Govt to go for belt-tightening

The government may increase prices of power and fuel once again, stop financing low priority projects and adopt drastic measures, including staff cuts, to ease the pressure on budget.

It may also increase various fees, including charges for land registration, to meet the shortfall of non-tax revenue collection target.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said subsidy and balance of payment (BoP) now are the biggest challenges. So the government is mulling over phasing out subsidy on power. However, the measures to be adopted cannot be spelled out at the moment.

A meeting of the Fiscal Coordination Committee with the finance minister in the chair yesterday discussed the measures, which will be finalised in consultation with the prime minister, said finance ministry officials.

The government has been considering the measures as the economy came under pressure of different variables like inflation, exchange rate and excessive borrowing from banks.

The finance division at yesterday's meeting placed the statistics of subsidy of the current budget where the total allocation on subsidy is Tk 20,477 crore against various ministries' demands of Tk 46,000 crore.

The finance ministry has pointed out that of the asked amount, subsidy to the tune of Tk 35,000 crore may be given which is still around Tk 15,000 crore more than the budgetary allocation.

A finance ministry official said the reduction of subsidy may result in power and fuel price hike soon again.

In a meeting with the prime minister in September, the finance division proposed increasing fertiliser prices by at least Tk 5 per kg. However, no decision was taken about this.

Yesterday's meeting also decided that the planning ministry will very soon identify the less important projects and stop financing those. It also asked the finance division to furnish a directive on limiting expenditures on meetings, seminars and entertainment in both development and non-development sectors.

Moreover, in recent times, various ministries have been making large-scale recruitment of class-III and -IV employees which created pressure on revenue expenditure.

A finance ministry source said the meeting discussed the economic situation of the USA and different countries in Europe and the Middle East. It observed that the economy of Bangladesh may take a plunge due to the crisis there.

The finance division said the government's income and expenditure trend shows that the budget deficit may cross 6 per cent of the GDP against the target of 5 per cent. Yesterday's meeting decided to keep the deficit limited to 5 per cent of the GDP. Otherwise, not only the budget will come under pressure but the IMF mission may also raise questions.

The meeting was of the view that the NBR tax may achieve the target but the non-NBR revenue may fall. To avoid the fall, different fees and charges may need to be upped, the finance division proposed.

Besides, the meeting also directed the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to take necessary steps to expedite foreign aided projects.

The coordination council will meet again in December or January and then review the implementation of the issues discussed in this meeting.

Meanwhile, referring to a roundtable earlier organised by The Daily Star, Muhith said they [the roundtable participants] pointed out 30 risks, of which, 26 are from my budget speech while they came up with four. Besides, it appeared to him that economists and the media are trying to pull down the country's economy.

Under the Rainbow Generating awareness through dance

Goethe-Institut opened the third edition of “Under the Rainbow” festival in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on Thursday. As a colorful highlight and closing of the first day's programme, Srishti Cultural Centre presented a contemporary dance performance in front of crowded rows.

The festival ends today and is being held in cooperation with Srishti Cultural Centre, Bandhu Social Welfare Society, Boys of Bangladesh and Swaprovo. It wants to generate awareness against the collective denial of the existence of a homosexual community in Bangladesh.

Thursday's programme consisted of the inauguration of the exhibitions -- “New Family Portraits” by photographer Verena Jaekel and “The other Side of the Wall” by Shah Mohammad Sazzad Hossain. An open discussion by photographer Dr. Shahidul Alam and a short film screening followed.

The dance show of Anisul Islam Hero, the founder director of Srishti Cultural Centre, and his dance troupe consisted of eight exciting pieces that spoke an understandable language without using words. Nevertheless, a narrator gave some background information to each of the performances.

A prelude was given with the piece “Aguner Poroshmoni”, which was invoking the cleansing power of fire. Nine male and female dancers appeared in the bluish light, wrapped in wide white garments. They gracefully bowed to the ground and stretched towards the sky, pirouetted, danced light-footed over the small stage and finally wrapped themselves in a red cloth. The accompanying lyrics were by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Life as an amalgamation of emotions and various stages of our lives were articulated by the dancers in the performance “Colours of Life”. “Birth, happiness, sorrow, love, separation and the ultimate demise of existence -- each has its purpose and time,” the narrator explained.

In the piece “Colour”, the dancers were wrapped in sari-like costumes, and the stage resembled a paint box. Blue danced with yellow and green, pink joined red and white's flirt, orange appeared with red and yellow, until in the end, the stage became one moving rainbow.

Especially expressive were “Envy” and “Growing Dhaka”. “Envy” depicted desire as a basic instinct of man in a fusion dance. “Growing Dhaka” expressed the difficulties of a little tree growing in an overcrowded mega city.

Srishti Cultural Centre has been an important partner of the Goethe-Institut for 17 years since it was formed in Dhaka in 1994. Anisul Islam Hero founded the dance troupe to promote traditional classical dance, Bangladeshi folk dance as well as modern contemporary dance that reflect the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. The aim is to increase the popularity of these forms of dances both in Bangladesh and abroad. Srishti also has a strong commitment to humanity and society, and its performances are guided by this intention in mind. The dancers have performed several times for the World and International AIDS Conferences to raise awareness in HIV/AIDS.

A fusion of eastern and western forms, called “Time”, wrapped up Thursday's dance performance.

Forces at work within us

A new method for visualizing mechanical forces on the surface of a cell, reported in Nature Methods, provides the first detailed view of those forces, as they occur in real-time.

"Now we're able to measure something that's never been measured before: The force that one molecule applies to another molecule across the entire surface of a living cell, and as this cell moves and goes about its normal processes," says Khalid Salaita, assistant professor of biomolecular chemistry at Emory University. "And we can visualize these forces in a time-lapsed movie."

Salaita developed the florescent-sensor technique with chemistry graduate students Daniel Stabley and Carol Jurchenko, and undergraduate senior Stephen Marshall.

"Cells are constantly tugging and pushing on their surroundings, and they can even communicate with one another using mechanics," Salaita says. "One way that cells use forces is evident from the characteristic architecture of tissue, like a lung or a heart. If we want to really understand cells and how they work, we have to understand cell mechanics at a molecular level. The first step is to measure the tension applied to specific receptors on the cell surface."

The researchers demonstrated their technique on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), one of the most studied cellular signaling pathways. They mapped the mechanical strain exerted by EGFR during the early stages of endocytosis, when the protein receptor of a cell takes in a ligand, or binding molecule. The results showed that the cell does not passively absorb the ligand, but physically pulls it inside during the process. Their experiments provide the first direct evidence that force is exerted during endocytosis.

Mapping such forces may help to diagnose and treat diseases related to cellular mechanics. Cancer cells, for instance, move differently from normal cells, and it is unclear whether that difference is a cause or an effect of the disease.

"It's known that if EGFR is over-active, that can lead to cancer," Salaita says. "And one of the ways that EGFR is activated is by binding its ligand and taking it in. So if we can understand how tugging on EGFR force changes the pathway, and whether it plays a role in cancer, it might be possible to design drugs that target this pulling process."

Several methods have been developed in recent years to try to study the mechanics of cellular forces, but they have major limitations.

10 years of iPod

1: The original iPod is displayed after its introduction by Apple Inc. on October 23, 2001.

2: Apple former CEO Steve Jobs gestures as he introduces the new iPod during Apple's launch of their new online "Music Store" in San Francisco on April 28, 2003.

3: A Model displays the latest new iPod with video capabilities at a launch ceremony on November 3, 2005 in Seoul.

4: Bono, left, of the band U2, and Steve Jobs, right, hold up Apple iPods at an unveiling of a new branded iPod on October 2, 2004.

5: The new iPod nano, which is thinner than a No. 2 pencil is seen during an Apple press event on September 7, 2005.

6: Steve Jobs speaks on stage with images of the iPod Shuffle (L) and iPod Nano projected on screen at Apple's music-themed September media event in San Francisco, California September 1, 2010.

7: A customer tries out the new Apple iPod Touch at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif. on September 17, 2007.

Symantec rolls out Norton 2012

Symantec Corporation, a world leading security and anti-virus company, has released its Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus 2012 through Computer Source Ltd (CSL) in Bangladesh at an event in the capital.

Muhammad Effendy Ibrahim, director, Asia, Consumer Business, Symantec Corporation and Md. Asif Mahmud, director, Computer Source explained the features of the Norton 2012.

The new edition of the Norton has been designed with new features to address the latest threats and powerful protection. Norton also brings a powerful combination of reputation, file, behavior and network based protection to provide the most comprehensive security to date.

“As the world leader in security, Norton will continue striving to ensure that our customers are safe wherever they go, whatever digital experience they choose to have,” said Effendy.

The price for Norton Internet Security 2012 is Tk 3,500 for 1 year of protection for up to five PCs and Tk 1,100 for one PC while Norton Anti-Virus 2012 is available at Tk 700 for one year for 1 PC and at Tk 2,200 for 3 PCs.

Dhaka to host Asia's premier ICT event

With the invention of internet and the widespread availability of low cost information and communication technology (ICT) tools like cell phones, low cost computers, for the first time creates an equitable opportunity for Asia's large population. Some of the nations have already taken the path and have elevated their national growth to a higher level. The usage of ICT allows those nations to address issues like accessibility, capacity building and transparency in governance.

This year, Dhaka is hosting Asia's prestigious ICT event e-Asia 2011. eAsia 2011, with this year's slogan 'Realising Digital Nation' is the Asian Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) event with a conference part and an exhibition. The main objectives of these sessions are reinforcing technology and enhancing knowledge-centric growth. Additionally, this year an award category has also been introduced to recognise the e-initiatives of the world.

This event commemorates the 40th birth anniversary of Bangladesh and celebrates the progress of Digital Bangladesh agenda of the government.

Digital Bangladesh vision proposes mainstream ICTs as a pro-poor tool to eradicate poverty, establish good governance, ensure social equity through quality education, healthcare and law enforcement for all, and prepare the citizens for climate change.

This is the first time in the history of Bangladesh that the goal of poverty reduction and human development has been taken by utilising ICTs. This idea was strongly backed by influential political powers of the country from the very top and enthusiastic support from common citizens at the bottom.

e-Asia is a premier Asian event that has been held in the Asian countries since 2006. The first e-Asia was organised in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006, and subsequently it was arranged in the following years in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2007 and 2008. The conferences focused on the themes like, e-Gov, telecentre, digital learning, eHealth, m-serve etc. e-Asia 2009 with its slogan “Opportunities for Digital Asia” was organised in Colombo, Sri Lanka with the themes e-gov, digital learning, e-health, Telecentre Forum and emerging e-technologies.

The event provided the participants the opportunity to gain deeper understanding of technology advances in ICT. The past e-Asia events received sponsorship and supports from several international companies like Samsung, Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Everonn, EMC, SAP, and many more.

The 5th annual eAsia 2011 conference and exhibition will take place in Dhaka on December 1-3, 2011. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the event while President Zillur Rahman is expected to be present at the closing ceremony.

The event is organised by Bangladesh Computer Council, ICT Division, Ministry of Science and ICT along with Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), India. It is co-organised by Access to Information (A2I) Programme at Prime Minister's Office.

Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO), Bangladesh Association of Call Centre & Outsourcing (BACCO), Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) and Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) as well as Bangladesh IT Journalist forum are also helping to organise the event.

Google Inc has turned on the music at its new online store, aiming to wrest the lead from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc in audio entertainment distribution despite the absence of a major record label.

Google Music, with more 13 million songs, will be integrated with Android Market, the company's online store for smartphone apps and videos as it plays catch-up with its rivals. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have to varying degrees integrated music into their core online and mobile products.

Google Music will allow the Web search leader to do the same by letting consumers access music from various Internet-connected devices and easily share tracks with friends.

But analysts said the lack of soundtracks from Warner Music - a major label whose artists include Led Zeppelin and Prince, among others - will limit the appeal of Google Music.

"They've got to get that catalog filled pretty quickly," said Mike McGuire, an analyst at industry research firm Gartner. "It's a launch, but it's kind of like a work-in-progress."

Google Music was unveiled at a splashy event at the Mr. Brainwash Studios in Hollywood, California on Wednesday.

Google has negotiated U.S. deals with three of the four major music companies: Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group; Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment; and EMI. It has also signed deals with the increasingly influential independent label group Merlin and London-based Beggar's Banquet label group, home to the year's biggest selling artist, Adele.

Tab Review: HCL Me X1 tab

http://www.themobileindian.com/reviews/233_Tab-Review:-HCL-Me-X1-tab

HCL , a known brand in the PC space in India, has come out with its second Android tablet some days back. The tablet was priced competitively at Rs 10,490 and joins a long list of budget tabs that have appeared in India.

We used the tablet extensively for about three weeks. Here's what we thought.

Nokia tablet coming in June 2012

http://www.themobileindian.com/news/3857_Nokia-tablet-coming-in-June-2012

Nokia, which some months ago joined hands with Microsoft, will launch a tablet in June next year and it will be based on none other than Windows 8 operating system.

"In June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8," said Paul Amsellem, new head of Nokia France while in conversation with Les Echos . Notably, images of the purported Nokia tablet were found on the US patent websites earlier this year.

Nokia had recently announced its first Windows Phone based smartphones — Lumia 710, Lumia 800.

Paul Amsellem also mentioned updates about Nokia's plans for the Windows Phone smartphone platform as well and we can soon expect Nokia to launch powerful, smarter smartphones under the Nokia Lumia product range."We will soon have a full range with a Series 7 and Series 3," said Paul Amsellem. Although not much information about the hardware specification of the new device were revealed but the device expected to feature a new 1.4 Ghz processor with 1 GB of RAM along with the regular fanfare from Nokia.

Going by the recent trend, Indian Nokia fans can also expect the device at around the same time as the rest of the world.

RIM announces BlackBerry Curve 9380, Bold 9790

http://www.themobileindian.com/news/3855_RIM-announces-BlackBerry-Curve-9380-Bold-9790

Canadian handset maker Research In Motion has announced its two new devices — BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380. Both the devices will come armed with the new BlackBerry OS 7.

"The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is the latest addition to the Bold series taking its place alongside the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones running the new BlackBerry 7 OS," the company said in its official blog.

The Bold 9790 has a 2.44 inch display that will support 480x360 pixel resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio. In terms of physical design, it appears to be the cross-bred product of Bold 9700 and the BlackBerry Torch 9850.

Despite having a 2.44 inch, the Bold 9790 will feature a touchscreen interface which makes it similar to the Nokia E6 that has 2.46 inch touchscreen and also the BlackBerry Bold 9780 with 2.44 inch display. Obviously, the Bold 9790 will come with BlackBerry 7 OS and will also support Near Field Communication.

Under the hood, this smartphone sports a powerful 1 GHz processor, a whopping 8 GB of memory and a 5 MP auto-focus camera. It will also come with the Near Field Communication (NFC) which will allow users to read smart tags on signs and posters, and connect with other NFC enabled devices — all with a simple tap.

Recently RIM had announced a price hike in select BlackBerry 7 OS running smartphones due to the Rupee-Dollar fluctuations taking place.