Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bangladesh film actor apologises after India election expulsion

A BANGLADESH film star has apologised after he was expelled from India for taking part in election campaigning, but found support in his country's foreign minister who said the giant neighbour had overreacted.

Ferdous Ahmad has starred in more than 200 films, and was kicked out of India on Tuesday (16) after campaigning for West Bengal state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a rival of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).


India is currently voting in a mammoth national ballot being held over several phases, the second of which began on Thursday (18).

Ferdous, 45, said he respects Indian law and that foreigners should not take part in an election in another country.

"I apologise for my inadvertent mistake. I hope everyone concerned will forgive me," Ferdous said in the statement sent to local media.

Ferdous said he was driven by his love of the people of West Bengal where he made his film debut in a Bengali movie in 1997.

"What he (Ferdous) has done is regrettable," said Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen.

"At the same time, the way the Indians are strongly reacting to it, I feel they are overreacting," the minister told the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

Bangladesh has close ties with India, particularly with West Bengal, which borders the Muslim nation.

Film stars and directors from Dhaka and the West Bengal capital of Kolkata regularly collaborate to make movies for the Bengali speaking market of 250 million people straddling the two countries.

(AFP)

More For You

Salman Rushdie

Rushdie was stabbed about 15 times: in the head, neck, torso and left hand, blinding his right eye and damaging his liver and intestines. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rushdie attack trial begins as jurors shown graphic details

JURORS heard how a knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie unfolded in a matter of seconds at a 2022 New York talk and how close he came to death, in the prosecutor's opening statement on Monday (10) at the trial of the man accused of trying to murder the author.

A poet introducing the talk, on the subject of keeping writers safe from harm, was barely into his second sentence when defendant Hadi Matar bounded onto the Chautauqua Institution open-air stage and made about 10 running steps towards a seated Rushdie, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the jury.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Yvette-Cooper-Getty

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to "exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken". (Photo: Getty Images)

Immigration arrests up 73 per cent in January

UK immigration enforcement teams made more than 600 arrests in January, a 73 per cent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday (10).

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi-Macron

Modi and Macron will also hold discussions in restricted and delegation-level formats and address the India-France CEO’s Forum. (Photo: X/@narendramodi)

Modi meets Macron and JD Vance in Paris

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron at a dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Macron greeted Modi with a hug as they met on Monday.

"Delighted to meet my friend, President Macron in Paris," Modi posted on X.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harshita Brella

The body of the 24-year-old was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on November 14 last year.

Harshita Brella’s family seeks answers as fundraiser launched

AN ASIAN solicitor and businessman has set up a fund in memory of Harshita Brella, who was found murdered in east London in November last year.

The Harshita Brella Memorial Fund, organised by Amrit S Maan OBE JP, aims to support her family as they seek answers about her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.

The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less