shameen

Recipe: Apple Rabri

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Apple Rabri is a popular Ganesh Chaturthi recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 Apples (peeled, grated)
• 1 litre Milk
• 4 tbsp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Green Cardamom
• 8-10 Almonds (blanched, sliced)
• 5-6 Pistachios (blanched, sliced)

Method

• Pour milk in a broad vessel and bring to a boil. Simmer till reduced to half the original quantity.
• Add sugar and cook on low heat, stirring continuously.
• Add the grated apples to reduced milk and mix. Cook for three to four minutes.
• Add cardamom powder, almonds and pistachios. Pour into a serving dish.

FMs of India, Pak dine over ghazals by Ghulam Ali

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Over ‘ghazals’ by maestro Ghulam Ali, Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan dined at the end of their hectic deliberations on various bilateral issues here.

Ali sang ‘dil mein ek leher si uthi hai abhi, koi taza hawa chali hai abhi’ among his other popular numbers, which enthralled the audience at the dinner hosted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar for her visiting Indian counterpart S M Krishna Saturday night.

The lyrics of the ghazal seemed to have captured the essence of the current Indo-Pak relations.

Dramatic prison release for Pak girl accused of blasphemy

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Sharpening the focus on the controversial blasphemy laws in Pakistan, a 14-year-old Christian girl, accused of blasphemy, named Rimsha saw a dramatic release from prison, as she was whisked to the helicopter in an armoured vehicle and flown to a secret location.

The young girl named Rimsha Masih, who is also mentally retarded, was arrested on August 16 on charges of burning pages of Quran and was lodged in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.

Manmohan Singh’s policies led to ‘high-level corruption’: CPI(M)

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CPI-M on Sunday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of making policies that resulted in “high-level corruption” and demanded a probe into coal blocks allocation and cancellation of allotment to the private sector.

“The Prime Minister is in the dock for the policies and decisions which have led to high-level corruption in the coal block allocations,” CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement here today.

The party demanded a high-level enquiry “which should encompass the role of the Prime Minister’s Office in the allocation of coal blocks.

Mahesh Bhatt: Investing in newcomers not a risk

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In his four-decade career, Mahesh Bhatt has never shied away from giving chance to fresh talent in his films – whether it was Anupam Kher in ‘Saaransh’, Rahul Roy in ‘Aashiqui’, or Sunny Leone in ‘Jism 2’. The filmmaker says he doesn`t see any risk in investing in newcomers.

“Filmmaking is all about ideas. It is the idea that sells. And if you have a unique story idea, it will get positive responses, irrespective of the star cast of the film,” Bhatt said in an email interview with IANS .

Offices of TV channel attacked over music reality show

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In two separate incidents, alleged activists of Shiv Sena and a little-known outfit Swaraj Sena have attacked the offices of Colors channel in suburban Andheri and Vile Parle, objecting to its new musical reality show featuring Pakistani artists.

The reality show `Sur Kshetra` is scheduled to start from tonight and will be aired on Colors TV and Sahara One.

According to police, 15 alleged Shiv Sena activists stormed into the Colors channel`s office on Parsi Panchayat Road in Andheri and smashed it with rods on Thursday night.

PM’s assets double, now around Rs 10.73 crore

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assets worth around Rs 10.73 crore, double that of last year, but a number of his cabinet colleagues are much richer than him.

Among the richer cabinet ministers are Praful Patel with assets of approximately Rs 52 crore, Sharad Pawar with property worth around Rs 22 crore and MK Azagiri with Rs 9.50 crore, according to updated list of assets of the ministers posted on the PMO website.

Defence Minister AK Antony has assets worth Rs 55 lakh, the lowest in the list of the cabinet ministers.

First answer my questions and then call me insane: Digvijay

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Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said on Sunday that those who call him “insane” should first try to find answers to the issues raised by him.

“The easiest way to avoid answering the issues I raise is to call me insane,” Digvijay told a news agency.

He alleged that Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav called him “insane”, as based on a book he had pointed out that the Thackerays had originally come from Bihar.

Unfair to hold PM responsible for ‘coalgate’: Moily

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Defending Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Corporate Affairs and Power Minister M Veerappa Moily on Saturday said it was “unfair” to hold him responsible for ‘coalgate’ as it was a collective decision of the Screening Committee to allocate coal blocks.

“The applications for coal block allocations were examined and evaluated by a broad-based Steering Committee with representatives from state governments, related ministries of the central government and coal companies.

Literacy prog must reach SC/ST, minorities: Ansari

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Expressing concern over high rate of illiteracy in the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Saturday said literacy programme must reach SC/ST and minorities.

“One thing which is the cause of concern is that there is maximum number of non-literates in our country (as compared to other Asian nations),” Ansari said at a National Literacy Mission function organised on the occasion of World Literacy Day here.

He said the government has initiated various literacy programmes but a lot is yet to be done.

No family court matters for Judge who made ‘wife beating’ remark

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Following an outrage over certain remarks made by a judge of Karnataka High Court on women in an open court, all family court matters, including child custody and guardianship, have been shifted from him and another judge.

The matters have been shifted to the court of justices KL Manjunath and V Suri Appa Rao from the court of Justice Bhakthavatsala and Justice BS Indrakala.

There was no other change in the subjects listed against the name of justices Bhakthavatsala and Indrakala. The changes will come into effect from September 10, official sources said.

Ask me about work, not affairs: Ranbir

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Actor Ranbir Kapoor only wants to talk about his work, not his link-ups.

The popular actor was left angry at an event recently when he was asked about link-ups with his co-actresses, and about his equation with `Barfi!` co-star Ileana D`Cruz.

“See, my motive is to let my film talk. I don`t tell others to write about my affairs nor do I decide it. I work hard. In `Barfi` also I have worked hard,” Ranbir told reporters here.

Kidney stones double risk of dialysis

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Kindey stones could double the risk of dialysis or kidney transplant later in life for people who have had them, says a study.

University of Alberta faculty of medicine and dentistry researchers Todd Alexander and Marcello Tonelli tracked data of more than three million Albertans over an 11-year period from 1997 to 2009.

They discovered those with a history of kidney stones were twice as likely to have serious kidney problems later in life when compared to people who had never suffered from kidney stones, the British Medical Journal reported.

Small weight gain enough to raise BP

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New research suggests that weight gain of just 1.5 pounds or 0.6 kg per year is fraught with risk, enough to raise blood pressure in college students, with young women being worse off.

“If young people continue to gain 1.5 pounds a year and think it doesn`t matter, they`re misleading themselves and increasing their risk of heart disease,” said Margarita Teran-Garcia, professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois.

Fish oil can make your kids brainier: Study

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A daily dose of fish oil could boost the brain power in children while improving their behaviour, a new study has claimed.

The study by Oxford University found that children with poor reading skills could have their performance boosted by taking daily supplements of fatty acids found in seafood and some algae, according to new research.

Scientists gave 600mg omega-3 fatty acid pills to 362 children aged seven to nine daily for 16 weeks, the `Daily Mail` reported.

Need to improve education: Barack Obama

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Emphasising on the need to improve the country’s education system, US President Barack Obama has said that this is necessary so that American companies do not look at China for workers.

Obama, who in the past has mentioned India and China in the same breadth, did not mention India on this particular issue in his speech at the Time Warner Cable Arena at the end of the Democratic National Convention wherein he accepted the presidential nomination.

‘White House backs blacklisting Haqqani network’

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The Obama administration has decided to blacklist the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation, a report said on Friday.

According to the New York Times, which has quoted several American officials, the decision in this regard is expected to be announced as early as Friday.

Based in Washington, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its recent report that the Haqqani Network has been an effective fighting force and proxy of the Pakistani security services for the better part of 30 years.

Pervez Musharraf keen to return to Pakistan

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Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf is keen to return to Pakistan from self-exile when an interim government headed by a “neutral” Prime Minister is formed ahead of the general election scheduled for early next year.

According to his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, Musharraf has started contacting friends in the powerful Army and in political circles to assess the possibility of his homecoming under a caretaker set-up.

Pak deploys force at nuke facility following terror threat

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Pakistan has deployed large contingents of Army and police at one of the country’s biggest nuclear facilities in Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab province following intelligence interceptions of a strike threat from terrorists.

Security was beefed up at sensitive installations, especially at nuclear sites, to avert any attack on the lines of one on Kamra airbase, during Pakistan Defence Day, which is being observed on Thursday, officials said.

Trade between India, US on track to cross 100 bn this year

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Bilateral trade between India and the US has increased 40 percent in the last three years and is “on track” to cross USD 100 billion this year, US Consul General Jennifer Mcintyre said Thursday.

Mcintyre, while delivering ‘Indira Gandhi Endowment Lecture’ here, said one of the key drivers in the United States and India’s strategic relationship was “business and trade”.

India to achieve 9% growth in near future, says Basu

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Kaushik Basu, who was till recently, the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) in the Finance Ministry, has expressed the hope that India would achieve 9 percent growth rate in “not too distant future”.

“I do believe such a time will come in the not too distant future. The Eurozone economies will face huge turbulence certainly up to 2014. So the real big growth cannot come till then. But hopefully soon after that…”, he said, when asked how soon India would return to 9 percent growth rate.

Property sale in Delhi 312 colonies will be allowed within a month

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A day after regularising 895 unauthorised colonies, Delhi Government Thursday said sale and purchase in such settlements developed on private land will be allowed within a month while those on government land will have to wait a little longer.

Unveiling a road map for extending various benefits to the residents of the colonies, Urban Development Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the process for allowing property transaction in the settlements which came up in government land will be started soon.

US Open: Novak Djokovic gets past del Potro to reach semis

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Defending champion Novak Djokovic beat 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semifinals at a 10th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

The showcase matchup was compelling throughout, and closer than the scoreline indicated. The thrilling second set lasted 84 minutes — 11 more than Djokovic`s entire first-round victory last week.

India vs New Zealand 1st T20: Preview

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After winning his battle against a rare germ cell cancer, India`s World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh would be the cynosure of all eyes when he starts his journey back to international cricket with the first Twenty20 match against New Zealand on Saturday.

Yuvraj was diagnosed with the ailment between his lungs within months of winning the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup.

His career looked in jeopardy when the diagnosis was first revealed but the flamboyant all-rounder fought back after undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy.

Microsoft invites developers to the world`s largest app fest

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Have a vision for the perfect app, a laptop and some comfy clothes for a marathon coding session? Well, that’s all the weapons needed to attend perhaps the world’s largest app fest for Windows 8 in Bangalore Sept 21-22.

It’s an opportunity to develop apps with global mentoring and technical resources at hand to drive the biggest digital innovation marathon in history and is open to the entire highly talented developer community in India and across the globe.