Uighurs welcomed in Palau, but face challenges as tiny Muslim community set to shrink

Muslim ex-Gitmo detainees face challenges in Palau

Bangladesh police say man confesses to killing 11 women while questioned about another crime

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A man in eastern Bangladesh, who was being questioned about a theft, surprised a court by confessing to killing 11 women in the past three years after a woman refused to marry him, police said Monday.

Do away with visas, Dhaka tells New Delhi

MUHURIGHAT - Bangladesh has urged India to do away with visas for travel between the two neighbours to boost trade and business besides improving people-to-people relations.

New custom station in Tripura to boost trade with Bangladesh

Belonia (Tripura)/FENI - Indian and Bangladeshi officials attended the inauguration of the new land custom station at India-Bangladesh border to give fillip to bilateral trade.

Bangladesh awards farmer who killed 83,000 rats, launches culling campaign to save crops

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh on Wednesday awarded a farmer who killed more than 83,000 rats and launched a monthlong campaign nationwide to kill millions more, to protect crops and reduce the need for food imports. Mokhairul Islam, 40, won a first prize of a color television for killing some 83,450 rats in the past nine months in Gazipur district near the South Asian country’s capital, Dhaka. He collected their tails for proof.

Unscathed by financial crisis, Grameen shows that ‘poorest of the poor’ can be creditworthy

BANGKOK — The global financial crisis has highlighted a curious success story: A bank that doles out loans to some of the world’s poorest, least-creditworthy people continues to have a payback rate of nearly 100 percent.

Official: Bangladesh awards rights to US, Irish companies to explore for gas in Bay of Bengal

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh has awarded three offshore blocks to two global energy companies to explore for gas in the Bay of Bengal, a senior energy official said Tuesday.

Videos, mysterious trip and convicted terrorist at heart of trial for 2nd Ga. terror suspect

ATLANTA — Choppy homemade videos, a mysterious trek to Bangladesh and ties to a convicted Balkan terrorist are at the center of a federal case against a 23-year-old accused of supporting terrorism.

Police: Landslides kill 10 people in Bangladesh’s southeast

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains killed 10 people in southeastern Bangladesh on Friday, authorities said.

Report: Landslides kill 10 people in Bangladesh’s southeast

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A domestic news agency says landslides caused by heavy rains have killed 10 people in southeastern Bangladesh.

Study: UN program designed to save children in Bangladesh didn’t work

LONDON — The U.N. unveiled a multimillion dollar strategy a dozen years ago to save children worldwide, but a new study has found the program had surprisingly little effect in Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries.

Biggest rain in 53 years floods Bangladesh capital, leaving 6 dead and stranding thousands

DHAKA, Bangladesh — The heaviest rain in 53 years battered Bangladesh’s capital Tuesday, leaving at least six people dead and stranding thousands in their swamped homes.

Longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century covers parts of Asia in near darkness

TOKYO, Japan — Millions of Asians turned their eyes skyward Wednesday as dawn suddenly turned to darkness across the continent in the longest total solar eclipse this century will see. Millions of others, fearing a bad omen, shuttered themselves indoors.

Bangladesh is moving clocks forward an hour to save energy during evening hours

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh is setting clocks forward by an hour this weekend in its first-ever daylight savings time, aimed at easing a power shortage that causes frequent outages.

More than 500,000 homeless as toll from cyclone in India, Bangladesh rises to 264

CALCUTTA, India — Hundreds of thousands of people flooded out of their homes by deadly Cyclone Aila crowded government shelters in eastern India and Bangladesh on Friday, and officials said the risk of disease outbreaks was growing.

Countries meet to consider measures making ship recycling more green, humane

SINGAPORE — When it comes to jobs that workers in rich Western countries don’t want, there are few more dirty and dangerous than scrapping the world’s freighters, luxury liners and oil tankers.

UAE gives $1.44m to rehabilitate Bangladeshi children used as jockeys in camel races

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Hundreds of Bangladeshi children taken from their homes and forced to race camels in the United Arab Emirates will be compensated by the Persian Gulf nation, the Bangladeshi government said Wednesday.

UAE gives $1.44m to rehabilitate Bangladeshi children used as camel jockeys

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Hundreds of Bangladeshi children taken from their homes and forced to become racing camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates will be compensated by the Persian Gulf nation, the Bangladeshi government said Wednesday.

Questions unanswered or unanswerable: 6 things we still don’t know about swine flu

Government officials, public health experts and business leaders have faced a lot of questions about swine flu this week, and three words keep popping up in their answers: “We don’t know.”

Mexico to shut all but essential services as world health officials ratchet up swine flu alert

MEXICO CITY — Mexico is urging citizens to stay home for five days and shutting down nonessential government services in hopes of containing the swine flu outbreak, which the World Health Organization warns is on the brink of becoming a global epidemic.

Mexico to shut all but essential services as world health officials ratchet up swine flu alert

MEXICO CITY — Mexico took even more drastic action to squelch a swine flu epidemic, ordering a suspension of private business activity and nonessential federal government activities, as the World Health Organization ratcheted up an alert, warning that “all of humanity” is threatened.

Mexico to shut all but essential services as world health officials ratchet up swine flu alert

MEXICO CITY — Mexico readied a “temporarily closed” sign — taking the drastic step of ordering a suspension of nonessential federal government and private business activity as it tried to squelch a swine flu epidemic. The World Health Organization ratcheted up an alert and warned that “all of humanity” is threatened.

Mexico to shut all but essential services as world health officials ratchet up swine flu alert

MEXICO CITY — Mexico took even more drastic action to squelch a swine flu epidemic, ordering a suspension of private business activity and nonessential federal government activities, as the World Health Organization ratcheted up an alert, warning that “all of humanity” is threatened.

‘Islamist militants regrouping in Bangladesh’

KUSHTIA - Forty top leaders of Islamist militant outfits are regrouping with their 10,000-plus cadres in south-western Bangladesh in districts bordering India’s West Bengal state, authorities have said.

Miandad hopes Pakistan can be reinstated as World Cup host

ISLAMABAD — Cricket great Javed Miandad believes Pakistan can regain the right to co-host the 2011 World Cup.

PCB official accuses ICC of double standards over removal from World Cup schedule

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed has accused cricket’s governing body of adopting double standards in removing Pakistan as co-host of the 2011 World Cup due to security fears, local media reported Wednesday.