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rni no. nageng/2002/07906vol. Xvi no. 172 | Pages 12 ` 4/- dimaPUr, monday, JUne 26, 2017

WEATHERtemperature

min.Max. Max.min.aizawl 28° 21°

agartala 33° 26°

gangtok 26° 18°

guwahati 34° 25°

imphal 29° 22°

itanagar 29° 22°

shillong 24° 19°

delhi 36° 28°

Kolkata 33° 26°

chennai 38° 27°

max: min:KOHIma 24° 17°dImapur 33.4° 27.2° rF: rH:KOHIma 10mm 93%dImapur 3mm 93%

* Rainfall (RF) * Relative humidity (RH)Temperature in State Capitals

149 killed, 117 injured as oil tanker explodes in pak | p9

EastErn Mirrormeira’s emotional appeal to

electors: Vote with conscience | p8

New Delhi, June 25 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today remembered the Emergency imposed on this day in 1975, saying "such a black night" cannot be forgotten, and under-lined the need for eternal vigilance to preserve de-mocracy.

He recalled that democ-racy-lovers had fought a big battle against the Emergen-cy imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and said the pro-democra-cy "heritage" needs to be strengthened.

In his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi said it was essential

to remember the incidents which have caused harm to democracy and move ahead towards the positives of de-mocracy.

"Democracy is not only a system. It is our culture...

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," he said.

Recalling imposition of the Emergency on June 25, 1975, the Prime Min-ister said it was "such a black night which cannot be forgotten by any lover of democracy. No Indian can forget that."

He said that in a way, the entire nation had been converted into a prison, with opposing voices being

curbed."Along with Jaiprakash

Narayan, many promi-nent leaders were jailed. Even the judiciary did not remain unaffected by the shadow of the Emergency. The media was completely rendered useless," the prime minister said.

He said the students of today's journalism and those working for democra-cy have been remembering "that black incident" as part of their continuous efforts to create awareness about democracy

"They should be doing so," Modi said.

At that time, Atal Bihari

Vajpayee was also impris-oned and he had penned a poem during that period, he said and recited the couplets written by the BJP stalwart.

The imposition of the Emergency had evoked a nationwide outrage and a mass movement which forced Indira Gandhi to lift it in less than two years.

"The democracy lovers had fought a big battle and showed how democracy was engrained in the hearts of every citizen of the vast country. That was reflected through the elections.

That is our heritage and we have to strengthen that heritage," Modi said.

New York, June 25 (IANS): Anonymous -- the loose collec-tive of hackers and online activ-ists -- claims that the US space agency NASA is all set to an-nounce the discovery of alien life, the media reported.

"NASA says aliens are com-ing!" the group wrote on their website.

In a video on the issue, Anonymous has cited several other alien-friendly comments made by astronauts and space exploration enthusiasts in the past, as well as various alien and UFO 'sightings' as evidence that "something is going on in the skies above".

Anonymous's claim is based on a number of recent NASA discoveries coupled with com-ments made by one of the agency's spokesmen during a

Congressional hearing in April titled 'Advances in the Search for Life', reported rt.com.

"NASA's recent advances, such as the discovery of hydro-gen in Saturn's moon Enceladus and the Hubble team's prom-ising results from the oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa, are promising signs that we're closer than ever to discovering evidence of alien life," Professor Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, told the hearing.

"Taking into account all of the different activities and missions that are specifically searching for evidence of alien life, we are on the verge of mak-ing one of the most profound, unprecedented, discoveries in history," Zurbuchen said.

Staff ReporterDimapur, June 25 (EMN): Landowners of Nahorjan village, located along the Assam-Nagaland border, have dismissed the claim that ‘property worth in terms of lakh’ was damaged by miscreants at Karbi Anglong Kramsa Model village which ap-peared in the June 25 edition of the local dailies. They have termed the reports as ‘distortion.’

Addressing media persons at Circuit House in Dimapur on Sunday, the Naga land owners said that the land at Nahor-jan village was purchased by various Naga individuals in consultation with the Na-horjan Village Committee. For the past 30 years, they have been cultivating in their purchased land although the ancestral land owners continue to be the village’s community.

“However in 2016 a person by the name of Augustine Kramsa had obtained land patta fictitiously with Assistant Land Settlement cum Revenue Officer (name withheld) of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) headquarters and en-croached the land illegally-for which the Revenue Officer was suspended,” the land owners told reporters.

On learning the ploy of said Augus-tine, the land owners had approached the district administration to settle the is-sue amicably. Accordingly, in December 2016 an agreement between the Nahorjan Village Committee and Augustine was signed: the latter agreed to return said land to the villagers in accordance to the ‘Dag’ number and occupied land (Dakhal land) of the villagers, the land owners said.

The agreement’s memo was made available to media persons.

Instead of adhering to his agreement, it was alleged, Augustine continues to oc-cupy the land while selling them to other parties and constructing more than 70 houses illegally.

Augustine was said to have been sum-moned by the Bokajan Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Court thrice. He ap-peared before the court only to the first summon and allegedly ‘wilfully failed to appear for the second and third summon,’ the land owners reported.

When queried on the whereabouts of Augustine, the land owners said they have been unable to reach him as he had been ‘illusive and arrogant’ while he and his party continue to possess illegal ‘patta’

(land deed). Asserting that the land should be re-

turned to its genuine land owners, they affirmed that individuals purchasing land from him should avoid doing so. Also, the land owners maintained that ‘Kramsa Model village which falls under Nahorjan village was recognised fictitiously by Au-gustine’.

Not denying the June 24 incident—it was reported that houses were torched—the land owners said that it was ‘done in close coordination with the Nahorjan Vil-lage Committee.’ However, only tempo-rary thatched houses—not inhabited by individuals—which was constructed in their land was torched.

“We had to take this step because even after repeated demand to Augustine to evict the illegally acquired land, he has been encroaching the land damaging plan-tations worth in crores,” the land owners clarified.

Terming the news that appeared on June 25 as ‘distortion of facts,’ the affect-ed land owners assured that ‘we are not against any council or creating unpleasant situation but seeking the intervention of the district administration.’

Dimapur, June 24 (EMN): The Southern Angami Youth Organi-sation (SAYO) has taken strong note of what it said were allega-tions by Mao civil organisations during a meeting with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh that Dzükou valley was en-croached ‘from Nagaland side.’

The SAYO issued a press re-lease on Sunday. It stated: ‘The SAYO in its emergency meeting took serious note of the allega-tion of Mao civil societies in the meeting with Manipur Chief Minister Mr. N. Biren Singh that Dzükou valley was encroached upon from Nagaland side, and further suggesting that the gov-ernment to construct motorable (sic) road up to Dzükou valley, police station, marketing shed for women vendors, helipad and guest house for tourist at Dzük-ou valley.’

Here, the SAYO declared that the “Manipur Nagaland interstate imaginary politi-cal boundary line” was drawn by the British arbitrarily when Nagaland was a mere district of Assam. It was done without consulting the southern Anga-mis who were the land own-ers in actual possession of the Dzükou, the SAYo stated. The press release declared that it shall never be recognized or ac-cepted by the southern Angami people.

“SAYO reiterates that Dzük-ou valley traditionally belongs

to the Southern Angami’s from time immemorial and this fact has never been in doubt or dis-puted. Acknowledging this fact the Mao had to retreat and apologized many a times when-ever they attempted to encroach into Dzükou area even in recent time.”

Further, the SAYO stated that ‘throughout the ages the Angami people, particularly the southern Angamis and the Mao people have been living together as a family and brothers without any territorial distinction.’

Though the southern Anga-mis ‘have very little or nothing to gain from Mao side of Ma-nipur,’ the southern Angami people and the Nagas of Naga-land 'have been very generous to other Nagas from Manipur par-ticularly the Maos.’

‘They have been given and (sic) possession of land and ac-cess to various types of trade and commerce without any distinction for being not indig-enous inhabitants of Nagaland state. However, this gesture has been ruthlessly and aggressively exploited by Maos. Thus, creat-ing numerous untoward inci-dents between the hosts and the guests,’ the SAYO asserted.

The SAYO has demanded that the Mao and their civil so-ciety organisations desist from “any such acts to provocation lest it may cause far-reaching consequences,” it added.

Our CorrespondentDiphu, June 24 (EMN): The Karbi Youth Organisation (KYO) has declared that elect-ed “non-tribal candidates” should not be given any post in the Karbi Anglong Auton-omous Council (KAAC).

The KYO issued a press statement on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Par-ty (BJP) won 24 seats out of 26 seats in the recently-con-cluded KAAC, MAC elec-tions, it stated. ‘The BJP will

be ruling in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council for 5 years.

All the development works will be under the hands of BJP during the 5 years,’ the organisation stated in the press release.

‘Those who have come out and elected from non-trib-al candidates (MAC) should not be given to any post in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC),’ the KYO stated.

The KAAC falls under the Sixth Schedule of the In-dian Constitution, the KYO stated. According to the Sixth Schedule, the non-tribal do not have the right to enjoy political rights in the KAAC, MAC election.

The press release lament-ed: ‘It was seen that non-tribal are enjoying the political right in the KAAC, MAC election. It is a total violation the spirit of the Sixth Schedule.’

According to the organi-

sation, if any post is given to non-tribal candidates, the or-ganisation will ‘never remain silent and will move with strong agitation in the com-ing days.’

‘If any untoward accident occurs in the district, the gov-ernment should hold the re-sponsibility,’ the organisation stated.

The press statement was issued by Jackyson Terang, president; Si-em Teron, gen-eral secretary of the KYO.

Srinagar, June 25 (IANS): A family of four from Delhi and three locals were killed on Sunday when a gondola car cabin crashed hundreds of meters down to the ground after its cable snapped in Gul-marg in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Police sources said the cable may have snapped after a giant tree fell on it, sending several cabin cars hurtling down a valley in the other-wise tourist paradise.

"A couple and two chil-dren were among the dead," a police officer said. "Rescue efforts are on to save people trapped in other cars of the gondola cable car project."

The dead were identi-fied as Jayant Anderaskar, his wife Manisha and their daughters Anagha and Jhan-vi. They were reported to be from Shalimar Bagh in Delhi.

The other three victims were identified as Mukhtar Ahmed Ganie, Javed Ahmed Khandey and Farooq Ahmed -- believed to be tourist guides.

The two-stage Gulmarg cable car lift ferries people to a height of 13,780 feet above the sea level. It is the world's second highest operating ca-ble car project with a cabin capacity of ferrying 600 peo-ple in one hour.

The ropeway project -- which has 36 cabins and 18

towers -- is a joint venture of the Jammu and Kashmir gov-ernment and a French firm and is hugely popular with tourists who flock to Gul-marg, a skiing hub.

The first stage of the cable car transfers people from the Gulmarg resort at 2,600 me-ters (8,530 feet) to Kongdori station in the bowl-shaped Kongdori valley, according to

the company which operates the cable car.

The second stage takes people to a height of 3,747 meters (12,293 feet) on Kong-dori mountain.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): An organisation in Mokokchung, the Asetkong Kaketshir Telongjem Mungdang (AKTM), has den-couned what it called the ‘brutal murder’ of a youth, one Sentilong.

The organisation issued a press release on Sunday expressing faith that the 'Mokokchung judicial system' will deliver justice for his death. The AKTM has warned that it would be left with no option but to take an own course of action “in the search of justice in the paths of our forefathers.”

“Late Sentilong, hailing from Mopong-chuket village under Asetkong range, was a PhD scholar at Nagaland University. His brutal murder came as a great shock for the AKTM and strongly denounces this senseless act,” the AKTM stated.

The AKTM appreciated the Mokokchung police for apprehending the alleged perpetra-tors within hours.

‘The AKTM reposes its faith in the Mokok-chung police and judicial system to deliver justice to this shocking incident. It should be made known that the AKTM is closely observ-ing the case: our stance and demand is simple: no stone should be left unturned, the guilty should be punished and justice should prevail,’ the press release stated.

‘AKTM believes the Mokokchung judicial system would deliver justice; otherwise we would be left with no option but to take our own course of action in the search of justice in the paths of our forefathers.’

The statement conveyed heartfelt condo-lences to the bereaved family and prayed that God would grant them solace at this time of grief, and that the departed soul rest in peace in the Almighty God.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): The governor of Nagaland has wished the Muslim community in Nagaland goodwill and harmony as the community celebrates Eid Ul Fitr.

Governor PB Acharya’s office issued a message on Sunday marking the occasion.

“On the auspicious occasion of Eid Ul Fitr, I convey my warm greetings to the people of Nagaland, particularly to all Muslim brothers and sisters in the state,” Governor PB Acha-rya said. “I hope that this sacred occasion will usher-in good will and harmony and further strengthen the values of composite society.”

The festival of Idu’l Fitr marks the culmi-nation of the Holy Month of ‘Ramzan’, the month of prayers, blessings and forgiveness.

‘It reminds every members of the com-munity their obligations and responsibilities towards other members of the society, espe-cially the poor and downtrodden for peaceful coexistence and equitable progress of the state and the nation,’ the message stated.

“On this Eid, I wish that Allah’s blessings light up the path oneness and lead to happiness and success,” Acharya added.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Some retired government of-ficials in the state continue to use state-issued vehicles il-legally, the government is said to have revealed in response to a query from a Right to Information (RTI) applicant.

A citizen, ST Yapang Lkr, issued to the media on Sun-day a copy of a letter addressed to the chief secretary of Nagaland; Commissioner & Secretary for the department of Works & Housing; engineer-in-chief of the PWD.

“In response to my Application under the RTI Act, 2005, the Deputy Chief Engineer & PIO, NPWD vide Letter No. E-IN-C/ESTT-8/RTI/16-17 dated 31.05.2017 has revealed the names of seven retired engineers illegally using government vehicles,” the letter stated.

The letter listed out the retired engineers (names with-held) and vehicles, model and registration numbers and the span of the vehicles: (chart)

1. Retired CE(H) : Xylo 2010-NL-10 7854.(Span-7 years)2. Retired Addl. CE : Xylo 2010-NL-10 7639.(Span-7 years)3. Retired E-in-C : Bolero 2013-NL-10 5794. (Span-4 years)4. Retired E-in-C : Scorpio 2013-NL-10 6646. (Span- 4 years)5. Retired E-in-C : Scorpio 2010-NL-10 6611. (Span -7 years)6. Retired SE : Bolero 2012-NL-10 6054.(Span -5 years)7. Retired EE : Bolero 2008-NL-10 6080. (Span -9 years) According to the letter, the Public Information Officer had stated that the vehicles were proposed for condemnation.

“Interestingly, the annexure vide NO. TPT/SPL/489/2010 dated 13.02.2012 of the POI’s Letter speak about Life span for condemnation of government vehicles which is quoted as follows: ‘Henceforth, the nor-mal life span of government vehicles for the purpose of condemnation shall be raised from 8 years to 10 years, un-less there are special reasons for doing so.’”

In the light of stated circumstances, the citizen has re-quested the authorities to take action in the matter.

“Otherwise, I will be compelled to approach the court of law for proper adjudication of the matter,” ST Yapang Lkr added.

Modi recalls Emergency: urges for preserving democracy

Hacking group believes NASA will announce discovery of aliens

Border landowners clarify why houses were torched SAYO takes Mao orgs to task for claiming Dzükou

KYO warn against KAAC posts to non-tribal persons

Seven killed in Gulmarg cable car accident

Mokokchung students demand justice for death of youth

Governor extends Eid Ul Fitr greetings

Retired officials continue using govt vehicles: RTI

Let us sacrifice our today so that our

children can have a better tomorrow.

~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Mirror Takes

~ Arien"You come to my shop only when non-locals close their shop.. How do you think it

makes me feel???"

An army soldier offers juice to children after a rescue mission in Gulmarg in north Kashmir on Sunday.PTI

Sublime Kidambi Srikanth lifts australian Open Super Series | p11

NPF Phomching announces candidate for upcoming election

IDD-UL Fitir greetingsDRSU informs on membership registration

Students guided towards career building

Human-animal mitigation prog held at Kiphire

IMFL worth 15 lakh seized from timber mill

BS & G Mokokchung cleans Imkongmeren Sports Complex

Phuktong villagers equipped with banking basics

Inter-hostels youth meet held at Salesian College

2 STATEEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

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In the write-up on ‘Story of Naga Club and Simon Com-mission Petition,’ by Thepfulhouvi Solo, the Writer has mistakenly mentioned 31 March 1952 as the date of the visit of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Unu of Burma to Kohima. The correct date is 30th March 1953. And the date Nagaland became 16th State of India is 1st December 1963, and not 31st December 1963. The Writer thanked the Governor of Odisha, Dr. SC Jamir for pointing the necessary corrections.

CORRECTIONS

Dimapur, June 24 (EMN): The Naga People’s Front (NPF) of 44 Phomching A/C under Mon

district, in its meeting on June 23, unanimously declared a vet-eran leader and former minister,

K.Konngam Konyak as party’s of-ficial candidate for the forthcoming coming Assembly election.

Leaders from Phomching A/C namely Chingyem Konyak, assist-ant treasurer of NPF Mon Division; K.Konngam Konyak, intending candidate; Ngame Konyak, presi-dent of 44 A/C; Nokyem, president of Youth Wing; Phamsa, presi-dent of Women Wing; Mannyoi president of Farmer Wing in unison shared their views and forecasting their progressive effort to win the coming election under the leader-ship of Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu, President NPF and Chief Minister of Nagaland.

The party also reaffirmed to work steadfastly and vigorously for victory of party’s consensus candi-date, K.Konngam Konyak.

The parent and frontal organisa-tions and village units attended the meeting.

MCD: The Muslim Coun-cil Dimapur (MCD) has extended Idd greetings to all citizens of Nagaland on the occasion of the holy festival Idd-Ul Fitir, a festival of Muslims after a month of prayer and fasting called Ramadan.

Rahman, Woking Presi-dent of MCD expressed hope that the festival of uni-versal peace and brother-hood would bring a new era of peace, unity and broth-erhood among the tribes and communities living in Nagaland.

MCD also informed that the Idd Namaz at Dimapur will be held at the local ID-DGAH Prayer Ground at 8 a.m.DDCF: The Dimapur Dis-trict Citizen Forum (DDCF) wished all the Muslim broth-ers and sisters living the state of Nagaland a Happy Idd on the occasionof the festival, Idd-Ul Fitir.

President of DDCF,

Joseph N. Lemtur hopes that the festival would bring more peace and prosperity to the citizens of Dimapur.Rotaract Club: The Rotaract Club of Dimapur wished the Muslim community of Di-mapur in particular and Na-galand in general a Happy and a Blessed Eid Mubarak. The club pray that the festival brings happiness and joy in life with brotherhood and peace around the world.NPF Minority Wing: Naga Peoples Front (NPF), Mi-nority Wing has extended warm greetings to Muslim community of Nagaland on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. The President of NPF Minority Wing Cen-tral, Bishnu Bhattacharjee, expressed hope that this joy-ous occasion would be the herald of sustained peace, prosperity and happiness and would further strength-en the bonds of communal harmony and brotherhood relationship.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Dimapur Rengma Stu-dents’ Union (DRSU) has reminded all the students who are yet to register to enroll themselves for posi-tively on or before June 30. The ID card will be issued free of cost.

The union also request-ed parents, guardians to register their child/ward. For further information regarding the membership registration, one may con-tact Information & Public-ity Secretary DRSU, Kvu-chulo Khing

At +918731943362 or +918014173513 (What-sApp)

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Angami Students’ Union of Kohima College Kohima, St. Joseph College Jakhama, Don Bosco College Ko-hima and Kohima Science College Jotsoma, organised one-day career guidance and entrepreneurship on theme “Awakening personality and performance” at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Kohima, on June 24.

The inaugural session was chaired by Letuozo Kiewhuo while Keduolhoul-ie Solo, Lecture of Asian Mission College, Kohima, invoked God’s blessings and president of Angami Gazetted Officers’ Krotho (AGOK), Kedozeto Pu-nyü, exhorted the students. President Angami Students’ Union, Visako Rino and his colleagues also attended the inaugural programme.

In the first session, EAC Chumukedima, The-javizo Nakhro, and EAC probationer,Dziesengunuo Mere, talked on civil service examination and stressed on how to crack this chal-lenging exams. Thejavizo advised the students to get most efficient books and focus on it.

In the second session, discussion on Ph. D research was put forward by Dr. Kevi-zakie Rio, Joint Mission

Director RMSA Nagaland and Dr. David Sachü, Assist-ant Professor from Sazolie College, Jotsoma.

Dr. Kevizakie Rio stated that university does not mat-ter, but the person who is pursuing matters.

While, challenging the students to pursue Ph.D, Dr. Sachü urged them not to give up no matter how hard the situations are because one day the person will en-joy the fruit of the degree they achieved. “Set a goal, go for it and don’t compare yourself to others and just mind your own business, he added.

CEO E-Commerce Company, London, Thejan-guzo Kiewhuo and Manag-ing Director of Bambusa Express, Medo Putsüre took over the entrepreneurship session. “If one wants to be one’s own boss, be an entre-preneur” said Kiewhuo.

“Starting a Business with money will lead you to a failure, do something which is in need of the soci-ety and that needs will create you a money,” stated Medo Putsüre.

The seminar was at-tended by delegates from St. Joseph College, Jakhama, Don Bosco College, Ko-hima and Kohima College, Kohima.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Human-an-imal conflict mitigation awareness and interaction with public was conducted by Kiphire Wildlife Division of the De-partment of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on June 22, at Com-munity Hall and Recreation Centre of Fakim village, Kiphire District.

Suman W M Sivachar IFS, wildlife warden of Kiphire, in his address in-formed participants on the importance of coexistence with wildlife. The reduc-tion of forests and reduction of food in the habitats of the wildlife are few of the reasons for the wildlife to venture into the human habitation, he said.

He highlighted the policies of the State Government and the MoEFCC in addressing the problem and also spoke about the benefits of conserva-tion.

The warden also informed that black bear, blyths tragopan, Khaleej pheasant, spotted linsang, wild dogs, braking deers have been captured by camera traps in the area. Mentioning that rare butterflies like Bhutan Glory are also found in the area, he said these rare and beautiful fauna found in the area may be lost forever if not the in-spiring efforts of the local villages like Fakim continued.

The chief guest, SDO (Civil) Pun-gro Sub-division , Samuel Thyug, in his address stressed on the importance of conservation. He cited an example of extinct bird Dodo that was once endemic to Mauritius Islands. He also mentioned as to how hunting destroyed

and wiped out an entire species from the face of this earth. Further, He urged the participants to continue conserving the flora and fauna considering that Fakim has been one of the forefront villages in Nagaland in conservation efforts thus far.

The guest of honour, Rajesh Ku-mar IFS, DFO Kiphire appreciated the conservation and support of locals that had led to the discovery of new species by scientists in Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary area – Molineria Faki-mense (named after Fakim village) and Penkimia Nagalandenesis (named after Penkim village).

The VCC of Fakim- Hanruthong

requested for greater coordination be-tween the department and the villagers for the benefit of conservation.

Tsuseki, member of the Bhutan Glory Eco-Club of Fakim adminis-tered the green pledge as part of Swach-ch Bharat Abhiyan and Harit Bharat program. The participants vowed to practice total sanitation and cleanliness.

The program was marked by dis-tribution of animal colouring books, notebooks, crayons and other sta-tionery to all the kids of the village. Around 90 persons including officers from Administration, Police and allied departments, women and children at-tended the program.

Mokokchung, June 25 (EMN): The Bharat Scouts & Guides (BS&G) Mokokchung undertook a social work on Saturday in which they cleaned up in and around Im-kongmeren Sports Complex, Mokokchung.

During the cleanliness drive, District Youth Resource Officer, Mokokchung & District Commissioner, BS&G, Libimo Lotha spoke about the hazards of plas-tics and encouraged all to limit using the same.

The social work, which was organized as part of their Golden Jubilee, Scouts & Guides pledged to stop using plastics.

Scouts & Guides and teachers from five schools, Mayangnokcha Government Higher Secondary School, Queen Mary Higher Secondary School, Government Town Middle School, GMS Pongentola and GMS Imrong, Ungma along with SDEO & District Secretary BS&G, DOC Scouts & Guides and seniors participated.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): State Bank of India (SBI) Mon branch on June 21, equipped Phuktong villag-ers with banking knowl-edge and responsibilities of a citizen to catch-up the advancing standards of the government and banking sector.

Resource person, chief manager of SBI Mon branch, KK Sharma, shared on the need to avail Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) by linking Aadhaar with Bank account to enjoy schemes offered by the government viz. job card in MGNRE-GA, LPG subsidy, PMAY etc.

He explained latest rules to open individual saving bank account and documents required. He in-formed that Bank accounts failing to link with Aadhaar by December 2017 shall be-come non-operational, be-sides restriction of deposits

or withdrawal above 50000 to or from the account shall come into force.

He disclosed that the Bank is ready to offer credit to NRLM compliant wom-en SHGs at 7% interest. Calling upon the public for building confidence, he said the bank exists to render service to the public while the customers should never fail the bank by defaulting recovery of loans or create hurdle to other loan ap-plicants.

In the interactive ses-sion, regarding minimum number of KCC loans of-fered by the bank branch, chief manager clarified that misuse of privilege by au-thority of some villages and failure in repayment by beneficiaries in the recent past as the main reason. Responding to queries on minimum bank branches in the district, he said poor net connectivity as the main

hurdle. Further, he ap-pealed for support towards better infrastructure in the district so as to pull in maxi-mum banking opportunities to the people.

Earlier, Rajuselie Lhou-sa, District Coordinator (Fi-nancial Inclusion) NSRLM Mon, in his keynote address shared the objectives of FLC and status of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).He reminded the SHGs to sincerely keep up the five principles ‘panchas-utra’ of NRLM to grow as strong institutions and at-tain women empowerment, while appealing menfolk to give support to reduce poverty within one’s own society.

Altogether 95 partici-pants representing village council, village develop-ment board, church lead-ers and 13 self-help groups (SHGs) attended the pro-gram.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): As an annual event, the hostels of Thahekhu village region came together at Salesian College of Higher Education on June 25 and

held its Inter-Hostels Meet 2017, with principal of Salesian College of Higher Education, Dr. Policarp Xalxo as chief guest.

In his message, the

chief guest underscore the need to utilise one’s poten-tial to the highest.

The highlight of the programme included in-door competitions such

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): 32 Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) along with police representa-tives launched an operation at 6th Mile, Dimapur on June 24.

According to PRO IGAR (North), during the search, the team recovered

752 cases of illegal IM-FLworth Rs.15 lakh from the Timber Mill owned by Devisie Meru, chair-man of 6th Mile Colony, Dimapur.

The seized items were handed over to Diphupar Police Station, Dimapur for further investigation.

Phomching A/C partymen pose for the lens during the induction meet.

SDEO & District Secretary of BS&G, DOC Scouts & Guides, seniors, teachers and scouts & guides pose for the lens during the social work at around Imkongmeren Sports Complex, Mokokchung.

Principal of Salesian College of Higher Education, Dr. Policarp Xalxo, hostel proprietors and hostellers during the inter-hostels meet 2017.

Seen in picture are the seized items fromTimber Mill.

as solo and group songs, extempore and prepared speech and dancing accord-ing to the tune are among others.

Out-door games like passing on message, calling out name, decoration of picture and treasure Hunt were also organised.

The core team were proprietors of hostels and residential students of Salesian College of Higher Education.

The Guest of honour, Youth Director of Salesian College, Fr. Christudoss, gave away the winning trophy to the champion, St. Alphonsa Hostel. Non-gbri and Kids Care stood bagged the first and second runner up respectively.

Out of 6 hostels, 3 hos-tels namely, Nongbri, St. Alphonsa and Kids Care hostels participated in the event.

WEathEr fOrECaSt in OthEr DiStriCtS Max Min DP rh rf

WOKha 24.4 14.8 21.8 88 9.6

ZBt - - - - -

MOn 34 23 22.2 93 34

tuEnSanG 24 17 17.4 91 6.2

MKG 25.2 16.2 21.1 81 13

PhEK 28.4 18.6 21.1 84 11.8

KiPhirE 30.8 20 22.5 95 1.8

SEChÜ ZuBZa 28.5 22 22.1 95 11.8

LOnGLEnG 17 14 9.8 62 20

tSEMinYu 27.4 20.8 21.7 87 28.6

JaLuKiE 26 19 23.6 92 NIL

ManGKOLEMBa 32.8 23.6 24.6 88 68.6

*Dew Point (DP) *Relative Humidity (RH) * Rainfall (RF)

Source: Department of Soil & Water Conservation, Nagaland

SDO (C) Pungro Sub-division , Samuel thyug addressing the awareness programme at Community Hall and Recreation Centre of Fakim village, Kiphire.

3STATEEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

CM

YK

Models at the Nagaland Fashion Week 2017 at Hotel Theja Fort, Dimapur, on June 25.

MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon at the inauguration of NIOS study centre in Bhandari on June 24.

Scholars suggest rationalising customary laws Residency Colony pledges to be model of clean elections

Nagaland Fashion Week 2017 concludes

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Naga scholars were of unanimous opinion that Naga women’s rights should be acknowledged not only in the Urban Local Bod-ies (ULBs) but in other bodies and expressed the need to criti-cally have a re-look at Naga cus-tomary laws without dismantling our traditional structures as well as Naga rights enshrined in Arti-cle 371A.

This view was expressed at the one-day panel talk and dis-cussion on ‘Gendered practices and emerging discourses in Naga society’ jointly organised by the Naga Scholars’ Association (NSA) and the Heritage Publish-ing House (HPH) at Elim Hall, DABA, Dimapur, on June 23.

The workshop deliberated on the five broad themes: custom-ary laws and practices; gendered roles in Naga society; Article 371 A and the current debate on 33 percent women’s reservation in ULB elections; adoption and in-heritance in Naga customs and women’s voice and participation in decision making process.

Lovitoli Jimo, convenor of the panel talk, gave a brief note and moderated the first session of the panel discussion with various civil societies.

The first speaker P Chuba Ozukum, president of Naga Hoho, traced the origin of Arti-cle 371 A of the Indian Constitu-tion vis-a-vis the Naga nationalist movement. He stated that there has been a shift in the position of Naga Hoho on women’s res-ervation from the initial stance where they thought it was a lit-tle premature to give 33 percent reservation to women. However, he highlighted on the need for further deliberation on the issue in relation to the change of time.

Dr. Rosemary Dzüvüchu, advisor of Naga Mothers As-

sociation (NMA), asserted that Naga society has an “unfriendly” attitude in relation to women’s issues. She stated that there is a “selective reading of the law and re-interpretation of the section of the customary law” which be-comes the “core issue” when it comes to women’s participation in decision making process.

Khesheli Chishi, former NMA president, pointed the need to be cautious and not to generalise the issue as men versus women or all men against wom-en’s reservation. She called for a progressive Naga society where the contribution of both men and women be recognised. Acknowl-edging the diversity of the Naga community, she stated that to in-terpret the Naga customary law is very problematic and substan-tiated her argument by giving an example of a Sumi village having a woman chief.

Kekhrie Yhome, NPMHR, observed that Nagas are people with “wounded pride” and an overwhelming energy of “frus-tration and anguish” but yet there is a desire for future. He in-formed the house on the stand of NPMHR that dehumanising of one gender is violation of human rights.

Toshi Wantung, advisor of ENPO, opined that Article 371 A as the outcome of Naga nation-alism purchased through Naga blood and must be protected. He stated that they are not against women’s reservation but for protection of Article 371 A. He further stressed on the need to codify the Naga customary laws.

Tsachola Sangtam, ENWO advisor, cautioned on the risk of proxy participation of women in decision making process. On the question of adoption and inher-itance in Naga customary laws, she talked about how women

were deprived of inheritance when both husband and wife contributed equally.

P Pius Lotha, CNTC advi-sor, opined that there is gender discrimination in Naga society. With regard to Article 371 A and customary laws, he highlighted on the need for a dialogue inclu-sive of tribes, government, men and women before placing in front of the larger public. He also called for revisiting the 2001 Mu-nicipal Act.

Temsujungla, vice president of Watsu Mungdang, presented a recommendation on behalf of their organisation. Stating that Naga customary laws and prac-tices have done justice, she how-ever said that some of the cus-tomary laws and practices need to evolve especially with regards to gender roles with the change of time. She also stressed on the need to codify customary laws and to have uniform interpreta-tion. In regard to adoption and inheritance, she said property of husband and wife should be equally distributed to the chil-dren, adding ancestral property should continue as per the tradi-tion.

Dr. Khekugha Muru, ACAUT, said that women’s par-ticipation should come through convention rather than law. He also asserted that to call Naga society as egalitarian where both men and women are equal is an overstatement. During the dis-cussion, he said the Nagas need to have a Naga perspective of Ar-ticle 371A.

The second session, mod-erated by Dr. Walunir, had an academic engagement with the broad themes.

Speaking on the theme, Khekiye K Sema, IAS (Retd) opined that 371A gave opportu-nity to the Nagas to exercise their

right independently. He added that Nagaland assembly hardly review any act passed by the cen-tral government. He concluded that Naga customary laws should be codified at tribal levels while also bringing out commonalities and best practices for common customary laws.

Achumbemo Kikon, NPF spokesperson, opined that Naga customs and traditions are im-portant but it should change as per the changes in time. He add-ed that customary laws should not be an obstacle towards align-ing our society alongside the glo-bal trends. He also said that India adopted reservation policy being a member to the United Nations.

Peter Rutsa, social activist, shared his experience of being placed in a place where both tra-dition and modernity exist simul-taneously, where is he caught in a dilemma because customary laws remained unchanged in a dynam-ic society. He acknowledged that change will eventually happen and there is no need to hasten the process.

He cited the example of the Mahila Battalion of the Indian Reserved Battalion of Nagaland, which was introduced as part of the women empowerment initia-tive which rather has had a nega-tive effect in the domestic sphere.

Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton, NSA, speaking on the themes ‘gender roles, gender voices and participation,’ she said reserva-tion is not a privilege but a long denied right. With different sec-tions of Naga society coming together for the panel talk, she opined that Nagas are ready for a change.

Joshua Sheqi, lawyer, called for a change in Naga mentality with the change of time. Accord-ing to him, gender issue is the most misunderstood issue. Ob-

serving the conflict of customary laws with Indian constitution, he pointed out the difference be-tween ‘constitutional provision’ (243T) and ‘Act of parliament’ (371A).

K Ela, Director Prodigal Home, brought to light the is-sues and concerns pertaining to adoption. She stated that Nagas neither follow the legal process nor the customary laws. She also highlighted the gender disparity with regards to adoption where girls are discriminated and stig-matised.

Dr. Anungla Aier, Principal of Kohima Science College, stat-ed that “Societies with the his-tory of violence have a tendency to promote patriarchy,” a fitting case for the Nagas. She theorised the citizenship question by tak-ing Naga customary laws where women do not have the same citi-zenship rights as men, adding it is in this context that reservation for women becomes a necessity.

The concluding remark of the workshop was delivered by Dr. Akum Longchari, Editor of Morung Express. He brought for-ward the two trajectories of truth in the context of the Naga Soci-ety - one ‘as a way” and the other “as revealed.” He emphasised on the need to synthesise the differ-ent information and chart a path forward.

He pointed out that if Naga customary law is to be codified, it will also be possible to create a Naga legal system for which we need Naga jurisprudence. He also highlighted on the need to make a distinction between cultural practices, which is ever evolving and cultural values which are not limited by time and space. Speak-ing on the present challenges in the society, he stated on the need to shift from politics of rights to politics of justice.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Residency Colony has re-solved to make polling station No. 65, within its colony under 2 Dimapur II Assembly Constituency as a model polling sta-tion of clean election and pledged to avoid multiple enrolment, not to sell or buy votes and to ensure one man one vote.

The resolution to this ef-fect was taken during a gen-eral meeting on clean elec-tion convened by the colony Clean Election Committee and attended by all coun-cil members, GBs, women leaders, youth leaders and some church activists num-bering 40 members.

Speaking at the meet-ing, the chairman apprised the gathering about the DUCCF & GBs Union decision to take the clean elections campaign at the colony level based on the clarion call of NBCC. He called upon the public not be discouraged by looking at the larger picture, but look within individual to be agent of change.

“When we as an indi-vidual wants to change and make a real commitment to change, change is pos-sible... likewise when every individual changes, the whole State will change. Change should begin from within,” the chairman ex-horted.

The youth leaders urged upon the council leaders to lead the way stating the younger generation will give their full support for a clean society.

A special prayer of for-

giveness on bitterness and misdeeds of past elections was lead by Mrs Amongla.

It resolved that the com-mittee will ensure genuine voters come out to cast their vote. The committee will verify the queue and insist every voter to hold their col-our voter ID card. On the polling day, elderly voters will be allowed to vote first, followed by youth mem-bers and conclude with the chairman.

The meeting mandated the committee to assist the BLO to purify the E- roll as and when CEC notifies and to delete all non existing people’s name.

It resolved that no proxy or outsiders shall be allowed to vote and al-lowed setting up of youth camps and desist demand-ing money from the candi-dates or the workers.

It also resolved that political parties and candi-dates will not be allowed for pocket meeting and house visiting, adding if any candidate wants to have a meeting with the general public, he or she must approach the council and request for the same.

Further it resolved that if any resident violates the above resolutions... he or she shall be deprived of all facilities and rights as the resident of the colony. The punitive punishment and condemnation will be lifted only after the next round of elections where he or she must prove the commit-ment to change by abiding and fulfilling the clean elec-tions pledge.

Staff ReporterDimapur, June 25 (EMN): The 1st edition of Naga-land Fashion Week 2017, organised by Nagaland Designers’ Association, concluded on June 25 at Hotel Theja Fort, Di-mapur. The closing cer-emony was graced by Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for Nagaland State Disaster Management Au-thority (NSDMA) Johny Ruangmei as the ‘Man of the event.’

The winners of the show were Dosoulou J Vemai from emergent cat-egory, Sanjeev Tamang from novice and Kathimen from enthusiast category respectively. The winners were gifted with one Vivo phone each sponsored by Vivo phone distributor Vi-kas Jain.

The winners in the emergent category will participate at the ‘North East Fashion Week,’ while winners of novice and en-

An image of a massive landslide at Aonokpu village under Longchem Circle in Mokokchung district in the morning hours of June 25. The landslide occurred at a place on the approach of the village cutting off connection with the rest of the State. No loss of lives has been reported but there are apprehensions that more slides could be triggered if there is more rainfall.

Global Shapers’ date with the CMLegislator visits NSMDC head office

NIOS study centre inaugurated in BhandariOur Correspondent

Kohima, June 25 (EMN): Global Shapers Kohima Hub held its third Café Conversa-tions series ‘Story Nights: Reviving our age-old oral tradition,’ with the chief minister Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu at D Café, Jail Colony, Kohima, on Saturday evening.

Dr. Shurhozelie spoke about his book ‘Utsiepfumia Rüve’ (Migration of our fore-fathers), where he made an attempt to write about the history of the Naga origin. Nar-rating about his book, he said the story was told and retold by elders about the town called Hajüma that means “not fully cov-ered.” He mentioned that elders in the past believed the earth was flat and covered by the sky, adding with that believe they had given the name Hajüma because that place was windy and that they had to cover their face when they go out.

Upon hearing stories from many places, Shurhozelie said he attempted on writing the book entitled Utsiepfumia Rüve (Mi-gration of our forefathers). The stories were collected from the villages in his area.

“Let us not forget our origin, all of you should make attempt to find where you have come from,” he said.

Mentioning that Nagas’ education had come very late, he said the progress was good yet lack behind in many things. He said the book was an attempt to write about the history of Nagaland in his own words. “If the future research scholars can get some clue in the research that will be my reward for what it has been written in my preface,’ he said.

The Global Shapers is an initiative of the World Economic Forum. The Global Shapers Kohima Hub comprises of 10 Global Shapers from diverse sectors, who have already worked on different social causes on their personal careers, contrib-uting to serving society at large, ready to engage in the community, reinforcing the World Economic Forum’s mission and objectives and supporting fellow shapers in their individual and professional devel-opment.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Parliamentary Secretary of State Min-eral Development Cor-poration Ltd (NSMDC), Vikho-o Yhoshü, visited its head office on June 23.

Vikho-o Yhoshü, who was stated to have left the corporation as managing director in 2007, returned to take the reins of the corporation in higher re-sponsibility.

Highlighting the achievements and activi-ties of the Corporation, T Longri Ao, Managing Director, said that the legislator was the ‘archi-tect’ of the NSMDC in the early ‘80s. He attrib-uted that most of the de-partment’s projects were conceptualised during his tenure as Managing Director, a press release from T Longri Ao, Man-aging Director, stated on June 23.

In his address, Vikho-o Yhoshü mentioned that after leaving the Corpora-tion in 2007, it was ‘just like coming back to own family and old friends.’ Being instrumental in doing the ground works that led to starting the NSMDC, he highlighted some points on how the corporation came about.

“Facing a lot of prob-lems during the then tur-

bulent political environ-ment, the mini cement plant at Wazeho was started which became the main project of the cor-poration. But the incen-tives and other subsidies for mini cement plants was slowly withdrawn by the centre, leading to unforeseen obstacles and difficulties,” the press re-lease quoted him as hav-ing stated.

“But even then, the MCP was upgraded from 50 TPD to 150 TPD. But with the government’s policy that PSUs should not be operating the fac-tories but rather to fa-cilitate and promote the private sector, the Gov-ernment decided to pri-vatise the mini cement plant,” it added.

In his concluding re-marks, the parliamentary secretary assured to give his best to ‘clear all de-partmental proposals to-gether.’

Even though the NS-MDC had been facing a lot of hardships, he said the corporation “should not lose heart as we have a lot of important activi-ties in the corporation and that if all give the best of their abilities to the corporation, we can all take NSMDC to a bet-ter and bright future,” the press release added.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon inaugurated the National Institute of Open School-ing (NIOS) study centre at Government Higher Sec-ondary School, Bhandari, on June 24.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mmhonlumo termed the event ‘historic and a milestone’ in the educa-tional history of Bhandari because it is the first NIOS study centre in Wokha district to offer senior sec-ondary level courses and the second centre to offer secondary level courses in the district. Dedicating the study centre to the people of Bhandari sub-division, Mmhonlumo congratu-lated the school principal B Nellayappan and staff of GHSS, Bhandari, for tak-ing the initiative with zeal of a missionary.

He expressed happi-ness for the progressive de-velopments taking place at GHSS, Bhandari, and ap-preciated the principal and the teachers for enabling the school to attract more students than the nearby reputed private schools. He proudly stated that af-ter the initial period of at-taining Statehood, GHSS, Bhandari might be one among the very few gov-ernment schools to have a healthy competition with private schools.

While acknowledging

the love of the principal for the people of Bhandari, he requested the public to continue their support to the dedicated efforts of the principal towards the up-lift of the school and the Bhandari area.

Mmhonlumo was dis-tressed to know about the alarming increase in the dropout rate of students in Bhandari sub-division due to various factors such as inability of parents to meet the educational expenses of their children. He re-gretted that many young people have been deprived of attending school due to family constraints adding to the problem of unem-ployment existing in the sub-division.

He however expressed hope that the successful functioning of NIOS at Bhandari could solve half of the issues related with unemployment as continu-ing of education by the dropouts would empower them to face the challenges of life with confidence.

Mmhonlumo also ex-pressed disappointment and anguish over the nil and poor results exhib-ited by many government high schools. Attributing to involvement of multi-ple factors, he suggested solving the issue through the dedicated efforts of all stakeholders. Stating that government needs

to be sensitive to the re-quirements of schools and teachers, he said it will not be possible to bring reforms if government remains in-sensitive to vital issues.

He stated that students look at the teachers as role models and dedicated teachers are never forgot-ten by students even after decades. He advocated the policy of awarding the per-forming teachers with post-ing them at their place of choice and transferring out the non-performing teach-ers to faraway places.

The MLA also urged all government servants posted at Bhandari to be stationed at the place of posting and discharge their duties with devotion.

He urged all the NGOs and the people of Bhandari take ownership of the cen-tre and ensure that each and every dropout student from Bhandari get enrolled at the centre and continue their further studies suc-cessfully.

The programme was chaired by B Mhabeni Ody-uo, PGT, while the invoca-tion was said by Whutsi Pfithu, PGT, and the wel-come address was deliv-ered by Yanbemo Lotha, AHM. Short speech on the scope of NIOS courses was delivered by B Nellayap-pan, Principal, and the vote of thanks was proposed by Shahlen Nyiam.

thusiast will be sponsored by the organising members for one month internship outside the State in fash-ion house or industry and three months basic fashion

designing course within the State from the recognised fashion institute.

The semi-finalists of the show were Hivi and Alilakge from emergent

category, Vilhousa Movi from novice and Rosenle Rengma from enthusiast category. They were also given gift hamper from Maybeline sponsored by Maybeline distributor Vivek.

It may be mentioned that Nagaland Designers Association, a non profit organisation, was formed in 2008 in Kohima by several designers from the State with certain aims and objectives.

NDA was formally launched by the then chief minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, on November 6, 2011, and registered un-der the Home Department.

The three-day fashion show concluded success-fully with designers show-casing their designs based on the themes ‘Helwa Siamese,’ ’Free spirited,’ ‘Magnifusion,’ ‘Rangoli,’ ‘Good bellator,’ ‘Color me bold’ etc.

The judges of the show

were Director of Hope Centre for Excellence, Zubeno Mozhui, Sen-ior Designer and Wind-fall showroom proprietor Bambi Kevichusa and Pat-tern Designer, Benthunga Kithan.

The event was support-ed by Government of Na-galand, Women Resource Development, Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency, Directorate of Employment, Skilled De-velopment and Entrepre-neurship.

During the closing cer-emony special song was presented by Hrihne J Ve-mai, runway mentored by model Opang Jamir, host-ed by Peteneinuo Venuh, choreographed by Theja Sekhose and makeup by Johny D’ Ascoli.

The ceremony culmi-nated with a vote of thanks delivered by NFW Event Co-ordinator Kavili Kiba Swu and special perform-ance by singer Yen Zhimo.

On Framework AgreementSpeaking about the Framework Agree-ment signed between the NSCN(IM) and Government of India, Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu said he himself doesn’t know the content. He however expressed believe that NSCN (IM) must be doing their best for Nagas. He said this in response to a quesr-tion rauied by one of the participants.

Elaborating on it, he said we have di-vided ourselves into many factions, but on the other side, six political group have come together under Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs),

He said it is easier to speak about unity as there are only two factions now, NSCN (IM) and the six political group NNPG on the other side.

We may be wrong but we have been requesting the six political groups not to in-sists on the participation at this crucial stage in the talk, that is one side of the coin, said Liezietsu.

On the statement issued by NSCN IM, “We keep our door open, we welcome eve-rybody to come and join us,” he said to some leaders if you uphold the statement, I assure you nobody will come to you, but it is you who are to approach other groups to keep them in confidence.

If we don’t go to that extent, it may not be a settlement. And if one group alone be-lieved that can bring about the settlement, they are fooling themselves, that’s what we believe, said Liezietsu.

4 RegionEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

Kang chingba festival at Palace compound in imphal on sunday.

Suman Ningthoujam from Imphal, Manipur was declared as the 8th Fair & Lovely Men Mega Mister North East 2017, Babul Koch from Guwahati, Assam and Soman Chetry from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh became the 1st and 2nd runners up respectively held at ITA Cultural Complex, Machkhowa on Saturday evening.

Mirror Crossword 1514sud0ku 1354Every Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically. Enter numbers into the blank spaces so that each row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9.

solutions to CRossWoRD 1513

Across1 Temporary exemption6 Dread10 Unwanted e-mail14 Mature15 Gun shop purchase16 It can go to blazes17 “__ the body electric”18 Police19 “__ Misbehavin’”20 Tooth tissue22 Colonist24 Positive pole26 Conductor Toscanini27 Shrewd30 Danny DeVito’s “Taxi” role32 Flight prefix33 Box35 Comedian Richard39 Adult males40 Celtic May Day42 What I may mean43 Investigate45 Unctuous46 1963 Shirley MacLaine role47 Totaled49 Joined51 Narrow steep-sided valley54 Peter of Herman’s Hermits56 Accumulated58 Lie62 Delta deposit63 Grime65 Sgt. Bilko66 Break the news67 Café additive68 Short letters69 “I cannot tell __”70 One of the Muppets71 Worthless stuff

Down1 Grating2 Ascend3 Neat as __4 Peso fraction

5 Locomotive6 Confronted7 Comic Philips8 Sound boosters9 Dominica’s capital10 Break to bits11 French soldier12 “Lou Grant” star13 Subway21 Scandinavian23 Nonsense25 Great joy

27 Bivouac28 Lecherous look29 Cube inventor Rubik31 Unwritten34 It may be hatched36 Richard III’s house37 At my expense38 Scan40 Campfire chow41 Parachute material44 Prickly hair46 Wrong

48 Narrow pointed rock50 Mean51 Dreadlocks wearer52 Film director Jon53 “Grease” singer Frankie55 __ lunch57 Clock face59 “Do __ others ...”60 Affiliations61 Pianist Myra64 Outer edge

solutions to suD0ku 1353

CBI to question Tripura minister on June 29Agartala, June 25 (PTI): Tripura Social Welfare Minister Bijita Nath, who received a CBI notice for questioning in connection with the Rose Valley group chit fund scam, today said she would share information with the agency.

“I am not aware about what information the CBI officials want to know from me regarding Rose Valley group, but I will share if any information is available with me”, Nath told reporters.

The Social Welfare minister said she received the CBI notice yesterday through the state assem-bly and the CBI official would meet

her at her official residence on June 29 at 10 am.

The notice was issued by CBI inspector Bratim Ghoshal under Section 160 CrPC (any police of-ficer can call a person for interro-gation in connection with a case).

“It appears that you are ac-quainted with the circumstances of case number 39(S)/2014 regis-tered against the chairman of the Rose Valley Limited and you are required to make yourself available on June 29,” the notice said. This is for the first time that the CBI has issued a notice to any minister of Tripura.

Earlier there were many media reports that Nath was allegedly involved with Rose Valley group chit fund scam but she had denied the allegations.

Tripura CPI-M secretary, Bijan Dhar said, “If any information of Rose Valley group is available with her she would share it. There is no problem”.

Tripura government had raid-ed the offices of many chit fund groups last year and confiscated movable and immovable proper-ties of the Rose Valley group from 20 places in different parts of the state.

The Tripura High Court last year issued an order to the state government to set up a Special In-vestigation Team to investigate the financial corruptions of chit fund groups and Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFC).

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) who is heading the SIT said, the team was probing 78 cases of 48 NBFCs in the state.

The state Government had asked CBI to take up 37 cases in 2013, but CBI accepted only five cases on the plea that other cases did not come under the purview of CBI.

Most peaceful polls in six decades in local body in Assam New Delhi, June 25 (PTI): Karbi Anglong, one of the most volatile regions in Assam, has witnessed the most peaceful elections to an autono-mous body in more than six decades, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said today.

The recently concluded election to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), comprising the two districts of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong, has been termed as the most peaceful polls held since 1952, when the council was created under the Sixth Sched-ule of the Constitution.

The election was held without any untoward incident during the whole process and it was the most peaceful election to an autonomous body in more than six decades, Sonowal said in a statement here.

The chief minister said even the Assam State Election Commission has on record acknowledged this fact.

This has been a great achieve-ment for the state police who worked tirelessly in close co-ordination with

the district administration and other sister agencies and relentless support of public, he said.

Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), which was known as Mikir Hills District Council, came into existence on June 23, 1952.

The Council which is empow-ered to legislate on various inherent and entrusted subjects is the most important administrative entity for all except few subjects like law and order, relief and rehabilitation etc.

Hence, the elections to the Au-tonomous Council always assumed paramount significance charac-terised by enormous campaigning activity and extreme volatility.

Ever since its formation, the KAAC went to polls 11 times and the election process for the 12th council just concluded.

These elections have always been a challenge for the civil and police administration as the area is sparsely populated with population density just over 93 per sq.km, hilly and roll-ing terrain draped from Singhason hills. With forests occupying 47 per

cent of the geographical area, it has been one of the active fields for ter-rorist activities.

A conglomerate of 24 organisa-tions which was later joined by two more organisations became active just few months before the scheduled period of elections with demands like complete change of electoral process and de-enfranchisement of certain sections of people.

The sensitive issue was hired by these organisations to stall the election process. Extreme methods of protests were adopted by these groups to popularise their demand and to get public rallied behind them with motive of scuttling the election process.

The chief minister said the police administration tackled the protests meticulously by careful planning, domination and visibility of security forces, posing continuous psycholog-ical deterrence to these organisations with utmost perseverance, resulting in gradual dissipation of the issue and brought a conducive atmosphere for conduct of elections.

Arunachal Guv, CM greet people on the occasion of Eid Ul FitrItanagar, June 25 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Governor P B Acharya and Chief Minister Pema Khandu today greeted the people of the state on the auspicious occa-sion of Eid Ul Fitr.

The governor conveyed his warm greet-ings to the people of the state, particularly to all Muslim brothers and sisters and ex-pressed hope that the sacred occasion will usher-in good will and harmony and further strengthen the values of composite society.

The Governor said that the festival of Eid Ul Fitr marks the culmination of the Holy Month of 'Ramzan', the month of prayers, blessings and forgiveness.

It reminds every members of the community their obligations and respon-sibilities towards other members of the society, especially the poor and downtrod-den for peaceful coexistence and equitable

progress of the state and the nation."On this Eid, I wish that Allah s bless-

ings light up the path oneness and lead to happiness and success," the Governor wished. In a message here this evening, Khandu greeted the people of Muslim community and said he joins them in the celebration of the three-day festival of feast and festivity. "Our Muslim friends have been fasting through the month of Ramadan waiting for this day.

"As they break the fast and pray for well being of all sentient beings, let s join them and pray for peace, prosperity and development of our state," Khandu said. The chief minister reminded everybody of the basic message of Eid ul-Fitr that says forgive and forget . "This Eid let s all forgive each other for our flaws and forget the past. Let s build a new world where there is no place for hatred," he appealed.

Kang festival begins in Manipur Our Correspondent

Imphal, June 25 (EMN): Nine days celebration of Kang festival began with pomp and gaiety in Ma-nipur on Sunday. The main events of the festival include the pulling of Kang, the traditional chariot and of-fering of flowers and fruits to Shree Shree Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

A large number of dev-otees turned up in their traditional festival attires at the Palace Gate and temple to take part in the festival

N Biren Singh flags off MST bus service

Our Correspondent Imphal, June 25 (EMN): Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched inter-district and city bus services on Sunday on its 100-days programme in Imphal.

The first phase, MST will operate city bus service in two routes, both originating from ISBT, Deulahl-and. The transport agency would also initially have Imphal-Noney, Imphal-Moreh, Imphal-Kakching, Imphal-Yairipok, Imphal-Moirang and Imphal-Pherzawl inter-district bus services. The proposed fleet size of the agency is around 150 buses to be achieved in three phases. He flagged off the bus services from the complex of erstwhile Manipur State Road Transport Corporation, Moirangkhom, Imphal.

Speaking at the occasion, Biren expressed confidence that the newly revived public transport system would be successful. He also expressed happiness on launching the service on the eve of Eid-Ul Fitre and on being coincided by the occasion with Rath Jatra festival.

Stating that inter-district bus services for the remain-ing districts would also be launched soon, the Chief Minister said that the State Government would procure necessary buses for the said purpose at the earliest.

Observing that connectivity is a must to restore emo-tional integration, N. Biren urged the people to take MST as their own property. He further opined that transpar-ency would bring trust, and trust would further build up unity among people of different communities.

MAHUD celebrates 100 days programme in Manipur Our Correspondent

Imphal, June 25 (EMN): Municipal Administration, Housing & Urban Development (MAHUD) celebrated “MAHUD in 100 Days” in the his-toric women's market in Imphal on Sunday.

Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ka-ram Shyam graced the event as the chief guest and MAHUD Minister Thounaojam Shyamkumar presided over the function. In his speech min-ister Shyam said, the citizens must

inculcate civic sense and duties in life and respect human resource to bring overall development.

If all the people in the world take their responsibilities collectively then there could be progress in the human civilization, the Minister added. MA-HUD Minister Shyamkumar, speak-ing as the President of the function stressed on the need to keep Imphal city need and clean, including Ima Keithel.

He described Ima Keithel as the face of the State as it is one of the

unique markets run by women in the world. He also sought public cooperation to keep the city neat and clean.

N. Indrajit Singh, Parliamentary Secretary (MAHUD); Dr. J. Suresh Babu, Additional Chief Secretary; N. Gitkumar, MAHUD Director; L. Lokeshwor, IMC Mayor; M. Ashini-kumar, Vice Chairman MIDA; offi-cials of MAHUD; IMC corporators & officials and women vendors of the Khwairamband Keithel attended the function.

Narcotic Cell seizes drugs in Manipur Our Correspondent

Imphal, June 25 (EMN): Narcotic Cell, Imphal West and Narcotic Affairs and Border, Imphal East and Churachandpur district police seized banned drug items worth lakhs of ru-pees from different locations within 48 hours.

According to reports, a combined team of NAB, Narcotic Cell and district police Imphal East under the instruction of SP K Ka-bib conducted a raid at Po-rompat Pangal Leirak and seized 484 numbers of SP

tablet, 100 numbers of N-10 tablet and 90 numbers of WY tablet from the posses-sion of Md Fazal (33). The arrested person along with the seized drugs has been handed over to Porompat police station.

A team of Narcotic Cell, Imphal West apprehended one Letkholal Mate (29) of Lhangom Veng, Moreh presently staying at Khabam Lamkhai with huge quanti-ties of banned drugs from near Khabam Lamkhai Pan-thoi Shanglen. The police team found 200 pieces of

WY tablet worth around Rs 15 lakh from his possession.

Drug Cell Churachand-pur district police based on concrete input conducted random frisking and check-ing at Kangvai Outpost and recovered 20 kgs of raw Opium (Kaani) market price worth about Rs.16 lakhs, from one Lunlam Kipgen (37) of Boljang, Saikul under Kangpokpi district while he was on his way to Thoubal from Churachandpur in a Maruti van (MN 01X 9014) around 2 a.m on Saturday, according to police sources.

Guwahati, June 25 (EMN): The city based Sight First Eye-Clinic organised OPD (outpatient department) clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on June 24. Altogether 45 media person participated.

It was organised under the series of ‘Evening with a Doctor’ programmes for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependents, the camp was conduct-ed by Dr Shubhra Kinkor Goswami and Dr Bijuli Goswami. Both the eye special-ists were assisted by health workers Ra-men Haloi, Bapan Paul and Paresh Das in the conducting the camp. Though most of the participants’ eyes were diagnosed healthy, the attending physicians advised the media persons to be more careful in

using the digital screens for a longer pe-riod. They also advised the participants to use proper light in their reading rooms. The next weekly health camp will be con-ducted on 1 July which will be attended by physicians from Nemcare Hospital and on 8 July OPD is scheduled for Fortis Hospital Bangalore.

Practicing doctors from Apollo Chen-nai Hospital, Medanta-the Medicity Hos-pital, Manipal Bangalore Hospital, Down Town Hospitals, GNRC Hospitals, Dispur Hospitals, Wintrobe Hospital, Narayana Super-Specialty Hospitals, Swagat Super-Surgical Institute, Barthakur Clinic and Government Ayurvedic College have at-tended the camps till date.

Eye specialists conduct OPD clinic at Press Club

Guwahati, June 25 (PTI): Flood situation in Assam im-proved today although over 45,000 people are still affected by flood waters in four districts of the state.

According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Man-agement Authority (ASDMA), more than 45,400 people are reeling under flood waters in Lakhimpur, Karimganj, Sivasagar and Jorhat districts. Till yesterday, little over 87,500 people were affected in three districts across Assam due to flood. ASDMA said 83 villages are under water at present, while 117 hectares of crop land have been damaged. Authorities are operating five relief camps and distribution points, where 500 people are taking shelter at this moment. Currently, Dhansiri River at Numaligarh in Golaghat and Katakhal river at Matizuri in Hailakandi are flowing above the danger mark, the ASDMA said.

Flood situation improves in Assam

Itanagar, June 25 (PTI): The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to increase the retirement age of regular state government employees to 60 years with effect from January 1 next year.

The matter was under consideration of the state government for past many months and was discussed in the cabinet in two separate

occasions.After threadbare discus-

sion, the government ob-served that there are various categories of employees who are already having the ben-efit of retirement age of 60 years, an official release said here today.

In order to do away with differential retirement age for the regular employees serving under the same gov-

ernment, the state govern-ment decided to implement the retirement age of such employees from existing 58 to 60 years.

However, taking into account the procedural time of statutory changes to be made to the new scheme, the government decided to implement it with effect from January 1, 2018, the release added.

Arunachal Govt rises retirement age of employees to 60 years

despite a downpour.The state also celebrat-

ed Kang Chingba festival, besides holding religious

rituals in the evenings at mandaps and community halls. The festival will con-clude on 3 July.

5business / stateEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

Officials inspecting the pineapple farm in Molvum village.

Members of Cancer Support Groups durnig its formation at CIHSR, Dimapur, on Saturday.

Kohima village Catholic Sunday School students pose for group photo at the 5th Summer Camp on June 23.

Don’t wait for last day to file returns: Navin Kumar

Officials evaluate MIDH projects in State

Cancer support group launched in Dimapur

NBBFA launched in Dimapur

BS&G Dimapur inducts vice presidents

Catholic Sunday School summer camp underway

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) : Despite the GST Council giving a one-month extension in filing returns under the new indi-rect tax regime, businesses should start uploading in-voices much earlier, says Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) Chair-man Navin Kumar.

He cautioned against delays on the portal near the deadline due to in-creased traffic.

According to the cur-rent taxpayer behaviour on VAT payments, 80 per cent of the taxpayers file returns on the last two days of the deadline -- 50 per cent are found to be filing on the last day and about 30 per cent on the penultimate day, he said.

“We are emphasising that the taxpayers should not wait till the last day to upload data on the website. If everyone comes on the last day, they will experi-ence delays on our portal,” Kumar told IANS.

“Taxpayers will start issuing tax invoices in July. But they have to re-port it in the system by September 5. So what we are telling the taxpayers is that if they have large transactions and many in-voices, they should upload the data even before Sep-tember 5,” he said.

“We are providing the facility for them from July 15 to upload the invoice level data, so they will have time to put all the invoices on the system,” he added.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) will come into effect from July 1 and GSTN provides the IT in-frastructure for the new tax regime. According to the original schedule, the returns were to be filed between August 1 and Au-

gust 20. This date has now been deferred by a month.

The first return that was to be filed on August 10, now needs to be filed by September 5. The sec-ond return which was to be filed on August 15 will now be filed by Septem-ber 10 and the third return which was to be filed on August 20 now needs to be filed by September 15. After September 15, those who do not file their re-turns would have to pay a penalty.

While small businesses which have only 100-300 invoices a month can up-load it online, the bigger businesses will have to download the offline tool from GSTN portal which has the maximum capac-ity of uploading 19,000 in-voices. Further, bigger busi-nesses will have to upload invoices multiple times, a process they should go for during the night hours or start doing weeks ahead, Kumar advised.

“The businesses can upload data on the excel sheet of the offline tool and whenever they have time and internet connec-tivity, connect and upload. If a business has around 100,000 invoices, they can use the offline utility five times or so at night and then it will be done,” he said.

The offline tool is of 5 MB size and GSTN claims it would take less than 30 seconds to upload, depend-ing on the internet speed.

Kumar said that in far-flung areas, traders can make use of the offline tool and then upload as soon as they are able to get 5-10 minutes of internet con-nectivity.

“We have looked at the data of registrations where

6.6 million taxpayers have activated their account. We have found that they are not only from Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai, but from small-er cities of North-East, Chhattisgarh and rural ar-eas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Even if they are able to connect for 5-10 minutes they can upload invoices,” he said.

GSTN is also banking on the fact that a number of taxpayers will come under the composition scheme under which there is a fixed rate of taxation, up to five per cent.

“Till Rs 75 lakh turno-ver, businesses will come under the composition scheme. They don’t have to file invoices, but have to give a two-line return. 50-60 per cent taxpayers on the system will be under Rs 75 lakh annual turnvoer, so they are not going to load the system,” he said.

Kumar said that GSTN portal has been enabled to handle a large number of connections simultane-ously.

“Our system will be able to handle 60,000 con-nections per second. We have styled our system to handle this kind of load, but it will be easier for eve-ryone if they do it earlier,” he said.

“There will be teething troubles, but troubles will be met with solutions. Tax-payers need to be exposed to the new system of filing returns. Forms are new. Taxpayers can come to our portal and can get used to the system,” he said.

Assuring taxpayers that there was nothing to wor-ry, Kumar said that peo-ple would get used to the new system in one to two months.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Catholic Sunday School, Kohima village, began its 15th Summer Camp at Christ King Jubi-lee Hall, Kohima village, on June 23 on the theme ‘Adventure with Christ.’

The camp is an annual programme of Catholic Sunday School, Kohima village, where sub-juniors, junior and intermediate students get to learn more about Catholic faith and build their confident in leadership.

The camp began with the inaugural programme chaired by Vizokhonyü Victor, while Ruokuovi-tuo Robert, Catechist, in-voked God’s blessings for the success of the camp. Kethoneizo James, presi-dent CSS, welcomed the campers and the 15th Summer Camp 2017 was officially declared open by

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Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): To get the first hand knowl-edge and to evaluate the progress of Mission for In-tegrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) pro-ject based activities which are sanctioned for three years (2014-15 to 2016-17), a Joint Inspection Team (JIT) visited the State from June 20-22.

The JIT compris-ing chief consultant for MIDH Dr. RC Upad-hyaya; Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, New Delhi; repre-sentatives from ICAR, Re-search Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Cen-tre’ Dr. Azeze Seyie and

Arvind Kumar of the Cen-tral Institute of Horticul-ture, Medzhiphema, have visited and evaluated the physical progress of differ-ent project based activities in two districts of the State.

During the three-day visit, JIT visited and inter-acted with the beneficiaries of Rural Market & Natu-rally Ventilated Tubular

Structure for Orchid at Old Showuba, Tissue Culture Laboratory for Banana & Orchids and Mushroom Development Centre at the State Horticulture Nurs-ery and Pineapple Farms in Molvum. The team also visited a Pack House at Kiruphema, a Process-ing & Retail Market (In-tegrated) at Zubza, two Naturally Ventilated Tu-bular Structures for Lilium & for Chrysanthemum at Kohima village, Vegeta-ble cultivation at Kidima, Retail Market at Jakhama and Vegetable Cultivation & Accredited Nursery (Plum) at Khuzama.

JIT, while visiting the different projects, also enquired upon if any dif-ficulties were faced while implementing the MIDH projects.

On June 21, JIT had an interface interaction with the Horticulture Depart-ment officials which was led by N Amos Ao, Joint Director & HoD, while Alan Gonmei, Secretary

of Horticulture, was the chairman. During the in-terface, the JIT apprised the officials on the physi-cal verification of those projects implemented by the department in the two districts and certain sug-gestions and recommenda-tions were deliberated for further improvement of the MIDH programme in the State.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticul-ture (MIDH) is a centrally sponsored programme that is being implemented in the State by the Horti-culture Department. Spe-cific crops based on its geographical location have been targeted for its culti-vation so that production and productivity of that crop is achieved at par with national level.

Various inputs and components accompanied by technical know-how are made available to the ben-eficiaries depending on the adaptability of the crop in different locations.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Aiming at reaching out to those undergoing cancer treatments, palliative pa-tients and those who have survived the disease, a can-cer support group at Re-ferral Hospital (CIHSR), 4th Mile, Dimapur, was launched this morning in the Chapel Hall of the hos-pital.

The group, which is the first of its kind in Dimapur district, was founded by Ahimsa Zhimo, in associa-tion with Referral Hospi-tal. The group was formed with an objective to offer support, understanding and sympathy to people who have cancer, or have beaten it, and to their fami-lies and their friends.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Ahimsa Zhimo said doctors might give the best treatment but it is the pa-tient who needs to be posi-tive of the whole approach, adding in such situation the support group could play a positive role to motivate and encourage in order to win back to life after can-cer. She said the group will focus on wide range of is-sues surrounding cancer, spirituality, grief, loss and death.

Dr. Sedevi Angami, Di-rector CIHSR, expressed confidence that formation of such group would help many of those diagnosed with cancer.

Also speaking on the occasion, Mrs Banuo Z Jamir, former State Chief Secretary, said people usu-ally get panic with the word cancer which was largely because of delayed in treatment due to lack of facilities. She however said people don’t need to fear anymore with the availabil-ity of advanced facilities. She said cancer is prevent-able and cure-able if detect-ed at an early stage.

Banuo was of the view that government should give much importance to help those suffering from cancer to avail required medical treatment. She ob-served that the government is not giving importance like other contagious dis-eases. She was hopeful that the support group would sensitise the government on the issue.

Inaholi Sumi, repre-senting the nurses of the oncology department of Referral Hospital, spoke about the positive impact after being motivated by cancer survivors.

Atsung Imchen, chap-lain of CIHSR Chapel, of-fered the dedicatory prayer for the support group, while counsellor Atemla said the invocation prayer. The sup-port group comprised of patients undergoing treat-ment, survivors, care givers (those related to patients) and hospitals faculties.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Induction programme of Bharat Scouts & Guides (BS&G) of Dimapur district was held in the DC’s conference hall on June 23 under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner and President of Bharat Scouts & Guides Association, Dimapur, Keso-nyu Yhome.

The newly inducted vice presidents included ADC, Di-mapur, Sara Jamir; CEO DMC, Moa Sangtam; and SDO (C) Zakabo Rotokha.

All three vice presidents expressed their happiness for the honour and assured to extend all possible help and co-operation towards the association in serving the people.

Other highlights of the induction programme included presentation of prayer song, special items presented by Scouts & Guides. Induction ceremony was done by DOC (S), DM Agay Joseph and DOC (G), Kevileno Haikam, who also delivered short speech about Bharat Scouts &Guides.

Dimapur, June 25 (EMN): Nagaland Body Building & Fitness Association (NBBFA) was launched at its head office located opposite of West Police Station, Supply Colony, Dimapur, on June 24 with the motto “Rethink Rebuild Reveal” and with the vision to serve with dignity and promote quality awareness and fitness education.

Chairperson Ms Asula, in her keynote address said “Fitness is not about being better than someone, fitness is about being better than the person you were yesterday. It is health that is real wealth and not a piece of gold and silver.”

C Mayang Longchar, President NBB-FA who gave a welcome note, shared a brief scenario of the State and the purpose of the Association. He mentioned that in Nagaland there are about 25 functional gym centres in six districts namely Kohi-ma, Dimapur, Wokha, Tuensang, Mokok-chung and Mon.

A special number “Your Dreams” was presented by Buhiu B Lam and Chande-mo.

Okoomen Jamir, Mr Nagaland 2016, expressed his appreciation to the Asso-ciation in creating this platform for the body builders. He firmly believed that this platform will open doors for the younger generation to showcase their talent at the State, National and International level.

Imnatoshi Longkumer, Associate Pas-tor DABA, exhorted and dedicated the NBBFA office. He also shared that ‘our body is a gift of God and it is our respon-sibilities to maintain, build and protect the gift that we have received from God.’ He reminded the Association to be willing to

give the best to the society and encouraged the gathering to nurture, build and beau-tify the gift from God.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Vikehielie.

It may be mentioned that Gym cen-tres have gradually come up in Nagaland which indicated that people are becoming more health conscious in an era where physical ailments like blood pressures, obesity, diabetics, fatty liver, heart prob-lems have become very common. Com-paratively, Gym centres in Dimapur dis-trict have mushroomed at a fast pace with 11 body building centres and some few fit-ness centres like cross fit, dance and yoga centres.

The scope for body builders is very limited as the gym doesn’t have good link-ages or affiliation with other body build-ing agencies at the State or national level. Moreover there is no association or State body to create platform for the body build-ers to exhibit their talent. Objectives of the Association1. To create health awareness amongst

the children, youth, senior citizens, and physically challenged people.

2. To promote and create platform for body builders to compete at State na-tional and International levels.

3. To foster interest and commitment to-wards better health and fitness through physical culture, proper nutrition and weight training.

4. To promote social responsibilities among the members for the larger in-terest of the society.

5. To advocate issues relating to health and wellness within the State.

Rev. Fr. Linus sdb, Prin-cipal, CKHSS Kohima, who also inspired the chil-dren with words of God in the name of Sacred Heart of Jesus. Keneingu Albert, president CU, CKC Kohi-

ma, exhorted the campers about the importance of discipline in our daily life, while a special song was presented by Ms Khrie-phrezonuo Mary.

The first day session

was initiated by the St. Emerentian Group, who enlightened the camp-ers with music through vocal exercise and basic notes of the music and Zumba Hours enthralled

the campers. Later in the evening, Divine Mercy Chaplet was recited in honour of Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The camp will culmi-nate on June 25.

6

The contents of articles in this page do not necessarily reflect the Editorial view or policy of the paper.

Dimapur, monDay , June 26 , 2017

EastErn Mirror

Alliances to the rescue or failureA

ccording to former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav his alliance partner and present Chief Minister of the State Nitish Kumar has committed a ‘historic blunder’ by supporting

Mr. Ramnath Kovind, the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee for the forthcoming presidential election. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief was factually incorrect while saying so. Because not only Nitish Kumar, the entire opposition got all their equations wrong while finalising the strategy for the said election. With the failure of the opposition to approach the forthcoming election in a cohesive manner has virtually reduced electoral fight to a no contest. Now, only a miracle can prevent Rashtriya Swangsevak Sangh (RSS) in making an entry to the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan for the first time in the history of Independent India.

Few weeks ago, in this very space we have warned the opposition parties against forming an alliance keeping the presidential election in mind. Because, everyone knows that alliances are formed on principles, ideologies and programmes. But in this case, the opposition had deliberately overlooked all such ingredients in its effort to put up a common candidate. In the absence of ideology or programme, few opposition leaders tried to use the said election as glue to bring various political parties together. The end result of such a wilful omission is there for everyone to judge and in the process the opposition leaders have virtually proved themselves as political novices in front of clever political manoeuvring of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah combine. Beyond doubt, despite having slim majority in the Electoral College, Modi-Shah combine has made all the right moves and it has gained so much strength that even before the first vote is cast in the Presidential Poll, NDA is miles ahead from its opponents. The ruling coalition has not only earned new friends, but at the same time has managed to create a sense of distrust and disbelief in the opposition camp.

What could be the right approach for the opposition? All the opposition had to do is to draw a road map and take a vow to contest all forthcoming elections, including the Presidential Election and the 2019 General Elections as one unit. It was not a difficult task. The opposition has done the same only two years ago during Bihar Assembly elections. Two main political forces in the State Nitish and Lalu got equal number of seats and the rest went to the Congress. The process of alliance formation was so smooth that it earned the support of electorate from day one and handed over Narendra Modi perhaps the bitterest defeat in his entire political career. On the other hand, we have also seen the opposite. In 2016, during West Bengal Assembly Elections, Congress and the Left parties decided to come together. But the alliance formation was so laboured and bumpy that it could not earn the trust of the electorate. It was expected that while forming an alliance at the national level, opposition parties would keep these two examples in mind and would not commit the same mistake. But it appears that opposition leaders are in no mood to learn a lesson from their earlier mistakes and disappointed all.

There are numerous types of crimes in the world, and every nation and society has a corresponding punishment

to these crimes. A punishment for a certain crime may seem too harsh or too mild to others; for instance, the vast majority of the world views with horror the practice of cutting off the hands of a thief, in societies which practice a strict interpretation of the Islamic Laws of Sharia. But they, in turn, would look askance at the mod-erately mild jail sentence of Bernie Madoff, who swindled thousands of Americans of billions of dollars, re-ducing many of them to poverty.

But I am of the opinion that there is a crime for which the punishment is surprising mild, if not a joke. This crime occurs in every society in the world, no matter how advanced or how primitive, across all races and across all religious denominations. The crime is rape. And what may seem strange is that the punishment for rape, across societies, races and religions is shockingly mild; when you consider the gravity of the crime. But this should come as no surprise

to anyone. For who commits rape? Men. And who writes the law? Men.

Murder is considered to be the ul-timate crime, for it ends the life of the victim; something which cannot be restored. It leaves the loved ones of the victim heart-broken, and creates a void which can never be filled. But, for the victim, the ordeal is over; and for those he/she leaves behind, the burden of the loss decreases with the passage of time.

But rape is in a class by itself. The victim goes through almost every physical and mental trauma imagi-nable without the sweet release of death. She is left with the memory of the physical AND mental trauma. Unless her brain can find some way to block the memory of the horrific crime, she relives the crime over and over again, for every moment of her life, till the end of her life. As to her near and dear ones, her very presence is a constant reminder of the crime and a never ending source of pain and misery. And we, the ever hypocritical members of society, what do we do? We look down at the victim of rape as dirtied and marked. And instead

of understanding that she is a victim who deserves every support possi-ble, we point at her, behind her back, whispering with gleeful joy, “She was the one who got raped.”Revelling in the fact that it happened to her, not to us, or some member of our family. A woman may have had consensual sexual relations with a thousand men and walk about in society with her head held high. But woe to a victim of rape, we point fingers at her and expect her to hang her head in shame and withdraw from society. So, which crime do you think is more heinous?

And what do you say about Child Rapists? What words can you use to describe “men” who are lower than animals? They are nothing less than monsters walking amidst us. With adult women, there is the possibil-ity of consent, given by her, but de-nied when the act is discovered. But a Child? What does a child know? How does a child deserve to have her innocence stripped away in such a monstrous manner?

Penalties for crimes serve a dual purpose. The first purpose is to pun-ish the perpetrator of the crime; but

the second, and more important, in my humble opinion, is to serve as a deterrent for all those who would con-template committing crimes.The laws are already there for the punishment of rapists. But I do not subscribe to them. The gravity of the crime should be reflected in the weight of the pun-ishment. I pray that God grants all men the wisdom to understand and acknowledge that rape needs a more befitting punishment.

If it were down to me, I would suggest castration for cases of proven rape of adults; and summary castra-tion for Child Rapists. Let them also live with the shame of their deeds and with the knowledge that they can never ever commit the same mon-strous deed again. Jailing rapists is a joke, for they walk out free in a few short years, and death is too good a punishment for them.God Bless and protect our Women

and ChildrenKahuto Chishi Sumi

Akukau (G.B.) Hevishe VillageKhaghaboto Range, Dimapur

kahuto107@gmail.com

On Crimes and PunishmentsReadeRs’ Mirror Views & reViews

All creation bears God’s autograph.

Some days seem to have a theme running through them. Re-cently I had one of those days. Our pastor began his sermon on Genesis 1 with two minutes of breathtaking, time-lapse photography of blossoming flowers. Then, at home, a scroll

through social media revealed numerous posts of flowers. Later on a walk in the woods, the wildflowers of spring surrounded us—trilli-ums, marsh marigolds, and wild iris.

God created flowers and every other variety of vegetation (and dry ground to grow in), on the third day of creation. And twice on that day, God pronounced it “good” (Gen. 1:10, 12). On only one other day of creation—the sixth—did God make that double pro-nouncement of “good” (vv. 25, 31). In fact, on this day when He created humans and His masterpiece was complete, He looked over all He had made and “saw that it was very good!” (nlt).

In the creation story, we see a Creator God who delighted in His creation—and seemed to take joy in the very act of creating. Why else design a world with such colorful and amazing variety? And He saved the best for last when He “created mankind in his own image” (v. 27). As His image-bearers we are blessed and inspired by His beautiful handiwork.

Dear Creator God, thank You for creating the world in all its beauty for our enjoyment—and Yours. Thank You too for making

us in Your image so that we would be inspired to create.

BiBle Read: Genesis 1:24–31ThoughT foR Today:Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw

that it was very good! ~ Genesis 1:31 nlt

Very good!

DAILYPATH

Author Ruskin Bond has his future chalked out - he wants to write more, read more and sleep more.

Over 500 short stories, novellas, es-says and an autobiography later, Bond - at 83 - stresses that there is a lot more to be written.

The bucket list of the much-loved children’s au-thor is topped with a desire to pen more children’s stories and “gory” crime thrillers.

“Everybody wants another children’s book. I’d like to do some good gory crime stories, something of everything. That way you don’t get bored, mov-ing from one genre to the other,” he told PTI.

However, the Landour-based writer, who re-cently launched his autobiography “Lone Fox Dancing” here, doesn’t like to write under pressure.

“I have accumulated publishers over the years and now they are all after me - ‘Mr Bond, you owe us a book.’ I am feeling a bit overworked. I don’t like writing under pressure,” he says.

“So I will make them wait,” Bond chuckles. Having spoken on several occasions about his love

Would Like to Write, Read and Sleep: Ruskin Bond at 83

Trisha Mukherjee | pTifor reading, it is not surprising that he wishes to read more books - not the latest bestsellers but his favourite authors.

“I have read thousands of books, but there are so many that I still haven’t read. And I am not talk-ing of the latest bestsellers, I am talking about the books that I have missed over the years by the writ-ers I like,” he says.

He writes in his memoirs about his fondness for authors such as Agatha Christie, P G Wodehouse, Charles Dickens, Somerset Maugham, George Ber-nard Shaw, Jerome K Jerome and Mark Twain.

He may have read two or three books of a par-ticular author, but now wants to read more of the writer’s works.

“I like reading and good writing,” he says.Poke him a little further, and he adds that he

loves a good nap, too.“I enjoy sleeping - I always have,” he says sim-

ply.Bond adds that he is a man who is easily pleased

- “not a difficult person; I don’t think so anyway”.By and large, Bond believes he has lived a life

without regrets.But looking back on his life, would he change

anything?“Perhaps, a few more love affairs,” he replies

promptly.On a serious note, he wishes he had been kinder

to some people, particularly his mother, who sep-arated from his father when Bond was eight and married another man.

“I could have been a bit kinder to people, maybe more understanding of my mother - hadn’t been too censorious and been a little supportive. Some-times one feels guilty, that one could’ve done more for someone,” he reminisces.

Happiness, he believes, is an “elusive” word. “But you could say contentment is there,” he says.

Written with Bond’s quintessential wit and warmth, the autobiography, published by Speaking Tiger, takes readers back in time to the genesis of some of his memorable works.

As for naming his autobiography, given a chance, he says, he will call it “Twenty-Two Steps”, after the 22 steps, each of a different shape and size, that lead to his quaint Ivy Cottage in the hills.

The book also contains over 50 photographs, some never published before, capturing the au-thor’s life.

The historic movement of the NBCC in its endeavor for clean election is a new dawn to the Nagas, bringing all the politi-

cal parties into one fold of ideological integrity is liken by every sensible Na-gas but in the same breath apprehension loomed large in every Naga’s mind for the fact that Nagas are extremely expert in exploiting the loopholes at every op-portunity.

Retrospection shows that, since the inception of Nagaland state, it’s the Naga failing Nagas in every front has a bitter telltale that stands akin to “Dog to bone” where construction party is always closely followed by demolition party with holy bibles in their hands like a fashion dress without the slight-est remorse should look for a recourse in Christianity in faith, belief and ac-tion as a true Christian. Nevertheless, I just wouldn’t like to call myself a deca-dent Christian but surely others would if my action failed to follow my tongue and invariably all the Nagas are keenly observing the good Samaritan team

members and their action with crossed fingers, where everyone expects them control their own flock then 50% of the work is done and the rest 50% assured by all the stakeholders.

Indeed, this is purely a war on mor-al decadent for moral righteousness, where the warrior cannot sink their teeth on the defaulter but only make them understand the virtue of just and fair election.

More so, the organization being born out of the top Christian forum NBCC many wayward considered it as a toothless tiger and true as well for the fact that defying the set of 18 rules will neither be imprisoned nor fine or excommunicates them from the church, town village and ward etc.

Therefore, it is my humble view that there should be subordinate action groups comprising of youth volunteers in every village, town, and wards moni-tored and supervised by the apex body NBCC. Similarly action group may chalk out their own plan of action ac-cording to the local custom and usage

which can be quite variable from place to place.

Well, within the context of the 18 point inked between political parties and NBCC on 22nd June 2017 for clean polls, there seems to be missing some vi-tal points that I believed to be essential to make it more inclusive and stringent as shown herein;-

1. It is the general knowledge that most villages frequently makes a collec-tive decision, “to whom they should vote for” where very often polling offic-ers become voiceless and passively al-lowed to cast votes for the entire village by the few selected person chosen by the village council. POINT:- “No collec-tive decision in favor of any candidate be allowed in any level whatsoever.

2. In certain constituencies there occurred time and again “COUP” sys-tem, arbitrarily dividing villages and area wise between two or more can-didates that ultimately defeating the very purposed of real and clean elec-tion, ultimately setting bad precedents. POINT:- No coup system shall be al-

lowed in any constituency.3. Many a time candidates pomp-

ously promised to dole out govt. jobs if he is elected. This has created a mess not only in election but over employed in every department with the highest ra-tio against population wise in the coun-try and this has directly depleting our fragile state’s exchequer. POINT:- No candidate should promise govt. job for votes

4. No organisation or church should invite candidate as Chief Guest during election.

Truly, the noble idea of the NBCC for clean election through political con-sensus, involving all the political parties enliven our aspiration and hopes for the ensuing election 2018 that’s knocking at our doorsteps where, every sensible Naga should ardently support for the common good cause.

Big thanks to NBCC and all political parties, we are behind you; keep it up.

N.Haisoyi NdangAuthor & Founder Naga script

Email; haisoyindang@gmail.com

Drug use in Nagaland has ex-isted for more than past two decades. Even today, there are a number of drugs be-

ing used and there are reported cases of new entry into it. One major concern that prevails is the rampant use of cough syrups with Codeine contain, which are seen mostly among the youth popula-tions. This challenge has to be dealt at a situation when things can be control-led up to some extent. Then there are also reports of Heroin use coming back in some districts of Nagaland, while pharmaceuticals drugs continue to be used widely. Now, some possible reason as to why people are getting introduced from Gateway drugs and to such more damaging drugs could be because of the lack of recreational avenues, unemploy-ment, poor upbringing, lack of aware-ness and series of other Nagaland spe-cific reasons. However, ideally, people resort to use of drugs due to curiosity, experimental, recreational, frustration. Causative reasons for this in the state,

could be because, the response through primary prevention has not been aggres-sive enough neither has it reached the group of populations who needs to be made aware of the harmful effects of drugs use.

Now, what do we have in store for the people who are already in the addic-tion stage? Every drug user at one point or the other put effort to quitting their habit. However for such things to hap-pen, a professional help is a must. Yet there are many challenges that lie ahead as far as seeking professional help in the form of drug detoxification and reha-bilitations. The primary concern is the lack of a functional detox and estab-lished rehab centre in all districts. Most Drug users from other district have to come to either Kohima or Dimapur for their rehabilitation. There are few re-habs functioning in some other districts but the need to establish such a centre is urgently needed across the state. Treat-ment cost is also a major barrier. There are many drug users who lost the sup-

port of their family due to their drug taking habit, while some are not in the best of financial position to support the treatment course. Opiod substitution Therapy as a maintenance treatment does help some drug users but all drug users do not opt for this therapy. These reasons attribute to them not being able to avail treatment facilities and put them at a crossroad, whereby they continue on with their behaviour in spite of want-ing to quit their habit.

To response to this social challenge, Govt has to formulate a strategy with planned budget.

It is disheartening to know that the Nagaland Government has not mate-rialised any contents of the “The Na-galand State Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Policy 2016” which was launched last year on the 26th June. The policy talks about sensitization for mass awareness, educating the youth, availability and easy accessibility of treatment, strengthening of health care system, intensified awareness campaign

at the village level, set up infrastructure, effort to provide de addiction and rehab facilities in all districts, establishing mid way home etc. However the Govern-ment has been sitting idle on the policy for the last one year and has not con-ducted any activities mentioned in the policy.

This policy has just become another file to be kept in the office cupboard.

ARK Foundation through this press release therefore urges the Government to take serious note of the contents of the policy and make strategies accord-ingly. It also further advises the policy makers to make budgetary allocations to the social welfare, Health Depart-ment, and other relevant departments to start implementing the contents of the policy.

Thanking you in anticipationYours SincerelyKetho Angami

PresidentARK Foundation

Considerable Trepidation On 18 Points Agreement For Clean Polls

World Drug Day- ARK Foundation Urges Govt to Formulate Action Plans

EastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

7

The contents of articles on this page do not necessarily reflect the Editoral view or policy of the paper

Aküm Longchari

Aries MAr 21 - Apr 19: Your nurturing instincts are strong today, Aries. This is an excellent day to reveal your opinions. You’ve probably been sitting in the background, qui-

etly observing and collecting data for quite some time. Now is the time to come out of the shadows and let your conclusions be heard. Don’t let others push you around. Take a stand for what you know is right.

TAurus Apr 20 - MAy 20: Things aren’t necessarily going to go well today, Taurus. There is the potential for conflict. You may feel a bit lost in the fog. Strap on your com-

pass and you will be fine. Realize that you will make it through this day much better if you approach every situation from the other person’s perspective. Think more of others than of yourself. Be sensitive and re-ceptive.

GeMini MAy 21 - Jun 21: Today is a day of reckoning in some ways, Gemini. Attention to detail is important, but make sure it doesn’t become your only focus. Situations are likely to

crop up in which you’ve analyzed and considered every single detail but failed to see the big picture. This is a wonderful day to remedy such situations. Take care of anything that needs a broader perspective.

CAnCer Jun 22 - Jul 22: Be more sen-sitive to other people’s space today, Cancer. Respect their feelings and give them room to breathe. This is a great day to pursue creative

projects. Do things involving art or music. Sing, play an instrument, or give your music collection a boost. There are opportunities open now that involve other people who share the same interests as you.

leo Jul 23 - AuG 22: Think about old times and people with whom you’ve had strong con-nections, Leo. Remember the good times you shared with people of common interests and

similar hobbies. Be sentimental and mushy. Mend bridg-es and bring resolution to sticky issues. Be harmonious with the people and situations around you. World peace begins with you. Incorporate more of this ideal into your life.

VirGo AuG 23 - sep 22: You may have to make some serious adjustments to your ap-proach today in order to chime in with the en-ergy of the group, Virgo. Adopt a more inwardly

directed attitude and see what you can learn by tuning into others’ subtle messages. The masculine and femi-nine sides of your nature are working harmoniously. You might find that they’re both asking for a quiet night in.

librA sep 23 - oCT 22: You should feel a renewed sense of confidence today that will help anchor your emotions and give strength to your thoughts and ideas, Libra. Don’t take a

pessimistic attitude toward everything around you. Look at the good instead of the bad. By maintaining a negative viewpoint about things, you’re only adding to the prob-lem. You have every right to be happy.

sCorpio oCT 23 - noV 21: Many people spend their whole adult lives trying to dis-cover their true self, Scorpio. A great deal of social conditioning by parents and our envi-

ronment plays a role in shaping our minds. Realize that many of these influences don’t necessarily ring true with your inner self. Take this day to uncover some of those early influences and discard the ones that don’t belong to you.

sAGiTTArius noV 22 - DeC 21: Today is an extremely creative day for you, Sagittarius. You should allot time and space to pursuing an artistic goal. You’re like a magician who has the

power to bring fantasies to life. Spread the magic to oth-ers and don’t second-guess your incredible healing abil-ity. You have a strong presence that radiates powerfully. Be charitable and generous to others.

CApriCorn DeC 22 - JAn 19: There’s nothing worse than last-minute details, Capri-corn. Concentrate on an important upcoming event. Make sure you have everything in line

now so you don’t get caught dealing with that one thing that ends up putting a monkey wrench in your plans later. Anticipate the problems that you’re likely to encounter and take actions now that will nip these situations in the bud.

AquArius JAn 20 - Feb 18: Your intui-tive side is aligning with your rational side to-day, Aquarius. Listen to your emotions. Take a sensitive approach to all people and situations.

Your head may be up in the clouds. Take elements of this lofty perspective and incorporate them into your conscious mind. Run away with your fantasies. Nurture your loved ones.

pisCes Feb 19 - MAr 20: Slow down the pace today, Pisces. This is a day to sit back and observe and contemplate. Your mind may go in a hundred different directions, and you may

be unsure which route to take. Try to quiet the buzz-ing chatter within. Be receptive to the loving, sensitive forces around you. Try not to disturb the flow by bring-ing up unrelated issues and hurtful gossip.

Today’s AsTro-predicTion

Spider WebFriends, as one whose primary engage-ment has been on issues of conflict and JustPeace, I confess I feel rather out of place at this distinguished gathering of entrepreneurs. I appreciate being invited into your midst.

Ever since Neichute offered me this opportunity to be here with you this after-noon, I have been wrestling in my mind with this very pertinent and crucial issue of inter-state trade and vibrant highways. And, I keep seeing this image of a spider’s web, and the web seems to be reminding me that all these aspects are inter-related and inter-connected.

The questions of inter-state trade and vibrant highways do not exist in a vac-uum, nor can they be seen in isolation. They are only strands of a spider-web that is primarily concerned with human digni-ty and a shared humanity. In other words, they are only pieces of a jigsaw puzzle!

Allow me to acknowledge that it is the spider-web which has given me the confidence to stand up before you this afternoon and offer you a perspective of inter-state trade and vibrant highways that connects these individual strands to the broader complexities of the web of life here in this region.

Essentially, given our geography, our histories and political situation, the exis-tential situation of Manipur and Naga-land requires us to locate the question of Inter-State Trade within a decolonization framework. This suggests the need to un-derstand and define inter-state trade pri-marily as one of inter-cultural and cross-cultural relations. When we see through the cultural lens, then the connections are clearer, and not limited to geographic boundaries defined by others.

When we limit the understanding of inter-state trade within the existing paradigm as defined by the State, its dy-namism is lost as it is regulated by rigid boundaries and legal norms where people are reduced to consumers and statistics.

By (re)defining inter-state trade as one of inter-cultural and cross-cultural relations, our shared humanity will real-ize benefits for everyone because our hu-man aspirations assume the foundational stone in building common ground, and our inter-dependent and inter-connected nature become our guiding principles.

This removes people from the status of being dependent subjects to being mak-ers of their own destiny in which bounda-ries are no longer lines drawn on a map to separate and divide, but provide fluid and soft lines where tensions are creative-ly transformed as shared and respectful spaces.

Inevitably, to constructively create conditions that can propel inter-cultural trade, we need to acknowledge the cur-rent context where basic human needs are deprived, perceived and real conflicts of interest have led to a climate of suspicion, distrust and polarity. It further requires us to meaningful address the state of pov-erty, structural violence, institutionalized and social corruption and the asymmetri-cal power structures.

Thus, inherent to the question of trade is its inter-relation with peace.

Trade as Peace – Interplay of Geography, History and PoliticsHere I will focus on the interplay of ge-ography, history and politics as it has been central in determining the nature and scope of relations between cultures. Historically, trade was the fulcrum to this dialectical relationship of geography, his-tory and politics – and ultimately, peace.

Many scholars have written about this inescapable relationship between trade, war and peace. Lucia Coppolaro and Francine McKenzie in their essay, “Does Trade Promote Peace? An Histori-cal and Global Perspective Global History of Trade and Conflict” refer to how trade and conflict were commonly connected. Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the Dutch East In-dia Company’s Governor-General in the Indies, who observed that trade and war were inseparably linked is quoted to have said that, “we cannot make war without trade nor trade without war.”

Notwithstanding this point of view, Amir M. Kamel in The Trade-Peace Theory argues that an increase in trade leads to universal benefits (which expand to in-clude peace). This notion, he says, was first mentioned at around AD 100, when Plutarch wrote about how sea trade al-lowed humans to cooperate and “redress defects” in their relationship with one an-other through mutual exchange. Imagine that this was noted more than two thou-sand years ago and probably much earlier by the Phoenicians and Egyptians.

It was in 1748, Charles de Mon-tesquieu incisively made a fundamental conclusion that trade was an instrument of peace and gave rise to the idea that, “Peace is the natural effect of trade.”

Thereafter, it was Adam Smith who popularized the connection of trade and peace. It was in his The Wealth of Nations (1776) that the idea of trade promoted concepts of interdependence, which in turn enhanced the understanding around the economic benefits of peace and the economic costs of war.

In today’s interdependent world, the interrelationship between trade and peace is more acute and critical to human co-existence and the vision of a shared hu-manity. In his collection of essays in Small is Beautiful, E. F. Schumacher hones the view that it is not economics that is at stake, but culture, not the standard of liv-ing but the quality of life. This also trans-lates to the economics of peace.

Schumacher’s emphasis on culture and quality of life has underpinnings when the boundary itself is the centre of political differences. Diana Klein in Fund-ing war or facilitating peace? Cross-border trade and natural resources points out there are no shortage of examples of disputes about boundaries with significant cross-border economic dynamics. In these types of situations, maintaining the border usu-ally becomes a political goal.

In these conditions, the concept of trade assumes a more sensitive and com-plex demeanor, providing opportunities for both conflict and peace.

In places emerging from conflict, Gra-ham Carrington informs us that trade of-fers opportunities to revitalize a region, re-establish relationships and build new links between communities estranged by violence. In Cross-border trade: Fueling con-flict or building peace? Carrington explores how trade policy and practice along the Uganda-Sudan border is contributing to peacebuilding and socio-economic recov-ery in the region – and in some cases even aggravating or creating tensions that re-quire careful management.

Carrington’s study reveals that conflict has had an enormous impact on the skills base in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda, where most of the population is under 18 years old, with limited or no education or marketable skills. Because many have either grown up as refugees, internally displaced or fighting in dif-ferent armed groups they are unfamiliar with farming, despite it being the region’s main livelihood.

From a peacebuilding perspective, their current economic hardship could trigger future conflict. Greater effort, the study says, is needed to ensure the groups most affected by conflict can become in-volved and reap the benefits of cross-bor-der trade which includes receiving liveli-hood skills. This translates to the need to be inclusive and recognize the people’s capabilities when designing trade initia-tives.

Cross-border trade has a vital role in recovery and reconciliation efforts, but important changes to policy and practice are needed to help harness its peacebuild-ing potential and avoid intensifying con-flict.

Inter-state trade policies need to con-sciously promote mutual interdepend-ence. If both sides of the border benefit, then the stakes for achieving peace in-crease which support being able to live side by side in harmony. Klien cautions that, economic development in conflict-affected regions should not be confined to one side of the border. The resulting asymmetry may fuel the conflict or main-tain the conflict status quo – as is the case between Israel and Palestine; or may sim-ply be counterproductive to rapproche-

ment efforts – as between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Klien says promoting inter-state trade cooperation, and resource-sharing as a means to build peace can bring tangible benefits to everyone. It could contribute towards creating or strengthening mar-kets, restoring livelihoods or reviving environments, creating ‘pockets of sta-bility’, providing employment for people who might otherwise be mobilised by armed groups, or more generally creat-ing a ‘peace constituency’ by increasing stakes in stability. Building relationships through trade has the potential to build or rebuild trust, to breakdown stereotypes, and to begin laying the foundations for interdependency, as well as providing in-centives for cooperation and peace.

While pointing out that business often responds quicker across borders than di-plomacy or civil society, Klien is quick to caution that, “Cooperation across borders does not necessarily stop during fighting, but in some circumstances can increase as the economy and businesses adapt to conditions of war.”

The value of cross-border trade has also been experienced in a somewhat un-intended and coincidental way in Kash-mir. While peacebuilding was not a pri-mary objective, Ayesha Saeed in Trading for peace in Kashmir tells us that cross-bor-der trade helped Kashmiri communities to start to rebuild severed relationships across the LoC.

She says it has the potential to “pro-vide an entry point to help build confi-dence in the India-Pakistan peace process, and to strengthen Kashmiri capacity to contribute to peacebuilding in Kashmir.” She further adds that, “In official dis-course, cross-LoC trade has been framed as a peacemaking step and marketed as a confidence-building measure.”

These various findings including the evaluation by Search for Common Ground on Trading for Peace in The Great Lakes highlights that cross-cultural trade had led to positive changes, reduced prej-udice, improved relations and increased trust. In turn, this has also improved trade on both sides of the border from which everyone benefits.

I believe there are vital lessons for us to learn from these experiences and to-gether offer pragmatic ways to make trade as a means to peace applicable in our own context.

Power, Perception & Partnership for Vibrant HighwaysThe land-linked geography and history of Manipur and Nagaland ensure we are in-terdependent and interconnected to each other. The highways, therefore, are not just a utility for transporting commodi-ties from one location to another. They provide the means through which cross-cultural interactions are nurtured and re-lationships are cultivated.

However, the colonial project in this region cannot be ignored while explor-ing the possibilities for new patterns of relationships based on mutual respect. The impact on our cultures and the im-position of boundaries without people’s informed consent has had far-reaching consequences.

Furthermore, the roadways during the colonial project were a means of inva-sion, exploitation, control and movement of its armed forces. Nonetheless, for the people it provided opportunities to con-nect and facilitate mobility of people, goods and ideas.

Today, the People-State conflict has been effectively reduced to a People-Peo-ple conflict in which the Indian State not only re-defines the problem to suit its own purposes, but has also ironically assumed the role of a peace mediator. To maintain the contested border seems to have be-come the functional political goal of the Indian State.

Unfortunately, this means the root causes of the problem have been mis-placed, leading to entrenched positions and severed relationships between peo-ples whose traditional relationship of mutual inter-dependence and overlapping boundaries existed long before this intru-sion into our space and land.

It is in the backdrop of this complex and unfolding situation that the crying

need to ensure vibrant highways are be-ing explored. Any initiative towards this must meaningfully assure that the basic fundamental needs of people in the Im-phal Valley and the surrounding “peoples of the hills” in Manipur are at the center of the process.

The hill peoples’ sense of deliberate denial and systematic marginalization coupled with a strong perception that the core political power and economic resources are concentrated in the valley for their own purposes need to be ac-knowledged and addressed. Similarly, the constant economic blockades which have drastically impacted the people’s stability and well-being in the valley causing deep anguish and humanitarian concerns need to be addressed.

Empirical evidence informs us that in times of crisis the highways have con-stantly been used as a political tool for bargaining and as leverage for the govern-ments to hear and heed to the demand. This assumption is erroneous and coun-ter-productive. In fact, such approaches only weakens and undermines people’s legitimate rights, and only further deep-ens the divide as it tears at the broken relationship between the hills and the val-ley.

The contentions around the highway are but a reflection of the broader and deeper issues that remain inconclusive. The stakeholders have polarized percep-tions on the same issue and are unable to understand the problem from the position of the other. Entrenched in their own nar-rative, all the stakeholders are in danger of being consumed by their single story.

Hence, from a peacebuilding perspec-tive it is precisely because of this precari-ous position that the Highways need to become part of the broader cross-cultural interaction of exploring new relation-ships.in response to the crying need to ensure vibrant highways, a few suggestions are offered:

• Thevibrancyof thehighways isdirectly related to the question of peace. Since, peace is a process, not an end in it-self — it needs constant nurturing which happens when we talk with each other, have relationships and build trust. En-trepreneurs are in the unique position to build economic links across this cultural and political divide. Such partnerships be-come the glue for cultivating cross-cultur-al relationships and overcoming exclusive perceptions of each other.

• Thestakeholdersneedtoengagetogether in a process whereby they map out the root-causes of the issues that are dividing them and take ownership of de-fining the problems from their own per-spectives and partner to explore solutions together.

• Establish inclusive mechanismswhere local communities, civil society and government can introduce confidence building measures and are empowered to handle incidents before they escalate.

• Include affected communitiesand their representatives in highway pol-icy design, as well as its implementation and monitoring.

• Ensure that local communitiesalong the highway benefit from the trade so that the economic cost of blockades and the economic benefits of vibrant highways are adequately felt in equal measure by all the stakeholders.

• Create awareness on the impor-tance of roads, as well as how highway blockades impact the quality of life, which, in turn, only entrenches broken relationships.

• Integrate Roadways and High-ways with the ‘Act East Policy.’ Educate people about engineering specifications for different kinds of roads and projects that suit our environment, terrain and ge-ography.

• Thehighwayconstruction,main-tenance and its management should be of the highest quality and needs to be con-sistently reflected throughout the entire highway system. Furthermore, there have been suggestions for infrastructure de-velopment along the entire stretch of the highway, which includes: medical health care services, hotels, mechanical repair units, trading centers and efficient and corruption free security that is sensitive

to local nuances and culture. Developing this infrastructure would also build bridg-es between the hills and the valley.

• Finally,vibranthighwaysincludechallenging our present attitudes and per-ceptions. In this, the media (particularly print media) in Manipur and Nagaland have a moral responsibility. Can Editors agree not to publish articles that dehuman-ize the other? Can Editors play a proac-tive role in raising critical consciousness, questioning anti-peoples policies (by both state and non-state actors) and providing alternatives to enhance and strengthen cross-cultural relationships, which in turn will ensure vibrant highways?

Cross-Cultural Trade – A Shared FutureBy way of conclusion I wish to remind us of Schumacher’s observation that, “Development does not start with goods; it starts with people and their education, organization, and discipline. Without these three, all resources remain latent, untapped potential.” Furthermore, eco-nomic growth needs to reflect “social co-hesion, cooperation, mutual respect, and above all, self-respect, courage in the face of adversity, and the ability to bear hard-ship.”

Ultimately, cross-cultural trade is in-herently about cross-cultural relationships between people. It is also about reflecting mutual respect, reciprocal trust, critical cooperation and establishing partnerships with understanding – which is the under-standing of differences.

The relationship between cross-cultur-al trade and peace presents a means for harmonious co-existence among neigh-bors. In essence, cross-cultural trade is an opportunity to make a difference and to build peace through entrepreneurial col-laborations.Here are some suggestions for a way forward from this business Meet:

• Theneedforentrepreneurstoin-itiate a cross cultural dialogue and a dip-lomatic discourse in creating conditions to propel cross-cultural trade and vibrant highways.

• Create a shared cultural modelof inclusive trade in which everyone ben-efits and everyone can participate.

• Encourage entrepreneurs andbusiness associations to come and work together to promote high standards of en-trepreneurial integrity.

• Identify resources that can beshared as a means to establish inter-de-pendencies and provide incentives to en-courage cooperation, collaboration and collective action that cuts across political and cultural divides.

• Sow seeds that would harnesscreative energy for inter-cultural ventures on production, development and trade at the level of government, business frater-nity and civil society.

Finally I wish to make a concrete sug-gestion inspired by the Entrepreneurs for Peace, Lavin Center and Fred J. Hansen Institute Drive Peace In the Middle East. As part of their goal to establish and sus-tain economic partnerships among Arab and Israeli farmers, they agreed to col-laboratively produce a “blended Israeli-Palestinian” olive oil. Today I challenge entrepreneurs from all the stakeholders to collaborate to produce a product that symbolically represents our relation-ships.

The future of the people of Manipur and Nagaland are deeply intertwined, tied together. We need to share our stories, lis-ten to each other and define our problems and solutions together. It is essential that we do not allow the State to tell our sto-ries for us and to define the problems for us and to offer solutions that do not meet the basic needs of our circumstances.

Friends, the need for a partnering cross-cultural framework that promotes values and principles of shared respon-sibility, mutual respect, shared benefits and the realization that our humanity is tied to one another is of the essence. The sooner we realize it, the better it is for our shared future. And, today’s gathering is a stepping stone along this pathway.

This paper was presented during the Regional Business Meet 2017 held at

Kohima on June 21, 2017.

inter-state Trade & Land-Linked opportunitiesPropelling inter-state trade (Manipur-Nagaland) and a crying need to ensure vibrant highways

8 nationEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

News iN Brief3 tourists drown in Bay of BengalKolkata, June 25 (IANS): Three tourists, including a seven-year-old girl, were drowned while bathing in the sea in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, police said on Sunday. The incident took place at Henry’s Island sea beach, about 130 km from Kolkata. According to police, a total of six members of two families from Kolkata had gone on a pleasure trip to the Henry’s Island. The three got pulled into the sea by the tidal waves. The bodies have been recovered.

Toddler found dead in borewell after three-day rescue operationHyderabad, June 25 (IANS): After three days of operation to rescue an 18-month-old girl from a borewell in Telangana’s Rangareddy district, she was found dead at a depth of 180 feet. Rescue workers pulled out the body early on Sunday, dashing all hopes of her parents, relatives and hundreds of people who had been waiting at the site, many fervently praying for her safety. Chinnari fell into the 450-feet deep borewell in a field on Thursday evening while playing with her elder sister and other children in Chenvel village in Rangareddy district, about 55 km from Hyderabad.

Police seizes 48 kg charas in BiharBettiah, June 25 (PTI): The police today seized 48 kg charas worth Rs 4.80 crore from a village near the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar’s West Champaran district. Bhangha police station in-charge Mukesh Singh said police seized three sacks of charas, weighing 48 kg, lying abandoned in a field in Parsauni village. The contraband consignment has been valued at Rs 4.80 crore in international market, he said.

Naxal killed, 4 security personnel hurt in separate incidentsRaipur, June 25 (PTI): A Naxalite was today killed and four security personnel, including three CoBRA commandos, were injured in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said. All the incidents took place under the Basaguda police station limits. A joint team of security forces was carrying out an anti-Maoist operation in the forest of Basaguda, around 450 kms away from here, since yesterday.

Vijayan flags fake news, photographs on social mediaThiruvananthapuram, June 25 (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today criticised the “increasing trend” of circulation of fake news and photographs on social media and said the state government was committed to regulate it. In a Facebook post, he said persons in the cyber world should become “responsible netizens”. The government is committed to take serious steps to regulate fake news spreading via social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter, he said. The trend of using social media platforms for character assassination, trigger communal tension and post anti-women comments is on a rise, Vijayan said, adding even ‘responsible persons’ of the society indulge in such actions.

BJD leader shot at, criticalBerhampur (Odisha), June 25 (PTI): A local BJD leader was seriously injured when unidentified assailants fired at him in his village Badapur in Odisha’s Ganjam district today, police said. Subash Sahu (48), a former samiti member of Kulagada panchayat, was returning home after taking bath in a pond, when motor-cycle borne gunmen shot at him before attacking him with sharp weapons. Police suspected previous enmity might be the cause of the incident.

One worker killed, four injured as gas tank burstsJajpur (Odisha), June 25 (PTI): A worker was killed and four others were injured in a mishap at a private stainless steel plant at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex area in Jajpur district today. The mishap occurred as a gas tank in the plant burst when at least five workers were on duty at the site, police said. While one of the workers died, four others sustained injuries. All the injured were admitted to the local hospital for treatment. Following the mishap, tension mounted at the mill.

Farmer leaders reject Maha govt’s loan waiver schemeMumbai, June 25 (PTI): The steering committee of farmer leaders today rejected the Maharashtra government’s mega loan waiver scheme, saying there should be no upper limit for the waiver. The BJP-led government had yesterday unveiled a Rs 34,022 crore farm loan waiver scheme, under which debts of up to Rs 1.5 lakh would be written off, giving relief to some 89 lakh farmers. However, the committee of farmer leaders, which met at the office of Communist Party of India (M) here, demanded that the entire outstanding loan be waived.

Aadhaar not valid for Indians travelling to Nepal, Bhutan: HMNew Delhi, June 25 (PTI): Aadhaar is not a valid identification document for Indians travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, the Union home ministry has said. Indians can travel to Nepal and Bhutan--both countries for which they don’t need visas--if they possess a valid national passport or election ID card issued by the Election Commission. Moreover, to ease travel, persons over 65 and below 15 years can show documents with photographs to confirm their age and identity. These include PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card and ration card but not Aadhaar.

Two militants killed, three soldiers injured in Kashmir

Meira’s emotional appeal to electors: Vote with conscience

Court frees rape accused over unreliable testimony of woman

Rail tracks seen here deluged in water. Local trains in Thane, Mumbai, on Sunday were reported to have been running late following waterlogging after heavy rains.

PTI

Heavy shower in Mumbai

Lakhs of devotees seen here taking part in the Lord Jagannath annual Rath Yatra in Puri on Sunday.PTI

Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri

Srinagar, June 25 (IANS): Two militants were killed and three sol-diers injured on Sunday in fighting that erupted the previous day with an attack on a CRPF patrol that left a trooper dead, authorities said.

After hours of fighting to liq-uidate the two militants holed up in the Delhi Public School (DPS) complex here, the security forces said both were dead and all firing had halted.

The security personnel which went from room to room in the school found two bodies in one room, an officer said.

“The bodies of the two militants have been spotted inside one room from where firing had started. There has been no firing from the militants during the last one hour,” the officer added.

The school was thoroughly searched and the operation later called off.

Three soldiers, including two officers, were injured earlier on Sun-day as the security forces launched the final assault against the rebels inside the school complex in Pantha Chowk area.

“All injured army personnel are stable and out of danger,” a police source said. They were shifted to a military hospital at Badami Bagh cantonment.

Director General of Police S.P. Vaid had earlier said that two mili-tants were holed up in the school, whose students are mostly from the Kashmiri elite families.

The militants had on Saturday attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle on the Srina-

gar-Jammu highway, killing a Sub-Inspector and injuring two troopers.

The militants then took refuge in the school, which by then had closed for the day. Security forces imme-diately surrounded the complex to prevent the gunmen from escaping.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) mili-tant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

Srinagar District Magistrate Fa-rooq Ahmad Lone on Saturday im-posed restrictions on the stretch of Srinagar-Jammu highway between Ram Munshi Bagh and Sempora. The curbs were lifted after the battle ended.

Also, in a freak accident, a po-liceman’s rifle went off at the site of the militant attack on Saturday. A CRPF trooper and a policeman were injured in the incident.

New Delhi, June 25 (PTI): Making an emotional ap-peal to MPs and MLAs, Opposition presidential candidate Meira Kumar today urged them to cast their votes with their “inner conscience”.

She also said the Presi-dents post cannot be used for narrow political inter-ests.

Taking a leaf from former Prime Minister In-dira Gandhis appeal made during the 1974 presidential poll in favour of V V Giri, Kumar said, “This is that moment when one should heed the inner voice of con-science and set the course of the nation.”

She said, the Constitu-tion recognises the office of the President as the “final touchstone” for the passage of laws. “It, therefore, can-not function to serve narrow political interests.”

She has issued the ap-

peal to the members of the electoral college even before filing her nomination papers which she is likely to do on June 28, the last date for filing nominations.

Kumar said, she was fortunate to have been asso-ciated, in various ways, with two monumental struggles of India -- the struggle to free India from the colonial rule and the fight against the tyranny of caste system -- that, she said, still plagues the Indian culture and polity.

“The nature of these two struggles has deeply in-fluenced my sentiments, my thoughts and my actions,” she said.

Kumar said during her public life, she has been inspired by the example set by the founding fathers of India, regardless of their political affiliations.

Kumar said the Presi-dent takes an oath to “pro-tect and defend the Con-

Jaitley slams detractors for ‘undeclared emergency’ allegationNew Delhi , June 25 (PTI): Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today hit out at detractors for casually using ‘undeclared emer-gency’ to describe the present BJP government saying they should intro-spect where they were dur-ing the Emergency under Indira Gandhi.

In a facebook post on the anniversary of the Emergency, Jaitley asked the critics what was their publicly declared stand dur-ing those 19-months, while stating that it has become customary for the critics of any government in India to casually use an expression ‘undeclared emergency’.

Detailing circumstanc-es under the Emergency, the minister in the post ti-

tled “Forty Two Years Ago - The Emergency” said an era of sycophancy always suffers from a dichotomy.

And this led to Indira Gandhi committing the ul-timate error of ordering an election which witnessed a rebellion against her emer-gency regime, he wrote.

Jaitley said the first Act after the imposition of the Emergency was the deten-tion of the political opposi-tion under the Preventive Detention Law.

District Magistrates and Collectors were hand-ed over blank detention forms to enable them de-tain thousands of lead-ers and workers of the political opposition with no grounds of detention being given.

No clarity on date for release of UP govt’s ‘white paper’Lucknow, June 25 (PTI): The Yogi Adityanath gov-ernment in Uttar Pradesh, which completes 100 days in office tomorrow, is yet to finalise a date for bring-ing out the much-hyped “white paper” highlighting its achievements.

An official spokesper-son of the government also said, “The date, time and venue for the release of the white paper will be in-formed later.”

The much-talked about document had gained cur-rency after Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had said last month that on completion of 100 days in office, the Adity-anath government would bring out a “white paper”

on “what it had inherited from the previous Samajwa-di Party (SP) government, what has it done so far and the roadmap for the future”.

He had also claimed that the “big difference be-tween us and the previous SP government is that the earlier regime had put its self-interest ahead of the development of the state”.

A BJP insider today said the “failures” of the previous SP regime could be a key feature of the white paper.

Chief Minister Adity-anath had assumed office on March 19 after the BJP stormed to power in the politically crucial state, bag-ging 325 seats along with its allies in the 403- member Assembly.

Har govt has disbursed Rs 2,400 cr compensation to farmers: CM

Sabarimala temple flag post damaged, 5 held

Shutdown in Darjeeling to be partially relaxed

Kaithal (Har), June 25 (PTI): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said that his government has dis-bursed Rs 2,400 crore as compensation to farmers in the last two years.

He said the BJP government in the state was pursuing farmer-centric policies and has set a target to double the income of tillers by 2022.

Notably, the opposition Congress has upped the ante on the farmers issue in the state and senior leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ashok Tanwar, addressing meetings of farmers to highlight their plight.

Khattar claimed that the farmers in the state are satisfied with the availability of fertilisers, seeds and water for irrigation.

“Many initiatives have been taken to make agriculture risk-free. Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, there is a provision of compensation in case of

crop damage and also if farm production is less than average,” the chief minister said.

Khattar said Haryana Agro-business Training School was being set up in Hisar and Maharana Pratap Horticulture Uni-versity was being established in Karnal to promote horticulture and keep farmers updated with new techniques.

“Zero per cent interest rate facility is being provided on crop loan. Beekeeping, milk production, pisciculture, mushroom growing are also being promoted,” he said.

On introduction of Goods and Serv-ices Tax (GST) Khattar said it is a good initiative for reforming the economy and it would bring transparency in business.

The chief minister said that 50 per cent of the announcements regarding development works in the state made by him in the last 32 months have been implemented.

Sabarimala (Kerala), June 25 (IANS): Five people were arrested on charges of damaging a new gold-coated flag post consecrated only on Sunday afternoon at the famed Sabarimala temple here in Kerala.

CCTV cameras iden-tified the culprits, who were caught by the temple

guards. After preliminary interrogation, five people from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh were taken into custody.

The new flag post was donated by a business group from Andhra Pradesh. It reportedly cost Rs 3.5 crore.

According to the visu-als, a person aged around 65

years hurled the mercury-dipped cloth while two oth-ers standing close by caught the incident on their mobile camera.

Police believe the reason for the crime may be busi-ness rivalry. The attackers were believed to be ranged against the business group which paid for the flag post.

Darjeeling, June 25 (IANS): Amid the ongo-ing indefinite shutdown in the West Bengal hills, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership on Sunday said there will be “par-tial relaxation for 12 hours” on Monday for the Muslim community to observe Eid.

However, the GJM maintained that the relaxation in plying of vehicles would be only for the Muslim community, nor for the general public. Meanwhile, on the 11th day of GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown in hills,

all the hotels and shops barring the pharma-cies stayed closed and the picturesque tourist locations continued to look desolate.

In Darjeeling, several people led by the GJM activists rallied from Chawk Bazar to Singmari carrying national flags and shouting pro-Gorkhaland slogans on Sunday morning.

The activists also reopened the GJM party office at Singmari that was closed since the massive clash with the police and security forces on June 17.

Civil nuclear deal to figure, no pact on reactorsNew Delhi, June 25 (PTI): The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump tomorrow, but a pact between the NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six power reactors in And-hra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed.

A host of strategic issues are expected to be discussed during the parleys between the leaders of the world’s two largest democracies, includ-ing the progress on the 2008 civil nuclear deal, according to official sources here.

They said a financial turmoil in Westinghouse and absence of a functional reference atomic plant were the main impediments be-hind the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limit-ed’s (NPCIL) unwillingness to sign the agreement with the American nuclear giant.

According to a joint statement by Modi and the then US president Barack Obama in 2015, both the sides had resolved to work towards “finalising the con-tractual agreement by June 2017”.

However, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then.

Westinghouse, which was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba in 2007, filed for bankruptcy in March.

Apprehending uncer-tainty, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the NPCIL are unwilling to

go ahead with any agree-ment with the beleaguered company till it comes out of the financial turmoil.

An email sent by PTI to Westinghouse seeking a response from it on the issue was not replied to.

During his visit to the US on June 25-26, Modi is slated to meet Trump.

The Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement was signed in 2008, under which Westinghouse and GE Hi-tachi were to build six pow-er reactors each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Initially, Westinghouse was allocated the Mithi Virdi site in Gujarat, but was later given the Kovvada site in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.

The company was to build six AP-1000 atomic reactors with a capacity of 1,208 MW each at Kov-vada.

With a total capacity of 7,248 MW, the government had a plan to make it one of the largest nuclear parks in south Asia.

The official said any foreign company need to demonstrate a function-al nuclear plant using the same technology. This is a pre-requisite to obtain per-mission from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the nuclear watch-dog in the country.

Westinghouse’s AP-1000 technology plants are at various stages of con-struction in different coun-tries and are yet to start commercial operations.

New Delhi, June 25 (PTI): A man was acquitted of rape charges with a Delhi court saying it was danger-ous to convict him only on the basis of the testimony of the woman who waited for months to lodge an FIR.

“I am of the view that the prosecution case is not free from suspicion. The testimony of the prosecutrix cannot to be said to be of sterling quality. The things appear to have not happened in the manner they have been projected,” Additional Ses-sions Judge Sanjiv Jain said.

The court noted that there was an “inordinate

delay” in lodging the FIR on her part and she did not allege rape in her complaint but mentioned it only dur-ing recording of statement before a magisterial court.

It said that if there are some circumstances which cast doubts in the mind of the court of the veracity of the victim’s evidence, it is not safe to rely on the her sole testimony.

“In cases where sole testimony of the prosecutrix is available, it is very danger-ous to convict the accused, especially when the woman could venture to wait for seven months for filing FIR

for rape,” it said.It further said, “Even in

the complaint, she did not allege rape. As per the MLC, the first incident of sexual as-sault took place in May 2013 and the last contact was in November 2014.”

Noting that she was quite educated, the court said it was strange that she remained quiet when her character was being assas-sinated and lodged the FIR only in September 2015.

“She was quite edu-cated, a graduate and an LIC agent. It is strange that she remained quiet when her character was assas-

sinated or she had to leave her matrimonial house. No lady would like to keep quiet when her character is assassinated by calling her prostitute,” it said.

According to the pros-ecution, the woman had lodged the complaint with her husband on September 28, 2015 alleging that she was raped by the accused, her neighbour, at his house for the first time in 2013 after which he made her obscene video and black-mailed her to keep physical relations.

It was alleged that in November 2014, the ac-

cused had asked her to visit his house on the pretext of signing some insurance papers but raped her after intoxicating her.

The court, however, junked the woman’s claims noting that she had failed to produce evidence including the medical report and vid-eo recordings as claimed by her and could not explain the delay in lodging of FIR.

Denying the allegations, the accused had contended that he was falsely impli-cated as he had asked the woman and her husband to return the money he had lent them.

PM-Trump talks

9worldEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

149 killed, 117 injured as oil tanker explodes in Pakistan

Record 10,000 people participate in final yoga event in China

China asks Pakistan, Afghan to meet halfway to improve ties

15 bodies pulled out of China’s landslide, 118 still missingSix injured as car ploughs into Eid celebration in UK

Lahore, June 25 (PTI): About 150 people were charred to death and 117 others injured today in a massive blaze that erupted after an oil tanker overturned and crowds rushed to collect the fuel that spilled over on a highway in Paki-stan’s Punjab Province.

The oil tanker coming from Karachi and headed to Lahore overturned early this morning on the national high-way at the Ahmedpur Shar-qia area of the Bahawalpur district, some 400 km from Lahore, after a tyre burst.

The fire was apparently caused by someone who lit a cigarette after people from nearby localities gathered on the highway to collect spilt petrol, officials said.

The blaze from the oil spill engulfed scores of residents, killing 149 people and injuring 117 others, officials said.

District Coordination Of-ficer (DCO) Bahwalpur Rana Salim Afzal termed it a “huge

tragedy” in the history of Pakistan.

“At least 123 people were killed before getting any med-ical help while the rescue of-ficials shifted more than 100 injured to the district head-quarters hospital and Victo-ria Hospital in Bahawalpur where the condition of most of them is critical,” Afzal said, adding some 50,000 li-tres of petrol spilled from the oil tanker.

Afzal said women and children were among the vic-tims.

The death toll later rose to 149 and rescue official Jam Sajjad said most of the dead bodies were completely charred and they will be iden-tified only by DNA tests.

Muhammad Hanif, 40, who suffered burns, told re-porters at the Victoria Hospi-tal that he was present at his house when his cousin called him informing that the village people were rushing to the

highway to collect “free oil”.“My cousin told me to

pick bottles and come out of the house. When I came out of the house I saw many people rushing towards the highway and some going there by mo-torcycles. Me and my cousin Rashid reached the highway and joined the people busy in collecting the petrol spilling from the tanker.

“Suddenly the tanker burst and the people gathered near it were burnt alive. Rashid and I were a little away from the tanker therefore we are alive,” Hanif said.

He said it was “greed” of the villagers which took them to the “valley of death”.

The Punjab government said three helicopters were shifting the critically burnt people to Multan’s combined military hospital and Nishter Hospital for providing better health facilities.

Regional Police Officer Bahawalpur Raja Rifat said

the motorway police person-nel had reached the spot when the oil tanker overturned.

“The people from nearby village Mauza Ramzan had also gathered there. The police personnel asked them to leave the place but they started col-lecting petrol. Suddenly the tanker exploded and within seconds the fire erupted giv-ing no chance to the peo-ple present there to leave the place,” Rifat said.

Dozens of motorcycles and cars were also burnt at the site.

“Most people reached the site on motorcycles to collect spilling petrol,” he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif directed the authorities to ensure best med-ical treatment to the injured.

He also sent his chopper for shifting the injured to Mul-tan hospitals.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto con-doled the tragedy.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered the Army to assist the civil adminis-tration in the rescue effort. Army helicopters have been deployed in the rescue opera-tions.

The tragedy came a day ahead of Eid ul-Fitr celebra-tions in the country, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramzan.

The oil tanker tragedy comes about two years after 62 people, including women and children, were killed in a fire after a coach collided with an oil tanker travelling on the wrong side of the road, on the outskirts of Karachi.

Beijing, June 25 (PTI): More than 10,000 peo-ple took part in the final event marking the third International Day of Yoga in China today, the largest participation of enthusiasts in a yoga programme organised in the communist nation this year.

The event - the final in a series of pro-grammes organised in 12 cities - was held in Wuxi in Jiangsu province in eastern China. The setting to celebrate the grand finale was the sce-nic Lingshan Dafo (Buddhist Temple in Wuxi) and the Buddhist Palace.

Spread over 10 practice venues, with nearly nine Indian yoga teachers taking the stage, a mass yoga session was held concurrently for the 10,000 participants, according to a statement from the Consulate General of India, Shanghai.

The record number of participants turned up from Wuxi and its neighbouring cities for the event jointly organised by the consulate

and Wuxi Municipal People’s Government.A large number of Indian students, pursu-

ing medicine at Suzhou and Yangzhou, also travelled to Wuxi for the event.

Mayor of Wuxi, Wang Quan, said that yoga is another facet of the long-standing cultural cooperation between India and China, and with today’s massive event he expects that yoga will become the “signature name card” for his city.

Since Buddhism came from India to China, it was ideal for Lingshan Dafo Buddhist Temple to host the event, he added.

Stanley Tong, Director of ‘Kung Fu Yoga’ - a Chinese- Indian co-production movie, also attended the event and urged greater cultural exchanges between the peoples of India and China.

The film’s lead actress, Muqi Miya enacted a special yoga performance during the session.

The event concluded with a conference on the objectives of yoga and ayurveda at the Bud-dhist Palace, which was attended by yoga teach-ers and ayurveda doctors from India.

Over the past three days, Wuxi hosted a three-day workshop on the benefits of yoga. These sessions were conducted by KYM teach-ers and more than 300 participants turned up each day to participate in the workshops.

The consulate had organised yoga events in eastern China region of Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu from June 17-25, bringing together 20,000 yoga lovers closer to India and promoting healthy and harmonious lifestyles.

Islamabad, June 25 (PTI): China has asked Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve their bilateral ties and “meet each other halfway”, as it agreed to set up a trilateral mechanism to help reconstruct ties between Islamabad and Kabul.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks with Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz yes-terday discussed a range of bilateral issues as well as the situation in Afghanistan.

Aziz said today that China has agreed for trilateral mechanism, including Afghanistan to help reconstruct ties between Islamabad and Kabul.

After talks of Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kabul and Islamabad, the three sides agreed to establish two important mecha-nisms to achieve peace, Aziz said in a state-ment.

Wang, who arrived here yesterday on a two-day trip after visiting Kabul, discussed the situation in the war-torn country and the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan that have been on a steep downslide.

Wang was quoted by China’s Xinhua news agency as saying that tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan are not conducive

to their stability and development as well as regional cooperation, calling on both countries to meet each other halfway so as to improve bilateral ties.

Wang’s visit is a follow-up to the dis-cussions the Chinese leadership had with Pakistani and Afghan leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit earlier this month on counter-terror-ism cooperation and revival of the Afghan peace process.

China has lately got increasingly in-volved in Afghanistan. Besides its bilateral engagement with both Islamabad and Kabul, it is part of a number of international proc-esses on Afghanistan.

Aziz said the Afghan conflict cannot be resolved only through military means, while a sustainable peace in Afghanistan requires a politically negotiated settlement through an Afghan-led Afghan owned peace process.

“In this context, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China agreed on the need for reviv-ing the QCG (Quadrilateral Coordination Group) process in order to create a condu-cive environment for talks between the Af-ghan government and the Taliban,” he said.

Aziz said that during talks with the

Chinese leader, Pakistan emphasised that it wants peaceful relations with all its neigh-bours, including India.

“We agreed on the need for strategic bal-ance in South Asia,” he said.

Talking about bilateral relations with China, Aziz said that “Pakistan’s relations with China are the cornerstone of our for-eign policy.” “In our discussions, yesterday, we took stock of the progress made in bilat-eral relations, including political, strategic and economic cooperation. We identified areas for further consolidation of the ‘all weather’ relationship between Pakistan and the China,” he said.

Beijing’s interest in Afghanistan is out of its security concerns related to presence of Uighur militants in Badakhshan province. Moreover, China’s regional engagement is driven by its economic investment in Afghan-istan and the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said Wang appreciated the resolute steps taken by Pakistan to counter the men-ace of terrorism. Both countries agree that terrorism is a common challenge. It is also a challenge to global peace and stability.

For Beijing, peace and stability in Af-

ghanistan is critical for both its own security and investments in Pakistan.

Pakistan-Afghanistan rift have deepened further after the Afghan government put blame of the recent attack in Kabul’s dip-lomatic area on Islamabad. Later, Chinese foreign minister also called on President Mamnoon Hussain who appreciated Chi-nese efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan.

The President said this initiative will ultimately establish peace in the region. He said Pakistan values Chinese positive role for sustainable peace and stability in Afghani-stan, Radio Pakistan reported.

President also said Pakistan is committed to the policy of peaceful co-existence with all its neighbours and wants to resolve all is-sues with India, including Kashmir dispute, through peaceful means.

He said security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan is the responsibility of the government and all out efforts are being made to arrest the culprits involved in abduc-tion of two Chinese nationals.

President said a special security division comprising fifteen thousand personnel has been established for the security of Chinese nationals.

Beijing, June 25 (PTI): Fifteen bodies have been retrieved by hundreds of rescuers trying to find survi-vors among 118 people who are still missing a day after a huge landslide engulfed a village in China’s Sichuan Province.

Rescuers had retrieved 15 bodies from the debris by 10 pm, the rescue headquar-ters said.

The search and rescue operation was underway overnight and people have been sent to observe poten-tial secondary disasters.

Geological experts at the site said the chance of sur-vival for the people buried was really slim.

Rescuers were combing the area with life detectors and sniffer dogs but no new signs of life have been found.

“We won’t give up as long as there is a slim of chance,” said one rescuer.

Xu Zhiwen, executive deputy governor of the Ti-betan and Qiang Autono-mous Prefecture of Aba said the identities of 118 missing will be soon made public on the government’s website.

Xu also cleared up wor-ries that some tourists might be among the buried as the village is in a tourist site.

All 142 tourists who en-tered the site Friday have reached to safety, said Xu.

The landslide from a high part of a mountain in Aba prefecture hit Xinmo

Village in Maoxian County at about 6 am yesterday blocked a 2-km section of river and buried 1,600 me-ters of road.

The provincial govern-ment has launched the high-est level of disaster relief response and sent rescue teams to the site.

Currently, more than 3,000 workers with life-detection instruments are engaged in the search for survivors.

The provincial depart-ment of land and resourc-es said the landslide was caused by heavy rain. An estimated 18 million cubic meters of earth mass fell some 1,600 meters, engulf-ing half of Xinmo Village.

Only three people from

one family were rescued five hours after the landslide struck. They were taken to Maoxian County People’s Hospital and none suffered life-threatening injuries.

Another three-year-old child of the family remains buried.Qiao Dashuai, 26-year-old husband of the family, recalled that he and his wife woke up to cries of their one-month-old son at about 5.30 am.

“Just after we changed the diaper for the baby, we heard a big bang outside and the light went out,” said Qiao. “We felt that some-thing bad was happening and immediately rushed to the door, but the door was blocked by mud and rocks.”

The husband and wife

mainly suffered bruises and their one-month-old son was being treated for pneumonia as he inhaled muddy water.

“I arrived at the site at 7.30 am and found that the whole area was buried by the landslide,” said He Da-jun, a worker with Maoxian County Power Company.

Another 110 people liv-ing nearby in another part of the village were being evacu-ated to a township school on Saturday night, fearing there might be rain and secondary disasters.

The village was relo-cated to the current site in 1976 as their previous loca-tion was prone to landslides and since then, villagers have been living in two groups in nearby location.

London, June 25 (PTI): Six people, including three children, were injured when a car mounted a kerb and ploughed into a crowd of people participating in an event to celebrate Eid outside a sports centre in northeast England today.

Police said the inci-dent in Newcastle was not believed to be terrorism-related but a full investiga-tion was underway.

“As previously stated there is nothing to suggest that this is terror related. A 42-year-old woman is currently in police custody and police are not looking for any other suspects at this time,” a Northumbria Police statement said.

One of the children is said to have been criti-cally injured. Hundreds of people were at the event this morning to mark the end of Ramzan outside the Westgate Sports Centre.

A North East Ambu-lance Service spokesman said: “We received our first 999 call at 9.15 this morn-ing to report a car that had mounted the kerb.

“We have taken six people to hospital; they have gone to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in New-castle; three children and three adults.”

Emergency services

included six ambulances, two paramedic rapid re-sponse vehicles and the air ambulance.

An eyewitness told the BBC: “From what I under-stand, [a woman who had been at prayer] was about to leave in her car and I believe she lost control.

“I ran up straight away because everyone was moving in on all the in-jured, trying to put water in their mouths.

“The parents of the kids were there, I had to sort of try and calm them down just to tell them the ambulance is there and they will take care of it; they know what they’re doing.

“It caused a lot of pan-ic; everyone was scream-ing when it happened, it wasn’t the best of experi-ences.”

Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central, tweeted: “So sad, I was at the prayers earlier & there were so much joy & unity. Thinking of those affected by what I am told was ter-rible accident.”

Britain is on high alert following recent terror at-tacks involving vehicles. On June 19, a man drove a van into Muslim worship-pers in London, killing one and injuring others.

News IN BrIefAfghan official says Taliban kill ten policeKabul, June 25 (PTI/AP): An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked a security post in western Afghanistan, killing at least 10 police and wounding another three. Jelani Farhad, spokesman for the governor of the western Herat province, said the Taliban attacked late Saturday, setting off a gunbattle in which five insurgents were killed. No one immediately claimed the attack. The Taliban have steadily expanded their reach across Afghanistan since U.S. and international forces formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counterterrorism role. In an address Sunday marking the start of Eid al-Fitr, a major Muslim holiday, President Ashraf Ghani reiterated his call for the Taliban to return to peace talks.

Turkey rejects Arab demand to close military base in QatarAnkara, June 25 (IANS): Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday denounced the list of demands put forward by four Arab states in efforts to defuse the diplomatic crisis with Qatar, rejecting their request to close its military base in Qatar. “We consider these demands are against international law,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in Istanbul by the state-run Anadolu Agency. Among the 13-demand charter put forth lately by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, Qatar is asked to reduce its ties with Iran, stop funding those blacklisted as terrorists, and immediately terminate the construction of a Turkish military base and stop any military cooperation with Turkey on its land. “Should we get permission when we make a defence cooperation agreement with any country?” Erdogan demanded.

Iraqi forces seize two-thirds of Mosul’s Old CityMosul (Iraq), June 25 (IANS): Iraqi forces have captured two-thirds of the Old City of Mosul, which was the main stronghold of the Islamic State in Iraq, the commander of the federal police said on Sunday. Raed Shaker Jawdat said in a statement that IS lost 80 per cent of its defence lines, adding that declaring victory was only a matter of time, reports Efe. The Federal Police units were now very close to al-Sarj Khana district, one of the last remaining IS strongholds in the Old City. The IS militants’ current strategy is to hide among residents, according to Jawdat, who noted that the police forces were skilfully handling the situation in order to isolate the extremists and get all civilians out of harm’s way. Government forces liberated the eastern sector of Mosul in an offensive that lasted from October 2016 to January 2017, while in mid-February another incursion began to free the western half of the city that is divided into two by the river Tigris.

Putin visits Crimea following new US sanctionsMoscow, June 25 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Crimea on Saturday after the US imposed new sanctions on Moscow earlier this week over its alleged actions in Ukraine. Accompanied by the head of the Crimean Republic Sergei Aksyonov and other senior officials, Putin inspected the reconstruction of the Artek International Children’s Center on the peninsula, according to a Kremlin statement, Xinhua news agency reported. During his trip, Putin asked Aksyonov to speed up the reconstruction of the Great Mithridates Staircase, a landmark cultural relic in Crimea. Putin’s visit came after the US Treasury Department on Tuesday blacklisted 38 individuals and entities and two Russian government officials for their alleged roles in the Ukrainian crisis.

Pyongyang urged to free Americans, South KoreansSeoul, June 25 (IANS): Seoul on Sunday urged North Korea to release six South Koreans and three Americans held in prison. North and South Korea are technically still at war since the 1950-53 Korean War, ended with an armistice that has not been replaced with a peace treaty. He added that the international community is infuriated by the death of American Otto Warmbier who died six days after North Korea freed him on June 13. “The Kim Jong-un regime must step forward to achieve the denuclearization on the peninsula and respect human rights,” the Premier added. North Korea currently has three more American citizens imprisoned, two of them detained in April and May. Six South Koreans, of whom three are Christian pastors, and ae Canadian also also imprisoned in North Korea. All of them are accused of having committed crimes against North Korea.

Egyptian President ratifies deal transferring islands to Saudi ArabiaCairo, June 25 (IANS): Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has ratified the maritime demarcation deal with Saudi Arabia to transfer two Red Sea islands to the Saudi authorities, the media reported. The Egyptian President’s ratification on Saturday comes more than a week after the Egyptian Parliament approved in a general vote the controversial agreement to hand over the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to the Saudis, Xinhua news agency reported. Egypt’s lawmakers were divided over the maritime demarcation deal, signed last year during a rare visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Egypt, yet the majority of members voted for it. Egypt’s top constitutional court ruled on Wednesday to temporarily halt all previous verdicts on the country’s islands transfer deal with Saudi Arabia until it makes a decision on the judicial conflict of the rulings.

Mother tweets child’s surgery bill to slam TrumpcareWashington, June 25 (IANS): Highlighting the potential flaws in the new healthcare plan of President Donald Trump, a mother in the US has put a series of posts on Twitter, explaining the costs and complications involved in her son’s rare medical condition, the media reported on Sunday. According to Ali Ranger, her son’s case is “medically complex” with “heterotaxy syndrome” -- a rare birth defect that involves the heart and other organs.In a series of moving tweets accompanying the image of the bill, Ali Ranger laid out some of the challenges with her son Ethan Vikash’s care and what would happen if the new measure allowed insurers to impose a lifetime cap on benefits, the Telegraph reported. Thanks to the health insurance, the bill for her three-year-old son Ethan was $500 (£393). But the full cost of the treatment, which included 10 hours in surgery, a week in intensive care and a further week in hospital was $231,115 (£181,888), Ranger explained. She ends her tweet with a message for those who would so strongly defend this bill despite how blatantly it contradicts their supposed beliefs. However, the fate of Obamacare hangs in balance with President Trump keen on scrapping some provisions, including the lifetime caps on insurance.

AP/PTI

In this image taken from video, black smoke rises from oil tanker on road in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Sunday, June 25, 2017. An overturned oil tanker burst into flames in Pakistan on Sunday, killing people who had rushed to the scene of the highway accident to gather leaking fuel, an official said.

AP/PTI

Relatives burn incense and paper offerings to appease the dead at the site of a landslide in Xinmo village in Maoxian County in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, Sunday, June 25, 2017.

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Omar Mcleod sets a new Jamaican national record of 12.90 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles Saturday at the National Track & Field senior trials in Kingston.

Roger Federer holds aloft the Halle Open trophy after victory on Sunday.

Manny Pacquiao touched down in Brisbane late Saturday from Manila with a large entourage for his World Boxing Organization welterweight title bout at Suncorp Stadium next weekend.

Boxers Ankush Dahiya (60kg), 2nd left, L Devendro Singh (52kg), 2nd right, with their coaches after winning gold and silver medals in their categories on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia on Sunday.

India’s Surender Kumar, right, and Canada’s Iain Smythe in action during the Men’s World Hockey League semifinal, 5th/6th place match at Lee Valley Hockey Centre, London, Sunday June 25.

Indian teenager Ankush Dahiya bags gold medal, Devendro Singh clinches silverNew Delh i , June 25 (PTI): The fast-r is ing Ankush Dahiya (60kg) clinched gold while the experienced L Devendro Singh (52kg) settled for a silver medal on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia.

T h e 1 9 - y e a r - o l d Ankush, who is a former Asian youth silver-med-allist, defeated Korean Man Choe Chol in a split verdict, while Devendro lost to Indonesia's Aldoms Suguro, again in a split decision.

India thus signed off with a gold, a silver and three bronze medals from the tournament. K Shyam Kumar (49kg), Moham-med Hussamuddin (56kg) and Priyanka Chaudhary (60kg) — lost their respec-tive semifinal bouts to settle for bronze medals on Saturday.

Federer thrashes Zverev to win ninth Halle grass-court titleHalle (Germany), June 25 (AFP): Swiss great Roger Federer thrashed Alexander Zverev to win his ninth title at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Halle on Sunday.

The top seed lost his first match of the grass-court season last week in Stuttgart to Tommy Haas, but was in imperious form all week at Halle, culminating in the 6-1, 6-3 final victory over the home favourite Zverev.

Federer will head into Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, as favourite to win an outright record eighth title.

Italian Open champion Zverev had won all three of his previous finals this sea-son, but was blown away by a vintage performance from the 18-time major champion in only 53 minutes.

The 35-year-old Federer, who skipped the entire clay-court season in order to be fully fit for Wimbledon, has still only lost two matches this year en route to four titles, including the Austra-

lian Open in January.He raced out of the

blocks and broke serve twice to reel off the first four games of the match.

The home crowd tried their best to get behind the world number 12 Zverev, and even though he got on the board in game five, Fe-derer broke again to wrap

up the opening set in just 23 minutes.

Zverev, 20, battled hard to stay with his illustrious opponent at the start of the second set, but failed to make any inroads into the Federer serve.

The 18-t ime major champion was in irresistible form and he brought up two

break points after a scintillat-ing rally.

A trademark forehand passing shot and a comfort-able service game moved Federer to within a game of victory.

And he confidently served it out to wrap up the 92nd ATP Tour title of his career.

Pacquiao vows to leave Australia as world championBrisbane (Australia), June 25 (AFP): Philippine box-ing great Manny Pacquiao arrived in Australia ahead of his title fight with Jeff Horn and declared: "I will be going home as world champion."

The "Pac Man" touched down in Brisbane late Sat-urday from Manila with a large entourage for his World Boxing Organiza-tion welterweight title bout at Suncorp Stadium next weekend.

"In all my years of box-ing, I have never been as motivated and fired up as this fight," he told reporters at the airport.

"My team is very happy with my preparation. I am looking forward to this and I will be going home as

world champion."Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38

knockouts) is a clear favou-rite against Horn, although

the Filipino great has not stopped an opponent since his 12th round TKO of Miguel Cotto in 2009.

The eight-weight world champion has said he is using the bout as an oppor-tunity to prove he remains a global force at the age of 38 as he juggles boxing with a full-time job as a senator in the Philippines.

Pacquiao, who briefly retired early last year before making a successful come-back against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas in November, will need to be on song against the unbeaten Horn, who has won 16 of his 17 fights with one draw.

A relatively unknown physical education teacher, the 29-year-old Australian has been dubbed the "fight-ing schoolteacher" by pro-moters, who say the 50,000-seat Suncorp Stadium is almost sold out.

McLeod sets Jamaican 110m hurdle record

Kingston (Jamaica), June 25 (AFP): Olympic gold medalist Omar McLeod set a Jamaican national record of in the 110 meter hurdles Saturday with a blister-ing time of 12.90 seconds during the 2017 Jamaican track and field champion-ships.

McLeod says he is dedi-cating the next few weeks to setting is sights on Aries Merritt's world record of 12.80 seconds which he hopes to break before the London World Champion-ships in August.

"I did not get it, so I am going after it next time," said McLeod, who has races in Paris and Budapest meets before traveling to London.

McLeod's time on Sat-

urday eclipsed the previous Jamaican record of 12.94 seconds set by Hansle Parchment in 2014 in Paris.

McLeod has been hav-ing a fantastic last two sea-sons where he won the World Indoors 60m and Olympic games gold med-als five months apart. He also shaved .07 seconds off his previous personal best time.

"It was a great race," said McLeod, who cred-its his new coach Edrick Floreal with rekindling his enthusiasm for the sport.

"The coach wanted a 12.8 and I know he will be a little upset. But I can tell him I set a national record of 12.90 and am now the fifth fastest man in history."

Indeed, McLeod now

has the top four times in the world so far this year and lowered his previous career best of 13.01 sec-onds. He is tied for fifth best all time with American Dominique Arnold and trails only Merritt, Cuba's Dayron Robles, China's Liu Xiang and American David Oliver.

The sky is the limit for McLeod who will be seek-ing to make up for his disap-pointing 2015 World Cham-pionships in Beijing, China where he finished sixth.

"I am just really excited about what is to come. A new coach made me fall in love with hurdles again so it is a good thing," he said.

Ronald Levy, the sec-ond fastest in the world so far, was second in 13.13

seconds while Parchment, running with an injury, took third place in 13.19 seconds.

Speedster Yohan Blake is on course for the sprint double after qualifying the 200m finals on Sunday, winning his semi-final heat in 20.30 seconds in his first 200m race of the season.

C o m m o n w e a l t h Games champion Ra-sheed Dwyer was the fast-est qualifier after he won his heat in 20.16 seconds while World and Olympic medalist Warren Weir also advanced.

Discus thrower Fedric Dacres retained his Jamai-can title with 66.52 meter toss while London Olym-pian Traves Smikle was second with 63.26m.

Both 400m finals are set for Sunday with all the top contenders qualifying for the deciding races.

Demish Gaye is un-beaten all year and has dropped his times signifi-cantly as he won his semi-final heat in 45.26 seconds Saturday while Nathon Allen also won his heat in 45.49 seconds.

N C A A c o l l e g i a t e champion Chrisann Gor-don has thrown down the gauntlet among the women in the 400m after lower-ing her personal best to 50.32 seconds. World and Olympic medalist Shericka Williams finished in 50.48 seconds.

Nov lene Wi l l i ams Mills, in her final national championships, Christine Day and Stephenie-Ann McPherson are all top con-tenders.

Rio De Janeiro, June 25 (IANS): Brazil international mid-fielder Paulinho has revealed he could join Barcelona this summer from Guangzhou Evergrande.

The Catalan club has made the 28-year-old a prime trans-fer target, along with Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti.

In an interview with Brazil's Globoesporte, Paulinho said his agent Giuliano Bertolucci is negotiating with Barcelona officials, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I'm really proud that a great club like Barcelona are inter-ested in me, there is no price for that," Paulinho said.

Despite being "flattered" by Barcelona's interest, Paulinho said he was unsure if a return to European football would be the best career move.

Before joining Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015, Paulinho spent two seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, the last of which saw him make only seven starts.

"I'm very happy where I am now and the way my career is going," said Paulinho, who was recalled to Brazil's national team after a two-year absence last year.

"When you feel this way, it's difficult to move. I need to weigh up a lot of things before making a decision," he said.

Last week, Guangzhou Evergrande coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he doubted another club would be willing to pay Paulinho's $40-million release clause.

Brazilian Paulinho reveals Barcelona talks

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS): Sports Minister Vijay Goel here on Sunday flagged off the third Slum Yuva Daud which aims to promote sporting cul-ture among the youth living in slum areas.

The marathon star ted from Kasturba Gandhi Polytechnic in Pitampura and ended at Pitampura Sports Complex in west Delhi. More

than 5,000 youths from Delhi slums participated with zeal and vigour.

The event was attended, amopng others, by Union Environment and Science/Technology Minister Harsh-wardhan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Vice President Shyam Jaju, National General Secretary Anil Jain and Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar.

"This is not just any other run but we are running for a better tomorrow, a New India where each youngster is a capable being and sports is one field in which we must grow big and powerful," Goel said.

The Slum Yuva Daud is part of the Adopt Slum Campaign initiated by the Sports Ministry and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.

Sports Minister Goel flags off third 'Slum Yuva Daud'

Devendro, a Com-monwealth Games silver-medallist besides a former

Asian Championships silver-winner, was the first to step inside the ring

for India today and was his usual aggressive self against Suguro.

The diminutive Mani-puri, who is getting back to form after recovering from some niggles, ex-hausted his rival with a fine display of tempo-boxing, not letting the intensity slip even once.

Denied a clear shot due to Suguro's shell guard, Devendro did well to con-nect fine body blows.

However, much to the Indian camp's disappoint-ment, Devendro's overall dominance did not find favour with the judges who ruled 3-2 in Suguro's favour.

However, the disap-pointment soon made way for celebrations when Ankush edged past Man Choe Chol.

The youngster put his long reach and height ad-vantage to good use and landed some lusty straight blows, which swung the contest in his favour.

today's match

MRH FC vs Medical XI

Morning PreMier LeaguePoints Table: Week 16

Mumbai, June 25 (PTI): Anil Kumble's resignation as chief coach may come up for discussion at the BCCI's Special General Meeting to-morrow where the primary agenda will be 'One State One Vote' and the reinstatement of a five-member selection committee.

The Kumble issue is not on the agenda for the SGM but it is likely to be raised by members.

"The members may ask acting Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and CEO Rahul Johri as to what was the situation that led to Anil Kumble stepping down from the

chief coach's post," a state unit of-ficial told PTI on Sunday.

"It's not always required to be on the agenda. Some issues can be raised on floor with permission of the chair," he said.

The state units on Sunday met the COA in two batches. The issues pertaining to the Lodha Committee reforms was once again discussed.

It is learnt that all state units are on the same page on the 'One State One Vote' issue. The body is likely to decide that while new members must be included, units like Mum-bai, Vidarbha, Saurashtra, Baroda

should not lose their voting rights.The other issues include rein-

statement of a five-member selec-tion committee as it will be impos-sible for three to track domestic matches.

Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Kho-da were removed from the panel for not having played Test Cricket.

The 'three-year cooling off pe-riod' is another issue.

Current Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly may have to go in for a "cooling off" if it is implemented.

For a few members like former

BCCI President N Srinivasan and secretary Niranjan Shah, the age cap of 70 years is an issue.

In fact, Srinivasan was present during COA's meeting with the first batch. "Vinod Rai told us that the General Body is the supreme body in the BCCI and he is hopeful that right steps will be taken at the SGM. Mr Srinivasan was also present but he only listened to the discussions," the official said.

"Srinivasan said that if he has to put across his viewpoint, he will do so at an appropriate forum," the official said.

SGM: Voting rights, selectors, Kumble issue may be raised

London, June 25 (PTI): A misfiring and inconsistent India finished a disappointing sixth in the Hero Hockey World League Semifinals after being stunned 2-3 by lowly Canada here on Sunday.

It was India's second upset loss against a lower-ranked side in the tournament after having lost to Malaysia in the quar-terfinals.

Gordon Johnston (3rd, 44th minutes) scored two goals while Keegan Pereira (40th) found the net once for the 11th ranked Canadians.

Harmanpreet Singh (7th, 22nd) con-verted two of India's eight penalty corners.

By virtue of this win, Canada not only finished fifth in the tournament but also qualified for next year's World Cup to be held in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar.

The loss, although, didn't deter sixth-ranked India's qualification to the Hockey World League Final, to be held later this year, and the World Cup as they are al-ready assured of places in both the events being the hosts.

However, it definitely counts for a morale-shattering outing.

India lose 2-3 to Canada, finish lowly 6th in HWL semis

Moscow, June 25 (AFP): Martin Rodriguez rescued a 1-1 draw for Chile against Austra-lia on Sunday to send the South American champions through to a Confederations Cup semi-final against Portugal.

James Troisi steered Australia ahead on 42 minutes in Moscow, but Chile replied through half-time substitute Rodriguez on 67 minutes to advance as Group B runners-up behind Germany.

Germany progressed as group winners following a 3-1 victory over Cameroon in Sochi, with the world champions to face Mexico for a place in the July 2 final in Saint Petersburg. Veteran forward Tim Cahill col-lected his 100th international cap at Spartak Stadium, joining long-serving former goal-keeper Mark Schwarzer (109) as the only other Australia player to reach the landmark.

Alexis Sanchez went tumbling to ground early on following a last-ditch intervention from Mark Milligan, but the video assistant referee dismissed penalty claims as replays showed a clear touch from the Australian defender.

Claudio Bravo returned for Chile follow-ing a calf injury and the Manchester City goalkeeper produced a smart block to deny a lunging Massimo Luongo, although Aus-tralia forged ahead on 42 minutes.

A risky pass from Bravo was intercepted inside the Chile half, allowing Robbie Kruse to steer the ball across the face of the box to an unmarked Troisi who clipped over the advancing keeper. Arturo Vidal nearly replied instantly when his stooping header was blocked on the line by Milligan with the rebound eluding Jose Fuenzalida.

Australian centre-back Trent Sainsbury spoiled a glorious chance for a second goal before the break, lashing wildly over on the volley after Chile's defence momentarily switched off.

But the introduction of Rodriguez and Pablo Hernandez at half-time proved crucial as Chile levelled midway through the second half. Eduardo Vargas beat his marker to a looping ball in the area, knocking down into the path of Rodriguez who smuggled the ball beyond Matt Ryan for his first international goal. Vargas headed fractionally wide after Sanchez had escaped down the left and picked out his striking partner, while Jamie MacLaren miscued badly in front of Bravo after a brilliant delivery from Troisi before the contest gradually petered out.

Kohima, June 25 (EMN): The 1st Kohima District Inter-School Football tournament jointly organised by Royal Club Kohima and School Education department will kick off today at Kohima local ground from 12 noon onwards.

The 24 participating schools from Kohima district are North Field, Vinyiizo School, Mt. Sinai HSS, Bethel HSS, St. Peter School, Charity School, Naga Bazar Baptist, BMS Jotsoma, St. Mary’s HSS, Vineyard, Azedon, G. Rio School, Mezhur HSS, Model HSS, MHBHSS, TMGHSS, Khedi Baptist HSS, Stella HSS, Chandmari HSS, Mt. Hermon HSS, BHS Tseminyu, Riiziikhrie HSS, Baptist

High and Dainty Buds. The winner of the tournament will receive a cash prize of Rs. 70,000/-, runner-up Rs. 50,000/- and the two semi-finalists will get Rs. 20,000/- each. The entry would be free for all matches with the first match at 1 pm and second match at 2:40 pm.

Meanwhile, the inaugural session will be attended by Yitachu, Minister for School Education and SCERT as the chief guest.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sunday, June 25.

Italy's Valentino Rossi celebrates after winning the Dutch TT (Tourist Trophy), the eighth event on the season's motorcycle Grand Prix calendar, on June 25, in Assen, Netherlands.

12 SportSEastErn Mirror | Dimapur, Monday, June 26, 2017

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Printed and published by Vimenuo Keditsu for Nagaland Free Press Society at Eastern Publication House, Circular Road, Dimapur. Executive Editor: K.Wapong Longkumer. Tel Nos.: 246001, 225507 (Dimapur), 2291977 (Kohima). Fax: (03862) 245558 (Dimapur) email: easternmirror@gmail.com | RNI No. NAGENG/2002/07906

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today's matchpool A- North Field vs Vinyiizo School

Pool B- Mezhur HSS vs Model HSS

PTI

PTI

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth along with the team management after winning the Australian Open summit clash in Sydney on Sunday.

Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match at the Birmingham Classic tennis tournament against Australia's Ashleigh Barty at Edgbaston Priory, Birmingham, England, Sunday June 25.

Sydney, June 25 (IANS): Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth stayed committed in his dominating run to clinch the Australian Open Super Series men's singles final here on Sunday.

The Indian took less than 30 minutes to out-class Olympic champion Cheng Long of China in straight games 22-20, 21-16.

This was the third straight Super Series final win for Srikanth who had only last week secured the Indonesian Open.

In the f i r s t game, the 24-year-old Srikanth played a perfect net game which troubled Long.

Tailing 17-19 in the last, Srikanth displayed some quality shots and smashes to make it 21-19. But the Chinese player made it 20-20 (deuce). A focused Srikanth then changed his strategy and started playing an attack-ing game to edge past the World No.6.

The second game saw a much improved perfor-mance from the Indian. In a totally contrasting game, Srikanth played long ral-lies. The Chinese shuttler struggled and surrendered the game.

Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinches Australian Open title

Vettel, Hamilton clash as Ricciardo wins Azerbaijan Grand PrixBaku (Azerbaijan), June 25 (AFP): Sebastian Vettel was pe-nalised for dangerous driving after deliberately crashing into title rival Lewis Hamilton in a wild and cha-otic Azerbaijan Grand Prix won by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday.

Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas snatched second place from 18-year-old Williams driver Lance Stroll in the final straight, as Vettel finished fourth ahead of Hamilton to extend his championship lead to 14 points.

Despite Ricciardo's win, the race will be remembered for the angry confrontation between for-mer world champions Vettel and Hamilton.

Ferrari star Vettel was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for "dan-gerous driving" after he deliberately drove into Hamilton's Mercedes while both were following the safety car.

Vettel claimed Hamilton had braked in front of him and he re-sponded by driving into the back of his rival before then bumping the Briton from the side.

"I think it's just not driver con-duct. It's dangerous driving and to get a 10-second penalty for that... I don't need to say anything else," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

Vettel pleaded innocent."Nothing happened, did it? He

brake checked me as well, so what do you expect?," the German told Sky.

"I'm sure he didn't do it on pur-pose but for sure it was not the right move. If I'm struggling, people at the back struggling even more, so I don't think it was necessary.

"I got damage, he risked dam-age. He's done something similar in China at the restart a couple of

years ago so it's not the way to do it, I think.

"I passed him because he pit-ted. After the incident, we were side by side, I raised my hand and told him, well I didn't say anything, but showed him that I wasn't happy with that."

Making the most of a series of extraordinary incidents and interventions in an action-packed race, which included three safety car interventions and a red-flagged stoppage, Ricciardo, who started 10th, roared home 3.904 seconds ahead of the rest to deliver his first win of the season.

Esteban Ocon of Force India was sixth ahead of Kevin Magnus-sen of Haas, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso, who also survived a first-lap collision, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who scored McLaren's first points of the year in ninth, and Pascal Wehrlein

of Sauber. Hamilton, who had dominated after a strong start from his 66th pole position, was also undone by a loose headrest that caused him to be ordered to pit for repairs, for safety reasons.

Bottas meanwhile produced a brilliant drive to take his fifth po-dium finish of the season, having dropped to the back of the field after a first-lap bump with fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen.- 10-second penalty for Vettel -

Further chaos unfolded when Daniil Kvyat stopped, his Toro Rosso having lost all electrical power on lap eight. A safety car was deployed on lap 12, for the first time.

By then, after a great scrap with Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen was also forced to retire with an engine failure, his fourth retirement in six outings in his Red Bull.

The first safety car came in

after 16 laps, racing resuming with Perez making an attack on Vettel who resisted, before another safety car, the second, was deployed due to debris.

Racing resumed, for a third time, on lap 19, but only after the incident in which Vettel hit the rear of Hamilton’s car, under braking as the leader tried to avoid the slow-moving safety car.

It appeared Hamilton had done nothing untoward, but the German was clearly irate and pulled alongside the Mercedes, waving an arm, before turning into his car.

It seemed a clear case of Vettel losing his temper and causing an accident, but both emerged unhurt as the serious action resumed and Raikkonen picked up debris and a puncture to trigger a third safety Car intervention -– after only 20 laps.

The racing resumed, for a fifth time, behind a safety car and when it came in after one lap Hamilton pulled away and Ricciardo dived past Stroll to snatch third.

Nico Hulkenberg of Renault then followed team-mate Jolyon Palmer into retirement after the German crashed into the wall while Felipe Massa slowed and retired with a broken damper on his Williams.

Hamilton opened up a 2.7 seconds lead before he was told by Mercedes that his headrest was loose. Behind him, team-mate Bottas was back up to eighth and Vettel was closing.

Hamilton was then ordered to pit, on safety grounds, and rejoined ninth with his headrest secured.

By lap 40 of the 51, Ricciardo had the lead which he would not surrender.

Kohima inter-school tourney begins today

GDSA football league-2017 from July 7Our Correspondent

Diphu, June 25 (EMN): Like every year, the Greater Diphu Sports Association (GDSA) Football tournament will commence from July 7 at Diphu Government Boys Higher Secondary playground, Diphu.

The football league for Soi-Soi Terang and Nirola Tissopi Memorial Trophy for group 'A', 'B' and 'C' respectively. The donor of the trophies is Gautam Terang, president GDSA in memory of his loving parents. The champion and runners up of 'A', 'B' and 'C' division will be getting prize money apart from certificate and individual prizes.

Interested team for Division 'A' and 'B' Division and fresh Club who will be going

to join in 2017 will be in 'C' division are requested to confirm their participation on or before July 3, by submitting all the neces-sary documents and dues without fail. Non compliance/submission with the necessary documents and dues their team will not be feature in the league.

The GDSA inter club transfer of players is hereby open up to July 2, without fine and June 3 with fine. For more detail one may contact Sonjoy Timung- 9613144896, Doley Thapa- 8011237424 and H.E Kathar - 8638155810

This was informed in a press commu-nique by Pankaj Teron, General Secretary, Karbi Anglong Sport Association (KASA).

Italy's Rossi wins Dutch motorcycle Grand Prix

Assen (Netherlands), June 25 (IANS): Movistar Yamaha's Valentino Rossi won the Dutch TT (Tourist Trophy), the eighth event on this season's motorcycle Grand Prix calendar, here on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Ros-si finished with a time of

41:41.149, averaging 169.9 kph, reports Efe.

Octo Pramac Racing's Danilo Petrucci of Italy took second place and Rep-sol Honda's Marc Marquez of Spain, finished in third place.

Rossi, who got his first win of 2017 at the TT Cir-

Badminton Association of In-dia (BAI) President Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a

cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for Kid-ambi Srikanth after he won the Australian Open Superseries title in Sydney on Sunday.

Srikanth not only won his fourth superseries title but also became the only sixth badminton player in the world to make it to three consecutive

superseries finals on the trot. In the finals, the 24-year-old was

up against Olympic champion Chen Long of China. The Guntur player was at his best against the World No. 6 and won 22-20, 21-16 comfortably.

Sarma congratulated Srikanth. "We are really very proud of

Srikanth for his achievements. It is simply phenomenal. He has not only made the whole country proud

once again but has etched his name among the best and no word will be enough to praise Srikanth," Sarma said.

BAI Secretary General Anup Narang said: "It is indeed a very huge achievement for Srikanth and Indian badminton. The entire BAI is in a jubilant mood and I am sure so are the badminton fans across the country."

BAI announces cash reward for Srikanth

cuit here, is now in third place in the standings with 108 points.

Italian Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso, winner of the two MotoGP races, is now in first place with 115 points, while Mo-vistar Yamaha's Maverick Viñales of Spain is in sec-ond place with 111 points.

Rossi managed the race masterfully, edging Petrucci and Marquez for the win.

Tire selection proved to the the key to victory for Rossi, who decided to go with an intermediate com-posite in front and a hard tire in the back to deal with the weather conditions here.

The white flag came out with just eight laps left as rain began to affect the area around the track.

Viñales, who was the leader in the standings heading into Assen, had problems in qualifying and started 11th in the Dutch TT.

The Spanish r ider moved ahead after the start of the race and was in 8th place by the seventh lap.

Viñales, however, was unable to break into the front and finish in the top three.

Chile book Portugal clash at Confed Cup

Meanwhile in the other group B quarter final match, Germany outclassed Cameroon 3-1 to face Mexico in the semi-final on Wednesday.

Kvitova sends Wimbledon warning with Birmingham titleBirmingham, June 25 (Reuters): Petra Kvitova showed she will be a seri-ous contender at Wimble-don after beating Austra-lian Ashleigh Barty 4-6 6-3 6-2 to win the Aegon Classic in Birmingham on Sunday, in just her second tournament since return-ing from a knife attack injury.

The Czech, a Wimble-don winner in 2011 and 2014, suffered a knife at-tack during a robbery at her home in December that left her with a dam-aged hand and sidelined her unti l last month's French Open.

The 27-year-old not only looked untroubled by her hand this week but she also looked back to her best with her explosive serve often too much for Barty on Sunday as she produced 13 aces.

She served out for the title in emphatic fashion -- to love and ending with an ace -- and celebrated

Retd. Lt. Col. Satyendra Verma (inset) performs India’s highest base jump from Supernova Towers (600 feet above the ground level) in Noida on Sunday. PTI Photo

in her typical understated style, with a broad smile.

Her last final on grass was her triumph at Wim-bledon three years ago against Eugenie Bouchard and while her talk on ar-rival at Edgbaston was purely about her delight to be playing again, she clearly has bigger goals now.

"I like to play finals on grass. I wish I could have more - I won't be sad if it is in a couple of weeks (at Wimbledon) but there is still a lot of work to be done," she said in her on-court interview.

"It was an amazing week, an amazing tourna-ment. From my first hits on the grass I felt great, it was encouraging to get into the grass season.

"I came to play, to im-prove my game, I didn't really have any expecta-tion. I wanted to play my best which I showed today and I hope I can keep do-ing that," she added.