Cats in velvet, cats in skirts, cats in sunglasses, cats in soccer kits: Hundreds of felines were dressed to the nines on Friday for Bangladesh’s largest-ever cat show.
Owners sashayed down the catwalk carrying their furry friends, while others feasted in eating competitions or simply took cat-naps.
Sunglasses were a popular item, as were matching hats and jackets, along with Brazil and Argentina soccer jerseys — the two South American giants have avid followings in the South Asian country.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Tabassum Akter adopted Z six months ago, and dressed him in a special collar for the event at Dhaka’s biggest shopping mall.
She regularly takes him out with her, but receives odd looks when she does so.
“It’s important to realize that these animals also want love, sympathy and care,” she said.
Domestic cats are common in Bangladesh, especially in rural areas, where they are used for vermin control.
Companion pets are largely the preserve of urban upper and middle classes, and cats dominate in the Muslim-majority country.
The Prophet Mohammed is said to have kept cats himself, and the name he gave one of his companions, the chronicler Abu Huraira, means “father of the kitten.”
Practicing Muslim families do not keep dogs as pets, as they are seen as impure.
Organizer Rabi Hasan purred with satisfaction at the turnout for the event, saying at least 900 cats took part, drawing more than 15,000 admirers.
Nasif Ullah adorned his cat with the features of a honeybee, and hoped the event would raise awareness of animal rights.
“There is a tendency to cause harm to cats everywhere,” he said. “We often don’t realize that these creatures also have some rights.”
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
Jailed media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai (黎智英) has been awarded Deutsche Welle’s (DW) freedom of speech award for his contribution to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The German public broadcaster on Thursday said Lai would be presented in absentia with the 12th iteration of the award on June 23 at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Deutsche Welle director-general Barbara Massing praised the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered news outlet Apple Daily for standing “unwaveringly for press freedom in Hong Kong at great personal risk.” “With Apple Daily, he gave journalists a platform for free reporting and a voice to the democracy movement in
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
RSS