March 1, 2018

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXVIII No. 83

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 Pages 12 ` 5.00

84.86 percent voter turnout in M’laya: CM hopeful of winning

Madrid loses to Espanyol in Spanish league

UN chief calls for ending nuclear weapons

northeast, Page 4

sports, Page 11

international, Page 9

NPF, NDPP confident of win; BJP gains Tripura, hung house in M’laya

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, FEB 28 (NPN): Whether voters in Nagaland decided to bring a change or simply voted without any direction in the February 27 election will be clear, when votes are counted on March 3.

Results are expected the same day till late evening for all 59 constituencies where polling was held.

The race to power will intensify if no single party of alliance is able to get absolute majority (crossing the 30-halway mark in the 60-member house) and which would only invite fierce horse trading between the main contenders-- Naga People’s Front (in alliance with NPP) and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (in alliance with BJP).

NDPP leaders exuded confidence that the pre-poll alliance of NDPP and BJP will get absolute majority on their own and if needed, they would welcome any party of MLAs into their alliance.

On the other hand, NPF leaders claim that the party was “certain of

India cuts aid to Myanmar NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): The ambitious Act East Policy is likely to take a hit with India drastically slashing aid to Myanmar from Rs 400 crore to Rs 120 crore. New Delhi has cited non-awarding of works related to the road component of the Kaladan project, Trilateral Highway Project and the KalewaYargi Road for reduction of the funds to Myanmar, The Asaam Tribune report stated.

Sources said the tendering process could not be completed due to various reasons, including high bids from the estimated cost of work. The Ministry of External Affairs was requested that it should strictly ensure that works were awarded in the first half of 2017-18, and a strict timeline was followed for completion of the projects.

Contracts for construction of 69 bridges, including the approach roads in the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa section of the Trilateral Highway were awarded in October 2017. Construction activities are currently under way at 21 different project sites in Myanmar. The original waterways component of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project has been completed, sources said.

This is it!

“At any sign of danger politicians abandon ship. It’s defector’s mentality.”

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winning” not less than 27 seats and that with NPP and other parties will form a grand coalition.

The ruling NPF contested 58 seats and fought the polls in alliance with the National People’s Party (NPP) which contested– 25 seats.

The NDPP, led by three-time former chief minister Neiphiu Rio contested 40 seats while its prepoll alliance partner, the BJP contested 20 seats.

NDPP is already one seat after Neiphiu Rio was declared elected unopposed from his 11 Northern Angami-2 Assembly Constituency.

According to various reports and sources, only the Jangpetkong assembly constituency has a sure winner in Dr. Longriniken (sitting MLA) contesting as BJP candidate in Mokokchung district while all others are too close to call.

Social media has been bombarded by a series of ‘Exit Polls’ by various ‘political experts/commentators/observes’ especially the popular WhatsApp. Most of the local exit polls point to a close race

between the two main contenders- the ruling NPF and the newly formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)with difference of four to five seats between them.

Of course, if the NDPP wins at least 25 seats and its pre-poll alliance partner BJP wins another six to seven seats, the alliance could form the next government. On the other hand if the NPF manages to win around 25 seats and NDPP around 20 seats and if BJP wins around five seats, then the equation could change when other parties like JD-U, NPP and Independents would play the role of kingmaker.

However, national pollsters have a totally different take. Almost all the exit polls conducted in collaboration with media house, indicated that the pre-poll alliance group of NDPP-BJP is set to sweep the polls winning a comfortable majority.

It may also be speculated that if, however, NPF manages to win 25 seats and if NPP can also win around four seats then both

can take a serious shot at coming to power to breach the 30-mark by roping in other parties.

What may be noted, is that the present election went ahead after the BJP reneged its promise not to set up candidates along with all other political parties.

BJP has also changed alliance partner after NPF reject pleas for seat adjustments and took the offer of 20 seats offered by NDPP. There is wide speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could take a closer look at an early solution if BJP is in the saddle with NDPP as “an equal partner (with NDPP)” and not “an unequal partner (earlier with NPF)”.

If solution is inked within next few months, Modi can claim credit for bringing Naga solution in the electioneering for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

NDPP’s chief Ministerial candidate, Neiphiu Rio has been a strong proponent of early solution and a strong advocate for an ‘interim government’ if solution is achieved.

What The Exit Polls Say

TRIPURA

CPI(M)+

BJP+

CONGRESS _

OTHERS

Axis My India

9-15

44-50 35-45

_

NewsX

14-23

_

C-Voter

26-34

24-32

0-2

_

NPF

BJP-NDPP _

CONGRESS _

OTHERS _

0-3

NAGALAND Axis My India

Edge

NewsX

20-25

27-32

0-2

5-7

C-Voter

19-25

25-31

0-4

6-10

CONGRESS

NPP

BJP

OTHERS

20

14

5

20

NewsX

13-17

23-27

8-12

2-6

C-Voter

13-19

17-23

4-8

13-21

MEGHALAYA Axis My India

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): BJP is likely to wrest power from the 25-year-old CPI (M) government in Tripura, with two exit polls predicting that the saffron party-led alliance may win over 35 seats in the state.

However, a third exit poll predicts that it could be a close contest between the CPI (M) and the BJP in the 60-member assembly.

The CVoter exit poll, along with that of Axis MyIndia and News24, predicts a stupendous rise of the BJP in Tripura.

The Axis MyIndia and News24’s tally for the BJPled NDA is 45-50 seats and 9-10 for the CPI (M)-led Left Front.

According to the CVoter exit poll, there might be a neck and neck fight between the BJP —

which has an alliance with IPFT— and the Left in Tripura. The CPI (M) is predicted to get 26-34 seats and the BJP’s alliance will get 24 to 32 seats in the 60member assembly.

In Nagaland, the NDPP-BJP alliance is likely to storm the ruling NPF bastion as it is predicted to win 27-32 seats with a vote share of 48 per cent, against NPF’s 20-25

INX media case: Karti Chidambaram arrested Voting percentage goes up to 79.14%

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (IANS): In a dramatic development in the INX Media case, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI from Chennai airport on his return from abroad, with the Congress crying “political vendetta” and the government rejecting the charge.

Later in the evening, he was remanded to oneday custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation by a Delhi court.

The arrest of Karti came nine months after the CBI registered a FIR against him on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, accepting gratification by corrupt or illegal means, influencing public servants and criminal misconduct.

After his arrest in Chennai, CBI officials took him to Delhi by afternoon. He was taken to the CBI head-

quarters and then produced before a Duty Magistrate.

Karti allegedly received Rs 3.5 crore from the Mumbai-based INX Media, now known as 9X Media, for helping it get Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance in 2007, when it was run by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, both accused in the Sheena Bora murder case. The FIR does not mention Chidambaram senior, though it said he cleared the FIPB approval for Rs 4.62 crore FDI in the firm at a FIPB meeting on May 18, 2007.

In Delhi, Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Anand granted the remand till 12.30 p.m. on Thursday when a regular CBI court will hear the agency that sought a 15-day remand of Karti for detailed questioning.

The CBI counsel told the Duty Magistrate that they needed his custodial interrogation since he was

not cooperating with the probe and was going abroad frequently.

Rejecting the CBI claim, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said both charges against his client were false. He said Karti appeared before the CBI and Enforcement Directorate for 30-40 hours and cooperated.

Singhvi said after August 28 last year, the CBI never issued summonses and whenever he went abroad he took court permission. He also rejected the charge of possible tampering with the evidence by Karti, saying this was a 10-year-old case based on documents and there was no question of tampering.

Describing the arrest as “malafide”, Singhvi jocularly remarked that Karti was not a “Hindustan Leaver, but Hindustan Returner” for which he got the reward of arrest at the airport.

Re-poll likely in some centres Correspondents

KOHIMA/MON, FEB 28 (NPN): Overall voting percentage in Tuesday’s Assembly polls in Nagaland rose to 79.14 percent, according to a report released by Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office here on Wednesday.

The polling percentage is likely to go up further as there is a likelihood of repolling in some polling centres.

As per CEO’s report, Impur Assembly constituency recorded the highest voter turnout (95 percent), followed by 50 Longleng Assembly constituency with 92.12 percent turnout and Jangpetkong constituency with 90.56 percent.

On the other hand, 43 Tapi constituency recorded the lowest voter turnout (58 percent), followed by 42 Wakching and 27 Mokokchung Town constituencies, each recording 65 percent polling.

Meanwhile, sources said that re-polling in at least two polling stations in Mon and Kohima districts each was likely to be held on March 2.

After scrutiny of the EVM/VVPAT machines and complaints, a report was sent

to Election Commission of India (ECI).

After assessing the report, ECI will issue an order for re-poll, if required, sources explained.

Snatched EVM, polling materials recovered Escorted by heavy security, sector magistrate and polling personnel of polling stations 13, 14 and 31 of 41 Tizit constituency reached Mon town around 11:25 am on Wednesday, after over 19 hours since voting ended in the State.

According to reports, EVM along with other polling materials of polling station no.

13 were snatched by a mob on Tuesday evening after the voting process was closed.

When contacted, presiding officer and polling officers of the polling station confirmed the incident.

According to them, after the EVM was sealed, duly signed by the concerned polling agents and presiding officer, the mob attacked and snatched the EVM and other polling materials as these were being readied to be carried by the polling staff in their assigned vehicle around 4.30 pm.

Although EVM and other polling materials were recovered, ballot unit and VVPAT machined were found damaged, while control unit and other documents were found to be sealed and intact.

‘India size chart’ survey: 25000 people across 6 cities 1 SSB personnel dead, 2 injured in road mishap

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (PTI): Seeking to come up with a standardised “India size chart” for the garment industry, the NIFT, under the aegis of the ministry of textiles, will soon begin a national survey that will sample 25,000 people using high-tech 3D whole body scanners.

“The National Sizing Survey will cost nearly Rs 30 crore and entail studying a population, aged 15-65 across six cities, with men and women in equal numbers”, Director General of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Sarada Muraleedharan said.

At a press conference held at the NIFT-New Delhi campus, she also said the project would be conducted over a period 2-3 years.

“This would be a scientific exercise where anthropometric data will be collected from a sample population of 25,000 to cre-

ate a database of measurements that will culminate in a standardised size chart, truly be representative of the Indian population, which can then be adopted by the entire apparel industry,” said Noopur Anand, professor at NIFT-Delhi and the principle investigator of the project.

“The final outcome will be in numerical value.

We don’t know yet, if we would be having just a single numerical marker or the more than one. Also, about

120 different anthropometric elements, including, height, weight, waist-size, hip-size, bust-size, would be included in the survey,” she said.

Rajesh Shah, chairman of the Board of Governors of the NIFT, said once a uniform India size is arrived at, “even foreign brands in India would also carry it. Besides, our diaspora can then also order any wear based on that standard size”.

The project, recently approved by government of India, will be carried out

in six cities spread across six regions of the country -- Kolkata (East), Mumbai (West), New Delhi (North), Hyderabad (Centre), Bengaluru (South), and Shillong (North East) using 3D whole body scanners.

“The NIFT had been toying with this idea since 2006. But you can say the stars finally aligned, and with the support of the Ministry of Textiles, we are ready for this exercise. Of the Rs 30 crore, the ministry will give Rs 21 crore and the NIFT will pitch in with about Rs 9 crore,” Muraleedharan said.

In India, either the US or the UK system of ‘Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large’ has been used, and people then go for fitting accordingly. But, after this uniform size chart is available, whole country will have a “standard reference point” for ready-to-wear industry, Anand said.

seats and a vote share of 42 per cent, according to the JanKiBaat-NewsX exit poll. Congress in Nagaland is likely to get 0-2 seats with a vote share of 4.4 per cent and others are likely to get 5-7 seats with a vote share of 5-6 per cent.

CVoter exit poll gave the BJP-led NDA 25-31 seats ahead of the NPF with 19-25 seats and the Congress with 0-4 seats.

Axis MyIndia did not predict absolute numbers saying “Nagaland was a very difficult state to conduct exit poll survey.” But it said that NPF has an edge.

In Meghalaya, the CVoter exit poll gives the ruling Congress 13-19 seats, while according to the Axis MyIndia’s exit poll, the Congress will emerge as the single largest party with 20 votes. The local outfit NPP will get 14, while the BJP is tipped to get 5 seats.

In CVoter’s estimate, the NPP will get 17-23 seats and the BJP 4-8 seats in Meghalaya. Political observers believe a good show by the NPP and the BJP will open the possibility of a post-poll alliance between these two parties.

Post-poll violence in 21 Tuli A/C Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, FEB 28 (NPN): In a post-poll related violence, some unidentified miscreants reportedly lobbed a hand-made crude bomb along the road side near Mendenti ward 18th mile Tuli town and also resorted to blank firing before fleeing from the scene.

According to SP Mokokchung, Raguramarajan A. the blast took place near the roadside. However, no injury or casualty was reported.

Meanwhile, at Merangkong village, Raguramarajan said a clash erupted between supporters of rival parties-NPF and NDDP. The rival groups resorted to stonepelting, however, SP said situation was brought under control after IRB personnel rushed to the village.

Tizit blast: BJP Mon unit files complaint

KOHIMA, FEB 28 (NPN): BJP Mon district unit has lodged a complaint following the blast that took place on Tuesday in 40 Tizit assembly constituency injuring one person. In a complaint addressed to OC Tizit, Mon BJP unit president Nyawang Konyak claimed that the injured person was a BJP supporter. The party urged the police initiate action and deliver justice to the affected victim.

Children with special needs can use laptop for exams, says CBSE The ill fated bolero pick-up truck.

DIMAPUR, FEB 28 (NPN): One Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel died on the spot and two injured when a bolero pick carrying SSB personnel rolled down some 80 feet below the road near Kuthur village under Tuensang district.

The SSB personnel, deployed for election duty, were on their way back from 57 Thonoknyu constituency.

The deceased was identified as one Atul Kr. Singh.

It was also reported that three weapons belonging to SSB were yet to be retrieved from the spot.

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Children with special needs appearing for Classes X and XII Board examination will be able to use computer or laptops to write their exam from this year. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination committee has approved this proposal as per an official order issued by the Board on Tuesday.

(Full report on p-7) K Y M C

state

2

NSLSA organises ‘legal services camp’

Villagers availing services during the legal services camp held at Mitelephe village on Wednesday (NP).

Correspondent

Ko h ima , F e b. 2 8 (NPN): Nagaland State legal Services Authority (NSLSA) organised legal services camp at Mitelephe village under Kezocha Tehsil of Kohima district.

In her address, member secretary NSLSA and special judge TDP vigilance

commission, Nino Iralu said that Mitelephe village was one of the smallest and remote villages in Kohima district where people were unaware of the free legal services provided by various government departments.

Iralu said that the NSLSA team along with some voluntary members

came to village to create awareness on the various legal services provided by the government to the public.

Secretarial assistant directorate of labour Nagaland, Seyievio Neihu also highlighted various benefits for the building and other construction workers’ welfare scheme

under Nagaland building and other construction workers’ welfare board department of labour government of Nagaland.

He said that the beneficiar y lists included like grant for purchase of tools, medical assistance, children education allowance, maternity benefit for women beneficiaries and others.

During the camp, there was registration for unorganised sector as well as free medical camp. Nino Iralu stated that NSLSA successfully conducted camp for the disability persons at Phek town in 2017 with five doctors from Kohima where 320 differently abled persons attended the camp and informed them about the various benefits provided by the government for them.

She said that NSLSA would conduct more camps in collaboration with the postal department, banks and other department to sensitise the public about the various schemes and benefits giving by the government.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

hearing day: PVHSS organises farewell prorgramme World A call for proper rehabilitation

Faculty and others at the farewell programme.

DIMAPUR: Pranab Vidyapith Higher Secondary School (PVHSS), Dimapur, organised farewell programme for its outgoing students of Class-10 and Class-12 (both Science and Commerce) on February 28, at Pranab jubilee auditorium. The programme was graced by PVHSS secretary Swami Chinmayanandaji Maharaj.

During the programme, principal of the school in his speech encouraged the outgoing

students and sent them off with good wishes. Ananyo Chakraborty, Poulomi Ghosh of Class-12 and Medha Bhattacharjee of Class-10 also delivered speeches.

E a r l i e r, t h e p r o gramme began with school prayer and garlanding to the portrait of Srimat Swami Pranabanandaji Maharaj, founder of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, while PVHSS A/T Ranu Purkayastha, gave necessary information and guidelines to the examinees.

Meanwhile, the programme highlighted cultural activities and concluded with words of blessings on the candidates by Swami Chinmoyanandaji Maharaj followed by lunch and handing over admit cards to the candidates.

PVHSS principal, Monoj Bhattacharjee, vice principal A.K. Roy, Jana Jati Shiksha Samati, Nagaland secretary Pankaj Singha and N. Dutta former teacher and well-wisher of PVHSS attended the programme.

DoSE bid farewell to principal secretary TCG organises ‘GAMNL’ programme in Kohima DIMAPUR: The Coming Generation (TGC) organised “genesis of abundance mindset to next leaders” (GAMNL) on February 24 at Scholars Ambience Hall, Kohima.

During the programme, Francis Ruangmei welcomed the gathering and addressed the participants about the vision of The Coming Generation (TCG) to empower the young minds to impact oneself, family and to the societies in general by imparting varieties of knowledge which are happening and rapidly emerging.

Speaking on “synthesized nanometaloxide supported activated carbon for the photo catalytic degradation of textiles dyeing waste water”, principal of Don FP Solo, Principal Secretary, School Education & SCERT speaking during Bosco College, Kohima, the farewell programme.

Rev. Dr. Fr. P. Suresh InDIMAPUR: DepartFurther, he encourEarlier, the officers of nocent emphasised on the ment of School Educa- aged them to continue SE, SCERT, NBSE, SSA, tion (DoSE) and its sister to serve the department RMSA and Tongtikala, PS departments with special selflessly to bring about to the out-going principal invitees from other depart- transformation. secretary delivered their DIMAPUR: Dimapur Disments bade farewell to All the officers and farewell messages while JE trict Autorickshaw Drivers’ principal secretary, School staff thanked him and his (engg wing) Imnanukshi Union (DDADU) has inEducation (SE) and State family and conveyed the presented a special song. formed that an autorickC o u n c i l E d u c a t i o n a l best wishes.

It may be noted that shaw, RE145 Reg. NL-07Research and Training Later, the programme F.P. Solo started his service F/4989 (24MBUD43655) (SCERT), F.P. Solo, on ended with the vote of journey as an IPoS in 1984 was recovered near WalFebruary 23 who was re- thanks from additional and also served as under- ford area, Dimapur withtiring on superannuation secretary, SCERT Ko- secretary and deputy sec- out wheels. w.e.f Febraury 28. teno. retary in the ministry of DDADU president, Speaking at the proMeanwhile, in honour defence, government Of I. Vitoshe Sema has ingramme, F.P. SOLO took of the out-going officer, a India, director, postal ser- formed that the owner the opportunity to honour programme was organised vices, Kohima, director, must claim the autorickthe faithful services of at Hotel Vivor, Kohima, ATI-cum-OSD (law), com- shaw within one week each officers and staff which was chaired by Sar- missioner and secretary, with original documents and exhorted them to be ah R. Ritse, secretray SE H&TE, and retired in the from DDADU office. regular, punctual and dedi- and invocation prayer by rank of principal secretary Owner/s may contact at cated in their work.

DMD, SSA, T. Keditsu.

SE & SCERT. 9383204246/8787736231.

TCG members along with the students at the programme. important application of Nanotechnology in medicines, such as Nano shells as cancer therapy, Nano computing technology, sunscreen and cosmetics and water purification.

Futurist, Singularity University Alumini,

California, USA, Johnny Ruangmei also spoke on “introduction to exponential emerging technologies” and talked about the significance of technologies and stress on exponential transformation of humanity through technologies.

The later envisioned the students from Christ King higher secondary school, Don Bosco college and Little Flower higher secondary school to be innovative as well as to think beyond and be exponential.

Lost and Found

Polling personnel drafted for election duty arrive at DCs office Dimapur for reporting after their assigned duties on February 27. (DPRO)

DIMAPUR: With an aim to raise public awareness on ear care and prevention of hearing loss, “world hearing day”, which is held on March 3, every year will be observed all over the world under the theme “hear the future”, with key messages that highlight - 1) expected rise in prevalence of hearing loss globally over the coming years, 2) efforts that are required to stem the rise through appropriate preventive action and 3) need to ensure that people with hearing loss have access to the required rehabilitation services and the communication tools and products they require.

ENT specialist, Naga Hospital Authority (NHAK), Dr. R. Zhimatho Nyusou said that 360 million people live with disabling hearing loss, while 750 billion is the overall cost of un-addressing hearing loss globally. WHO estimates that 1.1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.

Dr. R. Zhimatho Nyusou asserted that parents need to play an active role in educating their children about safe listening and monitoring their exposure to loud noise and that teachers should also educate children and adolescents about possible dangers of exposure to loud sounds from the misuse of personal audio devices and encourage to develop safe listening habits. “Such information should be part of the health education curriculum”, he added.

He laid out prevention of harm from exposure to loud sound like “keeping the volume down”, using carefully fitted buds, limiting the time engaged in noisy activities, wearing ear plugs and regular hearing checkups.

While adding that the main reason for hearing loss was “exposure of the ear to electromagnetic field emitted by the mobile phones which further add to the damage”, Dr. R. Zhimatho Nyusou said that initial hearing loss was temporary and hardly noticeable by the person or his significantly close people only after significant hearing occurs, the person notices changes in understanding speech in crowded or noisy places.

His advice was that hearing loss due to use of cell phones could be prevented by “limit the use of cell phones to necessary talking and go for landlines when possible”, “refraining from using low quality ear phones”, “using speaker mode when the chat is very long, “using bluetooth headset, which can reduce the exposure to electromagnetic radiation” and “using low volume levels for listening to music”

Assam Rifles organises various programmes across the state

(L-R): Chieswema Battalion deliberating at the lecture programme. Students at the debate organised by Assam Rifles. Tuensang battalion and patients at the medical camp.

PHEK: Chieswema Battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) organised a lecture and weapon display for students of Eastern Mission high school at Chizami, Phek on February 28. The K

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lecture was organised so as to create awareness among students about Assam Rifles and eligibility criteria to join the force. During the lecture, students were informed about various type of entry schemes, pay and emolu-

ments and training. The event also included display of wide array of military equipments and weapons.

The lecture was attended by 180 students and 20 teaching staff.

MON: Mon battalion

of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) conducted a free medical camp at Tang village, Mon on February 28. The aim of the camp was to provide free of cost assistance to locals deprived of medical aid in

remotely located areas and educate them about the precautions and remedies of prevalent diseases.

During the medical camp, free medicines were provided to the patients. A total of 40 locals attended

the camp.

TUENSANG: Tuensang battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) organised a debate competition on the occasion of “national science day” at ARHS, Tu-

ensang on February 28. The aim of the competition was to inculcate competitive spirit and bring out hidden talent amongst the students.

During the competition, five speakers debated on the topic, “is internet a boon”

? Students of class VIII, IX and X participated in the event which also highlighted the role that science plays.

The event concluded with prize distribution ceremony and felicitation of best three speakers.

K

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100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

A B C

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A

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Yes No Can’t say

C

50% 45% 5%

Next poll

Q: Have voters in Nagaland

voted for any particular party or alliance?  Yes  No  Can’t say

WEATHER FORECAST March 1

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Very warm with sunshine

33 18

Mostly sunny

27 13

Aizawl

Guwahati Pleasant with some sunshine 30 17 Imphal

Mostly sunny and comfortable 27 12

Itanagar Pleasant with some sun

25 15

Shillong

Rather cloudy

18 9

Kohima

An afternoon shower

21 11

Dimapur Sunshine and nice

29 15

Partly sunny and beautiful

24 11

Tuensang Cooler with a brief shower

15 7

Mkg Wokha

Partly sunny and not as warm 22 15

Zunheboto Partly sunny

21 9

Cabinet nod to hike MPs’ allowances

New Delhi Feb 28 (PTI): Members of Parliament are set to get increased allowances with the Union Cabinet today approving a proposal in this regard.

The constituency allowance, furniture allowance and communication expenses of the MPs would go up considerably, sources in the government said.

The parliamentary affairs ministry had proposed an increase in the constituency allowance from Rs 45,000 a month to Rs 60,000.

The ministry had also proposed that the one-time furniture allowance be hiked to Rs one lakh from the present Rs 75,000.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his budget speech that a permanent mechanism would be set up to revise the salaries of MPs every five years, and it would be linked to inflation. The remuneration of an MP includes a basic salary of Rs 50,000 per month and Rs 45,000 as constituency allowance, apart from other perks. The Centre spends around Rs 2.7 lakh a month on an MP.

Anna Hazare to organise ‘Satyagraha’ in New Delhi Lucknow, Feb 28 (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare, who spearheaded nationwide anti-graft protests in 2011, is again set to launch a ‘satyagraha’ in Delhi next month, but those wanting to join his campaign have to fulfil one mandatory condition - a vow they will not join electoral politics.

The 80-year-old anticorruption crusader, whose previous agitation propelled many leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to the national limelight has decided that those who wish to associate with him now will have to swear in an affidavit that they will not join politics in future.

“During past agitations, among those who associated with me, one is a chief minister, another is a governor and yet another is a minister. Now if anyone associated with me joins politics in future, I will take him to the court. We are taking affidavits from those joining my agitation that they will not enter electoral politics,” Hazare told PTI. Apart from Kejriwal, Puducherr y Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Union Minister V K Singh were among those closely associated with Hazare during his previous agitation in the

Anna Hazare

national capital.

“Gandhiji used to say that every agitation should have a character. Now a days, nothing is based on character. The only objective is to catapult one to power. Anti-social and unscrupulous elements have entered politics and are being given tickets. We have to see quality of agitations and not go by the numbers,” said Hazare, explaining the reason for the condition that he has laid for those desirous of joining him.

Hazare, who was on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to garner support for his proposed satyagraha from March 23 in Delhi to highlight farmers’ issues, Jan Lokpal issue and the need for electoral reforms, expressed disagreement with the demand to hold elections using paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

“I don’t agree with the demand of holding elections with paper ballots instead of EVMs. When the world is moving ahead, why should we move backward. However, totaliser machines should be used to ensure fairness of EVMs,” he said.

Totaliser machines are used to mix votes before counting to prevent disclosure of voting patterns, thereby allaying fears of any post-poll victimisation of any section. BSP supremo Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav have been demanding the use of paper ballots in future elections, alleging that EVMs were tampered with to benefit the BJP. Asked why he needed to undertake a tour to garner support this time unlike in 2011 when he took the country by storm, Hazare said a lot of time has passed and people were thinking the “agitation has petered out.”

I am going to the masses to change the mind set of the people, he said.

Also, the BJP had made a lot of promises during elections, but people are still waiting for the ‘acchey din’ even though its government’s term is approaching its end, he said.

Pak resorts to firing, shelling along LoC Jammu, Feb 28 (PTI): Increasing its arc of ceasefire violations, Pakistani troops have fired and shelled forward areas along the LoC in Sunderbani, Nowshera and Khour sectors of Rajouri and Jammu districts, forcing the Indian Army to retaliate effectively. The Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire agreement around 1030 hours today in Nowshera, Kalal and Sunderbani sectors along the Line of Control in Rajouri district, a defence spokesman said.

Pakistani troops also resorted to ceasefire violations in Chakla and Baldoo areas in Khour sector late last night, police said. “(The Indian) Army is retaliating effectively”, they said. Yesterday, the Pakistan Army shelled forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, injuring two jawans of the Border Security Force.

Authorities have shut 72 schools along the LoC in Rajouri district and in Mendhar sector of Poonch district as a precautionary measure.

Ceasefire violations along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir have left 21 people, including 12 security personnel, dead and more than 80 others, mostly civilians, injured this year.

President pitches for freedom to girls Chandigarh, Feb 28 (PTI): President Ram Nath Kovind today underscored the need for giving freedom and encouragement to girls by their parents to enable them to scale new heights in a male-dominated society.

Noting that the responsibilities of women should not become an impediment in their way, he expressed concern over their low percentage in the technology and engineering sectors.

The President was on his maiden visit to the Union territory to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the MCM DAV College for Women. “In this maledominated society, women face problems at every step, throughout their lives. How should they come out of this situation?

“I think, if parents and family members give freedom to girls to live their lives, give ideological and social independence, encourage them to get experience in new fields, then the self-confidence of girls will go up. They will touch new heights,” he told a gathering at the college.

Kovind said last week, Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi recorded her name in history by flying a fighter aircraft.

“Har yana’s Phogat sisters (wrestlers) have also shown that there is no sector which is taboo for daughters.

Had parents of P V Sindhu (badminton player), Sania Mirza (tennis player), Saina

Ram Nath Kovind

Nehwal (badminton player), Aruna Reddy (gymnast) not given freedom to their daughters, exposure and encouragement, how could they have achieved great success in their lives,” he asked. Stressing on the need for education and empowerment of women, Kovind, who was accompanied by his wife, said an educated daughter provides education to at least two families and apprises them of the importance of education.

“She takes care of the future of her family and helps in educating the coming generation. Our daughters have brightened the country’s name in every field -- be it cultural art or sports, trade and industry. In this series, Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher has also made her name in cinema,” the President said.

“There is a long list of the daughters of Chandigarh who performed notable work in their respective fields. If I have to take one

name, then I will name Neerja Bhanot. She had saved the lives of 359 air passengers with her bravery by defeating the terrorists in their nefarious designs in 1986,” he said.

“By laying down her life to save lives of others, not only Chandigarh, but the whole country is proud of this brave daughter,” he said. He noted that students should understand their responsibilities towards their country and society.

Kovind also asked women to draw inspiration from the life of boxer Mary Kom. “Women have a lot of responsibilities and these responsibilities should not become obstacles in their way. Such an example was given by Manipur’s Mary Kom. She did not stop from participating and winning in boxing despite being in her married life. She is the source of inspiration for every Indian woman,” he said.

Rahul sets up panels for Congress plenary session

Rahul Gandhi (C) has dissolved Congress Working Committee and formed a new panel to work for plenary session.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): Congress president Rahul Gandhi today constituted an organising committee, a drafting committee and its four sub-groups, and a constitution amendment committee for the party’s upcoming plenary session to be held here from March 16 to 18.

While former prime minister Manmohan Singh is chairman of the drafting committee and Mukul Wasnik its convener, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora is chairman of the organis-

ing committee and party general secretary Oscar Fernandes its convener, a party statement said.

The constitution amendment committee will have senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Janardan Dwivedi as its chairman and convener, with 10 other senior leaders, including Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram, Mallikarjun Kharge and Kapil Sibal, as its members.

The drafting committee has 44 other senior party leaders as its members. It

also has four sub-groups on political, economic affairs, international affairs and agriculture and employment.

While A K Antony will be the chairman of the political sub-group and Selja its convener, Chidambaram has been made chairman of the economic affairs sub-group with Jairam Ramesh as its convener and Anand Sharma the head the international affairs sub-group with Jyotiraditya Scndia as its convener.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chairman of the sub-group on agriculture, employment and poverty alleviation, with Meenakshi Natarajan as convener.

The Congress leadership will brainstorm on the party’s strategy ahead of 2019 general elections, in its bid to oust the BJP from power.

The party will also dwell on its prospects in

elections to key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh slated this year and is likely to evolve its plan at the session.

This will be the Con-

gress’ first plenary session under the presidentship of Rahul Gandhi, after he took over the reigns of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi in December last year.

DC-467

nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Is the death of filmstar Sridevi suspicious and needs to be probed?

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national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

NIA to probe human trafficking cases

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): The apex anti-terror body National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be the nodal authority for probing cases of human trafficking after the government today approved a proposal in this regard, according to an official.

The Union Cabinet today okayed the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Reha-

bilitation) Bill, which also proposes a punishment of life imprisonment for repeat offenders, the source said.

According to officials of the ministry of women and child development, the NIA would receive financial aid under Nirbhaya Fund for safety of women in order to set up a cell for investigating human trafficking.

Government officials say that in order to empower

the NIA to probe trafficking cases, the National Investigation Act, 2008, will have to be amended.

The draft Bill divides various offences into “trafficking” and “aggravated trafficking”.

The former category of crimes would carry a jail term of seven to 10 years and the latter would carry a punishment of at least 10 years in jail, which can be

By-poll win would impact 2019 elections: Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, Feb 28 (PTI): Hailing his party candidate Rita Sahu’s victory in Bijepur Assembly bypolls today, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the outcome of the polls would have an impact on the general elections in 2019.

Sahu won the byelection by defeating her nearest BJP rival Ashok Panigrahi by a margin of 41,933 votes, an EC official said.

“Such an enormous victory with a margin of over 40,000 votes will K Y M C

Naveen Patnaik

have an impact on future elections,” Patnaik told reporters while thanking the people of Bijepur for their overwhelming support to the ruling BJD’s candidate.

While hailing the party’s impressive show, Patnaik, also the party chief, said the people of Bijepur have rejected violence.

“Odisha is a peaceful state; the people will not stand for violence in a democracy,” he added.

“I would like to express my deep gratitude to the people of Bijepur Assembly constituency for having showered their blessings on the BJD,” Patnaik said.

Meanwhile, Rita Sahu said, “I’ll work for the all-round development of

extended to life imprisonment. Aggravated offences will include forced labour, bonded labour, forced surrogacy, use of narcotics to induce forced labour, trafficking in the garb of marriage and those that lead to a pregnancy or grave illness such as HIV/AIDS. The draft bill also moots three years in jail for abetting, promoting and assisting trafficking.

PM greets scientists on National Science Day

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted scientists on the National Science Day and also saluted science lovers. “Greetings on National Science Day. I salute all science lovers and wish them the very best as they enhance their scientific zeal. India is extremely proud of our scientists”, the Prime Minister said in his message. Referring to the National Science Day in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address on Sunday, the PM had said that the relentless quest to ask questions for knowing the truth is very important.

K Y M C

northeast

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84.86 percent voter turnout in M’laya: CM hopeful of winning

Correspondent

Mowkaiaw assembly constituency in West Jaintia Hills district recorded the highest voter turnout with 93.21 percent electorates, while North Shillong clocked the least voter turnout with 60.79 percent.

He said the low voters turnout in assembly constituencies within Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya was mainly because of “urban apathy” and which may not be true in all constituencies of the city.

Kharkongor also informed that 11 companies of Central Armed Police Personnel have been retained to guard the strong rooms where the VVPATs have been kept.

Meanwhile, the votes will be counted in 13 counting centres – 11 in all the district headquarters and two in the sub-division of Sohra, East Khasi Hill and Mairang in West Khasi Hills have been set up.

The contest in Meghalaya involves the ruling Congress, BJP, National People’s Party (NPP) and the combined regional alliance comprising United Democratic Party, HSPDP and Garo National Coun-

cil. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who is contesting from two assembly seats - Ampati and Songsakvoiced confidence that the Congress will retain power, crossing the magic figure of 31 MLAs in the 60 member assembly.

PTI Adds: More than 15,000 voters have been rewarded with ‘early voter medals’ in Meghalaya which went to polls yesterday, a poll official said.

Five early voters from each of the 3025 polling stations in 59 of the 60 Assembly constituencies were rewarded with ‘early voter medals’ by the state Election Commission yesterday, Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told PTI. He said some of these early voters were the enthusiastic first time voters who were spotted in the queues as early as 6 am.

Around 75 per cent votes were polled in Meghalaya, he said adding that the figure might go up as the election office was awaiting data from remote places in the Garo Hills and East Jaintia Hills districts.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Arunachal Gov informs Nadda on shortage of specialists

Ngongo, As you turn 2 years today we really want to wish you a very long and happy life.

We love you.

From, Mum and Papa Baby Mying,

SHILLONG, FEB 28: Over 84 percent of the 18.9 lakh electors had had cast their votes on Tuesday in a peaceful manner to elect new members to the 60 member Meghalaya Assembly, Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Roy Kharkongor said on Wednesday.

However, he said that the figures would increase after polling to Williamnagar assembly seat and re-polling to Kyndong Tuber polling booth under Raliang assembly constituency are completed.

Kharkongor said repolling for No. 15- Kyndong Tuber S “A” which will be conducted on Thursday was necessitated due to human error in the voting machine.

Polling in Williamnagar constituency was countermanded following the death of Nationalist Congress Party candidate Jonathone Sangma in an IED blast in Sawilgre area of East Garo Hills district on February 18.

“84.86 had casted their votes in 3024 polling

stations. The voter’s turnout has been robust and healthy with Williamnagar yet to vote. With sympathy wave there is hope for a high voter turnout in this constituency. Perhaps we may equal the turnout of 2013 polls,” the election official told journalists.

The polling percentage in 2013 was 86.82.

Kharkongor said that 7, 88, 511 women voters constituting about 86.30 percent had exercised their franchise compared to 7, 47, 335 males accounting to about 83.40 percent.

South West Garo Hills district registered the highest voter turnout with 91.15 percent while South West Khasi Hills district registering 75.08 percent.

Centre sanctions fund for rural roads in Arunachal

Only 618 job seekers provided Minor girl’s death in private hospital causes stir job in Manipur in nine months

Itanagar, Feb 28 (PTI): The Union Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned Rs 706.47 crore for the construction of 43 roads and 15 bridges in Arunachal Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

An official sanction order signed by the Director (rural connectivity) in the Union Rural Development Ministry, P Manoj Kumar, addressed to the state RWD commissioner said.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu assured the Union government that the funds sanctioned will be judiciously utilised and the projects will be completed well in time, an official release said today.

In total, 684.46 kilometres of roads and 577 metres of bridges would be constructed from the sanctioned amount covering a huge unconnected habitation, the order said.

The chief minister has also extended his sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that his concern for Arunachal Pradesh in terms of connectivity is evident from the positive gesture.

Mukul Sangma

Itanagar, Feb 28 (PTI/IANS): Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) Dr B D Mishra has apprised the union health ministry of the shortage of specialists in hospitals and health care units in the state.

The governor yesterday met the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and suggested him that his ministry should help the state in getting specialists from other states on deputation so that immediate problem of shortage in the state could be taken care of, an official statement said here today.

Taking positive view on the suggestion, Nadda assured that his ministry would bear the expenditure of the specialists who would come to Arunachal Pradesh on deputation.

Earlier in the day,

the governor also met the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism K J Alphons and held discussion with him regarding the potential of tourism promotion in the state, particularly Tawang and Parasuram Kund areas which are famous for religio-cultural tourism.

The Tourism Minister asked for proposals from the state government to promote tourism in the state, the statement said.

The Governor, who visited hospitals and health centres during tours of Arunachal Pradesh districts, apprised the Minister of the issue, after which the latter assured of all help to redress the problem.

The Governor suggested that the Health Ministry help the State in getting medical specialist on deputation from other states.

Jenna, I feel so happy and proud to see how much my little girl has grown to become such a fine young lady. May God shower his blessings on you always. Happy 18th Birthday Jenna.

From, Mameow Happy 70th Birthday Papa, Thank you all the guidance and support you have given out through these years.

May God continue to bless you with good health and life.

Your Loving family members GOOD MORNING ........MY DEAR (Lechan) You may have received hundreds of wishes today.But I want you to know that mine come from the bottom of my heart?

True and pure. I wish all yours dream come true. Happy Birthday to the man who stole my heart. Once again many many happy return of the day HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOD BLESS YOU. Lots of love Bani......

Correspondent

Correspondent

IMPHAL, Feb 28: Only 618 out of more than seven lakh job seekers in Manipur were imparted job during the current fiscal year 201718 till December 2017.

Of these total job seekers who got placements, 454 were male while the remaining 164 were female, said additional director Sh Bijoy Singh of state directorate of employment exchange.

As per the live-register of the directorate, 7,51,376 persons were seeking job in Mainpur. Of this, 5,31,313 were male and the remaining 2,20,063 were female, he said. Of these total job seekers, 4,73,037, including 3,35,764 male and 1,37,273 female, have been removed from the live register due to non renewal and over aged.

Now, the actual number of job seekers registered with the state employment exchange were 3,58,123, he added.

The additional director was addressing at the series of press conference organized state directorate of information and public relations (DIPR) to highlight the achievements and activities of departments under Manipur government.

He informed that the number of job-seekers registered with the employment offices across the state during 2017-18, from April till December 31, was 10,664 (6,745 male and 3,919 female).

Even though, employment offices are there in the entire district except the newly created seven districts, only four of them were fully computerized.

However, the workings of these offices were ineffective due to limited resources like manpower and fund.

In these four employment exchanges, online registration and renewal could be done by the job seekers.

Matric certificate and aadhar, in original, is mandatory for registration and uploading, Bijoy asserted.

He further said there are 17 (seventeen) employment exchanges across the state.

Due to shortage of staff, town employment exchange at Tamei of Tamenglong district remained almost in defunct state for the last two years. Though, the sanctioned post is 122, the 17 offices under the Directorate is currently manned by 88 staff only, he added. These employment exchange offices sponsored altogether 6,715

including 5,769 male and 946 female registered jobseekers against the notified vacancies by the employment exchanges during the period from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017.

However, placements were provided to 618 (454male and 164-female). A total of 4,73,037, including 3,35,764(male) and 1,37,273(female) were removed from the live register due to non renewal and over aged during the period under report., he added The department has submitted a total of 111 reports return of employment and unemployment to the director general of employment & training of government of India, New Delhi during 2017-18 fiscal year and 108 reports under the Employment Market Information (EMI) programme were submitted to the government of India.

The employment exchanges are collecting, gender wise reports of employment that are in the Pay Rolls of the establishment from the employers irrespective of Central government, state government, autonomous body, local body, large private sector, small private sector.

Restore Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Library: PPFA Guwahati, Feb 28 ( P T I ) : T h e Pa t r i o t i c People’s Front of Assam (PPFA) has urged the state government to restore and reopen the historic Nabin Chandra Bordoloi hallcum-library in Guwahati for the benefit of book lovers and common people.

The century-old structure, formerly known as Lord Curzon Hall, had witnessed many historic events in the last century and many Assamese stalwarts, many national heroes such as Rabindranath Tagore, P C Roy, Ashutosh Mukherjee, Subhash Chandra Bose and Jayaprakash Narayan had visited it, a PPFA statement said.

“As the librar y is named after a great Assamese patriot, socio-political leader and writer Karmavir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, we must pay due respect to the institution, the statement said.

Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra with Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

Wishing you a day filled with happiness and a year filled with joy. Happy birthday!” “Sending you smiles for every moment of your special day…Have a wonderful time and a very happy birthday!” “Hope your special day brings you all that your heart desires!

From, Mom and Papa, Nimo kharo n Azan

Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Library hall-cum-library in Guwahati.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), which took over the hall in 1969 and decided to restore it, must not end up revealing its apathy and negligence, it said.

“We should not forget that it was an important part of India’s freedom

struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, where Karmavir Bardoloi had appealed to the students of the Cotton College to join the freedom movement,” the statement added.

The Patriotic People’s Front of Assam also proposed for a life size statue

of Karmavir at the premises of the library as an honour to the great patriot of Assam.

The statement also said, the Patriotic People’s Front of Assam opposes any move to shift the public library from the present location.

IMPHAL, Feb 28: The death of a minor girl in alleged negligence of a private hospital triggered a widespread protest in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Wednesday.

The agitating people demanded concerned authority of the state government to review functioning of private hospital while alleging malpractices in some of the hospitals.

They further demanded a magisterial inquiry to establish the cause of death of the minor child.

The body of the deceased minor will not be accepted until the demands were fulfill by the state government, a public meeting that formed a joint action committee (JAC) to pressurize the government to fulfill their demands resolved.

The demands of the people came up following the death of a two-year-old girl, Khundrakpam Abema daughter of Kh Rupo of Khangabok village, Thoubal district at Sky Hospital and Research Centre, Imphal where she was admitted for a heart operation on Tuesday afternoon.

Today, people of the area spontaneously rose up and blocked roads in Khangabok area of the district

Assam CM greets people on the occasion of Holi Guwahati, Feb 28 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today greeted the people of the state on the occasion of Holi. He urged people to forget all differences, embrace and spread the message of unity to make the state stronger. “May the celebrations of the festival of colours strengthen our age-old bonhomie, universal brotherhood and camaraderie among all sections of the people of Assam,” the chief minister said in a message here. He hoped that Holi celebrations will further strengthen the socio-cultural edifice of the state. A local holiday has been declared on March 2 within the jurisdiction of undivided Kamrup (Guwahati Metro) on the occasion of Holi and all state government offices, and educational institutions will remain closed on that day, an official release said here.

Residents of Khangabok area in Thoubal district blocking road demanding justice to death of a minor girl in Sky hospital in Imphal on Wednesday. this morning while pressing the state government to review the functioning of the private hospitals across the state.

The road blockade was, however, suspended around 10 am after Thoubal district police led by its SP convinced the agitating people while assuring that all kind of assistances would be provided from the police side in delivering justice to the case. Mention may be made that the minor girl who was admitted to Sky hospital on February 23 was operated on the next day.

The doctors claimed that the operation was successful while asserting other cause for the death.

The girl was declared death yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon after four days in the ICU ward of the hospi-

tal. The agitating people alleged that the minor girl with heart problem was admitted to the very hospital after the family members were convinced treating her free of cost under the Central sponsored health scheme, Rastriya Bal Satriya Karikram (RBSK).

Uncle of the minor, Moirangthem Nityai alleged that she was admitted to the hospital after the doctors said that there was a suspicion of a hole in her heart during a free heart medical camp conducted at Thoubal district hospital organized by the Sky hospital.

The doctors advised the parents of the minor for heart operation which can be performed under RBSK free of cost and there would be no hidden costs.

However, after admit-

ted to the hospital, the hospital authority asked to deposit Rs 40,000 besides demanding clearance of hospital bills amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh.

Besides, the doctors at the hospital to provide bloods and medicines they required without giving any advance notice, the convener H Dilip Singh of the JAC formed today alleged.

“This is a business being done with human life by some private hospital.

Government must review the kind of healthcare service rendered by these hospitals.”

“We will lodge a complaint with the state health minister. We will not accept the body of the minor until a positive response comes up from the government side,” he added.

Arunachal Exp to be flagged off tomorrow

Arunachal Express, a fully air-conditioned new weekly train service between Naharlagun and New Delhi, will be flagged off tomorrow.

I tanagar , F eb 2 8 (PTI): Arunachal Express, a fully air conditioned new weekly train service between Naharlagun and New Delhi, will be flagged off tomorrow, a railway release today said.

The new service will complement an existing weekly train service between the two places. It will also be the 14th direct train con-

necting Northeast with the national capital, a Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) release said. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain will flag off the train from Naharlagun tomorrow.

The Arunachal Express will have state-ofthe-art coaches which are considered to be modern

and safe.

The train will cover the 2,013 km distance between Naharlagun and Anand Vihar Terminal in little over 38 hours and will have 14 stoppages.

The train will be completely air-conditioned and will have first class, two-tier and three-tier coaches along with a pantry car, the release said.

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Defence Ministry approves purchase worth Rs 9,435 cr New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): The defence ministry today approved capital acquisition proposals worth nearly Rs 9,435 crore including procurement of 41,000 light machine guns and over 3.5 lakh battle carbines to bolster firepower of infantry soldiers deployed along borders with China and Pakistan.

The proposals were cleared at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the defence ministry’s highest decision making body on procurement.

The total cost for procurement of 41,000 LMGs will be Rs 3,000 crore while over 3.5 lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines will be bought at a cost of Rs 4,607 crore respectively, defence ministry officials said.

They said the weapons are being procured particularly to enhance the fire power of soldiers deployed along India’s borders with Pakistan and China.

“With the approval of these two proposals, the government has cleared procurement of the entire range of personal weapons for the three services,” the

Nirmala Sitharaman ministry said in a statement. It said “Of these, immediate operational requirement for the soldiers deployed on the borders will be procured through fast track procurement and for the balance production lines will be set up in India.”

On February 13, the defence ministry had approved capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 15,935 crore which included purchase of 7.40 lakh assault rifles, 5,719 sniper rifles and light machine guns.

Out of total quantities of the weapons, 75 per cent will be procured through Indian Industry under ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ category and balance through the state-run Ordnance Fac-

Ban on generators, power plants lifted as Delhi air improves New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): The Supreme Cour t-appointed environment body EPCA on Wednesday acknowledged improvement in Delhi’s air and allowed the operation of diesel generator sets and coal-based power plants, banned here since five months.

While allowing these to function from March onwards, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) also upgraded the air quality level in the city from ‘severe to very poor’ to ‘moderate to poor’ category.

This automatically removes restrictions imposed on the city under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), that includes closing the operation of diesel generator sets, widely used used across city hotels, houses, and industry.

“Badar pur power

plants can also function from March 1 onwards but only under condition that they will be permanently shut down from July 2018,” said Sunita Narain, Centre for Science and Environment chief and an EPCA member.

She added that while meteorological conditions are the main reasons behind Delhi’s air quality, the joint efforts of NCR governments, the Union Environment Ministr y, Petroleum Ministry and central and state pollution control boards have played a major role in improving the air quality by imposing certain restrictions for the first time. These restrictions included a curb on construction activities, sprinkling of water, closure of brick kilns, ban on diesel generators and implementation of BS-IV fuel (April 2017 onwards).

tory Board (OFB), officials said. The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also approved procurement of “essential quantity” of ‘High Capacity Radio Relay’ (HCRR) for the Army and the Air Force at an estimated cost of over Rs 1,092 crore.

The defence ministry said these state-of-the-art, high capacity radio relays would ensure reliable communication to the services along with increased bandwidth in the tactical battle area.

To enhance the ability of the Indian Coast Guard to rapidly undertake pollution control measures off the East Coast and Island Territories, the DAC cleared the proposal for acquisition of two Pollution Control Vessels (PCV).

The vessels would be built by Indian shipyards at an approximate cost of Rs 673 crore.

“These ships in addition to carrying out pollution control would also be capable of undertaking patrolling, search and rescue and limited salvage and fire­ fighting operations at sea,” the ministry said.

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‘Lack of initiative in maintaining quality education in Bengal’ Ko l kata , F e b 2 8 (IANS): Trinamool Congress leader and former West Bengal Science and Technical Education Minister Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay on Wednesday said the quality of higher education in the state has fallen and there is a lack of initiative in maintaining the quality.

“During our time, education had a certain standard. That is no longer there. Our job is to maintain the quality in education sector. Our government is working in that regard but in some cases there is a lack of initiative in maintaining the quality of education,” said Chattopadhyay outside the state assembly.

“The government is not solely responsible for looking after education in all the places. The society, teachers and the autonomous bodies that run the universities also have some responsibility,” he said. He said the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) alone is not sufficient for evaluating the quality of education and insisted that a state level survey is necessary.

“I have earlier said that the NAAC alone is not sufficient to supervise the education system as it is an advisory body under the

Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay UGC that conducts survey.

I feel it would be better if a state level survey is also conducted,” he said.

Chattopadhyay also criticised the Presidency University claiming that the quality of the institution has sharply dipped in recent times. “Presidency was at a certain level earlier. In my personal experience that standard is no longer there,” he said. Earlier, during the budgetary discussion for the higher education department in the state assembly, the Trinamool Congress leader expressed concern over certain untoward incidents in various state educational institutions.

He also said spending money in the education sector would not be of any help if the quality of higher education in the state cannot be improved by that.

Cong retains two seats in MP bypolls Bhopal, Feb 28 (PTI): In closely-fought contests, opposition Congress today retained the Mungaoli and Kolaras Assembly seats in by-elections in Madhya Pradesh, though with reduced victory margins.

The results are significant for the BJP-ruled state where polls are due later this year.

In Kolaras (in Shivpuri district), Congress candidate Mahendra Singh Yadav defeated the BJP’s Devendra Jain by 8,086 votes, an Election Commission (EC) official said. The Congress candidate got 82,523 votes, while his BJP rival polled 74,437 ballots. In 2013, Congress had won this seat by a margin of 24,953 votes.

In Mungaoli (Ashok Nagar district), Congress nominee Brajendra Singh Yadav emerged victorious by defeating his BJP rival Bai Sahab Yadav by 2,124 votes. Brajendra Singh Yadav got 70,808 votes, while

the BJP candidate bagged 68,684.

The Congress had won this seat by a margin of 20,765 votes in the 2013 Assembly polls.

The bypolls, held on February 24, were necessitated by the death of Congress MLAs Mahendra Singh Kalukheda (Mungaoli) and Ram Singh Yadav (Kolaras).

Elated over the victory, senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia -- in whose Lok Sabha constituency, Guna, both these seats fell -- tweeted, “I thank people from the bottom of my heart. Congratulations to all on this victory. I will be with you and stand true to your faith in me, forever (sic).”

“It was a victory of people’s faith over the money power,” he tweeted further.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajay Singh said the outcome showed that this was the last year of

the BJP’s rule in the state.

“The BJP has failed to win two bye-elections, but is claiming that it will win over 200 seats in the year-end Assembly polls. The BJP had pressed the entire cabinet into the campaign and misused power. The results show that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has lost the people’s faith,” he said, attributing the victory to Scindia’s hard work.

State BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan pointed out that the victory margin of the Congress candidates had reduced.

“These were Congress seats, but the BJP’s vote share has increased. In Mungaoli, the margin of victory for the Congress has been reduced to about 2,000 votes.

In both the seats, the BJP’s vote share has increased.

The BJP is going to form the government for the fourth successive time (in the state) by winning the next Assembly election,” he said.

Vietnamese president pitches for expanding maritime ties with India New Delhi, Feb 28 (AGENCIES): Amid increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has made a strong pitch for deepening India-Vietnam maritime connectivity in the strategically critical sea lanes as he embarks on a significant state visit to India. Tran, who will arrive in India on March 2 on a three-day state visit, also feels that India and Vietnam are “blessed” with strategic locations in South Asia and South East Asia, respectively, and there is immense potential for the two countries to cooperate in different areas.

“Furthermore, both countries are endowed with advantages to develop maritime economy. In this regard, we could increase information exchange and share experience in formulating maritime strategies,” Tran told PTI in an interview.

His call for deepening Indo-Vietnam maritime connectivity assumes significance as the US, Japan and a number of other countries have pitched for a greater role for India in the IndoPacific region, apparently to contain China’s growing influence. The Vietnam-

CBI books R P Info Systems for Rs 515 cr fraud New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): The CBI has booked a computer manufacturer R P Info Systems and its directors for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 515.15 crore, and carried out searches at six locations in Kolkata today, officials said. It is alleged that the directors of the company, Shivaji Panja, Kaustuv Ray and Vinay Bafna, and its vice president Canara Bank and nine other consortium member banks to the tue of Rs 515.15 crore.

The CBI today carried out searches at the residence of all the accused and the corporate office in Kolkata, they said. It is not the first time that the company has had a brush with law as the CBI had booked it in 2015 for cheating IDBI bank, once a leader of the consortium before relinquishing the position in 2013, to the tune of Rs 180 crore.

Antibiotic use in poultry sector rampant: CSE New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI): A green body has slammed an advertisement highlighting that no antibiotics are used in chicken as an “eye wash” and alleged that the use of antibiotics in poultry sector is “rampant”.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) yesterday slammed the All India Poultry Development and Services Private Limited for its advertisement and said it was “complete misrepresentation”.

The advertisement refers to the results of a 2014 study conducted by the CSE on chicken, it said while strongly rejecting the way the study results have been twisted to suggest that there is no misuse of antibiotics in the poultry sector and that the chicken produced is safe.

“This is complete misrepresentation of the facts and the antibiotic misuse practices adopted by the Indian poultry industry.

Antibiotic use in poultry sector is rampant.

“They are even using life-saving drugs like colistin to fatten the chicken. There seem to be no genuine attempt by the industry to reduce antibiotic misuse and this advertisement is an eyewash,” the Deputy Director General, CSE, Chandra Bhushan, said.

The adver tisement which said that chicken should be eaten as it has a lot of benefits, also went on to say that the Indian poultry industry has already adopted usage of prebiotics, probiotics, phytogenic additives, acidifiers and immuno stimulants as an alternative to antibiotics.

The deputy director general of CSE further said that the industry has ignored the results of its latest 2017 study, which show how poultry farms are breeding grounds of superbugs.

“They are misguiding the nation and trying to dilute their contribution to the problem of antibiotic resistance. This will not help the industry in the long-term.

They must act responsibly,” Bhushan said.

Referring to the issue of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in the advertisement, Amit Khurana, a senior programme manager, Food Safety and Toxins team, CSE said that it is a “myopic” view as residue level in food is only one part of the problem.

“Resistant bacteria can also get transferred to handlers and consumers.

Unabsorbed antibiotics as well as resistant bacteria in chicken droppings which enter into the environment are a big concern. The prob-

lem starts with antibiotic misuse,” he said. Chandra Bhushan further added that India does not have any standards on residue levels in chicken meat.

“Comparing residue results with the MRL of the European Union is meaningless. Our study was aimed at establishing the fact that banned, critical and highly prescribed antibiotics are being misused by the poultry industry – we did not make any comparisons with MRL as India does not have an MRL of its own,” Bhushan said.

CSE researchers believe that even after so many years of the issue being highlighted, the government response to address the antibiotic resistance crisis has been inadequate so far.

“There is no legal ban on use of antibiotic growth promoters in poultry. The 2014 advisory from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has no legal binding.

“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is yet to come up with final standards of antibiotic residues in chicken. We have a National Action Plan on AMR now, but unfortunately there are no funds allocated for it. The plan would have no real functionality without money put behind it,” Bhushan added.

Tran Dai Quang ese president also called for enhancing trade and aerial connectivity between the two countries. He said both countries have forged a high level of political trust through mutual visits at the high and lower levels, and worked closely for effective implementation of the signed agreements, particularly the Joint Vision Statement on Defense Cooperation for 2015-2020.

“In order to achieve the target of $15 billion of bilateral trade turnover by 2020, both sides need to promote investment in areas where India’s advantages coincide with Vietnam’s demands, step up aviation and maritime connectivity, and reduce and work towards abolition of the trade barriers so as to create favourable conditions for the two-way trade,” Tran said in

the email interview.

The strong pitch by the Vietnamese president for increased aviation and maritime connectivity with India may not go down well with China, which is in conflict with Vietnam and several other countries in the region, including Brunei and the Philippines over maritime claims in the South China Sea. The presidential visit comes just over a month after Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s trip to India as one of the chief guests for the Republic Day parade. Tran also identified defence, security and trade as effective strategic areas of cooperation.

“India and Vietnam are blessed with strategic locations in South Asia and South East Asia, respectively, aside from young population, large workforce, huge markets and rapid economic growth. Hence, the two countries may promote cooperation in such areas as production, manufacturing, infrastructure development, renewable energy, information technology...and new technology application such as biotechnology, green agriculture, nano technology, new materials, among others,” he said.

Rs 2 cr grant for training of cops: Amarinder Singh P h i l l au r , F e b 2 8 (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today announced an annual grant of Rs two crore for advanced training of police personnel of all ranks in the state to empower them to meet challenges of modern policing.

Addressing a batch of new recruits of 18 deputy SPs and 494 SIs - the largest group of directly recruited officials in these ranks - at the police academy here, Singh expressed pleasure on seeing a large number of women - 196 in all - among the probationers.

Extending his wishes, Singh expressed confidence that the recruits would contribute significantly to further strengthening the

capabilities of the Punjab Police.

Earlier today, he inspected a parade by the new recruits.

Singh said he was impressed with the parade and the drill, which he described as essential in view of the changing needs of policing.

He stressed the importance of inculcating electronic and IT skills among the force personnel, noting that criminals today were adopting technology in a big way to evade the law.

The chief minister recalled that his father passed out from the academy nearly 100-years ago, while the parade had also revived memories of his own training at the NDA in 1963.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India invites applications for the post of Chief Statistician of India

davp 09105/11/0010/1718

ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES ANSARI NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110608 EXAMINATION SECTION

ADMISSION NOTICE NO. 6/2018 Ref. No. F. AIIMS/Exam.Sec./Advt./4-5/(PG-JULY-18)/2018

01.03.2018

AIIMS-PG (POST GRADUATE) COURSES - JULY 2018 SESSION All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi invites online applications for Entrance Examinations leading to admission in Postgraduate [MD/MS/M.Ch. (6 years)/ DM (6 years)/MDS] Courses of AIIMS, New Delhi and five other AIIMS (Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Raipur & Rishikesh) for July 2018 Session.

Online Registration for applications Online Registration Starts on Closes on 07th March, 2018 27th March, 2018 Examination Date Sunday, 6th May, 2018 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM Examination Timings Medical Courses 10:00 AM - 11:30 PM Dental Courses Examination Centres

Cities all over India

Important : For Prospectus, detailed information etc. please visit the website www. aiimsexams.org. All applicants are required to visit the website regularly since all subsequent Corrigendum/Addendum/Updates will only be uploaded on the website. davp 17112/11/0112/1718

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER (EXAMS)

Position and responsibility : The Chief Statistician of India (CSI) is a senior level appointment in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. CSI besides discharging the functions of the Secretary to Government of India in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will be the head of the National Statistical Organisation and Secretary of the National Statistical Commission.

Qualifications : The applicants shall be Indian Nationals with proven statistical and managerial experience in a large statistical organization. He or she should not be more than 55 years of age as on the last date for application to the position.

Conditions of service : CSI will have a tenure of three years extendable by a further period of two years, i.e. a total of five years or till he/she attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier and will be eligible for reappointment. CSI will be entitled to the salary and allowances and other facilities like Government accommodation as admissible to a Secretary to the Government of India.

Selection procedure : A Search Committee constituted by the Government of India will recommend a panel of names for filling the vacancy from amongst the applicants. Besides the applicants, the Search Committee may also recommend names of other persons considered suitable for the position. The competent authority also reserves the right to suitably relax the eligibility criteria given above, if considered necessary.

Candidates should send their applications along with their Curriculum Vitae including details of professional experiences and publications to Dy. Director General, NSC Secretariat, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Room No. 305, 3 rd Floor, C-Wing, Pushpa Bhawan, Saket. New Delhi-110062 either by post or by E-mail at nsc-secretariat@ nic.in so as to reach him by 15.00 hours on or before 31st March, 2018. Those who are serving in Government or Public Sector undertakings or Autonomous bodies should send their applications through their employer along with character and integrity certificates.

For more details on the terms and conditions of service, please log on to www.mospi.gov.in Deputy Director General National Statistical Commission Secretariat F.No 1/NSC-2017 davp 39101/11/0012/1718

6

OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post

Post-mortem

Vol. XXVIII NO. 83 Dimapur, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

S

Flip show

tardom, wealth and fame does not necessarily translate into happiness and wellbeing as would be known by the untimely deaths of so many famous personalities of the film and music world. The ‘accidental death’ of Bollywood superstar Sridevi on February 27 in Dubai attracted a lot of interest over the mystery surrounding her death.

When it was earlier reported that Sridevi died after a ‘cardiac arrest’, TV talk shows held lengthy discussions about the state of the superstar’s health. There were also reports of Sridevi being unhappy with her husband, Boney Kapoor, based on the premise that both were mostly living separately though not divorced. Beneath all the sheen of having an excellent health due to a religious exercise and diet regimen, the superstar wasn’t psychologically happy, it seems. However, what has attracted flak was not about the lifestyle of the rich and famous starlet but the kind of coverage by the Indian media. A lot of conjecture that floated about on social media - rumours of her consuming diet pills, having weight reduction surgery, adhering to a strict keto diet, among others - made it to prime-time discussions among ‘analysts’, when in fact, there should have been wait for her official post-mortem report, which revealed that Sridevi died due to “accidental drowning after a loss of consciousness”. Not only was this disrespectful to the deceased, as if she was responsible for bringing about her end, it goes against media ethics to fuel rumours instead of reporting facts. What can be understood from the base reports in the Indian media is that their only interest was to incite with innuendos and wild conjectures. Television channels in particular attempted to overdo each other for TRP by even simulating the scene of Sridevi’s death. One channel decided to place their reporter at the scene of her death, with the bathtub reading ‘Maut Ka Bathtub’. Another well known channel thought it fit to photoshop a comatose Sridevi in a bathtub while one channel added a wine glass as detail. A south Indian TV channel thought the picture wasn’t complete without Boney Kapoor and so added him next to the bathtub containing the body of the drowned star. Another channel even promised to take viewers through “Sridevi’s last 15 minutes in bathroom”. The questioning of Boney Kapoor by Dubai Police, which is a standard procedure was made to look as if he was detained in a police lock up and “grilled for 16-18 hours. When news of Sridevi’s accidental death was reported, channels picked up initial reports of “traces of alcohol” in her blood to mean she consumed some before her death. This led to theories about her drinking habits and seeking input from friends on whether she usually drank red wine or vodka and that probably frustration the drove her to drink.

One noted channel anchorperson even speculated whether a trained dancer (like Sridevi) could lose her balance in the bathtub. Dubai Police had made it unequivocally clear that death was due to heart attack that caused her to black out and fall into the bathtub and drown. However, the story will not rest as one politician has even demanded a thorough inquiry into her death.

DailyDevotion “Do You Now Believe?”

“By this we believe….” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” —John 16:30-31 “Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…?

Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.

Quotes

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. ~ Saint Augustine

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

A

Remnant of imposed election in Nagaland

nother round of India’s election in the state of Nagaland had just got over.

The voters’ turnout figure read – 75 percent (as per the report of Election Commission of India), although the projected figure does not necessarily reflects the actual mood of the Naga populace on the ground. It remain to be seen how many Nagas had actually came out for voting in this election as rampant practices of proxy voting, cash for votes, force and intimation and poll related violence had failed to convinced many right thinking Nagas to participate. For India, it’s a mission accomplishment as they survived another scare of poll boycott called by tribal organizations of the state and successfully completed the election process in the state, which had become part of India only through politics of proxy and has been for decades a hotbed for “insurgency” and also in the grip of chronic “separatist” and “secessionist activities”. This particular election had therefore once again gives political legitimacy for New Delhi to claim Nagaland as an integral part of India.

This attempt on the part of New Delhi of claiming Nagaland however represents confronting and denying historical reality.

Naga political struggle for a free sovereign nation had been sprouted based on history; that Nagas were never subjected to either the Hindu or the Muslim rule nor to any Burmese rule in any period of history and British-India Empire could exercise only limited control over the Nagas and that Naga had declared her independence ahead of India. India can claim Nagaland only through manipulating these historical facts and conducting an imposed election. The latest election in Nagaland produces the victory of the politics of proxy over people’s aspiration.

The grievous reality of this election is that the only enthusiastic participants are the state politicians and their cohorts. With our fate in the hands of those politicians for the next five years, we will continue to live a life of mockery and deception thrown to our face by those unscrupulous politicians of no vision? Now our longest and bloodiest struggle for sovereignty is slowly and craftily degraded to an issue that can be used as a political tool in the hand of such people for their petty political gains. The disastrous path taken by the band

I

of treacherous dealers would be to use the fate of the Nagas as begging bowl in New Delhi. This would be the sole intention of our present state politicians thus endangering our present and future generation Nagas, as it never bothers them as long as Government of India satisfies their needs in their selfish pursuit of becoming filthy rich politicians. The stakeholders in Nagaland government have been playing artfully to the tune of the Sangh’s advancing campaign in all strategic counts. Such are the painstaking but hypocritical struggle in the pursuit of power resulted into earning a disgrace to the self and dishonour for our Nagas. It’s too hurting for us the Naga common people to accept anybody from our Nagas to play stoogery to the present saffron government which has waged war against pluralism.

On the other hand, our people are also invariably proving ourself to be senselessly susceptible to such kind of victimization by the Sangh force in collusion with their political associates in Nagaland through duping when, at the best, our society vacillates between easy-going to emotional fools and never tends to go towards right consciousness. We must remember that a society of emotional fools always remains a fallen prey to wolves. The onslaught that comes down upon us, by attacking the cultural and religious diversity that was to suppose to make modern independent India, should not be countered by emotional outburst but by rational intelligence and take strong cognizance of hidden malicious design upon us by the majority community of the mainland.

With another successful India’s election in Nagaland, Nagas are once again left with the only option of wishing that someday somewhere someone would deliver something good for us out of the present Indian political system.

This had been the Nagas’ way of life for the last seventy years under this given imposed political system and we had to live in an illusionary world of searching for a good person to represent the Nagas and cleanse the system and bring positive change for us. We have experimented it this phenomenon for seven decade and it had failed us miserably. Corruption, underdevelopment, exploitation of our land and suppression of

our people was the story so far of our seven decade old association with this particular system. The development myth in Nagaland and the rest of Northeast region is that ever since these states get attached to India, in terms of road development, for instance, other than repairing the state highways, national highways, major village roads made by British administration, hardly any new roads had been made in the last sixty years.

No manufacturing industry, no resource mobilization in terms of natural and human resource is ever seen. They want to extract uranium from Meghalaya and oil that is produced in Assam just for exploiting the resource not for developing the land. State sponsored immigration of selective religious group is another feature of India’s control in the region and thereby underneath hidden agenda of making the region part of Hindu Rhastra. The classic case is the Tripura’s tragic experiment where indigenous Tripuri today become minority in their own land reducing their population in the state from 70% in 1931 to 31 % in 2011.

Nagas can no longer effort to live under this illusion. The solution to our problem lies not in the question of electing good person to the system because it only resulted in corrupting ourselves, but in replacing and bringing in a new political system that will start producing good people for our good.

What is left for the Nagas, after this election, is to bite the dust’s remains of another dirty election.

We have just reduced ourselves to the role of a pawn in other’s political propaganda game. It’s time for us, the Nagas, to seriously introspect on our current state of affairs and consider whether to continue creating an impression that we are participating in India’s election, that we belong to India and keep electing the leaders who are always ready to submit to the will of the occupying force and made us become subservient and stranger in our own land.

Replacing the imposed corrupt political system and creating a new system based on our own Naga democracy and restoring our sovereignty is the only hope for bringing change in Nagaland and for the Nagas.

Nsungbemo Ezung, Wokha Town, (ezung_n@yahoo.com)

In appreciation of Governor’s attention on financial institutions

H

aving come across in local newspapers on February 10, that the Honorable Governor of Nagaland organized a meeting with Bankers at Raj Bhavan, I, as a grass-root worker, at my own individual capacity and on behalf of the rural populace, would like to take the privilege to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Governor of Nagaland. It must be truly the first-ever of its kind for a Governor to have initiated such a meeting with bankers in the State. It is true indeed “development cannot be brought by the government alone— banks have the responsibility in developing the society”.

Opening of Bank branches in interior townships would be the noblest and effective means to make the government programs reach the door step of every citizen.

In recent years, the Government of India (GoI) have been issuing certain directives: banks to open bank branch in every RD Block; financial inclusion is made reach to the doorstep of every citizen, beyond household coverage; schemes like PMDJY, PMSBY, PMJJBY, APY with insurance schemes and pension schemes, MUDRA scheme etc. were announced by the BJP ministry; assurance to provide direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes viz. LPG subsidy and PDS through Bank accounts; and most recently the government encouraged the public to avail e-banking, internet banking etc. for all financial transactions. Under the guidelines of Deendayal Antyodaya— National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) or Ajeevika, every women SHG member requires to open a Saving Bank account.

However, taking the status of RD Blocks of Mon district as an example, there are 8 RD Blocks. Only 50% have Bank branch. The 4 (four) un-Banked RD Blocks are Chen, Angjangyang, Tobu and Phomching. The most interior block—Tobu RD Block office, situated 120 KMs away from the district headquarters, takes 6-7 hours travel through unpredictable road conditions, is still unBanked, while the farthest

village under Tobu block Hqs. is about 50 KMs deeper with no proper road.To cite few instances where a farmer customer find difficult to subscribe to the demands of the Banks particularly the SBI, a customer—be it in the case of opening saving bank account or credit application, has to put up every case physically present. The service of Business Correspondent (BC) working under SBI Mon is neither rendering proper service nor monitored by its management.

There is no Customer Service Point (CSP) introduced in the District. The District Level Bankers Coordination Committee (DLCC) meetings are not conducted regularly — quarterly. The Financial Literacy Camps (FLC), a program which facilitates the primary needs of the public, are hardly conducted, ignore about follow-up implementations.

Sadly, no new bank branches have come in the un-Banked blocks in the State to handle or manage all the people-centered schemes introduced by the present ministry. At the present state, it is near to impossible in truest sense, for the rural mass to come to avail the benefit schemes which are offered through Banking. On the other hand, the work load of the bank—neck of the government system, have tripled— they are over-burdened.

Keeping my hopes alive, I am of the opinion that the Chief Secretary to the Government of Nagaland who is also the chairman of the State Level Bankers Coordination Committee writing to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for immediate remedial measures will be most effective.

Furthermore, the RBI may be sought for relaxation of restriction of opening new bank branches by the State-owned bank — the Nagaland State Cooperative Bank (NSCB) — the first choice of the local populace.

Surely, the Banks could even play as anagent incleansing records of individuals as well as eradicating bogus or fictitious statistics in the society.

Rajuselie Lhousa, Mission Compound, Kohima

The dirty elections of the ‘unique’ Nagas

start by emphasising the point that no matter how dirty Elections are in Nagaland, “WE MUST KEEP HAVING ELECTIONS!” Human History has shown us that Democracy, based on a Multi-Party System, with Universal Adult Franchise, is the basis for the freest and the stablest form of Government. India is a fledgling Democracy, and Nagaland is bumbling along with the rest of India in our Experiment with Democracy. The British took centuries to develop their Parliamentary System of Government. They went through Civil Wars, multiple Political Parties, The Suffragist Movement, protests, strikes, boycotts and voter inducement through cash and kind, before things settled to the present state of Relative Normalcy and Cleanliness. We are crawling, and we have to learn to WALK before we can RUN. Our Dirty Candidates, combined with our Dirty Electoral Process, have some of our supposed Intellectuals suggesting that we need, “The Solution” proposed by our half-baked “Freedom Fighters”; but that is the last thing any sane Naga needs. I’d rather be ruled by a bunch of crooked, corrupted little Jackasses, elected through dirty means, who can be replaced periodically; than live under an indefinite Dic-

tatorship of our “Freedom Fighters.”

There are many reasons why Elections in Nagaland are the way they are, but the root cause is that Nagas do not understand the Concept of, “The Rule of Law”. The Concept of The Rule of Law means that the person in the seat of power is immaterial; that no matter who occupies it, The Law Reigns Supreme and that he is bound to follow The Law. But we Nagas break all Laws to gain unfair advantage over others, the moment we occupy a position of Power; no matter how petty the position may be. This leads to a wild and unprincipled grab for the Reins of Power.

We support our Contending Legislators by any and all means possible, including the willingness to take up violence at the slightest urging from our “Leaders”.

Our unstinted support for our Legislators during elections is undertaken with the understanding that once he is elected, he will break all Laws in favour of his supporters; whether it be backdoor appointments, promotions, transfers, awarding of lucrative contracts, etc.

That is why it is so important that the Legislators we elect to be from our village, area, clan or tribe. But if the Elected Legislators function in accordance with the Law, instead of breaking it, it will not matter what vil-

lage, area, clan or Tribe he or she is from; for the Law is designed for ALL to get their FAIR SHARE of the benefits of the State.

We have to understand that our Politicians are working for their personal and familial benefit alone. The fact that one or two members of our Tribe gain personal benefits through appointments, transfers, promotions and contracts has no appreciable benefit on the Tribe, as a whole; rather, it builds up resentment in the minds and hearts of the people of other tribes towards ALL MEMBERS of our Tribe.

We are like dogs at the feet of our Politicians, begging for crumbs, when in actual fact; we should be sitting at the table as equals.

I have voiced my objections to the N.B.C.C.’s Clean Election Campaign time and again, not because I believe that the concept is wrong, but because I believe it favours the Corrupt Rich, presently holding the reins of power in Nagaland.

Nagaland has become a dustbin which needs to be emptied of accumulated filth. The N.B.C.C.’s Clean Election Campaign is akin to a person deciding to empty his dustbin, solely of cigarette butts; while leaving the spit, snot, phlegm and used tampons and condoms alone.

To clean up the Electoral Process in Nagaland,

a multi-pronged approach is necessary. The N.B.C.C.’s Clean Election Campaign must be complemented by creating an inducive atmosphere for Clean Candidates to contest Polls. This must be strengthened by eliminating bogus/proxy voters and multiple registrations of voters in separate constituencies. My friend, Mr. Kevitho Kera has started a Petition to the Election Commission of India, in The Naga Discussion Forum, on Facebook, seeking to link biometric data with voter registration.

I cannot think of a better way to start cleaning up the Electoral Process, not only in Nagaland, but across India, than that. My only fear is that Politicians, across India, and spanning Political Parties; who all practice proxy voting, will fight tooth and nail to prevent this linkage. May God Strengthen his Petition.

Only Clean Candidates will understand the Concept of The Rule of Law; and Clean Candidates can only win through Clean Electoral Processes. So I suggest that the N.B.C.C. should support the linkage of Voter Identity Registration to the Biometric Database. If any of the Members of the N.B.C.C. object because of its connotations to The Number of The Beast; they can always insist on Driving Licences and Passports!

I end with the sugges-

tion that the N.B.C.C. should look into excommunicating, from The Church, all those who excommunicated Candidates for contesting the recently concluded Polls. If the N.B.C.C. turns a blind eye to this aspect of Electoral Malpractice in Nagaland, I insist that it follow the Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:21, of The

Holy Bible, which states, “..Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” and forever hold its Peace on Electoral matters.

God Save Nagaland Kahuto Chishi Sumi, Akukau, Hevishe Village, Khaghaboto Range, (Kahuto107@gmail.com)

Reader’s Post

Sir,

What have we become, dear Nagas?

After so much of hustle-bustle, the general election has finally drawn to a close. What have we Nagas gained and what have we lost? As rightly put by a local paper, the clean election was a farce indeed. We Nagas talk so much about developments, but how can we think of developed infrastructures, roads and lifestyles when our minds are still as raw as we were before we received Christ in our lives?

As far as I can remember, at least three persons lost their lives, various locations were witnessed bomb blasts, while many people were injured and assaulted.

Are we not ashamed of ourselves? Isn’t this ironic? It is Nagaland whose motto is “Nagaland for Christ”, yet, it is Nagaland who is moving away from God and His divine Word. Nagaland has gone through a very dramatic transition from being a State whose God was the LORD to citizens who now believe they can live in any manner they desire. This is why we are now witnessing the worst corruption in our government as well as the people.

Ashi Jamir, Paramedical colony, Kohima

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

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

PNB Fraud: Nirav Modi refuses to join CBI probe

7

Civil servants’ anti-govt remarks against conduct rules, says AAP New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday attacked the IAS Association and certain civil servants for what it called “illegally making remarks against the Delhi government” that were against civil service conduct rules.

Citing tweets of bureaucrats like Amitabh K a n t , Va r s h a Jo s h i , and others, AAP leader Ashutosh told the media here: “They have been clearly criticising the Delhi government against rules.

Why shouldn’t action be taken against them?”

According to the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, no member of the service can make any statement or fact or opinion, which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the government or which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the central and state governments.

The bureaucrats statements came in the wake of the alleged attack on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on February 19 night at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence here in the latter’s presence.

Ashutosh said the bureaucrats didn’t condemn the attack on AAP leaders Imran Hussain and Ashish Khetan at the Delhi

Secretariat on Tuesday when the Chief Secretary made the attack allegation.

“Has any of the senior officers condemned that?” he asked.

Last week, the IAS Association said its members will not meet or talk to Ministers or AAP MLAs till Kejriwal apologised for the alleged attack on Anshu Prakash.

The top bureaucrat was allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.

The AAP leader said the assault case is pending in court and the two accused MLAs are in judicial custody. “Let the court decide. Why aren’t these officers working? Under whose influence are they shirking their duties?

Pointing out that bureaucrats have been holding press conferences at the Delhi Secretariat, Ashutosh said government offices are meant for work and not making political statements.

Hinting at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s hand in the IAS Association’s protest, Ashutosh demanded that the call details of the senior bureaucrats be made public.

The calls should be analysed to find out who is influencing them to go against the state government, he said.

UP CM orders probe into ‘irregularities’ in recruitment test

CBSE to allow CWSN to write board exams with laptops NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Children with special needs appearing for Classes X and XII Board examination will be able to use computer or laptops to write their exam from this year. The examination committee of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has approved this proposal as per an official order issued by the Board on Tuesday.

In all, a total of 28.24 lakh candidates have registered for the Board exam, which is 2.1 percentage point increase from that of 2017. Region-wise Delhi has the higher number of candidates. In all 7,356 differently abled candidates have registered for the exams.

Over 87,000 more candidates have registered for the CBSE Class XII Board exams this year, while the number for Class X has dropped by over 29,000.

Candidates with special needs category (CWSN) will have to submit a certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner or qualified psychological consultant recommending the use of a computer facility while also citing the grounds for the recommendation.

“The use of computer shall be limited to only for typing the answers, for viewing the questions in enlarged font size and for

listening to the question items. Concerned candidates shall bring his/ her own computer or laptop duly formatted and the Centre Superintendent (CS) shall allow the candidate only after inspection of the computer by a computer teacher,” said the order.

“The computer/ laptop should not have any internet connection in order to maintain the sanctity of the examination. The request for such an arrangement will have to be made in advance by the candidate by sending a communication with required documents to the CS through school,” it added.

The board has also approved the provision for a reader in case the student with a disability does not want scribe facility and needs a person to read the question paper.

The Board examinations for both the classes will commence from March 5, 2018, and will continue till April 4 for Class X and April 13 for Class XII. The highest number of candidates registered are from Delhi region with a total number of 2,89,958 and 2,50,736 for classes X and XII respectively.

Candidates from across 17,574 schools will appear for the Board exams to be conducted across 4,453 centres.

Need to develop Oppn seeks debate on no aid Maha relaxes norms for India into insured bad debt recovery by UCBs society, says Jaitley disbursal to farmers for pest-hit crops

Child rights body to study rituals at Kerala temples

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI/IANS): Billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi has refused to join the CBI investigation in the USD 2 billion fraud in Punjab National Bank citing his business engagements, prompting the agency to issue a stern letter today asking him to appear before it next week.

Meanwhile, the CBI has arrested PNB’s internal chief auditor M K Sharma-a chief manager-ranked official-- in connection with the case, they said, adding that it is first arrest of any auditor of the bank.

Sharma, a scale-IV officer, was responsible for auditing the systems and practices of the bank’s Brady House branch--from Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) were issued-- and report the deficiencies with zonal audit office, they said.

Meanwhile, in a terse letter, the CBI “directed” him to approach the Indian mission in the country where he is residing so that immediate arrangement can be made for his travel to India, officials said.

The agency has told him that it is mandatory for an accused to join the investigation whenever they are asked to, they said.

He has been asked to appear for questioning next week, they said.

The agency had earlier

Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI): In a bid to aid urban cooperative banks (UCBs) recover the over Rs 10,000 crore in bad debt, the Maharashtra government has liberalised norms on interest repayments for getting money back in case of impaired loans.

Under the revised norms, banks will be able to charge lower interest rate than the contracted amount in order to recover money from the non-performing assets (NPAs), a cooperatives department official told PTI here.

A floor of 8 per cent per annum for three years from the date of a loan turning into an NPA has been set to push the recovery efforts, the official said.

Earlier, the UCBs were not allowed to take a hit on interest repayments even while dealing with stressed borrowers, which impeded the recovery efforts. Lending by the UCBs happens at interest rates of 12 to 14 per cent.

There are over 500 UCBs in the state, which are regulated jointly by the

Nirav Modi

asked Modi on his official email id to join the investigation related to Rs 12,636 crore scam pertaining to fraudulent issuance of the LoUs and Letters of Credit (LCs) from Brady House branch of PNB in Mumbai in favour of his and his uncle Mehul Choksi’s companies, they said.

In response, Modi refused to join the investigation saying he has businesses abroad because of which he cannot return, they said.

The probe agency officials has said the quantum of the alleged fraud perpetrated in the bank by billionaire jewellers Modi and Choksi stands close to USD 2 billion after the teams of the CBI and PNB found fresh LoUs and LCs worth Rs 1,251 crore related to Choksi’s Gitanjali group of companies.

The PNB had earlier put the defrauded amount at Rs 11,394.02 crore (USD 1.77 billion).

banking watchdog Reserve Bank and the state governments.

It can be noted that commercial lenders give up on interest repayments and also take a hit on principal amounts while dealing with stressed borrowers.

The government has also restricted the period for charging the interest to three years from the date of loan turning NPA, the official said.

“Earlier, the interest used to be charged for more than three years making it more difficult for the borrower to repay.

Now, the interest beyond three years will be waived off,” he said.

The Maharashtra government has now also allowed attaching of the salary account of a borrower whose loan turned bad, the official said.

Now, the debt can be recovered from a borrower’s salary account in instalments, he said.

Maharashtra Urban Cooperative Banks Federation Ltd president Vidyadhar Anaskar dubbed it

It is alleged that LoUs and LCs worth close to USD 2 billion were issued to the companies of uncle-nephew duo of Choksi and Modi from the Brady Road branch of the bank through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messages.

These messages were allegedly not entered in the banking software of the PNB to bypass surveillance. @ @ @ @ S U B HEAD**** After IT, ED likely to probe Nirav Modi’s sister A week after the Income Tax De par tment evinced interest in a firm linked to Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud accused Nirav Modi’s sister in Singapore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also now on its trail.

Sources said the ED was looking into Islington International Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company whose beneficiary owner is stated to be Modi’s sister Purvi Mehta.

Modi’s Firestar International had received foreign funds worth Rs 271 crore from Islington International Pte Ltd, and the IT Department had earlier said the firm had not been able to provide necessary supporting documents of creditworthiness of Purvi Mehta or Islington.

as a “landmark decision”, and expressed hope that this will help in speedy recovery of the debts and make the banks more dynamic.

“There are 507 UCBs in the state with Rs 4 lakh crore deposits.

The total borrowing from the UCBs is Rs 1.53 lakh crore while the NPAs are worth Rs 10,770 crore,” he said.

Anaskar is hopeful that with the government’s decision, the UCBs will be able to recover a major chunk of the NPAs. He said till now if a borrower was unable to repay the principle amount of loan after a couple of years, then it was nearly impossible for him to repay the entire amount with a higher interest rate.

“It was like a deadlock situation and the banks had to make provision from their own funds against these NPAs. It was affecting the business development capacity of the UCBs, which are the backbone of the small and medium scale industries,” he said.

Arun Jaitley

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there is a great need to evolve India into an insured society and to provide income security and pension facility to its senior citizens.

Speaking at the fourth Annual Pension Conference here, the Finance Minister said there was a need to provide for oldage income security and pension facility to the citizens in view of the evolving demographic profile, changing socio-economic structure and limitations on the fiscal resources.

He added that dependency of senior citizens was a grave challenge for the society and that it could be met with evolution of concept of pension and its expansion.

Modi not keen on appointment of Lokpal: Anna Hazare

Lu c k n ow, F e b 2 8 (IANS): Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader has accused prime minister Narendra Modi of not being interested in appointment of the Lokpal at the centre.

Having hit the road in the run up to the mega show of strength at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on March 23, the veteran crusader Anna Hazare says Modi was “never serious about Lokpal”.

The reason behind the delay in appointment of a Lokpal, he points out, is because the prime minister is afraid that once this becomes a reality his office as well as that of his cabinet members would also come under its purview.

“Panth Pradhan ka office bhi Lokpal ke neeche aa jayega, ye bhay unko satata hai” (The PMO will also come under the ambit of Lokpal and his fear stalks the PM), Hazare said during

a free wheeling interview with IANS at the VVIP guest house in the state capital.

Sipping hot green tea to fight off the signs of tiredness from his visit to Sitapur, where he addressed a wellattended public rally, the 80-year-old informs that he has written 22 letters to the prime minister in the past four years but has got a reply to even one. Even as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi tried to cold shoulder the ap-

pointment of a Lokayukta in the state, he added.

He cites the section 4 clause 2 of the Lokpal Act wherein it is specifically said that in case the appointment of Lokpal is made with some members of the select panel not being there, it is in principle binding. “This government says there is no leader of opposition hence Lokpal cannot be appointed. This is all hogwash,” Hazare says Ask him if graft has come down under

the watch of Modi and he smiles. “Wo bolta acche hai, isliye bhrastachaar ki baat chup jaati hai par vaisa hai nahin. Aaj bhi aam aadmi bhrastachar se bahut peedit hai” (He (Modi) is a good orator, hence the issue of graft is overshadowed but the reality is that the common man continues to bear the brunt of graft), he says while pointing out how the entire political system was scared of a full-fledged and effective Lokpal.

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Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI): The opposition Congress and NCP today criticised the BJP-led Maharashtra government in the state Assembly for not providing relief to farmers whose crops were affected by the ‘pink bollworm’ during the kharif season.

However, the members of the treasury benches alleged that the opposition was “shedding crocodile tears” over farmers’ issues.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Prithviraj Chavan (of the Congress) and Jayant Patil (NCP) sought a discussion on the issue.

They alleged that there were contradictions between the state’s assurance during the winter session of the Legislature in December last year and a Government Resolution (GR) issued earlier this month over the compensation issue.

They said their adjournment notice on the issue should be taken up for discussion.

To this, Speaker Haribhau Bagde said a debate on the hailstorm and unsea-

Yogi Adityanath

Lu c k n ow, F e b 2 8 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh C h i e f M i n i s t e r Yo g i Adityanath on Wednesday ordered a probe by the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police into alleged irregularities in the online examination held on February 11 for the post of Junior Engineer (Electrical) Trainee.

Pointing out that his government had zero tolerance towards graft, the Chief Minister said that it is necessary for the truth behind any charge to come out for a clean image of the government.

He also directed the officials to ensure that the probe is completed in a time-bound manner.

Giving this information, a state government spokesman said that Power Minister Shrikant Sharma, in a letter, had requested the Chief Minister to get a probe done by a state agency into the alleged charges.

sonal rains affecting crops was listed on the agenda, but he was willing to suspend the Question Hour and take up an immediate discussion on the farmers’ problems.

However, the opposition members said their issue was specific to the “contradictions” between the GR and the assurance given in the House last year, and not related to the debate initiated by the treasury benches.

Vikhe Patil said the opposition was ready for a debate, but the Congress and the NCP members continued to shout slogans against the government for its alleged apathy towards the farmers.

Jayant Patil said there should a debate on their adjournment notice -- of no compensation to farmers whose crops were affected by the pink bollworm (a crop pest) – and not the one listed on the agenda by the treasury benches.

Amid the din, the speaker rejected their demand and adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

Later, when the House reassembled, the presiding officer again adjourned it

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WALK-IN-INTERVIEW A walk-in-interview will be held on 26/03/2018 (Monday) at 10:00 AM in the Vidyalaya to prepare a panel of teachers for PGT (HINDI, ENG, PHY, MATHS, BIO, CS, GEO, HIST, ECO and Misc. Teachers (Comp. Instructor & Physical Education coach specially for Volleyball & Football).

27/03/2018 (Tuesday) at 10:00 AM TGT (Eng, Sanskrit, Maths, Science) & PRT's (3 Posts).

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I/C Principal DC-469

for 15 minutes as the opposition members continued to shout slogans against the government.

When the House resumed later, a debate began on the farmers’ crops suffering damages due to the unseasonal rains and the hailstorm earlier this month. The government had in December last year given an assurance in the House that a compensation would be given to farmers whose crops were affected by the pink bollworm during the last kharif season.

Later on February 23, prior to the commencement of the budget session, the revenue department issued a GR saying the compensation would be given from the state disaster relief fund.

Chavan and Vikhe Patail said despite the assurance, the farmers whose crops were affected by the pink bollworm during the last kharif season were yet to get a compensation.

However, the members of the treasury benches said the opposition was shedding crocodile tears over farmers’ issues.

T h i r u v anan thapuram, Feb 28 (IANS): The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Wednesday said it has initiated a suo motu move to study the rituals followed in Kerala temples to see if the rights of children are violated or not.

Commission Chairperson Sobha Koshy told IANS that the process begun on Wednesday in this regard is “not against any particular temple”. “There was a report from a top woman police officer on the issue.

We suo motu decided to find out what is happening. We are not against any temple or temples. What we will do is to find out what is happening during the rituals.

This is a long process and we will examine all aspects and only then reach a conclusion and issues necessary orders,” Koshy said. Director General of Police (Prisons) R. Sreelekha, in a blog titled ‘Time to Stop This Yearly Crime in the Name of Faith!’ on Tuesday had termed the ‘Kuthiyottam’ ritual at the famed Attukal Devi Temple here during the ongoing Pongala festivities as torture and demanded an end to the practice.

EMPANELMENT OF CHEMIST FOR LOCAL PURCHASE OF DRUGS AND CONSUMABLES FOR (ECHS) POLYCLINIC DIMAPUR 1. Applications are invited for registration/empanelment of dealers/chemist holding GST AAG/TIN, valid drug license for supply of drugs to ECHS Polyclinic Dimapur.

2. Interested parties should submit completely filled application form along with certified copies of GST, AAST/TIN, valid drug license, latest Income Tax Certificate and proof of audit to Stn HQ (ECHS) Dimapur. Same can be submitted online at e-Procurement CPP portal of NIC http://eprocure.gov.in/ eprocure/app on registration.

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SELECTION OF TEACHERS

1. Assam Rifles School Zunheboto, Nagaland invites application for TGT/PRT teachers for teaching Maths and Science up to Class X. Candidates having experience will be given preference and remuneration is as per qualification & experience.

2. Application with bio-data and recent passport size photo should reach the office on or before 15 March 2018.

Interview will be conducted on 17 March 2018 at 1200 hrs.

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on a digital distributed ledger, removing intermediaries in traditional processes and reducing friction, he said.

“In tomorrow’s digital world, these assets do not have to be purely monetary.

It could be education record and certificates, company structure and governance or simply your digital identity that could be portable between banks and corporations and yet remain private and secure,” he said.

Last week, the top industry chambers called for basic changes in the banking sector to prevent scams, including bringing in the latest technology.

“Government, regulators and industry must act fast to address systemic risks in the financial sector. The key solutions for the banking sector are better management and operational efficiencies, use of technology such as blockchain and big data analytics, and lowering government shareholding in public sector banks,” Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Shobana Kamineni said in a statement earlier.

LONDON, FEB 28 (IANS): Google has received more than 2.4 million requests to remove URLs from its Search under Europe’s “Right to be Forgotten” laws since they were introduced in May 2014.

In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice established the “right to be forgotten,” or more accurately, the “right to delist”, allowing Europeans to ask search engines to delist information about themselves from search results.

“Since 2014, we’ve provided information about “right to be forgotten” delisting requests in our Transparency Report, including the number of URLs submitted to us, the number of URLs delisted and not delisted, and anonymised examples of some of the requests we have received,” Michee Smith, Product Lead,

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In deciding what to delist, search engines like Google must consider if the information in question is “inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive” -- and whether there is a public interest in the information remaining available in search results.

“We’re expanding the scope of our transparency reporting about the “right to be forgotten” and adding new data going back to January 2016 when our reviewers started manually annotating each URL submitted to us with additional information,” Smith added.

About a third of the removal requests were related

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According to Google, it shows a breakdown of the requests made by private individuals vs. non-private individuals -- like government officials or corporate entities. “We classify the content that the individual has asked us to delist into a set of categories: personal information, professional information, crime, and name not found, meaning that we were not able to find the individual’s name on the page,” Smith further said.

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very success of cryptocurrencies, ironically, that had sidelined blockchain somewhat. “People were thinking that 2017 will be the year of blockchain...that the technology would get decoupled from Bitcoin and would be used everywhere,” he said.

He offered the best analogy for the current state of Blockchain as being “the early internet days, when Internet was just one of the networks you could use to access information.”

Besides cryptocurrencies, Beloussov, pointed to smart contracts as another growing area of blockchain application. “Many blockchain implementations now include smart contracts as part of the platform,” he said. “It allows storing computer code in the blockchain that could act on any digital assets recorded on the platform, verify that specified contractual conditions are met and automatically perform or roll-back transactions with these digital assets,” he added.

Blockchain technology allows entrepreneurs to incorporate their businesses

Google gets 2.4 million URL removal requests under new EU laws

DP-1536

The Rs 12,600 crore scam in state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) in the Nirav Modi case involved using letters of undertaking (LoUs) which were issued in favour of the accused by bank employees who misused their access to PNB’s SWIFT -- the electronic messaging system used for overseas funds transfers.

None of these fraudulent transactions were registered on the bank’s internal transaction messaging system, the Core Banking Solution (CBS), enabling the fraud to go undetected for long.

While standard encryption is applicable to messages sent via the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the system is not infallible and is vulnerable to hacking, according to Beloussov, chairman of the Russian Quantum Center (RQC), and Co-founder and Chief Executive of Acronis, a data protection multinational headquartered in Singapore. A Phd from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Beloussov said it was the

year ago, government data showed today. The growth in output compares with an upwardly revised 4.2% year-on-year growth in December. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors such as coal, crude oil and electricity, accounts for nearly 40% of industrial output.

Economists widely expect India’s GDP growth to accelerate further this year.

“Settling down of Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms will boost growth in next fiscal year,” said Anita Gandhi, a director at Arihant Capital Markets.

Moody’s Investors Service estimates India to grow at 7.6% in calendar year 2018 and 7.5% in 2019, amid signs of economic recovery from impact of demonetisation and GST. The International Monetary Fund projects India’s GDP to grow at 7.4% in 2018 as against China’s 6.8%.

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NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (IANS): With Indian industry calling for adopting hi-tech control systems to check financial frauds, a foreign data protection expert has suggested that blockchain technology be used to prevent scams like the one unearthed in Punjab National Bank.

“Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin (and other crytocurrencies) which gets its name from the mathematical representations of blocks of transaction data, chained together to guarantee immutability of stored information,” Russian born Singaporean businessman, Serguei Beloussov told IANS in an interview.

The Indian government has sounded an alarm likening cryptocurrencies to Ponzi schemes designed to dupe gullible investors. However, experts advise that the technology undelying such cryptocurrencies can be put to good use. The benefits of Blockchain for users include those of “data unmutability, verifiability, security and privacy,” Beloussov said.

of the goods and services tax (GST) and a lingering impact of demonetisation.

But in July-September quarter, the economic growth picked up to a revised 6.5% annually.

Meanwhile, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, the government revised its GDP growth forecast higher to 6.6% from 6.5% earlier. During the December quarter, the gross valued added (GVA) for manufacturing grew at 8.9% higher than 6.9% in the previous quarter. Similarly, the farm sector GVA grew at 4.1% compared to 2.7% in the previous quarter.

The construction sector recorded a growth of 6.8%, higher than 2.8% in previous quarter. The services segment including financial services grew at rate of 6.7% up from 6.4% in previous quarter.

Separately, infrastructure output grew by a strong 6.7% in January from a

DP-1694C

Crossword

Use blockchain technology to prevent PNB type fraud

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): India regained the status of the world’s fastest-growing major economy in the OctoberDecember quarter, driven by a pick-up in growth in manufacturing and services sectors. Gross domestic product or GDP grew 7.2% in in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, according to government data released today. This is the highest quarterly growth recorded since July-September quarter of 2016-17.

The growth rate is higher than what the Street had expected. A Reuters poll of more than 35 economists estimated the economy to grow 6.9% in the OctoberDecember quarter. China had recorded a growth of 6.8% in the December quarter. India’s GDP or gross domestic product growth had fallen to a three-year low of 5.7% in the April-June quarter due to destocking in the run-up to the July 1 launch

K-531

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): CBI has booked an auto dealer in Jamshedpur for allegedly defrauding the Corporation Bank to the tune of Rs. 6.77 crore.

The agency has booked auto dealer Ramnandi Estates Pvt Ltd and its directors Akhouri Gopal, Sanjeeta Akhouri, Akhouri Nishant and Akhouri Nitesh.

An empanelled valuer of the Corporation Bank Sanjay Kumar has also been named as accused in the FIR. A loan of Rs. 10 crore was allegedly sanctioned to the company from the zonal office of the bank in Patna for setting up a showroom and service centre in 2014.

It is alleged that the loan was sanctioned on the basis of highly enhanced valuation reports of securities. The bank has alleged that the accused defaulted on the loan, which was declared Non-Performing Asset in September 2016 causing a loss of Rs. 6.77 crore.

“The Company would like to emphasise that CIRP is not a proceeding for liquidation, rather is a process to find best possible resolution for the current situation and that would be in the best interest of everyone (vendors, distributors and employees) to protect and preserve the value of the Company and manage the operations,” the statement said.

made for one year has been hiked from 6.25% to 6.40%.

The interest rate for the deposits made for ultra-short duration that is between seven days and 45 days, has been raised from 5.25% to 5.75%. At the same time, the deposits made for the long-term duration that is for over two years has been raised from 6% to 6.5%.

Category II: Deposits over Rs. one crore but less than Rs. 10 crore In the second category, the rates of interest have been raised by upto 75 basis points. The minimum increase has been made against the deposits that are made for 5 years and above which has been raised from 6% to 6.25%.

The deposits made for one year to 455 days has been raised from 6.25% to 6.75%. The deposits made for the ultra-short duration (seven days to 45 days) has been raised from 5.25% to 5.75%.

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Corporation bank reports fraud of Rs. 6.77 cr to CBI

The company said in 2016, in an effort to proactively undertake the first mobile industry consolidation, the company embarked upon a merger of its wireless business with another operator.

However, on account of various issues and hurdles faced, the merger did not succeed and ultimately lapsed in September 2017.

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): State Bank of India (SBI) revises interest rates, raising them from as low as 15 basis points to 75 basis points, depending on the time period and amount of deposits. A few of the interest rates have even been kept constant such as the interest rate for deposit made for the time period ranging between 46 days and 179 days (for an amount less than Rs. one crore) keeping the rate unchanged at 6.25%.

Essentially, the term deposits (fixed deposits or FDs) of State Bank of India (SBI) can be divided into three broad categories: A) The deposit that are for less than Rs. one crore. B) The deposits that are over Rs. one crore but less than Rs. 10 crore. C) The deposits made for over Rs. 10 crore.

Category I: Deposit for lower than Rs. one crore In the first category, the interest rate for the deposits

GDP growth rises to 7.2%, India fastest growing economy again ahead of China

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NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (IANS): Aircel on Wednesday filed an application under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 for undertaking Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for Aircel Cellular Limited, Dishnet Wireless Limited, and Aircel Limited, a company statement said here.

“The Board of Directors of the company acknowledged that it has been facing troubled times in a highly financially stressed (telecom) industry, owing to intense competition following the disruptive entry of a new player, legal and regulatory challenges, high level of unsustainable debt and increased losses.

This has caused significant negative business and reputational impact on the company,” the statement said.

SBI hikes fixed deposits interest rates

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

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Aircel files for bankruptcy under insolvency code

business

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8

EARN : 4500/- to 25000/ACCOMMODATION FREE FOR OUTSTATION

P.W.D Kohima, (Near Police point) Ph. No: 8257961128/8259874687

N.Korea helping Syrian chemical war: Report

Civil defense workers removing remnants of a rocket reportedly fired by Syrian government forces on the rebel-held town of Douma in early February.

WASHINGTON, FEB 28 (IANS): North Korea has been sending equipment to Syria that could be used in chemical weapons manufacturing, the US media reported citing findings by UN experts. The materials include acid-resistant tiles, valves and pipes, the BBC said on Wednesday quoting the media reports.

The New York Times quoted the as-yet-unreleased UN report that also said that Pyongyang’s missile specialists have been seen at Syrian weapon-making facilities.

The allegations come after new reports of chlorine gas being used by Syrian forces came to light. The Syrian government has denied the charges.

North Korea is under international sanctions over its nuclear programme. The supplies reported to have been illicitly sent to Syria by Pyongyang included highheat, acid-resistant tiles, corrosion-resistant valves and thermometers. The tiles are said to be used to construct facilities where chemical weapons are pro-

Iran ‘ready’ to talk to Arab neighbours: Rouhani TEHRAN, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said Iran is ready to discuss regional security issues with its Gulf Arab neighbours as long as foreign powers are kept out of any potential talks, reports AFP. “We don’t need foreigners to guarantee the security of our region,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast on state television.

“When it comes to regional security arrangements, we are ready to talk to our neighbours and friends, without the presence of foreigners,” he added.

“We are, have been and always will be good neighbours,” Rouhani said, addressing Gulf Arab countries including Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Rouhani was speaking in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas overlooking the Gulf -- a flashpoint of tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The two powers, who severed diplomatic ties in January 2016, have

Hassan Rouhani

taken opposing sides in wars in Syria and Yemen.

Shiite-dominated Iran is the main regional backer of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Sunni rebels supported by Saudi Arabia.

In Yemen, a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing since 2015 Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels opposed to the internationally recognised government. Western powers and their Gulf Arab allies say Iran is a destabilising influence in the Middle East. Tehran, however, has regularly called for dialogue with its neighbours free of any foreign interference.

duced, the BBC said. Five shipments were sent to Syria via a Chinese trading firm during late 2016 and early 2017, the Wall Street Journal said. They are allegedly part of dozens of shipments over several years. The Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) -- a Syrian government agency -- is said to have paid the Kim Jong-un regime via a number of front companies, the newspaper reports. The report, also seen by the Washington Post, was compiled by the UN Panel of Experts, which assesses North Korea’s compliance with UN resolutions, the BBC said. In a September 2017 report, which is publicly available, the group said it was “investigating reported prohibited chemical, ballistic missile and conventional arms cooperation” between Syria and North Korea.

It said that two UN member states had intercepted shipments bound for Syria, and that the goods were suspected to be supplied by North Korea’s main arms exporter as part of a contract with front companies representing the SSRC.

Afghan president calls on Taliban to join in peace talks KABUL, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday called on the Taliban to take part in peace talks to “save the country,” offering security and incentives such as passports to insurgents who join the negotiations.

Ghani spoke at the 2nd Kabul Process Conference attended by representatives from more than 20 countries and international organizations, reports AP. “We will consider the Taliban’s view in the peace talks,” he said.

Ghani said the Afghan government will provide passports and issue visas to Taliban members and their families and open an office for them in Kabul.

He said his government would also work to remove sanctions against Taliban leaders.

Ghani said a ceasefire must be agreed on and the Taliban must be declared a political group.

international

9

White House to get UN chief calls for ending nuclear weapons two new Air Force One

An artist’s rendering of the future Air Force One. Courtesy of Boeing.

WASHINGTON, FEB 28 (IANS): The US administration has reached a $3.9 billion deal with Boeing for two new Air Force One planes for the President, the White House said.

President Donald Trump has reached the informal deal with Boeing on a “fixed-price contract” for the new Air Force One Program, Xinhua quoted a White House spokesperson as saying on Tuesday.

The contract would save taxpayers more than $1.4 billion, the White House said. The amount, however, cannot be confirmed yet.

Boeing said in a tweet on Tuesday that it was “proud to build the next generation of Air Force One, providing American presidents with a flying...outstanding value to

taxpayers”.

The Chicago-based jet maker added that Trump “negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people”. Trump’s personal involvement in the deal since his election has brought the years-long negotiations between Boeing and the US Air Force much media exposure.

Tr ump had earlier threatened to cancel the contract after revealing that Boeing was planning to spend $4 billion on the planes, a price, he said was “out of control”.

Boeing pledged to control expenditures at the time.

The US presidential planes, known as Air Force One when the president is on board, are one of the most recognised symbols of the American presidency.

GENEVA, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for a new global effort to get rid of nuclear weapons, drawing a cautious response from envoys of atomic-armed powers at odds for decades over nuclear disarmament.

Speaking to the Conference on Disarmament at the U.N. complex in Geneva, Guterres said many states still wrongly thought that nuclear weapons made the world safer.

“There is great and justified anxiety around the world about the threat of nuclear war,” he said.

“Countries persist in clinging to the fallacious idea that nuclear arms make the world safer ... At the global level, we must work towards forging a new momentum on eliminating nuclear weapons.”

The Conference on Disarmament is the world’s main forum for nuclear disarmament, but since 1996 it has been deadlocked by disagreements and distrust between rival nuclear powers.

Ambassadors from the United States, China and France said they shared his concerns about the current security environment but their comments suggested it

BEIJING, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): With stealth jets entering service, leaked pictures of new high-tech naval artillery and proud reports of manoeuvres that “dare to shine the sword,” China’s armed forces are putting on a show of power as they lobby for greater defence spending, reports Reuters.

Although it is the world’s largest military, the People’s Liberation Army has been privately unhappy that it got less than doubledigit funding increases the past two years. It has recently been making the case that it needs more money to

deal with increased global uncertainty, diplomats and several sources with ties to the armed forces say.

In the run-up to the defence budget’s release at the annual meeting of China’s parliament next week, state media outlets have been filled with coverage of military drills, advanced new equipment and thrilling tales of derring-do in a new film very loosely based on China’s evacuating people from Yemen’s civil war in 2015.

The overall message is clear: China faces serious challenges, from U.S. President Donald Trump’s

threats of force against nuclear-armed North Korea to an increasingly tense border dispute with India and what Beijing sees as efforts by self-ruled Taiwan to assert its sovereignty.

Confronting those challenges requires cash, a point the military is now trying to drive home.

“If you keep telling your people China is facing all these threats, you have to be able to back it up to show you are spending enough,” said a senior Beijing-based Western diplomat.

President Xi Jinping promised in his keynote speech to the Communist

would be an uphill struggle to end two decades of stalemate in nuclear negotiations.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood said negotiators needed to “look reality in the eye” and accept that nuclear disarmament in the near term was unrealistic.

It was not the time for bold new disarmament initiatives, but the United States was committed to the “aspirational goal” of eliminating nuclear weapons and would stand by its commitments, Wood said.

“Even in these difficult times, the United States will seek the development of measures that may be effective in creating the conditions for future nuclear disarmament negotiations,” he told the forum.

Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong said China ap-

Jerusalem’s Church reopens after spat J E RU S A L E M , F E B 28 (AGENCIES): The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem reopened early on Wednesday after Israeli officials suspended a plan to impose taxes on church properties in the holy city, reports AP. The iconic church, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, had been closed for three days to protest the Israeli tax plan.

Father Sinisa, a Franciscan cleric, said that clergymen from various Christian denominations had continued their prayer routines inside the church throughout the closure.

But he said the public must also be able to visit.

“It’s impor tant to reopen the doors of the Church, to let the people who sometimes come once in their life to visit this holy place,” he said. “Because a holy place without people is nothing ... only the stones.”

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said his decision

Visitors pray inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018.

had affected only commercial properties, such as hotels, restaurants and offices, and not houses of worship. He said other cities follow similar practices worldwide.

But angry religious leaders say their nonchurch properties pro-

vide valuable services for pilgrims and their local flocks, and fund important services like schools and health clinics.

They also accused Barkat of surprising them with the order and violating longstanding understandings with the church-

China’s military flexes muscles for domestic objective Philippines’ chief justice

FILE -- PLA soldiers take part in a military parade to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the army at the Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China JUly 30, 2017.

Antonio Guterres

Party Congress in October to make China’s armed forces world-class by the middle of the century. The military has deployed an increasingly sophisticated propaganda machine to make sure that promise stays top of mind.

A professionally shot air force video released to celebrate the Lunar New Year this month entitled “New fighters of the great power to safeguard the new era” led with footage of the latest fighter to enter service, the J-20 stealth jet, designed as a counterpart to the radar-evading the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

“It looks like they are making the case for a large rise in defense spending,” said an Asian diplomat, speaking of the recent uptick in military-related stories in China. China’s defence spending is only about one-quarter that of the United States, if official figures are accurate.

China has repeatedly said that it has no hostile intent, that its military is for defensive missions, and that defence spending is transparent. Many of the country’s neighbours beg to differ, calling out what they see as Chinese sabre-rattling as it ramps up drills in the region.

expects impeachment

Maria Lourdes Sereno MANILA, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): The Philippine Supreme Court’s chief justice — who has drawn the ire of President Rodrigo Duterte — expects to be impeached by the House next month and will go on leave to prepare for the trial she’s confident of winning, her spokesman said Wednesday.

According to AP report, the International rights groups and local critics have accused Duterte of drifting toward authoritarianism after declaring martial law in the south. He has overseen a drug war marked by thousands of killings of mostly poor suspects and has publicly threatened his opponents.

Last year, he said he wanted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and a top anti-graft prosecutor impeached and accused them of allowing themselves to

be used to discredit his administration.

Sereno will start an indefinite leave Thursday but will not resign amid reports that rival justices demanded she quit in a closed-door meeting, her spokesman Jojo Lacanilao said.

“There is no body or institution outside of the Senate which can force the chief justice to resign,” Lacanilao told a news conference. He added that any action to force Sereno to step down other than by convicting her in a Senate trial would be unconstitutional.

es. Barkat’s office claimed the churches have debts of roughly $185 million.

The closure of the church raised tensions with the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches, as well as smaller denominations, weeks ahead of the busy Easter season.

preciated Guterres’ efforts but said reform should not be rushed.

“Reducing the role of nuclear weapons in national security doctrines and abandoning the nuclear deterrent policy based on the first use of nuclear weapons constitutes the most practical and feasible nuclear disarmament measure at present,” Fu said.

French Ambassador Alice Guitton said Guterres’ statement was very timely, but disarmament could not be decreed, it needed to be built with patience, perseverance and realism.

Guterres said talks should target not only nuclear, chemical and conventional arms but also autonomous and unmanned weapons, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and space-based systems.

There are currently around 15,000 nuclear weapons worldwide and the arms trade is flourishing more than at any time since the Cold war, with $1.5 trillion of spending annually, he said.

Taboos on nuclear tests and chemical weapons usage were under threat, he added, while talk of tactical nuclear weapons was leading in an extremely dangerous direction.

No UK PM could accept EU Brexit treaty: May B RU S S E L S, F E B 2 8 (AGENCIES): British Prime Minister Theresa May angrily rejected a draft divorce treaty unveiled by the EU on Wednesday, saying she would never allow the bloc to undermine her country’s “constitutional integrity”. May lashed out at the proposal to keep British-ruled Northern Ireland in a customs union if there is no better solution to avoid a hard border with EU-member Ireland.

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier insisted that the plan was not designed to “provoke”, and denied that it threatened the sovereignty of the UK. “The draft legal text will, if implemented, undermine the UK common market and threaten the constitutional integrity of the UK by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea and no UK prime minister could ever agree to it,” May told parliament.

GRATITUDE

I would like to extend my gratitude to Major Mughato (Naga Rengma Hills, Commander) and Maisibo Newmai (Asst. Supervisor) of NSCN (IM) Chumukedima UT-1 for rescuing our boy who went missing on 27.02.2018 and was rescued on 28.02.2018. I truly thank and appreciate you both for rendering the good service to the society. God bless you both.

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From : K. Chuba & family

APPRECIATION TO NAGA HOSPITAL KOHIMA We as the parents of our unfortune daughter who suffered severe burn (35%) on her body were kept in utter shock and helplessness when a very reputed hospital and its faculty failed to provide us required medical treatment and discouraged us by telling no hope of survival of our beloved daughter without any consideration, then by the grace of our Almighty God our doors were opened by (NHK) when their doctors, nurses and its staff took care of our daughter with great satisfaction for the past 4 (four) months and revived our hope.

So, we hereby convey our heartiest thanks to the (NHK) ICU Dr. Senti along with doctors and nurses. Lastly it is our honest message to the right thinking citizens of Nagaland to understand their effort and their service for mankind. We consider (NHK) and its faculties as God sent angel for us.

With Gratitude K-528 From Mrs & Mr. Kasheto Zhimo, Zunheboto DC Hill

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Infotainment

10

Sridevi’s funeral procession is among largest recorded in Mumbai S

M massive portrait of Sridevi visible from a distance.

Several lakhs of people including students, officegoers and others accompanied or waited on both side of the roads, looked on from buildings and bungalow terraces. Many climbed on signals and lamp posts for a last glimpse of their beloved heroine.

In terms of sheer numbers, Sridevi’s funeral is estimated to have attracted the highest number of mourners, ranking on par with the previous biggest funeral processions of the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi (July 1980: around a million mourners), and India’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna (July 2012: a little less than a million mourners).

The other big funerals of non-political personalities in Mumbai included those of Raj Kapoor (June 1988) and Vinod Khanna (April 2017).

The procession was led by several family members, close relatives, friends and even neighbours of the Green Acres society where

the family lived in Lokhandwala Complex.

Among the prominent personalities who attended the funeral in Vile Parle were Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Randhir Kapoor and others who came to bid a final goodbye to Sridev Sridevi’s daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor performed the final rituals before the body was consigned to the flames with husband Boney standing nearby.

Earlier, since dawn, thousands of teary-eyed fans and admirers of the late actress, many carrying flowers, had queued up outside the Celebration Sports Club at Lokhandwala Complex for a final ‘darshan’ of their idol.

After the flower-bedecked body was brought to the club premises a steady stream of celebrities came in their vehicles and where whisked inside to pay their last respects.

Among the early callers seen were Rekha, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Arbaaz

T

Foundation, a non-profit organisation she backs to help people with mental health and addiction problems.

“Let’s come together as Lovatics, as people,” she added.

H e r e h ow p e o p l e tweeted about the event: AMANDA@amanda_waple Probably one of my favorite parts of the whole concert. Demi brought out 6 survivors from the parkland shooting.

Shalsha Faradila Y@ shalshafy “It has nothing to do with politics, it’s about healing; and how can we help these students heal from what they’ve been through” -@ddlovato on bringing Florida school shooting

Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Farah Khan, Nitin Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vidya Balan, Sushmita Sen, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Deepika Padukone, Sanjay Leela Bhandsali, Jackie Shroff, Farhan Akhtar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, John Abraham, Ajay Devgn and Kajol, Anupam Kher and Sulabha Arya, among others.

In the past four days since her demise, the Kapoor household had witnessed a steady stream of visitors including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Krishna Raj Kapoor.

Meanwhile, Green Acres housing society on Wednesday cancelled Holi celebrations as a mark of respect for Sridevi.

For the final journey, at the club and the crematorium, the Mumbai Police implemented elaborate security arrangements at various venues and arranged special traffic and crowd management measures.

(IANS)

arvel creator Stan Lee has revealed that she’s been fighting pneumonia.

The 95-year-old comic book mogul – who co-created iconic superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man and the X-Men – released an emotional video via TMZ in which he addressed fans over his recent lack of communication.

“Hiya heroes, this is Stan Lee,” he begins the video. “I haven’t been in touch with you lately. I had a little bout of pneumonia I’ve been fighting, but it seems to be getting better.”

“I want you all to know I’m thinking of you, of course I always think of the fans, and I hope you’re all doing well, and I miss you all.”

“I miss your enthusiasm, I miss all your notes, all your photos and emails… and I want you to know that I still love you all.”

Lee adds: “I think that Marvel, Spidey and I had the best group of fans that any group in the world ever had, and I sure appreciate it.”

“I hope next time we talk, I’ll be in even better shape, maybe I’ll have some of this pneumonia knocked down, and we can have some real fun over the internet. Until then, excelsior.”

(NME)

R

E

d Sheeran fans have been warned about fake tour tickets and backstage passes being sold at extortionate prices.

Sheeran is set to kick off his UK and Ireland stadium tour in May – where he’ll be joined by support act Anne-Marie.

H o w e v e r, r e c e n t months have seen a spike in the rise of counterfeit and touted tickets.

“It’s been brought to our attention that ‘backstage’ or ‘promoter’ passes for Ed Sheeran in Manchester have been appearing on social media for resale at massively inflated prices,” said a SeeTickets spokesman. “While these tickets appear to have come from SEE Tickets we can confirm that See has no affiliation with these tickets and that they are fake.”

They continued: “We would like to take this opportunity to clarify that these tickets are not legitimate and we urge the public to not purchase any tickets that have not come from either a reputable, primary ticket agent, or through Ed’s chosen ticket resale

platform.

“See is proud to have no affiliation with secondary ticketing and we will continue to do our best to protect fans and consumers from ticket touting, through our work with the FanFair Alliance and our ethical resale platform Fan-to-Fan.” After the government introduced new legislation to prevent secondary ticketing sites from buying tickets in bulk using automated ‘bots’, many have welcomed the new rules from the internet search giant – however some believe that more needs to be done, calling for tout sites to be lowered in their search ranking.

Among the critics were Ed Sheeran’s promoter Stuart Galbraith, who hit out at the search engine for allowing Viagogo to appear so highly in search results – and being listed as an “official source” of tickets.

Research by the Fanfair Alliance shows that 77% of searches for tickets by popular artists show a secondary ticket website that has paid to rank highly on Google searches.

(NME)

obbie Williams has spoken about his struggles with mental health issues, describing himself as battling with a disease in his head that wants to “kill” him. The former Take That star was speaking to The Sun when he opened up about his history and ongoing battle with depression. “Fortunately and unfortunately, left to my own devices, I’m inclined to sabotage everything,” Robbie said. “I’ve got a disease that wants to kill me and it’s in my head, so I have to guard against that.”

“Sometimes it overwhelms me and sometimes it’s a tool I need to get on stage. Sometimes I live in bliss and it’s wonderful.”

“But most of the time I’m human — having a human experience, ­trying to deal with the trials and tribulations of what goes on between my ears.”

“The things I’ve put myself through, I’ve been close to… It’s like, ‘By the grace of God go I’. It’s been so close so many times.”

Last December, Williams spoke to NME about society’s increased openness to talk about depression and mental health, saying: “Back in the day, you didn’t know what’s going on with yourself; you just knew that you were living in your head and you didn’t understand what it was.”

(NME)

Quite Riot drummer encourages fans to see classic rock acts while they still can

Demi Lovato brings Florida shooting survivors on stage

he US singer paid tribute to the students by bringing them up on stage during the first gig of her Tell Me You Love Me tour in San Diego.

The 25-year-old kicked off her world tour by honouring six survivors who had escaped the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day. Nikolas Cr uz, 19, stormed the school with an assault rifle and killed 17 people.

“On February 14, one of the worst mass shootings in American history took place. These students were in school that day,” said Demi, who encouraged fans to donate to CAST

Marvel creator Stan Ed Sheeran fans warned of fake Robbie Williams Lee reveals battle expensive tickets and backstage passes opens up about his with pneumonia mental health battle

Q

survivors on stage for her concert.

Demi never ceases to amaze me. kaylamedlin @Kaylareneemed1@ ddlovato said she’s raising money from tour to help fund counseling for the parkland shooting victims,this is one of the many reasons I love her.

Her heart is so pure #CASTontour tahlia@tahliaacosta last night at @ddlovato concert, she brought out some of the survivors from the Parkland mass shooting & i was in tears. i felt honored to be in the same room as them. may they continue to heal through such a difficult time (BBC)

uite Riot dr ummer Frankie Banali recently appeared on the “Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon” podcast.

The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpt follows: On whether classic rock is in danger of fading away in the coming years: Frankie: “I think that could be a reality for a couple reasons. One is the age factor. It’s no secret that none of us are young kids anymore. It’s a question of a lot of our musical brothers are dying, and a lot of other ones either have health issues or just don’t want to put their bodies and their minds through the touring thing anymore.

It could grind to a halt at some point in the foreseeable future. If you’re a fan of any particular band, you should be well-advised — especially if it’s a band from the ‘80s or the ‘70s — that if you say to yourself, ‘Well, I’ll catch them next time,’ there may not be a next time. Things change

drummers I have ever seen.

There’s a rehearsal studio that pretty much everybody uses in L.A. called Mates, and Pat had a room there where he would woodshed and just practice and practice and practice. The thing I remember the most about Pat was his sense of humor, and he was one of the sweet-

est, most natural giving people I’ve ever known. It’s really a loss — a loss on a musical level to the fans of Mr. Big and anything he’s done, but those people that knew him either casually or knew him well, it’s a huge loss, because he was such a sweet guy.”

(Blabbermouth)

HOMELAND BAPTIST AKUKUHOU Dimapur - 797112, Nagaland

FELICITATION

very quickly, and especially when you get to be [in the] golden years, so to speak.

If you really want to see a band, make the effort to go see them, because it may be the last time you’ll see them. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, ‘I wish I had gone to see QUIET RIOT in 2007, because the next thing I knew, Kevin DuBrow died, and I will never get to see Quite Riot with Kevin DuBrow.”

On whether Quite Riot is planning a fare-

well tour: Frankie: “I don’t see that in the future unless there’s some catastrophe. I always tell people that on my death, when they’re sticking me in the ground, they’re going to hear me tapping out a tune from inside.”

On late MR. BIG drummer Pat Torpey: Frankie: “Pat and I were friends. I saw him in L.A. not often, because he was always on the road and Quite Riot were always on the road, but he was one of the most dedicated

With immense pride and joy, the Deacon Board and members of Homeland Baptist Church extend our heartiest congratulations to Dr. P. Inaho, Pastor and President of Aghunaqa Area Church Leaders' Fellowship (AACLF) for securing the research degree Doctor of Philosophy in Christianity, Thesis: title "Esther- "the Star" from Andhra Pradesh Theological University, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam, India.

We p r a y t h a t t h e Almighty Living God give him good health, long life and also let him continue to enjoy the blessing of God and extend the kingdom of God. Khukiye Awomi Lukheto Kiba F/Secy., HBC Church Clerk, HBC

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everal lakhs turned up to join a long procession -- among the largest in recent times -- to mark the final journey of actress Sridevi which started near her residence to a crematorium in Vile Parle on Wednesday afternoon.

A tall, open truck, fully decorated with white flowers -- her favourite colour -carried her body which was first draped in the national tricolour and then loaded in a glass casket, as cries of ‘Sridevi Amar Rahe’ rent the air among her fans.

Maharashtra government accorded full state honours for the funeral of Sridevi who was conferred a Padma Shri in 2013, which included draping her body in the national tricolour, elaborate arrangements by the Mumbai Police and a gun salute before the cremation.

Inside the truck was Sridevi lying serene with full make-up, a large south Indian style vermillion and wearing a ceremonial gold and maroon coloured Kanjeevaram sari. A heavy, large necklace adorned her since she died a ‘suhaagan’ (still married), giving the appearance of a resplendent ‘devi’ (Goddess) in deep slumber. Her grieving family members including husband Boney Kapoor, her step-son Arjun Kapoor and brothersin-law Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor were among those who travelled in the truck with the body.

The truck slowly negotiated the approximately six km passing through the posh areas of Andheri and Vile Parle suburbs, with a

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

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Madrid loses to Espanyol in Spanish league

Snow delays start of 3rd day of F1 testing in Spain

Spanish soccer legend Quini dead

Quini

M A D R I D, F E B 2 8 (IANS): Spanish soccer great Quini, who led La Liga in scoring a record five times, has died in Gijon.

He was 68.

The retired striker, who was born Enrique Castro, had a heart attack while driving home and died on Tuesday.

Police came to his aid and paramedics were transporting him to the hospital when he suffered a second heart attack that ended his life, Efe new reported.

Quini racked up 231 goals in 443 La Liga matches for Sporting Gijon and knocked in another 54 goals in 100 games with Barcelona.

Winning the Pichichi Trophy for top scorer five times in eight years, he was part of two Copa del Rey-winning squads at Barcelona. Quini scored eight goals in 35 matches for Spain in international play, competing in the 1978 and 1982 World Cups.

In 1981, the striker was kidnapped after scoring twice for Barça in a 6-0 victory over Hercules. The captors held him 25 days before releasing him unharmed. Returning to Sporting in 1984, he ended his playing career in Gijon in 1987.

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The Spaniard joked on Twitter: “Car is performing well in the snow so far. P1 in the morning session.”

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo followed suit a few minutes later, also returning to the pits after one lap.

There is little hope of meaningful running on Wednesday, with temperatures not expected to exceed 5C in the afternoon and rain forecast for much of the day.

The weather is expected to improve for the final day of this week’s first test on Thursday, with highs of 15C predicted on a cloudy day with intermittent showers.

1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (PTI): World medallists Gaurav Bidhuri and Shiva Thapa were the notable omissions, while the likes of M C Mary Kom and Vikas Krishan were picked in India’s boxing squad for the Commonwealth Games, selected for the first time without conventional trials, today. Three-time Asian medallist and 2015 world championship bronze-winner Shiva made way for national champion and India Open gold-medallist Manish Kaushik in the lightweight 60kg category.

Shiva and Manish have faced off twice so far, national championship final and India Open semifinal, with the latter winning on both occasions.

In the bantamweight (56kg) category, Bidhuri, out of action since his world championship bronze in August last year owing to a back injury but fit now, has been left out for Mohammed Hussamuddin, who won a bronze medal at the recent Strandja

Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria. Trials will only be held for male boxers in the 91kg and 52kg categories on March 1 and 4 respectively, while among the women, world silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi’s name in the 51kg division will be sent based on her performance in a competition trip to Kazakhstan starting March 2.

The criteria for selection of the rest of the squad was a points system put in place before the men’s National Championships last year in October.

The boxers were marked for their performances leading up to the Strandja Memorial earlier this month. But surprisingly, they were made aware of this selection process only in January. “There was no briefing to explain the selection process or the points system. Nobody had a clear

idea what is at stake,” a top official told PTI. In the men’s 49kg category, Amit Panghal has got the selectors’ nod based on his gold medal winning show at the India Open and the Strandja Memorial, while in the 75kg division, world bronze-medallist Vikas Krishan has pipped Mandeep Jangra.

Vikas has been selected on the basis of his twin feats of a gold medal and best boxer trophy at the Strandja Memorial despite being behind Mandeep in the points system. Vikas’ points tally had suffered due to his injury-forced absence from the Nationals as well as the India Open. The 69kg men’s category has the veteran Manoj Kumar, a gold-medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He had clinched a bronze at the India Open.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We the bereaved family members of Lt. Mr. Mesevi Pienyü would like to express our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all our families, friends, well wishers especially our church Pastor and the Church members of Nerhema Baptist Church who stood by us physically, spiritually, emotionally and financially at the sudden demise of our loving father, who left us for his heavenly abode on 14th Feb’18.

Although we are unable to thank you all individually, it is our humble prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

of our beloved Late Vesanü Lohe Gone but not forgotten

Born on 04-02-1974 | Died on 01-03-2017 A year has passed since you left us on this day for your heavenly abode. We miss you so painfully and we remember you each day in silent tears.

We will always cherish your good deeds and good life our God Almighty has blessed us and we will treasure you greatly in our hearts until we meet again.

-Loving wife, children & family members, Yorüba Village K-532

Loving wife, son, daughters, grandchildren, in-laws and relatives.

We the bereaved family members express our heartfelt gratitude to all the well wishers, friends and relatives and all those who stood by us through prayers, financially, materially and physically at the sudden and untimely demise of our beloved son Late Nongothung Kithan on 21st of February 2018.

We convey our special thanks to:1. Dimapur Wokhai Ekhung 2. Kohima Wokhai Ekhung 3. Wokhai Eloe Hapoi Yanpia Eyiden (Kma and Dmr) 4. Mr. Renben Ovung & family 5. Mr. Myingthungo Kithan & family 6. Mr. Martin Yanthan & family 7. Kandinyu Prayer Centre 8. Doctors, nurses and staff of Eden Medical Centre, Dimapur.

Though we are unable to thank each and every individual, it is our humble prayer that the Almighty God blesses you all abundantly.

Loving mom, brother, sisters and all family members.

IN LOVING MEMORY

of Dr. Lanuchuba Aier On his 1st Death Anniversary It broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone.

A part of us went with you, The day God took you home.

If tears could build a stairway, And heartaches make a lane, We'd walk our way to heaven, And bring you back again.

In life we loved you dearly, In death we love you still, In our hearts you hold a place No one could ever fill.

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BARCELONA, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): The third day of pre-season testing was delayed because of snow at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

The track was cleared early in the morning but the session was postponed because the medical helicopter was unable to fly in the poor conditions.

Teams would anyway have not been able to run because of the continuing snowfall and freezing temperatures. The track opened at 12:00 local time and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso ventured out for one lap shortly afterwards.

en behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, who host Leganes on Wednesday, and 14 adrift of pacesetters Barcelona who play on Thursday.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane rested Ronaldo ahead of next week’s visit to Paris St-Germain in the

spurn a gilt-edged chance after pouncing on a wayward Varane clearance.

The forward’s misery was compounded when he saw a successful effort incorrectly ruled out by the linesman’s flag before halftime.

After the break Espanyol defender Oscar Duarte clipped the bar before Real keeper Keylor Navas acrobatically denied Moreno.

It appeared the forward was going to endure a torrid night when his left-foot effort curled past the far post with a minute left but Moreno was not to be denied at the death.

His goal securing a deserved three points that took Espanyol up to 13th with 31 points after their first win in eight games.

“We need to go gameby-game,” Moreno said.

“This victory will help us and calm things down a bit. We should be doing this more regularly and it’ll give us the confidence that we needed. Hopefully it will push us forwards to better things.”

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Catalan forward Moreno wasted a number of chances but his lastminute volley took a wicked deflection off defender Raphael Varane to secure Espanyol’s first victory over Real in 11 years.

Real stay third on 51 points from 26 games, sev-

Champions League last 16, which his side lead 3-1 from the first leg, and selected Gareth Bale at centre forward in a muchchanged team.

However, despite a promising start, an insipid Madrid were second-best all night at Cornella not that Zidane thought so.

“We really didn’t deserve to ship that goal,” said the Frenchman. “We played really well in the first half but couldn’t score.

The second-half wasn’t good but nevertheless we didn’t deserve to concede in the final minute.

“Espanyol had few chances and we deserved more. That’s football and we now have to look forward.”

Bale, having struggled to get back into the side following injury, saw a header parried by Espanyol’s former Real keeper Diego Lopez, who then scrambled away a deflected Marco Asensio cross, but that was as good as it got for the visitors.

Espanyol should have led only for Moreno to

Mary Kom, Vikas Krishan in boxing squad for 2018 CWG

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Espanyol’s Gerard Moreno celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates

M A D R I D, F E B 2 8 (AGENCIES): Real Madrid rested Cristiano Ronaldo and suffered a fifth Liga defeat of the season as Espanyol’s Gerard Moreno struck late for a 1-0 win over the Spanish and European champions on Tuesday.

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

From loving mother, sisters and family members

Died on : 1 March, 2017

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.

With profound gratefulness, we the bereaved family members of Late K. Ghuzukhe (Constable GD, F COY, 10th NAP BN, INDIAN RESERVE, ZHADIMA) KOHIMA, express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every individual who stood by us physically, prayerfully, financially and materially during the time of our grief and at the sudden demise of our beloved father.

We convey our sincere gratitude to :1. The Commandant, officers and all Ranks of 10th NAP Bn. (IR), Zhadima, Kohima.

2. Sumi Brothers 10th NAP Bn, (IR), Zhadima.

3. Sumi Kuqhakulu 10th NAP Bn. (IR), Zhadima 4. Police Baptist Church 10th NAP Bn. (IR), Zhadima 5. Women Department, Police Baptist Church 10th NAP Bn. (IR), Zhadima.

6. Tochimong Yim, Asst. Pastor, Police Baptist Church 10th NAP Bn. (IR), Zhadima.

7. Doctors and nurses of Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima 8. Thilixu Village Baptist Church, Dimapur 9. Chekiye Village Baptist Church, Dimapur 10. Aghunato Area Union, Kohima 11. Ghuvishe Tsuko Union, Dimapur 12. Pukhayi Sumi, Ex. Advisor.

13. Tovihoto Ayemi, Ex. Advisor 14. Tokheho Yeptho, Ex. Minister 15. Azheto Zhimo, Ex. Parliamentary Secretary.

16. Khekato Kinny, Kilonser NSCN (R).

17. Friends and neighbours.

We deeply regret and apologize for our inability to mention all the names individually but it is our prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly for your gracious deeds.

COM.

With sincere gratitude, Loving wife, children, mother, brothers, sister, in-laws and relatives

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DP-1686

K Y M C

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Stokes powers England to 6-wicket win over Kiwis

MOUNT MAUNGANUI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): All-rounder Ben Stokes set aside his offfield troubles to steer England to a six-wicket win in the second One-day International against New Zealand on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old produced a Man-of-the-Match performance in just his second appearance for England since being sidelined over a nightclub incident five months ago.

Stokes took two wickets for 42 then hit an unbeaten 63 as England easily chased down New Zealand’s target of 224 at Mount Maunganui.

“It was good to get a bit of time out in the middle,” he said after England levelled the five-match series 1-1.

“It’s good to get out here and train and implement it in the games to make sure I was out there at the end. Hopefully it’s a stepping stone for other games coming up.”

Stokes only joined England this month after pleading not guilty in a British court to a charge of affray, with the controversy forcing him out of the Australian leg of

England’s Ben Stokes raises his bat after scoring a halfcentury against New Zealand.

their tour, including The Ashes.

After England finished on 225 for four in reply to New Zealand’s 223 all out, captain Eoin Morgan was full of praise for his star all-rounder.

“Ben’s a big character, big in our changing room, he lifts everybody in the side when he performs like he did today,” he said.

“It’s great to see him back in fine form.”

Trent Boult made early inroads as New Zealand tried to defend their modest total, dislodging Jason Roy for eight and Joe Root for nine.

Jonny Bairstow made a rapid-fire 37, then Mor-

gan and Stokes dug in for an 88-run partnership that had England at 144 for three after 25 overs.

Morgan notched his first ODI 50 in 11 innings off 48 balls before departing on 62 before Stokes brought up 50 off 54 balls with a six edged over the keeper’s head.

Earlier, Black Cap spinner Mitchell Santner scored his maiden limited overs half-century as the New Zealand tail to give the home team’s score some respectability.

Santner’s unbeaten 63 off 52 balls was the highlight of New Zealand’s innings, with in-form opener Martin Guptill also scor-

Nagaland wins Dr T Ao NEC Gold Cup U 21 Football c’ship

Nagaland team after winning Dr T Ao NEC Gold Cup U-21 Football Tournament at Guwahati on Wednesday.

GUWAHATI, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Nagaland annexed the Dr T Ao NEC Gold Cup Under-21 Football Tournament title defeating hosts Assam by a solitary goal in the final at the SAI ground in Paltan Bazar here today.

According to the Assam Tribute report, the lone goal for Nagaland was

scored by Ilanger in the 20th minute.

Earlier in the day, Meghalaya trounced Sikkim 5-1 to secure the third position.

For Meghalaya, Samuel J Kynsi scored a hat-trick with goals in the 8th, 36th and 82nd minute respectively while Phrangi Buam and Robert Khongjoh scored a goal each in the 20th and

69th minute. Sikkim pulled one back in the 90th minute through Kunal Gurung.

The champion team received a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh along with a trophy while the runners-up team received a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh along with a trophy.

The third position holders walked away with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

ing 50.

But a superb fielding display from England saw New Zealand bowled out for 223 with two balls remaining.

England pulled off a string of sharply taken catches and ran out four batsman, ensuring that every chance their bowlers created resulted in a wicket.

New Zealand never recovered from an early double blow by Woakes, who dismissed Colin Munro for one in his first over then Mark Chapman for the same score in his second.

David Willey’s prowess in the field was responsible for Ross Taylor’s departure on 10, swooping on the ball at backward point and firing it to Jos Buttler to break the stumps.

The loss of Taylor, a century-maker in the opening fixture, left New Zealand on 48 for three with Guptill holding the first half of the innings together.

His half-century came off 84 balls but he failed to push on and was caught

by Roy on 50 trying to sweep Ali’s spin over the boundary.

No action against Scotland, England for tunnel incident DUBLIN, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Six Nations organizers will not take any disciplinary action against Scotland and England following an investigation into an alleged scuffle between players in the tunnel before their match on Saturday, reports AP. Six Nations Rugby said Wednesday there was “some evidence of pushing and shoving in the tunnel” but that there was “no clear evidence of violent conduct or similar against any individual player.”

The body will write to both countries to remind them of their players’ “obligations to uphold the reputation of the tournament at all times.” The incident appeared to flare up as England flyhalf Owen Farrell attempted to barge past Scotland players as they came off the field following the warmup. Scotland won 25-13 against defending champion England, which had won 24 of its 25 previous matches under coach Eddie Jones.

Wenger dismisses speculation about future

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2018 photo, Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger looks on before Epl match against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, London.

LO N D O N, F E B 2 8 (AGENCIES): Arsene Wenger on Wednesday said he was “amazed” at fresh speculation over his future as he prepares his team to face Manchester City just days after Arsenal’s League Cup final humiliation against Pep Guardiola’s men.

The Frenchman has come under sustained fire since an abject display in Sunday’s 3-0 hammering at Wembley but must now lift his team to take on the Premier League leaders on Thursday, reports AFP.

Arsenal’s season is threatening to unravel -they are 10 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table and look set to miss out on Champions League football for a second consecutive year.

They are out of the FA Cup and will face Italian giants AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League, which is their only remaining chance of winning a trophy this season.

Arsenal’s limp display led to stinging criticism from former Manchester

United and England defender Gary Neville as well as former Gunners Ian Wright and Thierry Henry.

But Wenger, speaking at his pre-match press conference, responded with apparent shock when asked if the result meant his long tenure was now under increased threat.

“I am just amazed that I have to always answer things that are exactly the same,” said the 68-yearold. “I am here for 21 years, I turned the whole world down to respect my contracts. So I am still amazed that I still have to answer these types of questions.

“My position is my position. Honestly, that’s the last worry I have at the moment. My worry is to focus, to get the team ready for tomorrow’s game.”

The Frenchman defended the performance of his players at Wembley, where several were labelled as “spineless” and a “disgrace” by match commentator Neville as they were shown walking when out of possession. “You can al-

ways get out pictures from a game that justifies what you think, you find in every single game, on both sides, moments where a player doesn’t track,” he said.

“After you have to analyse why, has he made two runs before to go in behind and was exhausted, or did he not track because he didn’t want to? That is different. “I believe we have to live with that criticism and respond together like we always do. “ We d i d n’ t p l a y against a poor team in the semi-final, we played against Chelsea and we have shown that we can fight. You have to acknowledge as well that Man City are a quality team.”

Wenger’s hopes of avenging the Wembley defeat have been further hit by the announcement that Nacho Monreal will miss the game through injury.

The 32-year-old defender had been one of Arsenal’s better performers this season before a back injury forced him off less than half an hour into Sunday’s final.

Nadal pulls out of Mexican Open with hip injury ACAPULCO (MEXICO), FEB 28 (AGENCIES): World number two Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Mexican Open on Tuesday, cutting short his comeback from a hip injury when the problem flared up again, reports AFP. “My goal and hope was to play in this tournament. Unfortunately, in my last training session yesterday, I felt a sharp pain in my leg again,” the 31-year-old Spanish star said hours before what was to have been his opening match of the ATP Tour event in Acapulco.

Nadal, favored to win the tournament, had been due to face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

“I took all the appropriate steps to arrive at the tournament in form. I went to Cozumel first, to adapt (to the climate),” he told reporters.

“But yesterday, in my last training session before the tournament, during one movement I felt a sharp pain again in the same area where I had the problem in Australia.”

Nadal limped out of the quarter-finals at the Australian Open on January 23. He has since lost his number one ranking to Roger Federer.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

Federer becomes most decorated Laureus winner PARIS, FEB 28 (IANS): Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer won his fifth and sixth Laureus statuettes, becoming the most decorated Laureus winner in history at the 2018 awards ceremony in Monaco on Tuesday.

Federer, the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon winner, claimed the Sportsman of the Year and the Comeback of the Year Awards, reports Xinhua.

“This is a very special moment for me. Everyone knows how highly I value my Laureus Awards, so to win another would have been wonderful, but to win two is a truly unique honour.

“It was an unforgettable year for me, to come back after a very difficult 2016 and these Awards just make it even more memorable,” said Federer. Federer continued his hot momentum into 2018, as he defended the Australian Open title, before becoming the oldest ATP world No. 1 earlier this month. Another tennis player, Serena Williams of the US, won the Sportswoman of the Year Award following her 23rd Grand Slam title at Australian Open. With five Laureus statuettes in hand, Williams, is now the most decorated female Laureus Award winner.

Spanish golfer Sergio

Roger Federer poses with his two Laureus World Sports awards in Monaco.

Garcia received the Breakthrough of the Year Award for winning the 2017 Masters, his second Laureus Award, 18 years after winning the Laureus Newcomer accolade at the 2000 Awards. Formula One team Mercedes AMG took away the Team of the Year Award following their dominant fourth successive Constructors World Championship.

French Vendee Globe winning sailor Armel Le Cleach received the Action Sportsperson of the Year Award, while Swiss wheelchair racer Marcel Hug won the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award for his three titles at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.

Brazilian football team Chapecoense, whose come-

back from a devastating plane crash inspired the sporting world, were honoured with the Laureus Best Sporting Moment of the Year Award. Italian football legend Francesco Totti received the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award for his 22-year contribution to Roma.

He also joined Wales manager Ryan Giggs as the newest members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt received the Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award for his incredible fundraising efforts after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, while American Olympic legend and Laureus Academy Member Edwin Moses received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award.

My dream is to become World No. 1: PV Sindhu HYDERABAD, FEB 28 (PTI): Ace shuttler PV Sindhu today said her dream is to become World No.1 and she is trying to reach the numero uno spot.

Sindhu, who had achieved a career-best ranking of World No 2 few months ago, said when she started playing at the age of eight her first dream was to represent India.

“When I started playing at the age of eight my dream was to play for India and that was the first dream. When I started playing for India that is when I thought someday I have to be (on) top of the world.

“I am trying to be World No.1...Now my dream is to become World No. 1 and definitely it’s in progress. I would want to see myself there,” the Rio Olympics silver medallist said.

Participating in an interaction with students and teachers during a promotional event organised at her alma mater—Auxilium

PV Sindhu addresses students at a promotional event in Hyderabad on Wednesday. (PTI)

High School here, Sindhu said her mother has been her inspiration. “She has always been there saying that ‘do your best’ and ‘give your best’ in whatever you do. Be brave and stay strong and all women should do that and believe in ourselves,” Sindhu said on her mother.

Asked on the challenges she faced to attain success, Sindhu said she faced many challenges.

“But I don’t feel it’s a burden kind of thing because I wanted to achieve

my dream and I just followed that.” “There was a certain time where I thought what’s going on wrong because at sometimes you might not give your best.

Sometimes you might just play brilliantly but when you tend to lose, you think that what’s happening or what’s going on wrong.

“I think learning from your mistakes and coming back much more stronger is important thing that is what I feel and that’s how I learnt and came up in my life,” Sindhu said.

Reacting to another query, Sindhu said, “You have to always be grounded, that is most important thing. Even though you win a lot more or be at the top position you always have to be grounded. You have to give respect and also discipline is very much important and those are the values I have learned from this school.”

On her parents, Sindhu said, “My parents support was always there and they motivated me. My

parents played a very important role and I am lucky to have parents like them because they were sportspersons.”

“Everybody will face challenges in their lives.

If you want to achieve something in your life you have to believe in yourself even though there are ups and downs. You have to go through it and hard work is the key for success. For me I have come so far and I just feel it is starting for me even though I faced so many challenges,” Sindhu added.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) sanitary napkin brand ‘Stayfree’ today announced its campaign ‘Dreams of Progress’ with Sindhu, as their brand ambassador.

When asked if she manages to play on the day of her periods, Sindhu replied “Yes. Periods are just normal. Girls should not hold back thinking that periods is an issue. If you want to have your dream you should not stop that because of periods”.

India placed in easy pool at Hockey World Cup

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 28 (IANS): Hosts India have been grouped with Belgium, Canada and South Africa in an easy Pool C in the opening round of the Hockey World Cup, to be held in Bhubaneswar, India from November 28 to December 16, it was announced on Wednesday.

In Pool C, for world No.6 and 1975 edition winners India, Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists Belgium are the only higher-ranked team, at world No.3, while Canada and African continental champions and South Africa have world rankings of 11 and 15, respectively.

India will meet South Africa on the opening day, Belgium on December 2.

Six days later, they will take on Canada at the 16,000 capacity Kalinga Stadium, according to the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The 16 participating teams have been split into four pools of four, with Rio 2016 Olympic champions and world No.2 Argentina competing in Pool A alongside No.9 New Zealand, No.8 Spain and No.18 France, while reign-

ing world champions and No.1 Australia take on No.7 England, No.10 Ireland and No.17 China in Pool B. Pool D seems to be the toughest, with European champions and three-time world champions the Netherlands (No.4), two-time champions Germany (No.5), Malaysia (No.12) and No.13 and record champions Pakistan battling among themselves to be the top two teams in order to progress to the quarter-finals.

A first place finish in each pool will guarantee a berth in the quarter-finals, with the second and third place finishers in each pool needing to win a cross-over match. The pool phase of the competition will take place from November 28 to December 9, with two matches per day being played at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Indian Standard Time respectively.

Each day of action will be pool focussed, with the opening day’s play featuring two matches in Pool C as Shane McLeod’s Belgium take on Canada before host nation India target a winning start when they face South Africa.

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