Mizoram Still Highest Consumer of Tobacco in India

Other Northeast states Nagaland and Tripura follow close behind

Mizoram a state couched in north-east India is no doubt permeated with the spirit of natural beauty but it is the same state where 60 per cent of people indulge in smoking. The strange thing that has been put under the light by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is that 22 per cent women of Mizoram indulge in smoking, compared to the meagre national level of 2.5 per cent, which is indeed startling.

This survey has also revealed the fact, that the ratio of women indulging in smoking have a higher death rate than the women who never smoked.

In the words of Nancy Malsawmtluangi:

I sell minimum 50 packs of cigarettes and 170 paans (betel leaves laved with tobacco) every day.

That can be one of the major reasons, why women of Mizoram are topping the cancer list of the country.

I think government will have to do a lot to check this trend and will have to try hard to make people aware of its implications.

Other News of Today of Mizo Smoking

Agartala, May 30 : Mizoram has emerged as the highest tobacco consuming state in the country followed by Nagaland and Tripura, Dr Goutam Majumder, Superintendent of Regional Cancer Centre said here today.

He said despite imposition of ban on smoking in public places, about 55.9 per cent of people in Tripura had been consuming tobacco (67.2 per cent in Mizoram and 56.8 per cent in Nagaland). According to statistics, while female tobacco users in the state was 48.1 per cent, 63.4 males used tobacco in Tripura.

''Females are found to be using smokeless tobacco than their male counterpart. Tobacco users of below 17 years are found highest in the state that counts for 29 per cent in a day,'' Dr Majumder said, adding that the tobacco using habit among minors had been on the rise.

Population based Cancer Registry Programme of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) shows occurrence of oesophagus, lung, mouth, nasopharynx and stomach cancer are relatively higher in Northeastern states as compared to other parts of the country.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has conducted a comprehensive study into the abnormal cancer growth in NE state during 2003-04, which revealed that Mizoram recorded the world's second highest cancer cases.

According to the report of the Development of Atlas of Cancer in India (DACI), Aizawl district has the highest Minimal Age Adjusted Incidence Rate (MAAIR) in India among women, followed by Serchhip district, which was also in Mizoram.

The study revealed, on an average about 40 people in a population of about a lakh suffer from stomach cancer in Northeast and this was only second to Japan's statistics after analysing the data of 105 hospitals spread over 82 districts across the country.

Oil Price Hike Fuels Anger in Mizoram

Aizawl, May 30 :The recent hike in petrol and other fuel products has fuelled public anger in Mizoram, with Opposition parties demanding the Congress government to revoke the increase in local sale taxes on oil not later by June 15.

Youth wings of the three Opposition parties -- Mizo National Front, Mizoram Peoples Party and Zoram Nationalist Party -- in a joint press conference on Saturday, lambasted the Congress government for increasing sales tax on petroleum products exorbitantly.

On Wednesday last, petrol became dearer in Mizoram than Delhi as the Mizoram government hiked prices of petroleum products and lubricants by raising local sales tax rates, a week after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) increased petrol price by Rs 5 a litre.

One has to shell out Rs 64.70 and Rs 38.30 for a litre of petrol and diesel respectively in Aizawl and other parts of Mizoram while extra premium petrol costs Rs 67.20 a litre and extra premium diesel Rs 40.15 a litre. This resulted in a hike in sales tax, from 18 to 25 per cent on petrol, from 10 to 15 per cent on diesel and 2 to 4 per cent on cooking gas.

''Whereas the Centre has refrained from hiking petrol prices to prevent public anger, it is really unfortunate that the Mizoram Government has hiked fuel prices at extraordinary rates,'' Lalruatkima, president of MNF Youth said. ''The government has to impose or increase taxes from time to time taking into consideration the peoples ability to pay. The recent increase of taxes by the Congress government was exorbitant,'' Lalruatkima said.

The joint opposition wings also ridiculed a meeting of executive committee of the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee on May 25, which included Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, that resolved to ask the government to make downward revision of the oil prices.

''This only shows that the Congress high command does not have trust in the Congress Cabinet. Also that the Cabinet does not look before it leaps,'' the MNF Youth leader said.

''Therefore, we demand the Congress government to roll back the fuel prices before June 15, as it is also the wish of the Congress party executive committee, chaired by Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla,'' he said.

Soon, Internet Connectivity For Every Indian Village

New Delhi, May 30 : Very soon, every village in the country will have an internet equipped service centre to ensure rural access to various online services like railway reservation and weather information for farmers.

The information technology department is working on a plan to have 2.5 lakh such centres across the country - one in every panchayat - by 2012.

While this is an extension of the original plan to have one lakh telecentres - one each at the block level - the department is banking on the recently unveiled National Broadband Policy to provide access to high speed connectivity.

Additional secretary, IT, Shankar Agarwal said, "The existing centres have internet facility but the speed is not very high, just about 256 kbps.

We are hoping that when the national broadband policy comes into force, this will increase to 2 mbps so that the service is more efficient and even video content can be sent.

We have about 6 lakh villages in the country, so the new target will mean that there will be one telecentre for every 2.5 villages."

At present, there are about 94,000 telecentres in the country, mostly at the block level. Each centre has a computer, a scanner, a printer and technical staff to help villagers with their work.

The idea, Agarwal said, is to have a cyber cafe like infrastructure in place for access of people in the rural areas. Private initiatives did not quite take off because of the uncertain nature of the business model which is when government decided to pitch in, he added.

While the department is confident of meeting the 2012 deadline for the panchayat level centres, upgrade of internet service is a very important aspect of the plan as without it the plan to use this in a big way for educational purposes may not be very successful. "Transfer of video content is essential to use the centres as distance learning hub," Agarwal said.

The speed increase as envisaged in the broadband policy would entail laying of fibre cables which could mean possible land issues. The cables would need to be laid and there could be opposition from panchayats or individual farm owners about the digging work that would be essential for this.

The 2 mbps internet speed plan in fact is a take-off from the government's own State Wide Area Network (SWAN) project which is in place for intra-government connectivity under which every block level government office in the country across 27 states is connected.

The states/UTs that are not a part of the initiative now include Goa, Andamans, Daman and Diu, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan started late but are now catching up.

Bengal Retain Santosh Trophy Title

Bengal beat Manipur 2-1 to retain Santosh Trophy

Players and officials of the Bengal football team jubilate after winning the 65th Santosh Trophy at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Guwahati. (PTI Photo)

Guwahati, May 30 : Bengal retained the Santosh Trophy with a 2-1 victory over Manipur in the summit clash to win their 31st title of the national championships on Monday.

Strikers Branco Cardozo (21st minute) and Budhiram Tudu (48th) scored for Bengal while Manipur pulled one back through Nabachandra Singh in the 75th minute at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

Manipur were playing in only their second final after winning the title in 2002.

Both the teams started on an aggressive note. While Manipur went all out for an early goal, Bengal preferred to play sensibly and gained in confidence as they played the waiting game.
Branco put Bengal ahead in the 21st minute. He blasted a Francis Fernandes pass from the top of the box as Bengal went into the interval with a one-goal lead.

After changing ends, Bengal doubled the lead in the 48th minute. Midfielder Budhiram Tudu found the back of the net when he tapped in from close.

With no other option left, Manipur went all out. And it paid dividends when Nabachandra Singh reduced the margin in the 75th minute. Inspired by the goal, Manipur launched a series of attacks to restore parity but it all came a bit too late.

Bengal now have won their second consecutive title after a lull of 11 years since emerging champions in 1999. In the last edition, Bengal had beaten Punjab 2-0 in the final to regain the trophy.

Bengal sports minister congratulates football team

KOLKATA: West Bengal sports minister Madan Mitra congratulated the state football team on winning the prestigious Santosh Trophy after defeating Manipur in the final in Guwahati.

"We are happy for the super performance of the Bangal soccer team who has restored the past glory of Bengal in football arena," Mitra said.

He said that the team would be accorded a reception at the Town Hall by the state sports department.

Mitra said that the state government would encourage sports in various disciplines.

Mile-High Flirting Goes Horribly Wrong

A US man who tried to flirt with a young woman on board a plane by bragging he was carrying enough poisonous gas to knock out the entire aircraft found himself arrested and banned for life from Delta Air Lines.

Bryan Sisco, 40, allegedly knocked back five whiskey-and-cokes at an airport bar in Dallas on Friday before boarding his Atlanta-bound plane, on which he took a wrong seat and found himself next to Danielle Valimont, 23, from Griffin, US, The Commercial Appeal reported.

When confronted by a flight attendant about being in the wrong seat, Sisco said he and Valimont were newlyweds.

The 40-year-old then whipped out a butane lighter, sparking it near Valimont's legs, and boasted that he had a canister that contained enough gas to knock out everyone on the plane.

In further attempt to impress her, Sisco also claimed he was an architect and a federal marshal, and his father was in the CIA, according to Valimont who wrote about the incident on her blog.

"He was very crass with his language and called me "B****" and "F*****" in a friendly, joking way - if that's possible"

The quick-thinking Valimont pretended she needed the bathroom and managed to alert a flight attendant.

The flight was diverted to Memphis, where a baffled Sisco, who had been sleeping and oblivious to the unfolding panic, was arrested by officers who boarded the plane.

"I fell asleep, and woke up in handcuffs in Memphis with the FBI questioning me. ... I couldn't even feel my thumb, the handcuffs were put on so tight," he said.

Sisco added that he was puzzled by the fuss which came about "because of that one comment".

"We were talking, sharing M&Ms, eating chocolate, having a good time," he said. "I fabricated some truths about myself. ... I thought we were getting along pretty good."

The flight continued on its way to Atlanta, while Sisco was released on a $10,000 bond. He faces charges of carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft.

Chinese Labour Camp Prisoners Forced To Play Games

Chinese Labour Camps in gold farming racket of World of Warcraft , says Detainee

The black market in World of Warcraft credits is a full-blown industry in China. Picture: Blizzard Entertainment

• Prisoners forced to break rocks, game
• Physical punishments if quotas not met
• Huge blackmarket in gaming credits

A former prisoner of a Chinese labour camp claims guards are forcing detainees to play online games as part of a huge money-making scam.

Liu Dali told The Guardian website that guards traded the credits inmates built up playing games such as World of Warcraft for money.

"The computers were never turned off."

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," he said.

"There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5000-6000rmb a day.

"We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."

Dali — not his real name — is aged 54 and was sent to Jixi re-education camp in Heilongjiang province, in north east China, in 2004.

He said he would spend his days either breaking rocks or assembling car seat covers and his nights playing computer games.

Dali said that if he didn't complete his credit quota, the guards would punish him: "They would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things."

The building up and trading of game credits is known as gold farming.

Millions of gamers around the world pay real money for the credits in order to save hours of playing time.

Gold farming is rampant in China and other developing nations. Many Chinese gamers have full-time jobs as gold farmers but The Guardian story highlights the first time it has been practiced in labour camps.

Quoting figures from the China Internet Centre, the paper says almost £1.2 billion ($1.85 billion) worth of virtual currencies was traded in China in 2008.

Tyson Says Heavyweight Belts 'Garbage'

Mike Tyson says heavyweight belts are 'garbage' to him now

New WBC world heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson after his 3rd round TKO of champion Bruno in their title fight at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, 1996.

Mike Tyson arrives on the red carpet for the premiere 'The Hangover Part II'.

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson says his title belts are nothing more than garbage to him now that he is a reformed family man, CBS News reported yesterday.

At 44, the one-time self-proclaimed "baddest man on the planet" has traded in a life of excess for the Las Vegas suburbs where he lives with his third wife, Kiki, and two of his eight children, Morocco and Milan.

It is also where he trains his beloved pigeons, with his passion for racing the birds detailed on Animal Planet program Taking on Tyson.

In an interview with CBS, Tyson said he was two and a half years sober and a completely different person to the brash, aggressive man who was once one of the most recognised athletes in the world.

"I can't handle being that guy," Tyson said about his younger self.
"You know, that guy's a creation. 'Iron Mike,' the baddest man on the planet. There's nobody like that. People like that don't exist. I just had the audacity, the idiocy, to say it."

Tyson said he was experiencing the happiest period of his life as a full-time family man.

"Right now supersedes all those championship belts, all that money, all that liquor, all that dope," he said.

"I have my wife and my kids," he said.
"I had all the pleasures you could ever give me and still it doesn't match up to my ankle compared to my wife and my children. And they like me and respect me, a little bit at least. So it can't even compare to that. It can't. Not even a little bit."

Asked what his title belts meant to him now that he has changed his ways, Tyson said, "This is garbage. I can say I bled for garbage.

"At one time it meant a lot - when you're just a young kid, this is everything to you," he added.
"But then you realise your priorities change. And you just want your children to be happy and do nice things and that makes you happy. This stuff is nothing. This is just nothing, man."

Help Wanted: See The New 'Billionaire' Jobs

Wanted: See the boom jobs of the next 20 years

By Malcolm Farr

By the numbers: China's boom at a glance / Graphic: Simon Wright

Just add a language course to create the next wave of billionaires / File picture

• China's growth to drive Aussie job boom

Learn Mandarin, "become a billionaire"

• "Service exports" the hot jobs of 2020

China's rapidly growing demand for financial services, urban planners and environmental managers is offering lucrative career choices for young Australians.

China watchers are pointing to the opportunities for well-trained Australians as the northern giant's economy expands and swells its well-heeled middle class.

It will carry the effects of the Chinese boom to a range of skill sets beyond those required by the mining sector.

One experienced China watcher said: "If you are in the construction industry and do a TAFE course in basic Mandarin, you could become a billionaire."

Experts told news.com.au the prospects for skilled Australians will increase over the next 15 to 20 years as China becomes the most powerful consumer economy on the globe.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Trade Minister Craig Emerson will soon travel to China in a bid to make it easier for Australians to get these jobs - known as service exports.

They will underline that while the mining boom benefits a small number of states and miners, the services export boom will benefit a wide range of people.  It won't be necessary to own an iron ore mine to get a lucrative slice of the Chinese phenomenon.

Which jobs?

The jobs include vocations in which Australians already are world leaders, such as mining engineering, but also agri-science, food security, green architecture and business development.

There will be huge demand for architects and urban designers as the Chinese put a priority on ensuring its rapidly growing number of cities - most bigger than Sydney - are both functional and comfortable.

By 2020 there will be 93 Chinese cities of five million inhabitants or more.  By the same date, there are expected to be more middle class consumers in Asia than the rest of the world combined, and most of them will be in China.

Chinese are moving from the country to the city at a rate of about 14 million people a year, and it is calculated some 50,000 additional skyscrapers will be needed for them by 2025.

"The implications for high-value knowledge economies like Australia stretch well beyond the mining boom," Treasurer Wayne Swan said on May 11.

How to clean up

China is spending more to repair environmental damage caused by its initial rush of economic growth, and wants to focus more on preventing future damage.

This will create employment for such service providers as hydrologists, environmental planners and environmental scientists.

The Chinese government also wants to keep its independence in food production.  It wants to strengthen its food security and not have to rely on imports from other countries.

This, plus the more sophisticated menu demands of the Chinese middle class, are certain to produce contracts for agricultural economists, rural scientists, experts in animal husbandry and biotechnologists.

A similar self-reliance is wanted in mineral resources, which would provide work for Australian mining engineers.