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Naga peace pact ‘any day’ (Second Lead)

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New Delhi/Guwhati, March 4 (IANS) Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s special envoy for the Naga peace talks, R.N. Ravi, is arriving in Dimapur and would travel to Kohima over the next two days to conclude the protracted Naga peace talks, sources said.

Government sources said with the Naga groups expected to reciprocate with “pragmatic flexibility”, the final agreement could be signed “any day”.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh is visiting Assam on Tuesday and there could be some forward movement in the talks.

Sources say the government is ready to consider a Naga flag for a pan-Naga cultural body and to term the final agreement as the “Naga Constitution”.

A source said that there has been an apparent understanding on the Naga flag and on opening autonomous cultural centres in states adjoining Nagaland with Naga population.

In a recent interview to the Nagaland Post, Ravi had said that Naga peace talks were at the “concluding stage”.

“Political principles of settlement, substantive issue of competencies and structural issues of governance have all been mutually agreed. The peace process has become truly inclusive with the seven Naga groups coming onboard. We have mutual understanding with NSCN (I-M) that they would not oppose constructive cooperation in the peace process and their participation in the final agreement. The peace process can conclude any day,” he said.

Asked if he is saying that the talks are in the final stage, Ravi said the Naga political issue is a very old and complex one and in the last four years, the negotiating parties have made significant continuous progress by resolving several facets of it.

“(These are) like political parameters of settlement and the specifics of various competencies to be shared between the Naga people and the government of India. All issues have been mutually understood and agreed upon.

“However, a few issues mainly a flag and a constitution are sticky. On these issues, the two sides have differing positions. We will sign the agreement as soon as these are resolved,” he told the newspaper.

On what is holding the negotiating parties in solving the flag and constitution issue, Ravi said the government was aware of Naga people’s sentiment over the flag which must be respected.

“Our position is that the Naga flag should be located in the Pan Naga cultural body, which would be a common platform of all the Nagas. Similarly, the final agreement, which would have to be duly incorporated in the Constitution of India, could be the Naga ‘Yehzabo’. However, the Naga negotiators are not agreeing to it,” he said.

Asked about differences on these issues with both NSCN (I-M) and Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), Ravi said both of them have insisted on recognition of the Naga flag.

“On the issue of ‘Yehzabo’, we are trying to reach a common position with NSCN (I-M),” he said.

Speaking to IANS on Monday, Ravi said: “My interview to the Nagaland Post covered every aspect (of the peace talks). Everything is clarified. I have already answered what is ‘flag’ (in the context of Naga peace talks” and our position on it.”

Some stakeholders had, however, last week boycotted their scheduled meetings with Ravi, citing “insincerity” on the part of the Central government. They included the Naha Hoho, the Naga Mothers’ Association and Naga Students’ Federation.

–IANS
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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.

Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.

The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.

Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile

The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.

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The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.

“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.

Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings

Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.

 

CasinoDays India

Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).

Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.

The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.

Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.

Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities

The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.

On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.

Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.

“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.

The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.

 

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