Hullabaloo over the Hitler picture By Mahir Ali dawn.com The director is said to have picked Anupam Kher because of his resemblance to Adolf Hitler — which is surely a bit of a stretch. –Photo by AFP Apparently it was a phone call from the esteemed director Mahesh Bhatt’s German mother-in-law that clinched the issue for Indian actor Anupam Kher and prompted him to turn down the title role in Dear Friend Hitler, a projected Bollywood take on the Nazi dictator. According to a report in The Times of India, she told him: “It’s not just the Jews who suffered … Continue reading Hullabaloo over the Hitler?

dawn.com The 17 organisations are also attempting to establish their bases in the Sindh province, interior ministry sources said. — Photo by AFP National Govt undecided on tackling ‘Punjabi’ Taliban: report Govt undecided on tackling ‘Punjabi’ Taliban: report KARACHI: At least 17 extremist and banned groups in Punjab are collecting money during religious and other ceremonies in the name of public welfare, a BBCUrdu report quoted intelligence agencies as saying. These organisations are using different names for this purpose and are also organising charity events to gather finances, the report said. An intelligence report sent to the interior ministry says … Continue reading Militant groups active, gathering finances in Punjab

dawn.com The enormous success of the right wing anti-Islam party in the recent elections in the Netherlands indicates a widespread schism within the Dutch and wider European societies where the presence of the Muslims as equal participants of society is disputed. “Stop migration from the Muslim countries! Block the building of mosques or Muslim schools! Stop subsidising the multicultural programs,” were prominent slogans of Geert Wilders, head of Freedom Party (PVV) during the election campaign in the Netherlands. His party obtained 1.5 million votes and increased its number of seats from 9 to 24 in the parliament. It is probable … Continue reading The anti-Islam vote in the Netherlands elections

Pakistan is UK’s long-term strategic partner: Hague dawn.com Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague (L) arrives for talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on June 23, 2010. — AFP photo Pakistan Holbrooke arrives in Islamabad on two-day visit Holbrooke arrives in Islamabad on two-day visit ISLAMABAD: The new British government on Wednesday said it views Pakistan as a long term strategic partner and desires “deeper” and “stronger” bilateral ties in all areas. The British Foreign Secretary who is here on a three-day official visit also vowed to deepen the “strategic dialogue” with Pakistan, besides … Continue reading Pakistan is UK’s long-term strategic partner

Listening to an iPod or MP3 player for just an hour can significantly damage your hearing, according to new research telegraph.co.uk Listening to an iPod or MP3 player for just an hour can significantly damage your hearing, according to new research Photo: CORBIS Scientists have shown that listening to music on headphones for an hour can have a temporary impact on people’s hearing because of the damage caused to the hair cells in the outer ear. Participants in the study, published in the journal Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, had their hearing tested and were then asked to listen … Continue reading Listening to iPod for an hour can damage hearing

Prolific chip and pin fraudster jailed for ‘£35m scam’ One of Britain’s most prolific chip and pin fraudsters, Theogenes De Montford, has been jailed for nationwide card cloning scam that could have raked in up to £35 million. telegraph.co.uk The 29 year-old was at the heart of a gang that cloned thousands of credit cards by inserting devices into pin entry devices at petrol stations across the country, Southwark Crown Court was told. Mr Recorder Nicholas Rhodes QC told the software engineering graduate ”the motivating factor was greed and the huge profits you could make with your skills from this … Continue reading UK – Sri Lankan jailed for ‘£35m credit card scam’

California mulls digital number plates with adverts to tackle deficit California is considering using digital car number plates, which would switch to advertisements when vehicles were stuck in traffic, as a way to raise money to tackle its $19 billion (£12.8 billion) budget deficit. By Nick Allen in Los Angeles Published: 11:34PM BST 22 Jun 2010 David Hasselhoff’s car number plate Photo: REX The electronic plates would look like standard plates when the car was in motion, showing the registration number. But when a car stopped for more than four seconds, in a jam or at a red light, scrolling … Continue reading California – digital number plates?

Booker Prize winner Yann Martel says ‘Jews don’t own the Holocaust’ Yann Martel, the Booker prize-winning author, has said that “Jews don’t own the Holocaust”. By Laura Roberts telegraph.co.uk Yann Martel: ‘As an artist I can understand through the imagination, and this is my attempt at understanding the Holocaust’ Photo: ANDREW QUERNER The Life of Pi writer, whose latest novel is about the Holocaust, claimed that he should be able to write about the period in history even though he is not Jewish. His fictional work, Beatrice and Virgil, follows a blocked writer who meets a taxidermist writing a play … Continue reading Yann Martel says ‘Jews don’t own the Holocaust’

Jesus will return by 2050, say 40pc of Americans More than 40 per cent of Americans believe Jesus Christ will return to Earth by 2050, according to a poll. telegraph.co.uk A statue of Jesus in Sydney, Australia. 40 per cent of Americans believe He will return by 2050. Photo: REUTERS Americans are largely optimistic about the future, according to the poll from the Pew Research Center For The People and The Press/Smithsonian Magazine. By mid century, 71 per cent believe cancer will be cured, 66 per cent say artificial limbs will work better than real ones and 81 per cent … Continue reading Sarah Palin is Jesus! say 18% Americans!

Google ‘to launch music download store in 2010’ to rival Apple’s iTunes Google is planning to launch a music download service linked to its search engine later this year in a bid to up the ante against Apple, according to a report. By Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent telegraph.co.uk Photo: Google/Yann Arthus-Bertrand, GoodPlanet Foundation Photo: Google/National Geographic The Wall Street Journal report states that the search giant is preparing to launch the music download offering in 2010, followed by an online subscription service in 2011. The newspaper cites “people familiar with Google’s discussions with the music industry” as … Continue reading Googles will rival and surpass Apple’s iTunes