Rich Foods for Good Health

This is how Wikipedia defines a dietary fibre in the following way:
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:
Soluble (prebiotic, viscous) fibre that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and
Insoluble fibre that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it moves through the digestive system, easing defecation.
Living on a diet rich in fibre can help you reap rich rewards. It reduces cholesterol, regulates blood sugar, cancers and obesity, checks constipation, colitis and colon cancer and even haemorrhoids. An adult's recommended daily intake of fibre is 25-30gm.

Streaming For Dish Customers

Blockbuster unveiled a video streaming service limited to Dish Network satellite subscribers, a move to better compete with movie rental giant Netflix and rival cable and satellite TV providers.
For non-Dish subscribers, the company plans to unveil an online streaming plan later this year, Blockbuster president Michael Kelly told Reuters in an interview.
Blockbuster, the once-dominant video store chain, is trying to rebuild its brand in an increasingly crowded market with backing by deep-pocketed parent company Dish.
The streaming push comes as Netflix has stumbled with an unpopular price increase and other missteps that have sent the company's shares tumbling 50 percent in two months.
Called Blockbuster Movie Pass, the new subscription service will start at an additional $10 a month for streaming plus movie and video game DVD rentals by mail and at the company's more than 1,500 stores.
At Netflix, mail plus streaming starts at about $16 a month.
"It's definitely not a Netflix killer, but I do think it offers a lot of value for Dish customers," said Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott who has a "sell" rating on Netflix.
Shares of Netflix gained 0.65 percent to close at $129.36 on Nasdaq. Dish shares rose 5.35 percent to $26.76, also on Nasdaq.
Movie Pass starts October 1. It will be free for one year for new Dish customers who sign up by the end of January for certain packages that cost at least $40 a month. The streaming option will carry new movie releases from Walt Disney Co and Sony provided by Starz, the cable channel operator set to pull its content from Netflix in February.
The Blockbuster streaming library is smaller than the Netflix online catalog of more than 20,000 titles. Dish will offer more than 3,000 movies for streaming to TV and more than 4,000 for computers, plus hundreds of TV shows.
Movie Pass will be "a good retention tool" for Dish, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Clement said. "I don't know how compelling it will be for new" subscribers, he said.
Cable and satellite providers have been losing customers as entertainment options grow.
Adding the new package to Dish satellite TV service, which has about 14 million subscribers, offers consumers a broad menu of entertainment options by mail, television, streaming or in-store, Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton said.
"Hulu is very good at doing TV shows. Netflix is good at movies. No one is doing all of the above like we are doing," Clayton said at a news conference in San Francisco.
In response to the Blockbuster news, Netflix noted it offered streaming without requiring a satellite subscription.
"We still offer this amazing value without a cover charge," Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said.
Last week, Netflix cut its subscriber forecast by 1 million, saying it expects to end the third quarter with 24 million subscribers as it faces cancellations from price increases. The last time Netflix reported a subscriber decline was the second quarter of 2007 when Blockbuster was aggressively pushing a DVD rental package called Total Access.
Blockbuster said it picked up 500,000 new subscribers, a combination of paying and free-trial customers, in the past 30 days. The company does not disclose its total subscribers.
"The biggest negative for Netflix in the addition of new competitors isn't that they are going to steal away subscribers, it's that it potentially increases the cost of buying content," Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson said.

Saudi woman

A Saudi woman, who was sentenced to 10 lashes for defying the kingdom's prohibition on women driving, has been spared the punishment after King Abdullah intervened.

On Tuesday, Shaima Justaneyah was found guilty in Jeddah of driving without government permission. Her case caused worldwide outrage, Daily Mail reported.

But due to King Abdullah's intervention Wednesday, the woman got reprieve from likely public flogging against the religious edict.

Justaneyah had earlier told Arab News: 'I cannot think straight because of what I have had to go through.'

Saudi Arabia is the only country that bans women - including foreigners - from driving. Families are expected to employ drivers, or rely on male relatives to drive them around.

Earlier this week, King Abdullah, 87, announced that women would be given the right to vote for the first time and run in the country's 2015 local elections.

New Apple iPhone fail

Apple Inc's newest iPhone left Wall Street and fans wishing for more than a souped-up version of last year's device, at a time when rival smartphone makers are nipping at its heels.
At his first major product launch since being crowned CEO, Tim Cook ceded the critical iPhone presentation to another executive, and failed to generate the same level of excitement and buzz that predecessor Steve Jobs was famous for.
The new iPhone 4S is identical in form to the previous model, disappointing fans who had hoped for a thinner, bigger-screened design. Apple's shares fell as much as 5 percent, before recovering with the broader market to close down 0.6 percent.
But analysts say the new device sported some new features, such as voice commands, to draw in consumers and is still going to be a big draw this holiday season, particularly as the phone is now available on Sprint's network in addition to AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
It remains to be seen whether the iPhone 4S can stem market share gains by phones running Google Inc's Android software. Samsung Electronics, notably, is growing global shipments several times faster than Apple and is now estimated at within a hair's breadth of catching up in worldwide market share.
"It's been 16 months and all you've got is an A5 processor in the existing iPhone 4," BGC Partners' analyst Colin Gillis said of the new Apple phone. "It's a mild disappointment, but they're still going to be selling millions of units."
The iPhone 4S's voice commands -- for sending messages, searching for stock prices and other applications -- caught the attention of several analysts who argued it could profoundly change the user experience.
Known as "Siri", the technology already exists on Android but experts say Apple's integration was more fluid -- a hallmark of the company.
Whether such high-tech wizardry is enough to make the iPhone 4S a must-have in consumers' eyes and set it apart from the competition, remains to be seen.
"It's not clear that Siri is sufficient to make or break a purchase decision," said John Jackson, an analyst at CCS Insight. "It's a better mousetrap. History tells us users don't use this technology in great numbers."
INTENSIFYING COMPETITION
While the iPhone 4S sports many of the features leaked in tech blogs before Tuesday, it lacked the "wow" factor that some were hoping for to sustain the popularity of the brand.
In some ways, Apple may have been a victim of past success. Product launches by Jobs, now chairman, had been some of the hottest events on the tech calendar.
The iPhone, which accounts for more than 40 percent of Apple's sales, has been a success since it came out in 2007, making Apple one of the world's top electronics companies.
Cook said Apple has made significant inroads into the corporate market, with more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies testing or using its iPhones and iPads. The news sent shares of BlackBerry maker RIM down nearly 3 percent at one point. Google shares finished 1.3 percent higher.
The iPhone 4S will cost $199 with pre-orders starting Oct. 7. Apple also cut the price of the older iPhone 4 to $99, and said an even older "3GS" model will be available for free to customers who sign a long-term contract.
That could help Apple expand into developing markets such as Asia, Samsung's backyard. And it might allow Apple to take a bite out of a low-end market it had eschewed.
"Apple is hitting Nokia when it's vulnerable. How many billions of people in emerging markets would love to have an iPhone? These are a growing demographic," said YCMNet Advisors CEO Michael Yoshikami.
Tuesday's iPhone event took place at Apple Central -- the same venue where the iPod was introduced years ago -- versus the larger, splashier venues of more recent choice, such as downtown San Francisco's Moscone center.
The event, though as usual choreographed to a tee, lacked the oomph and pizazz of Apple events in years past and sorely missed the star power that Jobs brought to the unveilings.
Heading into the event, many on Wall Street had questioned Cook's ability to lead the company as Jobs had. In terms of stage presence, Jobs was a tough act to follow.
While it did little to alleviate concerns about whether the company would stay a creative force to be reckoned with without its founder and visionary at the helm, analysts say Tuesday's proceedings hinted at Apple's new team-based approach.
"What he did is let the team shine through," said Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett. "What we may see is a somewhat different style, and frankly a healthy style that says: Look, this is a team that works together, there's a deep bench, it's not just one person."
Twitter users were not impressed with the phone, though.
"Please note I will be selling some 'S' stickers for $0.99 so iPhone 4 owners have a cheaper upgrade option," wrote HAL9000 on Twitter.
Tomlinsonr tweeted, "I'll have a double helping of 'meh' with a side of 'whatever'."
The latest version of the iPhone comes as the economy slows and competition intensifies. People activate more than 550,000 Android-based devices -- including tablets -- each day.
Nielsen data shows the iPhone was No. 2 in the United States with a 28 percent market share, with Android at 43 percent.
Globally, iPhone shipments rose 9.1 percent in the second quarter while Nokia's plummeted more than 30 percent, handing the top spot to Apple with a market share of 18.4 percent, according to IHS iSuppli. Samsung, whose shipments grew faster, is coming on strong with a market share of 17.8 percent.
Despite disappointment online, analysts said the phone is superior to many rival offerings.
"Voice recognition has been on Google and Blackberry devices for years, but Apple will make it much more usable," said Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt.