HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN Wednesday
Dec 26-Jan 1, 2012
Sikkim declared ‘Best Small State’, gets
Diamond State Award
Gangtok, Dec 25: Sikkim has been declared India's 'best small state'
by the jury of the IBN7 Diamond State Award, 2012, an official statement from
the Sikkim government said on Sunday.
Lok
Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presented the award to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan
Chamling in a ceremony in New Delhi on Saturday night.
Goa
and Uttrakhand were declared second and third runners-up in the category of
Best Small States.
Sikkim
was declared as best State in the country in the category of small states in
overall achievements and the State was also declared best State in the country
in citizen security, environment and water and sanitation categories
"Sikkim
was declared as the best state in the country in the category of small states
for its overall achievements. The state was also declared best in the country
in citizen security, environment and water and sanitation categories," the
statement said.
Exiled Tibetan govt hopeful on Japan PM-elect on Tibet
issue
I will do everything in my
power to change the situation in Tibet: Shinzo Abe
 |
Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama presents a khada to Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister-elect, in
Tokyo on November 13, 2012. (Photo/AP/Itsuo Inouye)Add caption |
Dharamsala, Dec 25: The exile Tibetan administration last week congratulated Japan’s new
prime minister-elect Shinzo Abe on winning the parliamentary elections and
expressed hope for his “continued support” on the issue of Tibet.
Exiled Tibetan Prime Minister
Lobsang Sangay also thanked the people and government of Japan for the
“long-standing support” for the non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people.
“On behalf of the Tibetan
people, I would like to congratulate Mr Shinzo Abe on winning the elections and
wish him all the best as the next prime minister of Japan,” Sangay said. “I
thank the people and government of Japan for their long-standing support for
democracy and non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people. I look forward to
your continued support for the issue of Tibet.”
Tibetan Parliament-in-exile
also issued a congratulatory letter to Abe, appreciating his support for the cause
of Tibet, phayul.com reported.
“We have been very
appreciative of your support for the cause of Tibet in general and the
commitment that you showed during the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama this
year to Japan," Deputy Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel said.
"We wish you all the
success in your endeavours and appeal to you again to play a pro-active role in
reducing the current grave situation inside Tibet and in finding a lasting
mutually beneficial solution to the issue of Tibet.”
Earlier in April, Sangay met
and had cordial exchanges with Abe on four separate occasions during his visit
to Japan.
The exiled government
expressed its “sincerest thanks” to the prime minister-elect for his “word of
support and for co-hosting His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s recent Japan visit.”
The Tibetan spiritual leader,
during his visit to the island nation last month, made a historic visit to the
Japanese Parliament building and addressed more than 230 Japanese
parliamentarians and their representatives.
Following the meeting, Abe,
who was then the leader of Japan's main opposition party, the Liberal
Democratic Party, had promised to “do everything to change the situation in
Tibet.”
“I swear I will do everything
in my power to change the situation in Tibet where human rights are being
suppressed,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo. “Tibet seeks freedom and democracy
and we agree on those values.”
Abe had earlier served as
Japanese prime minister between 2006 and 2007.
Editorial
POLL VICTORY
Good Economics Is Good
Politics
Industry captains have hailed
Assembly poll victories in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh. They feel that
the mandate provides “great opportunity” for development of infrastructure and
industrial growth. Political stability would surely enhance confidence of the
industry and herald new investments. While Narendra Modi’s supporters have
hailed the three-time Chief Minister as “an epitome of good governance and
path-breaking development” there is no doubt that Gujarat has made remarkable
progress during the course of last decade. Though the Congress party managed to
snatch back the hill State with a wafer-thin majority – securing 36 seats in
the 68-strong House – industrial houses have expressed confidence that the
State will be able to achieve its development target under the Congress.
Poll pundits feel that ‘even
if Modi is not the next Prime Minister, he would certainly continue to be one
of India’s key leaders, and not just in Gujarat.’ During his election campaign
Modi was always mindful of the fact that ‘good economics is good politics’ and
this was equated with ‘good governance’. The real significance of Modi’s third
consecutive victory in Gujarat, on the campaign theme of development, is that
it has the capacity to dramatically alter the political discourse in the lead
up to the 2014 election.
The success of Modi’s
campaign pitch of reaching out to the aspirational sections of society,
eschewing the politics of religious or caste identity, holds enormous
significance for the economic and political discourse as it will likely be
framed for the 2014 elections. Now that Modi has firmly laid his future
politics on economic development his next focus should be to set high standards
on the democratic process in all spheres of activity.
Shillong Fashion Week brings Northeast designers to
limelight
“North-east India can be a
new fashion hub in future”
Shillong, Dec 25: Shillong Fashion Week (SFW) 2012, the first-ever fashion week to be
held in the State of Meghalaya, has opened doors for the Indian fashion icons
to explore the fashion concept of Northeast India.
The Shillong Fashion Week
provided an opportunity to amateur designers from the region to learn more
about national and international fashion industry.
Ritika Gupta, one of the
leading Indian designers and a participant in the SFW, told fibre2fashion, “The fashion sense of
people in north-eastern part of India is very good and when we talk about
western dresses it is more prevalent in this region than in any other part of
the country.”
“North-east India can be a
new fashion hub in future,” she adds.
Talking about the benefits
amateur designers accrued through SFW, she says, “SFW provided an opportunity
for the amateur designers in the region to learn about conducting a fashion
show, market requirements and the show provides new opportunities for them.”
According to Nathaniel W
Rynjah, the main focus behind the fashion show was to expose the weavers and
the textile sector in north-east India.
“We had about nine local
designers who participated in SFW and for most of them it was the first time in
a fashion show,” he informs.
An American university student is the new
Miss Universe
Miss USA Olivia Culpo is crowned Miss
Universe 2012 Wednesday night.
LAS VEGAS — An American university student
is the new Miss Universe, defeating dozens of contestants from six continents
to bring the crown back to the U.S. after a drought of more than a decade.
Twenty-year-old Olivia Culpo won the title
on Wednesday night at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip,
replacing outgoing champion Leila Lopes of Angola.
The Boston University sophomore’s coronation
ends a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition co-owned by Donald
Trump and NBC. An American had not won the Miss Universe title since Brook Lee
won in 1997.
Culpo, who beat out 88 competitors, wore a
tight navy blue mini-dress with a sequined bodice as she walked on stage for
the event’s opening number. Later in the night, she strutted in a purple and
blue bikini, and donned a wintery red velvet gown with a plunging neckline.
No one was more surprised than Culpo’s
family when told them she was entering the Miss Rhode Island contest last year,
her father Peter recalled.
“We didn’t know a thing about pageants,” he
said.
She won that contest in a rented $20 dress with
a hole in it and then began working out, dieting, and studying current events
on flashcards to compete for the Miss USA crown
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