REUTERS, CANNES, France - A sympathetic portrayal of heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson brought one of the most fearsome and controversial fighters in the sport's history to the red carpet at the Cannes film festival.

Selecting from hours of documentary footage and mixing fight sequences with interviews and photographs, director James Toback tells the story of the boxer's climb from his impoverished childhood to the pinnacle of his sport and dramatic fall.

Bdnews24.com

Private TV station ETV has suspended or terminated 14 journalists on charges of observing work stoppage and neglect of duty.

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his celebrity family members have all tentatively agreed to take part in a film based on the life of Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, local media said on Thursday.

Amitabh will take the role of Mujib in the film, named "The Poet of Politics," while his son Abhishek Bachchan will act in the role of a young Mujib, Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, the producer of the film, told ANA, a U.S.-based Bangladeshi news agency.

REUTERS, NEW YORK - Even before they were built, New York's Twin Towers provided a dream for Philippe Petit, and he spent six years chasing that dream until he conquered them with a spectacular, illegal act.

On Aug. 7, 1974, the Frenchman walked between the towers on a wire, without a net or a harness, some 1,362 feet above ground -- a seemingly impossible feat of guerrilla theater.

REUTERS, LOS ANGELES - Top-selling recording artist Mariah Carey and popular rap singer and actor Nick Cannon married this week in the Bahamas, according to several media reports.

The New York Post said on Thursday the pair wed in a secret ceremony in front of family and friends at Carey's house in Eleuthera, citing a source close to Carey.

AFP, LONDON- British pop singer Amy Winehouse has been cautioned after admitting an assault on a night out in London, police said Saturday.

Winehouse, known for songs including "You Know I'm No Good" as well as her troubled private life, reportedly headbutted one man and punched another as she tried to hail a taxi.

AFP, PARIS - Madonna takes music stores worldwide by storm in the next few days with a new hip hop-influenced album "Hard Candy", her last on the Warner label before taking up her astronomical contract with US concert promoter Live Nation.

The record hits shelves in Europe on Friday, the artist's native United States on April 29, and the rest of the world on April 28. Announcing "Hard Candy", Madonna described the title as "a juxtaposition of tough and sweetness."

Indian classical singer Shanti Sharma died in mysterious circumstances after she fell from the second storey of her south Delhi home, the family said Wednesday, reports agency.

Sharma was 52. News agency IANS quoted her husband Dinesh Sharma as saying: "Shanti jumped to death from our Malviya Nagar home Tuesday morning."

Education and Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman Wednesday urged the mass media to play a more responsible role reflecting hopes and aspirations of the people, reports agency.

He made the call while addressing as the chief guest a seminar organised by Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) in its seminar room in the city.

AFP, PARIS - Frenchman Sebastien Tellier is in the eye of a growing storm for planning to sing in English in the upcoming Eurovision contest, prompting political outrage and suggestions that he is a turncoat.

The 33-year-old electro sensation sparked ripples in his country -- fiercely proud of its traditions and language -- by deciding to perform his song 'Divine' with almost exclusively English lyrics in the competition.

Agency

Acting deputy director general (news) of state-run Bangladesh Television Shahida Alam has been suspended for "professional inefficiency", the government said in a statement Sunday.

Senior journalists at a workshop Monday suggested forming a media forum on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) for achieving the target by 2015, reports agency.

They said the forum, comprising journalists from all tiers, will reach the messages on MDGS to all people. The suggestions came at the workshop on `Strengthening Media Network for Development’ organized by UNDP at its seminar room at Agargaon in the city.

The Bangladesh Betar will broadcast a programme on different steps taken by the government on agriculture, food and to control prices of commodities through its various centres, a Betar release said Monday, reports agency.

The 15-minute programme titled “ nutrition and food habit” will be aired every day at 4-45pm from Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Barisal, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar centres.

Information Secretary Jamil Osman has directed the concerned officials to quickly prepare an amended project proposal for opening a terrestrial education channel by Bangladesh Television (BTV), reports agency.

The directive came at a meeting to review the progress of different projects under annual development programme (ADP) of the Information Ministry.

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, hounded into hiding in India by death threats from Islamic militants, said Tuesday she has heart problems and is losing her eyesight because of stress, reports AFP.

Speaking to AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, Nasreen said she hoped to leave for France or Denmark for medical treatment after months in isolation also sent her blood-pressure soaring.

Staff Correspondent

The government has formulated a policy on the installation, broadcast and operation of community radio to facilitate information dissemination, said a Press Information Department handout on Sunday.

UNB, Dhaka

The government on Tuesday formed the 7th Wage Board with retired judge of the High Court Division Habibur Rahman Khan as its chairman to recommend increased wages for journalists, employees and press workers after reviewing the 6th Wage Board.

The nine-member wage board will submit its recommendations to the government within two months, said an official announcement.

Agence France-Presse . Los Angeles

Violent thriller 'No Country for Old Men' won the best picture Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards late Sunday as European stars scored a clean sweep in the acting honours in an historic Hollywood night.

'No Country for Old Men' emerged as the biggest winner of the evening, scooping four Oscars including best director for brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Javier Bardem.

Agency

More women's representation both in print and electronic media is needed to help the country move on towards progress, speakers said at the inaugural session of a seven-day workshop in Dhaka on Sunday.

They also urged the country's media management to create more job opportunities for women in the media as women represent only five-percent of the total journalists in the Bangladesh media.

Staff Correspondent

Incidents of acid violence are declining due to wide media coverage, social campaign and introduction of stringent laws to punish acid throwers, said speakers at a workshop in the city on Monday.

'Media are covering widely the issues relating to acid violence and thereby helping create mass awareness against the crime and as a result incidents of acid violence have reduced significantly in recent times', said ASM Sowket Hossain, acting chairperson of Acid Survivors Foundation, at the workshop.