A video in support of slain Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen&nbsp;commander Burhan Wani, who was killed by&nbsp;Indian security forces last month, is doing the rounds on social media.&nbsp; 
 
The recording shows 12 armed men raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans. 
 
The youth leading the group is seen walking in a forest, carrying a wireless set while the others that follow him are seen armed with assault rifles and&nbsp;rocket launchers. Dressed in army fatigues, the men appear to be in their 20s. Their accent, however,&nbsp;does not appear to be typically of a Kashmiri resident. 
 
?The group leader is videoed saying, &quot;This challenge (baazi) is a challenge of blood which you will lose. For each Burhan that you kill, every house will birth a Burhan.&quot; 
 
The suspected militant then introduces&nbsp;himself as Tayib Burhan. The remaining gunmen, who follow him in a single column, also introduce themselves,&nbsp;adding &#39;Burhan&#39; to their first names. They&nbsp;identify themselves as Ali, Irfan,&nbsp;Abdullah, Sultan, Saifullah, Rizwan, Amir, Aslam, Inam Roshan, Usman and Ahmed. 
 
A security official told dna they are yet to establish the origin of the video. 
 
This video surfaces less than a fortnight after a video of the new&nbsp;Hizbul Mujahideen&#39;s militant commander, who is known by the&nbsp;nom de guerre Mehmood Ghaznavi,&nbsp;and four of his associates was circulated on social media. 
 
&quot;Our focus is to restore the law and order situation in the Valley. We have taken notice of such videos appearing on social media. We will take appropriate action once the situation normalises,&quot; said the senior security official based in Srinagar. 
 
On July 8, militant leader Burhan Wani was killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces of Indian-administered Kashmir. 
 
Azaan Javaid | DNA

The recording shows 12 armed men, armed with assault rifles and?rocket launchers, raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans

A video in support of slain Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed by Indian security forces last month, is doing the rounds on social media. The recording shows 12 armed men raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans. The youth leading the group is seen walking in a forest, carrying a wireless set while the others that follow him are seen armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers. Dressed in army fatigues, the men appear to be in their 20s. Their accent, however, does not appear to be typically of a Kashmiri resident. ?The group leader is videoed saying, "This challenge (baazi) is a challenge of blood which you will lose. For each Burhan that you kill, every house will birth a Burhan." The suspected militant then introduces himself as Tayib Burhan. The remaining gunmen, who follow him in a single column, also introduce themselves, adding 'Burhan' to their first names. They identify themselves as Ali, Irfan, Abdullah, Sultan, Saifullah, Rizwan, Amir, Aslam, Inam Roshan, Usman and Ahmed. A security official told dna they are yet to establish the origin of the video. This video surfaces less than a fortnight after a video of the new Hizbul Mujahideen's militant commander, who is known by the nom de guerre Mehmood Ghaznavi, and four of his associates was circulated on social media. "Our focus is to restore the law and order situation in the Valley. We have taken notice of such videos appearing on social media. We will take appropriate action once the situation normalises," said the senior security official based in Srinagar. On July 8, militant leader Burhan Wani was killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces of Indian-administered Kashmir. Azaan Javaid | DNA

Anti-India video supporting dead Kashmir terrorist Burhan Wani circulates on social media

A Malaysian television show has apologised following an outcry on social media over a comedy skit featuring an actor in &quot;black-face&quot; makeup pretending to be US R&amp;B star Usher. 
 
The skit was a parody of a recent performance by popular Malaysian singer Yuna and Usher in the US in June, where they had hugged, sparking criticism in conservative Muslim-majority Malaysia. 
 
Malaysia bars hugging, kissing and foul language by performers on stage. It also prohibits women from baring skin between their shoulders and knees. 
 
In the spoof, a woman acting as Yuna bows in front of the comedian in &quot;black-face&quot; make up posing as Usher, instead of hugging him. 
 
The video, which was shared widely on social media, was broadcast on local Malay entertainment programme &quot;MeleTOP&quot; on Tuesday. 
 
The show tweeted late Wednesday: &quot;We would like to sincerely apologise to Yuna &amp; Usher for our recent parody video, which was poor judgement on our part.&nbsp;We have removed the video and would like to request everyone not to share it.&quot; 
 
Many on social media condemned the racism in the parody. 
 
&quot;Yuna made Malaysia proud all around the world and this is how you show her your appreciation,&quot; a Twitter user wrote.&nbsp;Yuna is a Muslim ethnic Malay whose soulful singing has made waves in the US.&nbsp;She recently released a new single featuring Usher called &quot;Crush&quot;. The R&amp;B star also appears in her music video for that hit track. 
 
Yuna, who swaddles her hair in a chic version of the Muslim hijab head covering worn by many Malay women, has come far since uploading her first song on Myspace in 2006. 
 
But she and other Malaysian female entertainers sometimes face criticism from religious authorities and online trolls over what they wear and what they do. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

The skit that sparked outcry was a parody of a recent performance by popular Malaysian singer Yuna and Usher in the US in June

A Malaysian television show has apologised following an outcry on social media over a comedy skit featuring an actor in "black-face" makeup pretending to be US R&B star Usher. The skit was a parody of a recent performance by popular Malaysian singer Yuna and Usher in the US in June, where they had hugged, sparking criticism in conservative Muslim-majority Malaysia. Malaysia bars hugging, kissing and foul language by performers on stage. It also prohibits women from baring skin between their shoulders and knees. In the spoof, a woman acting as Yuna bows in front of the comedian in "black-face" make up posing as Usher, instead of hugging him. The video, which was shared widely on social media, was broadcast on local Malay entertainment programme "MeleTOP" on Tuesday. The show tweeted late Wednesday: "We would like to sincerely apologise to Yuna & Usher for our recent parody video, which was poor judgement on our part. We have removed the video and would like to request everyone not to share it." Many on social media condemned the racism in the parody. "Yuna made Malaysia proud all around the world and this is how you show her your appreciation," a Twitter user wrote. Yuna is a Muslim ethnic Malay whose soulful singing has made waves in the US. She recently released a new single featuring Usher called "Crush". The R&B star also appears in her music video for that hit track. Yuna, who swaddles her hair in a chic version of the Muslim hijab head covering worn by many Malay women, has come far since uploading her first song on Myspace in 2006. But she and other Malaysian female entertainers sometimes face criticism from religious authorities and online trolls over what they wear and what they do. (AFP)

Malaysia TV show responds to social media outcry, apologises for 'black-face' Usher parody

Tech giant Facebook has come up with a new feature that can help nonprofits and charity organisations to raise money for the causes they care about, the company said. 
 
Several months after the social network launched a new &quot;fundraiser&quot; feature for nonprofits to collect donations, Facebook announced it has expanded the tool to individual users. 
 
The tool is now available to 1 per cent of US users, standard for new Facebook products in order to gather feedback and make sure there are not any bugs. But it will roll out to all US users in the coming weeks. 
 
The new fundraisers are the latest feature from Facebook&#39;s Social Good team, which officially launched in September 2015 and is the force behind tools like &#39;Safety Check&#39; and &#39;Amber Alerts&#39;. 
 
Focusing on products aimed at crisis response and charitable giving, the team now hopes to break down barriers and empower people to use the tools it is building. 
 
&quot;We had Facebook fundraising for nonprofits with International Medical Corps in Nepal and then last year... nonprofits could fundraise for themselves,&quot; Naomi Gleit, Vice President of product management for social good at Facebook, said in a statement. 
 
&quot;But the real vision has always been people fundraising for nonprofits,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
The inspiration for the tool came from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which went viral in 2014. Facebook saw people raising money and awareness, but the ALS Association told Facebook that it couldn&#39;t handle the volume of traffic to its website, nor could it accept international currencies. 
 
US users create fundraisers, people around the world donate&nbsp; 
 
Now, users will be able to donate directly through Facebook or start their own campaigns. 
 
Any US-based nonprofit that holds a 501(c)3 status, has a verified Facebook page and agrees to the Facebook Pages Terms can sign up for the programme. 
 
As part of the initial rollout on Thursday, fundraiser creators can choose from nearly 100 charities, such as the Nature Conservancy, Alzheimer&#39;s Association and Oxfam. 
 
&quot;Before we actually disburse funds to them, depending on how much money it is, we will do some more quality control,&quot; Gleit said about the nonprofits overall. 
 
&quot;We just want to make sure there&#39;s no fraud, so there&#39;s an additional layer of vetting,&quot; Gleit added. 
 
While only US users can create fundraisers, people around the world can donate.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI) 
&nbsp;

Any US-based nonprofit that holds a 501(c)3 status, has verified Facebook page and agrees to Facebook Pages Terms can sign up for programme

Tech giant Facebook has come up with a new feature that can help nonprofits and charity organisations to raise money for the causes they care about, the company said. Several months after the social network launched a new "fundraiser" feature for nonprofits to collect donations, Facebook announced it has expanded the tool to individual users. The tool is now available to 1 per cent of US users, standard for new Facebook products in order to gather feedback and make sure there are not any bugs. But it will roll out to all US users in the coming weeks. The new fundraisers are the latest feature from Facebook's Social Good team, which officially launched in September 2015 and is the force behind tools like 'Safety Check' and 'Amber Alerts'. Focusing on products aimed at crisis response and charitable giving, the team now hopes to break down barriers and empower people to use the tools it is building. "We had Facebook fundraising for nonprofits with International Medical Corps in Nepal and then last year... nonprofits could fundraise for themselves," Naomi Gleit, Vice President of product management for social good at Facebook, said in a statement. "But the real vision has always been people fundraising for nonprofits," he said. The inspiration for the tool came from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which went viral in 2014. Facebook saw people raising money and awareness, but the ALS Association told Facebook that it couldn't handle the volume of traffic to its website, nor could it accept international currencies. US users create fundraisers, people around the world donate Now, users will be able to donate directly through Facebook or start their own campaigns. Any US-based nonprofit that holds a 501(c)3 status, has a verified Facebook page and agrees to the Facebook Pages Terms can sign up for the programme. As part of the initial rollout on Thursday, fundraiser creators can choose from nearly 100 charities, such as the Nature Conservancy, Alzheimer's Association and Oxfam. "Before we actually disburse funds to them, depending on how much money it is, we will do some more quality control," Gleit said about the nonprofits overall. "We just want to make sure there's no fraud, so there's an additional layer of vetting," Gleit added. While only US users can create fundraisers, people around the world can donate. (PTI)

Facebook's new feature to allow charities to raise money online

Bangladesh has launched a clampdown on social media sites spreading jihadist propaganda after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were murdered, saying the country&#39;s young were being radicalised online. 
 
Authorities said the deadly siege at an upmarket cafe popular with foreigners had been an &quot;eye-opener&quot;, exposing the role of social media in recruiting young men to jihadist groups. 
 
&quot;Social media has become a fertile ground for recruiting militants,&quot; the head of the telecoms regulator Shahjahan Mahmood told AFP. 
 
&quot;The attack was an eye-opener for us. They (jihadist groups) attract the young men through social media.&quot; 
 
The Islamic State group, which has claimed Friday night&#39;s attack, has long used social media to recruit fighters and incite individuals around the world to commit terrorist attacks. 
 
Mahmood said the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had ordered YouTube to remove videos of &quot;radical preachings&quot;, including those of the firebrand cleric Jashim Uddin Rahmani. 
 
He was sentenced to five years in jail last December after his speeches were found to have incited Islamist militants to kill the atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in early 2013. 
 
Shortly after the cafe siege, it emerged that several of the Bangladesh attackers were young, tech-savvy men from wealthy families and had easy access to social media. 
 
The father of 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz, one of the suspected attackers killed when commandoes stormed the cafe, has said he believes his son may have been radicalised online. 
 
Imtiaz reportedly posted an appeal on Facebook last year urging all Muslims to become terrorists and quoting a controversial Indian preacher who has been banned in Britain, Canada and Malaysia. 
 
&quot;He was a practising Muslim. So many people are. Maybe he was radicalised through the internet,&quot; his father Imtiaz Khan Babul told AFP. 
 
&quot;But I never checked what he was browsing...Someone may have brainwashed him.&quot; 
 
Bangladesh police issued a stern warning Wednesday that anyone caught sharing jihadist propaganda online would be punished in the wake of the unprecedented attack in Dhaka. 
 
&quot;Uploading, sharing, commenting or liking any video, images or speech in the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in support of the Islamic State or militancy is a punishable offence,&quot; Deputy Inspector General of police AKM&nbsp;Shahidur Rahman said. 
 
&quot;If anyone is found to have engaged in such activities, tough legal action will be taken against that person.&quot; 
 
Photos of carnage&nbsp; 
Survivors of the cafe siege have told how the young attackers seized mobile phones from hostages and forced them to provide their passwords so they could send out photographs of the carnage that were quickly disseminated by IS. 
 
Some reports said they had brought laptops, and ordered cafe workers to switch on the wifi. 
 
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are already working around the clock to take down jihadist accounts, but they often pop up again under different names. 
 
Experts say IS supporters are also turning to smaller social media platforms like Telegram, a messenger app, to disseminate their propaganda. 
 
Facebook and Twitter have removed some posts and Mahmood, of the telecoms regulator, said the government would bring in tougher laws to tackle radicalism on social media. 
 
Bangladeshi police have set up a special email address and urged people to report any suspicious online activities following last week&#39;s attack. 
 
Meanwhile the head of the country&#39;s elite security force appealed to Bangladeshis to be vigilant over the use of social media sites as a recruiting tool, and to report missing relatives. 
 
&quot;If there are any missing family members, please tell us, don&#39;t be afraid that law-enforcing agencies will take your sons away,&quot; said Benazir Ahmed. 
 
&quot;Their lives and other lives can be saved if they are found.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube already work hard to take down jihadist accounts, but they often pop up again under different names

Bangladesh has launched a clampdown on social media sites spreading jihadist propaganda after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were murdered, saying the country's young were being radicalised online. Authorities said the deadly siege at an upmarket cafe popular with foreigners had been an "eye-opener", exposing the role of social media in recruiting young men to jihadist groups. "Social media has become a fertile ground for recruiting militants," the head of the telecoms regulator Shahjahan Mahmood told AFP. "The attack was an eye-opener for us. They (jihadist groups) attract the young men through social media." The Islamic State group, which has claimed Friday night's attack, has long used social media to recruit fighters and incite individuals around the world to commit terrorist attacks. Mahmood said the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had ordered YouTube to remove videos of "radical preachings", including those of the firebrand cleric Jashim Uddin Rahmani. He was sentenced to five years in jail last December after his speeches were found to have incited Islamist militants to kill the atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in early 2013. Shortly after the cafe siege, it emerged that several of the Bangladesh attackers were young, tech-savvy men from wealthy families and had easy access to social media. The father of 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz, one of the suspected attackers killed when commandoes stormed the cafe, has said he believes his son may have been radicalised online. Imtiaz reportedly posted an appeal on Facebook last year urging all Muslims to become terrorists and quoting a controversial Indian preacher who has been banned in Britain, Canada and Malaysia. "He was a practising Muslim. So many people are. Maybe he was radicalised through the internet," his father Imtiaz Khan Babul told AFP. "But I never checked what he was browsing...Someone may have brainwashed him." Bangladesh police issued a stern warning Wednesday that anyone caught sharing jihadist propaganda online would be punished in the wake of the unprecedented attack in Dhaka. "Uploading, sharing, commenting or liking any video, images or speech in the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in support of the Islamic State or militancy is a punishable offence," Deputy Inspector General of police AKM Shahidur Rahman said. "If anyone is found to have engaged in such activities, tough legal action will be taken against that person." Photos of carnage Survivors of the cafe siege have told how the young attackers seized mobile phones from hostages and forced them to provide their passwords so they could send out photographs of the carnage that were quickly disseminated by IS. Some reports said they had brought laptops, and ordered cafe workers to switch on the wifi. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are already working around the clock to take down jihadist accounts, but they often pop up again under different names. Experts say IS supporters are also turning to smaller social media platforms like Telegram, a messenger app, to disseminate their propaganda. Facebook and Twitter have removed some posts and Mahmood, of the telecoms regulator, said the government would bring in tougher laws to tackle radicalism on social media. Bangladeshi police have set up a special email address and urged people to report any suspicious online activities following last week's attack. Meanwhile the head of the country's elite security force appealed to Bangladeshis to be vigilant over the use of social media sites as a recruiting tool, and to report missing relatives. "If there are any missing family members, please tell us, don't be afraid that law-enforcing agencies will take your sons away," said Benazir Ahmed. "Their lives and other lives can be saved if they are found." (AFP)

Bangladesh clamps down on social media spreading jihadist propaganda

China&#39;s internet regulator will launch a crackdown on the reporting of news gathered from social media, as part of what the government calls a campaign against fake news and the spreading of rumours. 
 
In a statement late on Sunday, the Cyberspace Administration of China said that online media cannot report any news taken from social media sites without approval.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It is forbidden to use hearsay to create news or use conjecture and imagination to distort the facts,&quot; it said. 
 
&quot;All levels of the cyberspace administration must earnestly fulfil their management responsibility for internet content, strengthen supervision and investigation, severely probe and handle fake and unfactual news,&quot; the regulator added. 
 
It listed a number of fake news stories it said had recently circulated on the internet, including one about a bus fire. 
 
The Chinese government already exercises widespread controls over the internet and has sought to codify that policy in law. 
 
Officials say internet restrictions, including the blocking of popular foreign sites like Google and Facebook, are needed to ensure security in the face of rising threats, such as terrorism, and stop the spread of damaging rumours. 
 
Foreign governments and business groups have pointed to restrictions on the internet as a broader trade issue. 
 
(Reuters) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The Chinese government already exercises widespread controls over the internet and has sought to codify that policy in law

China's internet regulator will launch a crackdown on the reporting of news gathered from social media, as part of what the government calls a campaign against fake news and the spreading of rumours. In a statement late on Sunday, the Cyberspace Administration of China said that online media cannot report any news taken from social media sites without approval. "It is forbidden to use hearsay to create news or use conjecture and imagination to distort the facts," it said. "All levels of the cyberspace administration must earnestly fulfil their management responsibility for internet content, strengthen supervision and investigation, severely probe and handle fake and unfactual news," the regulator added. It listed a number of fake news stories it said had recently circulated on the internet, including one about a bus fire. The Chinese government already exercises widespread controls over the internet and has sought to codify that policy in law. Officials say internet restrictions, including the blocking of popular foreign sites like Google and Facebook, are needed to ensure security in the face of rising threats, such as terrorism, and stop the spread of damaging rumours. Foreign governments and business groups have pointed to restrictions on the internet as a broader trade issue. (Reuters)

China steps up campaign against spread of fake news on social media

Israel&#39;s minister of internal security on Saturday accused Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, of not doing enough to prevent incitement against Israel and said the social network was &quot;sabotaging&quot; Israeli police work. 
 
Israel has in the past said Facebook is used to encourage attacks and the government is drafting legislation to enable it to order Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media to remove online postings it deems incite terrorism. 
 
But the comments made by Gilad Erdan, a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s Right-wing coalition that oversees law enforcement, were particularly biting. 
 
He said Zuckerberg was responsible for Facebook policy and called on &quot;the citizens of Israel to flood him in every possible place with the demand to monitor the platform he established and from which he earns billions&quot;. 
 
A spokesman for Facebook in Israel said the company was not commenting on the minister&#39;s assertions. 
 
During an interview on Channel 2 television, Erdan said, &quot;Facebook today, which brought an amazing, positive revolution to the world, sadly, we see this since the rise of Daesh (Islamic State) and the wave of terror, it has simply become a monster.&quot; 
 
&quot;Facebook today sabotages, it should be known, sabotages the work of the Israeli police, because when the Israeli police approach them, and it is regarding a resident of Judea and Samaria, Facebook does not cooperate,&quot; he said, referring to the area of the West Bank. 
 
&quot;It also sets a very high bar for removing inciteful content and posts,&quot; Erdan said. 
 
Since October, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting US citizens in a wave of street attacks, mostly stabbings. Israeli forces have shot dead at least 201 Palestinians, 137 of whom Israel has said were assailants. Others were killed in clashes and protests. 
 
Palestinian leaders say assailants have acted out of desperation over the collapse of peace talks in 2014 and Israeli settlement expansion in occupied territory that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Most countries view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this. 
 
Israel says incitement in the Palestinian media and personal problems at home have been important factors that have spurred assailants, often teenagers, to launch attacks. 
 
Tensions over Jewish access to a contested Jerusalem holy site, revered by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as Temple Mount, have also fuelled the violence. 
 
(Reuters)

Gilad Erdam blamed Mark Zuckerberg for Facebook policy and called on Israeli citizens to demand monitoring of the social network

Israel's minister of internal security on Saturday accused Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, of not doing enough to prevent incitement against Israel and said the social network was "sabotaging" Israeli police work. Israel has in the past said Facebook is used to encourage attacks and the government is drafting legislation to enable it to order Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media to remove online postings it deems incite terrorism. But the comments made by Gilad Erdan, a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Right-wing coalition that oversees law enforcement, were particularly biting. He said Zuckerberg was responsible for Facebook policy and called on "the citizens of Israel to flood him in every possible place with the demand to monitor the platform he established and from which he earns billions". A spokesman for Facebook in Israel said the company was not commenting on the minister's assertions. During an interview on Channel 2 television, Erdan said, "Facebook today, which brought an amazing, positive revolution to the world, sadly, we see this since the rise of Daesh (Islamic State) and the wave of terror, it has simply become a monster." "Facebook today sabotages, it should be known, sabotages the work of the Israeli police, because when the Israeli police approach them, and it is regarding a resident of Judea and Samaria, Facebook does not cooperate," he said, referring to the area of the West Bank. "It also sets a very high bar for removing inciteful content and posts," Erdan said. Since October, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting US citizens in a wave of street attacks, mostly stabbings. Israeli forces have shot dead at least 201 Palestinians, 137 of whom Israel has said were assailants. Others were killed in clashes and protests. Palestinian leaders say assailants have acted out of desperation over the collapse of peace talks in 2014 and Israeli settlement expansion in occupied territory that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Most countries view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this. Israel says incitement in the Palestinian media and personal problems at home have been important factors that have spurred assailants, often teenagers, to launch attacks. Tensions over Jewish access to a contested Jerusalem holy site, revered by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as Temple Mount, have also fuelled the violence. (Reuters)

Israel minister terms Facebook 'monster' for hindering security

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has sparked controversy in India by saying his heavy training schedule for an upcoming film left him feeling &quot;like a raped woman&quot;. 
 
Khan made the comments in an interview to promote his latest Bollywood movie Sultan, which tells the story of an ageing wrestler trying to make a comeback. 
 
&quot;When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn`t walk straight,&quot; 50-year-old Khan said in an interview with local news site Spotboye.com published on Monday.&nbsp; 
 
In the same interview, Khan said he had been able to quit every &quot;vice&quot; except women, saying that he had given up cigarettes, coffee and alcohol, but not female company.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There`s nothing left to quit anymore,&quot; he told the site. 
 
Social media users slammed the actor&#39;s comments. 
 
&quot;If you are a Salman Khan fan, it&#39;s good, but if you support his pathetic statement, you are nothing but a disgusting creature,&quot; wrote Twitter user @gautamverma23.&nbsp; 
 
Shaina NC, a spokeswoman for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra state, tweeted: &quot;Rape is an exercise of power to destruct a woman&#39;s self esteem, (from what) I (know) of @BeingSalmanKhan he respects #women so he must apologise&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Khan&#39;s personal life has also been dogged by controversy. 
 
Last year he was cleared of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run crash, and he is battling allegations he used unlicensed arms to shoot antelopes in western India.&nbsp; 
 
Bollywood films are notorious for their sexism and Khan in particular is accused of having weaker female parts in his movies. 
 
While several Indian filmmakers are breaking with stereotypes to produce women-oriented films, these are still few and far between. 
 
More recently, in April, India&#39;s sports stars reacted with dismay after Khan was appointed goodwill ambassador for the Olympic team in the Rio Games later this year. 
 
His appointment, by the Indian Olympic Association, triggered a row over whether an actor was best suited to promote athletes. 
 
Khan is one of Bollywood&#39;s biggest box-office draws, starring in more than 100 films and television shows since his first hit &quot;Maine Pyar Kiya&quot; (I Fell in Love) in the 1980s. 
 
(Reuters)

Khan made the comments in an interview to promote his latest Bollywood movie 'Sultan'

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has sparked controversy in India by saying his heavy training schedule for an upcoming film left him feeling "like a raped woman". Khan made the comments in an interview to promote his latest Bollywood movie Sultan, which tells the story of an ageing wrestler trying to make a comeback. "When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn`t walk straight," 50-year-old Khan said in an interview with local news site Spotboye.com published on Monday. In the same interview, Khan said he had been able to quit every "vice" except women, saying that he had given up cigarettes, coffee and alcohol, but not female company. "There`s nothing left to quit anymore," he told the site. Social media users slammed the actor's comments. "If you are a Salman Khan fan, it's good, but if you support his pathetic statement, you are nothing but a disgusting creature," wrote Twitter user @gautamverma23. Shaina NC, a spokeswoman for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra state, tweeted: "Rape is an exercise of power to destruct a woman's self esteem, (from what) I (know) of @BeingSalmanKhan he respects #women so he must apologise". Khan's personal life has also been dogged by controversy. Last year he was cleared of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run crash, and he is battling allegations he used unlicensed arms to shoot antelopes in western India. Bollywood films are notorious for their sexism and Khan in particular is accused of having weaker female parts in his movies. While several Indian filmmakers are breaking with stereotypes to produce women-oriented films, these are still few and far between. More recently, in April, India's sports stars reacted with dismay after Khan was appointed goodwill ambassador for the Olympic team in the Rio Games later this year. His appointment, by the Indian Olympic Association, triggered a row over whether an actor was best suited to promote athletes. Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest box-office draws, starring in more than 100 films and television shows since his first hit "Maine Pyar Kiya" (I Fell in Love) in the 1980s. (Reuters)

Indian Actor Salman Khan under fire for 'raped woman' comment

American rocker Meat Loaf collapsed on stage on Thursday during a performance in Edmonton, Canada, days after he postponed a show due to illness, media reported and social media posts showed. 
 
The 68-year-old musician fell to the stage floor in the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton as he was singing his 1993 hit &quot;I&#39;d Do Anything for Love,&quot; video clips on Twitter and traffic on the social media platform showed. 
 
Emergency personnel responded at the scene, the Edmonton Journal reported. 
 
His condition was not known and authorities in Edmonton were not available for comment. 
 
Meat Loaf postponed a show in the city of Calgary on Monday due to illness, he said on his Facebook page. 
 
Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, pulled out of a concert in Britain just hours before he was due on stage because of health problems in 2013. 
 
He canceled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords and sparked further fears for his health in 2011 when he collapsed on stage. He later blamed blackouts on past concussion injuries and his health issues on asthma. 
 
In 2012, he underwent a knee replacement operation. 
(Reuters)

The 68-year-old power balladeer was singing his 1993 hit 'I'd Do Anything for Love'

American rocker Meat Loaf collapsed on stage on Thursday during a performance in Edmonton, Canada, days after he postponed a show due to illness, media reported and social media posts showed. The 68-year-old musician fell to the stage floor in the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton as he was singing his 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything for Love," video clips on Twitter and traffic on the social media platform showed. Emergency personnel responded at the scene, the Edmonton Journal reported. His condition was not known and authorities in Edmonton were not available for comment. Meat Loaf postponed a show in the city of Calgary on Monday due to illness, he said on his Facebook page. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, pulled out of a concert in Britain just hours before he was due on stage because of health problems in 2013. He canceled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords and sparked further fears for his health in 2011 when he collapsed on stage. He later blamed blackouts on past concussion injuries and his health issues on asthma. In 2012, he underwent a knee replacement operation. (Reuters)

Meat Loaf collapses on stage during performance

Microsoft&#39;s $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn announced on Monday, the biggest-ever deal for a social media company, sent Twitter shares surging nearly 10 per cent over the past two days. 
 
After the mega-deal for LinkedIn, Twitter&#39;s future has come into focus as the industry ponders the outlook for social networks. 
 
Even though Twitter has a vastly different model from the professional social network, the shakeup in the sector has drawn attention to Twitter&#39;s large user base and data capabilities. 
 
With LinkedIn off the table, Twitter becomes the largest independent, non-Chinese social network which could be an acquisition target. 
 
&quot;At the margin, this makes all the remaining players more valuable due to the scarcity of those that have achieved scale,&quot; said Lou Kerner, founder of the Social Internet Fund, which invests in the sector. 
 
Kerner said that while LinkedIn is an &quot;ascendant&quot; company, Twitter is still struggling to grow beyond its current base of just over 300 million active users worldwide. 
 
Kerner said potential Twitter acquirers &quot;are looking for products that can help drive their growth and don&#39;t need to be fixed&quot;. 
 
He added that &quot;Twitter has scale, but what it doesn&#39;t have is growth, so its a far less attractive asset than LinkedIn.&quot; 
 
Still, talk has been swirling for months about a takeover of Twitter. Last week, venture capitalist and blogger Paul Kedrosky said in a tweet, &quot;I&#39;m not optimistic that Twitter makes it out of 2016 as a standalone company, which is sad.&quot; 
 
Despite the bump in Twitter shares, it has lost some 75 per cent of its value from highs in 2013 after its public share offering. 
 
 
Bubble bursting? 
 
Other analysts said Twitter&#39;s value as an acquisition target had not changed. 
 
Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights &amp; Strategy said the rise in Twitter was based on &quot;investor sympathy&quot; following the LinkedIn deal, but added,&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m not buying into the notion of some sort of impending acquisition or if this even makes more strategic sense for an Apple or Google to make a social acquisition.&quot; 
 
Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities said he sees no real connection. 
 
&quot;LinkedIn is really a job searching tool, nothing like Twitter at all,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;I don&#39;t think it signals a rush to buy social media at all.&quot; 
 
Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, said the Microsoft deal could signal the top of a bubble in social media companies. 
 
&quot;What the acquisition of LinkedIn means is that we are at the tail end of social media hype,&quot; Chowdhry said. &quot;The growth rates are going to dramatically slow.&quot; 
 
Chowdhry said Microsoft is seeking a distraction from its declining software business and LinkedIn&#39;s growth has been faltering as well. 
 
Although it has an estimated 433 million users, LinkedIn reported a loss of $46 million in the past quarter and a $166 million loss for 2015. Microsoft agreed to pay a 50 per cent premium for the company. 
 
&quot;When you have a marriage between two struggling companies, it&#39;s a wakeup call for the industry,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;If anybody is believing that the best is yet to come for social media stocks they will be disillusioned.&quot; 
 
Chowdhry said he believes other social networks which are not publicly traded but have high valuations such as Snapchat and Pinterest &quot;are going to get a dose of reality&quot;. 
 
&quot;The bubble in social media is going to burst,&quot; he said. 
 
Most social media firms have been able to grow their user base but have failed to come up with a solid business model,&nbsp;said Chowdhry. 
 
&quot;Twitter is a very strong platform for celebrities and politicians, and there&#39;s a value to Twitter,&quot; he said. &quot;But Twitter does not have mass appeal.&quot; 
 
Chowdhry said he does not rule out a bid for Twitter because &quot;there are still many foolish companies who want to divert investor attention away from their own fundamental problems&quot;. 
(AFP)

Microsoft's purchase of the job-search tool puts new focus on the dollar value of social media companies

Microsoft's $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn announced on Monday, the biggest-ever deal for a social media company, sent Twitter shares surging nearly 10 per cent over the past two days. After the mega-deal for LinkedIn, Twitter's future has come into focus as the industry ponders the outlook for social networks. Even though Twitter has a vastly different model from the professional social network, the shakeup in the sector has drawn attention to Twitter's large user base and data capabilities. With LinkedIn off the table, Twitter becomes the largest independent, non-Chinese social network which could be an acquisition target. "At the margin, this makes all the remaining players more valuable due to the scarcity of those that have achieved scale," said Lou Kerner, founder of the Social Internet Fund, which invests in the sector. Kerner said that while LinkedIn is an "ascendant" company, Twitter is still struggling to grow beyond its current base of just over 300 million active users worldwide. Kerner said potential Twitter acquirers "are looking for products that can help drive their growth and don't need to be fixed". He added that "Twitter has scale, but what it doesn't have is growth, so its a far less attractive asset than LinkedIn." Still, talk has been swirling for months about a takeover of Twitter. Last week, venture capitalist and blogger Paul Kedrosky said in a tweet, "I'm not optimistic that Twitter makes it out of 2016 as a standalone company, which is sad." Despite the bump in Twitter shares, it has lost some 75 per cent of its value from highs in 2013 after its public share offering. Bubble bursting? Other analysts said Twitter's value as an acquisition target had not changed. Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said the rise in Twitter was based on "investor sympathy" following the LinkedIn deal, but added, "I'm not buying into the notion of some sort of impending acquisition or if this even makes more strategic sense for an Apple or Google to make a social acquisition." Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities said he sees no real connection. "LinkedIn is really a job searching tool, nothing like Twitter at all," he told AFP. "I don't think it signals a rush to buy social media at all." Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, said the Microsoft deal could signal the top of a bubble in social media companies. "What the acquisition of LinkedIn means is that we are at the tail end of social media hype," Chowdhry said. "The growth rates are going to dramatically slow." Chowdhry said Microsoft is seeking a distraction from its declining software business and LinkedIn's growth has been faltering as well. Although it has an estimated 433 million users, LinkedIn reported a loss of $46 million in the past quarter and a $166 million loss for 2015. Microsoft agreed to pay a 50 per cent premium for the company. "When you have a marriage between two struggling companies, it's a wakeup call for the industry," he said. "If anybody is believing that the best is yet to come for social media stocks they will be disillusioned." Chowdhry said he believes other social networks which are not publicly traded but have high valuations such as Snapchat and Pinterest "are going to get a dose of reality". "The bubble in social media is going to burst," he said. Most social media firms have been able to grow their user base but have failed to come up with a solid business model, said Chowdhry. "Twitter is a very strong platform for celebrities and politicians, and there's a value to Twitter," he said. "But Twitter does not have mass appeal." Chowdhry said he does not rule out a bid for Twitter because "there are still many foolish companies who want to divert investor attention away from their own fundamental problems". (AFP)

What after LinkedIn: Will Twitter get bought next or is the social network bubble about to burst?

Messaging app Snapchat by year&#39;s end will have more US users than either Twitter or Pinterest, a market tracker said on Wednesday. 
 
The number of people using Snapchat in the United States will leap more than 27 per cent this year to 58.6 million, meaning that nearly one in five people in the country will be using the service, according to an eMarketer forecast. 
 
Twitter was expected to have 56.8 million US users this year, and online bulletin board Pinterest to have 54.6 million users. 
By the year 2020, the ranks of US Snapchat users was expected to swell to 85.5 million, according to the report. 
 
However, eMarketer forecast that Facebook Messenger smartphone communication application would remain in the lead in this segment with its US user base growing from 105.2 million this year to 139.2 million in the year 2020. 
 
Snapchat estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day. 
 
Snapchat&#39;s allure includes letting users &quot;cut through the clutter by injecting fun back into social sharing,&quot; according to eMarketer analyst Cathy Boyle. 
 
Snapchat has also tapped into an interest, particularly among young internet users, in communicating intimately with one or a few people instead of broadcasting messages across networks, the analyst said. 
 
The messaging service has been working with media partners and advertisers to reach its youthful audience. 
 
Snapchat this week rolled out a redesign making it a more attractive stage for publishers or brands to attract online audiences. 
 
A recent Bloomberg news report maintained that the number of people using Snapchat daily around the world already outnumber those using Twitter, giving the figures 150 million users versus 140 million. 
 
Those figures have not been confirmed by either company. 
 
Snapchat disclosed last month that it raised more than $1.8 billion in new funding.

Messaging app Snapchat by year's end will have more US users than either Twitter or Pinterest

Messaging app Snapchat by year's end will have more US users than either Twitter or Pinterest, a market tracker said on Wednesday. The number of people using Snapchat in the United States will leap more than 27 per cent this year to 58.6 million, meaning that nearly one in five people in the country will be using the service, according to an eMarketer forecast. Twitter was expected to have 56.8 million US users this year, and online bulletin board Pinterest to have 54.6 million users. By the year 2020, the ranks of US Snapchat users was expected to swell to 85.5 million, according to the report. However, eMarketer forecast that Facebook Messenger smartphone communication application would remain in the lead in this segment with its US user base growing from 105.2 million this year to 139.2 million in the year 2020. Snapchat estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day. Snapchat's allure includes letting users "cut through the clutter by injecting fun back into social sharing," according to eMarketer analyst Cathy Boyle. Snapchat has also tapped into an interest, particularly among young internet users, in communicating intimately with one or a few people instead of broadcasting messages across networks, the analyst said. The messaging service has been working with media partners and advertisers to reach its youthful audience. Snapchat this week rolled out a redesign making it a more attractive stage for publishers or brands to attract online audiences. A recent Bloomberg news report maintained that the number of people using Snapchat daily around the world already outnumber those using Twitter, giving the figures 150 million users versus 140 million. Those figures have not been confirmed by either company. Snapchat disclosed last month that it raised more than $1.8 billion in new funding.

Snapchat seen surging past Twitter, Pinterest in US

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young&nbsp;women&nbsp;posing for a selfie was meant to be a sign of the times. It has unleashed another sign of the times - a heated social media debate. 
 
The statue in Sugar Land, just outside of City Hall, was part of an installation of pieces donated to the city. Residents have been quick to weigh in on social media. 
 
&quot;Selfie Statue, Seriously? Sugarland what are your officials thinking,&quot; one Twitter comment read. Said another: &quot;I hope someone demolishes that disgrace of culture and an eye sore.&quot; 
 
Others defended the selfie statue. &quot;Let&rsquo;s Be Honest: The #SelfieStatue in #SugarLand, TX is a Perfect Sign of the Times,&quot; said one commentator. Added another: &quot;Unpopular Opinion: The Sugar Land, TX, selfie statue everyone is talking about is both art and good art.&quot; 
 
The statue in question is part of a group donated from a local resident. Others in the group include a statue of a man playing a guitar, and one of an alligator, installed near a pond. 
 
Some fans of the selfie statue have posed for selfies in front of it, while others praised the work but slammed the artist for depicting the&nbsp;women&nbsp;using what appears to be an outdated phone. 
 
Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph said the selfie statue depicts something seen every day and yet &quot;it has upset some people.&quot; 
 
&quot;You can&#39;t please everyone,&quot; he said.

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young?women?posing for a selfie has sparked off a heated social media debate

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young women posing for a selfie was meant to be a sign of the times. It has unleashed another sign of the times - a heated social media debate. The statue in Sugar Land, just outside of City Hall, was part of an installation of pieces donated to the city. Residents have been quick to weigh in on social media. "Selfie Statue, Seriously? Sugarland what are your officials thinking," one Twitter comment read. Said another: "I hope someone demolishes that disgrace of culture and an eye sore." Others defended the selfie statue. "Let’s Be Honest: The #SelfieStatue in #SugarLand, TX is a Perfect Sign of the Times," said one commentator. Added another: "Unpopular Opinion: The Sugar Land, TX, selfie statue everyone is talking about is both art and good art." The statue in question is part of a group donated from a local resident. Others in the group include a statue of a man playing a guitar, and one of an alligator, installed near a pond. Some fans of the selfie statue have posed for selfies in front of it, while others praised the work but slammed the artist for depicting the women using what appears to be an outdated phone. Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph said the selfie statue depicts something seen every day and yet "it has upset some people." "You can't please everyone," he said.

Selfie statue fails to click with some in Houston suburb

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