‘Suspension of Operation Pact Signs’

Mizoram government and the Manipur-based Hmar People’s Convention – Democrats (HPC-D) on Thursday signed Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact after holding talks in Aizawl.

Official sources told that the negotiations were held under cordial atmosphere and the SoO would be effective for six months and could be extended if agreed by both the parties.

According to the SoO pact, the HPC-D men would be allowed free movement anywhere in the state without firearms and explosives.

The state police and para-military force personnel would not launch any operation against the HPC-D members unless the latter violate the terms and conditions of the SoO.

The Hmar militants were not allowed to indulge in illegal and violent activities in Mizoram including extortion and intimidation and would not do anything to prevent the people from exercising free franchise.

A joint monitoring committee was formed in which the state SP, CID (SB) was appointed as the chairman and three members from both the parties.

The next round of talks would be held after the February 23 by-election to the Chalfilh Assembly seat, the officials added.

-TST

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AMUDO demands

Source:

Imphal, January 31 2013: The All Manipur United Disabled Organisation (AMUDO) has threatened to launch all kinds of agitation if a separate Commissioner for persons with disabilities is not appointed by February 28 .

Speaking to media persons at their office today, AMUDO chairman Tongbram Romeo alleged that the disabled persons are being neglected by the Government of Manipur.

To enable disabled persons live as normal persons, a separate Commissioner should be appointed in addition to formulating an exclusive policy.

In case the Government fails to address these demands by February 28, AMUDO would launch different modes of agitation.

He said that Handicapped Development Foundation secretary Sapam Jaswanta has been expelled from AMUDO for working against the union.

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‘Northeast States on Top in Tobacco Consumption Chart’

According to a report of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), Manipur ranks fifth among the States of India in terms of tobacco consumption.

Global Adult Tobacco Survey was conducted across the country in 2009-10 by the International Institute for Population Science under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the survey report, the top five tobacco consuming States are Mizoram (67 pc), Nagaland (57 pc), Tripura (55 pc), Meghalaya (55 pc) and Manipur (54 pc).

On the other end of the spectrum is Goa which has been listed as the lowest consumer of tobacco products.

The average rate of tobacco consumption for the whole country is 35 per cent. Among the tobacco consumers of Manipur, males constitute 66.6 per cent and females 41.8 per cent.

The survey report pointed out that 90 per cent of mouth/oral cancer cases are caused by consumption of tobacco products. 80 per cent of lung cancer cases, 60 per cent of lung infections and 60 per cent of heart attack cases were also attributed to consumption of tobacco products.

A fact-sheet of GATS was released today at Hotel Classic under the aegis of the Directorate of Health Services and World Health Organisation where RD &PR Minister Francis Ngajokpa, MLA Brajabidhu and Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) R Muivah graced the function as chief guest, guest of honour and president respectively.

After releasing the fact-sheet, Francis Ngajokpa observed that tobacco consumption has not diminished a bit even though people known the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

He invited the Directorate of Health Services to forward recommendations to the State Government about the possible measures which can create thorough awareness among the people on the harmful effects of tobacco on health and economy of the State, and wean them away from their habits of tobacco consumption.

State nodal officer of the National Tobacco Control Programme Dr K Komolini said that there was a legislation which was aimed at curbing tobacco consumption in the country.

Along with enactment of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003, the Government of India ratified the WHO’s Convention on Tobacco Control Frameworks.

The Government of India launched the National Tobacco Control Programme in 2007-08 and the same is implemented in 21 States and Union Territories.

After the State Tobacco Control Cell was set up under the National Tobacco Control Programme, the cell has been working to check tobacco consumption in Manipur, Komolini said. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare CMO Dr L Swasticharan gave a power-point presentation GATS Manipur fact-sheet.

Two cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment narrated their own experiences during the function which was also attended by Dr Tomba, Dr Dhaballi,, Dr Mohon and others.

-TSE

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A camera that lets you tweet

Reuters

The Samsung Galaxy Camera during the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin, August 29, 2012.

London – Will Dean tries out the Samsung Galaxy camera…

What is it?

Good question. It’s a fairly high-end pocket camera with an equally good smartphone stuck on the back. Which, after a few days, feels less ridiculous than it sounds. Samsung is flogging it as “Camera. Reborn”, which isn’t too far off the mark but whether you’d want to adopt it or not depends on your needs.

It’s certainly an interesting bit of kit, but could well fall into too niche of a gap between those who want a top-level camera and those who want a quick-sharing device.

Does it work?

Wi-Fi connectivity is increasingly common on a lot of new cameras, which means you can take decent shots and upload them wherever you want. Being fitted with a familiar touchscreen, Android 4.1 Jellybean OS, the Galaxy camera makes it wonderfully easy, once you’ve synced all your accounts, to share high-resolution images via email, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and – if you’re a cloud kind of person – storage apps such as Dropbox. Doing everything apart from making phone calls (though you could Skype, easily) it could act as your main smart device; in fact, it would be great for kids if it were £250 cheaper.

I wasn’t able to test out the 3G capabilities of the Galaxy Camera, but, frankly, it feels like a superfluous extra anyway. If you’re the kind of person willing to splash almost £400 on an Android-capable camera, then odds are you’ll have a smartphone anyway. It’s nice that it’s there, but unless you’re someone whose job – a property surveyor, for example – requires the instant ability to share decent (though not professional) quality images, I can’t see why you’d opt for it on top of a phone that already does all these things without a zoom lens.

There are a few minor gripes, it takes a long(ish) time to load from power off; meaning that you miss pictures you’d be a swipe away from on your iPhone, it’s also – loaded as it is with gizmos – quite heavy in the pocket at 300g.

Who’s it for?

As mentioned, if you could justify the cost of the 3G contract and needed to send live photos for work then the Galaxy camera would be a godsend. As it is, it’s a cool bit of kit. If you need a new camera that makes it easy to share pictures of your children, cats or garden it’s fantastic. Sure, you can get a nicer lens on a similar camera for a similar price but most people, you’d imagine, would offset that for the internet capabilites of the Galaxy Camera. If image quality is a deal-breaker, get a Canon or Nikon SLR.

Is it worth the money?

For all the camera offers then yes, it probably is. Whether it would become part of your life like another £400 product – say an iPad, is another matter.

SAMSUNG GALAXY CAMERA

Price: £399

Image sensor: 16.3MP

Zoom: 21x

Display: 4.8” LD (1280×720 HD)

Connectivity: 3G and Wi-Fi

Memory: 3.8GB

Operating system: Android 4.1 Jellybean. –

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Cabinet Okays Hike In Sugarcane Price

The cabinet Thursday okayed a hike in the sugarcane price that mills are required to pay to farmers to Rs.210 per quintal – a rise of Rs.40 – for the year starting October 2013.

The price is to be linked to basic recovery rate of 9.5 percent, subject to a premium of Rs.2.21 per quintal for every 0.1 percentage point increase in recovery above that level, according to a cabinet decision Thursday.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the proposal of the food ministry, which was in line with the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) suggesting Rs.40 increase in the fair and remunerative price (FRP) at Rs.210 a quintal for 2013-14.

Sudhir Panwar of Kisan Jagriti Manch welcomed the hike hike.

“The hike of more than 22 percent in the Fair and Remunerative (FRP) of sugarcane by the government is an acceptance of the corresponding hike in the input prices of sugarcane,” Panwar told IANS.

However, he pointed out that “due to faulty method of sugarcane price fixation by CACP, the FRP is reduced as a notional price”.

-IANS

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Case to Vigilance

Source:

Imphal, January 31 2013: With no substantial outcome despite reminders and reference of the irregularities to the CAF/PD Minister, Additional Chief Secretary (CAF/PD) and DC of Senapati district, the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee member Ng Adam Poumai has reportedly referred the case to the State Vigilance SP .

According to Adam Poumai, the cases are related to non-invitation of deposit for the month of February 2012, returning of deposit amount to FPS agents for the month of April, 2012, adjusting the returned amount with the month of October 2011 and non-issue of ration card to AAY and BPL families.

The Senapati District Consumer’s Club, has been vehemently opposing the missing of certain quota.

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Right Amount Of Sex In ‘Saheb Biwi Aur…’: Dhulia

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia says that his upcoming film, “Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns” has the right amount of sensuality, stressing it is very important for a film to have the right amount of sex and passion for it to remain effective.

“There is sensuality but in little measure. I feel that it is effective only like that. It should have the right amount of sex and passion,” he said at the first look and trailer launch of the film held Thursday evening.

Directed by Dhulia, the film stars Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill, Irrfan Khan and Soha Ali Khan.

Talking about the sequel of the film, the director said that he had already sowed the seed of the sequel in the previous film and has taken the story forward in this film.

“We had left the germ of the sequel in the previous film itself. It is not a franchise and we are taking the story ahead,” he said.

The director doesn’t expect his stars to come prepared on the set, said the actors.

“I know Tigmanshu from the ‘Haasil’. You can’t come prepared on the sets. I just follow him blindly,” Jimmy said who was also a part of “Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster”.

Irrfan Khan’s character is also a new element which has been added in the sequel. The actor said that Dhulia has tried to experiment with his role.

“Tigmanshu has tried to experiment with my role. He didn’t give me expected dialogues and has tried to give me something new. I am waiting to see the response to this,” Irrfan said.

Soha said that there is a lot of mystery in the film.

“There is a lot of mystery in the film and situations keep changing throughout the film. No character is black or white in the film, all of them have shades of grey,” she said.

The film is all set to release March 8.

-IANS

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Cabinet Approves Lokpal Bill Amendments; BJP, Activists Slam It

The union cabinet Thursday delinked the Lokpal from the Lokayuktas or anti-graft ombudsmen in states as it gave its nod to the Lokpal bill amendments but the BJP and activists, including Anna Hazare, slammed the proposed law as not enough to curb corruption.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accepted 14 of 16 amendments recommended by a select panel of the Rajya Sabha on the proposed Lokpal bill.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy said: “We have accepted 14 out of 16 amendments proposed by the select committee… we did not approve two.”

He said the PMO will also be under the Lokpal, with some riders related to national security and external affairs.

The bill will now be put to vote in the Rajya Sabha in the budget session, and will also return to the Lok Sabha with the new amendments, Narayanasamy said.

The Lok Sabha had approved the Lokpal bill in 2011, but it got stuck in the upper house. In May 2012, it was referred to the select panel.

The select panel had recommended delinking of the creation of Lokayuktas from the Lokpal Bill, with several parties contending this would lead to encroachment on the rights of states. The earlier bill had said that the states have to set up Lokayuktas within one year of enactment of Lokpal.

The government turned down two amendments, saying that now officials facing a preliminary probe will be given a hearing, and the Lokpal will have no power to transfer Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials investigating a case referred by it.

The Lokpal will be selected by a panel comprising the prime minister, the speaker and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India, and an eminent jurist, Narayansamy said.

The CBI director will be selected by the prime minister, the leader of opposition in the lower house and the chief justice.

He also said that a person “affiliated with any political party” would not qualify to be a member of the proposed Lokpal.

The new draft also says that charitable institutions aided by the government will also come under the ambit of the anti-graft ombudsman.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the government had no right to approve or reject the amendments under the rules of parliament.

“The government said they have accepted 14 or 16 amendments. It was a Rajya Sabha committee that made the amendments and the bill is a property of Rajya Sabha. The government cannot make any amendment to it according to the rules of parliament,” BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad said.

He added that the government’s reluctance to accept certain amendments related to the CBI raised questions over the government’s intentions, noting of the eight suggestions given, only one was accepted.

Rejecting the new draft of the Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare said he would continue his fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill, prepared by him and some other activists.

“The proposed new draft of the Lokpal bill is useless. We will continue our fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill and force the government to pass it,” Hazare told reporters here.

“Such a bill will not benefit the people,” he said, adding that he would intensify his campaign in the coming months.

Arvind Kejriwal, who was part of the team that drafted the Jan Lokpal Bill, also criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for not coming out with a “strong” Lokpal bill.

“Why should you have any Lokpal? If an agency is created which will not stop corruption, will lead to increased corruption and provide protection to ministers, then what is the point,” he told reporters here.

“We were not interested in just the word Lokpal. You can name it anything. The government has not done a favour to the people of the country (by the bill). It is the government’s constitutional duty to give a corruption-free regime,” he said.

“Half of the ministers of the same cabinet, which passed the bill today, will be in jail if a strong Lokpal comes,” alleged Kejriwal.

-IANS

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ICC Women’s World Cup: India Start Campaign With Convincing Win

Thirush Kamini’s 100 off 146 balls helped India defeat the West Indies by 105 runs in the opening game of the ICC Women’s World Cup at Brabourne Stadium here Thursday.

Put in to bat, India posted a massive score of 284 for six, largely owing to the 175-run stand between Kamini and Poonam Raut (72) for the first wicket.

In reply, the West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 179 in 44.3 overs.

Indian bowlers bowled in good areas and extracted movement off the pitch and in the air.

Nagarajan Niranjana picked up three for 52 but it was the opening spell of new ball bowlers Jhulan Goswami (2-13) and Amita Sharma (1-28) that put the team from the Caribbean on the backfoot.

Earlier, after a brilliant start by Kamini and Raut, Goswami smashed her way to 36 off 21 balls. It was the impetus the hosts needed as the lanky all-rounder hit six fours in a blitzkrieg off an innings.

Harmanpreet Kaur (36) too played a good hand as India went on to post a big score.

The West Indies batters were in trouble from the outset, finding it hard to play the moving ball.

Deandra Dottin’s 39 off 16 balls was the only bright spot for an otherwise poor batting performance.

Brief Scores:

India: 284 for six in 50 overs (Thirush Kamini 100, Poonam Raut 71, Jhulan Goswami 36, Harmanpreet Kaur 36; Deandra Dottin 3-32) vs West Indies: 179 all out in 44.3 overs (Deandra Dottin 39, Shanel Daley 28, Shemaine Campbelle 21; Nagarajan Niranjana 3-52, Jhulan Goswami 2-13, Gouher Sultana 2-38).

-IANS

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North East States score high with Mizoram bagging top spot Nation wide Goa lowest consumer, Manipur ranks fifth in tobacco consumption with 54 pc

Source:

Imphal, January 31 2013: According to a report of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), Manipur ranks fifth among the States of India in terms of tobacco consumption.

Global Adult Tobacco Survey was conducted across the country in 2009-10 by the International Institute for Population Science under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the survey report, the top five tobacco consuming States are Mizoram (67 pc), Nagaland (57 pc), Tripura (55 pc), Meghalaya (55 pc) and Manipur (54 pc) .

On the other end of the spectrum is Goa which has been listed as the lowest consumer of tobacco products.

The average rate of tobacco consumption for the whole country is 35 per cent.

Among the tobacco consumers of Manipur, males constitute 66.6 per cent and females 41.8 per cent.

The survey report pointed out that 90 per cent of mouth/oral cancer cases are caused by consumption of tobacco products.

80 per cent of lung cancer cases, 60 per cent of lung infections and 60 per cent of heart attack cases were also attributed to consumption of tobacco products.

Tobacco products which are widely in use in the State

A fact-sheet of GATS was released today at Hotel Classic under the aegis of the Directorate of Health Services and World Health Organisation where RD &PR Minister Francis Ngajokpa, MLA Brajabidhu and Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) R Muivah graced the function as chief guest, guest of honour and president respectively.

After releasing the fact-sheet, Francis Ngajokpa observed that tobacco consumption has not diminished a bit even though people known the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

He invited the Directorate of Health Services to forward recommendations to the State Government about the possible measures which can create thorough awareness among the people on the harmful effects of tobacco on health and economy of the State, and wean them away from their habits of tobacco consumption.

State nodal officer of the National Tobacco Control Programme Dr K Komolini said that there was a legislation which was aimed at curbing tobacco consumption in the country.

Along with enactment of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003, the Government of India ratified the WHO’s Convention on Tobacco Control Frameworks.

The Government of India launched the National Tobacco Control Programme in 2007-08 and the same is implemented in 21 States and Union Territories.

After the State Tobacco Control Cell was set up under the National Tobacco Control Programme, the cell has been working to check tobacco consumption in Manipur, Komolini said.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare CMO Dr L Swasticharan gave a power-point presentation GATS Manipur fact-sheet.

Two cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment narrated their own experiences during the function which was also attended by Dr Tomba, Dr Dhaballi,, Dr Mohon and others.

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Major US Newspapers Allege Chinese Hack Attack

The New York Times reported that its reporters and editors have been the target of a semi-successful, four-month-long cyber attack and the paper suspects Chinese hackers are to blame.

In a report published Wednesday, the news outlet said hackers managed to steal passwords and gain access to the personal computers of 53 employees, including those belonging to its Shanghai bureau chief, before a private cyber security firm helped oust the infiltrators.

The Times said the hacking campaign coincided with the paper’s investigation into the relatives of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who have accumulated multi-billion-dollar fortunes through business deals. However, Jill Abramson, executive editor of the Times, said that no sensitive emails or documents related to that reporting effort “were accessed, downloaded or copied.” Much of the reporting on those stories, the Times said, was based on public documents.

Mandiant, the cyber computer firm hired to help counter the hacking campaign, said the attack was reminiscent of previous attacks attributed to Chinese hackers in three ways, according to the Times: The attacks were routed through American universities in an attempt to hide their origin, the malicious software used in the attack was a “specific strain associated with computer attacks originating from China,” and the attacks started from the same Chinese university computers as had been allegedly used in the past by the Chinese military to launch attacks. A spokesperson for Mandiant confirmed the company’s role in the saga, as reported by The Times, to ABC News.

Ramin Talaie/

A man speaks on his mobile phone across from… View Full Size

Daily movement from the attackers would begin at 8 a.m. Beijing time, the Times said, and would generally last until the end of the business day, though sometimes it continued until midnight.

The Chinese National Defense Ministry reportedly told the Times that such attacks are prohibited by Chinese law and that “to accuse the Chinese military of launching cyber attacks without solid proof is unprofessional and baseless.”

The Times reported that Mandian was unsure of exactly how the hackers infiltrated the Times’ system, but said it was likely done though what’s known as spearphishing, a common tactic that involves tricking someone on the inside into opening an email link or attachment which would then automatically install malicious software on the target network.

MORE INFORMATION: Spearphishing Explained at Mandiant.com

U.S. officials have previously accused China of undertaking a widespread espionage campaign that has targeted a range of American entities from educational institutions to defense contractors and the Pentagon.

In referring to China in October 2011, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said in an open committee meeting that he didn’t believe “that there is a precedent in history for such a massive and sustained intelligence effort by a government agency to blatantly steal commercial data and intellectual property.”

Rogers said that cyber intrusions into American and other Western corporations by hackers working on behalf of Beijing — allegedly including attacks on corporate giants like Google and Lockheed Martin — amounted to “brazen and widespread theft.”

In August 2011, a documentary broadcast on Chinese state-run television showed what appeared to be a cyber attack in progress aimed at an computer network based at an Alabama university.

But in the case of The New York Times attack, the paper said it appeared the hackers didn’t seem interested in stealing anything beyond learning the identities of any sources for the Times’ Jiabao investigation.

“They could have wreaked havoc on our systems,” Marc Frons, the Times’ chief information officer, said in the paper’s report. “But that was not what they were after.”

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Foreign Ministry did not answer phone calls or immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on this report.

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AWARD FOR Mr. KOIRALA, INSPIRATION FOR ALL

Letter:

It was a matter of great joy and pride when I came across a news item in your daily (Jan 24, 2013) about the conferring of “International Status Award for intellectual development” on Mr. ML Koirala, Head Master of the Lower Samdong Sec School by Global Achiever Foundation at Bangkok a few days back. In fact, the award apart being a personal recognition on Mr. Koirala, is more, a step forward that ensures recognition of Sikkim in world education scenario. This development, I believe shall definitely explore means and modality for other teachers in Sikkim to commit and re-dedicate themselves in the field of human service. The teachers, particularly, the government teachers must be sincere enough in their deliveries. They must not deliver their ‘duty’ only for the sake of ‘huge economic incentives’ which they receive in turn from the government. Rather, their very approach has to be result-oriented. Lastly, I am confident that the achievement that Mr. Koirala has achieved shall go a long way in further galvanising our people towards sincere and efficient delivery that ensures a viable society and human service.

Sonam Doma Denjongpo, Dikiling, Pakyong [recvd on email]

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CCpur Village Chief Erects Memorial Stones Well Before Death Memorial stones with a difference erected

Source:

Imphal, January 30 2013: Memorial stone is generally laid in loving memory of a person after his/her death.

However, the case is different for B Kaljang village chief Suangdolian and his better half Dimlian.

In a very rare occasion, the village chief organised the memorial stones laying ceremony of himself and his better half with Health Minister Phungzathang Tonsing and Singnat A/C MLA Ginsuanhau as chief guest and guest of honour respectively today.

The 79-year-old village chief is living together with his children and wife at B Kaljang village, under Singnat TD Block of Churachandpur district.

Phungzathang Tonsing while speaking at the ceremony said, Suangdolian Buansing had hunted 1668 different animals during his lifetime using 19 different guns.

The village chief seen here in front of his memorial stone

No other village chiefs was as accomplished a hunter as Suangdolian, he added.

Saying that memorial stones are generally laid by relatives and friends after the death of a person, the Minister said, it is a very rare occasion that a man could organise memorial stone laying ceremony with a grand feast during his lifetime in the presence of village chiefs and Pastors.

MLA Ginsuanhau said that he had urged the Chief Minister and Works Minister to construct 26-km long ChurachandpurSugnu Road.

The MLA also drew attention of the Health Minister to set up a PHC at B Kaljang village.

He added that power supply would be provided to the village with the completion of Sangaikot Power Sub-Station.

Saying that he had already urged the Chief Minister for early completion of the Power Sub-Station, the MLA also announced that a community hall would be constructed for the village next year.

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Twitter Has 2nd Outage in a Month

For the second time this month, Twitter has experienced an outage.

While service has been restored to many users, many experienced issues accessing Twitter.com and Twitter’s third-party mobile applications earlier this morning.

Twitter’s new video sharing service, Vine, also experienced a service disruption.

Twitter

Twitter’s Fail Whale appears when the site… View Full Size

“Some users may be experiencing issues accessing Twitter. Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue,” Twitter posted on its status blog at 10:25 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Just 10 days earlier, on Inauguration day, Twitter had the same issue. Many were unable to send 140-character messages or get to the site. The company posted the same statement on its blog on Jan. 21.

Twitter used to be infamous for such periodic outages and the appearance of the “fail whale” error page, which many are seeing today. It has substantially improved its server capacity in the past two years. However, in July there were similar widespread outages.

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Khurpui Lam

Source:

Imphal, January 30 2013: The 22nd State Level Khurpui Lam festival would be held at MFDC Hall, Palace Compound on February 13 with the theme Peace and harmony through cultural integration.

The organising committee has invited all concerned to participate in the festival.

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Golay condemns Vigilance raid on ASP

GANGTOK, 28 Jan: Dissident SDF MLA, PS Tamang [Golay], has strongly condemned the recent Vigilance raid on Sikkim Jail ASP, Kado Tshering Bhutia. The MLA has alleged that the raid was “an example of how the ruling party uses political pressure on innocent and honest officials of Sikkim”.

A press release issued by Mr Tamang alleges that the ruling government started harassing ASP Bhutia after “an incident that occurred on 15 May 2002” following which he was frequently transferred. The MLA has also stated that conducting a raid at night is an attack on the fundamental rights of a person. The first raid on the said officers residence was conducted on the night of 24 January. Condemning the raid he has said that such acts have been devised to “terrorize” government employees.

Mr Bhutia and some others have become victims of official investigation since the Rolu Picnic of 21 December 2009 and even after the completion of the whole investigation on 10 September 2012 the concerned department has still withheld the final report.

The release goes on to allege that the government is not allowing the CBI to enter the state to investigate the corruption allegations against the CM through different notifications, by setting up one-man commissions and by passing different bills in the assembly. On the same, Mr Tamang has demanded that the government allow CBI to carry out its investigation before initiating vigilance raids on its own government officials.

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And the airport of choice is…

REUTERS

People walk through the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

New York – Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport has the best services and amenities of any in the United States and scored top marks for business travel and connecting flights, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

The southern hub was also voted the best airport for dining, and placed third for activities to keep children occupied, the survey by Travel Leaders Group found.

“Major airports have transformed considerably in the last decade to accommodate the shift in the amount of time travelers spend there,” Barry Liben, the CEO of the travel company, said in a statement announcing the results.

“More amenities have been added to appeal to travelers, and in many cases, to occupy their time, while they wait for their flights,” he added.

Atlanta also placed first for dining in the poll of 930 travel experts who were questioned about the best U.S. airports for business travel, connecting flights, amenities and activities for children.

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago O’Hare and Dallas/Ft. Worth airports also scored high for their restaurants and services offered for business travelers, while Orlando airport – close to Walt Disney World and other family oriented parks and attractions – was ranked first for children’s activities, followed by Minneapolis/St. Paul.

O’Hare was at the top of the list for the airport travelers try to avoid if they need to make connecting flights, with all three of metro New York’s airports – JFK, LaGuardia and Newark – not far behind. – Reuters

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Scheme works assessed

Source:

Imphal, January 30 2013: Progress of various welfare programmes of MGNREGS being implemented at Sangaiyumpham Part-I areas under Khangabok assembly constituency in Thoubal district have been assessed today by an official team of district administration.

The inspection team headed by the district’s Deputy commissioner T Ranjit and comprising of other department officials, inspected drain construction work at Md Atin Leirak.

According to an informed source, 180 job card holders are engaged for the said scheme work and that similar inspection visits would be carried out in the coming days.

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Asia the next big thing for cruises

AP

Along with Asian destinations, cruise lines are adding trips to exotic locales such as Morocco, Antarctica (above), Iceland and the Galapagos Islands.

New York – Cruise lines carried 20.3 million passengers last year and expect the numbers to rise in 2013 as more companies focus resources on luring Asian clients, industry experts said on Wednesday.

A year after the Costa Concordia disaster off the coast of Italy with the loss of 32 lives, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents cruise lines around the globe, said it expects to reach 20.97 million passengers this year.

“The industry is well positioned to continue with this trajectory,” Christine Duffy, CLIA’s president and CEO, told a news conference, adding that new policies have been introduced following a review after the accident.

The Caribbean, Mediterranean and Europe remain the top cruise destinations, with Americans and Canadians making up the bulk of passengers, but the industry is rapidly going global with Australia and Asia the big growth area.

“We are very bullish on China and Asia as a whole,” said Jim Berra, chief marketing officer of Carnival Cruise Lines and CLIA’s marketing chair.

He added that cruise lines are investing in the region with more home ports and ports of call, and sending ships into the region to meet the growing market.

“By 2020 the Chinese market is projected to be a $ 7 trillion consumer economy and will have created the largest middle class that ever existed on Earth,” he said.

Cruise lines, as a result, will be adding itineraries to Japan, China and Australia, South Korea and Vietnam.

“Some of our newer, bigger ships are heading to these markets because the demand is there,” Berra added.

Along with Asian destinations, cruise lines are adding trips to exotic locales such as Morocco, Antarctica, Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, and are ramping up on-board entertainment with Broadway shows and appearances of Tony-award winning actors and reality show stars, he said.

A CLIA poll of travel agents who book cruises showed that multigenerational travel, weddings and honeymoons are seen as the top potential growth groups for cruises.

“It’s all about innovation, global markets and how you open up to them,” said Berra. – Reuters

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Missionary schools Govt to discuss test, fee structure today

Source:

Imphal, January 30 2013: The raging issue sparked by decision of private educational institutions run by Christian missionaries to conduct screening (admission) test for fresh admission seekers in the pre-primary level as well as the institutions’ fee structure would be taken up for discussion in tomorrow’s meeting of the State Advisory Council, for which Education Minister M Okendro is the chairperson.

Confirming on the said meeting scheduled to be held at 3 pm tomorrow, the Education Minister affirmed that a definite decision on the said issues would be adopted by the Council, constituted on January 11, 2013 under the Right to Education Act 2009 .

Okendro also informed that a new annexe of Tamphasana Girls’ Higher Secondary School would be constructed at Bengali High School premises.

It is said that Principal Secretary, Education (Schools) Dr J Suresh Babu is the ex-officio chairperson of the Council, with six top officials of State’s SSA/SMA, Education and Social Welfare departments, SCERT, COHSEM and BSEM as the ex-officio members.

The Council also has eight nominated members from various educational institutions.

Constituted to advise the State Government on implementation of RTE provisions in an effective manner in the State, for which the State Project Office, SSA Manipur would be the implementing authority, the period of tenure of the Council’s nominated members will be two years.

According to sources, the Department of Education (Schools) in its october 22 order had already instructed educational institutions in the state that while admitting a child (student) neither should there be collection of any capitation fee nor subject the child or parents to any form of screening procedure.

In case the said guidelines are found to be violated, the school or school authority concerned would be punishable with fine extendable to ten times the capitation fee charged, if any, with an even more harsher punishment with enhanced fine in case a child is subjected to screening procedure, maintained the sources while conveying that the guidelines were issued under a particular section of RTE to uphold right of children to free and compulsory education.

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Congress, Trinamool Make Counter-Claims Over Tripura Alliance

The Congress Thursday said it has reached an understanding with the Trinamool Congress to fight the Feb 14 Tripura assembly polls so as not to divide the anti-Left Front votes, a claim which was rejected by the party led by Mamata Banerjee. The Trinamool Congress of the West Bengal chief minister had fielded 22 candidates in the 2008 assembly elections in Tripura, but has decided not to contest the 2013 polls. “I have discussed with (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banarjee and (Trinamool Congress general secretary) Mukul Roy and then they have decided not to put up any candidates in the elections,” Tripura state Congress president Sudip Roy Barman told reporters. “Our aim is not to divide the non-Left votes and to defeat the Left parties at any cost. Trinamool Congress workers with their flags have been participating in our on going rallies and campaign,” he claimed. However, Trinamool Congress’ Tripura unit president Manik Deb denied about such understandings and rejected the claim. “We have held at least three rounds of meetings with Mamata Banerjee and Mukul Roy in Kolkata recently and never resolved to support the Congress. We have decided to keep equal distance from both CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and the Congress,” Deb told IANS. “The Congress withdrew support from the Mamata Banarjee led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal. We have withdrawn support from the Congress-led government at the centre. So there is no question of support to the Congress in the (state assembly) elections,” he said. But the Tripura unit of the Trinamool Congress itself is a divided house over fielding candidates in the elections. “I think our high command has taken a right decision of not contesting the elections in Tripura because the non-left votes would have been divided giving advantage to the CPI-M,” Trinamool Congress leader Arun Chandra Bhowmik said, indicating an element of confusion in the party over the issue. The Trinamool Congress had secured only 6,620 votes (0.35 percent) of the total of 1,880,834 votes polled in the 2008 assembly elections.

-IANS

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