Dhaka  - A special court on Monday ordered the detention of three former ministers of the last elected Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government on graft charges over a coalmine deal, court officials said.

Judge Amar Kumar Roy of the special court set up by the military-backed interim government for speedy trials into graft cases, ordered arrest of the country's longest-serving finance minister M Saifur Rahman, also a senior BNP leader, and the president

Dhaka  - Authorities in Bangladesh Sunday claimed that Myanmar has suspended oil and gas exploration in the disputed Bay of Bengal as a result of Dhaka's efforts to defuse tension between the two countries.

"Diplomatic endeavours and a strong presence by the Bangladesh navy resulted in the suspension of exploration by Myanmar in the disputed waters," a statement issued by the Inter-Service Public Relations office of the country's Defence Ministry said.

Dhaka - Bangladesh election authorities on Sunday extended the deadline for submission of nomination papers for the December general election by a week, in apparent response to requests by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The deadline has been extended until November 20.

"Although the submission date has been extended, the election date will be unchanged," Election Commissioner Sohul Hossain told reporters after the meeting, saying that the election commission has made every preparation for December 18 balloting.

Dhaka - Reported troop movements near the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, apparently resulting from a disagreement over offshore oil and gas rights, have ramped up tensions in the area.

Border forces along the Bangladeshi south-eastern border with Myanmar's Rakhain state were put on red alert Saturday after reports of Myanmar troop deployment on the other side of the border.

Dhaka  - British Airways will suspend its Dhaka-London passenger flights from March because of non-profitability of the route, media reported said Saturday

"The decision to suspend flights between Dhaka and London has been a difficult one to make. However, the route is not making a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain it," Amanda Amos, the airline's Area Commercial Manager for South Asia, said in a statement.

The airline, however, will continue cargo operations using connecting flights via the Middle East, said the release issued on Friday.

Dhaka  - One of Bangladesh's past ruling parties on Friday voiced a seven-point charter of demands for joining the December 18 general election to return the South Asian nation to democracy, ending nearly two years of emergency rule.

"We will contest the election if the authorities ensure an atmosphere conducive for fair polls," former prime minister Khaleda Zia, the chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP), told a huge gathering of her supporters in the south-eastern Chittagong city.

She called upon the military-backed interim government of Fakhruddin Ahmed to meet her seven demands.