Hasina graft charge

Dhaka, Sept. 2 (Reuters): Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, detained on extortion charges, was today charged with corruption, police said.

The fresh graft charges, that Hasina embezzled some 30 million taka ($435,000) through irregularities from a power plant built in southwestern Khulna and from a land purchase in Dhaka during her tenure.

Lebanon camp captured

Nahr al-Bared, Lebanon (Reuters): Lebanese troops today seized control of a Palestinian refugee camp where they had been battling militants for more than three months, killing at least 31 fleeing fighters, security sources said.

Thirty-four more Islamist militants from the Fatah al-Islam group were captured, 23 inside the camp in northern Lebanon. Most were wounded. The fate of Shaker al-Abssi, the group’s Palestinian leader, was unclear.

Hostages

Anyang, South Korea (Reuters): Nineteen South Korean Christian volunteers held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks returned home to an uncomfortable welcome on Sunday, thanking their government for saving them from death. A senior Taliban leader said Seoul had paid $20 million for their release, but the South Korean government denied it.

Russia polls

Moscow (Reuters): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday set December 2 as the date for parliamentary elections, seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2008 presidential vote. Opinion polls indicate the parliamentary vote will again give Kremlin loyalists a big majority in the State Duma, the lower house.

Greece rains

Athens (Reuters): Greece’s first autumn rains on Sunday raised hopes of dousing forest fires that have killed 63 people. Firefighters were still battling blazes, mainly in the southern Peloponnese region, but rains in northern Greece were heading south and could help, the fire brigade said.