UNLF Chief’s Family Question Delhi and Dhaka About Whereabouts

Imphal, Oct 20 : Family members of UNLF chairman RK Meghen alias Sanayaima, whose whereabouts have remained a highly kept "State Secret" after his reported arrest by a combined team of RAW and Bangladesh police on September 29 last near Dhaka, have lodged a case with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights after failing to get any response from the Govt of India and the Govt of Bangladesh.

Demanding to know the true facts and incidents about the arrest of her husband and his present whereabouts, wife of RK Meghen, RK Ongbi Ibemnungshi has written to the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights requesting to give necessary directives to the Government of India, Government of Bangladesh and the State of Manipur in this regard.

Family members of Meghen briefing media persons

Talking to some media-persons in this connection at their Yaiskul Jamasthan residence today, RK Chinglen, the youngest son of RK Meghen, said that the written complaint has been lodged and intervention of United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights has been sought as they have the right to know the whereabouts of their arrested father.

Though RK Ongbi Ibemnungshi was also present at the occasion, she did not give any comment as she was not feeling well.

(RK Meghen) could have be recognised easily regardless of having several assumed names.
The face of a person like RK Meghen could never escape the hawk-eyes of Indian intelligence agents, he added.

Chinglen informed that as the October 14 media report in which a senior Indian official was quoted to have said that RK Meghen alias Sanayaima was handed over to the Indian authorities after his arrest by Bangladeshi police, did not mention where he (Meghen) is being kept, his mother wrote to the Union Home Secretary of India on the same day requesting to give detailed information about the whereabouts of RK Meghen.

Similar complaint had also been lodged with the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission.

But no response have been received either from the side of the Government of India or the National Human Rights Commission.

Accordingly, the case has been brought to the notice of United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights on October 17 with the request for giving directions to the Government of India, Government of Bangladesh and the State of Manipur to disclose the true facts and incidents of the arrest RK Meghen and his whereabouts at present.

Informing that the response of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights is still awaited, Chinglen said that all the possible legal assistance would be sought for doing proper justice to RK Meghen.

''There would be no objection to a free and fair trial '', he added.

Responding to a query, Chinglen said that none of the Indian authorities have communicated anything official to the family about the arrest of his father.

''My father may be having several assumed names, but he has a passport.

But Indian Government has said nothing about my father's arrest in Bangladesh.

Indian democracy has become a joke'', he said.

He also said that the attitude of Indian Government towards his family is despicable.

64-year RK Meghen alias Sanayaima is the son of late RK Madhurayyajit, who had not only commanded the Allied Forces during Second World War and got posted in Rangoon but also played a pivotal role in the establishment of SSB for the first time in Nagaland and Manipur.

His brother RK Ranendrajit was a MIG-21 pilot who fought for India against external aggression.

''In fact, most of the GOCs and Army Officers who got posted in Manipur have visited our family', Chinglen added.

Source: The Sangai Express

Manipur Nagas Petition Prime Minister

Tangkhuls demand alternative administrative arrangement

Manmohan Singh and G.K. Pillai

Imphal, Oct 20 : Tangkhul civil society organisations today submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through Union home secretary G.K. Pillai to remind the Centre about the Manipur Nagas’ demand for an alternative administrative arrangement for them.

“We support and reaffirm the Naga Peoples Convention’s declaration made on July 1, 2010, seeking an alternative arrangement from the government of India in consultation with the Naga people at the earliest possible time,” the memorandum said.

Singh was also urged to expedite the process for an alternative arrangement for the Nagas of Manipur.

The memorandum was jointly submitted by the Tangkhul Naga Long, Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong, Tangkhul Naga Wungnao Long, Tangkhul Mayar Ngala Long and the Tangkhul Shanao Long.

An eight-member delegation of the citizens’ organisations met Pillai at the town hall of Ukhrul. The meeting lasted for about half an hour.

Pillai visited Ukhrul town today to attend a development seminar on Ukhrul district. He attended the one held for Imphal East in Imphal city yesterday.

Before the meeting, the people of Ukhrul took out a rally in the town in support of the demand for an alternative arrangement.

“Pillai should have visited Ukhrul to discuss about the Nagas’ demand for an alternative arrangement rather than attending a development seminar,” S. Milan, spokesman for the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Nagas in Manipur, said.

Spearheaded by the council, the Naga organisations in Manipur had raised the demand for an alternative administrative arrangement after the Okram Ibobi Singh government conducted elections to six autonomous district councils in five hill districts and prevented NSCN (I-M) general secretary Th. Muivah from entering Manipur in May this year.

Efforts by Ibobi Singh to hold talks with the council leaders have not borne fruit. A delegation of the council met representative of Manipur government Rakesh Ranjan, resident commissioner, Delhi, during tripartite talks on their demand in Delhi on September 21.

Biharis in Northeast India

After reading the news below, it is shocking to know there might be millions of Biharis in Northeast India. That too on Northeast states which have necessary laws in place to protect Indigenous tribes. The law being the ‘Inner Line Permit.’

Are the Biharis part of a work force or are they simply taking up jobs of the natives is a big question…

As the Bihar election starts…we know a lot more have migrated to Northeast India.

What will the citizens in Northeast do? Will they follow the Shiv Sena way in Maharashtra or the Manipur militants way of shooting dead labourers…is a thought to ponder about.

Below is the news:

Five lakh Biharis in Northeast India may miss poll

Guwahati: The first phase of assembly elections in Bihar is beginning on Thursday but thousands of Bihari people staying in faraway Northeast are likely to miss the poll due to lack of sufficient number of trains from the region to their home state.

Thousands of people from North Bihar’s Darbhanga, Sitamari, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Mithilanahcal and others who are out in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and parts of the region are struggling to get tickets as there is only one train under Northeast Frontier Railways connecting their area.

Manoj Kumar Singh, a resident of East Champaran district, who works as a contractor at Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh is worried as he did not get ticket even as he was trying for the last 20-days. ‘Avadh Assam Express is the only train that connects our home district but my ticket was cancelled and now I am worried that I will miss the election on Thursday, said Singh.

The first phase of elections will be held in eight districts of the state- Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnea, Katihar, Madhepura and Saharasa, mostly in North Bihar.

There are about a dozen trains from Northeast connecting Patna but only a few trains connects North Bihar districts close to Indo-Nepal border and thousands of people from Northeast who are rushing to their home state are struggling to reach on the poll day.

According to organizations representing Hindi speaking people here, there are more than 10 lakh Bihari people residing in Northeast and about half of them are from North Bihar.

‘Avadh Assam Express is the only train connecting North Bihar but there are thousands of people in Assam’s Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and other parts of Northeast who are struggling to reach home for election. The Avadh Assam Express is always crowded as many people from Nepal also prefer to board the train. As there is no proper communication facilities many voters will have no other option but to give up their plan to visit home and cast votes this election, said Binoy Kumar Jha, secretary of Mithilanchal Sanskritik Samonnoy Samity here.

Many people are boarding bus to Siliguri in West Bengal and from there to their respective areas to take part in election. Politicians from Bihar are appealing people who are staying out in Delhi, Mumbai and UP to take part in election but no such appeal has been made for thousands of Bihari voters staying in Northeast, said N K Jha.

NFR chief Public Relations Officer S Hajong said no special trains has been introduced for passengers traveling for Bihar elections. We introduced few special trains for Durga Puja and people can board them. Apart from Avadh Assam Express, one Rajdhani Express touches Muzafarpur,Hajon said.

The assembly polls in Bihar will be held in six phases on October 21, 24, 28 and November 1, 9 and 20 for the 243 seats.

Air New Zealand Offers ‘Cuddle Class’

Economy air travel need no longer be referred to as "cattle class," and passengers don't have to squeeze into tight seats.

Beginning next year, money-conscious long-haul travelers can take "cuddle class" and book a row of seats that convert into a couch or bed.

Planned by Air New Zealand for trans-Pacific flights, the "Skycouch" is a row of three regular seats redesigned to create a space for children to play or a flat surface for adults to relax and sleep.

"Cuddle class" is Air New Zealand's new offering on some of its planes. It consists of three-seat blocks that convert into a couch or bed.

The upgraded seating configuration, to be fitted in the carrier's new fleet of Boeing 777-300 aircraft, will cost the price of two standard economy seats plus half-price for the third seat in the row.

They will be big enough to accommodate a couple or a family with a small child.

"For those who choose, the days of sitting in economy and yearning to lie down and sleep are gone," Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe said.

Air New Zealand, which is 75 percent owned by the South Pacific country's government, will formally debut the aircraft in April but is scheduling an inaugural flight for December.

Proposed routes include long-haul flights between Los Angeles and Auckland and London and Auckland.

While the cuddle-class seat configuration may present overamorous passengers with an opportunity to join the fabled Mile-High Club, the airline is urging restraint.

"Just keep your clothes on, thanks," Fyfe said.

Air New Zealand

Cuddle class arrives after an incident last month highlighted the other side of the air travel experience.

In September, some passengers on Tatarstan Airlines were forced to stand for a five-hour flight from Turkey to Russia. A last-minute aircraft switch saw a Boeing 737 with 148 seats replaced with another plane with seats for only 142 passengers.

Six passengers were offered the choice of flying with no seat or waiting seven hours for another flight.

They took the flight.

Meanwhile, discount European airline Ryanair is seeking a green light from the Irish Aviation Authority for "standing-room only" flights.

"If they approve it, we'll be doing it," a Ryanair spokesman said.

Kingfisher Calendar Girls

Catch the Kingfisher calendar girls at Talwalkars at Mumbai Central.

Top Honour For Sexy Russian Spy

By Shaun Walker

Moscow, Oct 19 : Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has handed out his country's top awards to a group of spies who returned to Russia from the United States in a July 'spy swap'.

The group includes the glamorous Anna Chapman, who has never been far from the headlines since the story first broke.

A news agency said a number of employees of Russia's SVR intelligence agency were given "the highest state awards" at the Kremlin ceremony.

The facts that are known about the work of the spies in the United States suggest that they were not particularly successful at uncovering any major secrets, but since their return to Russia they have been lauded as heroes.

For the two former "superpowers" it was their biggest single spy swap since the days of the Cold War.

Shortly after their return, the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, himself a former Russian agent in East Germany, said he had met with the deportees and they sang patriotic songs together. He said at the time that the spies would have a bright future in Russia.

Since the spy swap at Vienna Airport, when the 10 alleged Russian sleeper agents were swapped for four Russians serving jail sentences for links with Western intelligence agencies, all 10 deportees have kept a very low profile.

They have not spoken to the media and little is known of what they are doing now.

The only exception is Anna Chapman, the redhead who made headlines with her raunchy Facebook photos. She has already posed for a Russian glossy magazine, and recently made an appearance at Baikonur, the site on the Kazakh steppe used for Russian spacecraft launches.

Ms Chapman travelled to the site to wish a joint US-Russian space mission well, but was shielded from reporters by a burly security guard.

Russian media reported that she is now working as an adviser for a leading Russian bank.

There have also been rumours that she plans to launch a career in show business or politics.

The New Pop Sensation

She's cute, she's adorable, she sings and she dances. A Japanese female robot is all set to take the international pop world by storm.

A close-up of the robot artiste. She looks so real and could easily pass for a little Japanese princess.

The 5-feet 2-inch tall humanoid robot "HRP-4C" of Japan's Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) made her debut at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo on 17 October. AIST developed the entertainment software called Choreonoid, formed from choreograph and humanoid.

A photographer takes pictures of the robot.

The little robot also called the Divabot has movable features that are able to mimic the expressions of a human singer. She is able to 'sing' using a synthesised voice technology that sounds and breathes like a human too, reports the Daily Mail.

Masataka Goto, from Japan's Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said: "This robot primarily utilises two technologies. One is for its singing voice."

"Last year, we used Yamaha's vocaloid software to synthesize notes directly. But this year, we've used our own technology called VocalListener," Gato said.

This is a new technology which synthesizes a singing voice on the computer side as if imitating a person's singing voice.

The little robot dances with the other performers. Only her legs tell her apart from the human performers.

The little robot sings.

"For the robot's facial expressions, we've developed another new technology called Vocawatcher. This analyses a video of a person singing to create expressions naturally," Gato added.

Researchers used a real singer as a model, recording her every move as she sang a typical Japanese pop song.

The movements were mapped onto HRP-4, who was then able to mimic her real-life counterpart's every movement.

The team even helped the robot breathe realistically, by modelling real, human breathing sounds.

Another scene from the unique performance titled "Dance Robot Live! - HRP-4C Cybernetic Human".

Wonder what the Japanese will come up with next?

Shinichiro Nakazawa, a scientist from the institute told the Daily Mail, "With the software, we hope to make robots act, sing and even walk on a catwalk during a fashion show. We want to create a new content industry with the technology".

"This beauty has got the voice, she's got the moves -- and if she has a breakdown, you can just send her in for repairs," says The Sun.

The centre of attraction.

"Wanna dance with me"?

Source: Agencies

Image credits: AFP

Its Raining Flats And Apartments In Delhi

DDA’s Festive Offer: 15,000 flats

New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority is getting set to announce a mega housing scheme under which 15,000 flats will be up for allotment, through the authority’s usual lottery system, across various areas in the Capital.

Sources in the DDA have confirmed to Express Newsline that the authority hopes to float the scheme no later than the second week of November. The authority, in August this year, had said it would announce the scheme before the Commonwealth Games in September.

"We are working on the final modalities of the housing scheme, which will be announced by September," DDA vice-chairman Ashok Rai had said.

Officials in the authority said with attention completely focused on the Games, the DDA could not announce the scheme in September. However, with 'watch and ward' or the maintenance costs rapidly piling on completed flats, the authority is keen to begin the process of allotting.

Watch and ward costs entail hiring of security personnel to guard completed units to ensure that fittings and fixtures are not stolen.

The 15,000 flats will include housing under the four major categories, High Income Group (HIG), Middle Income Group (MIG), Low Income Group (LIG) and Economic Welfare Scheme (EWS). The DDA is yet to release exact figures of how many houses will fall in each category.

"We are still in the process of compiling all data, which includes information about categories, and other issues. The Housing department is working on it," an official said. DDA V-C had announced, in August, that these flats will be in areas such as Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Jasola, Narela among others, and will also include approximately 4,000 flats in D-6 Vasant Kunj which were used to house domestic technical staff during the Games.

The scheme will not include the Commonwealth Games Village flats, which the DDA hopes to sell at market rates separately.

"Like all DDA houses, the 15,000 houses will be put to lottery at extremely competent rates, well below the market rates offered by private developers," an official said.

The new scheme will also introduce DDA's new maintenance policy. Under the new policy, maintenance charges will be added to the cost of the flats. The maintenance charge will cover 30 years of maintenance to be carried out by the DDA, including tasks such as painting and rectifying flaws in the external structure.

The DDA announced its last scheme in September 2008, when 5,328 houses were put to draw.

Source: The Indian Express