United News of Bangladesh

Across the Netherlands, people donned orange clothes — from tuxedos to feather boas — and boats packed with revelers clogged Amsterdam's canals to celebrate their king's birthday Saturday. In an Amsterdam park, a dog called Lucy sported orange-dyed fur. “I love it. It’s a day where every year everyone just comes together, just celebrates and it doesn’t matter where you’re from everyone is just accepted," said 22-year-old Dicky van Warmerdam. "And if you look around, it’s just a giant party and who doesn’t want that?” The official royal walkabout by King Willem-Alexander and family members in the eastern town of Doetinchem started an hour later than planned so as not to clash with the funeral at the Vatican of Pope Francis. In a video message, Willem-Alexander said the day of Dutch celebration “has two faces” due to the pope's funeral, and paid tribute to Francis. “For many Catholics and non-Catholics, he was a source of inspiration,” the king said. The king's 58th birthday is on Sunday, but King's Day was held a day earlier. The celebrations began Friday night with street markets in the central city of Utrecht and parties in other towns and cities. Pope Francis laid to rest as world leaders mourn By Saturday afternoon, some canals in the Dutch capital were crammed with boats, the water sometimes barely visible through the throngs of people and clouds of orange smoke from flares. In a message on social media, Amsterdam Municipality said parts of the city were “too full” and urged people not to visit Amsterdam and “celebrate King's Day somewhere else.” Other cities also reported that events were overcrowded. In Amsterdam's Vondel Park, children spread out blankets and sold unwanted toys, clothes and books in one of the many “free markets” that spring up on sidewalks and parks. And it wasn't just the Dutch who were celebrating in Amsterdam. “It is a great moment for togetherness, to be with friends, you know, ... to make new connections," said 23-year-old Lorenzo Soldi from Italy.

A colourful blend of culture and entrepreneurship is on display at the Pakistan Lifestyle Exhibition, currently underway at the Gulshan Shooting Club in Dhaka.  The event, which began on April 23, offers a platform for showcasing the Pakistani traditions while fostering cross-border collaboration. The exhibition brings together over 30 stalls featuring authentic Pakistani cuisine, traditional attire, and handcrafted footwear for both men and women. Visitors are experiencing a rich blend of flavour and fashion, highlighting Pakistan’s cultural heritage. Organised by Pakistan Livestyle in partnership with Bangladesh-based Gameplay Limited, the event aims to strengthen cultural and business ties between the two nations. Thousands gather in New Mexico for the largest powwow in North America “This exhibition has opened boundless opportunities for both nations to share and represent their unique lifestyles. It’s more than an event — it’s a celebration of cultural harmony,” said Faisal Titumir, Chairman and Co-founder of Gameplay Limited. Echoing the sentiment, Shagufta Bakht, CEO of Pakistan Livestyle, remarked in her inaugural speech, “The gate to cultural collaboration between Pakistan and Bangladesh is now wide open. We envision increased business ventures and entrepreneurial interest arising from this initiative.” The exhibition will remain open to the public until April 27. Pakistan Livestyle is a prominent event organiser promoting Pakistan’s culture, fashion, and heritage through global platforms. Gameplay Limited is known for curating impactful events that foster community engagement and diversity in Bangladesh.      

Thousands have gathered in New Mexico for a vibrant celebration of Native American and Indigenous culture, as the annual Gathering of Nations powwow gets underway. Touted as the largest event of its kind in North America, the festival began Friday with a striking grand entry, where dancers in colorful, bell-adorned regalia made their way into the arena at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds, moving in time with powerful drumbeats. The multi-day event brings together performers, artisans, and musicians from Indigenous communities around the world. Highlights include the selection of Miss Indian World and majestic horse parades, where riders are judged on their connection with their horses and the craftsmanship of their traditional attire, including beadwork and feathered headdresses. Powwow roots Powwows are a relatively modern phenomenon that emerged in the 1800s as the U.S. government seized land from tribes throughout the Northern and Southern Plains. Forced migrations and upheaval during this period resulted in intertribal solidarity among Plains people and those from the southern prairies of Canada. Alliances were formed, giving way to the exchange of songs and dances during gatherings between different tribes. In the decades that followed, powwows were advertised to pioneers heading westward as “authentic” Native American dance shows. For some, it was an exploitation of their cultures. Assassin’s Creed Mirage partners with Shangri La museum for historic exhibit The word powwow was derived from pau wau, an Algonquian Narrtick word for “medicine man,” according to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Scholars say English settlers misused the word to refer to the meetings of medicine men and later to any kind of Native American gathering. Today, some of the large powwows like the Gathering of Nations have become more commercialized events that use dancing and drumming competitions with big prize money to provide a glimpse into Indigenous cultures. Reconnecting with culture At ceremonial dances, participants wear traditional regalia specific to their tribe, whereas powwow attire often is more contemporary and flashy with sequins and sparkles. It's about dressing to impress the judges, said Warren Queton, a Kiowa Tribe legislator and adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma who has participated in community dancing and cultural events since he was a boy. Queton, who served as the head gourd dancer at the university's recent spring powwow, said ceremonial dances are deeply rooted in community, identity and cultural values. It's a struggle to keep traditional cultural practices and commercial powwows from being lumped into the same category, he said. They have very different meanings in Native American and Indigenous cultures. There has been a focus on promoting smaller powwows held in tribal communities. Queton said these gatherings serve as a way for people who live elsewhere to return home and reconnect with their families and the land, and to share traditions with younger generations. “Knowing where you come from, your land, your oral traditions, your language, but also values and traits — that can only be learned from a community,” he said. “That’s why those smaller dances are so important because people learn those community values. They’re all a part of our identity.” Capturing good energy There still are elements of tradition woven in to modern powwows. Competitors wear feathered bustles, buckskin dresses, fringed shawls and beaded head and hair pieces. Some of the elaborate outfits are hand-stitched designs that can take months to complete. The sounds, movements and emotions that radiate from the dancing are challenging to capture on canvas. But Cochiti Pueblo painter Mateo Romero did just that when he partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to create a series of powwow stamps to be unveiled Friday during Gathering of Nations. Powerfully hypnotic, atavistic and somatic is how the artist describes the dancing. One of his pieces depicts what is known as a fancy shawl dance with its dips, pivots, hops and twirls. Each tassel on the shawl flows and flips, accentuating the dancer's movements. Romero said he used color, thick and thin paint and soft and hard edges along with photographic elements to create something that feels alive, embedded with feeling and bright pops of color. Romero called it a huge honor to transform powwow culture into a postage stamp filled with “good energy.” “I look at it as a sort of vehicle to express this sentiment, the energy, the celebration, the vibration, the beauty of it,” he said. “It’s the power of it.”  

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage has joined forces with the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design, part of the Doris Duke Foundation in Honolulu, Hawaii, to present a new exhibition titled “Artifacts In Play with Assassin’s Creed Mirage”. Running through to August 30, the exhibit explores the fusion of gaming, history, and art by showcasing authentic artefacts featured in the game’s History of Baghdad segment, according to Ubisoft. Two notable objects on display are the blown glass jar with trailed zigzag decoration and the twelve-sided bronze mortar with animal finials and vegetal motif panels.

A group art exhibition titled “Where the Spirit Meets the Bone” will be open to the public from April 25 to May 16 at the Satori Academy of Arts in Banani, Dhaka. Organised as part of the British Council’s Art Exchange: Moving Image programme, the exhibition is curated by Kehkasha Sabah and features works by both local and international artists. The exhibition will be inaugurated on April 25 at 4:30 pm by eminent Bangladeshi artists Dhali Al Mamun and Dilara Begum Jolly, alongside Stephen Forbes, Country Director, British Council Bangladesh. The first chapter of the exhibition, scheduled from April 25 to May 7, explores sensory ecologies through social, emotional, and cultural fractures such as erasure, trauma, and loss, while emphasising care as a healing process. It includes work by seven Bangladeshi artists — Naeem Mohaiemen, Reetu Sattar, Sharad Das, Shohrab Jahan, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Zihan Karim, and Sounak Das (Bangladesh/The Netherlands) — and four international artists — Afrah Shafiq (India), Ceal Floyer (UK), Hetain Patel (UK), and Hong-Kai Wang (Taiwan). Selected artworks have been loaned from the British Council Collection. The exhibition also features contributions by four Bangladeshi art students. Goethe-Institut celebrates return to historic Dhanmondi address  The second chapter, running from May 9-16, will showcase the outcomes of experimental workshops facilitated by artist-educators Shohrab Jahan and Zihan Karim. Focusing on moving images in both pedagogy and artistic practice, this segment will present a range of works including moving images, sound installations, and interactive pieces. Workshop participants include Abid Hassan, Arshadul Hoque, Naznin Ahmed, and Sadia Afroz — all from Bangladesh. “Where The Spirit Meets the Bone is a speculative project, evoking our somatic senses and their profound relation with care, necessary in the often-indescribable human terrain where vulnerability converges. The title also comes from Miller Williams’ poem ‘Compassion’, a reminder to see human frailty with empathy,” writes curator Kehkasha Sabah. To mark the exhibition’s inauguration, Stephen Forbes, Country Director Bangladesh, British Council, stated: “The British Council is committed to assisting talented artists through various UK-Bangladesh initiatives. We are delighted to be supporting Kehkasha Sabah, and her exhibition through ‘Art Exchange: Moving Image’." "This immersive and thought-provoking exhibition, organised as part of a curatorial fellowship, not only showcases Kehkasha Sabah’s artistic dedication to societal themes but also enriches the cultural tapestry shared between the UK and Bangladesh. I warmly invite not only art enthusiasts but everyone to experience this remarkable exhibition," Stephen Forbes stated. More details of this exhibition are available at https://kehkasha.name/index.php.

A set of the first four editions of William Shakespeare’s collected works is expected to sell for up to 4.5 million pounds ($6 million) at auction next month. Sotheby’s auction house announced the sale on Wednesday, Shakespeare's 461st birthday. It said the May 23 sale will be the first time since 1989 that a set of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Folios has been offered at auction as a single lot. The auction house estimated the sale price at between 3.5 million and 4.5 million pounds. After Shakespeare’s death in 1616, his plays were collected into a single volume by his friends John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors and shareholders in the playwright’s troupe, the King’s Men. 84% of global coral reefs affected by worst bleaching event on record The First Folio — fully titled “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies” — contained 36 plays, of which half were published there for the first time. Without the book, scholars say, plays including “Macbeth,” “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night” might have been lost. Sotheby’s called the volume “without question the most significant publication in the history of English literature.” About 750 copies were printed in 1623, of which about 230 are known to survive. All but a few are in museums, universities or libraries. One of the few First Folios in private hands sold for $9.9 million at an auction in 2020. The First Folio proved successful enough that a an updated edition, the Second Folio, was published in 1632, a third in 1663 and a fourth in 1685. Although the First Folio is regarded as the most valuable, the third is the rarest, with 182 copies known to survive. It is believed the third book’s rarity is because some of the stock was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Third Folio included seven additional plays, but only one – “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” – is believed to be by Shakespeare.

A devastating coral bleaching event, the most widespread and severe ever recorded, has now affected 84% of the world’s coral reefs, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). This marks the fourth global bleaching crisis since 1998, and it has now surpassed the previous record from 2014–2017, which impacted about two-thirds of reefs. The current event, which began in 2023, is fueled by rising ocean temperatures, and experts are unsure when it will end. Mark Eakin, executive secretary of the International Coral Reef Society and former NOAA coral monitoring chief, warned that ocean temperatures may never fall below the level that causes global bleaching again. “This is reshaping our planet and threatening the oceans’ ability to support life and human livelihoods,” Eakin said. 2023 was the hottest year on record for Earth, with much of that heat absorbed by oceans. Sea surface temperatures in non-polar regions reached an average of 20.87°C (69.57°F), a dangerous level for coral survival. Coral reefs, often called the “rainforests of the sea,” are vital to marine biodiversity, supporting around 25% of all marine life. They also play a key role in food supply, tourism, and protecting coastlines. Bleaching occurs when high temperatures stress corals, causing them to expel the algae that give them color and nutrients. This leaves behind a white skeleton, leaving the coral vulnerable and often leading to death. The bleaching has become so extreme that NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch had to expand its alert system to track the increasing threat to coral survival. Restoration efforts are underway. In the Netherlands, researchers are growing coral fragments in labs, including samples from the Seychelles, to eventually help restore wild reefs. In Florida, similar projects aim to rehabilitate heat-stressed coral and return them to the sea. However, scientists stress that these efforts alone are not enough. The primary solution, they say, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions—mainly carbon dioxide and methane—from burning fossil fuels. “The only real way to protect coral reefs is to tackle climate change directly,” Eakin emphasized. “Otherwise, everything else is just a temporary fix.” Melanie McField, co-chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, added that public awareness and action are crucial. “Doing nothing is a death sentence for coral reefs,” she warned. The report comes amid controversial policy shifts in the U.S., where President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed to expand fossil fuel use and scale back clean energy initiatives. Eakin criticized these moves, saying, “Rolling back environmental protections will have catastrophic effects on ecosystems like coral reefs.”

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh celebrated the grand reopening of its newly renovated premises at the familiar old address - House 10, Road 9, Dhanmondi Residential Area - in the capital on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the institute’s decades-long commitment to fostering cultural exchange between Germany and Bangladesh. Established in Dhaka in 1961, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh has grown into a dynamic cultural hub that serves people from all walks of life. The institution has played a pivotal role in promoting German language learning, organizing artistic events, film screenings, lectures, and facilitating exchange opportunities, thereby acting as a vital bridge between the two nations. The reopening of the Dhanmondi premises—where the institution has deep-rooted historical ties—was held under the slogan "Back where we belong," celebrating a return to its spiritual and cultural home.

Spring allergy season has returned, bringing discomfort to millions of Americans with symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny noses caused by pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds. The intensity of your allergy symptoms depends on where you live, what specific pollens you’re sensitive to, and your daily habits. Experts say climate change is contributing to longer and more intense allergy seasons. However, treatments have also become more advanced and effective in recent years. Here’s expert advice for managing allergies so you can still enjoy the outdoors: Cities With the Worst Allergy Conditions in 2024Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ranks the toughest cities for allergy sufferers based on pollen counts, use of allergy medications, and availability of specialists. The top five for this year are: Wichita, Kansas New Orleans, Louisiana Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma Memphis, Tennessee Types of Pollen That Trigger AllergiesThere are three main sources of pollen allergies: Tree pollen (early spring) Grass pollen (late spring and early summer) Weed pollen (late summer to fall) Trees like birch, cedar, oak, maple, and walnut are frequent offenders, while common grasses include Bermuda, ryegrass, Johnson grass, and Kentucky bluegrass. How to Monitor Pollen LevelsYou can track pollen in your area using tools from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, which provides daily counts via its website and email alerts. Tips to Reduce Pollen ExposureThe most effective way to manage allergies is to limit your exposure: Keep windows shut at home and in the car. Wear long sleeves outdoors to keep pollen off your skin. Change clothes and shower after being outside to remove pollen from your body and hair. Cover your hair with a hat or scarf if you can’t wash it daily. Avoid getting into bed with clothes worn outside. Rinsing your nose and eyes with saline can help flush out pollen. Also, face masks (like those used during the COVID-19 pandemic) can block some allergens—though they won’t protect your eyes. Managing Allergy SymptomsNasal sprays sold over the counter are often the most effective treatment, but they need to be used correctly. Dr. Kathleen Mays recommends aiming the spray toward your ear rather than directly up the nose to avoid irritation. Oral antihistamines such as Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec can also help, although they might take longer to work. If your symptoms are significantly interfering with daily life—affecting sleep or concentration—seeing an allergist for more specialized treatment, like immunotherapy, may be beneficial. Some popular home remedies, like eating local honey, aren’t effective for allergy relief. According to Dr. Shyam Joshi, honey doesn’t expose you to the airborne pollen that actually causes allergic reactions. Is Allergy Season Getting Worse?Yes. Due to climate change, winters are warmer and plants have longer growing seasons, which means pollen is in the air for extended periods. In some areas, pollen counts have hit record highs. For instance, the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Center reported a count of over 14,000 pollen grains per cubic meter in late March—a level considered extremely high.

In Namibia, Susan de Meyer runs a unique therapy program using horses to support children with learning disabilities. The animals seem to have a calming influence: hyperactive children become more focused, and those who are nonverbal begin to connect and express themselves. Her program, located just outside Windhoek, engages 8 to 10 students each weekday from special needs schools. The children ride, groom, and interact with the horses — often opening up and talking to them. Raised on a farm, de Meyer has always had horses in her life. She believes they offer something truly special: they accept children without judgment. “The horse is the real star here because many of these kids feel overwhelmed around too many people,” she said. Called "Enabling Through the Horse," her initiative is backed by the Namibian Equestrian Federation and has been internationally recognized. Last year, it received an award from the International Equestrian Federation for highlighting the horse’s intuitive and sensitive nature. Equine therapy is increasingly acknowledged for its benefits, particularly for those with autism, ADHD, and other developmental conditions. Animal-assisted therapy more broadly has proven helpful in a range of situations, such as aiding veterans with PTSD or comforting hospital and nursing home patients with therapy animals. Even victims of the 2023 Hawaii wildfires have found comfort through horse therapy during their recovery. De Meyer jokes that she has “two-and-a-half horses”: two full-sized Arabians — Faranah (a white mare) and Lansha (a brown gelding) — and a miniature horse named Bonzi, who is small enough to be eye-level with a kindergartener. She says the larger horses are particularly helpful in therapy because their size boosts children's confidence. “When they pet the horse, the therapy begins. These animals are huge to them, but they’re not afraid — they ride, they give instructions, and they grow more confident.” De Meyer works with children who face a range of challenges, including autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, nonverbal communication, sensory issues, and developmental delays due to fetal alcohol syndrome. Her work has drawn interest from countries in Africa and Asia interested in replicating the model. Chriszell Louw, a teacher at Dagbreek School — one of only two public schools in Namibia for children with intellectual disabilities — says the program has had a visible impact. “One of our students talks constantly, but during these sessions, she sits quietly in her place,” Louw said. “Others have grown more outgoing and joyful. Some were terrified at first, but now they’re eager to come and ride.” De Meyer explains that the program enhances physical skills like coordination, posture, balance, and muscle strength — all of which are critical for children who struggle with traditional classroom learning. One exercise involves children letting go of the reins and stretching their arms out to the sides, balancing with their core as a handler leads the horse. Many smile broadly during this activity, looking like they’re flying. “We’re changing the world for these kids,” de Meyer said.