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The Morung ExpressIf you can’t change your fate, change your attitude

Dimapur VOL. III ISSUE 301 www.morungexpress.com Thursday, October 30, 2008 12 pages Rs. 3

“ -Chinese Proverb

A Daily Publication of Morung for Indigenous Affairs & JustPeace

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Special CorrespondentMorung Express News | New Delhi

A CALL for shared sovereignty based on Greater Kashmir, cross border Regional Council or Senate, Economic Integration across the Line of Control, Native Gov-ernor (not imposed from Delhi), Local bureaucracy vis-a-vis doing away with the All India Services (IAS/IPS) and de-militarization (abrogation of AFSPA) are the centre piece of a ground breaking document “The Self-Rule Framework for Kashmir Resolution” unveiled last week by the Peoples Democratic Party.

Although the national media in the country has not given the importance that it deserves, the document should be seen as a major departure from main-stream political discourse what with the PDP—an ally of the UPA government at the Centre—having gone to the ex-tent of advocating what it clearly states as “shared sovereignty” without the “need or commitment to political merging”. “We have to find ways and means of “sharing sovereignty", the document states and for this purpose calls for “constitutional restructuring that ensures sharing of sov-ereignty without compromising political sovereignty of either nation state” i.e. In-dia and Pakistan. Specifically on the ques-tion of “Constitutional Restructuring”, the document calls for an end to applica-tion in Jammu and Kashmir of Article 356 of Constitution of India under which the Centre can dissolve State Assembly and implement Governor’s rule. It also seeks roll back of Article 249 of the Constitution from Jammu and Kashmir.

The aim says the PDP document, is to limit Parliament’s legislative jurisdiction over a matter that falls in state jurisdiction and restore the nomenclature of governor and chief minister to Sadr-e-Riyasat and Prime Minister respectively. On an “Elect-ed native Governor”, the document states that the Head of the State should be elect-ed and he should be a native of the state. It

A Call for Shared Sovereignty

Body recoveredKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): Police on Wednes-day recovered a highly-de-composed body of a male at around 12.30 PM at lower Bye-pass, a few kilometers from Kohima. Police said the deceased was identified by his brother, by the clothes, as one Suresh Kumar Yadav, 35 years, a businessman from Motihari district in Bihar and presently residing in Midland in Kohima. He was reported missing since earli-er this month. Police said the body was taken to Dimapur by his family members.

Road toll for Wednesday DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): Early this evening in Dimapur around 5:30 PM, a speeding lorry hit a cyclist at Circular Road. The uniden-tified cyclist, a local probably in his thirties, was hit by the side front of the truck. The lorry, a Tata, roared off after mowing down the cyclist. The victim was hit while ne-gotiating a turn at an outlet to the next lane, by the oncom-ing speeding truck. A pair of bystanders ran to help the motionless man away from the raging traffic. Interest-ingly, an unidentified local youth in a silver Hyundai, a Santro, who was trailing up from behind took off after the fleeing truck, following frantic directions given by the bystanders helping the injured cyclist. The Santro intercepted the fleeing lor-ry right at the Duncan tin-ali junction. It is not clear whether the driver was ap-prehended, as the lorry was seen empty. The Santro was seen reversing and driving back to the direction it came from. However, there were several occupants in the San-tro who were observed to be the driver or handyman of the culpable truck. No fur-ther details could be had.

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Self-rule demand for Kashmir resurfaces

An Indian paramilitary soldier standing guard near a check point is seen through barbed wire at a deserted market during a strike in Srinagar on Monday. Shops, businesses and government offices closed across Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday as separatists called a general strike to mark the anniversary of the day Indian troops took control of the region in 1947. (AP Photo)

states that the Governor should be elected for six years from regions of Jammu and Kashmir on rotational basis. On the issue of “Local civil services”, the self rule docu-ment calls for rolling back of All India Ser-vice Act, 1951 and Article 312 arguing that this could provide clear and unhindered opportunity to local human resource to develop their full potential and it should

be trusted to manage state affairs. Describing self-rule as a political

philosophy centred on the conception of federalism and confederation, the docu-ment states that a comprehensive formu-lation of self-rule has three subcompo-nents i.e. a new political superstructure that integrates the region and empowers sub-regions; a phased economic integra-

tion that transcends borders and as men-tioned already, constitutional restructur-ing that ensures sharing of sovereignty without compromising political sover-eignty of either nation state.

As far as the “New political structure or regional council”, the document states that the regional council of Greater Jam-mu and Kashmir would replace the exist-

ing Upper House or Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir state legislature, a “kind of Regional Senate” whose mem-bers would be from both Jammu and Kashmir and AJK. It will have nominees of the governments of India and Pakistan as well and would serve as a major cross border institution to ensure long-term coordination in matters of the state.

With regard to “Economic integra-tion”, the document states that depend-ing on the political will, this can be pur-sued in different degrees, deepening the process as we go along and as the system adapts to change. “The process can be started by declaring the intention to establish common economic space and sign an agreement with a roadmap which envisages establishing common economic space; instituting a dual cur-rency system and coordinated economic policy, harmonization of economic legis-lation and synergistic regulations.”

In many ways what sets apart the latest proposal of the PDP is on mak-ing a clear distinction between self-rule, which it espouses and autonomy, which has its currency in Delhi’s powerful es-tablishment. According to the PDP doc-ument, self-rule refers to autonomy from the nation-state of India, whereas auton-omy connotes relative autonomy from the Government of India. “The two are vastly different in substance and style. The change -- from “autonomy” to self-rule” -- means is a fundamental shift in the terrain of political discourse and the existing status of the Kashmir issue”.

Further, it makes out the case that autonomy is for an institution of gover-nance while self-rule is for a region, or geography. “Therefore, while autonomy doesn’t have a territorial element to it, the concept of self-rule has an element of territoriality to it. This is a reasonable compromise between demanding a new state and redefining the existing one”, the document states.

Continued on page 3

KOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): Nagaland Governor K. Sankaranarayanan and Chief Min-ister Neiphiu Rio today pitched an-ti-corruption rhetoric that the poor and the needy are the first victims and the worst-hit for corruption. In their Vigilance Awareness Week Messages, the two leaders sound-ed a clarion against corruption to “eliminate this virus amongst us”.

In his message Governor K. Sankaranarayanan said corruption is a menace that has come to strike at the very foundation of the soci-ety and the economy. “It manifests itself in various forms like favorit-ism, nepotism and financial cor-ruption. We need to take proactive steps to eliminate this virus from amongst us,” said the governor. He reminded that one needs to dedi-cate oneself to public service and to take steps for eradication of corrup-tion from public life.

Legislations like Right to Infor-mation Act and Prevention of Cor-ruption Act has helped to control corruption to some extent, he said. Still in order to regain the trust of the society, public servants will have to make a conscious effort to ensure that directly or indirectly they do

not indulge in corrupt practices, Sankaranarayanan. The governor reminded that society will also have to ensure that the honest are reward-ed and respected while the corrupt is duly punished. Stating that the Vigilance Commission of Nagaland has taken steps in this regard, San-karanarayanan was hopeful that the support of all and observation of Vigilance Awareness Week will “make all of us aware as also better equipped in tackling this problem”.

Vigilance Awareness Week co-incides with the birth anniversary of Sadar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first Home Minister of India. He was the man behind integration of all Indi-an states as also founder of the civil service and administrative set-up in India. Also, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in his message said “the week is meant to remind us of the need for greater resolve to fight corruption at all levels by one and all”.

“War, it is said, is too dangerous, because it destroys lives and proper-ties. Corruption is equally danger-ous, because it destroys the moral fiber and sanctity of human society. Anti-corruption measures are like medicines, which not only cure the ailments, but prevent the spread of

the disease”, the chief minister said. During the Vigilance Awareness

Week, Rio requested, all the heads of departments and heads of admin-istrative departments to seriously discuss with their officers, ways and means to ensure that resources meant for development are not misused. They should see that the resources are strictly utilized for purposes for which the money has been sanc-tioned. “Every effort should be made to utilize the limited resources of the government judiciously, and in a pro-poor manner. Let us also remember that the worst victims of corruption are the poor people,” he said.

Rio also appealed to the public in and Government servants in par-ticular, to rededicate themselves to-wards checking and removing cor-ruption from the society.

“I would also appeal to the pub-lic at large to bring instances of corruption to the notice of the con-cerned authorities for necessary ac-tion. I also request my colleagues and all government servants to co-operate with State Vigilance Commission in curbing corruption thereby helping to shape a better to-morrow for the present and future generations,” Rio added.

‘Poor people are corruption’s first victims’ Mizoram poll dates changedNEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): The Election Com-mission on Wednesday re-scheduled the assembly elec-tions in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram to November 27 and December 2 respectively to provide more time for de-ploying security forces. “After reassessing the time required for proper demobilisation and transportation of the police forces for elections in Madhya Pradesh after the elections in Chhattisgarh are over on No-vember 20, the commission has now decided to re-fix the poll date in Madhya Pradesh on November 27 instead of Nov 25 announced earlier,” the poll panel said in a state-ment. It said the Mizoram election date was changed since November 29, the pre-viously announced date, was a Saturday, which “has some special significance” for a seg-ment of people and it would be “inconvenient” for them to vote that day. The statement said the other stages of elec-tions in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram remain unchanged.

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN/AGENCIES): In a heart-wrenching marriage of tragedy and typical bureau-cratic insensitivity, a 22-year-old HIV-positive Mizo girl — counting her last breaths — tried desperately to reach home to see her parents, but the wish was never to be – the country’s (in)famous red-tapist obses-sion strangled the dying girl’s last wish. Mawii died at Kolkata airport on Tuesday after being turned away by Air India offi-cials on Monday.

Mawii was being treated at Bangalore’s Bowring Hospital and had taken a fit-to-fly cer-tificate from there, said former Bangalore police commissioner and ex-MP HT Sangliana. But in Kolkata, Air India officials wanted another fitness certifi-cate when she tried to catch the connecting flight to Aizawl. “I tried to reason with the airline of-

ficials, but to no avail. I again got a medical fitness certificate and faxed it to them, but they still re-fused to relent,” said Sangliana.

Mawii was booked on a Kol-kata-Aizawl Kingfisher flight on Tuesday, but died before she could board the plane. AI offi-cials maintained that they could not bend rules laid down by the Director General of Civil Avia-tion. According to Sangliana, who had made Mawii’s travel arrangements, she boarded a flight from Bangalore without hassle at 6 am on Monday. The connecting flight from Kolkata to Aizawl was at 11 am. But Air India officials wanted a fitness certificate taken in Kolkata be-fore she could board the flight. She went back disheartened.

On Tuesday morning, Mawii returned to take a King-fisher flight. She was sitting in the domestic lounge, when she suddenly seemed to fall asleep.

When she could not be roused, two family members called a doctor, who declared her dead. Her body was taken to Mizoram House and is likely to be flown to Aizawl on Wednesday morning.

AI officials in Kolkata said the wheelchair-bound woman was “fit” when she traveled from Bangalore to Kolkata but fell ill later on Monday morn-ing. “Mawii had a through boarding pass and went to the security hold but fell ill. Doc-tors at Kolkata airport refused to issue her a fit-to-fly certificate and referred her to a nursing home. We took her to a private hospital, where she was advised to take admission. But her fam-ily refused and shifted her to Mizoram House instead,” said a spokesperson. The spokes-person also claimed that Mawii possessed only a paper that stat-ed “she is ill and be kindly per-mitted to fly”. “It was not a valid

certificate as the doctor’s regis-tration number was not men-tioned. If she had to fly, a doctor should have accompanied her. We acted as per DGCA norms.” A Kingfisher Airlines official in Kolkata said Mawii’s rela-tives had not declared that she was a patient. “If we had found her unwell during boarding, we would have demanded a fit-to-fly certificate as well,” he said.

A furious Sangliana lashed out at the airline officials, say-ing it was “inhuman not to grant a person her last wish”. “Now, the body has to be em-balmed and sent to her parents, the cost of which they cannot af-ford. All these inconveniences could have been avoided if the officials had shown a little un-derstanding,” he said. India is (in)famous for its exhaustive, not to mention complex, bu-reaucratic predisposition that regulate working systems.

Red-Tape strangles Mizo girl’s last wish

Pakistani villagers look at children who were killed by the earth-quake in Ziarat, Pakistan on Wednesday. A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck before dawn Wednesday killing at least 150 people, injuring scores more and leaving an estimated 15,000 home-less, officials said. (AP Photo)

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today urged contractors and engineers to do a little ‘soul-searching’ so that quali-tative development can take place. Rio said liabilities and inferior works should be done away with. He was addressing a meeting of technocrats in Kohima today.

“Let me state that I have initiated this meeting to throw a challenge on our engi-neers and contractors, who I am sure, are not inferior to any other engineers and contractors in other parts of the country. I want you to do soul-searching and serious introspection, to find out what needs to be changed, what needs to be improved, so that the quality of assets we created are real assets, and not inferior quality or li-abilities” Rio told the meeting.

Rio said assets of the state like build-ings, system of governance and quality of human resources are important in-dicators and factors that makes up the health and image of the state. “But the ‘face of the state are the roads’, I think all of you will agree with me that our roads do not present a pretty picture. In that case, what will be the first impression that a visitor will have about the state?”

Rio remarked in his query. The magnitude of works being tak-

en up under the roads and buildings sectors over the past 4-5 years of the DAN ministry has been tremendous, with the Nagaland PWD taking up most of the major works, Rio said. “It is, therefore, expected that there should have been a sense of achievement and satisfaction amongst the general public and the users of these assets. However, I am constraint and sorry to state that in spite of spending Crores of rupees in the roads and building sectors, the quality of these works has left much to be desired. This is one area which needs to be addressed very seriously” he said.

Fully being convinced about the need to improve constructions, the CM said, the government had recently taken a de-cision to set up a quality control board in the state. “It may become necessary to set up quality control laboratories in every district head quarters, manned by trained personnel so that the facility is available to all the project implementing units, and a uniform control on the quality control aspects can be enforced” he said.

continued on page 3

Rio to technocrats: Get asset-minded

Vishwanathan Anand celebrates winning the

Chess World Champion-ship after the 11th game

against Vladimir Kramnnik in the Art and Exhibition

Hall of the Federal Repblic of Germany in Bonne on

Wednesday. (AP Photo)

CMYK

CMYK

30 October 2008Thursday2 Dimapur The Morung ExpressLOCAL

MEx FileICON ’08 releases todayDIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): Grace Produc-tion Music Company, Northeast India, will be releasing ICON ’08, one of Nagaland’s biggest gospel music video projects, on October 30. The video will be launched at Gospel Sound Studio, Nepali Kashiram, in the pres-ence of Christian artists and music directors.

Kohima College parting social todayKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The 42nd annual prize distribution-cum-parting social of the Kohima College, Kohima, will take place on October 30 in the college auditorium at 10:00 am. MLA Dr. Nicky Kire, chairman, KVIB, will grace the occasion as the chief guest. Keynote address will be given by C Khalong Ao, Principal, Kohima College. Annual report, prayer for ongoing students, dance, special number, and prize dis-tribution will also mark the occasion.

Name of dead persons to be deleted: EC MON, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): A meeting to discuss summary revision of electoral roll 2009 was conducted today at the DC’s conference hall, Mon. Deputy Com-missioner Mon, Dinesh Kumar, IAS, outlined certain instructions and rules given by the Election Commis-sion. Due to policy change by the Election Commission, it has framed certain annexure to be filled up by Booth Level Officers (BLO), which includes not only inclu-sion of, but also deletion of the names of dead persons. Also new inclusion is restricted beyond 3% of the exist-ing Electoral Rule. Assistant Election Officer, Mon, Tali chaired the function where officers, BLOs and supervi-sors attended the meeting.

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Nagaland Government’s Registered Class-I Contractors’ Union (NGRC-ICU), while point-ing out loopholes in the system, today demanded greater transparency in the allotment of the floating of tender for departmental works. Exasperated by the numerous works allotted through “table tender” in the various departments of the state such as Medical, PHO, PHE, Power, Soil Con-servation, Agriculture, Irri-gation, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry and Tourism, the union has come out with spe-cific demands to streamline and make transparent the dealings of the departments in matters of work tenders.

In a representation to the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, the union stated that ever since the NPWD & CPWD

Code had been enforced in the state, allotment of con-tract works in Nagaland was not being done in compli-ance with the formalities of the Code. It stated that ex-cept for the Urban Develop-ment Department and a few PWD works, no other de-partment in the state was as transparent in its execution of works, regarding either construction or supply. The contractors cautioned that it would soon be seeking documents in exercising the Right to Information Act, 2005 for further action.

Meanwhile, the union resents that open tender was not done in almost all the works despite the union hav-ing made several appeals to all departments to float ten-ders in local media so that equal privileges are given to every contractor. It demand-ed that the criteria, terms

and conditions for ‘Notice Inviting Tender’ should be consistent for all the depart-ments and all departments should bring out a standard tender NIT format with simi-lar terms and conditions. The contractors also requested that this standard format be-come a binding document that cannot be tampered with by any individual department since, at present, there existed gross violation on the rights of the citizens.

The contractors also brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that at the mo-ment, the tax deductions they faced was 4% for contract work by finance department from total bill, 3% contingen-cy, 2% work charge establish-ment, and 13% departmental charge deducted from the sanctioned amount. Besides these tax deductions, the union added the deduction

for Royalty and NST and the 1% deduction for the Plan-ning Department’s charge. The Contractors continued that besides these, they also faced deductions of huge amounts “for so many other reasons” and admitted that they could not give the de-sired quality of work or even finish the work. The other problem was the release of the payments, which was irregu-lar, and that there was no rate escalation possible despite the huge escalation of cost of materials in the market. “Some of our contractors are still working at 1995 schedule and 2004 schedule of rate of NPWD where non-local con-tractors are safe because they are covered by the escalation clauses awarded to them,” stated the representation. The union requested that the con-tract clause – “Payment shall be made as and when fund is

available” – be cancelled, stat-ing that it was an arbitrary and discriminatory clause and not tenable for any contract work anywhere in the country ex-cept Nagaland.

The union declared that they were working under abnormal situation and had not received their bills for the last 6-7 months, which was affecting the workers very badly. It requested that government to take punitive action against those errant officials who resort to tactics to strangulate the contrac-tors’ bills so that they could deliver the work of the state.

The union also pointed out that in the past, almost all the departments of the state were biased in award-ing works to non-local con-tractors over local, as non-locals were awarded at 7.5% enhancement per year along with escalation as per RBI

index. They said that even the earnest money of the non-local contractors did not comply with codal for-malities and that escalation of rates was always allowed for non-locals. Therefore, the union demanded that the rates, terms and condi-tions of contract, including escalation as per RBI price index, be given without bias to all contractors under the same terms and conditions for all the works.

However, above all else, the union divulged that most government servants were indulging in contract works and supplies. It stat-ed that they were enjoying 70% of the state’s budget by way of salaries and facilities received by them, and there-fore urged the government servants to perform their duty and not indulge in con-tracting and supply works.

Accuse govt servants of indulging in contract and supply worksContractors protest bias in awarding of work

Encounter Equip Empower

WOMEN’S CONFERENCE & SEMINARVenue : IMC (Old Lapa Loma Theater)Date : November 3-5, 2008Theme : Daughter of Zion, Women of WorshipTime : 9:00 AM – Seminar, 4:00 PM – Open Services Praise & Worship: Sinai Ministry, Dimapur.Speaker : La Vetta Williams and Team USA.

Features of the ProgramMorning – There will be powerful teaching sessions for womenEvening – Prophetic messages, Healing & Deliverance (Entire program will be interpreted in Nagamese)

How to get forms?Forms are available at Christian Literature Centre, Word of Christ Literature

Center, Bethany Hostel and Nan’s Viand, below Co-operative Bank.Contact : 9436261011, 9436003140, 9862145043, 9436013859, 9436072990

“Come and be transformed in the renewing of your mind. Rekindle your calling, reclaim your destiny, and rebuild

your altar in your life and family unto the Lord!”

New APO team takes oath of office

Keviletuo Kiewhuo administering the oath to the new office bearers of the APO, in Kohima on Wednesday.

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The 16th Gen-eral Conference of the Teny-imi Central Union (TCU) will be held on November 5, 2008, at 11 am at Maram Khullen village, located about 50kms away from Kohima via Maram town, under Senapati District in Manipur. The General Con-ference, which is being host-ed by the Maram Hoho, will have Minister for Planning, Coordination, V&AH and Evaluation, Nagaland, T R Zeliang, as the chief guest.

The highlights of the session, to be chaired by Thomas Hingba, Presi-dent of Maram Hoho, are flag hoisting by the TCU President and folksong by the Maram Marehangsü, among others. In the sec-ond session, Minister T R Zeliang will administer the oath to the newly selected office bearers of the TCU nominated for the tenure 2008 to 2013. Maram elders

will also present a folksong. In this regard, all constitu-ent units are to bring two flags each of their respective units. All the constituent units/unions/organisations are to arrange their own transportation.

Z M Sekhose, President of TCU Kohima, in a release has informed that all Unit Presidents along with five delegates, all Chairmen of the branch offices along with five delegates, President and Sec-retaries of the students union, youth/women organisations and GBs’ Association of all the units, and all Presidents of the various Tenyimi Union/Organization of all units in Kohima Town along with two delegates, and Chairman/President from each district HQ along with two delegates, are to attend the General Conference without fail. All delegates are also requested to reach the Conference ven-ue by 10:30 am positively, the release added.

TCU to hold General Conference on Nov 5

Music Safari grand finale today

KOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Music Safari will witness its grand finale on October 30 at the State Academy Hall Kohima. A total of 11 bands and 22 solo artists will be vying for the prestigious first Music Safari 2008 title. A total of 178 solo artists and 106 bands have so far participated in the Music Safari held in all the districts of Nagaland. The Safari, hav-ing provided a platform for 611 musicians so far, will see a total of 71 finalists battle it out for the title.

All the band and solo artist contestants are to register themselves at the reception at the Academy Hall at 10:00 am and collect their TA and DA. They are to further report at 1:00 pm for the competition. The first and second position winners at the finale, in the band category, will participate in the upcoming Hornbill National Rock Contest to be held during the Hornbill Music festival in the first week of December. The winning musicians will feature in the State inau-guration day along with the achievers.

The concept is the brainchild of the Nagaland Chief Minister. In fact, the term Music Safari was coined at the Chief Minister’s office. This Safari has been initiated by the Music Task Force (YRS) which has invited NSACS to partner the event, with a view towards creating awareness on HIV/AIDS. The event is being managed by XL.

Our CorrespondentKohima | October 29

THE NEW office bearers of the Angami Public Organization (APO), for the tenure 2008-2011, took the oath of office in a ceremony here this morning at the APO Complex, Ko-hima. Keviletuo Kiewhuo, convenor of APO Nomination Committee and president of the Naga Hoho, admin-istered the oath to the new team.

The new team, to be led by president Kekhriengulie Linyu, has Visosel Nyekha and Kruzolie Zhale as vice presidents, Kenein-gunyu Sekhose as general secretary, Ruokuhe-u Miachie-o as assistant general secretary, Savilie Angami as secretary (administration), K Seyie as finance secretary, Vithepfulie Ke-hie as treasurer, Medo Yhokha as in-formation & publicity secretary, and Mhiesizokho Zinyu as advisor.

Earlier, the outgoing APO presi-dent, Mhiesizokho Zinyu, in his speech expressed gratitude to each and every individual and different frontal organisations for extending their support and helping hand, en-suring the team a “successful tenure.” Terming Naga history as one, Zinyu said, “There cannot be two versions of our history because we are one people. History is like a relay race, and we

National Rededication Day on Oct 31KOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): Along with the rest of the country, Nagaland shall observe October 31, 2008, as National Re-dedica-tion Day in the state capital, Kohima. All heads of depart-ments and central govern-ment offices in Kohima have been directed to organise functions in their respective offices at 12 noon. Notifying this in an official memoran-dum, Additional Chief Sec-retary (Home), Lalthara, added that similar functions are to be held in all District Headquarters and other im-portant towns in a befitting manner. The programme will include administering of the National Re-dedication Pledge. All the government employees including those of the central government in Kohima are to attend the function positively, the no-tification added. In the Sec-retariat, the function will be held in the Conference Hall.

have come this far because our elders had played their part during their own time. As such we cannot rewrite our history in a different version.”

He also stated that the APO was pained that the Naga national movement was splintered into many political groups. But we have great hope in the wisdom of the Naga peo-ple that our people will be re-united one day, he stated. “We only have to find out what went wrong and set it right again. Our situation is not who is wrong or who is right, but what is wrong and what is right,” he said adding, “Nagas as a people have a collective future. So all the Nagas

must have a say in their future and together heal our land.”

Zinyu stated that we stand op-posed to violence and senseless killing of one another because such policies weaken our unity and blur our vision. Reconciliation is the only way open for the Nagas to rea-lise re-unification of the Nagas. The need of the hour is unification of all the Nagas, based on the principles of reconciliation, and respect for each other’s traditional territorial integ-rity. “Only if the Nagas are united, we can live with pride and dignity and hold our heads high among other nations.” Therefore, he said,

the political groups should express their willingness to sit down and sort out their differences in the larg-er interest of the Naga people.

“We strongly felt that the Gov-ernment of India also must show greatness of Indian civilization at this time by accepting and recognis-ing the political and economic rights of the Nagas instead of attempting to divide the Nagas and rule over them,” Zinyu said. The deep aspira-tions of a people cannot just be tram-pled, he said adding, “They neither disappear. So the best way to find a solution is to recognise the truth. The APO has conveyed this feeling to the Government of India.”

Also welcoming the new team of APO members, Zinyu hoped that the new team would carry on the tra-ditions and mantle of the APO with firmer determination to new pas-tures and greater heights.

Earlier, T L Angami, vice presi-dent of APO, chaired the ceremony, while Rev. L Suohie Mhasi pro-nounced the dedication prayer for the new team. Z M Sekhose, presi-dent of the Tenyimi Central Union, and Vipose Zao, ex-president of APO, also exhorted the gather-ing. The ceremony concluded with vote of thanks tendered by Kho-o Pfukha, secretary (finance), APO.

KOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): A meeting between the Director of Fisheries, Nagaland, Senli Ao, and the fishing community of Doyang reservoir, was held on October 24 at Doyang. The meeting was held in connection with the starting of a Fishermen Co-operative Society at Doyang. The fishing com-munity was represented by the Village Council Chairman, leaders, elders and fishermen. The Di-rector was accompanied by Joint Director, Fisher-ies, and the District Fisheries Officer, Wokha.

A report from the DFO Wokha, Ketusielie Angami, stated that the department officials ap-

praised the fishermen on the benefit of having a joint cooperative society, which would facilitate better marketing, market linkages, infrastructures, transport, control of fishing rights and regulations, etc. The concept was well accepted by the fishermen community for which necessary follow-up actions for initiating the cooperative society would be taken up in the next meeting, the report informed.

The Department dedicated one mechanised boat for Doyang reservoir on the same day, while lifejackets were distributed to the fulltime fisher-men of Doyang reservoir, the report added.

Mechanized boat for Doyang reservoir

(Right) Director of Fisheries Nagaland, Senli Ao, addressing the fishing community of Doyang res-ervoir at Doyang, on October 24. (Left) The mechanised boat meant for the Doyang reservoir being dedicated, October 24. (DIPR)

Thursday30 October 2008 Dimapur 3The Morung Express LOCAL

STARTING LINE-UPYour daily Meetings, Appointments, Information and Reminder column

NVFAA GM October 31Nagaland Veterinary Field Assistants’ Association (NVFAA) will hold its general meeting on October 31 at the residence of S. Tokhivo Swu (General Secretary), Burma Camp at 10:00 am. Further, all the District are requested to send at least 5 (five) representatives along with membership fee of Rs 100/- only per head for the year 2008. All the eleven district presi-dents are requested to attend the meeting without fail.LFA-UNAIDS workshop October 30 A one day workshop is being organized by LFA-UNAIDS Na-galand in collaboration with PLHA Network, Nagaland at Di-mapur in the Tourist Lodge on October 30, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Dr. Vinito L. Chishi, State coordinator LFA-UNAIDS Nagaland in a release said that the meeting will mainly focus on role of PLHA and GIPA, Reduction of Stigma & Discrimina-tion and Response of Government.United Colony social work November 1Residents of United Colony are informed of a mass social work on November 1 at 6:00 am until 9:00 am within ‘20 ward’ jurisdiction for cleanliness drive. All business establishments will remain closed during this mass social work. GBs and Council members are responsible for the cleanliness of their respective sectors.ESSU joint meeting November 1Eastern Sumi Students’ Union (ESSU) has convened a joint meeting with all the Former Presidents and Executives of ESSU on November 1 at 10:00 am at We2 Haven, New NST Bus Stand, Dimapur to deliberate on the forth coming Golden Jubilee. The Union President in a release issued, requested all present and former executive members, advisors and se-nior leaders to attend the meetingpositively.CLCUD freshers day November 1 City Law College Students’ Union, Dimapur will have the Annual Freshers’ cum Parting Social on November 1 at 11:00 am at Ho-tel Saramati. Financial Investment Consultant, Nagaland, Isaac Zhimomi will be the chief guest. All present and ex-students of CLC are requested to attend the freshers’ day while the volun-teers are requested to report at the venue by 10:00 am.

Lipichem

Kiphire | October 29

THE GOOD Shepherd School, Kiphire, celebrated its parents’ day today with the Deputy Commission-er of Kiphire, L Yantsowo Lotha, as chief guest. Speak-ing at the occasion, Lotha said, “To put nation in or-der, we must put our family in order; and to put the fam-ily in order, we must groom our personal life.”

While also stressing that “to mould the life of a stu-dent it is the joint responsi-bility of the parents as well as the teachers,” the chief guest asked the parents pres-ent there to be responsible enough to make their chil-dren “a complete human.” Focusing on areas other than teaching, the chief guest said, “Teacher should know the psychology of a child and inculcate the spirit of compe-tition so that if a child aims

‘Groom personal life, put nation in order’

Good Shepherd School celebrates Parents’ Dayfor the sun, and even if he fails, he may reach the stars at least.”

Addressing the teachers, Lotha said that in an era of science and technology, a teacher should update one-self with new teaching equip-ments to become a role mod-el for the students as well as for the institute. Children are our future citizens and to build future society and to have suitable society, chil-dren have more responsibili-ties, the chief guest said, and asked the children to obey their parents.

Earlier, the Principal of Good Shepherd School, while welcoming the gath-ering gave a brief report and spoke on the aims of the school. Others who spoke on the occasion were L Tsipise, landowner, and Litsapa, Jt Secy of the Nagaland GB As-sociation. The program was compered by C Lipisela and P Lelumla.

L Yantsowo Lotha, DC Kiphire, addressing the gathering at the Parents’ Day celebration at Good Shepherd School, Kiphire, on Wednesday. (Morung Photo)

MOKOKCHUNG, OCTO-BER 29 (DIPR): A one-day seminar on ‘Sensitization for Tracking of Child La-bour’ organised by the La-bour Department was held on October 29 at Longkumer Kilem, Mokokchung, with DC Mokokchung, Bendang-kokba, as the chief guest. In his address, the Deputy Com-missioner stated that ‘man is born free but is chained ev-erywhere’ due to the various discriminations that prevail in our society. He also stressed on the practice of child labour in Nagaland, especially with regard to children engaged as domestic helps, saying that this practice “should not be encouraged, rather we must make an effort” to provide the children decent education.

Earlier in the programme, the welcome address was de-livered by the chairperson, Longritemjen Ao, Labour Of-ficer. Presentations on ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Child Welfare’ were made by Y Lan-utemjen, DEO Mokokchung, ‘Child Welfare with special ref-erence to the Juvenile Justice Act’ by T Imkong Longkumer, District Welfare Mokokchung, ‘Child Labour – Abolition and Prohibition’ by Imlisashi Ja-mir, Assistant Labour Com-missioner Mokokchung, and ‘Labour Department on Child Labour – A Highlight’ was made by Chubayanger Aier, Project Officer, JLC Of-fice Nagaland, Kohima. Later, a discussion session was held with Takuyuba, Advocate, as the moderator.

Mkg sensitized on child labour

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Chakhe-sang Public Organisation vehemently condemns the killing of ‘Maj.’ Kusalie at his residence at Khuza Vil-lage on October 26 last by unidentified armed cad-res. The CPO had earlier reached all factions with their resolution to stop killing amongst factional cadres, to which they re-sponded positively. “While the Nagas, otherwise Chakhesangs are yearning and working towards peace and reconciliation amongst

the national workers, such anti-Naga elements have divested the situation. The intention of those, to disturb the peaceful at-mosphere in the region is highly condemnable by one and all,” CPO presi-dent Yesonu Veyie stated in a condemnation note.

He further, appealed on behalf of CPO to ev-ery village leaders includ-ing the national workers in Chakhesang region to identify the culprits who are working ‘against the in-terest’ of Naga society.

PDJFPMC condemns killing DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Joint Forum Peace Monitoring Cell Phek District has strongly con-demned the killing of ‘Major’ Kusayi Tetse-O of FGN (Non Accordist) on October 26 at Khuza Village. PDJFPMC Convener while condemning the incident expressed great shock and appeals to all group of the Naga national workers to stop the fratricide killing in the days to come.

CPO condemns killing of ‘Maj.’ Kusalie

KU happy with sanction for Mon roadDIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Konyak Union (KU) has conveyed appreciation to the Minister of Roads and Bridges, G Kaito Ayeh, for sanctioning an emergency fund of Rs.75 lakh towards the maintenance of the Sonari–Mon road. While expressing appreciation to the minister for heeding the appeal of the union, the president of KU, Khoiwang, also thanked the PWD staff led by the PWD engineer for beginning work along the said road for the benefit of the district.

Zeliang to grace Liangmai Chaga Gadi festivalKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): Minister for Co-or-dination, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Evaluation and Parliamentary Affairs, T R Zeliang, is to grace the Liangmai Chaga Gadi festival as chief guest on October 31 at ‘The Heritage’, Old DC Bungalow, Kohima. The Liangmai Chaga Gadi Organization Committee has re-quested all the heads of departments, offices and insti-tutions to grant two days’ casual leave to all the Liang-mai employees and students as Restricted Holiday (RH) granted by the state government on October 30 and 31 of every year. Meanwhile, all the Liangmai community members around Kohima have been requested to attend the function positively and in full traditional dress.

Thunder Youth Club meeting on Nov 2DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Thunder Youth Club, Dimapur, has called an emergency meeting on No-vember 2 at 3:00 pm at the residence of the Club president, Watitoshi Jamir, for a discussion on the music training in-stitute. All members are to attend the meeting without fail, a note from the Club stated. Watitoshi, in the note, added that an absentee member would be fined a sum of Rs.200.

CMO Mkg informs on medical boardMOKOKCHUNG, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): The Chief Medical Officer Mokokchung, Dr. Sutsungkokba Ao, has notified all the heads of offices in Mokokchung district that the Medical Board for service confirmation, invali-dation for grade III and IV under Mokokchung District, will be conducted on November 4 and 5, 2008 from 10:30 am in the Office of the Medical Officer, Family Welfare Branch, near Civil Hospital Mokokchung. All the depart-ment heads are to forward and submit the names of grade III and IV staffers for medical Board to the Office of the CMO Mokokchung in advance, the notification added.

District Hospital Kiphiregets paying cabinsKIPHIRE, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): The ward for paying cabins at the district hospital in Kiphire was dedicated and inaugurated in a ceremony on October 23. Chairman Kiphire Town Council, Joshua, graced the occasion as the chief guest.

SHG Federation informsDIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): All self-help groups under Medziphema Block, Dimapur, are informed that the SHG Federation has established its office at Shan Complex, 1st floor (attached to City Spring), opposite Metro Hospital, Dimapur. The SHG Federation’s Joint Secretary, Avono Zao, in a notification reminds unregistered SHG’s to get registered every Wednesday between 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. In addition, registered SHGs may collect their registration card on the specified working days, the note added.

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Nagaland Contractors & Suppliers Union (NCSU) Head Office Kohima today expressed deep appreciation to state Roads & Bridges Minister, Kaito Aye for organizing a joint interac-tive meeting of PWD Engi-neer & Contractors with the chief Minister at Hotel Japfu in Kohima on October 29.

A press release issued by the NCSU president Pele Khezhie and secretary John Kath expressed profound gratitude to Chief Minster Neiphiu Rio, Parliamentary Secretary Er. Saku, Addl.

Chief Secretary, Lalthara, Commissioner & Secretary (W&H), special Secretary to Chief Minister, Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineers for sparing their valuable time in spite of the busy schedule.

“The Union also gratitude to Hon’ble Chief Minister for bringing tremendous develop-ment programme of our State for the past 5 ½ years,” the re-lease stated adding that, “He also encouraged the Engi-neers and contractors to work together and bring the quality of workmanship in the state.”

Besides, the NSCU also ex-pressed gratitude to Roads and

Bridges Minister for encourag-ing engineers and contractors to maintain quality control as per specification of work or-der. The Union also extended gratitude to Neibu Nagi, Hu-kato Naga and Chuba Ao, el-der contractors for sharing the grievances of the Union and encouraging the members dur-ing the interaction.

“The Union has a strong conviction towards serving the uplifting the people of Nagaland …The Union as-sures to give full co-opera-tion to the Government for all round development in the state,” the release stated.

NCSU appreciates CM, R&B Minister

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Cooperative Training Centre, Medziphe-ma in collaboration with the Nagaland State Cooperative Union (NSCU) Dimapur con-ducted three days training on ‘Audit and Inspection of Coop-erative Societies’ for the JICS of Cooperation Department which began on October 22 last. The training was inaugu-rated by M. Imtila Jamir, RCS, Nagaland as Chief Guest.

While speaking at the function, Imtila explained how to increase the capacity of field work which is very es-sential for the development of grass root level coopera-tives and for the socio eco-

nomic development of coop-eratives in the state. She also conducted a class on ‘capac-ity building.’ NCSU Presi-dent N. Niza Angami in his speech asked the trainees to take advantage of the train-ing as they are the backbone of development of coopera-tive sector of the state.

Imo Longkumer, Jt. RCS (Audit) and Renchamo Lotha DRCS (Audit) also conducted classes. They were also sup-ported by lecturers from CTC and NSCU. Participants were from all the districts Coopera-tive departments. Earlier, the invocation was pronounced by Pastor Parmenas Jamir, CFC Dimapur.

Capacity of field work essential for development

Imtila Jamir speaking at the inaugural day at the ‘Audit and Inspection of Cooperative Societies’ training held at the CTC Medziphema on October 22.

KOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): An Army recruit-ment rally will be held in Ko-hima at the Indira Gandhi Stadium from November 22 to 30 for all male candidates from all districts of Nagaland, and male candidates from all the North Eastern States.

For details of qualifica-tions, selection procedure and the schedule, one may contact Lt.Col. Nirupam Bhargava, Public Relations Officer (Min-istry of Defence), Opposite 26 Assam Rifles Main Gate at Ko-hima, or call at 0370-2290171, and Lt Col N K Sharma, Of-ficiating Director Recruiting,

Army Recruiting Office, Ran-gapahar, Dimapur, or call at 03862-256916.All possessing the requisite qualifications for enrolment can apply for the recruitment. The notification also advised all candidates to stay away from touts. Stressing that the Army Recruitment system does not leave room for any tout to influence the recruit-ment procedure which is absolutely clean and corrup-tion free, in which no recom-mendation works, the notifi-cation added that selection for all the existing vacancies is done purely on merit.

Army Recruitment Rally in Kohima

ANDTA meet heldKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The executive mem-bers of the All Nagaland Drawing Teacher’s Association (ANDTA) held its emergency meeting on October 28 last at Kohima and unanimously retained V Hetoi Swu as the asso-ciation’s general secretary. In this connection, all the AND-TA members have been requested to contact the executive members at 9402003063 or 9856292683. The meeting min-utes have been dispatched to all the members and the same can be obtained from the office of their respective Deputy In-spector of Schools, a release received here informed, adding that in case of any clarification, the numbers as mentioned above may be contacted.

Kitsubozou Youth Society new teamKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Kitsubozou Youth Society, Kohima has elected its new team of office bearers for the tenure 2008-2010. The new elected members are Keyhosel Rhutso as President, Neivizo C – vice president, Aziebu Theyo – general secretary, Ruben Nyekha – assistant general secretary, Vizokholie Suohu – treasurer, Sarhunyi Shupao – finance secretary, Vekhoto – information & pub-licity secretary, Ruduseyi – games & sports secretary, Joseph Sachu – social & cultural secretary, and Keneilhoulie Solo as property secretary. It may be recalled that the new team was elected at the meeting held at the Panchayat Hall on October 25 last. Meanwhile, the Kitsubozou Youth Day will be held on November 1 at the Panchayat Hall at 11:00 am where the handing over of charges and files will take place.

Train Engine derailedMorung Express News

Dimapur, | October 29

A LIGHT RAILWAY engine derailed early this morning at around 4:00 am in Dimapur near Sargam Hotel, opposite to Dimapur Railway Gate. Railway officials when contact-ed said the presence of garbage on the rail tracks which are dumped on to it by residents of the locality near Sargam Ho-tel, could be the reason for the derailment of the train engine. Officials further informed that at around 10:00 am staff from the Engineering wing from Lumding Relief team came and repaired the engine. There were no reports of casualty from the incident and no train timings were either disrupted.

CORRIGENDUMIn the news item that appeared on the 23 October 2008

issue of the local dailies with regard to State Advisory Com-mittee under the aegis of the Nagaland Electricity Regula-tory Commission (NERC) Kohima, the names of members contained in Sl. 3 to Sl. 5 are missing. These include:

Sl.No.3. M. Bendangnukshi Longkumer, Presi-dent, Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mokokchung, Nagaland

Sl.No.4. Er. Khriesito Savino, Managing Director, Kuda Wood Products Ltd, Dimapur

Sl.No.5. Rose I. Jamir, Managing Director, NIDC, IDC House, Opp. Supermarket, Dimapur.

(Issued by DIPR)

From page 1Another interesting fea-

ture of the “Self-rule docu-ment” is the suggestion for setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in and for J&K. This it states will help discovering and re-vealing past wrongdoing by a government, in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. “Anybody, who felt they had been a victim of violence could come forward and be heard at the TRC. Per-petrators of violence could

also give testimony and re-quest amnesty from prosecu-tion. The TRC, if set up with honesty and sincerity, can be was a crucial component of the transition to civil strife towards harmony”, it states.

As far as setting the stage for resolution, the document calls for “Demilitarisation” i.e. to reduce not only the physical presence of the armed forces in the state but also their influence in the de-cision making at a political and administrative level and

that “democratic and civil society institutions are now given full charge of the situa-tion to consolidate the peace process”. Another interesting point made in the document is for an interim kind of solu-tion. “In view of the past his-tory, the stated positions and the emotional surcharge a one-point-one-time solution for resolution of the conflict is a near impossibility. What is required is a sequence of measures, which would re-solve the situation”.

A Call for Shared Sovereignty

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29, (MExN): Kutoli Khulu, Sub-Inspector School (SIS), Dimapur, said that the moral foundations of students are very important, and there-fore asked parents to cooper-ate with the schools for the growth of students. She was

speaking as chief guest at the “2nd Parents’ day” of Wholis-tic School, Toulazouma, Di-mapur here today. She also ac-knowledged the dedication of teachers committed towards the welfare of students. While stressing on the moral foun-dations of students, she said

that teaching from the Bible can be a medium towards this end and must be added in the curriculum as one of the subjects. Khulu also empha-sized the need to have more ‘Parents-Teachers’ interaction to check the progress of their wards and which would also

help understand the needs in specific areas for the student.

Other highlights of the day included an introduction of the school by the adminis-trator, cultural presentations, welcome song and parents’ speech, which is followed by entertainment program.

Moral foundation of students is Important

Students of Wholistic school, Toulazouma participating at the Parents’ Day celebration held on Wednesday.

Rio to technocrats: Get asset-minded From page 1

He said the DAN Government is trying to maintain transparency in all matters as a policy. “There-fore, sign boards, indicating all mandatory details of on-going projects should be displayed in all important construction sites. Further, road furniture, which in-clude KM costs, cautionary signs, informatory signs, informatory signs etc should also be provided and deployed in all the important highways,” he added.

NHRC, ATI Kma to conduct HR trainingDIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The ATI Ko-hima is organising two Human Rights trainings, with support from the NHRC, for uniformed personnel in the Police, Prison, Excise, and Forest departments, in-cluding the district administration, on November 3 and 4, 2008. For non-uniformed personnel like government officers, NGOs, CSOs, media, etc., the training will be conducted on November 10 and 11. Departments and organisations, NGOs, media, etc. are requested to send their nominations/representatives to the ATI, Kohi-ma for the above two courses. Course Coordinator at ATI Kohima, W Ezung, in a release further informed that renowned resource persons from outside the state would be conducting the courses.

CMYK

CMYK

Thursday30 October 2008 4 Dimapur The Morung Express

DAILY CROSS WORDLEISURE

DOWN

Answers to CROSSWORD #1137Across:1. Craft, 7. Bastille, 8. Tudor, 10. Tabernacle, 12. New World, 14. Open, 16. Fury, 17. Asteroid, 20. Australian, 23. Renal, 24. Acapulco, 25. Filer.

Down: 1. Cotton, 2. Foot, 3. Wage, 4. Stunt, 5. Blackpool, 6. Severn, 9. Razor, 11. Swordsman, 13. Les, 15. Cedar, 16. Fracas, 18. Dealer, 19. Proud, 21. Loch, 22. Nell.

CROSSWORD # 1138The Morung Express number gameS U D O K U

Sudoku # 1122

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

Yesterdays answer Sudoku #1121

W O R D S E A R C H

BUSINESS

CURRENCY EXCHANGECURRENCY NOTES BUY(Rs) SELL(Rs)US Dollars 48.39 51.01Sterling Pound 77.52 81.87Hong Kong Dollar 5.38 7.40Japanese Yen /1000 486.29 539.49Malaysian Ringtt 12.33 15.32Singapore Dollar 30.33 35.53Thai Bhat / 100 136.40 147.90U.A.E. Dirhams 12.40 14.53Euro 61.54 64.83

For details contact: Urban Station, Near NSC Petrol Pump, 6th Mile Dimapur. Ph No : 240994

DIMAPUR STD CODE: 03862Civil Hospital: 232224; Emergency- 229529, 229474Metro Hospital: 227930, 231081Faith Hospital: 233044, 228846Shamrock Hospital 228254Zion Hospital: 231864, 230889Fire Service: 232201Police Control Room 228400Police Traffic Control 232106East Police Station 227607, 228400West Police Station 232181CIHSR (Referral Hospital) 242555/ 242531

KOHIMA STD CODE: 0370Police Control Room: 2244279North Police Station: 2244923South Police Station: 2242897Fire Brigade: 2222952Naga Hospital: 2222916Oking Hospital: 2243339Bethel Nursing Home: 2224202

1. Country bordering Spain (6) 3. Approval (6) 6. River shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (6)7. Rugged [anag] (6)8. Gatehouse (5)10. Small but sturdy (7)14. Henry VIII’s 3rd wife (4, 7)17. Black, unspotted leopard (7)19. Considerable (5)20. Temporary monarch (6) 21. Short club (6)22. Trained (6)23. Textile (6)

1. Ineffectual (6)2. Felony (5)4. Antitoxin (5)5. Score (6)9. Sewage pipe (5)11. Cameo gemstone (4) 12. Sky-blue (5)13. Wimbledon men’s champion in 1975 (4)15. Song, - - - in the sky (6) 16. Type of script (6)18. Intutive guess (5)19. Type of Dutch cheese (5)

CHEVROLET CAR PRICE LISTCAR MODEL PRICESPARK 1.0 BASE 268,648SPARK 1.0 PS 289,992SPARK 1.0 LS 304,641SPARK 1.0 LT 334,123U-VA 1.2 BASE 401,639U-VA 1.2 LS 444,184U-VA 1.2 LT 483,975SRV 1.6 OPT. PACK 790,100AVEO 1.4 BASE 606,461AVEO 1.4 LTD EDI 661,631AVEO 1.4 LT OPT.PACK 754,930TAVERA 2.5 LT 9S BS3 877,748TAVERA 2.5 SSD1 7S (C) BS3 993,249OPTRA ROYAL 1.6 LT (PETROL) 967,686OPTRA MAGNUM 2.0 LT ACC (DIESEL) 1,074,547CAPTIVA 2.0 LT VCDI 1,812,688

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NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): Govern-ment is not considering re-duction in prices of petrol, diesel and domestic LPG despite crude falling to its lowest-level in 15 months as prices have to stablise at this level to wipe out the current revenue losses on fuel sales, an oil ministry official said.

"There is no proposal to reduce fuel prices. We have to watch (the) situation for a few more weeks," said S Sundare-shan, Additional Secretary in the Oil Ministry at New Delhi on Wednesday. The basket of crude India buys on Tuesday averaged at USD 56.72 per barrel, a level at which state-run Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum would break even if global pric-es were to stabilise for a month.

"Price reduction cannot be on the basis of price of one or two days. Yesterday it was at USD 56, today it has gone up (again) by two dollars. We need prices to stabilise before we can think of a price reduc-tion," he said. The three firms, which in April-September re-ported a Rs 92,853 crore rev-enue loss (audited figure) on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene, are likely to post bad results when they report on quartely earnings over the next two days. "Prices need to stabilise for four weeks (at cur-rent level) for us to consider a price cut," Sundareshan said. A sharp depreciation in the value of Indian rupee against the US dollar has wiped away some of the gains from falling

No fuel price cutfor now: Oil Ministry

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): Sony has launched its 10.1 megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-T77 cam-era in India. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77 packs 4x optical zoom, a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, optical im-age stabilisation as well as 11 scene modes and in-camera image management. The camera has a 3-inch touch-screen LCD.

The shooting features in-clude intelligent scene rec-ognition technology, smile shutter and face detection technologies with child and adult priority. The camera also has a ‘anti-blink’ tech-nology. The camera also sports slideshow function with background music. The camera can also be connect-ed to HD television. It also features a BIONZ proces-sor, high sensitivity (maxi-mum ISO 3200) and clear

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77 in India

RAW Noise Reduction and Dynamic Range Optimiser (DRO). The Dynamic Range

Optimiser ensures balance between bright highlights and deep shadows. Priced at

Rs 15,990, the camera comes in two colours options -- Black and Silver.

Microsoft unveils WINDOWS 7NEW YORK, OCTOBER 29 (AP): Microsoft re-leased key details of the next generation of software that it hopes will run the world’s computers. The soft-ware giant, whose dominance is under threat, said Windows 7 will replace the disappointing Windows Vista in January 2010. Microsoft said the new operat-ing system was designed to function like a tighter ver-sion of Vista, which launched in 2006 but was widely derided as a “system hog” that slowed down computers with features that most users never accessed. Speaking to participants at a Microsoft developers’ conference in Los Angeles, Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Windows, said Microsoft was learning its lessons from Vista, by making sure that Windows 7 would be fully compatible with all relevant devices and applications on launch. Among the innovations unveiled by Micro-soft was a touch-screen capability that will allow users to select folders and control programmes without us-ing a mouse.

Windows 7 will also feature faster boot-up times, an updated task bar that includes previews of open win-dows, a new desktop look and a set of features optimised for laptops. The new operating system also makes it eas-ier to coordinate and access files over networks and to automatically configure settings for different networks. The new software will ditch some prominent features included in Vista including Calendar, Windows Mail, Movie Maker, Contacts and Photo Gallery, which will now be available for free download from the Microsoft website. Microsoft operating systems still power some 90 percent of the world’s personal computers, though Vista has only racked up an 18 percent share since its launch. Microsoft has been hit by the growing success of Apple’s Mac computers and by the long-term switch of many computing functions to mobile phones and the internet. Google is threatening Microsoft’s cash cow, the Office Suite of programmes, with online word proces-sors, spreadsheets and presentation programmes.

Microsoft Tuesday said it would launch free online versions of Office that would be supported by advertis-ing. Many analysts fear that offering an online version could cannibalize Microsoft’s most profitable line of products. But Rob Helm, a senior analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft, said that both Windows 7 and Office Online should work out well for the compa-ny. “Both are good improvements,” he said. “Windows 7 will help Microsoft overcome the weakness of Vista, while Web-based Office is a direct response to Google. Many businesses will like it because they have lots of us-ers who don’t use many of the Office features.”

India to be major satellite manufacturer

international crude oil prices.The three firms were to

break even on fuel sales at USD 67 per barrel crude oil when one USD was equiva-lent to 41 Indian rupees. However, with rupee at the 50 mark, the break even point has now shifted to USD 57 per barrel. Retailers sell petrol at a loss of Rs 2.85 a litre, die-sel at Rs 7.26, kerosene at Rs 29.19 per litre and domestic LPG at a loss of Rs 333 per cyl-inder. IOC, BPCL and HPCL in April-September lost Rs

92,853 crore on fuel sales (au-dited figures) and are project-ed to lose Rs 1,47,486 crore in the full fiscal.

Another Petroleum Min-istry official said cutting fuel prices at this stage would widen the revenue loss of state-run firms."I do not see a trigger, unless political, for a reduction in fuel prices." "For a price cut to happen, international oil prices have to sustain at levels lower than the break even point, for at least a month. We cannot be

seen lowering the prices on one day's fluctuations. To-morrow, if the prices go up, will the oil companies be al-lowed to raise prices," he said. Deora is believed to have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue last week and had been advised to wait for global oil prices to fall fur-ther before taking the issue to the Cabinet. Every time the US dollar becomes dearer by one rupee, the revenue loss on fuel sales jumps by Rs 8,500 crore.

People pass by an advertising billboard depicting US actor Johnny Depp in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, October 28. The billboard urges people to “find their place in the world in difficult times”. The after effects of the global financial turmoil that Ukraine is suffering from, has caught many Ukrainians unawares, forcing them to try and extricate them-selves from sudden difficulties. (AP Photo)

CHENNAI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): India can become a major player in the emerging small satellite manufacturing industry. The country's space agency has estimated a market potential of 50 satellites over the next decade, worth around $1.5 billion, says a space official. Keeping this in mind, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already formed a spe-cial team to manufacture small satellites. ISRO will launch two such satellites in 2009 and 2010, both having overseas payloads. The small satellites are now in demand because its "mass and volume are low, thereby reduc-ing the cost of carriage by rocket. Further, the cost of building the satellite as well as the time re-quired to build it are less," D.V. Raghava Murthy, ISRO's small satellite projects director, told media. "The satellites give a good performance owing to miniaturi-sation, and simultaneous launch of several satellites is possible if the orbit is same," he added.

ISRO has two small satellite variants - micro and mini. The micro satellites weigh 100 kg with a payload capacity of 30-40 kg while the mini satellites would weigh 400 kg with a payload ca-pacity of 200 kg. ISRO is also making communication satel-lites - INSAT series. Its INSAT-4 series satellites weigh around four tonnes and cost about Rs.3 billion. In April this year, ISRO shot its first mini satellite - Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) - weighing 85 kg on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9). "The cost of IMS-1 was around Rs.500 million. The value of each satel-lite would vary depending on its payload - the instruments it would carry," Murthy said. "The mini satellite has two high per-formance payloads - multi-spec-tral camera and hyper-spectral camera. Injected into polar sun-

synchronous orbit, the satellite is providing good data," said the 52-year-old Murthy, who was the project director for Cartosat I and IMS-1 satellites. The mini satel-lite too has advanced features. "We will also launch SARAL, a mini satellite with French pay-load some time in 2010," Murthy said.

Speaking of the applica-tion potential of small satellites, he added: "It is mind-boggling. They can be used in remote sens-ing, atmospheric monitoring, gas detection, pollution moni-toring, ionospheric tomography, ocean monitoring and studies, low earth orbit communications, stellar monitoring, space phys-ics experimentation, data col-lection and others." The small satellites will initially be flown as "co-passengers" in the Indian rockets PSLV and Geosynchro-nous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). According to Murthy, many space agencies are now in-volved in making small satellites. ISRO will be crossing swords with the Britain-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, OHB Germany, Canada's MDA and Comdev, Is-rael Aerospace Industries, Orbital Sciences in the US, Thales Alenia in Europe among others. The Indian space agency, having the necessary expertise in making big communication satellites, hopes that it can supply satellites to overseas players. ISRO has built and delivered a 32 transponder satellite, W2M, weighing 3,200 kg for the Paris-based Eutelsat Communications. The order is from Europe's leading satellite system specialist EADS Astrium. The transponders supplied by a European manufacturer were as-sembled at ISRO's satellite centre in Bangalore. ISRO has won an-other contract from Avanti Screen Media, again through EADS As-trium, to make a highly adoptable satellite.

A R Q U E B E C G D S X L W Y B T Q X S

N Y U U K N B B R Q Z D J P P B X P N T

Q F A Y E U J G Q B W L D M Z C A Q L R

R O R T Q U A D R A N T I G E J S W Q Q

E X T I T U E Q L O E A W T P J L Z W U

V B Z L I G A F U B E H I X Y A Z O R A

I H I A N O G D F B U U Y F R O Q T I L

U U O U O D X M R H Q K L E E U U Q G M

Q M Y Q G M R W B U F U T M I N A E V O

D Z J U A N J K G V P A A E V Q L R R Z

T B O O C B Q T W N L L T C M J I A I U

S Y Y T E U B B Y I I L E E K S F N D E

L Z T I D L N A R J Y N X H U S Y W N C

L H R E N B H D Q E W C O A M Q M U A F

I K C N I K A B G V L C Y I O K K T S U

U L S T U U E B E R U Q J N T B Y R K E

Q U J I Q U A R T E R B A C K S F U C X

G M G J U U U D Y D V W Q H U R E S I Z

G J I E I T I U T O C I Q K L N W U U U

E J W R Z Y G T Y O S S E N K C I U Q B

Dimapur 5Thursday30 October 2008The Morung Express REGIONAL

GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 29 (REUTERS): Floods and landslides caused by three days of incessant rain killed six people and left thousands homeless in India’s remote northeast, one of the country’s most flood-prone regions, of-ficials said on Wednesday. A sudden wave of flood waters swamped hundreds of vil-lages in the region, destroy-ing houses, farmland and roads, forcing thousands of people to take shelter on high ground, in government build-ings and schools.

Three people, includ-ing one child, were buried in mudslides and three oth-ers were washed away by fast flowing waters in two north-eastern mountainous states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, police said. In the oil- and tea-rich state of Assam, around 70,000 people have been affected by flash floods, as authorities called rescue workers to evacuate stranded people. Officials said heavy rains and later the release of excess water from dams by power generating companies in Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Bhutan caused flooding in the region.

“It all started overnight

GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 29 (THE TELEGRAPH): Thousands of gallons of water from overflow-ing dams in Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Bhutan gushed down to the plains of Assam late last night, affecting thousands of people. Diwali was a washout in the central districts of Lakhimpur and Sonitpur and Kamrup district in Lower Assam.

Lakhimpur and Sonitpur were buffeted by water from an overflowing dam in Arunachal Pradesh, while Kamrup was flood-ed after Bhutan released excess wa-ter from the Kurisu dam. The Ar-unachal dam belongs to the North Eastern Electric Power Corpora-tion (Neepco). The low-lying areas in north Lakhimpur sub-division, Nameri tiger reserve in Sonitpur district and Puthimari in Kamrup district were the worst hit.

Lakhimpur circle officer Hem-kanta Pegu said 40,000 people were affected in 35 villages. Two wards of Lakhimpur town were also flooded. “It started around 8 last evening. Heavy rain over the past three days and the water released from the Neepco dam in Arunach-al Pradesh caused the flash floods. We are trying to help the people as best as we can,” he said.

The floods have worsened the

breaches in the embankments caused in the June rainfall, mainly in Ujani Pohumara, Ujani Tham-ti and Bogolijan. “Repair of the breaches was supposed to start in December,” Pegu said. Jatin Bora of Thamti said their Diwali was ru-ined. “What can we do?” he asked.

M.S. Jyrwa, general manager, Neepco, said the spill from the pond-age (water held in a reservoir for a short period to supply to a hydel plant) at the 405MW Ranganadi project at Yazali in Lower Subansari district of Arunachal Pradesh, start-ed around midday. Speaking over phone from the project site, the offi-cial said there was no control over the excess water in such schemes. “The design of the pondage is such that the gates will automatically open to drain out water in excess of the ca-pacity of the reservoir,” he said.

A similar disaster was unfold-ing in Puthimari in Kamalpur sub-division of Kamrup district around 11.30pm after Puthimari river over-flowed following heavy rainfall and release of water from the Kurisu dam in Bhutan, bordering Baksa district. Traffic went haywire on Na-tional Highway 31. This is the third wave of floods this year to have hit Puthimari, where work is on to re-pair breaches in embankments.

Flood waters recede in AssamGUWAHATI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): The flood waters in Assam’s Kamrup (rural), Bak-sa and Lakhimpur districts were receding and the submerged NH 31 that connects the north eastern region to the rest of the country was reopened to traffic today, official sources said. They said though the waters were reced-ing, houses along the NH31 were still under water and the affected people continued to stay in the two relief camps, set up by the au-thorities.

The BSF and the National Disaster Re-sponse Force, called in yesterday by the dis-trict administration, continued their opera-tions today to rescue marooned people by pressing eight motor boats into service, the sources said.

Incessant rains for the last three days at Puthimari area and upper reaches of the sur-rounding mountains in Bhutan caused an em-bankment to be breached on Monday night. The flood waters also engulfed the villages and damaged standing paddy crops ready for harvest, they said.

Traffic movement on NH 31 came to a standstill yesterday due to the flash floods, the sources said. The embankment at Puthi-mari that had earlier been breached on Au-gust 31 developed cracks within five days of its maintenance at a cost of Rs 19 lakh, result-ing in breach by the rain waters, they added.

Floods kill six in northeast, thousands homeless

Villagers wade through flood waters on a highway in Puthimari, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) west of Guwahati, Tuesday, October 28. Two days of continuous rains caused a flash flood to break an embankment and submerged Puthimari Monday night. (AP Photo)and we are trying to shift the people to safer places,” said Hemkanta Pegu, a local civil servant in Assam’s Lakhim-pur district. Though officials set up temporary shelters for the homeless in schools and government buildings, many people have camped on high-ways under plastic sheets with

whatever little they had sal-vaged of their belongings. The regional weather office warned of more showers in the next 48 hours in the region.

Floods and landslides are common in the mountainous northeast during the annual monsoon season that normal-ly begins in June and contin-

ues through September. In India, more than 200 people have been killed in rains in this year, 30 of them in the northeast. Assam accounts for about 55 percent of In-dia’s tea production and also produces oil. Officials said the rains had not affected tea trade or oil exploration.

‘Outside’ water floods Assam

IMPHAL, OCTOBER 29 (THE TELEGRAPH): In-ter-state buses in Manipur remained suspended for the fifth day today, forcing peo-ple living outside the state to take expensive and circuitous routes to return home for Di-wali and Ningol Chakouba.

The All-Manipur Inter-state Bus Association sus-pended services indefinitely on October 24 after cadres of the Kuki Liberation Army/Kuki Liberation Organisa-tion set ablaze a Guwahati-bound bus from Imphal in Karbi Anglong a day earlier. The outfit said it set fire to the bus because the All Manipur Inter-state Bus Association had failed to pay the annual “tax”. Robart Gonmei, a sol-dier, and his mother-in-law, Ginthailiu Gangmei, were burnt alive in the bus while 10 others suffered injuries.

Since Friday, 300 buses, which carry nearly 3,000 peo-ple to and from Imphal every-

day, have stopped operations. The alternative options are train and taxi which are way too expensive for daily travel. From Guwahati, one first has to reach Dimapur by train and then take a taxi to Imphal.

While a bus ride from Gu-wahati to Imphal costs Rs 600, the taxi fare from Dimapur to the Manipur capital is Rs 800. Add to that Rs 149 for a sleep-er class reservation from to Guwahati to Dimapur. Even those who do not mind the pocket pinch face the reluc-tance of Nagaland taxi driv-ers to drive to Manipur for its “law and order problems”. With Diwali being the busiest travel season, the strike is af-fecting both commuters and the transport business.

The president of the All Manipur Inter-state Bus As-sociation, Budha Luwang, said until and unless steps were taken to ensure safety of buses, the services would remain suspended. The as-

sociation today submitted a memorandum to chief min-ister Okram Ibobi Singh. The demands include finan-cial relief for the next of kin of the two who were charred to death in the arson and also for the injured. Ibobi Singh assured the delegation that he would discuss the securi-ty issue with the state police and security forces soon.

The five-member delega-tion said they were not satis-fied with the chief minister’s response and that they would call a statewide bandh to-morrow as a mark of protest against the arson. On October 26, representatives of various citizens’ groups, transport-ers and leaders of the Zelian-grong and Kuki communities gathered in Imphal to con-demn the arson and demand a protection force along the Imphal-Guwahati Road on National Highway 39 and the Imphal-Silchar Road on Na-tional Highway 53.

Bus strike leaves scores stranded

A city bus on the way to Tynring Village overturned at Letshyrwat leaving more than thirty passenger injured on October 29 at around 4.30 PM. All the injured passangers have been taken to North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute Medical Sciences (NEIGRIMS) hospital, Shillong. (UB Photos)

Sun TV to launch FM stations CHENNAI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): The city-based television major Sun TV Network Ltd, through its subsidiary South Asia FM, will launch FM radio stations in Gangtok and Aizawl, the respective capital cities of Sik-kim and Mizoram, a company official said.Holding li-cences for 45 FM stations in the country, the Sun TV group has launched 43 so far, the latest in Siliguri of West Bengal Tuesday. Once the Gangtok and Aizawl stations go live, the group will be one of the largest FM radio station operators in the country. Asked about the likely launch date, the official said work was on but a specific date could not be committed now. The company is also entering into movie production through a separate division, Sun Pictures.

Cyclone Rashmi destroys crops in MizoramAIZAWL, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): The cyclone, “Rashmi”, which lashed some parts of the north-east on Sunday and Monday, destroyed paddy crops in two districts of Mizoram. Champhai district bordering Myanmar was the worst hit. Re-ports reaching here today said 40 families out of around 200 jhummias in the district, lost all paddy crops before ready to harvest in Champhai district’s Hmunhmeltha village. Thirty other families in South Sabual village of Mamit district bor-dering Tripura also lost all standing paddy crop. Another 26 families lost more than half of their paddy due to the rain and cyclone, the village council president H C Kaptluanga said, adding that the villagers thought they would be self-sufficient this year. The cyclonic storm also caused landslides and road blockades in many parts of the state, reports added.

Newmai News NetworkAizawl | October 29

IF THE POWERFUL Women Wel-fare Front (WWF) of Mizoram has their way and the statistics of the electorates fall on the gender basis during the November 29 poll, the colourful inning of chief minister Zoramthanga in politics will face a hiccup this time.

In the backdrop of the influential Women Welfare Front (WWF)’s ex-tensive campaigns for more seats for women in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly and the good response from the general public coupled with the outnumbering of female voters over males, a charismatic and dynamic young and unmarried Mizo woman is going to take on chief minister and Mizo National Front (MNF) candi-date Zoramthanga in the November 29 assembly election.

32-year-old H Lalhmingthangi, a highly qualified Mizo woman working currently in a church organisation in Shillong has come back to Mizoram few days before and she has been fi-nalised as the Zoram National Party

(ZNP) candidate for the Champhai assembly constituency, the ‘tradition-al’ constituency of Zoramthanga.

ZNP is a constituent unit of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a newly formed platform of Mizoram Peoples’ Conference (MPC), Zoram Na-tional Party (ZNP) and a powerful farm-ers’ union called Zoram Kuthnathawktu Pawl (ZKP) under which banner these three political parties of Mizoram will face MNF and the Congress party.

A report in Aizawl speculated that the WWF is fully putting its weight behind H Lalhmingthangi. This re-port is significant as more than half the total number of voters in the whole of Mizoram are females. Mi-zoram has little over six lakhs voters. Meanwhile, a reliable source said to-day that chief minister Zoramthanga may switch over to some ‘safe’ con-stituency if Miss H Lalmingthangi is fielded in the Champhai assembly constituency against him.

This report suggests that the WWF’s campaign for more seats for women in the state assembly has been creating wave and the chief minister and MNF leader has become panicky.

Rebels & police face public ire over Imphal blastIMPHAL, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): Separatists as well as the police in northeastern India’s Manipur state were facing public ire over the Oct 21 blast near here that killed 17 people and injured about 30, with protests and demonstrations gaining ground.A rag-tag rebel faction called the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) claimed responsibility for the explosion at Ragailong, on the outskirts of capital Imphal, saying the attack was aimed at the police who were “encouraging gambling” in the area as well as the gamblers.

Protesters from the bomb-hit area took out a march Tuesday wielding plac-ards, some of which read “Killing innocents is not an act of revolution” and “Don’t kill innocents to show your power”. The slogans in the placards were clearly directed at the militants. The state police also came in for criticism with the protesters blaming them for not paying heed to their call to crack down on gambling in the area, which was the reason cited by the rebels for their murder-ous attack. “We have been calling upon the police for quite sometime to take steps to check gambling in the area, but no one bothered to take action,” said Kambui Lunglu, a woman activist from Ragailong. The protesters took out a march from the blast site to the chief minister’s office. They later met Chief Minister Ibobi Singh and submitted a memorandum. “We have demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident and have sought relief for the families of those killed and injured,” said a member of the delegation that met Singh.

The protest against the action by the militants is significant here be-cause killings and rights violation by separatists usually go unprotested, at least publicly. Militant groups in Manipur has been donning the role of moral police, cracking down against malpractices during examinations, cor-ruption and drug abuse. The state, bordering Myanmar, has at least 19 active militant groups pushing demands ranging from autonomy to secession.

GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 29 (AGEN-CIES): Assam’s Udalguri district has been on the boil since August 2008 with charges of rape after riots. More than 70 people have died and a lakh have been displaced. Two middle-aged women have been, allegedly, raped by security personnel. Volunteers of Bodo Women Justice Forum staged a dramatic protest against alleged rape on the two women in riot hit Udalguri.

The two women have alleged that CRPF personnel deployed during the re-cent Bodo-Muslim riots raped them. One of them, a Bodo lady, is in her mid 50s and the other a Koch Rajbonshi in late 40s. “I have told the truth. If they don’t be-lieve, what can I do? I was grazing cows when the incident happened. We came back traumatised and sad. We bathed after which we resumed our household chores,” said one of the victims.

However, medical examination con-ducted at Mangaldai Civil Hospital say it’s difficult to establish a rape after a lapse of 24 hours and after washing away all evidence. The women have now iden-

tified the three CRPF men. Police sourc-es, however, claim that the said men were not even on duty on the day of the rape. Other women organisations have also now joined the demand for justice.

“If the government doesn’t pursue the matter, we would be forced to take our agitation forward,” said Rita Boro, general secretary, All Bodo Women Welfare Federation. “Identification has been made and investigation is going on. Identified persons are under inter-rogation,” said Tiwari, Superintendent of Police, Udalguri. The government is not convinced of the rape charges yet, but has decided to go ahead with the in-vestigation.

The recent tension and violence in Udalguri, which spread to neighbour-ing Darrang district, is the result of several overlapping issues. Pressure on land, issue of illegal migration, which is always a political and emotive issue of Assam, and the politics among the Bodo factions, one which is an ally of the Congress government and the other on a ceasefire.

Newmai News Network

Imphal | October 29

AMIDST REPORTS of rampant criminal activities occurring along National Highway 53 and National High 39, both leading to Ma-nipur, chief minister O. Ibobi Singh has said that the state government has been press-ing New Delhi to provide adequate security for the two national highways leading to Manipur. The chief minister said that the state govern-ment alone is not capable of providing full security to the national highways.

Ibobi Singh however, added that at present the Assam Rifles is heading in taking care of the security of the two national highways. The chief minister was talk-ing during his visit to a hos-pital for a survey in Imphal today. Meanwhile, O.Ibobi Singh then assured an ex-

gratia for the two deceased of the Zeliangrong commu-nity who were charred to dead in the passenger bus burning incident and also to the injured victims of the fateful event that occurred on October 23 near Lahori-jan under Karbi Anglong district of Assam.

Talking to the media during his visit to the Jawa-har Lal Nehru (JN) hospi-tal, in Imphal for the up-gradation of the hospital to a medical institute, Ibobi Singh informed that ex-gratia would be paid for the deceased of the unfortunate incident including those in-jured then.

Regarding the upgra-dation of the JN hospital to an institute of medical sciences, the chief minister informed that a team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) would be visiting the JN hospital sometime

after November 10. He also conveyed there were plans to upgrade the hospital to a medical institution by 2009-10.

Further, while inspect-ing the defunct Urban Fam-ily Medical Centre (Family Welfare) for the adminis-trative block including the class rooms and the hostels for repairing, Singh stated that temporary arrange-ments would be made at Porompat in Imphal East.

Visiting the Gyane wards and the emergency department of the hospital with Ph. Pharijat, health minister along with K. Ran-jit, work minister and other officials of the PWD health department, the chief min-ister assured that the PWD hot mixture plan along with the m orning s chool would be a formative part for the upgradation of the hospital to a medical institution.

Newmai News NetworkShillong | October 29

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN top police functionaries and the Me-ghalaya Home Ministry is evident after state deputy chief minister (Home) H.S.Lyngdoh stopped the scheduled deployment of the Meghalaya police fourth battalion which is also known as the Indian Resrve Battalion (IRB).

Few days after the police head-quarters asked for a pull out of the IRB from their area of posting for a standby to be deployed in Chhat-tisgargh and Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya deputy chief minister H.S.Lyngdoh today issued the no-tification ordering to halt the de-ployment on the basis that these police personnel are needed for law and order duty in the state.

The IRB (4th battalion) is supposed to be the second Me-ghalaya police force to be moved out of the state in respond to the Union government’s call for the duties in New Delhi after the five

companies of another IRB were recently deputed to New Delhi for guarding VVIPs residence. The 4th IRB battalion, it is learnt, had been asked to be ready for a depar-ture for Chhatishgarh and Mad-hya Pradesh in central India.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya Di-rector General of Police (DGP) Bijan Dey Sawian informed NNN over phone on his way to New Delhi today that the deployment of the third IRB in New Delhi and the proposed deployment of the fourth IRB in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh is after the gov-ernment gave its approval.

Justifying the deployment, Sawian said, “There is nothing unusual in the decision because the centre is under serious con-straints because of the incidents in Orrissa, Udalguri, the Ama-ranth controversy and others”, stated Sawian. The DGP is now in New Delhi to oversee the fooding and lodging grievances of those 3rd battalion police personnel al-ready posted in New Delhi .

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi flagging off a new machinery for the Guwahati Mun-cipal Council (GMC) at the inauguration of “Integrated Solid Waste Management Proj-ect” for Guwahati city at Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati on October 29. (UB Photo)

Gap between cops and bureaucrats evident

Rape increases after recent riots in Assam

Zoramthanga’s inning under threat?

Demand for security along NHs

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

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

I N - F O C U S6 THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y Henry A. Kissinger

LEFT WING | Source: IHT

The Power of Truth

The Morung ExpressTHURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2008 VOL. III ISSUE 301

Letters to the Editor

on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of The Tri-bune, - a Chandigarh based English daily I grew up reading as a schoolboy, the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh raised some critical issues relevant

for all newspapers and the media in general. He stated “They (newspapers) must serve a larger purpose. Above all they must contribute to a nation’s intellectual vibrancy.” He stressed that media has a crucial role to play in shaping public opinion, at-titudes and reinforcing values.

While these issues reflect yearnings of universal intent, its applicability does get influenced by the perceived and exis-tential realities unique for each particular situation. And per-haps some of these essential values do get submerged when the ‘wants’ shape the perceived realities, leading to indulgence, and inevitably the parameters on how a newspaper defines the positions and purposes of its existence.

In my short involvement in the endeavors of a newspaper, it has exposed me to new perspectives and provided a different lens of Naga society. It’s in times such as this that I am remind-ed of my friend Chamba who revealed, “The war conditioned us not to tell the truth, it conditioned us to worry about things that have nothing to do with living.” While the statement in itself is true, it’s the latter part which I find terribly worrying. Indeed, how often do we find ourselves worrying about things that have nothing to do with living?

Situated in this diabolic situation of contradictions, we witness the extremeness of ‘feeling’ consume the idea of rea-son. Feelings are an important and essential form of human communication and cannot be ignored or suppressed. Never-theless, feelings when internalized and arising out of fear and insecurity fails to recognize all other aspects of human emo-tions and is reduced to clinging on to self-preservation, where truth becomes the first casualty. Dr. Ravi Zacharias cautions “We seem to have come upon a time where truth does not mat-ter anymore; our feelings is all that count. We need to get to the truth of the issue that surrounds us and uncover the truth before we get to address our feelings. Truth has to be prior to our feelings.”

However, ‘reason’ on its own is reduced to mathematical derivation. Life, however is much richer and if we are to find purpose in our existence we are compelled to seek an interde-pendent relation between ‘feeling’ and ‘reason.’ The result of this interdependence may possibly be called ‘consciousness.’

Imbalance between ‘feeling’ and ‘reason’ leads to a vac-uum filled by self-absorption and self-importance. Unfortu-nately, it is the feeling of self-importance and self-absorption that is fuelling the culture of press-releases and finally the machines of media in Nagaland. Tragically, the Naga media as a generalized entity continues to struggle; and the burdens of self-preservation is weighing on its calling to facilitate and empower ‘consciousness.’ Ironically, unless the media is able to withstand the culture of press-releases, party and power politics, the very vacuum caused by the imbalance of ‘feeling’ and ‘reason’ will push the relevance of media as a medium of transformation to oblivion.

The Naga media therefore must lead the way in transform-ing ‘feeling’ and ‘reason’ as interdependent entities into a liv-ing ‘consciousness,’ which guides and shapes public opinion by reflecting the power of truth as an embodiment of self-de-termining dignity.

Beyond NewspapersF or America, the Vietnam War

was the traumatic event of the second half of the last century. Entered into with a brash self-

confidence after a decade and a half of cre-ative and successful foreign policy, our en-gagement ended with America as divided as it had not been since the Civil War. As a result, Congress cut off aid to Vietnam two years after the troops had been withdrawn, and the last Americans left Saigon by heli-copter from the roof of our embassy.

No account of that period adequate to the emotion and drama of the time has yet appeared. The dwindling number of witnesses of the period remains trauma-tized by its passions or divided by their own pasts. For younger leaders, an un-derstanding of the controversies of their fathers has proved elusive, obliging them to slide into the same dilemmas in their contemporary policies.

"Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bun-dy and the Path to War in Vietnam" does not fill that vacuum. It does, however, il-luminate the five years (1961-1966) dur-ing which the defense of South Vietnam was Americanized. Tracing the efforts of one of the most prominent public servants of the time, it seeks to come to terms with America's entry into its tragedy. Brilliant and fiercely articulate, McGeorge Bundy was a warm and thoughtful human being behind the Boston Brahmin crust. He had had a spectacular academic career, becom-ing the dean of the faculty at the age of 34. He was the dean when I was at Harvard.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy appointed Bundy (a Republican) as National Security Adviser. Bundy created the modern portfo-lio of that position. Since the flow of memo-randa from various departments concerned with national security had become too vast, Bundy's office turned into a clearinghouse. Ever since, the National Security Council has prepared the range of options among which the president chooses. For five years, Bundy performed his duties with articulate-ness and deftness. This included the Berlin crisis, the Cuban missile period and the nu-clear test ban agreement. His grip loosened with the decline in the fortunes of the Viet-nam War, whose public advocate and, to some extent, co-manager he had become.

Bundy became the target of David Halberstam's "The Best and the Bright-est," which used him to illustrate the the-sis that the cream of the establishment led America astray in Vietnam. The book set the tone for most of the subsequent assess-ment of the war. Bundy bore the oppro-brium with dignity, never answering the criticisms directly and perhaps privately agreeing with some of them. He retired in 1966, never to hold public office again.

Toward the end of his life, he began, with a research assistant, to assemble ma-terials for reconstructing the events that had pushed America from hope to despair. He died before he could begin the manu-script. Bundy's researcher, Gordon M. Goldstein, has now turned their collabora-tive effort and some fragments of Bundy's writing into "Lessons in Disaster." It's his own effort, representing the researcher's view, not authorized by the Bundy family. It is also a strange yet fascinating book.

No one is said to be a hero to his valet; this book permits one to extend the truism to research assistants. "Lessons in Disas-ter" is relentlessly hostile to its subject - not so much to Bundy's person, whom it treats respectfully, as his policies. The book is an illuminating window into a seminal time. It is also further evidence of the inability of America to transcend the debates that tore it apart a generation ago.

Bundy successfully managed the lega-cy of America's postwar policy in Europe and towards the Soviet Union. Where he failed was in extending to Southeast Asia the policies that reconstructed Europe and eventually won the Cold War. The difficulty was that Southeast Asia pre-sented a different strategic problem. In Europe, governmental institutions had survived the ravages of the Second World War. The threats they faced were to their economic expectations, compounded by the Soviet troops along their borders. The Marshall Plan took care of the first threat; NATO addressed the second.

None of these conditions existed in

As the world tips into recession, China's economic decisions could affect how other countries fare in the downturn. Over the last 30 years, China has hitched its economy to the industrial world,

exporting cheap goods to the United States and other de-veloped nations, building up an enormous trade surplus that will hit about $400 billion this year. As those indus-trial economies sputter, China is in a position to pick up some of the slack: selling more of its own goods at home and buying more from the rest of the world.

To get China's consumers to spend, the government will need to spend more at home, investing in public works projects and providing more social benefits - including health insurance and pensions - so its citizens don't feel they have to save so much. This is clearly in Beijing's in-terest, though China's leaders are still clinging to the old export strategy.

China is already feeling the impact of a slower world economy. Both economic growth and export growth have braked sharply. The slowdown threatens job creation, dire-ly needed to absorb millions of rural Chinese seeking em-ployment in the cities.

Over the summer the Chinese central bank put an end to its short-lived policy of allowing the yuan to gradually appreciate against the dollar, a policy aimed at reducing inflation that would also raise the price of Chinese ex-ports. Last week, the Chinese government announced that it would increase its rebates on taxes charged to exporters - giving them a further boost.

But trying to capture a bigger share of shrinking mar-kets in the United States, Europe and Japan, just as they tip into recession, won't provide China much of an eco-nomic lift. What it will do is contribute to the slowdown in the rest of the world by hogging demand.

China would get much more bang for the buck if it fo-cused on stimulating its own domestic markets for goods and services.

Given the desperate mess Washington has made of its own financial system, few countries are eager to take American advice these days. Still, it is in China's inter-est to change. China has grown 13-fold over the last 30 years, thanks to hyper-charged exports and white-hot in-vestment. But its economy is lopsided. Consumer spend-ing amounts to little over a third of economic production, probably the lowest share in any country in the world. And its overwhelming dependence on exports has made it over-whelmingly vulnerable to changes in world demand.

The government in Beijing, which is running a huge budget surplus, also has money to spare.

The government has announced some measures to fuel domestic spending -including a tax cut on home purchases to revive an ailing housing market and a vague plan to in-vest in public works. But it must do more to unlock the sav-ings of its citizens and encourage them to spend.

To do that it needs to rebuild the system of social in-surance that fell apart when state-owned industries col-lapsed and were replaced by the private sector. Govern-ment investment in things like health care, education and pensions would help develop China's middle class and its domestic market.

A boost to consumer spending would undoubtedly help China weather the economic storm. But by raising Chi-nese imports and reducing its dependence on exports, it would also help the rest of the world.

As China Goes, So Goes...

(A Reconciliation Perspective)

T he first ever crises in the history of Naga Na-tional Movement for Freedom had taken place in 1980 in Khiamniungan Region we do not re-mind the world often about how we volunteered

service in those darkest days does not reflect an un-con-versant of the community for those sensible people. For we believe in the philosophy of ‘Truth never die”.

Based on genuine historical bed-rock and with the co-operation and support from the outside world like China and East Pakistan, those days, Naga movement as such was a strongest force in South East Asia perhaps. But with the coming of 1980, the issue turned paralyse and procrastines for indefinite period of time. The Naga Leaders, found enemy within dropped the promised and the original issue (International) to domestic chaos. People, especially like us who faithfully believes in the restoration of brotherhood through ‘movement’ turned hopelessness. Now we dare even to dream of going back to Egypt to start a new beginning and we are confound to take further journey as our leaders are divided. We are left in the darkness far away from the departure country.

While in the making way back in 1980, they were two

parties/groups threatening and serve warnings to the in-habitants for allowing the other group in the localities and shortly, the famous factional clash gave birth. Forget about the workers but civilians that were heavily crushed down between NNC/FGN-NSCN 1980 ‘Tug of War’. Many Ranapeyus (Head G.B), President (2nd G.B) and repre-sentatives to Government whom they (Govt) has appoint-ed were awarded so call “Capital Punishment’ by saying they are ‘Intelligent Agency’. Several lives had been lost in cross-fire and houses and granaries turned into ashes. The brotherly killings began as the Towel of Babel collapsed.

The innocent civilians then began to flee their homes for the fear of their own Govt. Most of the villagers fled to-wards Burma to safe from their own brothers and leaders. It was something like ‘deer that pursuit protection from men when fox attacks’. Some of the villagers died of starva-tion in the wilderness. Some of them died of sickness due to climate differences. As a human community, there are rough times and miserably remembering the gravity of the tears, bloods and the lives of those five hundred innocent children, men and women who were honestly working hard according to their inability for the cause of the Naga Nation by serving their leaders and carrying the cross of the nation. Too much have been paid and that the issue be-

come the most expensive for us. We feel no wrong/guilty to raise a voice ‘bearing the cross of this nation ain’t easy but where the crown is’. However, we bury all the questions for years by putting out trust and hope in the future.

Above all, the prime objective of this debate aims on ‘reconciliation bi forgiveness’. Having believe that every peace loving individuals agree upon when I say, to obtain genuine reconciliation, we need to be qualified in humil-ity and humbleness by being champion over pride and self righteousness. Genuine reconciliation is not from someone else or forceful means and it can not be separat-ed from forgiveness. Now, is the right time to realize the unforgiving mind which is full of suicidal activities.

No matter how stormy we have gone through, for the sake of common goal and the Nagas long cherished dreams, the people of Khiamniungan do not recount the past trauma and we are ever ready as we always are to march on unitedly till the war is won. Let the disaster of 1980 upon national workers and the Khiamniungans be an example and the last in the history of Nagas fight for freedom. And let the brethren of the land reconcile by forgiving and forgetting all the past bitterness we’ve committed against one another and against God.

Y. Khomong Khiamniungan

The Khiamniungans in 1980 Tug of War

What Vietnam Teaches Us

South Vietnam. The dividing line in Viet-nam was technically a demilitarized zone never accepted as an international frontier by Hanoi, attempting to undermine gov-ernmental institutions by guerrilla warfare. In this war without front lines, military con-tainment took on a different meaning. In Europe, the basic challenge was territorial integrity; in Southeast Asia, it was govern-mental legitimacy. The new Kennedy ad-ministration paid lip service to this distinc-tion, but never solved how to act on it.

The administration accepted the con-ventional wisdom regarding the issues. Like its predecessors of both parties, it assumed containment to be indivisible and the dom-ino effect of the collapse of South Vietnam to be a kind of natural law. It even added a philosophical refinement: Vietnam was no longer treated as one of many fronts in the global Cold War but as the central front. Conventional aggression having been sty-mied by NATO, guerrilla warfare needed to be similarly frustrated in Vietnam.

With the perspective of nearly four decades, it is possible to challenge these assumptions. Communism has proved not to be monolithic; the dominos did not fall with the collapse of South Vietnam (though 10 years of effort may have helped steady them); the problem of how to deal with guerrilla warfare has grown worse, not better. Goldstein argues with some justice that Bundy should have raised these possibilities. But one must remem-ber that governments run by addressing conventional wisdom, not by challenging it. Caught between established convic-tions and his premonitions, Bundy con-centrated on managing the crises in terms of familiar patterns. The administration slid into a series of ad hoc decisions that preempted Kennedy's strategic choice.

Reading the book, one is struck by the informal, almost conversational, tone of the process as Bundy was feeling his way. Thus, in November 1961, Bundy wrote to the president: "The other day at the swimming pool, you asked me what I thought, and here it is. We should now agree to send about one division when needed for military action inside Viet-nam." Goldstein reports no accompany-ing options paper, no definition of the meaning of "about one division" no de-sired strategic outcome.

Goldstein leaves little doubt that Kennedy was opposed to sending com-bat troops to Southeast Asia. It was more the result of a visceral reluctance than a strategic judgment. In fact, on the formal level Kennedy was ambivalent, torn be-tween considering the survival of South Vietnam essential for national security and being loathe to achieve this goal with American combat forces.

That decision could be postponed in

1963, but it became unavoidable in 1965 when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Vietnam was on the verge of collapse. As it happened, Johnson's options and his dilemmas were made more acute by a de-cision taken in the last weeks of the Ken-nedy presidency. On a weekend when both Kennedy and Bundy were out of town, the assistant secretary of state, together with an NSC staffer, contrived an instruction to the U.S. ambassador in Saigon that was used to trigger a military coup. President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were assassi-nated and a series of coups. Hanoi saw in this turmoil an opportunity to introduce regular combat troops into the South.

Kennedy was assassinated three weeks later. The decision to send combat troops became Johnson's. Goldstein trac-es the evolution of the debate, in which the principal advisors - Dean Rusk, Rob-ert McNamara and Bundy - and the Joint Chiefs of Staff strongly advocated a sig-nificant build-up of combat forces.

Goldstein argues that Kennedy, while accepting the domino theory, would have lived with its consequences, including the Communization of all of Southeast Asia, rather than send a large expeditionary force to Southeast Asia. But we cannot know his reaction had he been presented with the united views of his principal for-eign policy and security advisors.

When America goes to war, it should be able to describe to itself how it defines victory and how it proposes to achieve it. Or else how it proposes to end its mili-tary engagement and by what diplomacy. In Vietnam, America sent combat forces on behalf of a general notion of credibil-ity and in pursuit of a negotiation whose content was never defined. The cred-ibility point was reflected in an amazing Bundy statement quoted by Goldstein: that it would be better for America's cred-ibility to lose after sending 100,000 men than not to have resisted Hanoi at all.

Another self-inflicted handicap was the reluctance to view Indochina as a single strategic theater. Eisenhower was almost certainly right when he described a defense of Laos as essential to the de-fense of Vietnam. But Bundy resisted that proposition with the argument to Kennedy, according to Goldstein, that "Laos was never really ours after 1954. South Vietnam is and wants to be." This distinction produced the anomalous situ-ation in which half a million Americans fought to achieve a stalemate in Vietnam, a military objective rendered nearly im-possible by enemy bases in Cambodia and supply lines through Laos.

As for negotiation, Bundy argued that once Hanoi's efforts to dominate South Viet-nam were thwarted, an undefined compro-mise would emerge through diplomacy - in

effect, a strategy seeking stalemate, not vic-tory. But stalemate violates the maxim that the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The ef-fort required to bring about a compromise was indistinguishable from the require-ments of victory - as the administration in which I served had to learn from bitter ex-perience. A reviewer cannot pretend to sum up a generation's travail in a book review. A few observations will be in order: When the president is asked to consider going to war, he must be presented, above all, with an analysis of the global strategic situation on which the recommendation is based.

The purpose of war is victory. Stale-mate is a last resort, not a desirable strate-gic objective. Victory needs to be defined as an outcome achievable in a time period sustainable by American public opinion. There has to be presented to the president a sustainable diplomatic framework. Di-plomacy and strategy must be treated as a whole, not as successive phases of poli-cy. Authority for diplomacy and strategy must be clearly assigned. The administra-tion as well as critics should conduct their debates with the restraint imposed by the knowledge that the unity of our society has been the hope of the world.

Should Bundy have come to conclu-sions such as these earlier? To do so, Bun-dy would have had to abjure the views of a generation avowed since Truman's dis-putes with MacArthur 15 years earlier, that force should be applied in minimum incre-ments; that strategy and diplomacy were separate spheres to be conducted consecu-tively; that American principles applied in an undifferentiated manner globally were established maxims of a successful policy.

These principles were implemented in Vietnam in the early 1960s by the best, not the worst, of their generation. If the poli-cymakers lacked perspective, their critics lacked compassion. Throughout history, every problem America had recognized had proved soluble by the application of resources and idealism. Vietnam proved obdurate. Mourning the assassination of a president with whom it had identified, and perplexed by an impasse to which its own theories had contributed, the intellec-tual establishment ascribed its traumas to a failure of the American experience and the moral inadequacy of its leaders.

This turned the national debate from an argument over feasibility into a cru-sade increasingly settled by confronta-tions designed to demonstrate a moral indictment. In that sense, Bundy was victim as much as cause of the forces un-leashed as America was obliged to adapt its history to a changing world.

Henry A. Kissinger served as national security adviser and as secretary of state in the administrations of Presidents Rich-

ard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

THURSDAYTHE MORUNG EXPRESS30 OCTOBER 2008

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

NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE7 P E R S P E C T I V E

Shashi Tharoor

THE RECENT convul-sions in the international financial markets have pro-voked an unseemly amount of gloating on the part of many in the developing world. That presidents Fi-del Castro and Moham-med Ahmedinejad should pronounce themselves vindicated by the crisis in global capitalism is hardly surprising, since capital-ism has over the years been so strongly identified with America that both see the problem through the lens of their own anti-American-ism.

What worries me, though, is the number of people in India who are say-ing similar things. "See, we were right in opposing all this liberalisation," one told me, stressing that our intru-sive regulatory system had saved India from a similar fate much earlier. Another approvingly quoted right-wing rants in the US about the dawning of a "Socialist Republic of America" and added, "We should nationa-lise the banks again - after all, even the Americans and Brits are doing it!"

They are wrong, and it's

important to say so before too many people in our polit-ical classes find themselves persuaded by this lapse into historical amnesia.

The debate between capitalist globalisation and self-reliance is hardly new, but a few months ago one would have been justified in assuming that it had defini-tively been resolved. Yet, in India it had required a huge paradigm shift. Whereas, in America, most people axi-omatically associate capi-talism with freedom, India's nationalists associated capi-talism with slavery - because the British East India Com-pany had come to trade and stayed on to rule. So from 1947, our nationalist lead-ers were suspicious of every foreigner with a briefcase, seeing him as the thin edge of a neo-imperial wedge.

Instead of integrating In-dia into the global capitalist system, as only a few devel-oping countries like Singa-pore so effectively were to do, India's leaders were con-vinced that the political in-dependence they had fought for could only be guaranteed through economic indepen-dence. So self-reliance be-came the slogan, the protec-tionist barriers went up, and

India spent 45 years with bu-reaucrats rather than busi-nessmen on the "command-ing heights" of our economy, wasting the first four and a half decades after indepen-dence in subsidising unpro-ductivity, regulating stagna-tion and trying to distribute poverty. This only goes to prove that one of the lessons you learn from history is that history sometimes teaches the wrong lessons. It would be tragic if recent events in the world of finance led us to learn the wrong lessons again.

The reactionaries today seem quickly to forget that it took a humiliating financial crisis in 1991 (one in which the nation had to physi-cally ship its gold reserves to London as collateral for an IMF loan) to prompt In-dia to change course. And change course we did, for the better. A measure of the extent to which the globali-sation debate had turned came for me a few months ago in Kolkata when I heard the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadev

Bhattacharya, say: "Some people say globalisa-tion is bad for the poor and must be resisted. I tell them that is not possible. And" -

the emphasis is mine - "even if it were possible, it would not be desirable." When a Communist chief minister speaks that way about glob-al capitalism, one can argue that debate is largely over.

For decades, the theory of development economics had suffered from two in-tertwined historical circum-stances - the experience of the Great Depression in the 1930s, when only robust gov-ernment intervention saved a number of economies, and the fight for freedom from colonial rule, which involved the overthrow of both foreign rulers and for-eign capitalists (though few nationalists could tell the difference). The develop-ment gurus firmly believed in the wisdom of top-down rule and government plan-ning by all-knowing, all-seeing economists, of whom India suffered from a super-abundance.

Our rulers, in turn, mis-trusted what ordinary peo-ple could achieve for them-selves when they were freed to pursue their own pros-perity within a framework of government-supported structures that ensured a level playing field, fair reg-ulation and social justice

(the model that came to be adopted in the western de-mocracies, though increas-ingly dismantled in Re-publican-ruled America). Instead, they created a li-cense-permit quota raj that denied Indian businesses the opportunity to prosper and grow.

The result was what was derisively called the "Hindu rate of growth", at which In-dia chugged along at three percent while much of the rest of Asia shot ahead. Re-sources that the state could have spent on infrastruc-ture development, educa-tion, health and agricultural reform went instead to mas-sively inefficient public-sec-tor projects that employed many and produced little.

It is sadly impossible to quantify the economic losses inflicted on India over four decades of entrepreneurs frittering away their ener-gies in queuing for licenses rather than manufactur-ing products, paying bribes instead of hiring workers, wooing politicians instead of understanding consum-ers, and "getting things done" through bureaucrats rather than doing things for themselves. The disastrous inefficiencies of the system

were masked by subsidies from the national exche-quer, and a combination of vested interests - socialist ideologues, political oppor-tunists, bureaucratic man-agers, self-protective trade unions and captive markets - shielded it fiercely from economic reality, as mil-lions of Indians languished in poverty. Is this really what we want to return to?

In the last 15 years, India has pulled more people out of poverty than in the pre-vious 45 - averaging some 10 million people a year in the last decade. The country has visibly prospered, and despite population growth, per capita income has grown faster and higher in each of these years than ever before. The current financial crisis, far from prompting us to re-treat, is an opportunity to safeguard those gains and to build on them. For more than four decades India suf-fered from the economics of nationalism, which equated political independence with economic self-sufficien-cy and so relegated us to chronic poverty and medi-ocrity. Let us not condemn Indians again to repeating the mistakes of that unla-mented past.

LEARN FROM PAST mistakes and move on

A Story Untold Reflection on the Current TrendAchan Ramsan

FOR BETTER or worse, we are married to our destiny, as the sweet marriage vow: …in sickness and death...till death do us part. The destiny of a nation fragment-ed, the destiny of factionalism is our painful heritage. Down the memory lane, the good old days of chivalry in the conduct of our national heroes still glows in the distance of the hallowed ground. Our spirit is ennobled by those countless braves. A true sacrifice without any expectation in return for their acts fills our hearts with nostalgia.

Now, Time has changed and along with it the situ-ation. Infidels roamed and roared the street, silencing all voices of sanity. The sanctity of the conscience of revolutionaries for service, for reform, for the ideal, for the people, for the land …….to live or die with and for the cause so dear is the hallmark of their ilk; but no longer anymore.

A shallow mentality has crept in. Their ego, their false façade, their fabricated mind and their mind-set, all entrenched in anything but revolutionaries’ thoughts – just drawn to a booty without any sweats - makes the battlefield desolate. They endeavor factionalism above national interest to savor their own ego and self-inter-est. If only they would have swallowed their pride, our plight would be less and our future bright. But here we are – gangs of extortionist, toting AKs in the garb of ‘na-tional workers’ working for their selfish ends. The end is near, disaster is imminent.

In the heartland of the otherwise solid and power packed turf of the NSCN (IM), the Tangkhul country too, hodgepodge of undergrounds has spawned. There is the ‘Wishful’ group, the ‘Aleng’ group and more re-cently the little known pseudo-underground and ma-fia type known as the ‘Republic of Cobra Gang’ have sprung up as unearthed recently. As far as this ‘Re-public of Cobra Gang’ is concerned the NSCN (IM) is tracking out these delinquent teenagers spread across the district. From its inception last year, their existence came to light only this year when some of their boys were caught stealing computers. The NSCN (IM) is cracking the case before it could entrenched itself into the status of acquiring arms. However concerning the other two underground outfits, so far there has been no known encounter. But skirmishes of words have been exchanged through mobile phones taunting and daring one another, it is learned. Popular support to the outfit may be absent, but the spare of extortion rackets have been well entrenched. Only their want of ideological stands and their alliance with the valley based insur-gents make them force not much to be reckoned yet. Though their activities are little known, the use of ex-plosives in 3-4 instances to drive home their point and create fear psychosis have successfully carried out.

Some months back, in a series of such incidents, the sound of explosion reverberated in the heart of Ukhrul town in Viewland locality. A bomb planted beside the house of Collective Leadership’s Emissary, V Atem’s brother exploded at night. The motives could not be ascertained except the statistical evidence of the inci-dent – some pock mark on the RCC building and some flower pots. Queries to establish the truth revealed nothing. All were tight lipped. Some said that Atem arrived that day and may probably have lodged there. However, the family flatly denied this, nor his presence at Ukhrul could be established. But their objective was well established: to create fear, threaten, establish their credentials and capitalize on this to demonstrate the reach of their power.

It is unfortunate that when the taxpayers are reeling under the weight and wary of the various taxes from the undergrounds, all these elusive elements have sprung up. On anonymity an NGO leader who had to cough out a substantial amount of money told this writer, ‘What (money) will be left there for us (NGOs) to do, if we have to pay to all these groups?’ The situation as such, any dedication, devotion and service to honestly execute their work become half-baked and half-done. Blame it on the NGO? Blame it on all the departments! And let all the departments blame the undergrounds. But what about the general public? Whatever be the situation, the people are milched high and dry. So what is left? BLAME, FLAME…Till Kaboom!

We Interrupt This WarCappy Hall Rearick

We interrupt this war for doctors to heal the sick,

poets to write a sonnet, and ministers to teach us how to love one another.

We interrupt this war for economists to find a way to balance the national budget,

for people to find jobs, for authorities to rid us of drug lords,

and for minorities to find their equal place in the world.

We interrupt this war to find our future.We interrupt this war for soldiers

to hug their children, for family reunions, for more time to find a lasting peace for our world.We interrupt this war for artists to paint and sculpt,

builders to clean up slums and writers to create unforgettable plots and characters.

We interrupt this war so that we might feed the hungry,

save the whales and find a cure for cancer and AIDS.We interrupt this war

for the Special Olympics. Girl Scout Cookies. The World Series.

For newborn babies.We interrupt this war to care for the aged,

to be kind to animals and to share with others.We interrupt this war to clean up the environment,

to find homes for the homeless, and to defend the weak and defenseless.

We interrupt this war to marvel at a sunset, to enjoy a child’s laughter, and to sing a love song.

“THOU SHALT NOT KILL”

A man watches stock prices on a screen on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, Monday, October 27. India's benchmark Sensex index plunged to its lowest in nearly three years on Monday amid fears that the worst of the financial crisis is not yet over. The Sensex fell 528.62 points, or 6.08 percent, to 8,172.45, its lowest since November 2005. (AP Photo)

While globalisation is forcing change in the

way knowledge is im-parted, no real change

can take place unless teachers are better

qualified.P V INDIRESAN,Former Director, IIT Madras

‘When a large share of teachers are themselves poorly qualified, you cannot possibly expect them to en-

courage students to ask ques-tions’

On the whole, it’s dif-ficult not to agree with the view that India’s colleges and universities do not re-ally encourage questioning from students, preferring in-stead to get students to learn by rote. I can say from my

experience in the field of en-gineering education that, of the 2,500-odd colleges that impart engineering educa-tion, just around 100 of them will be encouraging students to question what the teachers are saying or writing on the board — the ones encourag-ing a serious degree of ques-tioning will be a fraction of even this. In other words, just around 4,000 or so teach-ers of the 100,000 that teach in various engineering col-leges across the country will be encouraging some sort of

intellectual query.The reasons for this sad

state of affairs has to do with the background of the teach-ers that are now coming in. Till 1986 or so, a large num-ber of the teachers in the better engineering colleges in the country were masters or doctorates from the IITs;

today, many of the teach-ers have come from smaller colleges and many of them don’t even have a masters de-gree. Naturally, then, most of them will not be very good in their work and they will not encourage students to ask them anything, for the very simple reason that they may not know the answer to a question being asked. I know of a lot of teachers who don’t even give lectures but just go and write out their lectures, so where is the question of them encouraging students

to look at things differently?A related reason stems

from why the teachers are in the jobs they are in right now. Unlike in the past where there was a passion to educate that drove us into the teaching profession, many of those teaching today are there because they have not

been able to get other jobs. Once again, the result is the same, an intellectually lower level of teachers as compared to the situation 20 years ago. So, for these reasons, unless you’re studying in one of the few prestigious colleges like the IITs or IISc, the teach-ers will have low intellectual abilities and will naturally encourage students to re-main at their levels, if not lower.

While I’m not sure the Shanghai University kind of rankings (in which just two or three Indian universities figure in the list of the top 500 global ones) are the best way to judge universities, it is a fact that our levels of re-search work in universities is very poor; and teachers who do not encourage their students to think cannot be expected to be doing good research either. In any case, it is also true that apart from the top few universities/colleges, none of the others even have facilities for re-search. The fact that India has a poor record in terms of filing patents is, once again, a symptom of the same low intellectual level in universi-ties and the lack of facilities for research.

(As told to Sunil Jain)

REV VALSON THAMPU,Principal, St. Stephen’s College

‘Globalisation is changing the old teacher-is-right mind-set but it is unfair to expect that all knowledge has to be imparted only by the teachers’

Rahul Gandhi was e

ssentially comparing the two contrasting paradigms of ed-ucation eastern and western when he said that our educa-tion system does not encour-age us to question. From an-cient times, the guru shishya concept went by an approach where the student accepted what the teacher said. The western liberal notion of in-tellectual freedom was not a natural concept here.

Freedom to acquire knowledge was also lim-ited to the socially and eco-nomically elite. We are also bogged down by the sheer weight of numbers. In the west with fewer people, it is easier to have interactive sessions. The inadequate promotion of higher educa-tion, which I feel is part of a silent conspiracy to exclude the majority from education and hence employment, is responsible for these over-crowded classrooms.

But fortunately we are going through radical chang-es. From a closed society we are moving to a globalised world. Now our compari-sons are not between institu-tions within the country but with institutions outside the country. So there is nothing surprising in what Rahul Gandhi said. It is something which should have been said ten years ago, underlining the need for radical rethink-ing of our higher education. Ideally the goal of education should be enlightenment and not employment. Only if this goal is accepted will the classroom transform. But today the shrinking of the world, through technol-ogy and access to the outside

world, is creating avenues for intellectual growth if they are missing in the class-rooms.

Today the dependence on teachers has come down in higher education and that is a positive change for the better.

Learning is too precious to be left to teachers alone. In Indian philosophy, it is said that we learn a fourth from books, one fourth from friends , one fourth from teachers and one fourth from experience. So the role of teachers is only as important as that of other sources of knowledge. Even in the past, our college used to encour-age dialogue and interac-tion. I used to take children for a walk or have two hour sessions for a discussion. To-day if I were to have that, no one will turn up. For most of them would be doing this or that course or are already fixed on the corporate world. But our goal is still finding ways to enrich the experi-ence of learning, so that it goes beyond employment.

You can ask three kinds of questions, one to embar-rass, the other to know and the third, which very few ask, is to bring about change. What Rahul Gandhi asked seems to be the latter. Most powerful questions are those which are aimed at bringing about change from which millions benefit. The very fact that he raised this ques-tion of possible far-reaching consequences means that St Stephens did some good to him after all.

(As told to Sreelatha Menon)

Source: Business Standard

'Does India's education system encourage questioning?'

CMYK

CMYK

Government Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma said that they have registered a case of murder and rioting against the accused. Accord-ing to police, a hunt has been launched for the accused and their sketches are being pre-

pared. The police have de-tained 12 men in connection with the attack and are ques-tioning them. However, no arrests have been made so far. The attack is being seen as part of the campaign against North Indians in Maharashtra.

The shocking incident came just days after another youth from Bihar, Rahul Raj, was shot dead by the Mumbai Police on Monday after he al-legedly tried to hijack a local BEST bus at Kurla, claiming he wanted to take revenge

against Raj Thackeray. The two incidents follow Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists’ attack against North Indian students who were appear-ing for a railway recruitment examination in Mumbai.

30 October 2008Thursday8 Dimapur The Morung ExpressNATIONAL

NEWS FILEBJP, Shiv Sena seek dissolution of Goa governmentPANAJI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): The Bharatiya Janata Par-ty (BJP) and the Shiv Sena here have requested the state Governor to dissolve the government in view of deterio-rating law and order situation in the state. Shiv Sena met governor S Sidhu with its memorandum yesterday, while the BJP delegation is likely to meet him today or tomorrow pressing for the same demand. “The Governor can use his powers to dissolve the government as the law and order situ-ation is turning grave in the state,” BJP Legislative Wing Spokesman Damodar Naik told PTI. Miscreants are on idol desecration spree in the state with the police failing to nab the culprits, he said. Goa government has constituted a special team to probe the trend of desecration which might spark off communal tensions in the state, he said. Naik said the increasing desecration of idols, rampant corruption and increasing incidents of violence is an indication that nothing is well in the state. The Shiv Sena in its memoran-dum to the Governor has said that it is for the first time that several temples, statues and religious structures have been destroyed by miscreants and police have failed to arrest the culprits. “We briefed the Governor about our demands. He was concerned about the law and order situation,” Shiv Sena Goa Chief Upendra Gaonkar said.

Hearing against Scarlett’s mother postponed to Nov 5PANAJI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): Goa’s Wom-en and Child Development (WCD) department on Wednesday postponed to Nov 5 the hearing of the case against British mother Fiona Mackeown, who faces charges of neglect against her dead teenaged daughter Scarlett Keeling. The WCD had earlier threatened to proceed ex parte against Fiona if she failed to appear for the hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Fiona is presently in Britain. The notices to Fiona followed a complaint by advocate Aires Rodrigues who had charged Fiona of neglecting her daughter under the Goa Children’s Act. Aires claimed that Fiona had left her minor daughter in the care of a stranger, while she herself was vacationing with friends in Gokarna, Karnataka. After Fiona failed to attend preliminary hearings at the WCD, the director had then issued a show cause notice warning her of an ex parte decision if she failed to turn up again. Fiona had earlier led a campaign against the state administration, claiming that her daughter had been allegedly murdered by the drug mafia operative in Goa. She had named the son of a top politician in the state as one of the accused. Scarlett was found dead in controversial circumstances on Goa’s Anjuna beach in February this year.

Kashmiri group in US endorses ObamaNEW YORK, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): A US-based Kash-miri group has endorsed Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama saying he has better plans to fight terror-ism across the globe. Kashmir Solidarity, which strongly opposes separatist forces in Jammu and Kashmir, said, “Obama will be able to better manage both economy and foreign relations and Indo-US relations will further strengthen under his leadership.” “Though our outfit pre-fers the trade policies of Republican candidate John Mc-Cain, it feels that Sarah Palin as a running mate is too risky to be one step away from the White House,” Chairman of the Solidarity Surinder Zutshi told reporters here. The endorsement comes as polls show that Obama has wide support among Indian-Americans.

No packed food, its now hot meal for childrenNEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (CNN-IBN): The debate seems to be settled once and for all, and hot cooked meal is the chosen food for children till 14 years of age in the country to provide supplementary nutrition. Minutes of a cabinet meeting earlier this month clearly states that government would expedite switch over to hot cooked meals from Ready to eat food. This is under the rupees 44 thousand crore Integrated Child Development Scheme despite objections by the Women and Child Develop-ment Ministry. The Planning Commission had earli-er intervened opposing any such move however, later the PMO had intervened insisting the Supreme Court guidelines on the issue be followed. But this decision of the union cabinet comes at a time when the Comptroller and Auditor General has raised serious questions over the implementation of a similar program to increase nu-tritional levels in children. The Mid Day meal scheme which provides hot cooked meals to children at primary and upper primary level CAG says that no assessment so far has been made on the impact of the program in terms of enrollment, nutritional and retention levels of children. The two schemes together cover more than 15 crore children in the country. The government has de-cided what is best to increase nutritional levels in them without assessing how good the present system is.

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): In a shocking incident, a group of uniden-tified men beat to death a 25-year-old migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh in Mum-bai on Tuesday afternoon. Dharam Dev, along with three other labourers from UP, were travelling to Kur-la on a Mumbai local train from Khopoli to Chhatrapa-ti Shivaji Terminus when the group started beating them up after a brawl.

Following the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minis-ter Mayawati has written to the Prime Minister, seeking the Centre’s immediate in-tervention and a probe into the case. She has also writ-ten a letter to Maharash-tra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. The UP and Maharashtra governments have meanwhile announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family of the de-ceased. Union Home Minis-ter Shivraj Patil too spoke to Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy CM R R Patil over the migrant’s death and demanded a report on the incident. R R Patil said that his government takes full responsibility of secu-rity for migrants and added

that stern action will be taken against the accused involved in yesterday’s incident.

Dev, who worked as a helper at a construction site, was occupying the win-dow seat in the train, when a group of eight to 10 com-muters, who appeared to be local villagers, forced them to vacate the seat, police said. The local group who spoke Marathi then asked Dev and his friends if they were ‘bhai-yyas’ after which they start-ed abusing them, according to police. According to the statement given by the vic-tim’s friends, the four were slapped and kicked, thus rendering Dev unconscious.

The local group got off the train at Karjat, while Dev and his friends remained in the train. The victim’s friend then called up the Railway Pro-tection Force (RPF) control number. Officials from the RPF then boarded the train at Badlapur and Dev was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. A post-mortem was conducted on Dev and the report showed he died of injuries to the liver.

Dev, who hails from Faiza-bad in Uttar Pradesh, had been staying in the financial capital for the last few months.

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 29 (CNN-IBN): The Govern-ment Railway Police have detained 10 activists of Raj Thackeray-led Maharash-tra Navnirman Sena (MNS) from Khopoli in connection with Tuesday’s killing of an Uttar Pradesh youth in a Mumbai local train.

Dharamdev Rai, a 25-year-old labourer from UP, was beaten up on board a local train from Khopoli to Mum-bai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Ter-minus station and later suc-cumbed to his injuries. The Maharashtra government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for Rai’s family.

Meanwhile, the MNS said that three of their sup-porters have already been released and added that all those detained are all be-ing held for no reason. Ut-tar Pradesh Chief Minister

Mayawati has already asked the Central Government to control the ongoing violence against North Indians in Maharashtra. She also an-nounced Rs 2 lakh as com-pensation for Uttar Pradesh youth Dharamdev Rai, who was beaten to death by a group of Marathi-speaking youth inside a Mumbai local train on Tuesday afternoon.

Samajwadi Party, too, seems keen to join hands with Mayawati on the North Indian versus Maharash-tra divide. Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh said that if the Bahu-jan Samaj Party chief agrees, then a joint delegation of UP politicians could meet Prime Minister Manmo-han Singh on the issue. The Union Home Ministry has also sought details from Ma-harashtra government on the

killing of the UP youth.Rai and three other la-

bourers – Vijendra Rai (35), Satyaprakash Kaushal Rai and Shiv Kumar Verma (both 25) – from UP were on their way to Kurla on Tuesday afternoon when they were beaten up on the running train by 8-10 peo-ple. Rai’s friends have alleged that they were beaten by Mar-athi-speaking youth, after they learnt that the labourers were North Indians. “After the train left the station, some people en-tered our compartment. They asked us where we were from. When they learnt we are from UP they made us sit separately. Then they first verbally abused us and then started beating us up,” Dharamdev Rai’s friend Virendra Kumar Rai claimed.

The youths started beat-ing all the four as the train approached Karjat. While his friends managed to es-

cape with minor injuries, Rai was beaten up brutally. Rai was admitted to the Dubey hospital in Badlapur but suc-cumbed to his injuries. The incident happened at around 1412-1415 hrs IST on Tues-day and rain was declared dead on arrival at a hospital in Badlapur at about 1530 hrs IST. The post-mortem report confirmed death due to puncturing of the liver at about 2200 hrs IST. Rai, who hails from Sant Kabir Nagar in Faizabad in UP, had been working in Mumbai for the past few months.

Government Railway Police (GRP) Commissioner AK Sharma told CNN-IBN that a case has been regis-tered for murder and rioting. “Post-mortem report con-firmed that he was beaten up. He died because of injuries to his liver,” Sharma said.

UP migrant lynched on Mumbai local train

10 MNS workers held in UP youth lynching

LUDHIANA, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): A six-seater aircraft of Punjab government today crashed here killing its pilot and co-pilot, who prevented damage on ground by steer-ing the plane away from a crowded industrial area after it developed a technical fault.

The Beechcraft C-90 King Air plane, purchased by the state government in 1978, had taken off from Chandigarh airport at 10.50 AM on a test flight “before a VIP trip” when it developed some technical fault before it could land at the Sahnewal airport, two km from Jugia-na, police and officials said.

The badly mutilated bodies of the two crew – Dalip Kataria and co-pilot Manjit Singh Khokar – were recovered from the wreck-age of the plane which burst into flames soon after after it crash-landed on the premis-es of Thapar Agro – a closed unit in Jugiana industrial area after nosediving, Senior Superintendent of Police P K Jaiswal told reporters.

The pilot appears to have chosen the closed unit for

Pilot, co-pilot killed in aircraft crash in Ludhiana

Police and officials inspect the wreckage after a Beechcraft C-90 King Air plane crashed in Jugiana village near Ludhiana in Punjab state October 29. A six-seater aircraft of Pun-jab state government Wednesday crashed killing its pilot and co-pilot, who prevented damage on ground by steering the plane away from a crowded industrial area after it de-veloped a technical fault. (AP Photo)landing in order to save other working units where a large number of employees worked, he said at the crash site. Eye-witnesses told the police that the aircraft hovered over the

industrial belt for some time apparently looking for a safe landing spot to avoid mini-mum damage on ground.

Fire tenders from the Sah-newal airport and Ludhiana

immediately reached the spot to douse the flames. Police had cordoned off the area and the aircraft’s black box would be retrieved to ascertain the cause of the crash.

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots may have outshone their US, British, South Korean and French counterparts in recent air war games, but a CAG report has pointed out that they have to hone their skills despite the constraints of obsolete train-ers, dysfunctional simula-tors and outdated training programmes. A Comptroller and Auditor General finding, submitted to Lok Sabha this month, has punched holes in the IAF’s training of its pilots, citing that it has not formu-lated any long-term training plan for pilots of fighter and other streams in line with its desired force levels and tech-nological changes.

“The interim training plans for short periods of two years have led to short-sighted decisions impacting quality of pilot training,” the CAG per-formance audit report said. It said the number of pilots trained in various streams dur-ing 2001-06 was much lower than planned targets indicat-ing that either the training tar-

gets did not take into account constraints or IAF failed to ensure adequate intake of pi-lot trainees through an effec-tive recruitment strategy.

The IAF’s requirement of trained pilots will substan-tially increase during 2008-18 to meet expansion needs of the IAF squadrons, and fill up backlog vacancies and also va-cancies arising from high attri-tion rates in recent years. “IAF has not implemented any ef-fective training strategy for meeting the increased intake requirements by addressing problems related to limitations of air space/runaway occupan-cy and other infrastructural constraints,” the report added.

Noting that the number of pilots failing to complete their training successfully was sig-nificantly higher than the as-sessed average wastage rates in 45 per cent of courses, the report said there was also lack of continuity in the transition of a pilot from initial training to intermediate and advanced stages of training in terms of quality, technology and avion-ics of the trainer aircraft used.

CAG punches holesin IAF training of pilots

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 29 (CNN-IBN): Jammu and Kashmir goes to polls from November 17 to elect its new 87-member Legislative As-sembly. With the poll process starting, the People’s Demo-cratic Party (PDP) has also decided to join the fray.

In another major devel-opment after almost 25 years of political wilderness, for-mer Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Moham-mad Shah, too, has decided to contest polls. But this time it will be his son Mazaffar Shah who will be holding fort for his party Awami National Conference (ANC). “We will contest in 65 to 70 seats and resolution of Kashmir will

be one issue. We will press for intra-Kashmir dialogue too,” says Muzaffar Shah, ANC General Secretary, about his party’s election plank.

With PDP also contest-ing, most of the political parties have based their agendas on soft-separat-ism. The PDP is hoping to outwit its bitter rival, the National Conference (NC) which has given concepts like shared-sovereignty and making Kashmir an “approachable” trade hub in South Asia. “We are for joint council for this Jam-mu and Kashmir and oth-er Kashmir. We also want certain amendments like electing governor besides

overturning certain central references,” says Mehbooba Mufti, PDP President.

And out of power for last six years, the NC expects to bank on the anti-incumben-cy factor. With greater au-tonomy still at the heart of its manifesto, the NC hopes to capitalise on the mishan-dling of Amarnath land row by the previous PDP-Congress coalition. “We will fight on local issues at some places and at other just highlight the failures of the last coalition government,” reveals NC President Omar Abdullah. But which party will eventually hold out the candle for people will be de-cided by the year-end.

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): A self-styled district commander of Hiz-bul Mujahideen outfit was killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kash-mir on Wednesday afternoon, official sources said.

Abdul Rashid alias “Ma-jid”, one of the most wanted militants of Hizbul Muja-hideen in south Kashmir, was killed in a nearly five-hour-long gun battle with Special Operations Group of local police and Rashtriya Rifles at Nayan-Batpora vil-lage, the sources said.

The encounter broke out at around 7 am when a po-lice party assisted by troops of Rashtriya Rifles raided a

house adjacent to a school in the village following specific information about presence of the top Hizbul Mujahideen militant there, they said. The joint search party asked the hiding militant to surrender but he opened fire and in the ensuing encounter, the self-styled district commander was killed, they said. His half-burnt body along with some arms and ammunition was re-covered from the debris of the house which was gutted dur-ing the gunfight, they added.

Terming the killing of the top militant as a “major break-through”, the sources said Rashid was evading arrest for the last several years and was wanted in a number of mili-tancy-related incidents.

Arms and ammunition recovered from Poonch

Several arms and ammu-nition were recovered by the security forces during search operations in different areas of Poonch district today, offi-cial sources said. On a tip off, the army troops and police launched a joint operation in Kamathiya Dhok area of Man-di sector of the border district last evening and recovered one AK-56 rifle with its magazine and three rounds, they said.

In another search opera-tion at Khanetrian area of the Poonch district, the forc-es found two blankets and some biscuits. The militants had already fled from the area before troops arrived, the sources said.

Kashmiri women carry dried leaves on their head to be burnt for coal and used in firepots during winter, on the outskirts of Srinagar Octo-ber 29. (AP Photo)

Top Hizb militant killed in J&K

KANDHAMAL, OCTOBER 29 (AGENCIES): Madhuri Dalbe-hara was stringing flowers under a saffron flag quite assured that no one would torch her house in anti-Christian violence-hit Kand-hamal – a telling indication of the fear that Hindu fundamentalists have spread across the district. “We have displayed these flags to ward off any attack on us,” said Dalbehara, who is a Christian.

“There is Hindu-Christian violence in our region. This flag is an indication that we are Hindus. No one has attacked our house so far,” she smiled, asking a visiting correspondent if he had “come from abroad to do research in the district over the violence.”

“It is a sensitive area and by hoisting the flag, we have made sure no one does any harm to us,” she added. Thousands of houses across the district display saffron flags to give the impression that the resi-dents are Hindus while, in fact, they are Christians. “It’s better to protect your house and if a flag can save our

lives then there is nothing wrong in displaying it,” said Nabghan Chi-nara, a resident of the G. Udaygiri neighbourhood, pointing to the tiny flag fluttering on the roof. “There is no animosity between tribals and Christians here. We were all living happily but outsiders are spread-ing hatred. They might have some political motive,” said Rajesh Prad-han, another resident.

Anti-Christian violence has been boiling in Kandhamal ever since the Aug 23 killing of Swami Laxmanan-anda Saraswati, a Hindu religious leader, and four of his supporters. While the Maoists have claimed re-sponsibility for the murders, Hindu fundamentalists insist that Chris-tians were behind the murder. “I am not branding Hindus as criminals or fundamentalists but activists of Ba-jrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Pari-shad are trying to bring in fascism in Orissa. We won’t allow Orissa to be-come another Gujarat,” said Swaru-panand Patra, president of the Orissa Minority Forum, while referring to the anti-Muslim pogrom in the west-

ern Indian state following the Feb 27, 2002, Godhra train burning.

“They are asking our Christian brothers to convert into Hinduism or else face death. Is this democracy? Why is the state government so slow in punishing the culprits?” asked Pa-tra, who is also president of the Orissa YMCA. True to his allegation, there are posters and wall writings in Kand-hamal asking Christians to convert to Hinduism. One such in Gadar Gaon read: “If Christians want peace, then they must adopt Hinduism...if you will not adopt Hinduism then the district will continue to boil”.

“This is a Hindu country and only Hindus will stay here,” said a message inscribed on a torched house. At least 38 people, includ-ing a Central Reserve Police Force trooper, have lost their lives in communal clashes in the district following Saraswati’s killing. While over 3,000 houses, mostly belonging to Christians, have been gutted or vandalized in Kandha-mal, over 23,000 people have fled from their villages, fearing death.

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): Two major fire broke out in the national capital, injuring seven people, following Di-wali festivities. Seven people, including four firemen, were injured when a fire broke out in a slum cluster in Jehangir-puri area of north-west Delhi at around 10:30 last night, gutting several hutments, fire brigade officials said.

The injured were admit-ted to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, they said, adding there were no reports of any death. “I was one of the first officers here. We were about to enter when we heard that the mob was attacking fire trucks. So we waited for po-lice protection and then we went in,” says T S Sharma. According to the fire brigade officials, the firemen were in-jured in the stone-pelting by angry mob. Around 25 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. The fire

broke out in the E-block of the locality which also houses a Delhi Jal Board office, they said. The cause of the fire is yet to be known, they added.

In another incident, a fire broke out at a paint factory in Azadpur at around 0430 hrs IST on Wednesday morning, engulfing three floors of the building. Fire officials said 12 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and it was brought under control at around 0800 hrs IST. No one was injured in the fire, they said, adding the cause of the incident was not yet known. Some minor incidents of fire were also reported from various parts of the city. The Fire Depart-ment said they received 199 calls till 7:00 am today. Most of the calls were fire cracker-related incidents, the official said. Last year around 150 calls were received by the Fire Department on Diwali

Parties gear up for J&K elections

Residents display saffron flags to save life in Kandhamal

Seven injured in two major fires in Delhi

The Morung ExpressThursday

30 October 2008Dimapur 9INTERNATIONAL

WASHINGTON, OC-TOBER 29 (REUTERS): Democrat Barack Obama has a steady 5-point na-tional lead over Republican John McCain with six days left in the grueling race for the White House, accord-ing to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. Obama leads McCain by 49 percent to 44 percent among likely voters in the three-day national tracking poll, inching up from his 4-point advantage on Tuesday. The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

"The daily numbers were essentially unchanged from yesterday, with just a slight improvment for Obama," pollster John Zogby said. "The race is frozen in place for now." The Illinois sena-tor still holds a solid lead

with several crucial blocs of swing voters -- he is ahead by 15 points among inde-pendents, 10 points among women, 8 points among Catholics and 5 points among voters above the age 65. The race is essentially tied among men and Mc-Cain moved into a slight 2-point lead among self-de-scribed blue-collar workers as the two candidates push toward next week's vote.

"Obama is holding steady," Zogby said. Obama has held a lead of between two and 12 points every day since the tracking poll be-gan three weeks ago. McCa-in, an Arizona senator, has not been able to push his support above 45 percent in that time, while Obama reached a high mark of 52 percent a week ago before drifting back. About two

percent of voters remain un-decided in the race, which still has time for some last-minute shifts.

The 5-point margin for Obama is the same lead then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush held in the tracking poll over Democrat Al Gore with six days left in the 2000 race. Gore closed fast and narrowly won the popu-lar vote, but Bush won the Electoral College and the presidency after a disputed Florida recount. With six days to go in the 2004 race, Bush led Democratic chal-lenger John Kerry by one point before winning re-election by 3 points.

McCain and Obama campaigned in Pennsylva-nia on Tuesday as they turn their attention to about a dozen battleground states that will decide the race.

All except Pennsylvania are states won by Bush in 2004. Independent Ralph Nader received 2 percent in the national survey, and Libertarian Bob Barr was at 1 percent. The rolling tracking poll, taken Sun-day through Tuesday, sur-veyed 1,179 likely voters in the presidential election. In a tracking poll, the most re-cent day's results are added, while the oldest day's re-sults are dropped to moni-tor changing momentum.

The U.S. president is determined by who wins the Electoral College, which has 538 members apportioned by population in each state and the District of Colum-bia. Electoral votes are al-lotted on a winner-take-all basis in all but two states, which divide them by con-gressional district.

Obama leads race to White House

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves at a rally at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Va., Tuesday, October 28.(AP Photo)

Political crystal ball calls Obama the winnerWASHINGTON, OCTO-BER 29 (AFP): US history professor Allan Lichtman believes he has the secret to predicting who will win the vote in any US presidential election and he has the record since 1984 to prove it. “The 13 Keys to the White House” -- a system he developed 27 years ago with mathemati-cian Volodia Keilis-Borok -- has proven right in ev-ery White House race since then, he told AFP. The “13 keys” are a set of variables which will tell whether the presidency will change par-ty hands in the quadrennial contest, which takes place this year on November 4.

The true-or-false state-ments assess the conditions facing the incumbent party -- this year President George W. Bush’s Republicans -- on issues such as the candi-date’s standing, the party’s legislative power, security and the economy, and the level of charisma of the two major party candidates. Us-ing these metrics, Lichtman, who lectures on the history of US presidential elections at American University in Washington, called the 2008 race two and a half years ago.

Before Barack Obama was even in the running, he told Foresight magazine in February 2006 that the Democrats would retake the White House. “I could see the winds of change were blowing, based on the keys,” he said. “Long before the nomination contest un-folded, the Democrats could take a name out of a phone book and still win.” For the party holding the presidency to lose it, Lichtman says, six or more of the 13 keys have to be false.

In early 2006, Bush and the Republicans had eight falses. Today, Lichtman said, there are “at least” eight fals-es. To him, Republican can-didate Senator John McCain hasn’t had a chance since as far back as 2005. The keys give no weight to the can-didate’s vice presidential

<AP> ELN BATTLEGROUNDS 102908: Graphic shows poll results on opinions of likely voters; 2c x 3 1/4 inches; 96.3 mm x 83 mm; with BC-AP Poll-Battleground States; DGM; ETA 6 a.m. <AP> Editor’s Note: It is mandatory to include all sources that accompany this graphic when repurposing or editing it for publication

AP

Among likely voters, Barack Obama averages an eight point lead in presidential preference over John McCain in eight battleground states.

Editor’s Note: The Associated Press is no longer supporting FreeHand format. Please make the necessary adjustments to your workflow. Only Adobe Illustrator and PDF files will be posted.

Colo.Obama McCain Fla. N.H. N.C. Pa. Va.OhioNev.Whom will

you vote for?5041

4543

5240

5537

4846

4841

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4942

5043

4945

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5634

5145

5142

5338

5141

5042

5243

5539

5432

5044

5241

5538

5340

Which presidential nominee do you trust more to … … improve the economy

… handle the financial crisis

5140

5141

5737

5535

5441

5439

5439

5538

… understand how the financial crisis affects you

… make the right decisions about national security

… make the right decisions about national security

… make the right decisions on health care

4748

4552

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4748

4651

4550

4946

4748

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AP

Among likely voters, Barack Obama averages an eight point lead in presidential preference over John McCain in eight battleground states.

Colo.Obama McCain Fla. N.H. N.C. Pa. Va.OhioNev.Whom will

you vote for?5041

4543

5240

5537

4846

4841

5240

4942

5043

4945

5441

5634

5145

5142

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5042

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5432

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Which presidential nominee do you trust more to … … improve the economy

… handle the financial crisis

5140

5141

5737

5535

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5439

5439

5538

… understand how the financial crisis affects you

… make the right decisions on health care

4748

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NOTE: The Associated Press-GfK Battleground State Polls on the 2008 presidential, Senate and gubernatorial races in eight contested states were conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media from Oct. 22-26, 2008. The polls were conducted by landline telephone with state-wide representative random samples of approximately 800 adults, including around 600 likely voters; margin of error ± 3.9 percentage points or ± 4 points. That means no more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than about 4 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in each state were poll.

running mate, how his wife looks, or how the campaign goes. “The basic theory be-hind the whole system is that American elections are basi-cally a verdict on the perfor-mance of the party holding the White House,” Lichtman said. “The basic thesis is it is governing, not campaigning, that counts. It’s why you can make these predictions be-fore you even know who the nominees are.”

For the outgoing Bush administration, Lichtman counts nine false keys spell-ing failure on November 4 for the Republicans:1: After midterm elections,

the incumbent party holds more seats in the House of Representatives than it did after the pre-vious midterm elections. False

2: There was no serious con-test for the incumbent party nomination. True.

3: The incumbent party can-didate is the current presi-dent. False.

4: There is no significant third-party or indepen-dent campaign. True.

5: The economy is not in re-

cession during the cam-paign: Technically true, but Lichtman counts this as a false because of the deep financial crisis.

6: Real per-capita economic growth during the current president’s term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. False.

7: The incumbent govern-ment brings about major changes in national policy that improve the people’s lives. False.

8: There is no sustained so-cial unrest during the term. True.

9: The incumbent admin-istration is untainted by major scandal. True.

10: The incumbent admin-istration suffers no major failure in foreign or mili-tary affairs. False.

11: The incumbent admin-istration achieves a major success in foreign or mili-tary affairs. False.

12: The incumbent-party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. False -- Lichtman says “John Mc-Cain ... is a national hero in the sense he performed

heroically in a war, but to win that key you have to be a leader in war like (1953-61 president Dwight) Eisenhower.”

13: The challenging-party candidate is not charis-matic or a national hero. False.

Lichtman acknowledges that as an African-American, Obama’s candidacy is “an unprecedented situation” in US presidential showdowns. However, he said, 2008 will resemble 1980. Under Dem-ocratic president Jimmy Carter, who lost the race to Ronald Reagan, “You had a bad economy, difficulties in foreign affairs, with Iran hos-tages crisis, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets, the boycott of the Olympics.

“The same thing with Bush. You have a got a bad economy and you have dif-ficulties in foreign affairs with the ongoing, unresolved war.” Using the 13 keys, he is also willing to predict the size of victory over McCain. “I predicted two and one-half years ago an eight-point mar-gin. It could be pretty close (to that), maybe bigger.”

World threatened by ecological 'credit crunch'PARIS, OCTOBER 29 (AFP): Reckless borrowing against Earth's exhausted bounty is driving the planet toward an ecological "credit crunch", the World Wildlife Fund warned on Wednesday. Growing de-mands on natural capital -- such as forests, water, soil, air and biodiversity -- already out-strip the world's capacity to re-new these resources by a third, according to the WWF's Liv-ing Planet Report. "If our de-mands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles," said James Leape, the green group's Director General, in releasing the study. The cost of bailing out financial institutions dur-ing the economic meltdown, while huge, pales in compari-son to the lost value caused ev-ery year by ecological damage to the environment, experts say.

A European Union study calculates that the world is los-ing between two and five tril-lion dollars in natural capital every year due to the degrada-tion of the ecosystems. "The world is currently struggling with the consequences of

over-valuing financial assets," said Leape. "But a more fun-damental crisis looms, an eco-logical credit crunch caused by under-valuing the environ-mental assets that are the basis of all life and prosperity."

The report shows that more than three quarters of the planet's population live in nations that are ecological debtors -- countries where con-sumption outstrips biological capacity. Produced with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Foot-print Network (GFN), the bi-annual study measures the ecological footprint of human demand on natural resources, and assesses Earth's ability to remain a "living planet." The 2008 edition shows a drop off of nearly 30 percent since 1970 in some 5,000 monitored populations of 1,686 different species.

Declines are closer to 50 percent in tropics, which con-tain the highest concentration of biodiversity in the world and serve as a brake on global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Deforestation, land conver-sion, pollution, over-fishing and climate change are the

main drivers of environmen-tal degradation. "We are acting ecologically in the same way as financial institutions have been behaving economically -- seeking immediate grati-fication without due regard to consequences," said the Zoological Society's Jonathan Loh.

"The consequences of global economic crisis are even graver than the current economic meltdown." Carbon emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation are the biggest drain on the natural economy, underlining the threat of cli-mate change, the report con-cluded. The Earth needs on average 2.1 "global" hectares per person to produce our resources and capture emis-sions, but humanity's per-person footprint is already 2.7 hectares, it calculates.

"Continued ecological deficit spending will have se-vere economic consequences," argued GFN head Mathis Wackernagel. "Resource limi-tations and ecosystem collaps-es would trigger stagflation with the value of investments plummeting, while food and energy costs skyrocket," he cautioned.

An environmental activist holds a poster that reads in Spanish "No to deforestation" to protest an open-pit gold mining project at the Ministry of Energy and Environment in San Jose, Monday, October 27. Costa Rica's highest court ordered Industrias Infinito, a local subsidiary of a Canadian company Infinito Gold Ltd., to stop the construction of an open-pit gold mine near the border with Nicaragua, upholding an injunction filed by environmentalists who say the project violates Costa Rica's constitutional rules on the environment. (AP Photo)

Former political prisoner wins watershed Maldives vote MALE, OCTOBER 29 (AFP): A former political prisoner swept to victory in the Maldives' first democratic presidential elec-tion, officials said Wednesday, unseating Asia's longest-serving leader and sparking scenes of celebration. Supporters of Mo-hamed "Anni" Nasheed hugged each other and drove around the capital of the Indian Ocean atoll nation from shortly after dawn waving flags representing his party, as the scale of his victory became clear.

The election commission said that with all votes now counted from Tuesday's water-shed poll, Nasheed had won 54.21 percent to 45.79 percent for incumbent leader Mau-moon Abdul Gayoom. "I want a peaceful transition," Nasheed told reporters during a visit to a mosque as results were coming in. "I want my supporters to be calm." Gayoom 71, has ruled the tourist paradise islands unchal-

lenged since 1978, and had re-peatedly thrown Nasheed in jail over a period of six years. There was no immediate comment from Gayoom or his aides to the results. Thousands of Nasheed supporters drove around the capital Male waving their yel-low flags as others hugged each other at a beachfront promenade where young people had camped for days to drum up support for his campaign. "This is sponta-neous joy," said one, Aishath Aniya. Fathimath Niusha, a 27-year-old school teacher, said she was thrilled with the change of leadership. "I want to see how it will be under a new president," Niusha said. "All my life, it had been under Gayoom." Gayoom had failed to win an outright vic-tory in the first round of voting three weeks ago, prompting the run-off against the charismatic Nasheed, 41, a former Amnesty International "prisoner of con-science."

Nasheed, a political mod-erate, has promised to root out corruption, improve health care and communications to remote islands, cut state spending and turn the lavish presidential palace into the first university in the country. The Maldives, a liberal Sunni Muslim nation of 1,192 coral islands and some 300,000 people, has never had multi-party elections before. Until a few years ago, anyone declaring an intention to seek high office would be banished to an uninhabited island.

The elections followed Gayoom's promise to bring po-litical freedoms to the archipela-go in the wake of pro-democracy protests and mounting interna-tional pressure. Despite its pop-ularity as an exotic holiday desti-nation for the rich, the country is beset with corruption, an acute housing shortage and a serious drug problem said to affect one in three youngsters. Forty per-

cent of the population earns less than a dollar a day, and social discord led to religious extrem-ism and an attack on tourists last year, which in turn prompted a tough crackdown on suspected Islamic extremists.

Anti-government protests erupted into riots in 2003 fol-lowing the death in custody of a young man held on a drug charge. The unrest galvanized pro-democracy activists to rally around Nasheed. In the cramped island capital Male, most voters said they simply wanted to see a new face in charge. Local journalist Ibra-him Mohamed, 20, said he cam-paigned for two years to topple Gayoom as young people were fed up with his autocratic rule. "It is really the young people who made this happen," Mo-hamed said. "I was arrested and locked up three times in the past two years. I was determined to work for a change."

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader Mohamed Nasheed, right, shakes hands with longtime ruler Presi-dent Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom at a press briefing in Male, Maldives, Wednesday, October 29. Nasheed, a for-mer political prisoner, won the Maldives' first democratic presidential election, defeating Gayoom and sending euphoric opposition supporters pouring into the streets Wednesday in celebration. (AP Photo)

Powerful earthquake strikes PakistanQUETTA, OCTOBER 29 (AFP): A powerful earth-quake in southwest Pakistan killed at least 160 people early Wednesday, destroy-ing mud homes and sending survivors screaming into the streets in panic. At least eight villages were badly hit in the 6.4-magnitude quake, police said, warning that the death toll could climb still higher as rescue workers reached villages in the remote re-gion bordering Afghanistan. It struck just after 5:00 am (2300 GMT Tuesday) and left scores more people in-jured, local authorities said.

“Around 160 people have died so far,” said Khushal Khan, spokesman for Za-marak Khan, revenue min-ister of gas-rich Baluchistan province. Residents in the region around the historic hill town of Ziarat, about 50 kilometres north of the provincial capital Quetta, told him about 6,000 people have been displaced. “The toll may go up. The dead included 29 members of the same family,” Khushal Khan added.

Most of the deaths were in outlying villages, as mud houses were destroyed and the tremors triggered land-slides of rocks and boulders while people slept in their beds. In Quetta, the nearest big town, witnesses said peo-ple fled screaming from their homes. Television footage showed many outside in the streets, wrapped up against the early morning chill. Six people were killed in the nearby district of Pishin, po-lice there said. Mohammed Sultan, from the town of Sanjawai, told AFP the first tremor shook him awake from his deep sleep shortly before 5:00am, before he felt a larger shockwave about 10 minutes later.

In Ziarat buildings had collapsed and communica-tions had been cut, he said, adding: “The town looks devastated. Parts of it are badly damaged. “My rela-tives live in Ziarat but I can’t contact them to find out how they are.” The US Geo-

logical Survey said the quake struck at 5:09 am and mea-sured 6.2, later revising that magnitude up to 6.4. The Pakistan Meteorological Of-fice put it as 6.5. The epicen-tre was located some 70 ki-lometres north of Quetta in Baluchistan province, about 185 kilometres southeast of the Afghan city of Kandahar, they added.

A Pakistani military spokesman said some 250 troops and two helicopters had been sent from Quetta to Ziarat, while an aerial assess-ment of the damage was also underway. Immediate medi-cal help was also dispatched. “The destruction is heavy, people need immediate help and we are providing assis-tance to the affected people,” Colonel Mohammed Babar, who flew over the region, told AFP. After-shocks were still being felt in the region throughout the morning, the Pakistan Meteorological Of-fice said.

In Kandahar, provin-cial police chief Mutihullah Khan Qatah said people had felt the quake, “but we don’t yet have any reports of ca-sualties or damage to build-ings”. Officials were trying to contact their counterparts in outlying areas, he added. Ziarat is a historic hill resort famed for its juniper forests. It receives visitors from all over Pakistan in summer who come to see the holiday home of the country’s found-er, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Most of the casualties were from two villages on the outskirts of the town which were built on steep ground and badly damaged in land-slides triggered by the quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, officials said. Lo-cal government officials said they had asked for paramed-ics and rescuers. A 7.6-mag-nitude earthquake in north-west Pakistan and Kashmir killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million in Oc-tober 2005. In 1935 a massive quake killed around 30,000 people in Quetta, which at the time was part of British-ruled India.

Thursday30 October 2008 10 Dimapur The Morung ExpressSPORTS

Nagaland Sports Coalition officials, volunteers of Kingdom Stewards from Jalukie and Nagaland Thang-Ta Association cleaning the NEZCC surroundings for the upcoming Church Sports Conference to be from October 31 to November 2 with the theme "Sports for holistic Growth". (Morung Photos)

L-R: The cricket players running in the finals as the “1st Annual Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament” ends, which is being organized Ravel Club, Toulazou. A cricketer batting between “Rangapahar” “Thaheku” cricket teams on Oc-tober 29, 2008. (Morung Photos)

The final match between Rangapahar and Thaheku crick-et teams in progress at the “1st Annual Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament” on October 29. This tourney was organized by Ravel Club Toulazou. (Morung Photos)

1st Annual Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament

MOKOKCHUNG, OC-TOBER 29 (DIPR): The 5th Kilenkaba Memorial Table Tennis Tournament organized by Mokokchung District Table Tennis Asso-ciation (MDTTA) was held on 28th October 2008 at Badminton Indoor Stadium, Imkongliba Sports Com-plex Mokokchung. District Public Relations Officer Mokokchung, L. Chubalep-zuk Ao graced the inaugural function as the Chief Guest.

In his inaugural speech the Chief Guest extended his appreciation to the or-ganizer for providing a plat-form for the energetic youths

to expose and develop their hidden talents. He also said that till recent past Games & Sports was merely an enter-tainment but with the pace of time it has grown into one of the most lucrative profes-sions the world over. He fur-ther maintained that in or-der to achieve success in life, one needs to keep in mind the three Ds, that is Disci-pline, Dedication & Deter-mination.

Earlier in the pro-gramme Youth Evangelist, MTBA, Yanglu pronounced the invocation and President MDTTA Lipok delivered the welcome address.

The 5th Kilenkaba Memorial Table Tennis Tournament or-ganized by Mokokchung District Table Tennis Association (MDTTA) held on October 28, at Badminton Indoor Stadium, Imkongliba Sports Complex Mokokchung. District Public Relations Officer Mokokchung, L. Chubalepzuk Ao is getting introduced to the players. (DPRO Mokokchung)

5th Kilenkaba Memorial TT Tournament gets underway

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 29 (MExN): The Dimapur District Table Tennis Asso-ciation (DDTTA) today fe-licitated the Dimapur team of Table Tennis (TT) players who took part and won in the recently held Inter-district- cum Nagaland Open Table Tennis Championship held at Kohima. A 16 member team represented Dimapur district and for the first time emerged the overall champi-ons. District Sports Officer, Nizheto Awomi, said that the win is a small step but a great one while urging the

players not to let “success get into their head.” The DSO assured that the Nagaland Table Tennis Association is doing everything within its reach to revive and promote the sport and mentioned that the association has brought coaches from outside the state to develop the game.

President of DDTTA while applauding the play-ers for their performance at Kohima, said that DDTTA is dedicated to uplift sport particularly TT. “We want to uplift youths through sports.

DDTTA felicitated

BUENOS AIRES, OCTO-BER 29 (AFP): Argentinian football legend Diego Mara-dona capped a remarkable comeback from a near fatal heart attack four years ago to be named coach of the na-tional side here. Maradona, who will be 48 on Thursday and who has no top level coaching experience, said Tuesday he hoped to repeat the success of the 1986 World Cup when as a player he in-

spired them virtually single-handedly to the title.

He will be assisted in that mission of winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa by another integral member of the 1986 set-up coach Car-los Bilardo, who will be the director of football. Their respective roles were rub-berstamped at a meeting with Argentinian Football Association president Julio Grondona.

"During the conversa-tion with Grondona and Bi-lardo it became clear that I was to coach the team," said Maradona, whose interna-tional playing career came to an ignominious end when he failed a dope test at the 1994 World Cup finals. "However, I am going to listen to ev-erything Bilardo has to say. He is going to help me as we can't leave someone with the success, experience and

knowledge he brings on the sidelines.

"Grondona's ideas are the same as mine and Bi-lardo's. My job will be to go and watch the players as of-ten as possible. The idea is to return the squad to the spirit of 1986." Maradona - who also was part of the Argen-tinian side that muscled its way into the 1990 final only to have two players sent off as they lost 1-0 to then West

Germany - won crucial sup-port last week in his bid to become coach when the man charged with finding Alfio Basile's successor threw his weight behind the World Cup winning skipper.

"I'd like Maradona to be the next coach," said Noray Nakis, the president of the Argentina Football Associa-tion (AFA) selection com-mission. Basile resigned a fortnight ago after a World

Cup qualifying defeat to Chile which left them in third place after 10 matches, seven points adrift of leaders Paraguay. Maradona faced competition for the job from Carlos Bianchi, the former coach of Boca Juniors, whom he led to four national league titles, San Lorenzo coach Miguel Angel Russo and Sergio Batista who took the Under-23 squad to Olympic gold in Beijing in August.

MARADONA POISED to become Argentina coach

Argentina's Diego Maradona, holding up the trophy, is carried on shoulders as he celebrates at the end of the World Cup soccer final game against West Germany at the Atzeca Stadium, in Mexico City, in this June 29, 1986, file photo. Argentina won 3-2. Maradona and Argentinean coach Carlos Bilardo have been asked to lead Argentina by Julio Grondona, head of the Argentine Football Association, Tuesday, Octobre 28. (AP Photo/file)

FIA says Ferrari misinformed over engine

CHICAGO, OCTOBER 29 (REUTERS): Using banned drugs and being sent to jail for lying about it had tarnished her Olym-pic memory, disgraced U.S. sprinter Marion Jones has admitted in a tear-filled in-terview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Jones, who was released from prison last month after serving six months for lying to federal prosecutors about her ste-roid use, was stripped of her three gold and two bronze Sydney Olympic medals by the International Olympic Committee.

"It wasn't as difficult to give back the medals because it's not about the hardware," the 33-year-old told Winfrey in a taped interview, which will be

broadcast in the United States on Wednesday. "But it's the memory that will be tarnished." Jones admitted last year to lying to prosecu-tors about her steroid use and was also found guilty of misleading investigators about a cheque fraud case involving her ex-boyfriend, former 100-metres world record holder Tim Mont-gomery.

Jones said she remem-bered the moment she de-cided to lie about her drug use -- when prosecutors showed her a sample of tet-rahydrogestrinone (THG), which was also known as "the clear." "I knew that I had taken that substance, I made the decision that I was gonna lie and I was gonna, you know, try and cover it

Jones tells Oprah Olympic memory will be tarnishedup," she said. Jones broke down in tears while reading from a letter she wrote to her children while in prison. "I truly believe that the reason I made the awful mistake and a few thereafter was be-cause I didn't love myself enough to tell the truth."

In this photo released by Harpo Productions, Inc., for-mer Olympic medalist Mari-on Jones, left, is shown with talk-show host Oprah Win-frey during taping of the "The Oprah Winfrey Show," in Chi-cago on Oct. 24, 2008. Jones' appearance on the show air-ing Wednesday, Oct. 29 will be the disgraced track star's first interview since she was released Sept. 5 from a Texas federal prison after complet-ing most of her six-month sentence for lying about ste-roid use. (AP Photo)

Symond’s omission puzzles MoodyMELBOURNE, OCTO-BER 29 (PTI): With Austra-lia struggling to keep their domination in world cricket intact, their reluctance to call on Andrew Symonds for the ongoing India tour puz-zles Western Australia coach Tom Moody, who feels there is more to the "gone fishing" story than meets the eye. Moody wondered why Sy-monds, whose explosive bat-ting and part-time off-spin have helped Australia in the past, was left out of the four-match Test series in India and that too for an offence like missing a regulation team meeting to go fishing in Darwin in August.

"Without knowing the actual details of what the discipline is, the only thing we know as the public is that Andrew Symonds went fish-ing and missed a meeting," Moody was quoted as say-ing by the 'Australian As-sociated Press'. "So if that's the case he's serving a pret-ty long penalty. Obviously there must be more there. That's why he's playing for Queensland and not Aus-tralia," said the cricketer-turned-coach.

"There's obviously un-derlying reasons why Sy-monds is still here in Aus-tralia but I think if you put aside all the issues that may

be underlying and pick your best Australian team to play in the third Test match in Delhi, Symonds would probably be one of the first guys you would pencil in. "He's one player that can take away the game from the opposition with the bat, and his off-spin has proven to be invaluable given the lack of experience we have in that department." Though the 33-year-old Symonds has apologised for the fishing incident, he was not consid-ered for the series against In-dia even after spinner Bryce McGain and opener Phil Jaques were forced to return home due to injury.

MILAN, OCTOBER 29 (REUTERS): Ferrari's board was misinformed when it threatened to pull out of For-mula One if standard engines for all teams were brought in from 2010, the sport's gov-erning body said on Tues-day. Ferrari's board said on Monday it would review the team's presence in Formula One if the plans went ahead as they "would detract from the entire raison d'etre" of

the sport where technologi-cal competition is key. Toy-ota have also suggested they would consider pulling out if the proposal was adopted.

The International Au-tomobile Federation (FIA) tried to calm worries. "It seems the Ferrari Board were misinformed," a state-ment read. "The FIA has offered the teams three op-tions, one of which is the so-called standard engine, and

another that the manufac-turers should jointly guar-antee to supply power trains to the independent teams for less than five million euros ($6.26 million) per season." Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, also head of the Formula One Teams As-sociation (FOTA), recently met FIA chief Max Mos-ley to discuss cost-cutting measures brought on by the global financial crisis.

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (PTI): Hitting back at crit-ics suggesting that ageing se-niors quit the game, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has said it should be left to indi-viduals and felt "not enough respect" is shown to players who have made major contri-butions. .

"We all know when to move away from the sport. But people have their opin-ions. Sometimes these opin-ions are not correct. But still

one is made to believe that yes this is the right opinion and all kinds.

"I think this should be left to an individual. Having said this, we have played enough to know exactly when to move away from the game. The in-dividuals will take their deci-sions when feel it's the right time," he told NDTV when asked about speculation over retirement of some players. Tendulkar said not only him but a lot of others felt that

there was not enough respect shown to the players who had made major contributions.

"And this is extremely im-portant". I think there should be some respect shown and it doesn't happen in any other country. I feel it's extremely important that you show re-spect. "I am not saying you cannot criticise them. But you got to figure out in which direction you are going. And then, if it is a constructive crit-icism, then it's fine," he said.

‘Quitting should be left to individuals’

CMYK

CMYK

The Morung Express ThursdayDimapur 1130 October 2008Ent /Tab lo id

It's been just over two years since their 500,000 Pounds wedding, but Cheryl and Ashley Cole are already planning to re-new their vows. The couple's marriage

was rocked earlier this year when hairdresser Aimee Walton claimed she slept with the Chel-sea defender last December. After working through their problems over the year, Cheryl, 25, and Ashley, 27, have finally put their trou-bles behind them and looking forward to the future. After getting their marriage back on track, sources tell OK! magazine the pair are planning to renew their vows in a low-key se-cret ceremony. Unlike their original wedding which was sold in an exclusive photo deal to the publication for G1million, this time the press will not be invited.

Cheryl tells the magazine: 'We're a work in progress. We're going to build our married life together, not thinking about what if it ever ends. 'I wasn't looking for a relationship when I met Ashley and certainly not a long-term one. But pretty soon after I met him I knew some-thing was different and I knew I had never felt that before. He does little things now that he doesn't even know he's doing. My heart goes and I just think, God you're so perfect.'

The couple are yet to set a date for their renewal, but it is expected they will 'wed' again in the New Year after Cheryl's work on The X Factor is completed. Cheryl and Ash-

PRIME TIME06:00 - Fashion House; 07:00 - Friday Night Lights; 08:00 - Seinfeld; 08:30 - Friends; 09:00 - Hope And Faith; 09:30 - Grey’s Anatomy; 10:30 - America’s Got Talent; 12:00 -

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Jeremy Piven’s Journey Of A Lifetime; 13:00 - Anacondas With Nigel Marven; 14:00 - Michael Wood: The Story Of India; 15:00 - Guge : The Lost Kingdom Of Tibet; 16:00 - Snow Leopards - Beyond The Myth; 17:00 - Mega Builders 2; 18:00 - Natural World; 19:00 - Meerkats With NigEl Marven; 20:00 - Wildest South America; 21:00 - Life In Cold Blood; 22:00 - World’s Most Dangerous Sports Events; 23:00 - Extreme Machines Ii; 00:00 - Hunters; 01:00 - Telebrands; 02:00 - Extreme Machines Ii; 03:00 - Natural World; 04:00 - World’s Most Dangerous Sports Events; 05:00 - Extreme Machines Ii

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Love Story; 21:00 - The Invisible; 23:05 - Pearl Harbor; 02:30 - Rising Sun; 04:35 - Thank You For Smoking

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Classics 2007; 5:00 - Asian Festival Of Speed; 6:00 - Wwe Specials:cyber Sunday; 9:00 - Icl Hls - Dhaka V Hydrabad; 10:00 - Mutv; 13:00 - Gillette World Of Sports; 13:30 - Hockey Classics 2007; 14:00 - Great Centuries :- Jacques Kallis ; 14:30 - Icl Hls - Dhaka V Hydrabad; 15:30 - Fifa: Futbol Mundial; 16:00 - Simply The Best; 16:30 - Wwe: Raw; 18:30 - Icl 20-20 - Preview: Delhi V Mumbai; 19:30 - Icl 20-20 : DelhI V Mumbai; 22:30 - Icl 20-20 - Review: Delhi V Mumbai; 23:00 - Sportsnight; 23:30 - Wwe: Raw

03:45 - Ransom; 06:15 - The Fever; 08:00 - Fortress 2; 09:45 - Chameleon Ii - Death Match; 11:30 - Hollywood’s 10 Best; 12:00 - Queen Of The Damned; 14:00 - The Making Of Blades Of Glory; 14:15 -

Flushed Away; 16:00 - Hollywood One On One 13; 16:30 - Chasing Liberty; 18:45 - Bad News Bears; 21:00 - Enter The Dragon; 23:00 - Ultraviolet; 00:45 - Grendel; 02:30 - Once Upon A Time In China V; 04:30 - The Adventures Of Brer Rabbit

06:00 - Sant Nirankari; 06:30 - The Faith Show; 07:00 - Enjoying Everyday Life; 07:25 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 07:30 - Sales Slot; 07:55 - Exposure Jhalak; 08:00 - Teleshopping; 08:25 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 08:30 - Jai Ganesh; 09:00 - Ramayan; 09:30 - Naaginn; 10:00 - Vivaah; 10:30 - Betiyann; 11:00 - Maayka; 11:30 - Saat Phere; 12:00 - Dulhann; 12:30 -

Kasamh Se; 13:00 - Saath Saath; 13:30 - Rakhi; 14:00 - Teen Bahuraaniyaan; 14:30 - Jhoome Jiiya Re; 15:00 - Dulhann; 15:30 - Maayka; 16:00 - Saat Phere; 16:30 - Kahani Ab Tak; 17:00 - Teen Bahuraaniyaan; 17:30 - Betiyann; 18:00 - Kasamh Se; 18:30 - Waaris; 19:00 - Vivaah; 19:30 - Parrivaar; 20:00 - Dulhann; 20:30 - Maayka; 21:00 - Kasamh Se; 21:30 - Saat Phere; 22:00 - Betiyann; 22:30 - Ranbir Rano; 23:00 - Waaris; 23:30 - Kasamh Se; 23:55 - Exposure Ek Nazar; 00:00 - Asian Sky Shop; 00:55 - Exposure; 01:00 - Asian Sky Shop; 02:00 - Khana Khazana; 02:30 - Namaste Cinema; 03:00 - Rakhi; 03:30 - Kahani Ab Tak; 04:00 - Vivaah; 04:30 - Urja; 05:00 - Ramayan; 05:30 - Narseva Narayan Seva

06:00 - Madhur Jaffrey’s Flavours Of India; 06:30 - Uttaranchal; 07:00 - Food Paradise ; 08:00 - Travel Spies; 09:00 - Adventures Of The Ladies Tailor; 09:30 - Feast India;

10:00 - Shear Genius; 11:00 - Trading Spaces 4; 12:00 - Street Customs; 13:00 - Nigella Express ; 13:30 - Madhur Jaffrey’s Flavours Of India ; 14:00 - Chhattisgarh - The Tribal Planet ; 14:30 - Madhur Jaffrey’s Flavours Of India ; 15:00 - Monster House; 16:00 - Food Paradise ; 17:00 - La Ink ; 18:00 - Project Runway 2 ; 19:00 - Indian REndezvous ; 19:30 - Finest Hotels In The World ; 20:00 - Seven Wonders ; 21:00 - Luxury Yachts ; 22:00 - Dream Hotels; 22:30 - Feast Bazaar Year 2006; 23:00 - Vegas Bikefest; 00:00 - Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations; 01:00 - Luxury Yachts ; 02:00 - Travel Spies; 03:00 - Take Home Chef 2 ; 03:30 - Cooking It; 04:00 - Shear Genius; 05:00 - Superhomes 2; 05:30 - Amazing Vacation Homes

06:00 - Shararat; 06:30 - Exotica; 07:00 - Body And Soul; 07:30 - Tvc Sky Shop; 08:30 - Instant Khichdi; 09:00 - Shaka Laka Boom Boom; 09:30 - Son Pari; 10:00 - Mum Tum Aur Hum; 10:30 - Shararat; 11:00 -

Hatim; 12:00 - Ssshhhh Phir Koi Hai; 13:00 - Paani Puri; 14:00 - Dill Mill Gayye; 14:30 - Mile Jab Hum Tum; 15:00 - Gulebhakavali Katha ; 18:30 - Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai; 19:00 - Dill Mill Gayye; 19:30 - Mile Jab Hum Tum; 20:00 - Anu Ki Ho Gayi; 20:30 - Dill Mill Gayye; 21:00 - Mile Jab Hum Tum; 21:30 - The GReat Indian Laughter Challenge Iv; 22:30 - Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai; 23:00 - Dill Mill Gayye; 23:30 - Mile Jab Hum Tum; 00:00 - Siddhanth; 01:00 - The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Iv; 02:00 - Mile Jab Hum Tum; 03:00 - The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Iv; 04:00 - Ssshhhh Phir Koi Hai; 05:00 - Mile Jab Hum Tum

06:00 - Hum Ladkiyan; 06:30 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 07:00 - Telebrands; 07:30 - Teleshopping; 08:30 - Ramji Londonwaley; 12:00 - Hum Ladkiyan; 12:30 - Aathvaan Vachan; 13:00 - Waqt Batayega Kaun; 13:30 - Sujata; 14:00 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 14:30 - Hum Ladkiyan; 15:00 - Aathvaan Vachan; 15:30 - Waqt Batayega Kaun; 16:00 - Babul

Ka Aangann; 16:30 - Sujata; 17:00 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 17:30 - Aathvaan Vachan; 18:00 - Hum Ladkiyan; 18:30 - Babul Ka Aangann; 19:00 - Jai Hanuman; 19:30 - Sujata; 20:00 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 20:30 - Hum Ladkiyan; 21:00 - Aathvaan Vachan; 21:30 - Babul Ka Aangann; 22:00 - Sujata; 22:30 - Waqt Batayega Kaun; 23:00 - Indian Idol 4; 00:00 - Telebrands; 00:30 - Teleshopping; 01:00 - Sujata; 01:30 - Waqt Batayega Kaun; 02:00 - Babul Ka Aangann; 02:30 - Aathvaan Vachan; 03:00 - Hum Ladkiyan; 03:30 - Meet Mila De Rabba; 04:00 - Devi; 04:30 - Jai Hanuman; 05:00 - Babul Ka Aangann; 05:30 - Aathvaan Vachan

Kenei Chalie NSACS Naga Idol 3.08 contestant No-01 performs during the inaugural func-tion of 8th Open Basketball Championship 2008 at Kohima Local Ground on Tuesday.

Jennifer Aniston has enjoyed a date with Gerard Butler - at the same venue she was seen dining with John

Mayer days earlier.The former ‘Friends' ac-

tress - who recently fuelled rumours she had reconciled with the ‘Gravity' singer af-ter they were seen together several times - dined at the

Tower Bar with the ‘300' ac-tor, less than a week after she was seen "being intimate" at the Los Angeles venue with ex-boyfriend John.

A source revealed to a New York newspaper: "Jen-nifer and Gerard were very affectionate to each other. There was another man at the table, but he looked like he was a chaperone - or just

there to stop tongues wag-ging. They basically ignored him."

Gerard, 38, recently denied he was dating the 39-year-old actress, saying: "This came from a seven-minute conversation that we had at the Toronto Film Festival at a big party. And the next minute it's in all the papers."

Aniston’s hot date...and it’s not with John!

Warner Brothers to Produce Live-Action Ninja Scrolleonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way to produce with Watchmen film script-writer The Variety entertainment news source reports that Warner Brothers and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way

production company have acquired the live-action adaptation rights for Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll action anime film from the Madhouse anime stu-dio. Kawajiri wrote this tale about a wandering ninja fighting a conspiracy of demons, and he also di-rected the original anime with ultraviolent yet fluid animation. Alex Tse (Watchmen, The Illustrated Man) is slated to write the live-action version, but DiCaprio himself is not planning on acting in the film. Appian Way's Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Mike Ireland will produce with Madhouse itself.

Warner and Appian Way have already ac-quired the rights to produce two live-action films based on Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira manga. Kil-loran is also planning to produce the Akira project as well. Manga Entertainment released the origi-nal 1993 Ninja Scroll anime film in North Ameri-ca, while Urban Vision helped produce and later released the 2003 television series adapation. The American publisher WildStorm created its comic book take on the story in 2006. Madhouse revealed at Anime Expo 2008 that it was still plan-ning a sequel to the original anime film.

L

Erstwhile James Bond star Sir Sean Connery has signed up to star in ‘Quest of Sheher-zade’, based on the legendary 1001 Arabi-an Nights tale, alongside Orlando Bloom,

according to reports. The 78-year-old, who had turned his back on acting in recent years, has been missing from the big screen since 2003''s ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’.

However, now the actor is back with a bang, and the news was revealed by the film's female lead, Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley, who will play an Iranian princess. "Sean Connery is there in the film and recently Orlando Bloom was also signed,” Contactmusic quoted her, as telling British publication The London Pa-per. “They are planning to start the shooting from January next year,” she added.

Celina set to star with Sean Connery,

Orlando Bloom

Cheryl and Ashley Cole planning to renew wedding vows

Sure, it's only been a few months since Angelina Jolie gave birth to twins Vi-vienne and Knox,

but the actress and her baby-daddy Brad Pitt are not only already plotting the next addition to their family — they're talking about getting

hitched! “Angelina has always

toyed with the idea of getting married

to Brad,” a family friend reveals in the new issue of OK!. “She’s always followed her gut

instincts in life, love and family. As the kids

get older and they add to their brood, they want

to make as few compli-cations as possible.”By

Angie’s own admission, the kids are beginning to wonder when their par-ents will walk down the aisle. “We’ve done every-thing backwards,” she con-fessed recently to the Ital-ian edition of Vanity Fair. As for the nuptials them-selves, the insider tells OK! "Don't expect some lavish Hollywood wedding. And neither of them are reli-gious, so it will be simple."

Another thing to be sure of is that the spontaneous couple won't be giving ev-eryone a huge heads-up on the date. “They’ll wake up one morning and know it’s the right time,” adds the pal. “With everything that they do, the decisions they make are for the greater good of the children and the family.”

Brangelina Wedding & Adoption Details!

ley originally married in a star-studded cer-emony at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire in July 2006 - 21 months after they started dating. The singer's Girls Aloud bandmates were her bridesmaids and the music was provided by U.S. soul singer John Legend. Despite stand-ing by her husband following the allegations, Cheryl stopped wearing her wedding ring and only put it back on again last month. Appear-ing on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross last month, she said: 'I was tempted to put it [the ring] back on - in his head.'

In Girls Aloud's new autobiography Dreams That Glitter, Cheryl revealed her un-usual approach to marriage: 'People make mis-takes, stuff happens. I believe everyone should be a free spirit. Even in my marriage, Ashley's a free spirit. I'm not his keeper. I believe in let-ting people live their lives and be free, so Ashley can have time with his friends when he wants, he can go out when he wants. I'm not the type of person to ring him and be like: "Where are you, who are you with, what's happening, what time will you be in, why haven't you answered your phone?" I've been that person in the past and I don't like it. I won't let anything change me and make me revert to being that type of girl, because it's not me.'

Meanwhile, Girls Aloud were celebrating their first number one in four years when The Promise entered at the top spot on Sunday.

CMYK

CMYK

Middle

Published, Printed and Edited by Aküm Longchari on behalf of Morung for Indigenous Affairs and JustPeace from House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur at Themba Printers and Telecommunications, Padum Pukhuri Village, Dimapur, Nagaland. Email : editor@morungexpress.com/newsdesk@morungexpress.com, morung@gmail.com. RNI No : NAGENG /2005/15430. House No.4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur 797112, Nagaland. Phone: Dimapur -(03862) News Desk- 281043, Admin -236871, Fax: (03862) 235194, Kohima - (0370) 2291952

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The

8th Open Basketball C’ship enters second dayOur CorrespondentKohima | October 29

THE 8TH Open Basketball Championship 2008 under the aegis of Nagaland Basketball Association and Suncity, Ko-hima entered second day today here in the Kohima Local Ground. The second day witnessed nine league matches. Meanwhile, the first match on October 30 will start at 8:00 between St. Joseph College and Evergreen Club.

RESULT OF 2ND DAY LEAGUE MATCHESDoberman defeated Hoopers 34-09Air Hoggs defeated Wolfhounds 30-13Hill Knights defeated Taurus 26-14Dorians defeated Mezhurium (MHSS) 32-12Evergreen Club defeated Underdoggs 22-12Werewolves Junior defeated Hoopers 35-18Point 12 defeated Phezhu Boyz 27 -26Taurus defeated Stallions 36-06Chandmari HSS defeated Blazing Raiders 22-21

State Level Inter District Higher Secondary & High school tourneyKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (OUR CORRESPON-DENT): The Ist State Level Inter-District Higher Sec-ondary and High Schools Tournament 2008 entered the second day here today at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

DAY ONE RESULT1500 mtrs race (Boys): Ist- Keviselhou, Kohima, 2nd- Longche, Kohima, 3rd- Nuzu, Phek.Long Jump (Boys): Ist- Vesatha, Phek, 2nd- Seke-toukho, Kohima, third- Nzauhutbo, Peren.Discuss throw (Boys): Ist- Partho, Dimapur, 2nd- Thejasetuo, Kohima, third- Seketoukho, Kohima.800 mtrs race (Boys): Ist- Keviselhou, Kohima, 2nd- Dziesezotuo, Kohima, third- Benchunyapan, Mokokchung.Discuss throw (Girls): Ist- Denise, Kohima, 2nd- Bendangrenla, Mokokchung, 3rd- Bendangliba, Mokokchung.Long Jump (Girls): Ist- Imtilemla, Mokokchung, 2nd- Aloly, Zunheboto, 3rd- Kezhasale, Kohima.Shot Put (Girls): Ist- Awan, Dimapur, 2nd- Bendan-grenla, Mokokchung, 3rd- Bendanglila, Mokokchung.

DAY 2 RESULT100 mtrs race (Boys): Ist- Vesatha, Phek, 2nd- Kula-kan, Dimapur, 3rd- Jonathan, Tuensang.100 mtrs (Girls): Ist- Ngulieneinuo, Dimapur, 2nd- Medohunuo, Dimapur, 3rd- Songsetola, Tuensang.200 mtrs (Boys): Ist- Kulakan, Dimapur, 2nd- Vesatha, 3rd- Tsuyimtong, Mokokchung.200 mtrs (Girls): Ist- Ngulieneinuo, Dimapur, 2nd- Medohunuo, Dimapur, 3rd- Dziesesanuo, Kohima.800 mtrs (Boys): Ist- Keviselhou, Kohima, 2nd- Dz-iesezotuo, Kohima, 3rd- Benchunyapan, Mokokc-hung.800 mtrs (Girls): Ist- Ngulieneinuo, Dimapur, 2nd- Keneilenuo, Dimapur, 3rd- Songsetola, Tuensang.High Jump (Boys): Ist- Yupong, Tuensang, 2nd- Ve-huto, Phek and Sunie, Tuensang.High Jump (Girls): Ist: Kuvevolu, Dimapur, 2nd- Muleshelu, Phek and R. Kamjila, Tuensang.Shot Put (Boys): Ist- Seketoukho, Kohima, 2nd- The-jasetuo, Kohima, 3rd- Partho, Tuensang.

Basketball match

SAO PAULO, OCTOBER 29 (REUTERS): England expects Lewis Hamilton to become Formula One's youngest world champion in Brazil on Sunday at the same circuit where last year he buckled under pressure and blew his chance. Brazil hopes Ferrari's Felipe Massa can somehow upset the odds and, with his home Interla-gos crowd roaring him on, be crowned the country's first champion since the late Ayrton Senna in 1991. After last year's astonishing fina-le, with Ferrari's Kimi Rai-kkonen clawing back a sev-en-point deficit to prevent Hamilton becoming the first rookie to take the title, any-thing could happen.

The only certainty is there will be a first-time champion. Hamilton, 23, is back with another seven-point advantage while Mas-sa must win and hope the hand of fate favours him. All the McLaren driver has to do, to become Britain's first champion since Damon Hill in 1996 and his team's first since Mika Hakkinen in 1999, is finish fifth. That proved beyond him at Inter-lagos last year, despite start-ing alongside Massa on the front row, when he struggled

to seventh place.This time Formula

One's first black driver is de-termined to make amends and show he has learned from the past by playing it safe. "I remember last year, going into the final race, I was really on the back foot," he told Britain's Observer newspaper. "I felt the whole country, the whole world ... I just felt this huge weight on my shoulders. I went in and made several mistakes and we dropped back. This year, because I've experienced it, I'm much better prepared."

Massa will be favourite to win the race but, even if he ends up with six victo-ries to Hamilton's five this season, it could all be in vain for a driver who has success-fully shrugged off his im-age as a supporting act at Ferrari. Previously one of the more under-estimated competitors on the starting grid, Massa has shown he is a serious contender. "I have a tougher job than Lewis in terms of the points situation but my own objective for the weekend is much more straightforward than his," he told Ferrari's website (www.ferrariworld.com).

"The only thing I am thinking about is winning.

After that the matter is not in my hands and we will have to wait and see exact-ly what and how much we have won." Raikkonen won in Brazil last year, with help from Massa, and he will be called on to secure the one-two unless Massa is out of the reckoning. With the con-structors' title still to be de-cided, Ferrari lead McLaren by 11 points with 18 still to be won, Hamilton's team mate Heikki Kovalainen must go for victory. "I want to be able to help the team and Lewis wherever necessary. The easiest way to do that is by running at the front," said the Finn.

Hamilton will also need to keep an eye out for Re-nault's Fernando Alonso, his former team mate who favours Massa, and BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica as potential trouble. Double world champion Alonso, winner in Singapore and Ja-pan, has been in the top four in his last five races and also on the podium in Brazil in four of his five previous vis-its. Kubica, a title contender until the penultimate race, needs to score enough points to prevent Raikkonen from snatching overall third place from him.

Lewis Hamilton poised to become youngest champ

DAN govt. sharpening sport skillsKOHIMA, OCTOBER 29 (DIPR): The inaugural pro-gramme of the state level tournament 2008 of govern-ment higher secondary and high schools was held on Oc-tober 28, 2008 at Indira Gan-dhi Stadium Kohima with Speaker, Nagaland Legis-lative Assembly, Kiyanilie Peseyie as the chief guest.

Addressing the gather-ing Kiyanilie Peseyie said that participating in dif-ferent forms of games and sports gives abundant ex-ercise not only to body but also to mind, talent, psy-chology which is the key factor for success in life. He encouraged the students to take sports and games as a suitable vocation instead of looking for other alterna-tives and appealed to the students’ community to em-bark upon the field of games and sports with dedication and determination.

The Speaker added that the present DAN govern-ment is trying its best to give proper training and oppor-tunities to all the youths to sharpen their gifted sporting skills to emerge as leading

sports personalities to excel in the arena of games and sports. He also added that he has great expectations that this tournament will provide ample opportunity to all the students to demon-strate their talents and the quality of sports and excel-lence in the field. The chief guest declared the tourna-ment open and wished good luck to all the students.

The programme was

chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, School Educa-tion, Banuo Z. Jamir. Wel-come address was delivered by Director, School Educa-tion, Nagaland, Nipusilie Angami. Special number was presented by Govern-ment Higher Secondary School, Kohima, while oath taking was administered by chief marshal of the tourna-ment, which was followed by light refreshment.

Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Kiyanilie Peseyie speaking as the chief guest at the state level tournament 2008 of government higher secondary and high schools on October 28, at Indira Gandhi Stadium Kohima. (DIPR Photo)

India's Gautam Gambhir, center, is congratulated by Australian Brett Lee as Indian V.V.S. Laxman, right, looks on as they return after end of play on the first day of their third cricket test match in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, October 29. Gambhir scored his second hundred in consecutive matches with an un-beaten 149 Wednesday. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 29 (AP): Back-to-back cen-turies have led India opener Gautam Gambhir to hope this test series against Aus-tralia is the turning point of his career. Gambhir struck an excellent and unbeaten

149 on the first day of the third test to put India on track for a huge first innings total after reaching 296 for three at stumps.

The century - the third of the 27-year-old's career – followed Gambhir's double

of 67 and 104 in the 320-run win over Australia in Mo-hali last week. Before the series Gambhir, who is play-ing his 20th test, was under pressure for not converting regular half-centuries into big scores. "The important

thing was I knew it was just around the corner," he said. "If I could just get one hun-dred maybe that would be the turning point in my ca-reer. The hundred in Mohali really worked and I'm much more relaxed."

Gambhir scored freely after lunch and brought up his 100 with a six off pace-man Shane Watson - with the milestone coming from 190 balls with 15 fours.

He also engaged in regu-lar arguments with the Aus-

Gambhir hopes back-to-back 100s a turning point

tralians and was convinced they could not get him out. Gambhir played his first test against Australia in 2004 and after scoring just 3 and 1 used the failures as motivation to fight back. "At that time I had a dream to score against Australia and that dream is coming true," he said. "My debut was not a great experience, now things are going my way."

Vice-captain Michael Clarke said it would be cru-cial to

Australia's chances to remove Gambhir on the sec-ond morning. "He played very well and he's been in good touch the whole series," Clarke said. "We need to bowl well with the new ball and get him out early."

The visiting attack struggled again for impact and a key disappointment was the legspin of Cameron White, who was preferred ahead of rookie offspinner Jason Krejza.

White, in his third test as a bits-and-pieces allrounder, was struck for 27 runs from four overs in the middle ses-sion and was not used again - adding to Australias prob-lems with the over-rate and containing India. "The way me and Sachin (Tendulkar) played against Cameron White, I don't think they had any option to continue with him," Gambhir said. "The only option was to get some other bowler."

Gambhir said spin would play "a major role" over the remainder of the match and if he's right that will only add to Australia's concerns.