1 Richard Dawkins compares burqa to 'bin liner'

Richard Dawkins says the burqa is a symbol of oppression but he doesn't support a full ban on it in the UK. Picture: Kelly BarnesSource: AdelaideNow

Muslim groups have accused Richard Dawkins of being ignorant about the burqa / AFP Source: AFP

• Atheist author angers Muslim groups
• Burqa fills him with "visceral revulsion"
• Claims religious schools are a danger

BRITISH academic and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins has angered Muslim groups by comparing the burqa to a trash bag.

The 69-year-old author referred to the burqa as a “full bin-liner thing” in a magazine interview while discussing his forthcoming documentary about the dangers of faith schools.

Muslim organisations reacted angrily to the throwaway comment.

"I think it is ignorant and Islamaphobic," said Seyyed Ferjani, of the Muslim Association of Britain.

"Britain is a diverse and free society. It is a

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0 Katrina Kaif Ties the Knot In 2012

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0 Deepika on affair with Sidhartha Mallya

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0 Microsoft Issues Record Number of Patches

Microsoft has issued 14 security bulletins to address 34 vulnerabilities, 14 of which have been judged as critical.

It has been a record-setting day for Microsoft. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on your point of view. Today, Symantec issued a press release stating that Microsoft would be setting a record for the number of patches sent out in a single month, and it would tie the record for the total number of vulnerabilities since it began its “Patch Tuesday” program of releasing weekly patches when necessary.

Good news for Microsoft, which managed to catch the security holes. Not so good news for people affected by the myriad of problems.

Some of the patches directly affect security holes in Internet Explorer 8, which
would allow hackers to take control of your computer. Other patches are to prevent “drive-by download”-style attacks, which can infect users just by visiting maliciously designed or compromised websites.

Two of the patches addressed critical issues with Microsoft Word, a program that most users do not typically associate with being unsafe. The patches closes a vulnerability that can allow malware to attack the user’s computer when the file in question is opened.

All security updates are available to download now.

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0 Muslims begin Ramadan observance

The month of Ramadan began after authorities annouced the sighting of crescent moon [AFP] More than one billion Muslims across the world have begun observing Ramadan with soaring temperatures in the Middle East and elsewhere set to pose a challenge for many worshippers. For the next 30 days, believers will observe the holiest month in Islam by abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk. Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, declared Wednesday as the first day of Ramadan, after announcing the sighting of the crescent moon the earlier evening. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest shrines, urged Muslims to seek God's "mercy" during the month. "The holy month inspires Muslims with the noble meanings of compassion, mercy and kindness," he said in a speech, according to the official SPA news agency. Muslims in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia also began to observe the fast on Wednesday. In Iraq, the Sunni population begans its observances, but the larger Shia community is not expected to start its fast until Thursday, as is the case in Oman and Iran. Soaring heat By midday on Wednesday, temperatures reached the high 30 degrees Celsius and even topped 38 degrees Celsius, in many parts of the Middle East. Egypt, whose 80 million people are mostly Muslim, has switched to winter time, moving the clock back by an hour in order to shorten the period of fasting and ease the problems in the soaring heat, a decision emulated in the Palestinian territories. The Egyptian government newspaper Al-Gomhuriya said this year's Ramadan is "the most difficult in years" due to rising prices, power shortages and temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius. The governments in Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories reduced the work day of civil servants from eight to six hours ,while some construction workers in Lebanon struck deals with their employers to work for a few hours at night, instead of during the day, to escape the heat. In the United Arab Emirates, the top religious authority issued a religious edict, or fatwa, allowing labourers to eat if it is too hot or conditions are too difficult to fast. Religious officials issued the decision in response to a question from an oil rig worker. "God does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear, and God knows best," the fatwa said. 'Keeping hearts clean' Faithful Muslims in Ramadan are supposed to exercise piety and spend evenings conducting prayers, and governments have taken measures to facilitate that. Muslims are expected to exercise piety during the month of Ramadan [Reuters] Bars and pubs in Egypt either closed during the month or switched to abstemious menus, with the exception of hotel bars, which serve alcohol only to non-Egyptians. Dubai, a popular destination for party-goers, also closed its nightclubs or banned dancing in them. "It is not permitted to hold entertainment activities, celebrations or parties at any time throughout the holy month of Ramadan," Mohammed Khalifa, the director government's inspection and tourism permit section, told the AFP news agency. Indonesia said it will crack down on internet pornography. Tifatul Sembiring, the communications minister, urged Muslims to "keep hearts clean in the holy month," and said he would target websites and media that carried sexual content. Many embassies posted messages on their websites reminding expatriates to respect Ramadan rules. Israel eases restrictions Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it will ease some restrictions on Palestinian movement between the West Bank and Israel during the holy month. According to the army's statement Palestinian men over 50 and women over 45 would be able to pray at Jerusalem's holiest Muslim shrine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, without obtaining special entry permits. Normally, all West Bank Palestinians must apply for permits to enter Israel, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. The military also said it would extend opening hours of some crossings between the West Bank and Israel. It added that Israeli soldiers have been told to refrain from eating, drinking and smoking in public during Ramadan, especially at crossings.

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1 Windows 8 Leaks – Microsoft’s Eye on Apple [Report]

By Aurangzaib Qumbrani

So time now to share some interesting gossip about Microsoft’s upcoming operating system, “Windows 8″ that just got leaked on the Internet! The
leaked documents reveal some of the sensitive and critical information which talk about Microsoft’s planning to lead the future of Operating System in the world.

And surprisingly, the leaked documents also show that Microsoft has been paying a closer attention to Apple Inc. As showed in the secret documents, Microsoft’s Officials have also discussed in a private meeting in April with the leading computer makers of the world, looking forward to offer a“Windows Store”, in the same way as Apple distributes it’s applications and softwares. A slide from the leaked document also reveals that Microsoft is also looking forward to give Windows 8 a more iPad-like innovation!

Microsoft’s main concern is the future design of Windows 8 as discussed in the slide,“Apple brand is known for high quality, uncomplicated, It just works”. Now that’s where Microsoft is planning to develop a “Windows 8 Prototype Machine”, this will completely redefine the traditional way of computing and will surely make Windows 8 more competitive in the Software World.

Windows 8 Prototype Machine

Windows 8 Prototype Machine will bring a revolution in the world of computing as it will be more powerful and will offer exciting new features which include, Face recognition-based login, Omni-directional Microphone, Infrared proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and High-quality touch Experience! What makes me more excited is the “Face recognition-based login”, that means Microsoft’s future Prototype Machine will have a built-in Cam that will log the user by facial recognition.

Other features include faster startup, and improved energy efficiency. More over this will also include a reset button that will reinstall the Windows and at the same time it will keep and maintain all your documents, media and other personal settings. So this means, you don’t need to worry about creating backups!

The Product Cycle for Windows 8

Below is the planning that Microsoft is looking forward to:

• Planning (from Framing to Vision): Big picture thinking, themes then scenarios, and feature identification list.
• Development (from Vision to Beta): Design and build features, refine SKUs (shelf-keeping units) and value propositions, and begin sharing code.
• Readiness (from Beta to GA+90): Feature complete and bug-fixing, establish and track readiness metrics, and focus on creating great Dell + Windows experiences.

The Microsoft Journal Post, their official blog which is hosted on Windows Live Spaces, was completely taken down because of violating Microsoft’s terms of service. The action was taken as per request that came somewhere inside from Microsoft, now that gives a clear confirmation that these leaked documents are genuine. It was refused to confirm publicly but also has not denied the facts!

Now this gives a clear indication that Microsoft had no intention talking about Windows 8 anytime soon. But these leaked documents give a lot more sense of what exactly the Windows Team has been doing. And according to the timetable (as seen in the documents)Windows LiveWave 4 [in Beta] will go for the final release in this month [August] and the exciting Internet Explorer 9 [BETA] will also hit the markets this month!

Blogger’s Bio: Aurangzaib Qumbrani is a Software Engineering Student, A Social Media Addict and a tech-enthusiast Blogger. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the MadXperts where he shares his interests about Apple, Microsoft and Google Inc. You can connect him onTwitter!

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0 SHC orders immediate restoration of Geo News telecast

KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the cable operators to restore the telecast of Geo News, Geo News reported Thursday. A SHC bench headed by the Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, heard the petition filed by the viewers of Geo News. The court directed in its order the federal government, the Pemra and cable operators to present their viewpoints before the court on August 18. The petition filed by Geo News viewers made the Federation, the Pemra and four cable operators as defendants. The petitioners said no cable operator could halt the service under Clause-28 of the Pemra Ordinance. The Counsel Behzad Hyder Advocate of the petitioners said the Pemra should suspend and cancel the licenses of cable operators under Clause-30 of the Ordinance for violating the Pemra laws. The bench headed by SHC Chief Justice will hear the petition today. It should be mentioned here that earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) also delivered the decision to lift ban on Geo News telecast; however, the telecast is still closed on the fifth day today.

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0 High flood torrent likely to hit Chenab at Khanki

LAHORE: A massive flood torrent is expected at any time in River Chenab at Head Khanki today, Geo News reported Thursday. The flood-hit areas are facing crippling shortage of petroleum products and food in the flood-hit area. Also, the transporters are charging people with exorbitant fares. At present, River Indus is facing high flood tide at Taunsa. Administration set up at least 40 relief camps where at least 10,000 affectees have been given shelter and thousands of people are still waiting for help under open skies. The floodwater in Rajanpur’s worst affected areas of Jampur and Kot Mithan could not be drained out as yet and still both cities are water-locked under several feet of water. Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts are still cut off from the rest of the country for the fifth day now, as Indus Highway and Multan Road were washed away. The high tide, having rampaged Shah Jamal area of Muzaffargarh, is at five kilometers away from Khangarh at Sheikhpur, where it has breached local nullah on three points. Thousands of flood-thrashed people are waiting for government succor and evacuating to safer locations on self-help basis. The operation to rescue the flood-stranded people in Adda Baseeran is in progress. The River Chenab is witnessing tide after tide. But, according to Irrigation department, the biggest tide will pass through River Chenab at Head Khanki today, for which the district administration has taken up all necessary arrangements. The breach in Bhong protective embankment in Rahim Yar Khan tehsil of Sadiqabad, could not be plugged as yet, allowing the unleashed water to approach near National Highway on Sindh-Punjab border. The administration could not make any arrangements as yet to plug the embankment.

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0 Girls starting puberty as young as seven

LONDON: Growing levels of obesity are seeing some girls start puberty as young as seven, studies show. Experts say the extra fat tissue is encouraging young bodies to produce hormones which kickstart sexual changes. Researchers in the U.S. found that one in ten girls aged seven had developed breast tissue, one of the first signs of puberty. Doctors in Britain backed up the research, saying they have treated girls of seven and eight with puberty problems. They warn that the early exposure to oestrogen has serious health implications because it puts the girls more at risk of breast cancer and heart disease. They are also more likely to be bullied and could be encouraged into sexual relationships by teenage boys who take them to be a few years older. Dr Jeremy Allegrove, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal London Hospital, said: ‘We do see girls as young as seven and eight who have started puberty. 'The reason we see them is that mothers bring them in concerned that they are developing very early and will be starting their periods before secondary school. ‘It is only a small amount. I could not say how many. ‘Sometimes we treat them to delay the onset of puberty, sometimes we don’t, depending on the circumstances.’ The U.S. study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is further evidence of a trend which has seen the age of puberty plunge dramatically over the past 200 years. By the 1950s it had fallen from around the age of 15 to 11 or 12. The researchers from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco studied more than 1,239 young girls. They found that almost one fifth of white girls aged eight had reached puberty compared with a third of Hispanics and almost half of black girls. Frank Biro, director of adolescent medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, who led the research, said teenage boys may be sexually attracted to very young girls, who appear older than their actual age, potentially putting pressure on them. ‘We need to understand better all the factors that are contributing to earlier maturation,’ he added. There are no figures available for the numbers of seven and eight-year-old girls starting puberty in Britain. However, it is likely that the figure would not be as high as it is in the U.S. because obesity rates are lower here. Earlier this year a Danish study revealed that girls were starting puberty roughly a year earlier than they would have done two decades ago. The researchers, from the University Hospital in Copenhagen, warned that earlier development could lead to increased sexual activity among youngsters. Girls who start puberty early often say they are teased at school, particularly when getting changed for PE when their classmates can see they are wearing a bra. Al though researcher s say obesity is the main cause of earlier puberty, other factors may be responsible. Some scientists believe the trend is linked to a chemical called bisphenol A, a plastic found in the lining of tin cans and babies’ feeding bottles. Men with high levels of bisphenol A in their bodies are more likely to have low sperm counts, according to one study

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0 No comments on love, money: Sonam

MUMBAI: Sonam left for Toronto on Sunday night. But not before expressing her happiness over the encouraging opening of Aisha. “I feel like a hero! I feel I’m shouldering the film. It’s daunting to know that heroes get an opening at the boxoffice, and then you see my film get an opening! If I may say so, Aisha got a very decent opening. In any case, it’s not a very big-budgeted film.” All the budget seems to have gone into Sonam’s clothes. “Arrey, but I wore a lot of my own clothes from my wardrobe! And those are paid for by my own money. Do you know I haven’t taken any money from my dad from the age of 18. Plus, there were around 70 designers who offered us clothes. We put together clothes, shoes, bags from what we were offered. We mixed n’ matched from what was sent to us.” What about starting the Sonam Kapoor Collection? She laughs. “That sounds impressive and who knows, I might just do that one day. You know, Sanjay Sir (Bhansali) always told me I’d one day be considered fashionable. I always had a penchant for dressing up. But I started off just wanting to be an actor. And when I was assisting Sanjay Sir in Black I am sure you remember me very frumpily dressed. But those were my work clothes. Sanjay Sir used to say, ‘Sona Bachcha, don’t dress up on my sets.’ Sonam says she wasn’t shaken by the first two failures. “I won’t allow myself to be judged by whether my film works or not at the boxoffice. I am here to act because I love it. Once Sanjay Sir (Bhansali) brought to my notice that I should act, this was it for me. Saawariya and Delhi 6 are very precious to me. These were very large-hearted films. I learnt so much while acting in these films. I gained so much confidence from them.” In Aisha, Sonam didn’t add to the director’s input. “I’m a very selfish actor. I was just focusing on my performance, nothing else.” Sonam sees herself directing a film some day. “Sanjay Sir always encouraged my aesthetics. And I love to write. So I want to write a screenplay. But first I need to feel I’m good enough, I don’t want to be mediocre in anything. I wouldn’t want any director to take up my script and turn it around. Let’s see ... I need to get more worldly-wise before I write a script. I need to grow up a bit see more of the world. I’ve led a very sheltered life. I switch off from stressful situations. I need to get more aware of pain.” Sister Rhea Kapoor will decide whether Sonam will be in the next home production. “Rhea is extremely clear-headed and practical. Which I am not. I am very much into myself. It’s a Gemini quality, I guess. It’s scary but good. It keeps me shielded from troublesome situations.” She recoils when I ask her about her real love story with the I Hate Luv Storys director Punit Malhotra. “I’d rather not talk about it. Whether I am dating or not dating anyone is entirely my business. I am not seeing anyone right now. Even if I was I wouldn’t talk about it. It’s in very bad taste to talk about whom I am seeing. Like asking how much money I make. I’ve been brought up differently. I won’t discuss my love life, my money and age.”

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0 Fifa confirms goal-line technology talks

LONDON: Fifa president Sepp Blatter says goal-line technology will be discussed at October's International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting. Blatter is a long-time opponent of the idea but now seems slightly more open-minded - if a reliable system is found. "My personal opinion on goal technology has never changed," said Blatter. "If we have an accurate and simple system then we will implement but so far we have not had a simple nor an accurate system." Despite the successful use of video replay technology in other major sports, Blatter has always resisted its introduction into football, saying it would disrupt the flow of the game. But after incidents such as the Frank Lampard goal that was disallowed in England's 4-1 World Cup loss to Germany despite clearly crossing the line, the subject has become hard to avoid with even Blatter admitting it would be "nonsense not to reopen the file". Speaking at the Youth Olympics in Singapore, Blatter also said clubs who were unhappy at the scheduling of international friendlies should take it up with their individual football associations, rather than blame Fifa. More than 50 international friendly matches will take place across the world on Wednesday, just as leagues in Europe are getting ready to start and Asian leagues are resuming after the World Cup. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has led criticism of the timing of England's friendly with Hungary but the Football Association said it was a matter for Fifa. "There are two dates in the year for friendly matches but it means you do not have to use these dates," added Blatter. "If you want to play a friendly match then bring your second or third team, nobody tells you to promote the best players. "Don't make a lot of noise about that [the timing] by saying that Fifa is saying this... it is not Fifa."

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0 'How much more weight will Kareena lose?'

Karan Johar goes on a denying spree: has Kareena Kapoor been asked to slim down for his next? No! Is the film based on What Happens in Vegas? No!

Kareena Kapoor is thankfully going to stay as she is. She won't lose more weight for her upcoming project with Imran Khan in Karan Johar's next, to be directed by debutante Shakun Batra.

Says Johar, "I read about the LOOK that we've planned for Bebo when in fact we're still undecided. We're certainly not asking her to lose weight. Poor thing how much more weight will she lose?"

The one thing that has been decided is that the film will be shot in Las Vegas. "BUT!" protests Johar.

"We are NOT remaking What Happens in Vegas. There's no similarity between our film and the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz romcom. By that logic every film shot in Bhuj would be Lagaan, no?"

If we wanted to do a desi version of What Happens In Vegas, I would have bought the rights for it like I did for Stepmom."

The producer-director is in London till August 10 to write his next script. 

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0 Katrina becoming unprofessional?

Well, the news of Katrina Kaif moving out from Abbas Mustan?s remake of ?Italian Job? is stale but we bring to you the tale behind this so called betrayal as the industry insiders puts it. The story goes like this??

Katrina signed Abbas-Mustan remake of Hollywood thriller ?Italian Job?, the London beauty in herBollywood duty even gave her dates for the film which had Abhishek Bachchan as her co-star. Abbas-Mustan then got busy in finalizing the other details for this big project and it took more time then expected. Meanwhile, many top actress of Bollywood approached Abbas-Mustan for a role in this film but Abbas-Mustan refused saying that Katrina is already finalized.

The twist in the tale occurred a couple of weeks back when the director duo wanted to call Katrina for a pre production work but the actress ignored their calls. Initially, they assumed that she might be busy and waited for Katrina to call back but the call didn?t come. After repeated messages Katrina?s secretary showed up saying that Katrina won?t be able to do their film because she has been signed by Yash Raj for a flick co-starring Imran.

This was shocking to Abbas-Mustan as the movie was scheduled to go on floors in a couple of weeks.

The angry producers are looking for a quick replacement and now we hear that the producers Studio 18 is planning to approach producers association to get the hefty sum they had paid to Katrina as advance.

It must be recalled that Studio 18 are the producers of the remake ?Italian Job? and had also signedKatrina before for a flick with Imran Khan titled ?Seven Days In Paris? to be helmed by the ?Dhoom? famed director Sanjay Gadhvi. The film got shelved as there where some script issues and now their next ?Italian Job? is facing problems.

Katrina should have remembered that Abbas-Mustan offered her ?Race? which made her beautiful legs stand taller then her contemporaries and the director duo has a good standing in the industry. 

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0 Salman Khan slams 'Incredible India'

Salman Khan is angry and this time it has nothing to do with Vivek Oberoi. The Bollywood

superstar, famous for being politically incorrect, is irked by the current state of affairs in
the country.

The 44-year-old star, who plays a corrupt cop in Abhinav Singh Kashyap's upcoming film 'Dabanng' expressed his displeasure on the micro-blogging website Twitter.

"Whts India? Nation whr Pizza rchs home Faster thn Ambulance & Police...Whr u get Car Loan@ 5 percent bt Edu Loan @12 percent(sic!). Whr Rice is Rs 40 bt Sim card is free...Whr ppl worship Goddess Durga bt wnt to kill their girl child," Salman wrote in a post.

"Olympic shooter wins gold, govt gives 3crore. Another shooter dies fighting with terrorist, govt pays 1 lakh. Really, Incredible India," he added.

However, the actor later clarified that the views expressed are messages he has recived which he forwarded through tweets.

"The earlier twts r sms thtve been floating ard. I thot I shud shar it wit u guys!(sic)'," Salman wrote on his page

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0 Sonakshi donates first earnings to Being Human

MUMBAI: It seems Sonakshi Sinha wants to return Salman’s favors by donating her first earnings to his charitable trust Being Human. It is known that Salman Khan is highly instrumental in shaping her personality and launching her in Bollywood. Sonakshi confirms, “Yes I did. I believe in the art of giving and I have donated my signing amount to Being Human.” The actress is happy with her decision of helping the charity organization with her first and foremost earning. She further reveals that Salman refused to accept her signing amount since it was her first earning and like any other newcomer it was very special to her. “Salman wanted me to spend it on myself and refused to take it but after lots of forcing I finally got him to accept it. It was the least I could do,” says sonakshi Speaking about Salman she says, “Salman pushed me to better myself in every way, be it fitness, acting or overall personality! Have to say, Dabangg was a smooth process for me because he was there as a mentor and guide.”

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