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.

Dhaka - Tropical squalls sank a fishing trawler off the Bangladesh coast, drowning at least five fishermen in the turbulent waves of the Bay of Bengal, local officials said on Wednesday.

Rescuers picked up bodies of five fishermen from the water after gale winds and heavy showers battered the nearby beach resort city of Cox Bazar, 340 kilometres south of capital Dhaka, late Tuesday.

Dhaka - At least two people were killed and 18 others injured as two inter-city trains collided head-on near the frontier town of Laksham in eastern Bangladesh, media reports said Saturday.

One of the dead passengers was identified as Mohammad Mohiuddin, a 43-year old local farmer, who was traveling on one of the trains, the daily Bangladesh Observer said.