Month: October 2009

What Berlusconi’s Tan Obama ‘Jokes’ Say About Italy

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Washington, October 02: It was the gaffe heard around the globe. Last November, just two days after Barack Obama’s historic election victory, the world’s collective jaw dropped when Silvio Berlusconi quipped that the next U.S. President was “young, handsome and even has a good tan.” Though the Italian Prime Minister refused to apologize for the failed attempt at humor, Obama and his aides gave Berlusconi a pass. The incoming President was not going to be sidetracked by a diplomatic incident with a man already notorious as a loose cannon.

Bade Dilwale!

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Mumbi, October 02: What happens when you’ve been a film scribe for 29 years? The answer is simple. You get to meet the best of Bollywood; and then you just plod through the rest. Oh, this is not meant to be some corny rhyme. It’s a fact. I still remember, when I was ushered into Raj Kapoor’s presence in 1983, it felt as if I was meeting a king. Raj saab in his white kurta pyjama didn’t leave his chair to greet me, yet there was a sense of élan and a certain warmth in his eyes during the entire meeting.

‘Pati, Patni Aur Woh’ doesn’t exploit children: NDTV Imagine

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New Delhi, October 02: reality show, denying charges by Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath and various NGOs that it was “exploiting children” and saying it will take appropriate steps to protect its broadcast rights.

“We have received a notice from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asking us to stop the telecast of the show ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ immediately. Their view is that child rights have been violated during the production of this show.

Mutton samosas

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Ingredients : – 250 grams minced mutton, 200 grams flour, 1 tomato, 1 onion, 1 inch ginger, 2 green chillies, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon red chilly powder, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ¾ cup oil, 1 tablespoon white butter and 2 teaspoons salt.

Preparation time : – 50 minutes Serves : – 2

Holiday turns tragic for Delhi family

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New Delhi, October 02: The Sharma-Jain family at Paschim Vihar here is yet to come to grips with the tragedy in which six of their 10 family members, who went on a holiday to Kerala, lost their lives when their boat capsized in the Mullaperiyar reservoir.

The victims are Sandhya Jain, her mother Vimla, her husband Pradeep Jain and daughter Shruti. Sandhya’s sister Sangeeta Sharma and her son Partha also lost their lives.

“The family left on a holiday a day before Dusshera,” recalled Barkha Goel, a neighbour of the Jain family.

Villains have a blast!

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Mumbai, October 02: Mo gambo dukhi hua! This would have been the iconic villain’s line if he had seen the clan of his bad men dwindling, actually, almost becoming extinct.

Iran, U.S., world powers agree to further nuclear talks

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Switzerland, October 02: Iran and six world powers put nuclear talks back on track at a landmark session that included the highest-level bilateral contact with the U.S. in years. The meeting ended with a pledge to meet again this month, but disputes surfacing shortly after its conclusion indicated a rough road to agreement ahead.
Iran accepted a demand Thursday at the talks in a villa outside Geneva to allow U.N. inspectors into its covertly built enrichment plant, in a move that appeared to defuse tensions that had been building for weeks.

Vietnam typhoon death toll 99: Official

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Hanoi, October 02: The death toll in Vietnam from Typhoon Ketsana rose to 99 on Friday, an official said, making it one of the worst disasters to hit the country in recent years.

In addition to the dead, the typhoon has left 14 missing, said the official from the national flood and storm control committee.

The heaviest toll came in the fishing province of Quang Ngai in the area where Ketsana made landfall on Tuesday.

Quang Ngai recorded 27 deaths and there were 21 in Kon Tum, a mountainous province with a large population of poor ethnic minority tribes, the official said.

76 die in flash floods in south India: officials

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Bangalore, October 02: Flash floods and heavy rains sweeping southern India have killed at least 76 people over the past 72 hours, officials said Friday.

Sixty died in Karnataka state and 16 were killed in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, officials said.

There has been “incessant rainfall”, R.P. Jagdish, a senior Karnataka government aide, told AFP by telephone.

Army troops and air force helicopters were rescuing marooned villagers and distributing food packets and medical aid in areas cut off by flood waters.

Cinema aaj kal…

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Mumbai, October 02: To pay a toast to where we are today and celebrate our combined successes, nostalgia can’t help, but take me back to all the swings, soars, rumbles and romance our cinema has been through in the kal.

Chicken paratha

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Ingredients: – 1 cup boneless chicken, 1 egg, ¾ cooked chapattis, 1 tablespoon coriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 1 small capsicum, ½ cup finely chopped onions, 1 tomato, 1 teaspoon garam masala(hot spice mix), 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder, ½ teaspoon red chilly paste, little bit coriander leaves, 2 tablespoons oil and salt to taste.

Preparation time : – 25 minutes Serves : – 2

Argentina’s ex-prez charged with obstructing bomb probe

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Buenos Aires, October 02: Former Argentine president Carlos Menem was on Thursday charged with leading a cover-up in the 1994 bombing of a building housing Jewish charities that killed 85 people.

Some 300 people were also wounded in the attack that levelled the seven-floor Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires. No one has ever been convicted for the bombing.

Murgh musaallam

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Ingredients: – 500 grams whole chicken, ½ cup curd(yoghurt), 1 green chilly made into a paste, 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, 2 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon, 2 brown cardamoms peeled, 4 pepper corns, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon red chilly powder, 5 almonds, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 big onion, ½ cup tomato puree, 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste.

Preparation time : – 30 minutes Serves : – 2

Rab ne bana di jodi…

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Mumbai, October 02: The sizzling chemistry between them overflowed on to the celluloid whenever they romanced each other on screen.

US to give Japan time to assess troop rejig deal: Envoy

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Tokyo, October 02: The United States wants to give Japan’s new government time to review a contentious agreement on rejigging US troops in the country, but thinks an existing deal is the best solution, US Ambassador John Roos said on Friday.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party took office last month vowing to forge a more independent stance from its close security ally.

NREGA to be named after Mahatma Gandhi

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New Delhi, October 02: The Centre’s flagship National Rural Employment Gurantee Act will be named after Mahatma Gandhi.

An announcement to this effect is expected to be made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow on the occassion of Gandhi Jayanti.

A decision to name NREGA after Mahatma Gandhi was taken at a meeting of the union cabinet today.

Government sources said the cabinet has given in- principle approval to the move and a Bill is likely to be brought in the winter session of Parliament which is expected to begin in the second week of next month.

Dood Peda

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Ingredients :
1 litre milk
¾ cup sugar
4 cardamom pods
Ghee for greasing thali

Method :
Heat milk on medium flame and allow it to boil.
Then stir constantly till it becomes semi-solid or khova is formed.
Mix sugar. Lower the flame.
Continue stirring till the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the vessel.
Drop a sample of the mixture on a plate, and press between finger and thumb, when cool.
If it does not stick, remove from flame. Add cardamom powder.
Mix well. Take small part on the palm and shape into round balls.

Thousands marooned in Andhra Pradesh

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Hyderabad/ Kurnool, October 02: Mantralayam, the famous shrine of Sri Raghavendra Swami located on the banks of Tungabhadra on the AP-Karnataka border was cut of from the rest of the State. Hundreds of pilgrims and the Peethadhipathi Sri Sushmeendra Swamiji and the Mantralayam MLA Y. Bala Nagi Reddy and his family were among those taking on the first floor of various buildings as the temple town was under six feet of water.

No normalcy in Indo-Pak relations till action on 26/11 accused

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New Delhi, October 02: India on Thursday said there could not be normalcy in its relations with Pakistan unless it took convincing action against the perpetrators of 26/11 terror strikes and dismantled terror camps on its soil.

“Again and again, we have been telling them that until and unless terror camps are dismantled and Pakistan Government takes convincing action against the people responsible for 26/11 terror attacks, there cannot be normalcy in our relations,” Defence Minister Antony told reporters on the sidelines of a Defence Accounts Department (DAD) function today.

Chidambaram’s flight returns due to technical snag

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Chennai, October 02: A Coimbatore-bound Jet Airways plane with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram onboard returned to the Chennai airport Friday due to a technical problem that developed mid-air.

The problem was detected while the flight was mid-air, following which it flew back to Chennai, airport officials said.

Later, the passengers including Chidambaram were put on another Jet Airways flight which left for Coimbatore, they said.

–Agencies

Shahi Puris

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Ingredients :
For the dough :
2 teacups methi leaves,
finely chopped
2 teacups gehun ka atta or maida
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp fresh curds
2 tbsp melted ghee

For the stuffing :
100 grams paneer, grated
3 to 4 green chillies, chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
salt to taste

Other ingredients
Ghee for deep frying

Method :
For the dough :
Sprinkle salt over the methi leaves and keep aside. Squeeze out the water after 15 minutes.
Combine the methi, flour, baking powder, curds and melted ghee. Mix a little water to make a dough.

Accused can’t be let off under political pressure: SC

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New Delhi, October 02: Accused persons cannot be let off by police under pressure from influential persons like MLAs, the Supreme Court has held, slamming the Orissa DGP for releasing 12 persons in a murder case at the instance of a local politician.

In this case the police had initially named 19 persons as accused in the murder of Bhairathi Das in Orissa’s Jajpur district on March 28, 2007 allegedly by Kedar Narayan Parida and 18 others.

IIT-Government stand off resolved: Sibal

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New Delhi, October 02: The month-long standoff between the Government and IIT faculty over the issue of pay structure ended today with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal saying the norms could be relaxed in exceptional cases.

“All issues between IIT faculty and HRD Ministry over pay structure have been resolved,” he told reporters after meeting IIT faculty representatives to sort out the issue.

Ghusl

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Sahi Bukhari
Volume 1, Book 5, Number 248:

Narrated ‘Aisha:

Whenever the Prophet took a bath after Janaba he started by washing his hands and then performed ablution like that for the prayer. After that he would put his fingers in water and move the roots of his hair with them, and then pour three handfuls of water over his head and then pour water all over his body.