Begum Khaleda Zia

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today criticised main opposition leader Khaleda Zia for repeatedly seeking time from court appearance in graft cases, saying the former premier lacks courage to face the courts.

The Jamaat-e-Islami party has called a 24-hour 'hartal' in Bangladesh today to demand the release of Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mojaheed, sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for war crimes against Bangladeshis during the 1971 war.

At least nine people, including two children, were burned alive in Bangladesh when opposition activists hurled petrol bombs at a packed bus and a truck in the latest spasm of worsening political violence, police said today.

The United States has said Sunday's polls in Bangladesh were not credible and it wants fresh elections in that country. In contrast, India has said the elections were part of its neighbour's internal and Constitutional process.

Sheikh Hasina strongly dismissed any possibility of imposing emergency in the country and said she had the confidence to handle any crisis that came up.

Bangladesh's ruling Awami League won a violence-plagued parliamentary election whose outcome was never in doubt after a boycott by the main opposition party.

At least 20 people have lost their lives in the 10th general elections in Bangladesh. 147 seats went to the polls on Sunday.

At least four people were killed in Bangladesh on Friday when supporters of Islamist leader Abdul Quader Mollah vented their fury at his execution.

President Pranab Mukherjee today began his three-day state visit of Bangladesh amid continuing clashes sparked by the death sentence given to a top Islamist opposition leader for his role in atrocities, including rape and killings, during the country's 1971 freedom war.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today criticised main opposition leader Khaleda Zia for repeatedly seeking time from court appearance in graft cases, saying the former premier lacks courage to face the courts.

The Jamaat-e-Islami party has called a 24-hour 'hartal' in Bangladesh today to demand the release of Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mojaheed, sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for war crimes against Bangladeshis during the 1971 war.

At least nine people, including two children, were burned alive in Bangladesh when opposition activists hurled petrol bombs at a packed bus and a truck in the latest spasm of worsening political violence, police said today.

The United States has said Sunday's polls in Bangladesh were not credible and it wants fresh elections in that country. In contrast, India has said the elections were part of its neighbour's internal and Constitutional process.

Sheikh Hasina strongly dismissed any possibility of imposing emergency in the country and said she had the confidence to handle any crisis that came up.

Bangladesh's ruling Awami League won a violence-plagued parliamentary election whose outcome was never in doubt after a boycott by the main opposition party.

At least 20 people have lost their lives in the 10th general elections in Bangladesh. 147 seats went to the polls on Sunday.

At least four people were killed in Bangladesh on Friday when supporters of Islamist leader Abdul Quader Mollah vented their fury at his execution.

President Pranab Mukherjee today began his three-day state visit of Bangladesh amid continuing clashes sparked by the death sentence given to a top Islamist opposition leader for his role in atrocities, including rape and killings, during the country's 1971 freedom war.