- INT21International/Showbiz/Entertainment/CinemaSunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala to perform in DhakaDhaka, Oct 11 IANS Indian popular playback singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Kunal Ganjawala will perform for the first time in Bangladesh at a concert titled "Live Music Dhamaka by Sunidhi and Kunal" next Friday.The event is being organised by Event Incorporate. Sunidhi Chauhan has attained popularity in Bollywood for her hit and critically acclaimed playback songs such as "Dhoom machale" "Dhoom", "Sajna ve sajna" "Chameli", "Kaisi paheli zindagaani" "Parineeta", "Sajnaji vari vari" "Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd", "Beedi jalaile" "Omkara", "Le chale" "My Brother Nikhil" and more. Sunidhi had no formal training before she entered into various national singing competitions. Lata Mangeshkar offered to train her when she bagged an award on the national telecast of "Meri Aawaz Suno". Kunal is known for the songs "Bheega hont" "Murder", "Dil na diya" "Krrish", "Dupatta tera nau rang da" "Partner", "Masha-Allah" "Saawariya" and "Salaam namaste" "Salaam Namaste". Besides Bollywood, Kunal is also a name to be reckoned with as a playback singer in the Kannada film industry. Dhaka has been attracting artistes from India, more from West Bengal because of the affinity of culture and language, with events organised by private entrepreneurs. --Indo-Asian News Serviceved/pb/jg214 Words11101152
2008-10-11 02:00:00
- AFP - Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful won the toss and sent New Zealand in to bat in the second one-day international at Shere Bangla National Stadium here on Saturday....
2008-10-11 00:37:44
- SPO18SportsMalik confident of good showing in Toronto T20Karachi, Oct 10 IANS Pakistan will be back playing international cricket after three months in the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada and skipper Shoaib Malik was confident his side will turn out a good show.Canada, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and hosts Canada are the other teams in the tournament. Pakistan last played one-day series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh followed by Asia Cup in June and has not played any Test cricket since last November. The terror-hit country was left cricket starved after Australia pulled out of the home series followed by the postponement of the Champions Trophy because of the security concerns. "It is going to be a tough event, considering the playing conditions," said Malik. Malik said the five-day National Twenty20 Cup has helped his boys to get in the mode of the shortest version of game. "We got some good practice in the National Twenty20 Cup and it is going to help us here in the four-nation event."Malik rejected the idea that Pakistan was the favourite for the title in Toronto. "In Twenty20 cricket, you can't pinpoint who is going to win. Even weaker teams like Zimbabwe and Canada will have a chance of winning," he said.Malik is expecting that comeback fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will inspire his team in gloomy Toronto."A fit Shoaib is an asset for the team," he said. "He Shoaib is very excited about his international return and I'm hoping that he will inspire his team-mates by putting in some match-winning performances."Shoaib, 33, will be playing for Pakistan for the first time in almost ten months.--Indo-Asian News Servicekh/pt/av/vt304 Words10101942
2008-10-10 10:01:11
- NAT30National/Society/CrimeVictims of Assam ethnic clashes crave for peaceBy Syed Zarir HussainUdalguri Assam, Oct 10 IANS Thousands of people hit by the ethnic clashes in Assam, which have claimed at least 55 lives, are now craving for peace and willing to return to their homes, setting aside the bitter animosity of the past few days."We were almost ruined for life after our village was torched during the violence, but still we want to go back to our homes," said Matha Basumatary, a mother of three young children, as tears welled up in her eyes. Matha is among nearly 150,000 people who were displaced in last week's ethnic clashes involving tribal Bodos and non-Bodos in northern Assam's Udalguri and Darrang districts. At least 55 people were killed, 25 of them in police firing, and more than 100 injured in violent clashes between the Bodos and non-Bodos, most of them migrant Muslim settlers from Bangladesh."We want to forget the past and cohabit with other communities like we did for decades together," said Muslimuddin Ahmed, an elderly community leader. Villagers from both the Bodo and minority Muslim communities are now sheltered in about 80 relief camps set up by the government after three days of violence last week that affected nearly 200 villages. "Common people like us do not know for sure why the violence broke out. For us, getting two square meals a day has always been a problem and we do not want violence or communal discord to disturb our day to day life," said Moni Boro, a Bodo community elder. In some of the camps, both Bodos and non-Bodos are residing together - a clear indication that the average villager was not involved or did not approve of the violence."We are sorry for our Bodo brothers whose houses were set ablaze, and even some of my Bodo friends consoled us for the loss we suffered in the violence," Rahim Ahmed, a peasant, said at one of the relief camps.But there is a sense of insecurity haunting the people of both communities.Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS: "The situation is fast returning to normal although we know there is tension and people are still faced with a sense of insecurity. We are now working on an action plan as to how we could instil confidence among people by providing adequate security cover. "We are taking a lot of confidence building measures to heal the wounds." The chief minister Friday visited relief camps in Udalguri district and held a security review meeting. "We will be deploying security forces in vulnerable areas, besides some permanent pickets in certain pockets so that people are able to return to their homes soon," Gogoi said."The government would provide free ration for a month to all the affected people."-Indo-Asian News Service szh/pg/jg510 Words**10101525
2008-10-10 06:00:00
- INT28International/PoliticsJamaat, BNP fall in line as Bangladesh prepares for pollsDhaka, Oct 10 IANS After resisting new election law requirements, both the Bangladesh Nationalist Party BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami JeI, have fallen in line and are ready to talk to the government as the country prepares for the December polls. The BNP, led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and JeI, the country's largest Islamist party, had been opposing registration of their parties' names, along with account books as per the new rules. The Election Commission and the military-backed caretaker government have relaxed the requirements a bit by seeking details of the parties in their present form and asking that they hold elections and ratify them within the next six months. In a major shift in their stance, the JeI announced Thursday that it may amend its party constitution to meet the new requirement and the BNP prepared to talk to the government on Sunday, The Daily Star said Friday. JeI's Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami said: "We will not give anyone the chance to leave us out of election on technical grounds. We have amended our constitution several times before, and will do it again if need be." Their principal rival Awami League, meanwhile, prepares to begin the thorny issue of seat-sharing with 15 poll partners. The partners are unhappy with the new entrant into the alliance, former military ruler H.M. Ershad, whom they had fought during 1982-90. But Ershad has been admitted by alliance chief and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is looking to broad-base her alliance. Ershad said Thursday his Jatiyo Party would contest 20 seats, mostly in northern Bangladesh, in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari regions. Hasina had earned the wrath of her allies last November when she reached an electoral understanding with the Islamist Khelafat Andolan. The elections originally slated for January 2007 were called off amidst political turmoil. --Indo-Asian News Serviceved/ak/jg347 Words10101304
2008-10-10 04:00:00
- INT18International/ReligionThousands in Bangladesh mark end of Durga PujaDhaka, Oct 10 IANS Thousands of Bangladeshis participated in the revelry that marked the end of the Durga Puja festival that was observed with religious fervour by the Hindus, who form the country's second-largest religious grouping. The Hindus Thursday observed the concluding day of the Durga Puja festival as Bijoya Dashami, which came in close succession to the Eid-ul-Fitr festival of the Muslims. The day was a public holiday.Devotees thronged the over 22,000 puja pandals marquees across the country in the morning. About 165 pandals were set up in the national capital alone.In the evening, the devotees bade solemn farewell to goddess Durga alongwith Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartic and Ganesh by immersing their idols in rivers while inviting the goddess to return to them next autumn, the New Age newspaper reported Friday.In Dhaka, thousands of men, women and children joined the traditional idol-immersion procession brought out from near the historic Dhakeswari Temple with 100 trucks carrying idols of Durga. The procession drew to a close at Waizghat on the Buriganga river after parading through main streets of the city.Special security measures were taken as members of different law-enforcement agencies escorted the procession until the immersion of the images.Tapas Paul, chief of the Mahanagar Sarbajaneen Puja Committee, said idols of goddess Durga from around 30 pandals had been brought to Dhakeswari Temple for the Bijoya march.On the occasion, President Iajuddin Ahmed and his wife Anwara Begum hosted a reception for Hindus at Bangabhaban. --Indo-Asian News Serviceved/sh/jg272 Words10100951
2008-10-10 00:03:04
- SPO11SportsSymonds will have to prove himself for comeback: SutherlandSydney, Oct 9 IANS Cricket Australia CA chief James Sutherland has made it clear that troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who was dropped from the ongoing Test tour of India on disciplinary grounds, will have to earn his place back in the side.Symonds was sent back home from Darwin on the eve of the Bangladesh series after he skipped the team meeting to go fishing. He was then dropped from the four Test series in India.Symonds has since apologised and made all the right noises about returning as a better person. Though Sutherland is delighted with his efforts, he minces no words when he says Symonds will have to prove his worth by action."I've had a couple of chats with him in the last couple of weeks. He knows that talk is cheap at this time and it's the actions that really count," Sutherland was quoted as saying by the Courier Mail."I think he really understands that actions are the things that are really going to speak for him now and that's what he wants to concentrate on."I've got a really good feeling about the way he is working towards coming back."There's nothing more that he wants right now than to be playing cricket for the Australian cricket team."I am really confident - talking to him and hearing others talk about how he is applying himself - that it won't be too far away," he said.However, as Symonds continues to consult psychologists in his rehabilitation programme which is being overseen by CA medical staff, officials have not set a timeline for his return. "I don't think there is any set timeline," Sutherland said. "Andrew has quite rightly been careful not to build any expectations. We are all on the same page in terms of wanting to see Andrew back playing cricket for Australia."--Indo-Asian News Servicept/av/jg342 Words09101608
2008-10-09 07:05:07
- Reuters - "Made in Bangladesh" is set for a makeover after the Asian nation's key apparel sector signed up a London fashion design school to help it appeal to more trendy and quality-...
2008-10-08 07:10:41
- INT34International/DiplomacyDhaka to press for road up to China with YangonDhaka, Oct 7 IANS Bangladesh is set to begin a survey on the proposed road link to China via Myanmar this month with the consent of Yangon, officials said. Its communications ministry has requested the foreign affairs ministry to seek the opinion of Myanmar authorities in this regard, the New Age newspaper said Tuesday, quoting an unnamed government official. Dhaka would focus on having a road link to China through Myanmar and settling the maritime delimitation during bilateral talks with Myanmar's Vice Senior General Maung Aye, who is paying a three-day visit to Bangladesh.Myanmar will have to build a 120 km road from Bawlibazar to China border Kyautaw to that end. During the talks, Bangladesh will try to pursue the Myanmar delegates on this point."We're looking forward to expediting the whole process while we talk," Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said. He added that Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, during his visit to China in September 2007, also laid emphasis on building a road between the two nations through Myanmar.Chowdhury said maritime border demarcation would be an important feature at the bilateral talks. Bangladesh and Myanmar sat in April in Dhaka to discuss demarcation after a gap of 22 years.The next maritime talk is scheduled to be held in Myanmar in January next year. The two countries cannot carry out offshore oil and gas exploration because of claim and counter-claim of the seabed of the Bay of Bengal.Bangladesh also has a sea border with India, with whom talks have recently been held to resolve the long-standing maritime border demarcation issue. All the talks, however, ended inconclusive.However, the long-pending issue of repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, the Muslim tribals who have fled Myanmar following military crackdown, is not on the agenda, say foreign ministry officials.The Rohingya influx has become a major concern for Bangladesh as approximately 30,000 refugees are residing in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong, in southern Bangladesh. --Indo-Asian News Serviceved/sh/dg359 Words07101334
2008-10-07 04:03:10
- NAT4National/Art/CultureKumartuli's sculptors fear their craft may dieBy Aparajita GuptaKolkata, Oct 7 IANS They have churned out giant idols of Goddess Durga and her children for decades, but the artisans of Kumartuli - the potter's colony here famed for its sculptures - now fear that their craft might die with them as the younger generation is shifting to more lucrative professions.The artisans of the north Kolkata neighbourhood slog for six to seven months to create idols of goddess and her children Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha as well as demon king Mahishasura that are worshipped in marquees set up across the city.Even though the idols are in focus now as Durga Puja - the biggest festival of Bengalis - is on now, for the artisans, things are not looking up. A sharp rise in input costs has reduced their profits."Our business is not generating good profit nowadays due to an increase in input cost. In the past year, the input cost has gone up by 10-15 percent," Rudrajit Paul, an artisan in his early 40s, told IANS."The price of hay, nails, paint, transport - everything has gone up. We only get the mud free of cost," he added.There are around 100 artisan units working in the dingy earthen houses in Banamali Sarkar Lane in Kumartuli. The slum area is spread across five acres.The artisans live in a pitiable condition with no civic facilities. The drains are choked and there is hardly a tap, water kiosk or tubewell."We start the work for Durga Puja from March-April every year so that we can finish on time," said Paul, a third generation idol-maker. His family migrated from present day Bangladesh 60 years ago and since then they have been engaged in this profession.He has a three-room workshop in Banamali Sarkar Lane in Kumartuli where he has made around 35 idols of Durga this year, besides those of other gods and goddesses.The idols fetch anything between Rs.5,000 and Rs.150,000. But given the costs, it is not enough, say the artisans."The next generation will definitely not join this profession. They are studying and will go for some other job. May be in the long run this art will perish," Gopal Chandra Paul, president of the Kumartuli Mrit Shilpi Sangha or artisans association, told IANS.Many of the idols made in the potter's colony are exported to countries like Britain, the US, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, South Africa and Indonesia. Most bookings are done online and many of the artists have their own websites."This year my unit has made around 25 Durga idols and exported three. We start dispatching them to foreign countries two to three months before the Durga puja as it takes at least 45 days to reach the destination country through ship," said Pradyut Paul, another artisan who is in his 30s.The potters settled down in Kumartuli during the British East India Company days.At that time they used to make articles out of clay procured from the Hooghly river nearby, and sold them at Sutanuti Bazar that later came to be called the Burrabazar.Gradually they took to making the images of gods and goddesses that were worshipped in large numbers in the mansions all around. Later they specialised in making the Durga idols for community pujas in the city and beyond.The more popular names among the artisans are Mohan Banshi Rudra Pal and his sons, Rakhal Pal, Ganesh Pal, Aloke Sen, Kartik Pal and Kena Pal - they are still the reigning figures of Kumartuli.Despite the demand for 'theme artists', who give a contemporary look to the idols, the Kumartuli artisans are booked by major puja organisers.The West Bengal government has taken up the task of the Kumartuli Development project as part of the slum development project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission JNNURM."We are looking forward to rehabilitation. We will be relocated somewhere while they construct building for us over here but that is not a problem. In the long run we will be benefited when the construction work is over," said Gopal Chandra Paul, 50s.--Indo-Asian News Serviceag/ssp/pg748 Words**07101037
2008-10-07 02:03:10
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