Kohima, May 17: Three storeys high and done up with cane and bamboo, the ramp on which the Miss North-East 2004 beauty contest will be staged here on Wednesday justifies the hype around the pageant. Fourteen aspiring models from six northeastern states will strut their stuff on the big stage, hoping to impress the judges and the two special guests, Miss World-turned-actress Yukta Mookhey and model-turned-choreographer Kelly Dorjee. Assamese actress Akashitora is another celebrity invitee.

The contestants include three each from Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya, two each from Mizoram and Assam...

DIMAPUR, MAY 17– Hectic preparations are on in full swing for the Miss Northeast 2004, which is to be held at Kohima on May 19 in commemoration of its 125th year celebration. The organisers of the beauty pageant, the Beauty & Aesthetic Society of Nagaland (BASN), has, in a release, announced that a number of prominent personalities and celebrities from not only the region but also from other parts of the country would be attending the pageant in different capacities.

Prominent among them is Miss World 1999 Yukta Mookhey who is scheduled to wow the crowd as a special guest. Yukta has walked...

SHILLONG, May 17– While regional parties have proved to be forces to reckon with even at the Centre, regional politics in Meghalaya has been systematically weakened over the last decade, largely due to lack of clear-cut policies and factional bickerings. The regional outfits have failed to make their presence felt even in the arena of state politics as shown by the results of the Lok Sabha and last assembly elections in the state. The regional parties have been relegated to play the second fiddle to the Congress, which leads the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government in the State.

De...

AIZAWL, May 17 – The capital city of Mizoram remained peaceful without any untoward incident after Saturday’s communal flare-up due to a local girl’s murder by two non-tribals, but the district administration clamped night curfew from 8.30 pm last night till 4.30 am Monday as a precautionary measure. Mobile and foot patrolling by the armed police continued day and night even as the Aizawl district Superintendent of Police IT Hrangchal said that the situation was completely under control.

About 20 non-tribals were injured in the indiscriminate attacks against non-Mizos by irate boys Saturday...

CHAPAR, May 17— Dipti Islam of Chapar, who has already created his own place in the tinsel world by producing and directing two video feature films Chengra Bandhurey and Sariya Najaishrey in Goalpariya dialect of the Assamese language, released his third film Mui To Pirit Korongna at ‘Bhai Bhai Talkies’, Dhantola in Bongaigaon district on May 9 last. Like the previous two films, this also has succeeded in getting a good response from the cine-goers on the inaugural day.

The story of the film, written by Islam, narrates the tragic life of a beautiful young girl who dedicated her life to...