United News of Bangladesh

The "Golden Jubilee Bangladesh Concert" was held Friday at the Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York, USA. The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority organised the grand musical concert in association with Walton. Also read: 'Golden Jubilee Bangladesh Concert' held at Madison Square Garden in New York The concert was held to pay tribute to the Concert for Bangladesh, organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar at MSG on August 1, 1971, and celebrate the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence. Key places, including Times Square, were decorated with billboards, banners and festoons with the logos of Walton and other sponsoring organisations.

Ncuti Gatwa will take the mantle from Jodie Whittaker on “Doctor Who,” the BBC announced Sunday, ending speculation over the iconic Time Lord’s next regeneration. “Sometimes talent walks through the door and it’s so bright and bold and brilliant, I just stand back in awe and thank my lucky stars,” returning showrunner Russell T Davies said in the broadcaster’s release. “Ncuti dazzled us, seized hold of the Doctor and owned those TARDIS keys in seconds.” Also read:He said, she said: Accounts from Depp and Heard rarely match Gatwa, whose first name is pronounced ’SHOO-tee, currently stars in Netflix’s high school comedy-drama “Sex Education” as the effervescent Eric Effiong, who is openly gay but from a highly religious family. The Rwanda-born, Scotland-raised Gatwa, 29, will be the first Black actor to helm the quintessential British sci-fi show, but he won’t be the first Black Doctor — Jo Martin has played “Fugitive Doctor” in several episodes. Whittaker became the 13th Doctor — and the first woman to play the central galaxy-hopping, extraterrestrial Time Lord who regenerates into new bodies — in 2017, when she took over from Peter Capaldi. Her last episode of “Doctor Who” is expected to air later this year. The original run of “Doctor Who” spanned 1963 to 1989. Since the show was revived in 2005, the Doctor has been played by Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith, in addition to Capaldi and Whittaker. Other stars, like Karen Gillan and Billie Piper, have made their names on the show as the Doctor’s “companion.” “This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care. I will endeavor my utmost to do the same,” the release quoted Gatwa — who described his emotions as “a mix of deeply honored, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared” — as saying. Also read:Kylie Jenner testifies she warned brother about Blac Chyna In addition to seeing the start of Gatwa’s tenure, next year also marks Davies’ return to “Doctor Who” after more than a decade’s absence. “Russell T Davies is almost as iconic as the Doctor himself and being able to work with him is a dream come true,” Gatwa said. The writer and producer ran the reboot until 2009, and has worked on shows like “A Very English Scandal” and “It’s A Sin” in the interim. He promises a “spectacular” 2023. “Unlike the Doctor, I may only have one heart but I am giving it all to this show,” Gatwa added.

Pouring heartfelt tribute to all the mothers, a special song titled ‘Ma’ by eminent singer Fahmida Nabi has been released on Sunday. The song is written by Samina Salam, and composed by popular music director Foad Nasser Babu. Also read: Mother’s Day returns with happiness, celebrations after two deadly pandemic years A music video of this song has also been released, featuring veteran actress Dilara Zaman, actress Sallha Khanam Nadia and child artiste Affa Anjum. Fahmida Nabi has sung about her mother before and specifying this song she said, “The word “Ma” is a short word, but the impact of mothers in our lives is uncountable and unimaginable. I feel honoured and lucky to voice this beautiful track and hopefully, this song will mesmerize the audiences.” Samina Salam said, “I wrote the song after the passing of my mother, who was my universe. I had a lot to say which I could not express to anyone, thus I wrote this song to express those unspoken verses.” Eminent actress Dilara Zaman also shared her emotional experience regarding the track, saying: “This song is pretty special for me, both as an artist and a mother. As sweet as the word “Ma” is, its meaning is incredibly deep and impactful. A girl has written and composed a song about her mother, and this is the first time in my life I got the opportunity to play the role of mother in the music video of that song, which is very special to me.” Also read: 2022 Happy Mother’s Day: Five Athletes Who Make a Big Comeback After Becoming Mothers Created by Alamgir Hossain, the music video of the song has been released and is now available on Samina's Creative World YouTube channel.

Actor Amber Heard tearfully told jurors Thursday that Johnny Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle in an alcohol-fueled rage. The March 2015 incident in Australia, where Depp was filming the fifth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, is sharply disputed and has been a focal point of the four-week civil trial in Fairfax, Virginia. The night ended with the tip of Depp’s middle finger cut off, and him writing vulgar messages in blood on the walls of the house. Depp denies assaulting her in any way and says his finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him; Heard said she’d taken sleeping pills after she was attacked and was not awake when the finger was severed. Also read:Depp trial: Psychologist testifies actor assaulted Heard The graphic description of the sexual assault left Heard fighting for her composure as she described it to jurors. She said Depp had been angry as soon as she arrived in Australia, roughly a month after the couple had married in February 2015. He was accusing her of sleeping with co-stars in her movies, including Billy Bob Thornton and Eddie Redmayne, with whom she’d just shot the film “The Danish Girl” — accusations she denied. The fight escalated to the point where he threw her into a ping-pong table, breaking it, Heard testified. He ripped off her nightgown, and Heard said she was naked and exposed as she was assaulted. “I couldn’t get up. I thought he was punching me,” she said. “I could just feel this pressure on my pubic bone.” She thought he was assaulting her with her fist, but later figured out that she was being assaulted with a bottle, and realized that there had been numerous bottles broken in the fight. “I looked around and saw so much broken glass. I just remember thinking, ‘Please God, please don’t be broken,’” she said. Heard described bizarre details in the aftermath of the attack, including seeing her shredded burgundy nightgown used to wrap a raw steak that had been left out. She said that when Depp’s security team finally arrived to tend to his severed finger, Depp was still trying to leave vulgar messages for her, but was trying to write them by urinating on the wall. Much of the trial testimony has been repetitive of a civil suit Depp filed against a British newspaper. A judge there ruled against Depp in 2020, finding that Heard had in fact been assaulted multiple times by Depp. But the sexual assault allegations described by Heard on Thursday were not publicly aired in the U.K trial. Depp is suing Heard in Virginia for libel over an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers say he was defamed by the 2018 article even though it never mentioned his name. Earlier in her testimony Thursday, Heard testified that Depp surrounded himself with an entourage of enablers to shield him from the consequences of his drug and alcohol use. She described an incident that has already come up at trial, a May 2014 plane ride from Boston to Los Angeles. According to Heard, Depp was jealous and irate that she was making a movie with actor James Franco that included a kissing scene. “He hated, hated James Franco,” she said. Also read:Kylie Jenner testifies she warned brother about Blac Chyna As soon as Depp stepped into the private plane, he began berating her, she said. She got up and walked away, but Depp followed her. At one point, he slapped her, Heard testified. Later, she said, he kicked her, and not one person on board intervened on her behalf. “I felt this boot in my back,” she said. “I fell to the floor. And no one said anything. No one did anything. You could have heard a pin drop. I just remember feeling so embarrassed.” Depp, who testified earlier in the trial, described the incident differently. He denied that he’d drank excessively before getting on the plane, and said Heard initiated an argument and pursued him until he felt compelled to hide in a bathroom. But jurors heard a recording Heard made toward the end of the incident, in which it sounds like Depp is howling and babbling incoherently. And the jury has seen a text message Depp sent his friend Paul Bettany shortly after the flight, in which he says he’s going to “properly stop the booze thing” because the flight got “ugly.” He also texted Bettany saying, “I’m admittedly too f——- in the head to spray my rage at the one I love for little reason as well.” Heard has testified that she was physically and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by Depp, typically when he was drunk or high on drugs. Depp has denied ever hitting her, but Heard’s lawyers have said his denials lack credibility in part because he can’t remember what he’s done when he blacks out. Depp has said Heard greatly exaggerates his drinking, and that he tolerates his liquor well. Friends, family and employees of Depp have taken the stand and backed up his contention. But Heard said that’s part of the problem: She said Depp has a team around him that cleans him up when he gets sick, and enables him to go about his business without acknowledging the consequences of his drinking.

World famous Rock band Scorpions and Bangladeshi global-band Chirkutt are set to perform a concert to celebrate Bangladesh’s 50 years of independence at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday. Also read:Oyshee's 'Garir Mechanic' springs a surprise

Bangladeshi singer Oyshee Fatima Tuz Zahra’s new music video ‘Garir Mechanic’ was released on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr with a surprise for the audience. Afghan-origin Bollywood actress Warina Hussain has, for the first time, synched her lips with a Bangla song in this music video. Also read:12 years in the making: Rockstar James to launch new song on Eid-ul-Fitr eve The song was written and composed by Kaushik Hossain Taposh and the music video was produced and styled by Farzana Munni. Moreover, Bollywood director Adil Sheikh has directed the music video under the banner of Taposh and Munni’s production company TM Records. The music video was shot in Mumbai and was recently published in TM Record’s own Facebook page and Youtube Channel.

Popular Bangladeshi rock legend James on Thursday has announced the release date of his brand new song, which will be his first new track after 12 years. The song will be released on the 'Chaand Raat,' the night before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, on the official YouTube channel of the newly launched digital media platform Bashundhara Digital. A press conference was arranged on Thursday at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) on Thursday, where James made the announcement and his reasons of returning after 12 years. Read: Bongo to bring another 7 original telefictions this Eid "The new platform, Bashundhara Digital, has provided me the adequate creative freedom which encouraged me to come up with this new song. I am also planning to bring an album in near future, after releasing a couple of new singles soon," James said at the press conference. Robin Thakur, manager of James and his Nagar Baul band, said that the title of the song and details regarding the track will be revealed soon from Bashundhara Digital.  

Bongo, a streaming platform, is going to launch another spectacular season of BoB (Based on Books) productions this Eid-ul-Fitr. In Bongo Bob Season 2, the audience will enjoy seven selected stories adapted from well-known writers and best seller books, said a press release. The title of BoB Season 2 is sponsored by bKash powered by BelleAme and Co-Sponsoring by Bashundhara Spice. The books will be transformed into visual telefiction involving mystery, drama, comedy, thriller, friendship, romance, action & paranormal scenarios. Chief Content Officer of Bongo Mushfiqur Rahman Manzu said there are many famous and emerging directors in our industry who may not get the expected results due to poor story selection despite having good enough technical knowledge. “But if we look at our rich Bengali literature, there are enough good stories that will be appreciated by the Bongo viewers.” “In addition to the old ones, we also worked with some new directors this time. We are hopeful that the viewers will be more entertained than before by watching bKash presents Bongo Bob Season 2,” he added. READ: Bongo to bring Kazakh movie 'Diamond Sword' as 'Hirar Talwar' on April 1 He also thanked bKash for continuing to be our title sponsor. “Special thanks to the Honorable State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak for encouraging us.” The seven telefiction for this season: - On Eid day-1 Bongo will stream ‘Ek Aloukik Bikeler Golpo’, directed by Noor Imran Mithu, is adapted from ‘Ondhokar o Alo Dekhar Golpo’ written by Syed Manzoorul Islam ‘Prashchitto’, directed by Vicky Zahed, will be streamed on Eid day 2 which is adapted from ‘Ekti Saree, Kamranga Boma & Onnanno’ written by Obayed Haq. Directed by Imraul Rafat, ‘Freelancer Nadia’ will be enjoyed on Eid day 3. This telefiction is adapted from ‘Kemon Achen Freelancer Nadia’ written by Rahitul Islam. On Eid day-4, viewers will enjoy ‘Shada Private’, directed by Ashikur Rahman and written by Ishteaque Ahmed. ‘Half Chance’, directed by Shihab Shahin, will be steaming on Eid day-5 which is adapted from ‘Kolom’ written by Rashat Rahman Zico. Chayanika Chowdhury’s ‘Suravi’, written by Imdadul Haque Milon, will be streaming on Eid day-6. Finally on Eid day-7, viewers can enjoy ‘Chol’ which is Mahmudur Rahman Himi and written by Antik Mahmud. Bongo Bob Season 2 will also be shown on the given satellite channels from Eid Day 1. -Deepto TV from Eid day 1 to next 7 days every day at 1 pm -Asian TV from Eid day 1 to next 7 days every day at 7 pm -Channel Nine from Eid day 1 to next 7 days every day at 7:30 pm -Bangla TV from Eid day 1 to next 7 days every day at 8:30 pm.

Kylie Jenner testified Monday that she expressed concerns to her brother Rob Kardashian about his new girlfriend and soon-to-be reality TV co-star Blac Chyna, because she had heard Chyna had a tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol and become violent and had gotten a possible glimpse of it herself. “I felt it was my duty to express my concerns, but ultimately it was up to him," Jenner, now 24 and a teenager at the time, said from the witness stand at a Los Angeles trial. She said her brother didn't heed her warnings, and continued with the relationship. Chyna is suing Jenner and three other members of the Kardashian family, alleging they defamed her as violent and forced the cancellation of her reality show, “Rob & Chyna," after one short season. Both Chyna and Jenner had previous relationships with the rapper Tyga, and Chyna had a child with him. Jenner said Tyga told her dark stories of his time with Chyna and showed her a 6-inch knife scar he said she gave him while abusing drugs and alcohol, Jenner said. Also read: Sachin's daughter to make her Bollywood debut soon? Jenner said that while dating Tyga, she had received at least one threatening text message from Chyna. “From what I remember she sent me a bunch of devil emojis, and said something like ’counting down the days' until she could beat me or something,” she said. “I didn’t report it, because I assumed they were empty threats." Jenner testified that when Rob Kardashian and Chyna began dating in January of 2016, she didn't trust that Chyna's love was genuine. “I felt like me dating the father of her child had something to do with it, and maybe she was out with my brother for other reasons?” Still, she said, she was cautiously optimistic after they announced in April 2016 that they were getting engaged, and said in May that they were having a baby together. “I was happy for my brother at the time," Jenner said, "but just curious how it would go.” “Rob & Chyna” would premiere in September, the couple would have a daughter, Dream, in November, and in December they would have an all-night celebration of their show being approved for a second season that turned into a bitter fight. That dispute, and how violent it may have become, was at the center of testimony from both Chyna and from Jenner's mother Kris Jenner. Chyna said she was being playful when she wrapped a phone-charging cord around her fiancé's neck and grabbed his gun. Kris Jenner, who did not witness the fight, testified through tears that she felt that Chyna had tried to “murder” her son. Also read: Potential jurors for Kardashians air disdain to their faces Kylie Jenner, whose home the two had been living in, testified that in the aftermath of the fight she saw some of the damage, and remembers her brother being emotionally traumatized, but couldn't recall seeing any evidence of physical injury. She definitely came away believing the violence had been serious, she testified. “He used the words, ‘She was trying to kill me’” Kylie Jenner said. Jenner returns to the witness stand on Tuesday. The two other defendants, Khloé Kardashian and Kim Kardashian, are expected to testify later in the week. Kim Kardashian was not in court Monday for the first time in the six-day-old trial. Another witness, Jeff Olde, who in 2016 was a senior vice president of the E! network, which aired both “Rob & Chyna” and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” testified that he approved a second season for the show, though further approval from his bosses would still have been needed. But his excitement for more episodes was based on the idea that it would include the stars getting married. “I thought it was really promising because with a wedding that gave us a hook for season two,” said Olde. “Everyone loves a wedding.” Chyna's lawyer Lynne Ciani pressed Olde over an email he received from Kylie Jenner expressing concerns about violent behavior from Chyna. The email is a key element of Chyna's defamation case. Olde testified that it did not especially influence his decision to reverse course on a second season for “Rob & Chyna.” “I don’t really take direction from 17-year-olds," he said. A similar email soon after from Khloé Kardashian also had little effect, he said. He thought the show should be canceled, he testified, because the couple it featured was no longer a couple. “It was the Rob and Chyna show and there was no more Rob and Chyna," he said. “It was not the show we bought.”

A former personal assistant to Amber Heard said she never saw the actress suffer any physical abuse at the hands of then-husband Johnny Depp — but she said Heard once spit in her face when she asked for a higher salary. Heard descended into screaming fits of blind rage, sent incoherent text messages at 4 a.m. and was often drunk and high on illegal drugs, Kate James testified in a video deposition that was played in court Thursday during the trial for Depp's libel suit against Heard. Depp, on the other hand, was very calm, almost shy, "like a total Southern gentleman,” James said. Also read: Bollywood: Ranbir, Alia finally tie the knot! The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor has accused Heard of indirectly defaming him in a 2018 opinion piece that she wrote for The Washington Post. Heard refers to herself in the article as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” The piece doesn’t name Depp. But his attorneys argue that it clearly references a restraining order that Heard sought in May 2016, right after Depp told her he wanted a divorce. Depp denies abusing Heard, but Heard's lawyers say evidence will prove that he did. The actor's denials, they argue, lack credibility because he frequently drank and used drugs to the point of blacking out and failing to remember anything he did. The video testimony from James offered an inverse view: Depp was the peaceful one, she said, while Heard was frequently intoxicated and verbally abusive, including to her own mother and sister. “Her poor sister was treated like a dog that you kicked, basically,” James said. James, who worked for Heard from 2012 to 2015, said she was paid “very poorly.” She said she was hired with an initial salary of $25 an hour and that her duties ranged from picking up Heard's dry cleaning to talking with the actress's Hollywood agents. James said she also was tasked with picking up two copies of any magazine that featured Heard and storing them in the garage to prevent Depp from seeing them. Heard went into a “blind rage” when James failed to place the magazines in the garage, James said. Regarding Heard and Depp's time together, James said Heard was a “very dramatic person” who was deeply insecure in the relationship. Heard often called James to cry and complain about Depp, she said. “I remember one time she called me when she was alone in New York City, and she was crying and walking around the streets," James said. She said she told Heard to go inside: "I was worried that the paparazzi might take a photo of her.” Some of the deposition focused on a text message that Depp had sent to James after he and Heard split up. Depp's text read: “Come over for a spot of purple and we'll fix her flabby ass nice and good.” Also read: Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean win big at CMT Music Awards A lawyer asked if “spot of purple” meant wine and whether “her” meant Heard. James said she didn't want to speculate. “This is the way he writes,” James said of Depp. “It's very random and you don't sort of question it. ... He writes in a very abstract way.” Lawyers also presented a video deposition of Laurel Anderson, a couple’s therapist who worked with Heard and Depp in 2015, when they were ages 29 and 52, respectively. Anderson said both suffered childhood abuse. As a couple, they were engaged in “mutual abuse," she testified. Heard’s father beat her, Anderson said, adding, “It was a point of pride to her if she felt disrespected to initiate a fight.” Heard would also rather be in a fight with Depp than see him leave, and “would strike him to keep him there,” Anderson said. The therapist recalled a time when Heard told her that Depp “was ‘stepping up,’ as she would say, on a lot of drugs." “And she slapped him because he was being incoherent and talking about being with another woman,” Anderson said. She noted that Depp’s mother was in the hospital at the time. Anderson said Depp told her that Heard “gave as good as she got.” She also said that in at least one session in which she saw Heard alone, the actress told her that Depp hit her. She said Heard showed her bruises, both in photos and in person. Anderson said Heard also told her that Depp at one point allegedly said, "No one likes you. You’re getting fame from me. I’m falling out of love with you. You’re a whore.” Anderson also said that Heard’s “jackhammer style of talking” and habit of cutting off Depp overwhelmed him. Heard “wanted to want to divorce” but also didn't, and was still figuring out what to do, Anderson said. “She loved him. He loved her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that what they were doing wasn’t healthy.” Both Depp and Heard are expected to testify at the trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, scheduled for six weeks, along with actors Paul Bettany and James Franco and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.