Dhaka  - A leader of a visiting German parliamentary delegation said Tuesday said that Bangladesh could be a role model for a political system where democracy and Islam run hand in hand.

"I think Bangladesh can be a role model ... because it is not that we have too many countries who have a majority of people of Muslim faith but also well working as a democracy," German legislator Sebastian Edathy told a press conference.

Edathy led a five-member German delegation of lawmakers from the German Bundestag to Bangladesh.

The delegation chief said Bangladesh is one of the Muslim countries where "Islam and democracy can go together very well."

Dhaka, Feb 23 : Bangladesh's newly elected President Zillur Rahman has said that both the neighbouring countries could work together for further strengthening the parliamentary democracy in the region.

"There are ample opportunities to work together for making our parliament as the main centre of decision making and accountability," Rahman said after his meeting with Chatterjee at Bangabhaban presidential palace.

Zillur was speaking with Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee at Bangabhaban presidential palace on Sunday.

Dhaka  - Divers recovered 12 more bodies from the Kirtankhola River Sunday, three days after a ferry capsized in Bangladesh's southern Barisal district, raising the death toll to 39.

"We have handed over 12 more bodies to the relatives who were in search of the missing passengers," an official at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in Barisal said. "A few more" people were still missing, he said.

The boat, carrying more than 100 passengers, sank Thursday in the middle of the river near Beltala, some 275 kilometres south of Dhaka, when a sand-laden cargo vessel hit the back of the ferry.

Dhaka - At least 15 people, including policemen and journalists, were injured Friday when detained militants from an outlawed Islamist group exploded a grenade after a press conference in a police station in Bangladesh, police said.

A member of the banned Islamist outfit, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), exploded the grenade inside the conference room of the police building in Gazipur, 37 kilometres north of Dhaka, immediately after the police chief, Abdul Baten, briefed local reporters on an anti-militants drive.

Dhaka - At least one person drowned and as many as 80 went missing Thursday when a passenger ferry capsized in a Bangladeshi river near the southern district of Barisal, officials said.

The boat carrying more than 100 passengers sunk in the middle of the Kirtankhola River near Beltala, 277 kilometres south of Dhaka, when a sand-laden cargo vessel hit the back of the ferry, Rafiqul Islam, a port officer, said, quoting witnesses.

The passenger vessel, ML Happy, was on its way to Patarhat from Barisal port when the accident occurred.

Dhaka  - A German parliament delegation was expected to start a five-day visit to Bangladesh Friday to renew and strengthen ties between legislators of both countries, officials said Wednesday.

The five members of the German Bundestag were from both the ruling coalition and opposition, and were scheduled to meet parliament Speaker Abdul Hamid; Khaleda Zia, the leader of the opposition in parliament; and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.