Mary Kom to feature on Pepsi cans!

New Delhi, Dec 23: The fourth time world women`s boxing gold medalist, MC Mary Kom from Manipur, has been voted as one of the 8 Pepsi MTV Youth Icons 2008. As a reward, Pepsi will feature Mary Kom on one million Pepsi My Cans!Out of the shortlisted 30 from 8000 probables, 8 of the nominees - MC Mary Kom, Rahul Mishra, Sarath Babu, Ankit Fadia, Mangesh Hadawale, Blaaze, Nitish Mishra and Ishita Khanna - were voted as the Pepsi MTV Youth Icons 2008. The Icons were voted through SMS and the voting system available on the Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008 website.Mary Kom recently clinched her fourth gold medal in the AIBA World Championships held at Ningbo City in China on November 29 by out-punching Romania`s Steluta Duta, her opponent in the title-bout, by a comprehensive 7-1 margin.Mary Kom hails from Kangathel, a small village in Churachandpur district of Manipur.

Governor, Imphal Archbishop, others send message of peace and brotherhood on Christmas

Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[2][3] The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.[4] The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC.[5] December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival,[6] or with the winter solstice.[7]
Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.
IMPHAL, Dec 24: The Governor Gurbachan Jagat in a message has sent his greetings to the people of Manipur, specially the Christians of the state, on the auspicious and joyous occasion of Christmas.Observing that Lord Jesus came to this world to build a new world order based on peace, justice and equality of mankind, the Governor said that his message of love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, benevolence and sacrifice had become more important in the present situation when the atmosphere in society was marred by bickerings, bitterness and social tensions.While celebrating Jesus` birth, while paying our obeisances to the apostle of peace, we should rededicate ourselves to the ideals, principles and eternal values espoused by him, the Governor said.While wishing the people of Manipur a merry Christmas, the Governor prayed that let the principles and messages of Jesus guide mankind to build a prosperous society and a peaceful world.
Picture : Residents of New Checkon singing Christmas carols in the street.

India asks US, China, Saudi to put pressure on Pak

New Delhi: Mounting its diplomatic offensive, India has impressed upon the US and Pakistan's two key allies, China and Saudi Arabia, to pressurise Islamabad to take concrete action against those behind the Mumbai attacks.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is understood to have conveyed to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal India's dissatisfaction over token actions by Pakistan against those responsible for the Mumbai terror strikes.
Huge evidence collected in 26/11 case: Police
Mukherjee, who had telephonic conversation with Rice and Yang and met Al-Faisal, apprised them about the latest situation in Indo-Pak ties which are witnessing a new chill, particularly because of Islamabad's denial mode.
During the telephonic conversations on Thursday night, Mukherjee is believed to have told Rice and Yang that Pakistan was not doing enough against those behind the Mumbai carnage and that the US and China should put pressure on it to ensure that those responsible for the carnage are brought to justice.
Full coverage: Mumbai 26/11
Rice is understood to have conveyed to Mukherjee that the US is keen to see that the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks are punished and is persuading Pakistan to act in concrete terms in this regard.
Yang, while condemning the attacks, agreed that the perpetrators should be punished.
During his meeting with the Saudi Minister, Mukherjee noted that India had so far exercised restraint despite the outrage in the country over the attacks.
The Saudi Foreign Minister, while describing terrorism as an "evil" and "cancer," underlined that all countries needed to cooperate to "destroy" the scourge completely.

Zardari vows to ‘defend country's sovereignty till the last breath’

Jamshoro (Pakistan): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to defend the country ‘until the last breath’, and said no compromise would be made with the nation’s sovereignty.
“We will defend the country till our last breath,” a former CCP cadet himself, Asif Ali Zardari said, while addressing the annual parents’ day of Cadet College Petaro (CCP).
He also added that Pakistan was a great country and that freedom was its national ideology, the ‘Daily Times’ reported.
Zardari’s comments came in the wake of the US drone attacks in the Tribal Areas and rising tensions with India along the border in the aftermath of the Mumbai Terror attacks.
He said that Pakistan was passing through a critical phase, and a better education system could guarantee better and stronger democratic norms. Promising to overcome the current crisis, he vowed to live up to the expectations of the masses and improve democracy in the country.

KCP (MC) attacks Raj Bhavan

After the Chief Minister’s official complex came under attack with bombs on more than one occasion this year, Raj Bhavan, official residence of the Governor was targeted today with bombs.In a daring attack in the midst of heavy presence of security personnel at the heart of Imphal city, cadres of the proscribed KCP (MC) lobbed two bombs at the Raj Bhavan just near the sentry post manned by CRPF personnel at about 5.35 pm today.This is the second time armed persons attacked the Raj Bhavan. In 1999, unidentified persons hurled a bomb at the Governor’s official complex from the side of Governor’s Road.As there was heavy traffic along the road in front of the Raj Bhavan, most of the people, police deployed around the area and those manning the Raj Bhavan’s main gate thought that it was bursting of tyre. One police personnel who along with some other colleagues were on duty at the Raj Bhavan’s main gate said that they were on duty as usual when he heard a loud sound in the direction of Keishampat. At the moment, one police Gypsy was also parked just beyond the main gate. But on checking a few minutes later, it was found that the sound was of a bomb explosion inside the Raj Bhavan complex.While one bomb exploded near a pond, just about 25 feet away from the sentry post manned by CRPF personnel inside the Raj Bhavan complex and opposite to office of the Higher Education Department at Nityapat Chuthek, another unexploded bomb was found at a nearby spot, informed explosive experts of Manipur Police.The spot where the bomb exploded is about 50 metres away from Raj Bhavan main gate and 250 metres away from the Governor’s residence.Even as there was no casualty in the explosion, police personnel including top ranking officials conducted an intensive search in and around the Raj Bhavan complex for any unexploded bomb.Governor Gurbachan Jagat was not at the Raj Bhavan when the bomb exploded. He left for New Delhi this morning to attend a meeting of the Committee of Governors scheduled for tomorrow.
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