BANGLADESH

Bangladeshi adventuress Wasfia Nazreen has conquered another world summit.

The indomitable mountaineer on Dec 16 reached the near-seven kilometer peak of Aconcagua in Argentina, at 3:25pm local time.

Aconcagua is also the second highest of the seven summits, which are the highest points of each continent, at 6,962 meters or 22,975 feet.

Wasfia dedicated this victory to the struggle of the martyrs of 1971, calling on greater recognition for the contribution of the women who had participated and suffered in the War.

"It took a great deal of maneuvering to time the summit on our Victory Day, and I am humbled and honoured to have been part of a tough team who made it happen," she said.

"There were many logistic and financial hurdles aside from the actual climbing and we crossed all of them," said the leader of the expedition.
The Aconcagua Park rangers later formally announced that this was the first time a Bangladeshi had climbed the mountain.

Wasfia says her team climbed Alpine style instead of Expedition style, therefore, not taking help of any fixed ropes, high-altitude porters and the use of supplemental oxygen.

After the climb, her team submitted a letter to the Argentine ministry of foreign affairs urging better bilateral relationship between Argentina and Bangladesh.

Wasfia Nazreen started 'Bangladesh in Seven Summits' foundation in July 2011. As part of this effort, she has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Traffic on Daulatdia-Paturia ferry route has resumed after nearly seven hours of halt because of dense fog.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Paturia pier manager Biddut Kumar told  that ferry services resumed around 9am on Sunday.

"We stopped the services after a ferry (Khan Jahan Ali) got stranded in mid-river around 2am on Sunday due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog," he said.

During the halt, four ferries were stranded in Daulatdia and three in Paturia, creating a huge jam, Kumar said.

Gridlocks were seen on both sides due to traffic disruption overnight.

The work to build the Padma bridge would start within a year, communications minister Obaidul Quader said Saturday.

"The fog on the way to implement the project will go away. The work to implement the project is on, only formalities are left. It will begin within a year," Quader told reporters while visiting a site of the project at Mawa in the morning.

It is his first visit to the site after he took oath as the communications minister earlier this month.

Quick building of the bridge became uncertain when the World Bank had suspended funds promised for the longest bridge following allegations of corruption in river dredging, appointment of consultants and selection of pre-qualified contractors on the project. The government has denied the allegations.

Earlier this month, the prime minister had said the bridge would be constructed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. The communications minister on Dec 11 said the same thing.

"The government's top priority is the Padma bridge project. I have been working [to start the project] with people concerned since I took charge of the ministry. The bridge will be there," the minister said.

In response to a newspaper report that there is no improvement in the project, Quader said, "Padma bridge is not a matter of word only…the proof is in the project s

Christians in Bangladesh are celebrating their biggest religious festival Christmas.

Churches across the nation have been decorated tastefully, as also some prominent hotels in the city.

Churches, Christian missionary schools and many homes have set up cowsheds, as it is believed that Jesus was born in one.

Many hotels are organising Christmas kids' parties where Santa Clauses will bring presents for children.

Santa Claus, who is not strictly a part of Christian beliefs, is a mythical figure believed to bring gifts on the Christmas Eve for children.

According to the Christian belief, the God needed a female to implement his plan. The female was Virgin Mary who is known as Bibi Mariam to the Muslims.

Christians believe Mary, despite being virgin, gave birth to a child by the God's blessings. The child was named Jesus according to angel Gabriel's saying.

Christians believe Jesus appeared on earth to preach the Jews who went astray.

Prayers have been held in churches across the country. St. Mary's Cathedral at Kakrail led by Archbishop of Dhaka Paulinus Costa, prayed for peace and prosperity on Sunday morning.

The president, prime minister and the opposition leader have greeted the Christian community on the eve of Christmas, their largest religious festival.

Christmas is held on Dec 25 to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, believed to be the son of god by majority of Christians.

President Zillur Rahman in his message said Jesus Christ was one of the greatest men who had come to earth to direct the mankind towards peace and righteousness.

"He called upon people to follow the path of truth, justice and tolerance."

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina in her message said Bangladesh was a nation of communal harmony.

"Here, there is complete freedom for people of all religions and ethnicity to profess their religion," she said.

"I hope Christmas will serve to further strengthen the bonds between Christians of the country and members of other communities," she added.

Opposition chief Khaleda Zia said she prayed for Christmas to be a merry and festive occasion for the Christian community and everyone else.

"May God be with us," she said in her message.

The first namaj-e-janaza in Bangladesh of late Awami League leader Abdur Razzak was held on Sunday at the south plaza of the parliament building.

The funeral prayer of the leading organiser of the 1971 Liberation War took place around 3pm after his body was taken there from his Gulshan residence.

Speaker of parliament Abdul Hamid, deputy speaker Shawkat Ali, cabinet members and MPs attended the janaza along with his family members.

Before the janaza, Razzak's son Nahin Razzak urged everyone to pray for the departed soul of his father.

A second janaza is scheduled to be held at the National Eidgah Maidan afterwards.

After that, the body of the Shariatpur-3 legislator, who never lost an election, would be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar for the masses to pay their last tributes.

His body was taken at the south plaza of parliament after the president Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Hasina paid their last respect to the 69-year-old veteran politician at his house.

Razzak's body was taken there from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying his remains from London landed at 12:15pm.

His family members including his wife Farida Razzak and two sons were with the body.

The Awami League advisory council had died at King's College Hospital in London at 03:50pm local time (9:50pm Bangladesh standard time) on Friday while under treatment.

Ruling party advisory council members and his long time associates Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Abdul Jalil paid their floral tributes to him at the airport.

Awami League presidium members Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Suranjit Sengupta, Obaidul Quader and Shahara Khatun, Faruk Khan and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, ruling party ally Workers' Party president Rashed Khan Menon and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD) president Hasanul Haque Inu, among others, were also present at the airport.

After Sunday's events, Razzak's body would be kept at the mortuary until Monday when the remains would be taken to his village at Shariatpur's Damudda.

He would be buried at the capital's Banani graveyard later in the day.