Forget the traditional adage, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend." We are in Bangladesh, where a far humbler material is being touted as the new must-have luxury accessory. Who needs diamonds when you can have a shiny piece of glass for a fraction of the cost?

A Chinese woman suspected of stealing a $300,000 (£195,000) diamond in the Thai capital, Bangkok, gets the jewel surgically removed from her intestines.