Dhaka, Aug 2 : At least 1800 Bangladeshis have been deported from Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

Dhaka Airport officials claimed that nearly 170 Bangladeshi workers returned home from Kuwait on Friday, complaining that they had been beaten and expelled after taking part in a rare labour protest in the Gulf state.

Another batch of nearly 250 Bangladeshis flew back to Dhaka from Saudi Arabia on Friday saying they also had been summarily expelled.

Dhaka - Political parties in Bangladesh began last-minute campaigning Friday in limited local polls scheduled for next week after a High Court bench quashed a ruling by the Election Commission curbing their participation in mayoral polls, officials said.

The High Court, however, upheld the August 4 scheduled holding of local polls in four cities and nine small municipalities set earlier by the Election Commission.

Colombo, Aug. 1: Senior officials accompanying the Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, today said here that elections would take place between December 21 and 23.

They also confirmed that 85 million biometric cards have already been issued. Bangladesh has a total population of 150,448,339 as of July 2007.

If the election does take place, it will be after 23 months of military-backed civilian emergency rule.

The interim government has vowed to hold free, fair and credible elections before the end of 2008.

The United States has been exerting pressure on the Government of Bangladesh to restore democracy.

London, July 31: Satellite images have shown that the landmass of Bangladesh is growing because of sediment dumped by rivers.

“Satellite images of Bangladesh over the past 32 years show that the country is growing annually by about 20 square kilometres (12.5 square miles),” said Maminul Haque Sarker of the Dhaka-based Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services.

Earlier, a report by UN scientists has projected that rising sea levels will inundate 17% of Bangladesh by 2050, making about 30 million people homeless.

But, according to a report by BBC News, due to an increase in landmass, Bangladesh may not be as vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change as previously feared.

Dhaka - The military-backed interim government in Bangladesh appointed a three-member Truth and Accountability Commission Thursday as a landmark step to check corruption in high places in one of th

Dhaka - Thousands of Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait began reporting back to their jobs Wednesday after their employers in the oil-rich state agreed to meet their demands for higher wages, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said.

Acting Foreign Secretary MAK Mahmud said the Bangladeshi mission in Kuwait confirmed that 12,000 workers who had walked off their jobs over simmering discontent on wages were returning to work.

The Kuwaiti companies hiring the Bangladeshis had agreed to give a raise to the expatriate workers who were mostly doing unskilled odd jobs, Mahmud added.