North Korea makes Pyongyang Iphone.

North Korea has taken a bite of Apple cool with its own state-backed smartphone - which appears to be a rip off of the iPhone 3.

Sold in three colours, the so-called 'Pyongyang Touch' appears to be a clear copy of the ageing Apple gadget - except with a few localised alterations.

Basically, don't expect a flood of Instagram photos of young clubbers partying in Pyongyang, since the pariah state's strict censorship laws mean phones marketed in the country can't call overseas and have no Internet.

No details of the devices' technical specifications have been published, but pictures published by pro-North Korean Japanese outlet Choson Sinbo suggest it is running a modified version of Google's Android operating system.

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The genuine article: The iPhone 3GS seems to be the inspiration behind the Pyongyang Touch, which observers say is a remodelled Chinese product

It is unclear whether the phones - available in in pink, navy blue and white - are actually being made in North Korea. 

State-run media announced last August that the country had begun making a smartphone called the 'Arirang' using home-grown technology.

But photographs of the country's portly young leader, Kim Jong Un, visiting the factory apparently making the phones raised suspicions that the mobiles were merely Chinese imports rebranded for the North Korean market.

Mobile tech website GSM Insider reported last week published a photographs comparing the Arirang phone with the Chinese-made Uniscope U1201 that appeared to confirm that suspicion.

'Both devices are 97 per cent similar except the brand, the network support and the operating system,' a reporter for GSM Insider wrote.

'The logo of Uniscope was replaced by the Arirang logo in the Korean language while the network support as well as the OS must be modified based on the regulations in North Korea before official release.'

Despite apparently having managed to build its own nuclear weapons, isolated North Korea lags well behind its Asian neighbours in technology.

Crash landings of suspected North Korean drones in South Korean in recent weeks have revealed they are little more than remote-controlled toy aeroplanes equipped with consumer-grade cameras available for just a few hundred pounds.

Middle Eastern prince pays $500,000 to meet Stewart for 15 mins.

News has just emerged that actor Kristen Stewart was apparently paid a gigantic sum of $500,000 in exchange for a 15-minute meeting with a Middle Eastern prince. TheTwilight star received the full amount in cash when she met the unidentified prince, along with his team of bodyguards, at Madison Square Garden in December 2012, theMirror reported.

The prince apparently had to shell out over $33,333 a minute, which is around $555 a second, to interact with Stewart.

Hindu scripture to be taught in Madhya Pradesh madrassahs: Report

BHOPAL: Bhagwad Gita, the teachings of Hindu scripture, will be made mandatory  in madrassahs of Madhya Pradesh, according to the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, NDTV reported.

Teachings of the Gita will be included in the Urdu books of Class 1 and 2 according to the MP government’s August 1 order.

The Gita was included in ‘Special Hindi books for class 9 – 12 to ‘Special English books for classes 11 and 12 last month. The move has been introduced in phases since 2011, when protests ensued after the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government announced that Gita would be in the curriculum.

The BJP party’s latest decisions have been criticised as “saffronisation of education” to which Education Minister Archana Chitnis responded, “This should not be taken the wrong way – this is not saffronisation, teachings from Sikhism, Christianity and other religions are also taught in our schools.”

“We have picked up threads from the Gita to instill a sense of duty and responsibility, obedience, love for nature and environment in students,” added the minister, saying that religion was not a factor in the decision.

Britain needs 7million MORE immigrants over 50 years to 'meet the cost of caring for the elderly'

Britain will need millions more immigrants to cope with an ageing population, the official economic watchdog warned today.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said that opening the doors to an extra 140,000 every year for five decades would boost employment and bolster the public finances.

It also warned that pressure on the UK’s healthcare system caring for older people means an extra £19 billion of spending cuts or tax hikes will be needed.

Open door policy: Without high levels of migration to Britain, public debt will balloon to become larger than the entire economy, the Office for Budget Responsibility said

Urgent action is needed or the gains made by George Osborne’s spending cuts will be wiped out by increased spending on the elderly, the OBR said.

Health, pension and social care costs are already equivalent to 14 per cent of Britain’s economy but by 2062-63 it will rise to almost 20 per cent.

The OBR argues that allowing 140,000 immigrants of working age into Britain each year – totalling 7million over 50 years – would fill jobs and raise taxes for Treasury coffers.

‘Our sensitivity analysis shows that overall migration has a positive impact on the sustainability of the public finances over our 50 year horizon,’ the OBR said.

It said that if there is a steady flow of immigrants into Britain, government borrowing would rise to 99 per cent of GDP.

But if there is a bar on immigration, borrowing would hit 174 per cent.

‘These results are driven by the assumed age structure of net migration, which tends to be more concentrated in the working age group and hence reduces the dependency ratio throughout the projection period.’

Warning: Gains made by George Osborne's spending cuts could be wiped out by increased pressure on the public finances from Britain's ageing population

However, David Cameron has pledged to reduce net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ and last year the number of immigrants fell by 89,000 to 153,00.

Without action to address the burden of an ageing population, the UK will be left with a £65 billion hole in its finances, according to the OBR.

In its annual fiscal sustainability report, it said: ‘It is clear that longer-term spending pressures, if unaddressed, would put the public finances on an unsustainable path.’

‘Public sector net debt would approach 100 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and still be rising,’ it added.

The OBR said the move to a single-tier state pension had slightly eased the pressure on public sector debt, but added that spending on healthcare was the biggest spending pressure over the next 50 years.

The OBR said the cost of the state pension was predicted to rise from 5.8 per cent of GDP to 8.4 per cent of GDP as the population ages, even with the introduction of the new flat rate payment system and increase in retirement age to 67 taken into account.

Healthcare spending is expected to increase from 7 per cent of GDP to 8.8 per cent of GDP, while long-term social care costs are set to rise from 1.3 per cent of GDP to 2.4 per cent of GDP.

The OBR also warned that declining North Sea oil reserves will take its toll, with oil and gas revenues expected to plunge from 0.4 per cent of GDP now to almost negligible levels - at 0.03 per cent of GDP by 2040.

But action taken so far by the Government, including an extra year of spending cuts to 2017-18 and the single tier state pension, is helping to offset some of the pressures, the report added.

The Office for Budget Responsibility's Robert Chote warned of 'huge uncertainties around the scale of the challenge' of dealing with the costs of more elderly people

Robert Chote, chairman of the OBR, said on presenting the report: ‘Since last year, the underlying deficit and debt path look less favourable.

‘But this and the costs of long-term care reform are likely to be offset by the Government's announcement of additional spending cuts in 2017-18 and savings from the single tier pension.

‘That said, there are huge uncertainties around the scale of the challenge and the UK is certainly not alone in confronting it.’

He added that the extra £19 billion needed to get borrowing back on track could be spread over the next 50 years rather than action taken in one go.

In a written statement, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the OBR's report shows that without the steps taken over the past year, public borrowing would be around 50 per cent of GDP higher in 50 years' time.

He added that the report identifies the extra spending cuts as ‘one of the key factors in containing the growth of spending over the long-term, demonstrating the importance of the Government's programme of fiscal consolidation for the long-term health of the public finances’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366934/Britain-needs-7million-MORE-immigrants-50-years-meet-cost-ageing-population.html#ixzz2ZJybKKkd

Deported from Israel for being a Muslim who visited Pakistan

Destination: Israel

Purpose: To visit Jerusalem and everything within it which ‘drives men mad.’

I had spent months preparing for my trip to the country with the primary aim of visiting Jerusalem and seeing the great historical landmarks such as the Al Aqsa mosque and Wailing Wall. I had purchased clothes appropriate for the sweltering heat of the Middle East, booked my flight well in advance and converted almost all of my remaining savings to Israeli Shekels in an almost hyperactive state of eagerness. It was in this mood that I reached Ben Gurion airport on the morning of the 24th of June.

The early warning signs should have been clear at passport control when the woman there rifled through my passport, asked “You’ve been to Pakistan?” and quickly sifted me through to the interrogation room where  everyone incidentally was either Arab or Muslim. My fears of racial and religious discrimination, instead of being proven overblown and hyped up as I had hoped, were quickly justified.

The “guilty until proven innocent” ordeal began with a brief period of questioning about my personal details and motives in visiting and lasted for ten hours in which I was questioned four times. The perpetrator was a blond woman who seemed eager to prove right all the stereotypes I had ever held about Israelis. Indeed on this occasion, I would like to quote from “Naughty Nomad”, an infamous traveller whose advice I quite closely follow:

“The worst thing were the attitudes. Israeli women are forced into the army for two years and many come out the other end as little monsters…”

If you would be so kind as to type “Israelis are..” into Google, the first option on this list (unsurprisingly) is “Israelis are rude”.

The interrogators read all my WhatsApp and text messages in a blatant violation of privacy while they repeatedly insisted they knew I was up to something untoward and threatened me with severe consequences if I didn’t inform them of my hitherto unknown plan. Of course, these claims were made with no evidence whatsoever, and despite my calm exterior, left me incredibly flustered. As expected, exactly what I feared transpired and I was told that I would be denied entry to the state of Israel upon a “security risk”.

My luggage was put through an “explosion detection” machine and after an uncomfortably thorough body search, I was hounded into a van with two security guards. They drove me for five minutes into a gated, white building surrounded by huge fences that one would only accord to a jail or a police station. The doors in our cells were without knobs, the windows were double barred and the rooms incredibly humid and damp – a fact made worse by the presence of six individuals in mine. We all had to make do on small bunk beds covered by furry grey blankets. And thus, it was like this that we were left that night – hungry, thirsty and worried without any fresh water, without any food and unable to sleep a wink due to the heat.

The others in my cell included the British Pakistani and French Arab guys who had come in with me as well as a middle aged Ukrainian man, a Palestinian who had been refused entry despite being a citizen of the state of Israel and a 70-year-old Tajik guy who had been hoping to fulfil his dream of praying at Al-Aqsa mosque. It was this person that I felt for the most; when he wasn’t touching his head to the ground in prayer, he was anxiously walking around the room saying “Y’Allah Rehem” (Oh Allah, mercy).

If only our captors had a semblance of this quality in them – a fact which seemed rather unlikely given how well versed they were inIsraeli state propaganda and their hounding laughter when sometimes, fatigued by the heat and bored by inactivity, we banged against the door attempting to earn a precious five minutes of fresh air.

The messages previous “visitors” had enshrined on the walls, occasionally by famous persons such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, were interesting and indeed provided a source of inspiration as the day dragged along.

At around 4pm, I received a visit from a rather pleasant man from the British embassy who helpfully booked me an Easy Jet flight home early on the morning of the next day. In response to my demands that something be done about the violations of privacy and degrading treatment I had been subjected to, I was given a fairly standard explanation:

“We cannot disrespect Israeli sovereignty- it is their country and they can do as they wish.”

My next question left him dumbfounded and he quickly fell silent when I asked:

“Would you be saying the same thing if I was locked up in an Iranian facility?”

The amount of frustration I inwardly felt was immense and my sheer naivety that a British passport would exempt me from these kinds of experiences – particularly in a self-proclaimed democracy – was quickly shattered.

I was driven up on to the runway and straight on the steps of the plane before my flight. The agents escorting me refused to hand over my passport and I only managed to retrieve it from the captain after landing at Luton airport.

Israel today has become what one would call an anachronism. The very idea of a Jewish state where minorities are subjected to inferior treatment is an idea the roots of which lie in centuries past. This ethno-religious criteria used to denominate and rank citizens is hardly the hallmark of a liberal democracy. The Zionist state is the only developed country on the planet which undertakes the policy of ethnic cleansing and encroachment of foreign land with such arrogant gusto and in doing so has forever became an international pariah. With American support, the Israelis have continuously flouted UN security resolutions, became the only country in the Middle East to possess deployable nuclear weapons of mass destruction and slowly leeched into Palestinian territory with the intention of creating a greater Israel. What is more these policies and the sheer indifference of the Israeli political elite to the wretched fate of the Palestinians has now become the best recruiting tool for terrorists all over the globe.

At times during my brief stay, the calls of “hanzeer” (pigs) by the Arabs holed up with me in reference to the Jewish race almost resonated with me and yet, if a solution is to be found to this conflict, the rational amongst us must ensure that we don’t fall blindly into the same category of bigotry and hatred of which the Israelis are guilty.

Taken from http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/18070/deported-from-israel-for-being-a-muslim-who-visited-pakistan/

Legacy of Afghan conflict: 50 British soldiers committed suicide last year, report

LONDON: A total of 50 serving and veteran British soldiers committed suicide last year, more than were killed fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to figures reported on Sunday.

The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that seven serving soldiers killed themselves in 2012 and a further 14 died in suspected suicides, although inquests have not yet been held. BBC investigation found that at least 29 veterans also took their lives last year. There are no official figures.

A total of 40 British soldiers died in action in Afghanistan in the same period, while serving as part of a decade-long British deployment that reached 9,500 troops at its peak.

Relatives of those who killed themselves told the BBC the military should do more to tackle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treat it like a physical injury.

One soldier who committed suicide, Dan Collins, had twice survived being shot in Helmand, and had witnessed a close friend killed in front of him. He was diagnosed with PTSD and given treatment, but after 10 months the army said he had recovered. He was later released back home and on New Year’s Eve 2011, he hanged himself.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “Every suicide is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of all those who have sadly taken their own lives.”

“Mental health of our personnel and veterans is a top priority for the government.”

The majority of babies will be born out of wedlock by 2016

The majority of babies will be born out of wedlock by 2016 if current trends go unchecked, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics.

The proportion of children born in England and Wales to unmarried mothers rose to just under 350,000 last year, which is equivalent to 47.5 per cent of all recorded births.

Ten years earlier, the figure was just over 40 per cent, in 1998 25 per cent of children were born out of wedlock and in 1979 it was only 11 per cent of total deliveries.

The ONS’ latest round of figures also show that with 729,674 births mothers now have an average of two children each, the highest fertility rate since the 1970s.

According to reports, the upsurge in births – both in and out of marriage – has been caused by immigration and an increase in women choosing to have children later in life. 

Indeed, the number of women aged over 40 having children reached a record 29,994, a jump of 360 per cent from 2002, while the average age of mothers has risen to almost 30, compared to 27 in 1982.

Tim Loughton, the former Children's minister, told The Daily Telegraph the news demanded the government introduce tax breaks to incentivise marriage. 

"If people are prepared to make a public declaration to each other in front of their friends and family they are more likely to stay together,” he said. “Without marriage people drift in and out of relationships very easily."

"In families where parents break up children do less well at school, are more likely to suffer mental health problems and are more likely to have substance abuse problems. The government needs to send a very clear message that it supports marriage. That's why married tax breaks are so important."

The ONS explained that the change was due to a combination of socio-economic factors that encourage women to postpone childbirth. 

"These trends reflect the increasing numbers of women delaying childbearing to later ages," they said.

"This may be due to a number of factors such as increased participation in higher education, increased female participation in the labour force, the increasing importance of a career, the rising opportunity costs of childbearing, labour market uncertainty, housing factors and instability of partnership."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/half-of-all-babies-born-out-of-wedlock-8703059.html