half goals and overpowered a resilient Stuttgart 3-2 in the German Cup semifinal and advanced with a hard-fought win. Stuttgart controlled the opening stages on home soil and got rewarded with 19 minutes gone when Josha

Vagnoman’s cutback pass allowed Tiago Tomas to beat Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with a powerful shot on Wednesday night.

Frankfurt tried to respond before the break, but the Eagles lacked accuracy in front of the target, while Stuttgart missed the chance to extend the lead as neither Silas Katompa Mvumpa nor

Vagnoman could overcome Trapp.

Frankfurt came out with guns blazing and levelled the scores six minutes into the second half as Randal Kolo Muani’s excellent build-up work found Evan Ndicka, who drilled the ball from close range into the centre of the goal. The visitors completed their

Things went from bad to worse in the 75th minute after Stuttgart goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow fouled Kolo Muani inside the area. The Frenchman stepped up and converted the subsequent penalty into the top right corner. Determined Stuttgart kept fighting and reduced the deficit out of the blue in the 83rd minute as Enzo Millot’s deflected shot caught Trapp flat-footed. The hosts pressed frenetically for another goal even though Borna Sosa was sent off for his second bookable offense in the 86th minute. Frankfurt’s defense stood firm, however, and secured the last ticket for the final.

BENGALURU, MAY

4 (PTI): Young forward Uttam Singh, who helped India reclaim the Sultan of Johor Cup last year, was on Thursday retained as the captain for the upcoming Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman from May 23-June 1.

This will be a qualifying event for the forthcoming FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in Malaysia in December.

India are grouped in pool A along with Pakistan, Japan, Thailand and Chinese Taipei while Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan are grouped in pool B.

Hailing from Karampur village in Uttar Pradesh, the speedy and agile Uttam struck twice in the shootout, including in sudden death as to lead India to a thrilling 5-4 win over Australia in the Sultan of Johor Cup in November last year.

Women’s

Vishnukant Singh and Sudeep Chirmako, who also scored for India in the nail-biting final, also retained their places in the 18-member squad.

Uttam also featured in India’s World Cup 2021 campaign in Bhubaneswar where they made a semifinal finish after losing out to eventual runners-up Germany.

Boby Singh Dhami was named Uttam’s deputy, while Mohith HS and Himwaan Sihag were picked as goalkeepers.

The midfield will see the experienced Vishnu -

kant Singh who had a fantastic outing during the recently-held FIH Hockey Pro League in Rourkela.

He will be joined by Rajinder Singh, Poovanna CB, Amandeep and Sunit Lakra while Boby, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Aditya Lalage, Uttam, Sudeep Chirmako and Angad Bir Singh were been named in the forward line.

“We have a fairly experienced team with some of the players also having made their Senior debut in the recent tournaments,” coach CR Kumar said.

“We have gone through two preparatory and two competition cycles which have helped the players gain the right amount of exposure.

“With the Senior team also based out of the same camp here at SAI, Bengaluru, we were able to get ample experience playing matches against them. The team is upbeat and we

T20 WC set viewing records : ICC

LONDON, MAY 4 ( AGENCIES): This year’s Women’s T20 World Cup was the most watched women’s tournament in history, says the International Cricket Council, reports BBC Sports.

beat hosts South Africa in the final to win the tournament for a sixth time, while England reached the semi-finals.

(IANS):

Atletico Madrid climbed above neighbours Real Madrid into second place in La Liga thanks to a 5-1 win at home to Cadiz on Wednesday night.

Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring in the second minute after taking a pass from Yannick Carrasco before scoring with a shot to the far post on Wednesday night.

Griezmann doubled his tally for the night in the 27th minute with another excellent goal, scoring at the near post from the edge of the penalty area after exchanging passes with Thomas Lemar, reports Xinhua.

Alvaro Morata netted Atletico’s third of the game at the start of the second half on a pass from Mario Hermoso, and Carrasco scored a penalty in the 56th minute -- the first penalty Atletico have been awarded all season.

Lozano pulled a goal back for Cadiz with 19 minutes left to play, but Nahuel Molina quickly re-established Atletico’s four-goal lead. Jose Bordalas’ return to Getafe saw his side claim a vital 1-0 win at home to

ROME (ITALY), MAY 4

(IANS): Lazio maintained their theoretical Serie A title hopes as they postponed Napoli’s celebration by beating Sassuolo 2-0 in a crucial match.

The race for the Scudetto this season has been a foregone conclusion as Napoli had established an 18-point advantage over second-placed Lazio before the kick-off of the 33rd round. Mathematically, Lazio would see Napoli clinch the title even before their Thursday visit to Udinese had the Biancocelesti failed to wrap up a victory in Wednesday’s game.

Off the back of two straight defeats, Lazio rebounded as they had broken the deadlock in the 6th minute, but Ciro Immobile had wandered offside in the build-up, reports Xinhua.

The home side eventu-

Uttam Singh to lead India in Jr Asia Cup Hockey

look to finish on the top,” Kumar added.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Mohith H S, Himwaan Sihag; Defenders: Shardanand Tiwari, Rohit, Amandeep Lakra, Amir Ali, Yogember Rawat; Midfielders:

Vishnukant Singh, Rajinder Singh, Poovanna C B, Amandeep, Sunit Lakra; Forwards: Boby Singh Dhami (VC), Araijeet Singh Hundal, Aditya Lalage, Uttam Singh (C), Sudeep Chirmako and Angad Bir Singh.

ally went ahead as Marcos Antonio’s overhead pass found Felipe Anderson, who sprung the offside trap to finish with a low strike.

Lazio sealed the win in the dying minutes when Mattia Zaccagni rolled across for Toma Basic to tap in from close range.

With the win, Lazio

Antoine Griezmann

has scored a double in Atletico Madrid’s 5-1 La Liga thrashing of Cadiz.

Celta Vigo, thanks to Enes

Unal’s second-minute penalty after he had been clipped in the Celta penalty area.

Joseph Aidoo was sent off in the 76th minute to leave Celta with 10 men for the closing minutes of the game. With the win, Getafe are level on points with Valencia, who drew 1-1 at home to Villarreal, but stay in the relegation zone due to goal difference.

Nicolas Jackson continued his scoring run by opening the scoring for Vil-

larreal in the 62nd minute, and after Edinson Cavani saw an effort ruled out for offside, Samuel Lino took advantage of some poor defending to equalize with 18 minutes left to play. The game leaves Valencia out of the relegation zone, but with plenty of work still to do in the last five games of the season. Villarreal complicated their chances of qualifying for the Champions League after Real Sociedad’s 2-0 win at home to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

Serie A: Lazio register 2-0 win over Sassuolo

still rank second with 64 points, 15 points behind Napoli, who would celebrate their third Serie A title should they collect a point on Thursday. Dramatically, the contention for the Champions League places becomes more intense, as thirdplaced Juventus ended

their poor run by defeating Lecce 2-1, Inter Milan climbed to fourth with a 6-0 drubbing over Hellas Verona, Atalanta moved to fifth thanks to a 3-2 slender victory against Spezia, while AC Milan and Roma dropped further after 1-1 ties against Cremonese and Monza, respectively.

(8)

Lazio’s Toma Basic celebrates scoring their second goal with Luis Alberto, Nicolo Casale and Felipe Anderson. Photo: Reuters.

Uttam Singh

KKR in the hunt as SRH’s fortunes dip

HYDERABAD, MAY

(PTI): The self-destructing batters let Sunrisers Hyderabad down again to hand a Kolkata Knight Riders a much needed five-run win in the IPL here on Thursday, keeping the Nitish Rana-led side alive in the tournament.

Rana and Rinku Singh came up with a fruitful 61-run partnership to help KKR post 171 for nine and then their bowlers, especially Shardul Thakur (2/23) and Vaibhav Arora (2/32), helped the two-time IPL champions limit Sunrisers Hyderabad to 166 for eight in 20 overs.

Varun Chakaravarthy bowled a brilliant 20th over to eke out a welcome win for his team. KKR earned their fourth victory of the season and are now on eight points, while SRH, who remained stranded on six points, suffered a huge body blow to their chances of making the playoffs. The victory was hardfought for KKR, given that SRH’s South African pair of skipper Aiden Markram (41 off 40 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (36 off 20 balls) had

4

Spain tour: India U-17 fight back to hold Real Madrid U-17 to 3-3 draw

at one point in time looked to take the match away with their 70-run partnership. Markram and Klaasen produced innings of character but their dismissal in quick succession spelt doom for the home side as the later-order batters couldn’t get going.

The KKR pair of Rana and Rinku came together at the crease at a time when the team was struggling at 49 for three at the end of powerplay. But by the time Rana departed in the 12th over, his 31-ball 42 studded with

Intercontinental Cup: Igor Stimac announces list of 41 players for camp

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (IANS): India senior men’s national team head coach Igor Stimac on Thursday announced a list of 41 players for the national camp ahead of the Intercontinental Cup.

The camp is set to get underway in Bhubaneswar on May 15 as India prepare for the Intercontinental Cup, which will take place June 9 to 18 in the capital city of Odisha.

three fours and an equal number of maximums had put the team on course to a fighting total.

While wickets continued to fall at the other end, with West Indians Andre Russell and Sunil Narine hardly making an impact, Rinku (46 off 35 balls) curbed his natural instinct and played patiently to give the side a decent total to defend. It was another forgettable start for KKR with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz unable to recreate the magic of the previous game

against Gujarat Titans. The 21-year-old Afghanistan opener fell to a length ball from South African quick Marco Jansen off the first delivery of the second over as he tried flick it over midwicket but was a tad late and the top edge flew to Harry Brook at mid-on. Venkatesh Iyer departed five balls later, becoming Jansen’s second victim as the tall pacer sent down the short stuff that the KKR batter uncomfortably tried to hook, only to pop it high up in the air for wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen to take an easy catch.

India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept it tight at the other end, conceding just 12 runs in his first two overs as the home team endured yet another poor start. After bowling two wides and a no-ball, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer got the big wicket of England opener Jason Roy.

Roy’s premeditated cross-bat heave took a big edge and flew to short third man as Mayank Agarwal took a simple catch.

SRH too were off to a poor start in their chase, with KKR pace bowler Harshit Rana once again exposed SRH opener Mayank Agarwal’s frailty while facing the short-pitched deliveries. While the opener was comfortable playing his strokes on both sides of the wicket, Rana tested him with a delivery touching 140kmph and angled into the body on middle and leg stump. Mayank played a defensive hook while trying to get his head out of harm’s way and lobbed the ball for the keeper to take an easy catch.

Mayank’s soft dismissals put the pressure back on the fragile SRH top-order and eight runs later, SRH were reduced to 37 for 2 in the fourth over after Abhishek Sharma too headed back to the dugout with Russell lunging forward to take a catch at deep backward square off a Shardul delivery.

Brief scores: KKR 171/9 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 46, Nitish Rana 42; Marco Jansen 2/24). SRH 166/8 in 20 overs

NEW DELHI, MAY 4 (IANS): Substitute Thanglalsoun Gangte scored in the last seconds of the match as the India U-17 boys continued with their superb performance and played out a hard-fought 3-3 draw against Real Madrid U-17 in a training game in Madrid. The India U-17s are currently in Spain, where they are playing a series of practice matches as part of their preparation for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup 2023, which will take place in Thailand in June, this year. In the training match on Wednesday night, Madrid took the lead in the 37th minute through Arevalo, but the Blue Colts only took a minute to level the score when Shashwat found the back of the net off a cross from skipper Korou, who had a good day in office, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) informed in a release on Thursday. India surged into the lead when Ralte found

Spotlight on Chopra as he competes in Diamond League

DOHA, MAY 4 (PTI):

Competing for the first time as Diamond League champion, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be up against his familiar nemeses in the first of the prestigious meetings series on Friday, as he aims to begin a ‘long’ season studded with top international events with a strong performance.

The 25-year-old Chopra, also a 2022 World Championships silver winner, faces the likes of reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic in a starstudded field at the Qatar Sports Club.

Chopra, who has a personal best and national record of 89.94m, had finished fourth with 87.43m in 2018 in the only other participation in the Doha Diamond League. He could not take part here last year due to lack of “overall fitness and strength”.

Despite missing the Doha leg, Chopra went on to scrip t history one

after the other last year. He became the first Indian Diamond League champion after winning the 2022 grand finale in Zurich in September last. A month before that, he became the first Indian to win a Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne.

Chopra last month said that he was feeling better “physically and technically” at the corresponding point in time, but it will not be easy for him to win the top prize in the seasonopening Diamond League here, going by the incredible competition seen here last year.

Peters had produced

the fifth-longest throw in history by hurling the spear to 93.07m, a mark just outside German Thomas Rohler’s 93.90m, a meeting record set in 2017.

Vadlejch, who finished second behind Chopra in Tokyo Olympics and won a bronze in the 2022 World Championships, also recorded a personal of 90.88m here last year in his first ever throw over 90m.

Alongside the decorated trio, the Doha Meeting will also have European champion Julian Weber of Germany, who has a personal best of 89.54m, 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (PB 90.16m)

of Trinidad & Tobago and former world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego (PB 92.72m) of Kenya. One of the targets for Chopra, the first Indian Olympic gold medallist in track and field, this year will be to cross the 90m mark, the gold standard in the world of javelin, but whether he can achieve the feat in his first competition of the season will have to be seen. Last month, he said he would also be looking to cross the coveted mark this year, though he is not putting himself under pressure to achieve the feat.

The Doha meet will also see 2022 Commonwealth Games triple jump champion Eldhose Paul compete in a field, which includes Tokyo Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo (PB 18.08m)) of Portugal, reigning Diamond League winner Andy Diaz Hernandez (17.07m) of Cuba and two-time Olympic gold winner (2012 and 2016) and five-time world champion Christian Taylor (PB 18.21m) of USA.

India under-17 boys team in Madrid.

the target three minutes after the break. Shashwat had set it up perfectly for Ralte to slot it home, but the home side scored two quick goals through A. Sanchez (52’, 69’). However, it was Gangte’s 90thminute strike off a Korou cross that brought the equaliser.

The Indian Colts held the upper hand in the match as they availed themselves of several attacking opportunities from the start and in the 14th minute, Shashwat’s shot was cleared by

Real Madrid’s Borja inside the 6-yard box. As India continued to attack, Ralte and Ricky looked lively throughout the first half and weaved their way past a multitude of defenders to create chances for India. Changing over, the Indian boys started to show more intent as the game resumed. India had the best chance to take the lead when the score was 2-2, but Shashwat’s rebound shot from a free-kick hit the crossbar.

Shiva Thapa crashes out of WBC; three others progress

TASHKENT, MAY 4 (PTI): Ace Indian boxer

Shiva Thapa made a shocking exit from the Men’s World Championships even as two other pugilists advanced to the pre-quarter finals here on Thursday.

Shiva (63.5kg), the 2015 bronze medallist who had received a bye in the first round, went down fighting 3-4 to Dos Reis Yuri of Brazil, with the final decision been announced after a bout review.

Narender Berwal (+92kg), and Govind Sahani (48kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals while promising pugilist Deep -

ak Kumar (51kg), who is competing in Amit Panghal’s weight class, also progressed to the Round of 32. Shiva, who was seeded second, did well to recover from his sluggish start that cost him the first round 1-4. The Army man was proactive in the second and third round, landing lusty blows. He jabbed and used his hooks and upper cuts to take the second round with a 3-2 margin. He looked on course for a win but faltered in the final two minutes that probably cost him the bout as he failed to get the majority vote in the review.

We are ready to return all our medals and awards: Vinesh, Bajrang

NEW DELHI, MAY 4

(PTI): Hurt by the boorish behaviour of the Delhi Police, protesting wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Thursday offered to return their medals and awards to the government, saying these honours are of no use if they are being subjected to such humiliation.

The wrestlers have been sitting on a protest in the national capital since April 23, demanding the arrest of WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of seven wrestlers including a minor.

Around 11 pm on Wednesday, a scuffle broke out at Jantar Mantar between the protesting wrestlers when they were bringing in folding beds for their night stay and the on-duty police personnel who allegedly began enquiring about that.

“If this is how the wrestlers will be treated, what will we do with the medals? Rather we will live a normal life and return all the medals and awards to the Indian Government,” Bajrang, an Olympic bronze medallist, told reporters on Thursday morning.

“When police is pushing us, abusing us, misbehaving then they don’t see

that we are Padma Shri awardee, and not only me, there is Sakshi (Malik) also,” he said referring to the Rio Olympics bronze medallist.

“They are misbehaving with us. Women and daughters are sitting on the streets, begging for kindness but no one is bothered about getting justice.”

There was heavy security at the Jantar Mantar site following last night’s ruckus between the wrestlers and few Delhi police personnel, leading to injuries to two protesters.

“Take it (medals) all away. We have been humiliated so much. We are fighting for our respect but we are being crushing under their feet. Does all men have the right to abuse women?,” said Vinesh,

who is Khel Ratna awardee. “We will return all our medals, even give our life but at least get us justice.”

Wrestlers claim Police took away genset, mattresses

The protesting wrestlers on Thursday claimed that Delhi Police have taken away their generator set and the mattresses they had kept for drying, even as heavy police deployment continued near the protest site.

The protestors had to make their speeches without microphone as there was no generator set.

“Delhi Police have taken away our mattresses which we have kept for drying. They have taken away our generator set,” one of

the wrestler’s said. There was heavy police bandobast at the roads leading to the protest site, which could be in anticipation that supporters may try to reach the spot after Bajrang Punia’s call on Wednesday night to the farmers and general public to reach Jantar Mantar in support of them.

Around 11 pm on Wednesday, a scuffle broke out with Delhi police personnel when the wrestlers were trying to get extra mattresses and wooden benches to the protest site for their night stay since rain had left old mattresses wet and soggy.

The on-duty police personnel began enquiring about the sleeping materials as rules do not permit bringing in such things at

the protest site.

Delhi Police says no force used; AAP terms it lie

The Delhi Police on Thursday denied allegations that its personnel were drunk and used force against protesting wrestlers during a late-night ruckus at Jantar Mantar between police and some grapplers, but the Aam Aadmi Party accused them of spreading lies.

New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said five police personnel were injured in the Wednesday night ruckus. The wrestlers, on the other hand, have alleged they were beaten up by the police and a couple of protesters were injured in the

head. “A sufficient number of women officers were on duty during the night. On the medical examination, no police personnel were found drunk. Five police personnel sustained injuries during the scuffle. “No force was used by police personnel against the protestors. Regarding injury to one protestor, he left the hospital against medical advice and has not given a statement to the police yet,” the DCP tweeted from his official handle.

Addressing a press conference later in the day, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said the tweet has “three lies”.

“Police have been accused of misbehaving with one of our women wrestlers. They are the accused and they are only probing the matter. The Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) will probe the matter. DCW chief Swati Maliwal had reached the spot along with a counsellor last night after receiving the complaint. What did the police do? They threw her away. Police are not allowing investigation. Please read law books and basic law,” he said.

He also questioned the police’s claims that the policemen were not drunk.

Bharadwaj claimed the the personnel who was

allegedly drunk was made to throw up by the police so that he is not detected in an alcohol test. “It was seen by us that he was made to throw up. They will come all clear in the alcohol test. Police trying to save their skin.”

Bharadwaj said there were heavy rains on Wednesday therefore the wrestlers could not sleep at the protest site.

“Police should be ashamed. They did not allow cots. Special Commissioner of Police was also on the spot. The DCP was there. Dushyant Phogat sustained head injuries yesterday. How did he sustain head injury? All these dram is being done by them,” he alleged.

He even went to the extent of saying that the injuries to police personnel could be self-inflicted.

“There were so many cameramen there but no one captured the injured policemen. Even smalltime criminals in Tihar know that they can inflict injuries by scratching themselves or ramming their head into a wall. It is a cheap thing that they inflicted injuries on their own. They are only telling lies,” he said.

He also alleged Delhi Police officials are being directed by the Centre to

do this. “This is not Delhi Police’s lie but the Centre’s lie. The Centre is being exposed.” He also said the protest site was made out-of-bounds for people as the police barricaded the area, not allowing even reporters. “Our people were lathicharged. Who issued orders for a lathicharge? What was happening? Police will have to answer.

The Centre’s arrogance was shattered by farmers. Similarly, these women wrestlers will break their arrogance,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal said the protesters told her that police personnel were inebriated at the time of the incident.

According to protestors, two wrestlers -- Rahul Yadav and Dushyant Phogat -- were injured in the incident. Phogat, an award-winning wrestler, also received head injuries.

Police said barricades have been put up at several locations across Delhi as precautionary measures to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

On Wednesday night, police detained Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and DCW chairperson Maliwal, when they went to the spot to support the wrestlers.

Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia speak with the media. (PTI)

Security personnel guard near the site of wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI)

Manyum Konyak and Yeto Chizo as Atheletes and Hemavi Ayemi National Coach leave for Bangkok Thailand as part of Indian Muaythai Team to participate in the World Muaythai Championship 2023

Neeraj Chopra.

Narender Berwal (L) lands a punch.

KKR players celebrate the dismissal of Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Abhishek Sharma. (PTI)