Dhaka- A visiting British official said Thursday that Britain would increase its assistance to Bangladesh to help the democratically-elected government carry out its socio-economic development programmes.

"The British government will increase its development assistance to Bangladesh," Mark Lowcock, the director general of the Department for International Development (DFID), told reporters after a meeting with Bangladesh's foreign minister Dipu Moni.

"We expect in the 2010-11 financial year to provide Bangladesh with 150 million pounds (206 million US dollars)," he added.

Dhaka - Bangladesh and Germany will hold talks on bilateral trade and investment next week as a top German official is expected to arrive in Dhaka on a two-day visit, officials said Thursday.

State Secretary Reinhard Silberberg of the German Foreign Office will arrive in Dhaka on January 27 to discuss the entire range of bilateral cooperation with his Bangladesh counterpart Touhid Hossain, an official at the German embassy in Dhaka said.

Dhaka  - Voting began Thursday for Bangladesh's local government sub-district councils, or Upazila Parishads, which are taking place for the first time in nearly two decades, amid heightened security across the country.

Election authorities expect a large turnout in the polls which will elect representatives at each of the 481 councils, which are constitutionally mandated to run local administrations and implement of schemes for social and economic development.

Dhaka - Rescue workers Tuesday recovered 21 bodies from river Meghna in southern Bangladesh after a boat with 50 passengers on board capsized after a collision with a second vessel, police said.

At least 25 people, mostly day labourers, went missing after the accident, which occurred on Monday. Others managed to swim ashore after the small cargo boat overturned in the middle of the river after colliding with another vessel.

Dhaka - Bangladesh was to send a consignment of medicine as humanitarian aid to wounded Palestinians in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli air and infantry attacks for the last three weeks, officials said Tuesday.

The aid will soon be dispatched to the Gaza Strip, where over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and several thousands others, including women and children, were injured by indiscriminate shelling by the Israeli forces, a foreign ministry statement said.

Dhaka - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed has ordered new investigations into past terrorist attacks to expose the national and international links, media reports said Tuesday.

The new premier called for an anti-terrorism task force in South Asia and asked her deputies to seek regional and international cooperation.

"It's not possible to curb terrorism alone. United efforts are needed to tackle the problem," Hasina was quoted to have said by her Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.