Saudi Woman Will Wear Hijab in Judo Competition

Olympics gives go-ahead after judo teen's dad insists

Saudi officials have won the go-ahead from the International Olympic Committee allowing a female athlete to wear a hijab in the judo competition.

Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani, 16, had signed an agreement with Saudi officials that she would only compete if she could wear "correct and approved" clothing that adheres to "Islamic principals," said a spokesman.

Her father told a Saudi newspaper that he would not let his daughter compete without a hijab, reports CNN.

It's not entirely clear how the teen feels about wearing the scarf.

A spokesman for Judo International said just last week that she would "fight according to the principle and spirit of judo, so without a hijab."

Olympics officials decided to allow Shaherkani to wear the scarf after Saudi managers threatened to withdraw their female athletes, the first to ever compete at the Games for the nation.

CBI Names 9 in Tuirial Project Chargesheet

Aizawl, Jul 31 : The CBI has named nine people in its chargesheet in the alleged compensation scam in Tuirial hydel project in Mizoram.

Sources said the premier investigation agency filed a chargesheet against nine people, including relatives of former Chief Minister Zoramthanga and officials, a few months back and the court has conducted a hearing in this regard.

Following a PIL filed by anti-corruption watchdog SOSA (Society for Social Action), Gauhati High Court in April 2010 ordered into the alleged compensation scam. The CBI investigation revealed that compensation to the tune of Rs 20,046,475 was paid to fictitious landowners.

There were 352 compensation claimants including the fictitious landowners. As many as 241 witnesses were interviewed during the investigation and about 110 documents were submitted to the court.

The Japanese government-funded 60 Tuirial hydropower project at Bilkhawtlir village in north Mizoram was abandoned in 2003 after a group of landowners in Bilkhawtlir claimed high rates of compensation for the land that the state government wished to acquire for the power plant.

The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) and the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund Bank, which was funding the project, objected to this.

The controversy over the payment of an "inflated amount of money" compelled Neepco to suspend the construction of the plant.

The then Mizo National Front ministry had been branded as the main culprit behind the compensation row that suspended the project as former chief minister Zoramthanga's relatives figured prominently among those who received compensations.

When Lal Thanhawla, who had laid the foundation stone during his previous tenure on September 12, 2007, came back in power, he took initiatives to revive the abandoned project.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had last year revised the project cost of the 60 MW Tuirial Hydro Electric Project (THEP) to Rs 913 crore due to delay in resumption of work.

The hydel project, designed to generate 60 MW of power 12 per cent of which would be shared by the state, is expected to be completed by 2014. The project envisaged the construction of a 77-metre-high earthen dam across Tuirial, a tributary of the Barak.

A surface power station on the left bank of the river at the toe of this dam would be constructed at Bilkhawthlir for generation of 60MW of power at 45 per cent load factor.

Nzanbeni Kithan is Miss Dimapur 2012

Dimapur, July 31 : Displaying an apt blend of beauty and brains, Nzanbeni Kithan was crowned Miss Dimapur 2012 here recently, prevailing over twelve other models who were vying for the top spot.

"I believe in myself. I am a very confident girl and one day I will be very successful," Kithan said after bagging the title.

Kithan wants to encourage youth to achieve their dreams.

Asenle, who finished as the first runners up, too shared her future plans.

"I see myself as a successful fashion designer and a model one day," she said.

In the inaugural session, models introduced themselves to the audience and talked about their interests and reasons for choosing to make their careers in the fashion industry.

The event was aimed at promoting the fashion industry in Nagaland and attracting youth to take it up as a profession.

All the participants said they wanted to be successful models and represent the country at international events.

India & Bangladesh To Meet On Tipaimukh Dam

Silchar, July 31 : India has told Bangladesh that it is now ready for a bilateral meeting of experts from both the countries on Tipaimukh dam for two days in New Delhi from August 27.

According to a senior official of the Central Water Commission in Shillong, the members of this expert group, to be drawn from both the nations, have already been constituted.

He said the group members are experts in hydrology and river engineering.

A few officials of the flood control and water resources departments will also figure as delegates.

The discussion will focus on arriving at a consensus on the construction of the 162-foot dam on the Barak.

The Rs 7,600-crore Tipai-mukh dam project, meant to control the recurring floods in the Barak Valley districts under south Assam and to generate 1,500MW hydel power, has run into various problems.

A number of the NGOs and scientists of the Northeast, particularly in Manipur and Assam’s Cachar district, and Bangladesh are opposing the project.

The Opposition party in Bangladesh, the BNP, headed by the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, organised a big motor rally in Sylhet district on December 1 last year in protest against the proposed construction of this project.

The Angikar Bangladesh Foundation, spearheaded by some leading civil engineers in that country, has also opposed this project.

The chief director of the NGO, Muhammad Hilaluddin, recently called upon like-minded environmentalists and river specialists of both the countries to join their hands in opposing the project.

The meeting is aimed at dispelling doubts on the project, the CWC official added.

The opposition of a large number of Bangladeshis against the Tipaimukh project is mainly based on the “wrong and ill-conceived ideas emanating from the fears of the desertification of the Meghna valley under Sylhet division”.

Hence, the experts of both the nations should clarify the benefits to accrue from this project, he added.

Official sources here said the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), a public sector undertaking, has bagged the contract in a joint venture with its subsidiary named Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, to commission the Tipaimukh project in seven years after its construction gets off the ground. An agreement in this connection was inked in Imphal on October 22 last year.

Assam CM Gogoi Ignored Warnings On Impending Riots

By Kaushik Deka

Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam 

Sinlung is in possession of an exclusive document which shows that Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi ignored warning of a possible riot in Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) areas in the state.

On July 7, the president of the Kokrajhar unit of Congress had sent an urgent fax to Gogoi, requesting him to send CRPF forces to the region as he feared that riots could break out any moment in the state. But the chief minister did not respond to the mail.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Y.L. Karna had also submitted a report to Gogoi warning him of an impending riot after he visited Kokrajhar on July 7 to inquire into the incident of killing of minority students in the district a day before.

Interestingly, on July 27, the chief minister had put the blame on the central government for the delay in sending army to the riot-affected areas.

The very next day when reporters asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his reaction to Gogoi's allegation, the CM grabbed the microphone and said he hadn't said this.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Bodo-Muslim violence has reached 71. Meanwhile, home minister P. Chidambaram is set to visit the violence-hit areas of the state for two days beginning today (Monday) and review the security situation and relief and rehabilitation measures.

Chidambaram, who has been monitoring the Assam situation ever since clashes between Bodos and immigrant minorities broke out, will hold meetings with top civil and police officers and take stock of the law and order situation in the four riot-hit districts Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon.

The home minister is expected to visit a few relief camps and review the relief and rehabilitation steps taken for those who lost their kin and suffered losses during the violence. Chidambaram is likely to hold separate meetings with state governor J.B. Patnaik, the chief minister and his council of ministers.

source: dailymail

Finally, A Bronze For India

Sinlung Says: Its a shame that whole of India is waiting for a bronze, a country with more than a billion in population. It says a lot about the people, let alone sports.

Boxers Vijender Singh and his childhood friend Jai Bhagwan made their way to round 16 with convincing victories at the London Olympics.

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Bronze medallist Gagan Narang of India poses with the bronze medal won in the Men's 10m Air Rifle Shooting final final on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Royal Artillery Barracks on July 30, 2012 in London, England.

London, July 30 — India's rifle shooter Gagan Narang clinched the bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air rifle event of the 2012 London Olympics while his illustrious compatriot and defending champion Abhinav Bindra failed to qualify for the final round at Royal Artillery Barracks here Monday.
The gold went to Romanian Alin George Moldoveanu with a total score of 702.1 (599 qualifying, 103.1 final) and Italian Niccolo Campriani bagged the silver with 701.5 (599 qualifying, 102.5 final).
Narang, who is participating in his third Games, had a total score of 701.1 (598 qualifying, 103.1 final). Going into the final round, Narang was third.
In the final round, Narang had a series of 10.7, 9.7, 10.6, 10.7, 10.4, 10.6, 9.9, 9.5, 10.3 and 10.7 to give India its first medal from the London Games.
It was the third time in row that Indian shooters had won medals at the Olympics. Double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the silver in 2004, Bindra gave India a historic gold in Beijing, and now Narang has bagged a bronze in London.
Bindra, India's only individual Olympic gold medallist, failed to qualify as he shot 594 to finish 16th out of 47 contestants.
In the qualifying round, Narang, who missed the final round in Beijing Games on a countback, was in his elements. The 29-year-old Hyderabadi shot perfect series of 100 in all the rounds except the third when he scored 98. He also shot 53 inner 10s.
Bindra had just two series of perfect 100 in the third and the fourth round. He shot 99s in the first, second and fifth and faltered in the sixth, when he shot 97. The top eight shooters qualified for the final round. Former Olympic champion and Beijing Games silver medallist Zhu Qinan of China also failed to qualify for the final round.

Extended Vacation For Schools in Riot-Hit Assam Districts

By K Anurag

Guwahati, Jul 30 : Educational institutions in Assam's violence-ravaged districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Dhubri are likely to have an extended summer vacation.

Over four lakhs riot-hit are lodged in 278 relief camps in the violence-affected areas and out of those over 200 relief camps have been set up in educational institutions.

According to an official source, out of the 64 relief camps in Chirang district, 54 are located in educational institutions.

Similarly, over 150 educational institutions in Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts are now housing the riot-hit.

With there is hardly any chance of the riot-hit going back home within the next few days, the re-opening of these educational institutions on schedule on August 1 seems highly unlikely.

State Education Minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma informed that in view of the prevailing situation summer vacation has been extended by another seven days.

In case, the relief camps in educational institutions still remain operational beyond the extended summer vacation, the education department will take further steps to make these institutions functional.

Most relief-camp inmates, whose houses have been burnt down, will not be able leave camps till their houses are rebuilt by the authorities and that will not be possible within seven days, an official in Kokrajhar said.

On the other hand, some of the panic-stricken relief camp inmates, whose houses have not been damaged, maintain that they would return home provided they are given adequate security over.

A statement issued by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's [ Images ] office said that the situation was becoming normal in the violence-hit districts where 20 columns of army personnel along with 65 companies of central paramilitary forces are keeping vigil round the clock.

Too Late: 11,000 Security Personnel for Assam

Sinlung: Indian Govt is but a reactive force, the cauldron of ethnic fire will keep boiling every now and again.

No government has ever taken steps till date for a preemptive approach.



Northeast will face similar situation again. In another state, in another district.

New Delhi: The Centre has authorised the Assam government to deploy more than 11,000 paramilitary personnel in the state's violence-hit districts and dispatched a C-135 heavy lift aircraft with medical teams and supplies.

So far 7,300 personnel of paramilitary forces have been deployed in strife-torn Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts after moving them from other states in the wake of clashes between Bodos and minority immigrants there.
In addition, the state has been authorised to use 11,600 men of paramilitary forces to bring back normalcy in the worst affected areas.
Home Secretary R K Singh said teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) along with experts in drinking water and sanitation issues have been rushed to the affected areas in the same aircraft.
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth reviewed with Assam Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das during a video conference last evening the relief and medical arrangements for the victims of one of the worst ethnic violence witnessed in recent times in lower Assam districts.
The meeting was attended by senior officers of the all concerned Ministries and Departments.
"Two teams comprising physician, gynaecologist, paediatrician, public health specialists, resident doctors and nurses have been airlifted from Delhi at 5.15 PM yesterday," an official spokesperson said.