In yet another incident of ceasefire violation, Pakistan on Monday opened fire at the Indian troops in Digwar sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian security forces have also retaliated.

This comes after India had on March 9 summoned the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan and expressed deep concern over continued ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

No casualties have been reported so far in the incident. This is the second ceasefire violation in less than 24 hours. A civilian was injured when Pakistan violated ceasefire along the LoC on Sunday.

Meanwhile, two grenades were recovered from the luggage of an Army jawan at Srinagar airport during the security check-up.

Army sources said that the jawan belongs to Darjeeling and has accepted that he was carrying grenades, saying it was for causing blast in rivers to catch fish.

The soldier was to board a flight to Delhi. He has been lodged at the local police station for questioning.

Several service stations that sell only premium gasoline were closed here this weekend, although Cuba has not officially announced restrictions on sales of the special fuel.

Some of the service stations that sell high-octane fuel, which is hard to find on the island, had been closed for several days, with cones and yellow tape keeping drivers away, Efe news reported.

Long lines formed outside one service station on March 31 and the Havana fuel outlet was closed a day later.

An Efe reporter confirmed that other service stations were still selling premium fuel on April 1, but with cash payment required and the high-octane gasoline restricted to certain vehicles and cars rented to tourists.

Cuba is trying to find a new source of oil amid a cut to the subsidized supply it has received since 2003 from Venezuela, which provided the island with 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of petroleum.

The flow of crude from Venezuela has been reduced to about 55,000 bpd due to the economic crisis in the South American nation.

Selena Gomez's three-month break from the spotlight last year helped her reconnect with real" life, says the singer-actress' mother Mandy Teefey.

Gomez looked radiant as she flaunted her orange dress by fashion designer Oscar De La Renta at the premiere of series 13 Reasons Why here last week. 

When asked about Gomez, Teefey said her hiatus helped her to be more focused on her car

eer.

"She looks like the sun. I was like, '(You're) a little sun'. I think it was actually (from) taking a break," Teefey told etonline.com.

Teefey shared that Gomez's break from the pressure of fame let her reconnect with her roots and "the real world".

"You asked what it is (like) to feel like you're in this world. We're in a bubble. It's not a real world. You don't really realise it until you go out of this bubble and you're like, ‘Oh, OK'," she added.
 

President Donald Trump has said that the United States is prepared to act alone if China does not take a tougher stand against North Korea's nuclear programme.

Trump's comments in an interview with the Financial Times come just days before he is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida. The two are expected to discuss a number of issues, including North Korea, trade and territorial disputes in the South China Sea during their meeting on Thursday and Friday.

“Yes, we will talk about North Korea,” Trump told the newspaper for a story that appeared Sunday on its website. “And China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won't. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don't it won't be good for anyone.”

A State Department spokesman said late yesterday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been in touch with a top Chinese official about the upcoming trip.

“We can confirm Secretary Tillerson spoke today by telephone to Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi regarding this week's visit of President Xi and other issues of bilateral and regional importance,” the spokesman said. He discussed the upcoming visit on condition that his name not be used.

In his interview, Trump said trade was the incentive for China to work with the United States. Still, he said the United States could “totally” handle the situation in North Korea without China's help.

Asked how he would tackle North Korea, Trump said: “I'm not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East.”

While China provides diplomatic and economic support to its neighbour, it claims that its influence over Kim Jong Un's government is limited.
The relationship between the US and China has been uncertain since Trump's election. During his campaign he accused China of unfair trade practices and threatened to raise import taxes on Chinese goods and declare Beijing a currency manipulator, though it is unclear whether Trump will follow through with either threat.

Trump told the newspaper that he doesn't “want to talk about tariffs yet, perhaps the next time we meet.”

Trump's ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, also offered tough talk on China, saying on ABC's “This Week” that the US is pressing China to take a firmer stand regarding North Korea's nuclear programme.

UN resolutions have failed so far to deter North Korea from conducting nuclear and missile tests. Last year, the North conducted two nuclear tests and two dozen tests of ballistic missiles.

Ahmed Shehzad scored 53 from 45 balls as Pakistan beat West Indies by seven wickets on Sunday to win the Twenty20 international series 3-1.

Pakistan reached 127 for 3 in 19 overs in reply to West Indies' 124-8.

The tourists won the toss at Queen's Park Oval and put West Indies into bat, and Chadwick Walton top-scored on 40 with four sixes and two boundaries for the hosts.

From 52-1, West Indies slumped to 83-7 as Hasan Ali (2-12) and Shadab Khan (2-16) produced economical spells.

Some late hitting from Carlos Brathwaite, who scored an undefeated 37 from 24 balls, gave West Indies something to bowl at but it appeared unlikely to be enough.

Pakistan opener Kamran Akmal fell to Marlon Samuels for 20 but Shehzad pressed on in partnership with Babar Azam (38) to take his team to the brink of victory.

With the target down to 15, both were dismissed in quick succession by Kesrick Williams, who bowled Shehzad with the last ball of one over and had Azam caught by substitute Rovman Powell with the first ball of his next.

Sarfraz Ahmed survived the hat-trick ball and Shoaib Malik was dropped before the pair saw Pakistan across the line with an over to spare.

Barcelona made light of the suspended Lionel Messi's absence to remain just two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid as Neymar netted his 100th goal for the club in a 4-1 win at Granada.

Earlier, Madrid consolidated their advantage at the top thanks to goals from Karim Benzema, Isco and Nacho to beat Alaves 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid still also have a game in hand and the two will meet at the Bernabeu in three weeks' time.

"The games after an international break are always special because the players travel a lot and accumulate tiredness," said Barca boss Luis Enrique.

"Playing away from home makes it even more difficult, but we overcame those problems very well."

Barca could have used Messi's precision in front of goal as they passed up a host of chances in the first-half at Nuevo Los Carmenes.

Luis Suarez's first attempted chip over Ochoa came back off the underside of the bar before the Mexican denied Suarez with three saves in as many minutes.

The Uruguayan did eventually make the breakthrough when he sent a lovely dinked effort over the helpless Ochoa from Jordi Alba's through ball.

Granada sent on Chelsea loanee Jeremie Boga at the start of the second-half and he took just five minutes to level as his pace proved too much for Barca's cumbersome backline before finishing low into the far corner.

However, Barca retook the lead 13 minutes later when this time Suarez turned provider for Alcacer to net just his fourth goal since joining from Valencia in August.

Any chance of a Granada revival was ended when Uche Agbo was shown a second yellow card eight minutes from time.

Seconds later Barca make the game safe when Ivan Rakitic drilled into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

And Neymar rounded off the win with his 100th goal on his 177th appearance when he tapped home Alcacer's cross at the far post.

At the Bernabeu, the European champions were grateful to Alaves' wastefulness in front of goal as they moved a step closer to a first title in five years.

"Playing every three days you can't always play perfectly for 90 minutes," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

"We were having problems, we weren't playing well and then all of a sudden Cristiano (Ronaldo) gets the ball, passes it to Isco and he controls and scores.

"That is what this team has. We know that at any moment we can hurt the opponent."

Real suffered an injury blow inside 10 minutes when Raphael Varane experienced a recurrence of a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Carvajal.

"Rafa has damaged the same area as before, it isn't as bad as three weeks ago and we hope it is nothing major."

The hosts opened the scoring just after the half hour mark as Dani Carvajal's burst of pace took him to the by-line and he picked out the unmarked Benzema to smash into the far corner.

Madrid's rhythm was disrupted by the half-time whistle, though, as Alaves were the better side for large spells of the second-half.

Deyverson headed over from point-blank range from Theo Hernandez's cross before Mendez passed up the visitors' best chance when he slotted wide when unmarked at the back post.

Manu Garcia's flicked header also then dipped just beyond Kiko Casilla's far post as the Santiago Bernabeu crowd became restless. However, Isco settled their nerves when he rocketed Ronaldo's through ball into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.

And Nacho gave the scoreline an unjustified gloss when he tapped into an empty net after Fernando Pacheco made a brilliant save to tip Bale's free-kick onto the bar.

Earlier, Sevilla's slump continued as they were held 0-0 at home by Sporting Gijon to remain in fourth behind Atletico Madrid due to an inferior head-to-head record.

Hyderabad-based L.V. Revanth — a popular name in the southern entertainment industry — overcame the language barrier to emerge the winner of popular singing reality show Indian Idol 9 on Sunday in a musical finale filled with various melodious as well as humourous motifs.

Revanth, who has lent his voice for around 200 songs in southern films including Baahubali: The Beginning, became known for his soulful voice right from the start when he auditioned for the show. Despite not knowing Hindi, he sang Bollywood songs effortlessly throughout the season and defeated Hyderabad-based P.V.N.S. Rohit and Punjab's Khuda Baksh in the finale to clinch the "Indian Idol" trophy along with a contract with Universal Music and Rs 25 lakh.

"Right now I am on cloud nine. I am very happy for winning the show. I would say that my life has just began right now. It's not easy to win that title being a south Indian singer. I saw this show as a big opportunity. The four-month journey in this show has completely changed my life," Revanth told.

Ace choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan, renowned singer Sonu Nigam and music composer Annu Malik, who kick-started the "Indian Idol" journey as judges in the first two editions, returned on the panel for the ninth season of the Sony Entertainment Television show, which was hosted by Karan Wahi and Paritosh Tripathi.

Being a known singer in Telugu and Kannada film industry, Revanth was the judges' and audience's favourite. As he said on the premiere episode itself, he joined Indian Idol to get recognition nationwide and debut in Bollywood.

Besides the outstanding and foot-tapping performances by the three finalists and the judges, the big highlight of the show was when legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar appeared for the world television premiere of his debut track Cricket waali beat, on which he has collaborated with Sonu Nigam.

Another interesting element on the show was when comedian Sunil Grover appeared in the avatars of Dr. Mashoor Gulati and Rinku Bhabhi and took viewers on a laughter ride. He has been in news for a while now after having a fight with ace comedian Kapil Sharma in a flight while returning from an event for The Kapil Sharma Show. Sunil was joined by comedienne Sugandha Mishra.

Earlier, Indian Idol worked as a platform for singers Abhijeet Sawant, Prashant Tamang, Sreeram Chandra and late Sandeep Acharya, who won the show in previous seasons and went on the make a name for themselves in the Indian music industry.

The finale episode also featured actors Boman Irani and Arshad Warsi, who appeared to promote their forthcoming show Sabse Bada Kalakar.

The show, which will feature Boman, Arshad and Raveena Tandon as judges, will start from April 8.

Indian singer-songwriter Arko Pravo Mukherjee, who was launched by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in Bollywood with Jism 2 in 2012, has featured on the US Billboard Charts.

His song Reeva has become the No.1 Break Out Song for the Billboard Dance Club 50 Charts. 

As per the April 1 reports, the track entered the Billboard Dance 50 Charts at Number 49. It has now climbed to number 45.

Arko said in a statement: "Since the past one year, my management team Sujit Tewari and Shehan Raj have been working on my parallel career in the West and we decided to independently launch the single and now we have major labels chasing us to tie up.

"We have received positive response from the US markets with this track playing in every single nightclub. Next I'm looking at collaborating with mainstream artistes like Bruno Mars and John Legend."

The video of the track was shot in Los Angeles. It will release in India on Monday.

The original club mix has been remixed by global DJs Sted-E & Hybrid Heights. The track will have a Bollywood mix featuring DJ Aqeel, YouTube sensation Shirley Setia and rapper Raftaar, and an EDM mix featuring Lost Stories.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday gave assurances to Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo by phone, to allay concerns that Spain may use its apparent veto power in Brexit negotiations.

It has become one of the early flashpoints in Brexit negotiations which started last week after May triggered Article 50, the process for leaving the European Union, Xinhua news agency reported.

An official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister reiterated our long-standing position that the UK remains steadfastly committed to our support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy."

"The Prime Minister said we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes," said the spokesman.

"She said we remain absolutely dedicated to working with Gibraltar for the best possible outcome on Brexit, and will continue to involve them fully in the process," the spokesman added. 

Gibraltar, located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean, was ceded to Britain as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Spain has persistently sought to regain the tiny southern territory. 

A row has erupted after draft Brexit negotiating guidelines drawn up by the European Council identified future arrangements for Gibraltar, which is home to about 30,000 people as one of its 26 core principles.

That clause has potentially put Britain and Spain on a collision course over the future of this area. 

Surpassing the MoU targets of generating 8,700 million units of electricity, SJVN (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam) Ltd has achieved generation of 9,045 million units from its three power plants during the financial year 2016-17, according to RN Misra, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the company.

SJVN is a central Public Sector Unit in joint venture with Himachal Pradesh government.

The CMD said that the country’s largest 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station in HP had recorded a 103.5 per cent achievement of the targets with a generation of 7,050.62 million units while the downstream 412 MW Rampur Hydro Power Station in the state had surpassed the targets by 110 million units with a generation of 1,960.36 million units. SJVN's 47.6 MW wind power station at Khirvire in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra has generated 34 million units of electricity.

Misra told that hydro power generation being core strength of the company; the engineers of SJVN have been successful in achieving the records with efficient machine and water management. Taking advantage of the lean season, the project engineers have already completed the annual maintenance of machines in record time. The machines of the two projects are ready to perform on full efficiency during the ensuing summer season.

He said that on account of its excellent financial performance the company had declared the highest ever interim dividend of Rs.930.74 Crore @ Rs.2. 25 per share and has already been paid to the shareholders. Government of India having 64.46 per cent equity holding in the company was paid Rs.599.99 Crore while the Government of Himachal Pradesh holding 25.51 per cent equity was paid Rs.237.38 Crore he told. General public holding 10.03 per cent of the equity has been paid Rs.93.37 Crore.

He informed that SJVN has now successfully ventured Pinto the field of solar power generation with the commissioning of 5 MW Charanka Solar Power Project in the state of Gujarat during financial year 2016-17.

South India was the most affected as the indefinite strike called by truck owners to protest mainly against the proposed 50 per cent hike in the third party insurance premium entered the second day on Sunday.

"Lorries are not going to southern states from other parts of the country. Trucks which have national permit have been diverted.. .All south India bound trucks and lorries have stopped. And there is no movement from south India also," All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) President SK Mittal said over phone.

AIMTC is the apex body of truck operators in the country.

He said the response from other parts of the country was also "good".

Mittal claimed the situation could turn for the worse as LPG gas carriers and tankers are set to join the strike from Monday.

All India Confederation of Goods Vehicles Owners' Association (ACOGOA) president Channa Reddy said apart from south India, the strike has evoked a "great response" from the eastern states as well.

"The strike is continuing. There is virtually no truck movement to and from south India. In North India also truck movement is paralysed because of this," Reddy said.

The South India Motor Transport Association and South Zone Motor Transporters' Welfare Association (SZMTWA) had gone for the indefinite strike from Thursday and All India Confederation of Goods Vehicles Owners' Association (ACOGOA) joined the protests from Saturday.

In Maharashtra, the effect was "partial".

In a bid to resolve the stand-off, the strikers will meet Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Chairman on Monday, and take a decision on whether to continue with the agitation based on the discussions with the regulator.

"Officials of the Ministries of Road Transport, Highways and Finance will also be present at the Hyderabad meeting on Monday," said Mittal.

The third party premium for automobiles is decided by IRDAI while all other premium rates are decided by the insurers – private and government-owned. Fleet owners normally go only for third party policies and take care of the damages to vehicles on their own.

Truck owners are also demanding reinstatement of tariff advisory committee and protesteing against fines proposed in the Motor Vehicles Act amendment.

Mittal said truckers have been demanding category wise real time data from the insurance regulator but this has not been provided so far.

"Lorries whose insurance premium is due, are noo renewing it, as they are opposed to the sharp and arbitrary increase in the premium," he said.

In West Bengal, rows of trucks were stranded at various points, across the state. There was no loading and unloading of goods. There were fears that the strike could lead to severe shortage of fish, vegetables and fruits, triggering a price increase.

According to Mittal, the total number of trucks in India is around 94 lakhs.
 

 President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Republicans are continuing to discuss how to replace the healthcare reform approved in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama, media reports said.

"Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R(epublican) Party!" said Trump on Twitter.

"Talks on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck," the President added.

The bill to end Obamacare and replace it with another health insurance system was withdrawn on March 24 by Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan before it came up for a floor vote, given the lack of support among very conservative GOP factions, Efe news reported.

Trump said at the time that he was "open" to trying to get another healthcare reform measure passed in the future and predicted that this year Obamacare would "explode", leading to a flight from it by insurance companies and/or exorbitant increases in premiums.

He said that when that occurred, the Democratic opposition would agree to work with him to change the healthcare system.

Trump threatened last Thursday to campaign against Freedom Caucus congressmen in the 2018 elections if they do not support his program, citing several legislators by name in a Twitter post.

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy on Sunday termed the board-approved compensation hike for Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao as "not proper" and said it will "erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board".

In an email, he also said that given the current poor governance standards at Infosys, the targets for variable pay may not be adhered to if the board wants to favor a top management person.

Murthy said giving nearly 60 per cent to 70 per cent increase in compensation for a top level person (even including performance-based variable pay) when the compensation for most of the employees in the company was increased by just 6-8 per cent is "in my opinion, not proper".

"This is grossly unfair to the majority of the Infosys employees including project managers, delivery managers, analysts, programmers, sales people in the field, entry level engineers, clerks and office boys who are toiling hard to make the company better. The impact of such a decision will likely erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board. 

"With what conscience, can a decent person like Pravin (a man schooled in Infosys values for over 30 years) tell his juniors that they should work hard and make sacrifice to reduce cost and protect margin? I have got so many mails from these people asking whether this resolution is fair. No previous resolution in the history of the company has received such a low approval," he added.

Murthy, however, said he has lots of affection for him. "I recruited Pravin in 1985 and had nurtured him throughout my stay at Infosys since then. He had been sidelined. He was not even a member of the Executive Council at Infosys in 2013 when I came back. Kris, Shibu and I encouraged him, elevated him to the board, and made him the COO when we recruited Vishal as the CEO. So, this abstention has nothing to do with Pravin," he said.

"Those of us who have always stood for fairness in compensation and practised it, right from the day Infosys was founded, will have to demonstrate it when needed. This is a time when it is needed. Nothing more and nothing less," he wrote.

Murthy said he always believed in striving towards reducing differences in compensation and equity in a corporation.

"You may not know that my Infosys salary at the time of the founding of Infosys was just 10 per cent of my salary in my previous job. I ensured that my younger, co-founder colleagues got 20 per cent higher salary over their salaries in their previous job even though I was 7 levels above them in my previous job and was 11 years older than them.

"I gave them huge equity compensation the like of which has never been replicated in this world. So, this abstention comes from somebody who has walked the talk," he said.

Murthy said he always felt that every senior management person of an Indian corporation has to show self-restraint in his or her compensation and perquisites. "He or she has to fight for maintaining a reasonable ratio between the lowest salary and the highest salary in a corporation in a poor country like India. The board has to create a climate of opinion for such fairness by their actions," he added.

"This is necessary if we have to make compassionate capitalism acceptable to a majority of Indians who are poor. Without compassionate capitalism, this country cannot create jobs and solve the problem of poverty. Experts tell me that capitalism may come to an end in the not-so-distant future if the current corporate leaders do not heed this advice in India," he said.

Arsenal showed plenty of desire in their English Premier League clash against Manchester City, holding their fancied opponents to a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday in a game which had plenty of talking points.

The Gunners were the underdogs for this fixture, having lost three of their last four games and having slipped out of the Champions League places, the pressure was well and truly on them.

Arsene Wenger decided to opt for Danny Welbeck as the lone striker and with Mesut Ozil fit again, the home side had a pacy feel to them as Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez were on either wing. Wenger’s first choice goalkeeper, Peter Cech, was unavailable so in his stead David Opsina was given the nod between the sticks.

City manager Pep Guardiola was forced to start defensive midfielder Fernandinho at right-back after Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna both were deemed unfit to start, but apart from that City fielded their typical XI.

And they got off to a blistering start, with the red-hot Leroy Sane rounding Ospina in the 5th minute to give the visitors the lead. Kevin de Bruyne’s pin-point through ball had split Arsenal’s defence open and a hush fell over the Emirates as the worst was feared.

City continued to dominate and De Bruyne in particular, was unlucky as twice his shot came off the post, with Arsenal continuing to ride their luck.

The first-half’s major talking point came when Walcott went in with his studs up straight on Fernandinho but somehow match referee Andre Marriner didn't blow his whistle for a foul, let alone a red card. To add insult to injury for City, Walcott would score a scrappy equaliser in the 40th minute after some typically poor defending from Guardiola’s men. Replays suggested that the speedy winger was lucky to be on the pitch and retrospective action will surely be initiated by the FA in the next few days.

Sergio Aguero responded within two minutes to restore City’s lead, finishing well from an acute angle as the Gunners seemed to be unable to hold till the interval.

Both managers made changes at half-time, with Yaya Toure coming on for Raheem Sterling  and Gabriel Paulista replacing Laurent Koscieny.

City seemed to be a little sluggish in the opening period of the second half and paid for it dearly when Skhodran Mustafi rose high to head home a Mesut Ozil corner in the 53rd minute. John Stones was charged with marking the German at the set-piece but as has been the case on many occasions this season, the Englishman was brushed off by an physically superior opponent.

The game then petered out, with both sides creating few chances in the final half-hour and while the result was not ideal for both clubs, they will have to accept it and move on.

City, in particular cannot ponder about the points dropped, with a trip to Premier League leaders Chelsea on Wednesday looming large on the horizon. They drop to fourth place, a point behind Liverpool but have played a game less.

For sixth-placed Arsenal, there are plenty of positives to take from the game but time is running out if they are to get back in the top four and a result against derby rivals West Ham United on Wednesday is a must.

Roger Federer won his third ATP World Masters 1,000 tourney at the Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, once again defeating arch-rival Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes.

The Spaniard in 2017 has lost all three of his confrontations with the Swiss champ, including the Australian Open final.

"I'm moving up in the (Emirates ATP Rankings) and I just want to stay healthy," Federer told ESPN on Sunday after the match, Efe news reported.

"When I'm healthy and feeling good, I can produce tennis like this. That's why taking a break and resting during the clay season and focusing on Roland Garros, the grass and the hard courts after that is best. It would be great to be No. 1 again, but it's a long way away," the No. 4-ranked star added.

Nadal had the chance to break Federer's serve three times in the first set, but he was not able to accomplish that task, although Federer managed to do so to his rival in the eighth game, going up at that point 5-3 and then taking the final game.

In the second set, the 35-year-old Federer, gained the advantage in the seventh game and then went up 5-4, after which Nadal was unable to recover, losing his fifth final in Miami, having gone down to defeat in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

"He looked good from the get-go," Federer said of Nadal after the match. "He was playing big tennis, stepping in and doing all the right things. A bit more luck on his side and the wrong decisions by me at that moment (with the score 3-3) and it could have turned very quickly. It was a very intense first set."

Federer fired 30 winners, 18 of them in the first set, against his adversary, who suffered from the effects of the high 75 per cent humidity and 28 C (82 F) heat, a situation that several times almost resulted in his racket escaping his sweaty hands.

Federer had defeated Nick Kyrgios in a three-hour semi-final duel on Friday, after winning the title at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

The Swiss champion pocketed $1,175,505 in prize money while Nadal received $573,680.

Cadres of the United People's Front and the Kuki National Organisation exercised their franchise for the first time in the just-concluded Manipur Assembly elections. These two groups are a conglomeration of the KukiZomi armed groups based in Manipur and also voted in the 2014 general election. They had signed the “Suspension of Operation” with the Army in 2008 and a political dialogue started in 2016.

Initially, the Okram Ibobi Singh government refused to be part of it but relented later. According to the chief electoral officer, Dewangan, arrangements were made to allow 2,228 cadres, confined in 14 designated camps, to exercise their democratic rights through postal ballots.

Following are excerpts from an email interview by this correspondent with the spokesperson of the KNO, Seilen Haokip, before the elections.

Was there any invitation to cadres from the EC to vote as in the 2014 general election? Was the KNO/UPF willing to vote? What were the arrangements?

Yes, the Election Commission made arrangements for cadres to cast their votes. We agreed, as honourable citizens of India, that members of KNO and UPF will exercise our franchise. As in 2014, booths were arranged in designated camps.

Were there any issues as reported in 2014, such as logistics, security, or the distance of polling booths?

Polling at designated camps took place without any hindrance. There was no major issue even in the 2014 general election.

What about election ID cards? Do all the cadres have their Identity cards?

adres have their own identity cards, which they use for exercising their franchise. Now that the KNO/UPF are in the SoO mode and the dialogue is already in progress, what is KNO/UPF's take on electoral politics-in terms of participating in the process under the Indian system. KNO and UPF are seeking a political settlement within the framework of the Constitution. Therefore there is no concern of contrary activities against the democratic process. Please note, KNO and UPF are fighting for their constitutional rights and accordingly engaged in political dialogue with the government. We are not secessionists.

Any comment on the Manipur assembly election 2017?

The KNO and UPF will reciprocate the government's goodwill. The nation comes first, party politics is secondary.

What is the status of the dialogue?

Tripartite political dialogue commenced on 15 June 2016 with the Government of India. The second round of talks was held on 19 October 2016. The next round is expected soon. In the first breakthrough dialogue in 2016 with the Union home ministry, the joint secretary (Northeast) said that the government is serious. Moreover the Union home minister Rajnath Singh during his election campaign in Churachandpur on 2 March said that the Centre is interested in pursuing the dialogue.

What is your comment?

KNO and UPF are confident that the government will abide by and continue deliberations keeping in mind the safeguard of tribal minorities enshrined in the Constitution. We have placed our demands to both the Centre and the Manipur government. The next round is expected soon. It will focus on the stated demands. We trust that it will be honourable and meaningful as our demands are not for independence or separation but the constitutional rights of our people.

What are your key demands?

The KNO-UPF demand is for Statehood, comprising our ancestral lands within the existing state of Manipur in which the chiefs possess legal ownership deeds.

Now that a political dialogue has began, what about the SoO? Has it been extended? How many designated camps are there? What are the technicalities in these designated camps? Will UPF and KNO surrender arms?

SoO was extended for one year at the first round of talks. SoO remains the same as before the talks commenced. We have seven designated camps for the KNO and five for UPF. The cadres are to stay in designated camps and they are in possession of the agreed number of arms to guard the camps. The remaining weapons are under lock and key with security forces and the camp CO. Arms will not be surrendered; they will be addressed following a political settlement.

Former Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang is yet to forget the bitter memory of how he was forced to step down a month ago after being in the hot seat for more than two years. During his visit to Manipur's Tamenglong district, adjacent to Nagaland last month, to campaign for his party (Naga People's Front) candidates, he said that he was a victim of majoritarian politics, stressing the point further that he belonged to a minority tribe.

The objective possibly was to convey the message that minority tribe leaders in Manipur might also face such bias in majoritarian politics. Not many, however, were ready to buy this. It kicked off a serious debate on the complicated tribal composition that has long been existent in Nagaland.

Before the 2014 general election when three-time chief minister Neiphiu Rio (now lone MP from Nagaland) announced that he would vacate his chief ministerial seat to contest the election, there were four contenders- TR Zeliang, Noke Wangnao, G Kaito Aye and Kuzholuzo (Azo) Neinu-all cabinet ministers. Zeliang belongs to the Zeliang tribe, Wangnao to the Konyak tribe, Aye from the Sumi tribe and Neinu from the Chakhesang tribe.

Out of them Zeliangs's is the smallest tribe. The last contender is the smallest yet it has four MLAS, including him. When the tussle for power was on in the ruling NPF, an ally of the BJP, it favoured Zeliang. Most thought he would make an ideal chief minister while not forgetting the veteran Konyak strongman, Wangnao. He was prepared to take over the reins and even dismissed rumours about his poor health.

The other contenders, Aye and Neinu, also did not lack leadership quality. Finally, a large number of NPF, BJP and independent legislators rushed to Assam's Kaziranga and camped in a resort there. They all supported Zeliang. Finally, he emerged as a leader. Choosing Zeliang was, in no way, done on the line of tribal-colour or majority-tribe or minority-tribe basis. He was chosen because the majority agreed to support him for his leadership quality and calibre. Nobody talked tribe when he was chosen as leader of the NPF legislature party and later as leader of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland. They only talked about one thing — that he was a capable leader.

Although Zeliang faced unprecedented a political crisis in early 2015 when his leadership was challenged by majority NPF legislators, he came out of that successfully. His taking into his ministry the entire eightmember Congress opposition team when he faced a serious challenge to his position was a clever political manoeuvre. He told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he could show him a “formula of how to run an Opposition-less government” and in return, he should also show them a “formula for the solution to the Naga political issue.”

Zeliang should not think that his political career has ended after quitting the chief minister's chair. There were many leaders in Nagaland who have returned as chief minister even after a long gap. Today Nagaland has a chief minister (Shurhozelie Liezietsu) who is not a member of the assembly. Zeliang should not give up hopes of returning to power as politics never sleeps.