India News | Charaideo Maidam’s World Heritage Site Status Draws Global Travellers to Assam & Ahom Heritage: Union Minister Sonowal

Travel

New Delhi [India], November 21 (ANI): The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal visited the Charaideo Maidam after it was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the first such honour for any cultural site of the Northeast.Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “Charaideo Maidam, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands as a remarkable testament to the architectural brilliance of the Ahom era, embodying the legacy of the revered ancestors. This historic achievement was made possible through the visionary efforts of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” Also Read | PM Modi on India-Guyana Similarities: ‘Democracy First, Humanity First Our Mantra’, Says PM Narendra Modi in Guyana’s Parliament (Watch Video).”The people of Assam remain deeply grateful to PM Modi for bringing global recognition to this heritage. May the rich tradition of Charaideo Maidam continue to shine brightly, inspiring us with the timeless ideals of the great Ahom rulers and guiding our path in building a prosperous and culturally vibrant state,” he added.Talking about the legacy of Ahom and its contribution is Assam’s history and culture Sonowal remarked, “The Maidams of Charaideo, carrying the legacy of the bravery, valour, & indomitable courage of the great Ahom ancestors, stand as enduring symbols of self-respect & pride for the greater Assamese nation. This global recognition as UNESCO World Heritage Site brings the rich history of the Ahom dynasty to the global stage. On behalf of the people of Assam, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, for playing a pivotal role in the achievement of this global honour which was long due.”Also Read | Pakistan Shooting: Death Toll in Gun Attack on Shias in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rises to 42.Making an appeal to tourists across the world Sonowal highlighted “cultural architectural brilliance” and said, “I would also like to take this opportunity to invite global travellers & tourists to visit the Charaideo Maidam to witness the unique cultural architectural brilliance & cultural traditions of the Ahom period. The tourists will also experience one of the greatest socio-cultural fabrics in a kaleidoscopic Assamese society that Ahom kings were successful in weaving through their illustrious 600 years of good governance.” “This legacy not only inspires all of us every day as Asomiya but also encourages us to showcase our rich heritage on the world stage. Today, the due recognition of Charaideo Maidams as UNESCO World Heritage Site has generated curiosity & inquisitiveness among global travellers & tourists from all over about Assam & Ahom heritage.” He added.Sonowal further added, “In the 13th century, Swargadeo Chaolung Sukapha laid the foundation of greater Assam by uniting various communities under the policy of ‘Saat Raj Saamari Ek Raj’ (seven kingdoms into one) and establishing good governance. Inspired by the same ideals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through his vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’ has united the people of India to pave the way for a strong, developed, and self-reliant nation. “This journey of inclusive development, encompassing every community in India, is a journey of harmony, empowerment, and the strengthening of every citizen, bringing the nation together as one,” Sonowal said. In a significant step toward preserving Assam’s heritage, the ‘Charaideo Maidam’ was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a milestone built on years of meticulous planning and leadership under Sarbananda Sonowal during his tenure as the chief minister of Assam.In 2020, Sonowal participated in the state government-organised “Me-Dam-Me-Phi” celebrations at Charaideo, where he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate the site’s heritage to national and international prominence. Acting on Sonowal’s directives, the Assam government conducted several review meetings with relevant ministers to push for Charaideo’s UNESCO nomination.In 2017, Sonowal announced plans to develop Charaideo into a cultural hub during the Eastern Tai Literary Conference held in the region. Sonowal allocated an initial budget of Rs 5 crore, which was included in that year’s financial plan. The following year, Rs 25 crore was allocated in the state budget under the Archaeological Department to support the UNESCO nomination process.The initiative gained momentum with the formation of a high-level committee led by former Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, Dr K.C. Nauriyal, alongside experts such as Dr. Yogendra Phukan, Dr. Dayananda Borgohain, Dr Dilip Burhagohain, Dr. Jaribul Alam, and Jiten Borpatra Gohain. This committee, acting under Sonowal’s instructions, overcame numerous challenges to prepare and submit a comprehensive dossier well ahead of schedule to UNESCO through the Ministry of Culture.During his tenure as a Union Cabinet Minister, Sonowal continued to advocate for Charaideo’s recognition. He presented the dossier to the Prime Minister’s Office and ensured its submission to UNESCO, marking a major step in securing the site’s World Heritage status.Charaideo Maidams, often referred to as the “Pyramids of Assam,” symbolise the rich cultural and historical legacy of the Ahom dynasty, a kingdom that ruled Assam for over 600 years. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

Parthenope: release date, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Gary Oldman movie

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

US audiences have become a little more willing to embrace foreign language movies in recent years, with movies like Parasite, RRR and Anatomy of a Fall becoming solid hits. The next possible such movie is Parthenope, which comes from acclaimed Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino and stars Gary Oldman alongside a cast of Italian actors, including a newcomer in the titular lead role.Parthenope is going to feature plenty of Italian dialogue for sure, but with Oldman, the movie is going to be partly in English as well, which could help lower the barrier of entry for some. But if anyone knows how to turn this kind of movie into a hit it’s A24, who is distributing Parthenope. They did so with another movie that balanced English and a foreign language, Past Lives.To find out more about Parthenope — when it’s premiering, who’s starring in it and the trailer — read on for everything you need to know.Parthenope release dateA24 is going to release Parthenope exclusively in movie theaters on February 7, 2025, in the US. At this time we’re not able to confirm a UK release date for the movie.This is one of the early 2025 new movies that A24 is rolling out, as the indie studio/distributor also has The Legend of Ochi and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl hitting movie theaters in the first few months of 2025.Parthenope castGary Oldman is the big name in the cast, as the Oscar winner (Darkest Hour) and current star of hit spy series Slow Horses, plays real-life American novelist John Cheever.The movie’s main star though is newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta, as she plays the title character Parthenope. Dalla Porta had a bit part in Sorrentino’s previous movie The Hand of God and a role in the Italian limited series Red Mirror.The rest of the Parthenope cast is made up of Stefania Sandrell, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Isabella Ferrari, Silvia Degrandi, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Daniele Rienzo, Dario Aita, Marlon Joubert, Alfonso Santagata, Biagio Izzo and Peppe Lanzetta.Parthenope plotAs he does with most of his movies, Sorrentino also wrote the script for Parthenope. Here is the movie’s official synopsis:“Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino comes a monumental and deeply romantic story of a lifetime.”The movie is inspired by a legendary siren that became a Neapolitan deity.Parthenope trailerThe trailer for Parthenope is here. It looks like another gorgeous movie from Sorrentino that may have you wondering how much a flight to Italy is right now. Watch right here:

Parthenope | Official Trailer HD | A24 – YouTube

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Parthenope reviewsParthenope first premiered back at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. As a result, there are a handful of reviews for the movie already out. There’s a bit more debate among critics than with some of Sorrentino’s previous movies. Find out what critics are saying about it on Rotten Tomatoes.Paolo Sorrentino moviesPaolo Sorrentino is an Italian filmmaker who, despite his clout in international cinema growing, hasn’t made the full leap to Hollywood. He still primarily chooses to shoot in his home country and, mostly, in his native language. A couple of exceptions include indie movies This Must Be the Place with Sean Penn and Youth starring Michael Caine, as well as the TV series The Young Pope and The New Pope.Here is a complete look at Sorrentino’s feature directing credits to date, per IMDb:One Man Up (2001)The Consequences of Love (2004)The Family Friend (2006)Il Divo (2008)Napoli 24 (2010)This Must Be the Place (2011)The Great Beauty (2013)Rio, I Love You (2014)Youth (2015)Loro (2018)Loro 1 (2018)Loro 2 (2018)The Hand of God (2021)Parthenope behind the scenesSorrentino shot the movie in Naples, Italy, marking the second time he used his childhood home as the location for one of his movies, after The Hand of God.In addition to A24’s participation, the movie is a production by Fremantle Film, Piper Film and Pathé. Sorrentino also produced the movie along with Lorenzo Mieli, Anthony Vaccarello and Ardavan Safaee.

Next U.S. ambassador Hoekstra ‘easier to do business’ with, former envoy says

Business News

Open this photo in gallery:Pete Hoekstra’s position as the U.S. ambassador to Canada will still have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, but his early nomination is being taken as a good sign among former diplomats.Paul Sancya/The Associated PressForeign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly welcomed president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the next U.S. ambassador in Ottawa, a former longtime Michigan congressional representative who voted for NAFTA and later wavered on new free trade deals.Joly said at a news conference on Thursday at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., that she takes it as a good sign that Trump endorsed the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free-trade deal when he announced Pete Hoekstra as his next envoy to Canada.Canada welcomes the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to Canada-designate @petehoekstra. We look forward to working to strengthening the ties between our two countries, as close allies and neighbours, and continue advancing our shared priorities.— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) November 21, 2024 She also posted on social media Thursday that Canada looks forward to working with Hoekstra to strengthen bilateral ties and advance shared priorities “as close allies and neighbours.”The minister was in Washington to talk trade and security with U.S. senators from both parties. Her meeting schedule included top Republican senators Lindsey Graham, Rick Scott and Lisa Murkowski.Following this trip, Joly is headed to the Halifax International Security Forum, where she said she will be meeting with more U.S. lawmakers, including Sen. James Risch from Idaho.Hoekstra will still have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, but his early nomination is being taken as a good sign by several former diplomats.Former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, who has met with Hoekstra before, said he’s someone Canada can work with.“He’s not from the (WWE) or Fox News. He’s an ambassador in the Netherlands previously and he’s from Michigan, so somebody who understands Canada,” Robertson said. “He’s well suited to the posting and I think it’ll be easier to do business with somebody who has his depth of experience.”Canada’s ambassador in Washington, Kirsten Hillman, also congratulated Hoekstra on the nomination, posting on social media she looks forward to working with him to make the bilateral relationship “even stronger.”Hoekstra was a nine-term border-state lawmaker and holds high esteem in Trump’s world. His long career in politics left a wake of stunning headlines, including for a 2012 Super Bowl ad critics and even some Republicans slammed as blatantly racist.He was Trump’s chosen chairman for the Michigan GOP during a power struggle between two pro-Trump camps. He spoke at Trump rallies in the swing state during the campaign and earned high praise from the president-elect. “This guy, Hoekstra — he’s unbelievable,” Trump said at a February rally in Waterford Township, Mich. “Everything he did in Congress, he was incredible, and then he was an unbelievable ambassador.”In his first term as president, Trump tapped Hoekstra to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, where he was at one point embroiled in a political interference scandal for hosting a fundraiser at the U.S. Embassy with members of the far-right party Forum for Democracy.In a 2019 public talk organized by a Dutch news magazine, he said it’s “not an unrealistic ask” that every member of NATO meets the target of spending the equivalent of two per cent of GDP on defence by 2024 — something Trump has railed about, and something Canada will not do until at least 2032. At an event in Ottawa last month, Trump’s former ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft said his administration would expect Canada to meet that target much sooner than 2032.Hoekstra was a representative for Michigan from 1993 until 2011 and chaired the powerful House Intelligence Committee. In 2019, Trump floated him as a possible pick for national intelligence director.Not long after he was first elected, he voted in favour of the NAFTA trade deal in 1993 — something he called at the time a simple choice yet also the “toughest decision I have had to face in my first 11 months in office,” according to Michigan newspaper reports from the time.By 2003, he was opposed to inking free-trade deals, including two proposed with Singapore and Chile, saying that NAFTA led to manufacturers in Michigan to “shift production to Canada and Mexico.” Nearly a decade later, in 2011, he singled out NAFTA as something that had “come to symbolize what Americans believe is unfair trade.”In the early 2000s, he was one of a number of Michigan lawmakers from both parties raising ire over Toronto shipping its trash into his state.“Michigan is better than taking Canadian trash,” he was quoted saying in 2004 in the local Michigan newspaper the Ludington Daily News.The next year he co-signed a letter advocating for a bill that would clamp down on “foreign municipal solid waste” entering his state, according to an Associated Press report from the time.

WTIA honors 40 years of boosting Washington’s tech sector as new CEO aims for more impact

Technology

WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler (left), and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell speak at the WTIA’s 40th anniversary event on Tuesday in Seattle. Schutzler is retiring after leading the nonprofit trade association for 11 years. (GeekWire Photos / Taylor Soper)

The tech scene in Washington looked quite different than today when the Washington Technology Industry Association launched back in 1984.

There was a fast-growing company called Microsoft in Bellevue, and a few other Seattle software upstarts such as AttachMate and WRQ were getting off the ground.

The industry was small and nascent. But a group of folks recognized the potential of a new, booming sector — one that needed support to grow.

The Washington Software Association, which later became the WTIA, was born.

“They sought to unite the industry. They sought to grow the industry,” Ed Lazowska, a longtime computer science professor at the University of Washington, said at the WTIA’s 40th anniversary event on Tuesday. “They sought to convince civic leaders and the citizens that … we could become a national, global power in software. That was their vision, and it worked out pretty well.”

Microsoft has grown into the third-most valuable company in the world. Amazon became the state’s largest employer as it pioneered online retail and cloud computing.

A flurry of other companies, working in software and other tech-enabled industries — Tableau, Zillow Group, F5, Expedia Group, just to name a few — sprouted in Washington and grew into major players.

Now, a flock of newer startups — see the GeekWire 200 list of top privately held companies — is continuing the state’s strength in technology.

The tech industry now represents about 21% of the state’s GDP and has created about 3.5 million jobs in total, according to the WTIA, which has remained a key pillar of the state’s innovation ecosystem.

WTIA operates a nonprofit member trade association and a for-profit corporation providing business services. It also offers health insurance and 401(k) to tech companies and entrepreneurs.

The organization will have a new leader at the start of next year, as longtime WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler announced this week that he’s retiring.

When he took over in 2013, Schutzler helped WTIA shift its focus to accelerating workforce development and helping boost startups, by way of public policy efforts and programs for companies and entrepreneurs.

“We pivoted it to a mission-driven organization, instead of a member-driven organization,” Schutzler said at the event Tuesday. “It was a huge difference.”

Under Schutzler’s leadership, WTIA also helped raise $50 million for computer science education in the state of Washington, and supported more than 150 entrepreneurs who launched companies.

It also created a nonprofit tech apprenticeship program called Apprenti that was spun out and now operates in multiple U.S. states.

Schutzler thanked the hundreds of volunteers and sponsors for their support, many of whom were in the room on Tuesday.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” he said.

Kelly Fukai will become WTIA’s CEO in January.

Kelly Fukai, WTIA’s current COO, will take over as CEO.

Speaking at the event, Fukai called technology the “economic engine that powers our state.” She is focused on helping close the tech talent gap and making sure the industry benefits communities across the entire state of Washington.

“I’m really excited to take this great foundation that has been laid by our team here and all of you in this room, and really deliver at the highest level possible — and just put it on steroids,” Fukai said.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell also spoke at the event Tuesday. He said his peers around the world know Seattle as a city of technology and innovation — and credited the WTIA for boosting that brand.

“I will guarantee you there are mayors that would love to have this kind of presence in their city,” Harrell said.

Lazowska reminded the audience that the WTIA’s impact is not just about tech companies and employees.

“We understand our responsibility to help create a region where everyone can not just survive, but thrive,” he said. “We’re not just about ourselves. That’s really important. We’re about equity, we’re about advancing the well-being of the community in which we live and work.”

Related: Seattle mayor, who sits on a federal AI panel, says he’ll seek ways to work with Trump administration