Dhaka- Bangladesh on Wednesday strongly condemned the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds of civilians.

"We are appalled by the scale of devastation and the deaths of innocent Palestinians including women and children in the attacks," a foreign ministry statement.

The government called for humanitarian workers to be allowed full and access to the Palestinian population in need of food, medicine, water, electricity and shelter.

Singapore  - A Singapore sub-contactor is sending back 55 Bangladeshi workers, citing lack of work and projects due to the economic slowdown, according to a news report Wednesday.

Tunnel & Shaft said it has worked out compensation of 1,000 Singapore dollars (673 US dollars) per worker. However, the workers would have to return 500 Singapore dollars (336 US dollars) if re-employed.

The company was sending the workers home for two months and hopes to bring them back when the economy picks up, according to the Straits Times.

The Bangladeshis were recruited last year, with some of them just two months into employment. Some were quoted as saying they were left with an outstanding debt of

Dhaka - Bangladesh's election authorities will organize an election for a new president in February, newspapers reported Tuesday, quoting a top election commission official.

"We will be able to arrange the presidential elections in February after holding local government elections later this month," election commission chief ATM Shamsul Huda told reporters after calling on outgoing President Iajuddin Ahmed.

Dhaka, Jan 12 : Bangladesh's new Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who got a massive parliamentary majority, has a chance to lead the country away from its paralysing culture of revenge politics.

But analysts have warned that a still-polarised electorate and a deep legacy of corruption have the potential to unleash the sort of violent confrontation that forced the military to step in two years ago.

Singapore  - The Singapore government is prosecuting a local company for not paying its foreign workers on time and providing them with inadequate accommodation, a news report said on Monday.

The Manpower Ministry said it would be prosecuting marine barge builder Tipper Corporation for irregularities involving the salaries of 421 foreign workers, mostly Bangladeshis.

Four other companies are facing similar charges relating to foreign workers' wages, proper accommodations and medical care.

Dhaka  - Facing an embarrassing defeat in the late December elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former premier Khaleda Zia decided Friday to revitalise the party and all its fronts to face the ruling Awami League in and outside parliament.

"We will dissolve all the party committees and fronts to reconstitute them through democratic process up to the grassroots level," said Zia, head of the BNP which won only
30 of 299 parliamentary seats in the December 29 polls.