Bang with Friends Returns

Three Months After Being Banned From The App Store, Bang With Friends Returns As “Down”

By Greg Kumparak

They’re baaack.

Bang With Friends, the Facebook friend hookup app that seemed to be endlessly engulfed in one controversy or another earlier this year, is returning to the iOS App Store (albeit in a slightly toned-down form) after gettin’ the boot back in May.

For those who missed all the hubbub, even the concept behind Bang With Friends tends to get some people worked up: you open the app, and select which of your Facebook friends you’d want to have over for a romantic steak dinner followed by a screening of The Notebook hook up with. It’s all kept anonymous, unless that same person picks you as a would-be fling in turn.

If there’s a match, Bang With Friends attempts to connect the dots. After a recent update, users can also mark a friend as someone they’d like to “hang” with. Why anonymity is required to say you’d want to hang out with someone you’re already friends with on Facebook, I have no idea.

Back in May, Bang With Friends wiggled its way into the App Store as the moderately more mild “BWF” (on Android, it ditches the acronym in favor of its full name.) Ten days later, however, Apple dropped the banhammer.

As you might expect, the app’s creators — who once tried to remain anonymous themselves, though their identities eventually leaked — protested the decision. They argued that they limited use of the app to adults, contesting that plenty of other apps served the same purpose, just without being quite as blatant.

“We’re working with Apple to get BWF back into the App Store shortly,” promised BWF’s site.
“Shortly”, here, eventually proving to mean “in three months”.

The app returned this morning, though not without its fair share of tweaks and changes to appease the powers that be. Gone are all traces of the word “Bang”; gone is the app’s uber suggestive launch screen imagery. The app is now called “Down”, its namesake “Down To Bang” button now reading just “I’m Down”.


Down to what, you ask? Down to share a pop? Down to go kiteboarding? It’s left open to interpretation (at least theoretically), vague and innocuous enough that it’d be hard to get too offended without already having been offended by the app’s earlier iterations.

The name change also works out alright in a few other ways. After the influx of users from their early controversies, the company had seemingly been trying to steer the app into less of a straight up hookup app into something a bit more broad, like a general dating/friend finding service — hence the introduction of the “Down To Hang” button.

Plus, there’s that whole Zynga lawsuit over the “with friends” trademark. It’s unclear as to whether or not the potential legal battle had any influence on the name change; while it gets them away from using “with Friends” on the App Store, the name remains unchanged for the company’s Android and web variants as of this morning. Their company name in the App Store is still listed as “Bang With Friends, Inc.”

The new, self-censored app is up on the App Store here.

Mary Kom To Take Year Long Break From Boxing

Imphal, Aug 29 : Internationally- acclaimed boxer Mary Kom, while interacting with media on Wednesday said, ” The facilities provided by Madhya Pradesh government to promote boxing are much better in comparison with Manipur.

Otherwise, Manipur would have produced more boxers.” May Kom had won bronze medal in Beijing Olympics.

She denied that she was leaving Manipur because of disturbances and other social reasons. She said that she would shift to Bangalore just for better education for her kids. She said she would like to keep away from boxing for one year because she had to take care of her twin babies.

In reply to volley of questions about sexual assault on female Mumbai photojournalist, boxer Mary Kom said, ” Girls should learn boxing, Judo Karate and other such arts to maintain their physical fitness so that they can defend themselves under such situation instead of surrendering.”

Commenting on dispute between Indian Olympic Association ( IOA) and International Olympic Committee ( IOC), Mary Kom said that she hopes that the dispute would be settled when she returns to boxing field after one year.

International Olympic Committee ( IOC) had slapped a ban on the Indian Olympic Association ( IOA) after dispute cropped up after allegation of ‘ possible manipulation in the elections.’

The move led to subsequent bans on several national sports federations with clouds of uncertainty hanging over the participation of our players in various international competitions.

Mizo Liquor Prohibition Law To Be Reviewed

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Aug 29 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has said the government will review the state's prohibition law, adding that "outsiders" are attacking Mizoram with drugs and spurious liquor and that it is sometimes necessary for the government to condone moves by voluntary outfits against such elements in the best interest of the "sons of the soil".

"Things like prostitution and alcohol are not really going to disappear as long as the world exists. Our governor's contention that 'Mizoram is the wettest dry state' is true and we all know it well, there's no denying it," Lal Thanhawla said in an interview on a popular talk show.

"Is it (prohibition) good? Are our youths dying (from spurious liquor) or taking to drugs? These need to be examined and we have set up a state council to look into it... The government will take necessary action at the appropriate time," he said.

"No one should take the law in their own hands but if someone is trying to repair our people then the government will make exceptions," he said.

Zoramthanga Promises 3 New Districts in Mizoram

Aizawl, Aug 28 : Mizo National Front (MNF) will create three new districts if the party comes to power after the next assembly elections.

Former Mizo militant leader and ex-chief minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga pledged that three new districts namely Hnathial, Saitual and Khawzawl will be created if the MNF comes to power. 

"We must form the next government," said MNF president while delivering a speech at South Tuipui MNF Block-I Conference.

It can be recalled here that the MNF had announced to create the new three districts during its last regime but failed to materialise it.

"This time, we will not fail to create the three new districts," Zoramthanga said. The former militant leader said during the MNF regime, it was in the process of creating the three new districts "but our tenure got over."

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party is heavily depending on the state government's pilot project, the New Land Use Policy (NLUP) as its vote plank in the run-up to the forthcoming assembly polls likely to be held in November. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has been making claims of relieving the poor farmers in the state by the New Land Use Policy (NLUP).

NLUP is a pilot project of the Congress led Mizoram government under the leadership of chief minister Lal Thanhawla. Under this scheme, the government of Mizoram attempts to provide alternative means of livelihood to the farmers who are heavily dependent on jhumming which is detrimental to the environment.

Piggery, bee-keeping, fish-farming, grape-cultivation etc., are some of the fields the government is encouraging the local people to pursue by providing financial assistance.

Source: Newmai News Network

14 Girls Raped by Hostel Warden

 Violent Protest in Arunachal

Itanagar, Aug 29 : A shocking case of rape of 14 minor girls allegedly by the hostel warden of a private school in Likabali in West Siang district has come to light after a few students reported the matter to police.

The rape of the girls in the age group of four to 13 for over three years has triggered protests with local residents, students and members from the civil society hitting the streets last evening to protest against the crime.

They also gheraoed the Likabali Police Station demanding capital punishment for the culprits. The incident came to light when a few students of the school yesterday managed to report the crime to the Likabali Police Station, police said here today.

Vipin Wisvan, a non-Arunachalee teacher in the school, who also serves as the warden of the hostel, was arrested yesterday in this connection. The school principal and two other staff were also detained for interrogation. A case had been registered at the Likabali Police Station and an investigation was on, the police said.

According to police, the molestation and rape of students were going on at the school for the last three years. After committing the offence, the accused had threatened the girls with dire consequences if they disclosed his act to the parents.

It was alleged that when the matter was brought to the knowledge of the school principal by the students yesterday, the principal tried to hush up the matter. Then a few students mustered courage to scale the boundary wall and reported the matter at the police station.

The Arunachal Law Students Union, Galo Students’ Union, All Galo Students Union condemned the incident and appealed to the authorities not to grant bail to the culprits. Other organisations too demanded harsh punishment to the offenders.

India Steps Up Efforts To Build Border Infrastructure

Ministerial group headed by finance minister on developing North-East is expected to meet soon

By Utpal Bhaskar

New Delhi, Aug 28 : Prodded into action by recent Chinese incursions into the North-East, New Delhi is stepping up efforts to develop infrastructure in a region it has traditionally ignored—and about time too, said a strategic analyst.

The committee of secretaries (CoS), which until six months ago had not met since November 2011, has met twice since. And in July, the government created a ministerial group headed by finance minister P. Chidambaram on developing the North-East. It, too, is expected to meet soon.

India and China faced off for 21 days in April over an incursion by Chinese troops into Indian territory. The two countries are yet to resolve a long-standing border dispute.

“After a long hiatus, there has been a spate of meetings of the CoS and issues are being taken,” said a government official requesting anonymity. The secretaries in CoS include those from the departments of telecom, railways, defence, home, power, water resources, finance and the Planning Commission.
Another government official familiar with the plans to expedite the creation of critical infrastructure in the region said, “While the CoS didn’t meet in the last two years since November 2011, it met on 26 February 2013 and 26 July 2013. This shows our sense of urgency given our concerns with our neighbour.”

Former naval officer C. Uday Bhaskar, a fellow at New Delhi-based Society for Policy Studies, responded: “We have seen this pattern of episodic interest, whenever there have been exigencies. The ability of the collective Indian state to act in a sustained and collective manner is dwindling. The system has become an octopus with its many tentacles.”

Some of the important projects planned for the region include the 670km East-West corridor, connecting state capitals with a broad gauge railway network, developing air transportation infrastructure such as a greenfield airport in Itanagar, and inland waterway development.
The development of infrastructure in the North-East is also key to the nation’s so-called Look East policy—a focus on South-East Asia.

“If India has to integrate with the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation grouping), it is critical to develop infrastructure in the North-East. An effective Look East policy can only work in the backdrop of effective connectivity,” Bhaskar said.

Increasing connectivity in the region and linking it with Myanmar will help India access South-East Asian markets.

China claims 90,000 sq. km of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh and occupies around 38,000 sq. km in Jammu and Kashmir that India claims. And under a China-Pakistan boundary agreement signed in March 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to China.

India and China have also sparred over hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh, the state that borders China and has the highest potential for hydropower generation in India. With China planning to divert water from rivers that flow into the Brahmaputra to the arid zones of Xinjiang and Gansu, India is worried about the slow pace of work on hydropower projects awarded in Arunachal Pradesh.

Any delay in executing hydropower projects in the region, particularly on rivers originating in China, will affect India’s strategy of establishing prior-use claim. Under international law, a country’s right over natural resources it shares with other nations becomes stronger if it is already putting them to use.

The ministries of water resources and power have already expressed their reservations over Beijing’s ambitious water diversion scheme, into which it is pouring $62 billion (around Rs.4 trillion today). China is building a number of projects on rivers upstream of the Brahmaputra.

New Delhi has decided to fast-track environmental clearances for hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh. But projects totalling 13,522 megawatts (MW) in this strategically important state are awaiting environmental clearance, even though they have been given the go-ahead by the Central Electricity Authority, the country’s apex power sector planning body.

The forest advisory committee has rejected forest land diversion plans for the 3,000MW Dibang multi-purpose project in Arunachal Pradesh and forest clearance to the 1,500MW Tipaimukh hydroelectric project in Manipur.

Arunachal To Host Bird Festival

By Pullock Dutta

A bird at Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary.

Jorhat, Aug 29 : Arunachal Pradesh will host its first bird festival in the first week of February next year at Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary in West Kameng district.

The sanctuary, whose lowest point is 500 metres and the highest over 3,500 meters, has a mind-boggling variety of birds and the festival aims to showcase this diversity.

It is at Eaglenest, in the Eastern Himalayas, that a new species of bird, Bugun Liocichla, was discovered in 2006. Only seven pairs of the species were found in the sanctuary. Bugun Liocichla is a close relative of another rare Liocichla species, found only in a few mountains of central China. Liocichla are members of the bird family, babblers.

A bird race for birdwatchers will also be held during the festival. Prizes will be awarded to those with the highest tally of birds and the most special birds sighted.

“We are expecting a large number of tourists, including foreigners, during the festival,” divisional forest officer, Shergaon forest division, Rupa, Millo Tasser, told The Telegraph today.

Eaglenest, which covers an area of 217 square km, derives its name from the Red Eagle Division of the army, which was posted in the area in the 1950s. The sanctuary is home to at least 450 species of birds including babblers, herons, black storks, ducks, hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, pheasants, jungle fowl, quails, woodpeckers, warblers and cormorants.

The sanctuary has the distinction of having three tragopan species. It is also home to at least 165 species of butterflies and 15 species of mammals, including the endangered red panda, Royal Bengal tiger, Asiatic black bear and capped langur.

Tasser said the main aim of the festival was to raise awareness about Eaglenest.

“Although a large number of tourists visit Eaglenest every year, the sanctuary has not yet received the required attention. We hope the festival will help showcase its diversity of birds at the international forum,” Tasser said.

The festival will be held jointly by the tourism and the forest department, with co-operation from Bugun Welfare Society, an NGO involved in eco-tourism at Eaglenest.

Its members are from the Bugun community, who live on the fringes of the sanctuary.

Indi Glow, chairman of the society said a photography competition with entries of bird pictures taken at Eaglenest and painting and essay competitions among school children have also been planned during the festival.

“We are expecting the bird festival to become an annual feature in Eaglenest’s calendar,” Glow said.

Rural Entrepreneurship For Northeast India

By Shreya Dalela

North East India, the seven sisters, the sunrise states have since a long time been unable to keep pace with development happening in rest of the country. Somehow, even with the government allocating huge amounts of funds every year for its development in infrastructure and other facilities necessary for its progress, the benefits have been minimal. The insurgency and distrust between communities has been a big reason for this. After looking at all the problems that currently plague North East India, one may get a hopeless picture about it which is not the actual scenario.

North East India is endowed with vast number of resources which if put into use judiciously by encouraging micro level rural entrepreneurship and integrating it with local as well as international market can provide employment to all and also guarantee better living conditions. In spite of better literacy rate than rest of the country, the unemployment is high. If the skilled manpower is organized into rural enterprises, the true scope of North East can be realized. Only better living conditions and proper education can help communities leave behind their old notions and embrace development. There is a need for proper education and awareness about the opportunities that surround them among the local people and motivated youth can help solve this problem by being the facilitators of knowledge.

There is no dearth of opportunities when it comes to setting up rural enterprise in North-East. There are huge species of ornamental fishes and scope for expansion of floriculture, rubber plantations, mushroom cultivation and handloom industries. Not only that, North-East India has a huge capacity of hydro-electricity projects which if tapped, can be used to satisfy one third of India's power requirement. The vast amount of coal, petroleum and natural gas reserves also exist in the region. Almost all states share border with other countries providing scope for trade through land.

The communities need to be taught about organizing themselves into an enterprise, about the latest technical knowledge and skills needed for that particular industry, provided with regular and monitored funding and then linked to the local and international market. Government has taken up numerous initiatives to encourage rural entrepreneurship but the progress has been slow due to many factors and one of them being lack of proper guidance and support. Insurgency and infrastructural problems have also added to the problem. There's a need for a proper sustainable model that can solve some of the existing problems and promise development for all. This model is what the participating team of NIT Silchar for Manthan 2013 is working for.

"After spending around four years in North-East, I feel connected to this place and would feel extremely good if I can help in solving some of its problems. It's a wonderful place with limitless scope of growth and educated people. We just need a working model in place that uses the strengths of this place to overcome the limitations and result in overall development and that's what our team is working on", said Nitish Rajpurohit, one of the team members.