Ganesh Chaturthi 2017: Here's Why Rice Is An Important Element During Ganesha's Isthapna

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most colourful festivals in India that is celebrated with various rituals and traditions. Devotees of Lord Ganesha ensure a 10-day long fiesta and play host to their deity.The pious festival starts with bringing Lord Ganesha's idol home and worshipping him for the next 10 days. This year, Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi will start on 25th August and end on 5th September 2017. 

The vidhi to bring

Lord Ganesha should follow certain rituals and use certain samagri (ingredients) for the specialPooja. Rice (or askhat) is an important part of the Pooja samagri and play a significant role in welcoming Gajanan.

As you bring Ganeshji home, followers showerAkshat or unbroken rice slathered withkumkum or turmeric on the idol to signify the welcoming of prosperity and happiness. According to Chef Manjusha Sinha who runs Manjusha's Cooking Classes in Gurgaon, "Maharashtrians welcome Ganpatiji by showering kumkum laden rice. Once the idol is installed in the temple, we make theswastika with rice coated with turmeric orkumkum. Basically, we have to keep five important elements in front of the idol, which includes 11-21 betel leaves, Akshat,haldi,rolior gulal, bukka (black coloured powder used in various rituals) and a Kalash with a coconutin it. Along with these elements, a diya is lit for all the ten days to ensure there is no darkness around the idol."

The place where Ganpatiji sits is known as theIsthaan and some people spread some rice grains around that place, along with supariand sprinkle some haldi on it. Not just this, a plate full of modaks as prasad or bhog is kept with these elements. After all, Ganeshaji loved modaks and it makes for one of the most important sweet offered to the deity. 

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Nokia 8 launched globally at USD 705, to hit Indian market during festive season

HELSINKI/NEW DELHI: Finnish company HMD Global on Thursday launched its much-awaited flagship device Nokia 8 that will be available in India during the festival season.

Available in four colours -- polished blue, polished copper, tempered blue and steel --Nokia 8 would be available at the global price of 599 euros ($705) through September, the company said in a statement.

The device boasts three industry-first features for Android smartphones, including a collaboration with ZEISS optics, Nokia 'OZO Audio' and 'Dual-Sight' mode.

With only 4.6mm thin at the edge and 7.3mm slim on average, the flagship device's unibody is made from 6000 series aluminium with select models featuring a high-gloss mirror finish.

"People are inspired by the content they consume. It's these people who have inspired us to craft a flagship smartphone which perfectly balances premium design, an outstanding experience and powerful performance," said Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer of HMD Global.

Nokia 8 enables its users livestream videos on social feeds such as Facebook and YouTube using its Dual-Sight feature that uses both the front and rear cameras simultaneously in a split screen visual for both photos and videos.

The front and rear-facing cameras on the Nokia 8 have been co-developed with ZEISS optics for 'bothie'. Users also get unlimited photo and video uploads to Google Photos.

Nokia 8 is also the first smartphone to feature Nokia OZO Audio. OZO spatial 360 degrees audio brings an immersive experience to 4K video.

The phone features Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, offers pure, secure and updated Android experience and is Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible for 3,090 mAh battery.

The device comes with a lightweight, water, sweat, and dust-proof premium Nokia 'Active Wireless Headset'.

It comes with a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage that can be extended up to 256GB. It has a 5.3-inch IPS LCD QHD display and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

The primary camera has two lenses -- 13MP (Colour + OIS) and 13MP (Mono) with dual tone flash. The 13MP front facing camera has Phase-detection autofocus (PDAF).

The Nokia 5 smartphone, already released in India, is available in retail stores at Rs 12,499.

The Nokia 6 has received over one million registrations on Amazon.in and customers can buy the smartphone for Rs 14,999 from August 23.

Enjoy freedom from the desk-bound work, financial worries, household chores, follow-up tasks and more with these six applications.

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10-Year-Old Rape Survivor In Chandigarh Delivers Baby

Chandigarh: The 10-year-old rape survivor, whose abortion plea was turned down by the Supreme Court, today delivered a baby through C-section at one of the government hospitals in Chandigarh, a senior doctor said. The girl's condition is stable.

The minor girl delivered a baby through C-section this morning. The infant's weight is 2.2 kg and it has been admitted to neo natal ICU. As far as the girl is concerned, she is stable and will be kept in a separate room," Dr Dasari Harish, chairperson of the committee which had been constituted for treatment of the girl, said.

He said the infant was slightly underweight. 

"We hope the baby also recovers," the doctor told PTI. Dr Dasari described the C-section procedure, which was carried out at the hospital, as "uneventful", though it was a "high risk pregnancy".

"A team of doctors was involved in delivering the child. In the team, there were three gynaecologists, an anaesthetist, a neonatologist and a paediatrician," he said..

The treatment expenses of the rape survivor are being borne by the Chandigarh Administration.

The girl was unaware that she had delivered a child. Her parents had told her that she has a stone in her stomach and she had to be operated for that. Her father had requested the hospital authorities that the newborn should be put up for adoption.

The girl was repeatedly raped allegedly by her uncle for several months and the crime came to light when the girl was taken to hospital on complaining of stomach ache last month where she was found to be over 30 weeks pregnant.

On July 28, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea seeking its nod for terminating the 32-week-old pregnancy of the rape survivor after taking note of a medical report that abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus.

A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud took note of the report of the medical board set up by Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh to examine the rape survivor and the consequences if the termination of pregnancy was allowed.

The bench had asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, to consider its suggestion to set up a permanent medical board in every state to take a prompt decision on prospects of early abortion in view of the fact that such cases are reaching the apex court in a big way.

The petition was filed after a Chandigarh district court on July 18 refused to let the girl undergo the abortion. Courts allow medical termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and can make an exception if the foetus is genetically abnormal.

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RTI raises questions on EVM security

NEW DELHI: Information accessed under Right to Information (RTI) Act is once again fuelling questions about security of electronic voting machines (EVMs), which are at the centre of a debate on tamper-proof technology.

The Election Commission of India, however, has brushed aside all such suggestions and maintained that it follows strict protocol to guard EVMs, and once looted, these machines are condemned and never find their way back into the system.

Information provided by the Election Commission under RTI has revealed at least 70 cases of theft of EVM across three states – Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh – over successive elections.

In Gujarat, a case dating back to 2007 has revealed an instance where during a training programme, the trainer handed over the EVMs to another person and went for lunch. According to information provided under RTI, “When he returned, the machine was found missing.” Investigation is on in the matter and lie detector tests have also been conducted.

So far, the main contention of the Election Commission on claims of EVM tampering has been that a machine has to be accessed for it to be tampered. Speaking to ET, Election Commission’s deputy commissioner, Sudeep Jain, said, “The referred cases (except Gujarat) are cases of loot during the election from polling stations and not thefts. EVMs were looted from the polling booths by naxalites/miscreants with a plausible ulterior motive to vitiate the election process. In all such cases, due process of law is being followed. However, these cases do not raise any doubt or cast any aspersion on the stringent administrative and security measures being followed for the safe custody, storage and use of EVMs/ VVPATs during the election, as well as non-election period.”

The Election Commission has maintained that there are layers of security for EVMs. Jain said if an EVM is stolen, it never makes it back into the system, so even the hypothetical question of it being tampered with and being used again does not arise.

Activist Tehseen Poonawalla, who has filed several complaints on EVM malfunctioning in different states, said, “The ECI has constantly shifted its goal post which has resulted in doubts being created in the minds of civil society activists and political parties. First, the ECI said EVMs just could not be hacked and promised to organise a hackathon, which they changed to a Sarkari demonstration. When we accepted the challenge to hack EVMs, the ECI once again changed the goalpost and said EVMs cannot be reached. The RTIs now prove that EVMs are being regularly stolen. This also means that the source code can be obtained through reverse engineering and results manipulated.”

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Interpol warrants against 4 Indian-origin bizmen over Rs 2.5-billion rare diamond

JOHANNESBURG: The Interpol has issued red notices against four Indian-origin businessmen in South Africa following a legal spat over a Rs 2.5-billion rare pink diamond with a Russian telecommunications magnate and a local diamond dealer amid intriguing claims and counter claims of theft.

Zunaid Moti, his father Abbas Aboo Baker Moti and their associates Ashruf Kaka and Salim Bobat, have approached the Pretoria High Court to fight the red notices as the two-year- long tripartite legal battle plays out in courts in France, Lebanon, Zimbabwe and Dubai, The Times reported today.

A red notice is an international alert by Interpol seeking the location and arrest of a wanted person for extradition.

The four men have asked the local court to interdict the execution of the Interpol warrants, claiming that the papers were obtained fraudulently by Russian businessman Alibek Issaev, who alleges that the four stole the diamond from him.

They in turn have accused Issaev, a former partner in one of their businesses in South Africa, of stealing the diamond from them on the pretext of having a buyer for it in Russia.

But in a growing intrigue, international diamond dealer Sylla Moussa has accused the Indian-origin men of stealing the same diamond from him in 2003.

Kaka said he and his associates had a letter of surety from Moussa that he had given the diamond to them as payment for a debt.

Kaka told the daily that the Interpol warrants issued by the Lebanese authorities were based on fraudulent charges brought against them by Issaev in retaliation for an Interpol arrest warrant they had secured against him for a business deal that went wrong in Zimbabwe.


A private investigator hired by Kaka and his associates, Paul O'Sullivan, confirmed that none of his clients had ever been to Lebanon.

The court has been urged to defer the warrants "pending the outcome of our matter with Interpol's oversight body in Lyon and the court cases which we have running in Lebanon, where we are challenging the original arrest warrants, Zimbabwe and Dubai."

 South African police and judicial authorities confirmed no warrants or extradition notices for the four businessmen had been received yet.

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Bollywood Stars Shine at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2017 Awards Night

A night filled with glitter, paparazzi, amazing performances and celebrations, The Indian Film Festival Melbourne Awards 2017, held last night, was a star-studded gala event.

Amongst the crowd of film fanatics was present the who's who of Bollywood including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who awarded the Westpac IFFM Excellence in Global Cinema Award.

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will be true to its theme of celebrating diversity in cinema and the 13-day event will witness film screenings, various master classes by eminent filmmakers, award nights, dance competitions, concerts, competition and much more. 
The IFFM Award winners were announced at a gala event at the iconic venue - Melbourne Recital Centre. The evening started with an energizing performance by the Kakkar sisters - Akriti, Prakriti and Sukriti - who performed together for the first time in Australia.

Dangal and Bahubali 2 stole the show at IFFM 2017 with galore of awards. The list of the winners at Westpac IFFM include:

• Best Indie Film : Lipstick Under My Burkha
• Best Director : Nitesh Tiwari for Dangal
• Equality in Cinema Award: Director/Actor Rahul Bose for Poorna
• Best Actress : Konkona Sen Sharma for Lipstick Under my Burkha
• Best Actor : Sushant Singh Rajput for Dhoni
• Best Actor (Special Mention) : Raj Kumar Rao for Trapped
• Best Film : Pink
• People’s Choice Award : Dangal & Bahubali 2

Leadership in cinema: Karan Johar 

Speaking about Popular Choice and Best Director win, Nitesh Tiwari said, "This is my international award and it will truly be remembered".

Expressing his happiness to receive the award, Sushant said, "Thank you so so much. I'm so honoured. Last time I was in Melbourne it was in 2006 was the Commonwealth Games where I was a backup dancer for the so so beautiful Bollywood stars and this time I'm here to receive the Best Actor Award."

A delighted Aishwarya said, "I'm so humbled and filed with gratitude to be given this award. We as creative people always wish to do more and I'm far far away from resting. As an artist I have so much more to explore but it's great to have this honour. But above all I must thank the fans, who have loved me so immensely and it's because of you we get to live our dream, our passion ".

Karan took to stage to receive the award from Simi Garewal and shared his happiness. He said, "This is my first time in Australia and what a special reason to be present here for it. For me filmmaking is always my first love. It's amazing how as directors we get to build people, break them emotionally, cheer them and make them feel happy"

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OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T won’t get major updates after Android O, reveals company

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones won't receive any Android version update after Android O, revealed Oliver Z, who is OnePlus' Head of Product. He revealed the latest information on company's forum page, and posted answers to several other questions about OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T as well.

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3Tsmartphones won’t receive anyAndroid version update after Android O, revealed Oliver Z, who is OnePlus’ Head of Product. He revealed the latest information on company’s forum page, and posted answers to several other questions about OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T as well.

“Android O is going to be the last Android version update we’ll release for OP3/3T. We’ll continue to release security patch updates for the foreseeable future, and offer support for individual application updates,” the post read. The company will also start moving its Open Beta Program from OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T to OnePlus 5 after the release of Android O for the two smartphones.

Currently, OnePlus releases Open Beta updates for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T approximately once every month. The company plans to launch August security patch for OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T users first followed by Oxygen OS version 4.5, which will be rolled out in a month or two.

OnePlus’ CEO Pete Lau earlier confirmed that OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will get Android O update within this year. In a Reddit AMA, OnePlus said that “OP3/3T will receive Android O within this year.” Google’s Android O is in its beta stage as of now. The stable version of the operating system is tipped to roll out August 21, though the same hasn’t been confirmed officially.

 OnePlus has already said that OnePlus 3T will be out of production and get discontinued globally. However, in its blogpost, OnePlus also mentioned that it will continue to bring software updates and support for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T. Also, in India, OnePlus 3T will continue to sell.

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