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'It's almost like a weapon': How the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger Western culture, she says, has built a whole mythology around female blondeness − from religious iconography and fairy tales, to art and advertising − that has told specific stories about what it means to be blonde. In cinema's early years, comedies such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and Bombshell (1933), starring Jean Harlow, embedded concepts of the dazzling, devastatingly beautiful blonde into the cultural vernacular. "The idea that you're a bombshell, it's almost like a weapon," says Nead. "On the one hand, it is this kind of ideal, but at the same time, it's also threatening."   Before Harlow, there was another − more natural-looking − blonde on the scene: Mary Pickford, whose amber curls helped earn her the moniker of "America's Sweetheart". But while Pickford played the guileless girl waiting to be rescued, Harlow's peroxide blonde ...
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 Sheikh Hasina's close associates' £400 million empire in the UK, what will happen to it?


A report in the British newspaper Guardian says that close associates of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have spent huge amounts of money to buy property in the UK. The report names Salman F. Rahman and the Beximco Group, Nazrul Islam Majumder and his NASA Group, and former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. When Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in August amid strong public protests, her residence was being vandalized by protesters. She is now in India. Earlier, during the protests, nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis were killed and scores injured in clashes with Bangladeshi security forces. Bangladeshi authorities believe that influential families and businessmen with links to Sheikh Hasina's Awami League have amassed billions of pounds through illegal means. This includes allegations of non-repayment of loans from state-owned banks. Investigators believe that the money may have been laundered through hundi. Money transfers through hundi are popular in South Asia. Now, according to the new government and investigators in Bangladesh, some of this illegal money has gone to the UK. The Guardian report states that an investigation by The Observer and Transparency International has revealed that influential people in Bangladesh have invested £400 million or more in the British housing sector. This includes about 350 properties, ranging from flats to luxury homes. Two ministers in the Sheikh Hasina government are among the influential people and businessmen who have bought these assets in the name of UK and some offshore companies. However, the owners of these assets say that the allegations are politically motivated attacks on the new government in Bangladesh. Beximco Group said in response to BBC Bangla questions that it has been informed of the Guardian's news and that it believes that the truth will be revealed through an impartial investigation and the real events will be clear to everyone. Incidentally, the CID of Bangladesh has already said that they have decided to investigate money laundering in the wake of allegations of fraud, forgery, duty evasion, VAT evasion, under-invoicing/over-invoicing and embezzlement of thousands of crores of taka against various institutions. The White Paper Committee formed by the interim government to investigate irregularities and corruption in the economy of Bangladesh, in its report submitted to Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday, mentioned that an average of $16 billion was laundered annually during the Sheikh Hasina government. As part of the efforts to bring back the money laundered abroad, the Central Bank's intelligence unit has taken various measures, including freezing the bank accounts of these individuals and their family members, for the investigation. However, TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman says that the process of bringing back the laundered money is a complex and time-consuming matter. "Moreover, the fact that the money has been laundered from Bangladesh must also be proven in court. However, it is hopeful that the government has taken the initiative seriously," he said.


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