Dhaka - The vice-chairman of Myanmar's military junta, General Maung Aye, arrived in Dhaka Tuesday for bilateral talks with Bangladeshi leaders, officials said.

The chief of Bangladesh's military-backed interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed and cabinet colleagues including army chief Moen U Ahmed welcomed Maung Aye at the international airport.

The Myanmar general leads a 55-member delegation including seven government ministers on the three-day official visit.

Fakhruddin is expected to host talks on regarding disputes over a maritime boundary, construction of a cross-border road link, and leasing of Myanmar land to Bangladeshi farmers for cultivation, his press secretary said.

Dhaka  - A court in Dhaka on Monday asked Bangladesh's former primer Khaleda Zia and a few of her ex-cabinet colleagues to appear in court by next Sunday in a graft case.

Accepting the charge sheet, pressed Sunday by an anti-corruption investigator against 15 others in a coalmine corruption case, the Metropolitan Session Judge, Mohammad Azizul Haq, also issued a warrant for the arrest of nine other officials of her 2001-2006 cabinet of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government.

Dhaka- The vice-chairman of Myanmar's military junta is scheduled to make a three-day official visit to Bangladesh, a foreign ministry official said Monday.

General Maung Aye, who is also the head of the Myanmar army, will lead a 55-member delegation including seven government ministers to discuss a host of outstanding issues between the neighbour nations.

Maung Aye is scheduled to meet with the chief of Bangladesh's interim administration, Fakhruddin Ahmed, to discuss bilateral concerns, said the official.

Dhaka  - Authorities in Bangladesh on Monday began to automate customs clearance at the country's main Chittagong port to speed up the process to export and import goods.

Inaugurating the automation process of Chittagong Customs House at a ceremony in Dhaka, the chief adviser of the country's interim administration, Fakhruddin Ahmed, said his government will also bring other customs offices under the computerised system for the betterment of trade and commerce.

Dhaka - A court Sunday ordered Bangladesh's military-backed interim government to refrain from arresting or harassing ex-premier Sheikh Hasina Wazed, now paroled for medical treatment abroad.

The High Court passed the order after hearing Hasina's petitions for bail in two graft cases, counsel of the former prime minister said. The measure applies until October 20.

Hasina, chief of Bangladesh's major opposition Awami League party, was allowed to go to the United States for medical treatment after she was paroled from prison on June 11. The parole deadline expires Monday unless the government extends it.

Dhaka- Bangladesh's leaders appealed Thursday for a friendly and peaceful society as their country, which has suffered political violence, marked the Eid al-Fitr holiday and prepared for national elections in December.

"I hope the great lesson of Eid al-Fitr will prompt our national development and advancement," President Iajuddin Ahmed said in a message for the Muslim festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

He and the head of Bangladesh's military-backed government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, attended the country's main gathering for the holiday at the National Eidgah prayer grounds in the capital, Dhaka.