Out of public eye, Arab women power haute couture

Reuters, Paris/Dubai, Oct 9: They are rarely spotted on the front row of a fashion show and favor discretion when placing orders, yet women from the Middle East have become the world's biggest buyers of high fashion.
The trend may surprise given that many Arab women, particularly in the Gulf region, are traditionally kept under wraps.

But their social calendar, which usually consists of 15-20 weddings a year and private parties every month, creates much bigger demand for couture than the occasional charity ball and high society party in Europe and in North America.

And wearing the same dress twice is not an option.

Traditional buyers of exclusive designer clothes tend to include members of rich industrial or royal families and expatriates.

The biggest buyers of haute couture today center around the Gulf -- Saudis, Kuwaitis, Qataris and nationals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who do not hesitate to spend 50,000 euros on a low-cleavage lame for an event where no men will be present.

"All the royal families of the Middle East are our customers," Catherine Riviere, head of haute couture at Christian Dior, told Reuters at the brand's show at Paris Fashion Week which ends on Wednesday.

Middle Eastern customers have also recently shown growing support for Lebanese designers such as Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad.

Fashion executives say the Middle East is likely to remain the top couture client for the foreseeable future if the economic environment deteriorates in Europe and North America.

The luxury goods industry has not yet been hit by the global slowdown but many analysts fear it will not come out of the downturn unscathed, particularly if China's growth starts to slow down.

"Women from the Middle East are our top buyers and they are likely to remain so," said Jeffry Aronsson, who became chief executive of Emanuel Ungaro three months ago, having run Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta and Marc Jacobs in the past.

UNIQUE, EXTRAVAGANT AND CHIC

Reem, the daughter of a major construction tycoon in the Middle East, spends much of her time flitting between Paris, London, Dubai and Beirut and is a regular buyer of couture. She has also started to design some of her own jewelry.

"I want to be different from others," she said in an interview at her Paris flat in the leafy 16th arrondissement, asking to be identified only by her first name.

"What I want is unique pieces, extravagant and chic. I do not want to pay 5,000 or 6,000 euros for a dress, as it happened to me with a Pucci outfit recently, and see it on somebody else the same evening."

Generally at weddings in Gulf countries, men and women are split into two separate groups, attendees say. Thousands of women gather together in one big ball room -- all wearing haute couture -- and some are not afraid to wear provocative and revealing outfits.

"Some women go for deep cleavage or even transparent fabrics," said Reem, who regularly attends such weddings and buys between 30-40 designer dresses a year. At a royal wedding, the dress code calls for more restraint in terms of style, neckline and hemline.

Valued at 700 million euros ($930 million), designer clothing is by far the biggest segment of the luxury goods industry representing 42 percent of overall luxury goods sales in the UAE, the biggest buyer among Gulf states, with women's designer dresses and skirts leading the way, Euromonitor International said in a report published in June.

"For us, with China, the Middle East is the market that is growing the fastest," Hermes Chief Executive Patrick Thomas told Reuters at Paris Fashion Week. "These markets for a long time preferred a more ostentatious type of luxury and now want a more refined and discreet style," he added.

Thomas said the Middle East only started to pick up strongly two to three years ago and now generates 30-35 percent in annual sales growth a year.

For Dior, Chanel, Valentino, Stephane Rolland and other luxury labels favored by affluent Middle Eastern women, the biggest challenge is keeping a detailed track record of who buys what, to avoid selling the same dress to members of the same circles, attending the same event.

"A good retailer must know the whole family of the buyer and ask her as many questions as possible as we are not allowed to make mistakes," said a Dior sales assistant based in Western Europe, specializing in the brand's Middle Eastern clientele.

Very often, the race was on for the most expensive dress, not for the most elegant or stylish, she said, declining to be named.

With weddings lasting three, and sometimes up to seven, days, each client needs at least 5-10 different outfits -- good news for fashion companies but complicated to keep track of.

"Of course, we cannot centralize everything but we try," said the Dior sales assistant.

STATUS AND SUCCESS

For Middle Eastern women, couture is a symbol of social status and success. At parties and weddings, they want to shine and impress potential mothers-in-law scouting for eligible brides.

Fashion experts say Middle Eastern women opt for dresses which use a lot of crystals, gems or heavily embroidered and embellished fabrics.

"I had the opportunity to see a wedding that was recently held here in Dubai. 4,000 women were invited to the reception and everybody in the room was wearing haute couture," said Simon Lock, who works as creative director for Dubai Fashion Week. "And there are lots and lots of weddings to attend. The wedding season is very expensive here.

"I have known of many occasions when a couturier will be invited to a private home for a showing. The hostess will buy maybe 20, 30 couture outfits for a season," says Lock, adding that prices start at $3,000 and can reach $75,000. A Dior wedding dress can fetch $1 million.

Dior, Chanel and many other major luxury brands also stage private shows at hotels in the Middle East or in the comfort of the home of their most regular customers.

"Royal families are our buyers," said Dubai-based fashion designer Rabia Z. "They will call us for an appointment and we go as often as they ask us to come. They love the fact that we give them the option of changing the color, or making it shorter or longer."

But many prefer to fly to Paris, Milan or London than shop locally so they can have more choice and see up-to-date collections, fashion insiders say.

The shopping season usually starts in Italy in June. In July and August, it tends to concentrate around the Riviera, where many Gulf women spend holidays, and it finishes in September in Paris and London.

CENTRES OF GROWTH

Qatar, the world's richest nation per capita, is one of the few economies in the world enjoying strong economic growth with a GDP growth forecast of 19 percent for this year, according to analysts.

Qatar is organizing its first fashion week with a target date of March 2012. One of the biggest supporters of the fashion event is Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, the glamorous wife of the emir of Qatar who regularly features in Gulf tabloids along with Queen Rania of Jordan.

Sheikha Mozah -- regarded as one of the world's biggest buyers of couture, according to fashion experts -- is also behind the creation of the Qatar Luxury Group in 2008. Based in Doha, it hired designer Stephane Rolland to create a fashion brand from scratch that it is aiming to unveil next spring.

The secretive group, financially supported by the Qatar Foundation the Sheikha created, made its first acquisition this year when it snapped up Paris-listed leather goods maker Le Tanneur for 26 million euros, and is on the lookout for more European brands.

The group is headed by Gregory Couillard, a former executive at the world's biggest luxury group LVMH, which owns Dior and Louis Vuitton. Couillard declined several requests for an interview.

Cold storage owners seek govt intervention

Cold storage owners and potato farmers in Rajshahi on Saturday sought intervention of the government for solving their prevailing problems.

They said at a news briefing in the city that the potato traders and growers had been facing an embarrassing situation with their 25 lakh tonnes of stored potato in cold-storages in the region.

Besides, they mentioned that the traders as well as the growers would face incurring loss at Tk 300 per bag if they sold their stored potato at present.

Due to lack of adequate preservation facilities and abundance of unpreserved potato in the local markets, the wholesale and retail price had been declined to an unexpected level making the farmers frustrated, they informed.

Most of the farmers were seen opting for high yielding potato varieties and adopting scientific methods of cultivation, resulting in bumper yield, said Abu Bakkar Ali, president of Rajshahi Cold Storage Owners Association.

But the potato growers incurred losses this year as they did not get fair price of their produce, he said. To overcome the loss, he sought government intervention for exporting potato.

There had been a bumper production of potato in Rajshahi this year due to favourable climatic condition. But the bumper production could not bring fruit for the growers for low price of potato which could not cover production cost, he added.

'The farmers are not happy over the market price. For inadequate preservation facilities in the region, they are being forced to sell their potatoes at low price incurring loss,' he also said.

This adverse situation would have impact on the cultivation of potato in the region in the next year as the growers would surely loss their interest to cultivate potato again, he said.

Muhammad Ali Sarker, owner of Raj Cold Storagte, said, 'The government is initiating many safety-net programmes including VGF, VGD, OMS, FW and so on for vulnerable group development. It will be a great solution if government includes potato in the programmes which will help the farmers to get a reasonable price,' he said.

He urged the government to add potato in government's rationing which was operational for Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Border Guard of Bangladesh, Ansar-VDP.

This inclusion of potato would help farmers to get a reasonable price for their products and would encourage the farmers to boost the production, he said.

Association members of Rajshahi Cold Storage Owners Association Ful Muhammad and Ahsan Uddin also spoke at the programme.

2 muggers held with firearms in Pabna

The police arrested two persons along with firearms while they were allegedly trying to snatch money from a trader at village Kalikapur of Sujanagar in Pabna on Saturday.

The arrestees were Liton Sardar, 20, and Sheikh Shahin, 22, of the village Kalikapur.

The Sujanagar police station officer-in-charge, Ahsanul Haque, said that the accused muggers halted Ashok Kumar, a trader of the upazila, at Kalikapur at noon when he was going to Dhaka with Tk 30 thousand.

Hearing screams, locals rushed to the spot. Being informed, a mobile team of the Sujanagar police station chased the criminals and held Liton and Shahin with firearms and recovered the looted money from them.

The arrestees were kept in the police custody.

Housewife commits ‘suicide’ in Jamalpur

A housewife allegedly committed suicide under a running train at Jamalpur railway station on Saturday afternoon.

The victim was identified as Kobita Begum, 18, wife of Shahinur Islam at village Pashchim Dakpara in Jamalpur town.

The Jamalpur Railway police said that Kobita was waiting at the station platform with other passengers in the afternoon. When the Dhaka bound intercity train Teesta was leaving the station, she suddenly jumped in front of the running train. She died on the spot.

The police recovered the body and sent it to Jamalpur General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The reason behind the suicide could not be known immediately.

A UD case was registered with Jamalpur GRP thana.

Students want supplementary examinations

Under-graduate students of the Institute of Health Technology in Rajshahi city boycotted their classes and brought out procession on Saturday, demanding provision of supplementary examinations.

More than one hundred BSc students from the departments of laboratory technology, dental and physiotherapy of the institute took part in the procession and later formed a human chain at Shaheb Bazar Zero Point.

Computer training centre burnt in Jessore

A computer training centre was burnt in a fire, which broke out on Ghop Jel Road in Jessore town on Saturday.

Jessore fire service sources said the fire originated from a switch board of the centre, Acme IT, located on the fourth floor of a building, and soon it engulfed the building at about 10:00am.

Receiving information, local fire service personnel rushed in and quelled the fire after an hour long hectic efforts.

The centre said 10 rooms, 27 computers, five ACs and other goods were burnt.

Benajir Ahmed gets OISCA award

BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology president Benajir Ahmed, also former chairman of the board of governors of North South University Foundation, has been given OISCA International for his contribution in removing of the poverty and environmental development, said a press release.

A Tokyo-based non-governmental organisation, the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International, gave him the award.

On October 7, the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, handed over the award to Benajir Ahmed at OISCA's 50th anniversary.

Earlier he had been awarded Shar-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Haque Award, Micheal Modhusudhan Award, Mawlana Bashani Padak and Bangladesh Education Trust Gold Medal for his contributions in social services.

Benajir is also the managing editor of The Daily Purbabhas, the chairman of MyTV, former district governor of Lions Clubs Inter

AL councils at union, ward levels this month

The Awami League will start holding its union and ward level councils within this month.

The decision was taken when the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, held a meeting with the party's working committee members at her Dhanmondi office Saturday afternoon.

"Our party president prime minister Sheikh Hasina will soon sit with the organising secretaries to fix the dates of the councils of union and ward levels,' a working committee member told the news agency.

He said the prime minister had directed them to work more seriously for further expediting the organisational activities in the wake of the opposition party's threat to topple the government through movement.

'She (Sheikh Hasina) has directed us to inform the people about success stories of the government,' he said.

Hasina also held a separate meeting with Nilphamari district Awami League leaders ahead of her visit to the district on October 12.

On the day, Hasina would present national flag to Bangladesh Army-run Electrical Mechanical School and inspect a parade of the army members.

Before returning to the capital, the prime minister is also expected to address a public rally in Nilphamari town.

Hasina on Saturday went to her Dhanmondi office to hold informal meeting with leaders of her party and its associate organisations.

Civil aviation staff held with foreign currency

A civil aviation staff was arrested on Friday night with currencies of 11 countries worth about Tk 5.85 lakh from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, a police official said.

Acting on secret information, a civil team of the Armed Police Battalion arrested Mohammad Abdur Rahman, a staff of civil aviation from mosque area of the airport and seized the foreign currencies from his possession, assistant police super of APBN Zahed Parvez Chowdhury said.

The currencies include $100, Singapore dollar 170, Euro 720, British pound 105, Indian rupee 1,210, Bahrain Dinar 25.50, Qatar Riyal 2,248, Oman Riyal 25, Malaysian Ringgit 400, UE Dirham 2,075 and Saudi Riyal, 19,200.

During preliminary interrogation Rahman said he had long been siphoned off foreign currencies with the help of six officials and employees of Biman Bandar branch of Janata Bank — Arshad, Babar Ali, Mahbub, Ahshan Habib, Ataur Rahman, Harun.

A case was lodged against them with Biman Bandar police station in this regard.

Utilise unfavourable lands to ensure food security: Razzaque

The food minister, Abdur Razzaque, has urged the agronomists to come forward with their research works so that the country's 'unfavourable' lands can be used to boost food production and thus ensure food security.

He was speaking at the 10th daylong conference of Bangladesh Society of Agronomy at Bangladesh Research Institute in Gazipur on crop production under unfavourable ecosystem in Bangladesh on Saturday.

He said the government had taken various steps, including VGF and VGD and OMS programmes, to ensure food security of the people.

Razzaque mentioned that 52 lakh tonnes food grains were imported in the last fiscal year, of which 22 lakh tonnes were imported by the government while the rest by private sector.

The minister said the government would provide rice to 70,000 families during the Eid-ul Azha under the VGF programme.

He said the country had to import edible oil worth Tk 12,000 to Tk 13,000 crore every year. If 50 per cent of our total demand for edible oil could be fulfilled by local production in the country it would save the country's foreign exchange, he said.

He said food production could be raised through new innovations and researches by the agronomists to ensure food security for the country's booming population.

He emphasised utilising unfavourable ecosystem (Char, haor and hill areas) for raising food production.

Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture ministry Shawkat Momen Shahjahan, MP, and committee member Abdul Mannan, MP were present at the conference as special guests.

Anarchy in name of road march won’t be tolerated: Quamrul

The state minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, Quamrul Islam, has said none will be allowed to create anarchy in the name of opposition's road marches.

'The government will strictly control any destructive activities or disorder in the name of opposition's road marches,' said the minister.

Quamrul was speaking at a discussion on 'Necessity of Caretaker Government and Present Perspective' organised by Sammilita Tarun Peshajibi Parishad (Combined Youth

Professional Council) at Dhaka Reporters' Unity in capital's Segunbagicha

area on Saturday.

President of Sammilita Tarun Peshajibi Parishad Jakir Ahmed chaired the discussion.

Among others, Golam Mowla Roni MP, Daily Surjyadai editor Khandaker Mozammel Haque and Krishak League organising secretary MA Karim also spoke on the occasion.

The minister claimed that the war crimes trial process in Bangladesh was more transparent than any other countries of the world.

'The present government has taken all steps including self-defence and appointment of observers to ensure the trial as an international standard,' he said.

He mentioned that the trial procedure would begin on the first of next year.

The AL lawmaker accused the BNP-led opposition of initiating road march programme to save the war criminals, grenade attackers and militant

outfits.

Quamrul categorically denied the opposition demand for the restoration of caretaker government system and said, 'The caretaker system has been

cancelled constitutionally, so there is no scope to

discuss it.'

He added that no polls held during the caretaker government were free from the controversy.

Quamrul again called upon the opposition to return to parliament to form a stronger Election Commission  through discussion.

Drug addict confesses to killing father

A young drug addict who had strangled his father, a businessman, with the help of his two cohorts and buried the body in a hardware shop in the Old Town of Dhaka on the night of September 29, was brought to Dhaka on Saturday.

During interrogation in police custody, the accused, Zahid Hossain Sunny, confessed to killing his father Dulal Miah, sub-inspector Monir Hossain Molla of Sutrapur police station told New Age.

The police said Sunny had killed his father with the help of his two friends, Al-Amin and Mohammad Sharif, both of them

employees at Dulal's

hardware shop, after his father refused to give him money.

In his statement, Sunny said he used to take drugs like Yaba and Phensidyl regularly. He said the amount his father used to give him as daily pocket money was not enough to buy drugs. 'When I asked my father to increase the amount of my daily pocket money, he questioned how I spent the money,' Sunny told the police.

Sunny said he had decided to kill his father after being instigated by Al Amin. who

'Al Amin told me that I would own the property if I kill my father,' Sunny said.

SI Monir Molla said that Sunny had strangled his father under the influence of drugs.

'It was past midnight when my father along with me and the two employees was working inside the shop. As planned, I pushed my father down on the ground with the help of Al-Amin and Sharif, tied up his hands and legs and then strangled him,' Sunny said.

The three persons then buried body inside the shop.

He said that he had paid Tk 5,000 and Tk 3,000 to Al-Amin and Sharif for helping him to kill his father.

Dulal was buried at his village home in Tangail on Saturday morning. 

Dulal's widow Monwara Begum on Saturday filed a murder case against her son and his two friends.

The police said that

they had conducted drives to arrest Al-Amin and

Sharif.

The police Friday evening recovered Dulal's decomposed body from his shop on Nawabpur Road in the Old Town of Dhaka six days after the murder.

The police arrested Sunny from Nagarpur in

Tangail.

AL to decide NCC mayoral candidate support today

The ruling Awami League will today decide which of its two leaders it will support in the election to the position of the mayor of the Narayanganj City Corporation polls scheduled for October 30.

The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, also the prime minister, at a meeting with some senior leaders in her party office at Dhanmondi on Saturday afternoon instructed presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury to sit with both Shamim Osman and Selina Hayat Ivy on Sunday morning and finalise party support for one of them, sources attending the meeting said.

'The decision on party support for the candidate for the Narayanganj City Corporation elections will be made on Sunday,' the Awami League's joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told reporters after the meeting.

The sources said that Sajeda, also the deputy leader of the parliament, would sit with Shamim and Ivy at the party chief's Dhandondi office at 10:00am and made

a decision through a discussion.

'The decision will be made on Sunday after meeting with the aspirant mayoral candidates,' AL presidium member Matia Chowdhury, also the agriculture minister, told New Age, adding that the both were dedicated and popular leaders and the party would make a decision through an understanding.

AL leader Faruk Khan, also the commerce minister, told New Age that the issue of selecting party-backed candidate would be settled at a meeting in presence the of both the candidates on Sunday.

Hasina on October 2 called Ivy and Osman to her residence, Ganabhaban, and tried to make them understand about the need for a single candidate in greater interest of the party and urged them to be ready for this.

Although the district unit AL convener, SM Akram Khan, had also submitted his nomination paper for the mayoral election, he was not called by the prime minister for negotiation.

Sources said that Hasina also instructed party leaders to launch campaigns among the people in favour of the government, pointing out its success in various sectors and strengthening party activities by holding all the council sessions at the grass roots to prepare the party for the next general elections.

She also suggested that the party men should point out the failure of the past BNP government.

The meeting also decided to hold a rally in Nilphamari on Wednesday which the prime minister will address.

The sources said that Hasina also warned the leaders and activists of the Juba League and the Chhatra League not to get involved in crimes, corruption and violence.

She also approved five local party committees — Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Sylhet district units and Sylhet and Rajshahi city units.

The prime minister instructed AL leaders not to create any obstruction to the long march of the BNP that is beginning on Monday and termed long march a peaceful political programme.

'We will not oppose any peaceful political programmes of the opposition but any subversive activities in the name of politics will not be allowed,' Hanif, also the party's spokesman, said.

AL presidium members Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Matia Chowdhury and Yousuf Hossain, among others, attended the meeting.

Families want bodies back home

Families of Bangladeshis who were executed in Saudi Arabia demanded that the bodies should be brought back home and alleged that the victims were denied defence lawyers during trial.

Eight Bangladeshi migrant workers were beheaded in public in Saudi Arabia on Friday on charges of an armed robbery and killing of an Egyptian man in April 2007.

The executed were Mamun, son of Abdul Menan of the Tangail district headquarters, Mohammed

Sumon, son of Abdul Hye, and  Masud, son of Shamsul Haque, of Kalihati in Tangail, Shafiq al-Islam, son of Khowaz Uddin of Sakhipur in Tangali, Abu Hussain, son of Ahmed Biswas, and Motair Rahman, son of Shahid Khan, of Faridpur, Faruq, son of Jamaluddin of Daudkandi in Comilla, and Sumon Miah, son of Milan Miah of Pakundia in Kishoreganj.

'I want my son back,' said Hajera Khatun, mother of Mamun, as she kept wailing in her house at Abdullah Para in the Tangail district headquarters. 'A least bring the body back home.'

Mamun's elder brother Harun Mia alleged that his brother was not involved in the incident of killing.

'In 2009, we contacted the ministry of foreign affairs after my brother had been implicated in the case of the killing and held a press conference requesting the government to arrange for defence lawyers,' said Harun on Saturday night. He alleged that trial was conducted without giving the accused defence lawyer.

Harun demanded that the body of his brother should be brought back home and the family should be given compensation.

Jyotsna Akhter, sister of Masud who was among the executed, said that the family had been deeply shocked at the news of the execution. She added that they could not believe that Mamun could be proved a killer.

'My mother could not speak after hearing the news of execution. We want the body back,' she said.

The New Age correspondent in Faridpur said that family of Motair at Krishnanagar in the Faridpur district headquarters had also wanted the body back home.

Motair's brother Akmal Khan said that he had first heard the news a news bulletin on television on Saturday afternoon.

Motair went to Saudi Arabia after his SSC examinations to work as as salesman for Al-Toyk company in 2005.

On April 28, 2007, he was accused with 10 other Bangladeshi workers of killing an Egyptian worker in Riyadh.

Motair, who went to Saudi Arabia by selling his 75 decimals of land the family owned, last contacted his family on September 5, 2011 and talked for five minutes.

Delhi blast probe spreads to Bangladesh

The investigations into the September 7 blast at the entrance to a court in Indian capital New Delhi has spread to Bangladesh, with tacit cooperation between the counterterrorism agencies of the two countries leading to the arrest of a key suspect in the case.

The arrest also once again brought under focus the terror networks of the extremist organisation Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Hizbul Mujahideen across the sub-continent.

Indian government officials, however, did not disclose if the purported disappearance and interrogation of four Kashmiri students from a medical college in Sylhet were also linked to the probe into the Delhi High Court blast.

After a Kashmiri student of a medical college in Bangladesh was arrested by India's National Investigation Agency in connection with the blast, his father claimed that he himself had asked his son to return to India and handed the latter over to the investigators at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi soon after his arrival from Dhaka.

The NIA produced Wasim Akram Malik to a court in Delhi on Friday and he was remanded to agency's custody until October 21. Wasim is the son of a government official based in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir and he was studying in a medical college in Bangladesh.

Wasim's parents, however, said an incarcerated Hizbul Mujahideen militant, whom they got arrested for kidnapping their other son Junaid in 2010, set the police after their family after the blast in front of Delhi High Court. Jammu and Kashmir police, however, described Junaid, who is yet to be traced, as a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

The blast at the entrance to the Delhi court killed at least 15 and left many others injured.

Kishtwar came under the focus after investigations revealed that an email purportedly circulated by HuJI among media organisations to claim responsibility for the blast had in fact been sent from the town in Jammu and Kashmir.

Wasim was the third Kashmiri to be arrested in connection with blast. Earlier, two youths, Amir Abbas and Abid Hussain, were arrested in Kishtwar.

Wasim's father Riaz ul Hassan Malik, an employee of India's state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, told journalists that he had received a letter from the police in Kishtwar informing him that the NIA wanted to question his son in connection with the Delhi High Court blast.

'I made arrangements so that the NIA officials can talk to my son Wasim, who was in Bangladesh, over telephone. He readily agreed to cooperate with the investigation and I asked him to return. I received him at the airport in Delhi and then handed him over to the NIA officials,' said Riaz ul Hassan Malik, who had in November 2010 lodged a complaint with the Jammu and Kashmir police that his youngest son Junaid had been kidnapped by Hizbul Mujahideen militants.

Police action on the basis of his complaint had led to the unearthing of a recruitment module of the terrorist networks and three Hizbul Mujahideen operatives, including one Azhar Ali, had been arrested. The police, however, could not trace Junaid.

The NIA purportedly started suspecting Wasim's role in the Delhi High Court blast after they questioned incarcerated Azhar Ali in a jail in Kashmir.

Wasim's family claimed that he had been in Kishtwar on the day of the blast at Delhi High Court and had not only withdrawn money from bank ATMs but also shopped in the malls, where he might have been caught on CCTV.

'My son is innocent and he had nothing to do with the blast in Delhi,' said his mother Shamima Begum, who is a headmistress of a government school in Kishtwar.

Wasim, who had been in Kishtwar on Eid vacation, had gone back to Bangladesh on September 9, just two days after the blast.

Due to tacit cooperation between the security agencies of Bangladesh and India earlier in 2009 and 2010, a number of top leaders of insurgent organisations active in north-eastern Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur had landed in the custody of the law-enforcing agencies of India.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had upheld the security cooperation between his country and Bangladesh as an example.

'In South Asia, there are encouraging signs of cooperation in the area of security, as exemplified in India's growing cooperation with Bangladesh. Such cooperation is adding to the security of both our countries,' he had said.

Moriarty cable says Hasina not above vindictiveness

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had failed to rise above vindictiveness and petty politics that proved debilitating to Bangladesh's democracy, said former US envoy in Dhaka James F Moriarty in a diplomatic cable sent to Washington on June 3, 2009.

The cable was sent before the visit of the assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs Robert O Blake in 2009.

Moriarty also said, 'Bangladeshi political system that features two dominant parties whose leaders, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairwoman Khaleda Zia, revel in petty partisanship'.

'A fight between the Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party over the seating chart for parliament prompted an opposition boycott of the legislative body's first weeks. The BNP also reacted with fury to Hasina's efforts to evict the party's leader, Khaleda Zia, from her home on the Dhaka Cantonment ground,' the cable added.

The diplomatic wire said, 'A tearful personal visit by [Khaleda] Zia to Hasina when her estranged husband died in early May raised some hopes of a detente between the two ladies, and Hasina reportedly is looking to establish a back channel of communications with Khaleda Zia.'

According to the cable, Bangladesh, a moderate Muslim-majority country of

nearly 150 million people that is friendly to the United States, is surprisingly a hopeful place despite the daunting problems it faces: recurring natural disasters; poverty; overpopulation; porous borders attractive to terrorists; and a political system that features two dominant parties whose leaders, prime minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, revel in petty partisanship.

Yet that's only part of the story. Bangladesh has made huge progress in a number of areas, and is clearly no longer the 'international basket case' once described by a former US secretary of state, said the cable.

'It is now a thriving democracy that in December 2008 held its freest, fairest and most credible parliamentary elections since its independence in 1971,' it added.

Bangladesh, the seventh-most populous country in the world, returned to democracy with parliamentary elections in December 2008 after two years of an unelected caretaker government.

According to the cable, Sheikh Hasina's Awami League won at least in part due to a positive message promising an end to the hyper-partisanship of Bangladesh's traditional 'winner-take-all' politics. She filled her cabinet with many new faces, pushing from centre stage many of the Awami League politicians closely associated with the dysfunctional politics of the past. The media, which faced constant threats from military censors during the caretaker government, has blossomed in recent months, freely criticising many of the new government's policies.

 

AL won’t obstruct opposition’s peaceful programmes: PM

The Awami League president and prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said her party will not obstruct any peaceful political programmes of the opposition and urged them (opposition) to shun destructive politics in the interests of the country's development.

'We are not against any peaceful political programmes

of the opposition . . . but we would not allow anybody to do destructive politics which causes sufferings to the people,' she said.

Hasina said this in an unscheduled meeting with party leaders and workers at her Dhanmondi office in the city on Saturday.

Her comments came as the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party is going to start its 'road march' towards Sylhet on Monday.

During her two-hour stay in Dhanmondi office, she exchanged views with party leaders on organisational programmes and called for strengthening the party at the grassroots level.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Awami League joint secretary, Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, said the prime minister had called upon party workers to make people aware of the development programmes and success of the present government in various areas as well as highlighting the past records of corruption and misrule when the present opposition party was in power.

The prime minister said people would not forget the corruption records of the BNP. It's the shame for the nation that the corruption of Khaleda Zia's family has been proved in the investigation of the courts in Singapore and the United States, she said.

'Corruption charges against Begum Zia for misappropriation of the money of Zia Orphanage Trust and taking bribe from Niko by a former state minister have also been proved,' Hasina said.

Later, they have legalised their ill-gotten money by paying tax, she added.

Referring to the law and order situation during the BNP regime, the prime minister said they made Bangladesh a land of militants and terrorists.

Their unleashing of a reign of terror not only caused sufferings to the common people, it also killed popular Awami League leaders Shah AMS Kibria, Ahsanullah Master, MP, and Monjurul Imam, she said, adding that the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004 was the most barbaric incident.

The prime minister said rise in the incidents of extortion, mugging and other sorts of crimes reached such a dangerous proportion during the BNP regime that it prompted the then World Bank country director to ask for shelter from finance minister Saifur Rahman.

'The World Bank country director, Christina Wallick, at that time threatened to shift her office from Bangladesh,' the prime minister recalled saying 'now they are hatching conspiracy to save the war criminals and plunderers of public money'.

During the meeting, Hanif said, the prime minister also sought suggestions from the party leaders on various issues to run the country more efficiently to reduce sufferings of the people.

The Awami League president also gave her approval to five district committees. These are Sylhet district and city committees, Chapainawabganj district committee and Rajshahi district and city committees, Hanif said.

Euro falls after Moody’s downgrades Italy

The euro came under pressure in Asia on Wednesday after Moody's downgraded Italy's credit rating, fuelling worries over eurozone debt and the impact of a possible Greek default on the global economy.

The euro fell to $1.3308 in Tokyo trade from $1.3338 in New York late Tuesday. The single currency also sagged to 102.06 yen from 102.14 yen.

The dollar inched down to 76.69 yen from 76.82 yen.

'The market is jittery about political wrangling hampering aid to Greece after the eurozone finance ministers' meeting has shown no immediate action and need for more time,' said Teppei Ino, analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Two-day talks between European finance ministers wrapped up with no fresh news Tuesday, while Athens was denied the next eight-billion-euro ($10.7 billion) tranche of bailout money it needs to avoid defaulting on its debts.

Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday downgraded Italy's government bond rating by three notches from Aa2 to A2 with a negative outlook, citing risks for the financing of long-term debt and slow economic growth.

The move poured cold water on sentiment after the euro gained and US stocks saw a last-minute rally overnight.

market Disclosures

Bd Thai Aluminium
The company has informed that the board of directors of the company has decided to hold an EGM on November 13 at 9:30am at Banani Community Centre at Kemal Ataturk Avenue in Dhaka to change the denomination of face value of shares from Tk 100 to Tk 10 each and to change market lot of the shares from 10 to 50 shares. Record date for EGM is October 18.

Trust Bank
Trading of the shares of the bank will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle from October 9 to 11. Trading of the shares of the bank will remain suspended on record date on October 12 for EGM.

BSRM Steels
Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle from October 9 to 11. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on record date on October 12 for EGM.

Samata Leather Complex
Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle from October 9 to 19. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on record date on October 20 for EGM.

Central Insurance
Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle from October 9 to 11. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on record date on October 12 for EGM.

BRAC bonds
Normal trading of the Subordinated 25 per cent Convertible Bonds of BRAC Bank Ltd will resume on Sunday after record date.

Samorita Hospital
The company has informed that the board of directors of the company has decided to change the denomination of face value of shares of the company from Tk 100 to Tk 10 each as well as market lot from 50 to 100 shares. Accordingly, the clause No V and article No 5 of memorandum and articles of association of the company will be amended. Date of EGM is November 24 at 10:30am at Samarai Convention Centre at Panthapath in Dhaka. Record date for EGM is October 27.

Dutch-Bangla Bank
The bank has informed that the board of directors of the bank has decided to change the denomination of shares (face value) of the bank from Tk 100 to Tk 10 each and market lot of the shares from 50 to 500 shares as well as to amend the clause/articles of the memorandum and articles of association of the bank subject to approval of regulatory authorities and the shareholders. Date of EGM is November 13 at 10:00am at training wing of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited at Dilkusha in Dhaka. Record date for EGM is October 17.
Source: DSE

Apple stumble seen opening door for rivals

Rival smartphone makers could exploit a rare letdown by Apple in the launch of its new iPhone 4S model, which failed to wow fans, and grab a bigger share of the most lucrative part of the phone market.

However, analysts also noted that Apple has decided to keep older iPhone models and slash their prices, potentially helping the company to expand sales in lower-end and developing markets, where Nokia and Samsung have dominated.

'Apple no longer has a leading edge, its cloud service is even behind (Google's mobile operating system) Android; it can only sell on brand loyalty now,' said Gartner analyst CK Lu in Taipei.

'Users may wait to buy the next iPhone; if they can't wait, they may shift to brands with more advanced specs.'

The iPhone — introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen template since adopted by rivals — has proved to be the gold standard in the booming smartphone market, and its surging sales have hit the ambitious plans of many competitors.

But shares in Samsung Electronics, HTC and LG Electronics, which all make phones using Google's Android operating system, ended higher after Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S at its Cupertino, California headquarters overnight.

The new iPhone 4S is identical in form to the previous model, disappointing fans who had hoped for a thinner, bigger-screened design of a product that had not been updated for more than a year.

While the device's high-tech wizardry such as voice commands — for sending messages, searching for stock prices and other applications — caught the attention of many analysts, it might not be enough to make it a must-have for consumers.

Unions to join anti-Wall St protest

US activists protesting corporate greed prepared for a downtown Manhattan march Wednesday that will include support from unionised teachers and transportation workers.

The 'Occupy Wall Street' web site said the demonstration, scheduled for 4:30pm (2030 GMT), will begin at New York City Hall and end at Liberty Plaza, in southern Manhattan.

The march is supported members of the United Federation of Teachers, which represents most of the city's public school teachers; the Workers United and Transport Workers, which represents many of the city's bus drivers; and Professional Staff Congress-CUNY (PSC-CUNY), which represents more than 20,000 professors and staff at the City University of New York.

The unions are all on record expressing solidarity with the protesters.

'Union members and community members impacted by the economic crisis have been demanding that Wall Street and New York's wealthiest pay their fair share of taxes,' read the main Occupy Wall Street web site.

'Let's march down to Wall Street to welcome the protesters and show the face of New Yorkers hardest hit by corporate greed.'

Protesters have installed a makeshift camp in a small park near Wall Street in New York since September 17.

Activists responding to a call from the Canadian anti-consumer group converged on New York's Financial District, but were unable to invade Wall Street as hoped and came in far smaller numbers than predicted.

But their numbers have since grown, as has their media presence. Similar demonstrations have cropped up in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

The new protest comes four days after more than 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge when they defied police and stalled traffic. The Saturday demo was their biggest demonstration yet against government-backed banking bailouts and corporate influence in US politics.

Police said most of those arrested were issued criminal court summons and citations for disorderly conduct before being released later in the day.

Dhaka stocks end flat amid lacklustre trading

Dhaka stocks ended flat in volatile trading on Wednesday posting a low turnover as the lack of confidence among investors and the liquidity crisis continued to haunt the market.

The benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, or DGEN, crawled up by 0.017 per cent, or 0.97 points, to close the day at 5,727.80 points.

The day's turnover of the bourse, however, increased to Tk 296.01 crore from that of Tk 285.21 crore on the previous day.

Market operators said as some large investors on the day went into buying it pushed the share prices up in the opening hours. But, the early rise faded fast as a section of retail investors went into panic sell-offs seeing the market had continued to fall in the previous three trading sessions.

Announcement by the market regulators and stakeholders of taking various market stabilising measures perhaps made the investors even more confused and panicky, seeing none of those had been implemented yet, they said. 

'Investors are panicked as they see all the regulatory moves failing to stabilise the market and many of them want to leave the market for good,' said a stockbroker.

'So, whenever market goes up they go for selling from the fear that the gaining streak may not last long,' he said.

He also said that on Wednesday many investors refrained from trading and took a wait-and-see policy as they could not sell out their shareholdings it would mean huge losses. 

'But, even if some of them wanted to sell shares and leave the market, a huge negative balance in portfolios restricted them from doing that. Otherwise, the selling pressure today would have been greater as investors did not have the minimum confidence in the market,' he said.

The market was volatile throughout today's trading session and closed flat at the end, said BRAC EPL in its daily market commentary.

A section of retail investors, who had lead the street demonstrations in the last few weeks, on Wednesday met the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman to seek the capital market watchdog's help in bailing out their fellow investors of the cases lodged against them during the protest. They said 31 investors were charged for vandalism and creating nuisance in public during the demonstration on September 19.

SEC chairman M Khairul Hossain assured the investors he would look into the matter.

Grameenphone, the highest weighted issue on the DSE, lost value of Tk 3.3 or 2.10 per cent on Wednesday as the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said the government would take legal action against GP to realise outstanding taxes and revenue worth Tk 3,034 crore.

Among the major sectors, bank declined by 0.26 per cent, while non-bank financial institutions advanced by 0.38 per cent, and fuel and power 0.09 per cent.

Lafarge Surma Cement was the highest traded scrip of the day with a transaction volume of Tk 20.18 crore. The rest of the turnover leaders on the top-10 list were Grameenphone, Eastern Housing, Beximco Synthetics, Beximco, National Bank Ltd, BD Thai Aluminium, Summit Power, Beximco Pharma, and City Bank.

Of the 257 issues traded on the day, 152 advanced, 90 declined, and 16 remained unchanged.

8 ICB mutual funds get one more year before redemption

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday extended the deadline for the redemption of eight mutual funds

of the Investment

Corporation of Bangladesh by one year to December

31, 2012.

'The commission has decided to extend the deadline considering the request made by the ICB and the current market condition,' SEC executive director Saifur Rahman told reporters.

The eight mutual funds are 1st ICB MF, 2nd ICB MF, 3rd ICB MF, 4th ICB MF, 5th ICB MF, 6th ICB MF, 7th ICB MF, and 8th ICB MF.

The total size of the eight mutual funds is Tk 17.75 crore.

Before Wednesday's consent, the SEC rejected the same request made by the ICB for four times.

The SEC on Wednesday also approved the prospectus of Tk 50 crore VIPBNLI First Mutual Fund. The sponsor of the fund is National Life Insurance Company that will invest Tk 10 crore to the fund. Another Tk 10 crore will be added to the fund raised through pre-IPO placement.

The total number of units of the fund is five crore, each having a face value of Tk 10 and the fund will raise the remaining Tk 30 crore from the market through floating an  initial public offering.

The VIPB Asset Management Company is the fund manager and the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh is its trusty and custodian.

Inadequate sanitation costs country 6.3 per cent of GDP: report

Inadequate sanitation causes Bangladesh an economic loss of about $4.22 billion (Tk 30,000 crore) a year, according to a new report published by the Water and Sanitation Programme, a multi-donor partnership led by the World Bank.

The annual loss is equivalent to 6.3 per cent of the country's gross domestic product in 2007, said 'The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in Bangladesh' report based on evidence of the adverse economic impacts of inadequate sanitation that included costs associated with deaths and diseases, accessing and treating water, and loss of education, productivity, and time.

The findings of the report are based on 2007 figures, although a similar magnitude of losses is likely in later years, said a WB press release on Wednesday.

The report also shows that the losses incurred due to premature mortality and other health-related impacts of poor sanitation totals around $3.56 billion (Tk 25,000 crore) or about 84.3 per cent of the total economic loss due to inadequate sanitation.

This is followed by the loss of productive time to access sanitation facilities or sites for defecation that stands at $454 million (Tk 3,000 crore) or 10.8 per cent and the loss incurred from the drinking water-related impacts that accounts for $207 million (Tk 1,500 crore) or 4.9 per cent of the total economic adverse impacts.

Ninety-five per cent of the premature mortality-related economic losses are due to deaths and diseases among children under five. Diarrhoea among these children accounts for $1.46 billion (Tk 10,000 crore) or 40.9 per cent of all health-related adverse economic impacts, the press release said.

In Bangladesh, diarrhoea is the largest contributor to health-related negative economic impacts resulting from poor sanitation, amounting to two-thirds of the total health-related adverse impacts. This is followed by acute lower respiratory tracts infections, which account for about 15 per cent of all health-related adverse impacts.

Poor households, which are the biggest victims of inadequate sanitation, experience about 71 per cent of the total economic adverse impacts of inadequate sanitation, the release added.

The amount of the losses caused by poor sanitation exceed Bangladesh's national development budget for 2007-2008 by 33 per cent.

'The total amount of these losses is five times higher than the national health budget, and three times higher than the national education budget,' said World Bank Bangladesh country director Ellen Goldstein.

'Similar studies carried out in East Asia and India indicated annual per capita losses in the range of $9.3 in Vietnam, $16.8 in the Philippines, $28.6 in Indonesia, $32.4 in Cambodia, and $48 in India,' said Water and Sanitation Programme South Asia regional team leader Christopher Juan Costain.

'Bangladesh lost $29.6 per capita, which demonstrates the urgency of improving sanitation in the country,' he added.

BTRC-GP to sit next week to resolve dispute

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regularity Commission has asked the Grameenphone to sit next week with the regulator to resolve the dispute on unpaid tax and revenue.

The regulatory authority in a letter on Wednesday advised the mobile phone operator to sit on Monday next for clarifying their position on the unpaid amount of Tk 3,034 crore. The regularity body issued the letter in response to the GP's Tuesday's letter to BTRC, requesting a date for bi-lateral discussion.

A BTRC official said they had suggested GP sent a team of 3-5 members to have discussion about their queries regarding the audit and unpaid payment.

GP sources confirmed receiving the letter from BTRC, but could not make any comments on the possible meeting.

BTRC chairman major general Zia Ahmed (retd) told the news agency on Wednesday that he expected that the company would sit for discussion instead of giving press statement.

Earlier on October 4, the telecom regulator asked GP to pay their unpaid tax and revenue of Tk 3,034 crore by October 24 or face legal action. Of the amount, Tk 2146.54 crore is owed to the BTRC and rest Tk 887.57 crore to the National Board of Revenue.

MA Rouf’s death anniv today

The 11th anniversary of death of former chairman of the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad, MA Rouf, also a secretary to the government, is going to be observed today.

The family of MA Rouf, also the former chief engineer of Public Works Department, at a press release requested his relatives, friends and well wishers to pray for him.

WB approves $172 million for installing 630,000 solar home systems

The World Bank on Tuesday approved US$ 172 million to support installation of an additional 630,000 solar home systems and other renewable energy mini-grid schemes in the country's rural areas.

The credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessionary arm, has 40 years to mature with a 10-year grace period and carries a service charge of 0.75 percent, said a WB press release issued on Wednesday.

The US$ 172 million credit is an additional financing to the ongoing Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project following success in installing solar home systems in rural areas where grid electricity is not economically feasible or hard to reach.

The solar home system component of the RERED project is implemented by government-owned financial institution, the Infrastructure Development Company Limited and its partner organizations, mostly non-government organizations.

The World Bank had earlier provided additional financing of $130 million in end 2009. Since December 2009, more than 300,000 solar home systems have been installed.

More than a million homes and shops in remote areas have installed solar systems with support from the World Bank and other development partners. Such systems are most suitable for remote and dispersed communities which the national power grid connection cannot reach, the press release said quoting WB country director Ellen Goldstein.

The solar home systems have already improved the quality of life of millions of people in Bangladesh and provided opportunities for new village enterprises, the WB executive said.

Experts stress on creating awareness on hygiene practice

Government health officials and development workers put emphasis on creating awareness about risks and benefits of hygiene practices and proper food storage systems among people of the country.

They pointed out that washing cooking utensils before use and keeping the cooking place clean were essential to keep away different types of diseases and health problems.

They made the plea at the second meeting of Food and Agriculture Organisation's Food and Safety Promotion Working Group held at the Institute of Public Health in the city.

Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, national advisor on preventive approaches to food safety and quality of FAO's Food Safety Project, said they were running a project to improve the consumers' health in the country.

'We are now developing the communication tools and materials to change the common practices in the country like washing hands or washing cooking materials with soap or ash before their use,' he said.

The project which was launched in January 2009 will continue till June next year.

The experts said if the cooking tools were not clean before cooking it would increase the risk of cross-contamination.

They put emphasis on utilising community health workers to make the common people aware about this as they have easy access to them.

They would use such tools like group discussion, folk music and mass media to make people aware of the health related problems

Community clinic revitalisation project director Makhduma Nargis and Consumers Association of Bangladesh president Kazi Faruque, among others, were present at the meeting.

FM writes to US, Canada for extradition of Mujib killers

The government has written to the US and Canada governments to hand over two Bangabandhu killers, currently staying in the two countries.

The letters were sent on Wednesday by foreign minister Dipu Moni to her counterparts - secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Canadian foreign affairs minister John Baird, director general of the external publicity wing Mohammad Shamim Ahsan told the news agency in the same evening.

Ahsan said the letters have been sent to Bangladeshi missions in Washington and Ottowa by fax, and those would be handed over to proper authorities in the respective ministries, along with notes.

'The same letters have also been sent to the Dhaka missions of the US and Canada,' he said.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were brutally killed in August 1975 by some army officials, and out of the 12 convicted, five were hanged in 2010, one died and six are absconding. One death sentenced convict lieutenant colonel (retd) M Rashed Chowdhury is now in the US, while another one, Noor Chowdhury, is in Canada.

Colonel (retd) Khandkar Abdur Rashid, lieutenant colonel (retd) Shariful Haque Dalim, Abdul Mazed and Moslehuddin are absconding, while Abdul Aziz Pasha died in Zimbabwe.

Interpol has issued a warrant of arrest against them.

The five convicted – Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin – were hanged on Jan 28 last year.

Bijayadashami today

Thousands of devotees on Wednesday joined the 'Mahanabami' ritual at temples and makeshift mandaps as the five-day Durga Puja ends with the immersion of Devi Durga and other deities today.

Organisers in the capital and reports coming from different parts of the country said that members of the Hindu community thronged some 28,000 mandaps,

including 199 in the capital city.

They said Wednesday's Mahanabami, the fourth day of Durga Puja, began in the morning with devotional offering called 'Maha-arati', a ritual administered by the Hindu priests at temples and mandaps and distribution of 'prosads' or sweets and fruits.

Leaders of the Bangladesh Central Puja Celebration Council said preparations are underway for the ceremonial immersion of the clay-made statues of Durga on the concluding day of the festival called Bijoyadashami today.

Tomorrow is a public holiday. On the day of Bijayadsahami, Dashami

Bihit Puja will be held at different puja mandaps by 9:57 in the morning,

while all formalities will end with the immersion of

Devi Durga and other goddesses.

The Dhakeshwari National Temple is to witness the biggest celebration today as the deity Durga will be escorted in colourful processions to the Sadarghat river port to be immersed, the grand ritual to be followed by Bijaya rally or victory procession.

The programmes of the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee include voluntary blood donation at Dhakeswari National Temple at 12:00 noon and Bijaya rally at 4:00pm in the afternoon.

Bangladesh Television as well as private TV and radio channels will broadcast special programmes, while national newspapers will bring out special articles on the occasion.

The president, Zillur Rahman, will host a reception at Bangabhaban at 11:00am for leaders of the Hindu community on the occasion of Durga Puja.

President of Bangladesh Central Puja Celebration Council Subrata Chowdhury and general secretary Mangal Chandra Ghosh greeted the countrymen in a joint statement on the eve of the Bijayadashami.

They thanked all including the political parties, the government and law enforcement agencies for their assistance in celebrating the Durga Puja in a festive mood.

On behalf of the Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, major general (retd) CR Datta and Rana Dasgupta also greeted the countrymen on the occasion.

Crystal clarity wins Chemistry Nobel

Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman Wednesday won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the secret of quasicrystals, an atomic mosaic whose discovery overturned theories about solids.

Shechtman, aged 70, ran into fierce hostility among fellow chemists after making a eureka-like discovery

in 1982 that at the time was dismissed as laughable.

Today, his work 'has fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter,' the Nobel jury said.

'It's a paradigm shift in chemistry. His findings have rewritten the first chapter of textbooks of ordered matter,' Sven Lidin, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a separate tribute.

Quasicrystals are crystals whose atomic pattern is highly geometrical yet never repeats. To the untutored eye, they look strikingly similar to the tiled patterns of abstract Islamic art.

His exploit can be pinpointed to April 8, 1982, one of the extremely rare examples when a scientific breakthrough can be dated to a moment in time.

He had melted a mix of aluminium and manganese and then rapidly chilled it before studying the outcome at the atomic level under the electron microscope.

Expecting to see disorder, Shechtman instead saw concentric circles, each made of 10 bright dots the same distance from each other.

Four or six dots in the circles would have been possible, but absolutely not 10 — a finding that caused him to say out loud in Hebrew, 'There can be no such creature'. He wrote in his notebook, '10 Fold???'

'It was forbidden by the paradigm, by the rules that the International Union of Crystallographers had created,' Shechtman said in a previous interview with the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa where he is a professor, and rebroadcast by Swedish radio on Wednesday.

'I was ridiculed. I was treated badly by my peers and my colleagues and the head of my laboratory came to me smiling sheepishly, and he put a book on my desk and said 'Danny, why don't you read this and see that it is impossible what you are saying?'

'I said, 'I don't need to read it... I know it's impossible, but here it is.'

Shechtman's findings were so controversial that he was ultimately asked to leave his research group at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

It was only in November 1984 that Shechtman was able to find a journal — Physical Review Letters — where with a trio of other researchers he could publish his data.

'The article went off like a bomb among crystallographers,' the Nobel jury said.

'It questioned the most fundamental truth of their science: that all crystals consist of repeating, periodic patterns.'

Quasicrystals have been found in the lab and some have been discovered to occur naturally in minerals.

Their closely-packed structure helps them strengthen materials, with potential outlets in consumer products such as frying pans and machines such as diesel engines which experience high heat and mechanical stress.

The new laureate will receive the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.48 million, 1.08 million euros) prize at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death of prize creator Alfred Nobel.

On Tuesday, Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess of the United States and US-Australian Brian Schmidt shared the Nobel Physics Prize for discovering that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, a finding that implies the cosmos will end in frozen nothingness.

The Nobel medicine award was attributed on Monday to Bruce Beutler of the United States, Luxembourg-born Frenchman Jules Hoffmann and Ralph Steinman for insights into immunology.

Chhatak clash death toll rises to 3

Bodies of two men, went missing during bloody clashes between people of two villages in Companyganj and Chhatak upazilas of Sunamganj district, were recovered from the River Surma on Wednesday afternoon.

The police recovered the bodies of Jamshed Ali, 50, of Shankarpur village of Chhatak and Jamal, 35, of Billai village, from Bagai Dohor and Madhabpur areas of Habiganj respectively at 5:00pm on Wednesday.

With this, death toll from Tuesday's clash hit three. The other victim, Shahidul Islam, 65, son of late Akbar Ali of Parkul village of

Companyganj upazila was hit by lethal weapon and died on the spot on Tuesday.

Two more people, Yusuf Ali, 50, and Taj Uddin, 30, remained missing.

A series of clashes took place on Tuesday between inhabitants of Parkul village of Companyganj and neighboring Kalaruka village of Chhatak over a dam situated at neighboring Noyagang village in Companyganj.

People of both villages equipped with lethal weapons engaged in series of clashes which left over 100 injured,

three of them receiving treatment at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.

The police brought the situation under control in the afternoon.

More banks to add to banking sector turmoil

ENTRY of new banks will deepen the turmoil the banking sector is currently in, warns M Muzahidul Islam, a professor of banking

at Dhaka University.

'I think emergence of the new banks is likely to create pressure on several old banks to go for merger with other banks for survival, if not file for bankruptcy,' he said in an exclusive interview with New Age on September 28.

Muzahidul Islam believes it is not appropriate for the government to give permission to new banks on political consideration. 'In the present world order, most political, social and financial decisions are made on economic considerations; after all, we live in a political economy,' he said.

He also thinks that the banks need to have more customer-friendly rules and regulations.

'Most banks calculate monthly interest or profit or whatever they call it on savings account depending on the lowest balance of the account in a month,' he said.

'If an account holder maintain five million taka as balance in his or her account in the first 29 days, out of 30 days, in a month, and withdraw 4.9 million taka on the 30th day, the bank will calculate monthly interest or profit on Tk 100,000. It is not fair,' he added.

[ The full text of the interview is on Oped Page 9. ]