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Many in minority-dominated Goroimari area in Chhaygaon in lower Assam are hopeful the New Year will end their prolonged spell of anxiety that they have been experiencing ever since their names got struck off the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in July last year when the final draft was prepared.
Air cargo in northeast received a fillip with the launch of a dedicated air freight service started by SpiceFresh, a subsidiary of SpiceJet, at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) airport here on Monday. On the occasion, two flights took off for Hong Kong and Dubai, with each carrying 1000kg of mandarin fruits for export.
Over 30 lakh out of 40.07 lakh people excluded from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) filed claims for the inclusion of their names as the correction process came to and end on Monday. An NRC official said nearly 600 objections against wrongful inclusion of names were also filed.
A Meghalaya based man was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for posting photos online of a monkey that he had killed and later cooked and eaten it.
On the 18th day of the operation, the navy divers stayed inside the shaft for three hours with a hi-tech gadget, Under Water Remotely Operated Vehicle (UWROV), and found visibility to be very poor – only one foot. The search would be feasible only after the water level inside the shaft is reduced to a safe diving limit of 30 metres. The depth of water is expected to be over 150 ft.
"Divers of the Indian Navy have entered the main shaft of the coal mine to survey the bottom of the sheet using underwater remotely operated vehicle," spokesperson of the rescue operations, R. Susgni said.
NFR's Rangiya division had successfully installed a mechanism where sound of bee is amplified whenever elephants are spotted near a railway track to chase them away, thereby saving wild elephants from being hit by trains.
At a time when security has been beefed up in Imphal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on January 4, a joint security team on Saturday night arrested two men with two automatic arms, including an M-16 rifle, in the city.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura) coalition swept the polls, winning 44 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP alone secured 36 seats, while the IPFT, a tribal-oriented party, won eight seats. The CPM won the remaining 16.
Raha Police in Nagaon on Sunday arrested city-based businessman Rajesh Himatsingka from his Amchoi tea estate bungalow in connection to a case of dishonouring bank cheques. The trader was arrested on the basis of a warrant of arrest issued against him by a lower court here recently.
Eighteen high-powered pumps were installed at the spot to drain out the excess water from the 370 feet-deep pit. Along with the 15 members navy team, 21 members of the Odisha Fire and Emergency Service are also assisting rescue operation.
Absence of speed limit and reckless driving by people have resulted in several accidents on the Bogibeel Bridge since it was thrown open to public on December 25.
Members of the transgender community and civil rights groups here on Friday staged a protest against the Transgender (Protection of Rights) Bill which has been passed in the Lok Sabha recently. The protest was a part of a nationwide stir demanding that the bill is immediately repealed. Transgender activists have been up in arms against the bill which proposes giving supreme power to district screening com
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on Friday said that despite stiff opposition from various quarters, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill may be tabled in the Lok Sabha in the first week of January.
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) adviser and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi said he has received a threat message from persons involved in supari (dry betel nut) syndicate for going to the media with RTI findings about a thriving illegal business running into thousands of crores.
The Bogibeel ferry ghat, which till very recently used to bustle with activity, now wears a deserted look — almost resembling a ghost town — after the opening of the Bogibeel Bridge.
The Army’s Eastern Command headquarters have taken over the protection of the India-Myanmar border, covering four northeastern states, and plans to step up the presence of Assam Rifles troops, the only force on this side of the country, in border areas — taking them beyond areas with human settlements to remote areas much closer to the international border.
A leader of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), who is the prime accused in the attack on Meghalaya rights activist Agnes Kharshiing and her aide, has surrendered before the police in East Jaintia Hills district.
Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has sought a 90-day halt in road traffic on the Saraighat rail-cum-road bridge from the state government for repair work after cracks were detected on the ‘road deck portion’ of the structure.
Senior officials of police and the administration on Thursday reviewed security arrangements across Barak Valley ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Silchar on January 4. Modi is set to launch BJP’s campaign for next year’s Lok Sabha election from Silchar.
Facing criticism for verbally abusing a journalist at a press conference on Wednesday, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal on Thursday apologized for his behaviour.
Two teenage girls from lower Assam’s Goalpara district who had been allegedly sold off for Rs 2 lakh each were rescued from Haryana and Rajasthan respectively on Wednesday. The girls, who are both minors, were both allegedly kidnapped in August.
In preparation for BJP’s official kick-off to its Assam campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah held a key meeting with Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state finance and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi.
A day after the country's longest rail-cum-road bridge was thrown open to public by PM Narendra Modi, thousands of people made a beeline for the bridge since Wednesday morning.
Keeping the coming Lok Sabha elections in mind, PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday refrained from christening the Bogibeel Bridge — India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge — after any personality from Assam.
The long wait for Bogibeel Bridge has turned the line of claimants of credit for its completion longer with every passing year.
The CJM court of Assam’s Nagaon district has summoned minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain to appear before it on January 8, 2019, in connection with the alleged rape of a 24-year-old woman in the district.New Delhi, December 25 (IANS): The government on Tuesday refuted media reports on a possible reduction in the maximum age limit for appearing in the Civil Service examinations.
Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said: “All the reports and speculation should be put to rest” as there was no move on the part of the government to alter the age criteria of eligibility to appear in civil service examination.
“Attention is drawn to media reports about possible reduction in maximum entry age for the Civil Services Examination. It is hereby clarified that there is no such proposal under contemplation,” a government spokesperson had earlier said.
The clarification followed a NITI Aayog report ‘Strategy for New India @75’, in which it had proposed to reduce the upper age limit for the civil services to “27 years for the General Category in a phased manner by 2022-23”.
In that comprehensive report on the national strategy for 2022-23, the Aayog proposed a slew of measures to bring in reforms in recruitment, training and performance evaluation for the prestigious civil service.
As of now the upper age limit for UPSC Civil Services examination is 32 years for General Category. It is 35 for OBC and 37 years for SC/ST aspirants.
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The Clock Tower in Dimapur lit up with decorative lights. (Morung Photo)
New Delhi, December 25 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday conveyed their greetings to the nation on the occasion of Christmas.
“Merry Christmas to all fellow citizens, especially our Christian brothers and sisters in India and abroad. This is a time to be with family and friends, a time for peace and piety. May Christmas bring hope and happiness to our country and our shared planet,” President’s Office tweeted.
In a tweet, Modi said: “Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. We remember the noble teachings of Jesus Christ and recall his efforts towards creating a compassionate and equal society.”
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also shared a greeting card on Twitter.
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Pope Francis leads the Christmas Eve mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, December 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)
VATICAN CITY, December 25 (Reuters): Pope Francis led the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas on Monday, urging people in the developed world to seek a simpler, less materialistic life and condemning the yawning gap between the rich and the poor.
Francis, 82, marking the sixth Christmas of his papacy, led a solemn service for nearly 10,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica for his traditional Christmas Eve Mass.
Security has been tight around the Vatican and many other tourist areas in Rome for the Christmas season.
Last week police in southern Italy arrested a Somali man suspected of having been a member of Islamic State and who had threatened to bomb churches in Italy, including St. Peter’s.
In his homily, Francis said the infant Jesus, born in poverty in a stable, should make everyone, particularly those who have become “greedy and voracious,” reflect on the real meaning of life.
“… Let us ask ourselves: Do I really need all these material objects and complicated recipes for living? Can I manage without all these unnecessary extras and live a life of greater simplicity?” Francis said.
“In our day, for many people, life’s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” he said.
Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has made defending the poor a hallmark of his papacy.
On Saturday, the Vatican said he had given the homeless in Rome a Christmas gift of a new clinic in St. Peter’s Square where they can get free medical help.
The Catholic charity Caritas estimated late last year that there are more than 16,000 homeless in Rome and their number congregating near the Vatican has grown visibly in recent years, especially at night when they cluster under arcades to sleep.
Monday night’s Christmas Eve papal Mass was the first held with a new, energy-saving lighting system for the largest church in Christendom. It employs 100,000 LEDs (light emitting diodes), using only 10 percent of the energy of the previous system.
On Christmas Day on Tuesday, Francis will deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same balcony where he first appeared after his election on March 13, 2013.
The post Remember the poor and shun materialism, Pope Francis’ Christmas message appeared first on The Morung Express.
The district authorities have set up six temporary helipads — three each on the south bank (Dibrugarh side) and north bank (Dhemaji side) — in view of the PM’s visit. Three public galleries, apart from the main canopy, have been erected for the PM’s public meeting at Kareng Bali chapori on the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Dhemaji district. An estimated 2 lakh people from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are expected to attend the PM’s rally.
Amid resentment among locals in upper Assam over attempts to privatize Tengakhat and Jorajan oilfields, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on Monday announced a ‘resistance movement’ to save the oilfields of Assam.
An employee of the Nagaon Paper Mill, an unit of the state-owned Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited, identified as Kathsingh Bordoloi, on Monday attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a mobile tower at Jagiroad in Morigaon district.
