Dhaka, June 22 (UNB) - The brains behind some of science fiction's most popular invented languages are gathering for a convention to showcase their skills.

The San Diego-based Language Creation Society has brought together "conlangers" - or people who "construct" languages - in Cambridge.

Among the languges represented is Dothraki, as used in Game of Thrones.

UK organiser Oliver Mayeux said the convention would enhance the network of a "rather eccentric tribe".

The society - which has 185 members in 27 countries - was created in 2007 to "promote the art, craft and science of language creation".

It came to recent prominence after the producers of Game of Thrones got in touch to find a language creator to develop Dothraki, from the few words and phrases in the original books by George RR Martin.

Linguist David J Peterson, a member of the society, was then chosen to devise an entire language for the series.

Conference host Bettina Beinhoff, of the Anglia Ruskin centre for Intercultural and Multilingual Studies, said most conlangers derived inspiration from Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, who developed languages for much of his work.

"For many language creators, Tolkien was the starting point, many want to recreate his sense of aesthetics," Dr Beinhoff said.

"I hope the conference will inspire conlangers to learn from each other, as well as get ideas and solutions to any dilemmas they face."

Other constructed languages, such as Klingon, from Star Trek, have developed their own cultural appeal.

Esperanto, invented in the late 19th Century as a "universal second language to foster peace and international understanding", is spoken by about two million speakers worldwide, according to language database Ethnologue.

Society president Joseph Windsor, said: "When you hear Klingons speaking Klingon, or the Dothraki speaking Dothraki, it adds a sense of believability to a fictional world.

"I've heard from different conlangers who engage with the craft as catharsis after a stressful day, or who use their languages to be able to keep a completely private journal.

"You can't Google Translate a conlang that no-one else knows."

Dr Mayeux, who has a PhD in linguistics from Cambridge University, said building a language from scratch is an "incredibly personal thing".

"It's like poetry or painting - people who do it have a natural expressiveness and admiration for language," he said.

"We don't do it for fame or notoriety, we're a rather eccentric tribe of language nerds, coming together to discuss their creations."

The convention takes place at Anglia Ruskin University's Cambridge campus from 22 to 23 June.

Dhaka, June 22 (UNB) - Bruce Springsteen has beaten fellow US music veteran Madonna to top the UK album chart with his latest release, reports BBC.

Western Stars - The Boss's 19th studio album - racked up 25,000 more combined sales than Madge's Madame X, which had to settle for second place.

The two new entries saw last week's chart-topper, Lewis Capaldi's debut album, knocked down to three.

In the singles chart, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber's I Don't Care held onto the top spot for a sixth straight week.

Taylor Swift claimed the week's highest new entry with You Need To Calm Down, which entered the chart at number five.

Little Mix have the only other new entry in this week's Top 10 with Bounce Back, the girl group's first release since leaving Simon Cowell's Syco record label.

The song incorporates elements from Back to Life, a chart-topper for Soul II Soul in 1989.

Western Stars - Springsteen's first album of new material since 2012 - is now the 69-year-old's 11th UK chart-topper.

That's one less than Madonna has achieved over a 35-year career that has seen her notch up the most UK number one albums by a female artist.

The promotion trail for Madame X has taken the 60-year-old singer from the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas to the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.

Madonna's last studio album, 2015's Rebel Heart, also made its UK debut at two on its first week on sale.

British four-piece Bastille were another top five new entry with their third studio album Doom Days, which entered the chart at four.

That was one space ahead of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, the 40th anniversary reissue of which saw it attain a Top 40 placing for the first time since its 1979 debut.

Dhaka, June 22 (UNB) - Search engine Google, today, dedicated a special doodle remembering the late legendary Bollywood actor Amrish Puri, who is known for his many iconic roles in the Hindi cinema, on his 87th birthday. Google is commemorating the iconic actor's contribution to the Indian cinema, who was popular for playing iconic characters like Mogambo in 'Mr India' and Simran's father in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'. The actor is known as one of the best villains the Bollywood has ever seen, reports Times of India

Born in Punjab on June 22, 1932, Amrish started his career as a theatre and voice over artist. He auditioned for a lead role in 1954 but was rejected. The actor made his Bollywood debut in 1971 film 'Reshma Aur Shera' at the age of 39. He is remembered for the role of Khan, a supporting character in Oscar-winning film 'Gandhi'.

Los Angeles, June 22 (AP/UNB) — A look at the status of the major figures in the life and death of Michael Jackson after 10 years, starting with the King of Pop himself:

Michael Jackson: Jackson, who would be 60 years old were he alive, was rehearsing for a tour intended to rehabilitate his career, finances and image when he died at age 50 of an overdose of the anesthetic propofol on June 25, 2009. His death would be a watershed moment, with an outpouring of public affection expressed in an era of burgeoning social media. There was a public memorial service viewed around the world, and a revival of his music and stardom. Posthumous albums, a film drawn from the rehearsals for his final tour and a pair of Cirque du Soleil shows using his music helped him become as profitable a pop star in death as he was in life. Allegations of child molestation that dogged him in his final years and peaked with a 2005 trial that ended in his acquittal on criminal charges were mostly forgotten, at least until a revival of them in a documentary earlier this year . He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, nearly two months after his death.

Joseph Jackson, Father: Joe Jackson died on June 27, 2018 , at age 89, becoming the only person in Michael Jackson’s immediate family who has passed in the decade since the singer’s death. A demanding and fearsome patriarch who guided his son’s career through The Jackson 5 and early solo years, Joe Jackson had a difficult relationship with his son. He was omitted from his son’s will, and waged a fruitless legal battle seeking compensation. He was buried in the same cemetery as his son.

Katherine Jackson, Mother: Now 89, Katherine Jackson became more famous after her son’s death than she had ever been. She received roughly half her son’s estate in his will, and acted as guardian to his three young children immediately after his death, a role her nephew T.J. Jackson has shared in recent years. She was the lead plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live, alleging that the company’s hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who administered the drugs that killed Jackson, made the company responsible for his death. A jury rejected the claim in 2015.

Janet Jackson, Sister: The only one of Michael Jackson’s siblings who has remotely approached her brother’s success as a solo artist, Janet Jackson, 53, has remained popular in the decade since her brother’s death. She appeared in films including 2010′s “For Colored Girls,” and released a self-help book titled “True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself” in 2011. That same year she went on a 35-city greatest hits concert tour, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. She has also focused on charity work and caring for her son, who was born in January 2017.

Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Jermaine And Randy Jackson, Brothers: Jackson’s brothers have kept the family act alive since his death with tours, recordings and shows in various groupings and as solo artists. Many of the siblings, all of whom were left out of Michael’s will, were harshly critical of the administration of Jackson’s estate. Youngest brother Randy — who does not tour with his brothers but has co-founded a label with sister Janet — has accused the executors of fraud. The brothers were quick to defend Michael’s legacy when the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland” was released this year. They immediately left a tour of Australia to give interviews. “I thought, ‘Oh here we go again,’” Jackson’s oldest brother, Jackie, told The Associated Press in February. Tito Jackson added, “He’s not here no more. He’s passed, and, we’re his brothers, we’re supposed to do this.”

La Toya And Rebbie Jackson, Sisters: La Toya Jackson, now 63, was among the first family members to arrive at the Los Angeles hospital where her brother was declared dead, and is listed on his death certificate as the person who officially gave notice of his death. A minor pop star who frequently appeared in tabloids in the 1980s and 1990s, LaToya Jackson’s career has been mostly in reality TV in the past decade. She was a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice,” and had her own reality show, “Life With La Toya,” on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN cable channel for two seasons starting in 2013. Maureen “Rebbie” Jackson, at 69 the eldest of the Jackson children, is a singer who has continued recording and touring in the past 10 years.

Michael Joseph Jackson Ii, Son: Michael Jackson’s oldest child, who goes by “Prince,” was 12 when his father died and is now 22. He graduated in May from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he got a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He shared graduation-day photos of himself with relatives on an Instagram account where he posts often, leading a relatively public life compared to his childhood, when his father often had him and his two siblings wear masks in public. After their father’s death, the three kids were raised by their grandmother Katherine Jackson and cousin T.J. Jackson.

Paris Jackson, Daughter: Now 21, Paris at 11 years old became the public face of grief for the singer when she took the microphone in tears at her father’s public memorial and said, “I just want to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just want to say I love him so much.” She told Rolling Stone in a 2017 interview that she struggled with drugs and depression in the years after her father’s death and attempted suicide in 2015 before finding sobriety and stability. She has dabbled in modeling, acting and music and is a sought-after celebrity who is also subject of intense tabloid interest. “Basically, as a person, she is who my dad is,” her big brother Prince Jackson told Rolling Stone , “in all of her strengths, and almost all her weaknesses as well. She’s very passionate.” She told the magazine she has at least nine tattoos devoted to her father. “He brought me nothing but joy,” Paris Jackson said. “So why not have constant reminders of joy?”

Prince Jackson Ii, Son: Confusingly, the Jackson child whose birth name is Prince is not the one who goes by Prince (that’s the elder brother). Seventeen-year-old Prince Jackson II, the son of Michael and an unknown surrogate, gained strange fame as a baby when his father jokingly dangled him over a balcony. He was known for most of his life as “Blanket.” His father said the nickname was meant to mean being wrapped in blessings, as in being “blanketed” with love. At 17, he now goes by the name “Bigi” (BEE’-gee). He has been the most private of the Jackson siblings. He currently attends the private Buckley School in Los Angeles.

Debbie Rowe, Second Wife: Michael Jackson’s second wife, a nurse he met when she worked for his dermatologist, Rowe is the mother of his two older children. She was absent from the kids’ life when their father was alive, but reached an agreement with Katherine Jackson after his death that led to visits with them, though it’s not clear how much of a relationship she has with them.

Quincy Jones, Producer: The 86-year-old who produced Michael’s biggest hits was awarded $9.4 million from the Jackson estate by a jury in 2017 that ruled he was owed production fees for “Billie Jean,” ″Thriller” and other recordings. Jones had sought $30 million.

Wade Robson And James Safechuck, Accusers: Robson and Safechuck, both of whom spent long stretches with Michael Jackson as boys, told authorities when he was accused of child molestation that he had never inappropriately touched them, with Robson testifying as much in the 2005 criminal trial that ended in the pop star’s acquittal. But Robson, who became a popular pop-music choreographer as an adult, filed a lawsuit in 2013 alleging that Jackson had in fact molested him. Safechuck filed his own suit with similar allegations the same year. Both suits were thrown out on technical grounds, and are now on appeal. Earlier this year, they told their stories in graphic detail in the HBO documentary ”Leaving Neverland ,” reviving public discussion of Jackson as alleged sexual abuser. Jackson’s estate and family have denounced the men’s stories as full of falsehoods.

John Branca, Executor of Estate — Branca, an entertainment attorney who worked with Michael Jackson at the height of his fame in the 1980s, had just returned to Jackson’s fold eight days before the singer’s death. He has played a major role since then as the co-executor of Jackson’s estate, turning nearly $500 million in debt into assets of over $1 billion.

New York, June 21 (AP/UNB) — As Nik Wallenda prepares to walk a wire 25 stories above New York's Times Square, he admits he's a little uneasy. And for good reason: His sister, Lijana, will join him for the first time since a near-fatal accident.

"Of course, I'm nervous. How would you not be? You know the fact that I'm going to be risking my life, along with my sister who nearly lost hers to that same wire," Wallenda said.

Two years ago during a rehearsal for an eight-person pyramid stunt to break a Guinness world record, something went awry, and five performers were injured, falling 30 feet. Lijana Wallenda suffered severe injuries to her face that required reconstructive surgery.

That's what makes this stunt feel more stressful than when crossing a 1,500 foot gorge near the Grand Canyon, or his 1,800 foot walk over the Niagara Falls.

"People may not understand that, but the fact that my sister's on that wire with me, I'm so concerned about her and her safety that I can't really focus on myself. And that that's nerve-racking," he said. "The fact is that I'm so concerned about her that I won't be able to focus a 100 on myself. And, in really doing this, I need to be able to focus 100 percent."

This time, the siblings will start from opposite ends of the 1,300-foot wire, which will be suspended between two Times Square towers. In the middle, Lijana Wallenda will sit on the wire and let her brother step over her. Both will then continue to the opposite side. The attempt will air live Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

While dangerous, the stunt won't be death-defying. That's because New York law requires the Wallendas to be tethered. "It doesn't impede us from falling. It impedes us from falling all the way to the ground," said Nik Wallenda.

Wallenda says he constantly draws on his family's 200-year aerial legacy over seven generations.

"We've learned a lot. We've learned a lot by loss of life, too. Look, I've lost seven family members doing this. So, it's trial and error in a sense. We figured a lot out. But, look, the danger — it's the real deal."