London, Sep 24 (AP/UNB) — It's an old tradition that a bride should have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on her wedding day, and the Duchess of Sussex followed at least part of that when she married Prince Harry.

The former Meghan Markle has revealed in a television documentary that she had a piece of blue fabric from the dress she wore on her first date with Harry sewn into her wedding dress.

She made the comments while discussing the dress in a documentary about Queen Elizabeth II called "Queen of the World." She didn't say whether she also embraced the rest of the tradition.

The clip was made public Sunday. The documentary will be broadcast at a later date. It deals with the queen's role as head of the Commonwealth.

The duchess described her May wedding on the grounds of Windsor Castle as a "magical day."

The American actress who starred in "Suits" married Harry on May 19 on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The "Queen of the World" will air in the U.K. on Tuesday.

Geneva, Sep 23 (AP/UNB) — Drinking too much alcohol killed more than 3 million people in 2016, mostly men, the World Health Organization said.

The U.N. health agency also warned that current policy responses are not sufficient to reverse trends predicting an increase in consumption over the next 10 years.

In a new report Friday, the agency said that about 237 million men and 46 million women faced alcohol problems, with the highest prevalence in Europe and the Americas.  Europe has the highest global per capita alcohol consumption, even though it has already dropped by 10 percent since 2010.

Around a third of alcohol-related deaths were a result of injuries, including car crashes and self-harm, while about one in five were due to either digestive disorders or cardiovascular diseases. Cancers, infectious diseases, mental disorders and other health conditions were also to blame.

"Far too many people, their families and communities suffer the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol through violence, injuries, mental health problems and diseases like cancer and stroke," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO. "It's time to step up action to prevent this serious threat to the development of healthy societies."

The average daily consumption of alcohol by people who consume it is about two glasses of wine, a large bottle of beer or two shots of spirits. Globally, about 2.3 billion people are current drinkers.

The report, the third in a series after ones in 2010 and 2014, relies on information from 2016 — the latest data available. WHO said the trends and projections point to an expected increase in global alcohol per capita consumption over the next decade, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Americas.

"The policy responses which are currently in place in countries are definitely not sufficient to reverse the trends, which we observe in several parts of the world, or to improve significantly this situation," Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, coordinator of WHO's management of substance abuse unit, told reporters.

"When we look at the trends of alcohol consumption in many countries from 2000, you can see ups and downs — which are determined by different factors," said Poznyak, citing countries' levels of social development, economic backdrops, policy measures and cultural trends.

He said the data showed, for example, that alcohol consumption tends to drop in countries facing an economic crisis.

Poznyak said it was "imperative for the governments to put in place measures that can mitigate the harms associated with this increase."

The Distilled Spirits Council, which advocates for the industry in the U.S., said in a statement it supports the WHO's goal to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.

"However, we are concerned that some policy recommendations such as increasing alcohol taxes are misguided and don't effectively address harmful consumption," it said.

Providence, Sept 22 (AP/UNB) — Researchers are exploring whether a shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island could be the vessel that 18th-century explorer Capt. James Cook used to sail around the world.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, which is leading the search effort, and the Australian National Maritime Museum identified the vessel. It's one of 13 shipwrecks that have been known for years to be in the harbor near Newport, Rhode Island.

Archaeologists met Friday in Newport to talk about their recent fieldwork.

"Early indications are that the team has narrowed the possible site for the wreck of HMB Endeavour to one site, which is very promising," said Kevin Sumption, director and CEO of the Australian National Maritime Museum.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project described the site as promising but said it'll still take a lot more work and money to identify it.

Nearly 250 years ago, Cook ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef during a voyage to the South Pacific. His ship was the Endeavour, an awkward little vessel that improbably helped him become the first European to chart Australia's east coast. He used the Endeavour to claim Australia for the British during his historic 1768-1771 voyage.

Vice Adm. Michael Noonan, chief of the Royal Australian Navy, said he dove at the Rhode Island site with researchers.

He measured one of the cannons so the dimensions can be compared to historical records, and they took samples of the wood. He's hopeful the wreck is the Endeavour.

"Certainly it's a very exciting discovery in absolute terms," he said Friday. "They're very, very confident that the Endeavour is in the site."

The Endeavour was also part of the fleet of 13 ships the British scuttled during the Revolutionary War in 1778 to blockade Newport Harbor from the French. It was listed in the records under a different name, the Lord Sandwich.

The nonprofit Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project located documents in London identifying the groups of ships in that fleet and where each was scuttled. It has been studying the wrecks in Newport Harbor since 1993, and has been ruling out ones that could not be Cook's ship. It announced this week that it had narrowed the search for Endeavour to one, or possibly two, archaeological sites.

"We've been at this 25 years and this is the first time we've been really willing to say we think we're closing in on having the Endeavour," project director Kathy Abbass said at a news conference Friday. "This is science. It's not a documentary. It's not something that will be over in 50 minutes. And we've got a lot more work to do."

They're hoping to excavate the most likely site in time for the 250th anniversary celebrations of Cook claiming of Australia, which is in 2020.

"We will be celebrating the arrival of Cook and Australia in 2020. Finding the wreck of the Endeavour at this point in time and being able to authenticate that is an extraordinary achievement, said Peter Dexter of the Australian National Maritime Museum. "That'd be fabulous."

 
Dhaka, Sept 21 (UNB) - A solo musical programme “Jannat Gaise” by third gender (hijra) artist Jannat was held in the city’s Green Road area on Friday evening.
 
The programme was organised under the project of ‘development of the standard of lifestyle and good behaviour’ in association with the social welfare department and ‘Rethink’, a platform works for the hijra community, a neglected portion of the society.
 
As part of the project, third gender artist Jannat was trained for six months on a different genre of music for Jannat’s keen interest in music.
 
Jannat said, "I feel honoured that I can sing in front of people without any hesitation and people have started accepting us."
 
Another third gender Opshora Prokash said the platform helped them explore their talent which was hidden.
 
“Please do not neglect us. We want to walk, sing and live together with all others. Do not treat us as a joker or a dangerous one. Accept us as we are the part of the same society," she added.
 
One of the leaders of the third gender community Shahanewaz Shaila said, "We want all-out cooperation and assistance to stand up and flourish our talent. If we get a platform to work, our community will be changed.”
 
‘Rethink' Director Lulu-Al-Marjan delivered the thanksgiving speech saying that the purpose of the programme was to nurture their (hijra) talent and increase cultural engagement.
 
She urged other people to invite the third gender people for performing in cultural programmes which will help them engage in the mainstream society.
 
The organisation is regularly holding many cultural sessions in the city with the participation and performance of transgender people (hijra).
 

Dhaka, Sept 20 (UNB) – Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor said on Thursday Bangladesh needs more photographers to go all over the places capturing photographs of country's cultural history. 

While inaugurating a photography exhibition of eminent photographer Nasir Ali Mamun, the minister described him as a 'Chhabial', a nomadic photographer, and said, country needs more nomadic photographers like Nasir Ali Mamun who has captured the faces of those who changed the society. 

The 58th solo photography exhibition and a book launch by Nasir Ali Mamun titled ‘S.M Sultan- The Cosmic Journey of a Fugitive’ was organised at Alliance Francaise in Dhaka. 

Asaduzzaman Noor said, through his works, Nasir Ali Mamun has combined history and culture together. 

Nasir Ali Mamun said, this exhibition and the book launching is the occasion to celebrate the life of the eminent artist S M Sultan, who has painted the pictures of country's agriculture and the farmers as well as presenting them in front of the entire world through his works. 

The book was published by Delvistaa Foundation.

Mustapha Khalid Palash, Co-founder of Delvistaa Foundation said, the book holds a larger image of the artworks of SM Sultan.

To protect art and establish it as a profession, people have to exercise the practice of buying paintings and photographs, he added. 

Professor Moinuddin Khaled, an art critic said, while S M Sultan lived a very strange life, Nasir Ali Mamun followed the life of the artist with his camera lens. 

Many lost artworks of Sultan can be found in the photographs of Mamun, he added. 

Marie Annick Bourdin, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh, Mario Plama, Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh and Artist Monirul Islam also spoke on this occasion.

Dedicated to Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, the exhibition showcases 27 photographs by Nasir Ali Mamun. 

The exhibition will continue till October 5. It will remain open to all from 3 pm to 9 pm from Monday to Thursday and from 9 am to 12 am and 5 pm to 8 pm on Friday and Saturday. The exhibition will remain closed on Sunday.