January 15th, 2015

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The Morung Express

Dimapur Vol. X issuE 13

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I learned the value of hard work by working hard

SC sets aside stay on Salman Khan’s conviction

Taylor Swift sends $1,989 cheque to fan

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Pope Francis urges forgiveness in Sri Lanka

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DAN Co-ordination meeting agrees to strengthen coalition DIMAPUR, JANUARY 14 (MExN): Under the Chairmanship of the leader of the NPF Legislature Party, Kaito Aye, a DAN Coordination Committee was held today that was attended by legislators of both NPF and BJP; and party officials of the NPF and the BJP. A press communiqué from NPF Press & Media Bureau stated that the BJP, through its legislators and party office bearers, “reaffirmed” their stand and assured the house that “they would firmly stand with Kaito Aye, the leader who commands the majority support of the legislators.”

It was further informed that “they would not support the side that was responsible for their disqualification for which they had to battle in court on two occasions.”

The meeting agreed to strengthen the DAN coalition and give “due respect and recognition” to each other in the greater interest of the people of the state.

It further deliberated on the need to “renew and strengthen” relationship between the State Government and the NDA Government at the Centre.

The press communiqué informed that the meeting was also addressed by the Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland who, it said, was the recognised NDA Member of Parliament from Nagaland as he was the consensus candidate of the DAN coalition.

State BJP leaders to leave for Delhi

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DIMAPUR, JANUARY 14 (MExN): Nagaland state BJP leaders led by president Dr. M Chuba Ao and four BJP legislators including Paiwang Konyak, Dr. TM Lotha, Imtilemba Sangtam and Mhonlumo Kikon are leaving for Delhi on Thursday. BJP sources said the state BJP leaders are going to Delhi at the invitation of the central BJP leaders. The state BJP leaders are expected to apprise the central leaders on the latest political development in the state following rift in the NPF party.

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nPcc says it will not remain silent to ‘political instability’

The Morung Express Poll QuEsTion

no

NBA: Heat hold off Lakers

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Points scored from outside the ring cannot be counted!

Yes

– Margaret Mead

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By Sandemo Ngullie

Is political interest affecting good governance in Nagaland?

Thursday, January 15, 2015 12 pages Rs. 4

Day 2 at Maati Ke Rang 2015

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A Karbi woman participates in community fishing as part of the Bhogali Bihu celebrations at the Goroimari Lake in Panbari village, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Guwahati, Wednesday, January 14. “Bhogali Bihu” marks the end of the harvesting season in Assam. (AP Photo)

Keep individual interests aside: naga Hoho

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 14 (MExN): The Naga Hoho today stated that it was “pained” by the current political impasse in Nagaland state. A press note from the Naga Hoho Media Cell expressed concern that “responsible Naga legislatures” are “holding up in different camps and misleading the general public by creating propaganda and rumours through social network and print media whereby creating tension and confusion in the minds

of the Naga people.”

Terming the situation as “very unfortunate,” it lamented that the entire state machinery has been kept in a grinding halt for almost two weeks now owing to the sharp division among the ruling Legislators. “The Naga general public are now perturbed to watch the drama between the two conflicting camps which is a disgrace for any democratic society,” it said.

The Naga Hoho has appealed to all the elected

representatives to remember that they have achieved their position through the mandate of the people and therefore they are responsible for the present and future of the Naga people.

“We sincerely urge upon all the leaders to keep their individual interest aside for once, reconcile with each other and decide for the best interest of Naga people.

Those failing to come out of their cocoons/ camps and deliver goods to the people at large should be held re-

sponsible for any eventuality which would be too costly for the Nagas,” it said.

As per the “law of the land,” the Naga Hoho reminded, the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly was formed in 2013 by “giving mandate to the elected members who are supposed to bring development to the state and accelerate their activities for the welfare of the people according to their written manifestoes and commitment.”

court decision or ‘arbitration’ can solve Assam-nagaland border row

NEw DElhI, JANUARY 14 (PTI): Supreme Court today said the half century old border dispute between Assam and Nagaland could be resolved either by deciding the 1988 law suit filed

by Assam or by referring the matter for arbitration.

“There are only two legal ways of dealing it. One is that we should decide the suit or the other is that it be referred for arbitration,” a three-judge bench headed by Justice T S Thakur said.

Later, the court asked the counsel for Assam, which had filed the suit in 1988 seeking reliefs including demarcation of its over 500 kms long border with Nagaland, to file the list of its witnesses along with their testimonies in the form of affidavits with the apex court registrar within

three months. “We make it clear that no further time will be granted,” the bench, also comprising justices R K Agrawal and Adarsh Kumar Goel, said.

It also directed the Registrar General of Supreme Court to conduct the trial in the lawsuit on “day-to-day” basis from April 20 and said the witnesses, whose affidavits will be filed by Assam, will have to appear for the crossexamination.

At the outset, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Centre, referred to the response of the government and said that a meeting of Chief Ministers of Assam and Nagaland with the Union Home Minister had taken place at New Delhi on October 29 last year to resolve the issue.

However, the meeting re-

mained inconclusive and Nagaland Chief Minister had sought time, the SG said. Dealing with other aspects, the Solicitor General referred to a report of the Surveyor General of India (SGI) and said the Assam-Nagaland border cannot be demarcated as the SGI maps have not been authenticated on the ground by both the state governments.

However, satellite imagery of the disputed areas will be helpful to find out the “contours” of the real issue, he said.

On the issue as to which state will have control over the disputed area for maintaining law and order and administrative purposes, the bench said, “it is for the political executive to decide and it cannot be managed by the judiciary.

nBcc appeals for peace in tuensang DIMAPUR, JANUARY 14 (MExN): In response to the prevailing tension in Tuensang district, the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) today made an appeal to “both the parties to uphold peaceful means and promote conducive atmosphere by restraining from any form of confrontation to strive towards amicable solution.” In a statement issued by the NBCC, the Council further called upon the Christian populace in Nagaland to extend fervent prayers for an early and durable solution to the current imbroglio.

This appeal was made in the backdrop of the NBCC team visiting Shamator, Chendang Saddle village, Kutur village, Tuensang District Headquarters and Tuensang village in connection to the prevailing situation. The NBCC was represented by Rev. Dr. L. Anjo Keikung, the General Secretary; Niketu Iralu, Chairman, Peace Committee; Vikuo Rhi, Youth Secretary; Haiwalo Apon, Executive Secretary, CRBC; and

Huzo Meru. They had visited the region along with a 14-member team representing the Phom Baptist Christian Association, United Sangtam Baptist Association and Khiamniungan Baptist Churches’ Association led by their respective Executive Secretaries. The joint team met with the respective leaders and civil organisations including Tribal Councils, Women and Youth organisations, Church bodies and responsible citizens.

ATPSA concerned for well being of student The All Tuensang Private School Association (ATPSA) in an urgent meeting held at St. John Hr. Sr. School on January 13, expressed its concerns about the impact of the ongoing “tense situation” in Tuensang on the future of the students and their continuing education. In a press release from the ATPSA President, Rev. Fr. PV Johnson, the association strongly urged the responsible leaders and organisations to come to an ami-

cable solution at the earliest for the betterment of the student community and the society.

ENPO urges national workers The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation has urged all the “national workers” to call back their armed cadres, if any, from the affected villages and Tuensang Town to avoid any unwarranted situation and for the sake of “peace and tranquility” in the district.

ENPO, in a press release through its Vice President, C Sashi Naga, also requested the district administration and security forces to instruct patrolling personnel to frisk any person “roaming in suspicious manner”. “Some miscreants may try to create panic which may bring fear psychosis in the minds of innocent public,” the release maintained. ENPO further appealed to all the people to cooperate with the police and administration. “They are coordinating with all concerned in order to normalize the current tension,” the release added.

DIMAPUR, JANUARY 14 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) today stated that the “present situation of power struggle unfolding before the people is laced with lack of respect for the people’s mandate that has created a situation of instability which has paralyzed all spheres of governance and polarized the people on different lines.”

In a statement released to the media, the NPCC asserted that “it can never remain silent” when the political instability created by “selfishness and insatiable greed of NPF leaders threatens the interest of the people and issues of governance.” While acknowledging that the ongoing power struggle is an internal matter of the NPF, which has “snowballed into a major confrontation” with both groups claiming “legitimacy of their own,” the NPCC stated that the prolonged “political uncertainty is unfortunate and uncalled for.” It further informed that it “refuses to support any group.”

The NPCC stated that despite the NPF alone winning 38 seats and DAN-III government being formed in March 2013 with “the so called massive mandate of the people,” the “combined leadership of Shurhozelie

Says the present situation is created by selfishness and insatiable greed of NPF leaders; Reaffirms its neutrality

and Neiphiu Rio has failed to provide stability and the ongoing political crisis is fraught with consequences of President’s Rule being imposed in the state.”

Towards this end, the NPCC asserted that it holds both the leaders responsible for “brining the current situation of instability and uncertainty before the Nagas.” Stating that both the NPF leaders in the past had proudly proclaimed that they would “respect and uphold the people’s voice in carrying out their constitutional duties,” the NPCC charged the leaders for backtracking on their promises.

Saying that Neiphiu Rio had always voiced out against the imposition of President’s Rule and had vowed to protect the desire and will of the people the NPCC said that “after getting elected to Lok Sabha to try his hand in National politics, Rio seems to have taken a leap of faith to abandon his previous apprehensions of PR being imposed in the state.”

“As of today, Rio seems to be forgetting his promise made in the state as-

sembly - that of taking bigger responsibilities and different responsibilities with Nagaland as his constituency- when he left the Chief Ministerial chair to conveniently plot an escape to Delhi as Lok Sabha MP, the NPCC remarked. It questioned whether “the promise of taking up bigger and different responsibilities meant joining hands with communal BJP-RSS to destabilize his own party and the state?”

It cautioned that “creating instability to invite imposition of Presidents Rule in the state at this juncture is against the will of the people who have given them [NPF] a massive mandate to provide stable government for the full term.” It urged the leaders of both NPF groups camping in different locations to realise this reality before their personal greed and ambition brings their downfall. Ultimately, the NPCC said, “all 51 MLAs under DAN-III will be held solely responsible and answerable to the people of Nagaland for failing to even put up a semblance of stability to last its full tenure.”

‘All are forgiven and all will be one again’

Kigwema youth participate in the Monolith pulling ceremony to commemorate the Platinum meet of the Kigwema Youth Organisation on December 2, 2014. The Monolith was unveiled on January 14, 2015 to mark 75 years of the KYO. Monoliths in the Naga tradition are engraved to mark a significant event or achievement.

Morung Express news Kigwema | January 14

Calling on the true sense of jubilee to celebrate a time of freedom and to forgive, the inaugural function of the Platinum (seventy five years) meet of the Kigwema Youth Organisation (KYO) started on January 14 at Kholera ground Kigwema with Vilelie Khamo, Class 1 Contractor Nagaland as the Chief guest.

During the inaugural function, Thepfüralie Zütso, Chairman Kigwema Village Council who delivered the greetings thanked the pioneering leaders who initiated the KYO and hoped that people will work together in peace, and called on the name of the nation and God. “All has been forgiven and all will be one again,” said Zütso who announced that in the name of the Platinum Jubilee, all those who have committed wrong and was banned from the village community has been forgiven.

May peace, Reconciliation, goodwill and progressive competition be with us all, added the

Village Chairman.

Chief Guest Vilelie Khamo while exhorting the youth and students to give their best during the prime of their lives stressed on the theme ‘Pledging for Posterity’ and encouraged the youth to commit to give their best for the future generation.

“We should ponder on what and how much have we achieved in 75 years and make the effort to do better now to achieve laurels for the society.

We must begin now for the future,” said Khamo. He further noted that the community needs to develop different capabilities in the youth to compete in the national and international level while also admitting that the Naga society has lost many great people due to unhealthy food and drinking habits. “We have to unite. If there is unity, there is nothing that is impossible,” affirmed Khamo.

Recollecting the past, he said it was both men and women who were taught good values because wherever they went

and whatever they did eventually affected the name of the village and community. Khamo emphasized on obedience and discipline as important aspects for the youth and hoped that the jubilee would bring peace and unity in the society.

The inaugural began with the unveiling of the monolith, an ode to the 75th KYO Meet by the Chief Guest followed by the marching of the contingents.

The event highlight of the inaugural session was the Naga Style Wrestling Championship where all the five Khels (Units) namely Kipho Seca, Merama, Khamima, Makhuma and Seca competed in the Championship.

The Kigwema Youth Organisation was founded in 1938. However, it remained dysfunctional for a few years at the peak of Naga Struggle when many young Kigwema men and women joined the movement. The KYO was revived again and the organization soon took up various activities to develop the village.

(Related news on Page-2)

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Dimapur

Thursday 15 January 2015

Day 2 at Maati Ke Rang 2015

LocaL

The Morung Express C

At Maati Ke Rang 2015, a host of artists who have worked hard to put up the thematic pavilions-- they have worked on them here at the NEZCC Dimapur complex from scratch. The pavilions are now ready for the exhibition from which the people of Nagaland can buy art works that have been transported with great effort to the region. On offer are clothes, canvas drawings, craft work etc.

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hildren’s Activities are being held from 11:00am-1:00pm at the Maati Ke Rang festival at the NEZCC complex in Dimapur from January 14-17, 2015. Today, January 14, saw 31 children take part in a fancy dress competition where a multitude of avatars were seen. Children came dressed as Mother Teresa, a chef, fairies, a Barbie doll, in traditional attires, a cowboy, a take on social media projected contemporary patterns of communication, and one even became a pack of cigarettes focussing on the message, ‘smoking is injurious to health.’

Ilivika Aye (6) in a charming performance as a Barbie doll won the competition.

There is a painting competition slated for the children on January 15, a dance competition on January 16 and a solo singing competition on January 17 at the Maati Ke Rang cultural festival. The children’s activities were followed by popular indie-rock band from Nagaland, We The Giants, who played from 1:00pm-3:00pm. The band is part of a music festival that will feature other artists like Alobo Naga & The Band (January 15), Alo Wanth (January 16) and Tali Angh (January 17) from 1:00pm-3:00pm.

Alongside, a Buddhist exhibition of stone carvings of Buddha’s life remained one of the main features of Maati Ke Rang 2015. The pieces that have been brought to Dimapur from Nalanada in Bihar depict the various stages of Buddha’s life through which he gained enlightenment.

Harsh penance, as well as a life of luxury—both extremes rejected as the path towards enlightenment by the Buddha—are portrayed through these carvings in stone. It is a rare exhibition of its kind in Nagaland.

Naga wood sculptors could be seen carving a monument out of two pieces of wood at the NEZCC complex here at the stone part at NEZCC. The artists have learnt the art of wood sculpting as part of their traditional heritage, the knowledge passed on to them through their ancestors. The underlying message of the woodwork is of the inherent cultures of the people of the North East that cross ways, leaving us all in one space, one home.

Through art, the aspiration is to give the message of peace.

Evening, 3:00pm-4:00pm saw the audience cheering ‘Thang Ta’ is a form of martial arts from Manipur. The stunning martial arts form shows the combat strategies and warrior skills that sustained the Manipuris through a long period of independence. The glorious martial tradition signifies values of sacrifice, chivalry and honour, respect for life of all statures, proper safeguard of all women and children, morality and truth.

From 5:00-6:00pm, the stage erected at the stone park saw traditional performances by international artists from Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. Bhutan, for instance, presented the Shinji Phomo, or a ‘pair of yak,’ which is a traditional form of dance that originated in the 8th century, created by Guru Rinpoche. Performing for the first time in Dimapur, the artists performing the traditional sequence have come to the North East India for the first time from their village, Tashigang, Radi.

As dusk moved to dark, the evening turned into a harmony of sounds and colours as cultural troupes from various parts of India collated on the NEZCC complex. Dancers from Bengal amalgamated with those from Punjab while a Rajasthani routine ensued in front of a hut constructed

by Bhil adivasi artists from Madhya Pradesh. The NEZCC complex was bursting in a whirl of colours and sounds.

“The preparations here are really nice,” said Renchano Humtsoe, a visitor to the Maati Ke Rang festival on January 14. “This is a great platform where cultures from all regions of India come together—it is very difficult for people like us to travel outside, so this festival provides for great exposure. Naga people should learn to appreciate the arts and cultures of other people as well,” she asserted.

From 6:00pm to 8:00pm, choral musicians from Nagaland and Mizoram, including Nagaland Singing Ambassadors and Bel Canto, performed on the main stage of the Maati Ke Rang festival at the NEZCC complex, Dimapur.

(LEFT) Keya Dutta (33) works with women's Self Help Groups in Kolkata from where she sources her material-- she has put up Katha stitch, Batik print dupattas, kurti, stoles and shawls on sale at the East Zone Cultural Centre aangan at NEZCC Dimapur for the Maati Ke Rang festival, being held from January 13-17. "If the response here is good, I would love to come back to Dimapur," says Dutta, on her first visit to the North East state of Nagaland.

(CENTER) Annie Sakhamo (34) and Ano Sakhamo (22) are aunt and niece to each other. From Porba in Phek district, Nagaland, Annie began her contemporary jewellery line 3 years back, and is well on her way in reaching excellence in Naga contemporary jewellery designing. Check her work out, and promote her, at the NEZCC aanagan at Maati Ke Rang festival, Dimapur.

(RIGHT) Vijay Kumar (55) has come from Patiala, Punjab, and has traditional/contemporary Punjabi Phulkari weaves in Khadi, silk and cotton-- kurtis, patiala, salwar, palazo, handwork dupatta, stoles and more. The unique designs are hard to come by, and will be available at the North Zone Cultural Centre pavilion at the Maati Ke Rang festival 2015 at the NEZCC complex, Dimapur.

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Children dressed as Mother Teresa, a chef, fairies, a Barbie doll, in traditional attires, a cowboy, a take on social media projected contemporary patterns of communication, and one even became a pack of cigarettes focussing on the message, ‘smoking is injurious to health’ (TOP) Artist from Bhutan performs a traditional dance at the Maati Ke Rang festival (BOTTOM) Artist takes part in a fancy dress competition at Maati Ke Rang festival at the NEZCC complex in from Manipur performs Thangta Martial Arts at the Maati Ke Rang festival, celebrating the colourful cultural heritage of India at Dimapur on January 14. (Photo by Caisii Mao) Dimapur on January 14.

Secretary Law & Justice Sidhu visits Phek

PheK, January 14 (DiPr): Secretary Law & Justice Government of India, Sidhu visited Phek District Headquarter on January 10 and held a meeting with different groups of public leaders, head of offices, GBs and DBs in DPDB conference hall, Phek.

The DC Phek, organisations, Mothers Association Phek Area, Town Council members, public leaders, judicial department and the people of Phek accorded her a warm welcome during the visit.

In the meeting, Sidhu said that she has a connection with the people of Phek town, as she was the then SDO (Civil) and DC, Phek.

She thanked the Government of India, especially the

Secretary Law & Justice Government of India, Sidhu is accorded welcome on her arrival to Phek District on January 10. (DIPR Photo)

Prime Minister, Modi for giving her a chance to visit again.

She said that her visit was to find out the happening in the State, the requirements of the people, what would be better for the people and what development must be done.

Different groups from

Phek district shared their grievances in regard to health community centre at Phek, shortage of teachers, power supply, shortage of staffs in many departments, improvement of road conditions, shortage of equipments and posting of spe-

cialist doctors in Phek Civil Hospital, district courts, GBs and DBs customary law court and Science and Technology (Engineering) colleges, Medical colleges needed in Nagaland state. They also pointed out that large people of Phek District are being living under poverty line due to poor infrastructure, which left them behind the other districts.

CPO President, Sovenyi and Bar President Advocate Timikha Koza also attended the meeting. The Secretary Law and Justice Government of India was accompanied by Additional Secretary of Law and Justice, Government of Nagaland Akhan Koza. A folk song was also presented by Old Phek farmers during the meeting.

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Kigwema Youth Org celebrates platinum jubilee

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Kigwema, January 14 (DiPr): The Kigwema Youth Organization platinum jubilee meet was held at Kholera ground on January 14 under the theme ‘Pledging for posterity’ with Vilelie Khamo, Class I Contractor as the chief guest.

Addressing the gathering, Vilelie in his speech thanked the organizing committee for inviting him to grace the auspicious occasion as the Chief Guest.

He said that it brings memory of his early education 30 years back in this village where he was taught and mould, and added that it touches him meeting his classmates and teachers.

He shared his memory of his teacher Yhokha who never beat or scold his students but taught them with love and affection and also taught them with a words ‘Si’ (Know) and ‘Simote’ (don’t know) and urged the youth of today to accept oblight or adopt the word ‘Si’.

He also lauded the youths of

Vilelie Khamo, Class I Contractor with others during the Kigwema Youth Organization platinum jubilee meet held at Kholera ground on January 14. (DIPR Photo)

Kigwema village for bringing laurels not only to their village but to the neighborhood villages. He also advised the youths to be disciplined and called upon them to strive for higher achievements in the fields of sports and also to maintain unity as it is a must for all round development. He urged the youths to choose one particular sports and games and take it as profession so that it will excel at higher level and added that through games and

sports friendship builds faster and brings people together. Stating that Jubilee is a time to forgive and forget the past misconduct of each other he called upon the people to take Jubilee as an opportunity to increase friendship and oneness.

The chief guest also unveiled the Kigwema Youth Organisation 75th Plutonium monolith and released the Jubilee Souvenir. The programme was compered

by Mednguno and Seyievio, theme song was present-

ed by Kenei and Visato while Neingusazo Kere invoked God’s blessing. Khrievisa Chale, Convenor organizing committee, delivered welcome address and Thephüralie Zutso Chairman KVC gave a greetings.

Special song was presented

by KBNK while tournament oath taking was carried out

by Mhalevile Kere Sports Secretary and torch bearer

by Atoto Kere, NWA champion 2014. The occasion was marked by Naga Style Wrestling competition.

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The Morung Express

Top NDFB(S) commander behind the December massacre nabbed

Guwahati, January 14 (Pti): A top commander of NDFB(S), which was behind the December massacre of adivasis in the lower Assam districts, was apprehended by the army in Goalpara district of the state along with arms.

Defence sources said that based on specific inputs provided by the army's Gajraj Intelligence Unit, the troops of Red Horn Division nabbed the insurgent during an operation from Bakhrakhuti village in Goalpara district.

The ultra was identified as self-styled platoon commander of Dhubri platoon, 14th Battal-

ion of NDFB(S), Pradeep Brahma alias Pwler, the sources said.

Twelve rounds of M-16, two detonators and Cordex wire were seized from him, they said.

Pradeep, who was trained in Bangladesh, is known to be ruthless and was involved in the killing of many people and attacks on police personnel, the sources said.

In another operation by the army, two 'Rabha Viper Army' ultras -- Ful Kumar Rabha and Bishwajit Rabha -- were apprehended from Kashibari village in Kokrajhar district today and one 9 mm carbine machine gun was seized from them, the sources added.

The army, paramilitary forces and police have been carrying out operations in inaccessible forested areas of Kokrajhar and Chirang districts in search of Bodo militants after the carnage in which over 75 people were killed Dec 23 last year.

At least two senior leaders of the NDFB were killed and huge cache of arms and ammunition belonging to the group have also been recovered in past 10 days.

On Tuesday, eight Bodo militants, including a mastermind behind the massacre of adivasis, were arrested in Chirang district along the international border with Bhutan.

REgional

Thursday

15 January 2015

Guwahati, January 14 (EnS): A directive by the Assam government asking the officials in all districts to ensure prohibition of all kinds of animal fights has hit traditional buffalo fights, bulbul fights and cock fights across the state, especially with such activities remaining inseparable from Bhogali Bihu celebrations that have begun on Wednesday. Organisers of such competitions meanwhile have said they would go to the Supreme Court to plead for exemptions.

State home commissioner LS Changsan, in a directive sent to all deputy commissioners and the Commissioner of Police, Guwahati City, has asked them to ensure the prohibition in compliance of a Supreme Court order and directed them to deploy sufficient police personnel in all such places. The directive also called for seizure of all animals and birds used for such fights.

District authorities in turn have particularly focused on Ahatguri in Morigaon district and Hajo in Kamrup, where buffalo fight and bulbul fight respectively are major attractions during bhogali bihu – the Assamese harvest festival coinciding with maker samkranti – that began today. Over 40 buffalos had registered at Ahatguri, while over 200 bulbul birds were registered at Hajo for the competition that was supposed to take place on Thursday.

Buffalo fights are also organized in various places other across Assam during bhogali bihu – the Assamese harvest festival coinciding with makar samkranti – apart from Ahatguri, and an Assamese film called “Jooj” based on the buffalo fight there had won a Rajatkamal in the

38th National Film Awards in 1990. Bulbul fight held at the Hayagriva Madhava temple in Hajo near Guwahati on the other hand is a major tourist attraction in the state. Cock fights on the other hand are held among tea plantation labourers in upper Assam during bhogai bihu.

“We have suspended our buffalo fight programme, though with lot of reservations, after a meeting with the SP and additional deputy commissioner of Morigaon.

But we have told them that we will not be responsible for people turning up at Ahatguri for the buffalo fight that has been held for decades, if not centuries, there,” said Nirsingha Hazarika, an official of the Ahatguri Anchalik Mohjooj aru Bhogali Utsav Samiti.

The Utsav Samiti, which has been organizing buffalo fight at Ahatguri, about 80 kms east of Guwahati, for the past 43 years, meanwhile has decided to approach the Supreme Court along with organizers of other such traditional fights associated with the bihu festival, Hazarika said. “We were not given any opportunity to be heard,” he said. Altogether 45 buffalos had registered for this year’s competition, Hazarika informed.

Meanwhile, J Balaji, deputy commissioner of Kamrup district said the Hayagriva Madhava Temple Committee has been asked not to organize bulbul fight from this year.

“We have told them clearly that any violation of the Supreme Court’s order will compel us to apply the law.

We know it is a cultural and sentimental issue. But there cannot be any violation of Supreme Court orders,” Balaji said.

imPhal, January 14 (Pti): The chief of a militant outfit and three of his associates were arrested with arms after their camp was busted at Taphou village in Senapati district in Manipur, police said on Wednesday. Police commandos raided the village and arrested United Revolutionary Front (URF) chief Lanheiba and three others after busting their camp on Tuesday. Police recovered one AK Rifle, one M 16 rifles, and several rounds of ammunitions.

Kaziranga guards kill 3 poachers

Urmila Gogoi, 65, a villager laughs as she enjoys taking part in the community fishing as part of the Bhogali Bihu celebrations at the Goroimari Lake in Panbari village, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Guwahati, Assam on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. “Bhogali Bihu” marks the end of the harvesting season KaziranGa, January in the north eastern state of Assam. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) 14 (Pti): Three poachers

Not enough hours in a day: NE seeks separate time zone aGartala, January 14 (tnn): Participating in a discussion on the introduction of Local Standard Time (LST) for the northeast, various civil society organizations and intellectuals of the state supported the demand for two time zones in the country. The discussion was organized

by Agartala Cycle Club (ACC) on Sunday evening.

Expressing displeasure over Parliament's rejection of a proposal to have a separate time zone for eastern and northeastern India, they said Indian Standard Time (IST) should be redetermined by shifting the reference point east from Allahabad. The Centre has rejected the demand twice, in 2001 and 2007.

CPM MP Jitendra Choudhury said working hours should be advanced in Tripura. He added that the state is daily losing potential work hours by following the IST, harming work culture, efficiency

and GDP. An NRI and Bank of America vice-president Saumen Sarkar said it had taken 109 years to convince policy-makers in the US to agree to four time zones.

He said the eastern part of India is not being able utilize daylight properly.

"If people seek a separate time zone, the government should do so to ensure equal development of the country," Sarkar said.

"If students begin their day early and return by 2 pm, they can utilize the afternoon in games and other healthy practices.

Similarly, if government employees and development workers begin their day early, they can work more efficiently," said Amitava Debroy, chairman of Tripura State Pollution Control Board.

On the demand for LST in the northeast, ACC president Jayanta Roy said Agartala is ahead of Delhi by at least 66 minutes in sunrise

Batha were suing for peace like other factions of the NDFB, which were in talks with New Delhi. "I had nagging feeling that Assam Police was being misled.

The army had taken out a few Bodo cadres but that wasn't reason enough for them to sue for peace," he said.

A day before, the army had busted a major hideout of the NDFB(S), killing two of its cadres and seizing a cache of weapons. The official asked the Assam Police to be "extremely cautious" with the peace proposal.

Three days later, on the eve-

Rejig delay may cost Cong dearly in Assam elections Guwahati, January 14 (tnn): Chief minister Tarun Gogoi's inability to revamp his ministry, as promised by him earlier, may not augur well for the Congress that faces the assembly election next year. Many Gogoi loyalists, too, are in a dilemma. One such MLA, who expects a place in the ministry, said, "I cannot wait for a ministerial revamp indefinitely when the election is just 15 months away. I think it will be a wise thing to organize my own position in the constituency than wait for a post in the ministry."

Gogoi, the first politician to rule Assam for three terms, earlier faced a rebellion after Himanta Biswa Sarma and others sought a change of leadership in the state. Sarma, who resigned last year, and his supporters even sought the AICC's intervention. As the AICC looked for the middle path, Gogoi agreed to restructure his ministry. But a section of AICC leaders wanted Gogoi to drop all ministers who have completed 10 years in the government to make way for young legislators.

This further delayed Gogoi's plan to make changes.

Many of his supporters fear that the confusion over the method of reshuffle might go to the BJP's advantage. "We cannot rule out the possibility of the BJP playing

and 56 minutes in sunset. It is 65 and 92 minutes ahead of Mumbai as far as sunrise and sunset, respectively, are concerned.

Further, the northeastern states begin work at least four hours after sunrise and stop working at least 15 minutes after sunset, whereas Delhi and Mumbai begin working within 2-3 hours of sunrise and end at least an hour before sunset. As a result, the northeast is losing about 2-3 hours of daylight every day.

In the northeast, workers begin working at midday, usually after a heavy meal, and work less efficiently. Employees get exhausted quickly. They return home late and miss out on quality family time, Roy said. "In princely days, the official work hour of Tripura and Assam was an hour ahead of IST, as is evident from the government gazette during the rule of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya," he said.

3

URF chief, three others arrested

Groups sore over Assam 3 days before Assam massacre, Bodo militants sued for peace bid to ban buffalo-fight, bulbul-fight on Bihu Guwahati, January 14 (nDtV): On December 19 three days before Bodo militants struck in Assam last month, killing at least 80 people in three districts - a peace proposal came.

The callers were none other than Bidai and Baitha - the commander and deputy commander of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit).

A senior home ministry officer went home brooding that night. "Something was out of place," he told NDTV. The Assam Police, who received the call, said Bidai and

Dimapur

a game here to make Gogoi drop experienced ministers," a Congress source said.

Other Gogoi loyalists fear the delay might turn more MLAs against the chief minister. "In case he drops ministers who have completed 10 years in the government, many of the new aspirants will get disheartened," the source added.

ning of December 23, the militants struck across three districts of Assam -- Sonitpur, Chirang and Kokrajhar - leaving over 80 people dead. Bidai and Baitha were men who ordered the attack. The Assam police even heard them give the order.

Now, nearly three weeks after the massacre and the arrest of over 30 NDFB(S) cadres, the ministry of home affairs believes the peace proposal was just a ploy to buy time - so the militants could slip off undetected to neighbouring Meghalaya and Bhutan.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER PEREN: NAGALAND

NO.JUDL-2/05-06(PT-IV)/1123

PUBLIC NOTICE

Sd/PETER LICHAMO Deputy Commissioner Peren : Nagaland

The, 25 Mongoya A/C, Women Wing with its 13 Units resolved to stand strongly in support of its Assembly Constituency representative Shri. Merentoshi R. Jamir and his stand on the current issue of change of leadership within the party in the state.

Further, the Front has decided to render full co-operation on whatever resolutions are adopted in the joint meeting of 24 A/C's on the 12th January 2015.

(MOALA JAMIR) General Secretary

SUPPORT FOR SHRI. G. KAITO AYE The 49 Tamlu assembly constituency, Longleng along with the Youth Wing and Women Wing strongly supports the timely decision of Shri. G. Kaito Aye and his group in the right time.

The NPF 49th Tamlu A/C stands united to give unflinching support to his leadership in the greater interest and welfare of the Naga people at large and hopes that under the able and veteran leader of Shri. Noke Wangnao, the party would reach a higher level. th

Sd/(HAUPEN PHOM) Secretary # 9612908348

(SHONGVAI PHOM) President

JOINT DECLARATION OF SUPPORT Date: 14/01/2015 Place: Mokokchung

The Undersigned officials of the 25-Mongoya Assembly Constituency, 28-Koridang A/C, 29- Jangpetkong A/C and 30-Alongtaki A/C support the 12th January 2015 NPF special emergency meeting wherein a new team of NPF Central Office was constituted. We congratulate all the newly elected members of the NPF Central Office led by Shri.

Noke Wangnao as the President.

We also congratulate Shri. Imkong L. Imchen, Working President, NPF Central Office and all the others office bearers elected from Mokokchung District.

Further, we reaffirm our support to the newly elected NPF Central team and we sincerely hope that the new team will lead our party men and people of Nagaland to greater heights.

(OJEN JAMIR) President 25-Mongoya A/C # 9862120695 (SASHI JAMIR) President 29-Jangpetkong A/C # 943605881

Dated Peren the 8thJan’2015

Shri. Nzangbeu of Jalukie town, Peren Dist. Has applied Succession Certificate in respect of his Late. Uncle Kamgi S/O. Late Tarang of Mpai Village, for transfer of his LPG Card to his name.

Public are hereby invited to file claim/ objections within 30 (thirty) days w.e.f. date of publication in local papers.

If no objection is received from the public within the stipulated time, the succession certificate shall be issued in his / her name.

PRESS RELEASE

(A. NAROLA JAMIR) President 9436439363

The massacre was aimed to trigger riots between the Adivasis and the Bodos across Assam and keep the forces busy controlling riots. "Had there been riots, the forces, including the Indian Army, would have been busy and the heat would be away from the NDFB(S)," the official told NDTV. Several of the arrested NDFB(S) cadres also allegedly admitted as much.

The house burning by angry adivasi youths in the days following the massacre had almost convinced them that their ploy was working, he added.

were on Wednesday killed by forest guards in Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Forest guards launched an operation in Burapahar range after a tip off, Divisional Forest Officer S.K. Sil Sarma said. On facing the forest guards, the poachers fired at them and in an encounter one poacher was killed near Borghat forest camp, Sarma said. On being chased, the two fleeing poachers engaged in a gun battle with the guards for about 25 minutes before they were killed, he said.

Two .303 rifles fitted with a silencer, one round of ammunition and a 9-mm pistol with nine rounds of ammunition were recovered.

(PANGER NEKEN) President 28-Koridang A/C

(MONGLO JAMIR) President 30-Alongtaki A/C # 8732000639

OFFICE OF THE

DIPHUPAR VILLAGE COUNCIL DIMAPUR-797115, NAGALAND

APPRECIATION The Diphupar Village Council, on behalf of public of Diphupar Village, extends sincere heartfelt gratitude to Department of Road and Bridges, Nagaland, specially to Ex-Minister PWD, (R&B) Kuzholuzo Neinu (Azo), for initiating improvement of road between NH-29-Diphu Bridge, which was really in a deplorable condition. It is understandable that, in spite of concern department’s fund drought the ex-minister could muster fund and means for improvement of the said road.

While looking forward that, remaining portion of the work including construction of drainages is done, the Diphupar village council wishes all the good lucks in the future endeavour of Kuzholuzo Neinu (Azo).

Sd/(I. VITOSHE KINIMI) Chairman, Diphupar Village Council

(LANUTOSHI) Secretary, Diphupar Village Council

NPF ARUNACHAL STATE UNIT SUPPORT G. KAITO AYE Having Observed the Political Development of Nagaland within NPF Party for change of leadership the NPF Party state Unit of Arunachal Pradesh has said that the suspension of some legislators from the NPF Party is a harsh step and it has worsen the situation and split within the party. The NPF Party in Arunachal Pradesh however endorses the party moral support to newly elected legislature party leader Mr. G. Kaito Aye and also new NPF President Mr. Noke Wangnao the senior most leaders.

The NPF Party of Arunachal Pradesh claims that under the leadership of then Chief Minister of Nagaland Mr. Neiphiu Rio, the NPF Party and the Government was functioning so smoothly without any dispute for more than a decade which actually proofs the dynamism and able leadership of Hon'ble Member of Parliament Lok Sabha Mr. Neiphiu Rio. And hope that he would continue to serve the people with same spirit of broaded thought, vision with action for the good of the common people being Member of Parliament representing Naga people in Indian Parliament.

(Anok Wangsa) President NPF, Arunachal State Unit

4

Dimapur

businEss

Thursday 15 January 2015

The Morung Express

Fear & Greed ‘Indian economy to grow by 7% in 2016’ Beyond A

uNITED NaTIoNs, JaNuary 14 (IaNs): Helped along by falling oil prices and by lower interest rates in developed countries, India’s economy is expected to grow by seven percent next year and these two factors can be a game-changer if the nation were to seize the opportunity to implement fiscal and structural reforms, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu said Tuesday.

As for this year, Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.4, according to two separate projections released here Tuesday by the Bangkok-based UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Washington-based World Bank, which also predicted a 7 percent increase in 2017.

Overall, Basu painted a dim picture of the global economy

facing a “stalled recovery in some high-income economies and even some middle-income countries” but said “there are some silver linings behind the clouds.”

“The lower oil price, which is expected to persist through 2015,” he said, “is lowering inflation worldwide and is likely to delay interest rate hikes in rich countries. This creates a window of opportunity for oilimporting countries, such as China and India; we expect India’s growth to rise to 7 percent by 2016.” “What is critical is for nations to use this window to usher in fiscal and structural reforms, which can boost longrun growth and inclusive development,” he added.

Both ESCAP and the World Bank saw the low oil prices bonanza helping cut fuel subsi-

dies in order to divert funds for financing sustainable development while also reforming the economy. “This is a particularly critical and opportune time to decrease subsidies,” ESCAP Executive Secretary Shamshad Akhtar said. “Reducing subsidies can raise significant public financial resources for productive investment in the region and could make needed funds available for financing sustainable development.”

And World Bank’s Director of Development Prospects, Ayhan Kose, said, “For both exporters and importers, low oil prices present an opportunity to undertake reforms that can increase fiscal resources and help broader environmental objectives.” According to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, the global

economy is projected to grow by 3 percent this year, 3.3 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017.

Last year, it grew by only a dismal 2.6 percent.

ESCAP’s report, Year-end Update of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2014, forecast a 5.8 percent growth for the region’s economy as a whole, up from last year’s 5.6 percent. The ESCAP report mentioned the “Make in India” campaign as step a step to promote structural change that favor manufacturing by making it easier to establish and operate a business in India.

The report also took note of the initiatives in India to open bank accounts for 75 million poor households by next month and to booth youth employment by opening more community colleges and vocational cours-

es, and promoting entrepreneurship. Although India has identified infrastructure development as a key element for its growth plans, ESCAP said, it faces a shortage of government resources. Therefore, ESCAP recommended giving the private sector an important in developing infrastructure in collaboration with governments.

The World Bank report said that reforms and deregulation in India should boost foreign direct investment. It noted that increases in investments, which account for about 30 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), should help raise the nation’s growth rate to 7 percent by 2016. But the World Bank warned, “Any slackening in the reform momentum could result in a more modest or slower pace of recovery.”

‘India will have 40m new mobile Samsung launches Tizen smartphone in India internet users in 6 months’

NEW DELHI, JaNuary 14 (TNN): In the next six months, India is going to add 40 million mobile internet users, says a new report. The number of mobile internet users in India, pegged at 173 million in December 2014, is expected to reach 213 million by June 2015.

In rural India, this user base is expected to grow at 33% to reach 53 million by that time, says the report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International.

“Primary reason for a higher growth on mobile internet user-base in rural India can be attributed to introduction of inexpensive internet enabled mobile handsets, value-formoney plans and need to stay connected etc. Apart from other devices, 78% of the active internet users in urban cities and 66% in rural villages are accessing the internet on their mobile,” says the report. Analysing the availability of affordable handsets, the study notes that the average price of a handset has fallen from Rs 8,250 in 2012 to Rs 7,000 in 2013 and to Rs 6,202 in 2014.

The analysis of mobile phone usage indicates that not only are more people using more mobile phones, but the share of data usage has grown as compared to basic voice and text functionality. While the average mobile bill was Rs 387 in 2013, it grew to Rs 439 in

2014; a growth of 13%. When it comes to data usage, the spend increased by 36% from Rs 173 to Rs 235. “Limited download rental plans are more common across the demographic segments except for non-working women,” says the report.

What’s taking up all that internet usage? E-mail, mostly, followed by social networking.

74% users, the study finds, use mobile internet services for email, 61% for social networking and 40% for navigation apps while travelling. Online shopping comprises a measly 11% of the pie, which the study attributes to people’s “apprehension” about transacting through their phones.

“The proportion of mobile internet users to active internet user across devices has increased over the years and also expected to grow in future. As of October 2014, this proportion is 78% in case of urban and 65% in case of rural. By June 2015, it is expected to reach 85% for urban and remain at 65% for rural,” says the report.

The study covered eight metros as well as other 27 cities with a population exceeding one million. It was carried between June and Sept 2014, covering 19,000 sample households randomly selected from electoral rolls. Based on their mobile and internet behaviour, the report also makes future projections.

Hyun Chil Hong (R), president and chief executive of Samsung India Electronics, and Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi hold the Samsung?s new Z1 smartphones at its launch in New Delhi January 14. (Reuters Photo)

NEW DELHI, JaNuary 14 (rEuTErs): South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has launched the first smartphone powered by its Tizen operating system, a major development in the tech giant’s aim to build a software ecosystem to rival Google Inc’s Android.

The Z1 device went on sale in India in Wednesday for Rs. 5,700 each, targeting first-time smartphone buyers, the world’s No.1 smartphone maker said in a statement. The no-nonsense handset - one of Samsung’s cheapest - sports a 4-inch display, a plastic body and a simplified user interface.

The launch is a key step in the company’s strategy to break free from the Android platform, which powers Sam-

sung’s flagship Galaxy devices and most other smartphones on the market. At less than $100, the Z1 will be able to compete with low-price offerings by manufacturers like Micromax Infomatics Ltd in India.

The price will also help convince first-time smartphone buyers to try a Tizen-powered device, analysts said.

“Samsung has better chances of success with first-time smartphone users, who may have limited exposure to the huge ecosystem offerings from Android or (Apple Inc’s) iOS,” IDC analyst Kiranjeet Kaur said ahead of the launch.

While India is already the world’s third-biggest market for smartphones, most consumers in the country do not yet own

_

LEISURE

Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.”

SUDOKU Game Number # 3109

one of the devices, meaning the growth potential is huge.

A Samsung spokeswoman said the firm had not decided whether to launch the Z1 in any other countries. Samsung is however pushing to grow Tizen on other platforms such as televisions.

Until now, Tizen has been deployed only in Samsung smartwatches and cameras, leading some analysts to doubt if it would ever power devices in the crucial smartphone business. The mobile division as a whole accounted for about 68% of the firm’s operating profit in 2013.

The Z1 comes with pre-installed apps and web links to services like Amazon.com, Flipkart, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoo and YouTube.

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 3118

Answer Number # 3108

nyone who is a student of the art of investing knows the meaning of the words, “Fear” and “Greed”. I had forgotten about them, but was reminded of their importance by the recent bull-run in our current Indian equity market. Since I am still a student, I dare not become the selfprofessed expert and tell you that it was all very predictable. But at the same time, I will not shy away from telling you that never before, in recent history, had such euphoria been seen due to an election mandate.

Why I mentioned “fear” and “greed” in the beginning because whenever we witness a bull-run (a sudden surge of price-rise in the stock market) these two human emotions are prevalent and are the most influencing factors on all decision-making process of a retail investor. To sum it up, fear restricts us from taking a higher risk, and greed pushes us to cross the same boundary.

But, as the idea of this column is to make you money wise, let’s utilize this current euphoria to discuss how to invest in the stock market. It’s not really a rocket science to know that for retail investors like you and me, the best route to invest in equity or stock market is through mutual funds. Mutual funds work as a custodian of your money and invest your money for a fee. But investing in mutual funds is no child’s play, as there are thousands of funds to choose from. There are several rating agencies like the Value Research, Morning Star or CRISIL which inform us about the best performers. But it is still really challenging to identify which sector of funds to invest in, and also in what ratio? Therefore, let us discuss a simple and straightforward method of investing in equity or stock market through mutual fund.

Balance Fund: The very first fund your money should go to is to a Balance Fund. A Balance Mutual fund is a fund that buys a combination of common stock and bonds to provide both income and capital appreciation while avoiding excessive risk. The purpose of Balance Funds is to provide investors with a single mutual fund that combines both growth and income objectives, by investing in both stocks (for growth) and bonds (for income). Such diversified holdings ensure that these funds will manage downturns in the stock market without too much of a loss.

The flip side, of course, is that Balanced Funds will usually increase less than an all-stock fund during a bull market.

Put your first thousand here every month.

Large-Cap Fund: Your next thousand should go to a Large-Cap Mutual Fund. Funds which invest a larger proportion of their corpus in companies with large market capitalization are called Large Cap Funds. The criteria for Large-Cap companies may vary. However, these are generally the ones with huge market capitalization.

Large-Cap Funds are known to offer stable and sustainable returns over a period of time.

Mid-Cap Funds: Your last thousand should find its way to a Mid-Cap Fund. Mid-Cap Funds are a special type of mutual fund, wherein the corpus accumulated is invested in small or medium sized companies. Mid-Cap Funds bear high-risk factors and thus, offer high returns in case of positive movements of the indexes. Also, the opportunity of investment in Mid-Cap Funds is high due to low identification factor in the market. Another important feature of these Mid-Cap Funds is that they tend to grow in size as more investors get involved. Further, investment in Mid-Cap Funds should have long term perspective. However, investment in Mid-Cap Funds should be undertaken with caution, since these tend to be volatile because of the high risk involved.

If all these are still too much to handle, go seek the help of an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). But before that, do your own research on your advisor. He/ She should disclose any commissions he/ she will gain by selling a product to you. The best ones never sell anything, but ask direct fees from you. If you have got one of those, consider yourself lucky and start investing without fear or greed.

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

STD CODE: 03862 232224; Emergency229529, 229474

Metro Hospital:

227930, 231081

Faith Hospital:

228846

Shamrock Hospital

228254

Zion Hospital:

231864, 224117, 227337

Police Control Room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

East Police Station West Police Station

227607 232181

CIHSR (Referral Hospital)

242555/ 242533

Dimapur hospital

224041, 248011

Apollo Hospital Info Centre:

230695/ 9402435652

Railway:

131/228404

Indian Airlines

229366

Nagaland Multispe- 248302, cialty Health & 09856006026 Research Centre

W

O Sponges CELLULOSE NATURAL WASH DRY HOLES BLEACH SKELETON DELICATE SQUEEZE WIPE LOOFAH ABRASIVE COLORED SOFT ABSORBS KITCHEN BATH GARAGE BASEMENT OUTSIDE SCRUB

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D

X R G C P V Z X A D Y D P A A X X P H S

Q Z V R C O L O R E D J N O P Q I T N V

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P W N A T U R A L B J S Z Q H A M O K U

S I G O H T A B B I J Q J K A Y Y Y Y M

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U P J O P S L K Y V I U K N T E Y L N T

N E H C T I K V F P J E O G N Q U L O S

R T L G N D H P A E Z E J A E S O F T D

Y A E M L E O R J I Q Z N B M I Y H E H

A

C C A F J X L N A A Q E W I E S X C L Q

V I A F E T E W P U N V L L S X N E E T

I L W V H B S C R U B I O W A S H L K A

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C E U P G D U N I X L S O H B J N L S F

V D R Z R P O L G P E A F Q Z T F U L R

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E R V G K Q Y P E G A R A G S F T L T M

D Y W D F D G O O Z C B H O O U Y O L Q

I I N F A V Y O L D H A B S O R B S J Y

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G K D C R U D F U H B K J Q I B X E R S

L T Z K H J N F S A K L R B G W R F F H

P K I P R X E S G D G E F Z K I O R I A

Y O H N G F V A S I I Z I U R R X B O Z

ACROSS 1. Lubricate 5. Sleighs 10. Gala 14. Burden 15. Novices 16. Spindle 17. Loyalty 19. Atop 20. Apprehend 21. Everglades bird 22. Barges 23. Schemes 25. Charges per unit 27. Calypso offshoot 28. Study of movement 31. Offensively malodorous 34. Cover girl 35. Not bottom 36. Historical periods 37. Despises 38. A few 39. Altitude (abbrev.)

40. Stories 41. Rip up 42. Earthquake waves 44. Japanese apricot 45. French for “Queen” 46. Idle 50. Pretend

52. Nigerian monetary unit 54. Enemy 55. Constellation bear 56. Allure 58. Glove 59. Whips 60. Backside 61. Being 62. Varieties 63. Red vegetable

DOWN 1. Advances (money) 2. To untwist 3. Light or tulip ones 4. East southeast 5. A symbol of disgrace 6. Prevaricators 7. Sea eagle 8. Philosophies 9. South southeast 10. Spigot 11. Expounder 12. Not fast 13. 10 10 10 10 18. Nerdish 22. Stair 24. Sounds of disapproval 26. Rectum 28. Friends and acquaintances

29. Draw near 30. Hurried 31. Accomplishment 32. Website addresses 33. Nudists 34. Without fidgeting 37. Song of praise 38. Leveling wedge 40. Principal 41. A pinnacle of ice 43. Cancel 44. Swamp 46. Sad song 47. All excited 48. Hangman’s knot 49. Basic belief 50. Be furious 51. Twin sister of Ares 53. At the peak of 56. Astern 57. Bar bill Ans to CrossWord 3117

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

STD CODE: 0370 100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202 08974997923

DIMAPUR: 03862 232201/ 101 (O) 9436017479 (OC) CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862 282777/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC)

MOKOKCHUNG: 0369 2226225/ 101 (O) 9436012949 (OC) PHEK: 8414853765 (O) 9862130954(OC) ZUNHEBOTO: 03867 280304/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) TUENSANG: 8414853766 (O) 8414853519 MON: 03869 251222/ 101 (O) 9436208480 (OC) KipHire: 8414853767 (O) 8974304572 (OC)

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE Toll free No. 1098 childline

MOKOKCHUNG:

KOHIMA: 0370 2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC)

WOKHA: 03860 242215/101 (O) 9862039399 (OC)

Chumukedima Fire 282777 Brigade Nikos Hospital and 232032, 231031 Research Centre

KOHIMA

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

Police Station 1:

2226241

Police Station 2 :

2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home:

2226216 2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226373/2229343

TAHAMZAM (formerly Senapati) STD CODE: 03871 Police Station: Fire Brigade

CURRENCY EXCHANGE CURRENCY NOTES

222246 222491

BUY(Rs)

SELL(Rs)

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

61.85 93.03 7.96 50.1 46.14 51.45 52.1 0

62.28 94.08 8.04 50.84 46.69 52.08 52.73

Euro

72.86

73.68

Danish Krone

9.79

9.90

Norwegian Krone

7.97

8.06

47.65

48.39

7.72

7.81

New Zealand Dollar Swedish Krona

LOCAL NPF 15 Southern Angami NPF Life Membership A/C & Mon unit backs Noke Cell upholds Zeliang

The Morung Express

Kohima, January 14 (mExn): Stating its position on the current leadership crisis, the Naga Peoples’ Front 15 Angami II A/C, at its party meeting held today, had resolved to support Noke Wangnao as the president of the party.

A press note issued by the constituency, president, Zakitol Thol and general secretary, Zehoto Kikhi informed that all the ranks

and files of the constituency also resolved to endorse G Kaito Aye as the leader of the NPF Legislature Party and to firmly stand behind its MLA, Er. Kropol Vitsu.

Meanwhile, congratulating the ‘new NPF central office bearers’, the NPF Mon Division and seven NPF A/C constituency units of Mon has reiterated its full support to “NPF majority party” lead by

Noke Wangnao.

A press note signed by the NPF Mon Division president, Tingthok and general secretary, K Chingkai and further appended by the president of the seven NPF A/C of Mon, while endorsing the ‘NPF majority party” further appealed all the ranks and files of the NPF to stand in unity and allow inner democracy to prevail.

State BJP resolves to continue its membership drive with 'renewed vigour'

Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): The BJP Nagaland Membership Drive and Social Media Meeting was held on January 14 at Bookmarc Conference Hall, Dimapur with all the District Presidents and State Morcha Presidents.

A press note from Jaangsillung Gonmei, the BJP Nagaland State Secretary (Media) and Convenor of Social Media stated that the membership drive had been going on smoothly since it was launched two months back and the meeting further resolved to enroll memberships with “renewed vigour” in 2015.

It also requested all the district presidents to complete the appointments of four district office bearers namely, two convenors each for Membership Drive and Social Media in order to ensure early completion of membership drives in their respective districts.

All the District presidents are also asked to submit the completed Membership enrollment booklets issued to them before January 25 to the Convenor, Yanghose Sangtam and request fresh booklets if required. The membership drive tour programme

BJP Wokha membership drive workshop at Bhandara WoKha, January 14 (mExn): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wokha Unit conducted a primary membership drive workshop for 40th A/C Mandal at Bhandari Town on January 13.

According to a press note from general secretary (Admn) & Wokha District Convener of Primary Membership Drive, N.Nchumbemo Jami, the workshop was attended by all Mandal Office Bearers, BJMM Office Bearers and members, and more than 30 Village Unit.

The District President along with District Primary Membership Drive Convener, District BJYM President also attended and explained about the importance of the drive and measures for strengthening the Party in the District, the press note added.

It further informed that any interested person can enrolled in the Party by giving miss call (toll free) to 18002662020.Every Party Workers were also endorsed to enrolled at least 100 members, and to go door to door and enrolled every willing persons in their locality.

for four district headquarters of Phek, Kohima, Peren and Wokha has already been decided and the schedule for other district would be decided later.

The press further informed that the Party workers and supporters may log on membership page at www.facebook. com/bjpmedianagaland

for interaction on the party policy and programmes.

Online membership enrollment can also be done by dialing 1800 2626 6000 and receive the membership enrollment number through SMS. It can also be done through filled-in forms, available in with BJP office Bearers or the district presidents.

Kohima, January 14 (mExn): The Life Membership Cell, Naga Peoples’ Front today extended its full support Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang and also resolved to stand behind “the most venerable” NPF President, Dr Shurhozielie Liezetsu.

The Chairman of NPF Life Membership Cell, Pinyimthung Lotha in a press note further called upon all party workers to “prayerfully stand and sincerely” strive towards ward-

tion on the scenario of Immunization in the district. He urged the stake holders to be actively involved in the immunization program which aims to achieve 100% full immunization and thereby reduce IMR and prevent childhood illness which are preventable through timely and full immunization.

Dr.Shiel aLongkumer, WHO, Consultant, Kohima

also presented the Global Update on IPPI, she also informed the members that on March 2014 India has been declared Polio Free by WHO and thus urged the members to continue their support to maintain this status.

Chairing the meeting, Elizabeth Ngully, Addl.

Deputy Commissioner also hoped that with the involvement of all the Stakeholders

Glorious army honoured on Army day Kohima, January 14 (mExn): On Army Day, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, GOC Spear Corps, has conveyed greetings and best wishes to all ranks of the Army, ExServicemen, civilians and their families.

“The Army has always been a great source of inspiration and has contributed immensely to the society’s development. Army Day is special for all ranks and we feel proud of being soldiers of this great and glorious Army. All ranks of Spear Corps have been working together with the

and the participation of the community will assist in increasing the immunization percentage in the district and assist the medical department in achieving its goal.

The First Round of IPPI (Polio Sunday) will be held on January 18 and houseto-house visit from 19th Jan.’15 to immunized those children who were missed on Polio Sunday.

In the evening chapter of the ongoing “the Maati Ke Rang 2015 festival” on January 15, the audience were enthralled with the scintillating choral groups’ performances rendered with skilled and discipline control over their music.

While Nagaland Singing Ambassadors other acts induced “goosebumps” in the audience who had turn up in vast numbers, their rendition of the ‘Circle of Life’ immediately generated right tones of freedom, joy and warmth towards nature. The Bel Canto Choir from Mizoram that came next was equally spectacular, with their take on ‘You raise me up’ and ‘One Love’ bestowing the audience, a feeling of warmth and cheer respectively. Eclectic combination of the two talented choral group with the rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ in reverberating tones leaves the audience peaceful as they retires for the night. (Photo by Stephen Styris)

Bishop appeals for dialogue to solve tension symbol of the unity, catholicity and universality of the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, he stated that “the tension and suffering caused by individuals to gain political or material mileage is a curse which we as believers much resist and eliminate from our midst.” “God is our common loving Father and all that we possess including land is His gift to us,” he added. In this light, he maintained that no one is owner, but all are pilgrims in this world,

adding, “No problem is solved through violence and intimidation rather all problems and differences can be solved through dialogue. Dialogue and nonviolence is the only weapon that can build bridges and peace among communities.”

“Peace is also a gift from God, the last gift left by Jesus to his disciples. If we are not peace makers then we are not Christians, not disciples of Jesus,” he added.

The bishop also appealed to all leaders – po-

Dimapur

5

MEx FILE Governor extend Sukrunyi greetings Kohima, January 14 (mExn): The Governor of Nagaland, P B Acharya has extended his warmest greeting to the Chakhesang Community on the joyous occasion of Sukrunyi festival. “On this auspicious occasion, I appeal the Chakhesang Community to celebrate the festival in its true spirit to preserve the rich cultural heritage and upholding the tradition of peaceful co-existence in Nagaland's pluralistic society,” the Governor said in a message. He further expressed his hope that, the “festival of sanctification” would usher in the bond of unity, integrity, prosperityand understanding among the various tribes in Nagaland.

DMC inform on collection of tolls Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) office has been collecting tolls on various items through its officials from January 1. It has been reported that some unauthorized persons are collecting tolls in the name of DMC. Therefore, in the connection all concerned re informed to pay tolls and fees only to authorised DMC officials with identity cards issued by DMC administrator H Atokhe Aye. In the event of any doubt or further clarification, one may contact DMC officials @ LO- 9436430966, I/c Tolls (Open Vendor) - 9862446600 or OS- 9774468150.

Dimapur, January 14 (Dipr): On the occasion of Army Day, a blood donation camp was organised at Rangapahar Military Station, Dimapur on January 13 in collaboration with Indian Red Cross Society, Dimapur under the aegis of Medical Branch, HQ 3 Corps.

The event was inaugurated by Maj Gen Deepak Saxena, VSM, COS, HQ 3 Corps. During this blood donation drive, 72 army personnel proudly donated blood. These missions are undertaken by the Army under military civic action on regular basis. This blood will be used Angami Students' Union executives posing for lens after inspecting the site for the upcom- by Indian Red Cross Society for the benefit of the local ing Naga Students’ Federation Conference to be held at Khonoma village around mid-march. civil population.

civil administration and the people towards greater growth and prosperity in the North Eastern Region,” said the Lt Gen in a message released to the media.

He has also expressed appreciation to the dedicated efforts of each soldier towards this noble cause.

The press note issued by the PRO (Defence), Kohima stated that each year on January 15, Army Day is celebrated to mark the historic moment when General (Later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-

litical, tribal, village, NGOs to create an atmosphere and environment of peace and trust where one can sit down across the table and talk and dialogue with one another. “Let us assure each other safety and peace. Make our difference an opportunity to build peace and harmony and not a problem to be solved.

Our unity is in our diversity and diversity should be our strength.” He further reminded, “Where there is peace, prosperity and progress will be its fruit...”

in-Chief of Army in independent India in 1949. The Army’s efforts, to undertake infrastructure development projects and civic military actions have made a significant difference towards the overall growth of the region.

“On this day, we salute the brave soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and rededicate ourselves to work tirelessly to hold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,” adds the PRO (Defence), Kohima.

One dead body recovered in Dimapur Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): A male dead body aged between 45-40 years was recovered by Dimapur Police from the railway track near Sangtamtilla village, Dimapur on January 14.

According to an Addl.

Superintendent of Police/PRO, Dimapur press note, the victim, whose body bores a cut mark on the forehead, is suspected to be a local and might

68th WSBAK youth conference

Kohima, January 14 (mExn): The bishop of Kohima, Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil today appealed for peace and dialogue to solve the existing tension between different communities in Nagaland. Speaking during the felicitation programme after the ordination of the 42nd catholic priest from Nagaland and fourth from the Yimchungru tribe, the Bishop said the ordination of priests from various communities and different tribes is a sign and

was founded by visionary leaders who sacrificed and succeeded in establishing it on firm grounds, must not be forgotten,” it further added.

The Life Membership Cell further appealed all the party men, women and functionaries in different levels of the party organization need to steadfastly adhere to the principle and ideology of the party; remains calm and undisturbed; work for the unity of the party.

15 January 2015

Army organizes blood donation camp

Dimapur district task force meeting held Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): The District Task Force under the Department of Health & Family Welfare Dimapur held a meeting on IPPI (Polio Sunday- 1st Round) and Routine Immunization on January 14 at Deputy Commissioners’ Conference Hall.

During the meeting Dr. Lanuakum, DPO (UIP-RCH) gave a powerpoint presenta-

ing off the “evil design of the dissident group”, who created the crisis for their own “narrow and selfish gains.”

Expressing its sadness over “present drama” shaped by some “unscrupulous leaders” of the NPF, the press note argued that it undermined the selfless sacrifices, dedication, and invaluable services rendered by the “venerable leaders” and the overwhelming support given by the people.

“Naga People’s Front

Thursday

Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): The WSBAK concluded its three days 68th Youth Conference under the theme ‘Challenges facing youths today’ an January 11 at Pihekhu Baptist Church. The conference speakers were Rev. S. Vitoshe Swu, Executive Secretary, WSBAK; Rev. Helkath Kappo, Director, Mission & Evangelism WSBAK; Dr. Kuholi Zhimomi, Asso Professor UTC Bangalore and Rev. Ikuto Zhimo, Secretary Youth Department.

Temjen Toy, Secretary, Er. Shikato Jakhalu, E.E. Electrical Transmission, Mokokchung, and Allen Benjamin, Principal, Hollotoli School, Dimapur delivered exhortation speeches. Around 5500 delegates attended the conference.

A press note issued by the Youth Secretary, Rev. Ikuto Zhimo said that the conference also had an inspiring Sumi legendary folk song competition in both male and female category from various churches under WSBAK. The Youth Secretary has acknowledged all the program officials and churches for their wonderful participation and to the host church for their warm hospitality and generosity.

have fallen from a running train. The dead body currently kept at Civil Hospital Morgue for PM examination and identification.

The victim bears the following identities: (a) Complexion- fair (b) Height – 5’ 2’’ (c) Dresses- Pant (Blue jean), Shirt (Long sleeve blue jean), T-Shirt (long sleeve coffee colour) and a pair of black socks.

Chingmei Students’ Union invites TuEnsang, January 14 (mExn): Chingmei Students’ Union will be celebrating Golden Jubilee from January 19 to 21. Therefore, all the students and its citizens are requested to attend the celebration of the Jubilee. Further, the Union also welcomes all the in-laws, guest invitees.

KTBWU representatives meeting Kohima, January 14 (Dipr): The Kohima Town Baptist Women Union, meeting will be held on January 17 at Union Baptist Church, Kohima at 2:00 PM. All the representatives of Baptist Churches of Kohima town are kindly requested to attend the meeting without fail.

SUD special prayer meeting on Jan 17 Dimapur, January 14 (mExn): Sastami Union Dimapur (SUD) has convened a special prayer meeting on January 17 at NCRC Church, Burma Camp at 5:30 am. SUD General Secretary Paul Achumi in a press release has requested all members residing in an around Dimapur to attend the programme and be blessed.

Tobu SDPDB meeting held mon, January 14 (Dipr): The Tobu SDPDB meeting was held on January 13 under the chairmanship of ADC Tobu, Akup Thangsing. The meeting reviewed the last meeting minutes and also discussed the following points: upgradation of Newman High School Tobu to that of Newman Higher Secondary School Tobu and poor power supply at Tobu sub-division. The members also had a discussion on the work distribution for the coming Republic Day celebration on 26th January.

Zunheboto DPDB meeting held ZunhEboTo, January 14 (Dipr): The monthly Zunheboto District Planning and Development Board meeting was held on January 14 at DC’s conference hall Zunheboto. The meeting was chaired by ADC Zunheboto, Nungsangmenla Imchen. The members discussed the work distribution for the coming Republic Day celebration on 26th January and the meeting concluded with the vote of thanks from the chair.

Fourth priest from Yimchungrü tribe ordained

Newly ordained Rev. Fr. Lichoi John with the bishop and others during his ordination programme.

Kohima, January 14 (mExn): Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, the bishop of Kohima ordained Rev. Fr. Lichoi John, the fourth priest from Yimchungrü tribe on January 13. “Do everything for the glory of God” is the motto of the new priest, said a press release issued by Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary, Kohima.

Addressing the ordinate during his homily, the bishop said that unless he build up a personal relationship with Jesus through personal prayer, reading and meditation of the word

of God and praying the office of the Church, he cannot make his priestly ministry effective and lasting.

According to the release, Rev. Fr. Lichoi John is the third son of Late Yungpong David and Thsaye Magdalene. He has one brother and seven sisters. At an early age of 12, soon after the demise of his dad, he was in close association with priests and religious at St. Peter’s Church Kiphire, whose life and example helped him realize his vocation to priesthood. His participation in vocation

camps, both at Parish and Diocese level, nurtured his call, the release said.

After completing his matriculation from Loyola School Kiphire, he began his studies in pursuit of priesthood and joined the Seminary and finished his Class XII from St. Xavier Hr. Sec. School, Jalukie.

He did one year of orientation course at Chabua, Assam and did his Philosophy studies and graduation from Salesian College, Dimapur. He also completed his theological studies at Oriens Theological College, Shillong.

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IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express THursDAy 15 JAnuAry 2015 volumE X IssuE 13

Prayers Elizabeth santos

The house was small, the children numbered four And as they climbed up to the second floor I said, before you sleep, mother will come And listen to the prayers of every one For when you lay your head in slumber's nest An angel's peace will soothe your little chest The first one prayed that she would have her dream A three-year-old with lots of plans to scheme Then mother added, don't forget to pray For those who have no toys with which to play And may your heart be giving with no end I love you darling, go to sleep, Amen The second was a little boy of six I pray dear God, please give me magic tricks I said His miracles no tricks employ For He has blessed a sickly little boy Please don't forget how ill your little friend I love you, keep him in your prayers, Amen The third one prayed for all his family Then kneeling down and looking up at me He asked God at the tender age of nine To bless me with his love, pure and divine And when his prayer was coming to an end He said, dear God, I need a bike, Amen The twelve-year-old was struggling to pray For tears were falling with each word he'd say His dog was gone and I could not console The pain that pierced the innocence of soul I said I know he was your dearest friend I love you, May you find the strength, Amen My own heart was now weeping as they slept As thoughts of things I couldn't give had crept Through window panes, that couldn't mask the winds That whistled through the fields and barren limbs And then a whispering voice said, my dear friend Your love is all they'll ever need, Amen

lEfT WING |

Mazie Nakhro, Ph.D

Day 8: God and Government Thought-Provoking Questions: Did God intend for religion and human government to exist as exclusive entities? Should God be taken out of politics?

What does God say? Read Leviticus 19:1-37 God said to all Israel, "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy" (19:1). Here the word "holy" (kadosh in Hebrew) means having an ethical orientation toward just acts after the like of God. But how would the people of God do that?

By setting aside a corner of the field for the hungry, by removing the stumbling block before the blind, by creating courts of justice, by creating a market place that is fair, by observing the Sabbath, by honoring our parents, and so on (1-9:2-37).

In other words, holiness is not only staying away from sin, but also honoring our parents, and creating a just and fair world.

In Leviticus, religion and politics are organically intertwined. For example, the tabernacle was both a religious center and a royal palace housing God's throne. The Israelites, who were grouped in tribes representing civil societies, camped around the tabernacle. Thus, the lives of the people literally revolved around religion and God's politics.

Whenever the Israelites moved from their camp, the Ark of the Covenant was always carried by the priests in front of the people, thus symbolizing that God was leading them in their journey (Josh. 3:1-14). When they went to war, they took the Ark of the Covenant with them because they believed that God the Divine Warrior would give them victory (Josh. 6:6;1 Sam. 4:1-3).

After Israel became a fully functional nation under King David, the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem.

By doing this, David instituted politics and religion to function side by side in his kingdom (2 Sam. 6). His son Solomon did the same. As a matter of fact, the most magnificent building in Solomon's kingdom was the temple which he built unto God (1 Kings 5--6), and he put the Ark of the Covenant in the temple (1 Kings 8).

In short, holiness should permeate everything God's people do, be it in community life, political affairs, journeys, or military fights.

Okay, so now what?

In today's world, God is restricted to a private space in religion. Some assume as if God is only concerned with individuals worshipping Him in a certain manner and staying away from immoralities. This is a heresy of our modern-day Christianity. According to the Bible, God is personal, but never private. He is a public God. His rule extends over all spheres of life and over all powers on earth. Thus, denying God in public sphere is a denial of biblical faith itself.

Prayer: Dear God, I desire to be holy after the like of You. Keep me from adding snore evils in the world. Help me so I may do my part in creating a more just and fair World for people. Amen Taken from the book “Breakfast with the King: The 100-Day Devotional” by Mazie Nakhro

S O U N D BITE

"

Only when we come to understand, in the light of the cross, the evil we are capable of and have even been a part of, can we experience true remorse and true repentance," he said after setting free a dove in a sign of peace. "Only then can we receive the grace to approach one another in true contrition, offering and seeking true forgiveness."

Pope Francis

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

John Feffer Foreign Policy in Focus

Why 2014 Wasn’t So Terrible

I

n bidding farewell to 2014, most of us gave the year a swift kick in the rear end as it exited the calendar.

On foreign policy in particular, few people had nice things to say about the recently departed.

After all, it was a banner year for all manner of evils. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa dominated the headlines, and the trumped-up fear of the disease’s spread to the United States even helped boost the vote totals of a few Republicans in the party’s midterm sweep. The rise of ISIS and its filmed beheadings, as well as the kidnapping rampages of Boko Haram in Nigeria, gave a shot in the arm to “the war on terrorism.” The triumph of activists in Kiev turned into a renewed Cold War confrontation between a passive aggressive West and an aggressive Russia. And the Chinese authorities eventually forced activists in Hong Kong to roll up their umbrellas and go home.

Negotiations went pretty much nowhere between the United States and Iran, and things went from bad to worse with North Korea thanks to Seth Rogen and James Franco. The apparent mass murder of 43 students from the city of Iguala introduced many Americans to Mexico’s appalling nexus of corruption and organized crime that has led to the disappearance of more than 20,000 people since 2006.

Have I missed anything else? Yes: some missing planes, some missing chunks of Antarctica, and some activists gone missing in Egyptian jails.

Bad news produced all the memorable visuals from 2014 as well as all the grimly amusing political cartoons. And bad news stayed in the headlines for weeks on end — months in the case of Ebola and ISIS. Good news, on the other hand, tends to be fleeting. We cheer for a few hours when something positive happens, and then it’s back to feeling as though the globe is going to hell in a Hellfire missile.

Last year, for my first column of 2014, I gave three reasons to be cheerful: a dip in U.S. militarism, an uptick in diplomatic initiatives, and a resurgence of concern about economic inequality. This year, in a similar burst of early-January optimism, let me give you three more reasons to be cheerful.

If we’re lucky, these bright spots from 2014 will endure even after Ebola retreats, ISIS withers away, and Russia backs off.

Presidential Backbone On top of the list of things to celebrate is the year’s surprise awakening: President Obama suddenly remembered that he was president and not just a pincushion for the Republican Party’s jabs.

In the most amazing foreign policy story of 2014, the cold war between Cuba and the United States ended practically overnight. The president could have settled for a mere prisoner exchange. But he went big instead.

Sure, the embargo remains in place, congressional hardliners are refusing to move on, and American financiers are probably making plans as we speak to head to the island to recreate 1958-style casinos and brothels. But here was a diplomatic change that won near-universal support from the Obama administration, the Castro administration, the Cuban people, and the American electorate.

Another sign of executive oomph was the president’s immigration order, in which Obama, as I described in an earlier column, cut the Gordian knot of Washington politics. Here was a clear case of a president combining social justice (protecting the country’s most marginalized), family values (keeping families together), and good economic principles (making it easier for skilled immigrant workers and entrepreneurs to do their jobs). It should have been an easy purple victory, and it should have won plaudits from the very pundits who usually decry gridlock. That the president went through with the initiative without widespread bipartisan support speaks highly of his political instincts and poorly of the political atmosphere in Congress.

A

mong its many acts of terror, the Islamic State has a wellearned reputation for violence against women.

Labeled exceedingly radical even by al-Qaeda’s standards, the group’s reprehensible treatment of women has included sexual enslavement, forced marriages, and the execution of women who make unapproved contact with members of the opposite sex. These are just a few of the many vicious tactics of gender subordination highlighted by a recent United Nations report.

However, women are still joining the group — many by choice. The question, naturally, is why?

A Role for Women We tend to associate acts of terror with men, presuming women to be inherently less violent. Over the years, al-Qaeda in particular has discouraged women from getting directly involved in its activities.

However, female insurgents have played integral roles in suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks in the Middle East. Palestinian women proved eager recruits in the Second Intifada, for example, just as others did in Lebanon on behalf of largely secular organizations resisting Israeli aggression in the 1980s.

For its part, the Islamic State has actively sought to entice women into joining its ranks — albeit, generally to play non-combat roles.

In February 2014, it created two female brigades — al-Khansaa and Umm al-Rayan — to enforce its stringent conceptions of Islamic morality.

The group deems single women between the ages of 18 and 25 eligible to

Three reasons to be (a little) cheerful about the state of the world last year

Finally, Obama promised as a presidential candidate to close the detention facility in Guantanamo.

Congress refused to implement his order. So, instead, the president has gradually been reducing the population of the facility. Still left at Guantanamo are 127 prisoners, approximately half the number who were there at the beginning of Obama’s term. A flurry of releases came at the end of 2014: seven in November and then 15 in December. Of the remaining prisoners, 55 have been cleared for release. Whittling down the population in this way doesn’t deliver the wallop — or provide the justice — of a one-time closure. But backbone is sometimes demonstrated by courage over the long-term and not just one-time decisions.

Yes, I know, we’re talking about a president who has presided over a disturbing expansion of the national security state. Still, we’d better appreciate his good sides while we can. His most likely successor, from either party, wouldn’t exercise presidential authority in the foreign policy realm with anything close to this kind of creativity.

When Votes Count Elections are often ho-hum affairs, the results easily predicted way in advance. But elections in Europe these days are anything but predictable. In a number of countries, far-right parties are shouldering aside the conservative standard bearers. The National Front in France, the UK Independence Party, and the People’s Party in Denmark are all threatening to upend the status quo.

But in Greece, the political winds have shifted in the other direction. The top leadership of the neofascist Golden Dawn is in jail, with all 18 MPs awaiting trial on felony charges. The parliamentary elections are coming up at the end of this month, and the leftist Syriza party current tops the polls, 3 percent ahead of the conservative New Democracy party.

Syriza rejects the austerity economics that the European Union and the IMF have insisted on as terms for lending money to Greece. This is not just a question of Greek politics. If Syriza renegotiates the terms for Greece, other indebted countries will insist on similar packages, undermining the dominant model in Europe for dealing with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Another election that proved influential in 2014

actually took place in 2013: the Chilean presidential election that brought Michele Bachelet back to power. Last year, with the support of students who went out onto the streets in 2011, her party pushed through new educational and tax reforms last year that will make Chile a considerably more equitable country. As Sebastian Rosemont wrote in FPIF in December, “By focusing on tangible demands, making broad partnerships, and linking to the larger platform of economic inequality, Chilean protesters changed the rules of the game.”

A final election of note, which actually did take place in 2014, was in Tunisia. More important than the party that won was the party that lost: Ennahda.

Contrary to the dire predictions of many, the Islamist party calmly handed over the reins of power to the secular party that won both the presidential and parliamentary elections, Nidaa Tounes. It took the Arab Spring protests to convince people that Islam and democracy were compatible. The recent elections in Tunisia should likewise convince people that Islamism and democracy are compatible as well.

Climate Turns the Corner?

The long-term prospects for the planet don’t look so good from the point of global warming. But in 2014, there were three positive signs on the climate front. First was the outpouring of civic activism.

Protestors hit the streets to protest specific projects, from fracking to the Keystone pipeline. And then in September more than 300,000 people mobilized in New York for the largest-ever demonstration on the threat of climate change.

Also encouraging was the deal that Beijing and Washington struck when Obama was in China in November for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. True, it’s a tepid agreement, but it also offers some hope of bridging the gap between longtime polluters like the United States and late-bloomers like China.

And then there’s Pope Francis, who also played a key role in the backchannel diplomacy between Havana and Washington. In 2014, the Pope took steps to harmonize the relationship between religion and science by essentially endorsing the Big Bang and evolution. In May, in an early indication of his position on climate change, he announced that “if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us.” Later this month, word has it that he’s planning a major encyclical on the subject.

It’s not just words. Like the Pentagon, the Church can have a profound impact on the market if it changes its purchasing pattern. “With its network of hospitals, schools, parish centers, seminaries and other institutions, the Church spends billions for its energy use,” notes Rhodi Lee in Tech Times. “The Pope’s position on climate change could lead to installations of renewable energy sources, such as solar systems in establishments and institutions that the Church has stakes in.” With oil prices falling, we need all the institutional pressure we can get to support renewable energy.

These weren’t the only good news stories from 2014. The new BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) bank may transform the structure of the international financial system. Protestors in Burkina Faso ejected their dictator of 27 years, Blaise Compaore, and the country is preparing for democratic elections later in 2015. Voters elected a new governor in Okinawa who opposes the construction of yet another U.S. military base on the island. War did not break out in the South China Sea, or between India and Pakistan for that matter.

Perhaps you have your own reasons to believe that this glass-half-full analysis is overly optimistic.

The Four Horsemen of war, pestilence, famine, and death continued their gallop around the globe in 2014. But if we can’t find some tentative good news to kindle like a guttering flame, then we might as well declare an end to activism — and reserve front row seats for the apocalypse.

John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus

Why Are Women Joining the Islamic State?

Elena veatch participate, providing a monthly salary of 25,000 Syrian pounds — the equivalent of about $140, as of this writing — as an incentive.

These women do not commit the conspicuous acts of terror that have made the Sunni extremist group infamous. Instead, they perform tasks such as searching people who pass through checkpoints, in part to expose men who have disguised themselves as women to avoid recruitment. They also serve as the Islamic State’s morality police, ensuring that female community members in seized areas dress appropriately in full niqab and refrain from going out in public without male accompaniment.

Accounts from women detained by al-Khansaa indicate that female brigade members do not merely obey orders from male leaders in the execution of their policing duties. Rather, to some extent, they seem to revel in their access to power. “They insulted me and yelled at me,” recalls Zainab, a young Syrian girl who was detained in March 2014. “Nobody talked to me or told me the reason for my detention. … The brigade has created fear among the women and girls of Raqqa.”

A Choice among Patriarchies Although the Islamic State’s presence has undeniably exacerbated the oppression of women in Iraq and Syria, conditions were never ideal for women in these states in the first place (though by some measures they were better than in nearby countries).

In communities where honor killings continue to occur, female victims of rape are stigmatized, regardless of whether it’s members of the Islamic State committing the atrocities or someone else. Similarly, in places where women cannot decide for themselves how to dress or how to act, they remain subject to the authority of men, regardless of who’s in power.

Yet if the Islamic State seems even worse, why do women join?

Some contribute to the radical movement out of concern for their own safety. In northern and central Iraq, many women have been left to fend for themselves in the absence of male family members who have been roped into combat or killed. Joining the Islamic State could grant these women a sense of security. On the other hand, a genuine feeling of obligation among women to oppose the Iraqi govern-

WRITE-WING

ment’s routine mistreatment of Sunnis could also be at play.

A more fascinating explanation, however, rests on the premise that women yearn to be entrusted with positions of authority in societies where traditional values already restrict female autonomy.

Syrian women participated in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, but since the onset of the civil war that followed, they’ve had to focus on survival rather than on instigating change. Just as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has successfully included women in his own counter-insurgency tactics, perhaps the Islamic State has convinced some women that the perception of being in control — with the authority to subjugate members of their own community — is more desirable than the alternative: feeling the weight of their oppression each day.

The complicity of these women in enforcing strict conceptions of morality illuminates the unfairness of the pre-Islamic State lives they wished to escape. The Islamic State’s version of Islam surely oppresses women, but so too does the existing patriarchy in the societies the extremists have penetrated.

“There is a process of female emancipation taking place in the jihadi movement,” explains Norwegian defense expert Thomas Hegghammer, “albeit a very limited (and morbid) one.”

Without the help of women at the local level, the Islamic State would not have been able to establish its presence in the Middle East so rapidly and effectively. But as women have discovered all over the world, helping to build a society scarcely prevents them from finding themselves at the margins of it.

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

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

PERSPECTIVE

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Thursday

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

15 January 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

Restorative Justice at Work How This Indigenous Wood Carver Is Finding Peace After a Seattle Officer Killed His Brother Kayla schultz

R

yes Magazine

ick Williams asked for calm when protesters demanded justice for his brother, who was shot and killed by a Seattle police officer. But he realizes that "the only way you can help change the system is show them you are a human being."

Rick Williams sits outside Seattle’s Space Needle carving totem poles until dark, a workday that can reach up to 12 hours. Tourists and Seattleites approach the picnic table where he sits, examining the intricate designs he carves with only a pocket knife.

The children in his family were taught to carve when they were about 7 years old, with techniques passed down through generations. The Williams family legacy in Seattle started in the 1920s, when grandfather Sam Williams began carving for Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. Although he has lost many of his family members through the years, Williams holds their traditions and memories close.

In August 2010, Williams was reunited with his brother John T. Williams. For two days they sat at a bench in the city, carving with other family members and catching up on the years they spent apart. John had lost hearing in his left ear, and his sight was deteriorating. He went for a walk, saying he would return shortly, but on his way back a police officer spotted the knife in his hand. Born into a family of First Nation master carvers, John usually carried the knife around, along with a piece of wood. The officer yelled for John to drop the knife, and seconds later fired his gun four times, killing him.

With the recent deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown, who were also killed by police officers, Rick Williams noted the connections between those police-related incidents and the one involving his brother. In each case, the officers used excessive force when the situations could have been de-escalated by other means, according to Williams, who called the incidents a “sickness.” Although problems may be rooted in basic police training, they are also influenced by perceptions of danger based on race and culture.

When the grand jury ruled not to indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri, officer responsible for the death of Mike Brown, the victim’s family asked protesters to keep the gatherings peaceful—something Williams had also asked in honor of his brother four years ago.

“The family from Ferguson asked for peace and calm, and I literally fell out of the couch I was sitting on because he said the same thing I did: peace and calm,” Williams said. “And I’m like, thank you, they are listening. The only way you can help change the system is show them you are a human being and [say], ‘You have [taken] something from me you shouldn’t have. How dare you?’”

After John’s death, people in Seattle began filling the streets in protest. Native American communities came together, playing traditional drums to honor John. Other protesters held signs that read “Another stolen life. Stop police brutality.”

As the protests started to escalate, Williams wondered how his family could coexist with a police department that didn’t understand his culture and quickly reacted with gunfire.

Andrea Brenneke, Williams’ lawyer, suggested arranging a restorative circle that would bring the family and police together to candidly discuss: the effects of the shooting; how to bridge the cultural gap between Native Americans and police; and ways to prevent unwarranted killings in the future. Both Police Chief John Diaz and Williams agreed to the restor-

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nna Neistat sits beside a mourning Syrian woman, in the place where it all happened, explaining her mission.

The woman recounts how Syrian soldiers came in the night and executed her two boys — both of them unarmed — outside her home. “What’s the point of talking?” she sobs in Arabic. “I swear if we could save them, our tears would form gallons. Our tears would form gallons and fill a river.”

But for Neistat, a researcher from Human Rights Watch, there is a point.

Neistat is collecting accounts from numerous witnesses about events that may have been violations of human rights. If Neistat and her collaborators gather enough evidence, those events will be revealed to the world.

This is what E-Team — a new film about Human Rights Watch’s socalled “Emergencies Team” — is all about. It tells the stories of four individuals — Anna Neistat, Ole Solvang, Peter Bouckaert, and Fred Abrahams — who travel to the some of the world’s most conflict-ridden places to provide timely and reliable records of human rights violations.

Abrahams recounts being in Kosovo in 1999 to document the killing of 41 ethnic Albanians and the destruction of a village by a Serbian paramilitary. It was a story he could not wait to publish.

Abrahams explains that the speedy release of these events in Kosovo altered the conversation of U.S. policy makers during a crucial period, and made Human Rights Watch realize the value of reporting on violations quickly. Thus, E-Team was born.

Likening themselves to “criminal investigators who investigate interna-

Rick Williams holding a totem pole he hand-carved and painted.

ative circle. Having no previous experience in conducting them, Brenneke started researching restorative circles and how to get the best results. About two weeks after the shooting, they met.

Williams and his brother Eric had the chance to speak directly to six representatives of the police department at the restorative circle, which also included two family friends, two facilitators (one being Brenneke), and two people from the Chief Seattle Club, an organization that gives aid to American Indians and Alaska natives.

“It took a lot of leadership for [the police department] to have a conversation,” Brenneke said. “We wanted to create a safe space to engage and address issues, and meet those needs.”

Everyone had agreed that the details of the shooting were off-limits for discussion—it was still under investigation. Instead, they would focus on how the city’s Native American communities felt disrespected and misunderstood by the police, and how interactions had become strained.

The shooting had created fear among Natives, especially those who were carvers. Williams relied on the money he made selling totem poles on the streets of Seattle, and was worried about his safety and the safety of other street artists. He often dug into pieces of wood as he walked around the city, but now didn’t feel comfortable, even where he first learned the art.

Native art and history are deeply embedded in Seattle culture, so many didn’t understand how an officer could be ignorant about the items John was holding when he was shot.

In Brenneke’s article accounting her experience in the restorative circle, she said there had been complaints of police making comments to the Williams family, causing more tension.

“A teenaged member of the Williams family asked an officer, ‘I am a carver, and these are my tools. If I have this knife, will you shoot me too?’ The officer responded, ‘You don’t want to test that theory now, do you?’” Brenneke wrote.

During the restorative circle, the group spent three hours talking about those issues, and created an action plan, which the Seattle Times published.

Police training was the main topic of discussion, including the agreement for the department to explore anti-racism training, create a mentoring system between senior and junior officers, and teach the department Native American customs, like carving, that they should be aware of while on duty. In the months after the restorative circle, Williams and the police had follow-up meetings where they shared

progress made in the action plan.

“I see a lot of changes [in the Seattle Police Department]; slow, but I see a lot of changes,” Williams said. “This [restorative] circle can take off. It can work.”

After finishing the restorative circle, Brenneke and the Seattle Police Department began working on a pilot program called the City of Seattle Restorative Justice Initiative. Brenneke became the director for a year, but the city council eliminated the pilot program’s funding in 2014.

The elimination of the program didn’t stop communication, however. After the Darren Wilson ruling was announced, and Seattle’s streets were again filled with protesters, police were invited to converse with people at a community center.

Brenneke said that people were not happy—they were angry and wanted the police to leave. But she and the other organizers wanted the police in attendance because it allowed open dialogue where many perspectives could be discussed and understood.

She said the police officers shared their personal feelings and how they were affected by the ruling.

“Protests are very important, but in addition, it’s important for people to have a deeper dialogue,” Brenneke said. “Dialogue encapsulates a different thing, a profound thing where you learn at an intimate level how it’s affecting someone else.”

The police department was unavailable for comment, but former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper said he’s been an advocate of restorative justice for decades.

“Restorative justice makes infinite good sense, especially when police officers come with an open mind and heart,” he said. “Police are resistant to criticism and say, ‘You don’t know what it’s like for us. We want to go home at the end of each shift.’”

Stamper said that police need to assess the ways they approach perceived threats so they can create safer outcomes. In the aftermath of Ferguson, Missouri, and New York, task forces will probably spend months or years studying police practices to create proper training, but restorative circles could help promote healing in the meantime, said Stamper.

Williams didn’t realize his story had been heard around the world until a woman from Finland messaged him through Facebook looking for guidance.

Her loved one had been killed by a police officer. Williams told her to stay calm despite the anger and to not react destructively. With his words of encouragement, she ended up winning her case, and was so grateful for his help that she made a special trip to Seattle.

“She came here and gave me a hug and thanked me, and I was like, ‘Who are you?’” he said laughing.

Williams said that carving is what saved him and keeps him going. He had been so angry after the death of his brother that he punched a tree, leaving an indentation in it. He knew he had to harness the anger, and, in March 2011, he started the John T. Williams Memorial Totem Pole Project, where he began carving a 34-foot totem pole for his brother.

As Williams peeled the bark off, he started to envision what it would look like. His family and friends started carving, and as people visited the site, Williams shared the story of his brother, inviting onlookers to help carve or sand the wood.

In February 2012, the finished totem pole was ready to be erected next to the Space Needle in the Seattle Center. Close to 100 people helped carry the pole from the waterfront, a distance reaching a mile and a half.

“I put my heart and soul into that totem project,” Williams said. “Everybody that [my family] touched in our lives was there carrying the totem.”

Williams said that his grandfather, father, and sons had never seen him with tears in his eyes, but he felt overwhelmed with energy when the totem pole was being raised. With the help of carving and community encouragement, he found a way to heal and help others.

“I keep telling the cops that for the rest of my life I will see my brother fall,” Williams said, “But I will always stand up for the people out there.”

The Grit - and the Glamor of the Human rights Game Kaja Baum Kauffman and Katy Chevigny, seem to have taken inspiration from the ETeam concept to create a documentary-style criminal justice movie.

The movie spares no horrors as it shows images of dead children, burnt bodies, and the terrified reactions of the civilians who live in the midst of conflict. It is a credit to the camera crew that we get to witness some courageous and frankly dangerous acts.

In numerous incidents, we watch as members of the E-Team, seemingly without much concern for their own safety, illegally dash across the Syrian border, document the actions of violent rebels in close proximity, rush to recent bombing sites, and walk right into a rebel camp to chastise them about their violence. It is through these events that we are brought closer to violence in a way that a brief and impersonal news clip cannot.

What makes the film’s grimmer moments more watchable is its remarkable ability to find humor in dark places. During Peter Bouckaert’s trip to Libya in 2011, for example, he comes across boxes labeled “Less Lethal Launcher.” While we wonder just what that could mean, we see Bouckeart wade through boxes piled waist high before the scene cuts to him discovering what is implied to be the “More Lethal Launcher”—the one for RPGs. But the film goes a little too far

trast between images of Syria, Kosovo, and Libya and the lives of the E-Team members. Ultimately this comes off as a distraction from the substance of their work.

Though the movie has four major characters, the filmmakers seem particularly fascinated with the married pair of Neistat and Solvang. The scenes captured in their quaint Paris apartmentof Ole playing the piano, Anna making dinner, and Anna’s 12-yearold son watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith add a jolting realism to the experience — E-Team members are, after all, real people with real lives. Yet while the focus on the couple is humanizing, it also saps some gravity and depth out of the issues at hand.

The filmmakers seem particularly interested in watching Anna apply her makeup and get dressed for various events, implying some element of glamor in the whole thing and leaving the viewer more fascinated with the lifestyle of the globetrotting couple than the atrocities they’re going to document.

These distractions, perhaps an attempt at making the whole thing easier to swallow, do lend some measure of relatability to audiences that are likely sitting in their own comfortable living rooms.

Then the scenes shift back to a different reality as filmmakers at-

traveling to conflict zones, speaking to victims, discussing how to release the information they collect, and finally assessing the impact it might have. And that’s to say nothing of the violence they scrupulously document. It looks to be an almost mind-numbing process when we are presented with only bullet-strewn execution warehouses, pillaged homes smeared in blood, truckloads of weapons, and images of entire buildings reduced to rubble. From these scenes and the emotionally rattled accounts of their witnesses, we watch the E-Team members try to put together a coherent story.

Here, after seeing the horrific consequences of these violations, the viewer can’t help but feel a mixture of helplessness and sense of purpose. It is soon coupled with frustration and a different kind of horror as the E-Team is faced with world leaders and regular people that seem determined to invalidate and deny the very crimes that we just saw the remnants of.

But the clips of Anna’s commentaries and reports to the public seem to lack the same depth and detail that is denied to the viewer. There are few statistics, numbers, or details to be heard, only the repeated insistence that human rights violations have occurred.

We see the images. We hear the witnesses. But we do not fully understand the scale and impact.

This is because, before too long, the focus inevitably falls back again to the competing images of the E-Team’s personal lives. The result is a fascinating James Bond like drama that, while certainly entertaining, falls a little short of a cohesive, substantive por-

Government Impedes Economic Growth or Fosters It

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overnments in places like Russia, Moldova, Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, North Korea, Myanmar, and many other autocratic regimes dictate terms and exercise a near absolute control over their national economy. Generally speaking, these governments own the principal means of production and run the economy.

They control the supply and price of goods. Often their politicians seek profits so they are heavily involved in private businesses, stocks purchases, and property acquisitions. Consequently, the economic growth indices of these countries are usually found to be low and their common citizenspoor.

In a purely capitalist economy, the government holds to a laissez-faire principle--- that government should not meddle in the economy. This thought was popular in the United States of America until 1929 when the stock market crashed and unemployment soared. It was only after President Franklin D. Roosevelt interceded in 1933 that this period of Great Depression ended. He came up with a new economic plan called the New Deal and put the economy back on track. Since the New Deal, America has adopted a mixed economy---a system in which the government, while not commanding the economy, is still deeply involved in economic decisions through its role as regulator, taxer, consumer, employer, and borrower.

Today, America has become the richest nation on earth. And this is partly made possible because American policymakers continue to have some control on their economy by using two very important instruments: fiscal policy and monetary policy.

Fiscal Policy: One way the U.S. government controls the nation’s economic health is through its fiscal policy. To do this, it uses a budget system to determine how much taxing, spending, and borrowing it would need in a given period.

The politicians from the Democratic Party, for example, advocate the use of government power to stimulate the economy through an infusion of money from government welfare programs during economic depression. Their reasoning is that if the government provides more money to the consumers, they would use it to buy more goods. Otherwise, if only a few have money to buy goods, the demand for production will go down and thus cause the economy to worsen. On the other hand, the Republicans argue that the key task for government economic policy is to stimulate the supply of goods, not their demand. According to them, giving free money to consumers and encouraging spending only take away the incentive to work harder. At the same time, these same people would also argue that cutting taxes during economic slumps would leave more money in the hands of people for investment and job creation. Whichever fiscal approach politicians favor, one thing is clear: the government has a role to use its fiscal policy to influence the economy.

Monetary Policy: Another way the U.S. government influences the overall operation of its economy is through monetary policy---that is, regulating the lending practices of banks and thus the supply of money in private hands.

The main agency for this is the Federal Reserve System (or Fed in short). The Fed is expected to do its job without regard to partisan politics. Accordingly, the seven-member Board of Governors of the Fed are given 14-year terms designed to insulate them from political pressures.

The Fed has three instruments for controlling the money supply. First, it sets discount rates for the money the commercial banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve Banks.

If the Fed raises the rate, banks have to pass their increased costs to their customers. Thus, fewer people will want to takeout loans, and less money will be in circulation. Second, the Fed determines the amount of money these banks must keep in reserve at all times. When the Fed increases the amount of reserves, the banks have less money to lend out and therefore charge their customers more for it. Third, the Fed can print money currencies and sell bonds to add to the money supply so as to stimulate the nation’s economy, especially during recessions. But it also believes that having too much cash and credit in circulation generates inflation.

As such, it makes fighting inflation one of its top priorities.

Alan Greenspan was the previous Chairman of the Fed. He served from 1987 to 2006 under four Presidents.

During his years on duty, the New York stock market nearly doubled, but he himself did not own any stock to avoid conflict of interest. And according to him, inflation is public enemy number one. He operated with these beliefs: control inflation and investors will put their money into enterprises that will produce goods and services, people will be employed, and pensions will be secure.

In India, however, our monetary policy is decided by a 21-member Central Board of Directors: the Governor, 4 Deputy Governors, 2 Finance Ministry representatives, 10 government-nominated directors to represent important elements from India's economy, and 4 directors to represent local boards headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi. In other words, our politicians assert a strong influence in the operation of the Reserve Bank of India and often they use their political power to enhance their own personal interests. This, in my opinion, is dangerous because politicians can be tempted to increase the money supply and drive down the interest rates just before running for reelection, even if this could lead to higher inflation in the long run.

Many economists believe that the more independent the central bank, the lower the inflation rate in the country. For example, countries with highly independent central banks, such as the United States, Switzerland, and Germany, have lower inflation rates than countries whose central banks have little independence, such as New Zealand, Italy, Spain, and India.

So, what does all these examples have to do with the economic growth for our Naga people? A lot, perhaps! But let me just list three recommendations: First, our Nagas--if we are serious about growing our economy---should have more academic economists and people with careers in banking, finance, and other areas of business. And we need more economic advisors than political advisors.

Second, any politician who holds the Portfolio of Finance should not be involved in running private businesses during his or her term of office because of the conflict of interests and temptation to mismanage public funds. Third, it may be advisable to grant our Department of Finance more independence so there can be less chance of political interference, even from the Minister who holds the Finance Portfolio in our government. Obviously, this is easier said than done. And yet, making these structural reforms may prove to be the most effective way to check inflation, stabi-

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NATIONAL

Thursday 15 January 2015

UP targets illegal liquor sales as deaths hit 38

LUCKNOW, JaNUary 14 (aP): Authorities in a north Indian state suspended 23 officials Wednesday in a crackdown on illegal liquor sales, as the death toll among villagers who drank from a bad batch of cheap alcohol climbed to 38. Investigators were looking into whether officials neglected to halt illegal liquor sales, possibly accepting bribes to ignore the trade, District Magistrate Raj Shekhar said.

Hospitals were still treating more than 100 people poisoned by homemade alcohol bought Sunday night from a village shop in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. Officials said many people lost their eyesight and eight are in critical condition.

Authorities have seized chemicals from the shop for testing. Doctors say the victims’ symptoms indicate the drinks contained methyl alcohol, which despite being toxic is sometimes mixed with ethyl alcohol to make a cheaper brew.

Meanwhile, police raided shops and seized at least 1,700 liters (450 U.S. gallons) of illegal liquor across the vast and impoverished state, where unlicensed liquor is popular because it’s cheap, Inspector General A. Satish Ganesh said.

Villagers said many poor families rely on the illicit, untaxed trade for their only income. “The economy of at least a half-dozen nearby villages is based on the manufacture and sale of illicit liquor,” Rudra Pratap Rawat, whose father was among the killed in the latest tragedy in Datli village, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.

Datli’s leader, Vijay Nandini, blamed poverty, unemployment and illiteracy for the flourishing trade, with bootleggers working out of homes and hidden warehouses to mix chemicals into genuine alcohol to create huge volumes of cheap swill.

Police on Tuesday arrested the owner of the Datli shop that had sold the alcohol on Sunday night. Indian media reported another 12 people had been arrested on Wednesday.

Bill moots heavy fine for smoking in restricted areas

NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (ageNCies): From banning smoking even in designated areas in hotels and restaurants to imposing heavy fines for flouting rules, the Centre has cracked the whip on consumption of cigarettes and tobacco products by proposing a slew of amendments to the (COTPA) Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Amendment) Bill 2015.

The draft Bill, which has been put out in the public domain by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for inviting suggestions from stakeholders by February 15, proposes to do away with on-site advertising of tobacco products. Which means kiosks and shops selling cigarettes and other tobacco products will no longer be able to display the brand names.

To prevent exposure of non-smokers to harmful emissions, the Ministry has proposed scrapping designated smoking areas from hotels, restaurants and airports; making an exception only for international airports.

The penalty for smoking in restricted areas has been upped from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000. Anyone found producing tobacco products without the specified warning will be liable for imprisonment for up to two years for the first offence or fine up to Rs. 50,000 or both. For the second and subsequent offences the imprisonment can be up to five years with a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh.

Heavy fine, jail term Selling products without warning will incur a fine of up to Rs. 10,000 or a jail term of up to one year or both; subsequent offence will draw a fine of up to Rs. 25,000 and a jail term of two years.

Tobacco products and cigarettes in approved packaging (which have pictorial warnings across the designated area of the pack) will now be sold only to those above 21 years of age. The proposed age limit will be revised to 23 and 25 in two phases after evaluating the impact of raising the minimum age.

The draft Bill also proposes a ban on spitting of tobacco products, pointing it out as the biggest cause of spread of TB, avian flu and H1N1.

It has also been proposed to extend the ban on sale of cigarettes and tobacco products from 100 yards of an educational institution to 100 metres.

“Sale of tobacco products loose and in small pouches makes minors susceptible to tobacco use as it becomes convenient and cheaper to buy tobacco products, it promotes the sale of tobacco and makes pack warning redundant,” the Ministry has said, suggesting a ban on sale of cigarette sticks.

SC pulls up Centre on Ganga cleaning: ‘It’s been going on for the last 30 years’ NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (PTi): Supreme Court on Wednesday said Ganga cleaning programmes have been going on for over three decades with almost no impact on the ground and wondered whether the government wanted to do something during this tenure or would it spill over to the next term.

The apex court sought fresh response of the government about the steps undertaken by it to implement the stage-wise projects for cleaning the Ganga in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in six weeks.

“Now the point is, it is going on for last 30 years.

You (Centre) tell us as to what is the verifiable progress in this regard,” a bench headed by Justice T S Thakur said when the counsel for the Centre submitted that “things are happening”.

“118 more towns have been identified by this government. Things have started moving. They (municipalities and other concerned authorities) have been told to wake up,” Solicitor General Ranjit Ku-

104 bodies found in Ganga, probe ordered

LUCKNOW, JaNUary 14 (iaNs): The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday ordered a probe after over 100 bodies were found in a channel of the Ganga in Unnao district, an official said. Thirty bodies were recovered from the river’s channel till late Tuesday but

by Wednesday morning the number swelled up to 104.

Director General of Police (DGP) A.K. Gupta has sought a detailed report after recovery of the bodies in the Ganga, near the Periyaar Ghat, where bodies are generally cremated. Kanpur Inspector General of Police Ashutosh Pandey said the bodies belonged to the families who could not afford a decent cremation as per Hindu traditions and dumped them in the river. Gupta, however, has reportedly asked police to probe all angles before arriving at a conclusion.

The district administration used JCB mar submitted before the bench that also comprised justices R K Agrawal and Adarsh Kumar Goel.

The bench, which had earlier asked the Centre to come out with a “stagewise plan” to clean the river, sought additional specific response on 70 sewage treatment plants (STPs), which are at various stages, likely to come up in the five

machines to fish out the decomposed bodies from the river bed and the encatchment areas, a step protested by residents and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP state president Laxmikant Bajpayi, who visited the site where the bodies have been found, rang up senior officials at night and protested the “inhumane treatment” being meted out to the dead. Officials told IANS that all bodies will be cremated as per tradition by the district administration Wednesday.

Meanwhile, volunteers of the Ganga Bachao Andolan (Save Ganga Movement) led by Ramji Tripathi began a sitin to protest dumping of the dead in the Ganga, which they said, was polluting the river. The recovery of bodies from the Ganga has caused furore among residents as these were found a day before Makar Sankranti festival when thousands take a holy dip in the river.

Ganga basin states. “If you have financial problem, we cannot solve. All that is required is that you go ahead with the projects and if there is any bottleneck, you can come before us.

“Don’t take it (PIL) as an adversarial litigation. Do you want to say that this has to be done during this government or in the next term of the government,” it asked.

Kumar Goel sent the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration. “It would be open to the respondent (Salman Khan) to show that if the order of conviction is not stayed it will cause irreversible consequences/injustice to him which cannot be undone if he ultimately succeeds,” the apex court said.

“It would be open to the state (of Rajasthan) to oppose such prayer on the ground that non-suspension of conviction will not cause any irreversible consequences or injustice to the respondent and the same can be undone if he (Salman Khan) ultimately succeeds.” The apex court verdict came on a plea by the Rajasthan government challenging the high court order.

Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Mukhopadhaya said: “If some foreign country is not granting permission to visit the said country on the ground that the respondent (Salman

“We propose to conclude it by 2018,” the SG replied. The bench, in its order, asked the government to apprise it of the fresh status of the 15 proposed STPs whose bidding process were to be concluded and said “if there was delay in the bidding process, then the reasons be also indicated.”

It further said the re-

port, which is likely to be filed by the consortium of IITs on Ganga River basin management by January end, should be submitted too. The bench also noted the submission of the Solicitor General that the consortium of seven IITs was expected to address the issue relating almost 100 km-long eco-sensitive zone ranging from Gomukh to Uttarkashi and listed the PIL for hearing after six weeks.

Earlier, the court had expressed satisfaction over Centre’s blueprint to clean river Ganga but had sought response on how it plans to implement the ambitious policy.

The Narendra Modi government had earlier placed before the court a blueprint of short, medium and long term measures involving thousands of crore of investment to restore the glory of the holy river.

The Centre had submitted that it has identified 118 towns situated on bank of Ganga as the first target to achieve total sanitation including water waste treatment and solid waste management.

“It is respectfully submitted that in order to ensure rejuvenation of the Ganga, the action plan envisages phase wise timeline in terms of short term - a period of three years, medium term - a period of next five years and long term - a period of next ten years and more,” the affidavit, filed in the Supreme Court, had said.

It had said the timelines for completion of ongoing projects has also been prepared after consulting five Ganga basin states which are primarily responsible for implementing the projects for rejuvenation of the 2,500 km long river.

“In the first stage, 118 towns have been tentatively identified for necessary interventions to achieve total sanitation targets including water waste treatment and solid waste management,” it said.

“So far seven river front locations have been identified by ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation for development of Ghats at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi”.

Delhi church vandalized NHRC officer gets seven-year NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (iaNs): A church here was vandalized before dawn Wednesday, the fourth such incident in the capital in seven weeks, police said. The incident, which took place around 4:20 a.m., was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the premises of Our Lady Of Graces Church at Vikaspuri in west Delhi.

“The CCTV footage shows that two people came on a scooter. One entered the church’s premises and smashed a glass window. He also threw the statue of Mother Mary on the floor,” Father Balraj of the church told IANS. The police received a call from the church around 7.30 a.m. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bhardwaj told IANS that a case had been filed against two unidentified men for deliber-

ate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings.

Bhardwaj said the police have a clear picture of one of the culprits who toppled the statue of Mother Mary and smashed the glass window. “He might be in his late 30s.”

Father Savarimuthu Sankar, spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, told IANS: “We see a clear pattern in these attacks.”

He said the attacks on churches occurring at regular intervals had unnerved Christians in Delhi. “We cannot say if these incidents are related to the (coming Delhi) elections or the handiwork of some fundamentalists. But it is a matter of concern and police should take proper action,” he added. Three churches were attacked earlier in separate incidents.

jail term for raping woman

NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (iaNs): A senior officer of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was sent to seven years in jail by a court here for raping a woman by concealing his marital status and marrying her.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat awarded seven years jail to convict Jagdish Nautiyal, a gazetted NHRC officer for establishing physical relations with a widow and marrying her by concealing his first marriage.

The court observed that the convict is the son of a retired assistant registrar of the high court, and said this made the

“offence committed by him more serious.”

“The persons like the convict (Nautiyal) are expected to exhibit a moral character of the highest degree and serve as an example in the society,” the judge said in the order delivered Monday.

Observing that assault upon a socially weak widow after inducing a belief in her mind that she has become lawfully married to the assailant cannot be termed an offence of lesser gravity, the court slapped a fine of Rs. 1.5 lakh on him.

According to the prosecution, the victim had alleged that the convict had established

physical relations with her and married her after concealing his first marriage.

Nautiyal married her after the death of the victim’s husband. A few months after the marriage, the victim came to know that he was married and had two kids, the prosecution said.

A case was registered against him July 2011 in Nanakpura in west Delhi. The court observed that despite being happily married and having children, he was “overpowered by excessive erotic desire” and approached the victim soon after the death of her husband.

State of education: Half of Class V can’t read Class II text

NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (ageNCies): Despite various government initiatives and near-universal enrolment in the age group 6-14, basic learning achievements in reading and maths remain low and dismal, according to the tenth Annual Status of Education Report (ASER).

ASER 2014, released Tuesday, has found that the proportion of children enrolled in private schools has gone up as compared to last year, and that there has been an improvement in school facilities and compliance with the Right to Education Act. According to the survey, basic reading levels remain “disheartening” with only a fourth of

all Class III children able to read Class II text fluently, and under half in Class V able to do so. In fact, 25% of Class VIII children could not read Class II level text.

The improvement in reading levels in the last few years has, at best, been marginal. In 2014, 48.1% of Class V children could read Class II level text, up from 47% in 2013 and 46.8% in 2012.

Again, 40.2% children in Class II were found able to read Class I text, after 38.7% in 2012.

While reading levels remained largely unchanged in most states, some such as Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra show a decline in the last 5 or 6 years.

The all-India rural figures for basic arithmetic have remained largely unchanged on most parameters over the last few years.

In 2014, only 25.3% of Class III children could do two-digit subtraction, down from 26.3% in 2012. For Class V children, the ability to divide has increased slightly. The percentage of children in Class II who cannot recognise numbers up to 9 has increased, from 11.3 in 2009 to 19.5.

The ability to read English has remained largely unchanged in lower primary grades (25% of Class V students could read simple English sentences in 2014 — unchanged since 2009), but has seen a visible decline in upper primary grades (from 60.2%

SC sets aside stay on Salman Khan’s conviction

NeW DeLhi, JaNUary 14 (iaNs): In a setback to filmstar Salman Khan, the Supreme Court Wednesday set aside the Rajasthan High Court order putting on hold his conviction in the blackbuck hunting case, and asked the high court to consider the matter afresh.

The high court Nov 12, 2013 had suspended the conviction of Salman Khan in the blackbuck hunting case on the filmstar’s plea that it was coming in the way of the UK Border Agency issuing him visa to travel to Britain for a film shoot.

Salman Khan was convicted in the blackbuck hunting case April 10, 2006.

Britain’s immigration rules say “entry clearance to the UK is to be refused if an applicant has been convicted of an offence for which he has been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 4 years”.

The apex court bench of Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Adarsh

The Morung Express

Khan) has been convicted of an offence and has been sentenced for five years of imprisonment under the Indian law, the said order cannot be a ground to stay the order of conviction.”

“If an order of conviction in any manner is causing irreversible consequences or injustice to the respondent (Salman Khan), it was open to the court to consider the same.

“If the court comes to a definite conclusion that the irreversible consequences/injustice would cause to the accused which could not be restored, it was well within the domain of the court to stay the conviction.”

The apex court also noted that the high court while passing its order did not give any finding that “if the conviction is not stayed, irreparable harm/irreversible consequences or injustice would be caused to the respondent (Salman Khan)”.

The high court stayed

the order of conviction “mainly on the ground that the conviction is coming in respondent’s way to travel abroad which has resulted in negating the order granting him permission to go abroad”.

The high court Feb 21, 2011 modified its Aug 31, 2007 order and allowed Salman Khan to travel abroad without its prior permission.

While granting him bail, the high court in August 2007 had said Salman Khan shall not leave the country without the court’s prior permission.

Noting that more than a year has passed since the high court passed the order putting on hold the conviction, the apex court said: “There is nothing on record to suggest that the respondent (Salman Khan) has again to visit UK for further shooting of any film/movie.”

Salman Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu, Neelam and others were accused

in Class VIII in 2009 to 46.8% in 2014). Roughly 60% of those who could read words could explain the meaning of those words.

A key finding of the survey is that even as enrolment levels for the age group 6-14 are 96% or higher, the figure is not as encouraging for the 15-16 years age group, with 15.9% boys and 17.3% girls in these ages currently out of school. The RTE Act covers the 6-14 group.

Meanwhile, a greater proportion of parents has started reposing faith in private schools. According to the report, the proportion of 6- to 14-year-olds in rural India enrolled in private schools has gone up from 29% in 2013 to

30.8 per cent in 2014 — and as in previous years, a higher proportion of boys go to private schools as compared to girls.

Compared to 2013, private school enrolment has increased in almost all states except Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Kerala. In fact, five states — Manipur, Kerala, Haryana, UP and Meghalaya — showed over 50% private school enrolment rates at elementary stage.

In yet another indication of a lack of faith in government schools, ASER says about a fourth of all children in rural areas pay for private tutors. In fact, the fall in learning levels comes mostly from government schools.

of hunting the protected blackbuck in Rajasthan during the shooting of “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.

He was convicted by a trial court April 10, 2006, under the Wild Life (Protection) Act and was awarded five years’ jail and a fine of Rs.25,000.

A sessions judge Aug 24, 2007, upheld the conviction and sentence as it dismissed his appeal against the trial court order.

The Rajasthan High Court by its order of Aug 31, 2007, suspended his sentence, and Nov 12, 2013, suspended the order of conviction as it came in the way of Salman Khan’s travel to Britain.

A police complaint was lodged Oct 2, 1998 against Salman Khan and the others for hunting the Krishnamriga (blackbuck) deer on the midnight of Sep 28, 1998, within the limits of Mathania village. Salman Khan was arrested Oct 12, Hindu pilgrims offer prayers prior to taking a holy dip in Gangasagar on Wednesday, Jan1998, got bail Oct 15 and uary 14. The annual holy dip, that devotees believe absolves them of sin, is scheduled for was released Oct 17.

Jan. 14-15 at the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and Ganges River. (AP Photo)

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Thursday 15 January 2015

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Pope Francis urges forgiveness in Sri Lanka MADHU, JAnUAry 14 (AP): Pope Francis traveled to the jungles of wartorn northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday to show solidarity with the victims of the country’s 25-year civil war and urge forgiveness and reconciliation “for all the evil which this land has known.”

Thousands of people waving the white and yellow Vatican flags were on hand to welcome Francis to the Our Lady of Madhu shrine, which is revered by both Sinhalese and Tamil Catholics, as well as Sri Lankans of other faiths. No pope has ever visited the Tamil region of northern Sri Lanka, and Francis’ visit to a site beloved by both ethnic groups provided a poignant backdrop to his calls for Sri Lankans to overcome their prejudices and seek pardon for the sake of peace.

“Only when we come to understand, in the light of the cross, the evil we are capable of and have even been a part of, can we experience true remorse and true repentance,” he said after setting free a dove in a sign of peace. “Only then can we receive the grace to approach one another in true contrition, offering and seeking true forgiveness.”

Tamil Tiger rebels fought a 25-year civil war to demand an independent

A devotee stretches out his hand to touch the hand of Pope Francis as he arrives to hold a mass at Colombo’s seafront Galle Face Green for the canonization ceremony of Joseph Vaz, Wednesday, January 14. Francis declared Vaz a saint at the start of the service. The church considers Vaz a great model for today’s faithful, ministering to the faithful of both Sri Lanka’s ethnic groups and putting himself at great risk to spread the faith. (AP Photo)

Tamil nation after decades of perceived discrimination by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. U.N. estimates say 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed during the course of the war, which ended in 2009; other reports suggest the toll could

be much higher.

“I believe the holy Father’s visit will be a remedy to our pain,” said Mary Conseeta, 22, who lost two brothers, aged 13 and 15, in 2008 when the school bus they were traveling home in exploded in a roadside blast blamed on Sri Lankan

forces. She escaped with a wound in her leg.

“I have faced enormous losses, not only me, but everyone who is here is carrying some form of grief,” she said before Francis arrived in Madhu. “All I pray for is peace.”

Francis’ visit to Madhu

was his second major call for reconciliation of the day: In the morning, he celebrated a Mass before a half-million people in Colombo’s seaside park to canonize Sri Lanka’s first saint as a model for national unity.

Bells rang out and the

crowd erupted in applause when Francis declared the Rev. Joseph Vaz a saint at the start of the service. Vaz was a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists.

The Catholic Church considers Vaz a great role model for today’s faithful, ministering to the faithful of both of Sri Lanka’s main ethnic groups and putting himself at great risk to spread the faith.

Francis told the crowd that Vaz lived at a time — like today — when Catholics were a minority and often persecuted, and yet he ministered to all, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.

“St. Joseph shows us the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace,” Francis said in his homily, delivered in English and then translated for the crowd in both Sinhalese and Tamil.

“As the life of St. Joseph Vaz teaches us, genuine worship of God bears fruit not in discrimination, hatred and violence, but in respect for the sacredness of life, respect for the dignity and freedom of others, and loving commitment to the welfare of all.”

He said the Sri Lankan church today only wants

to continue Vaz’s legacy of service to all, asking only for the freedom to preach in return. “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right,” he said.

To underscore that point, Francis gave Sri Lanka’s bishops a replica of a 17th century decree from the then-king of Kandy allowing Catholic conversions of Buddhists — a somewhat provocative message given the recent upswing in violence against Muslims and some Protestant churches by Buddhist extremists who want Sri Lanka to be exclusively Buddhist.

Catholics make up slightly more than 6 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 21 million. They are by far the largest Christian denomination in the country, but are a distinct minority compared to Buddhists, who make up about 70 percent, with Hindus comprising 13 percent. Muslims make up about 10 percent of the population.

Most Sinhalese are Buddhist and most Tamils Hindu, but the Catholic Church counts both ethnic groups as its members, and as a result considers itself a source of unity for the country.

Wednesday morning’s canonization Mass drew people from across the teardrop-shaped Indian

Ocean island nation, eager to see the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II in 1995. In fact, it was during that brief visit that John Paul beatified Vaz, using the same altar that Francis used Wednesday to make Vaz a saint.

The crowds poured off buses and out into the street from the nearby railway station. Security was tight, and everyone had to walk the last few hundred meters (yards) to the Galle Face Green, but the atmosphere was festive and ordered. Taxi drivers handed out free cups of tea and the crowd was treated to traditional dancing and music.

The park has a capacity of 500,000 and the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the crowd more than surpassed the half-million mark.

“My son can’t understand what’s going on, but I will take photographs and show him when he grows up how he attended this Holy Mass,” Pradeep Niroshan, a 31-year-old insurance agent, said as he carried his 2-year-old son to the service. “It will be memorable for him, because the next pope to come to Sri Lanka may be after 20 years.”

On Thursday, Francis flies to the Philippines for the second and final leg of his Asian pilgrimage.

Musharraf indicted in Hong Kong leader warns pro- Jailed US vigilante becomes leader’s murder case democracy activists of ‘anarchy’ political football in Mexico Baloch IsLAMAbAD, JAnUAry 14 (IAns): A court in

HOnG KOnG, JAnUAry 14 (rEUtErs): Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying warned prodemocracy protesters on Wednesday they risked bringing “anarchy” to the financial hub, as he sought bolster his support in his first policy address since demonstrations rocked the city last year.

The annual policy blueprint has been a key platform for leaders in the Chinese-controlled city to hand out billions to the less-advantaged in the form of tax breaks, or to signal shifts in economic, property and political policies.

But even before Leung delivered his speech in the legislature, opposition lawmakers called on him to step down while holding up banners demanding full democracy. Some walked out of the chamber holding up yellow umbrellas - a symbol of the unprecedented protests last year.

“As we pursue democracy, we should act in accordance with the law, or Hong Kong will degenerate into anarchy,” Leung, dressed in a dark suit and sky-blue tie, told city legislators in his speech.

The former British colony returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gives it some autonomy from the mainland and a promise of eventual universal suffrage.

Beijing has allowed a free vote for city leader in 2017, but insists on screening any candidates first.

Protesters demanding full democracy occupied key parts of the city for more than two months late last year with Leung himself a target of their anger.

He must now try to boost his ratings among a population that knows that, under Beijing’s watchful gaze, he is unable to offer anything significant in the way of democratic reform.

At the same time he must perform a balancing act by healing divisions, maintaining strong ties with Communist Party rulers in China, on which Hong Kong’s economy overwhelmingly depends, and ensuring that the city’s economy - expected to grow about 2.2 percent this year - remains on a steady keel.

In a speech lacking major initiatives, Leung focused on breadand-butter issues including housing - a perennially important topic in Hong Kong - and said he would seek to further boost the supply of land to improve affordability in one of the world’s most expensive property markets.

“Increasing and expediting land supply is the fundamental solution to resolve the land and housing problems of Hong Kong,” he said. Leung, however, gave no specifics amid speculation the government may seek to open up parks to limited development, which would likely to infuriate environmentalists.

MEXICO CIty, JAnUAry 14 (AP): A proposal to free a female vigilante leader who holds dual U.S.-Mexico nationality has become a subject of heated debate in Mexico. The case of Nestora Salgado has pitted supporters who claim she is a crime-fighter and victim of a political vendetta, against victims-rights activists, who say freeing her would be an added offense to victims of unlawful detention.

Salgado returned from Washington state, where she lived and obtained U.S. citizenship, to her hometown of Olinala in southern Guerrero state to head a vigilante-style community police force.

She was arrested in August 2013, after people detained by vigilantes complained they had been kidnapped. Some said Salgado’s force had demanded payments in exchange for releasing them.

Last week, Guerrero Gov. Rogelio Ortega suggested that charges against Salgado be dropped.

But anti-crime activist Isabel Miranda de Wallace said Monday that freeing her would be a violation of victims’ rights, and that the governor’s intervention constituted improper political pressure on prosecutors, who have the final say on such decisions.

“I ask the governor to respect the law, and enforce it,” Miranda

This 2009 family photo provided by Grisel Rodriguez shows Nestora Salgado, who has been detained since she was arrested Aug. 21, 2013 in the state of Guerrero, south of Mexico City, where she had been leading a vigilante group targeting police corruption and drug cartel violence.

(AP File Photo)

de Wallace said. “To respect the rule of law, and the independence of prosecutors.” She said some victims fear for their safety if Salgado and other radical community police leaders are released.

Miranda de Wallace also said a group of congressmen had been improperly lobbying for Salgado’s release. “They should let the judiciary do its work, within the framework of the law.” One legislator pressing for Salgado’s release said Tuesday it was a simple question of rectifying violations of Salgado’s human rights.

“We are getting involved as part of an effort to defend human rights,” said federal congressman Roberto Lopez of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party. “What we want is for the law to be applied and due pro-

cess be respected.” Lopez said Salgado had been arrested unjustly “because she had affected political interests” by detaining a town councilman and fighting drug trafficking.

Lopez also said she had not been given consular assistance, as a U.S. citizen is entitled, nor had been she been given adequate access to legal representation. Much of the dispute revolves around the somewhat hazy legal standing of community police in Guerrero. Lopez argued that state law 701 guarantees towns the right to form community police; however, that law applies only to Indian communities, and Miranda de Wallace noted that Salgado is not an Indian, nor was she elected under a traditional Indian governance system.

Cambodia’s wily leader marks 30 years in power

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, gestures during a ceremony inaugurating the country’s longest bridge in Neak Loeung, southeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, January 14. Hun Sen, Cambodia’s tough and wily prime minister, marks 30 years in power Wednesday, one of only a handful of political strongmen worldwide who have managed to cling to their posts for three decades. (AP Photo)

nEAK LOEUnG, JAnUAry 14 (AP): Hun Sen, Cambodia's tough and wily prime minister, marked 30 years in power Wednesday, one of just a handful of political strongmen worldwide who have managed to cling to their posts for three decades.

Since first taking up the job of prime minister at age 33, he has consolidated power with

violence and intimidation of opponents that continue to draw criticism from human rights advocates. But he can also take some credit for bringing modest economic growth and stability in a country devastated by the communist Khmer Rouge's regime in the 1970s, which left some 1.7 million people dead from starvation, disease and executions.

"Hun Sen is one of the cleverest politicians Asia has ever seen," said Sebastian Strangio, author of a recent biography of the Cambodian leader.

In a speech marking the ceremonial completion of the country's longest, 2,200-meter (7,200foot) Japanese-funded bridge across the Mekong River on Wednesday, the 62-year-old Hun Sen defended his record, saying that only he was daring enough to tackle the Khmer Rouge and help bring peace to Cambodia.

"If Hun Sen hadn't been willing to enter the tigers' den, how could we have caught the tigers?" he said. He acknowledged some shortcomings, but pleaded for observers to see the good as well as the bad in his leadership.

Born to a peasant family in east-central Cambodia, Hun Sen initially joined the Khmer Rouge against a pro-American government. He defected to Vietnam in 1977, and accompanied the Vietnamese invasion that toppled his former comrades in 1979.

The timely change of sides led to his being appointed foreign minister, then prime minister of the Vietnamese-supported regime in 1985. He has never left the top post despite being forced to temporarily accept the title of

"co-prime minister" after his party came in second in a 1993 U.N.supervised election. Four years later, he deposed his coalition partner in a bloody coup.

"He has brought stability and peace, but he has also brought so much inequality, corruption and frustration to millions as well," said Ou Virak, head of Future Forum, a Cambodian think tank. While many Cambodians are now better off, "far too many people, during a time of tremendous growth, are made poorer."

According to a new report by the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, Hun Sen "has been linked to a wide range of serious human rights violations: extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, summary trials, censorship, bans on assembly and association, and a national network of spies and informers intended to frighten and intimidate the public into submission."

Biographer Strangio noted that Hun Sen does not rely solely on his willingness to use force.

"For three decades he has outmaneuvered political opponents and international critics, while playing off the country's Western aid donors against a rising China," Strangio said in an email interview. "His long career

has been marked by his incredible ideological flexibility — an uncanny ability to twist and bend with the political wind."

He said that Hun Sen was able to present his rule as the only guarantee against a return to chaos by manipulating hopes and fears of ordinary Cambodians.

In 2013 elections, it seemed Hun Sen's grip on power had been shaken when the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party mounted an unexpectedly strong challenge, winning 55 seats in the National Assembly and leaving Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party with 68. He stood fast against a potentially destabilizing boycott of parliament by the opposition, conceding very little while eventually winning the opposition's agreement to enter the legislature.

The Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, who authored the report, said "there is no reason to believe that Hun Sen will wake up one day and decide to govern Cambodia in a more open, inclusive, tolerant, and rights-respecting manner."

A recent spate of politically motivated arrests and convictions means "Cambodia is in the process of reverting to a one-party state," the report said.

Pakistan Wednesday indicted former president Pervez Musharraf in the murder of Balochistan leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in 2006 that had sparked protests in parts of the country, a media report said.

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta city ordered Musharraf’s indictment after rejecting a request by his counsel Zeeshan Cheema that the former military dictator be exempted from appearing before the court on medical grounds, Dawn reported.

Despite the ATC’s repeated orders, Musharraf did not appear in the court Wednesday. Earlier, the Balochistan High Court had issued arrest warrants against all the accused in the case. The court said Musharraf would be granted exemption from appearance in the court only after a medical board apprises it about the former army chief’s health.

Along with Musharraf, the court also ordered the indictment of former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and former home minister of Balochistan Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani in the Baloch leader’s murder.

The hearing of the case was adjourned to Feb 4.

Some youngsters will rape if nobody would know: Study

nEw yOrK, JAnUAry 14 (IAns): A shocking study in the US has revealed that one-third of collegegoing youngsters might rape a woman if they could get away with it. Nearly 32% of participants said that they would have “intentions to force a woman to sexual intercourse” if “nobody would ever know and there wouldn’t be any consequences”, found researchers from University of North Dakota, the US. For the small yet significant study that involved 73 young adults, the researchers asked the participants whether they endorsed forced sex and whether they endorsed rape. They found that those men willing to admit to intentions to rape harboured hostility - such as the belief that women are manipulative or deceitful - and had “angry and unfriendly” attitudes toward women, Newsweek reported.

The college-going students who admitted to an intention to rape only if it is described as an “intention to use force” tended to have callous sexual attitudes. In other words, these people might think that acting sexually aggressively is the right way for a man to act, said the study.

Al Qaeda in Yemen claims responsibility for Paris attack

DUbAI, JAnUAry 14 (rEUtErs): Al Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, saying it was ordered by the Islamist militant group’s leadership for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, according to a video posted on YouTube.

“As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the Organisation of al Qaeda al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God,” said Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a leader of the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda (AQAP) in the recording.

Ansi, the main ideologue for AQAP, said the “one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organisation”, without naming an individual. He added without elaborating that the strike was carried out in “implementation” of the order of overall al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any means they can find.

AQAP itself is led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, who is also Zawahri’s number two in the network’s global hierarchy. “We did it in compliance with the command of Allah and supporting His Messenger, peace be upon Him,” Ansi added. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the recording, which carried the logo of the al Qaeda’s media group al-Malahem.

The first edition of Charlie Hebdo published after last week’s attacks sold out within minutes at newspaper kiosks around France on Wednesday, with people queuing up to buy copies to support the satirical weekly.

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Thursday 15 January 2015

Keeper Adrian the West Ham hero in Cup thriller

The Morung Express

Man City add more firepower with Bony signing

LONDON, JaNuary 14 (reuters): Manchester City have bolstered their attacking arsenal with the signing of Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony from Swansea City, the English champions said on Wednesday.

Bony, who scored 20 goals in the 2014 calendar year, more than any Premier League player, has

joined for a fee of about 30 million pounds ($45.48 million) according to British media.

The 26-year-old, who is preparing for this moonth's African Nations Cup with the Ivorian squad, joined Swansea from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem for 12 million pounds in 2013.

"As a player it's always good to be part of one of the

biggest clubs in the world and it's a good opportunity for me to be in that situation now –- I'm really proud," Bony told City's website. "I felt excited to wait for this moment and now it's come, it's fantastic."

With all of City's strikers now fit and Bony signed, manager Manuel Pellegrini has some formidable firepower at his disposal.

In Aguero, Dzeko, Bony and midfielder Yaya Toure, City have four of last season's five leading Premier League scorers. "(Bony) will be a very good addition to our squad. We now have four top class strikers and I am looking forward to seeing them work together," Chilean Pellegrini said. "He is an intelligent footballer who has skill and power."

African Cup even more unpredictable than usual

West Ham United’s goalkeeper Adrian scores the winning penalty kick following extra time and penalties during their English FA Cup third round replay soccer match between West Ham United and Everton at the Boleyn Ground stadium in London, Tuesday, January 13. (AP Photo)

LONDON, JaNuary 14 (reuters): West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian converted the decisive spot-kick in a penalty shootout against 10-man Everton to send the Londoners into the FA Cup fourth round after a pulsating replay at Upton Park on Tuesday.

Adrian fired past opposite number and Spanish compatriot Joel Robles immediately after the Everton keeper had crashed his spot kick against the crossbar as West Ham won 9-8 on penalties.

The match had finished 2-2 after extra time following a highly entertaining 120 minutes at Upton Park.

"What a game. It's a long time since I've experienced

so many highs and lows in one game of football," West Ham manager Sam Allardyce told reporters.

"All the players gave everything, it really was a fantastic cup tie and we got a little bit of the magic of the cup going our way tonight."

Everton, who have a fantastic record against West Ham, particularly in London, had to play more than half the game with 10 men after Aiden McGeady was sent off for a second yellow card after 56 minutes. The visitors had fallen behind six minutes after the break when Enner Valencia slotted past Robles from a tight angle after running on to Andy Carroll's pass.

Harder Task Everton's task got hard-

er when McGeady was dismissed for bringing down Mark Noble but Kevin Mirallas curled in a superb free kick from the edge of the box after 82 minutes to make it 1-1 and send the game into extra time.

Romelu Lukaku fired Everton ahead six minutes into the extra period, dedicating his goal with a skywards salute to fellow Belgian and former Vfl Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda, who died in a car accident in Germany on Saturday.

Substitute Carlton Cole, however, sent the tie to penalties when he stabbed home from a corner with seven minutes of extra time remaining and just over a minute after coming on.

"It was a great cup tie, I am very proud of the team and it's one of those things when you lose on penalties," Everton boss Roberto Martinez told reporters.

"I thought it was a terrific performance, we played with vitality, and I think our fans appreciated our dynamic play and for them to give us a standing ovation at the end was great."

West Ham visit Bristol City in the next round after the third-tier side overcame Doncaster Rovers 2-0 in another replay. Also on Tuesday, Fulham edged Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-3 in a penalty shootout, after the game finished 3-3 following extra time, to seal a trip to Premier League Sunderland.

CaPe tOWN, JaNuary 14 (aP): Equatorial Guinea had two months to prepare to host the African Cup of Nations, making the colorful and sometimes chaotic continental soccer tournament even more unpredictable than usual this year.

Along with the regular questions ahead of an African Cup — Will Ivory Coast's star-studded squad finally break its title drought? — comes a bunch of others this time: What will the small stadiums in the eastern border towns of Mongomo and Ebebiyin be like? And will the new highway carved through the jungle to those remote towns be OK in time for kickoff this weekend?

Equatorial Guinea took over as host at very short notice from Morocco, which didn't want to stage the championship because of fears over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and fans traveling from that region. The replacement host is a small, curious oil-rich nation in Central Africa.

Equatorial Guinea has stadiums in the Malabo, the capital, and Bata, the biggest

city, left over from when it co-hosted the 2012 African Cup. But the two other venues out near the Gabonese border are unknown and untested in top-level football. Organizers had little time to bring those grounds, used to hosting a few hundred people in Equatorial Guinea's domestic league, up to standard. It's unclear how far they have got.

Even without this year's hurried preparations, few tournaments bring soccer stars back down to earth like the African Cup, where every two years some of the world's best players leave their highly-paid day jobs in the luxurious English, Spanish and Italian leagues for three weeks of adventure back in Africa.

Burkina Faso, with no previous impressive history at the tournament, made the final and nearly won in 2013. Zambia did win in 2012, beating Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Gervinho and Ivory Coast's other big names in the final.

In 2015, Algeria, the top-ranked team in Africa and its best performer at last year's World Cup, is the

favorite. But that isn't really helpful at the African Cup, as Ivory Coast and Ghana know too well. For a long time Africa's two most talented teams, Ivory Coast hasn't won the title in more than 20 years and Ghana's misery stretches to more than 30 years.

Algeria is in the toughest group, with Ghana, Senegal and South Africa. They'll all be based in Mongomo for the group stage, where they'll likely come across each other often off the field in one of the town's two or three recognized hotels.

Facing the unknown, Tunisia, probably like many teams, will be bringing its own cooks to prepare meals for the players in Ebebiyin, way up in the north-eastern corner of Equatorial Guinea. The Tunisians are also flying in all their food from home "just in case," coach Georges Leekens said.

Ivory Coast and Cameroon lead a list of contenders, which also includes Ghana, Mali and Senegal.

South Africa also qualified among the 16 teams.

Ghana officials say they've resolved a dispute

over player payments, another issue that often plagues teams at the African Cup and which has been rumbling on for Ghana since last year's World Cup. Bonuses have been cut to $5,000 per player for each match they play in, and a possible payout of $60,000 each if they win the title.

It's not the richest tournament, but one thing the African Cup does produce is passion.

For teams like Cape Verde, the tiny Atlantic Ocean island nation, and Republic of Congo, it's the only chance they get to mix with the big stars. And for some fans, it's the only chance they get to see their team have a chance at international glory.

In Guinea, young supporters marched in the capital Conakry and erected barricades on the streets in protest after one of their favorite players, midfielder Sadio Diallo, was left out of the squad. Riot police were called in.

The African Cup, with its haphazard organization and humble facilities, is still a big deal for many.

PUBLIC SPACE

History tells what the truth is: NNC

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he NSCN-IM is trying to project as if Th. Muivah has achieved something good for the Nagas. But the history tells what is truth to the Nagas is; “Muivah is not better than Dr. SC Jamir”. Because, like SC Jamir divided the Nagas by forming Naga People’s Convention (NPC), Th. Muivah has done more divisions by forming the so-called National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), and hence sowed the seeds of factionalism. As a result of it the Nagas now have many governments. Who has done the first and who has done the worst to the nation would be only the differences among them (Muivah and Jamir).

Th. Muivah diverted Naga nationalism into factionalism, party politics,the Naga national Army into factional Army and made them fight each other, instead of fighting against the enemy. Even he diverted the Indo-Naga conflict into Naga problem, and made Indian leaders as masters to deal it. Also he did to let the world see the Indo-Naga conflict as if internal affairs of India by demanding integration or an autonomous status from India. This is made to fulfill the false claims of India. Indian leaders called the sovereign Nagas as underground, rebels, hostiles, insurgents, secessionists, revolutionists and so on to tell lie the world that the Indo-Naga conflict is an internal affairs of India. The NSCN cadres call themselves as underground (UG) or revolutionary patriots without knowing the derogatory terms of the enemy.

The Indian leaders formed the

Village Volunteer Forces (VVF) or Village Guard (VG) to make the Nagas fight each other but did not succeed it. But Muivah made it successful by forming the NSCN. How much the Nagas have been fought against each other after the formation of NSCN is now a history, which cannot be changed or erased by the NSCN. In order to justify their misdeed or formation of the NSCN, Muivah and his henchmen are always saying that the NNC has failed or surrendered. But the fact they can’t deny is that after the formation of NSCN they ruthlessly fought against the NNC/FGNby joining hands with India. Such fight was needed for India and its agent because the NNC, the enemy of India is still alive. They may tell lies from the top of their voice but their action tells the truth. Indeed their fight against the NNC is fighting against Naga nation. How then they claim as they saved Nagaland by forming the NSCN? The Naga National Council was formed in the interest of Naga nation and people, and Muivah he himself tells the truth that the NNC and Phizo laid the foundation of Naga nation not by Isak-Muivah or by the NSCN. And he knows the fact that Naga people had given mandate to the NNC to safeguard Naga nation and speak for the future of Nagaland. The NNC is thus the sole body of Naga nation and therefore no other political organization was needed for the Nagas to be formed. Knowing this fact all of the Naga national leaders fervently urged Muivah not to form the NSCN in order to preserve the

solidarity of Naga nation in 197879 in Eastern Nagaland. Muivah, however, killed all of them and by forcefully formed the NSCN in the jungle of Eastern Nagaland. As the NPC did not form by the Naga national assembly and neither did the NSCN, but formed only by three leaders without the knowledge of Naga people.

Why the NSCN was formed is now questionable by the young generation of today. We can analyst it on three points, (1) Because the NNC has failed, (2) Muivah thought to achieve the national goal by armed might, (3) In order to destroy the Naga nation.

The first and second points are already cleared that the NNC did not fail, and Muivah has done nothing to achieve the Naga national goal by armed might. Instead he has been joining hands with the enemy and fought against his own people since 1980. When he reached New Delhi Airport on 4th December, 2004, he shouted “I will never betray Indian leaders”. That’s known to him alone what promise he has given to Indian leaders but none of the Nagas knows it.

If he has no idea to destroy the nation, why he didn’t listen to the advice of other Naga national leaders? Why he killed good leaders of Naga nation? Why he targeted the civilian people in Eastern Nagaland? Why he has been covertly or overtly joining hands with Indian Army and fought against the Nagas? He knows the Nagas are not demanding anything from India as he was General Secretary of the NNC, and he, as the NNC leader re-

jected the 16-point agreement and stood to defend the sovereignty of Nagaland up to 1980. Why then he has submitted 31-point competencies proposal to the Government of India (GoI) and demanding another statehood under the framework of Indian Constitution? If he has no idea to destroy the Naga nation, he wouldn’t do it. The NSCNIM’s so-called ceasefire agreement with GoI in August 1997 was a tacit agreement to destroy the Nagas.

Even Indian leader Mr. R.N. Ravi, now interlocutor of IM and GoI, revealed the truth that how New Delhi and NSCN-IM joined hands to destroy the Nagas. He didn’t hesitate to tell the fact that more than 1,800 Nagas have been killed in some 3,000 fratricidal clashes since from the beginning of ceasefire (1997-2013). The fratricidal clashes were in between the Nagas and NSCN-IM group alone.

If Muivah truly loves the nation he should sincerely admit his mistake and pave the way for the Nagas to work for their nation. But he doesn’t do it. We can therefore read by his actions that he might have intentionallyand deliberately formed the NSCN in order to destroy the nation. But those who, without knowing his idea and policy, supported the NSCN is a mistake.

As he has been deliberately doing to destroy Naga nation, he will never say sorry or admit his misdeed. But religious, political and intellectual leaders should condemn the anti-national is the only means to rebuild our nation from the destruction.

Thomas, NNC Member

Take one and get two free, or, take one and get all free

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t is not as if we Nagas are different. It is not as if we Nagas are the only people in this wide whole world facing the situation that we are facing. It is all universal. And it is just simply this or that.

In the history of human race, there comes that cross-road where it is men who moves the times, just as Adolf Hitler did. And then again, there comes that cross-road where it is the times that moves men, just as it was to Mahatma Gandhi. Today in this time, it is the times that is moving men. Let us thank the living God for it.

This churning of the Naga political pot boiler could not have come at a more better time. And this time demands the God given wisdom of the Naga people. This time is that time

where the Prime Minister is not the Pradhan Mantri, but a Pradhan Sevak.

This is the time where the people elected by the people and for the people start working for the people and not the rich, not the powerful, not the officials serving the government for the Government, not the many many officials of the many many governments.

And just for political convenience one should not expect sons to blindly follow the judgment of the father. After all has been said and done , so little words does not make a ‘casual’, just as much words of elaboration does not give it the legitimacy of cracking anything coded.

Nutritionists usually have this to say. They say that eating too much of red meat can shorten life and that

is very healthy to agree. Anyway for some, it spurs the motivation to even work harder because of the limited life span.

As stated much earlier, we are all very aware as clear as daylight that Prime Minister Modi of India belonging to the BJP, as any Prime Minister of any political party, wants both the Congress as well as the NPF party to join the BJP. But it is once again a reminder that he can take either the Congress or the NPF and not both.

Moral conviction is not permitting like minded minds to board the same ship.

As for me, if this is unity I do not want unity. Yours truly is clean and I intend to remain clean. I will jump ship, the moment this unity is fructified.

Benito Z Swu

Setting Up Political Camp Creates Rivalry

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etting up political camp is for capturing power only and it is against exercising free will which is undemocratic. It is very dirty and it creates rivalry. It is very awkward and unchristian. For me I hate it and condemn such nasty practices.

Rev. L. Suohie Mhasi.

Controlling our thoughts

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e demolish arguments and every pretensions that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ 2nd Corinthians 10:5 The scripture states “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life. Proverbs 4:23. If we control not our thoughts the sins and desires of the world will lead us astray. It will be by our thoughts that we will either be convicted or justified.

The truth of God’s Word can change us for the better if we live by the truths of it. Our every actions are influenced by what we think and see.

The outlines of my poem “thoughts “highlights the nature of our thoughts which reads “Thoughts leads to action Action leads to results Results yields consequences Exposing the wicked thoughts That were conceived.

We think what we see We do what we think We think what we hear We do what we feel We fall prey to what we feared The above outlines make us know the consequences of what our thoughts can lead to. In view of this it is important that we keep our thoughts pure by obeying the written words of the Holy Scripture. We have a tendency to think evil because of the evil in us. As a member of the Church of Christ we are expected to shun evil and pursue righteousness and purity. The nature of Christianity is all about forsaking the sins of the world and embracing the virtues of the Spirit.

The Word of life states “those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile

to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Romans 8: 5-8 As long as our thoughts are in harmony with the world, our every action will reflect the nature of the world. Unless we submit our lives to Christ, the world will enslave us to all of its sinful desires.

It is to our knowledge that if we make a tree good, its fruit will be good but if a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. The scriptural passage below is the focal point of this message which reads “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that man will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12: 35-37 Chances are that we will one day be judged if we obey not the Word of Christ.

It is to our knowledge that God detest our fellowship with the world. In view of this it is important that we submit to God’s authority and live by His Spirit. The moment we stop pursuing righteousness, the world and its desires will control us from within. We should be willing to sacrifice our wants and desires to Christ. The world wants you to think evil, but God wants you to shun evil and pursue righteousness that you may one day be where He is. If we control not our thoughts we will one day be held accountable for our failure to do so. Our God is a God of righteousness and He wants us to be righteous as He is. Forsake the evils of the world and pursue the virtues of the spirit. If the Spirit is in you, you will not be led astray. Jesus loves you.

The Word warns you. Obey it and honor Him with your life. Destroy the evil that is within you and invite Jesus in you. This is the message of Christ for us. Read it. Follow it. And live by it. The Church of Christ stands with you.

Ambrose. J Chakre, Founder President Ambrose Foundation in Christ Ministries Kohima Nagaland

Is someone who sell out the rights of the Nagas fit to be CM of Nagaland

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y attention has been drawn towards press statements by many Nagas in support of TR Zeliang to continue as the Chief Minister of Nagaland. Nagas as Christians are very forgiving and compassionate.

But if we look back few months back, the insult and suffering Nagas faced consequent to the Assam — Nagaland boundary row resulting in economic blockade for one thousand hours (1000 hrs) on Nagaland is still fresh in my mind. During the peak of Ralan crisis, wherein tenants who enjoyed our hospitality for decades started claiming our ancestral lands and even resorted to killing Nagas to forcibly occupy our land, the honourable Chief Minister of Nagaland, in his public speech declared that Na-

gas have weak evidence against our rivals which was widely publicized in the local media. I am not in support of anybody, but I request all the writers who are going to the press in support of TR Zeliang to come and experience the hardship we are undergoing in the border areas. When we were undergoing immense hardship during the border conflict with illegal immigrants from bordering state, our Chief Minister's unfortunate statement was unexpected from the Government we voted to power.

Every sensible Nagas should not be blinded by love for money and power, but we should wisely choose our leader who can lead us through thick and thin, God bless Nagaland.

Wopenthung Kikon , Ralan

Thursday

Entertainment

The Morung Express

15 January 2015

Dimapur

11

Tisca Chopra launches Taylor new show 'Code Red'

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ode Red', a social TV show compiling three different segments about topics like suicide, violence against women and various psychological disorders, was launched here today.

The show, to be premiered on an entertainment channel on January 19, was inaugurated by retired Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi, actress Tisca Chopra, Rishi Jaitly, Twitter Head (India) and actor Manish Chaudhary among others at Hindu College, Delhi University today.

The launch took place via a panel discussion on the various social issues grappling the society like crime against women and men, child molestation and gender inequality. "'Code Red' is something which we have partnered with our upcoming film 'Rahasya'. In the film there is an 18-year-old girl who has been killed. I play her mother. 'Code Red' also talks about issues within the family which are kept bottled up, secret

sends $1,989 cheque to fan

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ebekah Bortniker took to social networking platforms Monday evening to share some photographs and a video of her opening a gift box of personalised presents from her idol. The gesture made her burst into tears, reports aceshowbiz.com. The gift was sent by Swift after Rebekah created a video collage featuring the singer and her friends with the theme song of "Friends".

In the video, posted on video-sharing site YouTube, Rebekah first read Taylor's handwritten card.

"Hi you. I was thinking about you today, and how you have been there cheering me on in the most thoughtful and creative ways. I love the video you made of me and my friends, and your text posts always crack me up or make me think," the 25-year-old pop star wrote.

She added: "I got out my paints for the first time in a while today and made you something I really really really really hope you like it. I'm not a good painter but I think you're so beautiful and positive, even though you're dealing with the stress life brings, so I wanted to make you something."

After that Rebekah showed off a polaroid photo of Taylor making a painting for her, a necklace with the tag "was mine, now yours" and a cheque of $1,989.

She couldn't hold back her tears after reading a message accompanying the cheque, which read, "Rebekah now you're $1,989 closer to paying off those student loans."

The last present Taylor gave to Rebekah was a hand-painted art piece of her name which read, "BEKS." Later, Rebekah expressed her gratefulness to Swift by writing a thanks note on various social media platforms.

Singer Taylor Swift has sent a surprise gift to one of her fans -- a cheque of $1,989 for her to pay off her student loans.

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and don't come out," Tisca said.

The three prominent themes will feature six episodes.

The first theme 'Umeed' will focus on people, who are on the verge of ending their lives.

'Awaaz' will focus on violence against women and children, and 'Chakravyuh' will show various forms of entrapment-physical and psychological.

Each theme will be helmed by a different production house and the stories will be presented by TV actress Sakshi Tanwar.

Actors Manish, in the role of an NGO representative, and Yash Sinha, as a crime reporter, will take the audience through various instances where circumstances and conditions pushed a person against the wall.

"With 'Code red', we are going a step further by showcasing stories of human frailties and urging people to speak up on issues that are disturbing to them and the people around them. It is not just a show but a movement to get people believe that hope can be found," said Raj Nayak, CEO of the channel airing the show.

Miley Cyrus' brother dating

Patrick Schwarzenegger's sister?

Shahid Kapoor not getting engaged, don't believe in false blogs

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irls crazy after Shahid Kapoor can relax. He is not getting engaged. One of the most eligible bachelors of the Hindi film industry is riding high on the success of his last release ' Haider'. He has just bought a sea facing house and spending a lot of time in doing up the interiors.

A blogger ran an unverified information that the actor is going to get engaged today in Delhi. The blogger Miss Malini wrote, "We can’t be completely sure about this, but there are certain rumours doing the rounds that Shahid Kapoor is getting engaged today, January 14th. This comes as quite the surprise considering there hasn’t been any news of him seeing someone, but from the sounds of it, an engagement ceremony will be held in Delhi at some point during the day. The girl in question is not someone from the industry."

After we sent a text message to Shahid, his team called back to clarify, "The bloggers information is completely false and Shahid Kapoor is not in Delhi. He is not getting engaged and he is in Mumbai preparing to go for an award function tonight."

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Shah Rukh Khan immortalised in first life size 3D printed model in the world

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hah Rukh Khan is no doubt larger than life!

After being a part of the New York’s Madame Tussauds, where King Khan has a wax statue of his sculpted to perfection, the Bollywood heavyweight, now has an innovative 3D printed model in his honour. Redchillies.VFX, which has been known for its innovation and excellence in special effects have never shied away from taking the

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excellence one step ahead.

As a special gift to Shah Rukh Khan, Redchillies.

VFX in association with Autodesk India came together to make the world’s first life size 3D printed model in the superstar’s signature pose.

“It’s the first 3D printed life-size model done

by Redchillies.VFX and Autodesk team. It is overwhelming how technology has gone forward. I am grateful to be a part of this

amazing technology. This is outstanding and I am dying to show it to my kids. Its silver and shiny statue of mine in my classic pose. I want to thank Keitan, Harry, Red Chillies VFX team and Autodesk team who have worked on it. It’s the figure of work I have done for all these years,” said SRK. This life size model has been designed in India and is the first of its kind around the world.

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Miley Cyrus' younger brother Braison Cyrus, 20, is reportedly dating Patrick Schwarzenegger's older sister, Christina Schwarzenegger, 23.

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ccording to gossip website TMZ, Braison Cyrus, 20, started seeing Christina Schwarzenegger, 23, in December, just a month after Miley, 22, and Patrick, 21, started dating.

Braison has also fuelled such speculation by posting pictures of him and a brunette beauty, who

closely resembles Christina, hanging out together on his Instagram account.

What's more, he added a heart emotion to the caption of both images.

Miley and Patrick - whose parents are Arnold Schwarzenegger and his estranged wife Maria Shriver - have been getting on so well in the early stages of their relation-

ship that they are set to get matching ''X-rated'' tattoos.

A source said earlier this month: ''It's not a one way street, he's into her big time.

Her wild side does not turn him off. It's to the point where he's getting wilder, he's expanding that side of him. ''He's actually gone so far as to tell her that he wants them to get match-

ing tattoos, below the belt, if you know what I mean.

It's so X-rated and of course she's totally down for it!''

Patrick's fondness for Miley - whose parents are Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus dates back to 2011 when he admitted he was single and liked the 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker. He said: ''My eye, though, is set on Miley.''

Liam Neeson Clarifies He Is Not Converting To Islam The Irish actor is not leaving his Roman Catholic beliefs despite reports suggesting he was thinking about becoming a Muslim after filming in Turkey.

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any false reports are published about celebrities, but it is rare a high-profile star is questioned over his religion, but this recently occurred to Liam Neeson when it was rumoured he was thinking about converting to Islam.

While attending the 'Taken 3' premiere in Dubai, the Irish actor adamantly stated he has no plans to leave his Roman Catholic beliefs despite media reports suggesting he was changing religion after filming in Turkey. "No, I'm not converting," Neeson said in an interview with Al Arabiya News.

News first begin circulating about the 62-year-old actor thinking about becoming a Muslim back in 2012, and this was recently resurfaced in an article published by The Daily Mail.

During his time filming 'Taken 2' in Turkey, Neeson reportedly

told The Sun that the Islamic prayer "got him into the spirit."

"The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing. There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim," he added.

Neeson clarified to Al Arabiya that he did not suddenly feel the need to convert to Islam at that time, but he did become quite fond of the Islamic prayer, which "was an annoyance because it was waking me up. But later I looked forward to it every day."

The Oscar-nominated actor also squashed speculation whether there is going to be a 'Taken 4' or not, as he said, "I feel it's the end of the series; the poster's tagline ("It Ends Here") even says so."

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NBA: Heat hold off Lakers Del Potro, Kvitova claim LOS ANGELES, JANuAry 14 (AP): With Dwyane Wade in the locker room and Chris Bosh enduring a nightmare of a shooting night, the Miami Heat still found the defensive moxie to finish an unlikely Staples Center sweep.

Mario Chalmers scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Hassan Whiteside added 15 in Miami's 78-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Bosh scored eight points on 4-of-17 shooting for the Heat, who followed up their surprise victory over the Clippers two days ago with their first back-toback victories in 24 games since Nov. 23 — a stunning statistic for the four-time defending Eastern Conference champions.

"When you don't win two games in a row for a while, you appreciate stuff," Bosh said. "It was a little ugly at times. My shot wasn't falling. But we stuck with it, no matter what happened. They made some runs, and we answered."

With Chalmers opening up his offensive game, Miami held off the Lakers despite losing Wade to a strained left hamstring late in the first half. After the Heat's 18-0 run to open the game eventually dwindled to a one-point lead, they hung in with defensive stops on Kobe Bryant and his teammates, capped by Bryant's missed 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

"We were doing our job defensively," Wade said.

"We were trying to make it Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside, right, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Carlos Boozer, tough on them. They shot left, and guard Jeremy Lin (17) battle for a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketjump shots. We contested. ball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. The Heat won 78-75. (AP Photo)

They missed a lot early. We capitalized on it. So I can't say we did anything special.

We did what we had to do, what we needed to do, and we got out to a great start."

Bryant scored 12 points on 3-of-19 shooting in his return to the Lakers' lineup after missing three of the last four games to rest. Bryant's 3-pointer with 31 seconds to play trimmed Miami's lead to three points, but he couldn't connect on his final shot.

"The hard part is sitting down for stretches and then trying to get back in," Bryant said. "I feel like the Tin Man, you know what I mean? But that's just part of the process, part of the challenge. It's not something I'm whining or complaining about. I'll just work through it and get my legs used to playing again."

Bryant missed 11 of his first 12 shots, including four 3-pointers, before finally hitting a 3-pointer with 2:44 to play, trimming Miami's lead to 72-68. The Lakers missed 15 of their first 16 3-point attempts overall.

Ed Davis and Jordan Hill also scored 12 points apiece for the Lakers, who have lost eight of 11. The Lakers silenced their own crowd in their fifth straight loss to Miami by missing their first 11 shots and two free throws before Bryant finally hit a jumper more than 7 1/2 minutes in. Nick Young went 2 for 11 and Wesley Johnson went 3 for 13 for the Lakers.

"We dug ourselves a hole, and it's just hard to keep skating uphill for an entire game," Lakers coach Byron Scott said.

Wizards end decade-long losing run against Spurs

WASHINGTON, JANuAry 14 (AP): Washington finally broke a decade-long losing run against San Antonio by beating the Spurs 101-93 on Tuesday, giving the Wizards the second best record in the NBA Eastern Conference.

Among other results, overall league leader Golden State overran Utah, Dallas won in overtime at Sacramento, and Cleveland suffered another defeat despite the return of LeBron James, losing to Phoenix.

Washington had lost 17 consecutive games against San Antonio, dating back to

2005, but ended that run of outs thanks chiefly to John Wall, who scored 25 points with eight assists. Tim Duncan had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.

Dallas' Monta Ellis scored six of his 28 points in overtime and added 10 assists to guide the Mavericks to a 108-104 win at Sacramento. The visitors rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to avoid their first four-game losing skid. Rajon Rondo broke out of a scoring slump with 21 points and seven assists for Dallas, which also rallied from a 24-point deficit to

beat the Kings earlier in the season. DeMarcus Cousins, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, had 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings.

Golden State's Stephen Curry scored 27 points and ignited a decisive thirdquarter run to lead the Warriors to a 116-105 win over Utah. Draymond Green scored 15 points to help the Warriors to their franchisebest seventh consecutive victory by double figures.

Derrick Favors had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who could not overcome blistering third-

three set wins in Sydney

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic yells out while playing Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia in their match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney on January 14. (AP Photo)

SyDNEy, JANuAry 14 (rEuTErS): Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro stepped up his comeback from another wrist surgery by toppling top seed Fabio Fognini at the Sydney International on Wednesday.

The 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory was only the second match the towering Argentine had played in 11 months since surgery to fix an issue with his left wrist and he felt the burn. The defending champion, competing on a wildcard after his ranking slumped to 338, was given a code violation after taking too long at a change of ends. "This is my second match on tour after one year. I need to breathe more than the other players," he told reporters. Del Potro hit 11 aces against one double

fault in a solid serving display but admitted his backhand, still shaky following the surgery, needed work.

"My game is to serve strong and try and make winners with my forehand," he said. "If my backhand is okay, I will be aggressive with it in the future.

"But now I think I just need to hit the ball as well as I can and don't try to make winners with my backhand.

"I just need to play a lot of backhands during the point, and if I do that I will get confidence very soon to play aggressive as well.

He will face qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarter-finals after the Kazak overcame sixth seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-5 7-5. The ATP 250 event is one of the final tournaments before the Austra-

in the fourth, the first of eight late lead changes.

J.R. Smith, who joined the Cavaliers during James' absence, scored 29, going 8 of 14 on 3-pointers.

Atlanta stretched its winning streak to nine games, taking a 105-87 victory at Philadelphia, with Al Horford having his first career triple-double: 21 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Minnesota snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 110-101 win against Indiana, with Mo Williams scoring a careerhigh 52 points; most in the DImAPur, JANuAry 14 (mExN): A Naga boy brought NBA this season. laurels to the state winning a Bronze medal at the two-day Junior National Endurance Championship 2015 held on LONDON, JANuAry 14 (rEuTErS): Cristiano Ron- January 9 and 10 in Dibrugarh. aldo's son Cris junior is a Lionel Messi fan the boy's father A student of Class 9, Kekhsaid after they met up with the Argentina captain at the riselie Rio, son of State legislator Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich on Monday. After Ron- Zhaleo Rio, participated in the aldo was named 2014 Ballon d'Or winner, beating four- 40 km horse-riding event and time winner Messi into second place, the two players had won the Bronze Medal. A press a friendly exchange in the lobby of Zurich's Kongresshaus release received here informed. when Cris pointed at Messi and then stood up to greet him. Endurance riding is an equesReal Madrid's Portugal captain Ronaldo told his arch-rival trian sport where riders race for Messi: "He watches a video on the internet of all of us and long distances at a controlled he talks about you," prompting a coy reaction from his son. pace. It is one of the international Barcelona forward Messi chuckled and asked the young competitions recognized by the Cristiano how he was doing. "You are embarrassed now!" Fédération Equestre InternaRonaldo then laughed to his son. Ronaldo received his tionale (FEI), the international third Ballon d'Or on Monday with the Portuguese or Messi governing body for all Olympic having won the award every year since 2008. equestrian disciplines. quarter shooting by Golden State. Utah allowed 44 points on 16-of-26 shooting in that period.

Cleveland's LeBron James scored 33 points in his return from a twoweek injury layoff but it wasn't enough to prevent the Cavaliers from going down to their sixth straight loss, 107-100 to Phoenix.

Markieff Morris scored a career-high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting for the Suns, who outscored the Cavs 11-3 over the last 3:31.

The Cavaliers rallied from a 19-point, thirdquarter deficit to go ahead

lian Open, the first grand slam of the year, gets underway on Monday.

In the women's tournament, Tsvetana Pironkova continued her winning run in Sydney to 14 matches after she reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The Bulgarian world number 67 was a shock winner in Sydney last year after coming through three qualifying rounds to make the main draw.

She will now face Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova who survived a two-hour epic duel with Australian wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Elsewhere, no play was possible at the Hobart Invitational, where heavy rain washed out both day and night sessions at the women's event.

Naga boy wins medal in Endurance riding

Ronaldo says his son is a Messi fan

Volleyball Tourney underway at Mangkolemba

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mOkOkcHuNG, JANuAry 14 (DIPr): The 7th Open Volleyball Tournament organised by the Falcon Club Mangkolemba got underway on Wednesday at Mangolemba town with SDEO Mangkolemba, Chubamenla as chief guest. Speaking at the inaugural programme, the chief guest said that sports can discipline a person’s life.

She further urged the participants to play with a spirit of true sportsmanship and oneness. Altogether, 10 teams are participating in the three-day tournament. The opening match was played between Scion Club and Dibuia Club.

Nagaland Santosh trophy football team C M Y K

PASA silver jubilee underway

PHEk, JANuAry 14 (DIPr): The Phek Area Sports Association Silver Jubilee celebration hosted by Phek Sports Association under the theme “Exploring greater height” got underway on Wednesday at Phek village with Deputy Commissioner Phek, Nurohu Chose as Chief guest. The silver jubilee celebrations will conclude on January 17.The chief guest unveiled the Silver Jubilee monolith and unfurled the flag. In his short speech, the chief guest expressed hope that Nagas would be able to emulate the feats of Naga Olympians Dr. T. Ao and Chekrovolü. He stated that a player exhibiting talent with bad character was a matter of shame to the team, but players with discipline and good character are cherished by the team and the village. The chief guest also released a souvenir and declared the tournament open.

DImAPur, JANuAry 14 (mExN): The Nagaland State Team for the Santosh Trophy 2014-15 – Goalkeepers: Vekuto Puro, Mezhiilhoukho Krose, Peisuidibe Solo Defenders: Sentiyanger, Chinithung, Wapang, Vitsozol Sothu, Akuo, Meren Midfield: Keyigumgwangbe, Khanjilo

Wanth, Ninja (Captain), Mantok, Nadaibonang, Lipok Forwards: Sakutemsu, Yhunshalo Kemp, Kezhose Mathew, Toshi Longkumer, Rhitso Mero Team Coach: William Koso Manager: Ivuto Wotsa Physio: Zakielatuo Seletsu

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