Antibes, May 24 (AP/UNB) — Kendall Jenner, Antonio Banderas and other stars attending the nearby Cannes Film Festival turned out Thursday for the 26th amfAR Gala to raise money for AIDS research.

Mariah Carey gave a special performance for the dinner guests along with Tom Jones and Dua Lipa during Thursday's event at the famed Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Charli XCX provided the live entertainment at the after-party.

The event is a fixture during the Cannes Film Festival with its sit-down black tie dinner, star-filled live auction and a designer fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld. The looks were then auctioned off for one million euros ($1.12 million).

Along with Jenner and Banderas, Pamela Anderson, Patricia Arquette, Rebel Wilson and Adrien Brody were among the stars at the gala. Winnie Harlow, Adriana Lima and Natasha Poly lent some extra glamour to the red carpet. The gala also attracts Europe's elite, some of whom bid on opulent items for sale.

Auction lots included a seven-night stay on a private island in the Indian Ocean for eight guests, which went for 100,000 euros ($111,826) , a Myanmar adventure with renowned Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson that was snapped up for 75,000 euros ($83,870).

Various pieces of modern art were also sold off, including an Andy Warhol screen print of Mick Jagger which raised 325,000 euros ($363,436) and a Takashi Murakami sculpture for 1,800,000 euros ($2 million).

Arquette said before the gala that she was attending to support the cause, and drive up prices a bit. "I'm just here to have fun," Arquette said on the red carpet. "And to make people drink so they, you know, spend money on the auction. 'Drink more.' 'Bid higher.'"

Jones said he was glad to perform because he knew the money raised at the event would go far. "It's a very good feeling because you know that it's a great cause that you're making money for going to the right place ... to try and get a cure for AIDS. The thing we need is money. And what better way to do it than something like this?"

AmfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world's leading non-profit organizations supporting research, prevention and education for AIDS, and has invested nearly $550 million in its programs worldwide.

Dhaka, May 22 (UNB) - Ekushey Padak-winning Nazrul Sangeet exponent Khalid Hossain passed away at a city hospital on Wednesday night. He was 78.

He breathed his last at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) around 10:15pm, said his son Asif Hossain.

Khalid Hossain, who had long been suffering from cardiac problems, developed kidney and lung ailments recently.

He was taken to the NICVD on May 4 last and kept at the coronary care unit. 

Khalid Hossain received the Ekushey Padak in 2000. He also won many other awards, including Nazrul Academy Award and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Award.
 

Dhaka, May 18 (UNB) - Renowned singer Pothik Nobi, who became famous for his song ‘Amar Ekta Nodi Chilo’, is all set to get back on the scene after a gap of 13 years with a new song, said singer and songwriter Lutfor Hasan who has tuned the song.

Lutfor told UNB that the song was written by Someshwar Oli who is known for his great work- Ghuri Tumi Kar Akashe Uro - which was also sung by Lutfor Hasan himself.

“Can you imagine of a singer who was so popular once but has no new creation in 13 years! He had a debut like a prince in the music industry. He used to amuse young guys for a few years. He had given the new generation new songs and tune as their everyday slogan. However, he is now set to sing a new song written by me!” lyricist Oli wrote on his Facebook wall.

“Pothik Nobi worked on lyric-oriented songs from 2000 to 2006. But when the standard of Bengali lyrics fell, he stopped creating new songs, and it was a really tough time for the lovers of Bengali songs. However, he liked the lyrics and tune of Jora Shalik and agreed to work on it. We hope he’ll continue to create new songs in the coming days,” Lutfor said while talking to UNB.

He said the new song of Pothik was composed by Shahriar Alam Marcell. The new song - Jora Shalik- will be released during Eid by G Series.

Morristown, May 17 (AP/UNB) — Her owners say Grumpy Cat, whose sourpuss demeanor became an internet sensation, has died at age 7.

Posting on social media Friday, Grumpy Cat's owners wrote that she experienced complications from a urinary tract infection and "passed away peacefully" Tuesday "in the arms of her mommy."

Her owners said "Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough."

The cat's real name was Tarder Sauce, and she rose to fame after her photos were posted online in 2012. She had more than 2 million followers on Instagram and more than 1 million on Twitter.

Her website says her grumpy look was likely because she had a form of dwarfism.

Owner Tabatha Bundesen founded Grumpy Cat Limited, and the cat made numerous appearances, including commercials.

Cannes, May 17 (AP/UNB) — Kleber Mendonça Filho's Cannes entry "Bacurau" is a feverish and violent Western about a rural Brazilian community defending itself from a hard-to-comprehend invasion. For the filmmakers, it's not so different than President Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil.

"Bacurau," which is competing for the Palme d'Or, the top prize, gave the Cannes Film Festival's most searing political statement yet. While the film is a bloody, surreal Brazilian parable with shades of "The Most Dangerous Game" and "Seven Samurai," its makers spoke in blunter political terms Thursday.

"Brazil right now does feel like a dystopia in many, many everyday aspects," Mendonça said to reporters.

At the Cannes premiere to his 2016 film, "Aquarius," Filho and his cast three years ago memorably held placards that declared a coup had taken place in Brazil. Just weeks earlier, Brazil's left-wing former president Dilma Rousseff had been impeached. Last October, Bolsonaro — a populist, right-wing leader sometimes compared to U.S. President Donald Trump — was elected, ushering in a fraught new chapter for Brazil.

This time, Mendonça, his co-director Julian Dornelles and their cast didn't protest on the red carpet. "Bacurau," they said, spoke for them.

"We used the movie as our weapon," said actor Thomas Aquino. "This is our answer. This is how we protest."

While "Bacurau" was premiering Wednesday night in Cannes, tens of thousands of students and teachers protested in Brazilian streets over steep budget cuts to education that Bolsonaro has announced. The filmmakers said they stood in solidarity with those protesters.

"It's very important that you don't go insane," said Mendonça on Thursday. "Like: 'Yeah, maybe we cut 30% of education, maybe that'd be a good thing.'"

"We should never lose sight of what we believe in," he added. "I think that is what resistance is under some strange system you don't believe in."

Bolsonaro has said he believes indigenous groups in Brazil have too much land set aside for their control. He supports making parts of the Amazon easier for miners and loggers to access.

Bolsonaro has also criticized the arts for "cultural Marxism" and dissolved the country's ministry of culture. Funding for Latin America's biggest film and television industry has been significantly reduced.

But Brazil has a significant presence at this year's Cannes Film Festival, including Karim Ainouz's "Invisible Life," playing in Un Certain Regard, a section of the festival's official selection. As part of Cannes' main slate, "Bacurau" is the most prominent.

"It's just amazing that this film is seeing the light of day at a time when in fact they are trying to hide Brazilian cultural output," said Mendonça.

During production on "Bacurau," the Brazilian government declared that Mendonça had to return about $500,000 from a grant for his debut feature, "Neighboring Sounds." He calls the demand "unprecedented in the history of Brazilian filmmaking."

"When 'Bacurau' was announced in Cannes this month, they came up with another press package about this, which is not a coincidence," Mendonça said. "We are dealing with this with lawyers and we hope to overturn it. It makes no sense whatsoever."

While "Bacurau" has been in development for the last decade, Mendonça said the film's extremes of "Bacurau" were fueled by Bolsonaro's election.

"It was almost like reality was catching up with the script," said Mendonça. "When that happened, we went up to 11, we went over the top."