Dhaka, Oct 25 (UNB) - The prestigious Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony 2015 will soon be conferred upon Chhayanaut, a cultural organisation of Bangladesh. 

The jury under the chairmanship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unanimously decided to select Chhayanaut to be the recipient of the Tagore Award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to cultural harmony, according to Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka.

Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor thanked the Indian government calling it a recognition for all the Tagore lovers of Bangladesh.

Established in 1961, Chhayanaut has played a leading role in promoting Tagore’s works and Bengali culture, music and literature not only within Bangladesh, but also all across the world. 

It has built a close bridge of understanding and cultural exchange between Bangladesh and India, especially West Bengal. 

Chhayanaut was part of the movement for an independent Bangladesh and provided a platform for cultural expression and assertion of Bengali identity. 

When Rabindra Sangeet was banned in East Pakistan, Chhayanaut continued to promote liberal expression through secret renditions of Tagore songs and discussions on Tagore. 

The jury's decision recognises the contribution of the organisation in upholding the liberal progressive tradition of universal humanism of Gurudev and in promoting the spirit of cultural harmony.

The annual award was instituted by the government of India during the commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

The first Tagore Award was conferred upon Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012 and second was conferred on Shri Zubin Mehta in 2013. 

The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation in a scroll, a plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft, handloom item. 

The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex.
 

Sydney, Oct 25 (Xinhua/UNB) -- University of Queensland researchers said on Thursday that they have developed new breast cancer pathology guidelines that will give patients a better chance of fighting the major disease.

The guidelines allow medical specialists to identify which patients have more aggressive forms of breast cancer, which means they can be classified appropriately and their treatment can be tailored, according to a university statement.

The team which developed the guidelines specifically investigated metaplastic breast carcinomas (MBC), a rare but aggressive form of breast cancer, said the university's Amy McCart Reed.

"For patients with MBC, we found the number of different cell types in the tumors had a significant impact on survival," she said.

"The more diverse the tumor, the worse the patient's prognosis is likely to be.

"Among patients with a bad tumor type like MBC, there are some who will do well and some will do poorly, and this new metric helps us to categorize this."

The World Health Organization (WHO) will also incorporate the guidelines into the fifth edition of its major "Blue book" and "Classification of Tumours of the Breast" from next year, said the university.

"Previously, the WHO guidelines have described the types of cancer cells within tumors without telling pathologists specifically what and how much to record," said McCart Reed, whose team's study was reported in The Journal of Pathology medical publication.

"Now we can advise pathologists to record the number of types of morphologies within tumors because a more accurate prognosis can be made based on this."

Honolulu, Oct 25 (AP/UNB) — Hawaii scientists found two tiny baby octopuses floating on plastic trash they were cleaning up as they monitored coral reefs.

Marine ecologist Sallie Beavers of Kaloko-Honokohau (KAH-loh-koh Hoh-noh-KOH-how) National Historical Park said Wednesday that the octopuses were the size of green peas.

She believes they were likely either day octopus or night octopus, both species commonly found off Hawaii. They can grow to 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) as adults, with arm spans of 3 feet (1 meter.)

Scientists found them months ago, but the U.S. Interior Department highlighted them this week when it posted a photo of one on social media.

Octopus babies hide under logs and other floating debris until they're a few months old. Beavers says one squirted a tiny bit of ink when they released it in the ocean.

Los Angeles, Oct 24 (AP/UNB) — "To Kill a Mockingbird," a coming-of-age story about racism and injustice, overcame wizards and time travelers to be voted America's best-loved novel by readers nationwide.

The 1961 book by Harper Lee emerged as No. 1 in PBS' "The Great American Read" survey, whose results were announced Tuesday on the show's finale. More than 4 million votes were cast in the six-month-long contest that put 100 titles to the test. Books that were published as a series were counted as a single entry.

The other top-five finishers in order of votes were Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series about a time-spanning love; J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" boy wizard tales; Jane Austen's romance "Pride and Prejudice," and J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" fantasy saga.

Lee's slender, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel proved enduring enough to overcome the popularity of hefty epics adapted as blockbuster movie franchises (the Potter and Tolkien works) or for TV ("Outlander").

Even "Pride & Prejudice," the 200-year-old inspiration for numerous TV and movie versions and with an army of "Janeites" devoted to Austen and her work, couldn't best Harper's novel.

It's been more than five decades since the film based on "To Kill a Mockingbird" debuted, winning three Oscars, including a best-actor trophy for Gregory Peck's portrayal of attorney Atticus Finch.

The book has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains a fixture on school reading lists. Set in the 1930s South, it centers on Finch and his young children, daughter Scout and son Jem.

When Finch defends an African-American man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman, the trial and its repercussions open Scout's eyes to the world around her, good and bad.

Besides the TV series, "The Great American Read" initiative included a 50,000-member online book club and video content across PBS platforms, Facebook and YouTube that drew more than 5 million views.

The 100-book list voted on by readers was based on an initial survey of about 7,000 Americans, with an advisory panel of experts organizing the list. Books had to have been published in English but not written in the language, and one book or series per author was allowed.

Dhaka, Oct 23 (UNB) - A three-day-long International Art Festival 2018 titled ‘Tune of Art’ will begin at the National Art Plaza (Gallery-2) of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Thursday.

The festival, organized by Focus Bangladesh, will be inaugurated by renowned Artist Professor Jamal Ahmed, Chairman of Bangladesh Charushilpi Sangsad while Md Shahid Hossain, Rajat Subhra Bandopadhyaya, Praween Karmakar, Gobinda Roy, Debasis Daspal, Mintu Dy and Md Kauser Hossain will be present as special guests.

It’s the third version of this festival where 204 artists from 16 countries including Bangladesh, Iran, India, Italy, Canada, China, Pakistan, USA, UAE, Kosovo, Albania, Hong Kong, Thailand, Nepal, Turkey and Philippines will be participate, said a press release.

The exhibition is an output of an art competition where 181 artist participants on competition and 23 eminent artists participate as Invited Artists.

Rajat Subhra Bandopadhyay, Md Kauser Hossain and Praween Karmakar was the honorable jury of the competition, it said.

During the festival, a two-day long workshop, conducted by artist Rajat Subhra Bandopadhyaya, Praween Karmakar, Gobinda Roy, Debasis Daspal, Mintu Dy and Md Kauser Hossain, will be organized.

The exhibition will be open to all till 26 October from 10:00 am to 8:00pm.