Sportspersons asked to be humble

Vice President, NSCN (R), Akato Chophy addressing gathering at Aghunaqa on Monday. (Morung photo)

 

Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 26

The 39th Aghunaqa Area Sports Association (AASA) Kukami (GBs) Memorial Trophy started on Monday at Aghunaqa headquarter with Vice President, NSCN (R), Akato Chophy as the chief guest.

 

Addressing the gathering after hoisting the AASA flag, Akato urged upon the participating sportspersons to be disciplined and humble themselves regardless of their achievements in the sporting field.

 

“Once we get recognized even at the local level in the field of sports, an individual tends to think that the team cannot surge ahead without his/her participation and maintains self pride which would eventually lead to our loss,” he said and advised the players to be humble.

 

Akato also pointed out that many players tend to indulge in intoxicants without giving a second thought about how it was going to negatively affect their future performance in the sporting field. “To excel in the field of sports, talent is not the only thing but we need to keep our physique fit and healthy,” he added.

 

Further, the chief guest dwelled on how the youngsters have begun to immerse themselves with the western culture and gradually forgetting their own culture and tradition. He laid strong emphasize on the need to preserve and promote one’s mother tongue which maintains a strong identity for the people. Akato also urged the youngsters to inculcate the habit of respecting their elders and leaders.

 

He also briefly recalled how he, along with other leaders of the area, had taken initiatives for development of the area during the earlier days.

 

Aghunaqa Area Kukami Kuqhakulu, President, Mughavi Awomi delivered the welcome address while Pihekhu and Yetoho villages performed cultural items.

 

Altogether, 12 villages are participating in the GBs Memorial Trophy which will culminate on November 30.

 

 

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RBI cuts mandatory hedging to 70% for foreign loans

Mumbai, November 26 (IANS): Further easing the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday reduced the mandatory hedging provision to 70 per cent from 100 per cent.

 

“On a further review of the extant provisions, it has been decided, in consultation with the government of India, to reduce the mandatory hedge coverage from 100 per cent to 70 per cent,” the RBI said in a notification.

 

The relaxation in hedging is for Indian companies raising foreign currency-denominated ECBs under Track I, which refers to medium-term borrowings with average maturity between three and five years, the central bank said.

 

For ECBs raised earlier, the existing hedge will have to be adjusted only to 70 per cent of the outstanding exposure, the RBI said.

 

“Further, it is also clarified that ECBs falling within the aforesaid scope but raised prior to the date of this circular will be required to mandatorily roll over their existing hedge(s) only to the extent of 70 per cent of outstanding ECB exposure,” it added.

 

The notification, aimed at reducing hedging costs for foreign loans, comes at a time when the economy faces liquidity issues, particularly the non-banking financial companies (NBFC).

 

Earlier, the regulator had eased hedging rules by reducing the minimum tenure for borrowing through the ECB route to three years from five years. It had also reduced the tenure required for exemption from mandatory hedging to five years from 10 years.

 

While the move is likely to boost the local credit market, it will increase the exposure of Indian companies borrowing abroad to fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.

 

 

 

 

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Web check-in fee charged by airlines under scanner: Ministry

New Delhi, November 26 (IANS): The central government on Monday said it is going into the issue of some airlines charging a fee for advance seat selection through web check-in.

 

“MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation) has noted that airlines are now charging for web check-in for all seats,” the Ministry said on its Twitter handle.

 

“We are reviewing these fees to see whether they fall within the unbundled pricing framework.”

 

The Ministry’s decision comes in the wake of two leading budget carriers starting to charge a fee for all seat selections done through web check-in from November 14.

 

Earlier, only a section of seats were subjected to advance selection fees.

 

 

 

 

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Ponzi scheme accused Vinay Shah arrested in Nepal

Gandhinagar, November 26 (IANS): The Rs 260-crore ponzi scamster Vinay Shah of Gujarat was arrested by the Nepal police near the capital Kathmandu on Monday, Gujarat police said on Monday.

 

Shah had been in hiding at his female friend’s house in Nepal, sources said.

 

Haresh Dudhat, Superintendent of Police (SP), CID crime, said, “Vinay Shah has been arrested from Pokhra near Kathmandu. He was in hiding with his woman friend Chandaa Thapa, who works in a spa in Delhi. Right now he’s in Nepal police’s custody and we already have our teams in Nepal who will get him in our custody after carrying out due procedures.”

 

According to Dudhat, Shah was arrested under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act as he carried more currency than is permissible. The Nepal police found Rs 30 lakh cash with Vinay and he was handed over to the revenue department of Nepal.

 

As India and Nepal are signatories of the extradition treaty, the CID Crime will take Shah’s custody after the Nepal authorities give their clearance, he said Dudhat.

 

“Going through the call details recordings (CDR), our investigations showed that the Shah couple could be hiding in Nepal. We were in constant touch with the Nepal police, and had sent a team to Nepal two days ago. The Nepal police called up our DGP, CID (Crime and Railways) to inform him of the arrest,” said Dudhat.

 

Shah carried with him currency of over Rs 30 lakhs in US dollars, pounds and Euros,” said Dudhat.

 

“The CID crime has recorded over 100 testimonies in the case. After the Shah couple disappeared, the police have recovered Rs 43 lakh from his house and around Rs 38 lakh in different bank accounts,” said Dudhat.

 

“We are quite confident that the duped people would recover their money. We also want people to come forward and register their complaints,” added Dudhat.

 

Vinay and his wife Bhargavi had allegedly cheated thousands of investors to the tune of Rs 260 crore through their companies, Archarcare LLP and Digi Locals, police said.

 

The Vastrapur police has filed three complaints in the case against the Shah couple and two others. The Gujarat government subsequently formed an SIT of CID Crime to investigate the scam.

 

 

 

 

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Brazilian president-elect adds fifth military man to cabinet

Jair Bolsonaro attends a meeting with governors-elect in Brasilia, Brazil on November 14, 2018. (REUTERS File Photo)

 

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, November 26 (Reuters): Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Monday named retired General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz as his next government minister, adding a fifth military man to his cabinet.

 

Right-wing politician Bolsonaro, a former army captain who surged to victory on a pledge to end years of corruption and rising violence, made the announcement in a Twitter post.

 

Some Brazilians are concerned that the appointment of Dos Santos Cruz, who led United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti, and other current or former military officials marks a return to a militarized government. Bolsonaro takes office on Jan. 1.

 

Seeking to defuse those concerns, Bolsonaro, a fan of the 1964-85 military dictatorship, has vowed to adhere to Brazil’s constitution and has moderated some of his more extreme views expressed during his nearly-three decades as a federal congressman.

 

Bolsonaro, who has long been a critic of the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, again appeared to tone down his strident views on regional migration, saying that Venezuelans fleeing to Brazil could not be returned to their country “because they are not merchandise.”

 

In comments to reporters on the weekend, he also floated the idea of creating a refugee camp for Venezuelans in the northern border state of Roraima, while defending strict checks on who enter “because there are some people we don’t want in Brazil.”

 

 

 

 

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China orders investigation after scientist claims first gene-edited babies

SHANGHAI/LONDON, November 26 (Reuters): Chinese health and medical ethics authorities started an investigation on Monday into claims by a scientist who released videos on YouTube saying he had altered the genes of twins born earlier this month, creating the first gene edited babies.

 

The Southern University of Science and Technology in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where the scientist, He Jiankui, holds an associate professorship, said it had been unaware of the research project and that He had been on leave without pay since February.

 

He Jiankui defended what he claimed to have achieved, saying he had performed the gene editing to help protect the babies from future infection with the AIDS virus.

 

But his university said it was a “serious violation of academic ethics and standards” and scientists around the world condemned it as monstrous and dangerous.

 

The university issued a statement after He said in five videos posted on Monday that he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the genes of twin girls.

 

China’s National Health Commission said it was “highly concerned” and had ordered provincial health officials “to immediately investigate and clarify the matter”.

 

“We have to be responsible for the people’s health and will act on this according to the law,” it said in a statement.

 

Shenzhen’s medical ethics committee said it was investigating the case. The Guangdong provincial health commission was also looking into it, according to Southern Metropolis Daily, a state media outlet.

 

He said in one YouTube video that the editing process, which he called gene surgery, “worked safely as intended” and that the resulting twins were “as healthy as any other babies”. It was impossible to verify the claims as He did not provide any written documentation of his research.

 

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to essentially cut-and-paste DNA, raising hope of genetic fixes for disease. However, there are also concerns about its safety and ethics.

 

“If true, this experiment is monstrous,” said Julian Savulescu, a medical ethics specialist at Britain’s University of Oxford.

 

Kathy Niakan, an expert at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said: “If true…this would be a highly irresponsible, unethical and dangerous use of genome editing technology.”

 

China’s Southern University of Science and Technology It said He is on unpaid leave until 2021.

 

“Southern University of Science and Technology strictly requires scientific research to conform to national laws and regulations and to respect and comply with international academic ethics and standards,” it said.

 

Asked for his comment on the university’s statement, He said he had been on voluntary leave for several years to focus on his research, without specifying dates.

 

In the videos, He defended his work, saying in one: “I understand my work will be controversial, but I believe families need this technology. And I’m willing to take the criticism for them.”

 

In an earlier email to Reuters, He said that he planned to share data about the trial at a scientific forum this week. He said he planned for it to also go “through the peer review process, and through a pre-print soon.” A pre-print is a publication of findings made before the research is published in a peer-reviewed journal.

 

In an earlier telephone interview and emails with Reuters, He said he was aiming to bestow on the gene edited babies “lifetime protection” against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

 

He said he began his work in the second half of 2017 and enrolled eight couples. All of the potential fathers involved were HIV-positive. Five chose to implant embryos, including the parents of the twin girls, identified only by the pseudonyms Mark and Grace. The babies’ names are Lulu and Nana, He said in one video.

 

 

 

 

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Trump’s ‘body guy’ plans to leave White House soon – officials

WASHINGTON, November 26 (Reuters): Jordan Karem, one of President Donald Trump’s longest serving aides, plans to leave the White House by the end of the year to return to the private sector, White House officials said on Monday.

 

Karem, 37, told Trump on Monday morning of his plans to depart, the officials said.

 

Since March, Karem has been deputy assistant to the president and director of Oval Office operations. He is known as the president’s “body guy,” a personal aide who is the first White House official to see Trump in the morning and last to see him at night, tasked with keeping him on schedule and briefing him on upcoming meetings and events.

 

Nicholas Luna, the White House trip director, is the likely successor to Karem, the White House officials said.

 

“Jordan Karem is great guy who I have gotten to know well over the last several years,” Trump said in a statement in response to queries about Karem. “He was with me from the beginning and I appreciate his loyalty and his commitment to my administration. He did an excellent job working with me and my team.”

 

The period after midterm congressional elections is a typical time for White House turnover. Karem has told colleagues he wants to return to the energy sector, where he worked prior to service for the president, and start a family with his wife, who he married early this year.

 

Karem, a veteran of Republican Party politics, began working for Trump as a campaign aide in July 2015 shortly after the New York real estate developer began his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

 

He ended up the campaign as press director for Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, and began his tenure at the Trump White House as the overall director of presidential advance.

 

 

 

 

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